What: Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Orlando to Montreal Where: Montreal When: Jun 21st 2009 Who: 85 people on board Why: After a normal lift-off and flight, on approach to Montreal, birds struck the plane’s right wing lodging the flaps in an extended position. Despite the slat problem, the plane landed safely within 20 minutes of the strike.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta GA to Ontario CA Where: Ontario When: Jun 23rd 2009 Who: 190 passengers Why: Forty minutes before landing, the Boeing’s right engine ingested ice from the fuselage and started vibrating. The crew shut down the right engine, descended to a lower altitude and flew on the left engine successfully to Ontario.
What: Thomson Airways Boeing 757-200 en route from Boa Vista Cape Verde to Manchester England Where: Porto Santo When: Jun 22nd 2009 Who: 230 passengers Why: The pilot experienced a fuel leak in the right engine, shut it down, and diverted to Madeira for a safe landing.
George’s Point of View
That must have been harrowing flying on one engine and having to land on one of the Madeira islands. I wonder how they were alerted to the fuel leak–or if they just ran out of gas. Whatever the circumstances, all the more power to the flight crew for managing safely. Let’s hope maintenance can fix the problem in short order. They’ll probably have to fly a crew in.
What: Korean Airlines Airbus A300-600 en route from Jeju South Korea to Nagoya Japan Where: Nagoya When: Jun 23rd Who: 164 on board Why: The plane lost cabin pressure 40 minutes prior to landing. The pilot took the plane to a lower altitude, and oxygen masks were dispensed. The plane landed safely, with no injuries. Investigation regarding the pressure loss is ongoing.
What: (Jetlink) Continental Express Embraer en route from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J Where: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport When: Sunday June 21 5 pm Who: (not released) Why: After takeoff, the landing gear would not retract, so the pilot landed the plane at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and passengers transferred to another plane.
What: UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 468 AIRBUS A320 Where: SEATTLE, WA When: 06/22/2009 Who: (not released) Why: UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 468 AIRBUS A320 AIRCRAFT WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING WHILE INFLIGHT, POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE LEFT ELEVATOR
George’s Point of View
Statistically, a large plane is hit by lightning an average of once every three years.
What: Qantas Airbus A330-300 en route from Hong Kong China to Perth Australia Where: Perth When: Jun 22nd 2009 Who: 206 passengers and 13 crew Why: A Qantas Airbus (like the one in the Air France crash) was off Borneo when it encountered turbulence that made it lose 800 feet in altitude, and injured a dozen passengers and one crew member aboard. Passengers reported that the turbulence sent crew, passengers and carts flying.
Although web reportsby word of mouth include statements that crystals formed on the Airbus instruments, there’s no credible source collaborating the allegation; the crew reported the turbulence as a purely meteorological event. Lightning flashes were seen but the plane did NOT fly through a thunderstorm.
George’s Point of View
Is this the boy who cried wolf? Or a case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire?”
What: Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnight Two four-engine, twin-fuselage “mother ship.” (experimental plane owned by Richard Branson) en route from Mohave, California to Las Cruces, N.M Where: Mesa When: Friday Jun. 19, 2009 Who: 2 pilots Why: The plane landed unexpectedly in Mesa after a cockpit alarm sounded.
Plans to launch the plane into space in 2012 are intact.
What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight from Nashville to Memphis,TN Where: Diverted to Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes Airport When: Jun 19th 2009 Who: 31 passengers Why: A sensor reported a fire in the cargo bay, but after the plane diverted to Jackson, no smoke or fire was found.
The plane will continue to Memphis on Saturday.
The temperature in Jackson was 93, and the heat index was 101.`
What: Air India Boeing 747-400 en route from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Mumbai Where: Riyadh When: May 27th 2009 Who: 300 Passengers Why: After takeoff, the crew could not retract the landing gear. Air Control told the crew to fly to Mumbai with the gear down.
The captain refused and returned to Riyadh for a safe landing. Then Air India grounded the captain and stopped his salary.
