Air Tavaris Flight 704: Difference between revisions

The aircraft was a kAE 999-1, built in [[Kuthernburg]]. Flight 704 was a "red-eye" flight, scheduled to arrive in ZaramNuvrenon at 3:58 AM East AcronisTavaris Time (UTC-8:00). Piloting the plane was Air AcronisTavaris Captain Alenda Tovai Aštrovat, who had flown with the company for 24 years. Prior to her civilian flying career, she served her conscription in the Royal AcronianTavari Air Force. She had attained the rank of Captain during her conscription, and was posthumously promoted to Major. The co-pilot was Nevar Dravana Niktat, who had been with Air AcronisTavaris for two years. He had also served in the Air Force during his conscription, and was posthumously promoted from First Lieutenant to Captain. FlightThe 704route (sinceflown renumbered toby Flight 706)704 is knownstill toused be a "long-haul" flight,by the longestairline regularlybut scheduledwas domesticrenumbered flightto thatFlight Air Acronis flies, though the airline does fly longer flights internationally706.

Unbeknownst to the flight crew, who had no radio communication ability, the Acronian[[Tavari Agency for Space AgencyExploration and Research]] (TASER) was already tracking a larger cluster of debris, the remnants of a space telescope that had been destroyed by the [[wikipedia:Kessler syndrome|Kessler effect]]. By the time the Acronian Space AgencyTASER had been able to determine the course of the debris with certainty, ACA704ATA704 was already unreachable by radio. The [[Royal AcronianTavari Armed Forces#Royal AcronianTavari Air Force|Royal AcronianTavari Air Force]] dispatched two ANS VZ-4 aircraft from Royal Air Base Dravai to intercept ACA704ATA704 and attempt to get it to the surface before the larger debris arrived. The RAAFRTAF did reach the plane and was successfully able to signal ACA704ATA704 to descend through [[wikipedia:morse code|Morst code]], but shortly after the plane's descent, the space telescope debris impacted ACA704ATA704 on the starboard wing. While the largest pieces of the telescope missed the plane, an impactor described as "roughly the size of a grapefruit" punctured the starboard fuel line, causing both engines to go out on that side. The wing was severely destabilized and would later break off of the plane entirely.

The RAAFRTAF planes, under orders, broke off course to avoid being impacted by debris themselves, as rescue of the passengers and crew was impossible. At 2:59 AM, the Prime Minister activated the National Emergency Alert System and ordered that regions in the path of the plane be evacuated. The Prime Minister had not yet been informed that his son was on the plane. However, he was aware that the plane was over a residential area and that it was likely no significant evacuation could occur in time. Onboard the plane, Captain Tovai Aštrovat announced first that the Air Force was ordering them to descend, and then just after the impact of the space debris - which would have been clearly visible to and felt by the passengers - told the passengers "flying with you all today has been an honor and a privilege," and "each and every one of you is loved, is a treasure, is a gift from the Goddess." She encouraged her co-pilot to lead the plane in a prayer.

Nevar Dravana Niktat selected the Canticle of the Benefactor, a traditional Akronist prayer that is said if one cannot make it to formal monthly services at a Temple. While formal Akronist doctrine does not use the Canticle of the Benefactor as a "last rite," or a prayer said in time of impending death, Matron [[theVana 37th MatronDandreal]] would issue an Edict after the crash expressly permitting the usage of the Canticle, and "any traditional or improvised Akronist prayer" at any time the speaker fears imminent death and seeks comfort. She is said to have been personally very affected by the black box recordings of the prayer, and per the Matron's request, the salvaged flight recorder is now kept in theher Newoffice the Temple of Administrationthe Emergence in ZaramCrystal Coast.

At approximately 3:15 AM, the kAE 999-1 crashed into the ground in the city of Dondara, Zinia Province. Nearly parallel with the ground, the plane swiped through several homes before coming to a stop. None of the homes had been evacuated, and the occupants of every home impacted by the plane perished in the crash. Air AcronisTavaris Flight 704 is the only AcronianTavari air disaster with a casualty count higher than the number of people on the plane, as 97 non-passengers lost their lives.

The impact occurred on the day of the 2017 AcronianTavari general election. Prime Minister Aniríl Dravana Niktat specifically had information on the names of passengers withheld until all polls were closed, under the fear that the news of the loss of his son might impact the votes - he is said to have specifically worried about "votes of pity" in his favor. Dravana Niktat lost the election, with the RemembranceDNP-SPD coalition under ŽarísŠano NevranŠonai AlandarTuvria taking the most seats. It did not become publicly known that Dravana Niktat's son had perished until the next day. NevranŠonai AlandarTuvria released a statement saying "I am, and all of us are, devastated to hear that Aniríl Dravana Niktat lost his son in the crash, and while I cannot even begin to imagine the terrible pain Mr. Dravana Niktat is going through, I want him - and the families of every single person lost or injured in the crash - to know that every AcronianTavari heart is with you, today and forever." Dravana Niktat is said to have also been personally called by KingPresident SukaranGbenga Owosekun of the [[TavariBana|Federation of UnionBana]], the first time a TavariBanian monarchhead of state had spoken to ana AcronianTavari Prime Minister one-on-one in over a century. NevranŠonai AlandarTuvria and Dravana Niktat, though political opponents, are said to have formed a very close friendship after the events of the crash.

[[Category:Gondwana]] [[Category:The Acronisphere]]