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Category: <span>Lebanon</span>

Bird-Hit Flydubai Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Beirut

flydubaiFlydubai flight FZ-157 made an emergency landing in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 28th.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, flying from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was preparing to land in Beirut when a bird hit it, prompting the crew to declare emergency.

The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.


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Flight 409: Ethiopia Airlines Rejects Official Report


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner

The report from Lebanon on the January 2010 crash of ET409 has been rejected by Ethiopia Airlines. It is not surprising that they would reject it as the report blames Ethiopian airlines; specifically they cite the probable cause of the crash as being “the flight crew’s mismanagement” and “a failure in basic piloting skills,” and that the pilot flew 188 hours in 51 days with minimum rest.

The crew ate during their Beirut stop, and complained they could not sleep afterwards.

Ethiopian Airlines claims the government withheld information, and claim the plane exploded.

No sign of fire or explosion were detected in the wreckage

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Lebanon Crash Investigation Hung Up


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner

Lebanon’s public works minister announced the investigation report (re: Ethiopian jet that crashed into the Mediterranean in 2010 four minutes after takeoff on Jan. 25, 2010) has been finalized.

Ethiopia Airlines accused Lebanon of failing to provide evidence critical to the investigation. According to the airline, “The Lebanese government had failed to deliver documents, evidence, and data critical to the investigation.”

Ethiopia Airlines said that the report is only in the technical stage, that the analysis has not begin. Therefore the report is not finalized.

Revisiting Ethiopia Flight 409

We’ve been studying Ethiopia Flight 409 for a while, and now that the official investigation Progress Report is out, we have looked at it with quite some interest. The 28 page report is attached as a pdf at the end of this editorial, so if you haven’t seen it yet, we have it handy–

In some places, we find that the report corroborates some of the the points we made (or discovered in our research.)

According to the report:

“Instruments meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and the flight was on an instrument flight plan. The accident occurred at night in dark lighting conditions with reported isolated cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorms in the area.”

Their report also states:
The Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority reviewed the data from the Lebanese Meteorological Services that was collected on 25 January, 2010 after the accident. Meteorological data revealed some significant meteorological conditions in the area at the time of the accident. Relevant meteorological documents are included in the investigation file and will be analyzed during the investigation.

1.7.1 General meteorological situation
At the time of the accident, there was thunderstorms activity southwest and west of the field, as well as to the northwest on the localizer path for runway 16.

We had found a satellite photo of the area at the time in question and found something more turbulent than isolated cumulonumbus clouds. Here are the details we turned up
(thanks to Prof. Robert H. Holzworth
Departments of Earth and Space Sciences, and Physics
Director, World Wide Lightning Location Network )

WWLLN lightning strokes between (45,35.2) and (33.6, 35.7) coordinates on25 Jan 2010 between 00 and 06 UTC
.
2010/01/25,00:26:01.675091, 33.7925,  35.3157, 18.6, 15 2010/01/25,00:32:36.535404, 33.6762,  35.3223,  2.6,  5 2010/01/25,00:35:33.147928, 33.8152,  35.3989, 17.1,  9 2010/01/25,00:36:46.386409, 33.7880,  35.4182,  6.3,  6 2010/01/25,00:37:57.880969, 33.7473,  35.4083, 12.9,  8 2010/01/25,00:38:56.307703, 33.8144,  35.4480,  6.7,  5 2010/01/25,00:39:52.170965, 33.8098,  35.4486, 22.5, 1 02010/01/25,00:47:07.877656, 33.7658,  35.5138, 16.3,  7 2010/01/25,00:47:08.129640, 33.7532,  35.5187,  6.8,  5 2010/01/25,00:51:28.917459, 33.7313,  35.4897, 15.8,  8 2010/01/25,00:57:16.994854, 33.7712,  35.5668,  6.2,  5 2010/01/25,00:57:17.172976, 33.8877,  35.6009,  3.1,  5 2010/01/25,00:57:16.970924, 33.8230,  35.5664,  9.2,  5 2010/01/25,01:05:02.878083, 33.6379,  35.5348, 10.9,  5 2010/01/25,02:58:51.961652, 33.6073,  35.3703,  2.3,  5 2010/01/25,03:00:31.235850, 33.6450,  35.3881,  5.8,  7 2010/01/25,03:02:45.342786, 33.6157,  35.3553,  4.5,  7 2010/01/25,03:30:07.101084, 33.6511,  35.3185, 17.5,  7 2010/01/25,04:06:25.411422, 33.8432,  35.3648, 10.9,  5 2010/01/25,04:07:31.723296, 33.9087,  35.3844,  7.0,  5 2010/01/25,04:13:12.295902, 33.9543,  35.4151, 17.0, 10 2010/01/25,04:29:17.203911, 33.9865,  35.4613, 20.7, 10 2010/01/25,04:33:22.703869, 33.9637,  35.3229,  7.6,  6 2010/01/25,04:35:07.805894, 33.8709,  35.3297, 13.3,  8 2010/01/25,04:46:45.611497, 33.9634,  35.4145, 12.9,  6 2010/01/25,05:19:51.913652, 33.6442,  35.4520, 19.5,  8 2010/01/25,05:35:10.788571, 33.9139,  35.2087,  9.5,  7 2010/01/25,05:56:25.149281, 33.6332,  35.6535, 14.0,  7

