The government sent a rescue crew 8 hours after the crash. The rescue plane was found 17 kilometers from land. A child–either a 5 year old boy or a 15 year old girl–was apparently found alive. Two french ships and a french airplane were already engaged in searching before Yemen sent a ship and military plane.
View larger photo here
Contact photographer Iam Lim
What: Yemenia Air Airbus 310 flight 626 en route from Yemen’s capital Sanaa to Moroni
Where: Indian Ocean near the Comoros archipelago
When: Monday June 29, 2009
Who: 142 passengers, 11 crew.
Why: The exact location of the crash was unknown, but investigators began looking five to 10 kilometres from the coast along the “landing approach.” Rough weather is hampering the search.
An unidentified boat found the plane which did go down in the Indian Ocean, so close to the coast that villagers saw the crash occur. Wreckage was found about six minutes from the airport where it was due to land. (The nationality of the boat is not known; apparently Comoros does not have the resources.)
And a ship has already found the wreckage.
Yemin call center: for more info contact the call center at 00967 1250800 or the emergency No 00967 1 250833 or call center 00967 1 250800 #IY626
George’s Point of View
Another Airbus!
What: An Air India Airbus A-320 en route from Delhi to Hyderabad to Tirupati
Where: Delhi
When: Jun 29th 2009 1141 hours
Who: 68 passengers, 6 crew
Why: Thirty minutes into the flight, the control panel indicated a hydraulic problem. The pilot requested to return to Delhi, where passengers debarked safely. Passengers were provided an alternate plane to complete their flight.
No further details were available about the hydraulic problem.
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Contact Photographer Roger Oldfield
What: PIA Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A310-300 en route from Quetta to Karachi
Where: Pakistan
When: Jun 28th 2009 2:15 pm
Who: 166 passengers 12 crew
Why: While still over Quetta, the cockpit filled with smoke. One source reports the fire apparently reportedly began in the AC system. (again.) Another says an electrical problem sparked a small fire in the cockpit.
In any case, the crew requested an emergency landing, and landed safely. No injuries were reported. The passengers resumed their flight 3 hours later.
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Contact Photographer Kyle Donagher
What: Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Newark to Copenhagen (Denmark), diverted to Bangor Maine
Where: Bangor Maine
When: Jun 27th 2009
Why: Less than an hour after takeoff, the Scandinavian Airbus filled with smoke and the crew was forced to request an emergency landing. The flight landed safely in Maine. No cause could be determined for the smoke, and three hours later, while in preparation for the rescheduled flight, the smoke reappeared, and the plane was grounded again.
update:After getting input from a passenger, we would like to note the following: “The cabin DID NOT fill with smoke… a circuit breaker blew out on one of the air circulation systems and it smelled like something might be burning.
Many thanks to shartkopf for the valuable input. Read the comments below for the full story.
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Contact Photographer Sushank Gupta- Indian Aviation Photographers
What: Kingfisher Airbus A320-200 en route from Bagdogra to New Delhi (India)
Where: Baghdogra Airport
When: Jun 27th 2009 4:35pm
Who: 178 passengers and 6 crew (This number varies on different accounts of the incident)
Why: While taxing for takeoff, the Airbus was making a half turn when one wing stuck what is described as a “military bunker.” Damage to the wing caused the flight to be cancelled but there was no fuel leakage. The plane was taxied and passengers debarked.
Last year, a tractor hit a Kingfisher plane just prior to takeoff from Mumbai Airport.
George’s Point of View
Two words: Driving lessons.
Or an alternative two words: Traffic control.
It’s always refreshing to see an accident on the ground where no one is hurt.
However, one does wonder if this points to some underlying problem, either with training or airport design. (Camouflaged military bunker ON the runway? Excuse me? Whose idea was THAT? )
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Contact Photographer Tommy Desmet
What: British Airways Airbus A319-100 en route from London Heathrow UK to Oslo Norway
Where: en route
When: Jun 27th 2009
Who: 70 passengers, 6 crew
Why: 40 minutes from London, the flight experienced a loss of cabin pressure, so they turned back and made a safe landing. British Airways rebooked the passengers for a flight Sunday and provided hotel accommodations.
