Deadliest air disasters in the history of aviation (part 1)

When the wright brothers set off on their first glider/airplane, they were quite aware about the risks they were going to encounter during flight. However, the Wright brothers managed to complete their 12 seconds flight on their airplane and paved the path for the humanity to travel around the world not in 80 days, but as a matter of fact in mere hours. Aerospace and Aeronautical industry has come a long way and now air travel is considered to be one of the safest mode of transportation. The possibility of an aircraft falling out from the sky or a flight operation ending in jeopardy is one in 20 million. However, scientists and engineers have been able to manufacture such safe aircraft, due to the air crashes involved in the past. In this article we will skim across the deadliest air disasters, that shook the whole sector to its core.

1.Grand Canyon crash 1956:

On June 30th, 1956 a Douglas DC7 operated by United airlines, collided with Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation?operated by Transworld airlines midair resulting in 128 fatalities. Grand Canyon crash is one of the most one of its kind accident, which is regarded by many analysts as the first fatal accident involving commercial aircraft The fact that the two aircrafts collided mid-air, was quite haunting and devastating. An investigative committee was constituted by the USA government to probe the accident. Both aircrafts lacked the fancy and advanced equipment which ?the modern day jet liners possess. Lockheed Constellation was quite a prominent aircraft in terms of design and structure as it was composed of three rudders present at its tail section. The investigative committee analyzed all aspects of the incident and reached a conclusion that the crash was a byproduct of primitive flight dispatch system and the inability of the crews of the two aircrafts to avoid one another timely, The commission concluded that even if the two crews had spotted one another it would have been too late to change the course and avoid a disaster. In the wake of this incident the whole industry was revolutionized and reforms were introduced to avoid such disasters from happening in future again.

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2. 1961 Ndola United Nations crash:

On 18th September 1961, DC6 belonging to the united nations crashed in Ndola Zambia. This incident caught the attention of the whole world as United Nation’s general sectary Dag Hammarskj?ld and his confidants were killed in this air disaster. Dag Hammarskj?ld was on a nationwide tour of Zambia on a peace keeping mission, and to resolve the civil war and insecurity that persisted in the violence torn nation. It was widely believed that the UN’s DC6 was taken down deliberately by insurgents fighting in the outskirts of Ndola. Witnesses reported seeing flames in the air just before the aircraft went down. A high level investigative committee was set up by the United Nations to nab the culprits behind the crash. The investigative committee had no CVR and FDR as older generations of aircraft lacked these crucial instruments. The investigative team unraveled that the aircraft was not shot down by a missile, and ruled out any possibility of a foul play. However, the committee failed to uncover the reasons behind this crash. The investigators discovered the body of security personal in the cockpit, which was a sign of indication that the presence of the security guard distracted them from doing their job. However, this final report lead to the rise of numerous conspiracy theories. On 2011, a historian and an author in her book claimed that one of the flight operators, who was listening to the transcripts between different pilots flying in the NDOLA region, informed her that he heard a disturbing conversation regarding the DC6 between 2 fighter pilots. He identified one of the pilot as Jan van Risseghem,?a mercenary commander of a small air force in the breakaway province of?Katanga?in the former?Belgian Congo?and was the pilot of President?Mo?se Tshombé. United Nations constituted another high level investigative committee to probe the matter. The investigators discovered that the pilots were using outdated approach charts that lacked many mountainous terrains present in the area. Plus the crew of the DC6 was overworked and was suffering from fatigue and sleep deprivation, which limited their airmanship ability.

3. KLM and PAN AM COLLISION:

On March 27, 1977 shortly after 5pm local time a 747 operated by KLM and another Boeing 747, collided with one another on the runway of Los Redo airport situated in Canary island. This specific accident is regarded as one of the most deadly and grave commercial aviation crash that claimed 583 people. Boeing 747 is regarded as queen of the sky, and it possesses the privilege of being the largest passenger aircraft. The pictures that came out from the island were haunting and devastating. Luckily Captain Robert Bragg who was serving as a co-pilot on the Pan-Am flight was among the few lucky beings, who survived the crash. The conditions that day were quite foggy, and thus limited the visibility. Actually, an act of terror forced the authorities to shut down Gran Canaria Airport?and halt the flight operations. Thus, many flights were diverted to Canary island. Los Redoes airport is significantly a small airport and lacks the manpower and resources to handle a heavy influx of incoming diverted flights. However, by evening, Gran Canaria Airport?was opened and flight operations were resumed. The flight operators and the air traffic controllers now faced an overwhelming task of getting the aircrafts back in the air. Plus, the mist and fog began to settle in as the evening approached. The investigative team discovered that fog was the primary contribution factor in the crash. However, the main culprit behind the collision was the KLM crew. The KLM crew assumed that the air traffic controller had given them the clearance to take off, while the Pan-am aircraft was still present in the middle of runway. The fog and mist made it impossible for the KLM crew to observe the pan-am Boeing 747, and abandon it’s takeoff. Poor communication between pilots and the ATC was also a contributing factor behind this deadly crash. A petty misunderstanding claimed 583 lives and lead to a catastrophic disaster which could have been averted easily, had proper communication existed between the 2 crews and the ATC.

