What: Cimber Air Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Copenhagen to Aalborg Where: Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen When: May 18th 2010 Who: 63 passengers and 4 crew Why: After takeoff, the plane lost a nose wheel when a wheel fell off after an axle broke. The plane returned to land at Kastrup. The landing was safe, and the passengers were rebooked on a subsequent flight.
What: Air New Zealand/ Mount Cook Airlines Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 on behalf of Air New Zealand en route from Dunedin to Wellington New Zealand Where: Wellington When: May 15th 2010 Who: 61 passengers Why: On landing approach, the plane’s right engine caught on fire. The plane made a safe landing, shut down the engine and was met by emergency services.
Maintenance found and replaced a leaking fuel line.
What: Eurolot Polish Airlines Eurolot ATR 72 en route from Krakaw to Warsaw Where: John Paul II Balice International Airport, Warsaw Poland When: April 29 2010 Who: 27 passengers and 4 crew Why: In mid flight, the pilot detected cabin pressure problems, and had inconsistent readings. He reduced his altitude to handle the cabin pressure, and told ATC he would be crash-landing; however, the landing was normal.
What: American Eagle Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Lawton to Dallas Where: Dallas When: Apr 10 2010 Why: On landing in Dallas, the plane’s main gear door fell from the aircraft.
The incident occurred a few months after the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a multimillion-dollar civil fine against Fort Worth-based American Eagle Airlines for flying planes with inadequate repairs. Eagle flew 1,178 flights with improperly repaired landing gear doors on four Bombardier aircraft, violating rules set by the FAA.
What: Jet Airways Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Bhopal to Indore Where: Bhopal When: Feb 11th 2010 Who: 60 passengers 4 crew Why: After takeoff, the right engine failed. The flight returned to Bhopal, and landed hard causing a flat. Otherwise there were no problems recorded and no one was injured, although the closed runway disrupted scheduling for a while.
What: Trigana Air Service Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 en route from Berau to Samarinda Indonesia Where: East Kalimantan, Borneo When: Feb 11th 2010 Who: 46 passengers and 5 crew Why: While en route, the plane suffered engine failure in one of its turboprops. The pilot had diverted to Balikpapan but could not reach the airport, and was forced to land in a rice field near Bone village. The plane was feared missing after losing contact with ATC. One individual had a broken leg but no other serious injuries were reported. No other details have been released regarding the retrieval of the passengers.
What: TRIP Linhas Aereas Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Curitiba to Cascavel Brazil Where: Cascavel When: Jan 10th 2010 Who: 70 on board Why: Near Cascavel the left engine caught fire. The engine was shut down and the fire suppression system activated and put it out. However, Cascavel was closed due to low visibility, and the flight diverted to Iguassu Falls. Cascavel travelers were bussed from Iguassu Falls.
Dourados and Campo Grande passengers were provided connecting flights.
What: Vietnam Airlines ATR 72 MTI 208 Where: Novosibirsk Russia When: Wednesday December 23 2009 Who: crew Why: Twenty minutes after takeoff, the flight had to return to Tolmachevo due to an oil leak from one of its engines. The plane was on a ferry flight to its manufacturer, as part of a program where newer model new ATR 72-500s will be provided as replacements. Seven planes are expected to be replaced.
What: Olympic Air Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 en route from Athens to Naxos Where: Paros When: Dec 12th 2009 Who: not available Why: On approach to Naxos, the crew made a final approach to Paros (situated on side by side islands.)
On advice from ATC, the pilots performed another go around, finding and landing on their planned destination.
What: Pantanal Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 en route from Sao Paulo to Juiz de Fora Brazil Where: Congonhas When: Dec 8th 2009 Who: not available Why: After takeoff, the flight returned to the airport, after developing smoke in the cabin. The plane landed safely.
What: Kingfisher Airlines Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Bhavnagar to Mumbai (India) Where: Mumbai When: Nov 10th 2009 Who: 42 passengers and 4 crew Why: On landing, the flight overran the runway. The flight came to a stop on soft ground. The plane sustained substantial damage to the nose gear, left main gear, left wing tip and left propeller.
What: Danu /Avanti Air Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 en route from Skien to Bergen Norway Where: Bergen When: Nov 5th 2009 Who: 16 people on board Why: On approach to Flesland Airport, the crew got an unsafe gear indication. Landing was aborted, until the problem was determined to be an indicator issue; at which time, the final pass was made, when it landed safely.
What: Bangkok Airways Aerospatiale ATR-72-500,en route from Krabi to Koh Samui Thailand Where: Koh Samui Thailand When: Aug 4th 2009 Who: 68 passengers and 4 crew Why: While landing in heavy rain, the plane skidded off runway 35 at Koh Samui and into an old unused control tower. Public reports vary (between one and 41 deaths, including the captain).
13,000 feet above sea level on the sheer cliff called “Indian Face” by the locals, buffeted by freezing winds, crews rappelled from helicopters to search the wreckage in a dramatic rescue and reconnaissance attempt. No survivors were found.
The flame-charred tail of the twin-engine plane rested on the mountainside amid fuselage and assorted wreckage.
The Merida airport six miles away is hemmed in among mountains in a region notoriously difficult to navigate. Terrain forced searchers to camp a mile away and hike in. Pilots–including the one lost in this flight–receive specialized training to fly through the area.
Six nautical miles from the Alberto Carnevalli Airport, it’s point of departure, the wreck was discovered.
Missing since Thursday, it failed to contact the MaiquetÃa airport air control tower within the 15 minutes after takeoff.
Venezuelan Civil Aeronautics Institute director Ramón Viñas declared in a public statement, “Given the way the airplane crashed, we believe no people survived,”
Officials with the Aeronautics Prosecution Office, physicians, pathologists, and forensic scientists and search and rescue teams are scheduled to begin removal of the aircraft and the victims.
Firefighter Department Sergeant Johnny Paz told local news TV channel Globovisión that the airplane shattered. “The plane crashed at 12,000 feet high against a stone wall in the high plateau.”
Head of the Civil Defense for Merida, Noel Marquez, said locals saw the plane go down 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Caracas, in the Andean region of Coyado del Condor.
The Santa Barbara Airlines flight went missing after departing from Merida at 5:45 pm (2245 GMT).
Rescue teams are in transit, according to Marquez. The plane they are searching for is a French-Italian-made ATR42 twin-engine turbo-prop. It crashed approximately 15,600 feet above sea level and sent no emergency signals prior to its disappearance. When air traffic controllers had been out of contact with flight 518 for hours, alarms went out.
Advance rescue teams traveled toward the Paramo Mifafi valley. The first rescue team left Thursday night for the village of Mucuchies, an hour from Merida but won’t not arrive at the accident location for about three hours because of the steep terrain and near freezing temperatures. Marquez, said “Early tomorrow (Friday) two M17 rescue helicopters will be deployed.” Until then, over a hundred searchers are working on on the ground.
National Civil Defense chief Antonio Rivero said officially that the plane is still listed as missing.The passenger list included a Venezuelan political analyst and relatives of a government official. The pilot had received special training for flying in the Andes and had been employed by Santa Barbara Airlines eight years.
The 20-year-old plane had no record of technical problems but the Aviation Safety Network publishes that the ATR 42 series has been involved in at least 17 accidents its beginnings in 1984. Psychologists have been sent to counsel relatives waiting at the airport.