and the satellite photo:

The plane’s on board radar would have normally registered this unacceptable massive super cell in the area where the airplane hit the ocean and the pilot would have adjusted the flight path accordingly. This makes us question if the on board radar was intact and operable. The weather system pictured in the satellite photo is not weather a pilot would voluntarily fly into. So we were not surprised to see this included in the report:

1.17.1.6 Procedure for use of on-board Weather Radar
ET provided its SOP and Boeing procedure for the operation of the weather radar during departure. The procedure will be addressed during the analysis phase.

OTHER POINTS
Our investigation pointed out that when an aircraft fails, it is a crucial part of the research to look at timely Airworthiness Directives (issued before and after) on the type of plane involved and indeed, this has become part of the ongoing research:

1.16.4.1 Removal and Analysis of the Trim Tab section:
ADs were issued (Emergency AD, AD 2010-09-05, AD 2010-17-19) by the FAA respectively on March and August 2010 regarding trim tab control mechanism and this airplane (with serial number 29935) was found affected by these ADs.
Therefore, and in accordance with the Airworthiness Group recommendation, the Investigation Committee decided the removal of the trim tab control mechanism for further test and research.

This is not the final report. The final report is due out this summer. We are looking forward to seeing if it answers some of our questions.

The Official Report


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Ethiopia 409: Almost A Year Later


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner

Update:

It has been 11 months since the crash, and families of the 90 people who died in the crash are fretting over delays in their insurance settlement. Families approaching the EIC (Ethiopian Insurance Corporation) plead for their compensation to no avail. At least the families who have hired foreign lawyers have some auxiliary power to help supplement their efforts.

The cause of the delays have been attributed to the insurance companies trying to avoid “controversial” claims, time-consuming paperwork, and waiting for the final findings of the official accident report, which is slated to be released on Jan 25 2011, exactly a year after the tragedy.

What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Beirut to Addis Ababa
Where: 2 miles west of the coastal village of Na’ameh.
When: Jan 25 2010
Who: 7 crew 83 passengers
Why: Shortly after taking off in stormy weather and heavy lightning, Lebanese ATC lost contact. The plane disappeared from radar 45 minutes after leaving Beirut. Witnesses on the coast saw the plane as it crashed into the sea.


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Storm Arrives at Beirut Airport


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Contact photographer

What: Flying Carpet Air Transport & Services Piper PA-28-235 Pathfinder
Where: Beirut International Airport, Lebanon
When: Dec 11, 2010
Why: In the course of inclement weather in Beirut, a number of small planes (including the above-listed Piper) parked on the tarmac were damaged. The storm caused delay in incoming /outgoing flights, heavily damaging at least four small training planes which were flipped or rammed into electrical poles. Winds were tracked at over 60 mph. Waves reached a height of up to 23 feet (7 meters). Heavy rains flooded the streets in Beirut and snow forced some road closures in remote mountain towns.


