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McDonnel Douglas MD-11 accident report

Tuesday 6 April 1993 China Eastern MD-11 B-2171 s/n 48495

ISP Flight 583 from Shanghai (SHA) to Los Angeles (LAX) with crew and passengers. First flight : 1991. En route inadvertent deployment of the leading edge slats at cruise height. The auto pilot disconnected and the captain had to manually control the aircraft. The aircraft progressed through several violent pitch oscillations. Passengers who were not wearing seatbelts were thrown upward to the cabin sealing and back to the floor. The captain regained a stabilized flight and because of the wounded passengers diverted to the nearest airport, being Shemya air force base at Alaska. It made an successful emergency landing at the Shemya afb (now named Eareckson Air Station) (location 52°42’42”N 174°06’50”E ). As a result of the accident the flap/slat actuation handle was redesigned by MDD. Airframe hrs : 4810 cycles : 1571 engines : PW4460 Two people died in the accident and 156 various injured. The aircraft had no outside structural damage but the passenger cabin was severely damaged. The aircraft was repaired and put back in service. location : +- 10 km 37°08’55”N 174°08’38”E

Wednesday 2 September 1998 Swissair MD-11 HB-IWF “Vaud” s/n 48448

ISP Flight SR111 from New York (JFK) to Geneve (GVA) with 14 crew and 215 passengers. 53 minutes after take-off a fire started in the cockpit ceiling. The cockpit soon filled with smoke and the flight crew had to do on there oxygen mask and declared an emergency, returning to nearest airport, Halifax, Nova Scotia. But they could not reach the airport, 18 minutes after the fire started the aircraft crashed uncontrollable into the sea. The use of flammable materials for isolation and wiring etc. propagated the fire, the certification standards were inadequate at the time. First flight : 1991. Airframe hrs : 36041 cycles : 6400 engines : PW4462. All people on board died in the crash. location : 9km SW off Peggy’s Cove, NS, Canada +-100 m 44°24’33”N 63°58’25”W

The MD-11 HB-IWF flight crew , above captain Urs Zimmerman & first-officer Stefan Löw

Unclear which Balair 88 Airbus was involved in this incident. Looking into the Balair fleet history , the aircraft involved should be a A310-300 HB-IPL or HB-IPM

The MD-11 carried a painting of Picasso , “Le peintre”, in 1963 alone Picasso made 6 paintings with this tittle, and it is not clear exactly which one was inside the crashed airplane. Besides the painting the MD-11 carried one safe containing 50 kgs banknotes, 8 kilo’s watches and diamonds.

USS Grapple rescue and salvage ship, assisted in the recovery of wreckage from the seabed

Crash during landing At Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok International Airport, a passenger plane lies upside down on the runway. The aircraft crashed when it tried to land in bad weather. There were 317 people on board the MD 11. Two people did not survive the crash.

Sunday 22 August 1999 China Airlines MD-11 B-150 s/n 48468

ISP Flight 642 from Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong, Chek Lap Kok apt. (HKG) with 15 crew and 300 passengers. Upon landing the weather at HKG was very poor, with a severe tropical storm “Sam” 50km NE of the airport, with gale winds and thunderstorms. The flight crew initiated a ILS approach to RW 25L in heavy rain. Vref was calculated at 152 kts with landing weight 195253 kg, close to MLW. The airplane landed hard on its right main gear due to shifting winds at the last moment and the failure to apply more power to counteract the high descent rate. The right landing gear and right wing separated. Than the aircraft rolled inverted and came to rest in the grass beside the runway, 1100m from the threshold. Date of manufacture : 30 October 1992

Airframe hrs : 30721 cycles : 5824 engines : PW4460. 3 people died in the crash and 153 minor injured and 50 serious injured.

location : +-25m 22°18’18.85”N 113°55’20.37”E