Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301
Wreckage of Palair Macedonian PH-KXL | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 March 1993 |
| Summary | Crashed on take-off in snowy conditions |
| Site | near Skopje Airport, Skopje, Macedonia |
| Aircraft | |
| The aircraft involved in the accident, two weeks before the accident | |
| Aircraft type | Fokker 100 |
| Operator | Palair Macedonian |
| IATA flight No. | 3D301 |
| ICAO flight No. | PMK301: 5 |
| Call sign | PALAIR 301: APPENDIX2 1–4 |
| Registration | PH-KXL |
| Flight origin | Skopje Airport, Skopje, Macedonia |
| Destination | Zurich-Kloten Airport, Zurich, Switzerland |
| Occupants | 97 |
| Passengers | 92 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 83 |
| Injuries | 14 |
| Survivors | 14 |
Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Skopje to Zurich, operated by Palair Macedonian, the then-flag carrier of Macedonia, now called North Macedonia. On 5 March 1993, the aircraft operating the flight, a Fokker 100, crashed shortly after taking off from Skopje Airport in snowy conditions. Out of the 97 passengers and crew members on board, only 14 survived. At the time, it was the deadliest air disaster in North Macedonia.
The investigation of the disaster concluded that the accident was caused by ice accumulation on the wings. The aircraft had been parked in Skopje in snowy conditions. During the refueling, the ice around the wings' roots had melted due to the temperature of the fuel, while the ice on the tips hadn't. While conducting the pre-takeoff ground inspection, the crew opted not to de-ice the aircraft, thinking that most of the ice had melted and the remaining was safe enough for flying. The aircraft eventually encountered control problems during takeoff, which caused it to crash.