Unstoppable
Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine, is a new thriller from director Tony Scott based on the true story of a real runaway train.
On May 15, 2001, a 47-car freight train carrying hazardous materials left its Toledo, Ohio rail yard without an engineer on board. The unmanned locomotive traveled 66 miles through three heavily populated counties before it was mercifully brought to a halt.
Though no one was injured, the incident was still a terrifying reminder of what could happen when everything goes awry.
With Unstoppable set to release November 24th in the UK, we take a look back at a few more near disasters and how they were averted.
- January 15, 2009: Hero pilot crash lands in Hudson River
A US Airways commercial passenger plane lost power to both of its engines after striking a flock of Canadian Geese just three minutes after takeoff. Pilot Chesley Sullenberger executed a perfect emergency landing on the Hudson River another three minutes later.
All 155 passengers and crew were safely evacuated in one of the greatest escapes in aviation history.
- April 17, 1970: Apollo 13 crew returns safely to Earth
Apollo 13 was supposed to land on the Moon, but the crew was forced to abort the mission after the explosion of an oxygen tank.
With limited power and resources the three astronauts devised a plan to use the Lunar Module as a lifeboat and splash landed safely in the Pacific.
The exhilarating series of events led to the release several films, including 1974’s Houston, We’ve Got a Problem and 1995’s Apollo 13.
- January 15, 1953: Express train to Washington, D.C. suffers brake failure
A Federal Express overnight train lost brake power and crashed into Union Station and collapsed the concourse floor, just a week before the inauguration of President Eisenhower.
Engineer Harry Brower blew the horn to warn bystanders as the train hurtled forward at 80 mph, resulting in only 87 injures and miraculously zero deaths. The incident served as the inspiration for the ending of the 1976 film, Silver Streak.
- February 3, 2003: Australian train driver takes break as train rolls away
In a series of events eerily similar to those surrounding the Toledo runaway train, an unmanned commuter train reached speeds of 100 kph as it rocketed downhill for 17 kilometers through several crossings.
The train finally came to a stop after crashing into another stationary train at a busy Melbourne station. No one was injured.
- July 23, 1983: Gimli Glider makes emergency landing
An Air Canada plane leaving Montreal en route to Edmonton ran out of fuel halfway through its journey because of an unfortunate series of human errors.
The plane rapidly lost altitude as the pilots devised a plan to make a glide landing, crash landing safely at Gimli Industrial Park Airport. None of the 69 on board were seriously injured.
- August 21, 1963: Russian aircraft ditches into river and is pulled to safety
An Aeroflut plane experienced a mechanical failure and was diverted to Pulkovo Airport in Leningrad for an emergency landing.
But the aircraft ran out of fuel along the way and had to crash into a nearby river. A tugboat pulled the plane safely to the shore along with its 52 passengers.
- September 11, 2001: Hijacked plane crashes in Pennsylvania
United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked by four terrorists as part of the 9/11 plot. The 33 other passengers and 7 crewmembers attempted to retake control of the plane, but instead the plane crashed in a field in southwestern Pennsylvania.
All 44 people on board were killed (including the 4 hijackers), but the death toll would have been far greater if the plane had reached its intended target, suspected to be the U.S. Capitol building.
The actions taken by the passengers to overpower the terrorists represent one of the bravest moments in human history.
Unstoppable is in cinemas from Wednesday 24th November