All Boeing 787 Dreamliners currently in service are being required to confirm that fuel line connectors have been properly installed. Fuel leaks in Dreamliners were traced to a manufacturing flaw at Boeing plants.
The FAA said “A safety order mandated inspection of fuel line couplings in the engine pylons to verify the couplings are correctly assembled and installed”
What: United Airlines 787 Dreamliner en route from Houston to Newark
Where: New Orleans
When: December 4, 2012
Who: 184 aboard
Why: The Houston to Newark UA Dreamliner flight was over the Mississippi River, forty minutes after takeoff when it had to divert and make an emergency landing in New Orleans. The plane received “multiple flight-system error messages.” Flight 1146 landed safely at at 9:25 a.m. and without incident, with 174 passengers and 10 crew.
Emergency services was on standby. Passengers disembarked without incident and were provided an alternative flight to Newark.
An undisclosed mechanical issue was at fault.
What: Yakutia Boeing 737-86-N en route from Rimini Italy to Rostov Russia
Where: Rostov Airport
When: Dec 1, 2012
Who: 120 aboard
Why: The Yakutia flight was landing at Rostov Airport and skid off the runway when the pilot applied brakes.
Passengers disembarked safely with no injuries.
It took half an hour to tow the plane the ten yards back to the runway with a 20 ton truck.
No injuries were reported. Passengers exited the plane via “ladder.” (Possibly a mistranslation!) The plane stopped on soft ground off the runway while it was raining.
What: Southwest Airlines 737 Flight 3252 en route from from San Diego to Baltimore
Where: Lindbergh Field
When: Dec 1, 2012, 7:15 a.m.
Who: 129 passengers, 5 crew
Why: As the plane was taking off, a flight attendant smelled smoke. The pilot returned to San Diego and made an emergency landing on Lindbergh Field. Oxygen masks were deployed but there were no injuries.
The plane was slated for inspection and will be removed from service until the issue is solved.
What: Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER en route from Hong Kong to Los Angeles
Where: Anchorage
When: Nov 22, 2012
Who: 288 passengers and 18 crew
Why: While en route, the Cathay Pacific developed a pressurization problem and had to make an emergency landing in Alaska. There were no injuries. When the pressurization problem developed, oxygen masks were deployed.
Cathay Pacific and the Civil Aviation Department will be investigating.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations and an alternative flight.
The cause of the pressurization problem is speculated to be a malfunctioning valve in the air system
What: Air India Boeing 747 en route from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Where: NSC Bose International Airport
When: 10:45 pm
Who: 400 aboard
Why: The flight was en route from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia when a fire alarm went off, due, apparently, to a technical issue.
The pilots made an emergency landing at NSC Bose International Airport. No injuries were reported.
What: Austrian Airlines Boeing 737-8Z9
Fokker 100 OE-LVM
Where: Wien-Schwechat International Airport, Austria
When: Oct 27, 2012
Who: no passengers
Why: A Fokker being towed struck a Boeing in the hanger.
Both planes suffered damage which has been repaired.
What: Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-400 en route from Surabaya to Jakarta
Where: Juanda International Airport
When: October 24, 2012 6:30 a.m.
Who: 115 passengers
Why: The Sriwijaya flight returned to Juanda International Airport after a ten minute flight after the plane developed a problem with its hydraulics. No one was injured.
Repairs were made to the plane.
Passengers reboarded and took off for Jakarta at 1 pm that same day.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Rafael Alvarez Cacho
What: Transavia Boeing 737-BK2 En route from Sharm el-Sheikh to Amsterdam
Where: Primošten Croatia
When: Oct 20, 2012
Who: 192 aboard
Why: While the flight was en route over Croatia, smoke and the odor of burning plastic developed in the cabin. The pilot diverted to Zagreb-Pleso airport and made a safe landing although two passengers complained of breathing problems. Emergency Medical Services at the airport treated them.
Apparently there was no one available certified on Boeing, so an expert from Amsterdam was called in.
While passengers spent the night at a hotel, a replacement plane was flown in.
What: jet2.com Boeing 757-200 en route from Tenerife to Manchester
Where: Faro
When: Oct 13 2012
Why: The Tenerife to Manchester flight was en route when the plane developed a problem with the hydraulics.
Pilots diverted the flight to Faro in Algarve, Portugal where they made a safe landing.
