Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Category: <span>Legal</span>

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4 Killed after Cargo Plane Crashed in Indonesia

A cargo plane crashed in Papua province of Indonesia, on October 31st.

The plane took off from Timika, Papua, and was heading to Ilaga, Papua, when it went down.

All four people aboard the plane were killed in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Committee is investigating.


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Eastern Airways Plane Diverts to Manchester

Eastern AirwaysEastern Airways flight T3-9625 made an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on July 24th.

The plane heading from Newcastle, England, to Geneva, Switzerland, was diverted due to indication of an engine malfunction.

The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.

A replacement plane was arranged for the passengers.


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Polar Air Cargo Plane Returns to Hong Kong due to Fire Warning

Polar AirPolar Air Cargo flight PO-654 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on May 13th.

The Boeing 747-400 freighter plane, en-route to Seoul, South Korea, had to turn back due to a cargo hold fire warning.

The plane landed uneventfully. All crew members aboard remained safe.

No evidence of fire was found upon inspection.


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Denver Based Startup Plans Supersonic NYC-London Flights in 3.4 Hours

Boom Technology, a Denver, Colorado, based startup, wants to build a supersonic airplane that will be able to fly at 1,451 miles per hour, i.e. 2.6 times faster than any of the current airliners.

The company says its 40-seater aircrafts, at their cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, will reduce the time to fly from New York to London by half. So for a roundtrip price of $5,000, the travelers will be able to cover this distance in only 3.4 hours. Boom founder Blake Scholl said, “Imagine departing from New York at 6 a.m., and landing at Heathrow by 2:30 p.m. London time… You’ll be able to make afternoon meetings, you can stay until 9:30 p.m., have a full productive day, and and back in New York at 8 p.m. [local time] so you can tuck your kids into bed.”


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Air India Plane Tyres Burst during Landing in Mumbai

Air India flight AI-630 burst two of its main tyres upon landing at Chhatrapati Shiva International Airport, Mumbai, India, on March 15.

The Airbus A320-200, flying from Nagpur to Mumbai, had landed on Mumbai’s runway when the tyres burst during roll out.

An emergency evacuation was initiated after the aircraft became disabled.

There were 161 people on board, out of whom some received minor injuries during evacuation.

Metrojet Flight 9268 Crash: Egypt’s Investigation Committee Refers Case to Attorney General

imagesEgypt’s independent investigation committee into the Metrojet flight 9268 crash has referred the case to the attorney general.

The committee said on March 17th that the decision was made after they received an official report from Russia suggesting that “criminal activity” was behind the deadly crash that killed all 224 people aboard.

The plane, heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, went down in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on 31st October last year.


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Metrojet Flight 9268 Crash: Egyptian President Says the Plane was Deliberately Downed

Egyptian authorities have said for the first time that the Russian commercial jet that crashed on 31st October last year in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was deliberately downed by terrorists.

Metrojet flight 9268 was heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, when it went down, killing all 224 people on-board. Islamic State had immediately claimed the responsibility, and Moscow’s investigation report had also claimed that a bomb downed the plane. However, the local authorities previously rejected these claims and maintained that a technical fault caused the accident.

In a television speech on February 24th, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, “Has terrorism ended? No it has not, but it will if we unite. Whoever downed the Russian plane, what did he mean? He meant to hit tourism, and to hit relations with Russia.”

Sisi’s comments are the first official indication from Egypt that the plane was deliberately crashed.

Lufthansa: Safekeeping Profits or Passengers?

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Accident to the Airbus A320-211, registered D-AIPX and operated by Germanwings, flight GWI18G, on 03/24/15 at Prads-Haute-Bléone

According to the BEA, they will release the final report on Germanwings 9525 on Sunday, March 13, 2016 during a press briefing. I plan to be there.

Although the public has not seen the final report, and indeed, as the investigation has not yet even been completed, the world already understands what happened aboard this tragic flight. What we really do not understand—and perhaps never will—is what drove Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to research cockpit door security and methods of committing suicide. We do not know what drove a depressed human being to impel the plane and all the lives in his safekeeping into the side of a French mountain, condemning every soul aboard that plane to death. We do not know the devils that hounded him into this cold-blooded act. We only mourn, perhaps, his loss of humanity, as we mourn alongside the grieving families who have been robbed of their loved ones and their rightful lives.

All passenger/families received a total of 8 million euros, divided equally among them. Media reports on what passengers received from Lufthansa varies.

