Engine of Tupolev 154 caught fire on takeoff from Surgut Airport in Siberia, Russia, igniting fuel tank and causing explosion, killing 4 out of 135 people onboard and injuring 43 others

Japanese National Police Agency announced 2010 road death toll of 4868, decrease of 51 compared to 2009 and second consecutive year below 5000 and 10th consecutive year of decrease with more than half of deaths accounted for by people over age 65

Small plane (single engine Piper-46) crashed in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, killing both people onboard

Chinese government announced planned June opening of 1318-km Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway operating at speeds of 350 km/h

Tourists visiting New York in 2010 reached new record of 48.7 million, composed of 39 million domestic visitors and 9.7 foreigners

Nihon Sharyo Seizo and Sumitomo Trading announced order from Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) for 136 pendulum tilting carriages (17 trainsets) worth about $350 million for operations on trunk lines in eastern Taiwan

JR West subsidiary Sagano Scenic Railway (Kyoto operating tram lines in Hozukyo, Kyoto announced opening of Japan’s largest model railway diorama called ’Diorama Kyoto Japan’ from 1 March at Sagano Station, covering 212.79 m2 with 2.7 km of HO gauge (16.5 mm) tracks and 800 model rolling stock against background of 1970s Japan

Boeing 727 belonging to Iran Air crashed near Orumiyeh in western Iran, killing 77 out of 105 people onboard and injuring 26 others

Restructuring JAL and American Airlines announced start of 10 code-sharing flights between Japan and America from Apr i l 2011 for collective management of revenues and commonalization of services on trans-Pacific routes to increase annual revenues by $130 million. Companies belong to same business alliance

Taiwan business partner of Nihon Sharyo and Sumitomo Trading announced order from Taiwan Railway Agency (TRA) for 296 EMU800 series commuter railway carriages for services between major cities in north Taiwan starting from 2012 and following previous 2007 order for EMU700 trainsets

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism held high-speed railway seminar in Los Angeles, USA, with speech by JR East Chairman Satoshi Seino to promote shinkansen

Japan’s Immigration Bureau announced 24.6% yearon- year increase in visitors to Japan for 2010 reaching new record of 9.44 million composed of 2.69 Koreans (46.4%), followed by 1.66 million Chinese (34.4%) as result of relaxed tourist visa regulations; outbound Japanese also increased for fourth consecutive year to reach 16.64 million perhaps due to high value of yen

Airbus announced record orders and deliveries for 510 planes in 2010 (498 in 2009) to pass 500 mark for first time and outstrip rival Boeing’s figures of 462 units (481 in 2009)in 8 consecutive years; forward orders (excluding possible cancellations) also surpassed Boeing at 574 for Airbus and 539 for Boeing

Boeing announced further delays to delivery of Dreamliner B787 until July/August 2011; launch customer All Nippon Airways expected first delivery in May 2008

All Nippon Airways announced start of code-sharing flights with US airlines United and Continental centred on 15 daily trans-Pacific flights between Narita and San Francisco, etc., from April this year and integration of domestic and international services and fares

As part of business restructuring, JAL announced revival of red crane logo mark called ‘tsurumaru’ from 1 April 2011 first adopted in 1959 and abandoned in 2002 on merger with Japan Air Systems (JAS)

JR West announced grand opening of renewed Osaka Station on 4 May 2011; decisions on increasing floor area of ‘Acty Osaka’ and use of over-the- tracks station building to be made on 16 March and 11 April, respectively

Toshiba announced order for electrical parts such as motors, etc., for 588 carriages divided between 428 subway cars of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and 160 (double decker)cars of Metrarail in northeast Illinois being built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Nihon Sharyo Seizo for delivery from November last year

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced foreign visitors to Japan in 2010 reached record 8.612 million (+26.8% year-on-year increase) and annual increase for first time in 2 years despite not reaching government’s 10-million target of ‘Visit Japan’ campaign; JNTO count excludes foreigners resident in Japan and stopovers, so figure slightly lower than Ministry of Justice statistics

JAL announced world top position in on-time arrivals for second consecutive year with 89.9% rate in US survey of 33 world carriers with more than 30,000 flights; researching company calculated ratio of flights with less than 15 minutes delay

