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Aviation accidents and incidents

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Thunderbird 1st year Capt. Christopher Stricklin ejected from his USAF F-16 aircraft at an airshow at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, on 14 September 2003. While performing a Reverse Half Cuban Eight, Stricklin realized he could not pull up in time and ejected. Eight-tenths of a second later, the plane crashed, skidding aflame 200 yards, and the engine flew out and went another 100 yards. Except for a few bruises, he was not injured.

An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure or the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.[1]

The first fatal aviation accident occurred in a Wright Model A aircraft at Fort Myer, Virginia, USA, on 17 September 1908, resulting in injury to the pilot, Orville Wright and death of the passenger, Signal Corps Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.[2]

An aviation incident is defined as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operations.[3]

An accident in which the damage to the aircraft is such that it must be written off, or in which the plane is destroyed is called a hull loss accident.[3]

Major disasters

September 11 terror attacks

The deadliest aviation-related disaster of any kind, considering fatalities on both the aircraft and the ground, was the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001, with the intentional crashing of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. The World Trade Center crashes killed 2,752, most of them occupants of the World Trade Center towers or emergency personnel responding to the disaster. In addition, 189 were killed when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon and 44 were killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field, bringing the total number of casualties of the September 11 attacks to 2,977 (excluding the 19 terrorist hijackers). Being deliberate terrorist acts, the 9/11 crashes were not classified as accidents, but as mass murder-suicide, and subsequently treated by the United States and the member nations of NATO as an act of war and also terrorism.

Tenerife

Artist's depiction of the Tenerife Disaster, which destroyed two Boeing 747 aircraft.

The 27 March 1977, Tenerife disaster remains the accident with the highest number of airliner passenger fatalities. 583 people died when a KLM Boeing 747 attempted take-off without clearance, and collided with a taxiing Pan Am 747 at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of Tenerife, Spain. Pilot error was the primary cause of this catastrophe.[4][5]

JAL Flight 123

The crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 in 1985 is the single-aircraft disaster with the highest number of fatalities. In this crash, 520 died on board a Boeing 747. The aircraft suffered an explosive decompression from an incorrectly repaired aft pressure bulkhead, which failed in mid flight and destroyed most of its vertical stabilizer, and severed all of the hydraulic lines, making the 747 virtually uncontrollable. The pilots were able to keep the plane flying for half an hour before it crashed into a mountain. Remarkably, several people survived the impact, but by the time the rescue teams got to the crash site, all but four had succumbed to their injuries.[6][7]

Other crashes with high death tolls

The world's deadliest mid-air collision was the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision involving Saudia Flight 763 and Air Kazakhstan Flight 1907 over Haryana, India. The crash was mainly the result of the Kazakh pilot flying lower than the altitude for which his aircraft was given clearance. All 349 passengers and crew on board the two aircraft died.[8] The Ramesh Chandra Lahoti Commission, empowered to study the causes, also recommended the creation of "air corridors" to prevent aircraft from flying in opposite directions at the same altitude.[9] The Civil Aviation Authorities in India made it mandatory for all aircraft flying in and out of India to be equipped with an ACAS (Airborne Collision Avoidance System). This was the first time in the world that ACAS was mandatory.[10]

On 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashed in a forest northeast of Paris, France. The London-bound plane crashed shortly after taking off from Orly airport. All 346 people on board died. It was later determined that the cargo door had detached which caused an explosive decompression which in turn caused the floor just above to collapse. When the floor collapsed it severed the control cables, which left the pilots without control of the elevators, the rudder and the No. 2 engine. The plane entered a steep dive and crashed. It was the deadliest plane crash of all time until the Tenerife disaster in 1977.[4]

On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 Boeing 747-237B crashed off the southwest coast of Ireland when a bomb exploded in the cargo hold. All 307 passengers and 22 crew members died.[11] One passenger had checked in as "M. Singh". He did not board the flight, but his suitcase which contained the bomb was loaded onto the plane. "Mr Singh" was never identified and captured. It was later found out that Sikh extremists were behind the bombing and that it was a retaliation for the Indian government's attack on the sacred Golden Temple in the city of Amritsar, which is very important for the Sikhs. This was, at the time, the deadliest terrorist attack involving an airplane.[12]

