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Air Serbia Flight 324

Air Serbia Flight 324

OY-GDC, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	18 February 2024 (2024-02-18)
Summary	Runway excursion, under investigation
Site	Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade, Serbia 44°49′39.8″N 20°17′18.5″E / 44.827722°N 20.288472°E / 44.827722; 20.288472
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Embraer E195
Operator	Marathon Airlines, on behalf of Air Serbia
IATA flight No.	JU324
ICAO flight No.	ASL86C
Call sign	AIR SERBIA 86 CHARLIE
Registration	OY-GDC
Flight origin	Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade, Serbia
Destination	Düsseldorf Airport, Düsseldorf, Germany
Occupants	111
Passengers	105
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	111

On 18 February 2024, Air Serbia Flight 324, an Embraer E195 operated by Marathon Airlines on behalf of Air Serbia, scheduled to fly from BelgradetoDüsseldorf overran the runway while taking off, subsequently striking multiple ground structures before climbing and returning to the airport. All 111 people on board the aircraft were uninjured. The aircraft was subsequently written off.^[1][2]

Flight 324 was to take off from Belgrade for a 2-hour, 10-minute flight to Düsseldorf. However, during its takeoff run, the aircraft overran the runway and struck multiple airport approach lights and the instrument landing system before eventually becoming airborne. The aircraft suffered severe damage to its fuselage, left wing root, and left stabilizer. The plane returned to Belgrade and landed safely without any further incident, with no injuries reported among the 111 occupants.^[1]

The aircraft involved was a 15-year-old Embraer 195, registered as OY-GDC with manufacturer serial number 19000204 and was first delivered to Flybe in August 2008. The aircraft is powered by two General Electric CF34 engines.^{[citation needed]}

As a result of the accident, Air Serbia terminated its wet-lease agreement with Marathon Airlines on 21 February and retired its entire Embraer fleet.^[3][4]

After the incident, the aircraft suffered significant damage and was eventually written off. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the aircraft would be scrapped and recycled for spare parts.^[2] This is the third Embraer E195 hull loss after a Kalstar Aviation E195 overran the runway at Kupang, Indonesia in December 2015,^[5] and a Nordic Aviation Capital E195 caught fire at Juan Santamaría International Airport in March 2022.^[6]

According to the preliminary report from Serbia's Center for Investigation of Accidents in Transport, there were no mechanical issues with the aircraft or engines. The report indicates that air traffic control instructed the crew to proceed to the D6 taxiway intersection with Runway 30L for take-off from Runway 30L. However, the crew actually exited at the D5 intersection. Air traffic control informed the crew of this and informed them that the available runway length from D5 was 1,273 metres (4,177 ft). Air traffic control then asked if the crew would like to backtrack to the D6 intersection. The crew performed calculations and informed air traffic control that the plane could take off from the D5 position. The crew then received take-off clearance. However, as the plane accelerated past 100 knots (185 km/h; 115 mph), the crew realized that there was insufficient runway length to take off. Nevertheless, the crew did not abort the take-off. As a result, as the plane took off, it struck the approach lights to Runway 12R and the antennas for the airport's instrument landing system.^[7]

• China Southern Airlines Flight 3367 - Another incident where a 737-800 struck obstacles on takeoff in 2013.^[8]

• Preliminary investigation report (inSerbian), Center for Investigation of Accidents in Transport, Republic of Serbia