Aircraft

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    Hidalgo Mountain Crash

    What: twin-engine Cessna 402C owned by the state government en route from Monterrey to La Paz airport in Baja California Sur.
    Where: in the Sierra de Hidalgo mountains
    When: 10 minutes after taking off from an airport in the city of Monterrey
    Who: Victims include Baja California Sur state Finance Secretary Nabor Garcia Aguirre, the pilot and the copilot.
    Why: The plane was flying on instruments because of poor visibility and heavy cloud cover in the area

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    Mexico: Cessna Crashes Ciudad Victoria


    Pictured: a Cessna 310 over Mexico
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Carlos Cané

    What: Cessna 310 en route from Mendez Airport, Ciudad Victoria, to Nuevo Laredo, Teamaulipas, Mexico
    Where: Mexico
    When: October 21, 2008 1710 central daylight time
    Who: The pilot and the 4 passenger
    Why: The Cessna experienced a loss of power on takeoff from Pedro J. Mendez Airport, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. When the pilot attempted to return to the airport, the Cessna impacted level desert terrain 45 degrees off to the right of the side of the departure end of the runway.

    The pilot and the 4 passengers were fatally injured.

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    Cheetah Crash Victims Found near Colorado-Utah


    What: four-seat Grumman Cheetah
    Where: 40 miles northwest of Grand Junction/ 210 miles west of Denver.
    When: Found Sunday September 7, 2008
    Who: Charles Landry of Houston, born in 1947, and Steven or Stephen Bartlet of Green River, Wyo., born in 1958.
    Why: Cause unknown. The crash is under investigation by NTSB

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    Victoria Helicopter Crash injures Instructor and Student

    What: R-22 training helicopter
    Where: Victoria International Airport off of the tarmac.
    When: just before noon Friday Oct 17
    Who: The instructor was seriously injured; the student was trapped in the wreckage for some time with minor injuries
    Why: Witnesses said the helicopter “…was doing an exercise about 100 metres above a grassy training area west of the airport when it fell to the ground, bounced twice and landed upside down.”

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    German XL Emergency Landing in Belgrade

    What: Frankfurt-based XL Airways Boeing 737-800 flight G1-614 en route from Frankfurt Germany to Antalya Turkey registration D-AXLF
    Where: emergency landing at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport
    When: on Saturday Oct 18 7:47 a.m. (0547 GMT)
    Who: 163 passengers and six crew (official release said 183 passengers and 6 crew)
    Why: The pilot reported engine failure, and requested an emergency landing with five minutes to manoeuvre and land the plane at the nearest airport. Smoke was seen coming from one of the plane’s two engines and the emergency crew doused said engine with foam. The official report denies fire, and says only “unspecified “engine problems” instigated the emergency landing

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    Young Pilot injured in Ultralight Crash

    What: motorized hang glider
    Where: off Piedmont Road, Anderson County S.C.
    When: Thursday night
    Who: pilot Andy Walls, 20
    Why: While attempting to land, the glider hit a stand of trees. Pilot suffered a broken back, a broken leg, fractures to his face and burns over 14 percent of his body and is recuperating in Greenville Memorial Hospital.

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    Fatal Crash South of Lake Tahoe

    What: Piper Cherokee
    Where: crashed in trees two miles from Alpine County, Calif., airport, near Woodfords south of Lake Tahoe.
    When: late Thursday morning
    Who: Pilot 53-year-old Raymond Wieveg
    Why: Pilot radioed in engine failure then attempted an emergency landing. The pilot was the only one on board. He did not survive the crash.

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    757 Emergency Landing in Syracuse

    What: United Airlines 757 en route from Boston to San Francisco.
    Where: Hancock Airport
    When: 10/16/08
    Who: 155 passengers
    Why:smoke detector in a bathroom went off. No injuries on landing.