12 December 1985: An Arrow Air DC-8, Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying American military personnel on a charter flight home for Christmas, crashed in Newfoundland, killing all 248 passengers and 8 crew members.[13] The Canadian Aviation Safety Board investigating the cause of the crash issued two different reports. The majority report believed that ice on the wings caused the crash. And the minority report believed an explosion was the likely cause of the crash. This crash is still the worst air disaster in both US military and Canadian aviation history.[14][15]

Iran Air Flight 655 was an Iranian civilian airliner shot down by two surface-to-air missiles from the U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes on Sunday, 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, ranking it seventh among the deadliest airline disasters.[16]

On 25 May 1979, American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, lost control and crashed near O'Hare International Airport in Des Plaines, Illinois, following improper maintenance and the loss of an engine. The crash killed all 271 passengers and crew on board, as well as two people on the ground. It remains the deadliest commercial aircraft accident in the United States history,[17][18] and was also the country's deadliest aviation disaster until the September 11 attacks in 2001.

On 1 September 1983, a Soviet interceptor Sukhoi Su-15 shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after it flew into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 passengers and crew.[19]

On 12 November 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, New York, just after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport bound for Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo due to the first officer's overuse of the rudder in response to wake turbulence from a Japan Airlines 747. The crash killed all 260 people on board, as well as five people on the ground.[20][21] It is the second-deadliest aviation accident on U.S. soil, after American Airlines Flight 191.

Pan Am Flight 103 was a Boeing 747-121 bound for New York-JFK from London-Heathrow with continued service to Detroit, that was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. The crash killed all 243 passengers and 16 crew and 11 people on the ground (all of whom were residents of Sherwood Crescent, Lockerbie),[22][23] making it the worst terrorist attack involving an aircraft in the UK. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack on British soil. Following the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed new security measures on American airlines that fly out of 103 airports in Western Europe and the Middle East.[24]

On 2 September 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed into St. Margaret's Bay, not far from Halifax, Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people on board. A fire had broken out in the cockpit and the plane disintegrated upon impact with the water.[21] On May 26, 1991, Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-3Z9ER named "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," crashed in Thailand shortly after take-off from Bangkok due to the un-commanded deployment of one of its thrust reversers, with the loss of all 223 passengers and crew aboard the 767.[25]

On 31 October 1999, at around 01:50 EST, EgyptAir Flight 990 (MSR990) crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 60 miles (97 km) south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, in international waters, killing all 217 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board report concluded that the pilot intentionally dove the aircraft into the ocean; Egyptian authorities have vigorously denied this conclusion, saying that a mechanical failure was to blame.[26]

Safety

Controlled Impact by NASA and the FAA.

Aviation safety has improved considerably in over one hundred years of implementation. In modern times, two major manufacturers still produce heavy passenger aircraft for the civilian market: Boeing in the United States of America and the European company Airbus. Both have placed huge emphasis on the use of aviation safety equipment, now a billion-dollar industry in its own right, and made safety a major selling point—realizing that a poor safety record in the aviation industry is a threat to corporate survival. Some major safety devices now required in commercial aircraft involve:

  • Evacuation slides — aid rapid passenger exit from an aircraft in an emergency situation.[27]
  • Advanced avionics - Computerized auto-recovery and alert systems.[28]
  • Turbine engines - durability and failure containment improvements.[29]
  • Landing gear - that can be lowered even after loss of power and hydraulics.[30]

When measured on a passenger-distance calculation, air travel is the safest form of transportation available: these figures are the ones mentioned by the air industry when quoting statistics on air safety. A typical statement is this one by the BBC: "UK airline operations are among the safest anywhere. When compared against all other modes of transport on a fatality per mile basis air transport is the safest — six times safer than traveling by car and twice as safe as rail."[31]

