What: ultralight Where: Toobeah near Goondiwindi, Australia When: Jan 18 2010, 2.45pm Who: pilot Why: Near the border of Queensland and New South Wales, the helicopter struck powerlines and crashed. The area is affected by flooding and difficult to access by emergency services but Queensland Fire and Rescue crews (Four fire units, comprising 16 firefighters) are en route to the location at t Donovans Road, south of the Barwon Highway. The 65 year old pilot has been reported as a fatality.
What: Mostardas Aviacao Agrícola Embraer EMB-201 Ipanema while cropdusting Where: Bacopari Brazil on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul When: Jan 17, 2011 Who: 1 fatality Why: A cropduster (PT-GHP) crashed in Bacopari Brazil Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm. The pilot was flying over a farm near the district of Solitude and spraying a rice crop at the time of the incident. V Serviço Regional de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos is investigating,
What: Iran Air Boeing 727-200 en route from Tehran Mehrabad to Uromiyeh Where: Uromiyeh Iran When: Jan 9th 2011 7:45pm Who: 94 passengers and 12 crew (alternately reported as 93 passengers and 11 crew) Why: The weather was foggy and it was snowing. While on final approach to Urmia Airport runway 21 the crew had to perform a go-around, but five miles from the airport struck the mountainous area of Terman village.
The Deputy Minister of Roads and Transportation reported this as a crash during a forced landing outside the airport.
The impact shattered the plane. 33 were rescued by emergency responders and hospitalized. 73 bodies were recovered, including all 12 crew members. There are 77 confirmed dead (currently), 42 of whom have been identified.
What: Royal Saudi Air Force Eurocopter AS532M Cougar en route to Hawtah Bani Tamim Where: 22 miles south of Riyadh When: Jan 7 2011 Who: 4 passengers, 4 fatalities Why: While en route to pick up a patient in Hawtah Bani Tamim, the medical evacuation helicopter crashed.
Fatalities included pilot Capt. Khaled Al-Dakhil,First Lt. Mandeel Al-Subaihi, Egyptian doctor Amjad Al-Iraqi and the Filipino nurse
What: private Partenavia P.68C Victor plane en route from Caracas to Charallave, Venezuela Where: Lima Blanco, Western Venezuela When: Jan 7 2011 Who: 7 passengers: 6 fatalities, 10 year old girl survives Why: There were 7 passengers aboard when the Maiquetia control tower tracked the plane as heading to Cojedes.
The wreckage was found near Limo Blanco, in Cojedes. 4 adults and either one or two children died on the scene. A ten year old girl survived the crash and was taken to the San Carlos Hospital.
Pilot Said José Saldivia, Luis Oropeza, Edith Araujo, and Martha Araujo were the adults aboard the flight.
What: Jabiru J120-C en route from Swan Hill Airport to a private landing strip near Cullulleraine Where: Cullulleraine,Vic, Australia When: Jan 4, 2011 Who: 1 fatality Why: Pilot/surveyor Don Pedler crashed nose first near Murray River at Kulnine Station after possibly misjudging wind speed. The plane overshot the runway and crashed, destroying the front section and cockpit.
The pilot was known to camp out at shearer’s quarters in the area.
The Lake Cullulleraine fire brigade responded to the scene.
What: Cessna 172H Where: Staunton, Virginia When: Dec 31, 2010, 2 pm Who: 2 fatalities, 2 aboard. Why: AirCare 5, a medical-evacuation Eurocopter EC135 bumped off the Cessna’s left wing, after which the Cessna crashed, killing the two aboard.
The registered owner of the plane is Michael W. Price of Elkton, Va. The victims were Jason Allen Long, 32, of Edinburg, and Jacob Houston Kiser, 19, of Grottoes.
Three people, pilot Paul Weve, co-pilot and flight nurse Joseph Root and flight nurse Carolyn Booke were aboard the Eurocopter, which landed safely. They had just dropped off a patient at the University of Virginia Medical Center. PHI Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana owns the helicopter which is based at Weyers Cave Airport. The helicopter pilot has been praised in the media for making an amazing landing.
Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport is 30 miles northwest of Charlottesville. SHD is an “uncontrolled airport” with no air traffic control tower.
FAA:DESCRIPTION N385PH PHI INC AIRCARE FLIGHT 5 EUROCOPTER EC135 ROTORCRAFT COLLIDED MIDAIR WITH N2876L CESSNA C172 AIRCRAFT UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS IN N2876L CESSNA C172 AIRCRAFT WERE FATALLY INJURED WHEN IT CRASHED IN A FIELD, THE N385PH ROTORCRAFT LANDED WITH NO INJURIES, SHENANDOAH VALLEY REGIONAL AIRPORT, WEYERS CAVE, VA
What: Cessna 172H Where: Staunton, Virginia When: Dec 31, 2010, 2 pm Who: 2 fatalities, 2 aboard. Why: As the privately owned Cessna was departing Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, half of a mile from the airport, the plane grazed the top of AirCare 5, a medical-evacuation Eurocopter EC135 and the Cessna crashed, killing the two aboard.
