Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554

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Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 is a scheduled passenger flight between Hotan and Ürümqi in China's Xinjiang region. The aircraft operating this route on 29 June 2012, an Embraer ERJ-190, took off from Hotan at 12:25pm; within ten minutes, six ethnic Uyghur men, one of whom allegedly professed his motivation as jihad, announced their intent to hijack the aircraft, according to multiple witnesses. In response, passengers and crew resisted and successfully restrained the hijackers, who were armed with aluminum crutches and explosives. The aircraft turned around and landed back in Hotan at 12:45 pm, where 11 passengers and crew and two hijackers were treated for injuries. Two hijackers died from injuries from the fight on board. Overseas Uyghur groups claimed the incident was fabricated or was a dispute over seating, while the Xinjiang government labeled the incident as terrorism. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reviewed Hotan airport's security measures and airport security was escalated in Xinjiang. The incident marked the first serious hijacking attempt in China since 1990, and the first fatal hijacking or attempted hijacking since the September 11 attacks.

Events

A Tianjin Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 jet was leaving on its daily route from Hotan Airport to Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport at 12:25 pm (0425 Greenwich Mean Time) with 92 passengers and nine crew. The suspected hijackers, six Uyghur men aged 20–36 from the city of Kashgar, boarded the aircraft without notice. Surveillance video showed the suspects feigning disability to bypass airport security; one suspect hid his aluminum pipe weapon inside his crutch. The hijackers donned staff uniforms and split into two parties of three in the front and back of the plane. One of the suspects said they aimed to fly the aircraft out of the country to wage holy war; China has previously raised concerns that Uyghur militants are linking up to their Islamist counterparts in Pakistan. According to the flight captain, sounds of screaming and fighting emerged from inside the plane at 12:32 pm and 5,700 metres (18,700 ft) above ground. The three hijackers in front were attempting to break down the door to the cockpit, according to the China Daily, injuring a flight attendant who resisted them. Witnesses note that the attackers were armed with the sharp ends of a disassembled aluminum crutch. Simultaneously, the three men in the back brandished metal bars and explosives, beating seated passengers while announcing "whoever stands up will die". Upon hearing this declaration of intent, Fu Huacheng, a passenger and the minister of education for Lop County, recalled running out of his seat and shouting in Uyghur to his fellow passengers: "Come on! Let's stand up and fight them." Up to six mostly Uyghur plainclothes police responded to Fu's call; microbloggers confirmed witnessing plainclothes policemen removing homemade explosives from the suspects. A group of passengers, led by a local doctor, escorted the elderly and children away from the violence. Some passengers successfully activated the mid-air anti-hijacking contingency plan, which involves pushing a trolley in front of the cockpit door. A passenger interviewed by the Associated Press confirmed that passengers used their belts to restrain the attackers; witnesses to the hijacking posted bloody pictures of the arrests on Sina Weibo. When the captain heard confirmation from a flight attendant that the events in the cabin were indeed an attempted hijacking and not just a fight, he turned the aircraft back to Hotan. The jet returned safely at Hotan Airport at 12:45 pm. The Civil Aviation Administration of China reported that seven passengers, two security officers, and two flight attendants sustained injuries from the fighting. In addition, two of the suspects died from injuries on board; another two of the four detained were taken to the hospital due to self-mutilation.

Incident summary
Date	29 June 2012
Summary	Attempted hijacking
Site	en route shortly after departure from Hotan Airport, China
Passengers	92
Crew	9
Fatalities	2 (hijackers)
Survivors	99
Aircraft type	Embraer ERJ-190
Operator	Tianjin Airlines
Registration	B-3171
Flight origin	Hotan Airport
Destination	Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport

Air Crash Investigation

Allied Air Flight 111

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The Allied Air Flight 111 crash occurred on Saturday, 2 June 2012 at approximately 19:15 local time at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. A Boeing 727-200 cargo plane operated by Allied Air overran the runway on landing, broke through the airport perimeter fence and struck a minibus on a roadway. All four crew members on the plane survived, but all 10 people aboard the minibus were killed, along with a cyclist and a cab passenger.Multiple ground injuries were reported as well. There were rain and poor visibility at Accra when the plane crashed. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. It was the deadliest accident in Ghanaian aviation history. The Ghanaian government announced that an accident investigation commission would be formed.

Incident summary
Date	2 June 2012
Summary	Overran runway on landing, broke through airport perimeter fence and collided with minibus
Site	Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana
Passengers	0
Crew	4
Fatalities	12 (all on ground)
Survivors	4 (all on plane)
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-221F Advanced
Operator	Allied Air
Registration	5N-BJN[1]
Flight origin	Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria
Destination	Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana

Air Crash Investigation

Agni Air Flight CHT

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Agni Air Flight CHT, an Agni Air-operated Dornier Do 228 (flight AG-CHT),crashed, after a failed go-around, near Jomsom Airport in Jomsom, Nepal, on 14 May 2012, killing 15 of the 21 passengers and crew, including both pilots.

