02 December 2007

Fatal Crash of Atlasjet MD83 in Turkey - 30 November 2007

The plane was on a domestic flight from Istanbul to Isparta when it disappeared from radar screens. The crew had requested permission to land shortly before the aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain near the town of Keciborlu, about 12km (7.5 miles) from the Isparta airport. All seven crew members and 50 passengers were killed.

Visit AirSafe.com to see a listing of other fatal events involving the MD80 series or for other Atlasjet events.

Below is a briefing of the crash issued shortly after the event. At the time, the last passenger fatality had not been identified.



This description is available in additional formats:
Audio (MP3),
Video - MP4
Video - WMV
YouTube)

26 November 2007

Fatal 2004 Crash of Flash 737 in Egypt

This computer animation from the French accident investigation authority Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA) illustrates the 3 January 2004 crash of a Flash Airlines 737-300 crash near Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff on a domestic flight to Cairo and crashed into the Red Sea about nine miles (15 km) south of the city. All 135 passengers and 13 crew members were killed.

Visit AirSafe.com to see a listing of other 737 fatal events.




An English version of the BEA accident report is available at
http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/2004/su-f040103a/pdf/su-f040103a.pdf

Additional accident details are available at the Boeing 737 Technical site at http://www.b737.org.uk/flashair.htm

11 November 2007

NTSB Accident Animation Resource

This part of the NTSB site includes computer-generated animations of accidents associated with several airliner events with passenger fatalities including the following:

- Executive Airlines Flight 5401, Avions de Transport Regional 72-212, N438AT, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 9, 2004.

- Air Midwest (Doing Business as US Airways Express) flight 5481, Raytheon (Beechcraft) 1900D, N233YV, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 8, 2003.

- COMAIR Flight 3272, Embraer EMB-120RT, N265CA, Monroe, Michigan, January 9, 1997

Also included is an animation associated with the May 2007 crash involving New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.

Source: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/animations.htm

03 November 2007

Successful Ejection from an F-16 Thunderbird Aircraft

On 14 September 2003, during an air show at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, USAF Thunderbird pilot Captain Chris Strickland successfully ejected from his F-16C shortly before it crashed. According to the accident investigation board report, the pilot had been executing a "Split S" maneuver and had misinterpreted the altitude required to complete the maneuver. He made his calculation with an incorrect airfield altitude. The pilot incorrectly climbed to 1,670 feet above ground level instead of 2,500 feet before initiating the pull down to the Split S maneuver.

When he realized something was wrong, the pilot used maximum back stick pressure and rolled slightly left to ensure the aircraft would hit away from the crowd should he have to eject. He ejected when the aircraft was 140 feet above ground -- just eight-tenths of a second before impact. He sustained only minor injuries from the ejection. The aircraft, valued at about $20.4 million, was destroyed. There was no other damage to military or civilian property. The entire flight lasted approximately 25 seconds.


The video that was produced by Glenn Pew has a number of views of the event, including footage from a cockpit camera.



The still photo below was taken by Staff Sargent Bennie J. Davis III, a USAF photographer who was on the observation deck of the control tower. In my opinion, this is without question the finest photo of an aircraft ejection ever taken, and one of my all time favorite aviation photos I have ever seen.



Analysis of ejection sequence
http://www.ejectionsite.com/thunderbird6.htm

Executive Summary of the Accident Report
http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/F-16C_Mountainhome_14Sep03.pdf

Video from Survivor of September 2007 Crash of One-Two-Go MD82 in Phuket, Thailand

The following footage was taken by a survivor of the crash of an MD82 in Phuket, Thailand on 16 September 2007. The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Bangkok (DMK) to Phuket (HKT). After landing, the aircraft skidded off the runway, impacted several trees, and caught fire. There was reportedly heavy rain and poor visibility at the time of the crash. There were at least 89 deaths, including 85 of the 123 passengers and five of the seven crew members.



