Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Tag: <span>George Hatcher</span>

South African Airbus Turbulence Injures 28 over #Malaysia

southafricanairwaysSouth African Airways Flight SA286, an Airbus A340-313X, was en route from OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa, near the city of Johannesburg to Hong Kong International Airport when it encountered severe turbulence four hours from Hong Kong while over Malaysia. The plane suffered cabin damage.

Three crew and twenty-five passengers were tossed out of their seats and into the ceiling. THere were 163 passengers aboard. Fourteen ambulances waited at Chek Lap Kok airport to transport the injured to North Lantau Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and Yan Chai Hospital. Two people are still hospitalized.

Pilots continued to Hong Kong and made a priority landing.
injured
The injured were taken off the plane and hospitalized.

Malaysian authorities will be assisting the Civil Aviation Department in the investigation.

*A priority landing means that the incident leads to the aircraft being given landing priority by the airport where it is about to land.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Update on United 777 Diversion to Henderson Field Airport Midway Atoll.

midwayatoll

United Airlines revealed what went wrong on Flight 201.

A problem with the equipment supply cooling fan on board the Boeing 777 caused the problems which required the pilots to divert to Midway to land there in the dark. The passengers waited in a gym until the replacement flight arrived.

The plane that flew in to Midway to pick up the passengers also brought parts and a repair crew. The plane with the bad fan was fixed, and returned from Midway Island back to San Francisco.

In fact, it was returned to service.

Now we’d like to hear about the passengers getting their luggage back.

Read More


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Small Crash Kills 4 in Russia

On July 13, 2014, around 18:00 Moscow time, a Yakovlev Yak-18T crashed in Ryazan, Russia six miles from Spassk killing four.

Initially, police reported three dead: the pilot and two passengers.

However the names have been released, and there were four aboard. The report said that a local resident engaged the plane in agricultural work.

The pilot, who owned the plane and was flying, was Edward Rustamyan, born in 1958.

Passengers were Valery Baranov, born in 1968, resident of Ryazan, Karen Harutyunyan, a resident of Ryazan, born in 1981.The third passenger was Armenian, Tigran Adamyan, who arrived in the Ryazan this May.

Air India Emergency Bird Strike in Newark NJ

duck77An Air India Boeing 777 en route from Newark to Mumbai had 292 passengers and 21 crew aboard when it took off at 4:36 in the afternoon. Witnesses saw flames shooting from the left engine when flight 144 took off.

Pilots reported problems with the left engine, and twenty-two minutes after taking off, returned to land in Newark.

The landing must have been pretty hard, because tires were blown. The airport’s New Jersey spokeswoman Erica Dumas described it as a “rough landing.” Also, the left engine problems were attributed to a bird strike.

Passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations while they rebooked.

*No ducks were injured in the photoshopping of this B777 windowseat snapshot.

United 777 Diverts to Remote Pacific Island

midwayatoll

On July 11, 2014, United Airlines flight 201, a Boeing 777-222 was four hours on the ground before the flight, with passengers waiting as some technical problem on the plane was worked out. Departure time of this flight is recorded as 18:16 but it is normally around 14:30. Then when the flight was enroute from Honolulu to Guam, the plane developed fire, haze or smoke in the cockpit. Pilots made an emergency landing at Midway Islands after Radar and Radio Comms were lost but the transponder continued working. Passenger luggage is still stuck on the tiny runway at Henderson Field Airport Midway Atoll.

The incident was unannunciated, which means that it had no alert, and the crew had to sense it (i.e. see/smell) but while underway, a smoke alarm was triggered.

None of the 335 passengers or 13 crew sustained injury.

According to flightaware, United Airlines flew in a replacement B777 which landed 5 1/2 hours later, spent an hour on the ground and brought the passengers back to Honolulu.

Corsica Crash site of Lost Plane, Three Fatalities

cime

A single engine plane en route from Calvi to Terni Italy crashed in the mountains of Cime de Muzzicone fifteen minutes after take-off.

