What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Lanzarote Spain to London Where: Porto When: Jun 2nd 2011 Why: The flight was east of porto when the pilot saw an indication of engine problems (technical malfunction.) The pilot diverted to Porto and made a safe landing at Porto.
Passengers disembarked normally on the apron, without emergency slides.
Media reported smoke although Ryanair said there was no smoke.
What: Cessna 172R Skyhawk Where: Tooele County-Wendover Airport – Kenv Utah When: June 1, 2011 Who: 4 fatalities Why: The pilot of the Cessna was making a fuel stop at Wendover airport when he ran into difficulty, termed “a tough crosswind landing.” He approached for touchdown, bounced and turned north to make a second pass, and crashed 400 feet north of the runway. The four men aboard died in the crash.
Wind is considered to be a factor in the crash.
The names of those aboard the flight are Lincoln Marshal Dastrup, 57, of Salt Lake City, Chad A. Wade, 38, of South Jordan, Justin Michael Yates, 37, of Lehi, and Harish Parashar, 53.
Three Spanair managers, the Spanair shift supervisor at Madrid airport, the maintenance manager and the quality manager, indicted for “negligent homicide” for Spanair Flight JK5022 will be appearing before a judge between June 20 and 22.
Malware in the mainframe software may have been involved in the crash.
What: Air France Airbus A320-200 en route from Athens to Paris Where: Athens When: May 30th 2011 Who: 152 passengers and 6 crew Why: While over Athens, the plane incurred a bird strike. In Athens, a dismembered sea gull was found on the runway. The plane continued until unusual vibration of the engine made them decide to return to Athens. They had to burn off fuel.
What: Jetlite Boeing 737-700 en route from Mumbai to Ranchi to Patna Where: Patna Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport When: Jun 1st 2011 Who: 100 aboard Why: On landing at Patna, the plane had a bird strike on one of the engines.
The plane made a safe landing at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport anyway, although the next leg of the return (to Mumbai) had to be delayed due to damage to the plane.
What: Virgin Airlines Airbus A-340 en route from London to Washington DC. Where: St Johns International When: May 2011 Who: 269 passengers Why: While en route, a passenger was ill. The flight diverted to DC to get the passenger assistance, and made a safe landing. THe passenger was transported to the Health Sciences Centre and the flight resumed.
What: Kingfisher Airlines en route from Delhi to Bangkok Where: NSC Bose International Airport, Kolkata, India When: May 29, 3011 4:00 am Why: The flight made an emergency landing at NSC after what is called a “technical snag.”
Passengers were provided another Kingfisher flight.
What: Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Vienna Austria to Washington DC Where: Vienna When: May 27th 2011 Why: After takeoff, the gear would not retract.
The pilot returned to make a safe landing in Vienna; repairs were made and the flight left again less than an hour later.
Anonymous Expert Opinion
One common occurrence in Commercial Aviation is when a maintenance person forgets to remove the Landing Gear Safety Pin that is connected before starting the push back procedure during the aircraft start-up. It happens that that pin prevents the hydraulic system to actuate the nose gear allowing the tractor to freely steer the aircraft free from the gate. However that pin also locks the landing gear in the “down” position preventing the hydraulic system to retract in when commanded by the pilots. The result is that the aircraft is prevented from retracting its landing gear (one pin prevents them all) and returning is mandatory.
If the airplane is engaged in an intercontinental flight (thus carrying a huge amount of fuel) the crew invariably must dump a great amount of fuel in order to reduce the weight to within the manufacturer’s certified maximum landing weight in order to perform a safe landing. After dumping the fuel as the aircraft’s weight reaches its maximum allowed for landing the crew land the airplane. Unfortunately it causes delays and it is a nuisance, although not a harmful one. The worst part is for the maintenance crew whom was responsible for the tow out procedure to explain to his (or hers) superiors the quite expensive forgetfulness.
What: Air China Airbus A330-300 en route from Beijing to Shanghai Where: Shanghai When: May 25th 2011 Who: passenger Why: While en route, passengers smelled smoke in the cabin. The source was pinned down to an overhood bin, and turned out to be a passenger’s camera battery which caught on fire. The flames were between seven and eight inches.
The battery was isolated and the fire extinguished in the lavatory.
What: Lonn D. Greiner’s Cessna 180 en route from Birchwood to Seldovia Where: Alaska When: May 27, 2011 Who: 5 aboard Why: Not long after a successful takeoff, the nose of the cessna pitched up, then it banked and fell. Witnesses say that the engine sounded fine.
