AirSafe.com Airline Safety Review for 2013

This 18th annual review discusses five fatal airline crashes and two other significant events from 2013. The five fatal airline crashes from 2013 represents the fewest fatal passenger events since AirSafe.com was launched in 1996. The two significant events both involved cargo jet crashes that killed all of the crew members. This past year was also unusual in that the majority of these events either occurred in the US or involved a US airline.

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Crashes Killing Airline Passengers

1. 29 January 2013; SCAT Airlines Canadair CRJ-200ER; UP-CJ006; flight 760; Almaty, Kazakhstan: The aircraft was on a domestic scheduled flight from Kokshetau to Almaty, Kazakhstan, crashed during approach about five kilometers (3.1 mi) from the destination airport, near the village of Kyzyltu. All five crew members and 16 passengers were killed.
   Wikipedia entry for this crash.

2. 6 July 2013; Asiana Airlines; 777-200ER; HL7742; flight 214; San Francisco, CA: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Seoul, South Korea to San Francisco, and the rear of the aircraft struck a seawall just short of the runway while landing. The tail section broke apart, and both horizontal stabilizers and the vertical fin separated from the aircraft. Both engines and the main landing gear also separated from the aircraft. The aircraft caught fire after it came to rest, but not before all of the crew and most of the passengers were able to escape. All 16 crew members survived, but thee of the 291 passengers, all teenage girls from China, were killed.
   - AirSafeNews.com article from 13 July 2013
   - AirSafeNews.com article from 10 July 2013 on the role of the autothrottle
   - AirSafeNews.com on early findings of the crash investigation
   - Dr. Todd Curtis and former airline pilot Capt. Tom Bunn on the role of the media
   - Other 777 plane crashes
   - Wikipedia page on this accident
   - Other Asiana plane crashes

3. 7 July 2013; Rediske Air DHC-3 Otter; N93PC; Soldotna, AK: The aircraft was on a nonscheduled domestic flight from Soldotna, Alaska to Bear Mountain Lodge, alsoo in Alaska. The aircraft crashed during takeoff, killing the pilot and all nine passengers.

4. 16 October 2013; Lao Airlines ATR 72-600; RDPL-34233; flight QV301; near Pakxe, Laos: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, to Pakxe in southern part of the country. It crashed into the Mekong river during its approach and sank. The crash occurred about eight kilometers (five miles) from the airport. All five crew members and 44 passengers were killed.
   Fatal ATR 72 crashes

5. 17 November 2013; Tartarstan Aircompany 737-500; VQ-BBN; flight 383; Kazan, Russia: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Moscow to Kazan, Russia, and crashed during a landing attempt. Early reports indicated that it was at least the second landing attempt. All 44 passengers and six crew members were killed in the crash and subsequent fire.
   Fatal events involving airlines of the former Soviet Union

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Other Significant Events

1. 29 April 2013; National Airlines 747-400; N949CA; Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan: The aircraft had just departed on a cargo flight to Dubai, UAE when the aircraft entered a stall and crashed near the end of the runway. At one point, the aircraft had rolled to the right in excess of 45 degrees. Although the crew was able to put the wings more or less level, the aircraft impacted the ground at a high vertical speed, causing an explosion and fire. All seven crew members were killed.
   Fatal 747 crashes

2. 14 August 2013; UPS A300F4-622R; N155UP; flight 1354; Birmingham, AL: The aircraft was on a domestic cargo flight from Louisville, KY (SDF) to Birmingham, AL (BHM), crashed and burned during a landing attempt. The aircraft was destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire, and both pilots were killed. There were no other occupants, and no one was killed or injured on the ground.
   Additional details on the crash
   Other A300 plane crashes

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Fatal and serious events by year
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
2002,2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

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AirSafe.com Bonuses
All subscribers to the AirSafe.com mailing list at subscribe.airsafe.com will be able to download free copies of all of the recent AirSafe.com books, including the latest, AirSafe.com Family Air Travel Guide.

Also available is the AirSafe.com Fear of Flying Resource Guide, with an overview of the symptoms of fear of flying, as well as recommended resources for managing or eliminating these fears.