The three people aboard died on impact.

Their bodies were found after a search in the area of Cime Muzella, where the single-engine aircraft disappeared from radar screens on Jule 12.

The wreckage was found around 4000 ft, in the mountains after a search that was hampered by the same bad weather conditions that may have been responsible for the crash. The names of the fatalities have not been released.

Mexico Cessna Sport Fishing Hop has at least four fatalities

mexicocrash

On July 10, a Cessna 206 en route from Tamaulipas to Veracruz with seven aboard crashed in eastern Mexico has killed four people and injured two. The fall of the plane did not affect the residents of the town. No cause has been reported for the plane failure.

The pilot reported engine failure at 22:18 to Veracruz ATC around the time the plane disappeared from radar..

The wreckage is being recovered at Rancho Coralillos in the town of Alto Lucero. The remains of four people were found aboard the plane. (Number varies.) Two injured have been named as Sergio Rage Marrón and Jorge Arturo Velázquez Amorringa.

The number of fatalities has been raised to five. The bodies inside the plane were burned, and difficult to identify.

The injured were taken to a private hospital in Veracruz.

The passengers had been going to a sport fishing competition.
mexicocrash2

The Secretary of Civil Protection and the Municipal Civil Protection and a navy Mi17 helicopter responded to the scene.

Mooney Crashes Home Near Golf Course

planecrash
A privately owned Mooney M20M TLS crashed into two homes in Greenwood at 2:19 p.m. on Patterson Street across from the Valle Vista Golf Course.

The pilot was the only fatality. The co-pilot was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital in critical condition.

Two people were aboard.

At least three were injured in the accident. Two people on the ground sustained injury.

Two homes in the first block of Patterson Street were damaged after the plane lost power during takeoff.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

American Airlines Flight Diverts to St. Louis

American Airlines flight 1691 was en route from Newark to Dallas Texas and diverted to Lambert Airport in St. Louis when passengers aboard the flight were concerned about a passenger’s use of an electronic device.

The person in question was taken into police custody.

The flight continued to Dallas.

The person who was the security risk was taken off the plane in police custody but released after the interview, and provided a hotel room. The passenger will be provided another flight.

TAP Diverts to Paris with Air Conditioning Emergency That Sets off Warning Bell

bellA TAP Air Portugal Airbus A320-214 was en route from Lisbon, Portugal to Amsterdam when it developed a problem with the air conditioning.

Pilots made an emergency landing in Paris at Orly airport.

None of the 72 passengers was injured.

However, an online twitter post assumed that the problem was an engine fire because an engine bell was heard during radio transmissions to ATC. There was no fire.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

#Delta Emergency Landing in Knoxville TN

A Delta McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Orlando to Cincinnati made an emergency landing in Knoxville after pilots reported smoke coming from the plane.

The five crew and all the passengers put on oxygen masks but removed them on landing as a ground crew inspected the outside of the plane. Emergency services did not see smoke or fire.

The unplanned landing was uneventful. A replacement flight was provided for to accommodate 52 passengers. There were no injuries, but there was a discrepancy of the number of people reported aboard.

FAA Receives Unleaded Fuels Proposals in Safe Fuel Initiative

vintageFAA Receives Unleaded Fuels Proposals

The Federal Aviation Administration announced today it has received ten replacement fuel proposals from producers Afton Chemical Company, Avgas LLC, Shell, Swift Fuels and a consortium of BP, TOTAL and Hjelmco, for further evaluation in the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI). The industry-government initiative is designed to help the general aviation industry transition to an unleaded aviation gasoline. The FAA will be assessing the viability of the candidate fuels to determine which fuels may be part of the first phase of laboratory testing at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center.

The goal is to have a new unleaded fuel by 2018.

“We’re committed to getting harmful lead out of general aviation fuel,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This work will benefit the environment and provide a safe and available fuel for our general aviation community.”

The 167,000 general aviation aircraft in the US that rely on 100 low lead aviation gasoline for safe operation are running on the only remaining transportation fuel in the United States that contains the addition of lead.