The cessna crashed on train tracks, resulting in a fire. All 5 aboard were killed in the crash. The Alaska Railroad shut down the tracks until the wreckage was removed.
All aboard were members of the Greiner family from the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River. Lonn Greiner, 46, from Eagle River; three of his children, Glory, 13, Nathan, 11, and Grace, 10; and his 69-year-old mother, Carolyn Greiner. They were on a Memorial Day holiday.
Greiner performed jet maintenance at Ted Stevens Anchorage International.
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Pittsburg, to Atlanta Where: Atlanta When: May 28th 2011 Who: 43 passengers and 5 crew Why: On landing in Atlanta, the right main gear tire blew and started a fire. The runway was vacated and the passengers disembarked via emergency slides.
Emergency services responded to contain the fire. Foam was employed.
What: Allegiant McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Youngstown to Orlando Where: Pittsburgh When: May 26 2011 Who: 142 passengers and 5 crew Why: While en route, the right engine was running hot and low on oil. They shut down the engine and diverted to Pittsburgh where they made a safe landing. Maintenance examined the leaky engine.
What: Spicejet Boeing 737-800 en route from Mumbai to Hyderabad Where: Mumbai When: May 27th 2011 Who: 140 passengers Why: While en route, the cargo hold indicated a fire. The crew followed procedures (checklists) and returned to Mumbai where they made a safe landing half an hour after take off. A replacement jet was provided.
So there you have it: the short version of the investigation’s reading of the Cockpit Voice recorder.
If you missed it, we have posted it here in this blog in it’s entirety:
If you don’t like the visual rendition, you can click at the bottom for the .pdf.
The problems seem to begin at 2 h 08 min 07; then at 2 h 10 min 05 autopilot & auto thrust disengages. The pilots note that the speeds do not agree,( which means the speeds are incorrect, and it is an indication that pitot tubes are malfunctioning. Around this time, ACARS sent a PITOT error message, which was not mentioned in the CVR summary.) The PIC (captain) re-enters at 2 h 11 min 40 and it is all downhill from there.
As far as we can tell, everything in the cockpit voice recorder still indicates that the main cause for this crash is Thales defective pitot tubes which froze over and sent incorrect data back. How could anyone make correct decisions without knowing the speed at which the plane was traveling? How would the pilots have discerned when the incoming data was faulty and which of it—if any—was correct?
Based on the pilots’ response to the stall, we can also reiterate points made at the February 24 hearing, where Justice Zimmerman pointed out a lack of training for pilots on how to respond to a catastrophic failure. Shouldn’t pilots (and not just the PIC) be trained in this procedure to the point that the correct corrective response is second nature? The time to try to figure out how to respond is not during the catastrophe, with 228 lives hanging in the balance.
There does not appear to be an emergency procedure from the manufacturer. (This was also noted in the February hearing by Justice Zimmerman.)
It appears that the plane stalled, and that could not be corrected in time to prevent the catastrophe.
So now, all eyes will turn to the DVR, which will hopefully help decode what happened mechanically in the stall.
And I do have questions about the notation, which seems to imply that even if autopilot is not online, some (background?) processes continue to be determined by digital input, which may be faulty. When the measured speeds are below 60 kt, the measured angle of attack values are considered invalid and are not taken into account by the systems. When they are below 30 kt, the speed values themselves are considered invalid. (Or I am misreading the data and the fact of unrecoverability is due to other system factors. It does appear that the Flight Control System is unwieldy or badly conceived.)
It seems to me as a layman, that this is a fly-by-wire conundrum. If the plane is in crisis, but it is logically disregarding the correct input when it is beyond a “safe or logical” range, then how can it be corrected, if there are no manual controls? (Not to mention no emergency procedures to fall back on.)
Media excesses, and rumor mongering (my words) have moved the BEA to publish an informational note for the families of the victims, and the general public. The following “chain of events” comes from the initial reading of the Flight Data Analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder. There are new facts in the timeline, but the interim report will not be published until the end of July. Interested parties should remain aware that this is not a substitute for later reports. Causes of the accident and safety recommendations will only be revealed and understood after “long and detailed investigative work.”
For the last ten years, the victims families of the Air France 4590 Concorde crash have been provided memorials arranged by Air France.
Air France continues that tradition by providing two anniversary memorial services for Air France Flight 447 victims, one in Rio de Janeiro for 100 participants, and one in Paris for 400 participants. Air France is providing transportation and facilities for the memorials and reunions.