The registered owner of the plane is Michael W. Price of Elkton, Va.
Three people, pilot Paul Weve, co-pilot and flight nurse Joseph Root and flight nurse Carolyn Booke were aboard the helicopter, which landed safely. They had just dropped off a patient at the University of Virginia Medical Center. PHI Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana owns the helicopter which is based at Weyers Cave Airport.
Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport is 30 miles northwest of Charlottesville. SHD is an “uncontrolled airport” with no air traffic control tower.
What: Russian Air Force Antonov 22A en route from Voronezh to Tver-Migalovo Where: Krasny Oktyabr, Tula Region, Russia When: Dec 28, 2010, 21:30 Who: 12 crewmembers (all fatalities) Why: After disappearing from radar at 21:30, the Russian military transport plane on a return flight after delivering a MiG-31 fighter jet to the Voronezh Military Aviation Engineering University crashed near Krasny Oktyabr, Tula Region, Russia. There was no cargo. The burning remains were sighted by air patrols on Tuesday at 23:36 four kilometres from the village of Troitskoye. Witnesses heard an explosion.
Two on site recovery teams hampered by a blizzard and brutal cold weather found that all 12 crew members had been killed. Russian reports speculate that the cause was engine failure. The Antonov is a military cargo turboprop.
The Russian military is grounding all planes with similar engines, pending determination of the cause of the crash.
What: Condor Aero 998 Commander AC 11 en route from Jasper to Jackson. Where: 15 to 20 miles southwest of Lander, near Christina Lake, at an elevation of about 11,700 feet in Wyoming Wind River Mountains When: Dec. 22 2010 Who: pilot Ralph Day, 56; his wife Doris Day, 52; and Connor Day, 12 Why: The Days operated the Day Forestry Appraisal and Management company, and left Jasper planning to visit Yellowstone and then Alaska for the Iditarod.
Day’s plane struck the top of a steep ridge three feet deep in snow. The plane was not reported missing, and was not located until a passing plane heard the beacon in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming,
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.
What: Windrose Air Jetcharter Hawker Beechcraft 390 Premier IA en route from Zagreb Croatia to St. Moritz Switzerland When: Dec 19 2010 Who: 2 aboard Why: A corporate jet scheduled eventually to fly to Rome aborted its landing and banked into a transformer in St. Moritz, bursting into flames. The German pilot and first officer did not survive the crash.
What: Beech 60 Duke en route from Brownwood Regional Airport, Texas to Colorado Where: 3 1/2 miles North of Edwards, Colorado When: Dec 15, 2010, 4:30 Who: 2 aboard, pilot Barton Harris and Jerry Hoggatt Why: While en route, the pilot lost radar contact with the Eagle County and Denver airports while making a final approach to the Eagle County Regional Airport in Eagle. Pilot, Barton Harris, 67, of Brownwood, Texas, and Jerry Hoggatt, 73, of Pelham, Alabama, were flying to ski in Colorado.
The wreckage was found by a National Guard OS58 helicopter crew 3.5 miles north of Edwards in steep terrain at an elevation of approximately 10,800 feet.
The plane is registered to Barton Harris of Brownwood, Texas.
Eagle County Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting, Eagle County Ambulance District, Eagle County Coroner’s Office, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle River Fire Protection District, Garfield Search and Rescue, Greater Eagle Fire Protection District, the Salvation Army, Summit County Search and Rescue, Vail Mountain Rescue, Vail Police Department and Western Eagle County Search and Rescue assisted in the recovery.
Harris had spent 12 years as a Navy aviator. Harris was co-founder of W.T. Harris Company, a service firm providing warehousing, transportation, assembly work and wooden pallets, crates and other products.
What: Pawan Hans Aérospatiale AS365 N3 Dauphin Where: Chandigarh Airport India When: Dec 16, 2010 Who: 2 pilots, S P S Brar and M S Brar Why: While en route to pick up a government official Punjab Industries Minister Manorajan Kalia to Mukerian in Hoshiarpur distric, after takeoff from Chandigarh Airport, the helicopter tilted and fell to the ground, and caught afire. The helicopter had been leased to the Indian government for the past 14 years.
The pilots managed to get out of the burning helicopter alive. They have been hospitalized at Western Command Hospital at Panchkula.