In the German media, the Rheinische Post claimed officials of the German airline said families of the 144 passengers have obtained different compensation amounts. It is also reported that Lufthansa group has paid 11.2 million euros ($12.48 million) to the families. Additional “uncalculated” compensation in “property damages” is still coming from Lufthansa to the families.

This compensation…coming from Lufthansa, whose 2014 profit was declared “flat” at a mere $31.7 billion, announced in October of 2015 a nine-month net profit of €1.75 billion ($ 1.97 billion), up 262.7% from €482 million. The tragedy which destroyed 150 lives, and crippled all of their families appears to have left Lufthansa’s bottom line untouched.

Do we also mourn and grieve and condemn Lufthansa? The depth of the ethics and principals of this many billion dollar company—the largest airline in Europe—remains to be seen. We can ask ourselves if this is a high-principled company of good repute, of sterling honor. We need not conjecture long. A tangible answer will be obvious when these decisions are made. We will see where lie their priorities when we learn how they treat the families whose lives hang in the balance in their custodianship.


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WestJet Plane Diverts to Boise due to Medical Emergency

WestJetA WestJet plane had to divert and make an emergency landing at Boise Airport in Idaho, on December 29.

The plane, heading from Calgary, Canada, to Phoenix, Arizona, was diverted after a passenger fell sick mid-air.

The plane landed safely. The patient was rushed to the hospital.

The flight resumed shortly afterwards.


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Turkish Airlines Jet Makes Emergency Landing in Russia

Turkish airlinesA Turkish Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in Irkutsk, Russia, on December 26.

The Boeing 737-900 plane was diverted while it was heading from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

The plane landed safely. There were over 150 passengers aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.

The plane resumed the flight after refuelling.

The reason for emergency landing is not clear at the moment, although it is suspected that bad weather or a technical glitch might have prompted the decision.

Trigana Air Flight 267 Crash: Black Box to be Sent to France after Unsuccessful Data Retrieval Attempts

Trigana AirAccording to a preliminary report released by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), the black box from Trigana Air jet that crashed in August will be sent to France for data retrieval.

The flight TGN267 crashed after it lost contact with the ATC during a flight from Sentani airport, Jayapura, to Oksibi, Papua. There were 54 people aboard at the time; all of them were killed.

The report released on October 7 said, “The downloading process to retrieve data from the FDR was unsuccessful. For further examination, the FDR data will be downloaded at BEA facility in Paris, France.”

The report further said that the cockpit voice recorder had a 2-hour recording but it did not give any clue as to what caused the crash.


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Furious Air France Workers Attack Executives Over Job Cuts

Air FranceAbout 100 Air France employees stormed a management and union official meeting on October 5, after the airline announced plans to shed 2,900 jobs in the next 2 years.

The airline, which is struggling to compete with global rivals, announced job cuts after failing to convince its pilots to work longer hours on same salary.

The airline’s human resources manager Xavier Broseta and the head of long-haul flights Pierre Plissonnier had to flee from the angry workers, with their shirts torn off.

Seven people, including a security guard, were injured in the incident.

French President Francois Hollande said, “Social dialogue matters and when it’s interrupted by violence, and disputes take on an unacceptable form, it can have consequences for the image and attractiveness” of the country.”

A criminal investigation has been launched into the incident.


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American Airlines Flight Diverts to LAX

american airlinesAmerican Airlines Flight 123 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on September 18.

The plane, heading from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Texas to Honolulu, Hawaii, was diverted after the pilot noticed a mechanical issue.

The plane landed safely on runway 25-R. All 216 passengers remained unhurt.

Plane Flying Overhead Suspected after Chunk of Ice Smashes through Roof of Modesto House

ice holeAn aircraft flying high over Modesto, California, is being suspected after a large chunk of ice crashed through a house on September 9th.

According to the resident Monica Savath, she was with her family in the living room when they heard a loud bang. Upon checking, they found a hole in the garage’s roof and shattered ice.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Mathews, it could be a loose frozen vapor from an aircraft.

Trigana Air Service Flight 267 Reported crashed into Mountain

Trigana Air Service 267 took off from Sentani Airport in Jayapura and was scheduled to land in Oksibil at 3:16 p.m. It did not arrive at its destination. Local villagers reported seeing the plane crash into a mountain in the Okbape district of Pegunungan Bintang Municipality in Papua. There were 49 passengers and 5 crew aboard the domestic flight. The search was cancelled due to weather conditions and nightfall.

