See article "Double Standards"
Accident data come from Flight International's own research and from Airclaims' World Airline Accident Summary (WAAS)*, a quarterly updated analytical record of accidents and incidents worldwide since 1945. The WAAS, a UK Civil Aviation Authority publication, benefits from Airclaims' exclusive information exchange with the CIS Interstate Aviation Committee Commission for Flight Safety. The WAAS now lists accidents by operator and location, as well as by type of occurrence and aircraft type.
Airline accident and incident information supplied by the Aviation Department of Lloyds of London, the international insurance market, is also gratefully acknowledged.
Although details of non-fatal incidents are not made officially available by the authorities in many countries, Flight International continues to list as many of these incidents as possible, in the interests of maximising the availability of relevant information. We accept that the non-fatal listing may be unfairly weighted against the airlines of those countries which make safety information more readily available.
*Airclaims, Cardinal Point, Newall Road, Heathrow Airport, London TW6 2AS, UK; tel: +44 (181) 897 1066; fax: +44 (181) 897 0300.
ABBREVIATIONS: AA airfield approach/early descent; AAL above airfield level; ADC air-data computer; ADF automatic direction finder; AF air force; AGL above ground level; AMSL above mean sea level; ASI airspeed indicator; ATC air-traffic control; C climb; C-B circuit-breaker; CFIT controlled flight into terrain; CVR cockpit-voice recorder; DME distance-measuring equipment; ER en route; FDR flight-data recorder; DFDR digital FDR; ECAM electronic centralised aircraft monitor; EFIS electronic flight-instrument system; EICAS engine-indicating and crew-alerting system; FAA Federal Aviation Administration FL flight level = altitude, expressed in hundreds of feet, with international standard pressure-setting (ISA) of 1013.2mb set on altimeter (eg: FL100 = altimeter reading of 10,000ft with ISA set); FMS flight-management system; G on ground; GPU ground power unit; GPWS ground-proximity warning system; HP high pressure; ILS instrument-landing system; ISA international standard atmosphere=sea-level pressure of 1013.2mb and standard temperature/pressure lapse rate with altitude; L landing; LP low pressure; MTOW maximum take-off weight; NDB non-directional beacon; NTSB US National Transportation Safety Board; PF pilot flying; PNF pilot not flying; RA runway/final approach; VFR visual flight rules; VHF very high frequency; VMC visual meteorological conditions; VOR VHF omni-range navigation beacon; TO take-off; V1 take-off decision speed Conversion factors: 1nm=1.85km; 1ft=0.3m; 1kt=1.85km/h
Non-fatal accidents and incidents: scheduled passenger flights | ||||||
Date | Carrier | Aircraft type/registration | Location | Injuries crew/pax | Total occupants crew/pax | Phase |
15-Jan | Iran Air | Fokker 100 (EP-IDC) | Nr Isfahan, Iran | -/- | 9/104 | AA |
Orumiyeh-Tehran flight diverted to Isfahan citing poor weather and "technical problems". The aircraft landed safely on flat ground some 10km from airport at Isfahan, but the landing gear collapsed. | ||||||
10-Jan | LACSA | Airbus Industrie A320 | Milbrea, California, USA | -/- | ?/? | TO |
Overran runway after pilot aborted take-off. | ||||||
11-Jan | Turkish Airlines | BAe Avro RJ100 (TC-THF) | Samsun Airport, Turkey | -/- | 6-68 | L |
Overran runway. | ||||||
26-Feb | US Airways | Fokker 100 (N867US) | Birmingham Airport, Alabama, USA | -/- | 5-87 | ER |
Aircraft struck by lightning. Gear and flaps were lowered by alternative means and the aircraft landed. After touchdown there was serious vibration and the aircraft veered left off the runway, where the nose-wheel failed. | ||||||
27-Feb | Garuda Indonesia | Boeing 737-500 (PK-GGC) | Jakarta Airport, Indonesia | -/- | 8-85 | L |
High sink rate developed just before the flare on an ILS approach and touchdown was hard and involved a tailscrape. The landing was completed safely. The crew reported a squall during the final approach. | ||||||
? March | China Eastern Airlines | Airbus Industrie A340 | Nr Shanghai, China | -/- | ?/? | C |
