Posted on 07/01/2002 4:07:49 PM PDT by Redcloak
Fox news has an alert about two large aircraft involved in a mid-air crash over germany.
How likely is this? As a non-pilot, I'd imagine it must be pretty hard to do that. I'd also expect that the guys I was aiming for would have warning from the ground and would try to evade me?
Don't feel bad .. I have a tin hat I wear at times ..
I know there are near misses .. but I have not heard of a mid air collision like this before
FRANKFURT, Germany –– A Boeing airliner and another plane collided over the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a state official said early Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties.
A spokesman for the interior ministry of Baden-Wuerttemberg said the planes went down near the city of Sigmariegen, near Lake Constance.
The official said the other plane was a Tupolev, but didn't elaborate. Internet sites describe the Tupolev as a Russian-built plane.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the planes, but it was possible they were carrying mostly freight.
Pieces of the aircraft were scattered for miles across the countryside, the spokesman said.
State German ARD television interviewed one man who described the crash as two large balls of fire in the sky.
No further information on the aircraft or passengers aboard was immediately available.
© 2002 The Associated Press
Quite a feat. ATC controllers would network with each other, but not through the Internet. It would have to be an inside job.
Fatal Midair Collision Events
The following are midair collisions where at least one jet airliner passenger was killed. Excluded are events involving only jet airliners designed or built in the states of the former Soviet Union.
19 May 1960, Air Algerie Caravelle, Paris, France: The aircraft was descending for landing when it collided with a small single engine aircraft. One of the 32 passengers was killed.
16 December 1960, United Air Lines DC8 and Lockheed Constellation, New York, NY: The two aircraft collided over New York with the Constellation crashing in Staten Island and the DC8 crashing in Brooklyn. All seven crew members and 76 passengers on the DC8 were killed. All 50 occupants of the Constellation were also killed.
9 March 1967; TWA DC9-14; Near Urbana, OH: The aircraft crashed after an in flight collision with a Beech Baron. All four crew members and 21 passengers on the DC9 were killed. The sole occupant of the Baron was also killed.
19 July 1967; Piedmont 727; Hendersonville, NC: The 727 was climbing away from the Asheville airport when it hit a Cessna 310 about eight miles (13 km) from the airport. All five crew members and 74 passengers were killed. The three occupants of the Cessna were also killed.
9 September 1969; Allegheny DC9-31; Near Fairland, IN: The DC9 had an in flight collision with a single engine Piper Cherokee during approach. All four crew members and 78 passengers on the DC9 were killed. The two occupants of the Piper were also killed.
6 June 1971; Hughes Airwest DC9-31; Near Duarte, CA: The aircraft crashed after an in flight collision with a U.S. Navy F-4 fighter. All five crew members and 44 passengers were killed. One of the two F-4 crew members was also killed.
30 July 1971; All Nippon Airways 727-200; northern Honshu, Japan, CA: The aircraft crashed after an in flight collision with a jet fighter. All seven crew members and 155 passengers were killed. The fighter pilot was able to bail out successfully.
5 March 1973; Iberia DC9-32; Nantes, France: The aircraft had a midair collision with a Spantax Convair 990. All seven crew members and 61 passengers were killed. There were no fatalities on the Spantax aircraft.
10 September 1976; Inex Adria DC9-32; Near Zagreb, Yugoslavia: The aircraft had a midair collision with a British Airways Trident 3B. All five crew members and 108 passengers on the DC9 were killed. All nine crew members and 54 passengers on the Trident were also killed as was one person on the ground.
1 March 1978; Nigeria Airways F28-1000; Lagos, Nigeria: The aircraft had an in flight collision with a training aircraft. All five crew members and 11 passengers were killed.
25 September 1978; Pacific Southwest 727-200; San Diego, CA: The aircraft had a midair collision with a single engine Cessna and crashed. All seven crew members, all 128 passengers, both occupants of the second aircraft, and 13 others on the ground were killed.
31 August 1986; Aeromexico DC9-32; Cerritos, CA: The DC9 collided with a single engine Piper Archer which had made an unauthorized penetration of controlled airspace. All 6 crew members and 58 passengers were killed. The three occupants of the Piper and 18 people on the ground were also killed.
22 December 1992; Libyan Arab Airlines 727-200; Near Tripoli, Libya: The aircraft collided with a MiG 23. There is no information on MiG crew or casualties, but all 10 crew members and 147 passengers on the 727 were killed.
12 November 1996; Saudia 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.
Fatal Midair Events
http://airsafe.com/events/midair.htm -- Revised: 31 March 2001
Copyright © 1996-2001 Todd Curtis All Rights Reserved
These days, it would probably be easier to commandeer a cargo plane than a passenger plane. Stoway in a crate, overtake the small crew (2-4). But seems to me if this was a hijacking, the terrorists would have preferred (an had a bettar chance of success in) striking a land-based target than a passenger carrier. IMO.
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