Aircraft

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    Spanair Cause Inconclusive

    So far there have been no groundbreaking discoveries regarding the cause of the Aug. 20 Spanair crash beyond what was known originally: a problem with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm, evidence of which is backed up by the plane’s black boxes. The plane’s history indicates that this was not the first time the wing slats were an issue. Two days before the accident, they were repaired.

    Before the crash, on the plane’s first pass, a warning sounded from a “heat sensor in the engine inlet” which prompted the pilots to return to the gate and get it inspected. The system was “isolated, ” i.e. unplugged.

    The technician discusses the disconnected probe.
    http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espan…/elpepiesp/20080823elpepinac_5/Tes

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    GoAir Airbus Emergency Landing in India

    What: GoAir Airbus A-320 flight from Mumbai–a new plane delivered in November 2007
    Where: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport
    When: Thursday evening at 1648 hours (around 5 pm.)
    Who: Undetermined number of passengers on board. (From 114 to 223 passengers were reported to us.)
    Why: After Air Traffic Control visually verified the nosewheel was stuck, the Airbus landed safely. There was significant drama on board, however, as passengers in the front eleven rows of the plane were directed to move toward the back prior to the landing. Credit for the safe landing was given to Captain Hardeep Singh. All air traffic was put on hold untill the Airbus plane had made a safe landing.

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    Cessna Crashes in Iowa City

    What: Cessna 150 owned by Jet Air Inc
    Where: Crashed on to Edingale Drive, Iowa City near Iowa City Municipal Airport
    When: Oct. 6, 2008
    Who: James N. Meade, 64, of Iowa City
    Why: The FAA’s preliminary report points to engine failure as a possible cause. After the crash where the plane ended up nose down in the street, Meade was taken to University Hospital.

    This is the second crash within the month on Iowa City streets, in fact less than a mile from the June 3 crash on Sunset Street and Willow Creek Court that killed a 2-year-old girl, injured the pilot and one passenger and one passenger Sydney Blanton–died.

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    African Crash update, 9 Dead

    What: Britten-Norman Islander en route from Mozambique (Nelspruit’s Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) at 14:00) to Bloemfontein
    Where: The wreckage was found in the Barberton mountain area near Nelspruit
    When: Lost Sunday, found Monday 06/10/2008 16:47 – (SA)
    Who: Eight passengers, 1 pilot
    Why: After disappearing, a search-and-rescue team made up of police, military personnel and the Civil Aviation Authority with two military Oryx helicopters, one police chopper and a private chopper tracked down the crash site. The wreckage was found only when aerial photography perceived the wreckage on a mountainside,

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    Georgia Emergency Landing and Rescue

    What: Cessna en route from New Jersey to Saint Simon’s Island.
    Where: near Wassaw Island, in the marsh east of Skidaway Island.
    When: Saturday morning
    Who: pilot Eugenia Singer and her dog
    Why: The engine surged and then lost power. Air traffic control directed her to marshland, where she landed submerged.

    On the Coast Guard Air Station Savannah rescue helicopter was flight mechanic Adam Morehouse who helped hoist Singer and her dog to safety in a basket.

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    Timothy Gerber Praised for Emergency Landing

    What: Cessna flying from Omaha to Des Moines
    Where: Highway 169, five miles north of Winterset Iowa
    When: around 9:45 pm Thursday October 2, 2008
    Who: Pilot Timothy Gerber
    Why: Pilot called Mayday. Flames were shooting out of the engine, but the pilot managed to land safely.

    The landing missed power lines and cars as he stopped in the middle of the busy road. The plane was reportedly undamaged in spite of landing in the dark.

    The pilot received encouragement from KCCI Chief Meterologist and pilot John McLaughlin who was flying at the time and heard him on the onboard radio

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    Canada Medical Plane Catches Fire


    What: Medical Beech B200 two-turbo prop registered to Keewatin Air of Winnipeg. en route from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
    Where: emergency landing in Manitoba
    When: Wednesday night
    Who: a woman , her 11-month-old boy, two nursing staff and two pilots
    Why: The plane caught fire. The pilot advised he would have to land at the local airport.
    After landing, the occupants were all taken to the Cross Lake nursing station before they were put on a flight to Winnipeg

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    Emergency Landing at Pauma Valley Air Park

