Airbus

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    Lufthansa Flight Diverts to Copenhagen due to Electrical Smell

    LufthansaLufthansa flight LH-848 made an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 15th.

    The Airbus A321-200, heading from Frankfurt, Germany, to Helsinki, Finland, was diverted after the crew reported an electrical smell onboard.

    The plane landed uneventfully. There were 137 people aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.

    The airline re-booked the passengers onto other flights.

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    Allegiant Air 822 Makes Emergency Diversion From NY to Maryland

    allegiant

    On Allegiant Air 822, everyone aboard the Airbus A320 was leaving Clearwater International anticipating a routine flight and to land at Elmira/Corning Regional Airport. A Brake Control panel light changed all that. Pilots diverted to Baltimore. Passengers assumed the brace position, and survived the landing without further ado. No injuries and no obvious problems occurred, though the control panel alert suggested that brake issues might have been going on.


    This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

    Passengers arrived at Big Flats, NY, at 3:00 a.m.

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    Spirit Airlines Emergency Landing

    The FAA is investigating a Spirit Airlines fight that diverted to Myrtle Beach to make an emergency landing, and stranded some two hundred passengers at the airport. By Sunday morning, passengers had managed to get a flight to their destination, Atlantic City NJ.

    Spirit Airlines Flight 348, an Airbus A320, was en route from Tampa to Atlantic City when it had to make the emergency diversion.

    The image below is an A320 interior posted on the Spirit Airlines website which they say is “for editorial use. They are not for commercial use. Photo credit must be given to Spirit Airlines.” However, their site has no mention that I can find of the emergency landing or accommodations for the passengers.

    Photo credit must be given to Spirit Airlines.
    Photo credit must be given to Spirit Airlines.

    In a completely separate incident, Spirit Airlines may be facing a battle in court. A claustrophobic student, Nadia Majed, filed a discrimination complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights after she was kicked off the plane after requesting an available window seat.

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    EasyJet Plane Lands Safely in Vienna after Bird Strike

    EasyjetEasyJet flight U2-7945 completed an apparently uneventful flight and landed safely at Vienna International Airport, Vienna, Austria on March 10.

    The Airbus, en-route from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Vienna, had landed safely and was ready for return flight, when the captain reported that the plane had ingested birds, causing damage to the fuselage and engine.

    The return flight was postponed.

    All passengers were accommodated in a replacement plane.

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    EasyJet Flight Makes Emergency Landing after Drunk Passenger Tries to Open Door Mid-Air

    EasyjetEasyJet flight EZY8896 had to make an emergency landing in Bordeaux, France, on March 7th.

    The Airbus A320, heading from Marrakesh, Morocco, to Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom, had to be diverted after a drunk male passenger tried to open an emergency door mid-air.

    The plane landed safely. The man was escorted out of the plane by the French police.

    The airline confirmed the incident and said, “easyJet’s cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time. Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously, do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard and always push for prosecution. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet’s priority.”

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    Airblue Plane’s Tire Burst During Landing in Islamabad

    Air BlueAirblue Airbus A321-200 narrowly escaped accident when one of its tires burst upon landing at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 4th.

    The aircraft was coming from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, when one of the tires burst during landing. The plane tilted toward its side and the right hand engine touched the ground.

    There were 230 passengers aboard the flight PA-271 at the time; all of them remained safe.

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    Saudi Arabian Airlines Pilot Dies of Heart Attack During Flight

    Saudi Arabian AirlinesSaudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-1734 had to make an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 1st.

    The plane, flying from Bisha, was on approach to Riyadh when the captain suffered a heart attack. The co-pilot Rami Ghazi Batabara took over the controls and requested an emergency landing.

    The Airbus A321-200 landed uneventfully.

    The medical crew examined captain Walid bin Mohammed Al Mohammed and pronounced him dead.

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    TigerAir Flight Makes Priority Landing in Melbourne due to Unusual Odor

    tigerairTigerAir flight 511 had to make an emergency landing in Melbourne, Australia, on March 1st.

    The Airbus A320-200 was flying from Brisbane when the crew reported an unusual odor in the cabin and requested a priority landing.

    The plane landed safely. Four crew members were examined by paramedics but did not need further treatment.

    All 60 passengers aboard remained unharmed.

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    Tunisair Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Saudi Arabia

    tunisairTunisair flight TU-914 made an emergency landing at Prince Mohammed bin Abdul-Aziz International Airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia, on February 27th.

    The pilots declared emergency after a fire broke out in Airbus A330-200 plane’s left engine. The flight was heading from Medina, Saudi Arabia, to Tunis, Tunisia, at the time.

    The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.

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    China Eastern Airlines Plane Makes Emergency Landing after Lightning Strike

    China Eastern Airlines flight MU-5414 had to return and make an emergency landing in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China, on February 21st.

    The Airbus A321-200 took off for Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a lightning strike.

    The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.

    The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.

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    Air Canada Plane Diverts to North Carolina due to CIDS Issue

    Air Canada flight AC-1233 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, on February 15.

    The Airbus A321-200 en-route from Myers, Florida, to Toronto, Canada, was mid air when the crew detected some issue with CIDS (Cabin Intercommunication Data System) followed by an odor, causing the plane to divert for a safe landing.

    The plane landed safely.

    All 181 people on board remained unharmed.

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    Small Planet Airlines Airbus Veers Off Runway at Birmingham Airport

    A Small Planet Airlines Airbus A320 veered off the runway at Birmingham Airport in England, on February 21.

