Aircraft

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    Rudder Failure Fails to Alert Crew

    What: Air Canada Airbus A319-100 en route from Montreal,QC to Toronto,ON
    Where: Montreal
    When: Apr 14th 2009
    Who: 117 on board
    Why: As the plane was about to lift off, the rudder moved and the aircraft pivoted to the left. The crew completed the flight. Afterwards, maintenance in Toronto was informed and they replaced the yaw damper actuator and the #1 flight augmentation computer.

    George’s Point of View

    I question whether the crew should have continued on with this flight on board this plane before the maintenance repairs were completed. It is obvious that everyone survived and that is a good thing. But I wonder if the convenience of not stopping is worth either 1. the actual risk; 2. the perceived risk 3. passenger confidence.

    As far as confidence in an airline goes, as for me, ask me any day and I’ll tell you, I’d prefer to be a little late to being a little dead. I think most passengers would agree.

    If not stopping to perform repairs is Air Canada’s policy, then someone needs to rethink this policy, because the issue is not consumer confidence vs the bottom line. It is safety vs foolhardy cutting of corners.

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    Small Plane Crashes in Residential Neighborhood

    What: SPORTSMAN GS-2 registered to THOMAS P ALEXANDER
    Where: Crown Drive just west of El Dorado Hills Blvd. in El Dorado Hills CA
    When: Friday 04/17/2009 after 5 p.m.
    Who: THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED. The pilot’s name has been disclosed as THOMAS P ALEXANDER
    Why: AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY between two houses. The plane caught fire but neither home was damaged. However, the pilot did not survive the crash. His flight record is currently under investigation. The homebuilt plane was certified in March.

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    No Injuries. Jamaican Hostage Situation Resolved

    What: Canadian CanJet Airlines Flight 918 Boeing 737
    Where: Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport.
    When: Hostage crisis began at about 10:20 p.m. local time Sunday and ended near 6:40 a.m
    Who: Initially 159 (out of 174 expected) passengers and eight crew ; six crew members hostage for eight hours by gunman Stephen Fray
    Why: A “mentallly challenged” 20-year-old Jamaican gunman having relationship problems boarded the plane during a layover and demanded to be flown to Cuba. A passenger said “… took our money and we just, like, left our purses and our passports and everything just in the plane because we didn’t want to take any chances. We just put the money in a bag and we ran out of the plane.”. The flight was stormed by the Jamaica Defence Force Counter Terrorism Operations Group

    George’s Point of View

    Fortunately the situation was resolved with no injuries, but it is obvious the poor kid had issues. Who in their right mind would leave Jamaica for Cuba?

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    Boing Emergency landing in Florida due to Laser


    Contact photographer Thomas Piskol
    What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Orlando,FL to Miami,FL
    Where: ?WEST PALM BEACH
    When: 04/20/2009 0:125
    Why: “ON APPROACH REPORTED A LASER BEAM STRIKE” The plane was landed safely in spite of the pilot sustaining an eye injury from a laser pointed at the cockpit.

    Based on Flightaware information, the Aviation Herald reports the landing did not occur at West Palm Beach.

    Also, the flight number was erroneously listed on the FAA site as the registration #.

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    Royal Air Maroc Boeing 767-300


    Contact photographer Agustin Anaya
    What: Royal Air Maroc Boeing 767-30 en route from Casablanca (Morocco) to New York John F. Kennedy Airport
    Where: JFK
    When: Apr 20th 2009
    Why: Wake turbulence was such that the landing was hard. Complaints about the hard landing prompted plane inspection which turned up wrinkles found in the fuselage. The plane was grounded for repairs and further inspection.

  • Smoke-no fire in Fuerteventura

    What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Fuerteventura Spain
    Where: Fuerteventura
    When: Apr 19th 2009
    Why: On approach to Fuerteventura, a cargo hold smoke detector went off, but on landing, no fire was found. Even though no fire was found, the plane was held for examination.

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    Depressurized Airbus Lands in London


    Contact photographer Bruce Leibowitz
    What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300, en route from New York JFK,NY to Istanbul Ataturk
    Where: divert to London Heathrow
    When: Apr 16th 2009 6:30 local
    Who: 185 passengers and 15 crew
    Why: The cabin depressurized en route, and the flight was diverted to Heathrow for a safe landing. Although passengers experienced shortness of breath and ear pain, oxygen masks never did deploy.

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    Lightning Strikes Southwest Airlines Boeing

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Dallas Love,TX to Lubbock,TX
    Where: Amarillo,TX
    When: Apr 16th 2009 8:35 pm
    Who: 123 passengers
    Why: Approaching Lubbock in a storm, the Boeing was struck by lightning and successfully diverted to Amarillo. Later, a Boeing 737-700 took the passengers from Amarillo to Lubbock.

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    Wilmington Emergency Landing: Medical


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Durning
    What: Air Transat Airbus A-310 en route from Nova Scotia to Cuba
    Where: Wilmington International Airport
    When: Thursday night
    Who: a passenger went into shock and passed out.
    Why: Fortunately for the passenger, a doctor on board stabilized the patient. After landing, the 40-year-old passenger was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center and the flight continued on as scheduled to Cuba.

