Flight with disabled controls: Difference between revisions

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*[[LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055]], an [[Ilyushin Il-62]]M, on 9 May 1987. According to the Polish investigatory commission, the cause of the crash was the disintegration of an engine shaft due to faulty bearings inside engine No. 2, which seized, causing extensive heat. This in turn caused the consequent damage to engine No. 1, [[rapid decompression]] of the fuselage, and a fire in the cargo hold, as well as the loss of elevator controls and progressive electrical failures. Zygmunt Pawlaczyk decided to return to [[Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport|Warsaw Okecie Airport]] using only [[trim tab]]s to control the flight of the aircraft. He lost his struggle to land about 5&nbsp;km from the runway in the Kabacki Forest. All 172 passengers and 11 crew members perished.<ref>Gero 1997, p. 199.</ref>

*[[United Airlines Flight 232]], a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], on 19 July 1989. A fan disk in the No. 2 engine fractured, severing most of the flight controls. [[Dennis E. Fitch|Dennis Fitch]], a [[Deadheading (aviation)|deadheading]] DC-10 instructor who had studied the case of [[Japan Airlines Flight 123|JAL Flight 123]], was able to help the pilots steer the aircraft using throttle differential. Despite the break-up of the aircraft on landing, 175 of 285 passengers and 10 of the 11 crew members survived.<ref>Gero 1997, p. 210.</ref>

===Controls damaged by structural failure===

*[[American Airlines Flight 96]], a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], on 12 June 1972. The failure of the rear cargo door caused an [[explosive decompression]], which in turn caused the rear main cabin floor to collapse and severed flight controls. The pilots had only limited [[aileron]]s and [[Elevator (aircraft)|elevator]]s; the rudder was jammed. The number two engine also ran down to idle at the time of decompression. The aircraft landed safely at [[Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport|Detroit-Metropolitan Airport]].<ref>Gero 1997, p. 125.</ref>

*[[Turkish Airlines Flight 981]], a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], on 3 March 1974. Similar to American Airlines Flight 96, the flight experienced a [[explosive decompression]], when flying over the town of [[Meaux]], France, caused by a rear cargo door failure. The rear main cabin floor collapsed and severed all flight controls. While the plane went into a vertical dive, the captain called for "Speed!" meaning increasing engine thrust to pull the plane's nose up. The plane began to level out, but had lost too much altitude and slammed into the [[Ermenonville Forest]]. All 346 people on board were killed upon impact, and it became the worst single aircraft disaster without survivors, and the fourth deadliest aviation death count [[List of accidents and disasters by death toll#Aviation|aviation death count]] ever.<ref>"Accident Details." ''[http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1976%20TC-JAV.pdf Accident to Turkish Airlines DC-10 TC-JAV in the Ermenonville Forest on 3 March 1974 Final Report]''. French State Secretariat for Transport. 1. Retrieved on 13 February 2011.</ref>

*[[Reeve Aleutian Airways]] Flight 8, a [[Lockheed L-188 Electra]], on 8 June 1983. Flying over Cold Bay, Alaska, the plane's number 4 engine propeller separated and cut a hole in the plane, causing an explosive decompression, jammed flight controls, snapped throttle cables, and left the flight deck crew of three with only autopilot that had no lateral control. After managing to wrench the ailerons and elevators into minimal working condition, the crew tried to land at Anchorage at high speed. They had to make a go-around, but landed the on the second attempt, saving all 10 passengers on board.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}}

*[[Japan Airlines Flight 123]], a [[Boeing 747]], on 12 August 1985. A faulty repair years earlier had weakened the aircraft's rear pressure bulkhead, which failed in flight. The [[vertical stabilizer]] and much of the aircraft's [[empennage]] was blown off during the decompression. The decompression also ruptured all four hydraulic lines which controlled the aircraft's mechanical flight controls. The pilots were able to continue flying the aircraft with very limited control, but after 32 minutes the aircraft crashed into a mountain, killing 520 of the 524 people aboard in the deadliest single aircraft disaster in history.<ref>Gero 1997, p. 189.</ref>

*[[Air Transat Flight 961]], an [[Airbus A310]], on 6 March 2005, catastrophic structural failure: the rudder detached from the aircraft with a loud bang. The pilots regained enough control to land the aircraft safely.<ref>[http://www.bst.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2005/a05f0047/a05f0047.pdf Flight 961 - Official accident report] www.bst.gc.ca Retrieved: 1 June 2010</ref>