On January 10, 2013, a homebuilt Rans S4 Coyote went missing. A search was underway for the plane which is not equipped for night flight. Only the pilot, ERIC P HEINZ was aboard.
The missing plane was located when the pilot’s campsite was discovered, at 9:30 after it had crashed in Lake Pleasant Arizona.
The experimental plane sustained damage. The pilot survived.
On Jan 10, 2013, a Robinson R44 Astro en route from Augsburg to Bretzfeld got caught up in a 380 kilovolts high voltage power transmission line and crashed on the Autobahn 6 in Southwestern Germany.
The helicopter was flying below radar.
Pieces of the helicopter hit a truck, but the driver was not seriously hurt. The accident occurred during rush hour between the junction Schwäbisch Hall and just before the Kochertalbrücke.
The pilot, 42 year old Sven Berger was killed in the crash and will have to be identified thru his dna. The remains of the helicopter are melted, burned, broken and bent, and smell like burned plastic. First responders could not get through the flames to the helicopter.
Berger was a firefighter, member of the Commerce and Industry association and owned the Schwab Bacher Kithcen Studios. The tentative cause for the accident is poor visibility. There were spots of freezing temperatures, rain and fog in Brachbach.
On January 11, 2013 at 10:10 a.m., an Australian Lightwing GR 912 was in Yorktown Tasmania. The plane, an ultralight, took off and nosedived in a vineyard next door to the airport, killing the sixty-five year old pilot.
The cause of the crash on a West Tamar property off Bowens road, just north of Launceston has not been determined.
On January 9, 2013 at t 01 h 10 min, a Mordovia Airlines Antonov 24rv#RA 46640 landing at Saransk Airport, Mordovia Russia skidded off the runway.
The flight was from Krasnodar to Kazan, with a fuel stopover in Saransk airport.
The plane was carrying a flight crew and the “Ariada – Akpars” hockey team. Five crew and twenty-nine passengers were aboard. There were no injuries reported. Passengers were provided an alternative flight for the remainder of their trip.
After a boat rescue failed, on January 9, 2013, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger with only the pilot aboard was rescuing two Nunavut seal hunters, Joe Karetak, who is in his 50s, and his 20-year-old son, who were stranded off the west shore of Hudson Bay. The brutal wind chill was -50 C.
The helicopter was from Customs Helicopter in Gillam Manitoba.
The hunters had left on snow mobiles but hadn’t returned home, initiating the search.
The helicopter landed safely but broke through the ice—it was partially on ice, partially in the water 100 meters from the hunters.
The pilot was rescued by the hunters.
A second helicopter assisting in the original rescue took the hunters and the pilot to Arviat. The rescue was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
On January 9, 2013. an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Ube Yamaguchi Japan was taxiing for takeoff to Tokyo when the plane developed brake problems. This was Boeing’s third Dreamliner incident in three days.
In the cockpit of the All Nippon Airways 787, an error message indicated brake parts in the left undercarriage needed attention.
The 98 passengers aboard the plane disembarked and were provided alternative transportation to Tokyo.
All three events appear to be from different routine situations rather than stemming from a single issue. The brake issue and fuel spill are routine events, not on par with the lithium battery fire at Logan Airport, which is a problem which requires serious investigation.
On January 9, 2013 Wednesday afternoon, a Lufthansa Airbus A320-214 was on the runway at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport preparing for a flight to Munich International when the plane slid off the tarmac.
Passengers disembarked and were returned to the terminal. No word on if the same plane continued their journey, if they were provided alternative transportation, or housed in the interim. No word on the cause of the incident.
On January 10, 2013, a Windlass Aquila Trike en route from Wintervogel Airfield with an instructor and student pilot took off on a training flight. Bystanders reported that the pilot turned back toward the airputt but crashed and caught fire.
Wintervogel is a private airfield near Klipheuwel in the Western Cape. The pilot was reported to be German, and the passenger from Tableview.
Paramedics and an emergency team responded to the scene but there were two fatalities.
A 2:10p.m GoAir flight G8302 Airbus A320 from Chennai to Mumbai made an emergency landing when the plane filled with smoke, probably from the air conditioning vents.
As soon as the plane made a safe landing, passengers disembarked and were moved a safe distance from the plane. There were over 50 passengers aboard.
The plane made it halfway to Mumbai when the pilots had to turn back to Chennai.
The problem is probably the AC system. An investigation is underway.
On January 7, 2013, Chinook helicopter (registration N241CH) Pucallpa-Tarapoto was en route near the Laguna Yarinacocha in Pucallpa Peru when it came down in the Amazon.
The helicopter took off at took off at 2:57 pm, taking a load to Tarapoto.
According to reports, although the crew tossed the load while airborne, the plane broke up in mid air and caught fire. There were seven people aboard.
There were 2 Peruvians aboard: Joel Castillo and Luis Ramos.
Five Americans: Dan Immel , Ed Córdova, Jaime Pickett, Lee Bradford and Darrel Birkes.
Those aboard were employed by Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm.
On January 5, 2013, a privately owned Embraer EMB Ipanema with only the pilot aboard was making an agricultural pass and spraying crops in Lucas do Rio Verde MT Brazil.
While cropdusting, the plane collided with a highway sign and the pilot lost control. Engine problems may have also been involved.
THe pilot’s plane struck a pole then impacted the field of soybeans, instantly killing the pilot, Rubens Fritsch. The plane is a total loss. (See photo)
His body was recovered by the firefighters who responded to the call at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.
The married pilot leaves no children. He was buried in Lucas do Rio Verde.
On January 7, 2013, on a training flight, a Piper Cherokee VH-JXR with only the pilot aboard took off. He noticed a problem with flying the plane and did a flyby over the airport where his instructor discovered visually that the plane had lost a right rear wheel during takeoff from Mangalore Airport Australia.
