No, it’s not the return of a Japanese series of Kaiju films featuring the character Godzilla vs the Giant Panda.
A hot air ran away from home. The balloon and its balloonist fell in a residential area in San Diego County.
The balloon did not land on any houses though there were some close calls with chimneys and such. This is the same balloon that escaped to land on a median in Carmel Valley in July.
This is the same balloon caught deflating in Carmel. Video below
Three people killed during a Discovery Channel Reality Show filming probably died due to cost cutting measures by the Discovery Channel.
The “Crossbow Helicopters” Bell 206B Jet Ranger helicopter #N59518 was being used to shoot a reality show on the Polsa Rosa Ranch near Acton, California when it crashed at about 3:40 am. It broke into three pieces on impact in a rugged canyon area near Soledad Canyon Road.
Cast member Michael Donatelli, cameraman Darren Rydstrom and pilot David Gibbs died when the helicopter they were in crashed at the Polsa Rosa Ranch. The case alleges “conscious disregard of additional, unacceptable safety risk” and claims that the pilot and the various chopper companies were unfit to operate the Helicopter.
Grisel Donatelli, Amanda Donatelli and Dominic Donatelli named Discovery Communications, producers Eyeworks USA, Bongo Inc, Van Nuys Copters, Crossbow Helicopters and Orbic Air and others were named in the 23-page three count complaint.
Pilot Gibbs had a spotty safety record. His license had been suspended by the FAA several times.
On July 6, 2013 a crash occurred involving Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777. The crash occurred while the aircraft was landing at San Francisco International Airport and appears to be due to pilot error. Many incidents are attributed to pilot error, but there is rarely a single cause.
There are countless victims of general aviation and military accidents, many involving foreign claimants. These accidents range from air balloons, flight training, ground school, air ambulances, banner planes, aerobatics, helicopters, and propeller, turbo–prop and jet–powered aircraft.
The aircraft involved have been Cessna, Cirrus, Beechcraft, Piper, Bellanca, Piper, Lear Jets, Citation Jets, Bell helicopters, Sikorsky helicopters, Robinson helicopters, Aerospatiale helicopters and countless other aviation manufacturers.
Aviation operators are not immune; they are held accountable, as are maintenance facilities and private & public air traffic control centers. Below, please find News and NTSB updates on the Asiana Accident in San Francisco on July 6, 2013.
On August 13, 2013, an AA Aerial Services and Frontline Energy operated Champion 7GCAA was on a survey mission over a natural gas transmission pipeline when it crashed in Hamlin Canyon, SW of Paradise, CA. The time is estimated at 11:35 a.m.
Witness Bob Smalley saw the plane circle to the right and fall out of the sky.
The plane caught fire on impact and by the time firemen got there, the plane was gone. When they arrived, they had no idea who was aboard and the plane was beyond identification. Twenty-one acres burned. The fire was contained by six engines, four water trucks, a bulldozer, four crews on the ground and aboveground, two air tankers and a spotter plane.
Afterwards, the plane was identified as one performing surveillance contracted for PG&E. The two people aboard who lost their lives were identified only as an employee of AA Aerial Services and one with Frontline Energy Service. However, the plane was registered to Fredrick Lewis, an agricultural pilot.
Some stories of the Asiana Crash in San Francisco
Currently there are 51 hospitalized, 8 in critical condition, one child. Five fire attendants are being treated for burns.
Federal investigators talked to the pilots why they shut down the autopilot 82 seconds before landing. This was the first time the pilot had landed a 777 at this airport. When the fire started in the middle of the plane, there were passengers still in the back that had to walk through the smoke to exit, passing people trapped in their seats. Flight attendants heroically got passengers out of the plane, and tried to put out the fire.
One passenger Eugene Ra describes the instants before the crash, looking out the window knowing they were too low. THe plane’s impact was powerful enough that it snapped the plane, and the spines of at least two of the passengers. The cabin filled with smoke and fear. After the plane stopped, there was silence.
The plane flew in too low and too slow, initiating a stick shaker (stall) warning, and struck the sea wall, severing art of the tail.
Plane Crash San Francisco Asiana Airlines Crash Survivor Interview
* A cautionary note: The official investigation of the cause of the crash will take a year or more. No matter what news releases or speculations come about before the official investigation is just speculation. We do not know, for example, if some part or software in the plane malfunctioned, leading the pilots to respond as they did.
A Cessna 172 and a Cessna 172RG Cutlass collided over Westlake Village eight miles east northeast of Ventura.
The Cutlass, registered to Ameriflyers of Florida LLC made an emergency landing on the Westlake Golf Course, Westlake Village, California. Three aboard sustained minor injuries in a belly landing at 2:15 p.m. near the third hole. They were hospitalized with minor injuries.
