Airbus

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    Emergency Landing: Safety for Tripoli Evacuation


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

    What: Air India Airbus A330-200 en route from Tripoli to Delhi
    Where: Malta
    When: Mar 6th 2011
    Why: After taking off from Tripoli, the landing gear failed to retract. The pilot diverted to Malta and made a safe landing.

    So far, of 18,000 Indians expats, 9,200 people had been evacuated from Tripoli. Egypt Air has also been making chartered flights to bring Indian citizens back home in “Operation Safe Homecoming.” As of Mar 2, Air India had retrieved 6 flights worth of passengers.

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    Sata Airbus Tire Punctured

    What: SATA International Airbus A320-200 en route from Lisbon to the Terceira Azores Islands
    Where: Lajes
    When: Mar 4th 2011
    Why: Landing in Portugal on a wet runway, the plane ran over a sandbag and cable, puncturing a tire. The runway was closed, as the situation was dealt with.

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    Athens Bird Strike

    What: Air France Airbus A319-100 en route from Athens to Paris
    Where: Athens
    When: Feb 25th 2011
    Who: 113 on board
    Why: On takeoff, the plane had a bird strike.

    THe flight returned to Athens about 30 minutes after takeoff. The extent of the damage to the plane was not reported.

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    Lufthansa Airbus Smoked


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

    What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 en route from Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP to Munich
    Where: Sao Paulo
    When: Feb 21, 2011
    Who: not available
    Why: Thirty minutes after takeoff, the plane developed smoke.

    The pilots returned to Sao Paulo where they made a safe landing. The passengers who were not rebooked were scheduled to fly to Munich 19 hours later.

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    Malaysia Airlines A330 Engine Mystery Snag


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    Contact photographer

    What: Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur
    Where: Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport
    When: Feb 20, 2011, 3:02 PM
    Who: 158 passengers
    Why: After experiencing engine trouble en route (described as a “snag”) the flight returned to Delhi and made an emergency landing, with emergency services standing by. Specific details about the engine problem have not been released.

    The news video misreports that the flight originated in Kuala Lumpur

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    Aircastle Delivers the First of Six New Airbus A330-200 Aircraft to South African Airways

    STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 7, 2011 — Aircastle Limited (the “Company” or “Aircastle”) announced today that it delivered to South African Airways (“SAA”) the first of six new Airbus Model A330-200 aircraft scheduled for delivery this year. The aircraft will be equipped with latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 772B engines.

    Debt financing for this purchase was arranged and provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and supported by a guarantee from Compagnie Francaise d’Assurance pour le Commerce Exterieur (COFACE), the French export credit agency. This debt bears interest at a rate of 3.78% per annum and will be repaid over twelve years.
    Ron Wainshal, Chief Executive Officer of Aircastle, said: “We are building a significant relationship with South African Airways and are proud to support its fleet modernization program with these six new A330-200s. These aircraft will provide the airline with significant improvements in fuel efficiency and operating costs and its passengers with a comfortable, state-of-the-art cabin.”

    Wainshal added: “With this delivery, we’re beginning to benefit from approximately $700 million of attractive built-in asset growth from our Airbus program over the next 15 months. This expansion of our asset base — combined with approximately $500 million of new investments we completed during 2010 — positions us to grow our earnings in 2011 and beyond. With our strong balance sheet and proven access to diverse sources of capital, we are poised to pursue new transaction opportunities and capitalize on the steadily improving demand for passenger and cargo aircraft.”

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    China: Airbus Leak Aborts Takeoff

    What: Air Macau Airbus A321-200 en route from Beijing to Macau
    Where: Beijing
    When: Feb 4th 2011
    Why: Takeoff was aborted when fluid started leaking (described evocatively as a fierce spray, large fluid spill, massive spray). The plane aborted takeoff, and stopped on the runway. Passengers disembarked on the runway, (hopefully were bussed or carted back to the airport) and repairs were made on the plane.

    The plane had suffered a broken seal, causing an oil leak. The leak did not affect runway operation which was not cancelled/

    The flight took off again nine hours later after repairs and testing.

  • A330: Pitot Tubes And Procedures

    As the investigation into Air France Flight 447 drags on, we look with interest at the investigation of 28 October 2009 Jetstar Airbus A330-200 unreliable airspeed incident.