Commercial planes have never used leaded gas.

Congress authorized $6 million for the fiscal year 2014 budget to support the PAFI test program at the FAA Technical Center. PAFI was established to facilitate the development and deployment of a new unleaded aviation gasoline with the least impact on the existing piston-engine aircraft fleet.

The FAA asked fuel producers on June 10, 2013 to submit proposals for replacement fuels by July 1, 2014. The goal is to identify, select, and provide fleetwide certification for fuels determined to have the lowest impact on the general aviation fleet.

The FAA will analyze the candidate fuels in terms of their impact on the existing fleet, the production and distribution infrastructure, their impact on the environment, their toxicology and the cost of aircraft operations.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Chanhassen Pilot, Family Injured in New Mexico Cessna Crash

Four people flying from Ames to a Las Vegas New Mexico airport in a CESSNA
210L were injured when the plane crashed on landing on July 2nd 2014.

The critically injured pilot, James Fretham, was hospitalized with broken bones and spinal injuries. He is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where the plane is registered. The injured passengers, his wife Elizabeth and two daughters Grace and Caitrin, have been released from a Santa Fe hospital

Reports say that Fretham had surgery on July 4.

The plane was about to land in cloudy weather, but Fretham had to pull up to avoid hitting a truck obstructing the runway. The plane crashed when a wing glanced the ground.

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

faa
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.

Malaysia Air Asia Runway Excursion, Plane Skids off Runway

Selfie posted online, excursion in background
Selfie posted online, excursion in background
An Air Asia Airbus A320 en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Brunei International Airport, Brunei suffered a runway excursion on landing.

The airplane touched down and went off the side of the runway, and stopped in soft turf.

Passengers disembarked via emergency slides directly on to the runway.

The landing occurred under wet conditions.

excursionslides

Near Miss in Barcelona Captured

snapshot from video below
snapshot from video below

On July 5, 2014, an Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-300 (LV-FPV) headed from Barcelona,SP (Spain) to Buenos Aires,BA (Argentina) was taxiing for departure as a UTAir Boeing 767-300(VQ-BSX) en route from Moscow, Russia to Barcelona was on approach. As the video shows, it looks like a close call. The UTAIR saw the Airbus on the runway, and less than ten seconds from touchdown pulled up and performed a go-around, making a safe landing fifteen minutes later.

The Airbus took off twenty minutes later. The incident is under investigation, and it has not been determined if this was an Air Traffic Control error or if the Argentinian plane was there without clearance. The airport and ATC say that there was sufficient clearance for landing, and neither Aerolineas Argentinas nor UTAIR filed a safety report.

On Jul 7th 2014,an investigation was opened into the runway incursion.

786_293_le_ad_


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

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.

Tracking Down #MH370 or Physics of an Air Space Game of Marco Polo


The guessing/math triangulating the path of Inmarsat’s pings was the only thing experts seemed to agree on regarding to pinning down the location of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Yet at the location, at least, the location according to the data laying out the path according to Inmarsat’s analysis, nothing was found in the recent search of the ocean floor off the coast of Australia. The engineers and mathematicians involved may have done their best but the guess seems to have been faulty or otherwise off somehow. If you will pardon the circular reasoning, if only we knew how it was off, we would know how it was off.

Investigators have come up with two maps that can be drawn based on the ping data, based on the speed. The variation is due to considerations of the pings which do not indicate the speed or direction the plane was moving, but only the probable distance between plane and satellite. See Inmarsat’s global representation …

Inmarsatglobe

However, there is opposition to the Inmarsat calculations which is presented by * Michael Exner (founder of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation) **Duncan Steel(physicist and visiting scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center) and satellite technology consultant ***Tim Farrar which presents other data that should be considered. See the Dopplar shift jpg…

dopplarshift

My pragmatic response to these experts is a major simplification: just that the plane did not disappear into a textbook, under textbook conditions. The pings occurred in a real atmosphere, with atmospheric variations that were not and possibly could not have been taken into account. Not only are the speed, direction and height of the aircraft factors that must be taken into account, but also the quality of the atmosphere, density, weather, etc, plus factors that a non-mathmatical, non-scientist like myself would not even know how to bring into the picture. In this search at least, the untested math used is as vulnerable as statistics is to presenting a defective or imprecise representation, or a representation which would only be true under certain conditions.

