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Contact photographer Mario Aurich – AirTeamImages
What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 from Hartford to Fort Lauderdale
Where: Fort Lauderdale
When: Dec 2nd 2010 6:10 pm
Why: The flight was landing in Fort Lauderdale when there was a bird strike which damaged the flaps. A replacement plane was provided for the return flight.
Air India flight AI-019, form Delhi to Ahmedabad, landed in emergency at Sanganer Airport, Jaipur, India, on August 22, after its left engine failed.
According to an ATC official, “The pilot informed Jaipur air traffic controller (ATC) about some technical problem in the aircraft after which it was diverted.” One of the passengers said, “We got message from the captain that the left engine has failed and the plane will land at Jaipur.”
The Airbus-321 safely touched the runway at 7:25 a.m. None of the 104 people aboard reported any injuries.
The aircraft was grounded for examination and repair.
Air France flight AF-1755 made an emergency landing in Toulouse, France, on April 18th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane heading from Algiers, Algeria, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, was diverted after the crew noticed a hydraulic problem.
The plane landed safely. All 140 passengers and 6 crew members remained unharmed.
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Contact photographer James Scott
What: Japan Air Commuter de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from Tanegashima to Kagoshima
Where: Kagoshima
When: Mar 25th 2009 10:26 a.m
Who: 42 passengers
Why: When the left hand engine’s oil pressure dropped, the pilot shut down the engine and continued on to Kagoshima. Maintenance crews discovered significant damage in the engine. There were no injuries reported.
This was also reported as a Bombardier Inc. DHC-8-Q400. The Bombardier Dash 8 was formerly known as the de Havilland Canada Dash 8; Bombardier acquired de Havilland Canada (DHC) .
Six minutes after takeoff from Malta, an EasyJet Airbus A320 with a 150 passengers had an engine failure, shut down the affected engine, and returned to Malta. One source said there was only a technical problem and the shut down was just a precaution. No injuries were reported. Passengers described noises like retracting landing gear thumping louder and louder.
Passengers were held in the departures lounge.
The plane made a safe landing with emergency services on standby.
Passengers disembarked after the engine was checked. They were sent a replacement flight to take them to London with a five hour delay.
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Contact photographer
What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 from Miami,FL to Boston,MA
Where: Miami
When: Oct 26th 2010
Who: 154 passengers and 6 crew
Why: A half hour after takeoff, the plane developed rapid decompression at 31,000 feet requiring oxygen masks, an emergency descent and a return to Miami.
Maintenance found a one by two foot hole in the hull.
Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!
Even with AD Directives issued, this was still missed. Was there telltale evidence prior to this event that could have prevented endangering 154 passengers and six crew?
The hole in the hull is not unprecedented. Sixteen months prior to flight AA-1640, Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight 2294, (another Boeing suffering a hole in the hull in July 13, 2009), the FAA has already issued Airworthiness Directive 2010-01-09 mandating inspection requirements. At that time, they ascribed the hull failure to a design fault: Fuselage skin failure due to preexisting fatigue at a chemically milled step.
It’s an easy enough thing to visualize-picture slightly squeezing an empty cola can, then blowing into it; and repeating the process, over and over. In a soda can, it would not take the 20 years this plane has been flying for the stressed areas to develop a crease, and eventually crack.
Not that a soda can is expected to sustain the significant pressures at 10,000+ feet, nor does it have the design flaw of chemical milling, nor is its skin made of single and double bonded layers. If it were, one could theoretically presume and anticipate metal fatigue to occur at the weakest location–the edges of where the metal is double-bonded.
In the Southwest Airlines event, it was observed that the progression of metal fatigue tends to be higher at the borders between chemically milled and non-chemically milled bays.
The inspection requirements in SB 737-53A1301 require inspections to detect cracks in the vulnerable areas (the chem-mill step) to avoid sudden fracture and failure of the fuselage skin panels.
Did this plane undergo “repetitive external non-destructive inspections to detect cracks in the fuselage skin“?
Carriers out there, when there are directives which indicate potential problems, pay attention!
If not for the stellar performance of this flight crew, this plane would have been a statistic.
Thank you, John D King for sending the links.
Pictured: A FedEx Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11
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Contact photographer Javier Cáceres
What: Fedex McDonnell Douglas MD-11 en route from Cologne Germany to Memphis,TN
Where: Atlantic Ocean
When: Nov 12th 2009
Why: While en route, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and diverted to Goose Bay where they landed safely.
