Since the success of the first plane on 1903 till today, there have been quite a number of reported aircraft accidents. Some of them took the lives of hundreds of people and some even changed aviation forever. Here are the five most shocking plane crashes that made history:
5. Germanwings Flight 9525 Airbus 320 (French Alps)
On March 24, 2015, Germanwings Flight 925 crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers instantly. Upon hearing the plane’s black box recordings, it seemed like the crash was deliberate and in no way an accident. Suicidal co-pilot Andreas Lubitz reportedly locked the captain out of the cockpit and then descended the plane into the rugged terrain.
4. US Air Flight 427 (Pittsburgh)
On September 8, 1994, US Air Flight 427 suddenly rolled and crashed 5000 feet to the ground just as it began approaching its landing. All 132 people on board were instantly killed. After 5 years of examination and inspection, NTSB concluded that a jammed valve in the rudder-control system was the cause of the plane’s sudden movement. Because of this, Boeing spent $500 million to repair 2800 of its planes. The Congress also passed the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act due to the conflicts between the victims’ families and the airline.
3. The TWA Flight 2 and United Airlines Flight 718 (Grand Canyon)
The 1956 Grand Canyon collision sparked the biggest and most expensive change in aviation. On June 30, 1956 at about 10:30 in the morning, the flight paths of TWA Flight 2 and United Airlines Flight 718 intersected over the canyon. A total of 128 people from the two airliners were tragically killed in the collision.
The accident triggered the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency to oversee air safety in 1958. A $250 million air traffic control (ATC) system upgrade was also funded. Because of these changes in aviation, there hasn’t been a single collision between two planes in the US in 47 years.
2. The TWA Flight 800 (Long Island)
On July 17, 1996, a Paris-bound plane that had just taken off from JFK blew up in midair for no known reason. All 230 passengers and crew were immediately killed, causing a huge controversy that time.
The NTSB ruled out terrorist bombs and missile attacks as the cause of the explosion. After further examination of the wreckage, it was confirmed that the fumes in the plane’s wing fuel had ignited after a short circuit. Since then, Boeing has developed a way to reduce the chance of explosion – a system that injects nitrogen gas into fuel tanks. Since 2008, this system is being installed on newly built planes.
1. The Aeromexico Flight 498 (Los Angeles)
Just as the Aeromexico Flight 498 was approaching to land at LAX on Aug. 31, 1986, the small four-seat private plane Piper Archer appeared into its path. Both planes fell into a residential neighborhood several miles east of the airport. The collision killed a total of 82 people – 15 on the ground and 67 on board. Since then, airlines had been required to have TCAS II collision-avoidance systems which can detect possible collisions with other planes.