Aviation Disasters Trivia

1. On December 21 1988 flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie en route from Heathrow London to JFK New York. What was the name of the airline involved?

From Quiz 747 Disasters

Answer: Pan Am

Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747-121 named Clipper Maid of the Seas, exploded over Lockerbie with large sections of the aircraft including the wings falling directly on the town, resulting in the death of 11 people on the ground. There were no survivors among the 259 passengers and crew.

From Quiz Alive in the Andes

Answer: Montevideo (Uruguay) to Santiago

Flight 571 from the Uruguayan Air Force set off in a Fairchild 227 from Montevideo, Uruguay, with destination Santiago in Chile. Because of bad weather they had to make a stop in Mendoza (Argentina). The next day the weather had cleared up and the flight to Santiago was resumed.

From Quiz The Gimli Glider

Answer: Montreal to Edmonton

Air Canada 143 was en route from Montreal, Quebec to Edmonton, Alberta when they attempted to divert to Winnipeg after running out of fuel. They made a crash landing at a previously used runway at what is now Gimli Motorsports Park.

From Quiz The Tenerife Disaster

Answer: Terrorist bomb attack on the Canary Islands

Due to a terrorist bomb attack by Basque separatists in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, all planes were diverted to land at Los Rodeos on the northern end of Tenerife, also part of the Canary Islands. Passengers aboard the PanAm plane remained on board, while passengers aboard the KLM were transported to the terminal by bus. Once Las Palmas Airport was re-opened PanAm Flight 1736 prepared to depart.

From Quiz The Colgan 3407 Air Disaster

Answer: Newark NJ to Buffalo NY

The aircraft took off from Newark's Liberty International Airport on February 12, 2009. The aircraft took off Runway 22R and the wheels lifted off at 21:18:56.

From Quiz Forty-Five Crashed, Sixteen Survived

Answer: It had no name

Due to heavy headwinds, cloud cover and pilot error, Flight 571 was given clearance to descend for arrival to Santiago, Chile. Initially this flight departed from Carrasco International Airport on October 12 and was to arrive in Santiago, Chile, however, inclement weather forced the plane to stop in Mendoza for an overnight stay. The pilots had to fly the plane parallel to the Andes the next day. They then had to turn west toward the mountains and then fly through Planchon, which was a low pass. Afterward they were to cross the mountains and exit the mountains south of Curico, where they would turn northward and fly to Santiago. The pass of Planchon was covered in clouds and the headwind had slowed the plane. The pilots were relying on time needed to cross through this pass and had not taken into account how much the plane was slowed down by the headwinds. The pilots radioed for clearance to descend into Santiago, but the descent was much too soon, for they had not yet passed through the mountains. The ultimate crash occurred in a very controlled flight right into the side of an unnamed mountain. The mountain was later named Cerro Seler, also known as Glaciar de las Lagrimas which translates to mean Glacier of Tears. Cerro Sosneado and Volcan Tinguiririca are the mountains which flanked Cerro Seler.

From Quiz Aviation Mishaps and Misadventures

Answer: She survived a fall from 33,000 feet in the tail section of a DC-9 jetline after the plane was blown apart in midair by an onboard bomb.

Vesna Vulovic was a stewardess on a JAT Yugoslav DC-9 jet that was blown apart by terrorists in midair in January, 1972. She holds the Guinness Book of World Records for surviving the highest freefall without a parachute. She broke both legs in the fall, and was initially paralyzed from the waist down. She remained in a coma for 27 days, but ultimately made a full recovery.

From Quiz 747 Disasters

Answer: Electrical spark in the fuel tanks

A short circuit causing a spark in the fuel tanks brought down flight 800 with the loss of 230 lives, it was concluded by the NTSB 16 months after the accident. However, there are a lot of conspiracy theorists who believe that TWA 800 was either shot down by a missile or brought down by a bomb.

From Quiz The Tenerife Disaster

Answer: Amsterdam

KLM flight 4805 had left Amsterdam headed for the Canary Islands. On board there were 14 crew members and 234 passengers including three babies and 48 children. Most of the passengers were Dutch. On board there were also two Australians, four Germans and two Americans. In command of this plane was Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten. Due to so many planes having been diverted to Los Rodeos, the KLM plane ended up blocking the runway so the PanAm flight was forced to taxi out of the way and wait for the KLM plane to take off first.

From Quiz The Colgan 3407 Air Disaster

Answer: Bombardier Dash-8 Q400

This particular aircraft (registered N200WQ) was manufactured and registered in April 2008, and was owned by Colgan Air. This was the first fatal accident involving the Dash-8 Q400.

From Quiz Forty-Five Crashed, Sixteen Survived

Answer: Rugby

The Stella Maris College's "Old Christians" rugby union team was aboard the disastrous flight. Most of the passengers were part of the rugby team. Some family members and some friends were on this plane as well. Out of these 45 passengers and crew, twelve died in the crash or very soon after the crash. Five died by the time morning came the next day. On the eighth day, one more perished. Twenty-seven survivors remained after eight days, unequipped for such inclement weather and conditions. They were without warm footwear and clothing. Temperatures were below -30 Fahrenheit. Many had injuries and broken bones. Two first year medical students, who were on board, managed to devise splints and braces, from salvaged aircraft parts, for those who needed them.

