Controlled flight into terrain

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In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually SEE-fit) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, fully under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a body of water or other obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, the crew is unaware of the impending collision until impact, or it is too late to avert. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s. Accidents where the aircraft is out of control at the time of impact, because of mechanical failure or pilot error, are classified instead as uncontrolled flight into terrain, or UFIT. Incidents resulting from the deliberate action of the person at the controls, such as a forced landing, an act of terrorism, or suicide by pilot, are also excluded from the definition of CFIT. According to Boeing in 1997, CFIT was a leading cause of airplane accidents involving the loss of life, causing over 9,000 deaths since the beginning of the commercial jet aircraft era. CFIT was identified as a cause of 25...

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