What: Monarch Aircraft Group (fort Lauderdale Florida) twin-engine Beechcraft 18 cargo plane en route from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau Where: Nassau When: December 14, 2010 Who: 2 passengers aboard Why: The cargo plane was en route to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport when it vanished from radar.
It crashed in the Atlantic, north of Nassau. A man’s body has been recovered. A U.S. Coast guard helicopter and 3 Royal Bahamas vessels are searching for the missing passenger. Neither has been identified.
We have said this all along–that it takes more than one catastrophic coincidence to take down a plane. And here we are supported now by the latest Polish investigation into the crash of the Polish Presidential plane.
In the case of that crash, the weather was bad. There was no possibility of safe landing. The investigation does not stop there. It goes on to cite a dozen mistakes, safety violations which led to the crash, including crew training, flight prep and rule violations.
What: Polish Air Force Tupolev TU-154M Where: Smolensk When: Apr 10th 2010 Who: 88 passengers and 8 crew Why: On approach to Smolensk North Airport in dense fog, the plane impacted a forest, coming to rest short of the runway. There are conflicting reports leading up to the decision to land at Smolensk (versus Minsk or Moscow), holding pattern, the number of approaches.
Everyone aboard the flight was lost, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers.
What: Mexico’s Atty General’s Office Bell 412 helicopter#HFJ XC Where: Veracruz, Mexico When: December 8, 2010, 16:30 Who: 4 fatalities, 11 aboard Why: While en route to Villa Aldama prison, the helicopter, carrying Pilot, copilot, six federal police, a prosecutor and two detainees crashed in bad weather, strong winds, low visibility. There were three fatalities on the scene, three injured. Later it was confirmed 4 guards were killed, the two pilots are in serious condition.
What: C Busre Swearingen SA-227 Metro III, en route from Jorge Chavez International Airport Lima to Andahuaylas Where: Andahuaylas Peru When: Nov 13 2010 Who: 17 passengers, 2 crew Why: The plane overran the runway while landing at Andahuaylas. The plane incurred significant damage while landing with an apparent left hand brake failure that skewed toward the downslope, but no one was reported injured.
What: Dagestan Airlines/South East Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 en route from Vnukovo to Makhachkala Russia Where: Domodedovo airport When: Saturday December 4, 2010 Who: 168 aboard including 8 crew (also reported as 155) Why: Shortly after South East Airlines Flight 372 took off from Moscow, two of the Tupolev’s three engines failed (14:28). At 14:41, the pilot requested an emergency landing, initially at Vnukovo then at Domodedovo airport. The third engine failed as the plane was attempting to land in snow and freezing rain. The plane overshot the runway, and is reported to have struck buildings although missing a fence. Passengers say the plane broke apart when the plane hit a hill. The plane’s nose smashed and the fuselage broke into three sections. No fire or explosion occurred.
The pilot Zakarzhi Zakarzhaev has flown 17 thousand hours and is considered the most professionally trained commander of Dagestan, likely one reason there are survivors.
Passengers did not evacuate via emergency chute or ladder. They had to jump from the cabin to the ground to evacuate the wounded.
Engine failure has been conjectured to be attributed to flawed aviation fuel (filters clogged with debris or ice) or lack of maintenance. The 18-year old tri-jet is powered by Soloviev D-30KU engines.
Two were killed on impact, 83 injured were taken to 5 hospitals. 19 of these were very severe injuries—the number of fatalities has increased to 12 and may rise higher.
The mother of a constitutional court judge, Gadisa Gadzhyeva, died in the accident; the brother of Dagestan President Magomedsalam Magomedov has been hospitalized. Seven of the victims taken to the central regional hospital. Three victims were delivered to the Clinical Hospital N83 Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia and one to CITO Pirogov Health Ministry of Russia. 25 victims were directed to the medical institutions of the Department of Health in Moscow. There were two children, one of them taken to the Morozov Children’s Hospital, the second is in children’s emergency surgery Roshal. Others are in Institute of Emergency Care Sklifosovsky, and in various Municipal Hospitals (64th, 7th, 13th, etc…)
Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika took on a special control of the investigation. Photos were forbidden, and a criminal case was opened. An interview of Federal Service for Supervision of Transport of Russia supervisors indicated that they will be looking into the administration of Dagestan Airlines.
In November 2009, a Dagestan engine failed; and in August 2008 an engine caught fire. Dagestan Airlines has adopted the brand name ‘South East Airlines.’ Dagestan Airlines is an airline based in Makhachkala, in Russia’s North Caucasus region. The airline’s scheduled, charter and cargo services operate domestic and international routes from its hub at Uytash Airport.
