Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Joey Collura
What: Delta Airlines MD88 registration N993DL en route from Rochester to Atlanta
Where: Atlanta
When: Mar 14th 2009
Who: 138 passengers and 5 crew
Why: On landing, the plane blew two tires and required towing to the gate.
Pictured: MD-82 at rest at New York-La Guardia Airport
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Matthew I. Smith
Examining debris on Flushing roof; includes a closing shot of a blade of metal embedded in the concrete roof
What: American Airlines MD-80 Flight 309 en route from LaGuardia Airport to O’Hare International Airport
Where: Pilot chose to make his emergency landing at JFK, where the runways are longer
When: March 11, 2009
Who: 88 passengers and five crew members
Why: Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the pilot reported a problem in the right engine, and made an emergency landing at LaGuardia. Debris found in Queens may have been from the plane. Birds were not the problem. Pieces of the shattered blades of the Pratt & Whitney turbofan were found embedded in the fuselage.
CORRECTION: The plane is reportedly a MD-83
On March 26-27, and April 8-12 a FAA safety audit grounded AA MD-80s, canceling 5700 flights.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Snorre – VAP
What: Lionair McDonnell Douglas MD-90 flight JT-793 from Makassar to Jakarta. Lionair is on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union.
Where: Jakarta
When: Mar 9th 2009
Who: 166 passengers and 6 crew (Detikcom reported 168)
Why: While landing in heavy rain, the airplane caught a gust from the left which ran the plane off the runway. Damage was incurred to the front gear, wings, and the main gear struts collapsed.
The subsequent airport closure forced a Citilink Garuda Boeing 737 in a fuel emergency to reroute.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Dan Brownlee
What: American Airlines MD-80 Flight 311 en route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Los Angeles
Where: Austin-Bergstrom International
When: Monday, March 9, 2009
Who: 123 passengers, 5 crew
Why: After take-off, one engine made a “boom.” The pilot powered down to idle, and returned to the airport so that the plane could be examined and repaired.
Pictured: McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 in Jakarta Indonesia
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Raldi
What: Lion Air McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 en route from Medan to Batam (Indonesia)
Where: Batam (Indonesia)
When: Feb 23rd 2009
Who: 156 passengers and 6 crew
Why: The crew spent an hour and a half trying to get the nose gear to lower but eventually had to land on foam without it. The landing was safe, after circling the airport for so long, although several on board did go to the hospital
Click here for full size photo on Airliners.net!
Contact Photographer Mark Kopczak
What: American Airlines MD-80 plane flight 2076 headed from El Paso to Dallas
Where: Abilene Regional Airport
When: The in-flight emergency was discovered about 20 miles away from Abilene
Who: 61 people were on board the plane, including three crew members.
Why: When a warning light flared up signaling a possible generator issue, and the flight then landed safely at Abilene. Passengers were provided water and snacks at the terminal, and the plane departed at 12:45 p.m. to continue the flight.
What: F/A-18 Military Jet from the carrier Abraham Lincoln landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramir
Where: San Diego neighborhood
When: DEC 8
Who: the pilot, who was part of a training squadron, ejected. He had been aiming the plane at a deserted canyon to avoid homes and the 805 Freeway. 4 Individuals in the house are dead. The pilot has been transported to Balboa Naval Hospital
Why: A witness said, “It was mushing through the air…it was chugging along with what seemed like one engine. Then I heard a roar of engine and all of a sudden, woop, dead silence.”
The deceased have been identified as 4 members of a Korean family.
So far there have been no groundbreaking discoveries regarding the cause of the Aug. 20 Spanair crash beyond what was known originally: a problem with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm, evidence of which is backed up by the plane’s black boxes. The plane’s history indicates that this was not the first time the wing slats were an issue. Two days before the accident, they were repaired.
Before the crash, on the plane’s first pass, a warning sounded from a “heat sensor in the engine inlet” which prompted the pilots to return to the gate and get it inspected. The system was “isolated, ” i.e. unplugged.
The technician discusses the disconnected probe.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espan…/elpepiesp/20080823elpepinac_5/Tes
Update
Based on findings derived from the MD-82’s flight and cockpit voice recorder, the wing flaps of the Spanair airliner (that crashed killing 154 people) were not set for take off, and pilots were unaware of it because the warning alarm did not go off.
The faulty valve that prevented the first attempt at takeoff was disconnected rather than repaired. Planes are allowed to fly for up to 10 days with the system involved disconnected.
Newlywed Brazilian Ronaldo Gomes Silva, 25, and his Spanish wife Yanina Celisdibowsky had been living in the UK for three years. a month ago in Sao Paolo, Brazil, they got married; They had just gotten on a plane to visit the Canary Islands, where Yanina was going to meet her in laws for the first time.
They got on the wrong plane. They were two of the victims of Spanair Flight JK5022.
Juliao Alves da Silva, the groom’s father said: “I have lost my son and a daughter-in-law. I am destroyed.”
I don’t even know these people and I am nearly inconsolable.
A Congolese domestic airliner taking off from Goma failed lift off, rammed through a fence and crashed into a crowded market district and burned. The Hewa Bora McDonnell Douglas DC-9 was taking off for the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, when it crashed into the teeming market district of Birere; the single-story shops and stalls of Birere were crowded at the time of the crash. An American missionary, Barry Mosier, was onboard with his wife and two children, and said the plane’s front tire blew out just before the DC-9 lifted off. When they saw flames, and smoke coming up through the floor, the passengers who were not trapped tried the side doors which did not open, so they exited thru the pilots cabin.
