Boeing

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    Fighter Escorts Primera Air to Rome


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Sergio Domingos

    What: Primera Air Boeing 737-700 en route from Zakinthos Greece to Dublin
    Where: Rome Italy
    When: Jul 10th 2009
    Who: 153 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: While en route, the Primera flight requested an emergency landing. It lowered altitude without declaring an emergency, which upset air traffic control. Fighter jets (Eurofighter) were deployed as an escort. The flight landed safely in Rome (after refusing Naples and burning off fuel.)

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    Birdstrike in Baltimore

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Baltimore to Providence
    Where: BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport
    When: Jul 7th 2009
    Who: 135 on board
    Why: On takeoff, the plane flew into a flock of birds. About 40 small birds were found on the runway after the incident. The plane landed shortly after the bird strike. The plane was sent to be examined; and another plane was provided about 5 hours later to resume the flight.

    George’s Point of View

    The birds are at it again.

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    Pakistan Bird Strike


    Pictured: One of Shaheen Air’s 12 Boeing 737s
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Steve Brimley

    What: Shaheen Airlines Boeing 737-200 en route to Karachi
    Where: Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Airport
    When: Saturday
    Who: not available
    Why: A bird strike right after take-off caused the pilots to request an emergency landing. No one was injured, and the flight took off after a delay of four hours.

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    Emergency Landing in Maracaibo


    Boeing owned by Venezolana similar to the one in the reported incident
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Art Brett

    What: Venezolana Rutas Aéreas de Venezuela RAV Boeing 737-200 en route from Maracaibo Venezuela to Aruba
    Where: Maracaibo
    When: Jul 2nd 2009
    Who: 54 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: After takeoff, the flight experienced the failure of the left hand engine, initiated by an “explosion” or backfire. The flight returned to Maracaibo, and landed safely.

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    Hawaiian Airlines: Hilo Emergency Landing

    What: Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Los Angeles,CA to Honolulu
    Where: Hilo Hawaii
    When: Jun 30th 2009
    Who: 237 passengers
    Why: En route to Hawaii, an engine indicator light indicated a problem with an engine oil filter. After the engine was “idled” down, the plane diverted to Hilo and made a low speed approach, landing safely at 11:30 am.

    Passengers were flown to Oahu on alternate transportation.

    According to Hawaiin Airlines public report, examination of the plane revealed that the indicator was faulty.

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    Boeing Lands Safely on Nose-Gear Maypops


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Ronald J Stella

    What: US Airways Boeing 737-400 en route from Philadelphia to Tampa
    Where: Tampa
    When: Jun 27th 2009
    Who: 138 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: After a normal flight, on landing, both nose gear tires blew. Nose gear wheels and strut were damaged.

    Passengers disembarked via roll-up stairs thru the back of the plane. No injuries were reported. It took 8 hours to clear the runway after the incident. Mechanics are looking at a landing gear problem as the cause of the incident.

    Billy Mays was interviewed after debarking.

    George’s Point of View

    Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance! Or was it a fast landing?

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    Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200

    O que: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 rota de Bruxelas, Bélgica para Newark,NJ ?Onde:rota?Quando:18 de Junho 2009
    Quem:247 passageiros e 3 tripulantes
    Por que: Quatro horas de vôo em cima do Atlântico e o capitão morreu. Os outros dois co-pilotos controlaram o vôo e aterrissaram com segurança em Newark.
    Opinião: O salário de um co-piloto é em média de $11/hora.
    Um co-piloto deve ter um salário “profissional”, pois se algo acontece com o piloto, o co-piloto se torna o piloto principal. Nesse caso, a Continental teve sorte de ter dois co-pilotos no avião que aparentemente tinham boa experiência. Algumas vezes, os co-pilotos não têm muita experiência, o que pode causar uma tragédia.

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    Delta Emergency Landing In Ontario

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta GA to Ontario CA
    Where: Ontario
    When: Jun 23rd 2009
    Who: 190 passengers
    Why: Forty minutes before landing, the Boeing’s right engine ingested ice from the fuselage and started vibrating. The crew shut down the right engine, descended to a lower altitude and flew on the left engine successfully to Ontario.

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    Thomson Airways Flight lands safely with One Engine Down


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Jorge Abreu

    What: Thomson Airways Boeing 757-200 en route from Boa Vista Cape Verde to Manchester England
    Where: Porto Santo
    When: Jun 22nd 2009
    Who: 230 passengers
    Why: The pilot experienced a fuel leak in the right engine, shut it down, and diverted to Madeira for a safe landing.