Airline

Agni Air is a Nepalese airline that operates domestic flights within Nepal. It offers flights from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Jomsom, Lukla, Pokhara and Tumlingtar. It is used mainly by individual travellers and trekking tourists.

Crash

The aircraft was flying from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport, with 18 passengers, two pilots and a flight attendant on board. At 09:30 local time (03:45 UTC), the first attempt to land the plane had to be aborted by the pilots. During the subsequent go-around, one of the wings impacted a hill, causing the aircraft to crash.

Incident summary
Date	14 May 2012
Summary	Under investigation
Site	Jomsom, Nepal
Passengers	18
Crew	3
Fatalities	15
Survivors	6
Aircraft type	Dornier Do 228-200
Operator	Agni Air
Registration	9N-AIG[1]
Flight origin	Pokhara Airport, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal
Destination	Jomsom Airport, Jomsom, Mustang, Nepal

Air Crash Investigation

UTair Flight 120

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UTair Flight 120 was a domestic passenger flight from Tyumen to Surgut, Russia. On 2 April 2012, the ATR72-201 operating the flight crashed shortly after take-off from Roschino International Airport, killing 33 of the 43 people on board.

Accident

The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Roschino Airport, Tyumen. The accident occurred at 07:35 local time (01:35 UTC),about 1 nautical mile (2 km) south west of the end of the main runway, near the village of Gorkovka. The crew attempted an emergency landing about one mile from the airport.There were 31 fatalities and 12 survivors from the 43 people on board.One source states that all four flight crew were killed,although another states that the first officer survived. All twelve survivors sustained critical injuries.They were taken to the hospital in Tyumen.The number of victims soon increased to 33 (10 survivors). UTair had sold 40 tickets for the flight, but a passenger from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug failed to arrive on time.Nikolay Medvedev, a member of the board of Surgutneftegaz, was among the passengers.

Investigation

Officials said investigators were focusing on the possibility of a technical malfunction as an eyewitness reported seeing smoke coming from the plane's engines as it came down. The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered in good condition. The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) released their final report on 16 July 2013. They determined the cause of the accident to be that the aircraft departed without having been de-iced, though the crew were aware snow and ice had accumulated, and, as a result, stalled on climb-out. The crew did not realise the aircraft had stalled. The report also identified a number of contributing factors that had to do with the airline's safety and training deficiencies.

Incident summary
Date	2 April 2012
Summary	Lost height on climb-out, impacted ground and burst into flames
Site	Tyumen, Russia
Passengers	39
Crew	4
Fatalities	33
Survivors	10
Aircraft type	ATR 72–201
Operator	UTair Aviation
Registration	VP-BYZ
Flight origin	Roschino International Airport, Tyumen, Russia
Destination	Surgut Airport, Surgut, Russia

Air Crash Investigation

Bhoja Air Flight 213

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Bhoja Air Flight 213 (B4-213) was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by the Pakistani airline Bhoja Air. On 20 April 2012, the Boeing 737–236 aircraft, flying from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, crashed in bad weather during its approach to Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad. All 121 passengers and 6 crew members aboard were killed in the crash. This was the inaugural flight of Bhoja Air's second daily service on this route. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan,the first being the 2010 crash of Airblue Flight 202 that killed all 152 on board, and is the fourth deadliest accident involving the Boeing 737-200 series.

Accident

The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, which was the airline's first evening flight in almost 12 years (Bhoja Air was earlier closed down amidst financial difficulties in the year 2000, but restarted operations in March 2012). There were six crew and 121 passengers on board.The flight departed from Karachi at 17:00 PST (12:00 UTC) and was due to land at Islamabad at 18:50 (13:50 UTC). At 18:40 PKT,the aircraft crashed 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) short of its destination,near the village of Hussainabad, Rawalpindi. All 127 people on board were killed.The landing was attempted during heavy rain and a thunderstorm.Initial reports suggested that as the pilots attempted to land amidst rain and strong winds, the aircraft may have flown into an unexpected wind shear, which smashed it onto the ground below.However, eyewitnesses stated that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning prior to the crash, describing it as a "ball of fire."A following Airblue flight landed safely five minutes after the accident occurred. The airport was closed for three hours after the accident due to a lack of fire cover. The emergency crews based at the airport went to the crash site to assist in the firefighting operations there.Flights affected by the closure were diverted to Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore.Despite the fact that the crash occurred in a residential area, there were no casualties on the ground.

