What: Air Europa Boeing 737-800 en route from Madrid,SP to Lanzarote,CI Where: Lanzarote When: Jun 16th 2011 Why: On approach to Lanzarote, the plane developed flap problems. The crew responded by entering a holding pattern, and shortly afterward landed with flaps up. Touchdown was lower and at a higher speed but a safe landing.
What: Air Europa Boeing 737-800 en route from Lanzarote,CI to Bilbao,SP Where: Bilbao When: Jun 16th 2011 Why: The same plane was on approach to Bilbao and suffered a reoccurrence of the flap problem.
The pilots diverted to Madrid. Touchdown was lower and at a higher speed but a safe landing.
In George’s Opinion
One can not help but wonder what was going on behind the scenes here–if they had an attempted-but-failed flap repair in maintenance, or if someone had a boneheaded thought process of flying a disabled plane.
We do not have a record here that this was a ferry flight, so whether or not there were commercial passengers aboard, someone else will have to enlighten us.
Hopefully the flaps problem will be repaired rather than continuing to subject the crew to a less-than-airworthy plane. Good on you to the flight crew of EC-III
What: Virgin Australia Boeing 737-700 en route from Brisbane to Launceston Where: Hobart When: Jun 16th 2011 Who: 56 passengers Why: On approach to Launceton, the crew noted a flaps asymmetry, and aborted the approach. They burned off fuel, and diverted to Hobart where they made a safe landing. Passengers feared for their lives but apparently were not in as much danger as they feared.
Subsequently, due to Puyehue ash concerns, they took a bus to Launceston. The flight was carrying the Gold Coast Suns football team.
What: B-17 bomber (Boeing B-17G-105-VE Flying Fortress) Where: Chicago When: June 13, 2011, 09:30 Who: 7 aboard Why: A working B-17 bomber which had been in a $3.5 million dollar restoration (Tim Reilly Vintage Aircraft conservators) for fourteen years, took off from Aurora Municipal Airport on a test flight—and caught fire. John Hess, the pilot, made an emergency landing in a cornfield.
Witnesses described a “cracking noise” before the plane landed in the field, streaming black smoke. Fire fighters were impeded by the muddy cornfield, and the plane burned.
This weekend the plane was grounded with a leak.
No one sustained serious injury although one person did have a minor head injury.
The plane was described as a “national treasure,” and one of a dozen B-17s still operable.
According to Dave Carson of Boeing it just takes a stray cell phone signal “in the right place at the right time” to create serious technological havoc in the cockpit, and older planes are more susceptible to interference.
What: Air New Zealand Boeing 767-300en route from Auckland to Perth,WA Where: Auckland When: Jun 9th 2011 Who: 206 passengers, 10 crew Why: Just after takeoff, while climbing, the left hand engine shot flames and emitted engine backfire and banging noises. The pilots described an interruption to the airflow through the left hand engine. The pilot shut down the engine and returned to Auckland where they made a safe landing. No bird strike was found, although that was initially assumed to be the cause. The engine’s electronic control has been replaced, and the engine is being tested; and the engine’s electronic control has been shipped to the manufacturer for testing.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight to Perth. Some of them were shaken, although the airline says they were never in any danger.
What: Emirates Boeing 777-20 en route from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Houston Where: Dubai When: Jun 8 2011 Why: During takeoff from Dubai, the left and right nose gear tire burst. (For whatever reason, the first tire burst, the second probably burst due to the increased weight.)
The plane rejected takeoff, and came to rest on the runway with overheated brakes that were handled by emergency services. The plane was towed off the runway, and passengers were provided an alternative flight.
What: Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 en route from Kansas to Irvine Where: LAX When: 6:30 pm Who: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team Why: While en route the plane developed hydraulic issues and diverted to LAX.
The landing gear had to be manipulated manually.
The plane had been slated to land at John Wayne Airport in Irvine.
What: Air Canada Boeing 767-300 en route from Halifax to London Heathrow Where: Montreal When: Jun 2nd 2011 Who: 138 aboard Why: After takeoff, the left engine emitted a loud explosive noise. Pilots shut down the engine but weather prevented a return to Halifax. The flight diverted to Montreal where it made a safe landing between two and three hours later. A replacement jet was sent to Montreal for passengers, resulting in a 13 hour delay on that flight.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Las Vegas to Atlanta,GA Where: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Atlanta When: Jun 2nd 2011, 5:53 p.m Why: While en route to Atlanta, on approach the left engine developed issues and began smoking. Pilots made a safe landing.
