Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Month: <span>February 2012</span>

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TAAG Lost Communication, Emergency Landing in Lisbon


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tiago Palla – Portugal Spotters

What: TAAG Angola Airlines Boeing 777-300 en route from Lisbon (Portugal) to Luanda (Angola)
Where: Lisbon
When: Feb 27th 2012
Who: 197 passengers
Why: On departure from Lisbon, ATC said that the frequency was blocked. The pilots began responding to Lisbon on the wrong frequency, squawking loss of communication.

Communication was restored, then was lost again, intermittently. ATC directed that the other radio be turned off and changed to the correct frequency. The radio began blocking frequencies again, and pilots returned to Lisbon for a safe landing.

Eighty minutes after departure (ten minutes after the safe landing) the airport resumed normal operations.

All airlines out of Angola are on the EU banned list, banned from flying in the European union, with the exception of 3 Boeing 777-200s, 2 Boeing 777-300 and 4 Boeing 737-700s of TAAG Angola Airlines.

Atlanta Emergency Landing with Jammed Nose Wheels


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Frank Robitaille

What: United/Shuttle America Embraer ERJ-170 en route from Atlanta,GA to Newark,NJ
Where: Newark
When: Feb 27th 2012 6:20 p.m
Who: 69 passengers and 4 crew
Why: While on approach to Newark, the crew received a gear disagreement msg, and aborted their approach. Fire and other rescue crews were on the scene; ground crews sprayed the plane with foam fire retardant.

While circling, the crew attempted to fix the problem and performed a flyby. The flyby indicated that the nose gear was not down. ATC is recorded as saying “You got no nose gear… Door might have opened. Saw a little bump.”

The pilots replied “Even if you see that nose wheel down, we’re not going to know it’s completely down and locked. I would like to go ahead and declare an emergency at this time. And request fire rescue when we get there, assuming we stop on the runway.”

The pilots landed on the second approach and performed a belly landing.

As the plane filled with smoke, passengers evacuated via slides and were bussed to the gate. They were well prepared; passengers were alerted to the impending rough landing when the plane was 45 minutes out.

Note: “Examination found that the nose wheels were found turned perpendicular in the wheel well, impeding extension.” The problem may have originated with the hydraulics.



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Southwest Plane Incurs Damage from Tampa Bird Strike

What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Austin,TX to Tampa,FL
Where: Tampa
When: Feb 27th 2012
Why: While on approach, a bird impacted the Southwest Boeing.

Pilots made a safe landing. There was substantial damage to the plane

Guatamalan Rescue Chopper Crashes after Attempted Rescue


What: Guatemalan air force helicopter Bell UH1H
Where: Quebrada Seca, Petén Guatemala
When: Feb 28 2012 10 am
Who: 10 fatalities
Why: After a civilian chopper crashed, the Guatemalan air force helicopter on a regular Tuesday mission went to assist in the rescue but crashed en route. The seven officers and three air force specialists diverted from their mission “to supply some detachments are located in the Laguna del Tigre,” and died in the crash in bad weather in the mountainous area. It appears that when the military chopper reached the scene of the first crash, the rescue had already been handled, so they elected to continue on their mission, and it was on the continuation of the journey to Peten that the accident occurred.

According to eyewitnesses, the helicopter lost power near the village of Quebrada Seca, in the vicinity of the town of San Luis.

Three were crew—two lieutenants and a specialist—and the seven passengers were a flight lieutenant, two second lieutenants of aviation, a second lieutenant of infantry, two specialists and an aére-military policeman. (José Everardo Portillo Salazar, Manuel Ovalle Garcia and Armando Barrientos Mynor, the lieutenants Jose Alejandro Rodriguez and Flores Be Zechariah, Amilcar specialist Humberto Leon and Manuel Escobar Axpuac, Emerson Reyes and Paolo Rivera Martinez Galindo Elbu Stuart, One person was unidentified.)

Pilot Lieutenant Everaldo Portillo had more than 700 flight hours.

The first chopper apparently hit power lines which apparently helped break the fall. It crashed in the El Guarumo in Semox village on Guatemala’s Caribbean coast ( Livingston, Izabal). Three injured survivors of the original crash were taken to del Hospital Roosevelt in Morales, Izabal. The survivors of the first crash were listed as Carlos Larios Aguilar, 48, the pilot of the ship John Paul Moran, 52, and mechanic Jose Gomez, 28. The first chopper was #TG-SAN, also out of Petén.