    Jetstar had introduced unreliable airspeed training for cockpit crews shortly before the incident.

    The Jetstar A330 was fitted with Goodrich pitot tubes instead of Thales. (Thales were the tubes on 447)

    In the Jetstar event, the flight experienced a “rapid and momentary drop” in the airspeed indication, from about 250kt to 50kt and a decrease in standby airspeed. Then autopilot, autothrust and flight directors disconnected. The flight control system reverted to ‘alternate’ law.

    Several times, the crew followed procedures for handling unreliable airspeed, then re-engaged autopilot and autothrust, although both automatically disconnected— until all three airspeed indicators were in agreement.

    ATSB REPORT SUMMARY
    Unreliable airspeed indication – 710 km south of Guam, 28 October 2009, VH-EBA, Airbus A330 202
    Investigation Number:AO-2009-065

    Summary
    On 28 October 2009, an Airbus A330-202 (A330) aircraft, registered VH-EBA (EBA), was being operated as Jetstar flight 12 on a scheduled passenger service from Narita, Japan to Coolangatta, Australia. Soon after entering cloud at 39,000 ft, there was a brief period of disagreement between the aircraft’s three sources of airspeed information. The autopilot, autothrust and flight directors disconnected, a NAV ADR DISAGREE caution message occurred, and the flight control system reverted to alternate law, which meant that some flight envelope protections were no longer available. There was no effect on the aircraft’s flight path, and the flight crew followed the operator’s documented procedures. The airspeed disagreement was due to a temporary obstruction of the captain’s and standby pitot probes, probably due to ice crystals. A similar event occurred on the same aircraft on 15 March 2009.

    The rate of unreliable airspeed events involving the make of pitot probes fitted to EBA (Goodrich 0851HL) was substantially lower than for other probes previously approved for fitment to A330/A340 aircraft. However, both of the events involving EBA occurred in environmental conditions outside those specified in the certification requirements for the pitot probes. The French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA) has recommended the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to review the certification criteria for pitot probes in icing environments.

    At the time of the occurrence, most of the operator’s A330 pilots had not received unreliable airspeed training. Most of these pilots had transferred from the operator’s A320 fleet, and the third-party training provider had not included the topic in its A320 endorsement training program, even though it was included in the aircraft manufacturer’s recommended program since 2004.

    The operator identified the problem and included unreliable airspeed in its recurrent training program for the A320 from May 2009 and the A330 from October 2009. The training provider included the topic in its endorsement program from July 2010. The operator, training provider and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority all initiated safety action to minimise the likelihood of similar problems in the future.

    General Details

    Date: 28 Oct 2009 Investigation Status: Completed
    Time: 1537 UTC Investigation Type: Occurrence Investigation
    Location: 710 km south of Guam International Airport Occurrence Type: Weather and Environment
    State: International Occurrence Class: Environment
    Release Date: 27 Jan 2011 Occurrence Category: Incident
    Report Status: Final Highest Injury Level: None

    Aircraft Details

    Aircraft Manufacturer: Airbus
    Aircraft Model: A330-202
    Aircraft Registration: VH-EBA
    Serial Number: 0508
    Type of Operation: Air Transport High Capacity
    Damage to Aircraft: Nil
    Departure Point: Narita, Japan
    Destination: Gold Coast, Qld
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    Gulf Air Lands in Oman


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

    What: Gulf Air Airbus A330-200 en route from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Bahrain
    Where: Muscat
    When: Feb 5th 2011
    Who: 136 passengers
    Why: While en route, the pilot’s illness forced a landing at Muscat. The flight was completed by a replacement crew, after the captain was hospitalized after a heart attack.

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    Al Atalia: oops

    What: Alitalia Airbus A320-200 en route from Rome to Genoa
    Where: Rome
    When: Feb 2nd 2011
    Why: The flight returned to Rome because it was carrying the luggage of a passenger who was not aboard. The flight returned to Rome, the luggage was removed and the plane departed again an hour later.

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    Disorderly Passenger Dropped off IN Salt Lake


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

    What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from San Francisco,CA to Fort Lauderdale,FL
    Where: Salt Lake City
    When: Jan 24th 2011
    Who: 1 unruly passenger
    Why: While en route, a passenger insisted on paying cash for a headset, although Jet Blue only accepts credit cards.

