Continental

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    Newark Bird Strike


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    Contact photographer Nathan Zalcman – AirTeamImages

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Newark,NJ (USA) to Hong Kong
    Where: Newark NJ
    When: Mar 10 2010
    Who: 301 aboard
    Why: After takeoff, the Boeing encountered a flock of geese, with bird strikes on the right wing and nose. The jet circled the airport to burn off fuel, then landed safely.

    Flightpath

    Passengers were rebooked, and provided accommodations.

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    Continental Emergency Landing in the Azores


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    Contact photographer Joel Vogt

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Newark to Lisbon
    Where: west of the Azores
    When: Feb 27th 2010
    Why: While en route, after experiencing unreliable airspeed and losing communication (briefly), the flight again made radio contact and diverted to Lajes on Terceira Island. With partial avionic functions, and no autopilot, they made a safe landing.

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    Hong Kong Ferry Flight Goes Awry


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    Contact photographer Mark Tang

    What: Continental owned 757 being delivered to Hong Kong for maintenance
    Where: Guam International Airport
    When: Jan 17, 2010
    Who: 4 crew
    Why: Shortly after takeoff, the plane made a noise like a backfire and the left engine failed. The plane was witnessed to fly over Barrigada, bank north over Tumon, fly out over the Philippine Sea before returning to the airport to make a safe landing.

    Continental seems to be planning to use the 757 in an upcoming regular route to Hong Kong.

    One wonders if the 757 is not a Hong Kong regular, why 757 maintenance is being ferried there.

    Airport firefighters responded at 7 am.

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    Smoke Detector Flawed


    Pictured: Continental Express (ExpressJet Airlines) Embraer EMB-145LR (ERJ-145LR) at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Montreal
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    Contact photographer F. Camirand

    What: Continental Airlines/Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Houston to Albuquerque
    Where: Albuquerque
    When: Jan 1st 2010
    Who: 53 aboard
    Why: On landing in Albuquerque, the smoke detector went off. The landing was uneventful; and maintenance determined that the alarm was defective.

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    Continental Emergency Landing in San José


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    Contact photographer Ryan Pastorino

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from San José Costa Rica to Newark,NJ
    Where: Juan Santamaría
    When: Dec 29th 2009
    Who: 107 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: Near the Nicaraguan border, when pilots detected a brake problem, they returned to the airport. Emergency response team was made up of 12 Red Cross units and four firefighting units.

    After two hours of maintenance, the plane was back in the air.
    .

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    Emergency Landing in Rome


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    Contact photographer Tokyo

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Newark,NJ to Tel Aviv
    Where: Rome
    When: Dec 24/5 2009
    Who: 300 aboard
    Why: While en route, the crew received an indication of a problem (not released.) The flight diverted to Rome where the problem was handled, and then the flight continued to its destination.

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    Philadelphia: Bird Strike/Embraer Engine Failure


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    Contact photographer Jason Whitebird

    What: Continental/Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of Continental Airlines en route from Cleveland to Philadelphia
    Where: Philadelphia
    When: Dec 6th 2009
    Who: 51 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: On approach to Cleveland, the right engine failed. The landing was diverted from runway 27R to 27L. The flight made a safe landing.

    Engine failure was due to a bird strike.

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    Continental Diversion to Portland


    Pictured: A Continental Airlines Boeing 737-824
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    Contact photographer Zach Chelsky

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Newark to Portland
    Where: Helena
    When: Sunday Dec 6 10 p.m.-6:15 a.m.
    Who: 150 passengers
    Why: While en route to Portland, the plane developed engine trouble, and landed safely in Helena. Passengers were accommodated in the terminal, and a replacement flight arrived to take them to their destination, embarking for Portland at 6:15 a.m.

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    Faulty Fuel Gauge Diverts Plane


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    Contact photographer Danny Fritsche

    What: Continental Airlines / Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Newark,NJ to Minneapolis,MN
    Where: Eau Claire,WI
    When: Oct 8th 2009,
    Who: 50 people on board
    Why: While en route, the flight experienced fuel irregularities. The flight diverted to Eau Claire where the problem turned out to be a faulty gauge. Consequently, after discovering adequate fuel and no leak, the flight continued on to its destination with only minor delay.

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    FAA Investigating Buffalo NY Crash


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    Contact Photographer Frank Robitaille

    What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
    Where: Clarence Center, New York.
    When: Thursday Feb 12 2009 10 pm.
    Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
    Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house.

    Although Icing is emerged as a factor for why flight 3047 fell, it has been found that the flight’s captain had lied on his job application to Colgan Air and only reported one of three failed FAA check rides. The co-pilot who could not afford to live in NY on her salary had flight-hopped across the country from Seattle and is recorded mentioning “a couch with her name on it.” The FAA investigators believe pilots made errors that contributed to the crash.