Investigation

Investigations into the crash were opened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and by the Safety Investigation Board of Pakistan. Boeing is assisting the CAA with the investigation.The aircraft's cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the wreckage on 21 April and passed to the CAA.The flight data recorder was also recovered. Both were sent to the United States for analysis by Boeing. Pakistani officials have promised a full investigation and Farooq Bhoja, the owner of Bhoja Air, has been put on the Exit Control List, meaning he may not leave the country while the criminal investigation is underway against him and the airline. CAA, the regulatory authority for maintaining aviation safety standards in Pakistan, faced harsh criticism in Pakistani media for allegedly compromising on safety standards.The corruption within CAA, due to politically motivated appointments, was alleged to be the prime reason for increase in frequency of technical faults, crash landings and catastrophic air accidents.The CAA, however, maintained that it did not issue any airline license or airworthiness certificate under political pressure,however it did announce that the Bhoja Air engineers were not qualified to issue the air worthiness certificate. Following the accident, the CAA announced it will re-certify the fleet of all private airlines in the country. The CAA suspended the airworthiness certificates of two Bhoja Air aircraft on 24 April 2012. The CAA announced that the suspension was lifted on 28 April 2012.

Incident summary
Date	20 April 2012
Summary	Impacted ground on approach to land
Site	Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Passengers	121
Crew	6
Fatalities	127 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-236A
Operator	Bhoja Air
Registration	AP-BKC
Flight origin	Jinnah International Airport, Karachi
Destination	Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad

Air Crash Investigation

Dana Air Flight 992

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Dana Air Flight 992 was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft making a scheduled commercial passenger flight from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria. On Sunday, June 3, 2012, the aircraft crashed into a furniture works and printing press building in the Iju-Ishaga neighbourhood of Lagos.The crash caused by human error,resulted in the deaths of all 153 people on board and ten more on the ground. The crash of Flight 992 was and is currently the deadliest aviation disaster involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, as well as the second-deadliest involving an MD-80 in general behind Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308. It is also the second-deadliest airplane crash on Nigerian soil, behind the Kano air disaster of 1973.

Accident

The accident occurred after the crew reported engine trouble and declared an emergency 11 nautical miles (20 km) from the airport.The MD-83 then crashed into a crowded neighbourhood near the airport, apparently landing on its tail and causing a large fire. The crash scene reportedly became chaotic, with The Sun reporting that thousands of Lagos residents attempted to approach the site. Crowds attempted to bring hoses to the site while soldiers attempted to disperse onlookers with punches and rubber whips. The onlookers then threw stones at the soldiers in retaliation.Water for firefighting was scarce for several hours due to the city's shortage of fire trucks, and civilians attempted to fight the fire by hand with water from plastic buckets. Water trucks commandeered from nearby construction projects had difficulties reaching the site due to the neighbourhood's narrow roads.

Investigation

Access to the site was initially limited by the fire and crowds,and later by strong winds and heavy rain. Rescuers also expressed concern that a damaged three-story apartment building might collapse on the crash site.[1] A Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee was set up by the federal government to investigate the accident. Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were recovered and handed over to Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).Because the aircraft was American-made, the United States National Transportation Safety Board will also have observer status for the investigation.The FDR was found to have been too heavily damaged in the post-crash fire to yield any information, but 31 minutes of conversation were recovered from the CVR. The captain reported engine warning lights and then a twin engine failure during the approach, as the landing gear and flaps were extending. On 3 June 2014 the AIB released a second interim statement on the investigation into the crash. The AIB stated: "Investigative reviews of the engine teardown especially the fuel systems are still ongoing. During this process a similar incident occurred on another MD 83 aircraft of Dana Airlines on the 6th of October, 2013. AIB is currently investigating in-depth systematic and safety issues associated with this second incident vis-à-vis, the crashed sister ship, 5N-RAM. The safety actions adopted by the operator to redress the findings are being monitored and analyzed.

Incident summary
Date	June 3, 2012
Summary	Collided with building following dual engine loss on approach to land
Site	Lagos, Nigeria
Passengers	147
Crew	6
Fatalities	163 (including 10 on the ground)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas MD-83
Operator	Dana Air
Registration	5N-RAM
Flight origin	Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria
Destination	Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria

Air Crash Investigation

Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet 100

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The Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) crash occurred on 9 May 2012 when an SSJ-100 aircraft crashed on a demonstration flight operating from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia.[1] On 10 May, the wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was spotted on a cliff in Mount Salak, a volcano in the province of West Java. Due to the widespread debris field where the aircraft hit the mountain, rescuers concluded that the aircraft directly impacted the rocky side of the mountain and that there was "no chance of survival".[2][3] On 12 May 2012, it was reported that the remains of several victims' bodies had been recovered and airlifted to Halim Airport and then taken to the National Police Hospital for identification.[4] The final report, released 18 December 2012, indicated that the accident was caused by crew members ignoring terrain warnings that they had incorrectly attributed to a database problem. The crew had turned off the terrain warning system and were unaware that they were operating in close proximity to mountains. The crew, including the captain, were engaging in conversation with potential customers as the aircraft impacted the ground.

