556 people died in commercial aircraft crashes during 2018

Analysis and research done by The Aviation Safety Network found that there was a total of 15 fatal airliner accidents, resulting in 556 fatalities during 2018. Yet, despite several high-profile accidents, 2018 proved to be one of the safest years on record.  

The ASN looked at all worldwide fatal commercial aircraft accidents, including passenger and cargo flights involving civil aircraft of which were certified to transport 14 or more passengers. Consequently, the April 11th accident involving an Algerian Air Force IL-76 transport plane which claimed the lives of 257 people has not been included in the totals. However, if including military transport aircraft the total number fatalities would be 917 people in 25 fatal accidents.

2018 proved to be the third safest year ever by the number of fatal accidents and the ninth safest in terms of fatalities. The safest year in aviation history was 2017 with 10 accidents and 44 lives lost.

Looking at that five-year average of 14 accidents and 480 fatalities, last year was worse on both accounts.

Boeing sued over Lion Air crash for unreasonably dangerous aircraft

Photo Fauzy Chaniago/ AP

The US aircraft giant Boeing is being sued by another family of one of those killed in the 737 Max of Lion Air that crashed into the Java Sea back in October this year.

The aircraft had taken off from Jakarta on October 29th but crashed shortly after and the crash sent shock waves around the world to all operators of the brand new Boeing 737 Max aircraft.  

According to court papers, filed in Chicago, the family of Onggo Wardoyo state the brand new Boeing 737 Max was unreasonably dangerous as certain sensors provided inaccurate data to its flight control systems which caused the anti-stall protection system to engage improperly. Boeing also, according to the papers, failed to give adequate instructions to pilots on how best to respond to and turn off the anti-stall systems on the aircraft.

Thomas Demetrio,  a lawyer representing the Wardoyo family told media, that “It was like Boeing first blindfolded and then tied the hands of the pilots,”   

It is understood that at least three other families of some of the 189 people on board the doomed aircraft that all perished have started legal proceedings against Boeing.  Many citing the warnings Boeing issued after the Lion Air crash had come too late and the manufacturer knew of the issues of the sensors long before the crash.   

Norwegian 787 took off from the wrong part of Gatwick's standby runway......

A Boeing 787, registration G-CKWC, belonging to low-cost long-haul airline Norwegian, began its takeoff roll from the displaced landing threshold of runway 26R at London's Gatwick Airport on March 28th at 2201, however, that wasn't the start of the runway, which was some 417 metres behind them!

Photo Gatwick Airport

Gatwick's runway 26R is the emergency or standby runway, it is sometimes used when work is being carried out on the main landing strip, usually at night. It is also the one that Gatwick's owners want to use as a second runway for take off's in tandem with the main runway according to plans undergoing a consultation process at the moment, despite the narrow distance between the two. 

The start of the standby or emergency runway is marked by a white line, but the part of the runway before the landing threshold does not include white edge lights or centreline lights as runways do have. This configuration complies with relevant current specifications. To get to the start of the runway aircraft follow a route on a taxiway that is on the same heading as the runway and no turn is required. This is most unusual, as the majority of airports have runway entry points that require a turn onto the runway centreline. 

Beginning and threshold of runway 26R      Photo AAIB

Mechanical malfunction caused the Leicester City Football Club owners helicopter to crash

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority Air Accident Investigation Branch has issued a special bulletin report into the AW169 helicopter that crashed at 1937 on October 27th at Leicester City Football Club, which took the lives of the five people on board, including the clubs chairman and owner   Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Van Air Europe Let L-410 lands on closed part of Dubrovnik Airport's runway

An investigation is underway into how a Let L-410 of Van Air Europe operating a flight for Trade Air came to land on part of a runway that was undergoing repairs at Dubrovnik Airport on Thursday, November 29th.

The aircraft, registration OK-LAZ landed on a closed section of the 12/30 runway, which was being refurbished at the time. Details of the closure of part of the runway and the resulting length reduction had been issued to authorities and had been published in NOTAMS. The work on the runway started early in November and is due to continue until the middle of May next year.

