What Went Wrong

Graham Deighton

Description

What Went Wrong: Twenty Years of Airline Accidents (1996 to 2015), examines the defining accidents of the period. From the human, procedural and mechanical failures which caused them, as well as some where the final conclusion remains undefined or disputed. To the positive changes they inspired on all those involved and the industry at large, which ultimately helped to make airline transport safer for the world's travelling public.What Went Wrong's greater depth and enhanced insight of the involved issues and investigative process better illustrates-than other publications, documentaries or media coverage-each unfortunate event for the aviation aficionado, enthusiast and the everyday reader alike.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 08 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528971706
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

W hat W ent W rong
Twenty Years of Airline Accidents (1996 to 2015)
Graham Deighton
Austin Macauley Publishers
2021-01-08
What Went Wrong Preface Introduction Chapter One: Trans World Airlines Flight 800’s In-Flight Explosion over North East Moriches, New York, in July 1996 Chapter Two: Swissair Flight 111’s In-Flight Fire over Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 1998 Chapter Three: Egypt Air Flight 990’s Impact with the Sea, South of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in October 1999 Chapter Four: Air France Concorde Flight 4590’s Crash, Shortly After Take-Off from Paris, France, in July 2000 Chapter Five: American Airlines Flight 587’s In-Flight Separation and Crash into Belle Harbor, New York, in November 2001 Chapter Six: DHL Flight 611 and Bashkirian Flight 2937’s Mid-Air Collision over Uberlingen on the Swiss German Border, in July 2002 Chapter Seven: Helios Airways Flight 522’s Oxygen Deprivation and Ground Impact Near Athens, Greece, in August 2005 Chapter Eight: Comair (Delta Connection) Flight 5191’s Crash Whilst Taking-Off from the Wrong Runway at Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2006 Chapter Nine: Colgan Air (Continental Connection) Flight 3407’s Loss of Control on Approach to Buffalo, New York, in February 2009 Chapter Ten: Air France Flight 447’s Mid-Air Loss over the South Atlantic Ocean, in June 2009 Chapter Eleven: Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370’s In-Flight Disappearance over the Southern Indian Ocean, in March 2014 List of Acknowledgements and Contributions References
Graham Deighton is a best-selling aviation author and a retired airline pilot whose career spanned thirty years with both a national carrier and a distinguished independent airline.
After a number of notable accidents that changed the industry and his own outlook during his professional life, he was compelled to document these events and the changes they shaped.
The indiscriminate loss of life, young or old, rich or poor, is the heart-rending tragedy of nearly all air accidents. As such, this is dedicated to all such lost souls. Words can never adequately convey how deeply we regret their loss.
Copyright © Graham Deighton (2021)
The right of Graham Deighton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528942584 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528946087 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528971706 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2021)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Disclaimer
Factual information contained in this book has been obtained from official safety reports and other similar sources believed to be reliable. However, neither the publisher nor the author guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and neither publisher nor author shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of the use of this information. Third-party opinions and suppositions, over variable periods of time, are also included to lend background and context to the subject matter, but do not necessarily represent the view of the publisher or author. This work is published with the understanding that the publisher and its author are supplying information only and not attempting to render a professional service or to draw their own conclusions. If such service is required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought.
Preface
Airline accidents through their investigative identification and resultant regulation of perceived and verified shortcomings, without the apportionment of blame or the assessment of an individual’s or a collectives’ responsibility have helped to shape and reshape aviation from its tragic depths, into one of today’s safest forms of public travel.
This book, chapter by chapter, examines for the everyday person and aficionado alike, some of the most defining and occasionally unique recent accidents, which have contributed towards this ultimate endeavour.
Introduction
The first plane crash came a mere five years after the first powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Pioneering pilot Orville Wright was severely injured at this Fort Myers, Virginia, accident and his passenger, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge became the first-ever powered-aircraft fatality, prompting the question, “What went wrong?” for the first time in the history of aviation.
Over the ensuing century, as air travel progressively increased into thousands of daily flights carrying millions of people to and from every corner of the globe, diverse and complex accidents also evolved and multiplied, in tandem. The industry reacted to these predominantly unpredictable incidents with innovative technological developments, which at the time seemed to come straight from science fiction and new and revised regulatory enforcements. But although their endeavours have undoubtedly made aviation much safer and more reliable, original and sometimes familiar types of accidents still regularly befall the industry.
In this book we examine, in chronological order, eleven different disasters, chapter by chapter, through the same background, events and analytical format of the official investigation to determine their specific pivotal causal facet. These typically range from the historical leader, pilot error, either deliberate or unintentional, followed by mechanical or technical faults and then to a lesser extent, other human failures, such as those perpetrated by air traffic controllers and engineers. However, aircraft accidents are not usually restricted to a single main cause but are a culmination of several failures, events or missed opportunities. Therefore, we further explore and dissect other direct and indirect contributing factors, such as adverse weather or pilot fatigue, and evaluate their varying degrees of influence, even the few benign cases, to unearth each accident’s complete damaging and unchecked preceding chain of events.
Having, thus, shown how an individual accident occurred, ergo “what happened”, we then consider the equally vital issue of “why it happened” and finish by acknowledging the incident-inspired technological advancements and regulatory directive’s contribution to aviation’s perpetually evolving and improving standards.
Along the way, we also take a look at some eye-opening media revelations such as those that spotlighted conflicts within Colgan Air Flight 3407 and various suppositions regarding the fate of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which to date still hasn’t been found, to public disputes over official findings, such as with American Airlines Flight 587, the diplomatic controversy that surrounded Egypt Air Flight 990 and even the occasionally promoted conspiracy theories, similar to those associated with the mid-air explosion of TWA Flight 800.
It is sincerely hoped that the reader finds this book, which can be read in full or by selected chapters, informative and enlightening and is ultimately reassured by the diligent and relentless work carried out by the regulatory authorities, manufacturers and airlines to make their air travel, whether it be for business or leisure, as safe as possible.
Chapter One

Trans World Airlines Flight 800’s In-Flight Explosion over North East Moriches, New York, in July 1996
On July 17 1996, at 20:31 Eastern Daylight Time (00:31 GMT), just twelve minutes into a scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, to Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), Paris, France, Trans World Airlines Inc. (TWA) flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 aircraft, broke up in mid-air without warning and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, killing all 230 persons onboard.
It was to become a greatly disputed loss in aviation history.
TWA was a major US carrier, which provided passenger and cargo services to more than one hundred domestic and international destinations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean, with a fleet of approximately one hundred and eighty-four aircraft and twenty-one thousand worldwide staff members. Their principal international and domestic hub was St Louis, Missouri, although, they also maintained a substantial presence at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, from where the ill-fated flight departed.
Like other major airlines in the United States, TWA could trace its roots back to the early airmail delivery companies of the 1920s. Namely, Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) formed May 16 1928 and Western Air Express formed in July 1925 before their July 24 1930 merger to form Transcontinental and Western Air Inc., which gave rise to the acronym ‘TWA’. The new airline immediately received its first mail contract and began flying coast-to-coast with an overnight stop at Kansas City. During the Second World War, they supported the US military and this experience empowered them to enter the international passenger market in 1946, when they began regular New York to Paris services, which were later extended to Cairo, Egypt. A subtle name change to Trans World Airlines reflected the company’s changing market, yet it crucially retained the TWA logo and the trading name was adopted during this period. Next, they became the first to fly regular scheduled, non-stop transcontinental services between Los Angeles and New York, in October 1953, giving them the distinction of being the only air