Edit 10/30/24: I also regret posting this one

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Updated Paint Color Correction Version

Original Aircraft Credit goes to GalacticaAsia's A300-600GE

Thank you to SimpleplanesJP11 for providing the shader preset for the thumbnail.

Map used for thumbnail: Washington & BC by Annedzsrue

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About the Airbus A300-600

The A300-600, an upgrade version of the original A300B series, was introduced after the A310 began commercial service in 1982. The A300-600, officially designated as the A300B4-600, was slightly longer than the A300B2 and A300B4 variants and had an increased interior space from using a similar rear fuselage to the Airbus A310 which allowed it to have two additional rows of seats. It was initially powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4H1 engines, but was later fitted with General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, with Pratt & Whitney PW4056 or PW4058 engines being introduced in 1986. Other changes include an improved wing featuring a recambered trailing edges with the incorporation of simpler single-slotted Fowler flaps, the deletion of slat fences, and the removal of the outboard ailerons after they were deemed unnecessary on the A310. The variant made its first flight on July 8th, 1983, received certification on March 9th, 1984, and entered service in June of 1984 with Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The prototype A300-600 (Registration: F-WZLR) in flight at the 1984 Farnborough Airshow

The prototype, F-WZLR, was sold to Mexican charter airline La Tur in 1989 and registered as F-ODTK. From 1990 to 1991, the aircraft was leased to Garuda Indonesia, seen here at Melbourne Airport (IATA: MEL / ICAO: YMML) in November 1990

The first A300-600 to enter commercial service with operator Saudi Arabian Airlines (Registration: HZ-AJA) at King Abdulaziz International Airport (IATA: JED/ICAO: OEJN) on March 20th, 2006.

A total of 313 A300-600s were sold. The A300-600 uses the A310 cockpits which utilized electronic displays and eliminated the need for a flight engineer. Production of the A300 series ended in July of 2007 after 561 deliveries. A few are still in passenger service, mainly being used by Iranian based airlines such as IranAir and Mahan Air, whilst the rest have been converted to freighter use and carry cargo for airlines such as UPS Airlines, FedEx Express, and DHL.

A300-600 Specifications
Length: 177ft 5in / 54.08m
Height: 54ft 6.5in / 16.62m
Wingspan: 147ft 1in / 44.84m

Type Designation
ICAO: A306
IATA: AB6

The cockpit of a DHL European Air Transport A300B4-622R(F) (Registration: D-AEAP) at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (IATA: BUD/ ICAO: LHBP) on March 29th, 2019.

The cabin of a Lufthansa A300B4-605R (Registration: D-AIAY) at Frankfurt Airport (IATA: FRA/ICAO: EDDF) on June 14th, 2009.

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About American Airlines

IATA Code: AA
ICAO Code: AAL
Callsign: AMERICAN
Primary Hub: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW/ICAO: KDFW)
Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas
Years Active: 1926-Present

An American Airlines Convair CV-240 at LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA / ICAO: KLGA) on September 29th, 1957 painted in the original 'Flagship' livery. The Flagship livery was used from 1945-1968 and underwent many different small design alterations that I'm not gonna put here.

An American Airlines Boeing 707-123B, N7591A, at John Glenn Columbus International Airport (IATA: CMH / ICAO: KCMH) in March 1971, wearing the 'Astrojet' livery used from 1964-1968

An American Airlines Boeing 757-223, N651AA, wearing the iconic 'Vignelli Eagle' livery which was warn on American Airlines aircraft from 1969-2013 at Miami International Airport (IATA: MIA, ICAO: KMIA) on October 12th, 1991. On December 20th 1995, this aircraft, operating as Flight 965 crashed into a mountain while on approach to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport (IATA: CLO / ICAO: SKCL) in Columbia, killing 159 of the 163 occupants aboard.

An American Airlines Boeing 787-8 (Registration: N818AL) wearing the airlines 'New American' livery at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (IATA: AMS/ICAO: EHAM) on May 12th, 2024.

American Airlines is a major US-based airline and legacy carrier headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenger mile at the time of writing. American, along with various regional partners and affiliates operates an extensive international and domestic network with almost 6,800 flights per day across the globe. American Airlines is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance, the third-largest airline alliance in the world. Regional service is operated by independent and subsidiary carriers under the brand name 'American Eagle'.

American Airlines operates out of 10 hubs, with Dallas/Fort Worth being its largest. The airline handles more than a hundred million passengers annually with an average of more than 500,000 passengers daily. American Airlines was started in 1930 via a union of multiple small airlines. The two primary organizations from which American Airlines was originated were Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport. The former was first created in Missouri in 1921, with both being merged in 1929 into holding company 'The Aviation Corporation'. This, in turn, was made in 1930 into an operating company and rebranded as American Airways. In 1934, when new laws and attrition of mail contracts forced many airlines to reorganize, the corporation redid its routes into a connected system and was renamed American Airlines. Between 1970 and 2000, the company grew rapidly into being a major international and domestic carrier, eventually purchasing Trans World Airlines in 2001.

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American Airlines Flight 587: Pushed Beyond The Limits

The accident aircraft (Registration: N14053) at Miami International Airport on March 26th, 2000.

