Scheduled Revenue Flight

Preparing for takeoff on its flight back to Denmark, the crew completed a backtrack on runway 29L when he was instructed by ATC to expedite the procedure and to vacate due to traffic on approach. When the airplane reached the end of the runway, the crew initiated a turn to the left when the right main gear collapsed and punctured the right wing and the fuel tank. A fire ensued and the aircraft came to rest in flames. 15 passengers (7 Danish and 8 Swedish citizens) were killed while 81 other occupants escaped, some of them were seriously injured. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

About two minutes after it took off from Prince Rupert seaplane base, the pilot initiated a turn when the airplane lost height and crashed onto a mountain slope located about 3 km southeast of Prince Rupert. The wreckage was found a day later and while seven occupants were rescued, three others, among them the pilot, were killed.

On Sunday March 3, 1974 flight TK981 departed Istanbul for a flight to Paris and London. The DC-10 landed at Paris-Orly at 11:02 and taxied to stand A2. There were 167 passengers on board, of whom 50 disembarked. The aircraft was refueled and baggage was loaded onto the plane. The planned turnaround time of one hour was delayed by 30 minutes. An additional 216 passengers embarked. Most of the passengers were booked on this flight because of a strike at British Airways. The door of the aft cargo compartment on the left-hand side was closed at about 11:35. When all preparations were complete the flight received permission to taxi to runway 08 at 12:24. Four minutes later the crew were cleared to line up for departure and were cleared for departure route 181 and an initial climb to flight level 40. The aircraft took off at approximately 12:30 and was cleared by Orly Departure to climb to FL60, which was reached at 12:34. The North Area Control Centre then cleared TK981 further to FL230. Three or four seconds before 12:40:00 hours, the noise of decompression was heard and the co-pilot said: "the fuselage has burst" and the pressurization aural warning sounded. This was caused by the opening and separation of the aft left-hand cargo door. The pressure difference in the cargo bay and passenger cabin, the floor above the cargo door partly collapsed. Two occupied tripe seat units were ejected from the aircraft. All the horizontal stabilizer and elevator control cables routed beneath the floor of the DC-10 and were thus also severely disrupted. Also the no. 2 engine power was lost almost completely. The aircraft turned 9 deg to the left and pitched nose down. The nose-down attitude increased rapidly to -20 deg. Although the no. 1 and 3 engines were throttled back the speed increased to 360 kts. The pitch attitude then progressively increased to -4 degrees and the speed became steady at 430 kts (800 km/h). At a left bank of 17 degrees the DC-10 crashed into the forest of Ermenonville, 37 km NE of Paris. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 346 occupants were killed, among them 48 Japanese citizens and almost 250 British people.

Shortly after takeoff from Qui Nhơn Airport for Đà Nẵng, a hijacker ordered the crew to divert to Đồng Hới. The captain stated that a fuel stop was necessary at Đông Hà Airport but he flew directly to Huê. When the hijacker realized he was tricked, he detonated explosives in the front part of the cabin. Three passengers were killed while several other occupants were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was engaged in a mission on behalf of the Makhachkalinski OAO. While cruising in below minima weather conditions, the single engine airplane struck a hill and crashed near Makhachkala. There were no casualties.

The landing at São Paulo-Congonhas Airport was completed in heavy rain falls. After touchdown on a contaminated runway, the airplane encountered difficulties to decelerate properly and as the end of the runway was imminent, the captain decided to veer off runway to the left. While contacting a waterlogged ground, the undercarriage were torn off and the airplane came to rest. All 88 occupants evacuated safely and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