No 3 engine (CFM International CFM56-5C4) had to be shut down following the failure during climb-out from Shanghai of a first stage HP turbine blade. | ||||||
03-Mar | Mexicana | Fokker 100 (XA-SHJ) | Benito Juarez Airport, Mexico City | -/- | 4-48 | L |
Left main gear failed and separated while landing. When the left wing struck the ground the aircraft veered off the runway. | ||||||
12-Mar | British Airways | Boeing 777-200IGW | Heathrow Airport, London, UK | -/- | ?/? | TO |
Take-off aborted at about 80kt following the contained mechanical failure of the LP turbine in the left engine (General Electric GE90-2B). | ||||||
22-Mar | Philippine Airlines | Airbus A320-210 (RP-C3222) | Bacolod Airport, Bacolod, Philippines | 2/? | 8/121 | L |
The aircraft appears to have landed long and fast from a night VOR approach to runway 04 in good weather, then veered right off the runway, continuing its roll parallel to the runway. The No 1 engine thrust reverser had been declared unserviceable before departure, and use of asymmetric reverse thrust is believed to have caused the aircraft to veer off the runway. Three people on the ground were killed. | ||||||
24-Mar | Aero Continente | Boeing 737 | Piura, Peru | -/- | ?/? | L |
Overran the runway having landed on a very wet runway after a thunderstorm. | ||||||
02-Apr | Malaysia Airlines | Boeing 747-400 (9M-MPC) | Heathrow Airport,London, UK | -/- | 23/313 | TO |
Tailstrike on take-off. Pilot noticed a momentary vibration during the climb-out and something was seen falling from the aircraft. It was found that an access panel for the APU was missing. | ||||||
12-Apr | Orient Eagle Airways | Boeing 737-200Adv (P4-NEN) | Almaty Airport, Almaty, Kazakhstan | -/- | 8-80 | L |
Aircraft hit standing water and veered off runway at about 80kt causing right gear to collapse. Suspected aquaplaning. | ||||||
24-Apr | Trans-Asia Airlines | Ilyushin Il-62M (YR-IRD) | Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey | -/- | 9-64 | G |
During engine start, the No 4 engine of the Tarom-owned aircraft is reported to have suffered an uncontained failure. This was followed by fire which caused serious damage to the empennage. | ||||||
07-May | AirTran | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 (N948VV) | Nr Calhoun, Georgia, USA | 1/- | 5-82 | C |
Some 15min after take-off the aircraft was climbing through 20,000ft in IMC and had been cleared around weather. While flying between two weather returns (as seen on the weather radar) the aircraft was hit by severe hail for 5s and moderate turbulence for for 30s. Both the main ASIs stopped working, the front windshields were completely crazed, and the radome separated. | ||||||
10-May | TAP Air Portugal | Airbus Industrie A340 (CS-TOA) | Johannesburg, South Africa | ? | ? | G |
While taxiing, one of the winglets hit the empennage of a South African Express DHC Dash 8 (ZS-NLW). The Dash 8 required significant repair. The A340 had both winglets removed and flew back to Portugal | ||||||
12-May | Ethiopian Airlines | Boeing 767-300 (ET-AKW) | Cairo International Airport, Egypt | -/- | 9/132 | TO |
The Boeing 767 crew, using tower frequency, reports that take-off clearance had been given and it began its take-off on 05L. An Egyptair Airbus A320, however, which had just landed on 05L had been cleared, using ground frequency, to enter and taxi along 05L until it reached the appropriate exit taxiway. When the 767 began its take-off roll, the A320 had not cleared the runway, and had almost completed doing so when the 767, which was just airborne, clipped off the top of the A320's fin with its right wing. The 767 returned to land safely. The visibility was more than 10km at night. | ||||||
12-May | Egyptair | Airbus Industrie A320 (SU-GBD) | Cairo International Airport, Egypt | -/- | 54 | G |
The aircraft was taxiing as described in the previous item when the top of its fin was sliced off by a Boeing 767. | ||||||
15-May | Merpati Nusantara | Fokker F28-4000 (PK-MGT) | Kendawi, Sulawesi, Indonesia | -/- | ?/? | TO |
Warning light for cargo door came on. The pilot aborted the take-off at about V1 and the aircraft overran the runway, which was wet, by about 200m. The nose gear failed. | ||||||
