AIRCRAFT & AIRPORT RELATED INCIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
AIRCRAFT & AIRPORT RELATED INCIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
2025 Incidents
All passengers survive crash landing as plane flips at Toronto airport
17th February 2025
The Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis skidded along the runway with flames visible and it came to a halt upside down as firefighters came to the rescue. Survivors said they were suspended upside down in their seats and had to release themselves, dropping on to the ceiling before clambering out on to the snow-covered tarmac. Eighteen people were injured but only a small number are thought to be seriously hurt, and investigators are looking into what caused the crash. There were 76 passengers and four crew on board the 16-year-old CRJ900 aircraft, made by Canada's Bombardier company. In an evening briefing, Deborah Flint of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority called the response by emergency personnel "textbook" and credited them with helping ensure no loss of life.
2024 Incidents
Plane veers off runway amid emergency incident
24 September 2024
A light plane has veered off a airport runway amid an emergency incident.
Staff at Gloucestershire Airport activated their emergency plan after issues with a Piper Navajo aircraft at 14:40 BST this afternoon.
No injuries have been reported, the airport has confirmed. The main runway has been closed while the aircraft is recovered.
A spokesperson for the airport added that they were unable to provide further information but would provide updates “when appropriate”. The Air Accident Investigation Branch has been notified.
Photos from the scene show the plane which has “veered” from the runway.
Our reporter, Mark Smith, said the plane had “left the runway and went on to the grass, where its nose has sunk down”.
Early evening on Tuesday there were still emergency lights at the airport, at Staverton, between Cheltenham and Gloucester.
2023 Incidents
AAIB report into the Leeds Bradford Incident:
20 October 2023
AAIB Report into a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-8K5 (G-TAWD) which had a lateral runway excursion at Leeds Bradford Airport on 20 October 2023 has been published.
2022 Incidents
2021 Incidents
Royal Navy Hawk crashes in Cornwall
25 March 2021
Witnesses described two crew being “safely ejected” from the plane using parachutes and an investigation has now been launched.
Two medical helicopters were also reported near Lizard’s Point in Cornwall, the most southerly point of the British mainland.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence said: “Two pilots are being checked by medics after ejecting from a Royal Navy Hawk aircraft from 736 Naval Air Squadron during a flight from RNAS Culdrose. An investigation will begin in due course. We won’t be providing further detail at this time.”
The Telegraph understands the aircraft in question was a Hawk T2 variant – based from RAF Valley in Anglesey, with the Red Arrows – and the only remaining Hawk in service after the T1 was cut in the defence review.
It was part of the 736 Naval Air Squadron, flying from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose and the crash happened near there.
Both pilots ejected and their injuries are unknown, but they were seen walking away, according to sources.
It is understood the plane crashed on land.
The 736 is an aggressor squadron, and are regularly used to simulate enemy fighter jets to test the Navy’s vessels’ operational readiness.
These drills – known as Thursday War – occur on Thursdays, and it is likely that the Hawk was part of these training exercises.
Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Emergency services are currently in the St Martins area of Helston following reports of a plane crash. Public are asked to avoid the area whilst first responders attend the scene.
“Two people have been treated by ambulance at the scene and will now be taken to hospital. Their injuries are not currently thought to be life threatening or changing.”
BOEING 777: SIGNS OF ‘METAL FATIGUE’ FOUND ON DENVER PLANE ENGINE
23 February 2021
One of the fan blades in the plane engine that failed shortly after take-off in Denver showed signs of metal fatigue, investigators say.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the blade would undergo further examinations.
Flight 328 was able to make an emergency landing at Denver airport on Saturday, but parts of the engine fell on homes. No-one was hurt.
Boeing has recommended grounding all its 777 aircraft with the same engines.
What Made the Indonesian Plane Crash? New Report Sheds Light
10 February 2021
In a preliminary report on Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, investigators said the crash might have been caused by several factors, including a problem controlling the engines’ thrust.
BANGKOK — A preliminary investigation into the crash in Indonesia last month of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 has found that a difference in the level of thrust between the plane’s two engines may have contributed to the aircraft rolling over before it plunged into the Java Sea, investigators said Wednesday.
As in most crashes, the investigators are looking at a range of factors that may have contributed to the cause. They are assessing information from the flight data recorder and the plane’s maintenance records, but searchers have not recovered the cockpit voice recorder, which would tell them what the pilots were saying in their final minutes.
2020 Incidents
One dead after Canadian Snowbirds jet crashes into home
18 May 2020
At least one person has died after an aerobatic Canadian air force jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood.
Another crew member was injured when the plane hit a house in the city of Kamloops, British Columbia.
One pilot was able to eject before the crash on Sunday, video showed.
The Snowbirds jet had been on a tour “to salute Canadians doing their part to fight the spread of Covid-19”, according to the team’s website.
