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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: air disasters

air disasters stories: 15 news summaries

 Want a Beer From the 
 Hindenburg? $8K, Please 

Burnt, undrinkable 1937 bottle could be most expensive ever sold

Nov 10, 09 3:55 PM CST
(Newser) - “You wouldn't want to drink it,” the auctioneer tells the BBC . “It is probably quite putrid to taste.” And yet, if the bottle of beer sells as expected, it will be the most expensive ever bought. Why? It’s a Lowenbrau rescued from the smoldering ruins... More »

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Germany • beer • auction • air disasters • Carlsberg • Hindenburg • zeppelin • Lowenbrau

Searchers Find, Can't Recover 8th Body

Olympian Torres rode copter over Hudson
2 days before crash

Aug 10, 09 11:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Crews searching the Hudson River for the victims of Sunday's collision between a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane located an eighth body yesterday in the submerged plane but were unable to recover it, 1010 WINS radio reports. Rough water and silt impeded the efforts of divers, who suspended work... More »

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New York City • New York • swimming • helicopter • air disasters • Hudson River • airplane • Dara Torres • Olympic athletes • US Olympic athletes • Olympics • helicopter crash • Hoboken • Piper PA-32 • midair collision

updated

 7 Bodies, 
 Chopper Pulled 
 From Hudson 

Five bodies recovered; poor visibility, currents stymie efforts

Aug 9, 09 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - New York City police today spotted wreckage of the small plane that crashed into a helicopter and landed into the Hudson River yesterday, killing nine people, the Daily News reports. Crews also fished out the chopper remains and four more victims, bringing the body tally to seven. "We're continuing... More »

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plane crash • air disasters • Hudson River • helicopter crash • Hudson crash

(Newser) - One minute Qantas Flight 72 was cruising at a level altitude, autopilot humming. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, the Airbus A320 went into a nosedive, as the pilots helplessly watched. Eventually, they righted the plane, but not before 115 passengers were injured. Nor was this an isolated incident. Automated... More »

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artificial intelligence • airline industry • Qantas • Airbus • air disasters • air travel • Airbus A320 • automation

UPDATED

 168 Dead in 
 Iran Plane Crash 


Jul 15, 09 4:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Russian-made passenger plane traveling from Tehran to the Armenian capital of Yerevan crashed in northwest Iran today, killing all 168 people aboard, Iranian state media reports. Television footage showed the smoking wreckage of the plane, and one official said it burst into flames while still airborne. A representative from... More »

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Iran • plane crash • air disasters • Armenia • airplane • Caspian Airlines

Teenage Air Crash Survivor Reunited With Family

French gov't flies 14-year-old to Paris

Jul 2, 09 4:34 AM CDT
(AP) - The young girl believed to be the only survivor of Tuesday's Indian Ocean plane crash flew back to Paris today, to the waiting arms of her father and siblings. Bahia Bakari, 14, returned to France alongside a government minister and other French officials. The other 151 people on Yemenia flight... More »

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France • plane crash • Paris • air disasters • survivors • disaster • Yemenia Air • Bahia Bakari

 Air France Jet 
 Was Moving 
 Too Slowly 

Airbus to give thrust guidelines today

Jun 4, 09 9:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The crashed Air France jet was flying too slowly, insiders have told Le Monde. Airbus, which built the plane, plans to notify airlines of the right thrust levels for flights in bad weather today, the Daily Telegraph says. Whether speed could be at fault for the jet’s series of... More »

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plane crash • air disasters • speed • disaster • Air France • Air France Flight 447


 Air France 
 Tragedy Stumps 
 Investigators 

Pilot on separate flight may have seen fire in ocean

Jun 2, 09 6:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - As French and Brazilian military aircraft continue to search the Atlantic Ocean for signs of lost Air France Flight 447, investigators are mulling a range of possible explanations—lightning, bad electronics, a pilot error, or a combination of the three. Late last night the Brazilian airline TAM said its pilots... More »

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France • Brazil • plane crash • air disasters • Air France • Airbus A330 • Air France Flight 447

(Newser) - A missing Air France jet hit thunderstorms over the Atlantic, likely crashing and killing all 228 people on board, the AP reports. Half an hour after falling out of Brazilian radio contact, the Airbus A330 "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence”; Nicolas Sarkozy told families of those... More »

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Atlantic Ocean • plane crash • air disasters • tropical storms • airplane • Air France • Airbus A330 • Air France Flight 447

Pilots' Union Warned Spanair: Operations Are a 'Disaster'

Union told management fleet was too old as early as 2007

Aug 22, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pilots at Spanair, operator of the MD80 airliner that crashed in Madrid this week, killing 153, warned management repeatedly that passenger safety was compromised by the “chaotic” way the airline was operated, the Times of London reports. Emails from the Spanish pilots union claimed the fleet  wasn’t being... More »

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plane crash • air disasters • Madrid • disaster • airplanes • Spanair

 Clues Sought in Madrid Crash 

Black boxes found; authorities rule out foul play in crash that killed 153

Aug 21, 08 6:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Investigators are searching through wreckage for clues to why a passenger jet bound for the Canary Islands crashed shortly after takeoff from Madrid yesterday killing 153 passengers, the BBC reports. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion before the crash but officials say foul play has been ruled out. The voice recorders... More »

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Spain • black box • plane crash • air disasters • Madrid • Spanair

153 Dead, 19 Survivors:
'Closest Thing to Hell'

MD-82 had technical issues earlier in the day; sister jet also had problems

Aug 20, 08 6:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The death toll from today's crash of a jetliner in Madrid reached 153—with only 19 survivors—as investigators sought to figure out what happened. The Spanair plane had aborted one takeoff because of an unspecified technical glitch, and passengers were warned they might have to disembark and change aircraft,... More »

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plane crash • air disasters • Madrid • Spanair • MD-82

Fatal Plane Crashes Fall 65%

Better equipment and focus on crash prevention makes air travel safer

Oct 1, 07 10:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - The fatal domestic plane crash rate has fallen 65% in the last decade. It's not quite the 80% decrease over 10 years the government demanded in 1996 after two crashes killed 375 people, but it's a significant improvement, the Times reports. The decline rests on tighter air traffic control, better... More »

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FAA • plane crash • air disasters • airport security • airline safety • airplane

Plane in Brazil Crash Had Brake Problems

Demand for answers, heat on absent president grow

Jul 20, 07 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Airbus A320 that crashed at the Sao Paulo airport Tuesday was flying with part of its braking equipment disabled, the manufacturer said today, as pressure on the government escalated. Flying without one of the aircraft's two thrust reversers is legal, but the revelation suggests the slick, short runway probably... More »

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airline industry • Brazil • plane crash • Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva • air disasters • airplane

Officials Demand Sao Paulo Airport Shutdown

Authorities blame airplane crash on poor runway conditions

Jul 19, 07 5:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - In the wake of Tuesday's catastrophic plane crash, Brazilian officials are calling for the closure of Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport pending a review of safety conditions, the BBC reports. The Tam Airlines Airbus 320 landing in heavy rain skidded off a wet runway that was resurfaced last month and had... More »

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airline industry • Brazil • plane crash • Sao Paulo • air disasters • aviation • airplane

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