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Contact photographer Timo Jäger
What: Bulgaria Air Airbus A320-200 en route from Sofia to Moscow
Where: Sofia
When: Dec 10 2010
Who: 29 passengers and 7 crew
Why: On takeoff, part of the engine fell off, and the affected engine began leaking. The crew reported the problem and returned to Sofia to make a safe landing. A replacement jet was provided.
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Contact photographer Shaun Edelstein
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 en route from Atlanta, GA to Chicago Midway
Where: diverted to Cincinnati,KY and concluded in Chicago
When: May 26th 2009
Who: Not Listed.
Why: “DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT 2090 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS 90-30 AIRCRAFT AFTER LANDING, INSPECTION REVEALED A PIECE OF THE AIRCRAFT FELL ONTO THE RUNWA.
George’s Point of View
As you see, the FAA report indicates that the plane lost a piece of itself on landing. I don’t know what’s more curious–what exactly fell off the MD-90 when it landed (generally I don’t think of external plane parts as optional); or if the dropped item was related to the plane’s delay in Cincinnati.
In an international safety conference held in the USA on June 18, Airbus expressed their plan to overcoming the issue of pilots relying too much on automated flight control systems.
The European plane manufacturing company is reviewing its pilot training priorities and putting more emphasis on manual flying and enhanced flight monitoring. According to William Tauzin, director of international regulatory affairs for Airbus, the new wide body jet series A350 will be the first with an approved training procedure which re-emphasizes manual flying and improved monitoring of the situations and progress of flight. “There are times when you have to take over manually…because even the most sophisticated automated systems can get planes into situations and places from which the pilots are going to have to fly out,” he said.
The largest customer of the A350 is Qatar Airways which has 80 aircrafts on order. The airline is set to put the new design into service by the end of 2014.
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Contact photographer Terry Wade
What: Frontier Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from San Francisco to Denver
Where: Denver
When: Mar 4th 2010
Who: not available
Why: While on approach to Denver, the airbus encountered a flock of birds, and multiple bird strikes ensued. The plane made a safe landing.
The cockpit glass sustained damage.
A Small Planet Airlines Airbus A320 veered off the runway at Birmingham Airport in England, on February 21.
According to an airport spokesperson, “Birmingham Airport can confirm that an A320 aircraft belonging to charter company, Small Planet, has maneuvered off the taxiway into grass after landing from Paderborn at 1320 today.”
None of the 180 people aboard reported any injuries.
The incident is being investigated.
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What: jet2.com Boeing 737-300 en route from Manchester to Budapest
Where: Budapest
When: Mar 22nd 2012
Who: 127 passengers
Why: By the approach to Budapest, the flight had developed a hydraulic leak.
Pilots made a fast landing on hot brakes with emergency services and maintenance on standby to deal with the hydraulic fluid on the runway.
Passengers disembarked on to the runway and were ported to the terminal.
Before the plane was towed, the brakes were examined.
ABX Air flight GB-3907 made an emergency landing in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 28th.
The Boeing 767-200 freighter plane flying from Chicago Rockford International Airport, Illinois, was descending toward Providence when the crew reported an engine issue.
The plane continued for a safe landing. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
