9 plane crashes in year 2014

The AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Singapore, Singapore. 155 passengers and 7 crewmembers were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screen while it was enroute at FL320 over the Java Sea. Debris and bodies have been recovered in the Java Sea. All 162 people onboard were killed. The aircraft experienced difficult weather conditions with storm cells while it was cruising over the java sea at FL320. The crew requested to deviate left of its airway and to climb to FL380. At that time, the aircraft was observed normally. Due to other traffic the aircraft could not get cleared to FL380 instantly and was cleared to FL340 at first. When the aircraft was radioed with the clearance to climb to FL340, there was no response anymore, but the aircraft was still visible on radar screens (the ADS-B was still emitting). 1 minute later, the aircraft disappeared from radar screen. The last recorded position was about 110 NM East-South-East of Pulau Belitung. There were seven aircraft passing through the area at that time at flight levels between 290 and 380, neither of them encountered any difficulties. Debris and bodies of the aircraft have been located two days later, on Dec 30th 2014, in the Java Sea about 110 NM from Pulau Belitung, about 5 NM (8 km) from the last radar position. Bigger debris of what appeared to be the aircraft wreckage have been located 40 Nm (70 km) from the last radar position. Both black boxes (CVR and DFDR) have been founded more than two weeks after the accident, on January 13th 2015. AirAsia Indonesia did not have a license to fly the Surabaya-to-Singapore route the day the accident occurred. The airline was approved to fly the route four days a week but it did not include Sunday. AirAsia Indonesia is a subsidiary of the Malaysian-based AirAsia group. The parent company owns almost 49% of the Indonesian operation.

The Dassault Falcon 50EX corporate jet operated by Unijet took off from Moscow, Russia, for a private passenger flight to Paris, France. 1 passenger and 3 crewmembers were onboard. During takeoff the jet impacted a snowplow, and crashed. All the four occupants perished in the accident. The Falcon 50EX was carrying one passenger, the CEO of the French oil company Total, back from a business trip. The plane took off from Moskva-Vnukovo Airport. The airplane was cleared for takeoff from runway 06. Visibility was poor with 350 meters, but the visibility on the runway was better with an RVR (Runway Visual Range) of around 1000 meters. During takeoff, while the plane was at high speed, it impacted a snowplow. The airplane rolled over and burst into flames. The driver of the snowplow survived, and explained he was lost and was not aware he was on the runway. Debris from the aircraft was scattered up to 200 meters from the crash site. One of the engine was found some 50 meters from the crash site, while one of the landing gears was ripped off and discovered nearly 200 meters from the main mass of debris.

The Hesa IrAn-140-100 (a licensed version of the Antonov AN-140 produced by Hesa in Iran) operated by Sepahan Airlines took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Tabas, Iran. 42 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The aircraft lost height after takeoff, and crashed. 37 occupants died in the crash, and 11 occupants have been seriously injured. There were no injuries or casualties on the ground. The plane suffered a technical malfunction of the right hand engine immediately after takeoff. The crew reported a problem and tried to come back to the airport, but they did not make it. The plane crashed into a residential area near the Liberty/Azadi Stadium about 1.6 km North-West of the runway end.

The MD-83 operated by Swiftair on behalf of Air Algerie took off from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for a passenger flight to Algiers, Algeria. 112 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was enroute over Mali near Gao about 50 minutes into the flight when contact with the aircraft was lost. The plane crashed near Gossi, Mali, in a desert area. All 118 occupants were killed. The plane was operated by Spanish airline Swiftair, which owns the plane. The plane took off uneventfully. After around 50 minutes of flight, while cruising over Mali, the pilots sent a message to ask Niger air control to change its route because of strong weather in the area. Heavy storm were prevailing in the area. Then the MD-83 vanished from radar screens. The plane crashed Southeast of the city of Gossi, about 50km north of the border Burkina Faso/Mali and about 100km southwest of Gao The wreckage was found more than 15 hours later in North Mali, close to the Algerian border.

