Air France flight 447, an A330-200 (F-GZCP) on a scheduled international flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France, departed Rio late on 31 May 2009, and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of 1 June 2009. While some wreckage and the bodies of about 50 of the 228 passengers and crew were found floating on the surface of the ocean in the weeks after the crash, most of the aircraft and aircraft occupants remained lost.
On April 4th, the French Bureau d'Enquetes et Analyses (BEA), which is leading the accident investigation, announced that significant portions of the aircraft, including an engine, a landing gear assembly, and a large part of the fuselage, were found on the ocean floor about 4,000 meters (about 13,000 feet) below the surface. Some passenger remains were also spotted (BEA presentation).
This fourth search was concentrated in an area of about 10,000 sq km (about 3,900 sq mi) about 75 km (46.6 mi) from the last known position of the aircraft. So far, the black boxes (cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder) have not been located, but the French government plans to continue searching for additional wreckage and to begin an effort to raise some of it to the surface.
Photos of wreckage on the sea floor
Related AirSafe.com and AirSafeNews.com articles
Initial AirSafe.com Reports on This Event (4:10) Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | YouTube
The investigation into the 25 January 2010 crash of the Ethiopian Airlines is still in the early stages, with searchers still looking for wreckage and victims. While there has been no formal announcement of the death toll by the investigating authorities, no survivors have been found in the two days since the crash. Most of the aircraft wreckage, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder (black boxes) is on the seabed just off the coast has not been recovered. On the 27th, several media outlets, including Ethnomedia.com, reported that at least one of the black boxes was located in about 500 feet of water, and that recovery would be attempted. The American naval vessel USS Rampage was assisting in this effort.
The aircraft crashed into the sea about 6 km past the end of runway 21, about 3.5 km from the village of Naameh. According to the departure procedures for that runway, the airplane was supposed to have turned right due to high terrain east and south of the airport.
Several media outlets also reported that the aircraft failed to follow air traffic control instructions after takeoff or that witnesses reported seeing the aircraft in flames before it struck the surface of the water. None of these reports have been confirmed by part of the Lebanese government that is tasked with investigating this event.
Below is an AP report on the early results of the investigation, including wreckage recovery.
NTV in Kenya filed the following report:
BBC Report on Crash Aftermath BBC reporter Uduak Amimo interview on the Focus on Africa program about what the mood was like in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital the day of the crash.
25 January 2009; Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 (ET-ANB); Flight 409; near Beirut, Lebanon The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff.
There were 82 passengers and eight crew members on board, all of whom were killed in the crash. The accident took place at about 2:30 in the morning local time and during heavy rain.
A Lebanese government official listed the nationalities of the passengers as 51 Lebanese, 23 Ethiopians, two Britons, and one each from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Canada, Russia, and France. Among the passengers was the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut.
According to AirlinersGallery.com, the accident aircraft (ET-ANB) first flew in 2002 and was previously operated by Ryanair. The aircraft was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in September 2009.
BBC Report on Crash Aftermath BBC reporter Uduak Amimo interview on the Focus on Africa program about what the mood was like in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital the day of the crash.
Ethiopian Airlines Crash History This is the third crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet airliner that has resulted in the death of at least one passenger. The first was a September 1988 bird strike event involving a 737-200, and the most recent was a ditching of a 767-200 during a hijacking in 1996.
Previous 737-800 Crashes This is the seventh crash involving a 737-800. The first was a September 2006 midair collision involving a Gol Linhas Aéreas 737-800 in Brazil that killed all six crew members and 148 passengers, and the most recent was the non-fatal runway overrun last month involving an American Airlines 737-800 in Jamaica. Three of the previous six crashes involved passenger fatalities.
