‘Flying
is the safest means of travel,’ that’s the slogan you’ll get to hear
when it comes to air travels. And it might be true too if we consider
the number of disasters that happen on road; only difference being that-
road accidents don’t make headlines around the world but air crashes
do. But even after air travel is touted to be the safest, there are some
of the airlines in the world that make voyagers shudder while boarding,
all thanks to the history of air crashes.
The Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC), the German
organization, which collects information about aviation accidents and
safety, has published its annual Airline Safety Ranking. It has come up
with the data after rating 60 airlines, based on the number and
deadliness of the hull losses (destroyed airplanes) that they have
suffered in the past 30 years, and how they have fared more recently.
Here are the ten airlines with the worst safety records, including the
number of hull losses since 1983, and how many fatalities they caused,
as compiled by Yahoo.
#10 SkyWest Airlines: 3 hull losses; 22 dead
SkyWest Airlines is a North American major airline but operates on a
regional airline level and is a member of the Regional Airline
Association. It is headquartered in St. George, Utah, USA.
SkyWest Airlines flies to 169 cities, in 37 States, Washington D.C., 5
Canadian Provinces and 2 cities in Mexico. The airline serves as a
feeder airline, operating under contract with various major carriers.
Accidents:
1) January 15, 1987: SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834 a Fairchild Metro
collided with a Mooney M20 transporting an instructor and a student,
while on a flight between Pocatello to Salt Lake City in the vicinity of
Kearns. All 10 people on Flight 1834 and the two occupants of the
Mooney were killed. The accident was found to be a navigation error of
the student pilot aboard the Mooney.
2) February 1, 1991: SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metro
was awaiting departure clearance on an active runway at Los Angeles for a
scheduled flight between Los Angeles and Palmdale when USAir Flight
1493 arriving from Columbus, Ohio collided with it while it was landing.
All 12 people on the Metro were killed (10 passengers and 2 pilots),
and 22 of the 89 aboard the 737 perished (20 passengers, 1 pilot and 1
flight attendant). The cause was found to be Air Traffic Controller
Error.
#9 South African Airways: 1 hull loss; 159 dead
South African Airways (SAA) is the national flag carrier and largest
airline of South Africa. The airline flies to 38 destinations worldwide
from its hub at OR Tambo International Airport, using a fleet of 54
aircraft.
On 28 November 1987, flight SA295, a Boeing 747-200B Combi, named
Helderberg, crashed over the Indian Ocean en route from Taipei, Taiwan
to Johannesburg via Mauritius, after a fire in the main cargo hold. All
159 people on board were killed.
#8 Thai Airways International: 5 hull losses; 309 dead
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is the
national flag carrier and largest airline of Thailand. It operates out
of Suvarnabhumi Airport and flies to 75 destinations in 35 countries,
using a fleet of more than 80 aircraft.
Accidents:
1) 31 July 1992 – Flight 311, an Airbus A310-300 hit the side of a hill
23 miles north of Kathmandu while descending toward Tribhuvan
International Airport from Bangkok. All 113 on board (99 passengers and
14 crew) died. The accident was caused by technical failures, a lack of
radar equipment at Tribhuvan International Airport.
2) 11 December 1998 – Flight 261, an A310-200, bound for Surat Thani
from Bangkok, crashed into a rice paddy about two miles from Surat Thani
airport during its third landing attempt in heavy rain; 102 of 143 on
board were killed.
3) 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing
737-400, bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an
explosion of the center wing tank resulting from ignition of the
flammable fuel while the aircraft was being serviced at the gate in
Bangkok. One crew member was killed.
#7 Turkish Airlines: 6 hull losses, 188 dead
Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey and
operates from Atatürk International Airport, Istanbul. It operates
scheduled services to 184 international and 37 domestic airports,
serving a total of 221 airports, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the
Americas as of February 2013. With an increase to 98 destination
countries, the carrier's destination network from one hub is the world's
largest. Also with 221 destination numbers, the airline is the 5th
biggest carrier in the world by number of destinations.