The Moscow hotline is Moscow: 363-61-01; Emergency psychological assistance for victims families is (495) 626-37-07.
The investigation shows that at an altitude of 9000 meters engines #1 and #3 failed. Analysis of the flight data recorder confirms the initial fluctuations in fuel supply to all three engines at an altitude of about 9000 meters, wjem engines 1 (left) and 3 (right) failed, Engine #2 was unstable as well recovered and ran until landing. First touchdown occurred at a vertical acceleration of 3.5G and vertical accelerations over 5.0G.The fuel pumps system is being dismantled, fuel samples were taken from the left engine and left fuel tank and are being analysed.
What: TransPac Aviation Academy Piper PA-28-181 training flight from Deer Valley Airport Where: Wittmann, Arizona When: Dec 1, 2010 Who: student pilot Why: A student pilot from Transpac Aviation academy was airlifted to John C Lincoln hospital with minor injuries after landing so hard in the desert that the wheels disengaged. The cause of the incident is unknown but under investigation.
In January, 24 year old Chinese TransPac student pilot Amy Zhai was killed in a 2002 single-engine Piper Archer crash near Deer Valley Airport.
What: NARZ Mi-8T helicopter RA-22376 en route from Kyshtovka Where: n the vicinity of the Krapivin oil field of OAO Tomskneft VNK in the Kargasoksky district When: November 25, 2010 12:12 Who: Eight killed, three injured Why: The helicopter carrying shift workers and 1.6 tons of cargo had been hovering over the landing site when an uncontrolled rotation of the aircraft began. The Mi-8 drifted for about 50 meters, tipped over to its side, collapsed and caught fire. A criminal case has been initiated, a violation of traffic safety and air transport operation regulations, entail the death of two or more persons by negligence.
The black box, previously reported as being missing, has been found.
What: Beechcraft A65 Queen Air en route from Basco, Batanes to Tuguegarao in Cagayan Where: Cagayan province in northern Luzon, Philippines When: Nov 29, 2010, 1:30 pm Who: 13 aboard Why: Pilots Captain Agustin Jose and Captain Benedict Dela Cruz manned the Beechcraft when both of the engines stopped at 300 feet. They crashed along the Cagayan River in Barangay San Vicente in Iguig town around 1:30 p.m. The flight skidded through a corn field into the Cagayan River shallows, landing 19 kilometers from the airport where it was was scheduled to gas up.
The plane landed on water, and like another flight we all remember, everyone got out of the plane and stood on the wings. Rescue arrived via boat within 20 minutes.
Passengers included Rustom Hontonia, Jack Castaño, Jovani Pahodpod, David Batan, Benedict John Acebes, Mae Jane Agcaoili, Harold Agito, Kate Vallentes, Mika Horkajo, Hana Horkajo and Yale Mark Elep. Agito, Acebes and Pahodpod are Boy Scouts. (Elementary students and their teachers were traveling to a Philippines activity in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur. ) Mika and Hana were five and three years old.
No one was hurt in the crash, which is under investigation.
What: 1968 Beechcraft Musketeer en route from Calexico to Torrance, Where: Upper Newport Harbor, NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. When: Nov 20, 2010 Who: Fatalities: 58-year-old Charles Alfred Chambers, 63-year-old Russell Urban of Palos Verdes Estate, 44-year-old Sean Kelly of Hermosa Beach. Why: Sunday Pilot Chambers was flying from Calexico on the U.S. Mexican border to Torrance, but diverted to John Wayne Airport when experiencing a fuel shortage. The plane crashed into the water off Newport Beach. The plane was recovered Monday.
What: FIT Aviation LLC Piper PA-44-180 Seminole en route back to Melbourne after flying to Grand Bahama. Where: Palm Beach International Airport When: Nov 11, 2010 after 6 PM. Who: 4 passengers, 4 fatalities Why: Taking off for a practice run, the plane suffered engine failure in its left engine, caught fire and the plane crashed. Three of those aboard were killed immediately; one was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach where he died later. The crash location is between the gates of terminals B and C east of the airport’s fire station. where most of the wreckage is covered in flame retardant.
The Piper had been operating since 2008
FIT is part of Melbourne’s Florida institute of Technology. A candlelight vigil was held Friday night at the Florida Institute of Technology campus for the four victims of Thursday’s plane crash.
Kristopher Joy Henegar, 22, of Memphis, Tenn., student
Dheni “Jenny” Frembling, 26, of Melbourne, instructor
Jordyn Agostini, 21, of Melbourne, student
Kyle Henegar, 26, Palm Bay, alumnus
According to the NTSB in this interview, “Engines quit all the time, it’s not just the engine”
