An AirAsia flight from Kota Kinabalu to Penang made an emergency landing here yesterday afternoon after an elderly female passenger complained of chest pain.
Seventy-one year-old Annie Dunlop from Sandakan, was on an Air Asia flight from Koto Kinabalu to Penang when she suffered chest pain. Pilots diverted to Kuching International Airport where she was pronounced dead. Her remains were taken to Sarawak General Hospital.
The Air Asia flight continued on to Penang
On December 13, 2013, a Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-8JP in Las Palmas Airport, Gran Canaria had boarded. The Danish captain announced over the intercom that “we have become bombhotade and must vacate the planet directly,”
The airline’s staff who received the message prior to departure. After the threat was placed against the plane, it was evacuated and searched, as were the passengers. The announcement came when they were already on the runway.
Passengers were admitted into the terminal. Baggage and the plane were examined.
No bomb was found.
The plane was rebounded at 20:40 and went on its way from Las Palmas Airport to Stockholm without further delay.
On December 12, 2013 at 7L45 a.m., a MHS Aviation Sikorsky S-76C #9M-STE had eight aboard when the flight encountered bad weather. They were flying to identify oil and gas exploration sites when weather forced them to ditch in the sea 159 kilometers off the coast of Bintulu.
The helicopter was leased from MHS Aviation by Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas.
The two pilots and six oil workers aboard were rescued by a passing ship. Apparently there were no fatalities, and no specific reports of injury. They were hospitalized in Miri.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is investigating.
The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has not released whether or not the helicopter was recovered from the ocean.
On December 13, 2013, at Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport, a US Airways (737-8K2) #N202UW was taxiing when it struck a parked Boeing 737-8K2 belonging to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (PH-BXK).
The winglet of the parked plane was knocked off. Both planes sustained damage. There were no reports of injury, but the incident caused passenger delays.
We found the image of the accident on Twitter.
The Asiana investigation continues.
Back in July, the pilot who was insecure about making a visual approach in a 777 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on a visual approach in Asiana Flight 214’s Boeing 777. Specifically, he told NTSB investigators “it was very difficult to perform a visual approach with a heavy airplane.” The glideslope was not working at the San Francisco airport, and that was an instrument the (*undertrained) pilot was relying on. The plane came in so low the tail struck the seawall and broke off. The video below shows the plane rotate 360 degrees and catch fire by the runway.
Video with news commentary
Before impact, the relief pilot in the jump seat repeated several times “sink rate” trying to warn the pilots at the controls that the jet was too quickly losing altitude. One of the pilots said “It’s low.” Then there was a stick shaker alert (which occurs when the plane is about to stall from flying too slowly. I once had a pilot do a presentation that included the disturbing grinding of the stick shaker alarm as it violently vibrated the control yoke. It’s an alarming direction to the pilots to increase thrust.)
When the stick shaker went off, the instructor called for a go around. It went off four seconds before impact. It was too late.
Both the instructor and the captain were relying on the auto throttle, and both were unaware it was off.
I’m not discounting the wounds of the injured, nor those three deaths, nor the tragedy of one of the teen victims being run over by an airport crash tender. (That’s a whole tragedy by itself—who knows if she might have survived but for being so obscured by foam that she was not visible to crash responders—through the firemen who carried her out surely must have known she was there.)
A dozen critically injured, a hundred-sixty-nine injured, but only three deaths.
It’s nothing short of a miracle. Especially on inspecting the condition of the burned out shell of the hull. Especially on reviewing the just-released surveillance video that shows the plane splintering after impacting the firewall, cartwheeling like a crippled gymnast down the runway and dissolving into a cloud of dust and flame. No jet fuel fire here——leaking oil ignited as it poured on to a hot engine.
The Kazan crash (Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363) from November 17th is fresh in my mind. Everyone aboard–fifty people (forty-four passengers and six crew) all died. The plane just fell from the sky while landing at an impossible 75-degree-nose-down attitude, piloted by a pilot whose license is apparently fake. Everyone in that crash died. (Tatarstan surveillance below.)
Of course one can see the physics—that everyone on the Tatarstan flight received the full direct impact, versus how the rolling of the Asiana plane dispersed some of the impact energy. Still, there is tremendous force in a crash.
I know I should be talking about pilot training, because this is yet another crash that appears to be due to pilots becoming too dependent on technology. But I will focus on that another day. Right now, I am overwhelmed after looking at the crash tape.
