Jump to content

List of airline flights that required gliding

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Airplane gliding occurs when all the engines of an aircraft shut down, but the wings are still functional and can be used for a controlled descent. This is a very rare condition in multi-engine airliners,[1] though it is the obvious result when a single-engine airplane experiences engine failure. The most common cause of engine shutdown is fuel exhaustion or fuel starvation, but there have been other cases in aviation history of multiple engine failure due to bird strikes, flying through volcano ash, ingesting debris, and various forms of damage due to water (hail, ice or overwhelming rain).

Below is a list of commercial airline flights that were forced to glide at some point while in the air.

Date Flight Aircraft Location Cause Result Total fatalities Occupants
14 April 1953 Miami Airline (irregular air carrier)[2] Douglas DC-3 East of Selleck, Washington Dual engine failure due to poor maintenance On approach to Boeing Field, left engine failed & its propeller feathered; minutes later, right engine failed. While gliding, aircraft was unable to clear mountain, crashed into trees, breaking up. Investigation showed both engines suffered bearing failures due to negligent maintenance. 7 25
30 April 1953 Aeroflot Flight 35 Ilyushin Il-12 Kazan, Russia Dual engine fire At altitude of 300 m, both engines caught fire. Crew tried feathering propellers, captain decided to land plane on Volga River. One passenger drowned during evacuation.[3][4] 1 23
24 February 1962 Tarom Ilyushin 18V[5] Ilyushin Il-18 Paphos, Cyprus Icing of fuel filters (probable) En route at 7,000 m (23,000 ft) over Mediterranean Sea while 70 km (43 mi) from coast of Cyprus, engine 3 lost power, followed by engines 1 & 2. At 3,100 m (10,200 ft), 45 km (28 mi) offshore, engine 4 also lost power. Plane underwent belly landing on ground near Paphos, Cyprus after 45 km (28 mi) glide. 0 100
21 August 1963 1963 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 Neva river ditching Tupolev Tu-124 Leningrad, Russia Fuel exhaustion Nose landing gear failed to properly retract after takeoff, crew unable to lock gear in extended position. Aircraft circled to expend fuel to reduce weight & fire hazards in event forced landing was required. Aircraft ran out of fuel, pilot successfully ditched plane in Neva River without injury to passengers or crew. 0 52
30 May 1967 East African Airlines 5Y-ADA[6] Vickers VC10 Bombay, India Fuel starvation due to improper use of boost pumps Climbing through 15,000 ft on departure from Bombay, all four engines lost power because of failure to use fuel boost pumps. Flight engineer was sick in lavatory & was retrieved by purser to restore power, thus arresting descent toward Indian Ocean. 0 Unknown
2 May 1970 ALM 980 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 Near Saint Croix Fuel starvation after multiple missed approaches due to bad weather Flight originating from John F. Kennedy International Airport made three landing attempts at Princess Juliana International Airport but aborted due to bad weather. Captain diverted to St. Croix, short on fuel, decided to ditch before reaching island. Both engines flamed out shortly before ditching. 23 63
6 September 1971 Paninternational Flight 112 BAC One-Eleven Hamburg, Germany Engine failure due to accidental use of jet fuel in water-injection tanks After take-off, both engines failed; pilots decided to make emergency landing on highway – Bundesautobahn 7 (also part of European route E45) – about 4.5 km (3 mi) from Hamburg Airport. During landing, aircraft collided with bridge, shearing both wings; plane caught fire. 22 121
17 July 1972 Civil Aviation Ministry test flight Tupolev Tu-134 Moscow oblast, Russia Engine shutdown due to electrical system fault Fourth prototype Tu-134 commuter jet, undergoing testing near Moscow. Failure of onboard accumulators caused fuel pumps to halt & both engines to shut down. Attempts to restart engines did not succeed, crew decided to glide to Iksha Reservoir. No casualties occurred during ditching. Plane experienced minor damages, was grounded for use as emergency training aid of cabin crews until 2000.[7] 0 ?
4 December 1974 BOAC flight 910 Vickers VC10 G-ASGL South China Sea Fuel starvation due to fuel transfer error On flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo, flight engineer failed to switch tanks feeding engines, resulting in failure of all four engines. Aircraft suffered from Dutch roll; later, engineer returned & restarted engines.[8] 0 Unknown