4. Air India flight 182:

On 23rd June 1985, a Boeing 747 operated by air India decomposed in mid-air, and lost contact with the air traffic control while flying over an ocean. The flight was operating on Montreal (Canada) -london-dehli route. An air crash investigation team was assembled by the authorities concerned to investigate this accident. The investigators quickly learned that the 747 was flying with 5, rather than 4 conventional engines required by a Boeing 747 for safe flight operations. The engine however was mounted on the rear end of one wing and was not operational. The air India, in order to get one of its engine back to India in a cost-effective manner, opted for this specific strategy. Addition of an additional engine, lead to the production of Asymmetrical thrust. However, the pilots were compensating this production of uneven thrust by utilizing rudder, as indicated by the flight data recorder. The cockpit voice recorder painted a disturbing picture, as it cut off the recording quite suddenly. The investigators got the smoking gun they were looking for, when they discovered residue of explosive found among the wreckage. Furthermore, employees at the Montreal airport revealed that they loaded a suitcase on the plane, whose owner never boarded the aircraft. This baggage was suspected of housing explosive materials, which the investigators claim detonated mid-flight at cruising altitude. The bag belonged to Talwinder Singh Parmar a sikh separatist militant and fighter, demanding the formation of Khalistan[ independent state for sikhs]. His militant group was accused of masterminding many other attacks that attacked the sovereignty of India. Talwinder Singh Parmar was eventually apprehended and was tried by the justice system.

5. 9/11 attack:

The September 11, 2001, incident shook the whole mankind as millions across the globe viewed the scenes of aircrafts crashing into twin towers situated in New York and one in Pentagon in a feeling of desperation and hopelessness. American flight 77 took off from ?Washington Dulles International Airport but the air traffic controller lost verbal contact with the aircraft once the aircraft reached cruising altitude. Though the aircraft was visible on the radar, the crew was failing to comply by the instructions given by the ATC. The air traffic controllers watched in horror as the plane began to turn back towards Washington and started to descend rapidly. Minutes later the aircraft disappeared from the secondary radar the air traffic controllers tuned in to primary radar to monitor the movement of the aircraft. The plane disappeared from the primary radar too, and moments later the controllers got the word that American flight 77 has crashed into Pentagon. On the same day moments before the American 77 crash, American airline flight 11 crashed into one of the twin towers of world trade Centre situated in New York at 8:46 am local time. United airline flight 175 which departed Los Angles and was bound for Boston crashed into the south tower of world trade Centre, minutes after American flight 11 crashed into the north tower. A third aircraft operated by united airlines crashed into a field situated in Pennsylvania. These were not isolate incidents but in fact were an act of terror. Al-Qaeeda accepted the responsibility of hijacking all 4 aircrafts. The 4th hijack attempt failed as the passengers on board flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and foiled there plan to commit an act of terror but failed to prevent the aircraft from slamming into the grounds. Concrete steps were taken and many new regulations were enforced all across the globe by the aviation regulators. Now it is prohibited for any intruder to enter the cockpit and the crew is now forced to keep the cockpit door shut during flight. In addition passengers are thoroughly screened at major airports present across the globe and thus eliminating the risk of an another hijack attempt.

6. Malaysia air flight 370:

MH-370 is actually a mystery rather than a disaster and is unresolved up to this date. Neither bodies or the wreckage has been discovered up to this day. Some scattered pieces of aircrafts were discovered by residents residing in islands present in the Indian ocean, and some of those parts did belong to the ghost flight as confirmed by Boeing. On march 8,2014 a boeing 777 operated by Malaysia air took of from Kualalampur airport The air traffic controller lost all contact with the doomed flight at 12:14 am while the aircraft was flying over the Puket island. The Malaysian authorities remained numb for more than 6 hours before announcing at dawn break that MH-370 has gone missing, and they have no clue about it’s whereabouts. Initially the search and rescue operations were confined to the strait of Malaka only, the region where the aircraft lost contact with the ATC. However Malaysian military claimed that it’s radars detected MH-370 flying over Malaysia after loosing all contacts with the ground. The aircraft made a sharp turn while flying over the city of Penang, before heading south towards the Indian ocean. Penang was the hometown of the pilot in command of MH-370, captain Zahari Ahmed Shah. Critics and analysists believed that who ever was present in the cockpit flew over Penang to take a last look at it, and bid farewell to the city. Satellite data further revealed that MH-370 kept flying in southern direction towards Australia over Indian ocean for about 7 hours. This new data forced the authorities to look for the aircraft in the Indian Ocean. However Indian Ocean is regarded as one of the largest water body in the world and finding the plane in the Indian ocean is like searching for a needle in a haystack. The search for MH-370 punctured a hole in the pockets of the authorities conducting the search operation. Thus, the operation was called off back in 2018. Aviation experts claim that either one of the pilot most likely the captain depressurized the cabin once the 1st officer left the cockpit and turned off the transponder of the aircraft which provides accurate coordinates of the aircraft. Then he continued flying the aircraft for 7 hours, before the aircraft finally ran out of fuel and crashed into the Indian Ocean. Many conspiracy theories are associated with this ghost flight, but one can only hope that the wreckage of the aircraft could be discovered in a timely manner now.