The haunting images left behind 40 years after 148 people died in plane crash in Spain

On 19 February 1985, Iberia flight IB610 hit a television mast on the 1,026-metre-high Mount Oiz, before the aircraft crashed to the ground, while flying on a domestic route between Madrid and Bilbao

ABC

Madrid

Tuesday, 18 February 2025 | Updated 19/02/2025 12:25h.

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On 19 February 1985, an Iberia airlines Boeing 727 on flight number 610 from Madrid to Bilbao crashed into a broadcasting antenna of the Basque television channel ETB on Mount Oiz (1,026.40 m). All 148 people on board died.

The circumstances of the accident (fog, low altitude, etc.) caused the safety protocol for domestic flights in Spain to change forever, but along the way it left behind some powerful images, obtained by El Correo, that will remain engrained in the memory of future generations.

At 9.22 a.m. on 19 February 1985, flight IB610 began its approach to Bilbao airport. Five minutes later, the left wing hit the ETB antenna at the highest point of Monte Oiz.
El Correo

As it was a domestic flight during the week, many of the passengers were people who made the journey for work reasons. Among other victims, Gonzalo Guzmán, Bolivia's Minister of Labour, Isidoro Delclaux, director of Vidrieras de Llodio, Julián Vinuesa, theatre entrepreneur and founder of the Astoria chain, and Vicente Hidalgo, president of Lada Ibérica, were on board.
El Correo

The Guard Civil and the military received the first call from Juan Mari Urkiola, a resident from a nearby farmhouse, who was the first to discover the tragedy. Many locals in the area found out later because they had lost the signal from the Basque public television channel, ETB

The two accidents at Rodeos (1977, with 583 deaths and 1972 with 155), the Avianca accident at Mejorada del Campo (1983, 181 deaths) and the Spanair accident at Barajas (2008, 154 deaths) are the four accidents with the most fatalities in the history of modern aviation. The tragic 'top 5' is completed by the Monte Oiz accident.
El Correo

In addition to a lengthy legal process with multi-million compensation settlements for the families of the victims, the accident led to major changes in aeronautical safety: improvements in cartography and obstacle marking, increased use of ground proximity warning systems, greater rigor in approach procedures, revision of pilot training and improvements in the supervision and control of airspace.
El Correo

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