American Airlines flight AA-2444 had to return and make an emergency landing in Saint Louis, Missouri, on November 19th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Los Angeles, California, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The NTSB is investigating.
NCAA engineers were studying the plane
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has held a closed door meeting with the management of IRS Airlines over the incident.
May 6, 2013 The National Transportation Safety Board Issues the Following Recommendations to the Following Organizations:
To Air Methods Corporation:
Delta flight 772, en route from Atlanta to Providence, had to make an emergency landing at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport at around 10:30 p.m. on September 5.
The aircraft was diverted to BWI because of some mechanical problems.
The plane landed uneventfully and everyone aboard remained safe.
Several other flights were delayed from BWI because of the incident.
I’m not an expert but there are aspects to this Lithium Ion battery story which concern me. I completely understand why these planes are grounded as this battery situation is examined, and applaud that solutions are being considered even as I write this. I cannot help but wonder what the actual time-frame will be. When I start wondering, I start asking —and quoting—the experts available to me and my company.
The FAA maintains a database of Service Difficulty Reports (SDR’s) for US Registered airlines. There’s a long ignominious history recorded of fire and smoke events previously examined by the FAA in the unique category that the fires are hidden, i.e. in locations inaccessible or unknown to crew: mundane items the public never heard of–such as the built-in Halon 1301 trash receptacle extinguishers that failed to extinguish trash fires– were found and fixed or replaced. Battery ground cables have been known to arc (Northwest Airlines DC-10, March 1988), insulation blankets to burn (April of 1988, a Continental 737), overheated fluorescent light ballasts smoked (115 incidents way back in 1991).
Here’s an example of why I am concerned:
At least twenty-nine fires have been identified as being ignited by electrical short circuits in/from flammable acoustic blankets. One of these flammable circuit types that was identified back in a 1991 report is permitted in Boeing products until 2016.
When the solution to the battery problem is determined, what time frame will the Airworthiness Directives require? Will compliance be to exchange, replace or modify the battery system or to put it off till later? ADs are issued with overly generous compliance times in years.
Will a temporary measure be taken along with a compliance date set years from now?
Regardless of whether the bottom-line business of aviation is wrestling with the expense of safety, a dicey potential fire starter component is a problem that should be addressed.
If the Dreamliner is going to be in service for the next 40 years, an issue causing a component to cause a fire should not be covered with 40 years of bandaids. It should be fixed now.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tamas Martenyi
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Prague
Where: Prague
When: Jan 14th 2012
Why: On approach to Prague, the plane developed a flaps problem. Pilots could not correct the problem, and aborted the landing. Still unable to correct, the flight made a fast landing with emergency services on standby.
Apparently the problem was fixed, as the plane only was an hour late on its return flight.
Volaris Airlines flight Y4-739 made an emergency landing in Guadalajara, Mexico, on October 11th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane departed for Mexico City, Mexico, but had to turn back after the crew reported control problems.
The plane landed at higher than normal speed. Everyone aboard remained safe.