Accidents:
1) 16 January 1983: Flight 158, a Boeing 727-2F2, named Afyon, landed
about 50 m (160 ft) short of the runway at Ankara Esenbo?a Airport in
driving snow, broke up and caught fire. 47 passengers died, all of the
seven crew and 13 passengers survived the accident with injuries.
2) 29 December 1994: Flight 278, a Boeing 737-4Y0, named Mersin,
crashed during its final approach to land at Van Ferit Melen Airport in
driving snow. Five of the seven crew and 52 of the 69 passengers died.
3) 7 April 1999: Flight 5904, a Boeing 737-4Q8, named Trakya, on a
repositioning flight crashed in Ceyhan eight minutes after taking off
from Adana ?akirpa?a Airport. There were no passengers on board, but all
six crew members died in the accident.
4) 8 January 2003: Flight 634, an Avro RJ-100, named Konya, crashed
while approaching to runway at Diyarbak?r Airport, Turkey. 75 of the 80
passengers and crew died.
5) 25 February 2009: Flight 1951, a Boeing 737–800, named Tekirda?,
carrying 135 passengers, crashed while approaching Schiphol Airport,
Netherlands. Nine people died, including the three pilots.
#6 Saudia: 4 hull losses; 310 dead
Saudi Arabian Airlines operating as Saudia is the flag carrier airline
of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international
scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa,
Asia, Europe and North America. Domestic and international charter
flights are operated, mostly during Ramadan and the Hajj season.
On 12 November 1996, a Saudia Boeing 747-168B, Flight 763, was involved
in the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision. The aircraft was on its
way from New Delhi, India, to Dahran, Saudi Arabia when a Kazakhstan
Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 collided with it over the village of Charkhi
Dadri, some miles west of New Delhi. Flight 763 was carrying 312 people,
all of whom, along with 37 more on the Kazakh aircraft, died, for a
grand total of 349 fatalities.
#5 Korean Air: 9 hull losses; 687 dead
Korean Air Lines operates as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and
the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in
Gonghang-dong, Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger
division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities
in 45 countries, while its domestic division serves 20 destinations. It
is among the top 20 airlines in the world in terms of passengers
carried and is also the top-ranked international cargo airline.
Korean Air had many fatal accidents between 1970 and 1999, during which
time it wrote off 16 aircraft in serious incidents and accidents with
the loss of 700 lives. On 1 Sep 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007,
carrying 269 people, including a sitting U.S. Congressman, Larry
McDonald, was shot down by the Soviets west of Sakhalin Island. The last
fatal passenger incident was the Korean Air Flight 801 crash in 1997.
The last crew fatality was Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 in December
1999. Since the last fatality in 1999, safety has greatly improved.
#4 GOL Transportes Aéreos: 1 hull loss; 154 dead
Gol Transportes Aéreos is a Brazilian low-cost airline based São Paulo,
Brazil. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil
(ANAC) between January and December 2012 Gol had 32.91 percent of the
domestic and 10.32 percent of the international market shares in terms
of passengers per kilometre flown.
On 29 September 2006, flight 1907 operated by the Boeing 737-800 SFP,
disappeared from radar while flying over the center-western state of
Mato Grosso en route from Manaus to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro-Galeão.
The aircraft collided in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy 600 business
jet, near the town of Matupá, 470 miles (760 km) south of Manaus. The
Gol aircraft crashed in the Amazon jungle leaving no survivors among its
154 occupants and its wreckage was found a day later. The Legacy jet
landed safely at Cachimbo Airport, part of the military complex Campo de
Provas Brigadeiro Velloso of the Brazilian Air Force with damage to the
tail and left winglet.
#3 Air India: 3 hull losses; 329 dead
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the
government owned Air India Limited (AIL). The airline operates a fleet
of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, the United States, and
Europe. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi
International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
Accidents:
1) On 23 June 1985 Air India Flight 182 Emperor Kanishka a Boeing
747-237B was blown up in mid-air, mid-flight by a suitcase-bomb planted
by Babbar Khalsa Terrorists allegedly as revenge for the Indian
Government's operation on the Golden Temple on June 1984. The flight was
on the first leg on its Montreal-London-Delhi-Bombay flight when it
exploded off the coast of Cork, Ireland. The plane crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean. All 307 passengers and 22 crew on board died. After this
incident Air India suspended all services to Montreal.
