Cracks have been found on Airbus A380 wings by Singapore Airlines and Qantas.
The cracks occurred on the wing ribs of their Airbus A380s. Qantas discovered the problem while repairing a Royce Trent 900 engines blowout in 2010.
Airbus says they know the origin and have developed an inspection and repair procedure for scheduled four-year maintenance checks.
The problem has been found on at least five planes.
The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association says Airbus A380s should be grounded, that flying with them is gambling with people’s lives, that it is risky to wait for a 4 year maintenance check. Airbus counters that the cracks are “on non-critical wing attachments” and pose no threat.
What: Iran Air Fokker 100 en route from Dammam Saudi Arabia to Mashad Iran Where: Mashad When: Jan 13th 2012 Why: On landing in Mashad, the tires blew, leaving the plane disabled in the runway for an hour.
No indication if the pilots landed hard, or were landing with a tail wind.
A letter written by Jet Airway’s Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots complains that the new limits for pilots flight time are set at 10 hours (compared to US’s 8) and the Director of Operations can extend that time an hour and a half. The letter points out that the committee selectively adopted from various schemes/studies whatever limits that suited them, extending the time well beyond what would be considered safe.
In the US, the maximum time pilots can be scheduled to fly is limited to eight or nine hours. US Pilots must get a minimum of 10 hours to rest between duty periods, a two-hour increase over the old rules; and pilots who fly overnight are allocated fewer hours than day flying pilots. In the US, these rules are based on the science of human biology.
The changes in US fatigue rules are aimed at preventing airline pilots from flying while dangerously fatigued. Notably, by comparison, the maximum hours of work prescribed for Indian pilots is about 25% more. The Nasim Zaidi Committee rules either completely disregarded the science, and furthermore, incorrectly defineterms pertaining to night-time operations, further opening up the pilots to further exploitation.
What: PSA Airlines/US Airways Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Nashville,TN to Washington National,DC Where: Charleston When: Jan 12th 2012 Who: 23 passengers and 3 crew Why: While en route, the crew noted cargo smoke and diverted to Charleston.
The flight was cancelled.
After landing, the plane was inspected by emergency services, who found a closed system to be leaking.
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Brisbane to Sydney What: Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 en route from Sydney to Brisbane Where: near Sydney When: Jan 8th 2012 Why: The Qantas Boeing was 170nm north of Sydney diverting from its flight plan, deviating around a storm. Simultaneously, a Virgin Boeing had been cleared to climb above weather.
Their locations and trajectory triggered an alert.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Chicago to Boston Where: Albany When: Jan 9th 2012, 3 pm Who: 124 passengers and 6 crew Why: While en route, the left engine lost oil pressure.
Pilots shut down the engine and diverted to Albany. They circled, and dumped fuel before making a safe landing. Emergency services were on standby.
Until 2008, the Albany Airport was a regular stop for American Airlines, and hopes soon to be a regular stop again.
A replacement jet was provided. Some passengers rented cars rather than wait.
What: Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500 en route from Cape Town to Dubai Where: Capetown When: Jan 4 2012 1.55pm Who: 243 passengers Why: After takeoff, the gear did not retract and (as was observed) the gear doors remained open. We presume the pilots did a fly-by that was the source of the visual conformation of the issue at hand.
An hour and a half after takeoff, with emergency crews on standby, the pilots landed back in Capetown (3.20pm), and was towed.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations. The replacement flight was scheduled for Jan 5, 2012.
<What: Air China Airbus A330-200 en route from Sanya to Beijing Where: Sanya When: Jan 8th 2012 Who: not available Why: After a faulty cargo door refused to close and held up the flight for two hours, once the flight was in the air, the door emitted an unsafe indication.
The flight returned safely to Sanya and made a safe landing. The door problem was reported as a false indication.
In George’s Point of View
One wonders if the delicate electronic indicator mechanism was damaged during attempts to close the door? I can’t help picturing the cargo door being repeatedly slammed. But wHo knows? We haven’t heard if the flight continued, was cancelled or if the jet was replaced.
What: M & W Aviation LLC Cirrus SR22 GTS en route from Kendall-Tamiami Executive to Port au Prince Where: Off the coast of Andros, Bahamas When: Jan 7 2012, 1 pm Who: 2 aboard, no fatalities Why: After the Cirrus engine failed, a father and daughter from Birmingham Alabama on a humanitarian mission deployed the plane’s parachute and ended up in a raft in the sea after their airplane crashed two miles off the coast of the Bahamas.
After their distress call to ATC Miami Center of Aircraft Emergency at around 12: 15 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard sent a HC-144 Ocean Sentry on reconnaissance and located their raft. Richard McGlaughlin, 59, and Elaine McGlaughlin, 25 were retrieved from their inflatable onto a Jayhawk chopper.
