What: Venezuelan National Guard Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter
Where: Buena Vista
When: August 27 2010
Who: 10 aboard
Why: The helicopter was engaged in searching for a group of suspected drug traffickers in southwestern Apure state.
What: Iran Aseman Fokker 100 en route from Tehran Mehrabad to Tabriz
Where: Tabriz Airport
When: Aug 26 2010
Who: 103 passengers, 7 crew
Why: While landing during a storm, the plane overran the runway and ended up nose cone down in a ditch, well past the pavement. (An alternative source said the plane lost control after having a flat on landing.) Passengers described landing, then skidding after landing. The runway was slippery with rain. The plane was evacuated on site, and passengers taken to the gate. Two passengers had minor injuries.
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Contact photographer Robert Domandl
What: AeroHorizontes Escuela de Vuelo Cessna 150G
Where: Maica Area Chica, behind Jorge Wilstermann Airport, Cochabamba Bolivia
When: August 27 2010
Who: Two fatalities: pilot/instructor José Gonzalo Grosveger Zegarra and passenger/student José Ignacio Guzmán
Why: During this instruction flight, the student was practicing “touch and go” maneuvers when the plane crashed. The school’s operations could be suspended pending investigation.
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Contact photographer Sam Chui
What: Yemenia Airbus A330-200 en route from Djibouti to Moroni Comoros
Air Austral Boeing 777-200 en route from Lyon to Saint Denis
Where: Moroni, Comoros
When: Aug 24 2010
Who: 350 passengers aboard the Boeing
Why: Both flights were in the air, the Airbus flying at a higher altitude. The Airbus unexpectedly descended without ATC clearance.
The Boeing received a TCAS resolution advisory, to which they immediately responded, averting a collision.
I am reminded of the sad and tragic events of June 30, 2009, when Air Yemenia failed to make a safe landing and killed everyone aboard but Bahia Bakari.
Confusion again reigns in Moroni, Comoros airspace. I am grateful for the successful TCAS resolution/response. Apologies if the date is in error, as we find different dates published for this averted catastrophe.
http://lexpress.mu/story/14905-collision-evitee-de-justesse-en-plein-vol-entre-un-appareil-d-air-austral-et-un-vol-d-air-yemenia.html
http://www.zinfos974.com/Deux-avions-d-Air-Austral-et-de-la-Yemenia-manquent-de-se-percuter_a20567.html
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Contact photographer Bianca Renz
What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from Long Beach,CA to Sacramento,CA
Where: Sacramento
When: Aug 26th 2010
Who: 86 passengers and 5 crew
Why: On making a “hard” landing at the Sacramento airport, a brake problem developed (brakes locked?).
The main gear tires blew, and caught afire. Emergency services on hand responded to the fire.
Passengers evacuated by slide with 15 injured.
What: DHL-chartered/Polish transport firm Exin Co twin-engine Antonov AN-26 turboprop cargo plane en route from Tallinn to Helsinki
When: August 25, 2010
Who: 4 crew members
Why: The landing gear retracted before the plane was airborne and made an emergency landing on a frozen lake—apparently not the first time this has happened.
An Estonian politician asked the Estonian Civil Aviation Authority “how it is possible that the same company with a same type of plane could fall victim to two almost identical accidents at the same airport within a short time.”
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Contact photographer Billy Wilt
What: Iran Air Airbus A300-600 en route from Tehran to Stockholm
Where: Istanbul
When: Aug 26th 2010
Who: 236 aboard
Why: While en route, the plane developed engine trouble. The crew had to shut down an engine, and divert to Istanbul. The flight made a safe landing.
No indication is made of passenger accommodations or if another plane was flown in.
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Contact photographer Tiyam
What: Mahan Air Airbus A300-600 en route from Tehran to Dusseldorf
Where: Ataturk Airport
When: Aug 26th 2010
Who: 209 passengers and 18 crew
Why: When the left engine caught on fire, the pilot diverted to Ataturk Airport where they made a safe landing. There’s no indication of accommodations for passengers, or if a replacement flight has been sent.
Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!