    The flight diverted to Salt Lake City where the passenger was taken off the plane. It is not reported if the passenger ever got his headset, nor if he was released into police custody.

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    Lufthansa names A380 after its first destination “Tokyo”

    Tokyo Governor Ishihara acts as godfather – Airline reinforces its position as
    Europe’s number One in Asia

    The Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, and Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG, officially launched an Airbus A380 with the name “Tokyo”. The official ceremony took place at Narita Airport on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the first German-Japanese treaty of friendship on 24 January 1861 (at that time Prussia) and on the 50th anniversary of the first Lufthansa flight to Japan on 24 January 1961. As a result, the latest A380s delivered to Lufthansa with the registration D-AIMD and christened Tokyo, will now serve the airports of Frankfurt and the Japanese metropolis of Tokyo. The Japanese capital has already been the worldwide first Lufthansa-A380 destination since 10 June 2010. Meanwhile, Beijing and Johannesburg have been added as further destinations. As of the end of February, New York will become Lufthansa’s fourth A380 destination.

    “Our passengers have been flying on our Tokyo service for more than seven months in our new flagship and the enthusiasm for this aircraft and all the innovations associated with it is still as great as it was on the first day”, said Lufthansa chief Christoph Franz. “I am really delighted that with our A380 in the Japanese market, in particular, we have been able to further build upon our success and I am grateful for the support of our customers, partners as well as the state institutions. It is a great pleasure and honour, together with Governor Shintaro Ishihara and Germany’s Ambassador to Japan, Dr. Volker Stanzel, on this historic day to christen our flagship with the name ‘Tokyo’.

    The official ceremony took place at Tokyo-Narita International Airport. The first three Lufthansa A380s were named after Lufthansa’s two German hubs – “Frankfurt” and “Munich” and the A380 destination “Beijing”.

    “With this naming we would like to express our thanks to our customers and partners in Japan who have made us the number one European airline in one of the world’s strong growth regions. With this acknowledgement we confirm our engagement in Asia and will also continue to make investments for growth and innovations here in future”, said Christoph Franz.

    The “Tokyo” is the only Lufthansa aircraft up to now which was not – as is the usual tradition – baptized with champagne, but rather with Japanese “Sake” wine. In accordance with the Japanese tradition, Governor Isihara and Christoph Franz, together with Ambassador Volker Stanzel, broke open a barrel of Sake with a wooden hammer for the new aircraft, in order to welcome Tokyo’s new flying ambassador. Governor Shintaro Ishihara then “baptized” the aircraft. Christoph Franz said: “From today this aircraft will fly as a further symbol of German – Japanese friendship”.

    Japan was the first market worldwide to be served by the new Lufthansa flagship A380 since 10th June 2010 – in the meantime, with daily flight connections. Christoph Franz reported very positive results of the first months of the flight operations: “The A380 is efficient, environmentally-friendly and, with its low noise level, not only pleasant for the passengers, but also contributes to reducing noise pollution at heavily-used airports like Tokyo-Narita and Frankfurt. Quality, economic efficiency and also the environmental performance of the aircraft are trend-setting”.

    150 years of German-Japanese friendship
    Japan and what was then Prussia signed a friendship and trade agreement in Edo (today’s Tokyo) on 24th January 1861. As a result, official trade relations between Japan and Germany were initiated. Both countries today count among the world’s leading national economies.

    Patrons of the “Germany-Japan: 150 years of Friendship” celebrations are the German Federal President Christian Wulff and Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito. The anniversary year was already opened with an official ceremony on 16th October 2010. Further highlights in 2011 are a German-Japanese Rock Festival as well as the Japanese- German Youth Summit in August. The German Embassy is organizing a German Festival in Tokyo in October as a grand finale. Full information about the dates of the events can be found on the Internet on the website: www.dj150.jp.

    50 years Lufthansa in Japan
    On 24th January 1961 Lufthansa initiated its East Asian scheduled services to Japan (Frankfurt – Tokyo) and thus laid the foundations for an important extension of the intercontinental route network. What at that time was the world’s largest passenger aircraft, a Boeing 707, covered the 15,000 kilometres to the Japanese metropolis of Tokyo in 25 hours with up to seven stops. Since 1969, further flights between Osaka and Frankfurt, since 1991 between Nagoya and Frankfurt and since 2002 between Tokyo and Munich, have been added to Lufthansa’s network to and from Japan. For more than 50 years now, Lufthansa has been consolidating its position as the leading European airline in Japan and, in the forthcoming summer flight schedule 2011, together with SWISS and Austrian Airlines, it will offer 82 flights per week between Japan and the Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna hubs.