The second plane crashed in the Santa Monica Mountains, sparking a brush fire and a search and rescue effort. The pilot was found under the wreckage.
One of the planes had left Santa Monica Airport on an engine test flight and was heading east when it collided with the other.
On April 20, 2013, a Boeing A75N1 Stearman took off from Petaluma airport and lost power at 2,000 feet before making a hard landing in a Santa Rosa vineyard near 6500 Jamison Road. Witnesses heard a plane flying low around 10 a.m..
The pilot, Patrick Bell, circled looking for a place to land before finding the vineyard.
The pilot was able to exit the plane under his own steam and although the plane flipped, Bell was uninjured.
Burbank, twenty minutes from my home!
On Jan 26, 2013, an American Airlines Boeing 738 flight took off from John Wayne Airport en route to Dallas, and suffered a bird strike (or more properly, three of them), and diverted to Los Angeles International Airport where they made a safe landing.
Impact with the birds occurred around 7:30 a.m. (Does that make them early birds?)
They landed safely around 8:00 a.m.
Click if you want to see flight details on Flight Aware
On Jan 2, 2013, a Luscombe 8A Silvaire crashed in Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation area, a park in San Luis Obispo County. State Park rangers and Five Cities Fire Authority arrived on the scene.
The pilot’s name, Glen Philip Ray, was released Thursday along with his cause of death: sharp force trauma injuries.
The only one aboard the vintage plane (circa 1937) was the pilot. A memorial celebrating Ray is scheduled on Jan. 13 at noon at Art Craft Paint in Santa Maria.
The pilot, who is a former marine, flew commercial cargo planes, restored planes and took side jobs working on various aircraft. He owned his plane but on the ground, instead of a car, he mostly got around by bike.
The NTSB investigator handling this accident is Howard Plagens. The investigation is expected to take a year, although a preliminary report will probably be available in ten days.
What: Skywest Embraer en route from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles
Where: Los Angeles
When: Dec 6th 2012
Who: 1 injury
Why: While landing in Los Angeles, the flight encountered turbulence.
The pilot made a safe landing, but one flight attendant was injured by turbulence.
What: DSB Inc Glasair III
Where: Byron, California
When: October 23, 2012
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: Five miles from the nearest airport, the small home-built Glasair III crashed in a field near Byron, California, killing two aboard. A witness saw the plane “corkscrewing toward the ground.”
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 655DB Make/Model: EXP Description: GLASAIR
Date: 10/23/2012 Time: 2103
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION City: BYRON State: CA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN A FIELD, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, 4 MILES FROM BYRON, CA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
Three settlements of five cases have finally been made in the lawsuits concerning the plane crash that killed Brian Finn, Andrew Ingram, and pilot Douglas Bourn. In 2010, Bourn’s Cessna 310R clipped high-voltage power lines and a utility tower in dense fog crashing into a Beech Street neighborhood. Ingram’s parents and aunt, Finn’s wife and daughter, and East Palo Alto residents Ervin and Pinkie Hudleton have settled, but no agreement has been reached with Lisa Jones and Jose Cortez-Herrera. Jones’ day care center and home, and Cortez-Herrera house were damaged in the accident.
Details of the settlements have not been published.
What: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s patrol Air-24-American Euro Copter
Where: Lakewood California
When: Oct 21, 2012 8:50 p.m.
Why: The flight crew heard a loud noise from the helicopter and made an emergency street landing at Del Amo Boulevard and Paramount.
After making a safe landing and determining that a bird had struck the fuselage above the pilot canopy, they returned to the helicopter and flew back for repairs.
Lakewood Sheriff Deputies handled traffic until the helicopter left the scene.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Dallas to Orange County
Where: LAX
When: October 6, 2012
Who: 162 people aboard
Why: American Airlines had another emergency Saturday, with a Dallas-Orange County flight making an diverting to LAX’s longer runways. The emergency diversion was needed due to a wing flap problem. Flaps help brake the plane. We’re glad they made it down safely.
We have thought of suggesting a new tag line: If it is American, it must be maintenance. Optimistically speaking, maybe all this trouble, which is likely bankruptcy related, is temporary.
Emergency vehicles were on the scene. Passengers disembarked and were provided an alternative flight with working flaps.
We hope the seats were bolted in.
What: Asplundh BELL 206B HELICOPTER helicopter crash
Where: Pole lake road southeast of Mammoth Lakes, near Deer Springs Road
When: Sept 19, 2012, 12:30
Who: 2 aboard
Why: Two Asplundh employees were working on power lines and crashed near the lake causing a small fire. They were taken to Mammoth Airport and ambulanced to Mammoth Hospital. They suffered minor injuries.
According to the FAA preliminary report, the rotorcraft tail rot0r struck the ground and crashed 12 miles from Mammoth lakes California.