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    Norway: Rygge Airport Emergency Landing

    What: Norwegian Air Boeing 737-8Q8 en route from Rygge Airport to Barcelona
    Where: Rygge Airport
    When: 10/17/2007 Friday
    Who: 163 passengers 7 crew
    Why: 20 minutes into the flight, an alarm warned of fire in one of the wings. Smoke was reported in the cabin.The aircraft was breaking very hard, and used half the runway to stop. On return to the airport, passengers deplaned via emergency slides, but there was apparently no external wing fire. There was a minor injury on the slide disembarkment.

    In Dutch

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    Downed Kit Plane Kills Pilot in York

    What: Skyranger II, a home built single-engine kit plane
    Where: nose down in a soybean field in York County SC in a very rural area near the Chester County line along East Chappel Road near Horse Road
    When: crashed between 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Thursday
    Who: 51-year-old Theodore Hargett of Rock Hill
    Why: Cause is unknown. The pilot had not long owned the Skyranger and was inexperienced.

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    Boeing Forced Landing

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route to Amsterdam from Cincinnati
    Where: emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport
    When: early Sunday
    Who: 151 people on board
    Why: Smoke in the cockpit caused by faulty air-conditioning fan. The pilot circled back to Nova Scotia to land

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    Ultralight Emergency Landing in North Carolina

    What: ultralight aircraft
    Where: in Pine Hall on Knight Road in Stokes county NC
    When: 6:40pm.
    Who: unnamed pilot.
    Why: When the pilot’s engine quit, the pilot made an emergency landing in a tobacco field. The vehicle was described as a “hangglider with a motor”

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    Medical Evacuation Helicopter Crashes in Chicago

    What: Air Angels Inc.emergency medical transport Bell 222 helicopter en route from Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. The helicopter was based out of Clow airport in Bolingbrook.
    Where: Crashed in a corn field near a residential area in east Aurora near Eola Road and Liberty Street, and was engulfed in flames.
    When: Oct 15 Went down about midnight
    Who: victims included three crew members and the little girl.
    Why: The little girl was being transported to the hospital because of epileptic seizures. Witnesses report that after the helicopter crashed, it exploded. There is speculation that the helicopter struck a 750-foot tall radio transmission tower which is now about 15-feet off center. One witness reported a midair explosion, and then another explosion after the helicopter hit the ground. Two of the tower’s guy wires were impacted during the crash.

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    Perth: Yet Another Airbus Emergency Landing

    What: Emirates Airbus A340 Flight EK425 en route from Perth International Airport leaving at 6am bound for Dubai
    Where: PERTH Westralia Airport, Australia
    When: The pilot made a textbook emergency landing about 8.40am.
    Who: All 120 passengers disembarked safely at about 9am..
    Why:The pilot was forced to turn back after reporting smoke in the cabin. Fuel was dumped from the plane before it came in to land. The Airbus is the same set-up as the Qantas Airbus A330-300 that injured more than 70 people when it lost altitude. Passengers said no smoke was visible inside the jet.

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    News Chopper Forced Landing in Philadelphia

    What: Emergency landing by a CBS 3 backup chopper leased from U.S. Helicopters en route to cover a news event
    Where: Landed on an athletic field adjacent to Mayfair Elementary School in Philadelphia’s Northeast section
    When: On Columbus Day
    Why: The pilot landed after the chopper began losing a large amount of oil. A similar problem occurred recently with another leased helicopter several weeks ago in which a warning light came on for a different problem

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    Houston TV station KTRK Crash and Burn has Two Fatalities

    What: Bell 206L-4 SkyEye 13 news chopper
    Where: on property owned by The Woodlands Development Company,heavily wooded area East of the W.E. Jones State Forest in southwest Montgomery County.
    When: Monday morning between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m
    Who: Pilot John Downhower, 43, and photographer Dave Garrett, 36. Downhower worked for Helicopters Inc., which operated the Bell 206L-4, and Garrett worked for Metro News on assignment for Houston TV station KTRK
    Why: Pilot and phtographer were en route to cover an officer-involved shooting when the accident occurred. On impact, the helicopter broke into pieces and burst into flames, Both men were pronounced the men dead at the scene, and both suffered massive trauma. One body was charred. The bodies were taken to the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe

    Memorial service for Downhower: 11 a.m. Friday at Fellowship of The Woodlands, One Fellowship Drive.
    Garrett’s funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday at River Pointe Community Church, 5000 Ransom Road, in Richmond.

