Aviation

Citation

(2001), "Aviation", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310dac.005

Aviation

Aviation

26 October 2000 – Batumi area, Russia

All 82 people on board a Russian military aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-18, died yesterday, when the aircraft crashed into a mountain in the Caucasus republic of Georgia, the Russian Emergency Ministry announced early today. There were 71 passengers and 11 crew members, including eight children, travelling in the aircraft, the ministry said. The Il-18 aircraft crashed into a mountain about 25km east of Batumi, in heavy fog just as it was set to land in Batumi, at 13.30 UTC. Adzharian Emergency Ministry rescuers found fragments of the aircraft at the site of the accident late yesterday. The Russian defence ministry said that the aircraft was used for a military mail run from the Russian town of Chkalovsk, 380km (237 miles) southeast of Moscow, to Batumi, twice a month. This morning, a commission comprising Russian defence ministry officials and aviation experts are expecting to travel to the crash site to investigate the accident.

26 October 2000 – The Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft, packed with officers and their families returning from holidays, ploughed into the mountain, in the Adzhara region, during a rainstorm last night. It is too soon to identify the cause of the crash, 12 miles north-east of Batumi, Adzhara's port capital. Russian soldiers and Georgian rescue workers said that few intact bodies had been found. Nikolai Zolotov, commander of Russian troops in the Caucasus region, said that the aircraft's voice and data recorders had been recovered and would be sent to Moscow for decoding.

31 October 2000 – Taipei

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400, bound for Los Angeles, crashed at Taipei's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport today, an airport police official said. It was not immediately known how many of the 159 passengers and 20 crew were killed or injured, Civil Aeronautics Administration deputy director Chang Kuo-cheng told reporters. "The aircraft burst into flames and exploded shortly after take-off," an airport police official said. Local television was reporting that over 120 injured had been taken to hospital. The aircraft was taking off during a storm and was hit by strong winds. It hit two other aircraft on the tarmac, including a China Airlines aircraft, police said. A Taiwan vice-transport minister said that no one was on board the other two aircraft. The injured were rushed to hospital. No other details were immediately available.

1 November 2000 – Weather and reports of an object on the runway are being examined as causes of the crash of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 yesterday in Taiwan that claimed at least 68 lives. Singapore Airlines Flight SQO06 crashed during take-off at 23.18, local time (14.18, UTC) at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, erupting into flames. An airline spokesman in Los Angeles said that, in addition to those who died, 71 people were injured, 31 were uninjured and nine remained unaccounted for. Taiwanese civil officials put the death toll at 69. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. Airline spokesmen said that 55 Taiwanese and 47 US citizens were among those on board the flight. Besides the Americans and Taiwanese, airline spokesman James Boyd in Los Angeles said that there were also 11 Singaporeans on board, 11 Indians, eight Malaysians, five Indonesians, four Mexicans, four UK citizens, two each from Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam and one each from Australia, Canada, Cambodia, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Ireland and the Canary Islands/Spain. The US State Department has so far confirmed 22 US survivors of the Singapore Airlines crash, a State Department official said. Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board announced that it is sending a team of investigators to help Taiwan authorities investigate the crash of the Los Angeles-bound flight. An eight-member NTSB team is expected to arrive in Taiwan tomorrow evening, local time. Representatives of the US Federal Aviation Administration will accompany the NTSB investigators. Preliminary speculation into the cause of the crash will focus on how the weather may have affected the flight. Typhoon "Xangsane" had moved closer to the island's southern coast yesterday and heavy rains have already begun soaking Taipei. The typhoon was packing 90mph winds. It was expected to make landfall by today, if it maintained its current course, the Central Weather Bureau said. Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Cheong Choong Kong said that several witnesses, including the flight's pilot, also reported that the plane struck an object. It was not immediately clear what Flight SQO06 may have hit. Video footage showed the Boeing 747-400 spewing flames and thick black smoke despite the heavy rain. Afterward, parts of the fuselage were badly charred, with a gaping hole in the roof of the forward section. The aircraft involved in the crash was bought new from Boeing in January 1997 and had its last major maintenance in September 2000, Boyd said. At the crash scene, firefighters quickly put out flames on board the aircraft, aviation officials said. The plane had been scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport at 18.15, Pacific Time.

Taiwan aviation officials said today that the final death toll from the crash of a Singapore Airlines flight last night was 78, and all bodies had been recovered. "There are 78 dead, 16 escaped injury, and 85 were hospitalised," an official with the Civil Aeronautics Administration of Taiwan said.

The aircraft which crashed at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport 31 October was Boeing 747-412 9V-SPK, operated by Singapore Airlines.

