Tyrolean Airways’ Safety Record
Throughout its entire history as a scheduled airline (1980 to 2015), Tyrolean Airways had no fatal accident. Publicly available aviation accident databases document only minor incidents without injury for Tyrolean Airways or the “Austrian Arrows” brand.
Documented Incidents Without Injury
Landing Gear Issue on Approach to Vienna (2008)
On 25 February 2008, a de Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q “Dash 8” (registration OE-LGE) of Austrian Arrows (Tyrolean Airways), operating flight OS138 from Nuremberg to Vienna, had to carry out a precautionary landing at Vienna International Airport after a reported landing gear issue. All 67 occupants were unharmed, and the aircraft was undamaged.
Incident on Approach to Kraków (2012)
On 28 January 2012, a reported incident occurred during approach to Kraków Airport involving a Dash 8 (again OE-LGE) of Austrian Arrows, operating a flight from Vienna to Kraków. Here too, all 37 occupants were unharmed and the aircraft was not damaged.
Both incidents are classified in the Aviation Safety Network database as reports from news or unofficial sources; neither is linked to an official accident investigation with a published final report.
The 1964 Glungezer Disaster: Why Innsbruck Was Long Considered Demanding
The most serious air accident near Tyrolean Airways’ home airport occurred as early as 29 February 1964, more than 15 years before the airline’s founding, and is unrelated to Tyrolean Airways or its predecessor companies. A Bristol Britannia of the British airline British Eagle International Airlines (flight 802/6) struck the 2,601-metre Glungezer above Tulfes in poor visibility while on approach to Innsbruck. All 83 occupants were killed, making it to this day the worst aviation accident on Austrian soil.
The consequences shaped Innsbruck Airport’s history for decades to come: it was not until 1976 that a special instrument approach procedure was introduced, enabling a safe descent through cloud cover in the alpine terrain. Larger airliners did not return to regular service at Innsbruck until roughly 15 years after the disaster. When Tyrolean Airways began flight operations in 1980, the alpine airport was therefore already an environment with high safety requirements, one the airline had to meet with carefully chosen aircraft types and experienced crews.
More on the airport’s history: Innsbruck Airport
Incidents Elsewhere in the Corporate Group
Through the joint “Austrian Arrows” brand (2003 to 2010) and the later merging of flight operations (from 2012), Tyrolean Airways and its parent Austrian Airlines grew closely intertwined. For context, two events that did not involve Tyrolean Airways itself but other parts of the corporate group:
- 5 January 2004: A Fokker 70 of Austrian Airlines (not operated under the Tyrolean/Austrian Arrows brand) had to make an emergency landing in open terrain near Munich after engine problems. Three of the 32 occupants suffered minor injuries, and the aircraft was out of service until 2007.
- 26 May 1991: A Boeing 767 of the then still-independent Lauda Air crashed on a flight from Hong Kong to Vienna, killing all 223 occupants. At the time, Lauda Air was not part of the Austrian Airlines Group and operated independently of Tyrolean Airways. More on this: Lauda Air
Sources (selection)
- Aviation Safety Network: Dash 8 OE-LGE, Vienna, 25 February 2008
- Aviation Safety Network: Dash 8 OE-LGE, Kraków, 28 January 2012
- vol.at: Austria’s worst aviation accident, exactly 60 years ago (German)
- aerointernational.de: Fokker 70, the last operators of the “last Dutch lady” (German)
- Wikipedia: Lauda Air
Note: this page is part of an independent, private history project. There is no connection to Austrian Airlines AG, the Lufthansa Group or the Swarovski corporate group. The overview below was researched from publicly available sources and should not be understood as a complete official accident statistic.