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Contact photographer Javier Bravo Muñoz
What: BMI/Astraeus Boeing 757-200 en route from Freetown Sierra Leone to London
Where: Nouakchott Mauritania
When: Aug 25 2010
Who: 110 aboard
Why: While en route the plane developed engine problems. One account says the pilot saw an engine on fire and contacted ATC for immediate clearance for an emergency landing.
The official report says that the plane was experiencing engine surges.
What matters is that the plane landed safely, with no casualties. A replacement plane was flown in.
Lindu airport: The black box flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the Embraer ERJ-190 plane in the crash been recovered. Henan Airlines closed down all flights Wednesday, dismissed its president Li Qiang and apologized to the public. The two-year old Embraer 190 was leased from RBS Aviation Capital.
Although this is the first fatal Embraer crash, broken turbine plates and flight control system errors have been noted as previous issues. And also, the year old Lindu Airport was not considered safe for night landings.
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Contact photographer Weimeng
What: Shenzhen Airlines/Kunpeng/Henan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Harbin to Yichun China
Where: Yichun China
When: Aug 24th 2010
Who: 91 passengers (including 5 children) and 5 crew; 43 immediate deaths, 3 serious injuries and 50 minor injuries
Why: The plane overran the runway—and departed the runway on landing—at Lindu airport in Yichun city in Heilongjiang province at 10:10 p.m, split on impact, exploded, and burst into flames.
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Contact photographer S. Mendes
What: Passaredo Linhas Aéreas Embraer ERJ-145LU en route from Sao Paulo to Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil
Where: Brazil
When: August 25, 2010
Who: 24 passengers and 3 crew
Why: The plane had a normal approach. This sounds like the merging of several versions:
The crew was attempting a belly landing, after the landing gear were not responding properly.
Prior to the runway, the plane had a tail strike and went out of control.
The flight touched down short of the runway and the landing gear ripped free and the plane skidded out of control.
What is indisputable is that after the plane skidded to a stop, the right engine briefly caught fire. Two passengers had minor injuries. From the photos, this looks like a miracle that no one was killed.
The Embraer sustained substantial damage and is considered a total loss.
I am marking this as unresolved. Of course ALL crashes we report are unresolved because the final report may not be out for YEARS. But this one seems contradictory. If the flight was making a belly landing, ATC would not be considering this a normal approach.
So this looks to me like the plane just landed short of the runway and sheared off its landing gear. But I am not in Bahia, Brazil and will have to wait on the report to know what really happened.
What: Filair Let 410 en route from Semendwa to Bandundu
Where: Bandundu Congo
When: August 25 2010
Who: 21 aboard (18 passengers 3 crew), 20 fatalities
Why: The preliminary information says that the plane was unable to land, and ran out of fuel. Landing short of the runway, the plane struck a building, killing two children inside.
The Let is a Czeck turboprop.
The Filair is based in Kinshasa. It’s fleet is reputed to be poorly maintained and is on the nofly list. The plane’s owner Danny Philemotte was piloting and died in the crash.
19 bodies were recovered and two survivors. One survivor died in the hospital. One survivor is hospitalized and in critical condition.
A survivor said that the crew had been told to land on a “reserve strip” beside the main runway. The passengers panicked, running to one side and unbalancing the plane, and the pilot lost control. Apparently fuel was not the issue (150 liters liters recovered from the crash.)
SEATTLE, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Vietnam Airlines have teamed on a key initiative to upgrade the level of comfort for Vietnam Airlines’ passengers, unveiling the carrier’s latest cabin interior modernization on four of the airline’s 777-200ERs. Vietnam Airlines will improve its passenger service with an increased focus on the overall passenger experience and comfort while continuing to expand the network and add new destinations.
In support of Vietnam Airlines’ goals, Boeing Commercial Aviation Services developed a cabin layout that meets the discerning needs of the airline and its passengers, and also provided the engineering services and program integration as well as managing the worldwide group of suppliers that Vietnam Airlines selected for the program.
Boeing produced the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration-certified service bulletin and kit of parts to accommodate the relocation of business class seats; installation of new deluxe economy and economy class passenger seats; and revisions to the in-flight entertainment system, in-seat power and cabin cooling systems. Boeing also relocated and updated lavatories, galleys, ceilings, sidewalls, lighting, plumbing and the lower lobe attendant crew rest modules to enable the expanded service planned for these 777s.
