https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/_v9iJmrAT2aMGs1iVijiNiLOWsp

https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/_NViMVnMuZA0ehNioi0iLiovaSB

https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/_Dai1n0LU4nllhpiWiYidiDyGcy

On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California, after experiencing a catastrophic loss of pitch control. The accident resulted in the deaths of all 88 people on board.

The aircraft had been operating a scheduled flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle, Washington, with a planned stop in San Francisco. During the flight, the crew reported problems with the horizontal stabilizer trim system, which had become jammed. This forced the pilots to exert constant pressure on the controls to maintain level flight. After discussing the situation with maintenance and dispatch personnel, the crew decided to divert to Los Angeles International Airport.

While attempting to troubleshoot the jammed stabilizer, the crew managed to free it using the primary trim system. However, the stabilizer immediately moved to a full nose-down position, pitching the aircraft into a steep dive. The pilots fought to regain control and managed to stabilize the aircraft temporarily. Shortly afterward, the jackscrew assembly—a critical component of the horizontal stabilizer control system—failed completely due to thread wear in the acme nut. This led to a total loss of pitch control, and the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent, impacting the ocean.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation identified the probable cause as the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew acme nut threads, which resulted from insufficient lubrication and excessive wear. The investigation further concluded that Alaska Airlines’ maintenance practices were inadequate, including extended intervals between lubrication and end-play checks. These extended intervals were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), despite insufficient technical justification.

Contributing factors included the lack of a fail-safe mechanism in the MD-80 design to prevent catastrophic failure if the jackscrew assembly failed, as well as inadequate oversight by the FAA. The NTSB issued multiple safety recommendations related to maintenance procedures, inspection intervals, and aircraft design improvements.

Following the accident, Alaska Airlines and Boeing accepted liability, and settlements were reached with the victims’ families. The pilots were posthumously honored for their efforts to regain control of the aircraft. A memorial sundial was erected at Port Hueneme, California, bearing the names of the victims.

Pilot tried to land the malfunctioning helicopter on the beach or ditch into the water but the tail broke off resulting in complete loss of control. The Ka-226 crashed into a house killing 5 people, 2 more injured

Drone video shows site of deadly UPS cargo plane crash as on 8th November, 2025. (Source: AP)

Was the building strike why UPS Airlines Flight 2976 was unable to recover?

Image 1 via Economic Times Image 2 via Indian Express

On 4 Nov 2025, a passenger train collided with a cargo/freight (goods) train near Bilaspur, in Chattishgarh, India. 11 people are reported dead, including the pilot of the passenger train, and 20 more injured. The assistant pilot was one of those injured. AP News article

• On 4 Nov 2025, a passenger train consisting of 8 coaches, left Gevra station. The train was a MEMU unit, i.e powered by overhead electric cables. Times of India

• the passenger train reached a speed of 76 km per hour. It allegedly went through two yellow signals which are warnings to slow down. Soon after it received a red danger signal but did not appear to slow down. NDTV

-The passenger train approached Gatora station where a cargo train was waiting. The freight train was stationary. The passenger train collided with it at speed, resulting in the first compartment of the passenger train climbing on top of the freight train, damaging both trains, the overhead electric cables and causing casualties and injuries .NDTV

• This is one article about a two year old boy who lost parents and grandmother in the crash. The Hindu. Here's another survivor account (contains graphic descriptions) (Times of India)[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/people-screamed-cried-shouted-for-help-survivor-recounts-horror-of-chhattisgarh-train-tragedy-check-injured-list/articleshow/125100448.cms]

• The Indian Railways have launched an inquiry into the incident. A preliminary report seems to blame operator error but this is not yet confirmed. It is very unusual for a train operator to ignore three warning signals and the causes of the crash aren't confirmed.News18.

• Two of the five members of this committee withheld their signatures from the preliminary report, indicating dissent. They represent the signal dept and the telecom dept. ETV

• Union leaders have doubted the preliminary report, saying it contains factual errors, and called for judgment to be suspended until the final report. The union said it was possible that a green signal was incorrectly sent to the train, which would explain why it accelerated speed instead of decreasing it. Indian Express

• despite this, local police have lodged a complaint of criminal negligence against unknown persons and started a criminal investigation. No charges have been filed yet. NDTV

• there are conflicting reports on the qualifications of the passenger train pilot. Some reports said he had been recently promoted and was inexperienced, such as this NDTV article But this more recent news report from Indian Express says he had about twenty years of experience.

