Aircraft

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    Jet Blue Emergency Landing in San Juan


    Pictured: A JetBlue Airways Embraer ERJ-190-100IGW 190AR
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Stephen B. Aranha

    What: Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190 en route from San Juan Puerto Rico to Fort Lauderdale,FL
    Where: San Juan
    When: Mar 6th 2010
    Who: 35 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: While en route just after takeoff, smoke was found in the cabin. The crew decided to return to San Juan where they made a safe landing. Evacuation was uneventful.

    A replacement jet was provided.

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    Piper Crash in Vero Beach neighborhood

    What: Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II
    Where: Nr. 12th Street and 34th Avenue Sun Villas, Vero Beach Florida
    When: Mar 5 2010
    Who: pilot and student pilot
    Why: While on a Paris Air training flight, the flight crashed near a canal and within 50 feet of homes. Both the pilot and student pilot were seriously injured and trapped inside the plane. The extrication took 90 minutes, after which one was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, and the other was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce.

    The plane’s owner is a New York surgeon who leases the piper to Paris Aviation.

    The passengers were in communication with the rescue team during the rescue, but were in serious condition on transport.

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    Chicago: United Flight diverts due to smoke


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Nathan Zalcman

    What: United Airlines A-319 en route from Rochester to Chicago
    Where: Chicago
    When: Mar 5 2010
    Who: 120 passengers and five crew
    Why: Less than an hour after takeoff, smoke was detected in the airbus lavoratory. The flight returned to Buffalo and made a safe landing. The source of the smoke was reported as an auxiliary power unit and also a water pump that started a fire which a flight attendant put out.

    George’s Point of View

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    Hawaiian Air Hydraulic leak


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Nishant Deshpande

    What: Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Phoenix to Honolulu
    Where: en route
    When: Mar 4th 2010
    Who: 216 passengers and 10
    Why: While en route, the flight developed a hydraulic leak. The crew decided to divert to San Francisco where the leak was repaired after a safe landing.

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    Lufthansa Wing Strike


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Gerry Stegmeier

    What: Lufthansa A320-200 en route from Munich to Hamburg
    Where: Hamburg
    When: Mar 1 2008
    Who: 132 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: On approach to Hamburg in stormy windy (47 knot wind gusts) weather, the left wing struck the runway on an attempted landing, veered, and had to make another go-round before a final landing.

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    Boeing Press Release

    Boeing Delivers First 777 Freighters to Southern Air

    EVERETT, Wash., March 3 — Boeing (NYSE: BA) has delivered two 777 Freighters to Southern Air Holdings, Inc., the first 777s to join the Norwalk, Conn.-based cargo carrier’s fleet.

    The addition of these two airplanes makes Southern Air the world’s first aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) operator to feature the 777 Freighter.

    “We are thrilled to take delivery of our first two Boeing 777 Freighters, the most advanced aircraft of its kind, offering unmatched payload, range and fuel efficiency,” said Daniel J. McHugh, CEO of Southern Air. “The addition of these two airplanes begins a new era for Southern Air, as we are now able to provide a mix of next- and current-generation freighter airplanes to serve our customers’ needs. Boeing is a valued business partner and we are proud to celebrate this milestone for our company with them.”

    Southern Air has entered into an agreement to operate the two 777 Freighters on behalf of Thai Airways International. Thai Airways will utilize the full capacity of the 777 Freighters, becoming the first carrier in Southeast Asia to offer this capability to its freight customers.

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    Expired Pilot Shelved in Amsterdam


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mathias Henig

    What: Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-400 en route from Amsterdam to Ankara
    Where: Amsterdam
    When: Mar 2nd 2010
    Who: 101 passengers
    Why: Passengers got a big surprise when this jet was readying for departure and the cockpit was stormed by police. Okay this may be something of an exaggeration; I don’t know if it was stormed; but at any rate, the pilot was removed from the cockpit for flying with a license…that expired 13 years ago. I don’t know how the Swedish found out, but the Swedish told the Dutch who told Turkish Civil aviation who promptly took action. Fortunately, someone had an alternative pilot to handle the flight.

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    UK: On Board Panic Attack Calls Out RAF


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Steve Brimley

    What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Dallas to London
    Where: UK
    When: Mar 2nd 2010
    Who: 161 passengers and 12 crew
    Why: While en route, a female passenger apparently became hysterical and attempted to gain access to the cockpit. She was “chilled” down by the crew, and provided a reception by UK police on arrival to Heathrow. She was arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

    George’s Point of View

    On receiving news of the unruly passenger attempting to gain access, the UK also provided two Royal Air Force fighter Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as escort, flying side by side with the American Airlines flight.

    Although the jets returned to base when it was determined the incident was the woman’s emotional meltdown (reputedly due to an illness in her family), and not a “terror incident, it is a sign of the times that fighter jets are pulled into service and London Airspace is placed under a Restricted/security Alert when a pilot requests a priority approach (even though the situation is under control). Of course, if this were a terror incident, why would they continue to route to Heathrow? I find the course of action confusing.