EU Commission announced refusal to sanction merger by two large Greek carriers Aegean and Olympic to due monopoly share of more than 90% of Greek domestic market

Head-on collision and resulting derailment and overturn of passenger and freight trains in eastern Germany left 10 people dead and more than 40 injured

Record snowfalls in northern regions of Japan Sea coast forced closure of railway lines, expressways and national highways, some trains stopping in tunnels; 629 services cancelled affecting at least 138,000 passengers

All Nippon Airways announced formation of low-cost carrier (LCC) in joint venture with Hong Kong investment company (Far Eastern Investment Group) to offer 3 or 4 domestic and international routes from Kansai International Airport starting in H2 of FY2011 following creation of seed business A&F Aviation on 10 February

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation announced signing of purchase agreement with US regional airline Trans States Holdings (THS) for 50 units of Mitsubishi’s domestically built 70–90 seat MRJ100 Regional Passenger Jet as first firm overseas order; maiden flight expected in 2012 with delivery of first orders to All Nippon Airways in 2014

US Vice President Biden announced US government’s US$53 billon investment over 6-year period in high-speed railway infrastructure

Small plane crashed and burned on landing at Cork Airport, Eire, killing 6 of 12 people onboard and injuring 6 others

Six cars of Korean KIX high-speed train derailed near Gwangmyeong Station without serious injury to any of 150 people onboard. Train was slowing down to approach station

Itochu Trading Company announced order for 192 linear motor subway cars worth ¥17.2 billion from China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited and destined for No. 5 line of Guangzhou metro; Itochu in charge of parts procurement; Itochu received orders from same company since 2004, supplying 500 cars to date

Small propeller plane belonging to Central American Airways crashed near Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, killing all 14 people onboard, including some government officials. Government announced 3-day period of national mourning

Republican Florida State Governor announced rejection of federal budget to build high-speed line between Tampa, Orlando and Miami (500 km), out of concern for effect on budget, making Florida third state after Wisconsin and Ohio to reject plans; JR Central planned to bid on project

Seven operators in JR group submitted document rejecting government plans to eliminate or set upper limit on expressway tolls due to fears about impact on environment, unfair benefits to expressway users, and impact on railway operators’ profits

Small wooden cruise liner carrying tourists to Ha Long World Heritage Park in Viet Nam sank, drowning 12 people onboard including 10 foreign tourists

Skymark Airlines announced conclusion of purchase agreement for six Airbus A380 (including 2 spares) for new services planned to start from 2014 between Narita and New York, London, and Frankfurt

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, seriously damaging central business district and killing more than 200 people

Ministry of Science and Technology of Republic of China announced receival of permission to establish National High-Speed Rail Technology Research Center operated by Qingdao Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd, subsidiary of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited as first such company approved in China

All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa announced application to Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for exemption from Antitrust Law to permit code-sharing flights between Japan and Europe from late October this year, helping improve business efficiency for each company

British government (DfT) announced restart of orders for Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to renew aging rolling stock; negotiations with Hitachi subsidiary Agility Trains seem likely to result in orders for Hitachi (including 30-year maintenance programme) worth total of ¥600 billion (40% reduction of original plan) Hitachi plans to build rolling-stock works in Durham, northeast England

IATA revised 2011 profit forecast for world’s airlines down to $8.6 billion as result of rising fuel prices; even with demand recovery, IATA revised figure down by $0.5 billion in December 2010 due to high oil prices— new forecast marks 50% year-on-year drop compared to 2010 profits of $16 billion

Mitsubishi Heavy Engineering and Itochu announced order from Macau government for turnkey Light Rapid Transit system (20 km) composed of 110 fully automated, rubber-tyre vehicles, guideways, signalling, stations, etc., running between peninsula and international airport on Taipa Island with completion date in February 2015

Hayabusa E5 (10-car trainset) debuted on JR East’s Tohoku Shinkansen linking Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations in 3 hours 10 minutes at speeds up to 300 km/h; car 10 has 18 Gran Class seats offering better comfort and service levels than first class ‘Green’ cars

Russian-built Antonov 148 passenger plane on test flight before delivery to Myanmar government crashed in Belgorod region of west Russia, killing all six people on board including two Myanmarese pilots

