|
1991 Merion Mid-air Collision
On April 4, 1991, a Piper Aerostar propeller-driven aircraft collided in mid-air with a Bell 412 helicopter over Merion Elementary School in Lower Merion Township, a suburb west of Philadelphia, in southeast Pennsylvania. All five people in both aircraft were killed, including United States Senator John Heinz, the sole passenger of the Piper. On the ground, two schoolchildren were killed by falling debris and five people were injured. An investigation determined the accident was caused by poor crew judgment and pilot error in both aircraft. Background John Heinz's aircraft departed from Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT) in central Pennsylvania on the morning of April 4, 1991, at about 10:22 a.m. EST. Heinz was in Williamsport for a press conference pertaining to federal funding of U.S. Route 15. Heinz hired a twin-engine Piper PA-60-601 Aerostar from Lycoming Air Services, an air taxi operator based at the Williamsport airport. Heinz and his two pilots, both from Lyco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mid-air Collision
In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. The potential for a mid-air collision is increased by Aviation communication, miscommunication, mistrust, error in Air navigation, navigation, deviations from flight plans, lack of situational awareness, and the lack of Traffic collision avoidance system, collision-avoidance systems. Although a rare occurrence in general due to the vastness of open space available, collisions often happen near or at airports, where large volumes of aircraft are spaced more closely than in general flight. First recorded collision The first recorded collision between aircraft occurred at the "Milano Circuito Aereo Internazionale" meeting held between 24 September and 3 October 1910 in Milan, Italy. On 3 October, Frenchman René Thomas (racing driver), René Thomas, flying the Antoinette IV monoplane, collided with British Army Captain Bertram Dickson by r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermore, during the 1920s to the late 1950s, various inventors created their own prototypes. Such inventors included Henry Ford, Waldo Waterman, and Moulton “Molt” Taylor. However, each of these projects faced challenges which included crashes, lack of funding, or technical difficulties. After all this experimentation and challenges faced, the urban air mobility industry had shifted focus on “improving safety and enhancing economic and operational efficiency of vertical flight". The next phase from the 1950s to the late 1980s included urban air mobility services through the use of helicopters within major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York (state), New York; however, the challenges of fuel costs and safety have made it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cockpit Voice Recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated name which has become a misnomer—they are now required to be painted Safety orange, bright orange, to aid in their recovery after accidents. There are two types of flight recording devices: the flight data recorder (FDR) preserves the recent history of the flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second; the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit, including the conversation of the pilots. The two devices may be combined into a single unit. Together, the FDR and CVR objectively document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation. The two flight recorders are required by international regulation, overseen by the Internation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
