October 2

On October 25, 1927, the Italian passenger liner SS Principessa Mafalda foundered off the coast of Brazil, in the approaches to Santos and São Vicente, after progressive flooding and an uncontrollable list. Carrying hundreds of emigrants, passengers and crew on the Italy–South America run, the ship’s chaotic evacuation and the imperfect rescue that followed left several hundred dead and reshaped public scrutiny of emigrant shipping practices.

On October 30, 1959, Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3 on approach to Asheville–Biltmore Airport in western North Carolina, struck rising terrain in poor weather and crashed short of the runway. All 26 people on board—three crew and 23 passengers—were killed. The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded the flight crew descended below the published minimum descent altitude without the required visual reference, resulting in controlled flight into terrain.

On the evening of October 1, 2012 — China’s National Day, a public holiday in Hong Kong — two passenger vessels collided near the approaches to Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island. The impact and the fire that followed left the larger ferry badly damaged, threw passengers into dark water, and resulted in 39 dead and scores injured. Emergency crews, volunteer boats and hospitals mounted a rapid response; subsequent investigations found failures of watchkeeping and navigation and prompted changes to ferry safety and oversight in Hong Kong.