Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographers Daniel & Robert Fall

What: Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from from Paris to Brazzaville Congo
Where: Maya-Maya airport on the tarmac
When:
Who: Several dozen people were on board the plane,
Why: While taxiing into a parking position, the right winglet (a small vertical section at the tip of the wing) brushed a building just after landing. Although maintenance moved fast to say the plane was fine, the plane will be flown back to France but is banned from taking off with any passengers.

George’s Point of View

I’m not picking on Airbus. Just to prove it, I am going to admit that in this case, the lousy taxi job is probably not due to an innate Airbus flaw (unless massive vehicle size can be construed as a design flaw directly related to the relative ease of negotiating turns on a runway. Maybe the pilot or ground crew was just a ham-handed driver. Come to think of it, parking the 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood was no piece of cake either. )

No, I’m not picking on Airbus. With over 2,500 Airbus A320s flying around, (and who knows how many other Airbus models are still in service) incidents will happen.

But.. look at these statistics:
Airbus A300 – 17 crashes with a total of 1126 fatalities
Airbus A310 – 9 crashes with a total of 825 fatalities
Airbus A319/20/21 – 16 crashes with a total of 637 fatalities
Airbus A330 – 3 with a total of 235 fatalities

——-*——-

That’s a lot of fatalities. The number of deaths–almost 400 in June alone–this works out to a lot of misery spread around to a lot of families.

I’m not picking on Air France, either. Air France isn’t responsible for the Yemenia Flight 626 that crashed June 30th 2009 with 152 fatalities and one miracle survivor.

But even if I am not picking on Airbus, someone with lots of muscle (like all the citizens of France) should be doing just that.

Enough deaths. It is past time to fix the problem.

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On Board Smoke Diverts Cathay Pacific to Fukuoka Japan


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Ruud Brinks

What: Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 en route from Hong Kong China to Sapporo Japan
Where: Fukuoka
When: Jul 19th 2009
Who: 398 on board
Why: After smoke filled the cabin, the flight diverted to Fukuoka Japan. The smoke was attributed to an air conditioning leak which was repaired so that the flight was continued less than four hours later.

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Martinique Honeymoon Medical Evacuation has Tragic Ending


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Fabrice Sanchez –

What: Transports Aériens Intercaraïbes Piper PA-42-720 Cheyenne III en route from St. Martin to Martinique
Where: French Antilles
When: May 5, 2012 2:45
Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
Why: Five minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed between Tintamarre Island and Le Galion Beach, close to Orient Bay, St Martin, French Antilles.

The TAI Air Ambulance Service flight was piloted by Bruno Le Jeune, and was transporting a male tourist cardiac patient from the St. Maarten Medical Center to Martinique.

The patient, Panagiotis Vryonides of Nicosia, was on his honeymoon when fell ill on the “Allure of the Seas” cruise ship. He was from Cyprus. His wife was in Antigua.

More than French and Dutch 100 emergency personnel searched for the bodies between Tintamare, Pinel Island, and Cul de Sac. Divers recovered plane parts that will be stored in Anse Marcel. Partial remains have also been recovered. Recovery operations are being hampered by tiger sharks.

Doctor Jean Michel Dudiot, and Gerard Omere the nurse were both from the SMUR of Martinique.

There had been originally another plane sent to transport the patient but it had had mechanical problems. Louis Constant Fleming Hospital has said that the plane was not sanitary enough for medical evacuations.

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IATA Partnership Boosts SMS Development

George’s Point of View

SMS development is a good thing, but we shouldn’t abandon black boxes.

Airbus wants to replace black boxes with “a more secure system” of real time satellite transmission.

The thing is we HAVE black box technology now. We should keep using it.

Aviation authorities should mandate the usage of both–keep what’s in place as a backup, and go for the real time data relay also. Not everything works as expected, all of the time, so all possible fail-safes should be employed. It’s not just that all that record-keeping keeps everyone honest; in the case of aviation, all those records will keep people alive.

Real time is not fail-proof, but a FANTASTIC idea. The question of cockpit recordings that infringe on the pilots privacy is going to hang in the air unanswered for now while the real time system is tested and perfected.