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NTSB Safety Recommendation A-12-7


The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration:

Require repetitive inspection of Engine Components, Inc. cylinder assemblies produced between May 2003 and October 2009 (serial numbers 7709 through 52884) installed on Teledyne Continental Motors model 520 and 550 engines and removal of these cylinder assemblies once they reach the engine manufacturer’s recommended normal time (hours) in service between overhauls. (A-12-7)


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Five Lost in Military Chopper Collision

What: USMC HMLA-469 Bell UH-1Y Venom
Where: Yuma, AZ
When: Feb 22, 2012, 8 pm
Who: 5 aboard, 5 fatalities
Why: The helicopter was engaged in night flight exercises on February 22nd near Yuma, AZ when it collided with a smaller two person chopper. Service members with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing were involved.

The crash happened west of the Chocolate Mountains in California.

The names of the five fatalities have not been released.


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Military Chopper Crashes during exercises

What: USMC HMLA-469 Bell AH-1W Super Cobra
Where: Yuma, AZ
When: Feb 22, 2012, 8 pm
Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: The helicopter was engaged in night flight exercises on February 22nd near Yuma, AZ when it collided with another flight. Service members with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing were involved.

The crash happened west of the Chocolate Mountains in California.

The names of the two fatalities have not been released.


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EASA Proposes Fatigue Across the Board

New European rules ‘harmonizing’ the workload limits across 27 member states could allow pilots to fly aircraft for 22 hours without sleep, increasing a pilot’s work day from 16 hours 15 minutes to 20 hours, and the maximum shift time for a long haul flight with two pilots from 12 to 14 hours, as well as eliminating the need of a third pilot on long-haol flights.

The proposals have raised the attention of BALPA, The British Airline Pilots Association.

The seventeen percent increase in workload will result in a 5.5% higher chance of an accident.

It is inconceivable how EASA can call “flying farther with less rest-time, more frequently (7 starts in a row), no back up crew and more fatigue” bringing standards “up” when it is actually leveling down safety standards. Such a workload flies in the face of the constructs of human biology.

But the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) “has said they have no fundamental problem with the rules.”

Ground Resonance Rattles Brazilian Chopper to Bits


What: Corpo de Bombeiros Militar do Estado do Pará Helibras HB 350BA Esquilo
Where: Benevides Brazil
When: Feb 22, 2012
Who: 4 aboard, no fatalities
Why: The rescue chopper vibrated itself apart after landing.

“Ground resonance” occurs when a sitting helicopter’s rotors become unbalanced while spinning. A resident expert says this can happen because of a hard landing; the best way to get it to stop is to pull collective and break contact with the ground. (At the time, that would feel counter intuitive, I would think!)


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NTSB Recommendations

National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
February 23, 2012

The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration:

Modify the design and test requirements for the attachment points of passenger service units to account for the higher localized loading that results from the relative motion of the attachment structure. (A-12-1)

Require that the installation design for overhead bins and passenger service units (PSU) manufactured by Boeing and installed in Boeing 737NG series airplanes be modified so that the PSUs remain attached to the bins or are captured in a safe manner during survivable accidents. (A-12-2)

Review the designs of manufacturers other than Boeing for overhead bins and passenger service units (PSU) to identify designs with deficiencies similar to those identified in Boeing’s design, and require those manufacturers, as necessary, to eliminate the potential for PSUs to separate from their attachments during survivable accidents. (A-12-3)

Develop test criteria and performance measures for negative-g strap assemblies to better evaluate their real-world loading capability during accident sequences. (A-12-4)

Once test criteria and performance measures are established as recommended in Safety Recommendation A-12-4, amend 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25, as appropriate, to include the newly developed test criteria and performance measures for negative-g strap assemblies. (A-12-5)

Require that negative-g strap attachment brackets manufactured by Ipeco be retrofitted with stronger brackets. (A-12-6)

************************************************************

The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration:

Require Boeing to develop a method to protect the elevator power control unit input arm assembly on 737-300 through -500 series airplanes from foreign object debris. (A-11-7)

Once Boeing has developed a method to protect the elevator power control unit input arm assembly on 737-300 through -500 series airplanes from foreign object debris as requested in Safety Recommendation A-11-7, require operators to modify their airplanes with this method of protection. (A-11-8)

Require Boeing to redesign the 737-300 through -500 series airplane elevator control system such that a single-point jam will not restrict the movement of the elevator control system and prevent continued safe flight and landing. (A-11-9)

Once the 737-300 through -500 series airplane elevator control system is redesigned as requested in Safety Recommendation A-11-9, require operators to implement the new design. (A-11-10)

Require Boeing to develop recovery strategies (for example, checklists, procedures, or memory items) for pilots of 737 airplanes that do not have a mechanical override feature for a jammed elevator in the event of a full control deflection of the elevator system and incorporate those strategies into pilot guidance. Within those recovery strategies, the consequences of removing all hydraulic power to the airplane as a response to any uncommanded control surface should be clarified. (A-11-11)


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Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 Transponder again and again and again…


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Serdar Yorulmaz
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Chicago to Paris
Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Paris to New York over Prestwick
Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York to Germany over Canada
Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Dublin to New York (ferry flight)
Where: Atlantic
When: Feb 17th, 18th and 19, 2012
Who:
Why: While en route between Chicago and Paris, the plane’s transponder failed.
The same thing occurred on the Paris-New York flight on Feb 18;
and on the New York to Frankfurt flight on Feb 18 over Canada;
and on the Dublin to New York flight on Feb 19.

