What: Cessna
Where: Borneo Kalimantan, Indonesia
When: August 24, 2012
Who: 4 aboard
Why: A Cessna that had been chartered by Elliott Geophysics International took off from Temindung Airport is missing. Four people (three Indonesians and an Australian) were on the flight which was going to survey a Bontang coal mine. A search and rescue team has been deployed
What: LNP Saratoga Inc. Piper Saratoga was en route from Fort Yukon to Fairbanks
Where: Alaska
When: July 18, 2012 5 PM
Who: 2 aboard
Why: A plane owned by LNP Saratoga Inc and eased to the West Valley Flying Club of Palo Alto. disappeared from radar in Alaska on July 18.
The Air National Guard’s 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons were deployed and discovered the wreckage. Alaska State Troopers identified the 64-year-old pilot Stephen Knight and 60-year-old Gillian Knight of Queensland, Australia.
The pilots had been engaged in filing a “pop-up” Instrument Flight Rules Plan. The cloud cover was low.
Two other planes had been flying with the wrecked plane but each with a different route. The wreckage was located 63 kilometres north of Fairbanks.
Visibility hampered recovery operations on Wednesday but now the remains have been recovered and sent for autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office.
What: Universal Jet Aviation Grumman G-1159 Gulfstream IV
Where: Le Castellet Airport, France
When: July 13, 2012
Who: 3 aboard, 3 fatalities
Why: On the ferry flight from Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport to Le Castellet, after the pilot reported problems, on landing, the airplane skidded and overshot the end of the runway. The three victims were two men aged 24 and 61, and a 30 year old woman. All three—two pilots and a flight attendant—were U.S. citizens.
The airplane broke in two. The front part came to rest in a small pond; the rear part of the fuselage came to rest among trees. A photo from the crash scene shows the thrust reversers were deployed.
Witnesses reported a large cloud of smoke and flames emerging from the plane. 57 firefighters, EMS personnel, police and rescue teams from the airport responded to the scene.
Universal Jet Aviation operates out of Boca Raton, Fl.
What: PJ Helicopters Hughes MD500D turbine
Where: SW of Colusa
When: 10 27, 2011, 3 PM
Who: pilot
Why: Thursday Bradley Hall had ported electrical workers to a platform when the chopper failed, lost altitude and made what has been described as a crash and a hard controlled landing. It crashed in a field off Wescott Road at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.
Hughes was airlifted to Enlie Medical Center in Chico.
What: SAR Aviation Bell 407 helicopter en route from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, to Sahastradhara India
Where: Ladpur Jungle near Raipur, India
When: June 19, 2011
Who: 2 aboard, 0 fatalities
Why: One of the choppers hired for porting Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari and his family to Sahastradhara crashed, injuring a pilot and an engineer.
The weather was clear at the time of the crash, and a technical problem is presumed. Two of the three choppers in the party landed safely. The BJP chief and family were not aboard the Bell helicopter at the time of the crash.
The chopper broke in to pieces on impact and just missed Vigyan Vihar, a residential area. There were no casualties on the ground.
SAR is Swajas Aviation Company based in Chennai.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ignatius
What: TRENK Contracting Pty. Ltd. Piper PA-46-310P en route from Doolgunna to Meekatharra
Where: Meekatharra Airport Australia
When: June 15, 2011, 9:00 am
Who: Pilot and passenger
Why: The pilot and passenger in a piper that was flying from Doolgunna to Meekatharra are both hospitalized today, after crashing short of the Meekatharra runway.
The plane’s right wing and undercarriage were smashed, and the hood was lost. Meekatharra voluntary brigade reported a fuel spill but nothing that would cause a fire.
Both pilot and passenger only had minor injuries, and one was already discharged from Meekatharra Hospital. One injured party was flown to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth.
The crash is under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau who declined to make a statement.
What: N70FT Inc. Cessna 152 en route from Space Coast Aviation at the Merritt Island Airport
Where: Blue Cypress Lake, Indian River County, FL
When: June 9 2011
Who: 2 fatalities, Carly Beattie and Daniel Beattie
Why: A Cessna 152 chartered by Scottish visitors Carly Beattie and Daniel Beattie crashed in Indian River County southwest blue Cypress Lake. The plane crashed in mud and swampland in Blue Cypress Conservation area; the crash site is north of State Road 60 and east of Florida’s Turnpike, between Fellsmere and Yeehaw Junction, on land owned by the St. John’s River Water Management District. The rural area is home to venomous snakes and alligators, making recovery more difficult.
Carly was a student pilot, and not allowed to take passengers.
The plane apparently nosedived engine deep into the mud, splitting the fuselage behind the cockpit. The plane was lost on Thursday, reported Thursday at 11, and not found till Friday. Cell tower analysis helped to determine the location.
A crane will probably be used to recover the wreckage. An airboat was used to reach the site, and hikers were wearing waist-high boots. The NTSB is investigating.
What: Deccan Charters flight en route from Jamshedpur
Where: Kolkata
When: Dec 24, 2010, 12:50 pm
Who: 17 passengers, 3 crew
Why: While en route, the plane developed problems with an engine. The pilot informed ATC, and shut down one engine before safely making a landing at NSC Bose International airport.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Olaf Juergensmeier
What: Aerospatiale SA-341G Gazelle en route from Odessa to Nikolaev.
Where: Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
When: Dec 26, 2010
Who: 40 year old Pilot and 3 passengers
Why: While flying in thick fog, the helicopter crashed, killing the occupants. The passengers were girls between the ages of 18 and 22. The helicopter performed private flights for a luxury chalet in Dnipropetrovsk.
What: Geraldton Air Charters Beechcraft Bonanza
Where: Geraldton Australia
When: Dec 21, 2010 7:05 am
Who: Pilot
Why: On takeoff, the pilot crashed into a shed just beyond the end of the runway. The pilot survived. The plane appears to have developed problems on takeoff, did not get far off the ground, and its wing struck a shed across the road. Although the plane is a write-off, the pilot walked away.