    Consider some points and see if there is some kind of balance to be found:

    • How responsible is the woman, if she were having a true panic attack, which is a true mental disorder?
    • What was the fuel bill for the two Air Force fighters (plus the wages of those engaged to contain our fearful flyer?)
    • What were the fighters going to do? Shoot down a passenger jet with 172 normal people and 1 mentally ill passenger aboard?
    • Did anyone consider the likelihood of two fighter jets actually calming a woman in a panic? If her panic attack is the kind related to a Mitral valve prolapse, she may well have died.
    • Who made the decision to deploy fighter jets in an instance when the ones most endangered are inside? What can the jet pilots actually do other than shoot down the commercial jet? Did they not believe the pilot that things were under control, and had to actually peek in the window to make sure?

    Is this a little like using the lid of the superdome to contain a butterfly? And how reasonable is it to arrest someone for a panic attack? It seems that in response to her panic attack, everyone else must have had one too. Is it catching?

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    Pitot Diverts Dash 8 to Bergan


    Pictured: A Wideroe De Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 Dash 8
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Felix Goetting

    What: Wideroe de Havilland Dash 8-100 en route from Sogndal to Forde
    Where: Bergen
    When: Mar 2nd 2010
    Who: 16 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: While on route, the pitot heating system failed. The resulting nreliable airspeed indications convinced the crew to divert to Bergen, where they made a safe landing.

    Offhand, I think this may be the first that I recall pitot tube issues on a de Havilland Dash 8-100. I wonder if these were thales tubes; and I wonder if airspeed can not be better determined with a more robust methodology. If I were a manufacturer, I would certainly have my engineers thinking about developing alternative technologies to bring to market.

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    University Executives Die in Humanitarian Mission

    What: Piper PA-31 Turbo Navajo B en route from Tomé to Concepción
    Where: Tomé Chile
    When: Mar 1 2010
    Who: Fatalities included Pablo Desbordes, Ignacio Fernández, Luis ernesto Videla, Juan Guillermo Moya and Rodolfo Becker and pilot Marcelo Ruiz.
    Why: The plane crashed near the town of Tomé, Chile while transporting five University Santo Tomás executives for eartquake relief work. They were traveling to the site of the earthquake to evaluate shelter safety conditions. No reason has been reported for the crash.

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    ACT Airbus Last Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jussi Seppala

    What: ACT Airlines Airbus A300B4-200 en route from Bahrain to Bagram
    Where: Afghanistan
    When: Mar 1 2010
    Who: 5 crew
    Why: On landing, the left main gear collapsed, and the plane landed on its left wing, rear fuselage and right main gear. It remains to be seen if it was a high speed landing, or a collapse due to hydraulic failure. Substantial damage was incurred, but fortunately there were no injuries reported.

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    Delta Airbus Emergency Landing in Detroit


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joey Collura

    What: Delta Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Detroit to Denver
    Where: Lake Michigan
    When: Feb 28 2010
    Why: While en route, the left engine developed problems and was shut down. The flight returned to Denver and made a safe landing on the remaining engine.

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    Continental Emergency Landing in the Azores


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joel Vogt

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Newark to Lisbon
    Where: west of the Azores
    When: Feb 27th 2010
    Why: While en route, after experiencing unreliable airspeed and losing communication (briefly), the flight again made radio contact and diverted to Lajes on Terceira Island. With partial avionic functions, and no autopilot, they made a safe landing.

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    Belize Crash Kills Albany Businessman

    What: Cessna 206 Stationair
    Where: 1/2 mile from Rwy 06 at SPR, Ambergris Caye, Belize
    When: Feb 26 2010
    Who: 5 fatalities (3 adults 2 children) Sir Barry Bowen, Michael Casey, Jill Casey, a three year old child, and a newborn. A Belize resident and prominent citizen, Bowen was piloting the plane.
    Why: On final approach to San Pedro Airport, the plane developed some kind of problem and impacted a building under construction, at which point the plane lost a wing and impacted a marshy area half a mile from the runway.

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    Brazil Cessna Crash

    What: Cessna 310R en route from Leopoldina to Pampulha
    Where: Serra do Curral, Minas Gerais Brazil
    When: Feb 26 2010
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: After takeoff, the plane crashed in conditions of fog and low visibility. The mountainous crash site was 5 meters below the top of Serra do Curral mountain range. The plane apparently blew up on impacting a “wall” of mountain.

    A local fire department helicopter spotted the wreckage.

    The victims were identified as Tanus Sales and Rafael Tanus Pascoal Sales. Rafael was the pilot.

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    Nazca Airlines Blames Wind Shear

    Updated

    Pictured: Nazca Airport
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net

    Pictured: A Cessna 206 Super Skywagon
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alan Lebeda

    What: Nazca Airlines Cessna U206F tourist flight en route from/to Nazca Airport
    Where: El Mirador in the coastal Nazca Desert, Peru
    When: Feb 25 2010
    Who: Four Peruvians, one of whom was a boy, and one who was the pilot, and three Chileans.
    Why: While on a tourist flight to view ancient geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, the plane crashed. The wreckage is about 150 yards (meters) from a figure known as “the spider”. Around 11:00 a.m. with seven people on board, the flight crashed. There were three Chilean tourists, a Peruvian couple with a 5-year-old daughter, and the Peruvian pilot.