Related Information:

Fatal Events Involving Airlines in Asia
http://airsafe.com/events/regions/asia.htm

Fatal Events Involving the MD80 Series Aircraft
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/douglas.htm

20 October 2007

Bird Ingestion and Crash of Military Jet

This 14 May 2004 accident occurred at the Canadian Forces base at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and involved a Hawk jet aircraft assigned to the NATO Flying Training in Canada program. The instructor pilot had just taken control and as the aircraft approached the departure end of Runway 29R, a bird was observed just left of the nose. Both crewmembers heard a "thump", felt vibrations and noted a change in engine pitch, followed by indications of engine malfunction.

According to the Canadian Forces crash investigation, a gull hit the angle of attack probe, then entered the left hand engine intake and
was ingested by the engine, causing serious damage to the engine. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of approximately 3700 MSL (1700 AGL). After the aircraft descended through 3000 MSL, the crew successfully ejected. One crewmember was seriously injured and the other received minor injuries. The aircraft was completely destroyed when it crashed about seven seconds later in a farmer's field.

Video from just before ingestion until aircraft impact



Additional information
Canadian Forces crash investigation page
Accident investigation report
Initial report summary (2004)
Report summary update (2007)

Fatal Crash of Garuda 737 in Indonesia

On 7 March 2007 , the aircraft had been on a domestic flight on from Jakarta and overran the runway after landing at Yogyakarta. The aircraft went through the airport's perimeter fence, crossed and road and an embankment, and caught fire as it came to rest in a nearby rice paddy. The footage at the crash site was made by a survivor of the crash. One of the seven crew members and 22 of the 133 passengers were killed.

You can visit AirSafe.com for more on the fatal event history of the 737 and of Garuda Airlines.

Fatal Crash of Medical Flight In Colombia

The single-engine Cessna was on a medical evacuation flight in rural Colombia. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff. The child, his mother, and a doctor were killed in the crash, and the last occupant, the pilot, died a few days later. No information on the date or location of the crash was available.

The Crash of United 232 in Sioux City

This excerpt from a documentary about the July 1989 crash of a United Airlines DC10 in Sioux City, Iowa uses a combination of footage of the crash, dramatic recreations, interviews with participants, and computer simulations to illustrate how the pilots were able to guide the aircraft to the airport after losing one engine, all hydraulic systems, and the use of all flight control systems. The crew maneuvered the aircraft to a crash landing at the Sioux City airport using differential thrust on the two remaining engines to control the aircraft. One of the 11 crew members and 110 of the 285 passengers were killed.

Other excerpts from the documentary goes into the prior safety history of the DC10, and also into the investigation and aftermath of the Sioux City event.

Visit AirSafe.com for a listing fatal events involving the DC10 where at least one passenger was killed.


Crash of SR-71 Blackbird in 1966

During the fourth test of an experimental drone aircraft in July 1966, the drone collided with the SR-71 shortly after separation. The aircraft broke up, and both crew members bailed out. However, one drowned after parachuting into the ocean off the coast of California. For further information on the history of the SR-71, visit Habu.org.

19 October 2007

Fatal MD11 Crash at Hong Kong

This short video shows the 22 August 1999 crash of a China Airlines MD11 crash at the Hong Kong airport (HKG). The aircraft was landing in Hong Kong at night and during a storm after a flight from Bangkok. The aircraft struck the runway and came to rest upside down and on fire. All 15 crew members survived, but three of the 300 passengers were killed. Visit AirSafe.com to see a listing of other MD11 fatal events.

Citation Overrun at Atlantic City Municipal Airport (AIY)

According the the NTSB factual report of this 15 May 2005 event, the pilot landed the aircraft at Atlantic City Municipal airport (AIY) after a flight from Burnlington, VT (BTV). The landing airport was closed to jet traffic, the aircraft landed with a 10-knot tailwind, on a 2,948 foot runway, and with a landing weight that would have required a 3,000 foot runway in a no-wind situation. The aircraft overran the runway and ended up in the water. The pilot and three passengers were not seriously injured. Toward the end of the video, at least one engine spooled up and the aircraft was seen moving slowly through the water. Neither the factual report or the NTSB probable cause report mentioned this part of the event.