Airbus

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    Airbus a Hot Mess over Geneva


    Contact photographer Mark Kwiatkowski
    What: Lufthansa A321-100, registration en route from Munich Germany to Lisbon Portugal
    Where: Diverted to Geneva Switzerland
    When: May 9th 2009
    Who: 147 passengers
    Why: En route, the airbus was hit by clear air turbulence. Twelve passengers were injured, and 2 crew members. 5 were taken to the hospital.

    George’s Point of View

    Turbulence does not necessarily result in a plane being taken out of commission. The passengers were delayed for five hours while replacement transportation was procured. There is no indication why.

    This makes me question why the passengers had to switch planes.

    • Was this just a precaution?
    • Was the turbulence so bad that it damaged the plane?
    • Did they get jostled around much the galley contents (or during mealtime) that it made a 5+ hour mess?
    • Did something on the plane go on the fritz before during or after?

      • Inquiring minds want to know…

    Update: Meal service was in progress at the time of the turbulence.

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    Airbus Nose Gear Issue in SF

    What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 en route from Munich Germany to San Francisco,CA
    Where: on far approach to San Francisco
    When: May 5th 2009
    Why: After reporting nose gear issues, the airbus was towed off the runway after landing, and it’s return flight was cancelled.

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    Airbus Doubles Back Twice in Rome

    What: Windjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Catania to Rome Fiumicino (Italy)
    Where: Catania
    When: May 4th 2009
    Who: 111 passengers
    Why: This plane returned to Catiana not once but twice. First, an unsafe gear indication turned them back for repairs; on the second try, retraction of the gears resulted in vibrations of the airframe, so they returned to Catiana a second time. The flight left for Rome seven hours later–on a different plane.

    George’s Point of View

    Can’t you just feel the response of the passengers? Not just the anxiety the first time around, but imagine the second attempt when those gears went up and that anxiety was topped off by terror when the plane started vibrating. There’s not a person on board that plane who wasn’t relieved when that plane made it safely to the runway.

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    Airbus Eats Bird over Glasgow


    Contact photographer Wim Callaert
    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A330-200, en route from Glasgow,SC (UK) to Dalaman (Turkey)
    Where: Manchester
    When: May 3rd 2009
    Who: 322 passengers and 11 crew
    Why: Over Glasgow, the left hand engine apparently ingested a bird; subsequently, the plane suffered failure of the left hand engine while departing (climbing over) Glasgow, then suffered slat failure. The crew was able to shut down the engine and land in Manchester

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    Northwest Tailstrike

    What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Minneapolis, MN to Denver, CO
    Where: Denver
    When: May 4th 2009
    Why: Resulting in (or from) 3.3G acceleration, the Airbus tail struck the ground. Damage was substantial/

    George’s Point of View

    What?? Was the pilot in training??

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    Jetstar Airbus Pilot Catches Hydraulic Leak in Time


    Contact photographer Justin Shan
    What: Jetstar Airbus A320-200 en route from Cairnes to Brisbane Australia
    Where: Cairns Airport
    When: 9.30am.
    Who: 179 people
    Why: When the pilot identified a leak in the hydraulics, he made several loops of Cairns airport before undertaking a “standard air return.” After an interim of 3 and a half hours, the plane resumed the flight.

    George’s Point of View

    Yet another Airbus problem.

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    Preliminary Conclusion of Melbourne-March 20 Tail strike

    What: Airbus A340 en route for Dubai
    Where: Melbourne airport
    When: March 20
    Who: 257 passengers and 18 crew
    Why: Incorrect weight data on an in-flight computer caused the tail of an Emirates plane to scrape the runway during take-off. ( The Australia’s air safety regulator concluded that the weight was incorrectly entered on the onboard computer which resulted in thrust setting and take-off reference speeds lower than those required for the aircraft?s actual weight. (The weight entered was 112 tons too light.) The incident caused substantial damage to the plane’s tail. The tail ripped out at least one runway light, and dislodged a flight data recorder at the plane’s rear. Manual correction of thrust caused the rear fuselage to scrape the tarmac. The Emirates investigation is considering a flight computer double-entry system “to protect against single data source entry error.”