    Nazca Airlines (AeroIca) announced they blame the crash on wind shear.

    The 7 who were killed were on a plane with a capacity of 6.

    In November 2008, the same plane was involved in an emergency landing near kilómetro 424 de la carretera Panamericana Sur (South Pan-American highway). At that time, the problems was ascribed to engine trouble.

    The Peruvian passengers were identified as Sameli Chavarry, Erika del Pilar Zúñiga, John Rojas Rodríguez and Dayesca Rojas Zuñira; the Chileans were Matías Poblete, Gabriela Ortega Poblete and Alejandra Cienfuegos.

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    Unruly Albanian or Just Misunderstood


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Normando Carvalho Jr.

    What: US Airways Boeing 737-400 en route from Charlotte,NC to Houston,TX
    Where: Charlotte
    When: Feb 25 2010
    Who: Not available
    Why: After takeoff on this flight, an Albanian passenger got up and tried to exit the plane. It took 5 passengers and crew to subdue him. The pilots returned the plane to Charlotte where the disruptive Albanian-speaking passenger was taken into custody by police and removed to a hospital for observation.

    Was he suicidal? Confused? Destructive? In despair? Incontinent? We may never know.

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    Boeing and United Airlines Finalize

    United to expand international service with fuel-efficient Dreamliner
    Boeing (NYSE: BA) and United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA) have finalized an order for 25 787-8 jetliners. The agreement includes the opportunity to purchase another 50 Dreamliners.

    “Boeing and United Airlines share an 80-year partnership,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “United, which launched the Boeing 777, now begins a new chapter with the 787 Dreamliner, the most technologically advanced commercial jetliner ever built.”

    The order is valued at $4.2 billion at average list prices.

    “United’s Boeing 787 order represents a substantial investment in our future and will enhance the significant progress we are making in improving the global competitiveness of our company while providing the opportunity to open new profitable markets and serve a broader range of international destinations,” said John Tague, president of United Airlines.

    United expects to take delivery of the 787s at the same time it will begin to retire its Boeing 747s and 767s operating on international routes.

    The 787 Dreamliner, currently in flight test, will provide greater fuel efficiency, allowing airlines to add new, nonstop city pairs and the additional frequencies that passengers prefer.

    The 787 also promises a more comfortable flying experience for passengers. Its innovations include a new interior environment with improvements in air filtration, higher cabin pressurization resulting in reduced physical fatigue, larger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting and other passenger-preferred conveniences.

    The technologically advanced 787 will also provide airlines with up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity

    Including United Airlines, 57 customers around the world have ordered 876 Dreamliners, making the 787 the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history.

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    Nazca Airlines Cessna Crash Kills 7 in Peru


    Pictured: Nazca Airport
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net

    Pictured: A Cessna 206 Super Skywagon
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alan Lebeda

    What: Nazca Airlines Cessna U206F tourist flight en route from/to Nazca Airport
    Where: El Mirador in the coastal Nazca Desert, Peru
    When: Feb 25 2010
    Who: Four Peruvians, one of whom was a boy, and one who was the pilot, and three Chileans.
    Why: While on a tourist flight to view ancient geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, the plane crashed. The wreckage is about 150 yards (meters) from a figure known as “the spider”.

    In November 2008, the same plane was involved in an emergency landing near kilómetro 424 de la carretera Panamericana Sur (South Pan-American highway). At that time, the problems was ascribed to engine trouble.

    The Peruvian passengers were identified as Sameli Chavarry, Erika del Pilar Zúñiga, John Rojas Rodríguez and Dayesca Rojas Zuñira; the Chileans were Matías Poblete, Gabriela Ortega Poblete and Alejandra Cienfuegos.

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    Emergency Landing in Turin


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jim Groom

    What: Thomas Cook Boeing 757-200 en route from Turin to Birmingham International
    Where: Turin
    When: Feb 21 2010
    Who: 231 passengers
    Why: While en route, the plane developed a fuel leak, substantial enough for passengers to see it pouring out of a wing. Although the captain announced a possible bird strike, a fuel leak had been detected in the plane in an earlier flight. The flight had to turn back, and circled Turin for half an hour before making an applause-filled landing.

    The fuel leak was judged to be a bad valve, which was replaced prior to being ferried back to Birmingham.

    One wonders if the ferry flight was actually the incident involved here:
    https://airflightdisaster.com/?p=8707

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    Luxair Lightning Strike, Lands with one Engine


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Tom Mousel

    What: Luxair de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from Saarbruecken to Munich
    Where: 70 passengers
    When: Feb 24 2010
    Who: 70 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the plane was struck by lightning.

    The lighting strike is probably the reason why an engine failed. The flight diverted to Luxembourg where it made a safe landing, and where they were able to arrange repairs.

    Passengers were provided overnight hotel accommodations, and scheduled to fly to Munich the next day.