TAROM Flight 371 was a scheduled international passenger flight, with an Airbus A310 from Otopeni International Airport in Romania's capital Bucharest to Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium. The flight was operated by TAROM, the flag carrier of Romania. On 31 March 1995, the Airbus A310-324, registered as YR-LCC, entered a nose-down dive after takeoff and crashed near Balotești in Romania. All 60 people aboard were killed in the crash.
YR-LCC, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1994
The aircraft involved when still in operation with Delta Air Lines
The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers.
Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-body. On 7 July 1978, the A310 was launched with orders from Swissair and Lufthansa. On 3 April 1982, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, and the A310 received its type certificate on 11 March 1983.
Airbus A310
The A310 (background) is a shrunken version of the Airbus A300 (foreground)
The A310-200 prototype, featuring the liveries of Swissair (left) and Lufthansa (right), the first customers.
In 1988, an A310 was delivered to Interflug: the first Airbus for an Eastern-bloc airline.