The ATR-72-212A operated by Transasia took off from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for a passenger flight to Makung, Taiwan. 54 passengers and 4 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed during its approach to Makung airport. 11 people received injuries, 47 occupants perished. Strong gusting winds were prevailing at the time of the accident. The plane was on approach to Makung, descending through about 300 feet AGL about 1000 meters short of the runway when the aircraft made ground contact, struck buildings and burst into flames. The ATR 72 ended near the village of Xixi in the Husi Township.

The Boeing 777-200 operated by Malaysia Airlines took off from Amsterdam, Netherlands, for a passenger flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screens while it was en-route at FL330 about 50 NM northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine. The burning wreckage has been located near the Ukrainian/Russian border. All 298 people onboard were killed.

The Boeing 777-200 operated by Malaysia Airlines took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a passenger flight to Beijing, China. 226 passengers and 12 crew members were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screen during its cruise over the Gulf of Thailand. Radar and radio contact with the aircraft had been lost while the plane was enroute at FL350 (around 10 000 meters) about 90 NM (160 km) northeast of Kota Bharu, Malaysia over the Gulf of Thailand. There has been no distress call. The aircraft wreckage has still not yet been located. Investigations indicated the aircraft had ended in the Indian Ocean, thousand of kilometres west of the Australian coast. Some debris have drifted and made landfall on the African coastline. They have been recovered in the years following the accident, thus confirming the aircraft has been destroyed. One flaperon and outboard flap belonging to the missing B777 has been recovered. Analysis shows that the only flaps position consistent with the damage received by the recovered flaperon and recovered outboard flap was the retracted position. On Dec 20th 2016 the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) released a report that documents the proceedings and outcomes of the First Principles Review meeting on the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 held in Canberra from 2 to 4 November 2016. Participants consisted of experts in data processing, satellite communications, accident investigation, aircraft performance, flight operations, sonar data, acoustic data and oceanography. The purpose of the meeting was to reassess and validate existing evidence and to identify any new analysis that may assist in identifying the location of the missing aircraft. The report conclusions are: 1. There is a very high level of confidence in the search results to date in the current indicative search area. The high resolution sonar coverage is very high and the data has been subjected to a very thorough analysis. The area has been searched to a level of confidence >95% without identifying the aircraft debris field. 2. The analysis of the last two SATCOM transmissions, the likely position of the aircraft’s flaps at impact and results from recent end of flight simulations has allowed a revision of the distance required to be searched away from the 7th arc. 99% of the DST (Defence Science and Technology) Group analysis results lie within 25 NM to the east and west of the arc. 3. A residual probability map based on the comprehensive satellite communication data analysis and updated with the latest search results and the CSIRO drift analysis identified a remaining area of high probability between latitudes 32.5°S and 36°S along the 7th arc. 4. The participants of the First Principles Review were in agreement on the need to search an additional area representing approximately 25,000 km² […]. Based on the analysis to date, completion of this area would exhaust all prospective areas for the presence of MH370.

The DHC-6-300 Twin Otter operated by Nepal Airlines took off from Pokhara, Nepal, for a passenger flight to Jumla, Nepal. 15 passengers and 3 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed during about 30 minutes after takeoff, about 40nm southwest of Pokhara. All 18 occupants perished. The aircraft took off uneventfully, but radio contact was lost about 30 minutes later. While in flight, the aircraft attempted to divert to Bhairahawa Airport due to icing after the aircraft had flown into freezing rain. The aircraft did not arrive at Jumla at or Bhairahawa Airport, and a search was initiated. The wreckage has been rapidly located in the jungles near Khidim about 40nm southwest of Pokhara and about 25nm north of Siddharthanagar, and at an approximate altitude of 7000 feet (1800 meters). The 18 bodies of the occupants of aircraft were found all over the hill, and wreckage parts are distributed over about 7km distance.

The Algerian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane took off from Tamanrasset, Algeria for a flight to Constantine, Algeria. The plane was carrying military personnel and family members. 74 passengers and 4 crewmembers were onboard. The aircraft crashed during its approach to Constantine airport. 77 people were killed in the accident, and one person survived. The U.S.-built C-130 Hercules transport slammed into a mountain near the town of Ain Kercha, in a mountainous area in the Oum El Bouaghi province, 16 NM away from the runway. The airplane could be seen broken into three parts. Unfavourable weather conditions with moderate visibility and strong winds were prevailing at the time of the accident.