Aircraft Tragedy in Eastern Germany: Unfit Pilot Ignored Ground Crew Safety Instructions and Flew Anyway
In the summer of 1965, a tragic event unfolded near the small village of Sassan. On August 13, a MiG-29 fighter jet, a high-speed aircraft known for its challenging landing, met with a fatal crash.
The pilot who perished in the crash was Major Günter Schmidt, commander of Fighter Squadron 9 from Peenemünde. Major Schmidt, a native of Dresden, left behind a wife and two children.
The cause of the crash was traced back to a malfunction in the ARU-3W, a control mechanism installed in the MiG-29 to maintain consistent elevator control at all altitudes and speeds. Without the ARU-3W, the demands to stabilise the jet in the longitudinal axis increased, potentially leading to excessive pitching or nodding. This effect could escalate into a fatal oscillation with repeated counteraction.
Sadly, Major Schmidt ejected from the plane just before the crash, but either the height or his position was unfavourable, or he was hit by parts of his plane. Agathe Diedrich, a community nurse at the time, found only part of the pilot's body and covered it with parachute material.
The MiG-29 unit had begun practical training with the MiG-29F-13 in Trollenhagen in 1964. Major Schmidt took command of the unit in March, just before the unit moved from Trollenhagen airbase. They moved to Tutow to perfect their skills until the necessary expansion of their home base on Usedom was completed.
Karl-Heinz Stelter, a second-class student at the time, witnessed the MiG-29's strange up and down movements before it crashed. Hans Missbach, a former technician, explained that the ARU-3W ensures consistent elevator control to prevent the pilot from having to react differently due to changing aerodynamic conditions.
A book titled "MiGs over Peenemünde" provides detailed information about the history of NVA flying units on Usedom, including the death of Major Schmidt. The next report about the MiG-29 crash in Sassen will look at the memories of soldiers and residents from Tutow, from whose airbase the plane took off.
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