What: Qantas Boeing 767 en route from Melbourne Airport bound for Sydney,
Where: Flight 434 left Melbourne at 1.30pm (AEDT) and landed back at Tullamarine at 2.15pm.
When: shortly after 2:00pm (AEDT)
Why: After the pilot discovered a fault with landing gear indicators, he returned to the airport where passengers deplaned and took another flight. Passengers were delayed more than two hours.
There are at least a dozen news articles today discussing the issue of helicopter safety, many of them responding to the AP article that references the 9 medical crashes in the eleven months.
Part of the problem is a shortage of night vision (infrared “synthetic visionâ€) that displays terrain of the type the military uses.
The article also lists recommendations of the NTSB, which may or may not be adopted by the FAA. The recommendations are as follows:
One hopes that through this 20-20 hindsight the FAA will have better vision.
There are issues going on with the FAA. “A federal logjam has held up the report on the Oct. 15 crash.” There have been a lot of crashes lately and the paperwork must be piling up.
And then there is this: “Shelley Garrett, guardian over Dave Garrett’s only son and heir, filed a product-liability and negligence lawsuit late last week against Bell Helicopter in Harris County District Court” over the channel 13 helicopter crash. While not a medical evacuation crash, it is still helicopter crash news. Are the NTSB and FAA qualified to supervise helicopter safety issues?
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
What: German Lufthansa Airbus A300-600 en route from Malta to Frankfurt.
Where: Malta International Airport
When: Tuesday
Who: 205 passengers evacuated with no injuries.
Why: The crew reported a fire in its cargo hold and returned for an emergency landing 25 minutes after embarking.
What: Cessna
Where: Thames Airport on New Zealand’s North Island
When: Monday October 27, 2008
Who: Pilot
Why: Pilot overshot the runway. The pilot was not hurt but the plane landed in a sewage pond and had to swim (through the sewage pond) to safety.
What: Cessna 172/RG owned by Southern Illinois University Carbondale on an administrative flight “to check the plane’s operational systems”
Where: grassy area adjacent to a landing strip at Southern Illinois Airport.
When: October 26 Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Who: The pilot was a part-time flight instructor; a student also was on board.
Why: One side of the landing gear malfunctioned. The pilot circled for more than an hour to burn fuel, then made a power-off landing, then the plane slid about 30 yards on its belly before stopping. Officials are saying that “The pilot was incredible”
What: four-seater Cessna 172
Where: sugarcane field in Nago on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa
When: Friday,
Who: The pilot–a 45-year-old airman from Kadena Air Base–broke his jaw. The three others aboard were rescued without injuries.
Why: The plane ran low on fuel while while returning to base.
The plane cracked its nose cone and caught fire as soon as it hit the ground. It also hit a power line on descent and caused a power outage.
What: Piper PA-28 single-engined plane en route from Gloucester to County Kildare in the Irish Republic
Where: remote mountain region in the Corriebracks, just south of Hollywood, in the west of the county, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Dublin, in a mountainous area accessible only by helicopter.
When: Plane went missing Saturday
Who: pilot, Sharif Booz, was travelling with his wife, Margaret, his son and his son’s friend
Why: When it was discovered to be missing, the plane’s last-known location was determined to be over the Wicklow mountains at around 12.30 pm, The plane was found with its nose was embedded in the ground.
What: 1978 Cessna fixed wing, single engine aircraft en route from Hillsboro Airport to Corvallis
Where: in the Jackson Bottom Wildlife Refuge
When: Saturday
Who: Teenaged pilot
Why: The Cessna experienced mechanical problems near Hillsboro Airport.
The dates reported are not infrequently incorrect. One wonders if this misreported unfound Florida Hillsboro Imaginary Crash may have somehow been a misdirected Ham radio report of the above Hillsboro Oregon Crash.
What: SAS Boeing 737
Where: Vasteras Airport in Sweden
When: Friday
Who: 97 passengers and six crew were evacuated down the slides
Why: smoke was detected in the cabin while the plane was on its way to Stockholm from Oslo in Norway, and was then diverted to Vasteras Airport, some 40 nautical miles west of Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport. Smoke was thick, and passengers were wearing oxygen masks when the plane landed.
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What: Search and Rescue Italian Sikorsky HH3F Pelican Helicopter en route from Dijon to Florent-en-Argonne
Where: field in eastern France near the town of near the town of Vaubecourt in the Meuse department and L’Isle-en-Barrois
When: Thursday 1430 local time
Who: Eight Italian military personnel on board all died
Why: The helicopter crashed in flames, 4.30 pm local time (1430GMT) in open countryside not far from Strasbourg . The weather was clear. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation
What: Piper model PA30 registered to Hopkins Auto & Aircraft Sales in Corinth, Miss
Where: rural area south of Selmer Tennessee near U.S. Highway 45
When: Thursday night.
