Boeing 767 Cargo Plane Crashes Upon Landing in Turkey

Published: 08 May 2024 at 10:01

Travel

A Boeing 767 cargo plane belonging to FedEx crashed upon landing at Istanbul Airport in Turkey after its landing gear failed; the incident was captured in a video showing the plane's emergency landing where its nose scraped along the runway; no injuries were reported as the crew safely evacuated the aircraft; Turkey's Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is investigating the incident, and the runway where the plane landed has been temporarily closed while other airport operations continue smoothly.

DEEP DIVE

FedEx Express Flight 80 (Wikipedia)

FedEx Express Flight 80 was a scheduled cargo flight from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the People's Republic of China, to Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture (near Tokyo), Japan. On March 23, 2009, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (N526FE) operating the flight crashed at 6:48 am JST (21:48 UTC, March 22), while attempting a landing on Runway 34L in gusty wind conditions. The aircraft became destabilized at flare and touchdown resulting in an unrecovered "bounced" landing with structural failure of the landing gear and airframe, and came to rest off the runway, inverted, and burning fiercely. The captain and first officer, the jet's only occupants, were both killed.

Fresh Investigation Launched by Air Safety Regulators into Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Federal air safety regulators are investigating Boeing for possible misconduct, including falsified tests related to the bonding and grounding of wings on certain 787 Dreamliner planes. Boeing is re-inspecting all 787 airplanes in production and addressing the in-service fleet. The investigation was prompted by employees not performing required tests and recording them as completed. The company claims this misconduct did not pose an immediate safety risk.

Atatürk Airport (Wikipedia)

Atatürk Airport (IATA: ISL, IST, ICAO: LTBA) is an airport currently in use for private jets. It used to be the primary international airport of Istanbul and the hub of Turkish Airlines until it was closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019. From that point, all passenger flights were transferred to the new Istanbul Airport. All freight operations subsequently relocated as well by 5 February 2022 after which the airport continued to serve general aviation until its final closure.

Boeing 737 MAX (Wikipedia)

The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with the Airbus A320neo family.The new series was announced on August 30, 2011. It took its maiden flight on January 29, 2016 and was certified by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March 2017. The first delivery was a MAX 8 in May 2017 to Malindo Air, with which it commenced service on May 22, 2017.The 737 MAX is based on earlier 737 designs, with more efficient CFM International LEAP engines, aerodynamic changes including distinctive split-tip winglets, and airframe modifications.The 737 MAX series has been offered in four variants, offering 138 to 204 seats in typical two-class configuration, and a range of 3,300 to 3,850 nautical miles [nmi] (6,110 to 7,130 km; 3,800 to 4,430 mi). The 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, and MAX 9 are intended to replace the 737-700, -800, and -900 respectively, and a further-stretched 737 MAX 10 is available. However, as of February 2024, the MAX 7 and MAX 10 have not been certified, with the FAA declining to provide a timetable for approval. As of January 2024, the 737 MAX has 4,759 unfilled orders and 1,445 deliveries.The 737 MAX suffered two fatal crashes, Lion Air Flight 610 in late 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in early 2019, in which a total of 346 people died. Contributing to the accidents was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which activated unexpectedly due to erroneous angle of attack data, and remained active because of pilot error due to inadequate training. The aircraft was subsequently grounded worldwide from March 2019 to November 2020, with the FAA garnering criticism for being the last major authority to ground it. Investigations found Boeing did not fully inform operators about MCAS and found shortcomings in the FAA's certification process for the aircraft. The accidents and grounding cost Boeing an estimated US$20 billion in fines, compensation and legal fees as of 2020, with indirect losses of more than US$60 billion from 1,200 cancelled orders. In 2021, Boeing also paid US$2.5 billion in penalties and compensation to settle the DOJ's fraud conspiracy case against the company. Further investigations also revealed that the FAA and Boeing had colluded on recertification test flights, attempted to cover up important information and that the FAA had retaliated against whistleblowers.The FAA cleared the aircraft to return to service on November 18, 2020, subject to mandated design and training changes. Canadian and European authorities followed in late January 2021. Chinese authorities were among the last to lift the grounding in December 2021, at which time, over 180 countries out of 195 had cleared the 737 MAX to return to service.In January 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a door plug blowout at an unused emergency exit during the climb, causing uncontrolled decompression of the aircraft. The FAA immediately mandated a grounding and inspections of all 737 MAX 9 with a similar configuration; affected aircraft were returned to service starting at the end of that month. The investigation found the plug was not bolted into place during manufacturing.

Boeing under investigation for possible falsification of inspections records for 787 Dreamliner

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether Boeing falsified inspections records for the 787 Dreamliner after the company admitted possible incomplete inspections. Boeing is conducting reinspections and addressing the issue. Boeing raised concerns internally after an employee noticed irregularities. The company informed regulators and is taking corrective action, stating that the misconduct did not pose an immediate safety risk.