A replacement jet was provided to complete the flight.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Antonio Carrasquilla
What: Jet2 737 en route from Glasgow to Alicante
Where: Glasgow Airport
When: October 19, 2012 7.40am.
Who: 189 passengers
Why: On the takeoff run, the pilot “hit the brakes” and according to passengers “the plane started shuddering and there were lights flashing and smoke and the crew started shouting ‘Get out, get out’.”
Another passenger told BBC “We were careering up the runway and smoke started belting out of all the air vents with a smouldering smell.Then the brakes went on and the emergency chutes went out and we were all evacuated.I have a nine-week-old daughter and a four-year-old daughter. I had my nine-week-old attached to my chest as I went down the emergency chute and my wife had our four-year-old and was in tears. it was like something out of a movie. There was panic, people started running and I shouted ‘slow down’, and then the pilot shouted ‘get out, get out'”
Passengers disembarked via emergency chutes; ten passengers climbed out on a wing where there was no chute but only a few of them jumped.
Six people were taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley; fourteen were treated at the scene. Injuries from the chutes are not uncommon, especially if they throw themselves down in a panic; and injuries from jumping off a wing could also occur.
This incident occurred a couple of hours prior to the Thomas Cook flight that diverted to Dublin Ireland
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tony Silgrim
What: Thomas Cook Boeing 767-300 en route from Manchester to Tenerife
Where: Dublin
When: Oct 19th 2012 9.40am
Who: 325 aboard
Why: After taking off from Manchester, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit.
THe pilot diverted to Dublin and made a safe landing with a dozen emergency services units including fire and ambulance on standby.
Passengers disembarked and waited in the terminal for a replacement flight to Tenerife
What: Globus Boeing 737 en route from Chita to Moscow
Where: Perm, Russia
When: Oct 17, 2012 10:52
Who: 7 crew, 100 passengers
Why: After the right engine shut down, pilots decided to divert to Perm.
The Globus flight was made on behalf of S7.
Pilots made a safe landing in Perm with emergency services standing by. 107 were aboard. No injuries were reported.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight to Moscow.
What: Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Anatalya Turkey to Trondheim Norway
Where: Anatalya Turkey
When: Oct. 14, 2012
Who: 189 passengers and seven crew members.
Why: The plane had boarded but was pushed back to the gate when there was a cockpit fire.
The NTSB is investigating.
NTSB Email below:
Oct. 16, 2012
WASHINGTON – The NTSB has dispatched a team of investigators to assist the government of Turkey in the investigation of an Oct. 14 fire in the cockpit of a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800.
The fire occurred Sunday at 4 a.m. local time as the airplane was being pushed back from the gate in Antalya, Turkey, for a scheduled flight to Trondheim, Norway. The aircraft was evacuated, and there were reports of injuries among the 189 passengers and seven crew members.
As the U.S. is the state of design and manufacture of the Boeing 737, the NTSB has designated Senior Air Safety Investigator Tim LeBaron as the traveling U.S. accredited representative. LeBaron is leading a team of investigators (specializing in aircraft systems, fire and survival factors) and advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, who are traveling to the scene to assist with the investigation.
The investigation is being conducted by the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which will release all information.
What: Boeing 737 en route from Irkutsk to Moscow
Where: Irkutsk Airport
When: Oct 16, 2012
Why: An unidentified Boeing 737 developed problems with the landing gear. It was in the air from 9:30 to 10:24.
After burning off and dumping fuel, pilots returned to the airport and made a safe landing with emergency services on standby.
Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino were flying the Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet that collided with a Boeing 737 operated by Gol Lineas Aereas Intelligentes SA. Lepore and Paladino guided the plane they were flying to safely while the larger jet crashed into the jungle, killing all aboard. The pilots were convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 52 months in prison because according to prosecutors, the aircraft’s anti-collision system was turned off for almost one hour. The pilots deny wrongdoing, and say the TCAS system was never off and suggest the other plane’s TCAS may not have been working. The NTSB blames the collision on the Brazilian ATC. Air force sergeant Jomarcelo Fernandes dos Santos was sentenced two years ago to 14 months in jail for failing to take action when he realized that the Legacy’s anti-collision system was off.
The case was retried in Brazil Monday and upheld; in fact, the jail time that had last year been commuted to community service was eliminated. In lieu of jail time or community service, now the pilots will only be required scheduled check-ins with Brazilian parole authorities.
