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Why did United flight almost crash into ocean?

The National Transportation Safety Board says miscommunication between pilots is to blame for a United Airlines flight from Hawaii to San Francisco nearly crashing into the Pacific Ocean last December.



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On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport), on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Canary Islands. The crash killed 583 people, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history.

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On Aug. 2, 1985, Delta Flight 191 crashed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 6:05 p.m. killing 137 people. Twenty-seven people survived the crash.

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Fuel Efficiency and Cost Savings One of the primary reasons for the reduction in flight speed is fuel efficiency. As the cost of aviation fuel has risen over the years, airlines have sought ways to minimize fuel consumption, and flying at slower speeds has proven to be an effective method.

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After about a minute in the air, the Boeing 777 plunged from its altitude of 2,100 feet to 748 feet above the Pacific Ocean. None of the 271 passengers or 10 crew members was injured in the 1,352-foot drop, though many people on the plane were shaken up. “It felt like you were climbing to the top of a roller coaster.

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EasyJet. EasyJet has never had an accident. In fact, its history is so incident-free, it appears difficult to find any serious issue on one of its flights.

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Most flights are intended to spend as little time as possible over water, since storms are more common over the ocean than on land. An aircraft would not be safe to fly over the Pacific Ocean due to the stormy weather and frequent lightning strikes that occur there.

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Typical takeoff air speeds for jetliners are in the range of 240–285 km/h (130–154 kn; 149–177 mph). Light aircraft, such as a Cessna 150, take off at around 100 km/h (54 kn; 62 mph). Ultralights have even lower takeoff speeds.

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A lot of airports have restrictions on night flights because of noise issues. Also some smaller domestic airports close at night. There are a few that leave late at night in order to take advantage of the time difference in the arrival city. There aren't more because there isn't much demand for them.

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In jet aircraft, an overspeed results when the axial compressor exceeds its maximal operating rotational speed. This often leads to the mechanical failure of turbine blades, flameout and total destruction of the engine.

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Hawaiian Airlines is one of the safest airlines in the United States, which should come as no surprise given its sterling crash-free record. The airline has a fleet comprised entirely of Boeing aircraft and an average age of 12.8 years, the third-highest in North America.

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Delta ranks higher than United overall in The Wall Street Journal's well-regarded annual airline scorecard and is more reliable—and slightly more post—overall.

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November 8, 1965: American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 727, crashed on approach to Cincinnati airport. The aircraft crashed, killing 58 and leaving four survivors, including a flight attendant, Toni Ketchell.

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The total fatalities due to aviation accidents since 1970 is 83,772. The total number of incidents is 11,164.

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Commercial plane crashes are nowadays very rare, with approximately 45,000 flights typically completed each day in the US, all without fatality.

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