15-May | British Midland | Airbus Industrie A321-200 () | London Heathrow Airport, UK | -/- | ?/? | C |
The aircraft returned to Heathrow after a sixth-stage HP compressor stator vane fracture in one of its International Aero Engines V2533-A5 engines owing to a manufacturing fault. | ||||||
21-May | Continental Airlines | McDonnell Douglas DC-10 | Nr Los Angeles, USA | 3/- | 13/285 | C |
Apparent autopilot anomaly on a Los Angeles-Honolulu flight. The aircraft was climbing through 31,000ft and No 1 autopilot was engaged. The pilot reports that the control column moved back three times and the aircraft gained 1,200ft rapidly, losing 30kt IAS before the autopilot was disconnected and control regained. The pilots report that there was no turbulence and the seat belt sign was on. | ||||||
21-May | Istanbul Airlines | Boeing 737-400 (TC-AZA) | Istanbul, Turkey | -/- | 7/172 | L |
Overran the runway in heavy rain. Gear was destroyed. | ||||||
25-May | British AirwaysA | erospatiale/BAC Concorde (G-BOAC) | En route London-New York | -/- | 9-53 | ER |
Passing through FL410 in cruise/climb out of London Heathrow, a 0.6 x 1.2m triangular section separated from the trailing edge of one of the aircraft's six elevons. The captain elected to return to Heathrow and reported no control problems. A fleet examination failed to reveal any other potential elevon faults, but BA has sent an undamaged elevon for strip-down and non-destructive testing. | ||||||
? June | Canada 3000 | Airbus Industrie A330-200 | Nr Winnipeg, Canada | -/- | ?/? | ER |
Engine shutdown and diversion to Winnipeg while en route Toronto-Vancouver. The General Electric CF6-80E1 engine, only just having entered service, suffered an oil leak from the No 4 main bearing sump. | ||||||
22-Jun | Malaysia Airlines | Boeing 747-400 | Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong | -/- | 22/348 | L |
No 4 engine struck the runway on landing. | ||||||
26-Jun | Transaero | Boeing 737-700 | Nr Moscow, Russia | -/- | ?/? | ? |
Inflight engine shutdown (CFM International CFM56-7B) following accessory gearbox (AGB) failure. The AGB starter-shaft spur gear failed because of production error . | ||||||
26-Jun | Braathens SAFE | Boeing 737-700 | Nr Oslo, Norway | -/- | ?/? | AA |
Inflight engine shutdown (CFM International CFM56-7B) following accessory gearbox (AGB) failure. The AGB starter-shaft spur gear failed because of production error. See previous item. |
Non-fatal accidents and incidents: non-scheduled passenger flights | ||||||
Date | Carrier | Aircraft type/registration | Location | Injuries Crew/pax | Total occupants crew/pax | Phase |
05-Jan | Airtours | Boeing 757 (G-WJAN) | Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic | -/- | 8/211 | TO |
Over-rotation resulted in tailscrape. The aircraft diverted to Santo Domingo. | ||||||
31 March | Emerald Airways | British Aerospace 748-2B (G-OJEM) | Stansted Airport, UK | -/- | 4/40 | TO |
Having reached about 150ft after a night take-off, the right engine appears to have suffered an uncontained engine failure and fire. The pilot elected to land on the remaining runway, but overran about 50m on to grass and the nose gear failed. | ||||||
16-May | Manunggal Air | Fokker F28-4000 (PK-VFY) | Seletar Airport, Singapore | -/- | 6/73 | L |
Following daylight landing in heavy rain, the aircraft overran runway 21 and the left main gear collapsed. | ||||||
20-May | Leisure International | Airbus Industrie A320 (G-UKLL) | Ibiza, Spain | -/- | 7/180 | L |
Overran runway 24 on night landing. Brakes had been set to minimum. Weather was clear. | ||||||
06-Jun | AOM French Airlines | McDonnell Douglas (F-GGMD) | Antalya, Turkey | -/- | 6/157 | TO |
A tyre failed on the right main gear, and debris damaged the locking mechanism of the gear leg. Debris also lodged in the stationary guide vanes of the No 2 engine, causing the engine to surge. The aircraft got airborne and reduced the right engine power lever to flight idle. The gear was left down and the crew stayed airborne for 2h to use up fuel before returning. On touchdown, the right gear collapsed. |
Airline Safety Review - Fatal accidents
Source: Flight International