Pilots could not stop on the short runway which was partially blocked by volcanic lava from 2002. Residents heard a big explosion. A large plume of smoke rose from the crash site. A witness said, “Half of the plane has broken off, there is a fire towards the back. People are coming with buckets of water to put out the fire. The U.N. is here trying to keep back the crowds.â€
Crew members and U.N. troops managed to evacuate most of the 79 passenger on board, but there were 40 deaths and 110 injured–many of them locals. Not all bodies have been recovered.
Recovery of bodies was hindered by ground fires where there were additional casualties.
The Congo has one of the world’s worst air safety records. The Goma airport has been the site of several accidents, with planes overshooting the runway and endangering homes near the airport. According to the International Air Transport Association, the air accident rate in Africa is six times the average. Aviation safety experts single out Democratic Republic of Congo as one of the worst offenders. The huge country only has a few hundred miles of paved roads. The European Union added Congo’s Hewa Bora Airways to the banned list of aviation companies flying in the 27-nation block last week.
One of the survivors, Frederic Katemo, said that he scrambled out through the cockpit. “I was in my seat with my seat belt fastened. There was a big crash. We jumped up and found our way out. We could feel the fire behind us.â€
Initially, Governor of North Kivu province, Julien Paluku, said there were 79 passengers and six crew members but that “…six people have been saved, two pilots and four passengers including two children.â€
Serge Ukundji a local conservationist said, “We have been waiting for something like this to happen. There have been lots of accidents just behind here at the airport.â€
The cause of the accident was still under investigation. The overloaded cabin is believed to be the reason behind the crash.
Convictions Stand in Milan Airport Crash
4 hours ago
ROME (AP) — Italy’s top criminal court on Wednesday upheld prison sentences for five aviation officials convicted in a 2001 runway collision of two aircraft that killed 118 people, Italian news agencies reported.
The Court of Cassation upheld the convictions of manslaughter and negligence and confirmed sentences ranging from three to 6 1/2 years in jail, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies reported.
The longest prison term belongs to Sandro Gualano, who stepped down as chief executive of Italy’s air traffic agency ENAV after the Oct. 8, 2001, crash between an Scandinavian Airlines System airliner and a corporate jet at Milan’s Linate airport, the agencies said.
The crash happened on a foggy morning when the SAS MD-87, bound for Copenhagen, rolled down the tarmac for takeoff. The jetliner collided with a business plane with four people on board then careened into a baggage hangar, killing four ground workers and 110 people on the jetliner.
Investigators have described the accident as avoidable, caused by a combination of human error and poorly followed safety procedures. The ground radar was out of operation.
Investigators cited confusing runway signs, and the control tower failed to ask the smaller plane’s pilot to read back his instructions, authorities said.
Wednesday’s ruling upheld the sentence of former ENAV director general Fabio Marzocca to four years and four months in jail. Three-year terms were also confirmed for Paolo Zacchetti — the controller on duty during the crash — and two other airport officials, ANSA reported.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Olaf Juergensmeier
What: Lion Air flight McDonnell-Douglas en route from Solo City Java Indonesia
Where: Adi Sumaro Airport
When: November 30, 2004
Who: The captain, 1 flight attendant, and 23 passengers were fatally injured; the first officer, 2 flight attendants and 56 passengers were seriously injured; and 84 passengers had minor or no injury
Why: On November 30, 2004, at 1814 Jakarta time, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 Lion Air flight 538, was substantially damaged when it overran runway 26 at Adi Sumaro Airport(SOC), Solo City, Central Java, Indonesia. The captain, 1 flight attendant, and 23 passengers were fatally injured; the first officer, 2 flight attendants and 56 passengers were seriously injured; and 84 passengers received either minor injuries or were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed; however, rain showers were in the area, and the runway was wet. The flight originated at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. After landing, it continued off the departure end of the runway and impacted the concrete base of a localizer array.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer J.Laporte
What: China Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-11 en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong
Where: Hong Kong
When: August 23, 1999
Who: 3 fatalities, 208 uninjured; 44 serious, 164 minor
Why: Summary: On August 23, 1999 at approximately 1840 local time (+12 hours), a China Airlines flight 642 # B-150 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed during a landing approach to the Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok airport. The plane, which was landing during a typhoon, touched down hard, flipped over and caught fire. The right wing struck the ground first, and the landing gear and wing separated as the aircraft rolled inverted. 200 of the 317 passengers were injured and the aircraft was destroyed by impact.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gerard Helmer
What: Korean Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Seoul to Pohang
Where: Pohang
When: March 15, 1999
Who: 6 crew and 150 passengers
Why: On March 15, a Korean Air Flight 1533 (McDonnell Douglas MD-83 #HL7570) from Seoul to Pohang departed for Pohang. Weather at Pohang was poor with degraded visibility and gusty 25 knot winds. The pilot failed at the first attempt to land. After the second approach the plane touched down, but overran the runway. The aircraft skidded through 10 antennas, a reinforced barbed wire fence and came to rest against an embankment. The landing snapped the fuselage in half. Damage– Complete destruction of air frame, Injuries– multiple. 6 crew and 150 passengers, no deaths.