George’s Point of View
This captain is something of an unsung hero, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Even though the captain’s job was to ferry the plane, he refused to do so.
However, a ferry flight with gear down in night conditions is not permitted.
Continental Pilot Craig Lenell’s quiet but dramatic death is going to be all but overlooked in the media buzz over the Air France Airbus catastrophe. None of his passengers even knew he’d died. In an interview, his Lenell’s wife called him the “kindest, gentlest man” she ever knew. His last communication to her had been a promise to bring her chocolates.
You never know what you’re going to get.
The 32 year veteran of Continental Airlines was also an Vietnam vet who served in the Air Force.
The first officer and (what is probably) the international relief officer took over when the captain became incapacitated. It was sheer luck that a cardiologist was on board. And even though he was unable to save the captain’s life, Dr. Julien Struyven’s accidental presence on that flight may be a comfort to the captain’s wife and family. At least they won’t be asking “what if a doctor had been on board? What if there had be a defib on board?” Because on this flight there was a doctor, and a defibrillator. Perhaps it was just the captain’s time.
Maybe one man’s death aboard a flight that did not crash isn’t going to be a headline for more than a day, but you can bet that the people aboard that Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark–those passengers who are alive now because Continental did something right–they won’t ever forget.
Capt. Lee Collins of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association said pilots are prepared for emergencies in the air. The pilot of a transatlantic flight died over the Atlantic Ocean, but the jet landed safely.
What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Brussels Belgium to Newark, NJ Where: en route When: June 18th 2009 Who: 247 passengers and 3 flight crew Why: Four hours into the flight, while over the Atlantic, the captain died. The two first officers took over and landed the plane safely in Newark.
A doctor on board was called to the cockpit, and the on board defibrillator failed to revive the captain who apparently had died of a heart attack.
George’s Point of View
It’s a small world.
Recently I’d been in a conversation with someone about the Colgan flight.
Remember the Colgan flight? The one that crashed in Buffalo? The wings iced over, the captain was ill-trained, and the co-pilot was too inexperienced and too exhausted to know how to respond to the particular emergency. The combination resulted in disaster for everyone on board.
So, I was in this conversation with someone about the Colgan flight, and the question came up about the value of the co-pilot’s experience. The rate of the co-pilot’s pay was released, ($11.00/hr) and that provoked me to write about co-pilots needing “professional” pay. What would happen, we speculated (in this conversation) if the pilot died? The copilot becomes the de facto pilot.
Then, lo and behold, today a pilot dies of a heart attack. Luckily for Continental and everyone on board, there were two co-pilots on hand, and both of them apparently qualified enough to handle the flight. (Apparently so, since they did manage to finish the flight.)
I just wasn’t expecting that speculative question to manifest itself in a headline today.
What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Rome Fiumicino Italy to Atlanta,GA Where: Shannon, Ireland/Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky When: Jun 12th 2009 Who: 285 people on board Why: En route, smoke developed in the cabin supposedly from the galley. On landing, Shannon fire services sprayed the right hand main gear. Passengers debarked and re-embarked. The flight reached Atlanta but after circling, weather-caused traffic congestion in Atlanta forced the flight to land in Cincinnati.
What: TAM Airbus flight en route from Florianópolis to Brasilia Where: Hercilio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis When: Thursday June 11 Who: Number of passengers was not released Why: After the plane experienced electrical failure, the flight out of Hercilio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis was cancelled.
What: US Airways Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Charlotte Where: Charlotte When: 06/14/2009 Who: The number of passengers was not reported Why: U S Air Flight 705 was in descent when it encountered turbulence. A flight attendant sustained minor injuries. She was apparently the only injury; otherwise, the flight landed safely.
What: United Airbus 320 Where: Billings Logan International Airport When: Saturday June 13 Who: 136 passengers Why: The number two engine had problems, necessitating an emergency landing in Billings.
