Aviation News

December 5, 2010
Pilot Critically Injured After Small Plane Crashes Into Utah Neighborhood
A small place crashed into a residential neighborhood in Utah on Sunday, critically injuring the pilot and setting two homes on fire. The single-engine Cessna 210 plane broke apart as it dove into a Roy, Utah, neighborhood near the Ogden Airport, authorities say. Two occupied homes erupted in flames after the crash and power was knocked out in 1,700 area homes. No one inside the homes was hurt. The pilot survived the crash with critical injuries and is being treated at an area hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.

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October 25, 2010
Washington Small Plane Crash Claims Three Lives
The three people on board a light plane that crashed in southwest Washington were killed on Monday. Authorities found the wreckage of the twin-engine Cessna in a remote rugged area about 10 miles northeast of Morton. The plane had been missing since early Monday after it disappeared from radar as it left Chehalis for Lewiston, Idaho. The light plane was registered to Chehalis-based eye surgery company Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute. On board were two employees and a veteran pilot. The National Transportation Safety Board, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, has launched a federal investigation into the fatal plane crash.

August 21, 2010
Small Plane Carrying Four People Still Missing in Alaska
A small plane carrying four people, including two brothers, disappeared in southwest Alaska on Saturday. A search and rescue mission is now underway for the Dehavilland Beaver and its four occupants, a pilot and three national park workers. The plane had left Swikshak Lagoon in Katmai National Park before it disappeared in bad weather. According to authorities, there has been no emergency transmissions or radio communications from the plane.

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June 30, 2010
Search Still on for Missing Plane, Four People On Board Feared Dead
A plane with four people on board disappeared over Montana on Sunday. Authorities say the light aircraft disappeared during a sightseeing tour. The four people on board, including two young reporters, are have been reported missing. On Tuesday, searchers were still looking for the plane. The suspected crash is under investigation.

April 6, 2010
$89 Million Awarded in 1999 Ohio Fatal Plane Crash
A jury has awarded $25 million in compensatory damages and $64 million in punitive damages to the lone survivor and the families of the four victims killed in a 1999 plane crash in Ohio. The $89 million award was handed down by the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury on Tuesday. The surviving families along with the sole survivor of the plane crash sued Lycoming Engines for concealing a carburetor problem which led to the fatal crash. According to an attorney for Lycoming Engines, the company plans to appeal the ruling since the National Transportation Safety Board found that the engine was not at fault for the fatal crash.

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March 21, 2010
Senate Passes FAA Air Safety Bill
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill has been passed by the U.S. Senate. The FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act was passed on Monday and will address safety gaps and enact several safety regulations in regional airline travel.

Included in the bill is the Flight 3407 Memorial Act, which mandates the FAA report back to Congress on all safety recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Also included in the new legislation is increased training hours for commercial pilots and a proposal that raises the minimum requirements for the hiring of commercial pilots from 250 hours to 800 hours of flight time.

The passing of this bill has been credited to the steadfast lobbying of the surviving family members of those killed when Flight 3407 crashed in Clarence Center, New York in February 2009. Senator Charles E. Schumer said in a statement, “Make no mistake about it, because of tonight’s actions and the year of work before it, people will be safer when they fly, and it is due to one factor – the strength, fortitude, and focus of the 3407 Families.”

More information about the safety bill

February 22, 2010
2009 Boasts Second Lowest Yearly Rate for Air Accidents According to New Report
According to a new report by the International Air Transport Association, 2009's accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft is the second lowest in modern aviation history with one accident in every 1.4 million flights. The data collected by the group, which has been conducting this study since 1964, also found that pilot handling was a contributing factor in 30 percent of accidents and runway mishaps accounted for 26 percent of the accidents. The report found that 2009 is only second to 2006 for the safest year in aviation, adding that the odds found are illustrated best in the following scenario: If a person were to take a flight every day, they could go 3,259 years without experiencing an air disaster.

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February 10, 2010
American Airlines Probe Could Result in Largest Fine in FAA History
The Associated press is reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) might soon end a two-year investigation into American Airlines and could potentially slap the airline with one of the largest fines in FAA history. American Airlines has been under investigation since improperly secured wiring in 290 MD-80s caused a potential fire threat. Hundred of planes were temporarily grounded because of the safety violation. According to government and industry officials, the FAA’s investigation into American Airline’s safety violations could result in the largest fine proposed by the FAA. The fine is expected to exceed the $10.2 million fine the agency gave Southwest Airlines in 2008. The FAA insists the investigation is still ongoing and called the fine estimate premature.

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February 2, 2010
NTSB Releases Final Report on Cause of Colgan Air Flight 3407 Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its final report on the February 2, 2009 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407. Around this time last year, a Bombardier DHC-8-400 operating by Colgan Air, crashed into a home in Clarence Center, New York. All 49 people aboard were killed as was one person on the ground. The NTSB report blames the fatal crash on the Captain’s inappropriate response to the activation of the stick shaker which caused the plane to stall. 

During their investigation of the crash, the NTSB determined that as flight 3407 flew over Clarence Center the stick shaker activated to warn the pilots of an impending aerodynamic stall. The captain then pulled aft on the control column when he should have pushed forward, which caused the aircraft to stall and plummet to the ground. According to the Board’s report, the flight crew’s failure to recognize low speed cues on their flight display contributed to the crash. Also at fault was Colgan Air’s inadequate airspeed selection and management procedures in icing conditions.

The NTSB has issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the future prevention of similar crashes including strategies to prevent pilot fatigue and crew monitoring failures. The NTSB also recommended improved remedial training, stall training, pilot records and airspeed selection procedures. In addition, the Board addressed FAA oversight and use of safety alerts. The NTSB is expected to hold a public forum this Spring to further explore the issues encountered during the investigation of flight 3407's fatal crash.

January 23, 2010
Plane Crashes into Home in Indiana, Killing Both Men on Board
A twin engine plane headed for Denver crashed in Sugar Grove, Illinois on Saturday, killing the two men on board. The Piper Aerostar 601P crashed into a home near Illinois Highway 47 at around 7 p.m., killing two Florida men who were traveling on business. Debris from the accident hit another home causing a car in a garage to catch on fire. No one on the ground or inside the home was hurt. The cause of the crash is unknown.

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