What: Vladivostok Avia Tu-204 en route from Moscow to Blagoveshchensk Where: Yekaterinburg When: June 20, 2010 Who: 116 passengers (11 children) Why: While en route, an engine malfunctioned and the flight had to divert from Blagoveshchensk to Yekaterinburg. A replacement jet was provided which is scheduled to take off at 7:30 Yekaterinburg time
What: Blue Wing Airlines Antonov 28 passenger plane en route from Godo Holo Airstrip to Paramaribo-Zorg en Hoop Airport Where: Upper-marowijne district 3 miles north-east of Pokisi, Suriname. When: May 15, 2010 Who: 2 crew including pilot Peter Veldkamp, 6 passengers employed by IAMGOLD mining company, 8 fatalities Why: Ten miles into the flight, the plane lost radio contact. The last message reporting the plane encountered bad weather. The plane disappeared in bad weather on the 15th, in a forest 200 miles southeast of Paramaribo, near the Tapanahony River where it is presumed the plane was flying (off course) to try to fly around the weather. Since then, search parties have been able to fly over the wreckage and confirm it a total loss
What: Polish Air Force Tupolev TU-154M Where: Smolensk When: Apr 10th 2010 Who: 88 passengers and 8 crew Why: On approach to Smolensk North Airport in dense fog, the plane impacted a forest, coming to rest short of the runway. There are conflicting reports leading up to the decision to land at Smolensk (versus Minsk or Moscow), holding pattern, the number of approaches.
Everyone aboard the flight was lost, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers.
Partial list of those lost in the crash:
1. Lech Kaczynski, President of the Republic of Poland
2. Maria Kaczynska, the president’s wife
3. Ryszard Kaczorowski, head of Poland’s London-based government-in-exile during the communist period
4. General Tadeusz Buk, Head of Polish Land Forces
5. Leszek Deptula, MP
6. Grzegorz Dolniak, MP
7. Katarzyna Doraczynska, President’s Chancellery
8 Janina Fetlinska, Senator
9. General Franciszek Gagor, Chief of Staff
10. Grazyna Gesicka, MP
11. Przemyslaw Gosiewski, MP
12. Mariusz Handzlik, Minister at the President’s Chancellery
13. Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, MP
14. Sebastian Karpiniuk, MP
15. Admiral Andrzej Karweta, Head of Polish Navy
16. Mariusz Kazana, Foreign Ministry
17. Janusz Kochanowski, Poland’s Ombudsman
18. Stanislaw Jerzy Komorowski, Deputy Defence Minister
19. Andrzej Kremer, Deputy Foreign Minister
20. Janusz Kurtyka, National Remembrance Institute head
21. Tomasz Merta, Deputy Culture Minister
22. Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, MP
23. Piotr Nurowski, head of Polish Olympics Committee
24. Krzysztof Putra, Deputy Speaker of parliament
25. Arkadiusz Rybicki, MP
26. Slawomir Skrzypek, head of Poland’s central bank
27. Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of Kaczynski’s Chancellery
28. Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the National Security Bureau
29. Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Deputy Speaker of parliament
30. Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, MP
31. Izabela Tomaszewska, President’s Chancellery
32. Anna Walentynowicz, former Solidarity activist
33. Zbigniew Wassermann, MP
34. Wieslaw Woda, MP
35. Edward Wojtas, MP
36. Pawel Wypych, Minister and Kaczynski’s Chancellery
What: Aviastar-TU Tupolev TU-204-100 ferry flight en route from Hurghada Egypt to Moscow Where: Moscow When: Mar 22nd 2010 Who: 9 crew Why: While nearing its destination in poor weather conditions with limited visibility, .6 miles from the runway, the flight went off radar, landing 3300 feet shy of the runway– ostensibly a belly landing–crashing in a forested area. Five aboard had minor injuries and two were injured seriously. One wing separated, and the rest of the plane incurred serious damage.
Sunday, another Tu-204 plane bound for Hurghada, left Domodedovo but had to return to Moscow.
What: Taban Air/Kolavia Tupolev TU-154 en route from Abadan to Mashad (but diverted to Isfahan due to visibility) Where: Mashad When: Jan 24th 2010 Who: 157 passengers and 13 crew Why: The flight had earlier been diverted to Isfahan due to poor visibility in Mashad, and had overnighted in Isfahan. While continuing to Mashad today, a passenger became ill, but poor visibility in Mashad was still an issue. The pilot attempted to land in Mashad in low visibility conditions citing an emergency because of the critically ill passenger.
On touchdown, the plane veered from the runway, the gear landing on an unpaved surface collapsed, one wing impacted the ground and the airplane caught on fire, resulting in fire damage at the rear, where the aircraft’s three engines are mounted. The vertical fin and horizontal stabiliser are no longer attached. Both wings were sheared off. 42 were injured, no fatalities.
Iranian Disaster Management said “The plane went off the runaway upon landing and part of its rear end broke away.”
The carrier has been grounded and their certificate suspended.
More than a decade of problems with Iranian aviation has been attributed to the poor condition of their old fleet, their lack of maintenance. Now perhaps we can add weather.
What: Red Wings Tupolev Tu-204 en route from Omsk to Moscow Where: Omsk When: Jan 19 2010 8:45 p.m. Moscow time Who: 207 passengers Why: After takeoff, the bay door of the front landing gear failed to close. The pilots made a successful return to Omsk, and landed safely, with emergency vehicles on standby.