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    Rudder Failure Fails to Alert Crew

    What: Air Canada Airbus A319-100 en route from Montreal,QC to Toronto,ON
    Where: Montreal
    When: Apr 14th 2009
    Who: 117 on board
    Why: As the plane was about to lift off, the rudder moved and the aircraft pivoted to the left. The crew completed the flight. Afterwards, maintenance in Toronto was informed and they replaced the yaw damper actuator and the #1 flight augmentation computer.

    George’s Point of View

    I question whether the crew should have continued on with this flight on board this plane before the maintenance repairs were completed. It is obvious that everyone survived and that is a good thing. But I wonder if the convenience of not stopping is worth either 1. the actual risk; 2. the perceived risk 3. passenger confidence.

    As far as confidence in an airline goes, as for me, ask me any day and I’ll tell you, I’d prefer to be a little late to being a little dead. I think most passengers would agree.

    If not stopping to perform repairs is Air Canada’s policy, then someone needs to rethink this policy, because the issue is not consumer confidence vs the bottom line. It is safety vs foolhardy cutting of corners.

  • Smoke-no fire in Fuerteventura

    What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Fuerteventura Spain
    Where: Fuerteventura
    When: Apr 19th 2009
    Why: On approach to Fuerteventura, a cargo hold smoke detector went off, but on landing, no fire was found. Even though no fire was found, the plane was held for examination.

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    Depressurized Airbus Lands in London


    Contact photographer Bruce Leibowitz
    What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300, en route from New York JFK,NY to Istanbul Ataturk
    Where: divert to London Heathrow
    When: Apr 16th 2009 6:30 local
    Who: 185 passengers and 15 crew
    Why: The cabin depressurized en route, and the flight was diverted to Heathrow for a safe landing. Although passengers experienced shortness of breath and ear pain, oxygen masks never did deploy.

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    Wilmington Emergency Landing: Medical


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Durning
    What: Air Transat Airbus A-310 en route from Nova Scotia to Cuba
    Where: Wilmington International Airport
    When: Thursday night
    Who: a passenger went into shock and passed out.
    Why: Fortunately for the passenger, a doctor on board stabilized the patient. After landing, the 40-year-old passenger was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center and the flight continued on as scheduled to Cuba.

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    Business as Usual: JAL Engine flameout a matter of course


    Pictured: Japan Airlines A300B4-622R
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Christian Waser
    What: Japan Airlines Airbus A300-600 en route from Aomori to Tokyo Haneda
    Where: Haneda Airport
    When: Apr 17th 2009
    Who: 120 people
    Why: After touchdown at Haneda Airport, the engine started smoking; flames were shooting out of the exhaust. The crew engaged the ” engine fire suppression system.” Passengers did NOT debark via emergency procedures.

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    Airbus Loses Control in Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mark Kryst – YXUphoto
    What: Air Canada Airbus A320-200 en route from Montreal Trudeau Canada to Fort Lauderdale, FL
    Where: Montreal
    When: Apr 14th 2009
    Why: After reporting problems to air traffic control and returning to Montreal, on final approach to runway 06L the crew experienced “severe mechanical turbulence” and momentarily lost control of the plane. However, the plane landed safely; and shortly afterwards, the passengers were off to their destination–on board another Airbus.

    *Mechanical turbulence is turbulence around buildings, wind eddies not caused by thermal means.

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    Airbus Diverts to Athens


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: Easyjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Heraklion (Greece) to London Gatwick,EN (UK)
    Where: Athens International Airport
    When: Apr 14th 2009 15.02 local time
    Who: 137 passengers and 7 crew
    Why: Pressurization. After observing problems with pressurization, the crew burned off ten minutes worth of fuel and landed on runway 21R. The problem turned out to be in the air conditioning. Easyjet’s press release terms this not an emergency but “merely a precautionary technical diversion.”

