Aviation Mishaps and Misadventures Quiz

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.

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.

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.

Answer: Both flights had the same flight number.

Flight 191 was the deadliest crash for American Airlines in the 20th century. (Note: the crash of an American Airlines jet into the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001 occurred in the 21st century). American Airlines Flight 191 crashed upon takeoff after an engine literally fell off. Delta Flight 191 was a Lockheed L-1011. That crash, which occurred upon approach to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, was blamed on wind shear.

The number 191 is considered unlucky in American aviation, and multiple carriers in addition to American and Delta no longer use that flight number.

Answer: Clipper Maid of the Seas

Libya was behind the bombing.

Answer: 520

There were 520 people killed in the crash of Japan Airlines flight 123, a Boeing 747 aircraft, when it crashed into a Japanese mountain in August 1985. There were amazingly four survivors. A typical three-class configuration of a Boeing 747 accommodates 416 passengers, while a two-class layout accommodates a maximum of 524 passengers.

Answer: Marshall University

A plane carrying the Wichita State college football team crashed into a mountain on October 2, 1970 killing 32 of the 40 people onboard. On November 4, 1970, a Southern Airway DC-9 carrying 41 members of the Marshall University football team crashed into a mountain near Huntington, West Virginia killing all onboard.

A DC-3 carrying the Evansville University basketball team crashed upon takeoff from Evansville airport on December 13, 1977 killing all 29 people onboard.

Answer: He shot the pilot and copilot with a .44 magnum handgun.

David Burke was a disgruntled employee of USAir, the airline that had recently purchased Pacific Southwest Airlines. Mr. Burke had just been fired from his job, but was still in possession of his USAir credentials when he boarded Flight 1771. At the time, these credentials allowed him to bypass the security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport. Mr. Burke had chosen PSA Flight 1771 as he knew his boss was booked on that flight. Federal aviation laws changed as a result of this incident, including a law that required immediate seizure of airline employee credentials upon termination, as well as a law that required all airline employees to undergo the same security screenings as passengers.

Answer: Knute Rockne

Famous Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne died in the crash of Transcontinental and Western Airways Flight 599 on March 31, 1931. One of the plane's wings broke off in a thunderstorm, killing all eight people onboard. Croce, Clemente and Cline all died in the crash of private aircraft.

Answer: Dan Cooper

The mechanical aerodynamic wedge that prevents the rear stairway of a Boeing 727 from being opened in flight is called a "Cooper Vane", and is named after Dan Cooper, the name given by the skyjacker who jumped from the plane after receiving his ransom.

It is unknown whether Cooper even survived the jump, and his body was never found. Eric Rudolph is the famous Olympic Park bomber from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Lionel Dahmer is the father of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Charles Julius Guiteau was President James Garfield's assassin.