Carrier

  • | | | |

    Barcelona-Vienna Vueling Sustains Lightning Strikes


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Tommy Desmet

    What: Vueling Airbus A320-200 en route from Barcelona to Vienna
    Where: Vienna
    When: May 8th 2011
    Why: While en route, the plane through weather and was struck by multiple lightning strikes. The pilots continued to land in Vienna. There were no injuries but the plane received damage from two strikes.

    At the time the flight landed in Vienna, windshear had been detected, and rain and wind were causing flight delays.

  • | | | | | |

    US$5,850 to Crash Victims

    What: Merpati Nusantara Xian MA-60 en route from Sorong to Kaimana
    Where: Kaimana, West Papua
    When: May 7, 2010 12:21 pm
    Who: 21 passengers (including 2 children and a baby), 4 crew, 2 technicians
    Why: After flying a holding pattern for a quarter of an hour, the plane was on its final approach when it crashed in shallow water .3 miles before it reached the runway. On impact with the water, the plane broke in two and sank, with the passengers trapped within. Officials say bad weather and low visibility (6,600 ft) are responsible for the crash.


    Crash victims are being paid Rp 50 million (US$5,850) by State insurance firm PT Jasa Raharja, according to published reports. The total is 1.35 billion Rp. Reports do not say if this is an interim payment.

  • | | | |

    Eagle Airways Beech Diverts to Gisborne


    What: Air New Zealand/Eagle Airways Beech 1900D from Gisborne to Auckland New Zealand
    Where: Gisborne
    When: May 8th 2011
    Who: 9 passengers
    Why: Ten minutes into the flight, while flying over Opotiki, the pilots shut down an engine because of readings they were getting; and they announced to passengers they were going to make an emergency landing.

    The pilots then returned to the airport. Everyone aboard clapped when the nineteen seat plane landed safely.

    The engine of the Eagle Airways Beech was examined and no problems were found.

  • | | | | | |

    St. Louis: Unruly Passenger Left Behind

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Houston to Chicago
    Where: Saint Louis
    When: May 8th 2011
    Who: disruptive passenger
    Why: While en route, a passenger attempted to open a plane door, saying he had to get out of the plane. He was subdued and restrained, as the flight diverted to Lambert International Airport, where the passenger in question was released into police custody. Charges may be pending.

  • | | |

    American Airlines Diverts to Vegas

    What: American Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Miami to San Francisco
    Where: Las Vegas
    When: May 6 2011, 11:00 am.
    Who: 159 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: While en route, the pilot reported that there was smoke in the cockpit.

    The flight was diverted to Las Vegas, and made a safe landing at McCarran International Airport

  • | | | |

    Air New Zealand Loses Engine, Makes Safe Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer George Canciani

    What: Air New Zealand Boeing 737-300 en route from Auckland to Wellington
    Where: Hamilton
    When: May 8, 2011
    Who: 101 aboard
    Why: While en route, the pilots shut down the right engine. Low oil pressure is suspected to be the problem.

    Passengers heard the right engine make an explosive noise. In the plane, passengers panicked as they dropped for several seconds—screaming, crying, praying, panic attacks.

    The plane rolled right, then straightened.

    After a few moments, the pilot came out and reassured the passengers, explaining that they’d lost an engine, but it was a routine procedure they practiced all the time and that everything was under control.

    Pilots diverted to Hamilton, where they made a safe landing. As passengers exited, the pilot told them “this was the first time an Air New Zealand 737 had had a total loss of engine.”

    Passengers were bused or rented cars to go back to Auckland and engineers examined the downed plane.

  • | | | | | |

    India: Crashed Helicopter found, Minister Dorjee Khandu’s body recovered.

    What: Pawan Hans Helicopters Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil en route from Tawang to Itanagar
    Where: Luguthang, India
    When: April 30, 2011
    Who: 5 fatalities, including Dorjee Khandu
    Why: The helicoptor taking Dorjee Khandu from a retreat disappeared en route. Two MI-17 and two Cheetah helicopters were engaged in the search.

    The helicopter wreckage was found 5 days after it went missing. Dorjee Khandu, Mr Khandu’s security officer Yeshi Choddak, Yeshi Lamu, and crew members JS Babbar and KS Malick all died in the crash. The wreckage was at 4900 meters, near Jung Falls in the Tawang district. The search was hampered by bad weather.