There has obviously been a problem here.

The transponder code (or “squawk code”) or altitude information is designed to help air traffic controllers to identify the aircraft and to maintain separation. The plane can fly without it, but what if the safety space is breached and there is an incident?

At least the last flight was a ferry flight, and on landing, the transponder is replaced, or whatever underlying factor that is causing this is corrected! The MEL (Minimum Equipment List) does have parameters for this.


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Fake Cigarette Leads to On Board Assault


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jens Breuer

What: United Boeing 737-800 en route from Portland to Houston
Where: Portland
When: Feb 21st 2012
Who: 1 unruly passenger
Why: Twenty minutes after departing, the flight was back in Portland dropping off Yazeed Mohammed Abunayyan, after he had taken a swing at a flight attendant, and hit several passengers prior to being subdued and handcuffed. The Saudi Arabian passenger was yelling profanities, and chanting about Osama bin Laden and his hatred of women.

A relative says Abunayyan suffers from schizophrenia. The cousin, Fahad Alsubaie who was accompanying Yazeed said he was escorted off the plane too, and that the disruption began after a flight attendant confronted the two for sitting together.

Last Sunday Abunayyan led police on a slow-speed chase in the Southern Oregon town Sunday, ramming two police cars and nearly hitting a pedestrian, charged with drunken driving and assaulting an officer and was released on bail Monday. The cousin was there too, trying to stop the car by taking the keys.
Abunayyan said that the “other person inside me” was driving.

Continental bans the use of electronic, simulated smoking materials


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Overrun in NY


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer o Ralph Duenas

What: Trans States Airlines Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Chicago O’Hare,IL to Rochester,NY
Where: Rochester
When: Feb 22nd 2012
Who: 42 passengers and 3 crew
Why: The flight made a fast landing on the wet runway in less than ideal conditions, overrunning the edge of the runway.

There were no injuries. Passengers disembarked and were driven to the gate; the plane had to be towed, which closed the runway. The plane had minor damage.


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Mexico Police Air Crash Kills 3

What: Policía Federal Rockwell-Gulfstream 695 Jetprop Commander 980
Where: El Refugio en el Municipio de Acatic, Mexico
When: Feb 21, 2012, 21:00 pm
Who: 3 aboard, 3 fatalities
Why: In the town of Refugio Padrone, the Jetprop Commander 980 crashed. The names of the three victims have not been released.

State Unit of Civil Protection and Fire Jalisco (UEPCBJ), the Attorney General of the State (PGJE) are investigating.

Rio Vista Collision


What: Beechcraft 35-A33 Debonair
Where: Rio Vista California
When: Feb 19 2012
Who: 2 aboard
Why: After the helicopter and plane bumped over Rio Vista, the pilot had to make a hard landing short of Byron Airport, 8 miles south of Rio Vista Municipal Airport. Apparently the plane struck the chopper’s skids. The 1961 six-seat Beechcraft plane involved in the collision is registered to Ronald A. Gawer of Brentwood in Contra Costa County.

When the Solano Fire crews arrived on the scene, they found the pilot with minor injuries, and the passenger was unhurt.

According to the owner of the chopper flight school, the chopper was hit from behind by the Beechcraft.

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 433JC Make/Model: BE33 Description: 33 Debonair, Bonanza (E-24)
Date: 02/19/2012 Time: 1844

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: Y Missing:
Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
City: RIO VISTA State: CA Country: US

DESCRIPTION
N7508Y, A ROBINSON R22 HELICOPTER, AND N433JC, A BEECH A33 AIRCRAFT
COLLIDED, NEAR RIO VISTA, CA

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: Other

FAA FSDO: SACRAMENTO, CA (WP25) Entry date: 02/21/2012

California Chopper Collides with Plane Midair


What: Vertical CFI Helicopters Robinson R22 Beta II
Where: Rio Vista California
When: Feb 19 2012
Who: 1 aboard
Why: The helicopter clipped the plane over Rio Vista. The chopper was eight miles from the airport when it crashed.

Although the contact broke off the tail of the chopper and ended the severed rotor up 50 feet from the fuselage, the pilot walked away. She was reported to be unhurt; She is an experienced commercial airplane pilot who was logging night-flying hours alone toward a helicopter license.

