Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Month: <span>December 2011</span>

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To Family and Friends

Now we lay 2011 to rest, a year to be thankful for.

They are all years to be thankful for, even when they are times that try our souls. Our lives are the testing grounds that reveal our mettle. Of course life changes us; life is the crucible that forges the metal of which we are formed. So even if it has been an uphill challenge, it is a path we have climbed successfully; it has been another year to thank God for. We climbed to the summit to plant the flag of 2011 at the topmost peak. Join me while I shout, “Wahoo! We made it!” A year of turmoil; a year of deliverance and grace, of salvation.

So now we can pause and note the passing of 2011. Life chips away at us, smoothes the edges. When I think of how the passing year changed me, the changes are real but ephemeral, as hard to pin down and hold on to as a note of music, or a beam of light. I hope this year has made me a little kinder, a little stronger, a little more patient, a little more of a better man. It is easier to imagine time as a flowing river, with each moment being a unique sip of the water of life. I cannot let the year fade into history without acknowledging my gratitude and wonder. God is the source of the river of life. I can nod and smile at the scientists as they argue their big bangs (or some other competing cosmological paradigm). I am ok with science. God made scientists too; and if there was a bang, God was behind it. Einstein talked about life as a vast library we are born into; like preverbal infants, we can see the books in the library, and order in the universe, even if we cannot read the words. I do not need to hold the pencil of God to know the hand that wrote the book of life.

For another year, Molly and I wish you the very best New Year’s Day, and a 2012 filled with great health, and an overabundance of love and happiness.


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17.8 Million Awarded to Surviving Family

What: F/A-18 Military Jet from the carrier Abraham Lincoln landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramir
Where: San Diego neighborhood
When: DEC 8, 2008
Who: Young Mi Yoon, 36; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and her mother, Suk Im Kim, 60.
Why: A witness said the plane was chugging along with what seemed like one engine. Then…”roar of engine and all of a sudden, woop, dead silence.”

In George’s Point of View


Dead Silence. The rogue jet flattened a house, silenced four lives, and stole the joy from the lifetime of tomorrows of Don Yoon (who lost his wife, daughters and mother-in-law), Jun Hwa Lee (who lost his mother, sister and nieces), Sanghyun Lee (who lost his wife, daughter and grandchildren.) Maybe it’s a cheap trick to keep repeating Young Mi, Grace, Rachel and Suk Im Kim in multiple incarnations, but like all of us, they were composed of all the hats they wore, and their lives touched a lot of people; and I don’t regret the repetition. I’m wishing I knew the names of poor Young Mi’s two siblings, so I could repeat the relationships twice more. How better to express that those four lives lost are ever so much more than we can define?

Where there had once been plans of a Korean family wedding, the joy of cousins, reunion of generations, and decades of Christmases like the one just past, for Don Yoon and his in-laws, there’s now only pain, and following that, an immeasurable vacuum. I guess there’s no point on my dwelling on how great the loss, or the irony. Don Yoon came to the US at 18 to build a better life, and one minute before that jet crashed, he had the American dream.

I guess you could say it went from dream to nightmare. The three years since that crash have ended with the U.S. District Court in San Diego awarding the surviving family members $17.8 million. I don’t need to be a gambler to know that they would trade every penny to have their family back.

Wing Ripped off Crashing Tupolev Kyrgyzstan, Jet Rolls, No Fatalities



Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Valeriy Fedorov

What: Kyrgyzstan/Altyn Air Tupolev 134A-3 en route from Bishkek to Osh
Where: Osh Airport, Kyrgyzstan
When: 28 DEC 2011
Who: 6 crew, 82 passengers, 25 injured
Why: After a hard landing in dense fog, the plane skidded off the runway, collapsing the right main gear, and flipped. As it rolled over, the right wing separated, and the ensuing fire was quickly contained by rescue services standing by. Passengers inside were hanging upside down, suspended by their seatbelts, but had to find a way to evacuate quickly, before the plane had a chance to explode. A fire occurred from a fuel leak in the remaining wing, but it was controlled.

The metar at the time of the landing was:
UAFO 280700Z 02002MPS 0300 R12/0550 FG VV001 00/00 Q1023 R12/19//50 TEMPO 0300 FZFG VV002 RMK QFE691/0922 BASE050M
Wind from 020 degrees at 2 m/sec; visibility 300m; on runway 12, touchdown zone visual range is 550m in fog; vertical visibility 100 m; pressure: 1023 hPa; temperature: 0°C.

