Category: Accident Reports –  Page 2

Bird Opens Cargo Door on A320

On the 20th of June in 2011, an Airbus A320-212, registration CS-TKJ, taxied to runway 05 at Aeroporto de Madeira for a scheduled morning flight from Funchal to Copenhagen with seven crew members and 105 passengers on board. A plane spotter taking photographs of aircraft at the threshold of runway 05 took a photograph of…

Read more… 10 Jun 22

Alitalia flight 404: The result of a dozen small decisions

Last week, we looked at the key events that led to the Alitalia flight 404 crash. A few points from the previous post: Maintenance replaced both radio receivers in the aircraft and the crew were aware they needed testing. On approach, the two receivers gave conflicting results. At least one of the receivers appears to…

Read more… 15 Apr 22

Alitalia Flight 404: “Catch the glide!”

On the 14th of November 1990, Alitalia flight AZ404 crashed into high ground upon approach to Zürich. The accident was investigated by the Federal Aircraft Accidents Inquiry Board in Switzerland and was supported by the United States National Transport and Safety Board. One aspect that makes it interesting is that the two boards came to…

Read more… 8 Apr 22

Initial Information on China Eastern Airlines flight 5735

On Monday, the 21st of March 2022, China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 crashed into mountainous terrain during a scheduled passenger flight from Kunming to Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China. There were 132 souls onboard with no survivors. The search for life continues in difficult terrain but after five days, it seems unlikely. The…

Read more… 25 Mar 22

Can You See What I See?

ASPEN AIRPORT (ASE, also known as Sardy Field) is known among pilots as one of the most challenging approaches in the US. The single runway is at an elevation of 7,820 feet (2,383 metres) and surrounded by mountains. The minimum decision altitude (MDA) is 10,200 feet and incoming aircraft must make staggered steep descents to…

Read more… 11 Mar 22

The aftermath of the An-12 crash on approach to Lviv

Last week, we discussed the Antonov An-12 crash on approach to Lviv. I’m going to assume you’ve read that article (and the comments, which highlight some of the key aspects that jumped out at other readers). This means we can pick up the sequence from the final report again at the point when the Antonov…

Read more… 11 Feb 22

Accident Reports

The faulty AOA sensor on Ethiopian flight 302

The NTSB report submitted in response to the third draft covers two areas: Airframe/Systems and Operational and Human Factors. Today, I’m going to focus on the airframes and systems. The…

No one noticed it was missing: 1971 Super Cub crash

Lasham Aerodrome in Hampshire, England, was built in 1942 and used as a base for the RAF Fighter Command. After the war, it became the home of the Army Gliding…

Demystifying

Flying Blind: The Importance of NOTAMs in Aviation

On the 11th of January 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US stopped all departing commercial flights, grounding aircraft all over the US. Hot on the heels of…

Post-Pandemic Mystery at Heathrow

In June 2021, the British Air Accident Investigative Branch (AAIB) initiated a fascinating investigation after they noticed three similar incidents at London Heathrow over a three-day period. Soon, they realised…

History

The Oldest Footage of Flight

About a week ago, Marléne Aviation posted to Twitter in an attempt to find the oldest video footage of a flight. Marléne Aviation is run by a French aviation history…

Twin Pioneer Down in Libya: Structural Failure in 1956

On the 7th of December 1957, a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 1, registration G-AOEO, departed an airstrip at Anshan in Libya for a routine flight to Tripoli-Idris Airport. There were…

Fun Stuff

Aviation Videos and Articles for August

I always collect videos and links that I think you might enjoy but apparently, I have been neglecting to actually share them with you! So here’s a “best of the…

Funniest Thing You've Heard On the Radio

I’ve been struggling this week and was just panicking that I would not have a post finished in time for you for today when I discovered that Reddit had saved…