The first aircraft was recently completed and Vietnam Airlines has proudly re-introduced the aircraft into service.
“We are very pleased to have selected Boeing to be our partner in developing and delivering this interior upgrade program,” Vietnam Airlines Executive Vice President of Technical Nguyen Van Hung said. “Our interior modernization program is a key part of our efforts to provide market leading services and passenger comfort, further affirming Vietnam Airlines’ position as a major carrier in the Southeast Asian region, especially after we joined the SkyTeam alliance.”
“As the original designer and builder of the 777, Boeing is proud to be selected by Vietnam Airlines for this important interior upgrade program. Boeing is uniquely positioned with experience and expertise to engineer, certify and manage modification programs for our customers,” said Dennis Floyd, vice president, Fleet Services for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “This interior upgrade will support Vietnam Airlines’ aggressive plan to continue to compete among the world’s leading carriers.”
As a full-service integrator, Boeing can perform as much of an airline interior upgrade as required, including management of all aspects of the project through certification.
About Vietnam Airlines
As the national flag carrier of Vietnam, headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam Airlines flies 75 routes to 20 domestic and 26 international destinations with more than 290 daily flights. Operating the young fleet of 70 modern aircraft, the airline expects to further expand its fleet to 115 and 165 aircraft by 2015 and 2020, respectively. www.vietnamairlines.com.
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Contact photographer Szabo Gabor
What: Emirates Airbus A330-200 en route from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai
Where: Thiruvananthapuram
When: August 24, 2010
Who: 278 passengers
Why: After a hydraulic probelm developed in the landing gear of the Airbus, the pilot intended to divert to Mumbai, but instead made an emergency landing back at Thiruvananthapuram. It was a safe landing and there were no injuries.
A replacement jet was provided.
…that you should watch this space tomorrow.
If the Federal Aviation Administration publishes their safety directive as expected tomorrow, we will publish it here.
Expectations are that airlines operating Boeing 737-600s will be the subject of the FAAs upcoming directive, and their Boeing tail sections will required to undergo revamped inspections.
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Contact photographer Weimeng
What: Shenzhen Airlines/Kunpeng/Henan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Harbin to Yichun China
Where: Yichun China
When: Aug 24th 2010
Who: 91 passengers (including 5 children) and 5 crew; 43 immediate deaths, 3 serious injuries and 50 minor injuries
Why: The plane overran the runway—and departed the runway on landing—at Lindu airport in Yichun city in Heilongjiang province at 10:10 p.m, split on impact, exploded, and burst into flames. 53 people were rescued, three of whom with serious injuries.
Ten survivors were transferred Yichun Rehabilitation Hospital, which has burn specialists. eight survivors were taken to Yichun Forestry Hospital.
The plane was a two-year old Embraer 190 leased from RBS Aviation Capital. Mesa Air Group was a financial partner in Kunpeng Airlines. The airline is now called Henan Airlines, is based in Henan province and is partially owned by Air China.
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Contact photographer Vivek Manvi
What: Agni Air Dornier 228-101 en route from Katmandu to Lukla
Where: Bastipur, ~18nm SSW of Kathmandu, Nepal
When: Aug 24, 2010
Who: 14 aboard, 14 fatalities. 11 passengers, 3 crew (At one point there was an announcement of an additional passenger whose nationality was unknown. This is unconfirmed.)
Why: Due to poor weather conditions in Katmandu, the crew diverted to Simara Airport. ATC lost contact at 7.30 am. The plane’s generator had been causing problems and it failed, then the backup generator failed. Without a generator, the pilot is flying blind, without avionics. The flight crashed at 9000 feet in a hillside near Bastipur in Shikhapur.
Other reports say the engine failed.
The casualties were Capt. Lucky Shah, co-pilot Sophia Singh, flight attendant Sahara Sherpa, and passengers R Rijal, P Humagain, P Bhote, K Rai and P Sherpa.