What: TAM Bolivia Xian MA-60 en route from Riberalta to Guayaramerin, Bolivia Where: Guayaramerin When: Jan 9th 2012 Who: 16 passengers, 5 crew Why: On landing, the plane’s landing gear would not lower. Pilots had to perform a belly landing in Guayaramerin. (In May 2011, the same plane had had a prior belly landing.)
What: Qantas Airways A380 en route from London to Singapore to Sydney Where: over India When: Jan 7, 2012 Who: 450 passengers 7 injured Why: While en route, the pilots encountered a storm system. Pilots were in the process of navigating around the storm when the Airbus encountered turbulence. Though seatbelt signs came on, not everyone was in their seat at the time. Four passengers were hospitalized after arrival in Singapore. There was a twenty-four hour delay in the final leg to Sydney.
What: Merpati Nusantara Xian MA-60 en route from Surabaya to Sampit Where: Sampit When: Jan 7th 2012 Who: 62 passengers and 6 crew Why: After making a safe landing, the plane taxied and was making a u turn, ending up with the left main gear off the runway, and it seems to have collapsed. Apparently according to witnesses, it “ain’t goin’ anywhere now.”
There were no injuries were reported, but the incident closed the airport. The plane has been damaged, and the emergency equipment could not move the plane to pavement.
What: Sky Express Boeing 737-500 en route from Moscow to Chelyabinsk Where: Moscow When: Jan 5th 2012 Who: n/a Why: After takeoff, the flight developed cabin pressurization issues.
A half hour after takeoff, the flight returned to Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, and made a safe landing.
What: Air Astana Boeing 767-300 en route from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Atyrau (Kazakhstan) Where: Amsterdam When: Jan 4th 2012 Who: n/a Why: During takeoff, the Air Astana Boeing had a tail strike, observed on the ground by the Air Italia following this flight, lined up for takeoff. Passengers reported hearing a “bang” of contact.
After burning off fuel for two hours, the pilots returned to an Amsterdam runway where they made a safe landing and submitted to a safety inspection. The cause is being attribute to possible “wind, wind vortices or too rapid rotation.”
The flight took off again after two hours, this time without a tail strike.
What: American Eagle Canadair CRJ-700 en route from Nashville, TN to New York, NY Where: Raleigh Durham When: Jan 3rd 2012 Who: n/a Why: Two phones found in the lavatory prompted the pilot to divert to Raleigh Durham.
A passenger who claimed the phones later was removed from the plane and taken custody by the FBI.
What: Air France Boeing 777-200 en route from Houston,TX to Paris Where: Houston When: Jan 3rd 2012 Who: 228 passengers and 15 crew Why: While en route from Houston, a phone was found aboard. Pilots returned to Houston, where the flight underwent a security check.
The flight landed safely in Paris after a five hour delay.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Managua to Atlanta,GA Where: Atlanta When: Jan 2nd 2012 Who: 1 injured Why: On approach to Atlanta, the flight encountered turbulence. A flight attendant was injured about a quarter of an hour before landing. There’s no indication if the turbulence was due to weather or wake turbulence.
What: United Boeing 777-200 en route from from Taipai to Tokyo Where: Taipei When: Jan 3rd 2011 Who: 270 aboard Why: After the flight took off, the nose gear doors failed to close.
Pilots circled for an hour and returned to make a safe landing.
What: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400 en route from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) Where: Kuala Lumpur When: Jan 2nd 2012 Who: n/a Why: The pilots were taking off when they received an indication and rejected takeoff.
The “low speed due to a takeoff configuration warning” was determined to be a false indication, and the plane took off three hours later.
What: American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Grand Rapids Where: Grand Rapids When: Jan 1st 2012 Who: 46 aboard Why: On approach to Grand Rapids, the Embraer developed problems with the flaps. The pilots had to abort their first and second approach.
Due to braking conditions, pilots diverted to Chicago, and made a fast but otherwise safe landing.
No notation if/how passengers were provided transportation from Chicago to Grand Rapids.
What: Kyrgyzstan/Altyn Air Tupolev 134A-3 en route from Bishkek to Osh Where: Osh Airport, Kyrgyzstan When: 28 DEC 2011 Who: 6 crew, 82 passengers, 25 injured Why: After a hard landing in dense fog, the plane skidded off the runway, collapsing the right main gear, and flipped. As it rolled over, the right wing separated, and the ensuing fire was quickly contained by rescue services standing by. Passengers inside were hanging upside down, suspended by their seatbelts, but had to find a way to evacuate quickly, before the plane had a chance to explode. A fire occurred from a fuel leak in the remaining wing, but it was controlled.
