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Magana Cathcart & McCarthy
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Recent Crashes
Private Aircraft, New York City, New York Oct. 11, 2006
Gol Airlines, Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil Sept. 30, 2006
Comair, Lexington, Kentucky Aug. 27, 2006
Private Aircraft, Off the Coast of Santa Monica, California Mar. 13, 2006
Mid-Air Collision, San Diego County Feb. 8, 2006
Goship Air Cessna 560, Carlsbad, California Jan. 24, 2006
Chalk's Ocean Airways, Off the Coast of Florida Dec. 19, 2005
Bellview Airlines, Nigeria Oct. 23, 2005
Wimbi Dira Airways, Congo Oct. 4, 2005
Mandala Airlines, Indonesia Sept. 5, 2005
Kavatshi Airlines, Congo Sept. 5, 2005
TANS Peru, Peru Aug. 23, 2005
West Caribbean Airways, Venezuela Aug. 16, 2005
Helios Airways, Greece Aug. 14, 2005
Helicopter Accident, Baltic Sea Aug. 11, 2005
Tuninter, Italy Aug. 6, 2005
Air France, Canada Aug. 2, 2005
Equatair, Equatorial Guinea July 16, 2005
Air Pony Express, Florida, United States June 13, 2005
al-Majal Company, Sudan June 2, 2005
Victoria Air, Congo May 25, 2005
Aero Tropics Air Services, Australia May 7, 2005
Saha Airlines, Iran Apr. 20, 2005
GT Air, Indonesia Apr. 12, 2005
West Caribbean Airways, Colombia Mar. 26, 2005
Airline Transport Company, Tanzania Mar. 23, 2005
Cargo Plus Aviation, Uganda Mar. 19, 2005
Kemerovo Air Enterprise, Russia Mar. 16, 2005
Kam Air, Afghanistan Feb. 3, 2005
East/West Cargo, Sudan Feb. 3, 2005
Farnair Hungary, Romania Jan. 27, 2005
Private Aircraft, New York City, New York - Oct. 11, 2006
A Cirrus SR-20 propeller plane carrying Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor crashed into a building in Manhattan�s Upper East Side, injuring eighteen and killing both passengers. The plane veered toward Manhattan and crashed twelve minutes after taking off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Reports indicate that a lack of fuel combined with the difficulty of flying in the crowded East River area may have caused the crash. The accident occurred 27 years after a similarly tragic crash claimed the life of legendary Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.
Gol Airlines, Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil - Sept. 30, 2006
Gol Airlines Flight 1907 crashed in the dense Amazon rainforest after being clipped by a corporate jet, killing all 155 people on board. The plane was bound for Brasilia, heading from Manaus, and was scheduled for two more stops in Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo.
Comair, Lexington, Kentucky - Aug. 27, 2006
Comair flight #5191, bound for Atlanta, overran the runway and crashed into the woods, killing all but one of the 50 people on board. For reasons currently under investigation by the NTSB, the commuter flight attempted to depart from a runway that was too short to support a successful takeoff. The twin-engine jet would have required a runway of at least 5,000 feet rather than the approximately 3,500-foot runway that was ultimately used. This crash marks the worst aviation accident in the United States since November 2001.
Private Aircraft, Off the Coast of Santa Monica, California - Mar. 13, 2006
Former game-show host Peter Tomarken and his wife were killed when the Beech A36 Bonanza airplane Tomarken was piloting plunged into the ocean, about 200 yards off the Santa Monica coast. The NTSB's initial findings, including the discovery of an 8-by-6 inch hole in the engine case, suggest that engine failure was the cause of the accident. Tomarken was a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West, a charitable organization that offers air transportation for critically ill patients in need. He and his wife were en route to San Diego, where they were scheduled to pick up a cancer patient.
Mid-Air Collision, San Diego County - Feb. 8, 2006
A mid-air collision involving two light aircraft claimed the lives of three people who were aboard the flights. The collision occurred near Gillespie Field in San Diego County, spreading debris over a one-mile radius and causing damage to local homes.
Goship Air Cessna 560, Carlsbad, California - Jan. 24, 2006
A twin-engine Cessna 560 bound for San Diego County from Idaho ran off the end of the runway at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California, crashing into a storage shack and killing all four people on board. The jet engine aircraft, which was registered to Goship Air of Idaho, approached the runway at a clearly excessive speed according to an eyewitness to the crash.
Read Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy's press release on this aviation accident. (.PDF)
Chalk's Ocean Airways, Off the Coast of Florida - Dec. 19, 2005
A twin-engine seaplane bound for the Bahamas crashed just off the coast of Miami Beach, killing all 20 passengers on board, including two Americans. The seaplane, which had been in service since the 1940s, exploded so close to land that several beach-goers reported feeling the heat from the explosion.
Bellview Airlines, Nigeria - Oct. 23, 2005
Radio contact with the airplane was lost three minutes after the flight departed from Lagos en route to Abuja. Wreckage from the airplane was discovered about 20 miles north of Lagos, and none of the 117 passengers and crew members aboard the flight survived.