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Lebanon: Bird Strike


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Contact photographer Thomas Posch

What: UM Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines Douglas DC-9-50 en route from Beirut (Lebanon) to Kiev
Where: Beirut
When: Sep 21 2010
Who: 91 passengers
Why: After takeoff, an engine ingested a bird, resulting in engine problems. There were reports of an engine surge, explosion and fire which are being denied by the airport.

The crew returned the plane to Beirut where they made a safe landing. Passengers report hearing an explosion and seeing flame. On landing, passengers disembarked. No injuries are reported, nor whether slides were used or a replacement jet provided.


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Gulf Air Flight Diverts to Beirut


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Contact photographer Akin Diler

What: Gulf Air Airbus A319-100 en route from Athens Greece to Bahrain
Where: Beirut Lebanon Rafik Hariri International Airport
When: Jul 20th 2010
Who: 101 passengers
Why: While en route at an altitude of 36000 feet, the plane developed a crack in the right windshield and diverted to Bahrain. They made a safe landing at 9:43 pm. Passengers are expecting at least a 24 hour delay.


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Ethiopia Flight Makes Cautionary Landing

What: Ethiopian airplane Boeing 737-800 Flight 407 en route from Addis Ababa to Beirut
Where: Beirut International Airport
When: June 17 2010
Who: 78 passengers
Why: The flight returned to the airport because of an “undisclosed technical problem.” Crew noticed a door was rattling and had been closed improperly. (It is unclear if that was the technical problem.) The flight made a safe landing. The same plane was cleared for takeoff six hours later.


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Flight Update: Ethiopian Death Toll Rising

By nightfall tonight, 34 bodies have been recovered.

Investigative crews sort through baby sandals, and airplane parts drifting ashore. People are questioning why the flight was not delayed due to the storm raging at the time of takeoff.

The USS-Ramage, and US P-3 surveillance aircraft are helping with search and rescue efforts.

The plane was last serviced on Dec. 25.

Reports abound that the plane was seen to be on fire on its way down. If reports of an engine fire proved to be correct, it would have been difficult to handle at such a low altitude; but reports of a lighting strike, compounded by poor visibility and high winds compounded by a bird strike are equally as possible.


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Ethiopian Airlines Jet Crashes in Na’ameh Lebanon with 90 Passengers


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner

What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Beirut to Addis Ababa
Where: 2 miles west of the coastal village of Na’ameh.
When: Jan 25 2010
Who: 7 crew 83 passengers
Why: Shortly after taking off in stormy weather and heavy lightning, Lebanese ATC lost contact. The plane disappeared from radar 45 minutes after leaving Beirut. Witnesses on the coast saw the plane as it crashed into the sea. So far 9 bodies have been found by members of the Lebanese army .
Update
Initial reports of 7 survivors, became 9 bodies, and now the count has reached 21 bodies.

The site of the crash is 2 miles west of the coastal village of Na’ameh.

Fifty-four passengers were Lebanese, 22 Ethiopian, two were British and there were also Canadian, Russian, French, Iraqi and Syrian nationals.

A Cypriot police helicopter has joined the Lebanese army in the search for survivors, and two U.N. helicopters are on the scene.

Ethiopian Airlines is state owned, and has a standing order of 10 of Boeing’s Next-Generation 737-800s

The Latest Press Release from Ethiopian

ET-409 Incident – 25 January, 2010

Ethiopian flight ET-409 scheduled to operate from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25th lost contact with the Lebanese air controllers shortly after take off. The flight departed at 02:35 Lebanese time from Beirut International Airport.

Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus 8 Ethiopian Crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, 1 Turkish, 1 French, 2 British, 1 Russian, 1 Canadian, 1 Syrian, 1 Iraqi nationals.

A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information. An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the recent addition of flight services to Mombasa and Monrovia, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 35 cities in Africa and a total of 56 international destinations spanning throughout four continents.

Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 on November 25, 2009 and “Airline of the year award” from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) on November 24, 2009, bringing the total Awards honored since January 2009 to five.

In August, 2008, Ethiopian won “the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award” of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry.

Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.

Ethiopian was the winner of the ‘2008 Best Airline in Africa Award’ at the African Travel Award ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, for its excellent network and convenient connections in Africa.

For more information please contact our emergency call center at:
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