The Avro RJ-85, en-route from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, was mid-air when one of its engines emitted a huge bang followed by streak of flames, prompting the crew to shut the engine down.

The plane landed successfully.

All people onboard remained unharmed.

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The Avro RJ-85, en-route to London City, UK, had to return due to low oil pressure. The crew had to shut down one of its engines mid-air.

The plane landed safely.

No injuries were reported.

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The Avro RJ-85 was flying from Paris, France, when it lost radio communication with the ATC right after entering the British Airspace.

The plane accompanied by Typhoons landed safely Newcastle Airport, UK.

No one was injured.

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The Avro RJ-85, flying from London, England to Florence, landed on the runway but touched down hard.

The plane received substantial damage.

All people onboard remained safe.

The cause of the hard landing is being investigated.

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The Avro RJ-85, flying from Dublin to London, England, had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a cracked windshield.

The plane landed safely.

All people onboard remained safe.

The passengers were accommodated in a replacement plane.

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The Avro RJ-85 was ready to take off for London City Airport, England, when a loud bang was heard from the engine, and smoke emerged.

Everyone aboard remained safe.

A replacement plane was arranged by the airline.

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The Avro RJ-100, heading from Cologne to Malmo, Sweden, was mid-air when the crew reported some problem with its gear, causing it to return.

The plane landed safely.

All people aboard remained unhurt.

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The Avro RJ-85, flying from London City, UK, had to enter a 25- minute hold due to some technical problem.

The plane landed safely.

No injuries were reported.

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The Cityjet Avro RJ-85 plane took off for Paris but had to return shortly afterwards after the pilots reported cracked windshield.

The plane landed uneventfully and no one was hurt.

It is believed that the windshield cracked due to bird strike.

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The passenger jet was en-route from Dublin, Ireland to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France when one of its windows cracked. The pilot reported the issue to the control tower shortly before 6:30 p.m.

The Avro RJ85 plane landed uneventfully and none of the 86 passengers and crew members was harmed.

It is not clear what caused the crack.

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The incident happened when the flight 4Z-8732/SA-8732 was on its way from Pietermaritzburg Airport to Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to Albert Morudi, the acting executive manager- Accident and Incident Investigation Division of SA Civil Aviation Authority, the landing gear of the aircraft did not retract after takeoff. Therefore, the pilot decided to divert and make emergency landing.

The crew asked the passengers to sit in brace position due to possibility of gear collapse on landing, however, the plane landed safely. Upon landing, the passengers praised the performance of pilots and flight crew by clapping. One of the passengers, Bruce Gordon said, “When we realized everything was okay, and we had landed safely, everyone started clapping. I didn’t realize how nervous I had been until I felt how sore my neck was.”

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According to a CityJet spokesperson, “The WX 281 flight had just taken off from London City Airport on its way to Florence when the cover of the operating mechanism on the wing became partially detached…The crew followed their standard procedures and, after a discussion with CityJet Maintenance Control, decided to return to London City Airport.”

The Avro RJ85 aircraft carrying 61 passengers made an uneventful emergency landing at the London City Airport. No injuries were reported.

The passengers were taken to their destination on another aircraft.

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What: South African Airlink Avro RJ-85 en route from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg South Africa
Where: Johannesburg
When: Nov 10th 2011 9:20 pm
Who: 73 passengers and 4 crew
Why: Just after takeoff from Johannesburg, the flight developed nose gear trouble. When the pilots returned to the airport, the nose gear did not come down, which was verified on a flyby.

While burning off fuel for two hours, pilots attempted to extend the nose gear, and when attempts failed, had to land without nose gear on the plane’s belly. Passengers evacuated on to the runway at the airport of origin, OR Tambo International, after the three hour flight.

There were no injuries.

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What: Brussels Airlines Avro RJ-85 EN ROUTE from Milan to Brussels
Where: Basel Switzerland
When: Aug 2nd 2010
Why: While en route, the flight developed cabin pressurization problems. The crew decided to divert to Luxembourg where they made a safe landing. No indication is provided as to the source of the issue.

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What: Cityjet Avro RJ-85/Air France en route from Edinburgh to Paris
Where: Birmingham UK
When: Jul 8th 2010
Why: While en route, the Air France flight developed “technical problems” and diverted to Birmingham where it made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative flights.

Avro (1963) was taken over by Hawker Siddely, and later merged with British Aircraft Corp and Scottish Aviation (1977) , which was succeeded by British Aerospace( 1999) , and then succeeded by BAE Systems.

George’s Point of View

Technical issues? In this day and time, it seems to me that “technical issues” is an inadequate description of a problem. These have all been lumped at one time under “technical issues”:

• Polish air force Tupolev 154 that crashed during an attempted landing in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10, 2010. 96 killed
• Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 that took off in Beirut, caught fire and crashed into the Mediterranean on Jan. 25, 2010. 90 killed
• Yemenia Airways Airbus A310 that crashed into the Indian Ocean on approach to Moroni, on June 30, 2009. 152 killed
• Air France Airbus A330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. 228 killed
• Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 that crashed shy of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport runway on Feb. 25, 2009 9 killed (135 aboard)

A cursory announcement of a problem should be specific.

Was it a problem with an indicator? an alarm system? a physical problem? a communication problem? loss of control? overheating? leaks? maintenance?

The only way design issues can be caught ahead of the disaster is if full disclosure of the exact problem is noted publicly, and cross-checked with all other incidents and problem reports. If Air France or Cityjet Avro wants to present details, I would be delighted to present them in this forum here.

Air France—like all carriers—needs to practice full disclosure. If the cause is unknown, then it is multiplicatively more important to disclose the exact issue so that the problem can recorded, cross checked, and be tracked down. Maybe if there were less secrecy and more open communication in the field of aviation safety, the 575 lost in recent crashes would still be here.

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What: Blue1 Avro RJ-85 en route from Vaasa to Helsinki.
Where: Helsinki Finland
When: Dec 17th 2009
Who: 66 passengers 4 crew
Why: On approach to Helsinki, the flight developed fuel problems. Emergency measures were deployed, and the plane landed safely.

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