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Contact Photographer Marc Kirchhofs
What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Hong Kong China to Tokyo Narita Japan
Where: East China Sea
When: Jun 23rd 2009
Who: n/a
Why: The crew noted a sharp drop in outside temperature, then lost the air data reference system. The autopilot and autothrust system disconnected. This was followed by loss of speed and altitude data. Using standby systems, the crew managed to restore data stream and landed safely in Narita.
George’s Point of View
This looks suspiciously like what happened to Airbus Flight 447…Let’s see what the NTSB says.
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Contact Photographer Frank Schaefer
What: Korean Airlines Airbus A300-600 en route from Jeju South Korea to Nagoya Japan
Where: Nagoya
When: Jun 23rd
Who: 164 on board
Why: The plane lost cabin pressure 40 minutes prior to landing. The pilot took the plane to a lower altitude, and oxygen masks were dispensed. The plane landed safely, with no injuries. Investigation regarding the pressure loss is ongoing.
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Contact Photographer Zach Chelsky
What: UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 468 AIRBUS A320
Where: SEATTLE, WA
When: 06/22/2009
Who: (not released)
Why: UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 468 AIRBUS A320 AIRCRAFT WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING WHILE INFLIGHT, POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE LEFT ELEVATOR
George’s Point of View
Statistically, a large plane is hit by lightning an average of once every three years.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Rui Miguel
What: BMI British Midland Airbus A319-100 en route from London Heathrow to Edinburgh
Where: London
When: Jun 21st 2009
Who: 126 passengers,
Why: After the scent of smoke was detected in the cabin, the plane returned to London. The plane was replaced, but no source of smoke or fire was ever found.
George’s Point of View
When I read of accounts like this one, sometimes I wonder if someone snuck a smoke in the bathroom. Not that I would defend such a thing, but if that were the case, it would be better than there being an on-going problem with the electrics.
What: Qantas Airbus A330-300 en route from Hong Kong China to Perth Australia
Where: Perth
When: Jun 22nd 2009
Who: 206 passengers and 13 crew
Why: A Qantas Airbus (like the one in the Air France crash) was off Borneo when it encountered turbulence that made it lose 800 feet in altitude, and injured a dozen passengers and one crew member aboard. Passengers reported that the turbulence sent crew, passengers and carts flying.
Although web reportsby word of mouth include statements that crystals formed on the Airbus instruments, there’s no credible source collaborating the allegation; the crew reported the turbulence as a purely meteorological event. Lightning flashes were seen but the plane did NOT fly through a thunderstorm.
George’s Point of View
Is this the boy who cried wolf? Or a case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire?”
On Flight 447. pilots contended with escalating failures in their flight control system while alarms were going off and no natural horizon was visible to orient or fly by; and they were completely dependent on electronic instrumentation that were providing faulty data.
What went wrong?
George’s Point of View
5,717 aircraft have been manufactured by Airbus.
5,100 are in use.
23 have been involved in fatal crashes
2,584 people have been killed by Airbuses.
5 additional accidents have caused 21 injuries.
Three Airbus crashes involved a separation of the composite vertical stabilizer from the fuselage.
Airbus composite stabilizers, rudders and couplers have also been involved in additional accidents and incidents.
25% of new Airbuses are made of composite material, including the plastic vertical stabilizer over 78 feet long
There have been 10 recorded incidents when A300 tail fins were stressed beyond their capacity.Many pilots refuse to fly the Airbus. Maybe they have the right idea.
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Contact Photographer Matthias Bindseil
What: Tarom Romanian Air Transport Airbus A310-300 en route from Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) to Tenerife Sur Reina,CI (Spain)
Where: Madrid
When: Jun 18th 200p
Who: 201 passengers and 10 crew members
Why: En route the windshield cracked, and the flight was diverted safely to Madrid. No injuries were reported though the cockpit depressurized.