2 November 2000 – Singapore Airlines (SIA) said today that the death toll from the crash in Taiwan of one of its aircraft had risen to 80 and it was checking reports that another person may have died in hospital. "The figure we have been given is 80. We are checking again with the authorities (in Taiwan) to see if one of the hospitalised passengers or crew members has passed away," airline spokesman Rick Clements told reporters. While investigators in Taiwan continued trying to identify all of the dead, Clements said that it was possible that one or more of the bodies might belong to a rescuer rather than a passenger or SIA crew member.

2 November 2000 – The Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-412 (9V-SPK) that crashed on take-off from Taipei's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport Tuesday night (31 October), killing at least 79 passengers, appears to have slammed into construction equipment parked on a closed runway, Taiwanese air safety officials probing the disaster said today. With the inquiry just beginning, the officials were unable to say whether the equipment was the "object" that the pilot had reported hitting during the night-time take-off in a windy rainstorm, or whether the aircraft struck the equipment on falling back to earth after just a few seconds in the air. The aircraft's voice and flight data recorders were recovered. A total of 99 people survived the crash, 79 were confirmed dead by the airline and one was unaccounted for. Taiwanese safety officials said that recordings of control-tower messages confirmed that the pilot, who has more than 11,200 hours of flying experience, had received and acknowledged proper instructions from the airport's control tower on which runway to use. But they said that the conversations left it unclear whether the pilot had veered on to the wrong runway without knowing it or was blown off course. "I can confirm that the pilot correctly repeated instructions from the tower," an official said. "But that's all we know, that he correctly repeated the words." Visibility was at least 600 yards at the time of flight SQO06's departure and remained within internationally accepted flight safety standards throughout the day, officials said.

4 November 2000 – The pilot and co-pilot of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-412 (9V-SPK) that crashed on take-off from Taipei, killing 81 people, have been barred from leaving Taiwan after it was confirmed that the aircraft crashed after hitting construction equipment on the wrong runway. The prosecutors' conclusion that the aircraft had taken off from a closed runway was reached after detailed crash site surveys, a study of the contents of the two black box flight recorders and interviews with the aircraft's pilots, witnesses and air traffic controllers. Singapore Airlines, which had earlier rejected the theory, said that it had been advised by the Taiwanese authorities that they had confirmed that the wrong runway had been used. A company spokesman said that the airline wanted to know how this had occurred. The possibility has been raised that airport staff had lit the wrong runway. Singapore Airlines said that it was making an immediate payment of $25,000 to the families of those who died and $5,000 to each survivor. Singapore Airlines has offered $400,000 in compensation to the relatives of each of the 81 passengers and crew who died in the crash of its Boeing 747-412 (9V- SPK) in Taiwan. The offer, which will be formally made by letter within the next two weeks, came a day after the airline took full responsibility for the disaster. The pilot and crew of the aircraft have been ordered not to leave the island while investigations are made. Prosecutors are examining whether anyone should face charges in relation to the crash – if convicted of manslaughter the crew face five years in jail. An airline statement said: "Singapore Airlines (SIA) is offering the families of passengers and crew who died in the accident in Taipei US$400,000 each in compensation. The airline will also meet the medical expenses of injured passengers and crew, and will discuss compensation with each of them." Air accident investigators are now certain that the aircraft was using a runway that was closed for repairs and had construction equipment on it. The closed runway, number 05R, runs parallel to the one the aircraft should have used, 05L. The chief executive officer of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, Yong Kay, said that the captain was told to use runway 05L and correctly read back his instructions, but, unknown to both crew and control tower, the pilot had turned right 100m too soon.

5 November 2000 – Some of the families of the victims of the SIA aircraft crash in Taiwan are reported to have rejected an offer of compensation from the airline. SIA offered yesterday to pay $400,000 to each of the families of the 81 people who died in the crash. The relations of the victims are believed to be seeking $600,000 each because of what they say was an unforgivable error when the pilot tried to take off from a closed runway that was under repair. Air accident investigators and a prosecutor are still trying to discover how the error could have been made and whether negligence was involved. The captain and crew have been ordered not to leave Taiwan while investigations are made. The closed runway, number 05R, runs parallel to the one the aircraft should have used, 05L. The chief executive officer of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, Yong Kay, said that the captain was told to use runway 05L and correctly read back his instructions, But, unknown to both crew and control tower, the pilot had turned right 100m too soon. It is not yet clear why the mistake was made, but several questions remain unanswered. Were the crew briefed properly about the closure of the runway? Did the rain make it impossible for them to see illuminated signs and large white letters painted on the tarmac to tell them on to which runway they were turning? Were the wrong set of runway lights switched on?