Asiana—Cartwheeling Catastrophe
I am surprised that I have neither heard or seen choruses of amazement that all but three people survived the rolling catastrophe in San Francisco. Some credit should perhaps go to the rescue crew, quick actions of the cabin crew, performance of the emergency slides, and maybe even the aerodynamics of the 777 whose seats are required to withstand 16g of dynamic force.
Sure, there was error involved in this crash, but when you look at the survival rate, some credit is due to the 5.5 billion Boeing put into research, development and safety of the 777.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined American Airlines $60,000 for violating the Department’s full-fare advertising rule after the airline’s agents told consumers that surcharges levied by the airlines were government-imposed taxes. DOT ordered the carrier to cease and desist from further violations.
“We expect airlines to be truthful to their customers when they provide information about their fares,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to take enforcement action when airlines fail to disclose their fares fully and accurately.”
Under the Department’s full-fare advertising rule, the first price quoted for air transportation made by an airline or ticket agent must state the entire price to be paid by the consumer, including all mandatory taxes, fees and airline surcharges. Airlines do not have to break out the components of the fare, but if they do, they must accurately show the costs of the services or taxes.
Following a complaint from a consumer, the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office investigated how American described to potential passengers the taxes and carrier surcharges that it collected. It found that on a number of occasions in 2012 and 2013, American’s telephone reservation agents mistakenly told consumers that a variety of additional taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges were collectively “taxes.” A significant portion of these charges were not taxes but fees imposed by the airline, such as fuel surcharges. In addition, pop-ups on the airline’s website claimed that these surcharges were taxes and, on at least one occasion, American issued a reservation statement labeling surcharges as taxes. The carrier has corrected its website and provided additional training to its agents.
On December 9, 2013 at 6:45 p.m, American Eagle flight 3162 safely departed Cincinnati en route to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport but then smoke developed in the cabin. It may have originated in the main gear.
Pilots declared emergency and returned to CVG airport and made a safe landing with emergency services on standby.
The plane was successfully evacuated. Fifty-three people were aboard.
No injuries.
The preliminary investigation of the Clutha helicopter crash revealed …
Other than ruling out what is not the cause, investigators may be no closer to determining the reason the helicopter fell out of the air. The report says there was “no evidence of major mechanical disruption of either engine” of the Eurocopter EC135 as it returned from a police operation in Dalkeith, Midlothian, on the night of the crash.
There were no flight recorders, but there is radar data and radio communications. The pilot had 5,500 hours, 646 in type.
The wreckage is at AAIB’s headquarters, and the investigation continues.
A fund has been opened for the victims. Donations can be made to the fund by calling 0141 287 7878 and paying by debit or credit card. Cash or cheques can be handed in to the council’s service desk at 45 John Street, Glasgow G1 1JE and bank payments can be made to Clutha Appeal Fund, sort code 83-44-00, account 10804129.
Asleep unnoticed in the back of the plane at the time of disembarkation from his United Express/Expressjet flight from Lafayette, La. to Houston, passenger Tom Wagner woke up at the end of the line–in the dark, locked inside a cold plane empty of crew and passengers.
What should be the consequences of being locked inside a plane? Flight attendants have walk-thru procedures, don’t they? At any rate, however the situation began, Wagner had his cell phone with him and was able to initiate the ending. He just called someone who called the airline, and the airline called the crew, and somebody showed up and let him out.
Houston was a layover for Wagner, so after a (free) motel night, he was given a $250 voucher to finish his trip.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s Investigative Hearing into the crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 originally scheduled for December 10, has been postponed due the government closing because of inclement weather in the Washington DC area.
The agenda for the previously scheduled two-day hearing has been slightly revised so that the hearing can be completed in one day. It is expected that the hearing will run until 8:00 p.m.
The hearing will be held at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center at 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW in Washington. Directions to the Board Room are available at www.ntsb.gov/about/conference_center.html.
The revised agenda can be found below:
The “Bond Air Services Ltd. for Police Scotland” Eurocopter EC135 T2+ registration #G-SPAO with three aboard crashed in the Clutha Pub, Stockwell Street, Glasgow. Three of the victims were aboard, six on the ground.
