Aircraft

  • Boeing Dreamliner

    Coming soon from Boeing….(2010)

    The 787 Dreamliner

    George’s Point of View

    I’d line to be on that first testflight…

    The fact sheet is directly from the Boeing site.

    Fact Sheet

    Brief Description:

    The Boeing 787-3 Dreamliner is a super-efficient airplane with new passenger-pleasing features. It features a wing and structure optimized for shorter-range flights. It will bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market, using 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size.

    Seating:

    290 to 330 passengers

    Range:

    2,500 to 3,050 nautical miles (4,650 to 5,650 kilometers)

    Configuration:

    Twin aisle

    Cross Section:

    226 inches (574 centimeters)

    Wing Span:

    170 feet (52 meters)

    Length:

    186 feet (57 meters)

    Height:

    56 feet (17 meters)

    Cruise Speed:

    Mach 0.85

    Maximum Takeoff Weight:

    364,000 pounds (165,100 kilograms)

    Total Cargo Volume:

    4,400 cubic feet

    Program milestones:

    • Authority to offer Late 2003
    • Certification/Entry into service after 2012

  • |

    Cessna Emergency Landing

    What: 1965 Cessna 172G
    Where: Inglefield Rd., just north of Darmstadt
    When: June 21
    Who: pilot
    Why: When his engine lost power, the pilot landed in a convenient field three miles north of the airport.

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    Navegantes SC: Embraer Flight Cancelled


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Marcelo Magalhaes

    What: Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Navegantes,SC to Porto Alegre Brazil
    Where: Navegantes,SC
    When: Jun 19th 2009
    Who: 100 passengers
    Why: On takeoff, the engine “exploded.”

    The left hand engine backfired or otherwise made some explosive sound, and the crew immediately aborted takeoff. Mechanics confirmed a compressor stall. Passengers boarded a replacement jet for their flight.

    *Full authority digital Engine control consists of a digital computer interface system (EEC or ECU) “electronic engine control” or “electronic control unit” and components managing engine performance.

  • |

    Let’s Look at Some Airbus Stats, Shall we?

    On Flight 447. pilots contended with escalating failures in their flight control system while alarms were going off and no natural horizon was visible to orient or fly by; and they were completely dependent on electronic instrumentation that were providing faulty data.

    What went wrong?

    George’s Point of View

    5,717 aircraft have been manufactured by Airbus.
    5,100 are in use.
    23 have been involved in fatal crashes
    2,584 people have been killed by Airbuses.
    5 additional accidents have caused 21 injuries.
    Three Airbus crashes involved a separation of the composite vertical stabilizer from the fuselage.
    Airbus composite stabilizers, rudders and couplers have also been involved in additional accidents and incidents.
    25% of new Airbuses are made of composite material, including the plastic vertical stabilizer over 78 feet long
    There have been 10 recorded incidents when A300 tail fins were stressed beyond their capacity.

    Many pilots refuse to fly the Airbus. Maybe they have the right idea.

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    Pinnacle Emergency Landing in Jackson

    What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight from Nashville to Memphis,TN
    Where: Diverted to Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes Airport
    When: Jun 19th 2009
    Who: 31 passengers
    Why: A sensor reported a fire in the cargo bay, but after the plane diverted to Jackson, no smoke or fire was found.

    The plane will continue to Memphis on Saturday.

    The temperature in Jackson was 93, and the heat index was 101.`

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    Romanian Flight: Emergency landing in Madrid


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Matthias Bindseil

    What: Tarom Romanian Air Transport Airbus A310-300 en route from Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) to Tenerife Sur Reina,CI (Spain)
    Where: Madrid
    When: Jun 18th 200p
    Who: 201 passengers and 10 crew members
    Why: En route the windshield cracked, and the flight was diverted safely to Madrid. No injuries were reported though the cockpit depressurized.

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    Sometimes You Just Can’t Win

    What: Air India Boeing 747-400 en route from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Mumbai
    Where: Riyadh
    When: May 27th 2009
    Who: 300 Passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the crew could not retract the landing gear. Air Control told the crew to fly to Mumbai with the gear down.