    A fund has been established for Garrett’s son:
    Adam Ryan Garrett Educational Fund
    P.O. Box 1811
    Sugar Land, Texas 77478-1811.

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    Emergency Landing at Heathrow

    What: British Airways Flight BA 341 Boeing 757, en route from France
    Where: priority landing at Heathrow airport
    When: British Summer Time (BST) 063 Sunday
    Who: 137 passengers
    Why: Fumes were detected in the passenger cabin, instigating an emergency landing. There were no injuries.

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    New Mexico Crash


    What: Raytheon A36 registered to ST Inc. in Peoria, Ariz.
    Where: Crashed a mile and a half northwest of the Santa Teresa airport runway where it took off
    When: Saturday 6 p.m.
    Who: Michael Perry and Jim Crosby were killed.
    Why: Witnesses saw the plane fly into the storm. The plane crashed during a storm and burned.

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    Piper Crash in New Hampshire

    What: single-engine Piper Cub owned by Phyliss Harvey
    Where: crashed in a field on Red Oak Hill Road
    When: Sunday afternoon
    Who: Paul Aquaviva, the injured pilot was taken to Exeter Hospital
    Why: The plane lost power and crash landed. The crash is under investigation.

  • Tennessee Ultralight Fatality

    What: ultralight taking off from Cooper Field, a grass airstrip in far western Greene County
    Where: cornfield in Greene County Tennessee
    When: Sunday right after taking off
    Who: 46-year-old Edward Molden
    Why: The plane went up about 150 feet, then took a sharp left turn and did a nosedive into the ground, possibly due to wind.

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    Delhi Emergency Landing

    What: London-bound Air India Boeing 777-300 flight AI-111 en route from Delhi
    Where: Delhi
    When: Saturday. The flight took off at 6:50 am. Emergency was declared at the airport at 7:50 am and it was withdrawn at 8:25 am after a safe landing.
    Who: 115 passengers and 15 crew members, all safe
    Why: After flying for 30 minutes, the alarm sounded, the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. and returned to the airport under Emergency conditions.

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    Cessna Crash in Ojinaga, Mexico

    What: Cessna 421B, N7560Q en route from El Paso International Airport to Presidio, Texas
    Operator: Volare Air Charter
    Where: 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico
    When: September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time
    Who: The dead included the leaders of the U.S. and Mexican sections of the IBWC, Carlos Marin of El Paso and Arturo Herreraof Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Also on board was Jake Brisbin Jr., executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The chartered Cessna 421 was piloted by Matthew Peter Juneau.

    NTSB Report:

    DFW08RA232
    On September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time, a United States registered Cessna 421B, N7560Q, was substantially damaged after it collided with mountainous terrain approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico, near the border town of Presidio, Texas. The air transport rated pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to EAC Parts LLC, Springfield, Ohio, and operated by Volare Air Charter, El Paso, Texas. The pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), Fort Worth, Texas, at 1016, approximately 15 minutes after he departed El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas, and filed a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. The pilot informed an AFSS specialist that he intended to enter Mexican airspace for the purpose of flying over the Luis Leon Dam, but had no intentions of landing in Mexico. The pilot did not request a weather briefing for the flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135; however, he was informed by the specialist that visual flight rules were not recommended due to mountain obscuration.

    Onboard the airplane were the pilot, the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The purpose of the flight was to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio-Ojinaga and to coordinate joint US-Mexican efforts with local officials to address flood control concerns in the area due to heavy inflows to the Rio Grande from reservoirs inside Mexico as a result of recent storms.

