Francisco Cunha
@OnDisasters • 71,811 subscribers
Mostly aviation safety, with an appearance on Mayday - ACI: deviations include auto racing, true crime, and whatever I feel like.
Shorts
![June 29 1960: A US Navy RA-3 crashes off Florida (US) all 3 crew die. While practicing landings on the carrier USS Saratoga, the arresting cable broke. With no means to stop safely, the plane went off deck. The crew attempted a go-around but were unable to, jet hit the sea at high speed and sank. The RA-3 was the photo-reconnaissance version of the A-3 “Skywarrior” bomber. The jet lost in the accident [144845] was attached to squadron VAP-62 (based at Fort. Lauderdale, Florida). The Jet´s wreckage was later discovered by chance by a film-making crew, who were producing a documentary on the Bermuda Triangle.](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2071398367981125773/ext_tw_video_thumb/2071398347504541696/pu/img/3mMCgNEgaedIxk7k.jpg)
![On This Day: The fall of the Valkyrie June 9 1966: The 2nd prototype of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie [62-02070] collides with an F-104 Starfighter over California (US). Of the three aboard both planes, only the XB-70´s pilot survives, with his co-pilot and the fighter pilot perishing. Incident occurred during a photoshoot while in close formation. Enquiry stated the F-104´s pilot was in a position where he was unable to safely distance from XB-70 (more details from the ASN Entry below) The XB-70 was a Mach 3 bomber developed in the 50s. Developments in missile technology made the concept obsolete, leading to its cancellation in 1961. At the time of the crash, the two prototypes that had been built were being used for research. Video is from an excerpt by YouTuber Mike Bell – Video´s name is “Wake Vortex and the XB-70 crash” More info on the report here “ On 8 June 1966, XB-70A No. 2 was in close formation with four other aircraft (an F-4 Phantom, an F-5, a T-38 Talon, and an F-104 Starfighter) for a photoshoot at the behest of General Electric, manufacturer of the engines of all five aircraft. The USAF summary report of the accident investigation stated that, given the position of the F-104 relative to the XB-70, the F-104 pilot would not have been able to see the XB-70's wing, except by uncomfortably looking back over his left shoulder. The report said that Walker, piloting the F-104, likely maintained his position by looking at the fuselage of the XB-70, forward of his position. The F-104 was estimated to be 70 ft (21 m) to the side of, and 10 ft (3 m) below, the fuselage of the XB-70. The report concluded that from that position, without appropriate sight cues, Walker was unable to properly perceive his motion relative to the Valkyrie, leading to his aircraft drifting into contact with the XB-70's wing”](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2063954442332873058/ext_tw_video_thumb/2063954420950310912/pu/img/8YfgZVxuW6bXPXnT.jpg)
![35 years ago today: the first Osprey crashes June 11 1991: a prototype V-22 Osprey [163915] crashes while testing in Delaware (US). Both crew survive. While the rotorcraft was hovering, the left nacelle struck ground, bouncing and catching fire. This was the first of a controversial series of accidents involving the Osprey´s development program. On a 2010 interview, test pilot Grady Wilson pointed the possibility of pilot error when moving the throttle levers. More OTD occurrences below ⬇️ 🧵 1/5](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2065041603417317556/ext_tw_video_thumb/2065041595049644032/pu/img/u0KyF-ZkyApZ1g2O.jpg)
![On This Day in 1987: a USAF C-130 crashes in Fort Bragg (North Carolina, US). 4 of 6 aboard and 1 on the ground die. During a demonstration of a low-altitude parachute drop, the pilot pulled up too late. The airplane skidded for 1000 ft on a dirt runway, hit a vehicle, and caught fire. The maneuver demonstrated by the aircraft [Registration “68-10945”] was the LAPES - Low-Altitude Parachute-Extraction System – where aircraft deliver supplies without landing in areas that can´t be supplied by high-altitude parachute drops. This maneuver is no longer used by the US military.](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2072289707581399093/ext_tw_video_thumb/2072289686664441857/pu/img/jBVYsax_PO3KUxb0.jpg)
Videos
Trivia- While most 747s could easily fly NY-London, the 747 that transported the Shuttle had much " smaller wings" due to the extra weight and aerodynamics for the piggybacker. While carrying the orbiter, the Jumbo had its range cut to 1,000 miles, with speed and ceiling limited to just Mach .6 and 15,000 feet. The limited range meant returning a shuttle to Florida took as long as three days.