The metar at the time of the landing was:
UAFO 280700Z 02002MPS 0300 R12/0550 FG VV001 00/00 Q1023 R12/19//50 TEMPO 0300 FZFG VV002 RMK QFE691/0922 BASE050M
Wind from 020 degrees at 2 m/sec; visibility 300m; on runway 12, touchdown zone visual range is 550m in fog; vertical visibility 100 m; pressure: 1023 hPa; temperature: 0°C.
Six crew members and nineteen passengers were hospitalized, but there were no fatalities reported. Nine children were aboard. The plane was evacuated.
Because of the incident, the airport (runway) was temporarily closed, and Osh-Bishkek flights are delayed.
Of the 25 reported injured and hospitalized, these have been identified: Rustamov A. b. 1977, Ismatova A. b. 1993, Turgunaliev Charles b.1960; and two injured, Mamatov A., born 1992, and Suyunbaeva A. 2011g.r. who are in a children’s hospital in Osh. The most seriously injured is a 19 year old girl.
What: Aeroflot Airbus A319-100 en route from Nizhniy Novgorod to Moscow Sheremetyevo Where: Moscow When: Dec 28th 2011 Who: 76 aboard Why: While en route, the right engine developed problems, and pilots had to shut it down.
The flight landed safely at Sheremetyevo less than a quarter hour after the engine was shut down.
What: Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Paris to New York Where: Paris When: Dec 25th 2011 Who: 187 passengers and 12 crew Why: On takeoff from Paris, the crew detected problems.
The engine anti-icing system indicated a problem, so the pilots returned to Paris two hours after leaving.
An anti-ice system valve was apparently repaired. After two more hours, the flight took off for New York.
What: Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 en route from Cyprus to Athens to Prague, Czech Republic Where: Athens When: Aug. 14, 2005 Who: 121 passengers Why: Before losing radio contract, pilots reported trouble with the air conditioning system. In the flight, cabin pressure failure knocked out the pilots. They made it to Athens, but the plane ran out of fuel and crashed. Crash video shows fire fighting planes controlling fires, bodies, baggage, airplane spread over a large debris field, the tail and engines relatively intact. At the time of the crash, except for one pilot (who was observed trying to land the plane), everyone aboard was comatose due to lack of oxygen.
In the case, prosecution failed to prove that German pilot Hans-Juergen Merten and his Cypriot co-pilot Charalambos Charalambous didn’t meet the minimum standards
A Cyprus court has acquitted four former airline officials of manslaughter charges.
In George’s Point of View
This court case is just another example of how long aviation cases, including the criminal cases of potentially/allegedly responsible parties, can drag on in court.
What: Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-300 en route from Jakarta to Yogyakarta (Indonesia) Where: Yogyakarta When: Dec 20th 2011, 17:35 Who: 131 passengers Why: The plane aborted an approach to Yogyakarta due to weather and low visibility. The flight diverted to Solo, where it could not land due to weather; and diverted again to Surabaya where the flight landed to refuel. Meanwile, weather conditions at Yogyakarta improved, so the pilots returned to Yogyakarta, and proceeded to land at a higher than normal speed in the hard rain. The plane veered off the runway, with brakes rendered ineffective due to rain, and came to a stop 60 meters past the runway, with collapsed nose gear and with fuselage damage. Bits and pieces of the plane were scattered along the runway.
Passengers exited via emergency slide. Five passengers reported injury.
What: Cool Stream Media LLC Socata TBM700 C2 en route from Teterboro airport to Atlanta-Dekalb Peachtree Airport Where: Interstate 287 in Harding, NJ When: Dec 20, 2011, 10 am. Who: 5 aboard, 5 fatalities Why: After taking off from Teterboro airport en route to Atlanta-Dekalb Peachtree Airport, the pilot inquired about icing conditions, and shortly afterwards, crashed on I-287 in New Jersey. The plane came down on the median and broke up just outside of Morris township. One witness heard nothing but saw an explosion. Another witness smelled burning rubber and said it sounded like a wood chopper.
The plane lost contact with ATC just before the crash.
Aboard the flight were Jerry Buckalew, 45 and Rakesh Chawla (36) managing directors of Greenhill & Co Investment Banking Firm. Buckalew’s wife Corinne and two children Jackson and Meriwether and a dog were also aboard. Witnesses say the plane was spinning and flipping, then a wing came off and the plane went straight down. Buckalew owned the plane.
No cars were stuck but the plane’s right wing landed in a tree 400 yards from the crash site..
The pilot had gotten clearance to climb to 17,500 feet. ATC said there was “moderate rime” at 17000 feet. Another controller warned of extreme icing.
The debris field covered an area half a mile wide. The northbound late of I-287 was blocked a heap of burning charred metal.