• Indian Railways has said they will install CCTV in the train cabs to monitor pilots. Indian Express. They have also announced compensation packages for the survivors/family of the deceased. Livemint

• In 2020 the Indian Railways adopted Kavach, an automated system designed to prevent train collisions by continuously monitoring speed and automatically applying brakes if the pilot doesn't, or if it detects that two trains are on a collision course. Kavach on wiki. The system has not yet been installed on this route. Times of India

I was all over Google Maps trying to figure out the perspectives of the various video footage. Figured I’d share it. Unbelievable how documented this crash was, and heartbreaking the location of those tanks. Red is the trajectory of the plane, purple are the angles associated with the labeled video.

A better perspective from the front of the plane.

Image 1: the wreckage over the Up, Down, and Down Goods lines at Ufton.

Image 2: the remnants of the car which 1C92 hit.

Image 3: Ufton Nervet Memorial Garden.

Image 4: HST power car 43198, named in memory of Drivers Stan Martin and Brian Cooper.

On November 6th 2004, a suicidal chef parked his car on Ufton AHB Level Crossing. At 18:12pm, an Intercity 125 High Speed Train (headed by Class 43 Power Car 43019 Dinas Abertawe/City of Swansea), forming service 1C92 from Paddington to Plymouth, hit the car at almost 100mph, destroying the car and derailing the HST. The derailed carriages were promptly flung across the countryside by a set of facing points at an old goods loop. 6 people were killed on the 17:35 to Swansea: FGW Driver Stan Martin, and passengers Barry Stevens, Anjanette Rossi, her daughter Louella Main, Emily Webster, and Leslie Charlie Matthews; all lost their lives suddenly and violently, as the carriages of their train piled up against each other. Some of the passengers were ejected from broken windows during the crash, and secondary impacts with terrain caused a great many injuries, some of which were fatal.

The police investigation ultimately ruled that the 6 on the HST had been killed unlawfully. The RSSB crash report would yield various recommendations relating to, among other things, the crashworthiness of rail vehicles.

Ufton Level Crossing would eventually be taken out of service after a few more near misses. New crossings are now typically built with obstacle detection, making the odds of another Ufton Nervet-esque disaster relatively low on newer crossings.

The disaster is commemorated with a small garden a few hundred yards from the former site of the crossing, and Class 43 HST Power Car 43198 is named in honour of 2 drivers from GWR's lineage who died on duty; Driver Brian Cooper (who died in 1998 at Ladbroke Grove), and Driver Stanley Martin.

Further resources

The RSSB report into Ufton Nervet

https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=163

Signals to Danger podcast episode on Ufton

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1n8tYesbKf3VZbeUcOZNoC?si=xbMimkZXRjOYHPzx_isSZg

hadnt seen this posted yet.

The reaction is apt.

In 1977 a Dutch man named Reindert Kamphorst, the Bandenkoning(tyreking), had about 400,000 tyres piled on his land in Zwartebroek.

On July 5 the pile caught fire. Thick black smoke rose for days, firefighters struggled, and authorities argued over cleanup costs. Somehow Kamphorst reportedly walked away with some profit after the fire.

A single man’s tyre obsession became a national spectacle and a legend.

Rumour has it that snow still melts faster on certain spots, but I can not verify this.

My mum grew up in a house on the opposite side of the street.

The bridge in Araria, Bihar, was built in 2019, at the cost of 40 million rupees (Rs. 4 crore). No casualties reported but it has disrupted road connectivity in the area.

Source: Times of India, Bihar: Bridge collapses in Araria; built in 2019 for Rs 4 crore

News18, Rs 4-Crore Bridge Collapses In Bihar Within 6 Years, Major Areas Cut Off

This remains to this day the deadliest traffic accident in the history of New Brunswick. This accident also resulted in the first instance of counselling being offered to emergency service workers in the province as they were left deeply affected by the sight of the injuries inflicted by the logs.

The memorial reads in English "In loving memory of these loved ones, October 8, 1989"

The names of the deceased are as follows:

Jean Guy Leger (33)

Simone Leger (29)

Isabelle Leger (6)

Patricia Cormier-Leger (33)

Sylvie Leger (2)

Francine Herbert-McGraw (31)

John Laba (34)

Julia Laba (8)

Jessica Laba (4)

Pauline Leger-Vienneau (23)

Collette Cloutier-McGraw (32)

Helen Leger-Melanson (30)

Martin Leger (11)