Who: Leroy Hopkins, the pilot was the only person aboard. Business owner from Corinth MS.
Why: The cause has not been determined.
What: Marine Corps CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter belonging to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
Where: farmer’s field near Tarboro N.C.
When: just after 6 p.m. Tuesday
Who: No one was injured
Why: Emergency landing because of a small electrical fire that started on board. The helicopter is to be repaired on-site and returned to MCAS New River
What: Two small planes :
Mesa County Sheriff’s Department single-engine Cessna 210 en route from from Grand Junction to the state penal system;
single-engine Cessna 180 4 seater, single engine plane
Where: in the sagebrush and scrub oak at the foot of the towering Grand Mesa about 10 miles south of the Grand Junction Regional Airport near Kannah Creek.
When: Wednesday
Who: six people ( two inmates, a deputy and a pilot. ); (pilot Tom Haefeli and passenger John Haefeli)
Why: The planes collided in midair; the sheriff’s plane with the inmates aboard made it to the airport and managed a hard landing at 9:48 a.m, with front end damage. The other landed safely in sagebrush ten miles shy of the airport at about 9:30 a.m.. Some of those aboard were taken to a fire station in Whitewater Colorado. Pilot Tom Haefeli is quoted as saying “All of a sudden, there was an airplane headed for us. We tried to dive under him and they just clipped us and took our vertical stabilizer off.”
The cause is under investigation and the FAA will look into weather, pilot error, tower air controllers, and flight plan. No one was injured.
What: experimental Quick Silver GT-500 plane registered to Tim Moses of Monroe
Where: Union County 3200 block of Austin Chaney Road just northeast of Monroe near privately owned Arant Airport
When: early Tuesday afternoon before 1 p.m
Who: Pilot was killed, passenger injured.
Why: When the crash occurred, the plane was under visual flight rules, i.e. not in contact with the control tower.
What: Robertson R-22 en route from Norwich in Chenango County to Zanesville, Ohio.
Where: found in wooded area of the Town of Dryden, east of Ithaca.
When: Found 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Who: Pilot Earl L. Small Jr., 57, of Powder Springs, Ga.
Why: The pilot has been missing since Thursday
What: KTRK’s SkyEyeHD helicopter crash on October 13, 2008
Where: wooded area in Montgomery County
Who: John Downhower and David Garrett, Pilot and photographer employed by contractor Metro Traffic killed in helicopter Crash
“The Westwood One family wishes to express its deepest sympathies to the families of the two occupants of the news helicopter that crashed outside of Houston today. The photographer on board, David Garrett, was a Metro Networks employee; the pilot, John Downhower, worked for a vendor from whom Metro Networks leases helicopters. At the time of the incident, the helicopter team was covering news for KTRK Channel 13. Sadly, there were no survivors in the crash. We are awaiting further reports and information from the investigating authorities on this tragic incident.” Westwood One
The families of both Garrett and Downhower are asking that that memorials are sent to funds set up for the men’s children in lieu of flowers.
For the Garrett family, contributions can be made to:
Adam Ryan Garrett Educational Fund
PO Box 1811
Sugarland, Tx 77478-1811
For the Downhower family, you can make contributions at any Wells Fargo bank by asking specifically for the Mitchell Downhower College Fund.
What: home built single-engine plane en route to Las Vegas
Where: near the Parowan airport about 1 mile north of the runway on private property.
When: Saturday 1:45 p.m
Who: Pilot William Phillips, 59 and wife 52-year-old Janice Phillips, a Vegas couple with a cabin in Iron County
Why: Pilot experienced mechanical problems shortly after takeoff. Witnesses also reported the plane making noises that indicated a mechanical problem. The pilot was alive when deputies arrived at the scene but died a few minutes later. Passenger suffered broken bones and internal injuries and was “LifeFlighted” to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. Investigating deputies are Tony Gower and Nate Houchen.
What: two-seater Piper 38 en route from from Teesside to Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington
Where: in sea off Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby, North Sea, UK
When: Crash witnessed at 4.20 p.m. on Friday
Who: Pilot, a middle-aged man from the Ripon area, was the only fatality. He was a member of a Tees Valley flight school.
Why: Pilot sent out a Mayday distress call. Witnesses reported seeing the plane crash into the sea. A full scale search operation was in effect until the pilot’s body was found by divers at 11.45 am near rocks near the crash site and taken to Scarborough Hospital. The aircraft salvage operation is co-ordinated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the coastguard and the RNLI. The plane was dismantled to facilitate transportation.
