6 Aviation Accidents Caused by Pilot Error
Most accidents in the history of aviation have been caused by pilot error which may be surprising to many of our readers because we commonly assume that air crashes are the result of a fault in an aircraft.
In this article, we’re going to discuss 6 aviation accidents caused by pilot error and find out the exact detail why an error was committed.
ASIANA AIRLINES FLIGHT 214
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco Air Port on 6th July 2013 after its tail section hit a seawall and detached from the rest of the fuselage.
Investigation revealed that the pilot has chosen the wrong autopilot mode which decreased the plane’s speed and caused it to crash land.
HELIOS AIRWAYS FLIGHT 522
Helios Airways Flight 522 from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens, Greece crashed on 14th August 2005 killing all 121 passengers and crew on board.
This crash was a result of a minor mistake of the pilot as the crew didn’t switch the cabin pressurization to auto and became unconscious due to a lack of oxygen to breath. The plane continued to fly on auto pilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed near a mountainside in Greece.
POLISH AIR FORCE TU154
Polish Air Force TU154 is perhaps one of the most prominent air crashes in the history of aviation because it was carrying Polish president Lech Kaczynski along with several other top military officials. It’s one of the few crashes where a serving head of state along with his top officials was killed due to pilot error.
Pilot of Polish Air Force TU154 tried to land in heavy fog, despite several automated warnings and crashed the plane into a forest killing everyone onboard.
KLM FLIGHT 4805 AND PAN AM FLIGHT 1736
KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collided on a runway in the Canary Islands in 1977 killing 583 people in total. Investigators concluded that the main reason of this disaster was the mistaken belief that he has got a clearance from air traffic control to takeoff. Due to heavy fog that no one was able to see that KLM Flight and Pan Am were on the same runway.
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 173
United Airlines Flight 173 crashed short of the runway due to fuel exhaustion in a suburban Portland neighborhood in 1978. Only 10 out of 189 people on board were killed in what is described as a miracle.
AIR FRANCE FLIGHT AF447
Air France flight AF447 crashed into Atlantic Ocean on 1st June 2009 due to a combination of human and machine error. AF447’s autopilot disengaged suddenly while the pilot was asleep. Copilot assumed that there is some issue with the plane’s speed sensors which were blocked by ice and tilted the plane upwards after waking up the pilot.
Investigation later on proved that the plane’s fatal crash was due to the upward tilt initiated by the copilot.
Conclusion
If you, someone you know, or a loved has been injured in an aviation accident, Tampa Bay accident attorneys Shocklee & Paolino are on hand to help. If you don’t understand your rights and the complexities of an aviation accident case, you may lose the opportunity to receive the compensation you are entitled to.
Contact us today at (727) 498-8771 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