However, when measured by fatalities per person transported, buses are the safest form of transportation and the number of air travel fatalities per person are surpassed only by bicycles and motorcycles. This statistic is the one used by the insurance industry when calculating insurance rates for air travel.[32]

For every billion kilometers traveled, trains have a fatality rate 12 times larger than air travel, while automobiles have a fatality rate 62 times larger. On the other hand, for every billion journeys, buses are the safest form of transportation. By the last measure, air transportation is three times more dangerous than car transportation and almost 30 times more dangerous than bus.[33]

After the crash of Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, Brazilian Air Force personnel recover the flight data recorder of the flight.

A 2007 study by Popular Mechanics found that passengers sitting at the back of a plane are 40% more likely to survive a crash than those sitting in the front, although this article also quotes Boeing, the FAA and a website on aircraft safety, all claiming that there is no safest seat. The article studied 20 crashes, not taking in account the developments in safety after those accidents.[34] However, a flight data recorder is usually mounted in the aircraft's empennage (tail section), where it is more likely to survive a severe crash.

Over 95% of people in U.S. plane crashes between 1983 and 2000 survived.[35]

The ASRS

The Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) collects voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident/situation reports from pilots, controllers and others. The ASRS uses reports to identify system deficiencies, issue alert messages, and produce two publication, CALLBACK, and ASRS Directline. The collected information is made available to the public, and is used by the FAA, NASA and other organizations working in research and flight safety.[36]

Statistics

Aircraft Crashes Record Office (ACRO)

The Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office (ACRO) compiles statistics on aviation accidents of aircraft capable of carrying more than six passengers, not including helicopters, balloons, or fighter airplanes. It should be noted that ACRO is not a government or official organization. The ACRO announced in 2008 that the year 2007 was the safest year in aviation since 1963p; in terms of number of accidents.[37] There had been 136 accidents registered (compared to 164 in 2006), resulting in a total of 965 deaths (compared to 1,293 in 2006). Since then, both 2009 and 2010 saw fewer registered accidents, 122 and 130, respectively. 2004 was the year with the lowest number of fatalities since the end of World War II, with 771 deaths. The year with most fatalities was 2001, with 4,140 deaths. Those numbers may be less than the total aircraft accidents fatalities as ACRO only considers accidents in which the aircraft has suffered such damage that it is removed from service.[38]

TWA Flight 800.
year deaths[39] # of accidents[40]
2011 828 117
2010 1,115 130
2009 1,103 122
2008 884 156
2007 971 147
2006 1,294 166
2005 1,459 185
2004 771 172
2003 1,230 199
2002 1,413 185
2001 4,140 200
2000 1,582 189
1999 1,138 211
Air accident fatalities recorded by ACRO 1918-2009
Air accident fatalities recorded by ACRO 1918-2009
Air accident incidents recorded by ACRO 1918-2009
Air accident incidents recorded by ACRO 1918-2009

Annual Aviation Safety Review (EASA)

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is tasked by Article 15(4) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 to provide an annual review of aviation safety.

The Annual Safety Review presents statistics on European and worldwide civil aviation safety. The statistics are grouped according to type of operation, for instance, commercial air transport, and aircraft category, such as aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders etc. The Agency had access to accident and statistical information collected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).[41] States are required, according to ICAO Annex 13 on Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, to report to ICAO information on accidents and serious incidents to aircraft with a maximum certificated take-off mass (MTOM) over 2250 kg. Therefore, most statistics in this review concern aircraft above this mass. In addition to the ICAO data, a request was made to the EASA Member States to obtain light aircraft accident data. Furthermore, data on the operation of aircraft for commercial air transport was obtained from both ICAO and the NLR Air Transport Safety Institute.[42]

Investigation

Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention provides the international Standards And Recommended Practices that form the basis for air accident and incident investigations by signatory countries, as well as reporting and preventative measures.[43] The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is specifically focused on preventing accidents, rather than determining liability.