For further study on this, * Michael Exner, the Atlantic Official Explanation article, input from physicist **Duncan Steele (who calculates “a uniform ring radius based on the aircraft-satellite range given the elevation angle and the satellite’s altitude, and the latitude of the sub-satellite point, the aircraft being taken to be at the same latitude in this simplified geometry; and satellite consultant***Tim Farrar.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Complete Preliminary Information #MH370

Friday, May 02, 09:30 PM MYT +0800 Media Statement 30 – MH370 Incident

Malaysia Airlines wishes to make further clarification on the following matters:

1) Malaysians On Board

Malaysia Airlines confirms that 38 passengers of the 239 persons on board MH370 on 8 March 2014 were Malaysians. The names of the 38 Malaysians on board had been earlier shared in the Passenger Manifest which has been made public previously. Please see attached document for names of all Malaysian passengers onboard MH370.

2) Exchange of Signals and Aircraft in Cambodia

On the exchange of signals between ground and the aircraft soon after Ho Chi Minh Air Traffic Control advised that radio contact had not been established with MH370, as carried in the recently released MH370 Preliminary Report, Malaysia Airlines clarifies that what was referred to as signals was actually the aircraft displayed on the ‘Flight Following System’ screen. This was based on the aircraft projection at that point of time and not the actual aircraft position.

When KL-ATCC (Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre) Watch Supervisor queried Malaysia Airlines OPS (Operations) on the status of MH370, Malaysia Airlines OPS informed KL-ATCC Supervisor that MH370 was still sighted over Cambodian airspace in the Flight-Following System, which is based on a flight-projection.

The word “Cambodia” was displayed by the Flight-Following System on the screen when zoomed-in, leading Malaysia Airlines to deduce that the aircraft was flying in Cambodian airspace. The Flight-Following System did not display the name “Vietnam”, even though the aircraft was over Vietnam airspace.

The responsibility of aircraft tracking monitoring resides with Air Traffic Control Centres. For airlines, it is normal to engage flight following systems to assist its pilots to manage in weather conditions or route diversions. Such airline flight following systems are non-primary and non-positive controlling.

Flight following systems also do not trigger airlines of any abnormality. Such situations have to be pilot initiated. Unless otherwise, airlines’ operations control centres would continue to see the aircraft as flying on its normal route, based on projected or predicted positions and locations.

To make the flight-following systems work successfully and effectively, it is important to have visual depiction of the aircraft’s position, coupled with confirmation by air-to-ground communications, such as through ACARS or Satcomm or VHF or HF.

In the case of tracking MH370, Malaysia Airlines’ flight-following system indicated that the aircraft was flying, however, there was no communication from or with the pilot. Malaysia Airlines OPS attempted to communicate with MH370 after we were flag by KL-ATCC, but was never able to make contact.

3) On the Cargo Carried

About 2 tons, equivalent to 2,453kg, of cargo was declared as consolidated under one (1) Master Airway Bill (AWB). This Master AWB actually comprised 5 house AWB. Out of these 5 AWB, two (2) house AWB contained lithium ion batteries amounting to a total tonnage volume of 221kg. The balance 3 house AWB, amounting to 2,232kg, were declared as radio accessories and chargers.

Ends.

Thursday, May 01, 07:00 PM MYT +0800 Media Statement 29 by Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Group Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Airlines

Kuala Lumpur – 55 days since Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370’s disappearance on 8 March 2014, a multi-nation search is still ongoing for the missing aircraft, its passengers and crew.

