24 plane crashes in year 2001

The aircraft's crew reported an in-flight fire at FL290 (29000 ft – 9000 meters), and declared intentions to perform an emergency landing. The aircraft broke up and caught fire during the landing attempt at Novaya Inya, Russia. All 18 passengers and crew members were killed.

The aircraft was on a cargo flight from Luxembourg to Port Harcourt. It crashed approximately 700 meters short of runway while attempting to land at Port Harcourt's Omagwa Airport. A crewmember was fatally injured in the crash.

On the night of November 24th 2001, at 20:01 UTC, the Crossair Avro 146-RJ 100 registered HB-IXM, operating scheduled flight CRX 3597 from Berlin to Zurich, took off from runway 26L at Berlin-Tegel Airport. At 20:58:50 UTC, after an uneventful flight, the aircraft was cleared to perform the standard VOR/DME approach to runway 28 at Zurich Airport. The crew of the Embraer EMB 145 operating flight CRX 3891, which was ahead of it in the approach sequence, informed the control tower that the minimum visibility required for the VOR/DME 28 approach had almost been reached. At 21:05:21 UTC, flight CRX 3597 reported on the tower frequency. At 21:06:10 UTC, as the aircraft reached the minimum descent altitude of 2390 ft QNH, the captain told the first officer that he had more or less established visual contact with the ground and continued the descent. At 21:06:36 UTC, the aircraft struck the tops of trees and then crashed into the ground. The aircraft caught fire on impact. Twenty-one passengers and three crew members were fatally injured at the accident site. Seven passengers and two crew members survived the accident. The investigation established the following causal factors of the accident: The captain deliberately descended below the published minimum descent altitude for the standard VOR/DME 28 approach procedure. The first officer did not attempt to prevent the continuation of the flight below the minimum descent altitude. The crew had not established visual contact with the approach lighting system or the runway. The following factors contributed to the accident or made it possible: The approach sector for runway 28 at Zurich Airport was not equipped with a minimum safe altitude warning system (MSAW). Over a long period, the responsible persons concerned within the company did not adequately assess the captain’s flying performance. Appropriate measures were not taken to address the shortcomings identified. The captain’s ability to concentrate, make decisions and analyse complex processes was reduced by fatigue. The allocation of duties in the cockpit during the approach was inadequate and did not comply with the procedures prescribed by the company. The terrain struck by the aircraft was not shown on the approach chart used by the crew. The meteorological visibility measured at the airport was not representative of the approach to runway 28 because it did not correspond to the actual flight visibility in the approach sector. The visibility minima in force at the time of the accident were inappropriate for operation of the standard VOR/DME 28 approach procedure.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Khatanga to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. The plane also carried 180 kilograms of cargo belonging to the company IRS Aero. The plane suddenly disappeared from radar screen. Some time later, its remains were found near the village of Zakharyino in the Yaroslavl region. All 27 people onboard were killed. The investigation showed that the aircraft crashed after a steep descent due to a malfunction in the elevator control system while flying under auto-pilot. Moreover, serious violations of the regulations on aircraft maintenance and organization of flights have been uncovered.

On November 12, 2001, about 09:16:15 eastern standard time, American Airlines flight 587, an A300-605R, N14053, crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York. Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Las Americas International Airport, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with 2 flight crewmembers, 7 flight attendants, and 251 passengers aboard the airplane. The airplane's vertical stabilizer and rudder separated in flight and were found in Jamaica Bay, about 1 mile north of the main wreckage site. The airplane's engines subsequently separated in flight and were found several blocks north and east of the main wreckage site. All 260 people aboard the airplane and 5 people on the ground were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The investigation showed that the in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer's unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs (while the aircraft was shaken by wake turbulence). Contributing to these rudder pedal inputs were characteristics of the Airbus A300-600 rudder system design and elements of the American Airlines Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program.

The Scandinavian MD-87 was on a passenger flight from Milan (Italy) to Copenhagen (Denmark). It was cleared to taxi to Runway 36R (Linate Airport, Milan) for departure. At approximately the same time, a German Cessna Citation II business jet, was cleared to taxi from the General Aviation ramp via taxiway Romeo 5. The Citation mistakenly entered taxiway Romeo 6, entered runway 36R, and at that point was impacted by the Scandinavian MD-87, which had been cleared for takeoff. Both aircraft broke up, skidded to the right of the active runway, and impacted an airport baggage hangar, which partially collapsed. Weather at the time of the accident was reported as "heavy fog" with a Runway 36R RVR (Runway Visual Range) of 225 meters. 118 passengers and crew members perished in the Scandinavian MD-87, and 4 people were killed in the Citation.

The aircraft exploded over the Black Sea while on a passenger flight from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia via Bugas, Bulgaria. The pilot of a nearby aircraft reported seeing the aircraft explode at 33,000 feet, fall into the Black Sea, and explode again on impact.

