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.
What: BMI Baby jet Flight WW1022en route from from Belfast
Where: Birmingham International Terminal One
When: 19 November 2008 9.30am
Who: 76 passengers and five crew members
Why: The plane declared an emergency landing due to a cracked side window.
Air Malta flight KM-186 had to return and make an emergency landing in Malta, on June 6th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Cagliari, Italy, but had to turn back due to an issue with the weather radar.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 en route from Phoenix to Sacramento
Where: Yuma International Airport, AZ
When: 01 APR 2011
Who: 118 aboard
Why: A hole burst through the top of this Boeing while en route. The plane suffered decompression, descended to a safe level (when an attendant was injured) and made an emergency landing in Yuma.
The hole has opened a witch hunt on aging Boeings in search of the kind of metal fatigue that would result in a hole during operations now that the aluminum skin has been known to separate at the lap joints, where panels are spliced together. Although the incident did not result in death, it is being taken as a “warning.” 175 Boeing 737 are slated for examination, and maintenance programs (Southwest, FAA, Boeing) are being re-evaluated to take this into account.
Discussion of lap joint and the 3 rows of rivets. The skin separated at the lower rivet line. Pre-existing fatigue existed on the fracture surface. (Multi site damage.) The decompression happened 18.5 minutes after take-off, and no pre-indications. The flight crew immediately declared emergency.
A small plane crashed into a home in Topping, Virginia, on October 7th.
Authorities said the plane struck two trees and crashed into a home, shortly after departing Hummel Field.
There were three people aboard, including two adults and a juvenile. All of them sustained minor injuries and were taken to Rappahannock General Hospital.
No one was home at the time of the crash.
The incident is under investigation.
LOT Polish Airlines flight LO-91 had to return and make an emergency landing in Warsaw, Poland, on September 11th.
The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Beijing, China, but had to turn back after the crew received indication of engine vibrations.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN: CE-14-04
Notice Number: NOTC5068
SAIB: CE-14-04
Flight Management Computing Systems; Navigation Database Updates – Data and Procedural Exclusions
Date: November 22, 2013
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is written to inform and remind owners and operators about changes contained in manufacturers’ navigation database updates. The cyclical updates may exclude certain navigation data including approach procedures, which makes this information unavailable for selection on the aircraft flight management system or navigation equipment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39. The FAA continues to monitor these issues with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Background
The FAA occasionally has received inquiries regarding missing data within the aircraft’s flight management system or navigation unit. In many scenarios, a pilot has attempted to select or load a particular approach, but is unable to do so and must determine an alternative in flight. This has often led to confusion and questions about how or why the data appears to be missing.
From time-to-time, avionics manufacturers may exclude procedures from the aviation database. The causes driving such removals vary, and while some data may be reinstated one cycle later, other data may remain excluded for longer periods of time.
It is important to note that each avionics manufacturer processes the aeronautical data differently, and procedures excluded on one aircraft or system may not be excluded on another. Avionics manufacturers make data exclusion information available to their customers for consideration before use of affected data in flight operations. Exclusions can frequently be found on the avionics manufacturer’s internet website or may be published in another format as part of the new database cycle.
Recommendations
The FAA recommends that pilots do the following:
1) Become familiar with the most appropriate location where they can find information regarding exclusions from the database that can affect their flight operations.
2) Exercise diligence in their preflight planning by staying informed about data exclusions pertaining to the type of avionics they utilize.