Passengers disembarked on the runway and were provided transportation to the terminal.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the improperly installed landing gear the new 777 jet which made a May emergency landing at Paine Field. Mechanics assembling the landing gear had left “about a quarter-inch of play.” A cockpit warning message told the pilots the left main landing gear was not locked into place. Following the landing, an inspection revealed a broken part (a cylindrical metal bearing called a bushing) in the landing gear. Since the incident, Boeing has—when necessary—been removing and replacing that part in new and existing777s.
What: United Airlines Boeing 767 en route from Chantilly Virginia to Ghana Where: en route When: May 29 , 2011 Who: 144 passengers Why: After passenger one reclined his seat into passenger two’s lap, passenger two objected
and slapped passenger one in the head. Apparently passenger one retaliated. This escalated into a fight, which had to be broken up by passenger 3 and a flight attendant.
The fight that erupted between passengers resulted in a fighter escort from Andrews Air Force Base being sent in to shadow the flight on its return/diversion to Washington.
No one was arrested and no charges were filed, but police did meet the UA flight on its arrival. The flight was delayed for eighteen hours.
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Lanzarote Spain to London Where: Porto When: Jun 2nd 2011 Why: The flight was east of porto when the pilot saw an indication of engine problems (technical malfunction.) The pilot diverted to Porto and made a safe landing at Porto.
Passengers disembarked normally on the apron, without emergency slides.
Media reported smoke although Ryanair said there was no smoke.
What: Jetlite Boeing 737-700 en route from Mumbai to Ranchi to Patna Where: Patna Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport When: Jun 1st 2011 Who: 100 aboard Why: On landing at Patna, the plane had a bird strike on one of the engines.
The plane made a safe landing at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport anyway, although the next leg of the return (to Mumbai) had to be delayed due to damage to the plane.
What: Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Vienna Austria to Washington DC Where: Vienna When: May 27th 2011 Why: After takeoff, the gear would not retract.
The pilot returned to make a safe landing in Vienna; repairs were made and the flight left again less than an hour later.
Anonymous Expert Opinion
One common occurrence in Commercial Aviation is when a maintenance person forgets to remove the Landing Gear Safety Pin that is connected before starting the push back procedure during the aircraft start-up. It happens that that pin prevents the hydraulic system to actuate the nose gear allowing the tractor to freely steer the aircraft free from the gate. However that pin also locks the landing gear in the “down” position preventing the hydraulic system to retract in when commanded by the pilots. The result is that the aircraft is prevented from retracting its landing gear (one pin prevents them all) and returning is mandatory.
If the airplane is engaged in an intercontinental flight (thus carrying a huge amount of fuel) the crew invariably must dump a great amount of fuel in order to reduce the weight to within the manufacturer’s certified maximum landing weight in order to perform a safe landing. After dumping the fuel as the aircraft’s weight reaches its maximum allowed for landing the crew land the airplane. Unfortunately it causes delays and it is a nuisance, although not a harmful one. The worst part is for the maintenance crew whom was responsible for the tow out procedure to explain to his (or hers) superiors the quite expensive forgetfulness.
What: Spicejet Boeing 737-800 en route from Mumbai to Hyderabad Where: Mumbai When: May 27th 2011 Who: 140 passengers Why: While en route, the cargo hold indicated a fire. The crew followed procedures (checklists) and returned to Mumbai where they made a safe landing half an hour after take off. A replacement jet was provided.
What: TUIFly Boeing 737-800 en route from Alicante to Nuremberg Where: Alicante When: Mar 15th 2011 Who: 144 passengers Why: After takeoff, the pilots and crew of the flight felt dizzy and impaired. Passengers also reported feeling dizzy after the ground power unit started the engines. The pilot reported the emergency and returned to Alicante and made a safe landing.
We don’t see a statement from the ministerio de fomento regarding this incident.
What: British Airways Boeing 777-200 en route from London Heathrow to Boston,MA Where: Shannon When: May 23rd 2011 Who: 221 passengers Why: En route over the Atlantic, smoke developed in the cockpit and the pilots declared emergency and diverted to Shannon.
(There is some speculation that the smoke was ash drawn into the cabin.)
The smoke increased on descent, but the pilot made a safe landing. The smoke is being blamed on an undesignated mechanical problem.
Above FL200, the atmosphere was (reported as) clear of Grimsvotn ash.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations until the replacement flight arrived (May 24.)
May 22 was the anniversary of Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai, which overshot the runway and crashed at Mangalore, India. The crash victims’ support group spokesman said that “About 50 families have received compensation from the insurance companies, but many families have not even been contacted. ” According to the organizer, Rafik Eroth, “…insurance representatives are playing foul over the payouts…Many families have lost their breadwinners and face major financial difficulties. I believe [the insurance companies] are delaying the process to pass the two-year mark so that the families lose their claims.” Families of crash victims had a two-year period in which to apply for compensation
The Civil Aviation Ministry ordered the airline to provide up to $159,840 to families of the victims in accordance with the Indian Carriage by Air Act, (following the Montreal Convention.)