Six crew members and nineteen passengers were hospitalized, but there were no fatalities reported. Nine children were aboard. The plane was evacuated.

Because of the incident, the airport (runway) was temporarily closed, and Osh-Bishkek flights are delayed.

Of the 25 reported injured and hospitalized, these have been identified: Rustamov A. b. 1977, Ismatova A. b. 1993, Turgunaliev Charles b.1960; and two injured, Mamatov A., born 1992, and Suyunbaeva A. 2011g.r. who are in a children’s hospital in Osh. The most seriously injured is a 19 year old girl.

Kyrgyzstan Airlines is on the EU banned list.


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Aeroflot with Engine Shut Down Makes Safe Landing


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Mats Salder

What: Aeroflot Airbus A319-100 en route from Nizhniy Novgorod to Moscow Sheremetyevo
Where: Moscow
When: Dec 28th 2011
Who: 76 aboard
Why: While en route, the right engine developed problems, and pilots had to shut it down.

The flight landed safely at Sheremetyevo less than a quarter hour after the engine was shut down.


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Air France Paris-New York Flight Turns Back Due to Ice


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ken Iwelumo

What: Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Paris to New York
Where: Paris
When: Dec 25th 2011
Who: 187 passengers and 12 crew
Why: On takeoff from Paris, the crew detected problems.

The engine anti-icing system indicated a problem, so the pilots returned to Paris two hours after leaving.

An anti-ice system valve was apparently repaired. After two more hours, the flight took off for New York.


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Helios Flight 522 Crash Killed 121, Greek Court Acquits Officials


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Karl Nixon

What: Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 en route from Cyprus to Athens to Prague, Czech Republic
Where: Athens
When: Aug. 14, 2005
Who: 121 passengers
Why: Before losing radio contract, pilots reported trouble with the air conditioning system. In the flight, cabin pressure failure knocked out the pilots. They made it to Athens, but the plane ran out of fuel and crashed. Crash video shows fire fighting planes controlling fires, bodies, baggage, airplane spread over a large debris field, the tail and engines relatively intact. At the time of the crash, except for one pilot (who was observed trying to land the plane), everyone aboard was comatose due to lack of oxygen.

In the case, prosecution failed to prove that German pilot Hans-Juergen Merten and his Cypriot co-pilot Charalambos Charalambous didn’t meet the minimum standards

A Cyprus court has acquitted four former airline officials of manslaughter charges.

In George’s Point of View


This court case is just another example of how long aviation cases, including the criminal cases of potentially/allegedly responsible parties, can drag on in court.

See 5 part video study of Flight 522





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FAA Issues Final Rule on Pilot Fatigue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Michael Huerta today announced a sweeping final rule that overhauls commercial passenger airline pilot scheduling to ensure pilots have a longer opportunity for rest before they enter the cockpit.

“This is a major safety achievement,” said Secretary LaHood. “We made a promise to the traveling public that we would do everything possible to make sure pilots are rested when they get in the cockpit. This new rule raises the safety bar to prevent fatigue.”
“Every pilot has a personal responsibility to arrive at work fit for duty. This new rule gives pilots enough time to get the rest they really need to safely get passengers to their destinations,” said FAA Acting Administrator Huerta.

The Department of Transportation identified the issue of pilot fatigue as a top priority during a 2009 airline Safety Call to Action following the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407. The FAA launched an aggressive effort to take advantage of the latest research on fatigue to create a new pilot flight, duty and rest proposal, which the agency issued on September 10, 2010.

Key components of this final rule for commercial passenger flights include:
Varying flight and duty requirements based on what time the pilot’s day begins. The new rule incorporates the latest fatigue science to set different requirements for pilot flight time, duty period and rest based on the time of day pilots begin their first flight, the number of scheduled flight segments and the number of time zones they cross. The previous rules included different rest requirements for domestic, international and unscheduled flights. Those differences were not necessarily consistent across different types of passenger flights, and did not take into account factors such as start time and time zone crossings.

