Carrier

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    Airbus Lost at Sea

    What: Airbus A320 maintenance flight leased by Germany charter airline XL Airways and was due to return to service for Air New Zealand next month; flying from Perpignan airport
    Where: off France’s southern coast in the Mediterranean as it was approaching the Perpignan airport
    When:
    Who: 7 on board: Two German pilots, Another pilot and three engineers from Air New Zealand were also on board, as well as an aircraft inspector from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority. 2 bodies were recovered at sea
    Why: 150-passenger plane, which was delivered to Air New Zealand in July 2005, had accumulated approximately 7,000 flight hours. The plane is in several pieces. A search is underway for the flight data boxes.

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    Delta Air Lines roll back

    What: Delta Air Lines a Flight 18 BOEING 777-200ER, registration: N862DA
    Where: en route
    When: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
    Why: The plane experienced a rollback of the right (number 2) Rolls Royce Trent 895 engine during cruise flight at FL390 (approximately 39,000 feet). The flight was a regularly scheduled flight from Pudong Airport, Shanghai, China to Atlanta-Hartsfield International The plane descended, executed flight manual procedures and the engine recovered and continued to Atlanta

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    Qantas Towing Accident


    What: 2 Boeing 747s being towed.
    Where: Qantas maintenance base at Avalon airport outside Melbourne.
    When: 11/18/2008
    Who: Maintenance staff was responsible. No passengers were involved.
    Why: The planes ran into each other at the maintenance base. One plane hit the left wing of the other. The nose cone collapsed; the wing was dented.

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    Pacific Coastal Airlines Grumman Goose Crash, 1 survivor


    What: Pacific Coastal Airlines Grumman Goose amphibious aircraft chartered to deliver personnel and supplies to an energy project under construction for Plutonic Power Corporation in Toba Valley. The flight left Vancouver at 10:17 a.m. for Powell River but never arrived.
    Where: crashed into a hillside on Thormanby Island 56 miles Northwest of Vancouver
    When: Sunday
    Who: 8 aboard, 1 survivor. The badly burned survivor took approximately two hours to climb down from the crash site. Terrain and foggy weather hampered rescuers.
    Why: under investigation

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    Philly Emergency Landing


    What: US Airways Express Flight 4551 Piedmont Airlines deHavilland Dash-8 turboprop aircraft en route from from Lehigh Valley International Airport Allentown
    Where: Philadelphia International Airport
    When: November 16, 2008 9:20 a.m
    Who: 35 passengers and three crew members
    Why: After landing gear did not deploy, the flight landed safely on foam at around 9:20 a.m. Passengers were bussed to the terminal.

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    TAM Update

    What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 Flight JJ3054
    Where: Sao Paulo Brazil Congonhas airport
    When: July 17, 2007
    Who: 199 fatalities
    Why: Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology 16-month investigation places blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety. Government failure to set rainy-day landing rules for the short runway whose new surface had not yet been grooved to drain rainwater.

    NTSB Factual
    NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
    Scheduled 14 CFR operation of TAM Linhas Aéreas
    Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
    Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration: PR-MBK
    Injuries: 199 Fatal.
    On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.

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    Alaska Airlines Emergency


    What: Boeing 737-800 en route from Anchorage to Fairbanks
    Where: Anchorage
    When: 7:49 a.m.
    Who: 61 passengers and five crew members.
    Why:one of the plane’s two engines malfunctioned about 30 minutes after takeoff. Passengers described an “orange glow” outside the windows followed by vibration. (The event was alternately described as an “engine surge.” The crew “idled the engine” and the pilot returned to Anchorage for an emergency landing. Passengers debarked and were put on a 10:05 a.m. flight to Fairbanks.

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    Northwest Emergency Landing at Indianapolis

    What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight 9E-2515/NW-2515 from Oklahoma City,OK to Detroit,MI
    Where: Indianapolis
    When: Tuesday (3 minutes later)
    Who: 26 passengers on board
    Why: When cabin pressure problems were indicated (possibly originating with the seal around the aircraft’s windshield) the plane had to proceed with an emergency landing at the Indianapolis airport, where the plane taxied to the gate and were able to disembark normally.