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    Oakland Park Plane Crashes House


    What: twin-engine Cessna 421 owned by Sebring Air Charter in Tamarac en route from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
    Where: Oakland Park
    When: 11:20 a.m
    Who: pilot Cecil A. Murray, 80 of Tarmac en route to Fernandina Beach, just outside Jacksonville
    Why: The pilot’s plans to fly to Ferdandina Beach to sell the plane were disrupted when he reported problems as soon as he took off. Murray reported to air traffic control that he was going to turn around and was cleared to do so, but then neighbors in this Oakland Park neighborhood heard the plane “spitting and sputtering.” The plane crashed in the middle of a house which was a total loss. The pilot did not survive.

    Yahoo slideshow of the crash site

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    Business as Usual: JAL Engine flameout a matter of course


    Pictured: Japan Airlines A300B4-622R
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Christian Waser
    What: Japan Airlines Airbus A300-600 en route from Aomori to Tokyo Haneda
    Where: Haneda Airport
    When: Apr 17th 2009
    Who: 120 people
    Why: After touchdown at Haneda Airport, the engine started smoking; flames were shooting out of the exhaust. The crew engaged the ” engine fire suppression system.” Passengers did NOT debark via emergency procedures.

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    Saipan: Windshield Cracked too Late and Missed the Party


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Dan Hornseth
    What: Northwest Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Guam to Tokyo Narita Japan
    Where: Saipan
    When: Wednesday April 15 between 4 and 5
    Who: 170 + passengers
    Why: When a “minor” crack was discovered on the plane’s windshield. A delay of between 16 and 17 hours is anticipated.

    George’s Point of View

    Irony of the day: The plane’s emergency arrival just missed Disaster Drill day at Saipan International Airport.

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    Air Canada: 767 Auto-pilot Fails


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Fast
    What: Air Canada 767 en route from Toronto to Buenos Aires and/or Sao Paulo Brazil.
    Where: Toronto’s Pearson International Airport
    When: Wednesday April 15 2009
    Who: 129 on board
    Why: When the pilot detected problems with the automatic pilot system, they followed standard operating procedure and returned to the airport for a safe landing. Passengers debarked on to the runway and were transported to the terminal where they were scheduled to take an alternative flight.

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    Airbus Loses Control in Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mark Kryst – YXUphoto
    What: Air Canada Airbus A320-200 en route from Montreal Trudeau Canada to Fort Lauderdale, FL
    Where: Montreal
    When: Apr 14th 2009
    Why: After reporting problems to air traffic control and returning to Montreal, on final approach to runway 06L the crew experienced “severe mechanical turbulence” and momentarily lost control of the plane. However, the plane landed safely; and shortly afterwards, the passengers were off to their destination–on board another Airbus.

    *Mechanical turbulence is turbulence around buildings, wind eddies not caused by thermal means.

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    Sikorsky S-92A Main Gearbox (MGB) Malfunctions.

    Subject:
    Sikorsky S-92A Main Gearbox (MGB) Malfunctions.

    Ref. Publications:
    Sikorsky Safety Advisory SSA-S92-08-006 dated 26 September Sikorsky Safety Advisory SSA-S92-08-006 dated 26 September 2008; and Sikorsky CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 dated 14 March 2009.

    Description:

    The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation published SSA-S92-08-006 to The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation published SSA-S92-08-006 to  inform owners and operators of impending Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) changes, prompted by service difficulties with the S-92A MGB lubrication system. More recently, CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 was published to inform owners and operators about a recent accident with an S-92A helicopter. The latest advisory document contains reminders of existing Sikorsky service publications that recommend specific action(s) that may or may not be related to the root cause(s) of the latest accident. CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 also specifies that ‘compliance’ with Sikorsky Safety Advisories is ‘essential’.

    After reviewing the information and pending the investigation, EASA supports the recommendations contained in CCS-92-AOL-09-0008, with the exception of SSA-S92-08-006. This advisory document refers to RFM changes that have not yet been approved by the FAA. In fact, the SSA specifies the ‘corrective action’ as “Ensure all flight crews become familiar with the RFM changes when received”. This SIB is published to ensure that all owners and operators of affected rotorcraft, registered in European Union Member States or associated countries, are aware that the procedures specified in SSA-S92-08-006 have not been approved by FAA or EASA. The relevant emergency procedures in the approved RFM must be observed.


    Applicability:

    Sikorsky S-92A helicopters, all serial numbers.

