Aircrash Investigation

United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427, and Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 Aired~13May2007 On 3 March 1991, a Boeing 737 operating as United Airlines Flight 585 suddenly rolls into a dive and crashes within eight seconds, killing all 25 people on board. On 8 September 1994, USAir Flight 427 also rolls and crashes within thirty seconds, killing all 132 people on board. On 9 June 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 also rolls unexpectedly in similar circumstances, but the crew successfully regains control of the aircraft and lands safely. The cause of all three incidents was adesign flawwith therudder's control system which allowed the rudder to suddenly and unexpectedly go to full deflection and jam due tothermal shockof the hydraulic control valve. Type of aircraft: Flight 585:Boeing 737-200; Flight 427:Boeing 737-300; Flight 517: Boeing 737-200

Aired~20May2007 On 19 February 1985, China Airlines Flight 006's number four (right-side outer) engine flames out. As the crew tries to restart the engine, the Boeing 747SP enters a dive. The crew successfully regains control, restarts the engine and lands safely atSan Francisco International Airport. The incident was caused by pilot error. Type of aircraft:Boeing 747SP

Aired~27May2007 On 31 August 1986, Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with alight aircraftoverCerritos, California, causing both to go out of control and crash, killing 82 people including 15 on ground. The accident was caused by neither pilot making visual contact with the other aircraft and a lack of automated collision warning systems. The crash inspires the creation of thetraffic collision avoidance system. Type of aircraft: Flight 498:McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32; light aircraft:Piper PA-28-181 Archer

Air Midwest Flight 5481 Aired~30April2008 On 8 January 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes into an aircraft hangar atCharlotte/Douglas International Airportseconds after takeoff on a flight to Greenville. All 21 people on board die. Investigation showed that the pilots' controls had been improperly adjusted during maintenance, and that the aircraft was overloaded due to outdated formulae for calculation of passenger weights. Type of aircraft:Beechcraft 1900D

Aeroperú Flight 603 China Airlines Flight 006 Aeroflot Flight 593 Flash Airlines Flight 604 Air Transat Flight 236 Aired~2March2008 This special looked at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and on-boardavionicswere a factor and the causes of those problems. Types of aircraft: Flight 603:Boeing 757-200; Flight 006:Boeing 747SP; Flight 593:Airbus A310-300; Flight 604:Boeing 737-300; Flight 236:Airbus A330-200

Aired~18November2009 On 25 May 2002, China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into theTaiwan Strait20 minutes after taking off fromTaipei, killing all 225 people on board. A faulty repair to the lower rear skin of the aircraft following atailstrike22 years earlier had caused the entire tail section to weaken and fail. Type of aircraft:Boeing 747-200B

Pan Am Flight 103 Aired~4November2009 On 21 December 1988, a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the aircraft to disintegrate and the plane's wreckage to crash into the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. Type of aircraft:Boeing 747-100

1975 Tân Sơn Nhứt C-5 accident On 4 April 1975, a United States Air Force transport aircraft conducting the inaugural flight ofOperation Babyliftsuffers anexplosive decompressionwhen the rear cargo door fails and crashes into apaddy fieldwhile attempting an emergency landing atTan Son Nhut Air Basein South Vietnam. Out of 314 people on board, 138 people died including 78 children.The investigation found that parts had been removed from the rear cargo doors and improperly replaced. Type of aircraft:Lockheed C-5A Galaxy

Aired~25 November 2009 On 8 September 1989, Partnair Flight 394 loses control, breaks up in mid-air, and crashes into the North Sea, killing all 55 people on board. The aircraft's vertical stabilizer had vibrated loose during flight due to excessive wear on sub-standard bolts, sleeves, and pins that had been illegally sold as "aircraft-grade." Type of aircraft: Convair CV-580

Aired~11November2009 On 12 November 1996, Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 collide in mid-air nearNew Delhi,India, killing all 349 people on both aircraft. The world'sdeadliest mid-air collisionand the overallthird-deadliest aircraft accident, the crash was caused by the crew members on the Kazakhstan Airlines aircraft failing to maintain the altitude assigned by air traffic control. Type of aircraft: Flight 763:Boeing 747-100B; Flight 1907:Ilyushin Il-76

Tuninter Flight 1153 On 6 August 2005, Tuninter Flight 1153 runs out of fuel and ditches into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 people. An incorrect type of fuel gauge had been installed, misleading the crew about how much fuel was on board. Type of aircraft:ATR 72-200