A Batik Air Boeing 737 had commenced its takeoff roll at Jakartas’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport (Indonesia), when the left wing tip collided with the vertical stabiliser and wing of an empty Transusa ATR 42 that was being towed across the active runway. The flight crew of the Boeing 737 spotted the ATR crossing the runway, but could not stop in time to avoid the collision. The wing of the 737 reportedly sheared the ATR’s vertical stabilizer (tail) off, and caused substantial damage to the wingtips of both aircraft. The collision ruptured the wing fuel tank of the ATR aircraft and subsequently caused both aircraft to catch fire. Responding emergency services quickly extinguished the fire. No injuries occurred and passengers were evacuated via the emergency slides.

The final report for LAM Linhas Aereas de Mocambique flight TM-470 was released by Namibia's Directorate of Aircraft Accident Investigations (DAAI) on April 15th 2016. The aircraft was en-route from Maputo (Mozambique) to Lunana (Angola) on the 29th November 2013 and descending though 6,000 feet, when both radar and radio contact was lost. The wreckage was later discovered in Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park. All occupants had perished in the accident.

Data taken from both the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was analysed by the DAAI. The investigation determined that one of the pilots, believed to be the captain, had been left alone in the cockpit and had made a number of deliberate flight control inputs, which caused the aircraft to depart from it assigned cruise altitude, enter a controlled descent, and subsequently impact terrain. The data extracted from the CVR revealed that the co-pilot had left the cockpit to use the toilet approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes into the fight, leaving the captain as the sole crew member occupying the cockpit. The co-pilot was subsequently unable to regain access to the cockpit.

As a part of standard investigation procedures, a detailed investigation into the captain’s private life was conducted. It was found that in the year leading up to the occurrence, the captain had been affected by a number of highly stressful experiences, including the death of his son and his daughter undergoing open heart surgery. As a result of the findings, the DAAI proposed a number of safety recommendations, which included the possible implementation of cockpit cameras to allow surveillance of the pilots.

Brussels International Airport (Belgium) was the target of a terrorist attack on the 22nd March 2016. Two suicide bombers detonated explosives in close proximity to the airports’ check in desk area, causing at least 31 deaths and over 300 injuries. As a result, the airport had been entirely evacuated and all flights were suspended. A second attack occurred in the nearby Malbeek metro system shortly after, which subsequently caused the closure of all transport in the immediate area. Limited passenger operations have re-commenced, however the Airport Authority has not publicly stated a date when the airport will fully re-open.