    George’s Point of View

    That must have been harrowing flying on one engine and having to land on one of the Madeira islands. I wonder how they were alerted to the fuel leak–or if they just ran out of gas. Whatever the circumstances, all the more power to the flight crew for managing safely. Let’s hope maintenance can fix the problem in short order. They’ll probably have to fly a crew in.

  • Boeing Dreamliner

    Coming soon from Boeing….(2010)

    The 787 Dreamliner

    George’s Point of View

    I’d line to be on that first testflight…

    The fact sheet is directly from the Boeing site.

    Fact Sheet

    Brief Description:

    The Boeing 787-3 Dreamliner is a super-efficient airplane with new passenger-pleasing features. It features a wing and structure optimized for shorter-range flights. It will bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market, using 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size.

    Seating:

    290 to 330 passengers

    Range:

    2,500 to 3,050 nautical miles (4,650 to 5,650 kilometers)

    Configuration:

    Twin aisle

    Cross Section:

    226 inches (574 centimeters)

    Wing Span:

    170 feet (52 meters)

    Length:

    186 feet (57 meters)

    Height:

    56 feet (17 meters)

    Cruise Speed:

    Mach 0.85

    Maximum Takeoff Weight:

    364,000 pounds (165,100 kilograms)

    Total Cargo Volume:

    4,400 cubic feet

    Program milestones:

    • Authority to offer Late 2003
    • Certification/Entry into service after 2012

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    Sometimes You Just Can’t Win

    What: Air India Boeing 747-400 en route from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Mumbai
    Where: Riyadh
    When: May 27th 2009
    Who: 300 Passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the crew could not retract the landing gear. Air Control told the crew to fly to Mumbai with the gear down.

    The captain refused and returned to Riyadh for a safe landing. Then Air India grounded the captain and stopped his salary.

    George’s Point of View

    This captain is something of an unsung hero, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    Even though the captain’s job was to ferry the plane, he refused to do so.

    However, a ferry flight with gear down in night conditions is not permitted.

    So he lost his job for doing the right thing.

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    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell gone “Gentle Into That Good Night”

    George’s Point of View

    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell’s quiet but dramatic death is going to be all but overlooked in the media buzz over the Air France Airbus catastrophe. None of his passengers even knew he’d died. In an interview, his Lenell’s wife called him the “kindest, gentlest man” she ever knew. His last communication to her had been a promise to bring her chocolates.

    You never know what you’re going to get.

    The 32 year veteran of Continental Airlines was also an Vietnam vet who served in the Air Force.

    The first officer and (what is probably) the international relief officer took over when the captain became incapacitated. It was sheer luck that a cardiologist was on board. And even though he was unable to save the captain’s life, Dr. Julien Struyven’s accidental presence on that flight may be a comfort to the captain’s wife and family. At least they won’t be asking “what if a doctor had been on board? What if there had be a defib on board?” Because on this flight there was a doctor, and a defibrillator. Perhaps it was just the captain’s time.

    Maybe one man’s death aboard a flight that did not crash isn’t going to be a headline for more than a day, but you can bet that the people aboard that Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark–those passengers who are alive now because Continental did something right–they won’t ever forget.

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    Co-Pilots to the Rescue

    Capt. Lee Collins of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association said pilots are prepared for emergencies in the air. The pilot of a transatlantic flight died over the Atlantic Ocean, but the jet landed safely.

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Brussels Belgium to Newark, NJ
    Where: en route
    When: June 18th 2009
    Who: 247 passengers and 3 flight crew
    Why: Four hours into the flight, while over the Atlantic, the captain died. The two first officers took over and landed the plane safely in Newark.

    A doctor on board was called to the cockpit, and the on board defibrillator failed to revive the captain who apparently had died of a heart attack.

    George’s Point of View

    It’s a small world.

    Recently I’d been in a conversation with someone about the Colgan flight.

    Remember the Colgan flight? The one that crashed in Buffalo? The wings iced over, the captain was ill-trained, and the co-pilot was too inexperienced and too exhausted to know how to respond to the particular emergency. The combination resulted in disaster for everyone on board.