    What: single-engine Cessna 152, is registered to a Patrick Williams of Vista.
    Where: Pauma Valley Air Park, a private air strip
    When: 2:45 p.m
    Who: Two people aboard
    Why:When the light plane lost engine power, the pilot radioed in that he was going to glide into the Pauma Valley Air Park

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    Medevac Crash Update

    update:

    • Governor Martin O’Malley ordered all state flags to fly at half mast to honor the four victims killed in a medevac helicopter crash over the weekend.
    • Vewing for Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy will be Thursday, October 2nd from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Gamber & Community Fire Company Station 13 on Niner Road in Gamber, MD.
    • Viewing for Pilot Stephen Bunker from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at South Potomac Church on Crain Highway in White Plains, MD.
    • Lippy’s funeral will take place on Friday, October 3rd at 11:00 a.m at Gamber & Community Fire Company. Burial will be at the Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens on Padonia Road in Timonium.
      MD.

    • Bunker’s funeral will take place Saturday, October 4th, at 11:00 a.m. at South Potomac Church in White Plains, MD. Burial will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery on Pennsylvania Avenue in Suitland, MD.
    • Arrangements for Frostburg State University freshman Ashley Younger and Waldorf Rescue Squad EMT Tanya Mallard have not been announced.

    Survivor eighteen year old Jordan Wells critical at Boston Hospital where she was operated through the night Sunday, which alleviated fears that they might have to amputate one or both of her legs. When Ashley Younger (the other victim) never showed up, Younger’s mother probed the hospital staff, learned the helicopter had been rerouted to Andrews Air Force Base. The three women rushed there only to find that no helicopter had landed, so they returned to the hospital where they found Wells rushed through on a gurney. In spite of asking ‘Where’s my daughter? Where’s Ashley?’ ” no one told her that her daughter had died on the scene. The medical helicopter was carrying victims of a Saturday night traffic accident when it went down around midnight.

    What: American Eurocopter Dauphin II
    Where: Helicopter left its hanger at Andrews Air Force Base. suburban Washington park in a wooded area of Walker Mill Regional Park off of Ritchie Road.
    When: Sunday
    Who: Killed in the crash besides Bunker were Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy, EMT-B Tonya Mallard of the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department and Ashley Younger, a 17-year-old who was the second victim from the Waldorf car accident.
    Why: The helicopter was transporting car crash victims to the hospital. One eighteen year old crash victim survived both the car crash and the helicopter crash, and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

    On the twenty-five mile trip from the traffic accident to the hospital the flight was diverted due to bad weather. On approach to the runway, the pilot radioed that he was having trouble assessing his surroundings. Under deteriorating weather conditions, the pilot had requested an instrument approach and reported problems “capturing the glide slope”. The glide slope is the part of the instrument landing system that helps keep the aircraft at the proper altitude during the approach. It appears the helicopter first hit a tree at about 80 feet above the ground. The chopper landed on its left side with a tree crashing down on top of the helicopter.

    Accident victim Jordan Wells, 18, survived the crash and is at a hospital in critical condition

    The law enforcement agency’s helicopter fleet was grounded until Tuesday.


    Click to view Memorial Page

  • Cessna Fireball on Anchorage Street

    What: Cessna 206
    Where: ANCHORAGE, Alaska near Merrill Field airport in a neighborhood on 8th street
    When: Wednesday October 1, 2008
    Who: The identities of the two on board fatalities have not been released
    Why: Pilot reported power loss at 11:41 a.m. The plane lost power shortly after take-off, banked to the left and clipped the top of an empty before crashing.

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    Emergency Landing in Thunder Bay

    What: Air Canada Airbus 320 en route from Toronto to Edmonton
    Where: Thunder Bay International Airport Australia
    When: Monday night
    Who: Pilot, crew and passengers
    Why: Pilot noticed a cracked windshield in the cockpit.