From Quiz The "Star Dust" Mystery of 1947

Answer: Four

The plane had communicated to the Chilean operator that they were due to pass over Santiago in JUST four minutes. In fact, when the aircraft started its descent it had not cleared the Andean Mountains. Severe cloud cover prevented the crew from determining their precise position relative to the mountain range. The end came without warning. Initial search teams were dispatched to locate the "Star Dust" but without success. Argentina and Chile sent ground troops to scour a vast expanse of terrain while planes conducted aerial searches. No trace of the "Star Dust" was found. The aircraft seemed to have VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE.

From Quiz Aviation Mishaps and Misadventures

Answer: United Airlines and Trans World Airlines

United Airlines and Trans World Airlines have had two mid air collisions with one another. A TWA Lockheed Constellation 1049 collided with a United Airlines DC-8 over New York on December 16, 1960 resulting in 134 deaths. A TWA Lockheed Constellation collided with a United Airlines DC-7 over the Grand Canyon on June 30, 1956, killing 128 people.

From Quiz Commercial Air Disasters 1988-98

Answer: Low-level Wind Shear

Wake turbulence is caused only by other larger aircraft close ahead of an aircraft, such as ahead in a take-off queue. The NTSB spent three years in an exhaustive investigation, which did not conclusively explain the crash. However there were known to be 'rotors' at the time, determined by witness reports, of up to 154km/h, gusts of 90 to 136km/h and mountain turbulence from the surrounding ranges.

From Quiz The World's Deadliest

Answer: Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakhstan Airlines

Known as the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, it is the worst mid-air collision (Tenerife happened on the ground) in history, and the worst crash in Indian aviation history. Saudia 763, a Boeing 747 bound for Dhahran with 312 on board, and Kazakhstan 1907, an IL-76 en-route to Delhi, with 37 on board, for a total 349 dead. The primary cause of the crash was the failure of the IL-76 crew to follow instructions, due to poor English, with the secondary cause being insufficient radar coverage of the airspace.

From Quiz 747 Disasters

Answer: 4

Miraculously, four women survived the worse single aircraft disaster in history. Air stewardess Yumi Ochiai, Hiroko Yoshizaki and her 8 year old daughter and another 12 year old girl.

From Quiz Alive in the Andes

Answer: Human error

The flight didn't go westwards in a direct line because that would have taken the plane directly into the mountains. The Fairchild 227 wasn't capable of reaching the necessary altitude to cross the Andes that way. Starting from Mendoza it first flew south and then west to reach Chile via the Planchon Pass. It was supposed to fly west for about 11 minutes and when it reached Curico go north again to Santiago. However only 3 minutes over the Planchon Pass the pilots went north again, steering the plane right into the Andean mountains. Clouds prevented them from seeing they had turned north too early. When the plane descended under the clouds they saw they were in the middle of the mountain range. The pilots immediately tried to regain altitude but couldn't prevent the plane clipping a mountain with its tail and right-wing. The plane broke in two parts; the front part landed in a gulley and slid down the mountain. Miraculously, it stopped before hitting anything else. Twelve people died on impact, many more were seriously injured.

From Quiz The Gimli Glider

Answer: Bob Pearson

Bob Pearson at the time was 48 years old and had 15,000 hours of flying time. He also had some gliding experience at St. Lezard, where he attended a flying club.

From Quiz The Tenerife Disaster

Answer: Clear to takeoff

KLM 4805 called the Air Traffic Control tower for permission to taxi. They were told to taxi to the end of the runway and then backtrack to prepare for takeoff. The KLM flight was to be the first plane to take off that day. It would be followed by the PanAm flight. The KLM flight taxied down the runway and then made its necessary 180 degree turn on the narrow runway to be facing the right way for take off. KLM flight 4805 waited for clearance for take off from the ATC (air traffic controller). The KLM plane was at the end of the runway ready to depart while the PanAm plane was told to taxi along the same runway as the KLM plane and turn off the runway at exit 3. PanAm flight 1736 was to take that exit and head to a parallel taxiway. Since the fog was so thick, the PanAm flight missed the exit. Realizing that they had missed exit 3 they headed forward to exit 4. The KLM flight captain mistook the message regarding the flight path, to mean that he was given the clearance to take off. The co-pilot, who had a heavy accent, made a response to the Air Traffic Control but the ATC did not understand whether he said "We are taking off" or "We are at take off". Because of this misunderstanding, the ATC ordered the KLM plane to stand by. At this same time the PanAm plane radioed the ATC with a message that they were not yet finished taxiing to exit 4 which led to the parallel taxiway. As a result, both messages were jumbled together. The KLM plane proceeded to take off in accordance with the captain's understanding of the message.

From Quiz The Colgan 3407 Air Disaster

Answer: 2

Regulations stipulate that aircraft under 19 seats may operate without a flight attendant. Aircraft over 19 seats must have one flight attendant for every 50 seats or part thereof. As Flight 3407 had 74 seats on board, two flight attendants were on the flight.

