Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Pieter-Jan Van De Vijver

What: Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Banjul (Gambia) to Brussels
Where: Dakar
When: Jan 18th 2012
Who: 240 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane developed engine problems. There’s no indication if the engine was shut down, but the flight diverted to Dakar where it made a save landing. The passengers were provided accommodations until another plane was sent to take them from Dakar to Brussels.

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Protestations of Bias in Official BEA Report

In George’s Point of View


Like the pilot association, we wonder how blaming the victims will improve the state of aviation.

The pilots of Air France Flight 447 had already lost valid data before the Airbus A330 stalled. Fell for three minutes down into the Atlantic in June of 2009, carrying the 228 people aboard to their death. Fell, with pilots flying blind. Fell, with only erroneous data available. Fell with the warning system squawking confused messages. Yet the Bea report says this was was the pilot’s fault.

We want to know if this investigation will turn out to be deliberate persecution of the pilots instead of legitimate prosecution of Airbus flawed design?

It is no wonder that the families of the victims are crying foul that the report criticizes pilot performance but not the faulty stall alarms.
It is no wonder that pilot associations all over the world are protesting.
It is no wonder that the BEA is being accused of protecting Airbus.

Why would the recommendation to improve the warning system be removed from the report?
Why, if not to protect Airbus, scheming to avoid the legal and financial consequences of the crash?

Pilots say that the stall alarm tends to sound while simultaneously messaging the pilots to ignore the “superfluous” warning. Airbus denies this ever happens.

How valid can the report be if it is being skewed to protect Airbus and blame the pilots? Should the BEA be placed under criminal investigation alongside with Air France and Airbus?

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Croatia Airlines Plane Returns to Zagreb due to Engine Problem
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Croatia Airlines Plane Returns to Zagreb due to Engine Problem

Croatia AirlinesCroatia Airlines flight OU-410 had to return for an emergency landing in Zagreb, Croatia, on September 4th.

The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Frankfurt, Germany, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a fault in left hand engine.

The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.

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Emergency Landing in Mexico


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jova

What: Aeromar ATR-42 en route from Saltillo to Mexico City
Where: Saltillo-Plan de Guadalupe International Airport, Mexico
When: 25-JUL-2020
Who: 38 passengers
Why: 25 minutes into the flight, a windshield cracked. The plane returned and made a safe landing in Saltillo. Passengers were not informed of what was happening until they had already returned to the terminal.

The plane was turned over to maintenance where it took twelve hours to replace the damaged glass. The crack was not due to a bird strike, but was considered “material fatigue.” Passengers waited at the airport for a replacement plane.

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Update: Emirates Airbus Tailstrike in Melbourne

The new headline is Emirates pilots resign. They “submitted their resignations.”

George’s Point of View

Curious to see why?

No matter what the pilots did or didn’t do, the tail should not scrape the run way on take off.

Good thing it didn’t catch fire and blow up.


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Kris Mogford
What: An Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500, registration A6-ERG en route from Melbourne,VI Australia to Dubai United Arab Emirates
Where: Melbourne Australia
When: Mar 20th 2009 at 11:30
Who: 225 on board (255 passengers?)
Why: The plane suffered a tail strike on takeoff from Melbourne’s runway 16, climbed and dumped fuel, and when smoke filled the cabin, landed on Melbourne’s runway 34. Damage included some runway lights, damage to the tail skin and access panels.

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Small Plane Crashes in New Mexico

A small plane crashed shortly after taking off from Grants-Milan Municipal Airport, Grants, Cibola County, New Mexico, on the evening of September 26th.

The Piper PA-32R-300, carrying 2 passengers and the pilot, had its engine sputtering before it went down.

All three people miraculously survived the crash with no injuries whereas the plane burst into flames.

The crash remains under investigation.

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Proximity Blamed on Tenerife South ATC

On November 12, 2011, the Iberia Airbus A321 had been approaching Tenerife South airport at high speed just before it landed on the same runway that a Jet2 Boeing 757-200 was departing did so because of a premature take-off clearance to the 757.

The 757 was airborne over the runway as the A321 touched down at an unexpectedly fast approach. Although the A321’s airspeed had decreased constantly through the descent, its ground speed was 210kt. Expected airspeed is in the 180-203kt range.

The planes were separated by at least 4,100ft.

The incident has been attributed to the tower controller’s “improper handling” of the take-off clearance to the 757.

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