Airplanes are considered the safest mode of transportation, but crashes sometimes occur in history of the aviation industry. This research paper tends to offer an overview of some airplane crashes, their reasons, and consequences. There are different factors that may lead to these dangerous situations. Due to the numerous risks, which can lead to catastrophes, it is essential to identify and prevent them infuture.
The most important value of every airline is its safety. First of all, safety is identified by technical maintenance of aircrafts and those, who are responsible for them. Thus, engineers, builders, dispatchers, and pilots are supposed to be well-trained in order to handle extreme situations. Another crucial aspect of safety is the protection from terrorist attacks and hijackings, which have become extremely dangerous during the last decades. The airlines must be responsible for the safety of their passengers during flights. Aircraft disasters may occur due to various reasons, both objective and subjective. Subjective reasons may include a maintenance fault, pilot error or a terrorist attack. Objective reasons are dependent on weather conditions, such as lightening, ice and snow, bird strike, hail and dust, volcanic ash, ground damage or electromagnetic interference (Stanley, 2001). Aircraft pilots are supposed to be well-trained and experienced in order to prevent any situations that can lead to aircraft catastrophe.
Items like hail and dust can harm essential parts of the plane, such as engine. An example of such mechanical failure was an Air France Flight 4590 catastrophe in 2000, when a part from another aircraft fell down after hitting. As a result, it crashed into a hotel in Goness, France. All crew members and one hundred passengers onboard died. Volcanic ash can also cause the disruption of an aircraft. It was a main reason for the incident around the British Airways Flight 9 from London to Auckland in 1982 (Shari, 1996). The aeroplane flew into volcanic ash after the eruption, which resulted in the failure of four engines. Fortunately, the crew members could land the aicraft gliding to exit the ash cloud. Lightening can also cause an aircraft disaster. For example, in 1963 the Pan American Flight 214 crashed because it was hit by the lightning near Elkton, Maryland. This terrible catastrophe took the lives of 81 passengers and the crew members (Hughes, 1963). Such aircrafts are exceedingly rare today due to the modification of aeroplanes, but risks are still possible. Fire on board may also lead to aircraft disaster. Thus, an Air Canada Flight 797 that flew to Dallas in 1983 caught on fire filling the aircraft with smoke. The crew members landed the plane, but 23 passengers were killed by the flame (Roger, 2003).
The most destructive aircraft disaster the world has ever known has happened in the World Trade Center in NYC, USA on September 11, 2001 as a result of a terrorist attack (Beckford, 2009). Around three thousand people were killed in the World Trade Center towers because of the terrorist hijacking airplanes and flying them into the buildings. These were the international American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. That same day 189 people were killed onboard the American Airlines Flight 77, when the airplane crashed into the Pentagon. These crashes were classified as a mass-murder suicide.
There are some other reasons that may lead to extremely risky situations and aircraft disasters. Pilots are supposed to be very careful in the abovementioned situations. Weather conditions, like ice and snow, should be also taken into consideration. Experiments and safety regulations should be carried out to ensure damage limitations and safety of the aircraft.
In conclusion, the aviation industry has the long history of existence, but still different accidents and aircraft disasters may happen due to various reasons. People remember all victims of aircraft accidents and feel grief for them.