SIMILAR ACCIDENTS
A number of major commercial airliners have crashed in recent years while landing or on approach at airports around the globe:
Nov. 1, 2011
Chopin Airport, Warsaw, Poland
Lot Airlines Flight 16 from Newark, N.J, a Boeing 767 with 231 people on board, landed on its belly after the landing gear failed. There were no serious injuries and the pilot was hailed as a Polish national hero.
May 22, 2010
Mangalore Airport, Mangalore, India
Air India Flight 812 from Dubai, a Boeing 737-800, overshot a hilltop runway, crashed and plunged over a cliff, killing 158 people in one of India’s deadliest air accidents. Only eight people survived the crash. It was later discovered one of the pilots had been asleep, was disoriented when he awoke and made critical errors.
Feb. 12, 2009
Clarence, N.Y., near Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Continental Connection Flight 3407, bound for Buffalo from Newark, N.J., crashed into a home on its descent, killing all 49 passengers on board and one person on the ground. The National Transporation Safety Board determined the pilots’ improper response to a low-speed warning led the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 to stall. Among contributing factors were the crew’s inattention to airspeeds and violation of regulations prohibiting unnecessary conversation during takeoffs and landings.
Jan. 17, 2008
Heathrow International Airport, London
A Boeing 777 flying from Beijing made a forceful, crunching touchdown short of the runway at Heathrow. The impact tore away the British Airways Flight 038’s landing gear and severely damaged the two engines and wings. There were 19 injuries reported among the 152 people aboard.
Dec. 8, 2005
Midway International Airport, Chicago
A Boeing 737 from Baltimore crashed after landing amid a snowstorm. Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 hit the snowy runway and crashed through fences before hitting a car in the street outside of the airport, killing a 6-year-old boy inside.
Aug. 2, 2005
Pearson International Airport, Toronto
An Airbus A340 from Paris thudded onto the runway, then skidded off the pavement, bursting into flames while landing in a storm. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived the crash.
June 1, 1999
Little Rock National Airport, Little Rock, Ark.
A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 jet from Dallas crashed while landing during a thunderstorm, skidding off the end of a runway and slamming into a light structure attached to a catwalk. Eleven people aboard American Airlines Flight 1420 were killed and 89 injured.
Associated Press
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