What: Dagestan Airlines Tupolev TU-154 en route from Makhachkala Russia to Sharjah Where: Makhachkala When: Nov 24th 2009 Who: 55 passengers and 12 crew Why: After take-off, there were complications with an engine, prompting the flight crew to shut it down. The flight returned to the airport and made a safe landing. Passengers debarked and were provided alternative transportation.
What: Russian Pacific Fleet Tupolev Tu-142M3 Where: Tatar Strait (Tatarskiy Strait) When: 06 November, 2009 Who: Eleven people on board Why: While on a routine training mission, the flight disappeared from ATC radar in the vicinity of Cape Sadinga.
The retrieval effort of wreckage, bodies and black boxes continues with ferry boats and harbor tugs and aircraft of the 11th army VVS PVO (Air Defense), although hampered by strong sea currents.
At 07.10 am with the help of sonar in the vicinity of Cape Sadinga north bay Silantyeva at a depth of 44 meters, an object was discovered that is presumed to be the lost plane. On the water surface items were visible which may be fragments of the plane shell. Rescue work continues.
What: Vladivostok Tupolev TU-204-300from Vladivostok to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Russia Where: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk When: Sep 21st 2009 Who: 95 passengers and 5 crew Why: On approach to Sakhalinsk, the flight underwent a “switch-off” of the right engine, but landed safely.
__________ Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net Contact photographer Siegi N.
What: Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 en route from Frankfurt to New York JFK,NY Where: southwest of Iceland When: Sep 19th 2009 Who: 334 passengers Why: After finding an oil leak over Iceland, the plane returned to Frankfurt; an alternative flight was provided for passengers who arrived in NY after a delay of less than 10 hours.
_________ Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net Contact photographer Von Wedelstaedt
What: Egyptair Boeing 777-200 en route from London to Cairo Where: near London When: Sep 23rd 2009 Who: 234 passengers Why: Due to an undisclosed technical failure, the flight returned to Heathrow. The flight was cancelled and passengers were provided accommodations.
__________ Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net Contact Maciej Klatt
What: SAS Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-600 en route from Dusseldorf to Stockholm Where: Dusseldorf When: Sep 22nd 2009 Why: The flight reported engine problems after takeoff. Passengers were rebooked on other flights. Unverified passenger quotations posted on the Aviation Safety net indicate the crew may have known ahead of time there were issues; and they were attempting to fly the plane back to its base for repairs.
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George’s Point of View
It’s all about maintenance, doesn’t matter your nationality.
What: Red Wings Airlines Tupolev TU-204 en route from Nizhny Novgorod to Antalya Where: Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. When: Saturday 6:40 p.m. Who: 208 passengers (also reported as 200) Why: After experiencing an engine problem, the crew burned fuel and landed safely at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. No injuries were reported.
What: An Iranian Caspian Airlines Russian-made Tupolev passenger jet en route from Tehran (Iran) to Yerevan Where: near Jannatabad village 75 miles northwest of Tehran When: July 15 2009, crashed 11:30 am, 16 minutes after takeoff Who: 153 passengers and 15 crew including eight members of Iran’s youth judo team and two trainers. Another report said simply there were “over 150” aboard. Why: After the pilot complained of technical problems, witnesses reported that the plane caught on fire while still in the air, then smashed up when it hit the ground.
Update:
The Russian-made plane’s Russian-made black boxes have been found. They are badly burned; however, and may be sent to Russia for assistance in data recovery. There is already a Russian team on the way to help investigate. An Iranian Insurance company promises $58,000 to the families of victims.
The 22-year-old TU-154M has not been produced since 1996. Most of the passengers were Iranian; seven were Armenians or Georgians. One Canadian woman and her son (Nana Antasyam and her son, Edward Khachik ) were reportedly also on board, as well as a pair of Australian siblings who may have had dual citizenship.
View Qazvin, Iran in a larger map What: An Iranian Caspian Airlines Russian-made Tupolev passenger jet en route from Tehran (Iran) to Yerevan Where: near Jannatabad village 75 miles northwest of Tehran When: July 15 2009, crashed 11:30 am, 16 minutes after takeoff Who: 153 passengers and 15 crew including eight members of Iran’s youth judo team and two trainers. Another report said simply there were “over 150” aboard. Why: After the pilot complained of technical problems, witnesses reported that the plane caught on fire while still in the air, then smashed up when it hit the ground.
As it flew overhead, burning pieces of the plane were falling to the ground, setting of fires as they hit the ground,
Other sources say that after one engine caught on fire, the pilot attempted a landing in a wheat field. A witness Abul-Fazel Idaji made statements released on the internet explaining that just before the plane hit the ground, “its wheels were out and there was fire coming from the lower parts.” An eighteen year old farmer said “I was driving my tractor when I saw a big fire in the sky.” Another witness said the plane circled as if looking for a place to land, before it crashed. The sound it made is described as being like an earthquake, and some people thought that they had been bombed. The impact with the ground created a 10 meters deep crater. No survivors. Local villagers had carried off parts of the plane. Nothing identifiable remained of the passengers who reportedly were Armenian or Georgian.
Most public statements attempt to blame the crash on US sanctions; however, the TU-154 is a Russian made plane with Russian made components, and a very old, noisy and rickety one, at that, and banned from European airspace.
Tajikistan Airlines (Tajik Air) Flight 3183 crashed on 15 December 1997 on approach to Sharjah Airport in the United Arab Emirates. Only the navigator, Sergei Petrov, survived of a crew of seven and seventy-nine passengers. The Tupelov crashed into the desert eight miles east of the airport. The controlled flight into terrain originated from Dushanbe Airport Tajikistan. Situational awareness may have been a factor.