The aircraft had been operating flight C3821 from Split, with 7 passengers and three crew onboard at the time of the incident and according to Trade Air, nobody was injured.  Its understood that after the aircraft landed safely, machinery had to be moved to a clear a pathway for the aircraft to taxi off the runway.

It is understood that the aircraft was not damaged during its landing at 12.45 local time on the close part of the runway, an investigation including representatives from Trade Air, Van Air Europe and Croatian civil aviation authorities has begun.

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Peruvian Airlines 737 undercarriage collapses on the runway

Photo EPA

An investigation is underway into why a Boeing 737 carrying 127 people skidded and fell on its side on a runway at El Alto airport, west of the capital La Paz, in Bolivia on Thursday, November 22nd. 

The Peruvian Airlines 737 was performing a flight from Cuzco and came into land in El Alto at 1000 local time when the aircraft skidded and the landing gear appears to have collapsed.

According to officials, none of the 122 passengers or 5 crew was injured during the incident which caused the airport to close for a number of hours. The airline and Peruvian officials have confirmed an investigation is underway. 

Photo EPA

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The AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter 'did not respond to pilot's command' in Leicester City crash

taking off, seconds before crashing.  Captured by BT Sport

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority Air Accidents Investigation Branch has released an initial interim report into the helicopter crash at Leicester City Football Club that caused the death of five people, including the clubs chairman and owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

The report detailed the route the helicopter had taken in the hours before the tragic crash on 27th October. The report indicates the helicopters first flight of the day was from its Fairoaks Airport base in Surrey with the pilot and one passenger on board to go to the London Heliport in Battersea on the banks of the Thames. There it picked up three more passengers before it flew up to Leicester and landed at Leicester City Football Club's training ground at Belvoir Drive. It is then understood that those onboard went to the King Power stadium to watch the match. The pilot and one passenger returned to the training ground, to fly the helicopter back to the stadium and landed in the centre of the pitch. It picked up three people and took off on a flight that was due to go to London's Stanstead airport. However, less than 40 seconds after lifting off, the helicopter started to turn right "contrary to the pilot's left pedal command" the AAIB report states. The cause of the apparent loss of control is still being investigated.

Lion Air search teams find flight data recorder

Local media have reported that the Indonesian Navy have found and retrieved a black box from the wreckage of the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed into the Java Sea on Monday.

Divers advise they retrieved the black box on Thursday morning, during the fourth day of the search following the plane crash that cost the lives of all 189 people onboard. From the initial reports, the divers have found the flight data recorder and are still searching for the cockpit voice recorder. 

Detik.com reported that Indonesian Navy diver Sertu Hendra said his team followed the electronic “pings” from the device to find its exact location, “We followed the tool, reducing the area in the place the machines were picking up sounds, and it turns out we got black box,” 

Leicester City owner's helicopter crashes outside club's stadium

The helicopter belonging to the owner of Leicester City Football Club in the UK has crashed into the car park just outside the King Power Stadium just moments after taking off from the pitch.

There was a massive fireball after the helicopter came down just seconds after taking off from the clubs pitch inside the stadium, like it does after every home game.  Early indications and eyewitness reports are that there was a technical problem with the helicopters tail rotor that caused the aircraft to spin out of control. 

The helicopter, an AgustaWestland AW109, registration G-VSKP, had taken off of from the centre of the pitch at 2030 on Saturday 27th October. It came down in car park E, which is the staff parking area of the car park, approximately 190 yards from the stadium.  Emergency services were soon at the scene and at this stage, it is not known who was on the helicopter or if there were any casualties on the ground.

Images below of the helicopter on the pitch and taking off just seconds before the crash from BT TV who had been filming the earlier match between Leicester City and West Ham. It is not known yet if the chairman and owner of the club was on the helicopter at the time of the crash.

Yakutia Sukhoi Superjet100 damaged beyond repair in runway overun incident

An investigation is underway into why a Sukhoi Superjet 100 of  Yakutia Airline overran the runway on 10th October at Yakutsk International Airport not long after three in the morning.