The privacy issue is an interesting factor. Some real time conversation in a cockpit is simple camaraderie–a workplace environment thing that makes a working environment comfortable. Plus it works better than coffee to keep the pilots awake and generally on task.

No one likes to work with someone looking over their shoulder. Eventually this may become an issue as authorities will inevitably over-regulate the degree of cockpit conversation–bound to be a factor when one considers the Hudson river crash where air traffic control (not pilots) were discussing cat bbq rather than doing their jobs; and the Colgan Air/Pinnacle cockpit recordings that exposed training deficits just before the icing crash in Buffalo .

The point is that we have the technology; we should use it. It will help save lives.

The IATA is the sixty year old international trade body of aviation, which represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general and is made up of about 230 airlines (93% of international air traffic.) The Superstructure Group has become an IATA partner. The Superstructure Group is developing the STEADES exchange system, provides technology and consultancy services to meet information needs and is bringing realtime SMS software to the aviation industry.

IATA Partners are listed here:
http://www.iata.org/sp/partners_all.htm

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Airbus Press Release: Sichuan Airlines signs first Airbus Flight Hour Services in China

21 December 2009

Airbus to provide extended services to airlines in China

Sichuan Airlines, the first Chinese operator to fly Airbus A320 Family aircraft, has signed a contract with Airbus for customized Flight Hour Services (FHS) for its future fleet of three brand new leased A330s, which are scheduled to be in service from early next year.

In order to operate the newly built A330 fleet in a more efficient and cost-effective way, Sichuan Airlines has decided to use the Airbus FHS and will become the first customer for Airbus FHS in China.

The FHS is part of Airbus’ comprehensive portfolio of support, services and solutions that help Airbus customers meet and exceed their business objectives. Airbus will deliver to Sichuan Airlines a tailor-made solution with strong support from Airbus worldwide customer services system. Under the agreement, Airbus guarantees availability of key Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) as well as related logistics and maintenance services for Sichuan Airlines for an initial 13.5-year period.

Airbus FHS helps minimize aircraft on-the-ground time by providing airlines with even faster and simpler access to spare parts and services at predictable rates, based on stock and flight hour parameters. Airbus already has FHS services in operation with other customers in the Asian region.

“The introduction of Airbus A330s and the Airbus FHS for the new A330 fleet is a natural choice for Sichuan Airlines as we have been in successful partnership with Airbus for 14 years. Thanks to the tailor-made Airbus Flight Hour Services, we will optimise our investment and deliver better services to our customers,” said Mr. Lan Xinguo, Chairman of Sichuan Airlines.

“Facing evolving market and customer requirements, Airbus continues to develop innovative and customized services, enabling Airbus customers such as our long lasting customer Sichuan Airlines to focus on their core business,” said Laurence Barron, President of Airbus China.

“There are now more than 530 Airbus aircraft in operation with Chinese airlines and the Airbus fleet in China are expanding fast. More than ever, our Chinese customers are expecting from us innovative and flexible solutions to enable safe, efficient and profitable operations and this agreement strengthens further our partnership with our long time customer Sichuan Airlines,” said Charles Champion, Executive Vice President Customer Services of Airbus.

Sichuan Airlines was also the operator of the very first Airbus A320 assembled by Family Final Assembly Line China (FALC) in Tianjin.

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Bonanza Crashes Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport


Pictured: A similar Beech A36 Bonanza 36
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer James whipple

What: Beechcraft A36TC en route from Kalamazoo to Muskoka, Ontario
Where: Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport
When: Oct 27, 2009
Who: pilot
Why: Witnesses say the plane took off at a low speed, wavered and began to flap back and forth. Just after liftoff, the plane crashed past the north end of the runway after plowing through security fences and coming to a halt in the parking lot and catching fire. The pilot’s injuries were fatal.

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Cathay Dragon Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Hong Kong

Cathay Dragon flight KA-318 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on June 13th.

The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Busan, South Korea, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a cabin pressurization issue.

The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.

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