2010 Air Service Berlin Douglas C-47 crash

The aircraft involved was a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (registered D-CXXX, serial number 16124/32872), a preserved Raisin bomber.[1] It had been built in 1944 and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 engines.[2] It had participated in the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift. The importance of the airlift for Berlin led to it being acquired for sightseeing flights in 2000.[3] The aircraft was one of the last two aircraft to take off from Berlin Tempelhof Airport (one of the Airlift airports) when it was closed on 30 October 2008.[4]

At at around 15:00 local time, shortly after take-off from Berlin Schönefeld Airport for a sightseeing flight over the city centre of Berlin,[2] the left engine failed and the aircraft was unable to gain height. The pilots went into a left turn and set down the aircraft into a field near the construction site for the new Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport.[1][5] Three crew members and 25 passengers were on board (among them Stefan Kaufmann, a Bundestag member),[3] all of whom were able to leave the aircraft unassisted.[6][7] Seven people were injured, four of whom were taken to hospital.[8] Schönefeld Airport was closed for fifteen minutes while its emergency services attended the crash scene.[9] A fire that arose from spilled fuel was put out by the airport's firefighters.[10]

The C-47 aircraft suffered substantial damage to its tail and port wing.[6] Nevertheless, due to its historic significance (and because it was the signature airframe of the company), Air Service Berlin stated it intended a complete repair and restoration. Donations towards the cost of the restoration had been received from across the world, including a symbolic 100 USD from Gail Halvorsen, the pilot who is attributed to having started the dropping of sweets for children from aircraft participating in the Berlin Airlift.[4][9] The damaged port wing was later salvaged and sold as limited edition Aviationtags.[11]