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7508Y Make/Model: R22 Description: R-22
Date: 02/19/2012 Time: 1844

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: Y Missing: N
Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
City: RIO VISTA State: CA Country: US

DESCRIPTION
N7508Y, A ROBINSON R22 HELICOPTER, AND N433JC, A BEECH A33 AIRCRAFT
COLLIDED, NEAR RIO VISTA, CA

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER

FAA FSDO: SACRAMENTO, CA (WP25) Entry date: 02/21/2012


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Turbulence aboard Delta Flight


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Raúl Sepúlveda

What: Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Los Angeles to Detroit
Where: Detroit
When: Feb 18th 2012
Who: 2 injured
Why: The flight was on approach to Detroit and flew into turbulence.

A passenger and a flight attendant were injured.

The flight landed safely in Detroit. The flight attendant was hospitalized.


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Emergency Landing in Bangladesh

What: United Airways ATR en route from Dhaka to Chittagong
Where: Hazrat Shah Amanat International Airport
When: Feb 20, 2012 8:20pm
Who: 50 aboard
Why: The pilot was en route to Chittagong when the plane developed a problem with one of the engines. On advice from ATC, the pilot was able to land safely ten minutes early.

Examination has not uncovered the engine problem.

A replacement jet has been provided for the return flight.

ATC adviced

Snowstorm Impairs Family’s Landing in Colorado

What: Cessna 414A Chancellor En route from Texas to Hayden.
Where: Yampa Valley Regional Airport, Hayden, Colorado
When: Feb 19 2012 3:30 p.m.
Who: 6 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: Before flying to Colorado, the plane left Corpus Christi International Airport at 9 a.m. and stopped in Dalhart, Texas. By the time they reached Colorado, there was a heavy snow storm. The flight was coming in to the airport, and with zero visibility crashed 30 yards short of the airport.

Of the six aboard, two—a man and a woman—were killed on impact and four were injured. The plane crashed 300 yards from the airport’s fire station but did not catch afire. The four injured were conscious when they were taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs. They had been going to Steamboat Springs for a ski vacation.

The name on the plane’s registration is Scott A. Humpal of Woodsboro Texas. The pilot and Humpal’s wife Gabby were the victims of the crash. Humpal and his three children survived the crash.

Eleven year old Sara, the youngest daughter, has a broken back. She is scheduled for surgery Monday. Scott has a punctured lung.

The NTSB is investigating.


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Airbus Emergency Landing in Dusseldorf

What: Air Via Airbus A320-200 en route from Bourgas to Dublin
Where: Dusseldorf
When: Feb 17th 2012
Who: 3 crew
Why: While en route on the ferry flight, the left engine gauge indicated low oil, signifying an oil leak.

Pilots diverted to Dusseldorf where they made a safe landing.


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Rome: Air Contractors Emergency Engine Fire


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Fabrizio Gandolfo

What: Air Contractors Avion de Transport Regional ATR-42-300 en route from Rome to Ancona
Where: Rome
When: Feb 16th 2012
Who: flight crew (cargo flight)
Why: On takeoff, the engine caught fire.

The flight was cancelled. The situation is under investigation. Maintenance is examining the right engine.


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Moscow Runway Excursion


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Oleg Drul

What: Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-96 en route from Goa India to Moscow Russia
Where: Moscow
When: Feb 16th 2012
Who: 265 passengers
Why: After making a safe landing at Moscow airport, while the plane was navigating the runway, its main gear went off the snowy runway.

Passengers disembarked from the stranded plane on to terra firma via mobile stairs.

There were no injuries. The plane had to be towed, tying up the runway until it was removed.


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American Airlines Emergency Landing in NY


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Peter Heck

What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Miami to New York
Where: New York
When: Feb 17th 2012
Why: On approach to New York, the plane developed problems with the left engine and pilots shut down the engine.

They made a safe landing with emergency services on stand-by.


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Air France Bird Strike in Madrid


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Kim Philipp Piskol

What: Air France Airbus A319-100 en route from Paris to Madrid
Where: Madrid
When: Feb 17th 2012
Why: On landing in Madrid, the Airbus incurred a bird strike.

Although the pilots made a safe landing, the return flight for that plane was cancelled due to damage to the plane.


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Beechcraft Baron Crashes in Brazil killing 4

What: Norte Táxi Aéreo Beechcraft 95-B55 Baron en route from Cametá to Baião
Where: Cametá, PA Brazil
When: Feb 16 2012, 10:00 am
Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
Why: The Taxi service plane crashed not long after takeoff, killing the pilot, copilot and two security guards who worked transporting money for a bank. A fire ensued after the crash, and rescuers found the bodies were charred.

The crash occurred a kilometer from the runway. The airport fire department team responded. Seripa (regional research and prevention of Aviation Accidents) is investigating.

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