Two witnesses Billy and Michael Byrne were inside the Clutha Vaults pub when the police helicopter crashed into it. The noise of the impact was indescribable, then…
There was a sort of silence.The whole ceiling at the left hand side of the bar, where it had been, had collapsed in on itself and the gantry of the bar also collapsed. There was an initial bout of screaming. There was a huge ball of dust. I went and opened the doors. Whilst I was holding the door I could see my brother…
Then, after finding each other, the two assisted where they could.
I think that person was conscious. He was moaning so he was conscious. There was a second person under him and that person, to me, didn’t look conscious — he was face-down. When we got out I spent time with a chap who was injured. He had a head injury. We put him in an ambulance and hopefully he is fine. We were fine. We were just lucky.
Others described the helicopter as tumbling at a strange angle, or that it dropped like a stone. Inside, the patrons of the bar heard a large bang before the lights went out. Others describe a whoosh, smoke, and eerie silence as the plane fell. The roof fell in, and dust floated in, choking everyone.
First responders were passers by. Some survivors walked away. The numbers of the casualties were initially 6 deceased, 32 hospitalized. The victims totaled nine, at last release. Two officers and a civilian pilot were aboard. Search and rescue dogs assisted in the search and rescue operation. Air accident investigation investigators, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and rescue personnel were on the scene.
The helicopter involved passed a safety check last year. The helicopter does not have a flight data recorder but some of the systems may have recoverable data.
DNA tests will be performed on the 31 bodies so far recovered from the Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park, site of the crash of Mozambique Airlines Flight 470, a Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) with 33 aboard. The plane is a total wreck, Written off (damaged beyond repair), burnt wreckage scattered in a low impact crash, possibly the result of bad weather.
The hundred-seat plane was only 1 / 3 full.
Recently revealed facts
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $325,000 civil penalty against Dallas-based Southwest Airlines for allegedly operating an aircraft that had been improperly modified, violating Federal Aviation Regulations.
On Aug. 29, 2011, maintenance personnel improperly installed a switch that enables flight crews to test the windshield heating system on a Boeing 717 that AirTran Airways Inc. was operating. Southwest is in the process of merging with AirTran.
Proper installation of the switch would have allowed personnel to isolate the windshield anti-ice system that was causing a warning that the windshield heater was failing. Instead, the center and left windshield warning systems were reversed. The right windshield warning system continued to operate properly. The aircraft was operated on 1,140 passenger flights before the problem was corrected.
Updated
A Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) disappeared in bad weather with poor visibility while en route from Luanda Airport Angola to Maputo International in Mozambique when it lost contact with ATC at 11:26 on Friday 29 November 2013.
The plane disappeared. A fruitless search Friday was cancelled due to rain and resumed Saturday. The wreckage was found in Nambia on Saturday. It had crashed in Bwabwata National Park-a protected game area and migration route 2,422 square miles. None of the twenty-seven passengers or six crew survived.
The wreckage was found burned out, the bodies scattered, near the Angola-Botswana border in a wilderness area. The black boxes were recovered by investigators.
07:00 pm (Maputo), November 30, 2013
It is with great pain and consternation that LAM confirms the tragic event of crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft with registration C9-EMC that made the flight TM470 Maputo-Luanda, last November 29, 2013.
At the end of the morning, the Namibian aviation authorities confirmed that the search and rescue team had located the place where the plane crashed in the North of Namibia, there are no survivors.
Right now, our prayers and our full attention go to the relatives of the passengers and crew who were aboard this plane, dedicating all our moral and psychological support in order to minimize the pain for the loss of their loved ones. This is our priority.
As the first form of assistance the LAM established a family support centre at the airports of Maputo and Luanda. Were assigned to these centers, specialized professionals for this type of events with the aim of providing the due advice to families. At the same time our legal department is working to give all judicial assistance with regard to the procedures to be followed after a plane crash where there have been fatalities.
We put at the disposal of the members of the affected families, a dedicated line for which you can call and get information. The number is: +258 21468778/9.
The flight TM470 took on board 27 passengers and 6 crew members.
The nationalities of the passengers were the following:
Mozambique (10);
Angola (9);
Portugal (5);
France (1);
China (1);
Brazil (1).
The crew comprised two pilots and three cabin crew and a technician.
LAM has already informed the embassies of countries whose citizens perished in this accident.
Engage an international company specializing in the management of disasters of this nature, Kenyon International, to support the efforts of the search and recovery of the remains of the victims and their belongings. For families this aspect is quite important because it will enable the identification of each person who was aboard this flight.
