The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has published statistics on global commercial aircraft accidents for August 2024. The international advisory and analytical agency “Flight Safety” spoke about the details.
August 3. A Boeing 777-200ER of American Airlines was operating a flight from Rome/Fiumicino (Italy) to Dallas/Fort Worth (USA). Over US territory south of Kansas City, the plane unexpectedly encountered a zone of severe turbulence. One of the flight attendants was seriously injured as a result.
August 3. The crew of the Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 aircraft of Algerian airline Tassili Airlines was operating a domestic flight. The plane’s tire burst during takeoff. According to unconfirmed reports, tire debris hit the number 2 propeller. The plane landed safely and came to a complete stop on the runway.
August 5. The crew of a Cessna 750 belonging to the American road marking company Accent Stripe Inc. was operating a domestic commercial flight from Dunkirk to Fort Lauderdale/Executive. There were two people on board. At the destination airport, the aircraft was to pick up parts and a mechanic to work on another company aircraft located in Dunkirk.
According to flight tracking websites, the plane began to climb in a southerly direction and hovered at an altitude of about 10,000 m above sea level for about a minute, after which it began to descend. Initially, the plane encountered terrain and runway lighting 200 feet before the start of the runway. The captain was seriously injured and the co-pilot suffered minor injuries.
August 5. The crew of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 of THY Turkish Airlines was preparing for takeoff at Nuremberg/Albrecht Durer Airport (Germany) on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Suddenly, a ground service vehicle collided with the rear cargo door of the aircraft. The aircraft was damaged, but no one was injured.
August 7. The crew of a Boeing 737-700 of the American airline Southwest Airlines was operating a domestic flight on the Manchester/Boston Regional – Baltimore/Washington International route. While the aircraft was northeast of Baltimore, it encountered severe turbulence. One passenger was seriously injured.
8 August. The DHC-5A of Malawian airline Nyasa Air Charters was operating a domestic cargo flight from Bor International Airport to Piri Payam airfield. There were two people on board. While landing at the destination airfield, the aircraft overshot the runway. The pilots sustained minor injuries. There were three fatalities on the ground, and four others were injured.
August 8. An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 was operating a domestic flight from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport to Tampa International Airport. While en route, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence resulting in injuries to two flight attendants.
9 August. Kenyan airline Renegade Air’s DHC-8-311Q aircraft, operating under a contract with the UN mission UN Humanitarian Air Service, crashed while landing at Malakal Airport. According to unconfirmed reports, the aircraft lost both sets of main landing gear wheels after hitting a dam during takeoff from Maban airfield. The flight continued to Malakal with the main landing gear extended (without wheelsets). A belly landing was made at Malakal. 38 people were on board the chartered passenger flight. There were no reports of casualties.
August 9. The ATR 72-500 of the Brazilian airline ATR 72-500 was operating a domestic passenger flight on the Cascavel – Sao Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport route. There were 62 people on board. The aircraft reached cruising altitude FL170, then ADS-B data showed that the aircraft began a sharp and sudden descent at 16:21 UTC and soon hit the ground. All were killed.
August 10. The crew of a Cirrus SF50 of the American company FAFO Aviation LLC was operating a domestic flight on the Ogden Municipal Airfield – Watsonville route. There were two people on board. During landing, the aircraft’s landing gear collapsed. There were no reports of casualties.
August 11. The pilot of a Cessna 208B aircraft of the American company Skydive Spaceland Dallas, which is engaged in parachuting, took off from the Trenton airfield, dropped the parachutists and returned to the departure airfield. Upon landing, the landing gear of the aircraft collapsed. The pilot was not injured.
August 12. The crew of a Boeing 747-400F cargo plane of the American airline Atlas Air was flying on the Tokyo/Narita (Japan) – Los Angeles International (USA) route. There were 7 people on board. During takeoff from the runway, two rear tires of the left landing gear exploded. Fragments of burst tires were found on the runway, after which it was closed for two hours for cleaning and inspection. After takeoff, the Boeing crew reported problems with the hydraulic system and pressure, declared an emergency, returned to Narita and made a safe landing on runway 16R at 01:12. The left landing gear completely lost two rear rubber tires, and the metal wheels were also damaged, causing sparks to fly from them during landing.