On January 30, 1974, Pan Am Flight 806, Boeing 707-321B 'Clipper Radiant' operated as a scheduled flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, California. En route stops included Pago Pago, American Samoa, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Flight 806 departed Auckland at 2014. It was cleared to Pago Pago on an IFR flight plan. At 2311, Flight 806 contacted Pago Pago Approach Control and reported its position 160 miles south of the Pago Pago airport. Approach control responded, "Clipper eight zero six, roger, and Pago weather, estimated ceiling one thousand six hundred broken, four thousand broken, the visibility - correction, one thousand overcast. The visibility one zero, light rain shower, temperature seven eight, wind three five zero degrees, one five, and altimeter's two nine eight five." At 2313, Pago Pago Approach Control cleared the flight to the Pago Pago VORTAC. Flight 806 reported leaving FL330 three minutes later and leaving FL200 at 2324. Pago Pago Approach Control cleared the flight at 2324: "Clipper eight zero six, you're cleared-for the ILS DME runway five approach - via the two zero mile arc south-southwest. Report the arc, and leaving five thousand." At 2333, the flight requested the direction and velocity of the Pago Pago winds and was told that they were 360 degrees variable from 020 degrees at 10 to 15 knots. At 2334, the flight reported out of 5,500 feet and that they had intercepted the 226 degree radial of the Pago Pago VOR. The approach controller responded, "Eight oh six, right. Understand inbound on the localizer. Report about three out. No other reported traffic. Winds zero one zero degrees at one five gusting two zero." At 2338, approach control said, "Clipper eight oh six, appears that we've had power failure at the airport. " The first officer replied, "Eight oh six, we're still getting your VOR, the ILS and the lights are showing." Approach control then asked, "See the runway lights?" The flight responded, "That's Charlie." The approach controller then said, " ...we have a bad rain shower here. I can't see them from my position here." "We're five DME now and they still look bright," the first officer responded. Approach Control replied, "´kay, no other reported traffic. The wind is zero three zero degrees at two zero, gusting two five. Advise clear of the runway." At 23:39:41, the flight replied, "Eight zero six, wilco." This was the last radio transmission from the flight. On the flight deck the windshield wipers were turned on and the flaps were set at the 50° position, which completed the checklists for landing. At 23:40:22, the first officer stated, "You're a little high." The radio altimeter warning tone then sounded twice and the first officer said "You're at minimums." He reported the field in sight and said that they were at 140 kts. At 23:40:42, the aircraft crashed into trees at an elevation of 113 feet, and about 3,865 feet short of the runway threshold. The first impact with the ground was about 236 feet farther along the crash path. The aircraft continued through the jungle vegetation, struck a 3-foot-high lava rock wall, and stopped about 3,090 feet from the runway threshold. Of the 101 occupants of the aircraft, 9 passengers and 1 crew member survived the crash and fire. One passenger died the next day; the crew member and three passengers died 3 days after the accident. One passenger died of his injuries 9 days after the accident. Thus only four passengers survived the crash.

Shortly after closing the doors and receiving tower permission the aircraft was taxied to the threshold of Runway 35 and began a rolling takeoff without delay. According to witnesses the aircraft had run approximately 3,200 feet before becoming airborne. When about 8 to 10 meters above the ground it yawed to the left and pitched nose-down. Contact with the ground was made in a nearly level attitude, first by the outboard fairing doors of the left wing flap, then by the left side of the fuselage belly, hitting the bank of a drainage ditch, which parallels the left (west) side of the runway at a distance of 28 meters from the runway. The aircraft then disintegrated and caught fire within 100 meters of travel. A crew member and six passengers survived while 66 other occupants were killed.

The airplane was completing a flight from Turbo to Medellín with an intermediate stop in Chigorodó. It departed Chigorodó Airport at 1255LT bound to the south and the crew was cleared to climb to 11,500 feet. About 20 minutes later, the pilot declared an emergency when control was lost. The wreckage was found in a mountainous terrain and all 12 occupants were killed.

Following an uneventful flight from New York-JFK, the crew started the descent to Los Angeles Airport runway 06R over the sea. Weather was clear but on short final, the crew encountered local patches of fog and visual control with the ground was lost. The airplane continued the approach and landed nose wheel first with a vertical g load of 4.6. This caused the nose wheel to collapse rearward and a fire started in the nose wheel well area. The fire in the nose wheel well was initiated by the burning nose gear tires. The fire was fed by hydraulic fluid that escaped from broken nose wheel steering hydraulic lines. Evacuation of the aircraft resulted in minor or serious injuries to eight passengers. Firefighting personnel were unable to extinguish the fire in the nose wheel well before it spread to the fuselage and destroyed the cockpit and the passenger cabin.