4 April 1977 Southern Airways Flight 242 Douglas DC-9 Georgia, US Hail & water ingestion After entering thunderstorm at 14,000 ft, both engines flamed out. Aircraft performed emergency landing on Georgia highway but struck gas station & exploded during rollout.[9] 72 (incl. 9 on ground) 85
2 December 1977 1977 Benghazi Libyan Arab Airlines Tu-154 crash Tupolev Tu-154 Near Benghazi, Libya Fuel exhaustion The intended destination airport was blanketed in fog; aircraft could not successfully land, ran out of fuel while attempting to locate an alternate airport. Forced landing was made. 59 165
19 May 1978 Aeroflot Flight 6709 Tupolev Tu-154B Maksatikha, Kalinin Oblast, Russia Fuel exhaustion due to improper actions of flight crew Automatic fuel-pumping system was improperly disabled, causing power generators & all three engines to fail midair at altitude of 9600 m. Attempts to restart engines & auxiliary power unit did not succeed; after 14 minutes of gliding, crew made emergency landing in potato field. This type of aircraft is capable of landing on unpaved surfaces, but landing gear, although extended, was not locked & thus collapsed. Aircraft hit trees, was destroyed; 130 people survived crash, including 27 who were injured. Four passengers died.[10] 4 134
28 December 1978 United Airlines Flight 173 Douglas DC-8 Portland, Oregon Fuel exhaustion Aircraft aborted first landing attempt due to possible landing-gear failure. Pilot focused on landing gear problem, neglected crew's warning of lack of fuel. Plane ran out of fuel, glided several miles before crashing within 10 miles of airport. 10 189
12 April 1979 Aeroflot Flight 3582 Tupolev Tu-154B Chimkent, Kazakhstan Failure of three engines due to flight engineer error Soon after take-off from Tashkent at altitude of 2200 m, first engine failed, followed by second & third. Aircraft glided to Chimkent airport; crew managed to restart one engine at altitude of 900 m & land safely at night.[11] 0 164+crew
24 June 1982 British Airways Flight 9 Boeing 747-200 Jakarta, Indonesia Volcanic ash ingestion from Mount Galunggung En route at FL370, all engines failed. After 10 minutes of gliding, four engines restarted, but one failed again & was shut down. Flight landed safely in Jakarta. 0 263
5 May 1983 Eastern Air Lines Flight 855 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida Crew shut down of engine due to low oil pressure; remaining two engines failed due to loss of oil. After gliding for five minutes, one shut-down engine was successfully restarted. Aircraft made emergency landing at Miami International Airport; the sole running engine could not generate enough thrust to taxi aircraft to gate. 0 172
23 July 1983 Air Canada Flight 143 ("Gimli Glider") Boeing 767-233 Gimli, Manitoba, Canada Fuel exhaustion as result of refueling calculation error due to recent conversion to metric & deficient maintenance policies Aircraft glided to emergency landing on decommissioned runway that had been converted to drag strip. 0 69
19 August 1983 United Airlines Flight 310[12] Boeing 767-222 Over the Arapahoe National Forest west of Denver, Colorado Dual-engine flameout due to fuel system contamination Crew restarted both engines at 15,000 feet (4,600 m), successfully landed in Denver. 0 205
24 May 1988 TACA Flight 110 Boeing 737-3T0 New Orleans, Louisiana, US Dual engine flameout due to water ingestion Plane glided to emergency off-airport landing on levee, undamaged; subsequently flown out to New Orleans after engine replacement. 0 45
8 January 1989 British Midland Flight 092 Boeing 737-4Y0 M1 Motorway, Kegworth Blade fracture in left engine causing heavy vibration & engine fire; pilots shut down wrong engine When aircraft was diverted to East Midlands Airport, vibration returned, pilots erroneously shut down remaining engine. Aircraft crashed onto M1 motorway, skidding up motorway embankment, 689 yards from runway threshold. 47 126
3 September 1989 Varig Flight 254 Boeing 737-200 São José do Xingu, Amazon jungle, Brazil Navigation error, fuel exhaustion Crew entered incorrect heading into flight computer (270 instead of 027), taking plane over remote area of Amazon jungle. Attempts to reach alternate airport were unsuccessful; plane ran out of fuel, pilot made belly landing in jungle. 13 54