The plane was met by firefighters and other emergency services. Dents and cracks were later discovered in the fuselage.
August 18. The crew of a Cessna 680 owned by U.S. food and beverage company BJR Management LLC was operating a domestic ferry flight from Goldsboro/Wayne to Washington/Warren Field. Two people were on board. During landing, the aircraft ran off the runway and partially caught fire. No one on board was injured. One ground crew member suffered minor injuries.
August 19. The crew of a Cessna 208B aircraft of the Kenyan-South Sudanese airline Royal Skyline Ltd was operating a passenger flight from the Mandeng area (destination unspecified). There were four people on board. When attempting to take off, the aircraft overturned. There were injuries and the aircraft sustained significant damage.
August 19. The crew of an Airbus A320 of the British low-cost airline easyJet (registration marks G-EJCM) was flying on the route Kerkyra (Greece) – London/Gatwick (United Kingdom). There were 181 people on board. The aircraft encountered intense turbulence upon entering Italian airspace, injuring two flight attendants. The crew decided to redirect the aircraft to Fiumicino, Rome, where it landed without further consequences.
August 20. American Limited Liability Company Cessna 550 N689VP LLC was operating a domestic private flight from Odessa/Schlemeyer Airfield to Houston-Ellington Airfield. Two people were on board. After takeoff, the aircraft struck power lines 950 feet (290 m) from the end of the runway. Both people on board were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
August 22. The crew of a Cessna 550 of Thai airline Thai Flying Service Co Ltd, with 9 people on board, was operating a domestic passenger flight en route between Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Koh Mai Si Airport. The aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances at Wat Khao Din, Chachoeng Sao Province. Two pilots and seven passengers were killed.
August 23. A Boeing 737-400 of the Afghan airline Ariana Afghan Airlines (registration YA-PID) was operating a passenger flight on the route Khost (Afghanistan) – Dubai (UAE). During takeoff, the aircraft overshot runway 25. The tail of the aircraft hit the ground and collided with a guardrail; the crew lifted the car into the air and continued the flight to Kabul airport, where a safe landing was made.
August 27. The crew of a Boeing 767-300ER (F) cargo aircraft of the international company DHL International was flying on the Bahrain/International – Milan/Malpensa (Italy) route. The aircraft suffered a tail strike when landing on runway 35R. At the time of landing, there was a thunderstorm in the area, causing gusty and variable winds.
August 28. The crew of a Boeing 737-900ER of the American airline United Airlines (registration N66814) was flying on the Cancun (Mexico) – Chicago/O’Hare (USA) route. According to the crew’s report, the aircraft entered an area of severe turbulence, causing several injuries. The flight was diverted to Memphis. One person was taken to the hospital; six others were injured but did not require treatment. According to the airline, the seat belt sign was activated at that moment.
Comment
Sergey Melnichenko, Director General of ICAA “Flight Safety”:
– Even a quick look at the statistics of aviation accidents in August suggests that this is a difficult month not in a particular region, but all over the world. Let’s compare: ten aviation accidents in July and their double increase in August!
Five planes crashed in an area of severe turbulence, causing injuries to both flight attendants serving passengers and the passengers themselves.
Five incidents involving the chassis and tyres: the damage here is much more significant.
Four runway excursions, almost all with serious damage to the aircraft, as well as accidents with the death of all those on board. Difficult results of a difficult month.
Nine accidents in the United States and three in South Sudan. However, if you consider how many flights there are per month in the United States and how many in a small African country, flight safety there is worse.
Accidents and incidents are “business as usual” in South Sudan. Aviation authorities point to well-used aircraft that are sometimes smuggled into the country. In February 2024, the plane, which had been banned from flying, took off, but crashed during landing and burned. It is a good thing that the only passenger and four crew members were able to escape… In the same February this year, a plane carrying returnees from Upper Nile province overshot the runway at Makalal Airport and suffered significant damage.
In the spring of 2021, the entire propeller of an old An-26 cargo plane broke off during a flight. Subsequently, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority banned the operation of aircraft of this type in the country. However, as we see, flight safety did not improve from this. Problems in the country persist.
