Airbus

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    TAM Update

    What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 Flight JJ3054
    Where: Sao Paulo Brazil Congonhas airport
    When: July 17, 2007
    Who: 199 fatalities
    Why: Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology 16-month investigation places blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety. Government failure to set rainy-day landing rules for the short runway whose new surface had not yet been grooved to drain rainwater.

    NTSB Factual
    NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
    Scheduled 14 CFR operation of TAM Linhas Aéreas
    Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
    Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration: PR-MBK
    Injuries: 199 Fatal.
    On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.

  • Wilmington Emergency Landing

    What: Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 Flight VS06 en route from Miami to London
    Where: Wilmington International Airport, NC
    When: Thursday night
    Who: 350
    Why: Crew members felt heat coming from the plane’s floor and made an emergency landing. The problem may have been caused by an overheated toilet pump

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    Air Asia Emergency Landing


    What: AirAsia A320
    Where: Kuching International Airport
    When: 9.30am.
    Who: 65 passengers and crew
    Why: undesignated technical problems were cited as the cause

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    Air Canada Emergency Landing


    What: Air Canada A319 Airbus en route from Winnipeg to Toronto
    Where: Richardson International Airport Winnipeg
    When: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
    Who: 100 passengers
    Why: The crew smelled burning rubber and returned to the airport and had a safe landing.

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    Pilot Suffers Stroke During Flight

    What: Airbus 320 en route from Manila to and Bacolod City
    Where: Philippines
    When: the flight landed safely at 5:37 p.m. local time
    Who: Philippine Airlines pilot Alex Carvajal, 79 passengers
    Why:Pilot suffered a stroke yesterday afternoon while he was at the controls. Co-pilot Donato Cabigo took over the helm and landed without incident. At the time, the pilot felt pain in his neck. The hospital termed it “a cerebrovascular accident” or a stroke

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    Lufthansa Fire and Emergency Landing

    What: German Lufthansa Airbus A300-600 en route from Malta to Frankfurt.
    Where: Malta International Airport
    When: Tuesday
    Who: 205 passengers evacuated with no injuries.
    Why: The crew reported a fire in its cargo hold and returned for an emergency landing 25 minutes after embarking.

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    Perth: Yet Another Airbus Emergency Landing

    What: Emirates Airbus A340 Flight EK425 en route from Perth International Airport leaving at 6am bound for Dubai
    Where: PERTH Westralia Airport, Australia
    When: The pilot made a textbook emergency landing about 8.40am.
    Who: All 120 passengers disembarked safely at about 9am..
    Why:The pilot was forced to turn back after reporting smoke in the cabin. Fuel was dumped from the plane before it came in to land. The Airbus is the same set-up as the Qantas Airbus A330-300 that injured more than 70 people when it lost altitude. Passengers said no smoke was visible inside the jet.

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    GoAir Airbus Emergency Landing in India

    What: GoAir Airbus A-320 flight from Mumbai–a new plane delivered in November 2007
    Where: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport
    When: Thursday evening at 1648 hours (around 5 pm.)
    Who: Undetermined number of passengers on board. (From 114 to 223 passengers were reported to us.)
    Why: After Air Traffic Control visually verified the nosewheel was stuck, the Airbus landed safely. There was significant drama on board, however, as passengers in the front eleven rows of the plane were directed to move toward the back prior to the landing. Credit for the safe landing was given to Captain Hardeep Singh. All air traffic was put on hold untill the Airbus plane had made a safe landing.

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    Emergency Landing in Thunder Bay

    What: Air Canada Airbus 320 en route from Toronto to Edmonton
    Where: Thunder Bay International Airport Australia
    When: Monday night
    Who: Pilot, crew and passengers
    Why: Pilot noticed a cracked windshield in the cockpit.

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    Airbus A320 Emergency Landing

    What: German airline Air Berlin Airbus A320 en route from from the Spanish resort of Mallorca to Nuremberg
    When: Sunday Sept 21
    Who: 167 people
    Why: Although a light indicated one of four brakes was overheated, the plane landed safely.

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    Taca A320 Overrun in Tegucigalpa


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mario J Craig

    What: Taca A320 en route from San Salvador (El Salvador) to Tegucigalpa (Honduras)
    Where: Tegucigalpa
    When: May 30th 2008
    Who: 124 passengers and 11 crew
    Why: On landing at Tegucigalpa, the A320 overran the runway of Tegucigalpa Toncontin Airport’s runway 2. The crash occurred in bad weather. Overrunning the runway, the plane continued to crash into a store and cars.

