Air Transat Flight 236 was a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, that lost all engine power while flying over the Atlantic Ocean on August 24, 2001. The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel because of a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk DeJager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving the lives of all 306 people on board. Most of the passengers on the flight were Canadians visiting Europe or Portuguese expatriates returning to visit family in Portugal. This was also the longest passenger aircraft glide without engines, gliding for nearly 65 nautical miles. Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the "Azores Glider".
Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a particular desired attitude without the need for the operator to constantly apply a control force. This is done by adjusting the angle of the tab relative to the larger surface.
The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat, twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24.
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.
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.
Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 was a scheduled flight from Auckland to Palmerston North. On 9 June 1995, the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 aircraft crashed into the Tararua Range on approach to Palmerston North. The flight attendant and three passengers died as a result of the crash; the two pilots and 15 passengers survived.
Armavia Flight 967 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Armavia from Zvartnots International Airport, Zvarnots in Armenia to Sochi, a Black Sea coastal resort city in Russia. On 3 May 2006, the aircraft operating the route, an Airbus A320-200, crashed into the sea while attempting a go-around following its first approach to Sochi airport; all 113 aboard were killed. The accident was the first major commercial airline crash in 2006. It was Armavia's only fatal accident during the airline's existence.
Birgenair Flight 301 was a flight chartered by Turkish-managed Birgenair partner Alas Nacionales from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic to Frankfurt, Germany, via Gander, Canada, and Berlin, Germany. On 6 February 1996, the Boeing 757-200 operating the route crashed shortly after take-off from Puerto Plata's Gregorio Luperón International Airport, killing all 189 people on board. The cause was pilot error after receiving incorrect airspeed information from one of the pitot tubes, which investigators believe was blocked by a wasp nest built inside it. The aircraft had been sitting unused for 20 days, and without pitot tube covers in place for the two days preceding the crash.
KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 was a Saab 340B, registered as PH-KSH, which crashed during an emergency landing on 4 April 1994 and killing 3 occupants, including the captain. Flight 433 was a routine scheduled flight from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The accident was caused by inadequate pilot training and a faulty sensor, leading to loss of control during go-around.
British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, to Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, an 8,100-kilometre trip. On 17 January 2008, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft operating the flight crashed-landed short of the runway at Heathrow. Of the 152 people on board, no fatalities resulted, but 47 people were injured, 1 of them seriously. The aircraft was written off, becoming the first hull loss of a Boeing 777.
On 4 September 2000, a chartered Beechcraft 200 Super King Air departed Perth for a flight to the mining town of Leonora, Western Australia. The aircraft crashed near Burketown, Queensland, Australia, resulting in the deaths of all eight occupants. During the flight, the aircraft climbed above its assigned altitude. When air traffic control (ATC) contacted the pilot, the pilot's speech had become significantly impaired, and he was unable to respond to instructions. Three aircraft intercepted the Beechcraft, but were unable to make radio contact. The aircraft continued flying on a straight north-easterly heading for five hours, before exhausting its fuel and crashing 65 km (40 mi) south-east of Burketown. The crash became known in the media as the "ghost flight".
XL Airways Germany Flight 888T (GXL888T) was an acceptance flight for an Airbus A320 on 27 November 2008. The aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, 7 km off Canet-en-Roussillon on the French coast, close to the Spanish border, killing all seven people on board. The subsequent investigation attributed the accident to incorrect maintenance procedures that allowed water to enter and freeze in the angle-of-attack sensors during flight, rendering them inoperative, combined with the crew's attempt to perform a test at a dangerously low altitude.
Colgan Air Flight 3407 was a scheduled passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey, US to Buffalo, New York, US on February 12, 2009. Colgan Air staffed and maintained the aircraft used on the flight that was scheduled, marketed, and sold by Continental Airlines under its Continental Connection brand. The aircraft, a Bombardier Q400, entered an aerodynamic stall from which it did not recover and crashed into a house at 6038 Long Street in Clarence Center, New York at 10:17 pm EST, killing all 49 passengers and crew on board and one person inside the house.
Dana Air Flight 0992 was a scheduled Nigerian domestic passenger flight from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria. On 3 June 2012, the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft serving the route suffered a dual-engine failure during its approach to Lagos. It failed to reach its intended destination and crashed into apartment buildings, killing all 153 people on board and six on the ground. With 159 deaths, it remains the deadliest commercial airliner crash in Nigerian history since the Kano air disaster in 1973.
Aeroflot Flight 03 was a passenger flight from Vnukovo Airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport via Khabarovsk Airport. On 3 September 1962 the Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104 lost control after the airframe started vibrating, resulting in the plane rolling and yawing several times at an altitude of 4,500 meters before crashing. The aircraft crashed into a swamp, some 90 kilometers away from Khabarovsk. At the time, it was the deadliest crash in the history of Soviet aviation.
Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949 was a Russian domestic passenger flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Khabarovsk, that crashed on 7 December 1995 local time, killing all ninety-eight people aboard. The crash occurred after the aircraft had entered into a steep downward spiral during automated flight at an altitude of 10,600 metres (34,800 ft).
Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Iranian capital Tehran Mehrabad International Airport to Tabas, South Khorasan province, Iran. On 10 August 2014, the HESA IrAn-140 twin turboprop serving the flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Mehrabad International Airport, falling into a boulevard near the Azadi Stadium. Of the 42 passengers and six crew on board, 40 people died.
Propair Flight 420 (PRO420) was a domestic charter flight from Montreal, Quebec to Peterborough, Ontario. The flight was carried out by Propair, a charter airline based in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, using a Fairchild Metroliner SA226. On 18 June 1998, the aircraft suffered an in-flight fire shortly after take-off from Dorval and the crew elected to conduct an emergency landing at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport. The intense heat of the fire caused a structural failure in the left wing during the landing and the aircraft crashed, resulting in the deaths of all 11 passengers and crew on board.
Loganair Flight 6780 was a scheduled domestic flight from Aberdeen Airport to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. On 15 December 2014, the Saab 2000 operating the flight was struck by lightning during the approach, and then plunged faster than the aircraft's maximum operating speed. The aircraft came within 1,100 feet (340 m) of the North Sea before the pilots recovered and returned to Aberdeen. All 33 passengers and crew were unharmed.