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    ExpressJet Customer Service Update: Plot thickens…


    An Expressjet/Continental Flight landing at Rochester
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    Contact Photographer Jonathan Icasas

    What: ExpressJet/Continental Airlines Embraer RJ145 en route from Houston to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Where: diverted to Rochester
    When: August 9
    Who: 47 passengers
    Why: The flight was diverted by storms to Rochester and landed safely which is certainly a good thing. But the terminal locked out the passengers until 6 a m…

    George’s Point of View

    It’s amazing what a little investigation turns up. The pilot of Continental Express Flight 2816 pleaded for passengers to be allowed to enter the Rochester terminal.

    But no one was at the terminal except for representatives of Mesaba Airlines who said that because Transportation Security Administration was gone, passengers couldn’t be allowed inside.

    It looks like Mesaba Airlines is responsible for that hellish night that Continental/Expressjet passengers spent inside the plane. Did Mesaba Airlines even have the authority to lock them out?

    I hope that Mesaba Airlines person who is on the record for saying no has unemployment insurance. They’re going to need it.


    Expressjet/Continental Out of the Storm Into the Frying Pan

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    Expressjet/Continental Out of the Storm Into the Frying Pan


    An Expressjet/Continental Flight landing at Rochester
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Jonathan Icasas

    What: ExpressJet/Continental Airlines Embraer RJ145 en route from Houston to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Where: diverted to Rochester
    When: August 9
    Who: 47 passengers
    Why: The flight was diverted by storms to Rochester and landed safely which is certainly a good thing.

    George’s Point of View

    Flight 2816 is going down in aviation customer service infamy. After landing safely at an airport with a closed terminal–with a crew that had run out of flying time so that an alternate crew had to be flown in–the passengers were basically locked in the plane overnight. After six hours of being stuck in the plane with no food, and a stinking bathroom, at 6 a m, understandably grumpy passengers streamed into the terminal to complain. It is not clear who is responsible (ExpressJet or Continental Airlines.) From the sound of the irate passengers, it’s difficult to say if they’d rather have compensation, or just be allowed in a no holds-barred boxing match with whoever is responsible.

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    Continental Boeing encounters Turbulence


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    Contact Photographer John Harris

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Houston
    Where: turbulence occurred southeast of Puerto Rico; diversion to Miami.
    When: Aug 3rd 2009
    Who: 168 passengers and 11 crew members
    Why: About an hour out of Miami, the flight encountered turbulence. Four received severe injuries and there were multiple lesser injuries. 28 individuals were treated at the airport on site; 9 were taken to hospitals. (Alternate reports say 13 were taken to hospitals.) The flight landed at Miami, an hour and fifteen minutes after the turbulence.

    Uninjured passengers were routed to Houston; in fact, they remained on the plane nearly three hours after landing because it was an International flight and had to be cleared by customs to arrive.

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    Embraer Emergency Landing in Cincinnati


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    Contact Photographer Mark Kryst

    What: (Jetlink) Continental Express Embraer en route from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J
    Where: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
    When: Sunday June 21 5 pm
    Who: (not released)
    Why: After takeoff, the landing gear would not retract, so the pilot landed the plane at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and passengers transferred to another plane.

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    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell gone “Gentle Into That Good Night”

    George’s Point of View

    Continental Pilot Craig Lenell’s quiet but dramatic death is going to be all but overlooked in the media buzz over the Air France Airbus catastrophe. None of his passengers even knew he’d died. In an interview, his Lenell’s wife called him the “kindest, gentlest man” she ever knew. His last communication to her had been a promise to bring her chocolates.

    You never know what you’re going to get.

    The 32 year veteran of Continental Airlines was also an Vietnam vet who served in the Air Force.

    The first officer and (what is probably) the international relief officer took over when the captain became incapacitated. It was sheer luck that a cardiologist was on board. And even though he was unable to save the captain’s life, Dr. Julien Struyven’s accidental presence on that flight may be a comfort to the captain’s wife and family. At least they won’t be asking “what if a doctor had been on board? What if there had be a defib on board?” Because on this flight there was a doctor, and a defibrillator. Perhaps it was just the captain’s time.

    Maybe one man’s death aboard a flight that did not crash isn’t going to be a headline for more than a day, but you can bet that the people aboard that Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark–those passengers who are alive now because Continental did something right–they won’t ever forget.

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    Co-Pilots to the Rescue

    Capt. Lee Collins of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association said pilots are prepared for emergencies in the air. The pilot of a transatlantic flight died over the Atlantic Ocean, but the jet landed safely.

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Brussels Belgium to Newark, NJ
    Where: en route
    When: June 18th 2009
    Who: 247 passengers and 3 flight crew
    Why: Four hours into the flight, while over the Atlantic, the captain died. The two first officers took over and landed the plane safely in Newark.