Kawasaki Heavy Industries in joint venture development with ALSTOM Transport S.A. of France and CTCI Corporation of Taiwan, announced ¥29.5 billion order from Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) for Taichong City transport system, including 36 vehicles (18 sets), yards, signalling, communications and ticketing systems for new 16.71-km city line

Hiroshima Nishi Airport closed after JAL subsidiary Japan Air Commuter stopped scheduled flights from Kagoshima and Miyazaki; Hiroshima City Council rejected bill to take over management from prefecture; second regional airport to close after Teshikaga Airport in Hokkaido

Sanriku region of northeastern Japan struck by M9.0 submarine earthquake, worst quake in history of Japan, causing huge tsunami tidal wave up to 10-m high in some parts, inundating vast areas of Japan Pacific coast from Aomori Prefecture in north to Chiba Prefecture in south, resulting in at least 28,000 people dead and missing (at 10 April) and causing massive damage to housing, power, and transport infrastructure, particularly Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with widespread release of radiation

Japanese government cabinet agrees legislation to integrate Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport (Itami); new joint management company established and Kansai Airport to adopt vertical separation between airport business management and land ownership

JR Kyushu completed full opening of Kyushu Shinkansen between Hakata and Kagoshima-Chuo (256.8 km) with start of through operations from San’yo Shinkansen to connect Shin-Osaka and Kagoshima-Chuo in 3 hours 45 minutes or 1 hour 17 minutes less than previously; tape cutting ceremony cancelled by Great East Japan Earthquake of previous day. Sections between Shin- Yatsushiro and Kagoshima Chuo opened in March 2004

JR Central opened Linear Railway Museum, SC Maglev and Railway Park in Nagoya City based on theme of ‘Museum of Memories and Dreams,’ including 39 pieces of rolling stock ranging from MLX01-1 superconducting maglev to first generation shinkansen and early steam locomotives, as well as simulator for latest N700 shinkansen and Japan’s largest model railway diorama

M6.8 earthquake in Myanmar left 75 people dead

Out-of-control bus carrying commuting students in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ran off road and struck train, killing three people and injuring some 30 others

Nagoya Municipal Subway opened 4.2-km Sakuradori Line between Nonami and Tokushige stations, extending services to southeast suburbs and increasing city metro to 6 lines totalling 89.1 km

JR East announced plan to re-open sections of Tohoku Shinkansen between Nasushiobara and Morioka damaged by Great East Japan Earthquake sequentially before late April; about 530 km of track and overhead catenary damaged at some 1200 locations—Tokyo to Nasushiobara services recovered on 15 March; Morioka to Shin-Aomori services recovered on 22 March

JAL announced completion of restructuring by Tokyo District Court with new loans from 11 financial organizations totalling ¥254.9 billion and settled ¥395.1 billion restructuring claims; simultaneously increased third-party share allocation by ¥12.7 billion with aim of re-quotation of shares on stock market by mid-2012

Twin-propeller BE58 plane crashed into house in Highpoint, North Carolina, USA, killing two people onboard but not harming anyone on ground

JR East released interim report on damage caused by Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami; 23 stations on 7 conventional lines washed away along with 22 km of tracks at 18 locations, as well as 7 damaged bridges and deformed tracks at 160 locations

Large 1.5-m long hole caused by metal fatigue hole opened in roof of B737-300 belonging to Southwest Airlines during flight over Arizona, USA, but plane made safe emergency landing at military airbase without serious injuries to anyone onboard

UN Bombardier CRJ-100 jet struck by lightning while landing at Kinshasa Airport, Congo DR, and crashed, killing 32 of 33 people onboard

Following 1 April accident with B737 in USA, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued Type Certificate Data sheets to nation’s four carriers operating 46 units of B737 models requesting inspection covering metal fatigue; US FAA also issued same TCD requests on 5 April

Vessel carrying at least 300 refugees fleeing fighting in Libya sank about 60 km from Lampedusa Island off Italian coast, 50 people survived but at least 250 missing

Groundbreaking ceremony held to mark start of construction of Shanghai Disneyland in Pudong New Area in joint venture project with local companies worth ¥377 billion (US$4.6 billion) with opening scheduled for 2015 and site served by extension of Shanghai Metro Line 11

Double-decker Air France Airbus A380 wingtip clipped tail of Comair CRJ700 on runway at New York’s Kennedy Airport, causing minor damage but no injuries

