Aviation accidents and incidentsAn aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which (a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, (b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or (c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible.
Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the 737 development program to design the 747, the first twin-aisle airliner. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and in late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan.
Airbus A330The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner from the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 quadjet and launched both designs with their first orders in June 1987. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered service with Air Inter in January 1994. The slightly shorter A330-200 variant followed in 1998.
WestJetWestJet Airlines Ltd. is a major Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest airline based in Canada, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 passengers per day. In 2018, WestJet carried 25.49 million passengers, making it the ninth-largest airline in North America by passengers carried. WestJet was founded in 1994 and began operations in 1996. It began as a low-cost alternative to the country's competing major airlines.
In-flight entertainmentIn-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the -day flight between Europe and America. After World War II, IFE was delivered in the form of food and drink services, along with an occasional projector movie during lengthy flights. In 1985 the first personal audio player was offered to passengers, along with noise cancelling headphones in 1989.
Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide. Following proving flights by United Airlines of the DC-4E, it became obvious that the 52-seat airliner was too inefficient and unreliable to operate economically and the partner airlines, American Airlines, Eastern, Pan American, Trans World and United, recommended a lengthy list of changes to the design.
AeroméxicoAerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. (Airways of Mexico, Public Limited) operating as Aeroméxico (aeɾoˈmexiko; styled as AM), is the flag carrier of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central America; the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Its main base and hub is located in Mexico City, with secondary hubs in Guadalajara and Monterrey. The headquarters is in the Torre MAPFRE on Paseo de la Reforma.
TAROMTAROM (taˈrom; legally Compania Națională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A.) is the flag carrier and oldest currently operating airline of Romania, based in Otopeni near Bucharest. Its headquarters and its main hub are at Henri Coandă International Airport. It is currently the first and largest airline operating in Romania based on international destinations, international flights and the second-largest measured by fleet size and passengers carried. The brand name is an acronym for Transporturile Aeriene Române (Romanian Air Transport).
Tenerife airport disasterThe Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The collision occurred when KLM Flight 4805 initiated its takeoff run while Pan Am Flight 1736 was still on the runway. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805 and most of the occupants of Pan Am 1736, with only 61 survivors in the front section of the aircraft.
