Plane crash in China: Is the Boeing 737-800 safe?
3 min read
Boeing 737-NG aircraft, Like the one that went down in China today with 132 people on boardIt has recorded ten more fatal accidents since it began operations, in 1997, according to a survey conducted by the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing. One of them was in Brazil – the Gol plane crash in 2006.
The 737-NG has nothing to do with the 737-Max, which has been grounded by several countries after technical failures caused accidents that killed hundreds.
A GOL plane collided with a business jet
The wreckage of the Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Mato Grosso in 2006; GOL Flight 1907 killed 154 people on board
Photo: Jorge Araujo/Volhares
in Brazil , Flight 1907 took off from Manaus and headed for Brasilia, when a mid-air collision with an Embraer Legacy 600 executive aircraft occurred.
The left wing of an ogre was badly damaged, followed by a crash in a wooded area of Mato Grosso. Legacy 600 managed to land at a military base minutes later.
154 people aboard Flight 1907 died in the tragedy, making it the second-worst accident with the 737-NG in terms of fatalities.
considered safe
Despite the accidents, the total of the accidents makes the model one of the safest commercial aircraft.
Serious accidents, such as a fall or collision, in which fatalities and complete loss of the aircraft occur, are taken into account for these statistics.
According to Boeing, there were 0.09 serious accidents resulting in deaths per million takeoffs by the end of 2020, the period covered by the study. There is no record of other accidents of the same type with the plane in 2021 other than the accident that occurred today.
a 737-NG That fell today in China is from 737-800 variant. It has nothing to do with Max, who is involved in many controversies. According to Boeing, the Max has experienced 7.12 fatal accidents per million takeoffs since its launch.
He has been banned from flying in China since 2019, after two planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, causing the biggest Boeing plane crash in more than a hundred years.
It was the worst accident in India in 2010
The deadliest accident involving the 737-NG was an Air India Express in May 2010, killing 158 people. Eight of the 166 people on board survived.
The plane was heading from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Mangalore, in southern India, and landed in the wrong direction, leaving the runway. It hit a hill and caught fire.
Investigators noted at the time that the pilot was “drowsy.” Snoring could be heard in the black box recordings, as well as a co-pilot warning to cancel the landing.
Shot down by a missile in Iran in 2020
In January 2020, the Ukraine International Airlines 737-800 (the 737-NG variant) was shot down while flying over Iran. Although initially denied, Iran eventually took the blame for the tragedy.
According to the Iranian government, a military man made the wrong decision and mistakenly launched the missile, killing all 176 people on board.
Since the plane was intentionally shot down (even if the decision was made in error), it does not enter accident statistics.
A modern version of the classic 737
The Boeing 737-NG is a modernized version of the classic 737, one of the world’s best-selling commercial aircraft. The word “NG” in its name stands for Next Generation, and is often also referred to as the 737 Next Gen.
This model has four variants (737-600, 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900) and can seat from 110 to 210 passengers, depending on the type and configuration chosen.
The 737-800, which crashed in China today, has a length of 39.5 meters, a length of 12.5 meters, and a wingspan (distance from tip to wing tip) of 35.7 meters. It can fly up to 5,440 km without stopping, with cruising speeds of about 850 km / h.
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