The Snowbirds perform aerobatic stunts for the public, similar to Red Arrows in the UK or the US Blue Angels.
2019 Incidents
Rapid Response: Aircraft crash brings quick media and federal response
30 Dec 2019
A small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in Maryland, killing the pilot and damaging two homes
Dec 30, 2019
What happened
Just before 3 p.m. on a dreary and drizzly Dec. 29, 2019, the bucolic calm of the suburban Maryland neighborhood of Lanham was turned upside down in an instant.
A little over one air mile from the College Park Airport – the oldest continuously operating airport in the United States – a single-engine plane crashed into the densely populated residential neighborhood in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
A firefighter walks around the scene of a small plane crash in the Lanham neighborhood of Maryland Dec. 29, 2019. The small plane crashed in the Maryland suburbs of the nation’s capital Sunday, hitting a home’s carport and killing at least a person aboard the aircraft, authorities said.
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Public Safety Communications (911 center) began receiving calls that a plane had flown into a home. Additional reports of “several bodies lying in the driveways” and “multiple houses on fire” brought a full box alarm and additional EMS units. An initial “small aircraft assignment” (limited response) was dispatched and was quickly followed up with additional units.
Some of the information that had been initially shared with dispatchers turned out to be incorrect. The pilot was killed, but, amazingly, there were no other injuries. One house was on fire and another was damaged. A car that had been parked in a driveway and the plane were both fully involved in fire upon the arrival of units from first-due West Lanham Station 28.
Reports indicate that the plane flew through an attached carport and slammed into the car, bursting into flames and damaging the attached house. Debris and heat damage affected the close delta-side exposure residence. The debris field gives an indication as to the high velocity with which the plane struck the structure.
First-arriving units were confronted with a large contingent of residents in the streets, a large debris field, the pilot’s body in open view, and what appeared to be a significant fire in progress. There is a plethora of prior-to-fire department-arrival video showing small explosions from the car and/or plane as the fire consumed what was left.
The three fires (house, plane and car) were all contained rather quickly by first-arriving units, with the scene slowly deescalating throughout the afternoon.
The victim was quickly isolated and covered, due to being in plain view.
The county foam unit (from the College Park station) and the hazardous materials response team responded to assist with extinguishment, product containment and cleanup. Fortunately, no one was home at either residence affected.
Why it’s significant
Fire and EMS departments need to be prepared for all types of responses. This incident demonstrated the impact of training and preparedness on the timely and effective outcomes of a tragic set of circumstances. Most high-performing departments respond well to individual emergencies. When those incidents involve a burning plane, a separate burning and partially collapsed house, an exposed house smoking, and a burning car in the middle of a residential neighborhood, five miles outside of Washington, DC, the challenges are significant.
Kazakhstan plane crash: Bek Air plane comes down near Almaty airport
27 Dec 2019
A passenger jet has crashed in Kazakhstan, killing at least 12 people but leaving dozens of survivors.
The Bek Air plane was flying from Almaty – Kazakhstan’s largest city – to the capital Nur-Sultan when it smashed into a building just after take-off.
The Fokker 100 aircraft had 93 passengers and five crew members on board. Survivors described walking from the wreckage into the dark and snow.
Dozens are being treated in hospital. The cause of the crash is unclear.
A Reuters news agency reporter close to the scene said there was heavy fog at the time.
The interior ministry initially said 15 people had been killed, but it later revised the number of victims down to 12.
Kazakhstan’s aviation committee has suspended all Bek Air flights as well as those involving Fokker 100 aircraft pending the results of the investigation.
What’s known about the crash?
The Flightradar24 information website said the flight departed at 07:21 (01:21 GMT), and “the last signal was received in that same minute”.
The airport said the plane lost height at 07:22 before striking a concrete barrier and crashing into a two-storey building. There was no fire upon impact.
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Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said the plane’s tail had scraped the runway twice during take-off, leaving marks.
The plane crashed into a two-storey building, which was partly destroyed
One survivor, businessman Aslan Nazaraliyev, told the BBC that the plane had begun vibrating violently. People screamed and the aircraft smashed into the ground.
He said part of the plane was crushed like “an aluminium can”. He and others managed to get out and helped fellow passengers to safety.
“It was ugly. It was dark. We were lighting with cell phone lights,” Mr Nazaraliyev said.
Another told news website Tengrinews she heard a “terrifying sound” before the plane started losing altitude.
“The plane was flying at a tilt. Everything was like in a movie: screaming, shouting, people crying,” she said.
What of the victims?
Mr Sklyar said that most of the passengers who died or suffered serious injuries were in the front part of the plane.
Eight people died at the scene, two while being treated at the airport and two in hospital, AFP news agency reports.
Some 67 people were injured in the accident, nine of them children, the health ministry said. Forty-nine were still in hospital on Friday evening, of whom eight people were said to be in a critical condition.
Most of those on board were Kazakh citizens although Chinese, Kyrgyz and Ukrainian nationals were reportedly among the injured.