There were no fatalities during the incident although a small number of the passengers did require medical assistance according to the airline. The SSJ100, registration RA-89011 was on a flight from Ulan-Ude, in Buryatia and was carrying 91 passengers and 5 crew.

The runway at Yakutsk International Airport is undergoing a programme of repair and refurbishment at the time of the incident. According to local media the aircraft touched down and landed normally on part of the runway that has finished being reconstructed.  However, it failed to stop before continuing onto an unfinished part of the runway which included a hump, which caused the main landing gear to collapse. The crew deployed the emergency slides for passengers and crew to escape the aircraft on the runway.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has released a video of the damaged aircraft on the runway which shows the forward landing gear off the ground as the nose points skywards, the main gear collapsed forcing the rear fuselage on the ground.

Air Niugini Boeing 737 crash lands in the sea

Dramatic scenes have emerged in the lagoon near the runway at Chuuk International Airport, on the tiny Micronesian island of Weno, as a Boeing 737 belonging to local carrier Air Niugini landed on the sea some 500 metres short of the runway. 

Locals came to the aid of the passengers in small fishing boats after the plane continued into the water of the lagoon and started to slowly sink.  The aircraft was carrying just 35 passengers and 12 crew at the time of the incident, all were rescued and taken ashore. It is believed that 8 passengers have been injured and a hospital official told Reuters news agency that four passengers were in a serious condition after the crash, one is believed to have a hip fracture. 

The runway at Chuuk International Airport is 6,006 feet in length and a spokesperson for Papua New Guinea's Accident Investigation Commission has confirmed that investigators were on the way to piece together exactly what happened and find out why the Boeing 737-800 came to rest in the sea.

US-Bangla Airlines Boeing 737-800 nose gear up landing captured on video

A Boeing 737-800 of US-Bangla Airlines operating flight BS141, from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazaar has had to make an emergency landing at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong.

The dramatic landing this morning following technical problems notified to the airport by the captain who requested an emergency landing. The aircraft came in as normal but landed with the nose gear apparently retracted.



The airports emergency responders were fast on the scene as passengers on the aircraft used the emergency slides to vacate the aircraft. 

The Boeing 737-800 registration S2-AJA took off as normal from Hazrat Shahjahal International airport in Dhaka at around 1130am, landed with nose gear retracted. There are no reports of any injuries to passengers or crew at this stage. US Bangla has not yet responded to our request for comment.

Jet Airways 737 turns back after crew allegedly forget to presurise the cabin

A Jet Airways Boeing 737, registration VT-JGS, operating flight 9W697 from Mumbai to Jaipur was forced to return to the airport after nearly 30 passengers started having ear and nose bleeds due to a pressure deficiency in the cabin.

According to financially troubled Jet Airways the aircraft had 166 passengers and 5 crew members on board at the time of the incident on Thursday. In a brief statement issued via social media, the airline claimed the aircraft turned back due to 'a loss of cabin pressure' and that the affected aircraft 'landed normally in Mumbai. All guests were deplaned safely and taken to the terminal. First aid was administered to few guests who complained of ear pain, bleeding nose etc.'

Please refer to our official statement: pic.twitter.com/oCC77WVvfI

— Jet Airways (@jetairways) September 20, 2018

Jet Airways, part-owned by Etihad Airways, said the flight crew had been taken off flying duties while an investigation is ongoing.

19 dead in Sudan plane crash

South Sudan Plane Crash -   It has been confirmed that nineteen people were killed when a small passenger plane crashed into a lake as it tried to land in thick fog in central South Sudan. 

According to government official Taban Abel Aguek, four people, including two children, survived the crash. Victims include the pilot and co-pilot, a staff member of the Red Cross and an Anglican bishop, he told local media. 

"When it arrived the weather was so foggy and when it tried to land it crashed into Lake Yirol adjacent to Yirol town," Mr Abel Aguek, said. "The whole town is in shock, the shops are closed, some people have taken their relatives for burial. It is a commercial plane that crashed," he added.

The aircraft was carrying 23 people from the capital, Juba, to the city of Yirol on Sunday when the incident happened.  Images appearing on social media seemed to show the tangled wreckage of the aircraft part submerged in water with some locals using canoes helping the rescue effort. 