29 September 2006; Gol Linhas Aéreas 737-800; Flight 1907; near Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Manaus to Brasilia when it had a midair collision in the area of São Félix do Xingu with an Embraer ERJ135 Legacy 600 executive jet operated by ExcelAire. The ExcelAire Legacy 600 jet had been on a flight from São José dos Campos to Manaus. After the collision, which damaged the left wing, left stabilizer, and left elevator of the executive jet, the crew of the damaged ExcelAire aircraft was able to land at a nearby military airfield at Cachimbo, Brazil. The 737 subsequently experienced an inflight breakup and crashed about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the Peixoto de Azevedo municipality. The Legacy 600 was on the first leg of a delivery flight to the US The 737 aircraft was also relatively new, having come into service with the airline less than three weeks before the crash. All six crew members and 148 passengers on the 737 were killed. The two crew members and five passengers on the Legacy 600 were not injured.
5 May 2007; Kenya Airways 737-800; Flight 507; near Douala, Cameroon: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Douala, Cameroon to Nairobi, Kenya. The aircraft crashed into a swampy area near the airport less than one minute after takeoff. The aircraft departed just after midnight local time and the aircraft sent at least one communication to the control tower prior to the crash. All nine crew members and 105 passengers were killed.
20 August 2007; China Airlines 737-800; Flight 120; Naha, Japan: Shortly after landing at Naha on the island of Okinawa, the left engine caught fire and the crew initiated an emergency evacuation. Although the aircraft was destroyed by fire, all 157 passengers (including two toddlers) and eight crew members survived.
10 November 2008; Ryanair 737-800; Flight 4102; Rome, Italy: The aircraft, on a scheduled international flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Rome, Italy encountered a flock of birds during approach to Rome, sustaining damage to both engines, the wings, and the nose. The crew was able to land on the runway, but aircraft had a collapsed landing gear and serious damage to the rear of the fuselage. All six crew members, and 166 passengers survived.
25 February 2009; Turkish Airlines 737-800; Flight 1951; Amsterdam, Netherlands: The aircraft, on a scheduled international flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Amsterdam, Netherlands crashed in a field about a mile (1.6 km) short of the runway. Three crew members, including both pilots, were killed, as were at least six others among the 134 passengers and crew members.
22 December 2009; American Airlines 737-800 (N977AN); Flight 331; Kingston, Jamaica: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Miami, FL to Kingston, Jamaica. The aircraft landed during a rainstorm, and was unable to stop on the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft went beyond the airport fence, and crossed a road before coming to rest on a beach. The landing gear collapsed, both engines separated from the wings, and there were two major breaks in the fuselage, but all 148 passengers and six crew members survived. The landing was carried out with a slight tail wind.
AirSafe.com will provide updates as information becomes available.
Five Lowest Fatal Plane Crash Rates by Model A 25 September 2009 entry on the AirSafe.com News described the September 2009 update to following listing of fatal plane crash rates by model. The video and audio podcast below discusses the aircraft models with the lowest rates. After the Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 fatal crash, the revised estimate of fatal crash rates would change the order of aircraft. The current generation of the 737, which includes the 737-800, would drop from number two to number three, and the A320 series would go from number three to number two. For more details, visit AirSafe.com's Fatal Plane Crash Rates for Selected Airliner Models page
The newest videos from Plane-Crash-Videos.net include two military crashes and one dramatic incident at sea.
B-52 Crash from 1994 The first is a dramatic crash of a B-52 at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1994. The article has several dramatic videos and photos from this fatal crash, but the story behind the crash, especially the social dynamics of the USAF unit involved in the crash, is even more interesting.
Helicopter Crash at Sea from 1999 A training exercise can go from routine to tragedy in a matter of seconds, as the video from this USMC crash from 1999 shows. While it looks like survival was unlikely, 11 of the 18 crew members were rescued.
Almost a Helicopter Crash at Sea In this video, reportedly involving a Greenpeace ship, a helicopter comes very close to crashing into the ship's helipad, or into some of the ship's crew members. Remarkably, everyone walked away from this one.
On 25 July 2008, A Qantas airlines 747-400, with 346 passengers and 19 crew members on board, had an explosive decompression event over the South China Sea about 200 miles from Manila. The crew descended about 20,000 feet and successfully diverted to Manila. None of the passengers or crew were injured. A portion of the fuselage just forward of the wing root was found missing after the aircraft landed.
