United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine due to an unnoticed manufacturing defect in the engine's fan disk, which resulted in the loss of all flight controls. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 112 died during the accident, while 184 people survived. Thirteen of the passengers were uninjured. It was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in the history of United Airlines.
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of aircraft and aviation infrastructure. The aviation industry is subject to significant regulation and oversight.
The Aero Commander 500 family is a series of light-twin piston-engined and turboprop aircraft originally built by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s, renamed the Aero Commander company in 1950, and later a division of Rockwell International in 1965. Final production occurred under the Gulfstream Aerospace name. The initial production version was the 200 mph, seven-seat Aero Commander 520. An improved version, the 500S, manufactured after 1967, is known as the Shrike Commander. Larger variants are known by numerous model names and designations, ranging up to the 330 mph, 11-seat Model 695B/Jetprop 1000B turboprop. As of recent, the Aero Commander is known as the Twin Commander.
The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring larger regional jets, then-owner Raytheon ended production in October 2002.
In aviation, pilot error generally refers to an action or decision made by a pilot that is a substantial contributing factor leading to an aviation accident. It also includes a pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper action. Errors are intentional actions that fail to achieve their intended outcomes. The Chicago Convention defines the term "accident" as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft [...] in which [...] a person is fatally or seriously injured [...] except when the injuries are [...] inflicted by other persons." Hence the definition of "pilot error" does not include deliberate crashing.
American Airlines Flight 157, a Douglas DC-6, departed on November 29, 1949, from New York City bound for Mexico City with 46 passengers and crew. After one engine failed in mid-flight, a series of critical mistakes by the flight crew caused the pilot to lose control of the plane during the final approach to a routine stopover at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. The airliner slid off the runway and struck a parked airplane, a hangar, and a flight school before crashing into a business across from the airport. 26 passengers and two flight attendants died. The pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, and 15 passengers survived.
In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or incorrect operation, leading to loss of power or engine stoppage. There is still fuel in the tank(s), but it is unable to get to the engine(s) in sufficient quantity. By contrast, fuel exhaustion is an occurrence in which the vehicle in question becomes completely devoid of usable fuel, with results similar to those of fuel starvation.
Kuopio Airport is an airport in Rissala, Siilinjärvi, Finland, about 14 kilometres (9 mi) north of Kuopio city centre. It is the fifth busiest airport in Finland, as measured by the number of passengers, approximately 235,000 in 2017.
A turbine engine failure occurs when a gas turbine engine unexpectedly stops producing power due to a malfunction other than fuel exhaustion. It often applies for aircraft, but other turbine engines can also fail, such as ground-based turbines used in power plants or combined diesel and gas vessels and vehicles.
On September 16, 2011, The Galloping Ghost, a highly modified North American P-51D Mustang racing aircraft, crashed into spectators while competing at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada, killing the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, and ten people on the ground. Sixty-nine more people on the ground were injured. It was the third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history, following accidents in 1972 and 1951.
In aeronautics, loss of control (LOC) is the unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight and is a significant factor in several aviation accidents worldwide. In 2015 it was the leading cause of general aviation accidents. Loss of control may be the result of mechanical failure, external disturbances, aircraft upset conditions, or inappropriate crew actions or responses.
Aero Flight 217 was a domestic passenger flight from Helsinki, Finland, to Mariehamn in the autonomous territory of Åland, operated by the Finnish flag carrier Aero O/Y. On 8 November 1963, the aircraft serving the flight crashed in poor visibility while attempting to land on a non-precision approach at Mariehamn Airport in the municipality of Jomala, resulting in the deaths of 22 people out of 25 on board. The crash remains the second deadliest aviation accident in Finland, the first being Aero Flight 311 almost two years earlier.
FedEx Express Flight 630 was a regular scheduled cargo flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee. On July 28, 2006, the McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F operating the flight, crashed upon landing due to a landing gear failure. The main left undercarriage collapsed seven seconds after touchdown causing the MD-10 to roll off the runway out of control. The aircraft finally came to a stop near taxiway M4 and caught fire. The fire consumed the wing and port engine and the crash and evacuation left everyone onboard injured.
British Airways Flight 2276 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to London, England. On 8 September 2015, the Boeing 777-200ER operating the flight suffered an uncontained engine failure and fire in the left (#1) GE90 engine during take-off from Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, prompting an aborted take-off and the evacuation of all passengers and crew. All 170 people on board survived, but 20 occupants were injured.
On October 28, 2016, FedEx Express Flight 910, a McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F flying from Memphis International Airport to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport was involved in a runway skid after a landing gear collapse, which resulted in a fire completely destroying the left engine and wing. No one was killed, however, the captain suffered minor injuries.
Southwest Airlines Flight 3472 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight operating from New Orleans International Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana to Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida. On August 27, 2016, the Boeing 737-7H4, with 99 passengers and five crew, 12 minutes after departure from New Orleans, was climbing through 31,000 feet and heading east over the Gulf of Mexico when the aircraft's number one CFM International CFM56-7 engine suffered an engine failure. A fan blade in the engine broke due to a fatigue crack. The separated portion of the blade rotated within the engine, moving forward, striking the engine inlet. Debris from the damaged engine inlet punctured the left side of the fuselage causing a loss of cabin pressure and damaged the wing and empennage. Oxygen masks were deployed to passengers while the crew initiated an emergency descent to 10,000 feet. The aircraft then diverted to Pensacola International Airport for a safe landing about 20 minutes later without further incident. While the aircraft sustained substantial damage, there were no injuries.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was a Boeing 737-700 that experienced a contained engine failure in the left CFM International CFM56 engine after departing from New York–LaGuardia Airport en route to Dallas Love Field on April 17, 2018. The engine cowl was broken in the failure, and cowl fragments damaged the fuselage, shattering a cabin window and causing explosive depressurization of the aircraft. Other fragments caused damage to the wing. The crew carried out an emergency descent and diverted to Philadelphia International Airport. One passenger was partially ejected from the aircraft and sustained fatal injuries, while eight other passengers sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged and written off as a result of the accident.
On February 20, 2021, United Airlines Flight 328 (UA328/UAL328), a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Denver to Honolulu, suffered what was technically ruled a contained engine failure despite shedding large pieces of debris, approximately four minutes after takeoff from Denver International Airport (DEN). Parts departing from the engine cowling of the Boeing 777-222 aircraft resulted in a debris field at least 1 mile (1.6 km) long over suburban residential areas of Broomfield, Colorado. Falling debris was recorded by eyewitnesses using smartphone cameras and a dash cam. Debris fell through the roof of a private home and significantly damaged a parked vehicle.
Formosa Airlines Flight 7623 was a scheduled domestic flight from Hsinchu to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. On 18 March 1998, the Saab 340 operating the flight crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff in a severe right bank, killing all 13 occupants on-board. The investigation determined that the failure of a crucial electrical system, combined with flying in total darkness and a low cloud ceiling, led to the loss of control of the aircraft.