Flight duty period. The allowable length of a flight duty period depends on when the pilot’s day begins and the number of flight segments he or she is expected to fly, and ranges from 9-14 hours for single crew operations. The flight duty period begins when a flightcrew member is required to report for duty, with the intention of conducting a flight and ends when the aircraft is parked after the last flight. It includes the period of time before a flight or between flights that a pilot is working without an intervening rest period. Flight duty includes deadhead transportation, training in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport standby or reserve duty if these tasks occur before a flight or between flights without an intervening required rest period.
Flight time limits of eight or nine hours. The FAA limits flight time – when the plane is moving under its own power before, during or after flight – to eight or nine hours depending on the start time of the pilot’s entire flight duty period.

10-hour minimum rest period.The rule sets a 10-hour minimum rest period prior to the flight duty period, a two-hour increase over the old rules. The new rule also mandates that a pilot must have an opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep within the 10-hour rest period.

New cumulative flight duty and flight time limits.The new rule addresses potential cumulative fatigue by placing weekly and 28-day limits on the amount of time a pilot may be assigned any type of flight duty. The rule also places 28-day and annual limits on actual flight time. It also requires that pilots have at least 30 consecutive hours free from duty on a weekly basis, a 25 percent increase over the old rules.
Fitness for duty. The FAA expects pilots and airlines to take joint responsibility when considering if a pilot is fit for duty, including fatigue resulting from pre-duty activities such as commuting. At the beginning of each flight segment, a pilot is required to affirmatively state his or her fitness for duty. If a pilot reports he or she is fatigued and unfit for duty, the airline must remove that pilot from duty immediately.

Fatigue Risk Management System. An airline may develop an alternative way of mitigating fatigue based on science and using data that must be validated by the FAA and continuously monitored.

In 2010, Congress mandated a Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP) for all airlines and they have developed these plans based on FAA guidance materials. An FRMP provides education for pilots and airlines to help address the effects of fatigue which can be caused by overwork, commuting, or other activities. Airlines will be required to train pilots about the potential effects of commuting.
Required training updates every two years will include fatigue mitigation measures, sleep fundamentals and the impact to a pilot’s performance. The training will also address how fatigue is influenced by lifestyle – including nutrition, exercise, and family life – as well as by sleep disorders and the impact of commuting.
The estimated cost of this rule to the aviation industry is $297 million but the benefits are estimated between $247- $470 million. Covering cargo operators under the new rule would be too costly compared to the benefits generated in this portion of the industry. Some cargo airlines already have improved rest facilities for pilots to use while cargo is loaded and unloaded during night time operations. The FAA encourages cargo operators to opt into the new rule voluntarily, which would require them to comply with all of its provisions.

The final rule has been sent to the Federal Register for display and publication. It is currently available

at:http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-AJ58-FinalRule.pdf, and will take effect in two years to allow commercial passenger airline operators time to transition.

A fact sheet with additional information is at http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/.

After Weather Tag, Five Injured in Yogyakarta Emergency Landing

What: Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-300 en route from Jakarta to Yogyakarta (Indonesia)
Where: Yogyakarta
When: Dec 20th 2011, 17:35
Who: 131 passengers
Why: The plane aborted an approach to Yogyakarta due to weather and low visibility. The flight diverted to Solo, where it could not land due to weather; and diverted again to Surabaya where the flight landed to refuel. Meanwile, weather conditions at Yogyakarta improved, so the pilots returned to Yogyakarta, and proceeded to land at a higher than normal speed in the hard rain. The plane veered off the runway, with brakes rendered ineffective due to rain, and came to a stop 60 meters past the runway, with collapsed nose gear and with fuselage damage. Bits and pieces of the plane were scattered along the runway.

Passengers exited via emergency slide. Five passengers reported injury.

Bank executives, family, dog die in Crash on Interstate 287 Median on Jersey-Atlanta Flight


What: Cool Stream Media LLC Socata TBM700 C2 en route from Teterboro airport to Atlanta-Dekalb Peachtree Airport
Where: Interstate 287 in Harding, NJ
When: Dec 20, 2011, 10 am.
Who: 5 aboard, 5 fatalities
Why: After taking off from Teterboro airport en route to Atlanta-Dekalb Peachtree Airport, the pilot inquired about icing conditions, and shortly afterwards, crashed on I-287 in New Jersey. The plane came down on the median and broke up just outside of Morris township. One witness heard nothing but saw an explosion. Another witness smelled burning rubber and said it sounded like a wood chopper.