JetBlue passenger dies during flight

26 February 2013; JetBlue A320; Flight 462, en route Ft. Myers, FL to Boston, MA: Shortly after takeoff from Ft. Myers, Fl, an older male passenger experienced a medical emergency. In spite of efforts by the flight attendants and at least one medical professional, the passenger died of unspecified causes. There were six crew members and 149 passengers on board.
According to FlightAware.com, the flight lasted two hours and 24 minutes, departing Ft. Myers 29 minutes late at 5:14 pm, and arriving in Boston five minutes behind schedule at 7:38 pm. The flight was nearly full, with 149 passengers and 150 passenger seats according to SeatGuru.com.
Why this event will not count in safety statistics
This event, while tragic, will likely not count in any official accident and incident statistics of the FAA and NTSB. Typically, only serious injuries or deaths that were somehow connected with an airliner flight are required to be reported. Death by natural causes, which this case appears to be, would not count.
AirSafe.com takes a similar approach, and events involving only deaths by natural causes are not included in any of the sites listings of events by year, airline, or aircraft model. AirSafe.com incudes a category defined as a Significant Event, but this event did not have any of the characteristics associated with a Significant Event. That may change based on the finding of the death investigation.

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Tomorrow's Webinar Rescheduled
The live webinar originally scheduled for Thursday February 28, 2013 on how TSA rules affect passengers who fly with one or more sex toys has been rescheduled for Thursday March 28, 2013.
This webinar will discuss TSA rules with respect to what is allowed in checked and carry-on bags, with an emphasis on what sex toys and sex toy accessories are allowed in flight. The webinar will also provide advice on what passengers can do to minimize or eliminate problems with TSA security screening.

Register for the webinar today!

AirSafe.com Airline Safety Review for 2012

This 17th annual review discusses seven fatal airline crashes and three other significant events from 2012. The seven fatal airline crashes from 2012 equals 2008 as the year with the fewest fatal passenger events since AirSafe.com was launched in 1996. All but one of these seven events, a fatal crash last week in Canada that killed one passenger, occurred outside of North America and western Europe.

In addition to the seven airline crashes, there were five other significant crashes that did not kill an airline passenger, though four of these events involved airliners, and all five involved at least one fatality.

Among the 12 events from 2012, some of the more noteworthy included the following:

• The death of a lap child in a crash were all other passengers and crew survived
  
• A foiled hijacking attempt in China
  
• A crashed that killed the entertainer Jenni Rivera.
  
• Five crashes with no survivors

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Crashes Killing Airline Passengers

1. 2 April 2012; UTair ATR 72-200; VP-BYZ;flight 120; Tyumen, Russia: The aircraft was on scheduled domestic flight from Tyumen to Surgut, Russia. The airplane crashed broke up, and caught fire in a field about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) form the end of the departure runway. All four crew members and 27 of the 39 passengers were killed. This is the second fatal passenger jet crash involving this airline. The first was a 17 March 2007 crash of a UTair Tupolev Tu134A in Samara, Russia that killed six passengers.
   Fatal crashes of airlines of Russia and the former Soviet Union

2. 20 April 2012; Bhoja Airlines; 737-200; AP-BKC; flight B4 213; Islamabad, Pakistan: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight Karachi to Islamabad, Pakistan, and crashed in a residential area near the airport. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash, and all six crew members and 121 passengers were killed. Among those killed were several children and one newlywed couple. This was the airline's inaugural flight on this route.

   This was the 72nd time that passengers have been killed on a 737 airline flight, and the first since an August 2011 crash in Canada.
   Fatal 737 crashes
   Crash rates by model

3. 14 May 2012; Agni Air; Dornier 228-200; 9N-AIG; near Marpha, Nepal: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Pokhara to Jomson, Nepal, and crashed into the side of a mountain near Marpha, Nepal. Shortly before the crash, the crew had turned back toward Pokhara because of weather conditions at Jomson. Two of the three crew members and 13 of the 18 passengers were killed.

4. 3 June 2012; Dana Air; MD83; 5N-RAM; flight 992; Lagos, Nigeria: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria, and crashed in a residential area near the airport. The plane reportedly struck a power line and then crashed into at least one apartment building. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash, and all seven crew members and 146 passengers were killed. At least 10 people on the ground were killed as well.
   
