Boeing 737 incident near Graz, At, March 2, 2013
On March 2, 2013 at about 8:49 am local time, a Boeing 737, registered DABIL, was involved in an incident near Graz. It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 63 people were on board or involved.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 2, 2013 · about 8:49 am local time
- Place
- Graz, Austria
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 63 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 530 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- DABIL · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On 2 March 2013, at approximately 0849 UTC time, a Boeing 737-530, registration D-ABIL, operated by by Lufthansa, was operating between Franfurt, Germany and Graz, Austria. The crew reported that just after takeoff from Frankfurt, and again about 5 minutes before landing in GRZ, a smell of "old socks" could be observed in the cockpit and the front galley - each time for approximately 3 minutes. The Captain and 1st Officer used oxygen masks while the smell was present. The flight landed normally and there were no injuries. The incident is being investigated by the Sicherheitsuntersuchungsstelle – Zivilluftfahrt (Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority) of Austria. The NTSB has appointed an Accredited Representative to assist the investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Design and Manufacture of the aircraft. All inquiries should be directed to the Austrian Accident Investigation Branch at: BMVIT - IV/BAV/UUB/LF (Unfalluntersuchungsstelle - Luftfahrt) Federal Office of Transport Accident Investigation Branch, Department Aviation Address - Mail: P.O. Box 206, 1000 Wien Address - Office: Trauzlgasse 1, 1210 Wien Email : FUS@bmvit.gv.at Tel.: +43 (0)1 71162-657700 (24 hours)
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 3 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 58 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.