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    Airbus Crashes:

      An old problem still not solved. Early Airbus A320 Video account of Sunday June 26, 1988, the airclub at the airfield of Mulhouse-Habsheim in Alsace/France. Low approach of a brand new Airbus A320 . 3 passengers died, and about 50 injuries.

    • 26 June 1988 – Air France Flight 296 crashes into trees beyond the runway on a demo flight at Habsheim, France. 3 passengers killed.
    • 14 February 1990 – Indian Airlines Flight 605, A320-231 with 146 passengers crashes on final approach to Bangalore Airport, killing 88 passengers and 4 crew.
    • 20 January 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an A320-111 crashes into a ridge near Mount Sainte-Odile in the Vosges mountains on final approach to Strasbourg from Lyon. 87 fatalities (five crew members, 82 passengers).
    • 14 September 1993 – Lufthansa Flight 2904, in Warsaw an A320-211 from Frankfurt am Main 70 people crashes into earth bunker at runway’s end. Fire in left wing penetrates the passenger cabin. Copilot and one passenger die.
    • 22 March 1998, Philippine Airlines Flight 137, an A320-214 crashes and overruns Bacolod City Domestic Airport runway RPVB, in Bacolod. All passengers and crew survive; many ground injuries.
    • 23 August 2000 – Gulf Air Flight 072, an A320-212 crash into the Persian Gulf on approach to Bahrain Airport. 143 passengers and crew fatalities.
    • 3 May 2006 – Armavia Flight 967, an A320-211 crashes into the Black Sea while conducting a go-around following 1st approach to Sochi Airport, Russia. 113 passengers and crew fatalites attributed to pilot error.
    • 9 July 2006 – Airbus A310 F-OGYP Sibir flight 778 departed Domodeovo. On landing, the airplane went off the runway at the high speed of ~180 km/h, hit the concrete fence and buildings, crashed and caught fire. 125 people died as a result of the accident. “On prior flight, was released with six defects as per minimum equipment list (MEL), including the deactivated state of the left engine thrust reverser. The previous two flights had been carried out with a deactivated right engine thrust reverser.
    • 17 July 2007 – TAM Airlines Flight 3054 – PR-MBK, the A320-233 on the route, can’t stop while landing at Congonhas International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. Under investigation. All 187 passengers and crew died and further ground fatalities.
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    Aborted Crash


    Airbus A320-200 Lufthansa nearly crashes during a crosswind approach on the runway 23 at the Hamburg International Airport (EDDH) on 1st march 2008 in Germany.

    Left wing touched the runway during extreme turbulance. Left wing destroyed. Plane lands safely.

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    Tam Air Flight 3054 Case Filed

    Partner of the elite legal team of Masry and Vititoe, Podhurst Orseck filed 59 wrongful death lawsuits for the families of passengers killed on July 17, 2007 aboard Brazil’s TAM Airlines Flight 3054. The Law Office of Masry and Vititoe is familiar to the public as the firm depicted in the academy award winning film, “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts.

    The 59 wrongful death lawsuits stem from the notorious Flight 3054, the worst airline disaster in Brazil’s history, when the A320 TAM Linhas Aareas aircraft attempted landing at Sao Paolo’s Congonhas airport and slammed into an air cargo building, killing 199 people (187 aboard the plane and 12 ground crew). Aware that the thrust reverser (an instrument that helps planes slow down on landings) had been deactivated during a maintenance check, the pilots mishandled the landing procedures. The parties included in the lawsuits are TAM, leasing company Pegasus Aviation, Airbus, Airbus Customer Services, Goodrich (thrust reverser provider) and International Aero Engines.

    The devastation was compounded when, within hours of the disaster, TAM released the passenger manifest via the internet. Abandoning the families of the crash victims to draw their own conclusions, Tam neglected to assign personal contact with the families of the victimized passengers to notify them of their loss.

    In prior airline crash cases, Masry and Vititoe has partnered with internationally recognized Florida-based aviation attorneys Podhurst Orseck. In addition to the Tam Flight 3054 case, together they also currently represent families of the passengers aboard the Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 that collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006. They also represent victims’ families in the Sibir Airlines crash that involved the same type of Airbus under similar circumstances; they too attempted landing in the rain, failed to stop and crashed into a building resulting in catastrophic loss of life.