8 November 2000 – Investigators of the SIA crash, 9V-SPK, yesterday provided the most detailed description yet of how the aircraft broke apart and burst into flames after speeding down a closed runway littered with construction equipment. Just after the Los Angeles-bound Boeing 747-400 lifted off the ground, the front wheel hit a concrete barrier before slamming into an excavator which peeled open the aircraft's belly, David Lee, of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, said. "Bodies just began to fall out," Mr Lee said, as he led the first media tour of the crash site, strewn with soiled unused shirts, children's jackets, and pink and purple Singapore Airlines socks. Last Tuesday night's (31 October) crash killed 82 of the 179 people aboard Flight SQO06. Dozens were injured, most with serious burns. Investigators have not been able to explain why the pilot took off on the closed runway, which ran parallel to the airstrip he was supposed to have used. The probe is focusing on whether the closed runway was improperly lit, inviting the pilot to make his fatal choice during a storm brought on by an approaching typhoon. Mr Lee said that, after hitting the excavator, the aircraft skidded along the runway, hitting other concrete blocks and construction equipment. The left wing immediately caught fire and the aircraft's middle portion then snapped and burst into flames.

1 November 2000 – Northern Angola

A Russian-built aircraft exploded shortly after take-off in northern Angola, killing all 42 passengers and six crew. The Antonov An-26 (Curl), owned by Ancargo, burst into flames yesterday night minutes after it left the town of Saurimo, about 600 miles north-east of Luanda. The aircraft was reportedly on a domestic route. It had left Luanda yesterday morning and was flying between rural cities before heading back to the capital at the end of the day. The aircraft slammed into the ground some 30 miles outside Saurimo. The six crew were Russian, the identities of the passengers were not known. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. A team of civil aviation investigators was to travel to the crash site today.

18 November 2000 – The death toll in the Angolan aircraft crash has risen to 57 after the charter company released a revised list with the passengers' names and nationalities. The Soviet-built Antonov aircraft slammed into an open field and burst into flames shortly after taking off from the capital's international airport for the southern city of Namibe. The victims included the four-member Ukrainian crew and 53 Angolans, the Angolan company Asa Pesada said. There had been conflicting initial reports on the number of casualties. The latest death toll was based on police investigations at the crash site and forensic reports, the company said. The cause of the crash also has yet to be determined. Preliminary investigations pointed to mechanical problems in the aircraft's engine, according to civil aviation officials. The latest crash has prompted the Government to ground all Antonov flights throughout the country, causing severe disruption to the civilian transportation and trade network. Charter company officials and aircraft owners, who met yesterday with Transport Minister Luis Brandao, condemned the ban, claiming that it is costing them $1 million a day.

20 November 2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261

A federal investigator has concluded that the only explanation for the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is that a piece of the tail-control mechanism broke off in flight, making it impossible to pull the jet out of its sudden dive, The Seattle Times reported today. The Hoeing MD/80, en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco and then Seattle, crashed into the Pacific Ocean on 31 January, killing all 188 people aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the crash and has public hearings scheduled next month in Washington, D.C., to discuss the investigation's progress. According to The Times, NTSB performance analyst Dan Bowers has already analysed information from the jet's flight-data recorder and concluded that the only explanation for the airplane's dive is that the jackscrew assembly's end stop broke off in flight. Bowers programmed a flight simulator to mirror Flight 261's moment-to-moment position changes during its fatal dive. The only way Bowers could re-create the final part of the dive was by tilting the stabiliser up 22 degrees, The Times said. The only way to reach 22 degrees is to separate the jackscrew from the end stop, the newspaper said. If the end stop is found to have broken in flight, rather than on impact, some liability for the crash could shift to Boeing, the newspaper said. Such a finding also would raise more questions about the design of the part, which is in use on more than 2,000 MD/80 and DC-9 jets in service world-wide. "Everyone agrees that it did break off but we don't know where or when", Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier said today. She said that the aerospace giant had turned over all test results and data in the case to the NTSB. "We have drawn no conclusions," she said. Alaska Airlines' Terry Clark, who is co-ordinating the airline's participation in the NTSB investigation, called for a retest by independent experts. "I can only assume that the apparent irregularities in assembling the test … were an innocent error, because the effect on the test results would be substantial," Clark said, according to The Times. Investigators also are looking into whether the aircraft's jackscrew assembly was so worn that it should have been replaced three years before the crash. An Alaska mechanic had ordered it to be replaced in September 1997, but other mechanics overruled him several days later.