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Air India crew of brand new A320neo land on wrong runway that was under construction at Male, Maldives

An investigation is underway into why the crew of an Air India Airbus A320neo landed on an unfinished runway at Malé Velana International Airport in the Maldives on 7th September.

The aircraft, registration VT-EXL, was operating flight AI263 from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport with 136 passengers onboard at the time of the incident. During the landing on the unfinished runway that was still under construction at least one tyre in the main gear deflated and there was some damage to the aircraft's braking systems. Following the landing, the aircraft had to be towed to a parking stand where all passengers disembarked safely. 

The flight deck crew of the aircraft have been grounded pending results of the investigation which is being carried out by officials from both the Maldives and India. 

Microburst - a factor in the Aeromexico Connect E190 crash but Aeromexico still sacks the pilots

The Mexican Investigators charged with looking into the crash of an Embraer E190 of Aeromexico Connect at Durango, Mexico, on 31st July this year have issued a preliminary report which indicates that a microburst wind shear event was a factor in the crash.

The aircraft, an Embraer ERJ-190-100 registration  XA-GAL operated by Aeroméxico Connect was performing Flight AM2431 on 31st July was talking off from Guadalupe Victoria International Airport 's runway 03.  It had reached a height of 30 feet when it suddenly came down and collided with the ground, a fire then ensued, but remarkably all 105 people on the aircraft survived. 

US NTSB investigate engine failure on Delta 757-200

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating reports that a Delta Boeing 757-200 had an uncontained engine failure when it departed Atlanta airport on 5th September heading to Orlando.

The Boeing 757-200, registration N668DN was operating flight DL1418 shortly after 2300 and climbed to about 18,000 feet in eight minutes having to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

The aircraft was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2037  engines and following the uncontained engine failure, the crew returned the aircraft safely to base.  There were 127 people on the aircraft at the time of the incident, no reported injuries.

 

Yeti Airlines Jetstream 41 suffers collapsed nose-wheel in runway excursion

A Yeti Airlines BAe jetstream 41 suffered serious damage when it made a runway excursion at Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport, Nepal on 1st September.

The aircraft, registration 9N-AHW, was operating flight 1424 when it went off the runway at around 2030 on Saturday.  There were 21 passengers and 3 crew members onboard the aircraft at the time of the incident and it is understood that 5 people sustained some minor injuries. 

The nose landing gear collapsed as the aircraft came to a stop in the grass near taxiways D and E which closed the airport for 12 hours before with the help of the army, the aircraft was moved to a safe location. 

Yeti Airlines used social media to issue the following statement -

MH370 message logs were modified claims new investigators.

It is being reported this week that independent investigators looking into the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that was operating flight MH370 in March 2014, says parts of the report and data logs have been modified.

The investigators have said they believe that the official report might have been modified and Malaysia Airlines is withholding information. These investigators are claiming that the message logs released by the airline that were given to the official investigation and contained in the official report are not complete, some have been taken out or in some cases changed. 

The group of independent investigators, lead by Victor Iannello reports he's 'found some anomalies in the message logs that were included in factual information released by Malaysia', as well as the safety report. "It is disappointing that more than four years after MH370's disappearance, we are still asking Malaysia to release withheld data,'" he claimed on a blog last week.

Airport worker dies in Russia after aircraft overshoots runway

Photo Tass

An airport worker at the Russian airport at Sochi has been killed in during an emergency response at the airport when a Utair Boeing 737 aircraft crashed.

The aircraft was landing when it careered off the end of the runway ending in a riverbed where it caught fire. According to the Russian health ministry, the aircraft was carrying 164 passengers and 6 crew members at the time of the incident, 18 of who suffered some injuries during the event.

An official at the airport said that the fire service had extinguished the aircraft fire within 8 minutes and the transportation minister, Yevgeny Ditrikh, has confirmed that Vladimir Begiyan, a shift supervisor who was one of the first responders to the accident, died after having what appeared to be a heart attack at the scene.

At this stage, no cause of the crash has been identified.