    The chopper that crashed was 4 months old, according to Chief Minister Khandu’s adviser Kiren Rijiju. However, the maintenance department of Pawan Hans has a bad reputation.

  • | | | |

    Air Tran Engine Shut Down, Return to Greenville-Spartanburg IA

    What: Air Tran Boeing 717-200 en route from Charlotte to Atlanta
    Where: Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
    When: May 4 2011
    Who: 115 passengers
    Why: After taking off, the left engine compressor stalled. The pilots shut down the left engine and returned to the airport.

    Spartanburg EMS, and Boiling Springs, Greer, Pelham and Tyger River fire departments were on the scene

  • | | | | | |

    Southwest Electric Emergency, Diversion to El Paso


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Ron Carter

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-500 en route from Houston to Phoenix
    Where: El Paso Texas
    When: May 4, 2011, 5 pm
    Who: 138 aboard
    Why: While en route, an electrical smell was detected. Oxygen masks were deployed.

    The flight diverted to El Paso and made a safe landing. Passengers did not have to use emergency slides. They were provided an alternate flight to Phoenix while the plane was ferried for inspections.

  • | | | | |

    UN Cessna Crashes in Bolivia, 6 Perish


    FAB-341 Cessna 210 Centurion Fuerza Aerea Boliviana

    What: Fuerza Aérea Boliviana Cessna T210 Turbo Centurion en route from El Alto International Airport in La Paz
    Where: Santa Elena River, Iquisiva Province, La Paz
    When: May 5 2011
    Who: 6 aboard
    Why: The Bolivian Air Force plane piloted by the air force and carrying four United Nations workers was doing a fly-by and did not return at 2:30 as scheduled. The plane, which had been missing since May 5 and a search going on in Yungas (Coroico, La Asunta and Caranavi). The flight was located near the Santa Elena River, where it appears that it hit a tree during an emergency landing.

    The passengers lost in the crash were Ivan Alfaro Santiago, Estephan Campos Ruiz, Mariela Romero Torreblanco and Patricia Delgado Rua, and the Cessna was being flown by Lt. Néstor Álvaro Ottich Arenas and Lt. José Javier Alegría Estrada.

  • | | | |

    27 Perish in Kaimana Bay in Merpati Crash

    What: Merpati Nusantara Xian MA-60 en route from Sorong to Kaimana
    Where: Kaimana, West Papua
    When: May 7, 2010 12:21 pm
    Who: 21 passengers (including 2 children and a baby), 4 crew, 2 technicians
    Why: After flying a holding pattern for a quarter of an hour, the plane was on its final approach when it crashed in shallow water .3 miles before it reached the runway. On impact with the water, the plane broke in two and sank, with the passengers trapped within. Officials say bad weather and low visibility (6,600 ft) are responsible for the crash.

    The divers recovering the bodies from Kaimana Bay have been hampered by heavy rain; those recovered were described as “not intact.”

    The Chinese-made plane was new and only had been in operation for just over 600 hours, since its purchase in October. Merpati flies three other Xian MA-60s’.

  • | | | |

    The Only U.S. Family Settles

    The families of Mike and Anne Harris have settled their lawsuit against Air France. Michael was 60, from Greenville, South Carolina, a graduate of Clemson University, an expert in geology and oil field operations with Devon Energy in Rio and West Africa Group. (Devon Energy is based in Oklahoma.) Ann was 54, from Lafayette. She suffered from Fibromyalgia, was Fibromyalgia Association of Houston volunteer and a physical therapist. They had been married sixteen years, by the time they booked the fatal flight; and the trip was business and pleasure, because they were going to a training seminar in Paris, and for vacation. They left behind them friends in Lafayette, Houston and Brazil where they had lived.

    Mike and Anne Harris were the only Americans on the flight. According to their lawyer, the case has settled.

    Crash History
    The 4 year old Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris when it went missing over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. Two hundred sixteen passengers (including seven children and one baby, 82 women and 126 men) and 12 crew were aboard. There were two Americans and 60 French citizens were on the plane. Italy said at least three passengers were Italian.The pilot had 11,000 hours of flying experience, and 1,700 hours flying this aircraft.