Australia

In Australia, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air, sea, and rail travel. It was an agency of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, but in the interests of keeping its independence, in 2010 it became a stand alone agency.[44]

Brazil

In Brazil, the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) is the Military Organization of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) responsible for the activities of prevention of aircraft accidents, including the investigation of civil and military aviation occurrences.The CENIPA was formed in 1971 and represented a new philosophy where investigations are conducted with the sole purpose of promoting the "prevention of aeronautical accidents," in accordance with international standards.[45]

Canada

In Canada, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB/BST), is an independent agency responsible for the advancement of transportation safety through the investigation and reporting of accident and incident occurrences in all prevalent Canadian modes of transportation — marine, air, rail and pipeline.[46]

France

In France, the agency responsible for investigation of civilian air crashes is the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA). Its purpose is to establish the circumstances and causes of the accident and to make recommendations for their future avoidance.[47]

Germany

In Germany, the agency for investigating air crashes is the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU). It is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development.[48] The focus of the BFU is to improve safety by determining the causes of accidents and serious incidents and making safety recommendations to prevent recurrence.[49]

Italy

In Italy, the Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo (ANSV), created in 1999, has two main tasks: to conduct technical investigations for civil aviation aircraft accidents and incidents and issue safety recommendations as appropriate; and to conduct studies and surveys aimed at increasing flight safety. The organization is also responsible for establishing and maintaining the “voluntary reporting system.”. The ANSV is a public authority under the oversight of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy. It is not subject to the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.[50]

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), is responsible fo the investigation of air accidents.[51] "The Commission‟s purpose, as set out in its Act, is to determine the circumstances and causes of aviation, rail and maritime accidents and incidents with a view to avoiding similar occurrences in the future rather than to ascribe blame to any person."[52] The TAIC will investigate in accordance with annex 13 of the ICAO[53]

Russia

In Russia, the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) is an executive body overseeing the use and management of civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States. This Organization investigating air accident in the former USSR area by Air Accident Investigation Commission of the Interstate Aviation Committee.[54]

United States

In the United States, most civil aviation incidents are investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). When investigating an aviation disaster, NTSB investigators piece together evidence from the crash and determine the likely cause or causes. The NTSB will also investigate incidents which occur overseas in collaboration with local investigation authorities where the crash has involved a US-registered aircraft, where there has been significant loss of American lives, or when the type of aircraft involved is built by an American company.[55]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the agency responsible for investigation of civilian air crashes is the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the Department for Transport. Its purpose is to establish the circumstances and causes of the accident and to make recommendations for their future avoidance.[56]

Retirement of flight numbers

It is common for an airline to cease using the flight number after a fatal crash.[57] This is not always the case; see, for example, Japan Airlines 123, American Airlines Flight 1, Aeroflot Flight 593, Aero Flight 311, Iran Air Flight 655, United Airlines Flights numbered 608, 624, and 823, and Aer Lingus Flight 712.

See also

Lists of airliner accidents
Types of accidents
Lists of military aircraft accidents
Air safety
Aviation authorities
See also Civil Aviation Authority
Other