What: Southwest Airlines Flight 1040 Boeing 737-500 en route from Chicago to Fort Myers Where: Columbus, Ga When: Jun 14th 2009 Who: 122 people on board Why: Over Columbus, the plane experienced low cabin pressure and performed an emergency landing. 5 hours later, the replacement Boeing picked up the stranded passengers and continued the flight. Maintenance did not release a public report of what caused the low cabin pressure, but if they tell me why, you’ll be the first to know.
What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Copenhagen, Denmark Where: Madrid’s Barajas Airport When: Jun 13th 2009 Who: 190 passengers Why: After 40 minutes struggling with technical problem with the navigation instruments, the Airbus returned to land safely in Madrid. The passengers were accommodated with a replacement plane, while this plane was examined by maintenance crews. No injuries were reported.
George’s Point of View
Please note there was a similar incident that happened the day before with another model of airbus but there was even less information available so we didn’t write it up.
What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 light 821 Where: Shannon Airport When: 1.20pm Who: 285 passengers Why: smokey stench in the forward galley. The plane made a successful emergency landing, without further incident.
George’s Point of View
I’m glad there were no injuries involved; but I chuckle picturing the chargeback on some flight attendant’s chit because the airline was forced to land the plane when she 1. burned the toast or
2. accidentally toasted the microwave or
3. tried to sneak in a smoke:
June 1-15: +$1080.00
Taxes: – XXXX
Emergency -140,008.72
Landing
What: Delta (Skywest Airlines Canadair CRJ-200) en route from Kalispell to Salt Lake Where: Missoula International airport When: June 12, 2009 3 pm Who: 49 passengers and 3 crew members Why: While on route to Salt Lake, the plane experienced problems with its landing gear. After making efforts to deal with the problem and carry on, they decided to make an emergency landing at the Missoula International Airport 45 minutes after take-off. The gear lowered and locked and the plane landed without injury to anyone.
What: Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt to Kolkata, India Where: Hyderabad When: Jun 8th 2009 Who: 225 passengers Why: When the pilot spotted a hole in the runway, strong winds prevented it from landing at the other runway, so the approach was aborted. The airbus circled, then diverted to Hyderabad where it landed safely.
After the runway was repaired, the plane returned with 174 passengers.
George’s Point of View
I’ve talked about Aircraft maintenance before, but not that much about airport maintenance. It’s obviously important that runways be kept in tip-top shape. Taking them for granted results in accidents like the the TAM disaster.
Lufthansa is to be commended for NOT having an accident–in spite of the Kolkata airport’s disrepair.
What: Air China Airbus 340-300 en route from Milan Italy to Beijing China Where: Moscow When: Tuesday 9.07pm Who: 155 passengers 18 crew Why: When one of the Airbus’s 4 engines failed, the crew requested an immediate emergency landing in Russia.
85 passengers were booked to continue to Beijing on Aeroflot and others were being booked elsewhere, later.
George’s Point of View
Slow boat to china?
How about taking a broken airbus to China?
Let’s not.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York JFK airport to Switzerland Where: Halifax Nova Scotia When: June 9 2009 Tuesday night 8:20 p.m (45 minutes after takeoff) Who: 206 on board: 194 passengers and 12 crew Why: After takeoff, smoke was detected in the cabin. The flight requested an emergency landing in Halifax. The cause of the smoke was determined to be an electrical fire in the plane’s bathroom ceiling fan which had caught fire after overheating
A replacement jet was arranged to take the passengers to Zurich.
The latest find is the vertical stabilizer from the Airbus tail section. The original paint is still visible, and it apparently is not burned. The damage is described as “a lateral fracture” the examination of which will provide clues to the force that caused the break.
The latest in a series of theories conjectures that the break could be the result of structural stress due to the plane’s traveling too fast due to frozen pitot tubes that didn’t correctly gauge the planes rate of speed.
A total of 24 bodies have been found of the original 228.
The black box is missing. The general area of the crash is up to a mile and a half deep, and the listening devices provided by the US will probably not be in use until Thursday.