Sendai Airport reopened for special flights after runway, stands, and terminal building flooded by tsunami following East Japan Great Earthquake on 11 March 2011; full services expected to resume in September

Third-sector Rinku International Logistics Centre (RIL, found in 1993) applied for bankruptcy protection at Osaka District Court, following losses of US$114 million; Osaka Prefecture holds 56% of business investment

Train carrying tourists from People’s Republic of China derailed and overturned on Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan, killing 6 passengers after large tree fell on last car, derailing 4 out of 8 carriages

Swarm of tornadoes in 6 southern states of USA killed 342 people, second-worst tornado disaster ever, following death of 747 people in 7 states in March 1925

Long-distance bus swerved off road in Anhui Province, China, trying to avoid oncoming electric bike and overturned into pond, killing 7 of 22 people onboard and injuring 10 others

Tohoku Shinkansen resumed full services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations following repairs to tracks after Great East Japan Earthquake

Japan’s National Police Agency announced total death toll from Great East Japan Earthquake likely to exceed 25,000 people with 14,662 dead and 11,019 missing presumed dead; 127,076 people now living in evacuation centres

New York’s famous 13,000 yellow taxi cabs announced decision to switch entirely from current mix of 16 models from 9 automakers to Nissan NV200 minivan after 2013

Japanese government announced that ICOMOS requested registration of Hiraizumi Bunka Isan (Cultural Heritage, Hiraizumicho Iwate Prefecture) and Ogasawara Island (Ogasawara Village, Tokyo) as UNESCO World Heritage Site with final decision announced in Paris in June, making it 16th World Heritage Site in Japan if approved

Small Chinese-built MA60 plane carrying 27 people crashed into sea off West Papua Indonesia, killing 15 people and leaving little hope for 12 others

Strong wind overturned small boat returning from funeral in Lake Togo, West Africa, drowning 36 people on board

US Department of Transportation announced allocation of $2 billion subsidy for planned high-speed railways in 15 US states; Florida State revoked plan while east coast to receive $800 million and California $200 million from redistributed budget

Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) placed large order with Siemens, engineering conglomerate, for 300 sets of next-generation high-speed ICx; addition of 90 new sets to first order for 130 sets brings total value of order for 220 sets to €6 billion with further 80 sets to be ordered by 2030 to replace current ICEx and ICE2 with ICx sets with configurations of seven and 10 carriages with different power supply

Currently unopened section of high-speed, 1318-km line linking Beijing and Shanghai started test operation prior to full-scale commercial service in June

Work started on 50.5-km subway line No. 3 in Xian, West China, with start of commercial services expected in late 2015; line No. 2 (26.4 km) and line No. 1 (23.9 km) now under construction

Skynet Asia Airlines operating 9 services between Haneda Airport and Kyushu Airport announced brand name change from 1 July to Solaseed Air with 6 new Boeing B737–80 planes and newly designed logo mark, etc; company name will remain unchanged

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced increase in 2010 domestic and international passengers to 43,059,622 people (+2.3% year-on-year increase), outperforming JAL’s 41,923,452 passengers (–12.5% year-on-year decrease); first time for ANA to take lead since 2002 merger with Japan Air Systems (JAS). Domestic passengers accounted for 38,246,715 (+0.8%) while international passenger totalled 4,802,907 (+16.6%), contrasting with JAL’s 33,342,308 domestic passengers (–10.5%) and 8,581,144 (–19.9%) international; JAL business shrunk since closing of unprofitable lines and downsizing

Kinki Nihon Railway announced 1 October opening of Kyoto Station Kintetsu Hotel now under construction above Kintetsu’s Kyoto Station featuring 360 rooms on 8 floors and all with views of train station and lines

Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport merger approved by plenary session of Japan’s House of Representatives and established new company called New Kansai International Airport Corporation to integrate management of both airports with vertical separation of airport operations and airport site

Five operators in JR group and 11 other large private railways in Metropolitan Tokyo and Kansai announced plans to accept fare payments using each other’s IC cards from spring 2013, including JR East’s Suica, Tokyo Metro’s PASMO, JR West’s ICOCA, etc., allowing payment using one card to ride on lines of 51 railways and 98 bus companies nationwide