This enormous search mission was carried out with the support from more than 20 states, firstly in the South China Sea, in the Malacca Straits, and on land along the Northern Corridor, and since mid-March when specialised assets were deployed in the air, on the sea and underwater in the southern Indian Ocean, where top experts concluded the aircraft’s last known position was.

Despite such an intensified search operations, probably the largest one in human history, we have to face the hard reality that there is still no trace of the aircraft, and the fate of the missing passengers and crew remains unknown till this day.

Malaysia Airlines is acutely conscious of, and deeply sympathetic to the continuing unimaginable anguish, distress and hardship suffered by those with loved ones on board the flight.

We share the same very feelings and have been doing whatever we can to ease the pain of the families and to provide comfort for them.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in Australia has announced early this week that the search operation in the southern Indian Ocean will be moving to a new phase in the coming weeks, and it is certainly not ending.

In this new phase, the Malaysian Government, working together with Australia and Chinese governments, other international partners and specialised companies, plans to intensify the undersea search by deploying more technologically advanced assets in the search zone.

The Malaysian Government recently announced its decision to establish an international investigation team led by Malaysia. The members will include accredited representatives from the US, UK, Australia, China, France and Singapore. Also included are representatives from relevant international organisations and the civil aviation industry.

This investigation is an independent process in accordance with ICAO standards and recommended practices. Malaysia Airlines commits itself to fully support this independent investigation and provide full information and assistance as required.

From past experience, we understand the continuing search and investigation would be a prolonged process. While Malaysia Airlines is committed to continuing its support to the families during the whole process, we are adjusting the mode of services and support. Instead of staying in hotels, the families of MH370 are advised to receive information updates on the progress of the search and investigation and other support by Malaysia Airlines within the comfort of their own homes, with the support and care of their families and friends.

In line with this adjustment, Malaysia Airlines will be closing all of its Family Assistance Centres around the world by 7 May 2014.

Malaysia Airlines will keep in close touch with the families on news updates through telephone calls, messages, the Internet, and face-to-face meetings. With the support of the Malaysian Government, the airline’s Family Support Centres will be established in Kuala Lumpur and in Beijing. The detailed plan of follow-up support and services will be informed in person to the families.

Malaysia Airlines will make advanced compensation payments soonest possible to the nominated next-of-kin who are entitled to claim compensation, in order to meet their immediate economic needs.

Such advanced payments will not affect the rights of the next-of-kin to claim compensation according to the law at a later stage, and will be calculated as part of the final compensation.

Immediately after the next-of-kin have returned home, our representatives will be in touch with them at the earliest opportunity to initiate the advanced compensation payment process.

At this very difficult time, we wish to once again thank everyone for their understanding and support, especially from the families of the passengers and crew on board.

Malaysia Airlines’ thoughts and prayers remain with the families of all those onboard MH370.

-Ends-

Below statement and attached documents were made public and shared with NOKs at 8:27pm (Malaysia local time), 1 May 2014:

 

Audio Below

  1. 1. ATC Delivery
  2. 2. KL Ground
  3. 3. KL Tower
  4. 4. KL Approach
  5. 5. KL Radar

IF ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS BELOW DO NOT SHOW IMMEDIATELY, CLICK WHERE THE MESSAGE SAYS “HERE” AND THE DOCUMENT WILL LOAD TO VIEW.

Actions Taken Between 0138 and 0614

Cargo Manifest and Airway Bill

Maps

MH370 Preliminary Report

Seating Chart


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Sara Bajc on MH370, plus some thoughts on conspiracy theories

Sara Bajc, partner of Philip Wood, a passenger who is presumed lost on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, does not believe believe that #MH370 crashed and is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. She believes the plane is intact because there have been no bodies, no wreckage, no black boxes found and published in the media.

This isn’t news. It is one woman’s opinion. Probably the opinion of many family members of those aboard the plane. And why not? If I had someone lost aboard a missing plane, I too would probably support any kind of theory that kept hope of their survival alive. Can’t put a price on hope.

But.

