Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft at a facility in Washington state (USA)
The Jeju Air plane crashed into a fence at Muan International Airport in South Korea, killing at least 127 people, becoming the latest tragic aviation accident in the world. According to information from Korean fire department officials, of the 181 people on the flight that crashed this morning, there may only be 2 lucky survivors.
Below are some aviation accidents that have shocked the world in recent years.
Lion Air Flight 610
One of the most talked about accidents in recent years is Lion Air flight 610 (Indonesia), when the plane crashed into the Java Sea on October 29, 2018 after taking off from Jakarta.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane was en route to Pangkal Pinang (Indonesia), carrying 189 people. All passengers and crew members died.
The investigation into the accident found that a failure in the aircraft’s control characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) led to the aircraft’s sudden descent. MCAS was triggered by faulty sensor readings, pushing the plane’s nose down repeatedly, despite the pilot’s efforts to resist.
The crash prompted an unprecedented global grounding of the 737 MAX, with more than 370 planes of the same type grounded worldwide.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
Just 5 months after the Lion Air crash, another Boeing 737 MAX crashed involving Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 (Ethiopia) on March 10, 2019. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.
Similarities to the Lion Air disaster emerged immediately, with investigators again pointing to the MCAS system as the cause.
Debris from the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on March 10, 2019
Boeing then had to pay billions of dollars to settle and the 737 MAX aircraft was banned from flying worldwide until the system was revised.
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
On January 9, 2021, flight number 182 of Sriwijaya Air (Indonesia) crashed into the sea not long after departing from Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta. This Boeing 737-500 crashed into the sea, killing all 62 people.
The investigation found that the accident was caused by a combination of mechanical failure and human error. A malfunction in the plane’s automatic throttle system caused the plane’s engine to lose balance, leading to an uncontrolled rollover and a crash. Authorities also said that the pilot did not react adequately to the situation.
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8083
On May 22, 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines (Pakistan) Airbus A320 crashed into a residential area in the Pakistani capital Karachi during a second landing attempt at Jinnah International Airport.
The flight departed from Lahore carrying 99 passengers and 8 crew members. The accident killed 41 people and injured dozens more on the ground.
Security forces next to a crashed plane in Karachi
Preliminary investigations showed that the accident was caused by pilot error during the approach and landing. The plane attempted to land, but due to problems with the landing gear, the plane scraped the runway, damaging the engine. Despite this, the pilots continued to approach, eventually losing control and crashing into a residential area.
Flight 1344 of Air India Express
On August 7, 2020, Air India Express (India) Flight 1344 crashed while trying to land at Kozhikode International Airport in Kerala state, killing 21 people.
The flight departing from Dubai (UAE) had a total of 165 people on board. The plane slid off the wet runway and fell into a valley.
Investigators found that the accident was the result of a combination of weather conditions, human error and poor runway infrastructure.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735
On March 21, 2022, China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 – a Boeing 737-800 – crashed in the mountains of southern China, killing all 132 people.
The accident occurred while the plane was safely descending and is still under investigation. Black box data showed that the plane descended very quickly and deliberately. Initial speculation focused on whether the accident was caused by mechanical failure or human intervention.
Saurya Airlines flight
The plane of Saurya Airlines (Nepal) crashed on July 24 while carrying 15 passengers and 4 crew members. The plane crashed during takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (Nepal).
The above plane, a Bombardier CRJ-200 model with 50 seats, was en route to Pokhara when it veered off the runway and caught fire. Everyone on board died except pilot Manish Ratna Shakya, who was rescued and became the sole survivor of the crash.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan
An Azerbaijan Airlines (Azerbaijan) plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people on board on December 25.
The flight, carrying 62 passengers and 5 crew members, was en route from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia) when it crashed near the Caspian Sea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on December 28 to say that Russian air defense forces were being activated when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny (capital of the Chechen Republic) before changing direction and fell in Kazakhstan.
