American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, to Las Américas International Airport, Santo Domingo. On November 12, 2001, the Airbus A300B4-605R flying the route crashed into the neighborhood of Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula of Queens, New York City, shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people aboard, as well as five people on the ground. It is the second-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history, behind the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 in 1979, and the second-deadliest aviation incident involving an Airbus A300, after Iran Air Flight 655.
United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board the Boeing 737 were killed on impact.
Air Midwest Flight 5481 was a Beechcraft 1900D on a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina. On the morning of January 8, 2003, the Beechcraft stalled while departing Charlotte Douglas International Airport and crashed into an aircraft hangar, killing all 21 passengers and crew aboard and injuring one person on the ground.
USAir Flight 5050 was a passenger flight that crashed on takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. As the plane took off from LaGuardia's runway 31, the plane drifted to the left. After hearing a loud bang, the pilots attempted to reject the takeoff, but were unable to stop the plane short of the end of the runway. The plane continued past the end of the runway and plunged into Bowery Bay. Two passengers were killed.
Aircraft upset is an unacceptable condition, in aircraft operations, in which the aircraft flight attitude or airspeed is outside the normally intended limits. This may result in the loss of control (LOC) of the aircraft, and sometimes the total loss of the aircraft itself. Loss of control may be due to excessive altitude for the airplane's weight, turbulent weather, pilot disorientation, or a system failure.
A gust lock on an aircraft is a mechanism that locks control surfaces and keeps open aircraft doors in place while the aircraft is parked on the ground and non-operational. Gust locks prevent wind from causing unexpected movements of the control surfaces and their linked controls inside the aircraft, as well as aircraft doors on some aircraft; otherwise, wind gusts could cause possible damage to the control surfaces and systems, or to nearby people, cargo, or machinery. Some gust locks are external devices attached directly to the aircraft's control surfaces, while others are attached to the relevant flight controls inside the cockpit.
During the 1990s, a series of issues affecting the rudder of Boeing 737 passenger aircraft resulted in multiple incidents. In two separate accidents, pilots lost control of their aircraft due to a sudden and unexpected rudder movement, and the resulting crashes killed everyone on board, 157 people in total. Similar rudder issues led to a temporary loss of control on at least one other Boeing 737 flight before the cause of the problem was ultimately identified.
On June 9, 1996, while operating a passenger flight from Trenton, New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia, the crew of Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 temporarily lost control of their Boeing 737-200 because of a rudder malfunction. The crew were able to regain control and land the aircraft successfully. All 53 occupants on board the 737-200 survived with no injuries.
Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was a Continental Airlines domestic flight from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On the evening of December 20, 2008, the flight crashed while taking off from Denver, resulting in two critical injuries, 36 noncritical injuries, and a hull loss of the Boeing 737-524 aircraft.
The Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Ford Center. Evansville's athletics teams were originally known as the Pioneers in the early part of the 1900s. In the 1920s, the name Aces arose after a local sports writer wrote in a game story of the men's basketball team, "They played like Aces." The team has been known as the Aces and/or Purple Aces ever since. Evansville has won five Division II national championships.
Colgan Air Flight 9446 was a repositioning flight operated by Colgan Air for US Airways Express. On August 26, 2003, the Beechcraft 1900D crashed into water 300 feet (91 m) offshore from Yarmouth, Massachusetts, shortly after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis. Both pilots were killed.
USAir Flight 427 was a scheduled flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, with a stopover at Pittsburgh International Airport. On Thursday, September 8, 1994, the Boeing 737 flying this route crashed in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania while approaching Runway 28R at Pittsburgh, which was USAir's largest hub at the time.
Throughout a normal flight, a pilot controls an aircraft through the use of flight controls including maintaining straight and level flight, as well as turns, climbing, and descending. Some controls, such as a "yoke" or "stick" move and adjust the control surfaces which affects the aircraft's attitude in the three axes of pitch, roll, and yaw. Other controls include those for adjusting wing characteristics and those that control the power or thrust of the propulsion systems. The loss of primary control systems in any phase of flight is an emergency. Aircraft are not designed to be flown under such circumstances; however, some pilots faced with such an emergency have had limited success flying and landing aircraft with disabled controls.
On 7 July 2013, a single-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, operated by air charter company Rediske Air, crashed on take-off at Soldotna Airport, Alaska. The sole crewmember and all nine passengers on board were killed. The crash was attributed to improper loading.
On October 30, 2014, a Beechcraft King Air B200 twin turboprop crashed into a building hosting a FlightSafety International (FSI) training center shortly after taking off from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kansas. The pilot, the only person on board, was killed along with three people in the building; six more people in the building were injured.
The 1972 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash was an aviation accident that occurred on December 31, 1972, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. As a result of inadequate maintenance, the aircraft's No. 2 engine failed after takeoff. After initiating a turn to return to the airport, the aircraft eventually descended into, or attempted to ditch into, the ocean a mile offshore. All five people on board died, including baseball legend Roberto Clemente. The crash site was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 was a regularly scheduled flight on December 27, 1968, originating from Sioux Falls Regional Airport to O'Hare International Airport connecting through Sioux Gateway Airport that crashed shortly after takeoff. The plane struck the ground about 500 feet beyond the end of the runway and came to a stop about 1200 ft from the end of the runway. Thirty-five of the flight's 64 passengers and four crew members were taken to area hospitals, mostly for treatment of minor cuts and scratches. The flight was piloted by Capt. Patrick G. Sweeney, 48, of Wood River, IL. The copilot was John T. Schmeltz, 33, of St. Louis.
The 1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by first-time head coach Bobby Watson after the departure of Arad McCutchan, who had spent the previous 31 years as coach of the program. Former Purple Aces player Jerry Sloan had previously accepted an offer to become the new head coach but left following five days with the team. The season was the Purple Aces' first time playing in NCAA Division I after years of success in NCAA Division II competition.
The 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1977, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 27, 1978, at The Checkerdome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Kentucky Wildcats won their fifth NCAA national championship with a 94–88 victory over the Duke Blue Devils.