    The proportion of Japanese passengers on flights to and from Japan is over 70 percent. Furthermore, a comparison of Lufthansa capacity on the routes between Japan and Germany, from an initial 35,000 seats per year to over one million seats in 2011, clearly reflects the dynamic and successful development of air traffic between the two countries over the last 50 years.

    The long-standing and very successful cooperation with its Japanese Star Alliance partner All Nippon Airways ANA is extremely important for Lufthansa. Lufthansa offers its customers codeshare flights in the ANA network on three international and 16 national routes. Lufthansa and ANA are steadily improving and extending their cooperation for the benefit of the customers of both airlines.

    In its Lufthansa configuration, the Airbus A380 has a total of 526 seats. The totally new First Class with eight luxurious seats on the upper deck stands for individuality, optimal comfort and technical innovation, making travelling even more pleasant. Also on the upper deck is the Lufthansa Business Class with 98 seats. On the main deck 420 seats in the Economy Class offer more comfort than ever with impressive spaciousness. Full information about Lufthansa’s A380 can be found at www.lufthansa.com/A380. Photo material can be found under the following link: presse.lufthansa.com/de/mediathek/bildarchiv.html – Bildarchiv – Aktuelles – Lufthansa A380

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    RAF Escorts Etihad with Unruly Passenger


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

    What: Etihad Airlines Airbus A340-600 en route from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow
    Where: Stansted airport, north of London.
    When: Jan 24, 2011
    Who: 37-year-old British man
    Why: After a passenger made threats, the flight was provided two Royal Air Force jets as escort. The flight diverted to Stansted airport where the plane made a safe landing,and the passenger was taken into custody. There were no injuries.

    The unruly passenger did not threaten the safety of the aircraft.

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    Airbus Diverts to Omaha


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    Contact photographer

    What: US Airways Airbus A320-200 en route from Chicago O’Hare to Phoenix
    Where: Eppley Airfield, Omaha
    When: Jan 23rd 2011 9:30 am
    Who: 107 aboard
    Why: While en route, the plane developed electrical problems affecting cabin temperature. The pilot made a safe landing after diverting to Omaha, and landing without nose gear steering, without which, the plane had to be towed to the gate.

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    2 Engines Fail on Lufthansa Airbus


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

    What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Addis Ababa Ethiopia
    Where: Dubrovnik Croatia
    When: Jan 18th 2011
    Why: While en route, 2 out of 4 of the Lufthansa engines had to be shut down.

    Pilots diverted the plane to Dubrovnik Croatia where they made a safe landing.

    Bishop Joseph Point, Deacon Eric Fennis and press chief Wim Peeters were aboard the flight en route from Frankfurt to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to host the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Wim Peeters is quoted as saying he saw smoke coming from the engine.

    Lufthansa said there was smoke from the galley, but that would not have caused two engines to be shut down.
    No injuries were reported. The flight is under investigation.
    http://www.katholieknederland.nl/actualiteit/2011/detail_objectID722788_FJaar2011.html

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    IndiGo Orders 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft

    Toulouse, France, January 11, 2011– India’s largest low cost carrier, IndiGo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be the neo option and 30 will be standard A320s. It is the largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history, and also makes IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. The airplanes are expected to be delivered between 2016 and 2025. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

    The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 percent, which represents savings of over 400,000 USgal of fuel and up to up to 3,600 tonnes of CO2 annually per aircraft. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

    “This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares” said Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, co-founders of IndiGo. “Ordering more A320s was the natural choice to meet India’s growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo were key to our decision.”

    “The A320 Family is the recognised market leader. The A320neo, offering maximum benefit for minimum change, will ensure that this continues to be the case for many years to come.” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers. “This order positions IndiGo to take full advantage of the predicted growth in Indian air travel and we are delighted that they continue to build their future with Airbus.”

