Alitalia flight AZ-1637 made a safe landing at Bari International Airport-Karol Wojtyla, Bari, Italy, on October 26.
The Airbus A320-200, flying from Linate Airport, Milan, Italy, sustained damage to one of its flaps due to bird strike.
The plane landed safely.
No one was injured.
Aeroflot flight SU-1936 had to divert for an emergency landing in Kazan, Russia, on July 15th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russia, to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, was diverted after the crew received a cargo smoke indication.
The plane landed safely. There were one hundred and seventeen people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Air New Zealand flight NZ-443 made an emergency landing in Auckland, New Zealand, on September 10th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Wellington, New Zealand, but had to turn back due to a lightning strike.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Air Dolomiti flight EN-8219 made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on June 4th.
The plane flying from Bari, Italy, was descending toward Munich when the crew noticed a hydraulic failure and advised that they might blow tires upon landing.
The plane subsequently landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Cezar Britto, president of The Order of Lawyers of Brazil said it was “a tragedy waiting to happen,” echoing public opinion. “What exploded in Cagonhas was not just the TAM airbus and almost 200 victims but the credibility of the Brazilian aviation system.”
Cagonhas is notorious for its short, dangerous runway.
“The runway was as slippery as soap,” a pilot confessed.
Rescuers pulled 181 bodies from the twisted metal wreckage and rubble. Five people are listed as missing. 11 are hospitalized. No passengers survived.
Relatives gathered to identify the remains amid calls for authorities to improve airport safety.
The crash is the latest of a series of airline disasters. The main runway had been resurfaced last month, but more work was scheduled to allow for better water drainage.
“Control tower operators had warned the runway should be closed,” said Sergio Olivera, who heads the Federation of Air Controllers.
Footage of landing showed the aircraft travelling at high speed–the Airbus took only three seconds as opposed to the usual 11 to traverse the runway then disappeared after skidding off the left side of the runway. Then a ball of flame filled the sky.
An investigation has been ordered. One of the black boxes has been recovered.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning. Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow.
In February a judge banned Fokker 100, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737/700 jetliners from the airport but the ruling was overturned in appeals.
Joseph Debattista
What: Goma Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Where: Dolpa Airport, Nepal
When: Dec 2, 2012
Who: 2 aboard, no fatalities
Why: A Goma Air Flight from Nepalganj Airport to Dolpa suffered a blown tire when landing at 10:00 a.m. at Jufal Airport.
The plane was carrying cargo from Nepalgunj.
Two crew members, Sanjiv Shrestha and Prajjwal Bhattarai were aboard the flight. There were no passengers aboard and the plane suffered slight damage. Goma Air sent in flight engineers to make repairs. Airport services were temporarily suspended while the plane was on the runway.
A blown tire is more along the lines of a hard landing rather than a “crash” as we have seen reported.
Condor Airlines flight DE-2291 had to reject take off from Cape Town, South Africa, on November 20th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane was accelerating to take off for Frankfurt, Germany, when the crew reported a bird strike and rejected take off.
The emergency services had to cool down the right hand brakes as the plane vacated the runway.