    According to an airport spokesperson, “Birmingham Airport can confirm that an A320 aircraft belonging to charter company, Small Planet, has maneuvered off the taxiway into grass after landing from Paderborn at 1320 today.”

    None of the 180 people aboard reported any injuries.

    The incident is being investigated.

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    Virgin America Flight Returns to LAX due to Landing Gear Issues

    Virgin America flight VX-108 made an emergency landing at at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on February 18th.

    The Airbus A320-200 plane, heading from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles International Airport, had to return due to issue with retracting the landing gear.

    The plane landed uneventfully. All 110 passengers and crew members remained safe.

    The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.

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    JetBlue Airbus makes Safe Landing in Florida

    JetBlue flight B6-921 made a safe landing at Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 16.

    The Airbus A320-200 was on its final approach to the runway when the crew had to inspect the landing gear, allowing the plane for a slow landing.

    The plane landed safely.

    All 157 people aboard remained safe.

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    Lufthansa: Safekeeping Profits or Passengers?

    crash site image

    Accident to the Airbus A320-211, registered D-AIPX and operated by Germanwings, flight GWI18G, on 03/24/15 at Prads-Haute-Bléone

    According to the BEA, they will release the final report on Germanwings 9525 on Sunday, March 13, 2016 during a press briefing. I plan to be there.

    Although the public has not seen the final report, and indeed, as the investigation has not yet even been completed, the world already understands what happened aboard this tragic flight. What we really do not understand—and perhaps never will—is what drove Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to research cockpit door security and methods of committing suicide. We do not know what drove a depressed human being to impel the plane and all the lives in his safekeeping into the side of a French mountain, condemning every soul aboard that plane to death. We do not know the devils that hounded him into this cold-blooded act. We only mourn, perhaps, his loss of humanity, as we mourn alongside the grieving families who have been robbed of their loved ones and their rightful lives.

    All passenger/families received a total of 8 million euros, divided equally among them. Media reports on what passengers received from Lufthansa varies.

    In the German media, the Rheinische Post claimed officials of the German airline said families of the 144 passengers have obtained different compensation amounts. It is also reported that Lufthansa group has paid 11.2 million euros ($12.48 million) to the families. Additional “uncalculated” compensation in “property damages” is still coming from Lufthansa to the families.

    This compensation…coming from Lufthansa, whose 2014 profit was declared “flat” at a mere $31.7 billion, announced in October of 2015 a nine-month net profit of €1.75 billion ($ 1.97 billion), up 262.7% from €482 million. The tragedy which destroyed 150 lives, and crippled all of their families appears to have left Lufthansa’s bottom line untouched.

    Do we also mourn and grieve and condemn Lufthansa? The depth of the ethics and principals of this many billion dollar company—the largest airline in Europe—remains to be seen. We can ask ourselves if this is a high-principled company of good repute, of sterling honor. We need not conjecture long. A tangible answer will be obvious when these decisions are made. We will see where lie their priorities when we learn how they treat the families whose lives hang in the balance in their custodianship.

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    Jan 18: TAM Airbus Emergency was Slow Suffocation

    Image of A320 Interior
    Image of A320 Interior
    On January 18, 2016, a TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200 was on a scheduled flight from Brasilia to Aracaju Brazil when the pilots decided to return to Brasilia. They made a safe landing and were in the air ten minutes short of an hour. Incident investigations always take time. So it was a couple weeks later, on Feb 5th when the BEA reported this notice. (Note that the BEA is Le Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la Sécurité de l’Aviation, France’s Governmental aviation authority.) The BEA reported Brazil’s CENIPA notice why the pilots decided to return.

    The Airbus was climbing. Cabin crew told the flight crew that passengers and cabin crew were suffering from significant hypoxia. Hypoxia means inadequate oxygenation of the blood, or deficiency in the amount of oxygen delivered to the body tissues. Web MD says this about hypoxia:

    “When your body doesn’t have enough oxygen, you could get hypoxemia or hypoxia. These are dangerous conditions. Without oxygen, your brain, liver, and other organs can be damaged just minutes after symptoms start.”

    “Hypoxemia (low oxygen in your blood) can cause hypoxia (low oxygen in your tissues) when your blood doesn’t carry enough oxygen to your tissues to meet your body’s needs. The word hypoxia is sometimes used to describe both problems. Symptoms can vary from person to person, the most common hypoxia symptoms are Changes in the color of your skin, ranging from blue to cherry red, Confusion,Cough, Fast heart rate, Rapid breathing, Shortness of breath, Sweating, Wheezing. If you have symptoms of hypoxia, call 911.”

    On the Tam flight in question, the flight crew manually released the passenger oxygen masks. After returning to Brasilia, the incident was rated serious. CENIPA is investigating. CENIPA’s acronym is in Portuguese: Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos. CENIPA is a unit of the Brazilian Air Force that investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil.

    The flight under investigation was JJ-3538 flown by the Airbus registered as #PR-MAA on a standard flight from Brasilia,DF to Aracaju, SE in Brazil.

    Brazil investigates incident
    BEA reports on BEA2016-0061
    Serious incident, Brasilia Federal District, on 18 January 2016, AIRBUS – A320, PR-MAA; click to enlarge image
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    Virgin Atlantic Plane Returns to Heathrow Airport after Laser Strike

    Virgin Atlantic flight VS-25 had to return and make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, on February 14.

    The Airbus A340-600 took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to return shortly afterwards after the first officer became sick due to a laser strike.

    The plane landed safely. There were 252 passengers and 15 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained injured.