Francisco Cunha532,266 Aufrufe • vor 4 Tagen
“While rushing to the car, I noticed small splotches of a peculiar gray substance marking a trail on the asphalt leading up to the driver. When I reached the car, I was shocked to see that Smiley's helmet was gone, along with the top of his skull. He had essentially been scalped by the debris fence. The material on the race track was most of his brain. His helmet, due to massive centrifugal force, was literally pulled from his head on impact ... I rode to the care center with the body. On the way in I performed a cursory examination and realized that nearly every bone in his body was shattered. He had a gaping wound in his side that looked as if he had been attacked by a large shark. I had never seen such trauma.” Description of CART medical director Steve Olvey on the accident that killed Gordon Smiley, which happened on this day in 1982. During qualifying, on the second warm-up lap, his March 81C Cosworth began to oversteer on turn 3, causing the car to slightly slide. When Smiley steered right to correct this, the front wheels gained grip suddenly, sending his car directly across the track and into the wall nose-first at nearly 200 mph (320 km/h). He was killed instantly. According to team mate Desiree Wilson, (…) “the biggest piece was a little ball of engine. There was nothing else except shattered bits, a bit of gearbox, a bit of a wheel, not even a seat. It was very ugly.”(…) This was Smiley´s third run at Indy after competing mostly on the US domestic series, but the driver obtained a record overseas that remains to this day. In 1979, Smiley raced in the British Formula One Championship (sometimes called the "Aurora Formula One Championship") that used mostly obsolete F1 cars. Smiley won a race, and to this day, this is the last F1 win by an American driver in a FIA-sanctioned event.
Francisco Cunha861,732 Aufrufe • vor 7 Tagen
A brief show of a Yak-38 "Forger". Now retired, which is a relief for pilots, knowing it's not flying. A similar concept to the British Harrier Jet, it had a much-reduced payload and endurance, along with poor reliability. Of 231 built, a third were lost in accidents.
Francisco Cunha100,515 Aufrufe • vor 1 Tag
![“Close to the greatest aviation disaster in history” July 7 2017 – Air Canada Flight 759 (an A320) is on approach to S. Francisco KSFO (US), when it lines up to land on a taxiway occupied by four other planes (combined, the five jets had over 1000 pax). The approaching jet went as low as 59 ft and missed one aircraft by only 14 ft before the crew aborted the maneuver. The four planes on the ground were three United Airlines jets (Flight 1118, B737 - and Flights 1 and 863 - both B-787) and Philippine Airlines 115 [A340]. The four jets were loaded with pax and fuel, and combined with Flight 759, the total was over 1000 passengers. Inquiry pointed to the main cause as confusion of the runway with the parallel taxiway, with contributing causes including the crew's failure to use the instrument landing system (ILS), as well as pilot fatigue. Other issues noted were related to SOP, CRM, training, and NOTAMs Animation is from Mercury News (also shown is the CCTV footage)](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2074463921788870894/ext_tw_video_thumb/2074463874821095424/pu/img/Q1vLzrqBfW25Vwp5.jpg)
“Close to the greatest aviation disaster in history” July 7 2017 – Air Canada Flight 759 (an A320) is on approach to S. Francisco KSFO (US), when it lines up to land on a taxiway occupied by four other planes (combined, the five jets had over 1000 pax). The approaching jet went as low as 59 ft and missed one aircraft by only 14 ft before the crew aborted the maneuver. The four planes on the ground were three United Airlines jets (Flight 1118, B737 - and Flights 1 and 863 - both B-787) and Philippine Airlines 115 [A340]. The four jets were loaded with pax and fuel, and combined with Flight 759, the total was over 1000 passengers. Inquiry pointed to the main cause as confusion of the runway with the parallel taxiway, with contributing causes including the crew's failure to use the instrument landing system (ILS), as well as pilot fatigue. Other issues noted were related to SOP, CRM, training, and NOTAMs Animation is from Mercury News (also shown is the CCTV footage)