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    UN Helicopter crash in Darfur

    What: United Nations-contracted helicopter carrying food to peacekeeping mission
    Where: Darfur region of Sudan near the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons
    When: Tuesday
    Who: (3 Russian one Sudanese)four crew members killed
    Why: chopper fired upon over Darfur

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    Cessna Crashes in Fullerton

    What: Cessna Skyhawk SP
    Where: Fullerton Airport
    When: 6:30 Tuesday night
    Who: 59-year-old pilot was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with a broken arm, two broken legs, facial lacerations and other injuries. No one else was on board.
    Why: Under Investigation

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    Helicopter Crashes in Washington Park

    update:
    Survivor eighteen year old Jordan Wells critical at Boston Hospital where she was operated through the night Sunday, which alleviated fears that they might have to amputate one or both of her legs. When Ashley Younger (the other victim) never showed up, Younger’s mother probed the hospital staff, learned the helicopter had been rerouted to Andrews Air Force Base. The three women rushed there only to find that no helicopter had landed, so they returned to the hospital where they found Wells rushed through on a gurney. In spite of asking ‘Where’s my daughter? Where’s Ashley?’ ” no one told her that her daughter had died on the scene. The medical helicopter was carrying victims of a Saturday night traffic accident when it went down around midnight.

    What: American Eurocopter Dauphin II
    Where: Helicopter left its hanger at Andrews Air Force Base. suburban Washington park in a wooded area of Walker Mill Regional Park off of Ritchie Road.
    When: Sunday
    Who: Killed in the crash besides Bunker were Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy, EMT-B Tonya Mallard of the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department and Ashley Younger, a 17-year-old who was the second victim from the Waldorf car accident.
    Why: The helicopter was transporting car crash victims to the hospital. One eighteen year old crash victim survived both the car crash and the helicopter crash, and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

    On the twenty-five mile trip from the traffic accident to the hospital the flight was diverted due to bad weather. On approach to the runway, the pilot radioed that he was having trouble assessing his surroundings. Under deteriorating weather conditions, the pilot had requested an instrument approach and reported problems “capturing the glide slope”. The glide slope is the part of the instrument landing system that helps keep the aircraft at the proper altitude during the approach. It appears the helicopter first hit a tree at about 80 feet above the ground. The chopper landed on its left side with a tree crashing down on top of the helicopter.

    Accident victim Jordan Wells, 18, survived the crash and is at a hospital in critical condition

    The law enforcement agency’s helicopter fleet has been grounded until further notice.


    Click to view Memorial Page

  • Small Plane Crash lands in Stephens County


    What: Single Engine Beechcraft Sundowner 180 Taking off from Duncan airport
    Where: STEPHENS COUNTY two miles west of Duncan in a field four miles west of U.S. Highway 81 on Plato.
    When: emergency landing Sunday afternoon 3:30 p.m
    Who: pilot, Donald Holloway, from Edmond and his mother, Patricia Dixon
    Why: engine problems caused the emergency landing. The pilot clipped a barbed-wire fence and then rolled for approximately 30 feet as he landed, and the landing gear collapsed. No one was hurt but the nose and the propellor were smashed and the left wing sustained damage.

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    Tulsa Crash Kills Two

    What: A twin-engine Cessna 320 owned by Hazelwood taking off from private Airman Acres airport
    Where: rural agricultural area near Owasso north of Tulsa in a field near East 116th Street North and Sheridan Road, about a mile from the rural airstrip where it took off
    When: noon Sunday
    Who: Oklahoma Highway Patrol Captain-Larry Jackson, 49 and Harvey Hazelwood, was dock inspector for American Airlines in Tulsa. Both were killed in the crash
    Why: The cause of the crash has not been determined. The first evidence points to engine failure.

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    Cessna Crashes in Kentucky

    What: 1964 Cessna 150D airplane en route from Gene Snyder Airport in Pendleton County, Ky.
    Where: Gene Snyder Airport in Pendleton County, Ky.in a wooded area near the end of the runway.
    When: 1:20 Sunday afternoon
    Who: Pilot Mark Martin and his sixteen year old son
    Why: The engine stalled on takeoff. The crash is under investigation. This is the second time this week that a small plane taking off from this particular airport stalled and crashed.