Six foreigners were aboard:four Americans: Irina Shekhets (30), Levzi Cordoso (49), Heather Finch (40), and Kendra Fallon (18), one Japanese: Yuki Hayashe (19) and a Brit: Jeremy Taylor (30) .
This is monsoon season, and the area is remote, and roads many roads are blocked due to landslides. Villagers report scattered plane parts and body parts, and rescue teams are en route.
What: Helicopter en route from Fifth Avenue Terminal
Where: San Diego Bay
When: August 22, 2010 6:20 p.m
Who: Pilot
Why: When his helicopter suffered power loss, the helicopter pilot attempted landing on the Coronado Bridge. Persons on the bridge were in fear of a bridge collision, but those on the bridge need not have worried; the helicopter ended up instead in San Diego Bay.
Flotation devices kept the helicopter from sinking, and harbor police rescued the pilot. Rescuers needed every moment as the the pilot canopy was “broken in around him” which I take to mean he was pretty well entrapped. After retrieving the pilot, he was treated at UCSD Medial Center.
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 23, 2010 – The Boeing Company [ along with teammate ProActive Technologies LLC of Orlando, Fla., has submitted a proposal for the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 Training System Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) program. The contract provides program management and on-site CLS to operate, maintain, sustain, and upgrade training devices located at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
ProActive will be the prime contractor on the team, with Boeing’s Global Services & Support division adding its extensive expertise in developing training devices and in maintaining, modifying, and upgrading the B-52 aircraft itself. The Air Force is expected to award the contract in March 2011.
“Our team can provide the customer with a proven low-risk approach that ensures reduced costs and superior operational performance,” said Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president of Training Systems & Services. “ProActive has brought together industry-leading support, world-class training system capabilities, and proven aircraft Original Equipment Manufacturer expertise to ensure the warfighter is training on concurrent devices.”
ProActive Technologies provides state-of-the-art hardware and software design engineering and logistical and management support services to the simulation and training marketplaces for government and private industry.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.
After Flybe found problems with undercarriage fittings on its Bombardier Q400s, Qantas followed suit today and grounded 5 of its oldest Bombardiers on finding fittings issues.
It is projected that two QantasLink Bombardiers will be back in service this weekend, with four weeks allocated for completed repairs and return to service.
What: RV-7 aircraft en route from Ohio to Georgetown, Texas.
Where: (missing in the) Ark-La-Tex area
When: August 22, 2010
Who: pilot Charles Miller
Why: The pilot took off from El Dorado Arkansas Thursday and has not been seen again.
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Contact photographer Manuel Wenger
What: Air Canada Boeing 767-300 en route from Vancouver to Shanghai
Where: Vancouver International Airport
When: August 21, 2010
Who: 166 passengers and 9 crew
Why: Twenty minutes after leaving, the pilot returned to Vancouver after detecting a whistling sound from a cockpit window. The flight entered a holding pattern, then made a safe landing.
Passengers were provided an alternative plane while this plane was scheduled for maintenance.
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Contact photographer Fabrizio Berni
What: Vueling Airbus A320-200 en route from Granada to Barcelona
Where: Granada
When: Aug 22 2010
Who: 138 passengers, 6 crew
Why: On departure from Granada, the Airbus suffered a failure in the nose wheel steering. The crew diverted to Sevilla and made a safe landing. The plane was towed. Maintenance determined that the problem developed as a result of hydraulic system failure.
Passengers were booked on alternative flights.
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Contact photographer Keith Savage
What: Flybe de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from Manchester to Southampton
Where: Manchester
When: Aug 19th 2010
Who: 31 passengers, 4 crew
Why: After takeoff, the cabin became smokey. The crew returned to Manchester and made a safe landing. Passengers disembarked via stairs to the runway and were booked on another flight.
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Contact photographer Benjamin Exenberger
What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 en route from Munich to Los Angeles,CA
Where: Netherlands
When: Aug 20th 2010
Who: 302 passengers, 17 crew
Why: While en route, a smoke detector went off. The crew diverted to Cologne where they made a safe landing. The fire apparently originated in the hold though it was a lavatory alarm. No indication if the fight was continued on the same plane or if the passengers were rebooked on an alternative flight.
