TAROM Flight 371
YR-LCC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen 4 days before the crash | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 31 March 1995 |
| Summary | Auto-throttle failure and pilot incapacitation (possible heart attack) leading to loss of control |
| Site | Balotești, near Henri Coandă International Airport, Bucharest, Romania 44°35′54.5″N 26°06′23.2″E / 44.598472°N 26.106444°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A310-324 |
| Aircraft name | Muntenia |
| Operator | TAROM |
| IATA flight No. | RO371 |
| ICAO flight No. | ROT371 |
| Call sign | TAROM 371 |
| Registration | YR-LCC |
| Flight origin | Henri Coandă International Airport, Bucharest, Romania |
| Destination | Brussel-Zaventem Airport, Brussels, Belgium |
| Occupants | 60 |
| Passengers | 49 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 60 |
| Survivors | 0 |
TAROM Flight 371 was a scheduled international passenger flight, with an Airbus A310 from Otopeni International Airport in Romania's capital Bucharest to Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium. The flight was operated by TAROM, the flag carrier of Romania. On 31 March 1995, the Airbus A310-324, registered as YR-LCC, entered a nose-down dive after takeoff and crashed near Balotești in Romania, killing all 60 people on board.
Investigation of the crash revealed that a faulty auto-throttle reduced the left engine to idle during climb and coincidentally the captain became incapacitated (possibly by a heart attack). The First Officer was unable to respond properly to the situation as according to the French Ministry of Transport, he had spent most of his flying career flying Soviet-built planes with a different style Attitude Direction Indicator than on the A310. It was also the deadliest plane crash in TAROM's operational history.