Aero Flight 311

Aero Flight 311 (AY311), often referred to as the Koivulahti air disaster, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aero O/Y (now Finnair) between Kronoby, Finland and Vaasa. The aircraft, a Douglas DC-3C, crashed near Kvevlax (Koivulahti) on January 3, 1961, killing all twenty-five people on board. The disaster remains the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Finland. The Douglas DC-3, registered OH-LCC, was scheduled to ta... more

Aero Flight 311 (AY311), often referred to as the Koivulahti air disaster, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aero O/Y (now Finnair) between Kronoby, Finland and Vaasa. The aircraft, a Douglas DC-3C, crashed near Kvevlax (Koivulahti) on January 3, 1961, killing all twenty-five people on board. The disaster remains the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Finland. The Douglas DC-3, registered OH-LCC, was scheduled to take-off at 7:00, but take-off preparations were late and the plane departed at 7:16. The co-pilot requested free flying altitude from the air traffic control, which was permitted. This allowed Flight 311 to fly at any altitude above the minimum flight altitude for the Kruununkylä-Vaasa route which was 1500 feet (450 meters). The pilots did not follow these regulations for the last 40 kilometers, during which they flew below 100 meters. Shortly after the flight's last radio contact with the air traffic control, in which the pilots confirmed the... less