   Fatal MD80 series crashes

   

5. 28 September 2012; Sita Air Dornier 228;-200; 9N-AHA; Flight 601; Kathmandu, Nepal: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal, and crashed shortly after takeoff. The aircraft reportedly struck a vulture about 50 feet off the ground. The bird hit the right engine, and the plane crashed while the crew was attempting to returen to the airport. All three crew members and 16 passengers were killed.
   Fatal Dornier crashes

6. 22 December 2012; Kivalliq Air Fairchild Metro 3; C-GFWX; Flight 671; Sanikiluaq, Canada: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Winnipeg to Sanikiluaq, Canada, and crashed just short of the runway during a second landing attempt. There was limited visibility due to darkness and blowing snow at the time of the crash. Both crew members survived, but one of the seven passengers, a six-month-old boy being held in his mother's lap, was killed.

   

7. 25 December 2012; Air Bagan Fokker 100; XY-AGC; Flight 011; Heho, Myanmar: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Mandalay to Heho, Myanmar, hit a set of power lines during a landing attempt, and crashed about a kilometer short of the runway. There was fog in the vicinity of the airport at the time of the crash. The aircraft broke up and there was a post-crash fire. All six crew members survived, but one of the 65 passengers was killed. A person on the ground was also killed.
   Fatal Fokker 100 crashes
   Aviation Herald article on crash

   

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Other Significant Events

1. 9 May 2012; Sukhoi Superjet 100; near Jakarta, Indonesia: The aircraft was on an unscheduled demonstration flight that had departed from Jakarta, Indonesia. After departure, the crew circled nearby Mt. Salak, and began a descent from 10,000 feet to 6,000. The aircraft crashed into the side of the mountain at about 5,100 feet. There were no survivors. Among the 37 passengers were members of the media and representatives from a number of Indonesian airlines.

   This aircraft type had entered commercial airline service the previous month, and the manufacturer Sukhoi had been taking the accident aircraft on a promotional tour through a number of countries in Asia. This was a demonstration flight that had invited guests as passengers, rather than a flight that was available to the public, so it is not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com

2. 2 June 2012; Allied Air; 727-200; 5N-BJN; flight 111; Accra, Ghana: The aircraft was on a cargo flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Accra, Ghana, and overran the runway after landing. The aircraft struck a minivan on a nearby road, killing all 10 of the occupants. None of the four crew members were killed.

   Because no airline passengers were killed, this is not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.
   
   Fatal 727 crashes

   

3. 29 June 2012; Tianjin Airlines; Embraer ERJ 190; B-3171; flight 7554; en route Hotan to Urumqi, China: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Hotan to Urumqi, China, when three hijackers attempted to take over the aircraft. The hijackers reportedly carried explosives and attempted to break into the cockpit. The hijackers were subdued by passengers and crew members, and the aircraft returned to Hotan. Two of the three hijackers later died of injuries received during a fight with the crew and passengers. None of the the nine crew members or the 89 passengers were killed. Because only hijackers were killed, this crash was not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.

4. 9 December 2012; Starwood Management; Learjet 25; N345MC; near Iturbide, Mexico: A chartered private jet carrying the singer and entertainer Jenni Rivera crashed near Iturbide, Mexico while en route on a domestic flight from Monterrey, Mexico to the Toluca, Mexico airport near Mexico City. Both pilots and all five passengers, including Rivera, were killed in the crash. The Learjet was cruising at about 28,000 feet and entered into a high speed descent, crashing in mountainous terrain. Because this was not an aircraft normally used in passenger airline service, this crash was not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.

5. 29 December 2012; Red Wings Airlines; Tupolev 204-100; RA-64047; flight 9268; Moscow, Russia: The aircraft was on an unscheduled repositioning flight from Pardubice, Czech Republic to Moscow, Russia. After touching down, the aircraft overran the runway, and collided with an embankment next to a highway, causing the aircraft to break up. While various pieces of aircraft wreckage struck cars on the adjacent highway, no one on the ground was killed (See video below).

   Five of the eight crew members were killed. It had been snowing prior to the crash, and there was a significant crosswind at the time of the landing. Because there were no passengers on the aircraft, this crash was not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com.
   
   Plane crashes in Russia and the former Soviet Union

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Fatal and serious events by year
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
2002,2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

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AirSafe.com Bonuses
All subscribers to the AirSafe.com mailing list at subscribe.airsafe.com will be able to download free copies of all of the recent AirSafe.com books, including the latest, AirSafe.com Family Air Travel Guide.