The plane lost contact with ATC just before the crash.

Aboard the flight were Jerry Buckalew, 45 and Rakesh Chawla (36) managing directors of Greenhill & Co Investment Banking Firm. Buckalew’s wife Corinne and two children Jackson and Meriwether and a dog were also aboard. Witnesses say the plane was spinning and flipping, then a wing came off and the plane went straight down. Buckalew owned the plane.

No cars were stuck but the plane’s right wing landed in a tree 400 yards from the crash site..

The pilot had gotten clearance to climb to 17,500 feet. ATC said there was “moderate rime” at 17000 feet. Another controller warned of extreme icing.

The debris field covered an area half a mile wide. The northbound late of I-287 was blocked a heap of burning charred metal.

Small Plane Crash In Morris County: MyFoxNY.com


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Lightheaded Pilots Make Emergency Landing at Heathrow


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tomasz Konopinski

What: British Airways A321 en route from London Heathrow to Glasgow
Where: London
When: Dec 20th 2011
Who: pilot and co-pilot
Why: After takeoff, pilots declared an emergency when they became lightheaded. They returned to Heathrow and made a safe landing. The problem was reported as a technical fault due to fumes or pressure problems in the cockpit. On declaration, pilots called for oxygen which was brought by cabin crew; and oxygen masks were apparently not released for the passengers. The flight made a safe landing. Paramedics were the first aboard, attending to the pilots.

The replacement jet provided for the passengers took them to their destination with a three hour delay,


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Four Injured in Aviation Fire in Papua, Pilot Fatality

What: Associated Mission Aviation Pacific Aerospace 750XL en route from Jayapura to Okbibab.
Where: Abmisibil Airport, Okbibab, Papua
When: Dec 17, 2011
Who: 5 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: The plane landed at Abmisibil Airport, and skidded into a ravine at the end of the runway.

Pilot Arnold Burung did not survive. The injured, Jacob Uropmabin, Timothy Uropmabin, Ramli, and Rady (AKA Yakob Uropmabin,Timotius Uropmabin, Ramly and Radi) were hospitalized at Dian Harapan Hospital in Jayapura.

Pacific Aerospace manufactures planes in New Zealand.

Piper Cherokee Lands on Longmont Road in Rush Hour Traffic


What: PIPER PA-28-151 CHEROKEE, ARROW, WARRIOR, ACHER
Where: Longmont
When: 12/18/2011 5:36 pm
Who: pilot
Why: A pilot flying over Longmont had engine trouble and had to make an emergency landing.

The pilot realized he could not make the airport, and maneuvered in position over the road. He managed to land on a busy road with substantial traffic but there was no impact and the plane and cars were undamaged. The pilot apparently coasted in with the engine off. Interview is below

Fire Consumes Krasnojarsk Cheremshanka Airport Terminal

What: Krasnojarsk Cheremshanka Airport Terminal
Where: Russia
When: Dec 19th 2011
Who: no injuries or deaths reported
Why: 38 vehicles carrying a hundred firefighters responded to the scene of a fire at the Krasnojarsk Cheremshanka Airport but failed to save the airport’s tower. The first thing that caught fire was roof of the terminal, where it began, they suspect, with a short circuit. Then the fire spread until the terminal collapsed. It took four hours to put out the fire, but no one was injured. The airport was the hub for Katekavia Airlines and the base airport of the Siberian Regional Emergencies Department Centre.

One airport employee was evacuated by truck ladder. They were not hospitalized. The roof took five minutes to become engulfed.

Flights have been transferred to the neighboring Emelianovo airport.


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Bangkok Airways on Ground Emergency

What: Bangkok Airways Avion de Transport Regional ATR-72-500 en route from Koh Samui to Bangkok
Where: Koh Samui
When: Dec 17th 2011
Who: 38 passengers and 4 crew
Why: While taxiing prior to takeoff, the pilot lost control, the plane struck an embankment and slid into a ditch.

Reports say that the pilot attempted to control the plane, but it did not respond. The flight was cancelled. Passengers were provided alternative flights.


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Delta/Pinnacle Emergency Landing in Quebec


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tim Perkins

What: Delta/Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Detroit,MI to Quebec
Where: Quebec
When: Dec 10th 2011
Who: 45 aboard
Why: On approach to Quebec, the pilots received a flaps fault.

