Air accidents are before all human tragedies for the victims, the survivors, and their relatives. Because aircraft are complex and operate in a complex environment, investigations always take a lot of time. This page contains information and tips to give you a better understanding of aviation accidents, how they are investigated, and the typical media reaction. You’ll find links to several accident reports and other posts at the end of this page.

An important thing is that accidents are always followed by a media crisis in which media try to break out “scoops” without always doing the required verifications. When the Turkish Boeing 737-800 crashed in Amsterdam, CNN first reported that an Airbus 380 did crash. I’m not particularly criticizing CNN, all media do the same. When a British Airways Boeing 777 landed short of runway at Heathrow, all TVs interviewed a guy who pretended to be on-board but never was. Nobody tried to check his version…

The involved companies (airliners, manufacturers, airports, air traffic control) also try to communicate so as to look clean, at least in general audience. My favorite example occurred when an AirFrance Airbus 340 crash-landed in Toronto (see report below). The same day, one of AirFrance top managers was saying on all TV channels that it was not acceptable that the tower controller forced the pilot to land in such conditions. Given how air-traffic control works, a controller can not force a pilot to land. Pilot always has the final word and the option to interrupt the approach. But there is a communication rule which says that the first to speak says the truth. Contradicting someone often looks like a defense and contradictors look guilty.

This page contains links to several reports about aircraft accidents. They are all official documents published by investigation bodies – no rumors or hypothesis here. Investigation reports (final or intermediary) are the sole valid source of information. Anything else is speculation and should not be given much credit. By reading the reports, you will see the results of such investigations, and better understand them. If you Google old news for these accidents and incidents, you’ll see the difference between the immediate announcements and the facts as finally uncovered by the investigators. At the very bottom of this page, you will find a list of links to official investigation agencies, from which you can download more reports.

An important source of information for the investigators are the black-boxes. There are two of them: the first one records flight parameters and the second one records communications between the aircraft and the ground and cockpit conversations. Even if they’re well protected they can not always be recovered, particularly if the wreckage is destroyed by fire or lies in water. The case of the Swissair 111 is a good example of examination in which only extreme attention paid to details allowed to find the causes of the accident.

Even when pilots survive the accident, their reports are not as detailed as the information contained in the black-boxes. Because of the stress and workload it’s very unlikely that pilots can remember each and every details. On modern airliners the black-boxes record hundreds of parameters from almost all systems. This information allows for a reconstruction of the flight in a really accurate way and strongly contribute to identification of the causes.

Causes – plural. This is an important word in this context. Accidents are always the result of several contributing factors, never of a single cause. The aviation system as a whole is designed in a way that the errors that inevitably occur at various levels are usually identified and corrected at other levels. Only when all possible measures fail, an accident can occur.

Posts about aircraft accidents, causes and investigation
Icing – One of many possible contributing factors
CAT (Clear Air Turbulence) – Contributing factor to en-route accidents
Bomb threat – Photos of a Swiss Airbus after emergency landing and evacuation
Self-induced stress – When pilots put themselves in risky situations
Gusty winds – Example in Hamburg, includes media reaction
The black-box is orange – More about the black-boxes

General posts related to aviation safety, media, and accidents
Safety and risk management – Principles and illustration
Can media understand aviation – On quality of reporting by mainstream media
From bird-strike to evacuation – Decision making illustrated
About the “law of series” – How first incident makes the second one much more popular
The day I saw a wreckage – My reaction the first time I got confronted to a an accident
Close to the fence – Why airport and residential areas don’t mix

Posts about specific accidents (and media reactions)
Continental Dash 8 crash in Buffalo
Clarifications about the US Airways Airbus ditching in the Hudson River
Spanair MD-82 crash in Madrid
Dash 8 Q400 landing gear problem, media and perceived safety
Boeing 737 catches fire on ground – About certification standards

AirFrance Airbus 340 crash-landing in a thunderstorm in Toronto
An interesting case on decision making in bad weather. This was also an excellent illustration of the evacuation procedures. Final report

SR111 – Swissair MD-11 in Peggy’s Cove
This one is slightly different from the others, as the aircraft became unflyable for reasons beyond control of the crew. No human error there. Final report

BA038 – British Airways Boeing 777 in London Heathrow (investigation in progress)
1st information bulletin – 2nd information bulletin – 3rd information bulletin – 4th information bulletin – Recommendations from NTSB to FAA

Airbus 300 hit by a rocket in Baghdad
Also read my post about this Airbus 300 who landed while the sole usable control were the engine throttles. Presentation by Airbus Chief Pilot

Boeing 737 incident after departing London Stansted
Read how and why this Boeing 737 flew out of Stansted at very low altitude. Also read what I posted by that time. Incident report

Concorde accident in Gonesse after take-off from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle
One of the most media-covered accidents ever. Reading the four reports show well how the investigation evolved.
Preliminary report – Intermediary report 1 – Intermediary report 2 – Final report

Boeing 747 landing short of runway under low visibility conditions in Frankfurt
This accident shows how quickly weather conditions can evolve, and how crews must react in a few seconds only. Even if shallow fog is motionless and apparently innocent, it represents a major risk. Final report

Uberlingen mid-air collision
Discover the details of the events chain that lead to modern airliners to collide in radar controlled airspace, despite all procedures, safety-nets, and TCAS. Final report

Online sources for official reports
The following links go to the official investigation bodies of various countries, from which you can download other reports.

US NTSB – Swiss AAIB – German BFU – UK AAIB – French BEA