Japan’s Yamato Transport and Keifuku Railway announced start of delivery service using Randen trams operating in Kyoto City to help reduce city traffic congestion and cut CO2 emissions as first delivery service in Japan using trams

Small Saab 340B turboprop plane crashed in S. Argentina killing all 22 people onboard

China Tourist Agency announced joint venture capital partnership with three foreign companies including JTB to promote overseas trips by Chinese nationals as first foreign capital business; JTB established local joint-venture company called TB NEW CENTURY INTERNATIONAL TOUR CO., LTD in May 2000

All Nippon Airways-related low-cost carrier (LCC) A&F Aviation announced brand name change to Peach and company name change to Peach Aviation; established own terminal at Kansai International Airport (KIA) and planning services from KIA to Fukuoka, Sapporo and Seoul from March 2012

Kyosan Electric Manufacturing announced receipt of orders to build signalling systems for 17.5-km subway line No. 1 in Harbin, northeast China, and 10.3-km rubber-tyre LRT in Gwangmyeong, Korea, expected to start commercial operations in April 2013 and 2014, respectively

Singapore Airlines (SAL) announced establishment of low-cost carrier (LCC) targeting medium-range destinations including Japan; SAL already operates Tiger Airways as short-range LCC

All Nippon Airways (ANA) clarified plans to start flying its first, new, fuel-efficient Boeing Dreamliner B787 1 or 2 months after taking delivery in August or September— domestic test flights started in July with visiting Dreamliner; Boeing launch-customer ANA expected first delivery in May 2008 but seven changes to Boeing schedule forced 3-year delay

Japan Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Akihiro Ohata assigned JR Central as builder for new planned linear maglev shinkansen proposed by JR Central between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka; JR Central aims to start work in 2014, completing Tokyo –Nagoya section in 2027 and full Tokyo–Osaka line in 2045; applied to start construction planning following environmental impact assessment

Six-car diesel Kiha 238 train derailed in 685-m tunnel on JR Hokkaido Sekishosen Line near Shimukappu Village before catching fire; 244 passengers walked to safety with 39 suffering slight injuries

JR Central announced introduction of new N700A rolling stock on Tokaido and San’yo shinkansen services from 2012 with improved braking performance and bogie vibration detection systems compared to current N700 designs and aiming to cut energy consumption; 6 sets to be introduced in FY2012 and 7 sets in FY2013 with about 70% as N700

All Nippon Airways announced business tie-up with Germany’s Lufthansa for routes between Japan and Europe along with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism exemption (first case between Europe and Japan) from monopoly controls (ATI); both companies to adjust schedules and fares as result

JR East ran restored C61-20 steam locomotive service for first time in 38 years on Takasaki–Mizukami section of Joetsu Line; locomotive built in 1949 and retired in 1973 before preservation in public park in Gunma Prefecture

German Chancellor Merkel took lead in announcing plan to close all German nuclear power plants at 17 sites nationwide by 2022 with aim of developing alternative renewable energy sources such as wind power following nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan

IATA announced large downward revision of 2011 airline profits to $4 billion from $8.6 billion (78% year-on-year decrease) due to rising fuel costs and decrease in passengers following impact of Great East Japan Earthquake

Tobu Railway announced public opening of Tokyo Sky Tree now under construction in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward (634 m) from 22 May 2012 with access to second observatory (450 m) costing ¥3000 (US$1 = ¥81)

Chinese authorities announced lifting of travel ban by private Chinese citizens to Taiwan from 28 June and increase in direct flights between two regions from 370 to 558; Chinese citizens limited to group tours of Taiwan since 2008

Tupolev 134 crashed on landing in northwest Russia, killing 44 passengers and crew onboard and leaving 8 seriously injured

World’s largest 49th Paris Air Show opened until 26 June at Le Bourget with more than 210 exhibitors and strong sales competition, featuring demonstration flights, etc.