15 December 1989 KLM Flight 867 Boeing 747-406M Redoubt Volcano, Anchorage, Alaska Lost power in all four engines after flying through cloud of volcanic ash All engines restarted, landed safely. 0 245
25 January 1990 Avianca Flight 52 Boeing 707-321B Cove Neck, New York Fuel exhaustion Plane ran out of fuel due to multiple bad-weather approach holds to JFK Airport, crashed into hillside on Long Island. 73 158
27 December 1991 Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 McDonnell Douglas MD-81 Gottröra, Sweden Ice ingested into engines; dual engine failure Crash landed in open field near Gottröra 0 129
12 November 1995 American Airlines Flight 1572 MD-83 Hartford, Connecticut Engines ingested tree debris. Aircraft was low on approach, clipped trees on ridge-line. One engine failed, other engine severely degraded. Aircraft glided to runway.[13] 0 78
23 November 1996 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 Boeing 767 Indian Ocean off the coast of Grande Comore, Comoros Hijacking, fuel exhaustion Aircraft taken over by hijackers demanding reroute to Australia. Plane ran out of fuel, ditched into Indian Ocean off Comoro Islands, broke apart on impact. 125 175
12 January 2000 Aeroflot aircraft transfer flight from Krasnodar to Novosibirsk Tupolev Tu-154M Tolmachevo, Novosibirsk, Russia Failure of all three engines during descent due to defective fuel All three engines failed at altitudes of 700, 300, and 6 m, respectively; crew managed to land aircraft safely. 0 30
12 July 2000 Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 Airbus A310-304 Vienna, Austria Fuel exhaustion as result of landing gear failure to retract Glided for about 20 km (12 mi) before crash landing 500 metres (1,600 ft) short of runway. 0 150
27 February 2001 Loganair Flight 670A Shorts 360-100 Firth of Forth, Scotland Dual engine failure from accumulation of large volumes of snow or slush in both engines Ditched in the Firth of Forth c. 100 metres from shoreline near Granton Harbour. 2 2
24 August 2001 Air Transat Flight 236 Airbus A330-243 Terceira Island, Azores Fuel exhaustion 120 km (75 mi) from emergency airport as result of fuel leak Emergency landing; aircraft glided for 20 minutes.[14] 0 306
14 January 2002 Sibir Flight 852 Tupolev Tu-204 Omsk, Russia Fuel exhaustion due to closure of destination airport in Novosibirsk & strong headwinds en route to reserve airport Airliner ran out of fuel, engines failed 15 km from airstrip in Omsk around 2000 m altitude. Aircraft glided for four minutes; crew managed to extend gear & land safely.[15] 0 119
16 January 2002 Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 Boeing 737 Indonesia Hail & water ingestion After entering thunderstorm, both engines flamed out. Aircraft performed ditching on Bengawan Solo River, Indonesia. One flight attendant was killed; all others aboard survived. 1 60
14 October 2004 Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 Bombardier CRJ-200 Jefferson City, Missouri Dual engine failure outside of flight envelope During repositioning flight, pilots experimented with performance limits of aircraft. Both engines failed at high altitude & low speed, could not be restarted. Plane attempted emergency landing at Jefferson City Memorial Airport, crashed 2.5 miles (4.0 km) short of runway. Both pilots killed. 2 2
6 August 2005 Tuninter Flight 1153 ATR 72-202 Mediterranean Sea Aircraft fitted with incorrect model of fuel indicator, leading to incorrect assumption by flight crew of sufficient fuel Engines failed about halfway through flight. Crew unsuccessfully attempted to restart engines, attempted to ditch aircraft at sea. Aircraft broke apart on impact. 16 39
14 August 2005 Helios Airways Flight 522 Boeing 737-31S Grammatiko, Greece Flight crew incapacitation due to wrong setup of pressurization system After take-off from Larnaca, Cyprus, flight crew continued ascent despite cabin pressurization warning; all on board, except one flight attendant who attempted to control aircraft, were eventually incapacitated by lack of oxygen. The auto pilot flew aircraft to Athens, Greece, entered holding pattern until both engines flamed out due to fuel exhaustion. Aircraft descended in gliding spiral until striking hill in Grammatiko, killing all aboard. 121 121
15 January 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 Airbus A320-214 New York City Complete dual engine failure due to bird strikes moments after takeoff from La Guardia Airport Aircraft glided, successfully ditched in Hudson River ("Miracle on the Hudson").