    Aditya Ghosh, President of IndiGo said, “This order of 180 aircraft reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term future of aviation in India. The additional aircraft will enable us to take our low fares and courteous, hassle free service to more customers and destinations and will create more job opportunities and growth for several other aviation related businesses.” Ghosh added, “Our environmentally friendly fleet of the A320neo will set a benchmark by significantly reducing the impact on the environment and lead the way to a more sustainable mode of flying.”

    The A320 Family (A318, A319, A320 and A321) is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Over 6,800 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and over 4,500 delivered to more than 310 customers and operators worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. With 99.7% reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. The A320neo will have over 95% airframe commonality with the standard A320 Family whilst offering up to 500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload.

    Aditya Ghosh said, “We are delighted at extending our long term partnership with Airbus.”

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    Emergency Landing in Salt Lake

    What: Delta en route from Detroit
    Where: Salt Lake City
    When: Jan 12, 2010
    Who: 144 passengers
    Why: While en route from Detroit, the Delta A320 made an emergency landing in Salt Lake City Utah. Braking and steering were affected, though details have not been released to the media.

    Delta reported that no one was in danger.

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    Substantial Damage in Malaysian Runway Excursion


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

    What: AirAsia Airbus A320-216 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching
    Where: Kuchin
    When: Jan 10th 2011, 22:02
    Who: 123 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: While landing in heavy rain, the plane skidded off the runway and came to a stop between two taxiways.

    4 passengers were hospitalized, but no injuries were reported.

    Substantial tire and gear damage may have occurred from the recovery efforts.

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    Smelly Denver Flight Cancelled


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Je89 W.

    What: United Airlines A 320 en route from Denver to Las Vegas
    Where: Denver International Airport
    When: Jan 3, 2011
    Who: 155 passengers, 5 crew
    Why: Passengers boarded at 8:30 a.m.

    After takeoff, by the time they were 60 miles out, there was a strange smell in the cockpit and cabin which convinced the crew to return to Denver where they made a safe landing. Passengers disembarked with no reported injuries.

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    Qantas Airbus False Alarm


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

    What: Qantas Airbus A330-200 en route from Sydney to Jakarta
    Where: Sydney
    When: Jan 1st 2011
    Why: On takeoff, the cabin pressurization set off an indicator. The crew returned to Sydney where they made a safe landing after being in the air a half hour. On inspection, the problem was not the pressurization but an alarm error. The flight continued as scheduled.

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    Finnair Emergency Landing in Germany

    What: Finnair Airbus A320-200 en route from Paris to Helsinki
    Where: Hamburg
    When: Jan 1 2011
    Who: 100 passengers
    Why: While en route, it was discovered that a windshield was cracked. The crack did not appear until after takeoff. The flight diverted to Hamburg Germany where they made a safe landing. It was a routine landing. Finnair sent another Airbus A320 to transport passengers.

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    Eva Air Emergency Diversion to the Ukraine


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

    What: Eva Air Airbus A330-200 en route from Bangkok Thailand to Vienna Austria with 66 passengers and 12 crew
    Where: Simferopol Ukraine
    When: Dec 29 2010
    Who: 66 passengers including one infant, and 12 crew
    Why: While en route, oxygen masks were deployed when the flight developed low cabin pressure issues. The crew descended from 40,000 to 11,000 feet, and diverted to Simferopol Ukraine where they made a safe landing two hours before their anticipated arrival time in Vienna. Although Eva Air sent a technical crew to examine the plane to determine if the problem existed or was an alert malfunction, Taiwan defined the problem as due to an engine bleed air problem.

    Passengers (including 21 Austrians, 19 Sweden, a New Zealander, two Americans, twelve Czechs, three Spaniards, a Hungarian, six Thais and Taiwanese) were marooned at the Simferopol airport for nearly 24 hours, then moved to a city hotel, and offered buses to Odessa where they might be able to catch another airline’s flight to Vienna. An Austrian publication published that two employees of Eva Air were due at 4:00 pm in Simferopol to organize a flight on an alternative airline. The return flight is listed as cancelled.

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    Sacramento Fuel Emergency

    What: FedEx cargo Airbus A310 en route from Memphis to Reno
    Where: Sacramento International Airport
    When: December 23, 2010
    Who: 4 crew
    Why: While en route, the plane ran low on fuel and diverted to Sacramento, landing with emergency crews on standby. There was no damage, and no injuries.