A small plane crashed in Cochise County, Arizona, on October 19th.
The single-engine plane went down near Interstate 10 and the Safford exit.
The pilot, who is believed to be the only one aboard, was killed in the crash.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the incident.
A military helicopter crashed on top of two vehicles in Oaxaca, Mexico, on February 16th.
The incident happened when the helicopter, carrying officials including Mexican Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete Prida and Oaxaca’s governor Alejandro Murat, was attempting to land at an airfield in Santiago Jamiltepec.
All the occupants survived the crash, however, thirteen people on the ground were killed.
The officials on-board the helicopter were surveying damage caused by the recent earthquake.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 flight from New York City to San Francisco
Where: Buffalo Niagara International Airport
When: Nov 27, 2011
Who: 713 passengers
Why: After having taken off from JFK, the flight developed smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots diverted to Buffalo, where they made a safe landing. No injuries were reported.
American Airlines routed another plane in to pick up the passengers. In the meantime, passengers were put up overnight in a hotel.
On an unrelated note, the CEO of American Airlines, CEO Gerard Arpey, stepped down. After a meeting in NY on Monday, the company is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Operations of the airline will continue as usual, and frequent fliers will not be affected. However, some jobs will be cut. American Eagle also filed for bankruptcy, delaying its spin off from American.
On October 29, 2013, a Windsor Flying Club Cessna 172R Skyhawk crash landed at Nashville International Airport, killing the pilot. There was dense fog early Tuesday morning when the crash occurred, and the airport was closed. The crash occurred some time between 2:00 a.m. (the final sweep of the runways) and its discovery at 8:45 a.m. by a taxiing jet pilot.
The plane is one of three belonging to Canada’s Windsor Flying Club school fleet.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said that the plane sat on the runway for hours before it was discovered Tuesday morning. The crash apparently occurred Monday night. Metro Police, Metro Fire and Metro OEM, the medical examiner, and an accident investigator from National Transportation Safety Board responded belatedly. The accident occurred on Runway 2, which was closed on discovery of the wreckage. Operations at the rest of the airport continued as usual.
The FAA is on the scene. The pilot was in his mid forties, was night-rated but not instrument-rated (i.e. he was not cleared to fly in low visibility like the dense fog that blanketed Nashville.) His name has not been released. He rented the plane from Monday 8.pm. to Tuesday noon.
The investigation has not yet determined if the pilot made the required contact with ATC. The plane as no flight data recorder but it does have gps and current instrumentation.
As reported yesterday by Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA), a small single-engine Cessna-172 crashed at Nashville International Airport on Tuesday, October 29, 2013. The Airport Emergency Plan requires MNAA to notify the National Transportation Safety Board in the event of an accident and the NTSB begins an investigation to determine the probable cause of the accident and other facts related to it. This investigation is now underway and the NTSB will issue a preliminary report in 10 days and a final report in 9 – 12 months.
Importantly, the time of the crash has not been determined and reports to the contrary are not factual. These facts will be determined as part of the NTSB investigation.
Following is a statement from MNAA:
“The MNAA’s top priority is the safety and security of all operations at the airport. As an FAA certificated airport, MNAA is required to comply with the FAA’s safety standards. MNAA has long maintained a strong record of safety and follows stringent federal safety regulations. We are inspected annually by FAA safety inspectors to ensure compliance. We uphold these regulations every day, including yesterday. We have inspectors and crash, fire and rescue personnel on duty 24 hours per day, 365 days per year to respond in the event of any emergency.
“MNAA is working collaboratively with the FAA and NTSB as they investigate the accident and determine the facts. It would be premature to comment about any facts involving this accident until the NTSB completes its investigation. All of us at the airport express heartfelt condolences to the family of the pilot involved in this accident.”
What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
Where: Ventura Iowa
When: Jan 2 2013
Who: 3 Fatalities
Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route Mason City to Emmetsburg to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau.
A single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee crashed at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Missouri, at around 7 p.m. on March 1.
The incident happened when the plane was attempting touch-and-go landings at the airport. Authorities said the aircraft loss power before it went down near the Missouri River.
There were 2 people aboard at the time of accident; the pilot remained unharmed while his female passenger broke her arm. She was taken to hospital.
The accident is being investigated.
What: Ponderosa Aviation Inc. Rockwell Commander 690A en route from Mesa, Ariz to Safford, Arizona
Where: Apache Junction, Pinal County, AZ
When: Nov 23, 2011
Who: 6 fatalities
Why: On a thanksgiving flight that took off at 6:15, the pilot was flying to Safford and struck a rockface at the Superstition mountains. The children’s mother, Karen Perry, was not aboard. The fuselage is jammed between rocks.
The victims of the crash included Joseph Hardwick, 22, mechanic; pilot and aircraft owner Russell Hardy, 31; pilot Shawn Perry, 39; and Perry’s three children, Morgan, 9, Logan, 8, and Luke, 6.
The plane had just left Mesa’s Falcon Field when it crashed. It is a six hour hike from a campground to the wreckage. A ten member sheriff’s rescue team was flown in by chopper, and hiked down from a mountaintop.
The flight path that the pilot took is a controversial one. The FAA redesignated Phoenix airspace, raising the floor altitude for commercial traffic at almost the same height as the tallest peak in the Superstitions (5,057 feet). Planes such as this one flying east from Mesa’s Falcon Field must either go around the peak or request permission to enter commercial airspace to fly above it.
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