Free Republic

  154 lives were lost when Spanair Flight 5022 crashed moments after taking off from Madrid-Barajas International Airport in 2008. Now documents from an investigation into the incident are showing that a malware infection may have been to blame.According to the investigation, the computer system used to monitor technical problems on the plane was infected with a trojan. As a result, there were no alerts or warnings for three technical issues which "if detected, may have prevented the plane from taking off."The investigation is still not complete and authorities are trying to determine just how the malware got onto the...

A plane carrying former Sen. Ted Stevens and eight others crashed in remote southwest Alaska, killing the longtime Republican lawmaker and four other people, authorities said Tuesday. Ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was also believed to be aboard, but it was unclear whether he was among the dead. Stevens' family has been notified that the 86-year-old was among those killed in the crash Monday night, family spokesman Mitch Rose told The Associated Press. Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that...

KTUU, an NBC-affiliate station in Anchorage, is reporting that former Sen. Ted Stevens (R) has died in the crash near Dillingham in the Southwest Alaska. Dave Dittman, a former aide and longtime family friend of former Sen. Ted Stevens says Stevens was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham Monday night. Nine people were on board, including former NASA Chief Sean O'Keefe. Five people were killed in the crash, but other identities were not known, nor are the conditions of the survivors. Late through the night rescue crews were battling bad weather conditions to reach the scene, where Good Samaritan...

Former Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was aboard a plane that crashed in Alaska, and it was not immediately clear whether he survived, a congressional source said on Tuesday. Half of those aboard the plane were killed in the crash and a doctor is apparently on the scene, though rescuers are having trouble reaching the site because of bad weather, the source said, declining to be further identified. Stevens lost his re-election bid in 2008 after he was convicted on corruption charges, but the case was later thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct.

JUNEAU, Alaska - Authorities said Tuesday that a plane believed to be carrying eight people has crashed in southwest Alaska. Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham at about 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the wreckage. Hayes says there are possible fatalities. State and federal officials say severe weather has hampered the rescue operation. Hayes says about five good Samaritans were on scene early Tuesday helping the crash victims. He says he was told by Alaska State Troopers that there were "eight or...

A plane has crashed in hills north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board. The plane, an Airblue flight from Karachi to Islamabad, came down in the Margalla Hills. Officials said the plane lost contact with the control tower minutes before landing. It is not known what caused the crash. Pakistani TV showed images of smouldering wreckage on a foggy hillside, with helicopters overhead. A huge rescue effort was launched, and the army sent special troops to help. The plane, reported to be an Airbus A321 with 146 passengers and six crew on board, is thought...

GONESSE, France (AP) — Families whose loved ones died in the fiery crash of a supersonic Concorde jet 10 years ago joined together near Paris on Sunday, laying flowers at a monument to the dead and wandering the breezy field where the plane went down. A French court is awaiting a verdict on who was to blame for the accident, which killed 109 aboard the plane and four on the ground, and devastated the reputation of the jet. The Concorde, which ferried the rich and famous across the Atlantic for three decades and could fly twice as fast as the...

State Police and Lincoln County emergency management officials say five people are dead and two others are injured after a plane apparently overshot the runway and crashed Thursday morning at the Ruidoso airport in south-central New Mexico. The tail number shows the airplane is registered to Rod Aviation in Granbury, Texas.

At about 2 pm on Friday, June 11, a small plane, apparently taking off from Springerville airport crashed into the Round Valley High School's main building. Shortly after the crash, there was an explosion that was rattled windows all over town. It is suspected the plane's fuel tank exploded. The first person on the scene was James Nelson Jr., Eagar councilman. "I was driving down Main Street and saw a small plane that was too low and wobbling. It went down near the High School so I pulled in and saw it had crashed into the roof. There were pieces...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A small airplane crashed in a busy business district near downtown during rush hour Tuesday, killing a small child and injuring the four other people onboard, authorities said.

A small plane has crashed into an office building in Markham and burst into flames. Witnesses to the fiery crash say the plane, believed to be a four-seater Cessna, was trailing smoke and rolled moments before smashing into the top of the two-storey building on Woodbine Ave., a block north of Hwy. 7 around 12:25 p.m.

Here is an updated video report on the crash of an Air India Express 737 en route from Dubai to Mangalore, India. Current information puts the death toll at 159, with seven survivors. The plane overshot the runway, and one survivor said he heard a "loud explosion" just before the plane hit the ground. He also said he saw a "hole on the left side of the plane." Indian officials are saying that weather had nothing to do with the crash. They also are sayin they believe the cause was "pilot error." The report shows the first image of a...

All 169 people on board were feared killed when a passenger plane overshot the runway in southern India and crashed early Saturday, an official said.

As Polish President Lech Kaczynski's plane streaked toward disaster, at least two passengers visited the cockpit, others may have chatted on cellular phones that can obstruct navigation instruments and an under-trained crew faced heavy fog over challenging terrain.

Russia was last night facing claims of a cover up over the Polish presidential air crash after a series of shocking allegations emerged concerning the doomed Tupolev-154 in which head of state Lech Kaczynski died. Most extraordinary was the emergence of confusing footage which claimed to show the shooting of survivors by armed Russian-speaking men minutes after the crash. The video, posted on the internet in recent days, has fuelled conspiracy theories suggesting that the crash was not an accident.

TRIPOLI: An eight-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor when a Libyan plane arriving from South Africa exploded on landing at Tripoli airport on Wednesday, killing more than 100 people, officials said. Afriqiyah Airways listed 93 passengers and 11 crew members on board its flight 8U771 from Johannesburg. "I can confirm the crash but not the number of the dead," said Bongani Sithole, an official of the airline at Johannesburg airport. "We hear that it happened one metre (yard) away from the runway." A Libyan security official earlier said that all those on board the Airbus A330 had died but...

A Libyan plane arriving from South Africa crashed on Wednesday at Tripoli airport killing 105 people, a security official told AFP.

California Highway Patrol Officer Danny Benavidas killed in plane crash COACHELLA - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent condolences to the family of Highway Patrol officer Danny Benavidas, who was killed in a plane crash near Borrego Springs. "Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of this tragedy. Officer Benavides dedicated his life to ensuring the safety and security of California residents, and his honorable service will forever be remembered," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today when he heard of the crash. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Benavides' family during this difficult time." Officer Danny Benavides was found...

THE eerie outline of a crashed wartime fighter plane emerges from the sands of a British beach. Incredibly, the rusting wreckage went undetected for more than 60 years. Now a charity plans to retrieve the American Lockheed P38 Lightning - which suddenly appeared three years ago after being buried on the shore. It was discovered at low tide following a drop in beach levels at Harlech, North Wales.

Pilot’s prayer recorded on Smolensk crash black box Apr 20, 2010 13:02 Moscow Time The flight recorders of the Polish President’s plane registered the prayer of the pilot before the Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on April 10th killing 96 people on board. The Prosecutor General of Poland pledged to release all recordings of the pilots’ conversations. Two of the three black boxes from the presidential plane have already been deciphered and voice recordings of the third one are marred by noise and the information needs to be restored. Meanwhile, Polish experts are expected to arrive in Moscow to help identify...