    The last known radio contact was an automatic message made at 0133 GMT when the plane was near the Island of Fernando de Noronha; since then, the airplane has made no radio communication. Fifteen minutes after flying through a storm and strong turbulence, there was an electrical short-circuit. Search planes left Fernando de Noronha Island looking for signs of the plane concentrating in an area 230 miles off the northeast Brazil coast. The flight left Rio at 7 p.m. and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. The wreckage broke apart, the pieces scattered at sea, and the black boxes were not recovered until May 2011.

    It is an interesting time to settle the case–right when the world is on the cusp of discovery of what caused the crash.

  • | | | |

    Electrics Cause Embraer Diversion to Fresno


    Pictured: An American Eagle Embraer EMB-145LR
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Propfreak

    What: American Eagle Embraer en route from Los Angeles to Reno
    Where: near Fresno
    When: May 6th 2011 1:40 pm
    Who: 41 aboard
    Why: The flight had taken off and was en route when an odor was detected on board.

    The pilot diverted to Fresno made a safe landing, and taxied to the gate. Passengers were able to exit normally.

    The odor was described as a “hot, electrical ozone smell.” Mechanics examined the plane to find the source of the smell.

  • | |

    Turbulent Bahrain Air Treatment May Result in Legal Agitation

    What: Bahrain Air en route from Dubai to Bahrain
    Where: Bahrain
    When: April 30, 2010
    Why: Those aboard the Bahrain Air Flight included passengers bumped from an earlier flight which had been cancelled without explanation.

    On approach to Bahrain, the flight encountered turbulence described by passengers as severe, nightmarish and insane. The pilot performed a go around and made a second attempted landing. The turbulence was even worse, leading to the pilots to decide to divert to Doha.

    Meanwhile, passengers were apparently screaming, crying, fainting and in general having public panic attacks. At some point, the pilot announced the diversion to passengers, although some passengers said they were unaware of what was going on, perhaps because they were too terrified to be listening. They could have used a soothing word from the cabin, but apparently that was not forthcoming.

    As if being bumped from one flight, enduring turbulence at the destination and then having to divert to Doha wasn’t bad enough, a lot of flights were diverted to Doha due to the weather; and once they landed safely at Doha at 11:45 pm, the Qatar airport refused to allow the passengers to disembark. It was an hour before they were provided water. Around 3:00 a.m. the passengers were promised flights on the 7:00 am, 9:00 am, or 5:00 pm flights to Bahrain.

    Some of these passengers are considering legal action for their treatment.

  • | | | |

    Arm-wrestling Damages from the Mother Country: Brazil vs France


    In the continuing saga of Air France Flight 447, whether the victims are Brazilian or French, they certainly qualify for compensation. The question is how much. Everyone involved, the airlines, the insurance companies, the lawyers, the families all have different numbers in mind.

    Recovery of the black boxes is not the only Air France news.

    In the poker game of damage recovery, Air France must have blinked. The Brazilian Court system rejected the latest offer to the family of the deceased Luciana Clarkson Seba, a 31-year-old Brazilian who died along with her husband and stepparents.

    Brazil rejected the appeal and raised compensation from1.2 million reals ($744,000) to 1.4 million reals ($868,000). The decision was unanimous.

    Currently French courts are considering manslaughter charges against Airbus. At least Airbus has some good news to temper the bad, since the search has revealed the black boxes. Whether or not the integrity of the boxes has been breached has not yet been revealed. Experts predict both extremes: complete data loss due to the pressure and time and complete data recovery. We tend to believe the data is safe, since these memory devices must pass certification at 3400 G/ 600 psi.

    And when that data is recovered, the experts will be examining it, looking at the rest of the gathered evidence, including the wreckage that is being recovered right now, which will have its own tale to tell.

    It remains to be seen if the pitot tube theory will be supported by the CDR and FDR; but with all of these various sources coming together, we can anticipate a dimensional inquiry, a coordinated synthesis, and a profound deduction to explicate the enigma that is Air France Flight 447.

  • | | | | |

    Madrid Crash Case Should Be Tried Here, Not Stuck in Spanish Amber

    March coverage included the news of Central District of California U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess dismissing the case against McDonnell Douglas (and component manufacturers) because he believed the litigation of the airline crash case should be moved to Spain. Spanair Flight JK 5022, the deadliest Spanish accident in the last 20 years, killed 154 people (18 survivors) when it crashed just after takeoff at the Barajas Airport in Madrid.

