Case 106
Peter Nielsen
*** Content Warning: child victims ***
[Part 1 of 2]
As midnight approached on July 1 2002, the German village of Owingen was disturbed by a deep rumbling from above. Residents assumed an unforecast storm was brewing, but seconds later a thunderous explosion roared as a large ball of fire illuminated the night sky.
It wasn’t a storm at all, but a mid-air collision involving DHL Flight 611 and Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937. When the complex air crash investigation reveals that human error is partly to blame, not everyone is prepared to accept it as an innocent mistake.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
BOOKS
Collision – Ksenia Kaspari
The Mammoth Book of Air Disasters and Near Misses – Paul Simpson
REPORTS
Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611 Investigation Report – German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents
TRANSCRIPT
Transcript of Original Tape Recording – Accident DHX611/BTC2937
ARTICLES
71 die when two jets collide high above southern Germany – The New York Times
Planes crashed in ‘ball of flames’ – CNN
Midair jet collision kills 71 – Los Angeles Times
Lake Constance plane crash kills 71, mostly children – Deutsche Welle
Germany mid-air crash kills 70: 52 children among victims – Dawn
52 kids among dead in midair collision – ABC News
Russians defend crew in air crash – The Baltimore Sun
Unfinished Flight 2937 – Trud
Losing control of the skies – The Guardian
Families arrive to confront the loss of their children – The Guardian
Russia mourns prizewinning pupils doomed by a twist of fate – The Guardian
Russian city grieves as teen burials begin – Chicago Tribune
Grieving Ufa buries 28 crash victims – The Moscow Times
Russian town remembers students lost in crash – Arizona Daily Sun
Russia mourns mid-air victims – CNN
Putin mourns air crash victims – CNN
Boeing flown by ‘top drawer’ British pilot – Independent
Heartbreak of British pilot’s family – The Telegraph
‘He loved flying,’ pilot’s sister says – The Globe and Mail
Mid-air collision inquiry begins – CNN
Plane crash remembered; one mourner not welcome – The New York Times
Plane crash memorial unveiled – Expatica
Memorial unveiled for air crash victims – SwissInfo
Air traffic man stabbed to death after jet crash – The Telegraph
Murdered airman loved ice hockey – B.T
Man whose family died in air crash is arrested for murder of controller – The Telegraph
Plane crash killing trial starts – BBC
Verdict expected in air-traffic-controller killing trial – Breaking News
Swiss convict 4 air controllers over 2002 jet crash – Reuters
Air traffic managers convicted over 2002 collision – The Irish Times
Revenge, but no sweet life for killer – Chicago Tribune
‘I am at odds with God’: Avenger for kids and wife never regretted murder – RT360
Nothing left to lose: grief-crazed murder suspect haunted by family’s air deaths – The Guardian
The heartbreaking multiple tragedies behind true-life plane crash that drove a dad to murder – Mirror
The last catastrophe – Spiegel Online
One Russian’s tale of loss and vengeance – The Irish Times
Dad’s spiral into murder – The Sun
Vitaly Kaloyev awarded with the medal ‘To the Glory of Ossetia’ – Komlomolskaya Pravda
VIDEOS
Air Crash Investigations: Deadly Crossroads
Seconds From Disaster: Death in Mid-Air
OTHER RESOURCES
Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611: mid-air collision analysis – Aviation Knowledge
Accident description: Tupolev 154M Aircraft – Aviation Safety Network
Accident description: Boeing 757 Aircraft – Aviation Safety Network
The German Midair: Lessons to be Learned – International Aviation Safety Association