Originally owned by Resort Air and Trans States Airlines as N421TE, the 27-year-old ATR-42 turboprop had a wheel separation incident in its history before it began flying for Trigana.

Trigana Air is on the EU blacklist

Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Indonesian: Badan SAR Nasional or Basarnas) reported this:

basarnas


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Flight Nurse Dies after Falling from Rescue Helicopter in Austin

A flight nurse died after falling from an EC-145 helicopter in Austin, Texas, on April 27.

The nurse, identified as, 46-year-old Kristin McClain, was attempting to hoist a female hiker who had fallen near Barton Creek Greenbelt during hiking.

The nurse was pronounced dead at the spot.

The rescued woman was shifted to University Medical Center-Brackenridge with non-life-threatening injuries.

The helicopter is operated by STAR Flight. Program officials said in a statement, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kristin’s family and friends during this difficult time… She will be greatly missed.”

The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.


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MH17 Crash: Mother of German Victim Sues Ukrainian Government

Malaysia AirlinesMother of a German victim of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has sued the Ukrainian government for keeping the airspace open during military conflict.

The MH17, en-route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed on July 17 in the Ukrainian airspace. It is presumed that the plane crashed after it was shot by a surface-to-air missile fired from Donetsk region of Ukraine. All 298 people aboard the plane were killed in the crash.

According to media reports, the mother of a German victim has claimed that the government of Ukraine did not close the airspace during military conflict because of millions of dollars which the country makes through foreign commercial flights. She has filed the case in the European Court of Human Rights, asking for about $1 million as a compensation for the suffering she had to endure.

Renowned German lawyer Elmar Giemula, who is a professor of aviation law, will be presenting the case in court.


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Midway Plane Crash: Elderly Couple Files Lawsuit Against Airline

Aero commanderChicago-based law firm, Corboy & Demetrio, has filed a negligence lawsuit on behalf of Raymond Rolinskas, 84 and his wife Roberta Rolinskas, 82, whose house was destroyed by a small plane crash on November 18.

The small Aero Commander 500 aircraft, registered to Fairway-based Central Airlines, crashed into the elderly couple’s house immediately after departing from Midway International Airport, Chicago. The pilot of the plane, 47-year-old Eric Howlett, lost his life in the crash, while Raymond and his wife remained uninjured.

According to Matthew Jenkins of Corboy & Demetrio, “While thankfully Roberta and Raymond did not suffer any physical harm, the emotional trauma has been devastating to them…Hearing, seeing and feeling an airplane crashing just inches away from them has caused severe emotional distress.”

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on November 25, lists Central Airlines, Inc. as the defendant.

This is an update of ‘Small Plane Crashes into House Near Chicago Midway International Airport’.

Press Release: FAA Proposes $295,750 Civil Penalty Against Skywest Airlines

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faa

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $295,750 civil penalty against SkyWest Airlines, Inc. of St. George, Utah, for allegedly violating DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations.

The FAA alleges SkyWest failed to include more than 150 safety?sensitive employees in its random drug testing pool. Further, SkyWest allegedly failed to receive verified negative drug test results for two other employees before hiring one for, and transferring the other to, safety-sensitive positions.

The FAA also alleges SkyWest subjected three employees who were not in safety-sensitive positions to post-accident drug tests that are only applicable to safety-sensitive employees, and improperly cancelled a return-to-duty test because it was not directly observed.

SkyWest is scheduled to have an informal conference with the FAA this month to discuss the matter.


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Amateur-Built Raven Crashes Long Island Sound, Pilot Killed

The pilot of an amateur-built fixed-wing Raven powered by a Lycoming engine was killed when he crashed into Long Island Sound eight miles north of Mattituck Inlet, on July 7, 2014. The pilot was alone aboard the plane. Divers recovered his body from the Sound and is in the custody of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.

The submerged plane was still floating around noon, and a tow boat has been scheduled to tow it to Mattituck. Emergency responders included Coast Guard Station New Haven, rescue personnel, Suffolk County police marine unit and Southold EMTs, Jamesport Fire Department and Riverhead police.

A seaplane pilot witnessed and reported the plane going down about 9:30 a.m. Initially his Cessna was incorrectly reported as being the one that went down.

An investigation is underway.