    Here is the problem:
    In Spain, Spainair filed for a delay which was granted, and now, criminal proceedings have pre-empted civil proceedings, which now makes the Madrid case stuck in Spanish suspended animation.

    Families believe that this new development should allow their case to be reconsidered in US Courts.

    Suspending civil proceedings until criminal proceedings are concluded could extend the length of time it takes the aviation case to complete. Aviation cases normally take a long time to settle anyway)

    According to forum non conveniens, the court court can dismiss a case where another court or forum is better suited to hear the case. (Plaintiffs refer to another Spanair crash case which took eleven years to settle.)

    The judge’s decision was based on his opinion that that private and public interest factors weigh in favor of shifting the litigation to Spain. But now that the case will be delayed indefinitely pending the judiciary of Spain’s criminal case, the interest of the families who were affected by the crash has in effect been swept aside.

    How is that in anyone’s best interest? Why must the victims’ justice wait on Spain looking at two maintenance personnel have been charged with negligent homicide?

    The judge cited “drawbacks associated with translating the cockpit voice recording” but, as Boeing was a technical adviser to the U.S. investigative team, and downloads, transcripts and the cockpit voice recorder are part of evidence already secured in the United States which cannot be secured in Spain.

    Plaintiffs argue that family members were injured or died because of problems with the wing slats and flaps (component failure). The facts support the case being tried in US Courts.

    Read More…

  • | | |

    Air Tran Emergency Landing in Greenville

    What: AirTran Airways Boeing 717-200 en route from Charlotte to Atlanta
    Where: Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
    When: May 4, 2011
    Who: 115 passengers, 5 crew
    Why: The flight took off as usual but while en route, the twin engine plane developed a problem in one engine, with the compressor stalling. The left engine had to be shut down.

    The flight diverted to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport where they made a safe landing.

  • | | | |

    Alarm ON Fed Ex Canada Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Barry Shipley

    What: Fed Ex/Morningstar Boeing 737-200 en route from Winnipeg to Calgary
    Where: Winnipeg
    When: May 3rd 2011
    Why: The plane was on the runway when the pilot received an indication of fire. The fire indication would not shut down, even after the plane stopped. Emergency services responded. The plane was “rebooted” and the indication shut down.

    (Just like my kitchen alarm that goes off whenever I cook, regardless of whether something is burning or not. I promise it wasn’t me. I promise I wasn’t cooking in the non-existent galley.)

  • | | | | |

    Moncton: American Airline Smokey Cockpit Emergency Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jan Bialas

    What: American Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from London to Chicago
    Where: Moncton
    When: May 3rd 2011, 3 pm
    Who: 150 aboard
    Why: While en route, the crew reported the smell of smoke, and diverted to Moncton in Canada.

    The plane landed with emergency services on standby and emergency services stayed until 5:20 p.m. The smoke in the cockpit turned out to be from an overheating battery. Dieppe Fire Department examined the plane. There were no injuries, and passengers were provided a room in the airport, so they didn’t have to go through customs.

    A replacement jet was flown in.

  • | | | |

    Fred Flintstone Airlines? No, it’s Air Zimbabwe


    Like the nineteen year old Yemenia Airlines* Airbus A310-324 that was written up as having passengers with standing room only, unattached seats and an assortment of safety problems that were so bad that the plane was disallowed from flying over European airspace, Air Zimbabwe’s fleet demonstrates how not to run an airline.

    There are apparently 5 planes and 50 pilots; far too many engineers (300? For a fleet of 5?), and is an accounting nightmare, being $108 million in debt and accruing more as it is operating in the red, and it has reportedly fallen behind on quarterly insurance payments.

    A B767 may be auctioned if Air Zimbabwe fails to pay a monthly installment of US$500 000 to Lufthansa Technics. Repair of the B767-200 engine which requires US$2,5 million for repairs, hinged on the condition of making US$500 000 monthly payments from May 2011 to redeem the debt.

    Skytrax, which rates airlines on a scale of 5-1 (5 being good) rates Air Zimbabe as a 2. Passenger reviews include random cancellations, ancient planes, unexpected delays, missed connections, owed reimbursements, misdirected charter flights, and strange excuses from gate personnel.

