AMERICA has been plagued by a slew of unfortunate plane crashes and turbulence disasters that have so far killed dozens of people and injured many.
Concerned travelers are now questioning officials about the recent series of troubling aviation incidents, with a total of six devastating accidents occurring in the past six weeks.
Just yesterday, horrified American Airlines passengers were forced to escape a burning plane by climbing onto the wing.
The plane’s engine suddenly caught fire with smoke seen billowing across the airport after it diverted to land in Denver.
There were no reports of serious injuries but 12 people were taken to hospital in minor conditions.
Aviation expert Julian Bray told The Sun that while the plane’s blackbox will reveal the real reason behind the raging flames.
But he suspects something went inside the plane’s injured and triggered the inferno.
He said: “A fan blade might have broken and gone in and shattered the fuel line.
“That is possible because it was a delayed reaction for the fire and, well, smoke first fire. There can be no smoke without fire.
“So obviously, that’s what happened. Now, this plane was diverted so they knew it was all going to happen and Denver was ready for it.
“They were just not ready for the fire.”
Crew on board on a Boeing 737-800 reported engine vibrations before it went up in flames, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
All 172 passengers on board, along with six crew members, were evacuated safely after the scary ordeal,
It comes after a Delta plane crashed and flipped on its roof at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.
Terrified passengers aboard a flight departing from Minneapolis found themselves crawling on the plane’s ceiling seeking escape after a harrowing incident that saw the aircraft collide with the icy runway.
The airplane’s fuselage became consumed by flames during the episode, flipping multiple times before the intense orange fire transformed into billowing clouds of dense black smoke.
Officials confirmed 21 people were treated for injuries and two were airlifted to trauma centers for critical but non-life-threatening injuries. One child was also taken to a children’s hospital after the crash.
Aviation experts said the “freak accident” was something “from the movies”.
Meanwhile, Motley Crue singer Vince Neil’s private jet crashed into a parked plane on a runway, killing the pilot and injuring the star’s girlfriend.
CCTV footage caught the jet veering to the left off the tarmac and into the dirt as the pilot appeared to lose control and head straight towards the idle flight.
The Learjet 35A smashed into the underside of the much bigger Gulfstream 200 and collapsed to the ground with the cockpit caved in.
The band confirmed that a pilot had been killed and the co-pilot and two passengers were taken to hospital, in a now deleted statement posted to X.
But thankfully these crashes were not as deadly as some of its recent predecessors.
Fifteen years of relative safety in commercial US flying came to a halt after a passenger plane collided with a Black Hawk earlier this year.
All 67 people onboard an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter died when the two aircraft crashed midair and plunged into the Potomac River on January 29.
There were 64 passengers on the CRJ700 plane and three crew members on the Black Hawk chopper.
At least 30 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River after the chopper smashed into the jetliner, breaking the aircraft in three pieces as it plunged into the frigid waters.
Then, on January 31, a medical jet crashed into a busy Philadelphia street, killing all six on board and one person on the ground.
A six-year-old girl travelling back from life-saving treatment and her mum were among the plane’s passengers.
And earlier this month, a commuter plane went missing in the Alaskan wilderness.
It was found near Alaska’s east coast, with all nine passengers plus the captain dead.
But why is the aviation industry suddenly experiencing such horror disasters in such a short span of time?
Speaking to The Sun, a top aviation expert insisted flying remains an incredibly safe way to travel.
However, Julian Bray revealed there are some gaps in the aviation industry which authorities need to fix going forward.
Mr Bray said: “There have been problems, both within Boeing and within certain airlines in the states.
“The FAA is also at fault because that’s been pretty lax at times. But they say they’re tightening up there and they do have a lot of well, the FAA has a lot of work on.
“Although when these accidents and incidents do happen, they tend to be quite dramatic in terms of casualties and outcome.”
In the aftermath of last month’s Washington DC crash, it emerged that an air traffic controller had left their post early on the night of the incident.
More concerningly, 90 per cent of air traffic control facilities in the country have been operating below FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) recommended staffing levels, according to US media reports.
Mr Bray said: ” I hear that they’ve actually taken out the helicopter routes.
“Helicopters are allowed to go along the river to the Washington Airport as regional passenger aircraft go at a slightly higher altitude.
“But when that Blackhawk went into the side of the Canadian regional jets it was way out of its permitted zone. It’s way over what it’s supposed to be.
“They have now decided that this is far too dangerous to allow these routes to carry on.”
The last few years saw Boeing, one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, embroiled in scandal over poor design and shoddy manufacturing.
In January 2024, a packed flight over the US narrowly escaped disaster when a side panel was torn mid-air.
The investigation found critical bolts were missing.
Whistleblower Sam Mohawk described the factory floor as “chaos”, with faulty parts potentially making their way into aircraft.
It followed serious incidents in 2018 and 2019 that saw 346 people die when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 jet and an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 crashed just minutes after take-off.
Last year, the firm agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud in the development of the Max and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.