Airbus announced order worth $18.2 billion for 200 units of its new A320neo (150 passengers) from Malaysian low cost carrier Air Asia believed to be largest order ever by private airline; new model upgrades A320 series with more fuel-efficient engines and shown at recent Paris Air Show

UNESCO announced Ogasawara Islands (south of Tokyo) as new World Heritage Site giving Japan four sites in total

UNESCO announced Hiraizumi (Iwate Prefecture) as World Heritage Listed Site, giving Japan 12 such sites in total

Sumitomo Metal Industries and Sumitomo Trading announced purchase of US rolling stock wheel and axle maker Standard Steel, LLC, of Pennsylvania in deal worth $340 million to strengthen US manufacturing presence and develop world markets

China Railways clarified position on application for 21 international patents related to high-speed railways aiming to obtain patents in countries including Japan, USA, EU, Brazil, Russia and elsewhere

JR Central President Yoshiomi Yamada commented at press conference that technologies being patented by China Railways product of Japanese domestic rolling stock makers’ and JNR’s sweat and tears over long years and infringed patents already held by Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Beijing to Shanghai (1318 km) high-speed line opened for commercial service linking two cities in 4 hours 48 minutes using domestically developed CRH380A running at speeds of 300 kph

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge (36.48 km total length) opened between Qingdao, and Hongdao islands and Huangdao District, in Shangdon province of China

Fuji Kyuko Railway renamed gateway station to Mt Fuji from Fujiyoshida Station to Mt Fuji Station with large red torii shrine (7 m) and new bus service starting 16 July to Yoshidaguchi First Station on Mt Fuji

JR East announced platform doors to be fitted at 9 stations on Yamanote Line (Osaki, Ikebukuro, Otsuka, Sugamo, Komagome, Shin-Okubo, Mejiro, Takadanobaba and Tamachi) in 2013; platform doors already used at Ebisu and Meguro stations

Boeing 727 belonging to Hewa Bora Airways crashed in heavy tropical rain forest while landing at Kisangani International Airport, DR Congo, killing 127 people with 51 survivors

New Delhi-bound passenger train derailed at Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, killing 35 people and injuring 100 others, while another derailment in Assam on same day injured 100 people

Old, overloaded pleasure cruiser overturned in River Volga, central Russia, drowning 122 of 201 people onboard

Antonov 24 belonging to Angara Airlines suffered engine fire and made emergency landing in River Ob, western Siberia, killing 7 of 37 people onboard and injuring 30 others

Small propeller plane of Noar Airlines crashed after takeoff at Recife, Brazil, killing all 16 people onboard

German Lufthansa Airlines started 50% mixture biofuel tests on domestic routes using one engine of Airbus A321 as world’s first commercial flight tests

AMR parent of American Airways announced large order for 460 planes from US and European makers composed of 260 units of Airbus A320neo and 200 units of Boeing 737 worth $40 billion

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced establishment of new domestic LCC called Air Asia Japan together with Malaysian low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Asia; ANA holding 67% of shares and Air Asia 33%; new company to offer domestic and international services from Narita; ANA previously established another LCC, Peach Aviation based in Kansai International Airport

Large, overnight bus caught fire on expressway in Henan Province, China, killing 41 people and injuring 6 others; 35-seat bus overcrowded with 47 people onboard

High-speed train running at slow speed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, due to lightning storms, hit from behind and derailed with 4 carriages falling from elevated section to kill 40 passengers and injure 192 others; Chinese Ministry of Railways blamed accident on failure of operations software

Sendai Airport closed by Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011, re-opened for international flights, including regular services; tsunami damaged passenger terminal building

Freight Boeing 747 of Asiana Airlines crashed near Jeju Island, killing 2 crew onboard

Training Beechcraft A36 crashed near Obihiro Airport in Hokkaido, Japan, killing 3 flight students and 2 teachers leaving one student survivor

Metro Line 1 opened in Chongqing, China, running 15.7 km east–west through city, and bringing Chinese cities with metro services to total of 11 including Hong Kong

Boeing 737-800 belonging to Caribbean Airlines and carrying 173 passengers and crew over-ran runway on landing at Georgetown International Airport, Guyana, to strike airport fence and break in two, injuring 40 people but without fatalities

Replica of Wright brother’s plane crashed during test flight at Springfield, Ohio, USA, killing 73- and 65-yearold pilot enthusiasts

Overloaded pleasure cruiser built to carry 12 people struck freight dock on Moscow River in Moscow, Russia, to sink and drown 9 of 16 people onboard

Derailed express train struck head-on by other train in West Bengal, India, killing at least 3 people and injuring 50 others