Wimbi Dira Airways, Congo - Oct. 4, 2005
Following a hard landing on a dirt runway at Aru, Congo, two passengers were killed during an emergency evacuation as they ran into the aircraft's still-rotating propellers.
Mandala Airlines, Indonesia - Sept. 5, 2005
Mandala Airlines flight #91 crashed into a residential district shortly after taking off. Among the 117 passengers and crew members aboard the flight and 47 people on the ground who were affected by the crash, there were 101 fatalities.
Kavatshi Airlines, Congo - Sept. 5, 2005
An aircraft bound for Isiro, Congo, crashed and exploded after colliding with a grove of trees, just before landing. All eleven people aboard the flight were killed.
TANS Peru, Peru - Aug. 23, 2005
TANS Peru flight #204 crashed into a dirt road just two miles short of its intended destination due to heavy turbulence and windshear. Forty of the 98 people aboard the flight were killed.
West Caribbean Airways, Venezuela - Aug. 16, 2005
A passenger flight bound from Panama City to Martinique crashed in the mountains of Venezuela, about 20 miles from the Colombian border, due to engine failure. None of the 160 passengers and crew members aboard the flight survived.
Helios Airways, Greece - Aug. 14, 2005
Helios Airways flight #522 crashed into the mountains about 19 miles north of Athens, its intended destination. The last reported problem with the aircraft involved a problem with the air conditioning packs just prior to its entering Greek airspace. All 121 passengers and crew members aboard the flight were killed in the crash.
Helicopter Accident, Baltic Sea - Aug. 11, 2005
Fourteen bodies were recovered from the Baltic Sea following a helicopter crash. Two pilots and twelve passengers were trapped inside the submerged helicopter, and no survivors were found. Although the cause of the crash was not determined, technical problems were suspected.
Tuninter, Italy - Aug. 6, 2005
En route from Italy to Tunisia, Tuninter flight #1153 was forced by engine problems to attempt an emergency landing in Palermo. The aircraft plunged into the sea 15 miles off the coast of Palermo, resulting in the deaths of 14 of the 39 people on board.
Air France, Canada - Aug. 2, 2005
Attempting to land in Toronto in poor weather conditions, Air France flight #358 ran off the end of the runway and stopped in a gully some 600 feet away. Although the aircraft erupted into flames shortly thereafter, none of the 309 people aboard the flight were killed.
Equatair, Equatorial Guinea - July 16, 2005
Shortly after taking off, the aircraft crashed in the mountains about 13 miles outside of Malabo, killing all 60 people on board.
Air Pony Express, Florida, United States - June 13, 2005
A cargo flight bound for the Bahamas crashed into a residential area of Fort Lauderdale following an engine fire. Although there was property damage and the plane was consumed by flames, there were no fatalities as a result of the crash.
al-Majal Company, Sudan - June 2, 2005
A privately chartered aircraft crashed shortly after abandoning its takeoff, leading to the deaths of five of the 40 people on board.
Victoria Air, Congo - May 25, 2005
Approximately 30 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft crashed into a cliff. None of the 27 people aboard the aircraft survived.
Aero Tropics Air Services, Australia - May 7, 2005
While approaching for landing in foggy conditions, the aircraft crashed into the Iron Range Mountains, killing all 15 people on board.
Saha Airlines, Iran - Apr. 20, 2005
After the landing gear failed to operate correctly, the aircraft overran the runway and ended up in the Kan River. Three passengers drowned in the river during the evacuation.
GT Air, Indonesia - Apr. 12, 2005
About 8 minutes after departing from Timika, Indonesia, the aircraft crashed in Puncak Jaya, resulting in the deaths of all 17 people on board.
West Caribbean Airways, Colombia - Mar. 26, 2005
The aircraft crashed into a hill. Only 6 of the 14 people aboard the flight survived.
Airline Transport Company, Tanzania - Mar. 23, 2005
A cargo flight bound for Sudan crashed into Lake Victoria shortly after its departure, killing all eight people on board.
Cargo Plus Aviation, Uganda - Mar. 19, 2005
En route to Togo, the aircraft crashed into Lake Victoria. None of the five crew members aboard the cargo flight were injured.
Kemerovo Air Enterprise, Russia - Mar. 16, 2005
After rolling abruptly to the right, the aircraft crashed just short of Varandey Airport. Of the 52 passengers and crew members aboard the flight, 29 were killed.
Kam Air, Afghanistan - Feb. 3, 2005
A passenger flight from Herat disappeared just before its scheduled landing in Kabul. Wreckage was later found in a mountainous region northwest of Kabul. None of the 104 passengers and crew members aboard the flight survived the crash.
East/West Cargo, Sudan - Feb. 3, 2005
Stricken by fuel system problems, the aircraft crashed before an emergency landing could be made, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members aboard the flight.
Farnair Hungary, Romania - Jan. 27, 2005
While making a second attempt to land in snowy conditions, the aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing both people participating in the mail flight.