Mono County Sheriff’s Department, Mammoth Lakes Fire Department, Long Valley Fire Department, Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, and Mono County Paramedics responded to the scene.
What: KTLA EUROCOPTER AS350 helicopter
Where: Hollywood Boulevard and Franklin Avenue.
When: August 28, 2012 1:00 pm
Who: pilot and passenger
Why: When the helicopter started giving off blue and white smoke, the first to see it was the pilot of another helicopter.
KTLA pilot Tim Lynn declared an emergency, then made a forced landing in a parking lot of the senior center at Hollywood Boulevard and Franklin Avenue.
The incident was witnessed by SKY2 pilot Dan Catalano (who taught Lynn to fly heicopters.)
The smoke came from an oil leak. Some newspapers report two aboard the helicopter but the FAA entry only reports the presence of the pilot.
What: DEL RIO AVIATION INC Arrow Falcon UH-58C crop-duster helicopter
Where: Escalon, about 70 miles southeast of Sacramento, CA
When: August 27, 2012
Who: 1 aboard
Why: 8 a.m. Monday a cropduster crashed in an orchard. According to his son, the 71-year-old pilot, Bill Cavanaugh, has 20,000 hours of flying.
Cavanaugh sustained injuries and was hospitalized at San Joaquin General Hospital.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing en route from Oakland to Reno
Where: Oakland
When: August 28, 2012
Who: 119 passengers
Why: Southwest Flight 2899 took off but moments later at about 9:30 a.m., a flight attendant smelled smoke.
Pilots diverted the flight back to Oakland and made a safe landing. Fire and rescue crews were on standby.
What: Southwest Airways Boeing 737 en route from San Francisco to Denver
Where: Oakland
When: August 28, 2012 7:48 a.m.
Who: 143 passengers
Why: The flight made an emergency landing at Oakland due to cabin pressurization problems. Fire and rescue crews were on standby.
Passengers were provided another flight which arrived in Denver two hours late.
What: VIRGIN Australia Boeing en route from Brisbane to Los Angeles
Where: Los Angeles
When: August 27, 2012
Who: 416 passengers
Why: The flight made an emergency landing in LA when it developed problems with its landing gear.
Emergency services were on standby during the landing. Fortunately, pilots made a safe landing with no injuries reported.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jason Whitebird
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from San Diego to Atlanta
Where: Los Angeles
When: Jul 25th 2012
Who: 259 passengers, eight crew
Why: The flight was en route to Atlanta but when the landing gear did not retract, pilots diverted to Los Angeles.
They made a safe landing at 12:30 pm. No one was injured, and passengers were provided alternative flights.
What: Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow en route from Mammoth Lakes to Palomar Airport
Where: I-15 & W. El Norte Pkwy, Escondido, CA
When: July 22, 2012, 11:25 p,
Who: 4 aboard
Why: After the plane was rented, it ran out of gas en route. The pilot, Pilot Ken Gheysar, managed to make a safe landing on a highway in light traffic.
No one was injured, but a 1996 Dodge Dakota pickup clipped the plane’s left wing while the plane was sitting on the shoulder.
The pilot and his family were returning home from a weekend in Mammoth Lakes.
It was towed by 8:20 a.m. with damage too severe to fly out.
What: Homebuilt Europa en route from Gillespie Field
Where: Route 67 in Santee
When: July 21, 2012
Who: Pilot
Why: When his engine locked up in a turn after taking off from Gillespie Field, pilot Wayne Oehler of El Cajon made an emergency landing on to the freeway near Riverton road. A California Highway Patrol officer saw the plane in distress and flying low, and cleared the road.
What: Cessna 150
Where: San Diego bay
When: May 26, 2012, 4:20 p.m
Who: 2 aboard, no fatalities
Why: A Cessna towing a banner lost engine power. Pilots informed ATC, cut free the banner they were towing and ended up in San Diego Bay, Missing the Hilton Hotel. The plane sank; the pilot and passenger aboard were recovered uninjured, by passing boaters.
A salvage company is going to recover the plane from the bay.
See videos below:
What: Cessna 210 en route from Phoenix to Van Nuys
Where: Glendale
When: May 21, 20128:30 pm
Why: A plane crashed in Glendale, hitting power lines and knocking out service to 2,100 customers near the crash site. The pilot notified ATC of engine trouble near the El Monte Airport, and said he was trying to reach Van Nuys Airport before he lost contact with ATC.
THe plane struck power poles and a tree before impacting the ground in a residential front yard. Three homes were evacuated but no one on the ground was injured.
The pilot went to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with injures but was released Monday night. Police said he did a good job avoiding causing damage to other people and property. The Cessna is owned by Allen K. Heng and James Roth. Heng was not aboard at the time of the crash.