Francisco Cunha1,015,739 Aufrufe • vor 16 Tagen
The accident was this one: Air France Flight 447, an A330, went down North East off Brazil. Aircraft disappeared on a transatlantic route, wreck was found 1300 miles northeast of Natal. Investigators pointed to a combination of frozen sensors and pilot actions/training resulting in loss of control. Seeing the accident reenactement, namely the scenes in the cockpit, was terrifying. Putting it very simply, the crew got confused by a simple issue and ended up entering into an irrecoverable scenario. (and as pointed by KC-10 Driver ✈️ 👨✈️ B-737 Wrangler its likely that this court case is to end on appeals. Its not the first lawsuit related to this occurrence)
Francisco Cunha3,436,874 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
Remembering a classic and the story behind it "In 2007, at the Portugal Airshow, a TAP Airbus A310 performed the aeronautical equivalent of scoring a bicycle kick in football. You could almost see and hear all the alarms in that cockpit lighting up and beeping. At the time, the maneuvers caused quite a stir. António Monteiro, TAP's spokesperson, explained that the A310 was nearing the end of its career with the company and, therefore, they decided to give it this farewell. "Normally, TAP doesn't perform aerobatics with its aircraft at air shows. But since we're replacing the first one in October, it was a way for the pilots to pay tribute to it," he explained, insisting that the safety of the operation was never compromised. The pilot in charge was the head of the fleet of these aircraft, and the two crew members each had 4,000 flight hours on the A310 alone" 📹ℹ️ Paraiso Portugal
Francisco Cunha972,528 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
Likely the most overpowered Regional jet in history... Seen here, a CityJet British Aerospace Avro 146-RJ85 taking off from Bern-Belp, Switzerland When it first entered service in the 1980s, the 2nd generation new widebody, long-range jetliners were already using only two engines, but BAE persisted with the four engines for "extra performance" in mountainous environments in high, hot or poor grade airfields" In the end, unsurprisingly, it didn´t sell as expected, with operators buying twin-engine regional aircraft, both jet and prop. Regardless, with 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 is the most successful British civil jet airliner programme 🎥 Berne Aviation HD
Francisco Cunha234,142 Aufrufe • vor 11 Tagen
F-104 downward ejection seat testing. Designers weren´t sure that a "conventional" upwards firing seat would clear the T-Tail, so they came up with this. In practice, it didn´t work, so they were changed to updated "normal" ejection seats when these became available.🎥 jacksmachiningreveng
Francisco Cunha49,427 Aufrufe • vor 3 Tagen
This was one of the first videos I saw on the Internet back in 2003 or so. The description from Syd Watkins - the F1 resident Doctor - is a hard read - likely more than this footage (which, believe it or not, aired regularly on mainstream TV, I later found it on VHS tape about F1). To make it even worse, it was Paletti´s "debut" (he had started a race before, but with a depleted grid) and his mother was on the pit lane and saw everything unfold.
Francisco Cunha578,791 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
One thing I learned with this account was that as time goes by, some accidents, no matter how tragic, simply fade from general memory. This is one of them, so surprised that a few days ago, someone uploaded this animation depicting the final moments of this avoidable crash
Francisco Cunha2,725,619 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten
This one goes viral nearly every week. This is not a "near disaster" as some claim. This maneuver of a Cathay Pacific A330 was a display by Airbus test pilots, filmed in Farnborough, 1994. So, rest assured, the maneuver was studied and practiced beforehand.
Francisco Cunha648,535 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
