2015-08-21
985
The causes of aviation accidents vary greatly depending on specific circumstances and problems that may develop during the flight process.
1. Decent and Landing Accidents
Descent and landing accidents account for 36 percent of all general aviation mishaps and the most common type of accident. There are five stages of the descent and landing process. These include descent, approach, landing, go-around or aborted landing, and taxi.
2. Aborted Landings
An aborted landing is a circumstance where the pilot of a plane must take control and abandon his or her landing plan for a safer alternative. This usually requires a second go-around followed by a successful landing, but sometimes complications can arise. Aborted landings are done out of necessity and to ensure the safety of all pilots and passengers involved.
3. Defective Landing Gear
Landing a plane safely is perhaps the most important part of a pilot’s job. Sometimes this task is complicated not through the fault of a pilot but as a result of defective landing gear on the plane itself. It is not difficult to imagine the complications and disasters defective landing gear could cause.
4. Taxi and Takeoff Accidents
One of the most important parts of a flight is the preflight and planning stages of the operation. This involves preflight inspections for safety, flight preparation, taxiing, and takeoff. When combined, taxi and takeoff accidents account for about 22 percent of all commercial jet airplane accidents and about 22 percent of all fatalities.
5. Preflight Accidents
Before taking off, it is the responsibility of the pilot or airline to perform a complete inspection of the plane to make absolutely certain it is safe to be airborne. This process involves the checking of gauges, displays, instruments, and all parts of the plane to ensure its safety.
6. Climbout Accidents
The period of flight during takeoff and climbout can be extremely dangerous for pilots and passengers alike. Much of the uncertainty during this time can be prevented with effective flight planning. However, when pilots or staff members fail to be vigilant in planning their ascent, climbout accidents may be more likely to occur.
7. Mechanical Failures
No form of transportation is completely safe, and no machine is completely foolproof. Murphy’s Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Tragically, this sometimes applies to aviation accidents when mechanical failures occur. Mechanical failure is responsible for 13 percent of all commercial airplane accidents from 1950 through 2004.
8. Electrical Malfunctions
Aging electrical systems on older airplanes can cause severe aviation accidents. Electrical malfunctions can be deadly because electrical systems control many of the instruments pilots rely on to fly steadily. When these instruments are unreadable, pilots must fly blindly and the lives of pilots and passengers are put at risk.
9. Fixed-Wing Accidents
When most people think of an airplane, the mental image they conjure up is that of a fixed-wing aircraft. The term fixed-wing can apply to monoplanes, biplanes, and triplanes. Fixed-wing airplanes are by far the most commonly used vehicles for commercial and recreational recreation.
10. Engine Failure
Engine failure is a mechanical problem that can easily lead to aviation accidents. There are many reasons engine failure may occur, including an insufficient fuel supply and the breaking of engine parts. Pilots and crew are specially trained to manage engine failure as best they can by gliding the plane to a safe landing, but sometimes the aviation accidents resulting from this mechanical problem can be horrific.
11. Defective Landing Gear
When mechanical problems affect the landing gear of an aircraft, a pilot’s ability to land safely is compromised. Defective landing gear can result in panic and quick decisions that have lead to truly tragic aviation accidents in the past.
12. Defective Rudder
The rudder on an aircraft is an essential component on the tail that is used by the pilot to control the yaw axis. In aviation, the yaw axis describes the rotation about the vehicle’s normal axis or center of mass. The rudder of an airplane is usually controlled by foot pedals, and when the pedals or rudder are defective the pilot becomes unable to fully control the plane.
13. Defective Gauges/Instruments
The gauges and instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft allow the pilot to control the vehicle he or she is flying. These gauges and instruments provide power, fuel supply, temperature, altitude, speed, position and other information that allows the aircraft to operate safely.
14. Pilot Errors and Negligence
When most people make mistakes at their jobs, their employment can be terminated. When pilots are negligent or make errors while on the job, there is the potential for hundreds of lives to be terminated. Pilots receive extensive training designed to prepare them to handle a wide variety of situations, but there are times when fatal mistakes are made.
15. Faulty Flight Maneuvers
Faulty flight maneuvers can be avoided when pilots are cautious and act professionally. Steep turns, slow flight, stalls and stall recovery, spins and spin recovery, and forced landings are all procedures that pilots should have mastered before earning their license.
16. Pilot Heart Attack/ Stroke
Pilots are under tremendous amounts of stress while flying. It is their duty to ensure the safety of themselves and all the passengers on board. US Navy studies have found that most pilots experience an increase in their heart rate when landing or taking off that can be explained by the high level of concentration required to perform these tasks safely.
17. Pilot Intoxication
Federal law dictates that pilots cannot drink alcohol within eight hours of a flight. This is because the level of attention to safely pilot an aircraft is extremely high. Studies have suggested that the number of serious errors made by pilots dramatically increases at blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels as low as 0.025%. The effects of alcohol consumption can impact pilots who are not intoxicated at the time of flying.
