1996 Airline safety and security review

This review includes important safety or security related occurrences from 1996. There are two types of events in this review, numbered events and significant events. Numbered events must meet the following criteria:

There is at least one passenger fatality,
The flight was open to the general public, and
The aircraft was a large jet or turboprop driven model that is typically used in airline service.

Significant events are those that don't meet the criteria for a numbered event, but would likely be of interest to airline passengers and the aviation safety and security community. These events may include non-fatal airline accidents, events unrelated to an airline flight, hijackings, military actions, criminal activities, or acts of sabotage.

Definitions used by AirSafe.com

7 January 1996; ValuJet Airlines DC9-32; N922VV, Nashville, TN:
The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN. Due to a pressurization problem, the cabin was depressurized during approach. After resetting circuit breakers to deal with the problem, thee spoilers deployed, giving the aircraft a high sink rate and causing it to strike the runway in a nose-high attitude. The crew aborted the landing and was able to land safely. There was substantial damage to the fuselage, but the aircraft was repaired and returned to service. None of the 88 passengers and five crew members were injured.
NTSB Accident Report
Fatal Events Involving the DC9 and MD80

6 February 1996; Birgenair (Alas Nacionales) 757-200; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic: The chartered aircraft crashed in the ocean several miles from shore shortly after night time departure for Germany. All 176 passengers and 13 crew were killed. The aircraft reportedly had not flown in the two weeks prior to the accident. Alas Nacionales, a Dominican Republic airline, charted the 757 from Birgenair, a Turkish owned airline, for the flight to Germany. At the time, all airlines from the Dominican Republic were not allowed by the U.S. government to fly to the U.S. because of sanctions imposed by the FAA Foreign Assessment Program.
757 plane crashes
29 February 1996; Faucett Airlines 737-200; Arequipa, Peru: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic night flight from Lima to Arequipa when it crashed several miles from the airport. All 117 passengers and six crew members were killed.
737 plane crashes

2 April 1996; U.S. Air Force 737-T43; near Dubrovnik, Croatia: The aircraft struck mountainous terrain while attempting to land at the airport under conditions of reduced visibility. The flight crew was using an unapproved approach. All six crew members and 29 passengers were killed. Among the passengers were a number of U.S. corporate executives and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown. The aircraft is a military version of the 737 that was used to transport military and civilian VIPs.
Note: Although not a fatal airline event, it is included due to the circumstances of the crash.
737 plane crashes
4 April 1996; Formosa Airlines Dornier 228; near Mastu Island, Taiwan: The aircraft crashed into the sea in foggy weather. The Dornier had been holding for 30 minutes due to reduced visibility. The aircraft was on a scheduled passenger flight from Taibei.
Dornier 228 plane crashes
11 May 1996; ValuJet Airlines DC9-32; Near Miami, FL: The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Miami to Atlanta. A fire had started in one of the cargo compartments at some point after the cargo had been loaded. Shortly after departure, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit, and soon lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft went into a steep dive, crashing into the Florida Everglades about 15 miles (24 km) from the airport. All 105 passengers and five crew members were killed.
NTSB Accident Report
Fatal Events Involving the DC9 and MD80
13 June 1996; Garuda Indonesia Airways DC10-30; Fukuoka, Japan: The aircraft was on a flight from Japan to Indonesia when it overran the runway after an aborted takeoff and caught fire. There were 260 passengers and 15 crew on board. Three passengers died and a reported 108 of the occupants suffered various injuries.
DC10 plane crashes
6 July 1996; Delta MD-88; Pensacola, FL: During the takeoff, the left engine sustained an uncontained failure, and pieces of the engine penetrated the cabin, killing two passengers.
Delta Air Lines plane crashes since 1970
MD80 plane crashes
17 July 1996; TWA 747-100; Atlantic Ocean near Long Island, NY: The aircraft was on a flight from New York to Paris and had a catastrophic in flight breakup shortly after departure. All 18 crew and 212 passengers perished.
TWA plane crashes since 1970
747 plane crashes
TWA Flight 800 Conspiracy Theories
29 August 1996; Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154; Spitsbergen, Norway: The aircraft was on a charter flight transporting Russian miners and their families to Spitsbergen when the aircraft crashed on a mountain about 6 miles (10 km) from Longyearbyen airport. All 14 crew members and 127 passengers were killed.
2 October 1996; Aero Peru Boeing 757-200; near Ancon, Peru: The aircraft was on a flight from Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile. Shortly after takeoff, the crew reported some sort of mechanical failure. Contact was lost with the aircraft and the aircraft crashed at sea. All nine crew members and 61 passengers were killed.
757 plane crashes
26 October 1996; Tyumenaviatrans Yak-40, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia: The aircraft crashed into three helicopters while landing in a snowstorm after the crew apparently mistook the helipad for the nearby airport runway. Five of the 26 passengers and four crew were killed.
31 October 1996; Transportes Aéreos Regionais (TAM) Fokker 100; PT-MRK; flight 402; São Paulo, Brazil: The aircraft banked sharply to the right and crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff on a scheduled domestic flight from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. Evidence suggests that there was an uncommanded deployment of the thrust reverser on the right engine. All of the 90 passengers and six crew members were killed. Also killed were three people on the ground.
Fokker 100 plane crashes
12 November 1996; Saudi Arabian Airlines 747-100; near New Delhi, India: The departing 747 had a midair collision with an inbound Kazakhstan Air Lines Ilyushin 76 cargo jet about seven minutes after the 747 had departed New Delhi. The collision occurred near Charkhi Dadri, about 60 miles (96 km) west of New Delhi. All 23 crew members and 289 passengers on the 747 were killed. The 10 crew members and 27 passengers on the Ilyushin were also killed.
Saudia plane crashes since 1970
747 plane crashes
19 November 1996; United Express (Great Lakes Aviation) Beech 1900; N87GL; flight 5925; Quincy, IL: Just after landing, the Beech 1900 was struck by a twin engine Beech King Air that was departing on an intersecting runway. Both crew members and all 10 passengers on the Beech 1900 were killed as were the two occupants of the King Air. The airport did not have a control tower.
United plane crashes
More on this event
23 November 1996; Ethiopian Airlines 767-200ER; near Moroni, Comoros Islands: The aircraft was on a flight from Ethiopia to Kenya when it was hijacked by at least two people. While attempting a landing near Moroni in the Comoros Islands the aircraft ran out of fuel and ditched near a beach. Early reports indicate that four of the 12 crew members and 46 of the 160 passengers survived. The three hijackers apparently died.
For more information on this event and other ditching events, click here.
Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes since 1970
767 plane crashes

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1996 Airline safety and security review
http://www.airsafe.com/events/fatal96.htm -- Revised: 12 March 2017