The captain has been confirmed as one of the fatalities.
The editor of the Informburo.kz website said one of its journalists, 35-year-old Dana Kruglova, was killed while flying to see her parents for New Year.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport: Private plane overshoots runway
11 Dec 2019
Flights were cancelled after a private plane came off the runway at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Four people were on board but no-one was hurt when the plane landed at about 06:00 GMT.
A source at Liverpool FC confirmed the private jet had flown from the United States and was carrying one of the club’s owners, Mike Gordon.
The airport tweeted at 23:20 to say that “normal operations have now resumed”.
More than 9,000 passengers had flights cancelled, delayed or transferred to Manchester Airport and many booked into hotels for the night.
Image caption Mike Gordon (right) pictured with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in June 2019
Mr Gordon, who is the president of Fenway Sports Group, was on a flight from Bedford, Massachusetts, to Liverpool to attend a regular meeting at the club.
“He was not injured but would like to pass on his appreciation to the staff at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the emergency services for their amazing work,” the source said.
The airport – which has apologised to passengers – issued several updates, saying work to deal with the problems was continuing, before later confirming that normal operations had resumed.
A specialist removal team and firefighters had been struggling all day to remove the plane’s wheels, which became embedded in mud 59m (194ft) to the side of the runway.
They had been trying to dig out a track with the aim of dragging the plane out on to the runway.
Once the jet was removed, a runway inspection had to be carried out before the airport could reopen.
Image caption Liverpool Airport has apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused
Liverpool Airport operations director Paul Staples earlier said the jet was too close to the landing strip to use the runway.
“We can’t compromise safety,” Mr Staples said, adding runways must have 75m of clear space.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating.
A spokeswoman for VistaJet added: “We are fully co-operating with the airport and relevant authorities.”
Image caption Passengers due to fly from the airport to Malaga and Faro were transported to Manchester Airport
Passengers due to fly were advised to contact their airlines for further information.
Eric Henderson, from Preston, was due to travel to Amsterdam for work.
“Our flight was due to leave at 07:30. We noticed at ten to that the flight had been moved to 11:40,” he said.
“There was no explanation until we looked out of the large windows on the concourse and saw all the blue flashing lights.”
Image caption The private plane came off the runway shortly after landing at about 06:00
Steven and Kerry Grounds, from Warrington, were due to fly to Amsterdam to celebrate Kerry’s 40th birthday.
“I don’t think we will be going anywhere, so we’re going back home,” she said.
Three crew members and one passenger were on board the plane when it came off the runway after landing.
Image caption Liverpool Airport earlier tweeted to say the work was expected to take some time
Flights arriving from Salzburg, where Liverpool FC played on Tuesday night, the Isle of Man and Dublin were diverted to Manchester, while planes from Belfast and Amsterdam were cancelled.
Liverpool FC flew back to the UK shortly after the match finished, the club has confirmed.
Image caption Passengers faced delays at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
EasyJet earlier confirmed that six flights had been cancelled and four flights had been re-routed to Manchester.
“Customers on cancelled flights have been given the option of transferring their flight free of charge or receiving a refund,” the spokesperson said.
Red Arrows pilot ‘fatigued’ before fatal RAF Valley crash
10 Oct 2019
A Red Arrows pilot involved in a fatal crash was almost certainly fatigued and distracted, investigators have said.
The Service Inquiry Panel (SIP) found distraction may have directly influenced Flight Lt David Stark’s actions on 20 March 2018.
Kent-born Cpl Jonathan Bayliss, 41, died when a Hawk aircraft crashed on Anglesey.
Flight Lt Stark suffered non-life threatening injuries after ejecting from the plane.
He was later discharged from hospital.
The SIP report stated the jet departed from RAF Valley with the intention of simulating an engine failure, before flying to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.
During the training manoeuvre, the plane stalled and crashed near the runway as it was flying too low to recover.
Flight Lt Stark was described by the panel as an experienced pilot who was familiar with the exercise.
The inquiry found he generally worked from 07:30 until 17:30 and his routine did not include “sufficient time for rest”, which was a contributory factor in the crash.
It noted he was distracted by an air traffic control call asking him to confirm the aircraft’s landing gear was down shortly before the accident.
The pilot’s actions make it “very likely” he was suffering from reduced situational awareness, the report said.
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The panel concluded: “At the critical moment of the sortie he may not have recognised the associated hazards as the situation developed.”
It added the pressures felt by Red Arrows pilots were “exacerbated by resource constraints” and the “shortfall” in engineering and air safety personnel could lead to a future incident.
The inquiry found Lt Stark ejected half a second before the crash “following the dramatic realisation that the aircraft would impact the ground”, and there was not enough time for him to properly warn the engineer.
Cpl Bayliss was born in Dartford, Kent, and worked at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit before joining the RAF in 2001.