The pilots aborted the approach. After declaring emergency, the pilots reset the flap system and made a second approach, landing safely.


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Yakima Emergency Landing


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrew Compolo

What: Frontier Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from Seattle to Denver
Where: Yakima
When: Dec 14th 2011
Who: 138 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane developed smoke in the aft galley.

Pilots diverted to Yakima, where they made a safe landing with emergency services on standby. The call came in at 9:22 a.m.and the plane landed at 9:40.

It was determined that the source of the smoke seems to have been a coffee pot or oven in the galley. A replacement jet was provided.

In George’s Point of View

The source of the problem could have been an electrical short, and the air quality may have been affected, so despite jokes about landing over kitchen equipment, the airport manager and airline management stand by the pilots decisions, which are based on correct emergency response which resulted in no deaths, no injuries.

Kansas Learjet Plant Gets Cash Infusion


Bombardier’s Learjet 85 business jet program is getting an infusion of $6 million in Wichita now that the Kansas Department of Commerce has permitted the use of a 1994 bond money incentive.

The exact figure ($52.7 million) is expected to translate into 450 jobs. This is in addition to $2 million in bonds to expand the Learjet85 plant.

The expansion plan includes building a new production flight facility. Phase three, the paint facility and delivery centre will completed in 2013.


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Air India’s Loss of Income and pilots

Air India’s delinquency in payroll which earlier this year led to a strike, has led to about fifty pilots quitting.

Employees were promised incentives and raises to 30,000 employees. Currently pilots and other employees are owed a month’s salary.

Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said ” the management of the Air India was in a constant dialogue with the unions and associations of the pilots.”

In the October strike, 100 pilots threatened to quit.


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Delta Flight Diverts to Kansas City


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Christopher Schneider

What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta,GA to Seattle,WA
Where: Kansas City
When: Dec 15th 2011
Who: 163 aboard
Why: The flight was well underway when passengers and crew smelled smoke in the cabin.

Pilots diverted to Kansas City Missouri, where they made a safe landing.

A KING 5 News employee was a passenger aboard the flight and posted on twitter that everyone was ok.

The problem was repaired, and the plane was re-boarded, continuing on to its destination.


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Intersky Brakes for Runway Incursion


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Marius Palmen

What: Intersky de Havilland Dash 8-300 en route from Berlin Tegel to Friedrichshafen
Where: Berlin
When: Dec 14th 2011
Who: 21 passengers
Why: The flight was about to depart when an unauthorized vehicle cut across the runway right in the plane’s path.

Pilots jerked the plane to a stop, injuring a flight attendant who had to be hospitalized.

The flight was cancelled.


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Lightning Strike Disables Plane over Five Finger Mountains


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ole Simon

What: Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration TC-ASP performing flight PC-223 from Ercan Cyprus to Adana Turkey
Where: Ercan
When: Dec 9th 2011 11:05
Who: 75 passengers and 6 crew
Why: Just ten minutes out of Ercan, over the Five Finger Mountains, the plane was struck by lightning.

Consequently, several systems malfunctioned. Pilots returned to Ercan State Airport and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative flights.

Many regions in cyprus have been subjected to torrential rain and thunder.


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ICAO’S FIRST GLOBAL SAFETY REPORT

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)released the “State of Global Aviation Safety – 2011”, a unique snapshot of worldwide aviation safety performance and collaborative efforts among international air transport stakeholders to further improve safety in light of the sustained growth of the sector.

“This is a first in the history of ICAO,” said Raymond Benjamin, Secretary General of ICAO. “While safety information is readily available from a number of sources, this innovative report presents a compelling and holistic plan for ICAO and the industry to consistently improve aviation safety, our number one objective.”

“Air transport remains our safest form of transportation, and through our collective efforts, we have entered the safest period in global aviation history. But any accident is one too many, so as aviation continues to grow worldwide, we will need to do more to maintain this impressive record,” he emphasized.

Worldwide scheduled traffic volume experienced a year-over-year increase of 4.5 per cent in 2010, setting a new record of more than 30.5 million departures. By 2030, that number is expected to reach more than 52 million annually.

