Dulebian Airways (Dulebian: Дулебские Авиалинии) was Dulebia's government-owned flag carrier between 1991 and 1993. It was formed in 1991, after the bankruptcy of DAT, the state-owned carrier of People's Republic of Dulebia. Dulebian Airways received part of the old DAT fleet, while the rest was sold on auctions in 1991. The company encountered financial instability following the fall of communism. Despite managing to continue operations, it never managed to become profitable, instead soaking budget money, often on controversial activities and deals. At the same time, the airline was also notorious for numerous delays in salary payment and constant employee strikes. Following the air crash of Flight 3461, caused by the first officer, who suffered from mental illness yet was characterized as fit for flights, the airline faced numerous national and international restrictions on flight operations. Dulebian Airways was restructured in late 1993. Following an agreement between the Dulebian Government and a number of smaller airlines and private investors, a number of companies merged with Dulebian to form Skytrain, the current flag carrier of Dulebia.
History
Privatization of DAT
Operation
The livery of Dulebian Airways, used between 1991 and 1993 by the airline, as as by
Skytrain in 1994.
Decline and bankrupcy
Destinations
Fleet
Just after its formation in 1991, the fleet of Dulebian Airways consisted of the following aircraft:
Accidents and incidents
- On May 13th, 1992, Dulebian Flight 314, an La-1011, suffered from explosive decompression just 4 minutes after take-off from Ulich Zhdanovo Airport. The decompression appeared after the rear cargo door of the plane detached from its resting position due to improper maintenance and broken locks. The aircraft managed to safely return to Ulich, with no injuries amongst the passengers and the crew, but was stricken off and remained on static parking on the airport until being purchased by Skytrain Classic aircraft restoration club in 2016.
- On September 20, 1993, Dulebian Flight 3461, flying between Kamianets and Pokrovsk, crashed in the Ulich reservoir after a 12-minute dive from around 12,000 metres, killing all 58 passengers and 4 crew on board. The investigation determined that the crash was caused deliberately by the co-pilot, Andriy Vitko, who had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies and declared "unfit to work" by his doctor. Vitko kept this information from his employer and instead reported for duty. Shortly after reaching cruise altitude and while the captain was out of the cockpit, he locked the cockpit door and initiated a controlled descent that continued until the aircraft impacted a reservoir near Ulich. The probable motive of Vitko was the fact that he did not receive payment for nearly 6 months prior the crash, as well as the fact that he had a quarrel with his girlfriend just several days before the incident. The crash caused several international aviation authorities and the Air Transport Safety Commission of Dulebia (ATSC) to land the airline and cancel its license. The airline, which already suffered a financial crisis, declared bankruptcy 3 weeks after the incident.
See also