The glass monument recalling the victims was placed in Leblon (Rio); it has 228 swallows etched into it, each representing someone who died aboard the flight.
Air India Express
There was also a monument placed in Kenjar, India of six scribed granite slabs remembering 158 people killed in the May 22 Air India Express crash, but it was vandalized in October of 2010. One tragedy compounded by a senseless act of malicious mischief.
Air Blue
Where is the memorial to the 152 victims of Air Blue Flight 202? Airblue management promised that the names of 19 whose bodies were consigned to a communal grave would be scribed on a monument. Where is this monument?
Where is the monument to all the 152 victims, Airblue?
Where will you be holding the anniversary service on July 28?
As the homemade cardboard tribute says “Sympathy is no substitute for action.”
What: TUIFly Boeing 737-800 en route from Alicante to Nuremberg Where: Alicante When: Mar 15th 2011 Who: 144 passengers Why: After takeoff, the pilots and crew of the flight felt dizzy and impaired. Passengers also reported feeling dizzy after the ground power unit started the engines. The pilot reported the emergency and returned to Alicante and made a safe landing.
We don’t see a statement from the ministerio de fomento regarding this incident.
What: British Airways Boeing 777-200 en route from London Heathrow to Boston,MA Where: Shannon When: May 23rd 2011 Who: 221 passengers Why: En route over the Atlantic, smoke developed in the cockpit and the pilots declared emergency and diverted to Shannon.
(There is some speculation that the smoke was ash drawn into the cabin.)
The smoke increased on descent, but the pilot made a safe landing. The smoke is being blamed on an undesignated mechanical problem.
Above FL200, the atmosphere was (reported as) clear of Grimsvotn ash.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations until the replacement flight arrived (May 24.)
What: Air India Airbus A319-100 en route from Mumbai to Nagpur Where: Nagpur When: May 24th 2011 Who: 153 passengers Why: On approach to Nagpur, the pilot reported “a technical fault.” The plane developed a hydraulic problem. Pilots made a safe landing at the Nagpur airport. There is no mention if the foam was employed or if emergency services were on standby. The return flight was cancelled. Passengers were provided accommodations until the replacement flight.
May 22 was the anniversary of Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai, which overshot the runway and crashed at Mangalore, India. The crash victims’ support group spokesman said that “About 50 families have received compensation from the insurance companies, but many families have not even been contacted. ” According to the organizer, Rafik Eroth, “…insurance representatives are playing foul over the payouts…Many families have lost their breadwinners and face major financial difficulties. I believe [the insurance companies] are delaying the process to pass the two-year mark so that the families lose their claims.” Families of crash victims had a two-year period in which to apply for compensation
The Civil Aviation Ministry ordered the airline to provide up to $159,840 to families of the victims in accordance with the Indian Carriage by Air Act, (following the Montreal Convention.)
It has been a year, and still some of the families have not yet been contacted about compensation.
The Indian Court of Inquiry probe report was submitted to the civil aviation ministry yesterday. The report says that “Air India pilot Zlatko Glusica, from Serbia, was asleep for much of the three-hour flight and was “disoriented” when the plane started to descend.” The experienced First Officer had fewer hours but was soon due for command, and had landed frequently at that airport. He called for a go-around which the Captain ignored.
Captain Z Glusica had more than 10,200 hours of flying experience—but not landing at that airport. He was the pilot in command and reacted late, and was suffering from “sleep inertia”. His heavy nasal snoring and breathing was captured on the CVR. Many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing. Co-pilot H S Ahluwalia repeated “abort landing” saying they didn’t have enough runway left, three times asking for a “go around”.
With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again and crashed in the gorge at the runway’s end.
The plane’s takeoff gear was found activated. Experts concluded if the pilots had not attempted to take off again, the plane emergency brakes could have brought the plane to a halt.
This is not the first time Air India has had exhausted pilots. What had their schedule been that week?
June 2008: Mumbai air traffic controllers woke two sleeping pilots with an alarm when they were 200 miles past their destination.
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore Where: Mangalore airport When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010 Who: Passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.
Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.
The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.
According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.
Some people woke today and remembered 152 passengers who crashed into a hillside in Pakistan. The plane was flown by Airblue and it was the last ride those 152 people would ever remember. For the last ten months, every morning the families wake and remember someone on that plane who is no longer here. Even though as of July 28, it will have been a year since the crash, to their families, time doesn’t matter so much. Justice does.