    Yemenia Airlines* is also a 2 star airline.


    Aerosvit Airlines
    Air Algerie
    Air Malawi
    Air Slovakia
    Air Zimbabwe
    Armavia
    Azerbaijan Airlines
    Bellview Airlines
    Biman Bangladesh
    bmibaby
    Bulgaria Air
    Cubana Airlines
    Donbassaero Airlines
    HiFly
    Iceland Express
    JetStar Pacific
    Mahan Air
    Macedonian Airlines
    Merpati
    MIAT Mongolian Airlines
    Nepal Airlines
    Onur Air
    Pegasus Airlines
    Rossiya Airlines
    Royal Air Maroc
    Ryanair
    Sky Express
    Sudan Airways
    Syrianair
    TAAG Angola Airlines
    Tajikistan Airlines
    Transaero Airlines
    Turkmenistan Airlines
    Ukraine International
    Uzbekistan Airways
    Yemenia Yemen Airways

  • | |

    Dive and Recovery and CVR Recovery Flight AF 447

    In the continuing quest recovering the bits and pieces of the Air France Flight 447 Airbus, and the Flight Data Recorder was recovered, the French navy sent a patrol to carry the black boxes to Cayenne, French Guyana, and then flown to Le Bourget to the BEA. The BEA Investigator-in-charge, a CENIPA Investigator, and French Judicial Peace officer will be present in the ten day exchange process.

    BEA briefings indicate that on Monday the Cockpit Voice Recorder was identified. On Tuesday, it was recovered by the Remora 6000 ROV at 2:40, Tuesday May 3, 2001, and raised on board the Ile de Sein.

    Bea Photos Documenting the Recovery

    From the May 3 Briefing

  • | | |

    Boeing Lands at McCarran with One Engine Down

    What: US Airways Boeing 737-300 en route from Reno, to Phoenix
    Where: Las Vegas
    When: May 1st 2011
    Who: 90 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the right engine developed problems. The pilot shut down the engine and diverted to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas where they made a safe landing.

    Passengers were provided alternative flights. There were no injuries.

  • | |

    447 History Uncovered, Black Box Memory Secured


    In April, most of the Airbus jet was found, including the motors and some of the bodies. On April 27, we reported that the empty case was recovered after the Ile de Sein came in on the 26th from Senegal to assist in performing recovery operations in the current phase of Air France flight 447 project.

    At that time, the Remora 6000 robot found the chassis of the CSMU but not the actual CSMU memory module, which (after the human remains) is the key prize wanted in this search, being the one thing that can shed light on what occurred on June 21 2009.

    An hour ago (May 1, 2010) the news was released that the missing memory was located partially buried in the sand. The memory unit is now aboard the Ile de Sein.

    BEA experts are cautiously optimistic about data recovery, and cite two years of water pressure as a disturbing factor.

    In the search, the robot sends images up to the crew, who examines the transmissions for signs of the wreckage.

    The official BEA statement is
    “The investigation team localized and identified the memory unit from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) at 10 h UTC this morning. It was raised and lifted on board the ship Ile de Sein by the Remora 6000 ROV at 16h40 UTC.”

    Now the question remains if the data will be recoverable.

    * images and information are from Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses

  • | |

    HAL Crashes without Pilots, 2nd Time is the Charm

    What: Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd HAL HJT-36 Sitara Intermediate Jet Trainer
    Where: Near Hosur, Krishnagiri about 50 miles SE of Bangalore
    When: April 28 2011
    Who: 2 pilots
    Why: The Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd (HAL) trainer crashed Thursday near Hosur in Tamil Nadu. The pilots pilots Wg Cdr. Patra and Mathur ejected and survived, although they had several injuries.

    Since 1968, the HAL jets have been used to replace the Kiran trainers. This particular jet had crashed before (at Aero India in February 2007) and had been repaired and returned to service.

    This is the “prototype” which careened off the runway when its canopy opened just as the plane was getting airborne at the Aero India 2007 exposition.

    It is no wonder that in India, aviation is having problems. Between a a questionable supply of pilots with legitimate licenses, problems with air traffic control, and now recycled planes which may not be providing top protection to those who have to ride in them. Fortunately for these two pilots, the ejector seat worked and they survived the crash, albeit somewhat the worse for wear. The incident is under investigation.