Flash Airlines Flight 604
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 3, 2004 |
| Type | vertigo/spatial disorientation, lack of adequate pilot / co-pilot training |
| Site | Red Sea near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt |
| Passengers | 135 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 148 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-3Q8 |
| Operator | Flash Airlines |
| Tail number | SU-ZCF |
| Flight origin | Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport |
| Destination | Charles De Gaulle International Airport |
Flash Airlines Flight 604 was a charter flight operated by Egyptian charter company Flash Airlines. On January 3, 2004, the Boeing 737-3Q8 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, killing all 148 passengers, many of them French tourists, and all 13 crew members. The wreckage was found about 9 miles south of the airport.
The flight took off at 04:44 Eastern European Time (0244 GMT) from the Egyptian resort en route to Paris via Cairo. Initially, it was thought that terrorists might have been involved, as fear of aviation terrorism was high (with several major airlines in previous days canceling flights on short notice). Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was also holidaying in the Sharm el-Sheikh area.
The American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) investigated and concluded that the pilot suffered spatial disorientation, and the copilot was unwilling to challenge his more experienced superior. Furthermore, according to the NTSB and BEA, both officers were insufficiently trained. The NTSB stated that the cockpit voice recorder showed that 24 seconds passed after the airliner banked before the pilot began correcting maneuvers. Egyptian authorities disagree with this assessment, as does the Egyptian public, who both tend to attribute the cause to mechanical issues.[1] Some media reports suggest that the plane crashed due to technical problems, possibly a result of the apparently questionable safety record of the airline. This attitude was shown in a press briefing given by the BEA chief, who was berated by the first officer's mother during a press conference, and demanded that the crew be absolved of fault prior to the completion of the investigation. Two months after the crash Flash Airlines went bankrupt.[1]
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (March 2008) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Safety First, Always." Sparaco, P. Aviation Week & Space Technology. April 10, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Air Crash Investigations episode reconstructing this accident
- BBC News Online coverage
- CNN coverage
- Factual report.
- Final report
- Pre-crash photos taken at Airliners.net
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