The pilot circled to burn fuel, and talked with his instructor and emergency teams. He landed the plane safely on two wheels.
The 21 year old Chinese pilot trainee made a safe landing with emergency crews on standby. The pilot had 120 hours of flight experience. English is his second language.
On January 7, 2013, a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Japan-Boston had already landed in Boston, and all 184 passengers had safely disembarked when smoke filled the cabin.
A fire was found in a battery aboard the plane. Boston Firefighters arrived at 10:40 a.m. and put out the fire.
Passengers were provided alternative transportation and overnight accommodations.
Electrical issues in the avionics bay where the battery is located are a known issue in this type of plane, which uses electrical motors instead of hydraulics in certain areas. The auxiliary battery in the compartment kicks in after the engine kicks off. That’s what happened on test flights, and from what I have heard, that is what happened here.
In George’s Point of View
Let’s slow down with this great plane. Let’s get the kinks out of it before we put humans on too many of these Dreamliners. Let them stay Dreamliner and not become Nightmareliners. United is starting service but are these planes really ready? There have been engine problems and some spooky events. We don’t read too much about them, but I know they have occurred. I love this plane, I want to fly all over the world in it, and if I live long enough, I will, but, is it ready?
According to the NTSB report below, the NTSB seems to agree with me that incidents like this warrant investigation.
Press Release
WASHINGTON– Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are gathering information regarding reports of smoke aboard a Boeing 787 at Boston’s Logan Airport today.
The Japan Airlines 787 was on the ground and empty of passengers at the time of the incident.
The NTSB has dispatched an investigator to Boston. Based on a review of the factual information gathered, the NTSB will determine the extent of its investigation. Video Below
Dana Air is returning to “service” six months after killing 153 in the notorious crash on Sunday, 3 June 2012. Dana Air Flight 992 crashed into two Lagos buildings. Poor maintenance and bad aviation safety practices led that Dana Air MD-83 to a dual engine failure that killed 153 aboard, 10 on the ground and caused many other injuries (on the ground.)
We might ask why Dana Air is returning to so-called service when it had the highest number of aviation fatalities in 2012 and the world’s highest McDonnell Douglas MD-83 death toll.
Should they really be offering flights when they have not explained away the cause of the Dana Air Crash? Perhaps they will keep flying until their remaining five McDonnell Douglas MD-83 have crashed, people grow more sense than to choose Dana Air on flights between Lagos and Abuja or LENDERS and LEASEHOLDERS choose to write better safety controls in their contracts.
On January 5, 2013, a twin engine plane hit a remote hill near Grenoble and crashed, killing five. The pilot was flying his wife and three children from Grenoble France to Morocco. The plane (probably a Piper Seneca) disappeared from radar not long after takeoff.
The family was returning home from a vacation in France. No one on the ground was hurt.
Witnesses in Saint Pierre de Bressieux saw the plane crash. Emergency services dispatched to the scene found 5 deceased victims and a burning plane.
On January 4, 2012, a plane taking off at 11:00AM went missing at 11:30AM. The party was en route from the resort Los Roques Venezuela traveling 100 miles to Caracas and disappeared from radar. A search has been initiated for the private plane, a twin-engine Britten Norman BN2 Islander.
Map
Listed on the flight were fashion mogul Vittorio Missoni who owned the plane, and his wife Maurizia Castiglioni, entrepreneur Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi from Brescia and two crew members.
The search stopped at nightfall and began again on January 5. Video
On Friday January 4, 2012, Delta flight 65 en route from Atlanta to Las Vegas experienced engine problems and had to divert to sky Harbor.
The Boeing 757-200 made a safe landing minus one engine with emergency services on standby. An inspection determined there had been a fuel leak. Passengers were provided an alternative flight and were scheduled to land in Las Vegas before 8:30 pm.’
On January 4, 2013, a Beechcraft BE35 developed a vibration problem, reported an emergency. The pilot was diverting to Flagler County Airport when the plane crashed into a house a mile from the airport.
Three people aboard the flight died. Three people were inside the Palm Coast Florida house, but they were not trapped inside the building.
Two drunk women caused a British Airways flight Gatwick to Tunis flight to divert to Lyon. At 30,000 feet, the women smoked in the bathroom, and exhibited disruptive behavior, refusing to sit, attempting to get into the cockpit, and threatening to “track down and kill” the family of a BA stewardess.
They were arrested in Lyon, where gendarmes tossed them in the drunk tank overnight, and sent them back.
British Airways may ban them from flying BA flights.
United Airlines is offering Boeing 787 Dreamliner is now offering daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport and Tokyo Narita, with 36 seats in United BusinessFirst, 70 seats in United Economy Plus, and 113 seats in United Economy.
UA 787 service will be offered between its Houston hub and Lagos, Nigeria, five days a week, beginning on January 7, 2013.
The seventeen year old student pilot who took off with two friends on a late-night flight New Year’s Day 2013(10:30 p.m. Tuesday) and crashed in north Alabama, killing everyone aboard was not following regulations at the time of the crash.
17-year-old Jordan Seth Montgomery and 19-year-old Brandon Tyler Ary, both of Arley were passengers aboard the plane.
A student pilot “may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger.” Student Pilot Jordan Ryan Smith was one test away from his pilot’s license, according to family members.
The airport says the student pilot was flying a plane he wasn’t rated on, without permission, in overcast weather.
About a dozen pilots annually fail their Breathalyzer tests, and this year’s dozen will include an American Eagle pilot who boarded his flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and was arrested by airport police for failing a Breathalyzer test. It took two and a half hours to arrange for an alternative pilot to fly to New York. The affected pilot’s blood alcohol was measured at Fairview Southdale Hospital. The pilot was suspended.