2) On 22 May 2010: Air India Express Flight 812, a scheduled passenger
service from Dubai to Mangalore, overshot the runway on landing, fell
over a cliff and caught fire, spreading wreckage across the surrounding
hillside. Of the 160 passengers and six crew members on board, only
eight passengers survived.
#2 TAM Airlines: 6 hull losses; 336 dead
TAM Airlines is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group. The merger
of TAM with LAN Airlines was completed on June 22, 2012. The company is
currently the largest Brazilian airline. Before the takeover, TAM was
Brazil's and Latin America's largest airline. Its headquarters are in
São Paulo, operating scheduled services to destinations within Brazil,
as well as international flights to Europe and other parts of North and
South America.
Accidents:
1) 28 June 1984: An Embraer EMB 110C Bandeirante operating a chartered
flight by Petrobras from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont to Macaé flew into
a hill while descending through rain and clouds over the Municipality
of São Pedro da Aldeia. All 18 passengers and crew died.
2) 7 October 1986: An Embraer EMB 110C Bandeirante flying from Campo
Grande to Araçatuba struck the ground just short of the runway threshold
after missing the approach at Araçatuba Airport twice. Seven crew
members and passengers died.
3) 31 October 1996: A Fokker 100, operating as Flight 402 from São
Paulo-Congonhas to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont crashed on urban area
during takeoff procedures and after engine no. 2 suffering at least
three uncommanded reverse thrust deployments and thus losing power,
stalled, rolled to the right and struck two buildings. All 96 passengers
and crew on board and 3 people on the ground died.
4) 17 July 2007: An Airbus A320 operating flight 3054 from Porto Alegre
to São Paulo-Congonhas overran the runway while landing at Congonhas,
crossed a major thoroughfare and impacted against a TAM Express
warehouse. All 186 passengers and crew perished. 199 bodies were
recovered from the crash site, including passengers, crew and people
that were working at the warehouse.
#1 China Airlines: 8 hull losses; 755 dead
China Airlines (CAL) is the largest airline in Taiwan. Although not
directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group,
which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation, which is in
turn owned by the government of the Republic of China. The airline,
with headquarters in and flight operations from Taiwan Taoyuan
International Airport, flies to destinations in Asia, Europe, North
America and Oceania.
Accidents:
1) On 16 February 1986, Flight 2265, a Boeing 737-200, crashed 12 mi
off Makung, Penghu, killing 13. During landing, a nosewheel tire blew.
The crew performed a go-around during which the aircraft crashed; the
wreckage was found on March 10 in 190 feet of water.
2) On 26 October 1989, Flight 204, a Boeing 737-200, struck a mountain
near Hualien, Taiwan after the crew used the climb-out procedure of the
incorrect runway, causing the aircraft to make a wrong turn. All 54
passengers and crew aboard were killed.
3) On 29 December 1991, Flight 358, a Boeing 747-200F, hit a hillside
near Wanli, Taiwan after separation of its No.3 & 4 engines, killing
all five crew on board.
4) On 26 April 1994, Flight 140, an Airbus A300, crashed while landing
at Nagoya, Japan due to crew error, killing 264 of 271 on board.
5) On 16 February 1998, Flight 676, an Airbus A300, crashed after a
failed missed-approach at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in
Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard along with 9 on the ground, including ROC
Central Bank chief Hsu Yuan-Dong.
6) On 25 May 2002, Flight 611, a Boeing 747-200B, broke up in mid-air
on the way to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong from Chiang
Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan. All 206 passengers and 19 crew
members died. The aircraft was the last 747-200 in China Airlines'
fleet. The cause was improper repair after a tailstrike incident in Hong
Kong in 1980.
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