San Jose International Airport - Accidents and Incidents Involving SJC

Accidents and Incidents Involving SJC

• September 14–15, 1975 (1130 P - 130 A) - Continental Airlines - Boeing 727 (Jet parked over night). A man in his mid 20’s had raped a woman, attempted to rob a store, stole two vehicles, kidnapped a doctor and four others, then attempted to hijack a Continental Airlines Boeing 727 at what was then-called San Jose Municipal Airport. The gunman had taken two airline mechanics hostage, demanding they start the engines on the aircraft. As it started to roll toward the runway, the tires were shot out by police. Standing in the doorway of the jet, with a hostage in front of him, while negotiating with police, the gunman pointed his gun at them, and he was shot and killed by a police sharpshooter, who was positioned on top of the Main Terminal (Terminal C).
• February 17, 1981 – Air California (AirCal) Flight 336 (a Boeing 737–200), flying from San Jose, California to John Wayne Airport, crashed upon initiating a go around. The crew was cleared for a visual approach to Runway 19R while the controller had cleared another flight to take-off from 19R. Upon realizing the mistake, the controller ordered Air California 336 to go-around and the other aircraft to abort its take-off, which it did. The Captain of the landing Air California aircraft delayed the go-around then selected the gear up before a positive rate of climb was achieved. The 737 with the gear up skidded down the runway before coming to rest. A fire started, 4 passengers sustained minor injuries, 91 other passengers and 5 crew exited without incident. The aircraft N468AC was damaged beyond repair and was written off.
• April 7, 1994 – FedEx Flight 705, operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 identified as N306FE, was flying from Memphis International Airport to San Jose International Airport and experienced an attempted hijacking by a soon to be terminated employee. Auburn Calloway, the hijacker, planned to use the aircraft for a kamikaze attack on FedEx Corporation Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The crew of Flight 705 were able to fight off Calloway and land the plane safely. This incident was featured on the National Geographic television show, Mayday (Air Crash Investigation or Air Emergency). The episode (Season 3, Episode 4) was titled "Fight for Your Life (Suicide Attack)"
• October 25, 1999 – San Jose Police Department McDonnell Douglas 500N helicopter N904PD lost control while entering the traffic pattern at SJC during a maintenance ferry flight. The helicopter crashed into a city street, killing both of the occupants. There were no reported damage or injuries on the ground. The NTSB determined that temporary repairs made in order to ferry the helicopter back to SJC actually made the controllability problem that it was intended to solve worse. Pilot manuals and training for the NOTAR (no tail rotor) helicopter did not provide adequate preparation for the pilot experienced in conventional helicopters to recover from a stuck thruster condition which occurred.