Jet Airways flight 9W268 had to make an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on December 29.
The Boeing 737, en-route from Mumbai, was approaching the Kathmandu airport when a bird struck it, causing a minor fire in one of the engines.
Emergency protocol was deployed at the airport when the plane touched the runway. All 125 passengers and 6 crew members were safely evacuated while the fire was brought under control.
The aircraft was taken for examination.
After making note of the Oct 31 near miss in Oslo, I remembered this 100 foot close call of two Boeing 747’s over Scotland. This occurred in late June, when a Lufthansa pilot was climbing, and a British Airways flight were 24.3nm apart on converging courses. A STCA (Short Germ Conflict Alert)
The Oslo near miss could have been prevented if the repetition protocol have been observed.
The Scotland near miss had two planes
(DLH418 Lufthansa Boeing 747-830, D-ABYC Frankfurt (FRA) – Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD))
and
(BAW87 British Airways Boeing 747-436, G-BNLM London-Heathrow (LHR) – Vancouver (YVR))
on a collision course 100 feet Vertical/3.9 nm Horizontal and 1100 feet Vertical/2.8nm from impact. The study of the event concluded that actions of both the pilots and the controller contributed but that the pilots avoiding ATC instructions caused the proximity issue.
The added pressure of reporting incidents such as these should help pilots and air traffic control to avoid similar events in the future. It will do so ONLY if adequate attention is paid to the mistakes, if alternative/better responses are deter mend, if the resulting studies are closely attended, and if protocol is adjusted to reduce the possibility of such problems re-occurring. On some level, the protocol worked, because these incidents were not collisions. However, they were closer than they should be. All I can say about this event is that it is a good thing that mistakes are reported.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS43 had to return and make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport in Sussex, England, on December 29.
According to an airline statement, “Virgin Atlantic can confirm that flight VS43 on 29 December, travelling to McCarran international airport Las Vegas, returned to Gatwick due to a technical issue with one of the landing gears.”
The Boeing 747 circled over the south coast of England before it landed uneventfully, shortly before 16:00 GMT. No one aboard was injured.
Porter Airlines flight PD-720 made an emergency landing at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Toronto, Canada, on July 15th.
The plane was flying from Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, when it ran into severe turbulence that injured two flight attendants and a passenger.
The plane landed safely.
The plane was carrying 61 people at the time.
Oman Air Flight 717, a Boeing 737-800 bumped a stationary Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300. The winglet on the Oman Air plane made contact.
The Oman Air flight to Dar-Es-Salaam and Muscat was only delayed four hours.
Neither plane reported damage. There is no indication if passengers were aboard either plane at the time of the incident.
The incident occurred at Zanzibar International Airport, now called Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.
Ukraine International Airlines flight PS-515 made an emergency landing in Tbilisi, Georgia, on February 4th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Kiev, Ukraine, was on approach to Tbilisi when the crew reported a flaps problem and climbed back.
The plane subsequently landed at a higher than normal speed.
All one hundred and thirty-two passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
What: Biman Bangladesh Airlines en route from Dubai to London
Where: Amman Jordan
When: Sep 18th 2011
Who: 193 passengers
Why: Before this flight, the plane had been delayed in Dhaka Bangladesh with an undesignated problem with an engine that delayed the prior flight for three hours.
Then, after taking off from Dubai, the plane developed engine problems.
The pilot diverted the flight to Amman Jordan, where there was a layover as the problem was handled.
What: Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC10 en route to Jeddha and Riyadh
Where: Amman Jordan
When: Sep 18th 2011
What: Since Thursday, 314 passengers on two DC10 had to wait 40 hours after the (two) Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC10s developed undisclosed problems. After being cleared by immigration,they were held in the airport without food since Saturday. The airlines has been plagued with scheduling issues snowballing after one flight was grounded for hydraulic leaks and another for engine problems. Currently three Biman Bangladesh Airlines are grounded, including a DC-10, a Fokker, and a Boeing 737.
An unsubstantiated rumor is being circulated that within the airlines “a vested group…may have a hand behind [the flight delays] to realize some personal gains.”