From Quiz Aviation Mishaps and Misadventures

Answer: Valujet

Candi Kubeck was the captain of Valujet flight 592 which crashed into the Everglades on May 11, 1996. The crash was attributed to a fire in the cargo hold secondary to the improper transport of dangerous oxygen generator canisters.

From Quiz Commercial Air Disasters 1988-98

Answer: Pilot's child was encouraged to 'play' with controls

The feelings of cabin crew and passengers, undoubtedly bored by the long night flight over dark, can barely be imagined as the widebody suddenly nosed up, stalled and flicked into a spin, followed by a high-speed dive of almost 40,000fpm at terminal velocity.

From Quiz The World's Deadliest

Answer: A flaw in the design of the DC-10

It was discovered that the DC-10's cargo door had a flaw that made it possible for it to be closed without being properly secured. As a result, the door blew during the climb out of Paris, and the resulting damage destroyed the flight controls. Flight 981 crashed into the Ermenonville forest at 800 kms/hr. A sad note to the disaster is that it was entirely preventable. Two years earlier, an American Airlines DC-10 made an emergency landing at Detroit after a cargo door blew, damaging the flight controls. All 67 on board survived. Although recommendations were made to prevent a repeat, they were ignored until the Paris crash. It took 346 deaths to fix a problem that should have been solved without loss of life. As a result lasting damage was done to the reputation of McDonnell Douglas and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

From Quiz 747 Disasters

Answer: The Captain of the Ilyushin 76

The Saudi 747 had just taken off from New Delhi climbing to 14,000 feet, the Ilyushin was inbound to New Delhi and given the approach height of 15,000 feet. Due to a misunderstanding and their lack of a working knowledge of the English language the pilot of the Ilyushin descended to 14,000 feet. The two aircraft collided, the tail of Kazakhstani aircraft cut through Saudi airlines 747 left wing and horizontal stabilizer, crippling both aircraft. Initially 4 people were found alive on the Saudi 747 wreckage but they died as a result of their injuries, leaving no survivors.

From Quiz Alive in the Andes

Answer: Rugby

Most passengers were members of the 'Old Christians' rugby team. Some were accompanied by family members. The fact that most passengers were young and athletic is a contributing factor to the survival of some of them.

From Quiz The Tenerife Disaster

Answer: The captain's decisions overruled the flight engineer's

Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten had apparently become very impatient because of the lengthy delay for takeoff. He had believed that he had been given permission to takeoff so he applied full power to the plane. Immediately, the captain began the takeoff run through. The PanAm crew continued to report that they were not finished taxiing down the runway. When the flight engineer from the KLM flight heard the reports that the PanAm plane was not yet clear of the runway he was quick to express his concerns to Captain van Zanten. Van Zanten had been a pilot since 1947 and had been a top pilot with KLM since 1951. He had close to 12,000 hours of flying experience and was a very respected pilot. The captains of airplanes always had the authority to overrule their flight engineers, so the flight engineer's concerns were overruled by Captain van Zanten. Since the captain was the flight engineer's senior and was also the most experienced KLM pilot, the flight engineer chose to not challenge the decision to take off.

From Quiz The Colgan 3407 Air Disaster

Answer: Pilot error

The actions of the crew meant the aircraft was flying at a dangerously slow 131 knots when the stall warning device activated. The aircraft then stalled, pitched and rolled uncontrollably before crashing.

From Quiz Forty-Five Crashed, Sixteen Survived

Answer: The fuselage

When the pilot and co-pilot realized they were going to crash they pulled up on the controls. The plane's tail section hit first and broke away taking some of the passengers with it, to their deaths. The wings broke away as the fuselage sped across the snow on its belly. Plunging head first into a wall of snow, the pilot's cabin became engulfed in snow as the plane came to a stop. The pilots did not survive the impact. The fuselage, though badly damaged, remained intact and the men used what they could find to block the exposed missing tail section to protect themselves from the below freezing temperatures. As the impact took place, the seats surged forward crushing passengers between them, breaking legs and killing some with the force of the congesting seats.

From Quiz The "Star Dust" Mystery of 1947

Answer: A widow was returning with her husband's ashes

German passenger Martha Limpert, aged 67, was returning to her home in Temuco, Chile with her dead husband's ashes. She had been stranded in Germany until the end of World War Two in 1945. Others on board: - Reginald Cook (Captain, 29) - Hilton Cook (First officer, 31) - Donald Cheklin (Second officer, 27) - Dennis Harmer (Radio operator, 27) - Iris Evans (Air hostess, 26) - Casis Said Atalah (Returning home to family, 47) - Jack Gooderham (businessman, 42) - Harald Pagh (businessman, 41) - Paul Simpson (King's Messenger to the British Embassy in Chile, 43) - Peter Young (South American agent for "Dunlop Tires", 41) After the "Star Dust" disappeared into thin air, speculation ran rampant. Theories abounded, from sabotage to UFOs. Paul Simpson was carrying diplomatic papers to the British Embassy in Chile. At the time, relations between England and Argentina were strained. World War Two had just ended. A 1970s Spanish UFO magazine even got into the act by calling itself "Stendek" (note the k).

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