    The captain refused and returned to Riyadh for a safe landing. Then Air India grounded the captain and stopped his salary.

    George’s Point of View

    This captain is something of an unsung hero, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    Even though the captain’s job was to ferry the plane, he refused to do so.

    However, a ferry flight with gear down in night conditions is not permitted.

    So he lost his job for doing the right thing.

  • | |

    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell gone “Gentle Into That Good Night”

    George’s Point of View

    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell’s quiet but dramatic death is going to be all but overlooked in the media buzz over the Air France Airbus catastrophe. None of his passengers even knew he’d died. In an interview, his Lenell’s wife called him the “kindest, gentlest man” she ever knew. His last communication to her had been a promise to bring her chocolates.

    You never know what you’re going to get.

    The 32 year veteran of Continental Airlines was also an Vietnam vet who served in the Air Force.

    The first officer and (what is probably) the international relief officer took over when the captain became incapacitated. It was sheer luck that a cardiologist was on board. And even though he was unable to save the captain’s life, Dr. Julien Struyven’s accidental presence on that flight may be a comfort to the captain’s wife and family. At least they won’t be asking “what if a doctor had been on board? What if there had be a defib on board?” Because on this flight there was a doctor, and a defibrillator. Perhaps it was just the captain’s time.

    Maybe one man’s death aboard a flight that did not crash isn’t going to be a headline for more than a day, but you can bet that the people aboard that Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark–those passengers who are alive now because Continental did something right–they won’t ever forget.

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    Co-Pilots to the Rescue

    Capt. Lee Collins of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association said pilots are prepared for emergencies in the air. The pilot of a transatlantic flight died over the Atlantic Ocean, but the jet landed safely.

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Brussels Belgium to Newark, NJ
    Where: en route
    When: June 18th 2009
    Who: 247 passengers and 3 flight crew
    Why: Four hours into the flight, while over the Atlantic, the captain died. The two first officers took over and landed the plane safely in Newark.

    A doctor on board was called to the cockpit, and the on board defibrillator failed to revive the captain who apparently had died of a heart attack.

    George’s Point of View

    It’s a small world.

    Recently I’d been in a conversation with someone about the Colgan flight.

    Remember the Colgan flight? The one that crashed in Buffalo? The wings iced over, the captain was ill-trained, and the co-pilot was too inexperienced and too exhausted to know how to respond to the particular emergency. The combination resulted in disaster for everyone on board.

    So, I was in this conversation with someone about the Colgan flight, and the question came up about the value of the co-pilot’s experience. The rate of the co-pilot’s pay was released, ($11.00/hr) and that provoked me to write about co-pilots needing “professional” pay. What would happen, we speculated (in this conversation) if the pilot died? The copilot becomes the de facto pilot.

    Then, lo and behold, today a pilot dies of a heart attack. Luckily for Continental and everyone on board, there were two co-pilots on hand, and both of them apparently qualified enough to handle the flight. (Apparently so, since they did manage to finish the flight.)

    I just wasn’t expecting that speculative question to manifest itself in a headline today.

  • |

    Man vs Wire

    George’s Point of View

    As opposed to Boeing, where the pilot always has the upper hand over the machine, the basic tenet of Airbus philosophy is machine knows best. That must be the case, because when all else fails, here comes the Airbus autopilot and the pilot can’t do anything. We’ve seen this bite pilots in the *** in a number of circumstances, but the first one that comes to mind, for me, is the big TAM crash in Sao Paulo. Not being a pilot, I’ve had to ask airbus pilots about this, and believe me, I’ve heard some horror stories that would curl your hair. Maybe that’s what is at the root of my negativity toward the Airbus. The other would be their tendency to crash and kill a lot of people at one time.

    Anyway, Airbus recently started production of the A320 series in China. They just did a maiden flight on the first plane. I like China very much but I don’t know about getting on China-made planes. It is bad enough that they are Airbus.

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    Northwest Airbus Double-diversion


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Martin Woudstra

    What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Rome Fiumicino Italy to Atlanta,GA
    Where: Shannon, Ireland/Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky
    When: Jun 12th 2009
    Who: 285 people on board
    Why: En route, smoke developed in the cabin supposedly from the galley. On landing, Shannon fire services sprayed the right hand main gear. Passengers debarked and re-embarked. The flight reached Atlanta but after circling, weather-caused traffic congestion in Atlanta forced the flight to land in Cincinnati.

