What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 Flight JJ3054
Where: Sao Paulo Brazil Congonhas airport
When: July 17, 2007
Who: 199 fatalities
Why: Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology 16-month investigation places blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety. Government failure to set rainy-day landing rules for the short runway whose new surface had not yet been grooved to drain rainwater.
NTSB Factual
NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
Scheduled 14 CFR operation of TAM Linhas Aéreas
Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration: PR-MBK
Injuries: 199 Fatal.
On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.
The plane struck two vehicles in the driveway. Under investigation. 50 homes are out of power as a result of the crash. The plane struck a series of power lines prior to crashing into two vehicles parked in a nearby driveway.
The Learjet departed San Luis Potosà (SLP) at 18:04 on a flight to Mexico City (MEX). On board were a.o. Mexican Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, Deputy Attorney General Josi Luis Santiago Vasconcelos and Miguel Monterubio Cubas, the director of social communication.
The flight was uneventful and the Learjet passed LUCIA VOR at 18:40 and ATIZAPAN VOR at 18:42. It passed SAN MATEO VOR at 18:44, at an altitude of 11000 feet and an airspeed of 262 kts. It was trailing a Boeing 767-300 (Mexicana Flight 1692 from Buenos Aires). At 18:45 hours the aircraft was instructed to switch to the Tower frequency which the pilot acknowledged but never contacter Mexico Tower. At 18:46 the flight was observed approaching runway 05L. The last radar position of the aircraft was 7.5 miles from the Mexico VOR on the 256 radial, at an altitude of 9700 feet at 185 kts airspeed.
The airplane crashed on the Avenida Reforma and caught fire. Several cars were destroyed and at least five people on the ground were killed.
What: Learjet 45 flown by the Mexican government en route from San Luis Potosà Airport (SLP/MMSP) to Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport
Where: Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City
When: 04 NOV 2008
Who: Passengers included:
Why: At 18:45, although the aircraft was instructed to switch to the Tower frequency, the pilot acknowledged but never contacted the Mexico Tower. The Learjet then crashed on the Avenida Reforma and caught fire. Several cars were destroyed and at least five people on the ground were killed.
Voice Data Recorder Excerpts
Pilot: That one’s got some turbulence.
Co-pilot: Hey man.
Pilot: Hey [expletive].
Pilot: Alvaro, what do we do, Alvaro?
Co-pilot: Hand it over to me, hand it over to me, hand it over to me.
Pilot: It’s yours Alvaro.
Pilot: [expletive]
Pilot: No, Alvaro.
Co-pilot: Diosito.
What: Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 Flight VS06 en route from Miami to London
Where: Wilmington International Airport, NC
When: Thursday night
Who: 350
Why: Crew members felt heat coming from the plane’s floor and made an emergency landing. The problem may have been caused by an overheated toilet pump
What: LIAT flight 544 de Haviland Dash 8 -311 en route from Nevis (leaving at 5:30pm) to RLB International Airport, St. Kitts
Where: emergency stop in Antigua
When: Wednesday night (Nov. 12)
Who: 42 passengers
Why: The control panel indicated problems, so that the plane diverted to Antigua. (The landing gear was activated but the control panel said otherwise.) The flight landed at 7:00 after circling for some time.
What: single-engine Piper Cherokee en route from Illinois to Florida
Where: near the Tuscaloosa County Airport near Upper Columbus Road and Boyd Road northwest of Lake Lurleen near Echola
When: 2 pm Thursday
Who: four people aboard with minor injuries
Why: Under investigation. A passenger was able to call 911. Minor injuries but no one was killed
What: missing Piper Cherokee registered to Douglas Bowles of Hesperia
Where: mountainside in the San Gorgonio Wilderness
When: Flight disappeared Monday
Who: four occupants: Douglas Bowles of Hesperia, and his passengers Joshua Chlebek, 28, David Helland, 60, and Oludare Akinwunmi, 29.
Why: On 2:30 p.m. Monday a sheriff’s helicopter pilot spotted a wreckage. Searchers rappelled down to it; no survivors have been found.
Released by the Pentagon Channel: air traffic control recordings of fatal Hawaii Coast Guard helicopter crash.
The rear rotor assembly was cutoff at mid-shaft. The news organization calls this incident a “hard landing”
What: Rotorway Executive 162F experimental helicopter
Where: north end of the airfield at Summit Aviation
When: November 9, 2008
Who: Amanda Randall, 51, of Fenwick Island
Why: While flying a few feet off the ground, the helicopter flipped on its side. Randall sustained a non-fatal head injury.