On July 28, Airbus sent out a press release regrettably confirming their year 2000 model Airbus A321 operated by Airblue operating a scheduled service, Flight ED 202, from Karachi to Islamabad crashed, killing all aboard. Airbus promised to provide full technical assistance to Pakistani authorities. Thanks for the concern and sympathy, but ask the families, where is their assistance?
We have not heard anything about Pilot Pervez Iqbal Chaudhry who was 61 years old, and suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Was he suffering fatigue if he had observed prayers of the holy day preceding the crash? We don’t know. His flight schedule has not been released.
The black box, was found July 31 of last year, and sent to the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile, but the BEA (whose involvement is one of “observer” under 1944 Chicago Annex 13) has no page up for the crash. Ask the families, where is their assistance?
The NTSB (also observer) only has this statement: The investigation is being conducted by the Pakistan Safety & Investigation Board, Civil Aviation Authority. The NTSB appointed an Accredited Representative to assist the investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the Country of Manufacture and Design of the engines. Ask the families, where is their assistance?
The ball is in Pakistani court.
The Pakistani government announced compensation of Rs 500,000 ($5,847) to each family. (Pakistan is signatory to Hague Protocol and Montreal Convention of 1999, under which compensation could be as much as Rs12 million per victim.) The pending Carriage by Air Act 2010 offers minimum compensation of Rs500,000 for death and injury of domestic flight passengers. Airblue has replaced the plane and business is booming.
But not the families of the 152 victims. We still don’t know why it happened. We haven’t heard about families getting compensation. If this were an international flight, there would be an active treaty (Montreal Convention) outlining the guidelines. But in this domestic flight, the families still hanging in the wind, waiting for a report, and waiting for compensation. We know that to get adequate compensation, the families will have to fight it out in court. If you ask the families where their assistance is, they will tell you that there has been none. Should they have to petition the court for the most fundamental victim’s right—just to find out why the airline they trusted with their loved ones lives, the plane they trusted with their loved ones—crashed?
What: Delta Airlines DC-9 en route from Detroit to Minneapolis Where: Ashwaubenon When: May 21, 2011 Who: 81 passengers, 5 crew Why: The plane was en route when the pilot smelled smoke from burning plastic in the cabin, and announced to passengers they would be diverting to Green Bay with rescue services from De Pere, Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Hobart and Howard on standby.
They made a safe landing in Green Bay at Austin Straubel International Airport at 2:25 pm
Argentine Aviators Union of Air Lines said that the investigation into the Rio Negro crash will take 3 months.
After departing from Neuquén at 20:08, the pilot sent out a distress call declaring an emergency. 19 passengers and 3 crew were aboard.
Locals saw a ball of fire fall from the sky 35 kilometers from the town of Los Menucos in an area not available to cell phone usage. Rescue units (three ambulances and civil defense team including the police force of Black River (Rio Negro), Sierra Colorado, General Roca and Los Menucos) were deployed but there were no survivors.
Saab officials will be participating in the investigation. But three months till the investigation is done? I don’t think so. Maybe three years.
What: Westjet Boeing 737 en route from Toronto to Victoria Where: Victoria When: May 20, 2011 Who: 116 passengers and six crew Why: While en route, the flight encountered turbulence, injuring a flight attendant, who was bruised, and a passenger who injured an ankle. Injuries tend to occur when a passenger takes off their seat belt, or a flight attendant is up performing duties when the turbulence strikes.
The injuries suffered aboard the Westjet flight are not serious.
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Bangkok (Thailand) to London Heathrow,EN Where: Bangkok When: May 20th 2011 Who: 308 passengers Why: After takeoff from Bangkok, the engine vibration and temperature increased beyond the norm in one engine and the engine is reported to have salled. That (Rolls Royce) engine was shut down, and the pilots returned to Bangkik to make a safe landing with the remaining three engines. It has not yet been announced if the problem is due to the internal pipe irregularities which were indicated in an airworthiness directive just released, but with problems that go back several years.
By the look of cursory evidence, it appears this could be the same manufacturing defect in an oil pipe, which led to an internal oil leak in the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine that failed in a Qantas A380 in 2010 causing a midair explosion, but investigators will have to reveal the details.
Media excesses, and rumor mongering (my words) have moved the BEA to publish an informational note for the families of the victims, and the general public. The following “chain of events” comes from the initial reading of the Flight Data Analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder. There are new facts in the timeline, but the interim report will not be published until the end of July. Interested parties should remain aware that this is not a substitute for later reports. Causes of the accident and safety recommendations will only be revealed and understood after “long and detailed investigative work.” 
