People have survived serious aircraft accidents

IN recent years there have been some serious accidents and incidents where aircraft have been extensively damaged or destroyed but all on board survived.

In January this year, US Airways flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River in New York after both its engines were rendered inoperable after the aircraft collided with a flock of Canadian geese moments after take-off.

All 155 passengers and crew survived the incident and quickly evacuated the airplane by climbing onto the wing and deploying the escape slides. The Airbus 320 was written off in the incident.

However, the captain, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, was hailed a hero for successfully ditching the aircraft without loss of life or serious injury.

Last November, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 was badly damaged during a heavy landing at Rome’s Ciampino Airport after the aircraft was struck by a flock of starlings while on final approach. None of the 166 passengers or six crew was injured.

The crew were flying the aircraft manually when an estimated 1,000 starlings “engulfed” the aeroplane resulting in engine power dropping considerably.

Attempts to increase power by moving the power levers produced no result – 30 seconds later the aircraft had made a hard landing and come to a halt on the runway.

It later emerged that the incident bares similarities to the ditching of a US Airways plane in the Hudson River in January. Both jets, although produced by different manufacturers (Boeing and Airbus), use the same CFM International CFM56 engines. The inquiry into the Ryanair incident is being conducted by crash investigators from Italy’s Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo, which is looking to see if there is “any commonality” between the two accidents.

Last December, a Continental Airlines 737-500 ran off the runway at Denver Airport in Colorado after the crew attempted to abort the take-off. The jet was on a scheduled service from Denver Colorado to Houston, Texas, with 110 passengers and five crew members on board. During take-off, the aircraft veered off the runway and caught fire. A total of 38 people were injured, but all survived.

In August 2005, Air France flight 358, an Airbus A340 aircraft with 297 passengers and 12 crew members on board, crashed off the end of the runway and burst into flames in poor weather at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

While approaching Toronto, the flight crew was advised of weather-related delays. During final approach, they were also warned that the crew of an aircraft which had landed ahead of them had reported poor braking action.

During landing, the Air France aircraft travelled through an area of heavy rain while there were numerous lightning strikes in the area. The aircraft touched down about 3800ft down the runway, but was unable to stop before the end of the 9000ft strip. The jet crashed off the end of the runway into a ravine and caught fire.

All passengers and crew members were able to evacuate the aircraft before the fire reached the escape routes.

A total of two crew members and 10 passengers were seriously injured during the crash and the ensuing evacuation.