George’s Point of View
As opposed to Boeing, where the pilot always has the upper hand over the machine, the basic tenet of Airbus philosophy is machine knows best. That must be the case, because when all else fails, here comes the Airbus autopilot and the pilot can’t do anything. We’ve seen this bite pilots in the *** in a number of circumstances, but the first one that comes to mind, for me, is the big TAM crash in Sao Paulo. Not being a pilot, I’ve had to ask airbus pilots about this, and believe me, I’ve heard some horror stories that would curl your hair. Maybe that’s what is at the root of my negativity toward the Airbus. The other would be their tendency to crash and kill a lot of people at one time.
Anyway, Airbus recently started production of the A320 series in China. They just did a maiden flight on the first plane. I like China very much but I don’t know about getting on China-made planes. It is bad enough that they are Airbus.
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Contact Photographer Martin Woudstra
What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Rome Fiumicino Italy to Atlanta,GA
Where: Shannon, Ireland/Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky
When: Jun 12th 2009
Who: 285 people on board
Why: En route, smoke developed in the cabin supposedly from the galley. On landing, Shannon fire services sprayed the right hand main gear. Passengers debarked and re-embarked. The flight reached Atlanta but after circling, weather-caused traffic congestion in Atlanta forced the flight to land in Cincinnati.
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Contact Photographer Michael Schmidt
What: SATA International Airbus A310-300 en route from Lisbon Portugal to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Where: Lisbon
When: Jun 15th 2009
Who: 222 passengers
Why: After takeoff, an oil leak was detected in the Airbus and it returned to the airport. Passengers debarked and eventually took an alternative airbus. One passenger was ill.
George’s Point of View
Judgements and awards offer no closure.
For those left behind, the accidents are never over.
Angela de Marchi lost her husband in September 29 2006, a Boeing Legacy crash, when 154 died.
She lost him again at the crash of Tam Congonhas Flight 3054 July 17 2007 when 199 people died.
And now this new Airbus crash…she lost him again.
For the families, each new crash brings the memories back, the hope, the loss.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Stewart Andrew
What: US Airways Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Charlotte
Where: Charlotte
When: 06/14/2009
Who: The number of passengers was not reported
Why: U S Air Flight 705 was in descent when it encountered turbulence. A flight attendant sustained minor injuries. She was apparently the only injury; otherwise, the flight landed safely.
What: United Airbus 320
Where: Billings Logan International Airport
When: Saturday June 13
Who: 136 passengers
Why: The number two engine had problems, necessitating an emergency landing in Billings.
What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Copenhagen, Denmark
Where: Madrid’s Barajas Airport
When: Jun 13th 2009
Who: 190 passengers
Why: After 40 minutes struggling with technical problem with the navigation instruments, the Airbus returned to land safely in Madrid. The passengers were accommodated with a replacement plane, while this plane was examined by maintenance crews. No injuries were reported.
George’s Point of View
Please note there was a similar incident that happened the day before with another model of airbus but there was even less information available so we didn’t write it up.
What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 light 821
Where: Shannon Airport
When: 1.20pm
Who: 285 passengers
Why: smokey stench in the forward galley. The plane made a successful emergency landing, without further incident.
George’s Point of View
I’m glad there were no injuries involved; but I chuckle picturing the chargeback on some flight attendant’s chit because the airline was forced to land the plane when she 1. burned the toast or
2. accidentally toasted the microwave or
3. tried to sneak in a smoke:June 1-15: +$1080.00
Taxes: – XXXX
Emergency -140,008.72
Landing
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Contact Photographer John Richard Thomson
What: Australian Jetstar (division of Qantas) Airbus A330-200 en route from Japan to Australia (Osaka Kansai to Bilinga Gold Coast)
Where: emergency landing on the island of Guam
When: June 10th
Who: 203 mostly Japanese passengers and crew
Why: When a fire broke out in the cockpit when the plane was over the Pacific Ocean, one of the pilots used a fire extinguisher to control the fire.
Passengers debarked normally.
The plane is only two years old; and will be held in Guam as the incident is investigated. 4 investigators will be sent to examine the aircraft.
George’s Point of View
The next big question is whether or not information is withheld.
That’s what some families are wondering, and that’s part of the reason why they’ve hired lawyers. Plaintiffs have access to more information; and they want to know what reason Air France has for not replacing a known Airbus problem, the pitot probes (airbus speed sensors.)
What has been published is error messages based on inconsistent readings taken by the pitot probes.