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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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    Flat Tire Tornado Diverts Airbus to Spain


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: British Airways Airbus A319-100 en route from London Gatwick to Gibraltar.
    Where: Malaga Spain
    When: Apr 3rd 2009
    Who:
    Why: Airbus passengers got a little extra traveling in when the runway at their Gibraltar destination airport was blocked by a Tornado fighter with burst tires after its brakes overheated on landing.

    The British Airways jet flew on to Malaga Spain where the runway was thankfully NOT blocked; and the plane was able to land safely, and allow passengers to take a bus ride back to Gibraltar, their actual destination.

    And for those individuals left planeless at the Gibraltar gate, eventually the Tornado was moved off the runway; and the Airbus was able to land and pick up those passengers.

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    Air Canada Airbus A333 Diverted for Illness and Bad Manners

    George’s Point of View

    Sometimes you really have to wonder what air travel is coming to–especially when you hear about the Air Canada Airbus (you know I keep an eye on those Airbuses)–that stopped for a medical emergency. That’s not the big thing–the big thing is after the medical emergency, we had yet ANOTHER person whose basic bad manners caused enough disruption for the authorities to be called. Apparently a Toronto TV and radio host decided to pitch a fit on the plane. Drunk, cussing and escorted off by police to sleep it off in the drunk tank. I prefer my flights without that kind of live entertainment, thank you very much. Maybe the airlines should start giving a little deportment test before every flight, and those who flunk have to go to a session of charm school NOT run by Larry King.

    I started to put up a new category, “cracked passenger” right above “cracked windshield” but decided to settle for “disruptive passenger.”

    And below, for those who are here for the aircraft, please note the plane, when it is in operation and NOT boarded by publicity hounds.


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

    What: Air Canada Airbus A330-300, registration C-GFUR en route from London to Toronto
    Where: St. John’s, Canada
    When: Mar 31st 2009
    Who: Shall remain nameless simply on general purposes
    Why: see above.
    src avherald.com

    * This incident is NOT to be confused with Robert McDonald, of Glasgow, who opened an emergency exit hatch as his flight waited out two and a half hours of bad weather delay at JFK.

    * OR Southwest Flight 1402 where a large woman started pummeling someone for touching her

    * OR American Airlines Flight 1343 from Charlotte to Dallas/Fort Worth where a man ran and jumped into a plane to slide down the the inflatable exit slides

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    Another Airbus Emergency


    pictured: Airbus similar to the one in the incident
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Simpsonmeng
    What: China Southern Airlines Airbus A320-200
    Where: en route from Dayong to Shenzhen
    When: Mar 27th 2009
    Who: 100 passengers
    Why: The right engine failed. After circling the airport for forty minutes, the plain landed without further incident in Dayong.

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    Airbus Emergency Landing in Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mick Bajcar
    What: Air Transat Airbus A310-300, registration C-GTSD en route from Panama City Panama to Montreal,QC Canada
    Where: Montreal, QC Runway 06L
    When: Mar 23rd 2009
    Why: The crew reported an unsafe gear indication on approach, and initiated a go-around. They managed to lower and lock the gear but then nose gear steering was unavailable. They landed safely and had to be towed away, blocking the runway for fifteen minutes.

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    Airbus Leak Instigates Emergency Landing in South Africa


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Steve Brimley
    What: South African Airways Airbus A319-100 from Johannesburg en route to Port Elizabeth
    Where: OR Tambo International airport.
    When: Monday March 23
    Why: The plane returned to the airport of origin to make an emergency landing due to an oil leak which was said to be non-threatening. Prior to this event, a gauge indicated a pressure problem. The crew shut down one engine when it lost oil pressure.

    Passengers took another plane an hour and a half later.

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    Emirates Airbus Tailstrike in Melbourne


    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
    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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    Airbus Generator Fails


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Frank Robitaille
    What: Air Canada Airbus A319-100, registration C-FYNS en route from Liberia Costa Rica to Toronto,ON
    Where: Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica’s capital city San Jose
    When: Mar 19th 2009
    Why: During takeoff from Liberia, the plane experienced generator failure in its left hand engine. The plane landed safely.