Wake Turbulence - Incidents Involving Wake Turbulence

Incidents Involving Wake Turbulence

• June 8, 1966 - an XB-70 collided with an F-104. Though the true cause of the collision is unknown, it is believed that due to the XB-70 being designed to have an enhanced wake turbulence to increase lift, the F-104 moved too close, therefore getting caught in the vortex and colliding with the wing (see main article).
• May 30, 1972 - Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 crashed at the Greater Southwest International Airport while performing "touch and go" landings behind a DC-10. This crash prompted the FAA to create new rules for minimum following separation from "heavy" aircraft.
• December 15, 1993 - a chartered aircraft with five people on board, including In-N-Out Burger's president, Rich Snyder, crashed several miles before John Wayne Airport. The aircraft followed a Boeing 757 in for landing, became caught in its wake turbulence, rolled into a deep descent and crashed.
• September 8, 1994 - USAir Flight 427 crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1994. This accident was believed to involve wake turbulence, though the primary cause was a defective rudder control component.
• September 20, 1999 - JAS 39A Gripen from Airwing F 7 Såtenäs crashed into Lake Vänern in Sweden during an air combat maneuvering exercise. After passing through the wake vortex of the other aircraft, the aircraft abruptly changed course, and the pilot, Capt. Rickard Mattsson, got a highest-severity warning from the ground-collision warning system. He ejected from the aircraft, and landed safely by parachute in the lake.
• November 12, 2001 - American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, New York shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport. This accident was attributed to pilot error in the presence of wake turbulence from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 that resulted in rudder failure and subsequent separation of the vertical stabilizer.
• November 3, 2008 - Airbus A380 wake turbulence event, Sydney Airport, Australia. Wake turbulence of an Airbus A380-800 causing temporary loss of control to a Saab 340 on approach to a parallel runway during high crosswind conditions.
• November 4, 2008 - Mexican Government LearJet 45 XC-VMC, carrying Secretary of the Interior Juan Camilo Mouriño, crashed close to Paseo de la Reforma avenue before turning for final approach to runway 05R at Mexico City International Airport. The airplane was flying behind a Mexicana Airlines 767-300 and above a heavy helicopter. The pilots were not told about the type of plane that was approaching before them, neither did they reduce to minimum approach speed. (This has been confirmed as the official stance by the Mexican Government as stated by Luiz Tellez, the Secretary of Communications of Mexico.)