Part of Kenyon’s team is already on the way from the crash site being that the other party will join them tomorrow, arrived from England. We hope to have a clearer assessment about the scene of the accident throughout the day tomorrow, Sunday.
LAM sent this afternoon for Namibia an emergency response team to provide all the support to the authorities who are investigating this accident. According to international aviation rules, Namibia, a country where the accident occurred, should lead the investigation. Aeronautical authorities of Mozambique, Angola, Brazil and the air transport safety Bureau of the United States will also participate in the investigation.
Do we still have information about the circumstances in which the accident occurred, and we can’t even speculate on the likely causes of the same, since we should give time and space for researchers to conduct their work without interference.
Here’s the info on the plane involved in this accident:
The Embraer 190 Aircraft type);
B) Registration: C9-EMC;
C) capacity: 93 seats (9 Business and Economic 84);
D) manufacturing Country: Brazil;
E) powerplant: 2 General Electric CF34 engines-10 turbofan engines;
F) delivery date: November 17, 2012.
Until the date of the accident the plane had performed 2905 hours of flight time and flight 1877.
Finally we would like to express our thanks to the Governments of Namibia, Angola, Botswana and South Africa for their support and resources provided to rescue teams.
We owe our thanks to the volunteers and individuals who provided in support to families of the victims.
We will give more information as they become available.
We appeal to all the greater solidarity and support as possible in regard to pain and privacy of families affected.
Note:we ask journalists who wish to more information are kindly requested to contact the Office of institutional communication through numbers 827846815/825777946.
LAM will provide up-to-date information through the website: www.LAM.co.mz
09:00 pm (Maputo), November 29, 2013
LAM-Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, s. a. reports that the flight departed from 470 TM Maputo international airport at 11:26 hours today, November 29, 2013, en route to Luanda, the Angolan capital, had its landing scheduled for the 14: 10:0, local time. Follow aboard 28 passengers and 6 crew members.
Information obtained gives indication of the aircraft have landed in Rundo, northern Namibia, bordering Botswana and Angola.
Currently LAM, Aeronautics and airport authorities are committed to establish contacts in order to confirm the information.
LAM will provide more information as the investigations are ongoing.
For additional information, contact the Office of institutional communication of LAM through Norberto Mucopa: 82 7846815 and Irina Matos: 825777946.
Maputo, November 29, 2013
Monday, a pilot and passenger were killed after the Mexican plane took off from Nuevo Leon and crashed in Veracruz.
On Tuesday, a Cessna took off from Mina International and crashed in Tampico, Tamaulipas, killing the pilot and passenger.
Also on Tuesday, a jet en route to Cozumel crashed in the Atlantic. All four of those aboard were recovered three miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale.
Initially, in two days there were three crashes, four fatalities and four missing. However two bodies have been found—pilot Josué Buendía Moreno and nurse Mariana González Isunza,—bringing the total dead to 6. Two Mexican men—pilot Hiram Galván de la O and Doctor Fernando Senties Nieto—are still missing off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. The search of the 4,000 square miles debris field has been called off. Over 1000 lbs of wreckage has been recovered.
Forty-four passengers were aboard the Air India Express flight that made an emergency landing in Mumbai. The plane developed a “technical glitch” but landed safely.
The passengers were provided an alternative flight.
The Air India Express flight had been en route from Bahrain to Mangalore.
On Nov 20, 2013, a JetBlue Embraer ERJ-190 to Boston from Fort Myers diverted to Orlando when an emergency slide emitted a loud bang, and deployed itself in the front galley of the plane.
There were four crew aboard and seventy-three passengers aboard flight B6-1266 who set out for Boston and ended up in Orlando. Passengers were evacuated in Orlando and transferred to a plane that didn’t have an emergency slide in the front galley pinning a flight attendant to the wall.
The flight attendant did not suffocate, but was assisted in freeing his head, apparently.
By now you have probably heard already about the Atlas Air Boeing 747 which was en route from New York to Wichita, Kansas…and landed at the wrong airport. The intended destination was McConnell Air Force Base, which has runways long enough for the 747 to take off and land. But the actual destination was Col. James Jabara Airport which has no control tower, is much smaller, and does not accommodate the big jets.
Somewhat ironically, the plane’s cargo was a B-787 fuselage going to Boeing.