    Contact:
    For further information contact the Airworthiness Directives, Safety For further information contact the Airworthiness Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, Certification Directorate, EASA. E-mail: ADs@easa.europa.eu. Copies of the referenced advisory documents and any other related Sikorsky service publications may be obtained upon request from Sikorsky Commercial Product Support, or call the Customer Service Engineering Desk, telephone: +1 203-416-4299, or E-mail: sikorskywcs@sikorsky.com.

    http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=65f9e39d40a78110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD

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    Ill Alitalia Pilot Down in Shannon


    Pictured: an Alitalia Boeing-767-3S1
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Josh May
    What: Alitalia Boeing 767, travelling from Milan in Italy to New York’s JFK
    Where: Shannon Airport
    When: Wednesday April 15 2009 5 PM
    Who: 168 passengers and eleven crew
    Why: When the pilot became ill, the flight landed at Shannon Airport. The pilot was hospitalized in Limerick and the passengers were treated to an overnight hotel stay and will continue to JFK on Thursday. Rumor on the pilot network is that the pilot had a heart attack.

    iLVolo.it says it in Italian

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    Alaska Airlines Quick Fix


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Carter
    What: Alaska Airline Boeing 737 Phoenix to Seattle
    Where: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    When: emergency landing around 6:40 a.m
    Who: 113 passengers
    Why: After an emergency with an overheating hydraulic pump, the flight landed back at the Phoenix airport after 15 minutes; and (after 45 minutes of maintenance) was back in the air 1.5 hours behind schedule, but successfully en route to Seattle

    George’s Point of View

    Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance…

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    Airbus Diverts to Athens


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: Easyjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Heraklion (Greece) to London Gatwick,EN (UK)
    Where: Athens International Airport
    When: Apr 14th 2009 15.02 local time
    Who: 137 passengers and 7 crew
    Why: Pressurization. After observing problems with pressurization, the crew burned off ten minutes worth of fuel and landed on runway 21R. The problem turned out to be in the air conditioning. Easyjet’s press release terms this not an emergency but “merely a precautionary technical diversion.”

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    Bolivia Night Med-evacuation on Cessna Kills 4


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Martin Eadie

    What: CESSNA 210 en route from Concepcion to Santa Cruz
    Where: Concepcion, Bolivia
    When: April 13, 2009
    Who: pilot and three passengers on a medical evacuation
    Why: The plane “impacted terrain” during the night flight, but no reason is listed. The cause is under investigation.

    George’s Point of View

    Impacted terrain at night? I can’t wait to see what the NTSB has to say about this.
    Brazil already says this is the pilots fault, though it is unclear what this quote is supposed to mean:

    “Due to the fact that the pilot had violated flight rules, as explained by the representative of DGAC, the plane took off from the city of Santa Cruz 20 minutes after the expiry of the permitted duration of flights.”

    Determining the cause at this point is a bit precipitous. Most accident investigations take years.

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    DeKalb County Crash kills Two

    What: 1946-era single-engine fixed aircraft listed as a “model 415 C ERCOUP/ MOONEY A-2 AIRCOUPE”
    Where: corn field near the city of Sandwich
    When: 04/11/2009 1:49 p.m.
    Who: 53-year-old Randall Hougham of Sandwich, who was flying the plane, and 22-year-old passenger Lauren Hamilton, also of Sandwich died in the crash
    Why: Circumstances are unknown.

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    Piper Crash in San Diego

    What: Piper Comanche (PA-24-250 Regis#: 7690P ) en route from Whiteman Airport just north of Los Angeles to Brown Field Municipal Airport near the Mexican border
    Where: east of the runways at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
    When: April 11 2009, 11 a.m. Saturday
    Who: pilot and passenger died on impact. (The NTSB preliminary report only listed the pilot; no passenger. News coverage, however, mentioned a passenger.)
    Why: There was no distress call made; air traffic controllers lost radio contact at 10:55. Weather at Montgomery Field, at 11:00 was light rain and southwest winds at 6 mile per hour.

    The pilot is (probably) the plane owner Friedrich L Weber of Burbank, California who with his wife was flying to Mexico for medical treatment.

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    Passenger Lands Plane when Pilot Dies


    What: 1982 King Air 55 owned by White Equipment Leasing flying en route from Marco Island to Jackson Mississippi
    Where: Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport
    When: Sunday April 12
    Who: 6
    Why: When the pilot passed out midflight, a passenger took the controls and safely landed the plane. The pilot died of cardiac arrest prior to landing.

    Landing safely was a group effort. The on board passenger who landed the plane had a pilot’s license but was not certified to fly a high-performance turboprop and had no experience flying this type of aircraft. The Fort Myers air traffic controller who talked the pilot down was getting HIS direction from a Connecticut pilot reading the landing checklist from a King Air manual.

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    Mexican Helicopter Crash Kills 3

    What: Mexican Geological Services helicopter
    Where: northwestern state of Sinaloa 19 miles from the city of Los Mochis in the mountain town of Sinoloa de Leyva
    When: Wednesday
    Who: Three Mexican Geological Service employees: David Barbosa Luna, engineer managing SGM’s Western Region, Alberto Montañes Castro, project coordinator , and helicopter’s pilot Capt. Rodrigo Navarro Jimenez
    Why: 3 SGM workers managing field activities for the preparation of two geological mining charts were killed on the job. The flight was returning from the mountain and landed on or in the Sinoloa de Leyva Baseball stadium. They were en route to Sinoloa to refuel and check a faulty engine.