Also available is the AirSafe.com Fear of Flying Resource Guide, with an overview of the symptoms of fear of flying, as well as recommended resources for managing or eliminating these fears.

RwandAir Jet Crashes into VIP Terminal in Kigali and Kills One Passenger

12 November 2009; RwandAir CRJ-100ER; Flight 205; Kigali, Rwanda: A RwandAir CRJ-100ER was on a scheduled flight from Kigali, Rwanda to Kampala, Uganda, ran into a terminal at the Kigali airport, killing one of the passengers. All three crew members survived, but one of the 10 passengers was killed.

The aircraft reportedly had and unspecified engine problem shortly after taking off and the crew returned to the airport. According to eyewitnesses, the plane first taxied to a parking position on the apron, but then accelerated, knocked over blast fences, and hit the concrete wall of the airport building containing the VIP lounge. The nose gear collapsed and the forward portion of the aircraft penetrated the building up to about the position of the forward passenger doors.

According to the airline, the aircraft involved in the crash was leased from the Kenya-based airline Jetlink Express.

Main Terminal at Kigali Airport

The tragedy was not limited to the crash site. A Rwandan newspaper reported that an ambulance carrying one of the injured flight crew members struck and killed a pedestrian while transporting the crew member to a local hospital.

Crash Location at Building with VIP Lounge

This was the third fatal plane crash that killed a passenger on a CRJ jet. The most recent fatal event was a 27 August 2006 crash of a Delta Connection CRJ-100 at Lexington, KY. Two other CRJ passenger jets have been destroyed in crashes, and in one of them the captain was killed.

UPDATE: RwandAir Statement from 13 November 2009

The following is a statement from RwandAir on the accident at Kigali International Airport where flight number WB205 bound for Entebbe taxied and hit the VIP building. This flight was operated by Jetlink Express Limited on behalf of RwandAir.

At 1240hrs yesterday flight number WB205 took off for Entebbe with 9 adults and an infant. A crew of three - captain, first officer and an engineer manning the flight and two RwandAir flight attendants were on board the flight. Two minutes into the flight, the Captain called the control tower asking to land back because of a technical problem with the engine's thrust lever (throttle).

The aircraft safely landed and taxied into the parking bay. However as the ground crew went to put on the back wheel chocks, the aircraft suddenly accelerated, turned right and hit the eastern wall of the VIP building after covering a distance of about 500 meters. After hitting the wall, the flight attendants aboard the aircraft initiated an evacuation sequence and the passengers escaped through the over-wing emergency door and walked away from the aircraft to the terminal building.

The Crash and Rescue team at Kigali International Airport ensured that all the passengers and crew were rushed to King Faisal hospital for evaluation and observation as needed. The entire crew has been tested for substance abuse.

Of the passengers rushed to the hospital, six passengers were immediately discharged after evaluation. While two passengers went home, three others were put in hotels by RwandAir. One passenger departed for Entebbe on RwandAir flight number WB105 last evening. Three others flew out this afternoon to Entebbe.

One passenger sustained two broken ribs and a punctured lung and is admitted. The passenger who is the mother of the infant was kept overnight for observation while family members took the infant home, she has also been discharged today.

It is highly regrettable that one passenger died in hospital, the cause of death is yet to be determined. However, RwandAir is in touch with the family and is assisting with the funeral arrangements.

While the cabin attendants were treated for minor injuries and discharged, the cockpit crews are still admitted at the hospital. The Captain sustained a broken leg, the First Officer sustained a broken ankle and the Flight Engineer had bruises but was kept for observation.

The management of RwandAir would like to commend, the management and staff of King Faizal Hospital for their efforts in assisting with the patients in their care. The airline is maintaining dialogue with each of the passengers who were on this flight to ensure all the after effects of this incident are dealt with amicably.

The aircraft involved in this incident is a bombardier manufactured 50 seater Canadian Regional Jet -100 series. The aircraft registration number 5Y-JLD is registered in Kenya and owned by Jetlink Express Limited which was operating flight number WB205 on behalf of RwandAir at the time. It is worth mentioning here that prior to getting into lease arrangements with Jetlink Express, RwandAir along with Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) as the aviation regulator, conducted independent audit of Jetlink Express, her maintenance facilities and crew capabilities to determine safety and airworthiness of the operation.