What if there were a cockpit fire that emitted toxic smoke and destroyed electronics?

What if someone shot down the plane?

What if someone used some new Sci-Fi-like weapon?

What if Malaysia did track the plane on March 8 as this tabloid says?

What if the UK firm Inmarsat tracking is wrong? What if it is right?

I’ve written enough fiction (and lived in spitting distance of Hollywood’s crazy cereal of fruits, nuts and flakes) to know that the marriage of “what if” and a couple of rational-sounding factoids can birth everything from a practically real-life scenario to wildly impossible science-fiction-fantasy voodoo whacko-crazy delights. So there you have it.

You know what I believe? No one has the answers. Until someone is standing in front of me with proof, in my not-so-secret heart of hearts published in full naked glory out here on the internet, I will believe that anyone who says they think they know…is paranoid.

Now…how can I fit all of this into a tweet?


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Malaysia Search Update

Examination of salvage floating off the coast of Australia revealed riveted sheet-metal that is not believed to be part of the missing plane, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has said.

The matter was found 6 miles east of Augusta. The search has been ongoing since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s disappearance on March 8, guided by data, hampered by bad weather.

The search is continuing based on analysis of the location of the pings that were detected before the black boxes’ pinger battery ran out. It had been expected to last 30 days. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing had been en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing and veered far off course for unknown reasons, leaving a puzzle perplexing international authorities.

Read more:

New Malaysian MH370 Investigation Team Appointed by Government

#MH370 Statement by Orion Captain regarding #Search Status

MH370: One Ping Does Not A Discovery Make. Or Does it?

Prime Minister Endorses Australian-based search

Malaysia Airlines MH370 Where Are You? Can Satellites Tell Us

Stolen Passports aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370

No Mayday, then Gone

Malaysia Airlines Flight Update

Malaysia Airlines Flight Missing

UN Chopper Down in Monrovia with Injuries

monrovia

Impromptu landing in Thinkers Village in Monrovia.
An RA 22426 United Nations helicopter carrying 5 health workers and 4 crew from Spriggs Payne Airport to River Gee, Fishtown made a forced landing when the pilot detected engine problems. Only the pilot and possibly a crew member sustained injuries; apparently they had deep cuts in their heads. The pilot was taken by ambulance to be hospitalized.

The Mil Mi-8AMT was operated by UTAir.

None of the health workers reported injury.

The pilot warmed the engine from around 11: 30 to 11:50, then took off with passengers and landed twice with mechanical issues.

broken-mil-wheel
During the forced landing/crash, the helicopter impacted a building under construction and another structure. Both were destroyed. The chopper’s right tire broke and the chopper’s front end sustained damaged. Liberia National Police and UNMIL Security responded to the scene and an investigation is underway.

Wake Turbulence Found Guilty

aircraft.jpg__atkinson_Preliminary investigation of the Indian Air Force Lockheed C-130J-30 Super Hercules that crashed on Friday March 28, 2014, killing five, indicates that the accident may have been the result of wake turbulence.

The Hercules that crashed 72 miles from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh was in a twoship formation on a training mission when it flew into the wake turbulence of the lead aircraft. Because of the low altitude (300 feet), the crew could not establish control in order to avert the crash.

The mission was flying from Agra-Kheria Air Force Station to Gwalior Airport, India.

Although the findings reportedly rule out “technical error,” incidents resulting from wake turbulence (i.e. composed of wingtip vortices and jet wash) are generally considered pilot error. Jet wash gases from engines dissipate quickly, but vortices from the wings can last three minutes.

Although most incidents resulting from a plane flying in another’s wake turbulence are reported in takeoff and landing situations at airstrips, it is also a hazard in formation flying, so that planes in the far position must concentrate on staying on or above leader’s glide path. Vortices sink at a rate of 90 to 150 meters/minute

The ICAO has separation minima standards for take-off and landing.

Content not attributed to or linked to original, is the property of AirFlightDisaster.com; all rights reserved.

Site Credits