Obligatory ‘not a pilot’ disclaimer

November 12th, 2001. It's a new day in the Big Apple, and the international airline industry and the world as a whole is struggling to cope with the changes bought on by the September 11th attacks just two months earlier. New York is still uneasy, with the mangled wreckage of the WTC still sitting at Ground Zero. Still, travel needs to continue, and regular flights have resumed, with this flight being no different. The flight in question is being performed by a 13 year old Airbus A300B4-605R registered as N14053, preparing for a regularly scheduled domestic flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK/ICAO: KJFK) to Las Américas International Airport (IATA: SDQ/ICAO: MDSD) operating as American Airlines Flight 587. The aircraft is equipped with two General Electric CF6-80C2A5 engines. Onboard are 260 occupants, 251 passengers, 7 cabin crew, and 2 pilots. In the cockpit are 42 year old Captain Edward States who was acting as pilot monitoring, and 34 year old First Officer Sten Molin, who was the pilot flying.

The flight was scheduled to leave New York-JFK at 08:00 EST for the Dominican Republic. The boarding process at took a little longer than planned due to the new additional security procedures that delayed boarding. The aircraft pushed back from the gate at 09:00EST and proceeded to taxi to runway 31L behind a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747-400 operating as Japan Air Lines 047 bound for Tokyo-Narita International Airport (IATA: NRT: ICAO: RJAA). JL047 was cleared for takeoff at 09:11:08 but started its takeoff roll one minute later. While JL047 was still preparing for takeoff, the tower controller called AA587, cautioned the flight crew about wake turbulence and instructed them to taxi into position and hold on runway 31L.

For those who are not aware, wake turbulence is a form of turbulence that occurs when an aircraft generates lift, with the pressure differentials around the wings flowing back and forming into counter rotating vortices. Depending on the weight of the aircraft and the speed of the aircraft, the stronger the wake turbulence as per increased wing area and takeoff speed of large aircrafts, such as a fully loaded 747. It goes without saying that wake turbulence can pose a significant hazard to smaller aircraft.

The visualized result of heavy wake turbulence demonstrated by a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, with a massive rotating vortex being formed

At 09:13:27 EST, Flight 587 is cleared for takeoff. Takeoff roll was initiated about 09:14 EST, approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds following the 747, and the aircraft lifts off 34 seconds later. Flight 587 contacted the ARTCC controller at about 09:15, and stated they were climbing out of 1,300 ft/396 m for 5,000ft/1524m. The controller responded by clearing the flight to climb to 13,000ft/3962m and to turn left.

At 9:15:36 while in a climbing left turn, the crew heard a brief squeak and a rattling sound, presumably caused by wake turbulence. Some fifteen seconds later the A300 began to yaw to the right. Full right and left rudder were applied and the first officer called for "max power" at 09:15:54. Again full right and left rudder were applied. Normally applying rudder inputs is not a problem, however, the F.O. was repeatedly fully deflecting the rudder right and left in order to counteract the turbulence, and this did not come without consequences. By performing these deflections in such quick succession, the rudder experiences intense lateral forces, with upwards of 200,000lbs/90718kg being experienced by the rudder.

Moments later a loud snap and bang is recorded by the CVR as the force on the rudder becomes too great for the aircraft to handle, causing the entire vertical stabilizer to separate from the aircraft. Without the stabilizing influence of the tail, the A300 quickly enters an uncontrolled descent from an altitude of about 2500ft/762m. The aircraft enters into a violent flat spin in which both engines separate from the wings coming down within 100ft/30m of each other near the Newport Avenue / Beach 129th Street crossroads. At 09:16EST, just three minutes after takeoff, the aircraft crashes into Beach 131 Street, a residential area in a Queens neighborhood, Belle Harbor. The aircraft explodes on impact, taking the lives of all 260 onboard as well as 5 people on the ground.

The crash site burning

Part of the vertical stabilizer being recovered from the NY Harbor by the US Army Corp of Engineers

First responders at the site where one of the engines landed on a house several blocks from the main crash site. The engine can clearly be seen in the background

The American Flag being raised over the crash site where first responders search for aircraft parts and human remains

As news spread of the crash, several large buildings in downtown NY, including the Empire State Building and UN headquarters are evacuated as rumors of a terrorism plot spread. Given that this took place just two months after the September 11th attacks, this panic makes sense. However, once the investigation began and the vertical stabilizer was recovered and examined, it quickly became clear that an act of terror was not the cause.

Ultimately, the NTSB determined that poor training at American Airlines which incorrectly taught pilots to use strong, exaggerated rudder inputs to counteract wake turbulence was to blame for the actions of the F.O. This training ultimately caused the F.O. to overreact to the wake turbulence as per his training, causing the composite bolts and rivets which held the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage to snap. There was also investigation into the strength of the composite materials of the bolts as it was believed that the bolts may have been less durable than originally thought given other similar incidents involving the A300. However, the NTSB concluded that the failure of the bolts was due to the failure of the bolts being stressed beyond their design limit and not the material of the bolts that becoming compromised. In the words of the NTSB, the accident was due to the first officer's "unnecessary and excessive" rudder inputs. At the time of writing, it is the second deadliest aviation accident on US Soil behind American Airlines 191 and the second deadliest incident involving an A300 behind Iran Air 655.

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Well I'm back. This is why I say I don't have a consistent upload schedule. This one has been in the works on and off for about a month as I've been catching up on some other games and doing some other life stuff. Luckily I've got multiple other projects in the works. As always safe flying and hope you enjoy.

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NTSB Final Report
ASN Entry
CVR Transcript
NTSB Animation
ATC Audio Recording
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy Wake Turbulence Demonstration
In Depth Animation
Footage of AA587 taxiing to RW 31L
AA587 Crash CCTV Footage
NBC Nightly News AA587 Report 11/12/2001