Boeing 737 incident near Belgrade, Serbia, Rs, October 18, 2008
On October 18, 2008 at about 5:19 am local time, a Boeing 737, registered DAXLF, suffered minor damage in an incident near Belgrade, Serbia (Nicola Tesla, Belgrade, Serbia airport). It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 189 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
- October 18, 2008 · about 5:19 am local time
- Place
- Belgrade, Serbia, Serbia · Nicola Tesla, Belgrade, Serbia
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 189 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 804 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- DAXLF · no longer on the register · serial 28218
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On 18 October 2008, approximately 0519 coordinated universal time, a Boeing 737-800, registration D-AXLF, operated by German charter company XL Airways Germany as flight GXL614, experienced an engine failure while enroute from Frankfurt (EDDF) Germany to Antalya (LTAI) Turkey. The flight diverted to the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia, landed and an emergency evacuation was performed. There were 189 persons on the aircraft: 182 adult passengers, 1 child and 6 crew members and no injuries were reported. The left-hand (No.1) engine was on fire during the landing and after the aircraft came to a halt, Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) sprayed extinguishing agents into the engine. The left-hand engine suffered a number 4 bearing failure and a fire ensued in the aft center body of the engine. Due to the fire, the engine pylon, some left wing components, electrical cables, and hydraulic tubing were heat affected. The accident is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia. 11070 Beograd, Bulevar Zorana Djindjica 144 tel. +381 11 29 27 117 fax. +381 11 311 75 79 e-mail: pjovanovic@cad.gov.rs www.cad.gov.rs This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information obtained for, or released by, the Government of Serbia and Montenegro.
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: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: EDDF Frankfurt
- Destination: LTAI Antalya
- Flight plan: not recorded
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 183 |
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.
Other NTSB records under DAXLF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.