All operations with the Jetlink CRJ aircrafts have been suspended while investigations of this incident are ongoing and RwandAir passengers have been rebooked through partner airlines. Note that only flights to Johannesburg and Nairobi have been affected by this suspension. However flights to Entebbe, Kamembe, Bujumbura, and Kilimanjaro will be operated as normal but with time changes. All passengers booked are advised to contact any RwandAir office for travel information.

Soon after the aircraft taxied into the VIP building, and after the evacuation, different organs at the airport concerned were swift to deal with the wreckage and ensured that any potential danger to the airport was contained. After long hours of careful efforts and amid heavy rain the wreckage was moved to a safe area away from the operational area.

RwandAir is thankful to RCAA management, the security organs, all men and women who worked until midnight to resolve this problem.

The accident investigations started immediately after the accident and will be headed by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) who licensed the aircraft, supported by RCAA who own the accident scene and we recommend that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) be invited as a neutral party to help with the investigations.

Over the last few months, RwandAir has been working vigorously towards the acquisition of its owned fleet of aircrafts delivery of which is scheduled before the end of the year. Over the next few days, the airline is going to fast track the delivery of these aircrafts. In her bid to ensure the highest standards of safety, RwandAir has secured and retained the maintenance services of Lufthansa Technic for its expected fleet. Further, to head her technical and flight operations going forward the airline has retained qualified and experienced personnel like the Chief Pilot who has over 17,000 flying hours with renowned airlines and the Director of Operations with over 40,000 flying hours.

RwandAir would like to reaffirm its commitment to upholding the highest safety standards and would like to see this incident swiftly investigated so that its esteemed customers and the public are reassured of continued and reliable safe operations.

RwandAir Corporate Communications

Phone: +250 252503687

Fax: +250 252503686

On Plane Crashes, Michael Jackson, and Things Happening in Threes

Michael Jackson's unexpected death generated massive amounts of international media attention about Michael Jackson. Coincidentally, actress Farrah Fawcett died earlier the same day, and both died only a couple of days after long time television personality Ed McMahon. The following ten days after Michael Jackson's death saw the deaths of infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, Oscar winning actor Karl Malden, and former Super Bowl quarterback Steve McNair.

This two week period of celebrity deaths raised the question in the minds of some that these kind of bad things "happen in threes" and having six of these in a row must be a highly unusual event.

AirSafe.com News readers may recall that in February 2009 I looked at the question of "things happening in threes" when it comes to plane crashes, and found out that for 12 of the 13 years that AirSafe.com has tracked fatal and significant plane crashes, there was at least one period where three or more events occurred with less than ten days separating each of them. There were seventeen sequences of these closely spaced sequences of crashes. Three were sequences of five events, three sequences had four events, and the other eleven consisted of three events each. In the first half of 2009, there have been a number of spectacular crashes, but no sequences of three or more separated by ten or fewer days.

The risk of plane crashes can't be treated like the risk of celebrity deaths, so it would not be fair to use the same criteria. For example, there isn't a universal definition of "celebrity," and some celebrities may have only national or regional audience. Also there are many people who may be famous, and much more widely known than most of the six recently deceased entertainment and sports figures mentioned above, but who are not celebrities. For example, former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara died on July 6th. He had been a well-known, and at times famous, figure in US political and business circles for nearly five decades, but he was no celebrity.

Back to Micheal Jackson and plane crashes. Earlier this year, I wrote that plane crashes "happen in threes" if a crash is listed as a fatal or significant event on AirSafe.com and if there were no more than ten days separating each event in a series of three or more events. There was no scientific reason for picking ten days for airplanes, so with just as much justification, I'll pick seven days for American sports and entertainment celebrities. Over the past two weeks, there have been six events separated by less than seven days. Is this a situation like with airplanes, where this sort of thing happen almost every year? I'll leave that research to the entertainment media. AirSafe.com will stick to flying machines.

Recent Celebrity Deaths
23 June 2009 - Ed McMahon
25 June 2009 - Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson
28 June 2009 - Billy Mays
1 July 2009 - Karl Malden
4 July 2009 - Steve McNair

Plane Crashes Involving Celebrities