The pilot Chesley Sullenberger's 2009 memoir was adapted into the film Sully about Flight 1549

0 155
13 October 2011 Airlines PNG Flight 1600 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-103 Near Madang, Papua New Guinea Pilot selected beta (ground braking) prop mode in flight, props oversped, engines failed Pilots attempted an off-airport forced landing; aircraft struck trees and caught fire. Pilots, flight attendant, and one passenger survived with injuries.[16] 28 32
3 June 2012 Dana Air Flight 0992 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Iju-Ishaga, Lagos Dual engine failure from improper maintenance of fuel lines, failure for crew to divert to alternate airport when first engine failed Crashed during landing approach into densely populated neighborhood. All 153 on board were killed and an additional six on the ground were killed.[17] 159 153
4 February 2015 TransAsia Airways Flight 235 ATR 72-600 Keelung River, Taipei, Taiwan One engine autofeathered due to fault in its control module; pilots shut down wrong engine. Crashed into Keelung River three minutes after take-off. 43 58
28 November 2016 LaMia Flight 2933 Avro RJ85 Near Medellín, Colombia Fuel exhaustion Took off with insufficient fuel reserves, crashed about 10 nmi (19 km) short of destination after short holding delay. 71 77
15 August 2019 Ural Airlines Flight 178 Airbus A321 Near Zhukovsky International Airport, Moscow, Russia Complete dual engine failure due to bird strikes Occurred moments after takeoff from Zhukovsky International Airport. Aircraft glided & successfully landed in corn field. 0 233
22 May 2020 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 Airbus A320-214 Model Colony, Karachi Dual engine failure after belly landing and go-around, loss of engine oil Crashed into buildings on approach, 97 on board were killed and one person on the ground was also killed.[18] 98 99

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "What happens if all the planes engines fail in the air?". Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.
  2. ^ "DOT Online Database". Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Катастрофа Ил-12 МУТА ГВФ на реке Волга в районе речного порта Казани (борт СССР-Л1777), 30 апреля 1953 года. // AirDisaster.ru – авиационные происшествия, инциденты и авиакатастрофы в СССР и России – факты, история, статистика".
  4. ^ "Карточка самолёта: Ильюшин · Ил-12П · СССР-L1777 (зав.н. 93013114) ✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация".
  5. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 18V YR-IMB Paphos". Aviation-safety.net. 24 February 1962. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Incidents and Accidents". Vc10.net. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Вынужденная посадка Ту-134 ГосИИИ ГА на Икшинское водохранилище (борт СССР-65607), 17 июля 1972 года. // AirDisaster.ru – авиационные происшествия, инциденты и авиакатастрофы в СССР и России – факты, история, статистика". www.airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Incidents and Accidents". www.vc10.net.
  9. ^ Flight Safety Foundation (2022). "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 N1335U New Hope, GA". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154B CCCP-85169 Maksatiha, Tver region". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Unique landing (уникальная посадка, in Russian)". Красноярский рабочий. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  12. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-222 N609UA Denver, CO". Aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  13. ^ NTSB (12 November 1995). "Aircraft Accident Report – Collision With Trees On Final Approach American Airlines Flight 1572 Mcdonnell Douglas Md-83, N566AA East Granby, Connecticut November 12, 1995" (PDF). libraryonline.erau.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  14. ^ Learmont, David. "A330 lands safely after gliding for 20 minutes". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  15. ^ правды», Комсомольская правда | Сайт «Комсомольской (13 February 2002). "Андрей Чистосердов, командир экипажа Ту-204: Мы падали 15 километров с мертвыми двигателями". KP.RU – сайт «Комсомольской правды» (in Russian). Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 P2-MCJ Madang Airport (MAG)". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  17. ^ Report on the Accident to Dana Airlines Nigeria Limited Boeing MD-83 aircraft with registration 5N-RAM which occurred at Iju-Ishaga Area of Lagos State, Nigeria, on 3rd June 2012 (PDF) (Report). Accident Investigation Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  18. ^ Accident of Pakistan International Airlines Flight PIA 8303 Airbus A320-214 Aircraft Registration Number AP-BLD Crashed Near Jinnah International Airport Karachi on 22nd May 2020 (PDF) (Report). Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of Pakistan. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=List_of_airline_flights_that_required_gliding&oldid=1251090638"