It has been a year, and still some of the families have not yet been contacted about compensation.
The Indian Court of Inquiry probe report was submitted to the civil aviation ministry yesterday. The report says that “Air India pilot Zlatko Glusica, from Serbia, was asleep for much of the three-hour flight and was “disoriented” when the plane started to descend.” The experienced First Officer had fewer hours but was soon due for command, and had landed frequently at that airport. He called for a go-around which the Captain ignored.
Captain Z Glusica had more than 10,200 hours of flying experience—but not landing at that airport. He was the pilot in command and reacted late, and was suffering from “sleep inertia”. His heavy nasal snoring and breathing was captured on the CVR. Many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing. Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia repeated “abort landing” saying they didn’t have enough runway left, three times asking for a “go around”.
With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again and crashed in the gorge at the runway’s end.
The plane’s takeoff gear was found activated. Experts concluded if the pilots had not attempted to take off again, the plane emergency brakes could have brought the plane to a halt.
This is not the first time Air India has had exhausted pilots. What had their schedule been that week?
June 2008: Mumbai air traffic controllers woke two sleeping pilots with an alarm when they were 200 miles past their destination.
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore Where: Mangalore airport When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010 Who: Passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.
Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.
The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.
According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.
What: Westjet Boeing 737 en route from Toronto to Victoria Where: Victoria When: May 20, 2011 Who: 116 passengers and six crew Why: While en route, the flight encountered turbulence, injuring a flight attendant, who was bruised, and a passenger who injured an ankle. Injuries tend to occur when a passenger takes off their seat belt, or a flight attendant is up performing duties when the turbulence strikes.
The injuries suffered aboard the Westjet flight are not serious.
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Bangkok (Thailand) to London Heathrow,EN Where: Bangkok When: May 20th 2011 Who: 308 passengers Why: After takeoff from Bangkok, the engine vibration and temperature increased beyond the norm in one engine and the engine is reported to have salled. That (Rolls Royce) engine was shut down, and the pilots returned to Bangkik to make a safe landing with the remaining three engines. It has not yet been announced if the problem is due to the internal pipe irregularities which were indicated in an airworthiness directive just released, but with problems that go back several years.
By the look of cursory evidence, it appears this could be the same manufacturing defect in an oil pipe, which led to an internal oil leak in the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine that failed in a Qantas A380 in 2010 causing a midair explosion, but investigators will have to reveal the details.
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Melbourne to Perth Where: Perth When: May 20th 2011 Who: 2 injured Why: While on a landing approach, the plane encountered severe turbulence which forced a go-around. The 2nd attempted landing was made safely.
What: Omega Air Refueling Boeing 707 tanker en route from Point Mugu naval air base Where: near the beach, Point Mugu naval air base, California When: May 18, 20115:25 p.m. Who: 3 crew Why: The plane skidded off the runway while taking off, and burned for three hours before being extinguished by a full response team, a chopper and three fire engines.
The plane was loaded with 150,000 pounds of fuel. After a chopper doused water with no discernible effect, flight crews concentrated on letting the plane burn out within a small perimeter. Plumes of black smoke reached Malibu.
The three-member (civilian) crew walked away with minor injury. Alexandria, Va.-based-Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc. contracts with the military.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Detroit to Sao Paulo Where: Atlanta,GA When: May 15th 2011 Why: While en route, over Daytona, the plane developed an issue with their airspeed indication. Although the issue was fixed, the flight diverted to Atlanta where they made a safe landing. A fresh crew with adequate duty time flew them to Sao Paulo.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Kansas City, Mo., to Dallas Where: east of Oklahoma City When: May 10th 2011 Who: 44 passengers, 5 crew Why: While en route, east of Oklahoma City, the plane developed smoke in the cockpit.
The pilot made an emergency landing diverting to Oklahoma city for a safe landing. A replacement jet was provided within two hours.
The smoke was attributed to a malfunctioning windshield heating element.
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Madrid to Rome Where: Madrid When: May 9 2011 Why: The plane took off without incident, but an hour outside of Rome, the instrument panel indicated an engine leak. The pilots returned to Barajas where they made an uneventful landing with emergency services on standby.
The flight was cancelled.
What: Ryanair Frankfurt to Ciampino Where: Rome When: May 10, 2011 Who: 166 passengers Why: On the next day, another Ryanair flight ingested two birds into an engine, overshot the runway on the emergency landing in Rome. Several injuries occurred during the emergency exit via slides.
