Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Radek Oneksiak
What: Expressjet/Continental Express Embraer ERJ-145 flight 2496 en route from Houston to Louisville
Where: Louisville
When: 7 pm
Who: 47 aboard
Why: On landing, the plane developed a problem with one of its flaps (emergency flap failure). The pilot made a safe landing with no injuries.
The flight was attended by airport emergency crews.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Randall Johnson
What: Westjet Boeing 737-700 en route from Montreal to Calgary
Where: Winnipeg
When: Oct 6 2010
Who: 105 aboard
Why: While en route, the plane emitted an alert, and subsequently made an emergency descent and landing. Although they received an emergency indicator engaged, there were no problems with the landing. Emergency services were on standby.
Maintenance determined that the problem was due to a faulty sensor, and replaced same.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Nino Buda-CYYZ Aviation Photography
What: Air Transat/ Boeing 737-800, en route from Havana Cuba to Montreal,QC Canada
Where: Florida
When: Jan 17th 2011
Who: 167 aboard
Why: While en route south of Miami, the plane encountered turbulence. The seat belt sign was on, and cabin crew were seated. The flight experienced turbulents for about two minutes and the plane dropped 500 feet before stabilizing. There were no injuries. The flight continued on to Montreal.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Stefan Sonnenberg
What: Air Greenland de Havilland Dash 8-200 en route from Nuuk to Paamiut
Where: Nuuk
When: Oct 25th 2010
Who: 11 passengers and 3 crew
Why: While en route, a fire was reported in the lavatory. Smoke was detected in the cabin. The crew returned to Nuuk where they made a safe landing.
Maintenance found an oil leak in the bleed air system.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Karl Nixon
What: Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 en route from Cyprus to Athens to Prague, Czech Republic
Where: Athens
When: Aug. 14, 2005
Who: 121 passengers
Why: Before losing radio contract, pilots reported trouble with the air conditioning system. In the flight, cabin pressure failure knocked out the pilots. They made it to Athens, but the plane ran out of fuel and crashed. Crash video shows fire fighting planes controlling fires, bodies, baggage, airplane spread over a large debris field, the tail and engines relatively intact. At the time of the crash, except for one pilot (who was observed trying to land the plane), everyone aboard was comatose due to lack of oxygen.
In the case, prosecution failed to prove that German pilot Hans-Juergen Merten and his Cypriot co-pilot Charalambos Charalambous didn’t meet the minimum standards
A Cyprus court has acquitted four former airline officials of manslaughter charges.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Flavio Guerra
What: GOL Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-700 en route from Bauru to Sao Paulo Brazil
Where: Bauru
When: Feb 2 2010
Who: 82 on board
Why: Prior to take-off, the engine presented an automated warning sufficient to deter the pilots from taking off. Details about the warning have not been made public although they were adequate for Gol to begin an investigation. While the original plane went into maintenance, a replacement plane was provided within four hours.
While we of course have no idea what the warning was, nor how important an issue it represented, we commend GOL for taking proactive action and responding to warning systems as they were intended to be. Hopefully maintenance will become as diligent as the crew that actually has to be in the plane aboveground.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Federico Villadei
What: Itali Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Milan to Naples
Where: Milan on Feb 10th 2010
When: Feb 10 2010
Who: 6 crew
Why: After takeoff, the plane’s engine left a trail of sparks and was vibrating. A quarter of an hour later, the plane returned to the runway for a safe landing in spite of hydraulic damage. The speculation is that ice ingestion caused damage to the engine and hydraulics, but of course that is an open question until after the investigation.