    So, I was in this conversation with someone about the Colgan flight, and the question came up about the value of the co-pilot’s experience. The rate of the co-pilot’s pay was released, ($11.00/hr) and that provoked me to write about co-pilots needing “professional” pay. What would happen, we speculated (in this conversation) if the pilot died? The copilot becomes the de facto pilot.

    Then, lo and behold, today a pilot dies of a heart attack. Luckily for Continental and everyone on board, there were two co-pilots on hand, and both of them apparently qualified enough to handle the flight. (Apparently so, since they did manage to finish the flight.)

    I just wasn’t expecting that speculative question to manifest itself in a headline today.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Manas Barooah

    What: Southwest Airlines Flight 1040 Boeing 737-500 en route from Chicago to Fort Myers
    Where: Columbus, Ga
    When: Jun 14th 2009
    Who: 122 people on board
    Why: Over Columbus, the plane experienced low cabin pressure and performed an emergency landing. 5 hours later, the replacement Boeing picked up the stranded passengers and continued the flight. Maintenance did not release a public report of what caused the low cabin pressure, but if they tell me why, you’ll be the first to know.

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    Smoke Gets In Your Eyes … in AA Boeing 767 over Nova Scotia


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mick Bajcar

    What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York JFK airport to Switzerland
    Where: Halifax Nova Scotia
    When: June 9 2009 Tuesday night 8:20 p.m (45 minutes after takeoff)
    Who: 206 on board: 194 passengers and 12 crew
    Why: After takeoff, smoke was detected in the cabin. The flight requested an emergency landing in Halifax. The cause of the smoke was determined to be an electrical fire in the plane’s bathroom ceiling fan which had caught fire after overheating

    A replacement jet was arranged to take the passengers to Zurich.

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    Icelandair Boeing Emergency Landing in London


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer James Gardner
    What: Icelandair Boeing 757-200 en route from Paris to Reykjavik
    Where: emergency landing at Gatwick in London
    When: Jun 4th 2009
    Who: 148 passengers
    Why: The engine made a loud noise and the crew declared an emergency, and shut down the engine. After the emergency landing in London, passengers waited for substitute Icelandair and Iceland Express planes to take them on to Reykjavik, while some returned to Paris.

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    NW flight Diverts from LA to Waterloo

    What: Northwest Airlines Flight 335 Boeing 757 en route from Detroit to Los Angeles.
    Where: Waterloo
    When: on Tuesday morning
    Who: 182 passengers
    Why: An hour into the flight, the crew smelled smoke and diverted to Waterloo. Northwest is flying mechanics in on a substitute 757.

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    Unreliable Airspeed: Blame it on the Bee

    What: SAS Norway Boeing 737-700 en route from Oslo Gardermoen Norway to Malaga Spain
    Where: Gardermoen Airport
    When: May 30th 2009
    Who: 134 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, airspeed numbers did not agree. The crew landed back at the airport about half an hour after takeoff. Passengers were flown to their destinations on an alternative Boeing 737-800.

    Mechanics found the problem. A bee had flown into one of the plane’s air speed sensors (pitot tube).

    George’s Point of View

    A good thing that the pilot was able to land the plane and discover the problem.

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    ConocoPhillips Strikes Ducks on the Way to Oil

    What: ConocoPhillips (new) Boeing 737-700 en route from Anchorage to Deadhorse
    Where: emergency landing in Fairbanks
    When: Thursday May 28
    Who: 135 oilfield workers
    Why: The plane flew into a cloud of fifty (or thereabouts) ducks, cracking the 3 ply windshield, denting the engine cowling and forcing an emergency landing in Fairbanks.

    George’s Point of View

    There is no connection between ducks (n.) and duck (v.) (I checked.)

    And then I was going to write something about airline insurance companies using ducks as mascots–but there’s already an insurance duck.

    So let’s just hope the ducks that survive figure out how to get out of the way next time–and be glad that this time, no unfeathered passengers were hurt.

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    Emergency Landing in Reno

    What: Fedex Boeing 757-200 en route from Reno to Memphis
    Where: Reno-Tahoe International Airport
    When: May 26th 2009 7:45 p.m.
    Who: Fed Ex crew
    Why: The plane’s emergency light indicated overheating after leaving Reno, and the crew requested to return, before entering a holding pattern over Carson City and Minden to burn off fuel. The plane landed safely in Reno; the packages were not delayed.
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