Crash

At 14:00 local time (07:00 UTC),the SSJ-100 departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport for a local demonstration flight, and was due to return to the departure point.This was the second demonstration flight the aircraft was operating that day.There were six crew, two representatives from Sukhoi and 37 passengers on board.Amongst the passengers were representatives from Aviastar Mandiri, Batavia Air, Pelita Air Service and Sriwijaya Air.At 14:21 (07:21 UTC), the crew requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) for reasons which were unclear, and this was granted. This was the last contact that Air Traffic Control had with the aircraft,which was then about 75 nautical miles (139 km) south of Jakarta,in the vicinity of 7,254-foot (2,211 m) high Mount Salak, a mountain higher than the requested flight level Simon Hradecky, of The Aviation Herald, later reported: "Indonesia's Air Traffic Control, Jakarta Branch, reported that communication between ATC and aircraft was done in English, there was no language problem hampering communication. The aircraft had been in the area of Bogor, approximate coordinates 6.55°S 106.9°E, about 13 nautical miles (24 km) northeast of the peak of Mount Salak and 7 nautical miles (13 km) clear of mountainous terrain in safe flat area, when the crew requested to descend and to perform a right orbit. As there was no reason to decline such a clearance the flight was cleared down and for the right orbit. This was the last transmission from the aircraft, the aircraft could not be reached afterwards. The plane having finished right orbit flew a course about 210°. It is unclear how the aircraft got into the area of Mount Salak and crashed afterwards, ATC services hope the black boxes will explain how the aircraft got there. All data including flight plan, radar data and ATC recordings as well as transcripts of interviews with the air traffic controller have been handed to Indonesia's NTSC. In December 2012, the crash investigation determined that the plane's terrain warning system had been functioning correctly and had warned the pilots about the collision course with the mountain. The pilots, however, turned the system off, suspecting it to have malfunctioned. Due to being distracted by conversation on the flight deck, unrelated to flying the plane, they failed to notice that the plane was in danger. A ground and air search for the aircraft was initiated, but was called off as night fell. On 10 May at 09:00 (02:00 UTC), the wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was found on Mount Salak.It is only known that the aircraft had been flying on a clockwise flightpath around the mountain, towards Jakarta, before the crash.Preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft had hit the edge of a cliff at an elevation of 6,270 feet (1,910 m), slid down a slope and came to rest at an elevation of 5,200 feet (1,600 m). Despite appearing relatively intact from the air, the aircraft sustained substantial damage, and there was no sign of survivors. The site of the accident was not accessible by air and no rescuers had reached the site by nightfall on 10 May. Multiple groups of rescue personnel attempted to reach the wreckage on foot.

Investigation

The day after the crash Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev set up a commission, to investigate the cause of the accident, headed by the Industry and Trade Ministry's Yury Slyusar.[27] According to the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), the Indonesian agency for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents, analysis of the crash would take up to 12 months.[28] On 15 May 2012, it was reported in the local media that the Indonesian government had turned down Russia's request to send back the flight data recorder, stating that Indonesian investigators would determine the cause of the crash, while Russian experts would provide support only.[29] The cockpit voice recorder was found on 15 May 2012 at a distance of 200 m from the tail section.[9] The flight data recorder was found on 31 May 2012[30] at a distance of 200 m from the tail section.[31] The Indonesian NTSC had released their Preliminary Report, which listed factual findings but did not attempt to determine the cause of the accident.[32] According to sources within the investigating committee, the aircraft was in full working order and the incident was ascribed to human error.[33][34] The final report was released 18 December 2012[35] and indicated that the accident was caused by crew members ignoring terrain warnings that they had incorrectly attributed to a database problem. The crew had turned off the terrain warning system and were unaware that they were operating in close proximity to mountains. The crew, including the captain, were engaging in conversation with potential customers as the aircraft impacted the ground.

Incident summary
Date	9 May 2012
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain, Impacted mountainside during demonstration flight
Site	Mount Salak, Indonesia
Passengers	37
Crew	8
Fatalities	45 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Sukhoi SSJ-100-95
Operator	Sukhoi
Registration	97004
Flight origin	Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Destination	Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia

Air Crash Investigation