Birgenair

Birgenair was a Turkish charter airline based in Istanbul.

History

Birgenair was founded in 1988. Initially, mainly aircraft of type DC-8 were used. Later Birgenair also took up flights to the Caribbean, in cooperation with the tour operator Oger Tours. These targets were 757 and 767 operated with machines of the types Boeing.

Birgenair - Flight 301

On February 6, 1996, a Boeing 757 crashed on the Birgenair Flight 301 a few minutes after taking off from Puerto Plata airport in the Dominican Republic into the sea. Here, 189 people were killed, including 164 German tourists. Cause of the crash was probably a blocked pitot tube, which led to a false indication of airspeed, which the pilots were led to incorrect responses.

The accident and the resulting media coverage led to sharp decline in bookings and ultimately that Birgenair still 1996 flight operations ceased and filed for bankruptcy.

Fleet

Throughout its existence, Birgenair operated a fleet of seven aircraft:

  • 2 Boeing 737-300
  • 3 Boeing 757-200
  • 1 Boeing 767-200
  • 1 McDonnell Douglas DC -10-30
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