Compensation after Fifteen Years

I know I’ve said before how cases take a long time. Sometimes they drag on in unexpected ways. Take for example the LAPA case. On August 31 1999 Líneas Aéreas Privadas Argentinas scheduled Flight 3142 (LV-WRZ) to fly Buenos Aires–Córdoba with a hundred and one persons aboard. The twenty-nine year old Boeing 737-204C failed to get in the air because the flight crew forgot to put the flaps in the appropriate position for flight. Instead of shooting into the air, the plane sped through the perimeter fence, across a street, struck a car and collided with a median and machinery on the road.

The accident took sixty-five lives, two of them not even on the plane. Forty aboard were injured, seventeen of them seriously. NTSB records say there were 80 fatalities and 21 minor injuries.

That’s what is widely known. What many do not know is that after the accident, nine families were given the wrong bodies. Those bodies were exhumed, checked, delivered to the correct families, and reburied at the cost of Argentina’s First Chamber of the House. The financial cost associated with all of this was covered. Not the emotional cost.

Three of those families affected will be compensated 100 thousand dollars plus interest.

In my heart of hearts, I do believe no amount of money can ever compensate for the wear and tear on the families due to the mix-up, even if at the time, the hasty mistake was well-meaning (or expedited due to politics.) Can you imagine what the families went through, seeing the resting places disturbed, then having to endure new funerals? It must have been like losing them more than once—refreshing the whole misery of loss a multiple of times. I cannot help but wonder about the families who were not compensated. I wonder if it has been so long that there is no one left to pay.

This can be of no assurance to the families of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. It is further proof that aviation crash cases do take a long time. Tragedy is tragedy. There is no best case scenario in a tragedy.


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Smoke and Other Issues in Flight

Just like it happens with cars, obscure plane parts wear out. Take for example an incident that happened in 2008, when a 747 cable burned out after the protective covering was worn off due to friction against a bolt.

Take a look at this final report on this 747 smoke event on Eva Airways Flight BR67 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Prior to this event, Boeing had sent out a service Letter to inform operators of the potential fire hazard from the arcing of a wire bundle which might result in a fire on Corrosion Inhibiting Compound (CIC) contaminated insulation blankets. They predicted it. It happened.

So as we think about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. There is always the possibility that some small component like the one below failed, and led to something catastrophic. What if the pilots were overcome by smoke in the cabin? I am not saying that this DID happen, I am only saying there are myriad small parts that can lead to catastrophic events. It makes sense to look at any and all Boeing 777 safety advisories, in case they might predict some small event that cascaded into disaster.

Thanks to input from John King.


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$325,000 Civil Penalty Against Alfa Chemistry

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $325,000 civil penalty against Alfa Chemistry of Stony Brook, New York, for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

The FAA alleges that on two separate FedEx cargo flights, Alfa Chemistry shipped undeclared hazardous material that DOT regulations prohibit from being transported on passenger and cargo aircraft. The company allegedly shipped approximately one pint of Acrolein on April 19, 2013 and three additional pints of it on May 23, 2013. Acrolein can become explosive when combined with air and is classified as a toxic/poisonous material and flammable liquid under DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations.

On May 24, 2013, FAA and FedEx personnel tried to inspect the second shipment of Acrolein at the FedEx sort facility in Peabody, Massachusetts, after it began emitting a strong, pungent odor. However, they were unable to examine it because they began to experience coughing fits and extreme eye, nose and throat irritation due to the severity of the odor and vapors coming from the shipment. A FedEx employee had to put on a protective suit to inspect the shipment.

The FAA determined that neither shipment had required shipping papers or emergency response information. The FAA also determined that the May 23, 2013 shipment was not marked, labeled, or packaged as required by the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Additionally, the FAA determined Alfa Chemistry failed to properly train and test the employees who packaged the Acrolein.

Alfa Chemistry has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

$51,651 Civil Penalty Proposed Against AAA Services


The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration’s proposes a penalty of $51,651 against All American Aviation Services, LLC for FAA drug and alcohol testing regulation violations. All American allowed eight employees in sensitive positions without securing their drug and alcohol testing records, and failed to abide by follow-up testing procedures on two marijuana-positive testees.

One employee who tested positive was excluded from the random testing program, and one employee who failed a test failed to provide the return to duty test result.

The discrepancies came to light during a March 2013 inspection where the company’s antidrug and alcohol misuse prevention program was audited.

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