Alimperiale Flight 742, abbrieviated as AM742 or ALM742, was a flight operated by Alimperiale, the Roman Empire's national carrier, from Nevuchavazin International Airport in Ackrinj, Xanjon, to Bartholomeus Casas International Airport in Lipsia, via Londinium. The aircraft operating AM742, an Aerius 787-100RE registered 10L-XM2, suffered a mechanical failure during landing at Londinium Internation Airport, causing a landing gear to extend incorrectly. As the aircraft was at too low an altitude to climb back up for another pass, It landed, causing the wheel to burst and send the nose of the plane flying into the air before smashing down again, resulting in the collapse of the plane's structure. The aircraft broke into three pieces scattered across the field adjacent to the runway before exploding several hours later due to a fuel leak. Out of the 352 people on board the aircraft, only 1 survived.
Prelude[]
Londinium was part of the normal Ackrinj-Lipsia route operated by Alimperiale. The captain of the 5th - 6th July 1999 flight was Augustus Olivius, an experienced pilot with over 53,000 flying hours, close to retirement. His co-pilot was Tunamsir Livnius, a Xanj recruit who had just gained his wings two months prior. The flight engineer was Frederik Miller, an exchange pilot from Scandinavia's carrier Luftus, who also had significant experience.
AM742 was carrying 337 passengers, including 12 flight attendants and the 3 piloting crew members. Many of the passengers were families escaping from Xanjon to holiday in the warmth of Lipsia's beaches for the summer holidays. Approximately one third of all the passengers were children of various ages ranging from two to sixteen.
The actual flight was uneventful: the aircraft encountered some slight turbulence about halfway to Londinium, but the plane was not affected much by it.
Disaster[]
Problems began to occur when AM742 began its descent to Londinium Airport in the early hours of the 6th July 1999. At 1,000 feet, AM742 lowered its landing gear. However, a mechanical failure that engineers did not pick up before the flight began resulted in the front landing gear's locking mechanism activating incorrectly. The vibrations caused by the lowering of the landing gears, the wheel turned, ending up with its side facing the runway before the locking mechanism activated, locking the wheel in place.
While the flight crew detected this error, they could not pull up and attempt another pass as they were already too close to the runway. The pilots declared an emergency and Londinium air traffic was halted and emergency vehicles dispatched. As the plane landed, the high pressure and friction acting upon the wheel made it burst. The explosion sent the nose into the air before it smashed back down onto the ground at a high speed. This broke up the plane into three distinct pieces: the cockpit, the cabin, and the tail. These pieces, along with the four wing engines, were scattered across the field adjacent to the runway.
Most of the people on board were killed in the initial breakup, including pilot Olivius and flight engineer Miller. The co-pilot, Tunamsir Livnius, survived the breakup of the plane and managed to escape the cockpit. However, instead of moving away from the wreckage, and ran into the cabin to search for survivors.
Rescue efforts[]
The airport's fire brigade fought the fire for several hours before they gained control of the blaze. Subsequently, medics ran into the wreckage, beginning to carry out bodies. However, no survivors were found.
Meanwhile, deep within the wreckage, Livnius was still searching for survivors. The first person he came across was a young, five-year-old boy hunched over the body of his father. According to an interview of the boy, eventually identified as Alois Maritus, he continually, in panic, called for his father to wake up. Then, Livnius attempted to comfort the boy.
"I was crying for my father to wake up. Then the copilot came up to me and said, 'Daddy's gonna be asleep for a very long time.'"
— Alois Maritus - AM742 survivor, AM742 - 10th Anniversary of the Crash that Shocked the World, Roman Broadcasting Corporation, 2009
After finding several other survivors, Livnius and Maritus made their way out of the wreckage. A scared Maritus sprinted towards rescue crews. The other survivors, all severely injured or exhausted, staggered their way towards medics.
Second explosion[]
TBW