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    Airbus Oil Leak Downs Lisbon Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Michael Schmidt

    What: SATA International Airbus A310-300 en route from Lisbon Portugal to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
    Where: Lisbon
    When: Jun 15th 2009
    Who: 222 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, an oil leak was detected in the Airbus and it returned to the airport. Passengers debarked and eventually took an alternative airbus. One passenger was ill.

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    The Crash is Never Over

    George’s Point of View

    Judgements and awards offer no closure.

    For those left behind, the accidents are never over.

    Angela de Marchi lost her husband in September 29 2006, a Boeing Legacy crash, when 154 died.

    She lost him again at the crash of Tam Congonhas Flight 3054 July 17 2007 when 199 people died.

    And now this new Airbus crash…she lost him again.

    For the families, each new crash brings the memories back, the hope, the loss.

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    Turbulence in Charlotte


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Stewart Andrew

    What: US Airways Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Charlotte
    Where: Charlotte
    When: 06/14/2009
    Who: The number of passengers was not reported
    Why: U S Air Flight 705 was in descent when it encountered turbulence. A flight attendant sustained minor injuries. She was apparently the only injury; otherwise, the flight landed safely.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Manas Barooah

    What: Southwest Airlines Flight 1040 Boeing 737-500 en route from Chicago to Fort Myers
    Where: Columbus, Ga
    When: Jun 14th 2009
    Who: 122 people on board
    Why: Over Columbus, the plane experienced low cabin pressure and performed an emergency landing. 5 hours later, the replacement Boeing picked up the stranded passengers and continued the flight. Maintenance did not release a public report of what caused the low cabin pressure, but if they tell me why, you’ll be the first to know.

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    Iberia Airbus has Navigation Issues

    What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Copenhagen, Denmark
    Where: Madrid’s Barajas Airport
    When: Jun 13th 2009
    Who: 190 passengers
    Why: After 40 minutes struggling with technical problem with the navigation instruments, the Airbus returned to land safely in Madrid. The passengers were accommodated with a replacement plane, while this plane was examined by maintenance crews. No injuries were reported.

    George’s Point of View

    Please note there was a similar incident that happened the day before with another model of airbus but there was even less information available so we didn’t write it up.

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    Shannon Emergency Landing

    What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 light 821
    Where: Shannon Airport
    When: 1.20pm
    Who: 285 passengers
    Why: smokey stench in the forward galley. The plane made a successful emergency landing, without further incident.

    George’s Point of View

    I’m glad there were no injuries involved; but I chuckle picturing the chargeback on some flight attendant’s chit because the airline was forced to land the plane when she 1. burned the toast or
    2. accidentally toasted the microwave or
    3. tried to sneak in a smoke:

    June 1-15: +$1080.00
    Taxes: – XXXX
    Emergency -140,008.72
    Landing

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    Delta Emergency Landing

    What: Delta (Skywest Airlines Canadair CRJ-200) en route from Kalispell to Salt Lake
    Where: Missoula International airport
    When: June 12, 2009 3 pm
    Who: 49 passengers and 3 crew members
    Why: While on route to Salt Lake, the plane experienced problems with its landing gear. After making efforts to deal with the problem and carry on, they decided to make an emergency landing at the Missoula International Airport 45 minutes after take-off. The gear lowered and locked and the plane landed without injury to anyone.

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    Jetstar A332 Cockpit Fire


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer John Richard Thomson

    What: Australian Jetstar (division of Qantas) Airbus A330-200 en route from Japan to Australia (Osaka Kansai to Bilinga Gold Coast)
    Where: emergency landing on the island of Guam
    When: June 10th
    Who: 203 mostly Japanese passengers and crew
    Why: When a fire broke out in the cockpit when the plane was over the Pacific Ocean, one of the pilots used a fire extinguisher to control the fire.

    Passengers debarked normally.

    The plane is only two years old; and will be held in Guam as the incident is investigated. 4 investigators will be sent to examine the aircraft.