    About Masry and Vititoe
    Masry and Vititoe is a leading law firm whose compassionate policy of keeping in personal contact further supports their clients’ comfort and confidence. The Masry and Vititoe firm has been defending the rights of the victims of negligence for over 30 years. As in the Hinkey case on which the movie “Erin Brockovich” was based, the firm is known for pursuing the rights of individuals who have suffered acute and chronic chemical exposure. They represent thousands of injured persons throughout the country, from Hawaii to the East Coast, and on their behalf have fearlessly combated and prevailed against some of the world’s largest corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, public utilities and oil companies.

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    TAM Crash Families File Suit in Florida

    TAM Crash Families File Suit in Florida

    ACCIDENT: Attorneys for the families of passengers killed on TAM Linhas Aereas Flight 3054 filed 58 wrongful death lawsuits in Florida last week. The 17 July 2007 crash, the worst in Brazil’s history, killed 187 on board and 12 people on the ground when an A320 attempted a go-around at Sao Paolo’s Congonhas airport and slammed into a building just past the runway end. The investigation in part is focusing on whether the pilots mishandled landing operations in light of a known inoperative thrust reverser. Parties named in the lawsuits include TAM, leasing company Pegasus Aviation, Airbus, Airbus Customer Services, thrust-reverser provider Goodrich and International Aero Engines.

    Read the original

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    PR Newswire: Multiple Lawsuits Against TAM Airlines

    Masry and Vititoe Partners, MIAMI, March 26 /PRNewswire/ PRESS RELEASE — Internationally recognized aviation attorneys Steven C. Marks and Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid with the Podhurst Orseck law firm have filed a series of lawsuits on behalf of families of passengers killed in Brazil’s worst airline disaster. On July 17, 2007, 199 people perished when TAM Airlines Flight 3054 slid off the runway at Congonhas Airport and slammed into an air cargo building in Sao Paulo. Today, Podhurst attorneys filed 59 wrongful death complaints related to the catastrophe in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

    In addition to TAM NYSE: TAM, which is charged with its own negligence and that of its pilots and maintenance personnel, the defendants in the lawsuits are Pegasus Aviation IV, Inc.; Airbus S.A.S.; Airbus Industrie G.I.E. (EADS) (EAD.PA); Airbus Customer Services, Inc.; Goodrich Corporation NYSE: GR; and International Aero Engines AG.

    “Responsibility not only lies with the companies that manufactured and handled maintenance for the aircraft,” said Marks, “We believe Airbus provided inadequate customer support, simulator services, and training materials for the pilots and flight crew that replicates the performance of the aircraft in all normal and abnormal conditions.”

    Marks said it’s clear the flight crew knew there were problems with the aircraft before the disaster because the plane’s right thrust reverser had been deactivated before the flight.

    “The thrust reverser is used to slow the jet down upon landing. Without an operational right thrust reverser, it didn’t have enough room to stop on the runway, ending in a horrific crash when the plane skidded off the runway’s edge,” he said.

    Podhurst Orseck filed the first lawsuit related to the crash on behalf of the family of 35-year-old Ricardo Tazoe of Miami, an employee with Banco Santander. In all of the cases, the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial to recover financial damages for pain and suffering; lost value of life; funeral expenses; and all other damages they may be entitled to under the law.

    Marks and Martinez-Cid have extensive experience handling Brazilian aviation matters. They currently represent the families of numerous passengers who were killed when Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006.

    They have represented victims in countless significant major commercial airline crashes, including those killed in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. in August 2006. Marks has acted as co-lead trial counsel for the California State Court plaintiffs after a Silk Air crash between Jakarta and Singapore in 1997 (successfully obtaining one of the most significant and largest verdicts in a mass disaster aviation case) and acting as lead liaison counsel for the state court and federal multi- district litigation plaintiffs’ steering committees over the ValuJet Flight 592 crash in Miami-Dade County in 1996.

    Based in Miami, Podhurst Orseck, P.A. concentrates exclusively in trial and appellate litigation. The firm’s general tort practice places a major emphasis on aviation, automobile, products liability and medical malpractice litigation. In addition, the firm has a substantial practice in commercial, matrimonial and criminal litigation, as well as complex commercial tort litigation. Attorneys serve clients and corporations throughout the United States, and in many foreign countries. You can learn more about Podhurst Orseck by visiting the firm’s website at www.podhurst.com.

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    Hamburg – A320 nearly crashes during crosswind approach

    1st march 2008 – A320 nearly crashed during crosswind approach at Hamburgs RWY23.