The aircraft crash-landed on a road, some 200 meters short of the runway at Ruiz Picasso International Airport at Málaga, Spain. The crew reported to Málaga Air Traffic Control while on final approach that the aircraft's left engine had failed, and that he would have to perform an emergency landing. Subsequent investigation into the accident revealed that, shortly after the initial engine failure, the First Officer inadvertently shut down both of the aircraft's engines, leading to a total loss of power. 4 out of the 44 people onboard were killed.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Lisbon, Portugal when a problem developed with the fuel system approximately 300 NM (540 km) northeast of Terciera Island, Azores Islands, Portugal. The crew elected to divert to Terciera Island for an emergency landing. The Captain reported that approximately 100 NM (180 km) from the airport, the left engine failed, and some ten minutes later, the right engine failed as well. The aircraft, using a minimal amount of hydraulic and electrical power supplied from its Ram Air Turbine, continued gliding toward Terciera Island in a gradual descent. The Captain reported that the flight arrived over Terciera Island at FL150 (15,000 feet – 4500 m), at dawn, and so he elected to make a visual approach to the airport with no engine power. The total flying time without engine power was in the neighbourhood of 17 to 18 minutes. The aircraft sustained minor damage during the landing, including damage to the landing gear as twelve tires exploded upon touchdown. None of the 298 passengers and crew members was injured. Reports indicate that a fuel line which had been replaced several days before became severed, leading to a fuel leak of approximately 37,000 gallons over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Boeing 747 was being taxied on Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) airport from a hangar toward a departure gate to board 319 passengers for Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), when the crew lost directional control of the plane and it entered a monsoon drainage ditch, resulting in serious damage to the forward airframe/nose section. None of the six crewmembers aboard were seriously injured. The aircraft was being moved by a maintenance crew, who taxied using only the no.1 and no.4 engines, apparently not realizing that the aircraft's braking system is powered by hydraulic pumps powered by engines no.2 and no.3.

The aircraft was being used to fly construction materials from a military airfield just outside Moscow to Norilsk. After take-off, the aircraft reached an altitude of about 150 feet when it crashed about 550 yards from the end of the runway. All 10 people onboard were killed.

The aircraft was operating on a passenger flight from Yekaterinburg to Vladivostok with an intermediate stop at Irkutsk. Two approaches to the airport were aborted. During the last approach to land, the aircraft entered a flat spin. The captain ordered the throttles to be advanced, but the crew was unable to regain control. After spinning for 22 seconds, the aircraft slammed down on its belly, broke up and burned.. All 145 passengers and crew members were killed.

The aircraft was performing a military flight in Russia. It crashed into a swamp killing all the seven people onboard.

The plane was on a military flight. Immediately after takeoff, the aircraft made a descending right turn and crashed in a field, 300 meters past the runway. Unconfirmed reports say the no.2 engine may have malfunctioned. All 5 people onboard were killed.

The Yak-40 departed Tehran (Iran) for a passenger flight to Gorgan where a new airport was to be opened. The aircraft carried Iranian Transport Minister, two deputy ministers, and seven members of parliament. Poor weather at Gorgan reportedly forced the crew to divert to Sari (Iran). It was later found to have crashed in a forested area in the Elburz mountains. All 30 people onboard were killed.

The plane was on a military flight. It crashed during a sandstorm. Among the dead were Sudan's Deputy Defense Minister and 13 high-ranking military officers. 16 people onboard survived.

The aircraft was on a local training flight when, while on approach for its eighth touch and go landing, it was seen to bank sharply left and crash. There was one instructor and two student Captains aboard. All of them were killed.

The Twin Otter plane was on a 10-minute inter island flight between St. Maarten, Dutch/French Antilles, and Saint-Barthélémy, French Antilles, and approached Saint-Barthélémy from the West for a visual approach and landing on runway 10. While on finals over the 'Col de la Tourmente', the aircraft was seen making a sharp turn to the left. The Twin Otter struck a house on the 'Col de la Tourmente' and caught fire. The 17 passengers and 2 crewmembers were killed. A man on the ground was also killed and his wife was injured. A house was destroyed. The most probable hypothesis is that the pilot would have selected the reverse beta range for the propellers with the intention of losing energy to correct the airspeed, regain the descent path or shorten the landing as much as possible. In fact, the propeller then acts as a powerful brake. It is possible that an asymmetry developed at that moment, though it would have been of relatively low amplitude, given the low thrust setting on approach, and could have been detected and likely quickly countered. However, following entry into reverse beta range, the aircraft may have developed undesirable behavior (stall warning, buffeting, etc.) or have reached the target airspeed, which would have been the desired result. In either case, it is necessary at that moment to de-select reverse beta range. Then the pilot would have pushed the levers energetically back to their normal use range by increasing the thrust, which would explain the change in the engine noise. Asymmetry in the power levers movement, or in the operation of the propeller mechanism, or even in the position of the propeller levers, would then have led to asymmetry between the engines, to an extent that would have led to a violent yaw movement, inducing a sharp roll to the left, possibly associated with a stall of the left wing, then a dive. The pilot would not have been able to regain control of the aircraft, which would have been both too slow and too near the ground at that moment.

The plane was scheduled for a passenger flight from Bangkok's Don Muang International Airport to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Approximately 27 minutes before its scheduled departure time, fire broke out aboard. The fire was extinguished within an hour. Traces of C-4, a powerful explosive, were found in the wreckage, but it is unclear whether these traces were related to the explosion aboard the aircraft.

UNITA rebels claim to have downed the aircraft as it approached Luena on a military flight. All 22 people onboard were killed.