    The airplane wreckage was located on September 17, 2008, by the Marfa Sector of the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Division, on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane came to rest approximately 100-150 feet below the top of a ridgeline on a heading of 055 degrees along victor-airway V81.

    A handheld Garmin 496 GPS was removed from the airplane wreckage and sent to the NTSB’s Research and Engineering Laboratory, Washington DC, for further examination and download.

    The investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Government of the Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from:

    Dirección de Investigación de Incidentes y Accidentes Aviacion
    Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC)
    Ave. 602 NUM. 161. COL. San Juan de Aragon 3RA
    Seccion C.P. 15620
    Delagacion Benustiano Carranza
    México, D. F.

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    Malibu Beach Crash

    What: Northfield Aviation single-engine Sky Arrow 600 taking off from Santa Monica Airport
    Where: in the ocean off Malibu Beach
    When: Oct 7 5:15 p.m
    Who: Two men were on board: One was Griff Horner, 70, an experienced pilot and helicopter instructor. Critical injuries.
    Why:The incident is under investigation.

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    Nepal Update

    Update
    Fourteen unidentified tourists who died in the crash remain unidentified due to the lack of experts and equipment who can do DNA testing in Nepal. Thursday the team was augmented by three German medical and forensic experts, and more are expected Friday. DNA samples will be taken and sent out of the country.

    What: Canadian built Twin Otter owned by Yeti Airlines
    Where: crashlanded at the mountainous Lukla airport in north-eastern Nepal in the Mount Everest region
    When: Wednesday morning
    Who: 18 people died in the crash, mostly foreign tourists from Germany and Australia: 12 Germans, including six women, four Nepalese and two Australian. The captain is the only survivor; he was airlifted to Kathmandu. There Swiss casualties reported turned out to be Australian.
    Why: Lukla airport, located 2,743 metres above sea-level has steeply-inclined runway and is considered one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

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    Conviasa Boeing Crash: Toacaso, Ecuador


    Contact photographer Ivan P. Nesbit

    Update

    Aircraft mechanic Edwin David Hernandez came home today for the last time. He was one of the casualties of Ecuador, leaving behind his wife, Dilma, and two children. Hernandez was one of three crash victims retrieved by members of the Civil defense and the Red Cross of Ecuador. One of the plane’s black boxes was also found.

    The two Venezuelan victims were identified as Pedro Menderi (pilot) and Gerald Rangel (copilot).

    Licensing is still under investigation. There appear to be irregularities regarding the plane’s registration, as well as 39 licenses for technicians, pilots and Venezuelan and Peruvian air hostesses. The maintenance plan must be supervised by the supervising body of the country of origin of the airplane’s owner.

    Masry & Vititoe has been retained on behalf of family members.

    What: Conviasa Boeing 737-291 advanced (reg. YV-102T) en route from (Simón Bolívar International Airport,) Maiquetia, Venezuela to Latacunga, Ecuador
    Where: Illiniza Volcano elevation approx. 17000 feet) Toacaso, Ecuador
    When: August 30, 2008
    Who: 3 crew members, no survivors
    Why: The plane was being delivered to a new owner after being in storage. The flight crew lost lost radio and radar contact with Ecuadorian air control at 02:56Z on beginning descent to Latacunga. The wreckage location (near the LOTOA waypoint (LOTOA at 0° 46′ 23S 78° 52′ 20W) at an altitude of approximately 4000 meters )suggests the airplane flew into the side of the Iliniza Volcano and was completely destroyed on impact. The wreckage was spread 400 meters.

    Hondorus states attorney opened an investigation against “Atlantic Airlines de Honduras.” It has yet to be established, whether the airplane was operating under a Honduran license and if all requirements for legal use were met.

    Atlantic Airlines had operated the airplane until March 31st 2007.

    As of Sept 3rd, both flight recorders (flight data and cockpit voice recorder) have been recovered and will be sent to the USA for analysis