Earth systems YEAR 1991 ..... air plane DATA generating EVENTS

 

Earth systems YEAR 1991  ..... air plane DATA generating EVENTS

1991

• February 1 – In the Los Angeles runway disaster, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737 landing at Los Angeles International Airport, strikes SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metro commuter plane waiting to take off from the same runway. All 12 people aboard the Metro and 23 of the 89 on the Boeing 737 are killed.
• February 20 – LAN Chile Flight 1069, a BAe 146, overruns the runway while landing at Puerto Williams, Chile, killing 20 of the 72 people on board.
• March 3 – United Airlines Flight 585, a Boeing 737, crashes while attempting to land at Colorado Springs Airport, Colorado, killing all 25 people on board. The cause of the crash is not identified until the investigation into the crash of USAir Flight 427 in 1994; both crashes are eventually attributed to defects in a valve associated with the rudder.
• March 5 – Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes into a mountain shortly after taking off from La Chinita International Airport, Venezuela. All 45 passengers and crew are killed.
• March 26 – Singapore Airlines Flight 117, an Airbus A310, is hijacked by Pakistani militants en route to Singapore Changi Airport, where, upon landing, it is stormed by Singapore Special Operations forces. All of the hijackers are killed in the operation, with no fatalities among the passengers and crew.
• April 5 – Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311, an Embraer EMB 120RT, rolls sharply and crashes on final approach to Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 people on board.
• May 26 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767, disintegrates in mid-air over Uthai Thani Province and Suphan Buri Province, Thailand, killing all 223 people on board. A thrust reverser had accidentally deployed in flight, causing the disaster. It is the first fatal crash of a Boeing 767.
• July 10 – L'Express Airlines Flight 508, a Beechcraft Model 99, crashes while on approach Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama, due to severe thunderstorms, killing 13 people on board.
• July 11 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, a Nationair McDonnell Douglas DC-8 chartered by Nigeria Airways to transport Nigerian pilgrims to Mecca, crashes shortly after takeoff from King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, because of a fire caused by tire failure. All 261 on board die, including 14 Canadian crew members.
• August 16 – Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737, hits high ground during descent about 30 km from the Imphal airport. All six crew members and 63 passengers are killed.
• September 11 – Continental Express Flight 2574, an Embraer EMB 120RT, crashes on descent in Eagle Lake, Texas, killing all 14 people on board. Maintenance crews traded work shifts during repairs to the horizontal stabilizer, inadvertently leaving 47 bolts missing. Reformers pointed to this error and called for development of a "safety culture".
• December 27 – Both engines of Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, surge shortly after takeoff from Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The pilots successfully make an emergency landing in a nearby field, injuring 25 passengers but incurring not a single fatality.
• December 29 – China Airlines Flight 358, a Boeing 747 freighter, suffers double engine separation and crashes into a hill near Wanli, Taipei, Taiwan, killing all five crew on board.