    This wise pilot aborted his landing and saved them all from a crash. Pilots should be able to calculate the wind direction and speed to determine if they can execute a safe crosswind landing. This plane landed safely on the second attempt.

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    Brazil Tam Air Crash: Still Under Investigation after 7 months

    Here is where the disaster stands:

    On July 17, 2007 the pilot of TAM Airlines Flight JJ3054, tried to land at Congonhas, but realizing he wouldn’t be able to stop in time on the rain-slicked tarmac, tried to take off again.

    He failed.

    The Airbus A320 skidded across a road and smashed into a building owned by the airline. The ensuing fireball killed all 186 people on the plane and 13 more on the ground, making this the worst air disaster in Brazilian history.

    The thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks, the airline confessed. The reverser is used to help jets slow down on landing. Tam Airlines insists the deactivation was in accordance with proper procedures. However, nearly 200 people–passengers and crew–are dead.

    Brazil’s Globo TV televised that a problem with the right thrust reverser had emerged four days prior to the crash.

    The Airbus’s manual stipulates that ten days can lapse after a problem is first detected in an inspection and the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.

    Aviators call São Paolo’s Congonhas Airport “the aircraft carrier,” because landing on its short runway, surrounded by densely populated residential areas, is like landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Though a Brazilian court had banned large jets from the airport in February, citing safety concerns, the ban was later overturned.

    Masry and Vititoe is participating in the litigation.

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    Brazil jet thrust reverser ‘off’


    This photograph was produced by Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency.Their website states: “O conteúdo deste site é publicado sob a licença Creative Commons Atribuição 2.5 Brasil”(This photo is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil)

    The thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks, the airline confessed.

    The reverser is used to help jets slow down on landing.

    Tam Airlines insisted the deactivation was in accordance with proper procedures. However, nearly 200 people–passengers and crew–are dead.

    Yet this was in accordance with proper procedures?

    The airbus started to land at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, and either aborted the landing or failed to slow down when the deactivated thrust reverser failed. The plane crossed the street, hit buildings and exploded.

    Tam Airlines said the right thrust reverser was “deactivated” at the time of the accident. To quote them specifically:
    “in conditions stipulated by the maintenance of the manufacturer Airbus and approved by [Brazil’s] National Civil Aviation Agency”.

    Brazil’s Globo TV televised that a problem with the right thrust reverser had emerged four days prior to the crash.

    The Airbus’s manual stipulates that ten days can lapse after a problem is first detected in an inspection and the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.

    sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk
    http://www.aviation.com/ap_070721_thrustreverser.html

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    How the Airbus Brakes

    An A320 gets three devices to brake

    Interested in more about the Airbus? Airbus Flight Crew Training Manual.pdf

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    Airbus says no evidence of plane fault

    A representative for the European aircraft manufacturer told the Brazilian Congress, “We don’t see any indication of a fault.”

    A TAM airline Airbus 320 overran the runway while landing at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport crossed a road and slammed into an airport building, and exploded on July 17.

    Available data shows the aircraft’s brakes functioned correctly.

    But the representative said that one of the engine’s throttles was in the ‘climb’ position.

    The plane was also operating with only one of of its two thrust reversers, which are used to help brake the plane upon landing.

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    No ‘Errors’ In Sao Paulo, Brazil Plane Crash

    Mechanical or other failures were not responsible for the crash of a Brazilian airliner that killed 199 people in July, a report released Thursday said.

    The report, presented to Brazilian lawmakers, came from the manufacturers of the Airbus that crashed at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, O Globo TV reported.

    However, the same congressional panel that heard the findings by Airbus determined last week that a misaligned engine throttle was likely the cause of the crash.

    REposted from: http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21296833.shtml

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    Premature and Unfortunate Conclusions in Brazil

    Local media tries to claim that pilot error was responsible for the airplane crash that killed nearly 200 people in Sao Paulo last week.

    The news magazine VEJA said that a short runway and a constricted area that gave little room for victims to escape contributed to the accident.

    The Brazilian air force said no conclusion had been reached.

    It labelled as “premature and unfortunate” any conclusion about the accident, “as long as the investigations are ongoing.”

    On July 17, a TAM airline Airbus 320 carrying 187 people overran the runway, crossed a road and slammed into an airport building.

    The left turbine was thrust in reverse and was helping the airplane slow down, the right one was accelerating.

    Key information has been obtained from the airplane’s black boxes.

    The runway, which had been closed has now reopened Friday.