Meridian Flight 3032

Meridian Flight 3032 was an Antonov An-12BK which crashed in July 2022 near Antiphilippi, Kavala, Greece while trying to make an emergency landing at Kavala International Airport.

It was carrying 11.5 t of munitions when it crashed, which continued exploding until the next day, hindering the inspection of the crash site.

Aircraft
The aircraft involved first flew in 1971. It was acquired by Ukrainian cargo carrier Aviation Company Meridian in January 2022 and re-registered as UR-CIC.

Crew and cargo
The eight crew members, all Ukrainian citizens, died in the crash.

According to Serbian defence minister Nebojša Stefanović, the aircraft's cargo was some 11 tonnes of Serbian-made weapons and ammunition, including mortar shells.

Incident
The flight originated in Niš, Serbia and was bound for Dhaka, Bangladesh, with stops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and India.

The aircraft departed from Niš at 18:36 UTC, with some 11 tonnes of ammunition on board, scheduled to arrive at Dhaka. Intermediate stops were planned in Amman, Riyadh and Ahmedabad.

At 19:09 UTC when the aircraft was flying in Greek aerospace through the RUGAS waypoint at flight level 198, one of the pilots informed the Air traffic controller (ATC) that they needed to shut down the number 4 engine because of a visible fuel leak. After a brief discussion between the two crew members, they decided to return to the Niš Constantine the Great Airport, the airport of departure. At 19:30, the pilots made a 180 degree turn towards the departure airport. at 19:40, the crew shut down the n°4 engine, which subsequently caught fire.

The crew began the fire extinguishing procedure, but it was unsuccessful. At 19:42, while at flight level 143, the crew declared an emergency and requested an immediate descent from the ATC and a diversion to Kavala Airport. The pilots made a right turn at a heading of 090 degrees. The last known position of the plane was at an altitude of 5,600 feet, with an airspeed of 222 knots (411 km/hr; 255 mph). Prior to the impact with terrain, the airplane collided with various obstacles such as a Tree Canopy, electrical power lines and an overhead power line pole. All occupants of the airplane perished in the crash.

Eyewitness accounts and video showed that the plane was on fire before it crashed.

Secondary explosions were heard for up to two hours after the crash. Residents within a 2 km radius were advised to close windows and stay indoors, while emergency responders, explosives experts and staff from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission were unable to inspect the wreckage due to uncertainty about the nature and state of any remaining cargo and residues. Drones were used instead to examine the wreckage.

Weapons destination
Amid speculation that the weapons were destined for Ukraine, Serbia's defence minister Nebojša Stefanović stated that the weapons shipment was not linked to the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the Bangladesh Armed Forces confirmed that they were the intended recipients of the weapons, which they bought from a Polish-owned Bosnian company BA-METALEXPORT.

Given Serbia's policy of oscillating between the West and Russia and Serbia's weapons industry and political corruption, political scientist Vuk Vuksanovic continued to question whether the plane was indeed transporting Serbian weapons to Ukraine.

Investigation
An investigation was opened by the Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board (AAIASB) with the support of the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine (NNBAAI). The Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) of Germany was able to download the Cockpit voice recorder that are providing all the essential data to the investigation.

The investigation found that the airplane was involved in another incident one month before the crash on June 19, 2022. While taxiing at the Rzeszów airfield, Poland, while following the FOLLOW ME tracking vehicle, in order to change parking, the Antonov An-12BK deviated to the right from the route indicated by the FOLLOW ME vehicle and collided with the right wing mast of the apron lights. As a result of the incident, the right leading edge of the wing was damaged. As of December 2023 the investigation is still ongoing and no final report is released.