Read More
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ariodilah Virgantara
What: Sriwijaya Boeing 737-400 en route from Medan to Padang
Where: Padang
When: Oct 13 2012
Who: 96 aboard
Why: The flight was en route to Minangkabau International but ended up landing at Tabing Airport 14km apart.
Passengers disembarked and were bussed to Minangkabau International Airport.
There were no injuries. The cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders have been secured for the investigation and the pilot and copilot have been grounded as the situation is investigated by the Transportation Ministry.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Chicago to Miami
Where: Miami
When: Oct 11, 2012
Who: 148 aboard
Why: On landing in Miami, the plane suffered a bird strike. The bird was ingested in the engine according to Matt Miller of American Airlines. Pilots made an emergency landing with emergency services on standby.
Passengers in the video below describe the smell of the burning bird, taking off after touching down.
No injuries were reported on Flight 1388. 145 of those aboard were passengers.
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Darwin to Melbourne
What: Qantas Boeing 717 arriving en route from Alice Springs to Darwin
Where: Darwin
When: Oct 2, 2012
Who: (up to) 295 aboard
Why: Two Qantas flights came to within 250 metres of each other over Darwin were caught not by the human ATC, but only by the traffic collision avoidance system on board the plane from Alice Springs. The system reported the other plane was 247 metres below.
An investigation is currently underway to determine if the Darwin a defence air traffic controller sent the jets on a collision course.
The Qantas-badged 717 was operated by Cobham, a flight contractor.
Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino were flying the Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet that collided with a Boeing 737 operated by Gol Lineas Aereas Intelligentes SA. Lepore and Paladino guided the plane they were flying to safely while the larger jet crashed into the jungle, killing all aboard. The pilots were convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 52 months in prison because according to prosecutors, the aircraft’s anti-collision system was turned off for almost one hour. The pilots deny wrongdoing, and say the system was never off.
Lepore and Paladino are to be retried Monday.
Audio from the flight in YOUTUBE below
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What: American Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Dallas to Orange County
Where: LAX
When: October 6, 2012
Who: 162 people aboard
Why: American Airlines had another emergency Saturday, with a Dallas-Orange County flight making an diverting to LAX’s longer runways. The emergency diversion was needed due to a wing flap problem. Flaps help brake the plane. We’re glad they made it down safely.
We have thought of suggesting a new tag line: If it is American, it must be maintenance. Optimistically speaking, maybe all this trouble, which is likely bankruptcy related, is temporary.
Emergency vehicles were on the scene. Passengers disembarked and were provided an alternative flight with working flaps.
We hope the seats were bolted in.
Discovery, Dragonfly Film and Television Productions deliberately crashed a $450,000 unmanned 727 in the Sonoran Desert of Baja California, Mexico south of Mexicali, Mexico. The plane was equipped with crash dummies, scientific sensors and experiments. Among other things such as creating a sensational topic for the Curiosity series, the crash is postulated as a study the crashworthiness of the aircraft’s airframe and cabin.
Pilots parachuted from the plane minutes before it was remote-controlled to a crash.
The video called “part of a scientific experiment for an unprecedented international television documentary” was captured by 19 cameras inside the plane and 2 on helicopters outside. The film will be presented as an episode of Curiosity.
What: American Airlines Flight 880 en route from Dallas to Indianapolis
Where: Little Rock, Arkansas
When: Oct 4, 2012: 4: 45 pm
Who: 140 passengers, 5 crew
Why: The flight was en route from Dallas to Indianapolis when the plane’s right engine developed problems.
Pilots diverted to Little Rock where they made a safe landing.
Passengers were provided alternatives to reach Indianapolis.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer John Richard Thomson
What: Qantas Boeing 747 en route from Sydney to Singapore to Germany
Where: Darwin Airport
When: Oct 4, 2012
Who: 305 passengers
Why: The Qantas flight diverted to Darwin after the cabin started to smell like something was on fire. The captain described the smell as burning plastic.
No injuries were reported. Passengers were provided hotel accommodations and many of them tweeted about the incident
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Tampa to Hartford
Where: Bradley International Airport, Connecticut
When: Oct 3, 2012
Who: 130 people aboard
Why: After Southwest Airlines Flight 2102 suffered a bird strike on the right side of the plane on approach to Bradley International Airport, the pilot made a safe landing.
The crew described hearing a “loud bang” on approach.
The bird strike was not confirmed during the flyby but afterwards during inspection.