    A doctor on board was called to the cockpit, and the on board defibrillator failed to revive the captain who apparently had died of a heart attack.

    George’s Point of View

    It’s a small world.

    Recently I’d been in a conversation with someone about the Colgan flight.

    Remember the Colgan flight? The one that crashed in Buffalo? The wings iced over, the captain was ill-trained, and the co-pilot was too inexperienced and too exhausted to know how to respond to the particular emergency. The combination resulted in disaster for everyone on board.

    So, I was in this conversation with someone about the Colgan flight, and the question came up about the value of the co-pilot’s experience. The rate of the co-pilot’s pay was released, ($11.00/hr) and that provoked me to write about co-pilots needing “professional” pay. What would happen, we speculated (in this conversation) if the pilot died? The copilot becomes the de facto pilot.

    Then, lo and behold, today a pilot dies of a heart attack. Luckily for Continental and everyone on board, there were two co-pilots on hand, and both of them apparently qualified enough to handle the flight. (Apparently so, since they did manage to finish the flight.)

    I just wasn’t expecting that speculative question to manifest itself in a headline today.

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    Continental Safely Lands Hot Plane


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    Contact photographer Mark Kryst
    What: Continental Airlines Colgan Air de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from Newark to Montreal .
    Where: Burlington,VT
    When: Apr 3rd 2009
    Who: 33 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: The pilot and crew reported high temperatures, requesting diversion to Albany, NY. They shut down the left engine but decided against Albany because of weather (severe precipitation), and landed instead at Burlington,VT.

    George’s Point of View

    Emergency landings are always a cause for concern. The pilot who responds with a cool head and skill in an emergency situation is to be commended.

    What about the maintenance of the plane? Who chose to fly instead of maintain, or to maintain in half-measures? Someone needs to look into this–

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    Continental Airlines Flight 3407: NY Crash; All Lost


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    Contact Photographer Frank Robitaille

    What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
    Where: Clarence Center, New York.
    When: Thursday Feb 12 struck a house at 10: 10 pm. Two homes were affected.
    Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
    Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house. Icing is emerging as the possible cause for why flight 3047 fell from the sky. The flight data recorder has been collected and is currently being examined.


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    Denver Crash Update

    “Weather vaning where a strong crosswind pushes a plane’s tail and turns the aircraft’s nose into the wind, much like it turns a weather vane” is being considered as one of the causes of the Denver Crash. At the time, gusts of 37 mph were recorded. So far, the National Transportation Safety Board has cleared the plane’s brakes and engines of fault. Other possible mechanical failure could still be a possibility. Other experts say a crosswind of that mph is not strong enough to have caused a problem unless ice on the runway was also a factor.
    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737 flight 1404 Denver to Houston Registration N18611
    Where: Denver International Airport on runway 34 Right
    When: 20 DEC 2008 18:18 local time
    Who: 107 passengers 5 crew (at least 38 injured, nothing life-threatening) Ten passengers were taken to Denver Health. 15 passengers were taken to the Medical Center of Aurora. University Hospital in Aurora took in eight. Four passengers were taken to Swedish Hospital
    Why: The plane suffered a runway excursion at runway 34R during takeoff, slid into a ditch and caught fire after the crash. The #1 engine separated from the wing and the undercarriage collapsed. There was a 31 knot (36 mph) crosswind.
    Passengers debarked on emergency slides as the plane burned. 38 people were taken to 4 Denver hospitals with injuries ranging from broken bones to bumps and bruises. Fire burned the right side of the plane. Two patients at University of Colorado Hospital initially listed in fair condition were downgraded to critical condition with fractures.

    By the time the passengers had evacuated, the fire had spread inside and started melting the luggage compartments.

    Debris remained on the runway, with the plane about 200 yards away and its landing gear and left engine shorn off.

    The plane’s first flight was 1994-05-31.It has 2 CFMI CFM56-3C1 engines.
    NTSB Preliminary Report: Identification: DCA09MA021
    Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of CONTINENTAL AIRLINES INC
    Accident occurred Saturday, December 20, 2008 in Denver, CO
    Aircraft: BOEING 737, registration: N18611
    Injuries: 5 Serious, 27 Minor, 83 Uninjured.
    This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

    On December 20, 2008, at 1818 mountain standard time, Continental flight 1404, a Boeing 737-500 (registration N18611), equipped with CFM56-3B1 engines, departed the left side of runway 34R during takeoff from Denver International Airport (DEN). The scheduled, domestic passenger flight, operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 121, was enroute to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas. There were 37 injuries among the passengers and crew, and no fatalities. The airplane was substantially damaged and experienced post-crash fire. The weather observation in effect nearest the time of the accident was reported to be winds at 290 and 24 knots with gusts to 32 knots, visibility of 10 miles, a few clouds at 4000 feet and scattered clouds at 10,000 feet. The temperature was reported as -4 degrees Celsius.