References

  1. ^ "International Investigation Standards". The Investigation Process Research Resource Site. 11 October 1994. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Wright Brothers - First Fatal Airplane Crash in 1908". About.com Inventors. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Definitions of Key Terms Used by AirSafe.com". AirSafe.com. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b Tonyleather. "The Deadliest Airplane Accidents in History". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  5. ^ Sebastien Freissinet. "The Tenerife crash-March 27th, 1977". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  6. ^ Kilroy. "Special Report: Japan Airlines Flight 123". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  7. ^ AviationSafetyNetwork. "Accident description". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  8. ^ AviationSafetyNetwork. [http:// http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19961112-1 "Accident description"]. Retrieved 7 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. ^ IFR English. "The 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision..." Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  10. ^ IFR English. "The 1996Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision..." Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  11. ^ AviationSafetyNetwork. "Accident description". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  12. ^ Touchton. "Recent Major Bomb Blasts and Terror Attacks in India". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  13. ^ AviationSafetyNetwork. "Accident description". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  14. ^ GI Korea. "Arrow Air Flight 1285: Canada's Worst Aviation Disaster Remains an American Mystery". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. ^ The Telegram. May 2012 "Arrow Air – 25 years later". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  16. ^ Iran Air 655, House Armed Services Hearing, 21 July 1992
  17. ^ Kilroy. "Special Report: American Airlines Flight 191". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  18. ^ David Young. "The crash of American Airlines Flight 191 near O'Hare". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  19. ^ "1983: Korean airliner 'shot down'". BBC News. 1 September 1983. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  20. ^ AirSafe.com. "Investigation of the Crash of American Airlines Flight 587". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  21. ^ a b AviationSafetyNetwork. "Accident description". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  22. ^ The Washington Post Company (19 May 1999). "The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  23. ^ The Learning Network. 21-1988-pan-am-flight-103-crashes-over-lockerbie-scotland/ "December 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 Crashes Over Lockerbie, Scotland". Retrieved 7 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  24. ^ The Washington Post Company (8 September 1998). "Security Rukes Tightened for U.S. Airlines Abroad". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  25. ^ AviationSafetyNetwork. "Accident description". Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  26. ^ Lewandowski (21 March 2002). "NTSB blames co-pilot for EgyptAir crash". CNN. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  27. ^ "How Things Work: Evacuation Slides". Air & Space Smithsonian. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  28. ^ "Advanced Avionics & GPS Instruction". Vector Sport Aviation. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  29. ^ "How Gas Turbine Engines Work". how stuffworks?. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  30. ^ "How Airplanes Work". how stuffworks?. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  31. ^ "Flying still the safest form of travel". BBC News. 8 May 2000. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  32. ^ "Flight into danger". New Scientist Space. 7 August 1999.
  33. ^ "The risks of travel". numberwatch.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 September 2001. Retrieved 26 January 2009. The website attributes the source as an October 2000 article by editor Roger Ford in the magazine Modern Railways and based on an unidentified DETR survey.
  34. ^ David Noland (18 July 2007). "Safest Seat on a Plane: PM Investigates How to Survive a Crash". Popular Mechanics.
  35. ^ Watt, Nick (17 January 2007). "Staying Alive During a Plane Crash". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Aviation Safety Reporting System". ASRS. 9 May 2012.
  37. ^ 2007 : excellent year for civil aviation Geneva, 1 January 2008
  38. ^ ACRO Presentation Retrieved 12 May 2012
  39. ^ Death number by year (ACRO)
  40. ^ Accident number by year (ACRO)
  41. ^ "European Aviation safety Agency". EASA. 9 May 2012.
  42. ^ http://www.nlr-atsi.nl
  43. ^ "Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation: Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation" (PDF). ICAO. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  44. ^ "Australian Transport Safety Bureau". Australian Government. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  45. ^ "Alternative Actions To Mitigate The Lack of Legislation To Protect Safety Information" (PDF). ICAO. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  46. ^ "Welcome to the TSB". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  47. ^ "BEA". BEA. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  48. ^ "German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation". German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  49. ^ "German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation". German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  50. ^ "ANSV". ANSV. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  51. ^ "Transport Accident Investigation Commission". TAIC. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  52. ^ http://www.taic.org.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=dZJEVt%2fHiTg%3d&tabid=203&language=en-NZ
  53. ^ http://www.taic.org.nz/Accidentinvestigation/Logicguidedecidingwhethertoopenaninquiry/tabid/224/language/en-US/Default.aspx
  54. ^ "Interstate Aviation Committee" (PDF). MAK. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  55. ^ "History of the National Transportation Safety Board". NTSB. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  56. ^ "AAIB". AAIB. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  57. ^ Grossman, David. "Check your travel superstitions, or carry them on?," USA Today

Bibliography

  • USAF & NATO Report RTO-TR-015 AC/323/(HFM-015)/TP-1 (2001).

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