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    Helicopter Crashes in Washington park

    What: American Eurocopter Dauphin II
    Where: Helicopter left its hanger at Andrews Air Force Base. suburban Washington park in a wooded area of Walker Mill Regional Park off of Ritchie Road.
    When: Sunday
    Who: Killed in the crash besides Bunker were Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy, EMT-B Tonya Mallard of the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department and Ashley Younger, a 17-year-old who was the second victim from the Waldorf car accident.
    Why: The helicopter was transporting car crash victims to the hospital. One eighteen year old crash victim survived both the car crash and the helicopter crash, and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

    On the twenty-five mile trip from the traffic accident to the hospital the flight was diverted due to bad weather. On approach to the runway, the pilot radioed that he was having trouble assessing his surroundings. Under deteriorating weather conditions, the pilot had requested an instrument approach and reported problems “capturing the glide slope”. The glide slope is the part of the instrument landing system that helps keep the aircraft at the proper altitude during the approach. It appears the helicopter first hit a tree at about 80 feet above the ground. The chopper landed on its left side with a tree crashing down on top of the helicopter.

    Accident victim Jordan Wells, 18, survived the crash and is at a hospital in critical condition

    The law enforcement agency’s helicopter fleet has been grounded until further notice.


    Click to view Memorial Page

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    Brazil Helicopter Crash under Investigation

    What: Agusta Westland A109S helicopter, Brazilian registration PR-IPO departure from the Parati/Condomínio Laranjeiras heliport, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
    Where: Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
    When: April 30, 2008 22:59 UTC
    Who: 2 fatalities.
    Why: The Brazil CENIPA has requested assistance from the US manufacturers of electronic components in the helicopter to download non-volatile memory information.

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    Ojinaga, Mexico Crash 4 Fatalities

    What: a United States registered Cessna 421B, N7560Q,
    Where: 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico
    When: September 15, 2008 1318 central daylight time
    Who: pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured
    Why: collided with mountainous terrain

    NTSB Identification: DFW08RA232
    Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
    Accident occurred Monday, September 15, 2008 in Ojinaga, Mexico
    Aircraft: Cessna 421B, registration: N7560Q
    Injuries: 4 Fatal.

    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.

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    Martha’s Vineyard Fatality

    What: six passenger, twin-engine Cape Air Cessna 402 Flight 105 en route to Boston’s Logan International Airport took off from Runway 33 on its way to pick up passengers at Logan.
    Where: Crashed on land about 2 miles from Nip-N-Tuck Farm Martha’s Vineyard West Tisbury
    When: 8:05 p.m
    Who: Pilot David D. Willey (fatality)
    Why: During takeoff, there was heavy rain and high wind. The crash is under investigation

    Cape Air runs a fleet of more than 50 Cessna 402s and carried more than 650,000 passengers last year

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    Cessna Runs out of Gas

    What: Cessna 150 en route to Lamar, Joplin, Neosho, and Bolivar,
    Where: emergency landing on U.S. 54 Highway near Iola
    When:
    Who: Malcolm E. Kucharski, 60, Pittsburg
    Why: Pilot error. The pilot left at 1 p.m. to go to Nevada MO, then the sun got in his eyes, he went to Iola and ran out of fuel.

    Audio

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    Emergency Landing in North-Eastern Brazil

    What: Boeing 777-200 operated by Alitalia flying from Rome Fiumicino to Buenos Aires
    Where: unplanned landing Thursday in the north- eastern Brazilian city of Recife
    When: landing was completed without further problems at 2:15 am (0515 GMT)
    Who: 295 people on board. Passengers deplaned and took another flight.
    Why: The plane experienced mechanical problems on the flight from Rome to Buenos Aires. The pilot informed the control tower that he was having technical problems.

    Alitalia is having financial problems.

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    Fokker Crash in Ecuador

    What: ICARO Fokker F28 Fellowship 4000 Registration HC-CDT flight 504 with 2 Rolls Royce 555-15P Spey engines
    Where: Quito-Mariscal Sucre Airport (UIO) (Ecuador) en route to Coca Airport (OCC/SECO),
    When: 22 SEP 2008 ca 11:15
    Who: 4 crew 62 passengers
    Why: The crash occurred during takeoff.

    After flight 504 was cleared for takeoff from runway 35, en route to El Coca, it hit a metal antenna at the end of the runway. The captain decided to abort. The airplane overran the 10240 foot runway, and the plane continued down a slope and plowed through a brick wall. There were no injuries. The yellow jet involved is painted with the logo of the Guayaquil-based Barcelona soccer team (obviously not the generic Fokker in our photo) and is normally used to ferry the soccer team around. No team members were on board.