The Atlas Air 747 needs a 9,200 foot runway. Because it had used up enough fuel, it was light enough Thursday to successfully take off from Jabara’s 6,101 foot runway. The cargo flight landed safely at McConnell. Two pilots were flown from New York to Wichita to make the flight. Below is a video of the take-off.
A UTair Aviation Robinson R44 had two people aboard on November 22nd 2013 when it made a hard landing in Tyumen, Russia.
This information comes even before a preliminary investigation, but reports are that there was an engine malfunction.
Task Force Firehouse number 146 responded to the scene where it land at Tarakanova Yarkovsky village in Tyumen, Russia.
On November 19, 2013, an Aircraft Guaranty Corp Trustee Socata TBM-700 was en route from Annecy – Haute-Savoie – Mont Blanc Airport with five men and one woman aboard when it developed problems. There were no survivors. They were all employed by part of the Vivialys, a real estate agency.
The plane was en route from Annecy to Toussus-le-Noble when it crashed ten miles south of Auxerre after 11:00 am (1000 GMT) in a field near the village of Mouffy. Some reports say “There was heavy fog” at the time of the crash and a witness heard “a strange whistling noise”. The debris field is spread in a radius of 1000 feet.
The aircraft was registered in the United States. The BEA, France’s Accident Investigation Bureau, sent four investigators.
The Boeing-737 flight that crashed in Kazan may have done so under the command of a
Pilot In Command (PIC) who had never performed a real go-around. The PIC had 1000 night flight hours and was properly trained, according to authorities—but if that is the case, how is it being reported that the PIC had never performed a go-around? What is verifiable is that there is a large debris field, a nose down crash. Note how windy it is while they are on the field putting out tape and spraying. Also there is a video being posted that shows a nosedive: http://lifenews.ru/#!news/122878 though whether this is actually the Tatarstan Airlines flight in question is, in fact, questionable.
The PIC had 25000 hours and the copilot had 1900 hours. Reports are that the “pilot of Kazan crash had put the plane into nosedive.” The plane hit nose first. We do not know if it was at the steep angle in the video above or in a more normal angle.
The black box has been recovered, and the preliminary report may be available soon.
Six crew members and 44 passengers died. Their bodies have not been identified yet, through the manifest has been released.
On November 19, 2013, a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance Lear Jet 35A was en route from Hollywood Int’l Airport in Fort Lauderdale to Cozumel International Airport when the plane crashed in coastal waters three miles from Fort Lauderdale. The last contact with ATC was at 8:20. The pilots reported mechanical problems after takeoff: a May Day. He was in trouble and asked for permission to return to the runway. He was going to make a 180-degree turn and return to the airport.
Skies were clear.
There were four people aboard at the time—the two aforementioned pilots and two passengers—a doctor and nurse named as Fernando Senties Nieto and Mariana González Isunza. The flight had just dropped off a patient in Broward County.
The bodies of a man and woman have been found. Command central was set up at a city marine on Southeast 15th.
The search is ongoing.
Fifty people and nine vessels involved in the search include a Miami Coast guard helicopter, two coast guard cutters, two small boats, three florida Fish and Wildlife conservation crew, and a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue boat.
On Nov 14, 2013, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing en route from Montego Bay to London when the plane encountered turbulence.
Four people (one member of the crew and three passengers) were injured by the turbulence.
The flight continued to London where it made a safe landing.
Former Army Chief General V.K. Singh was on his way to Mumbai to launch his book at the ongoing Mumbai Literary Festival when the GoAir flight he was on with about 100 passengers had a fire alarm and was forced to return to IGI airport forty minutes after it left.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight.
One person was injured during emergency exit procedures.
An Austral Airlines Embraer ERJ 190AR en route from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires suffered a runway excursion on landing in Buenos Aires Argentina. The landing was complicated by strong wind and rain.
After the plane left the runway, it struck the antenna of the instrument landing system.
The weather was reported as:
SAEZ 150900Z 19014KT 160V240 3000 RA FEW010 SCT020 OVC050 16/16 Q1004
Translation:
SAEZ 15th @ 0900Z, wind from 190 at 14 KT, winds varying from 160 to 240, visibility 3000′, Weather: rain, Sky: few clouds at 1000, scattered at 2000, overcast at 5000, temperature 16, dewpoint 16, altimeter 1004 mb
Passengers disembarked via slides, resulting in a single injury. Most of the 96 passengers were Brazilian.