18. Pilot Epileptic Attack
People diagnosed with epilepsy are forbidden by law to fly aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. This is due to the incapacitating effects an epileptic seizure could have on a pilot. Although there are different forms of epilepsy and a wide range of seizure severity, individuals suffering from epilepsy may not become licensed pilots.
19. Fuel Mismanagement
Fuel mismanagement often results in some of the most avoidable aviation accidents. There are two main forms of fuel mismanagement: fuel exhaustion and fuel starvation. Fuel exhaustion takes place when the aircraft is completely out of fuel, while fuel starvation occurs when fuel remains but the pilot does not switch tanks after one runs dry.
20. Gas/ Fuel Leak
When a gas or fuel leak occurs, fuel mismanagement is likely to occur. When pilots plan their flights they load their aircraft with fuel accordingly. The onset of a leak can severely shorten the amount of time one may safely fly. Pilots must act quickly when they observe a leak taking place. In some instances, by acting quickly and appropriately pilots may be able to avert an aviation accident.
21. Wrong Fuel Usage
It is extremely important for the correct fuel to be used in aircraft engines. Reciprocating engines require avgas, while turbine engines must run on jet fuel. Engine damage and other malfunctions are common consequences of using the wrong fuel. In some cases damage may occur slowly over time but in other circumstances overheating or combustion may take place.
22. Fuel Pump Malfunction
Aircraft fuel is what feeds engines and allows a vehicle to become and remain airborne. When the supply of fuel is interrupted, the fate of the aircraft is jeopardized. The fuel pump of an aircraft allows fuel to be distributed from tanks to the engines. When fuel pump malfunctions occur the results can be deadly.
23. Inclement Weather
Over an eleven year period there were over five thousand light aircraft accidents in the United States relating to inclement weather. Of these, over 1,700 resulted in fatalities.
Although poor weather conditions are beyond the control of pilots, airlines, and flight crew, these people have a responsibility for the safety of their passengers. When the decision is made to go ahead with a flight despite weather advisories, the lives of others are put at risk.
24. Lightning
It is estimated that on average each commercial airplane in the United States is struck by lightning at least once per year. Although it is extremely rare for aviation accidents to directly result from lightning contact, complications and other distractions may occur that could divert a pilot’s attention from his or her flight plan.
25. Wind and Wind Shear
During an eleven year period, 48 percent of light aircraft weather accidents were caused by winds blowing aircraft off the side or end of a runway on takeoff. Although light aircraft are most affected by winds, larger aircrafts can be unexpectedly moved around as well. When this occurs a sense of panic may fill the cabin as passengers question their own safety and the competence of their pilots.
26. Snow
As anyone might suspect, flying in the snow can be a dangerous adventure. Pilots should not fly in whiteout conditions such as blizzards. At these times visibility is often so poor that instruments must be relied upon almost exclusively to determine one’s position and surroundings.
27. Rain
Rain and thunderstorms can be extremely hazardous to aviation. Turbulence, cumulus clouds, high winds, ice, hail, lightning, loss of visibility, electrostatic discharge, tornadoes, altimetry errors, and wet runways often accompany rain and must be managed by pilots and flight crews. In most situations, pilots are instructed to avoid severe thunderstorms and rain due to the risks they may pose for passengers and crew.
28. Other Causes of Airplane Accidents
Beyond the obvious hazards that can contribute to an aviation accident, other causes exist. It is important for these possibilities to be taken into consideration so that the lives of passengers and other innocent people are not jeopardized by the short-sightedness of crew.
29. Bird Hazards
Although many people may not realize it, birds are a common threat to airline safety. A number of fatal accidents have been caused by bird strike, one of which killed 62 passengers in 1960. Bird strike is such a serious problem that the FAA estimates it costs United States aviation $480 million each year.
30. Mid-Air Collisions
A mid-air collision is every pilot and passenger’s worst nightmare and one of the most dramatic types of aviation accident. Mid-air collisions are almost always due to human error, and are entirely preventable. Pilots receive training to avoid potentially dangerous situations, but when this preparation is overlooked fatal consequences may occur.
31. Air Traffic Control Errors
Not all air traffic control errors result in aviation accidents. Many errors are only described as “ close calls ”, where a mistake was made but no accident took place. However, nobody wants to put their life at risk with “close calls” when they are travelling hundreds of miles per hour at thousands of feet above ground.
32. Structural Defects
Structural defects can lead to dramatic and unpredictable aviation accidents. Defects can range from faulty or aging wires to corrosion and fuselage loss. In 1988, a Boeing 737 flown by Aloha Airlines experienced a ruptured fuselage, tearing part of the cabin apart and blowing a flight attendant off the plane and to her death. The accident was caused by problems with the adhesive bonding process, a problem Boeing was already aware of.
33. Lack of Maintenance on an Airplane
Without maintenance, any aircraft will eventually become a serious hazard. Commercial, military, and private aviation organizations employ aircraft maintenance technicians to constantly work on aircraft to keep them safe and in working order. In the vast majority of cases, the work done is timely and of high quality, contributing the overall safety of flight as a mode of transportation.