The publication, available to the general public online on the Organization’s website, combines comprehensive traffic statistics and accident trends as well as the full range of initiatives undertaken by ICAO and its partners to address the most serious safety issues. These include runway-related events, the number one cause of fatal accidents, pilot fatigue and an anticipated shortage of qualified aviation professionals.

The well-illustrated document, in simple language, covers initiatives within the four components of the ICAO safety framework including: policy and standardization; safety monitoring; safety analysis; and implementation of safety programmes. The strategy is intended to achieve systemic safety improvements that yield sustainable results.

https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/International-Civil-Aviation-Organization.pdf

https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011stateofglobalaviationsafety.pdf


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Yak Shut down


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrei Mihaila

What: UTAir/Tulpar Airlines Yakovlev Yak-42 en route from Moscow Vnukovo to Volgograd with 57 passengers and 7 crew
When: Dec 10th 2011
Who: 57 passengers and 7 crew
Why: While en route, the Yak developed engine problems in the left engine.

The crew shut down the engine (idled) and made a safe landing in Volgograd.

Ranier Washington: Four Chopper Fatalities


Photo: A Military Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
Contact photographer Anthony Osborne

What: US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
Where: SW training area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord
When: Dec 12, 2011
Who: 2 occupants, 2 fatalities

What: US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
Where: SW training area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord
When: Dec 12, 2011 8 pm
Who: 2 occupants, 2 fatalities
Why: Two two-seat reconnaissance “Scout”choppers crashed during routine exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a few miles from Ranier Washington. Four individuals died in the event. Two were injured. It has not been released if the two injured were aboard, or if the choppers collided.

The remains were taken to Madigan Army Medical Center.

The debris field covered 300 meters. Military vehicles were securing the scene.

The Fort Rucker, Alabama Combat Readiness Center is coordinating the investigation, beginning with a six member team.

Airbus Design Flaws Forced Pilots into Bad Decisions


In George’s Point of View

In the operation of the Airbus 330, a percentage of man-made decisions are taken away from humans in the cockpit. When you closely consider the Air France Airbus Flight 447 crash, it is easy to see that bad pilot decisions occurred when the pilots were not getting accurate feedback about what was happening. In old programmer lingo, this is “garbage in-garbage out.” And, unfortunately, when the data comes out of a computer, people tend to believe it, especially pilots in a falling plane, whose lives rely on that particular “garbage.”

Sure, mistakes were made. The pilot retired, leaving the cockpit to the copilots. If he had stayed in the cockpit, none of this would have happened.

Of the two remaining co-pilots, one still should have realized the other’s mistaken attitude (flying at a nose-up attitude with falling speeds.) Even something as basic as tandem cockpit control (where the flight controls move in tandem in the left and right cockpit), would have revealed to the second co-pilot what the other pilot was doing. But cockpit controls in the A330 are asymmetrical, and move independently.

If one co-pilot had caught that the junior co-pilot was flying at the nose-up attitude while the speed was dropping, none of this would have happened.

Not only did the failure of pitot tubes (the malfunctioning equipment that reads/relays airspeed) occur when they iced up, any failsafes that should have kicked in, didn’t. Thales Pitot tube icing was a known factor prior and considered by Airbus an “optional” fix. Because these tubes were frozen (iced over) airspeed data was incorrect.

If Airbus had demanded that the flawed Thales pitot tubes be replaced, the airspeed data would have been correct, and none of this would have happened.

The plane flew for a while with falling speeds, nose up. Then, the idiosyncrasy of the stall warning alarm system kicked in. When airspeed slowed too much, the warning went off, but when it slowed even more, it stopped. The pilots were in a feedback deadzone. Flying at a crawl, the warning quit. Speeding up from a crawl to slow turned set the warning off again. So when they tried to increase to the proper speed, the stall system went off.


If the stall warning system had been calibrated to go off at dangerously low speeds and keep going off until proper flight speed was attained instead of indicating to the pilots that they were wrong to increase the speed, then none of this would have happened.

It is a given that correct data and feedback are essential to a pilot. In the Airbus 330, the underlying design failed to provide accurate data and feedback. Could any pilots fly a plane if they did not know what is happening? It all comes down to a whole integration of synchronicity: a coetaneous concurrence of problems and failures converged on the pilots at once. Pilot error alone does not a crash make. Not even on an A-330.

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