    What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight 9E-2544/NW-2544 from Detroit,MI to St. Louis,MO
    Where: Indianapolis
    When: Tuesday (3 minutes earlier)
    Who: 18 passengers on board
    Why: Flight diverted when the window developed a crack

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    Italy’s Airport Shutdown

    • 100 airport employees are opposed to their new labor contracts, causing the cancellation of 39 Alitalia flights at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. Hundreds of passengers are stranded and spending the night at the airport.
    • Lines at Alitalia check-in counters at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport struggled with a backlog of hundreds of passengers who spent the night on the floor after the wildcat strike by some Alitalia workers
    • Rome’s Ciampino airport is closed for the second day, ever since the Ryanair jet had a run-in with a flock of starlings. At last report, the plane is still sitting on the tarmac unable to be moved.
    • 54 flights were cancelled At Milan’s airport, 4 in Naples and 4 in Sicily
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    Flock of Starlings Downs Ryanair Boeing in Italy


    What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 flight FR4102 from Frankfurt
    Where: approached Rome Ciampino Airport at 7.56am
    When: Monday November 10 2008
    Who: two crew members and eight of the 166 passengers received medical treatment
    Why: After the both of the plane’s engine ingested a number of European starlings, smoke started pouring out of one of the engines and oxygen masks fell from the ceiling. As the plane was coming in to land, Passengers debarked via emergency exits and escape chutes. The landing gear sustained damage also. The pilots did not have the time or momentum to bypass a huge flock of birds encountered on landing.

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    Emergency Landing in Manchester

    What: Thomas Cook Airlines Flight TCX569K Airbus A320 en route from Manchester to Tenerife
    Where: touched down at Manchester Airport
    When: 12.15 pm Friday 7th November 2008
    Who: 180 passengers on board
    Why: A passenger is quoted as saying” “The captain made an announcement about the problems and the plane went silent. You could have heard a pin drop. It circled for around five minutes before landing. As soon as it did, there was a surge of chatter as everyone started talking.”

    After the engine malfunctioned just after take-off, the Airbus returned to the Manchester airport. Passengers were scheduled to leave at 17.15 pm on another plane.

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    12 Years and 99 Deaths Ago, TAM Airlines flight 402 Was Lost But Not Forgotten

    Friday, October 31 2008

    It has been 12 years since 99 people died in the Tam Congonhas Fokker-100 accident.

    On October 31 1996. TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 set off for Rio De Janeiro and fell to earth minutes after take-off from Congonhas airport, spreading destruction on two building and seven houses, killing 99 people: 90 passengers, six members of the crew and three people on the street.

    Inquiries of TAM and Fokker, (the company who manufactured the airplane) concluded that a malfunctioning relay caused he opening of the right reverser. In December 1997, the Aeronautics Report found TAM guilty and made Fokker responsible for imperfections in the airplane.

    According to the Center of Inquiry and Prevention of Air Accidents (Cenipa) Report, during take-off, the reverser of the right engine of the Fokker-100 opened, and without any alarm, was set in motion, catching by surprise a crew in the command cabin that never was trained for this situation.

    The report disclosed that on 28 of June 1995, the Fokker sent a letter claiming it was not necessary to train pilots for this type of emergency because it was impossible for the Fokker reverser to open during take-off.

    The report says that a system changed altered the probability of imperfection in the system to one in ten million from one in a million.

    One another factor helped to knock down the airplane: the contacts of a relay (controlling of electric circuits) that should have set in motion the alarm system. This relay, according to Douglas colonel Axe, head of the Cenipa, was found 13 days after the accident.

    The human error that was the consequence of these other two situations: the lack of information on pane, caused by the burnt relay, and the lack of training for the situation by the manufacturer of the aircraft. According to report, the pilots had not followed basic recommendations.

    According to colonel Axe, the pilots could have gained time if they had allowed the airplane to go up to stabilize, without “forcing the engine in pane because of the reverse.”

    The Cenipa said that the only acknowledgment that the pilots had of the opening of the reverser was the brusque jib of the manual acceleration of the aircraft, then later when the airplane left the soil, the landing gear.

    A computer animation showed how the pilots acted in a desperate attempt to discover what was occurring.

    The tragedy timeline:

    8h26m: The control tower authorizes the airplane to take off.

    29 seconds: The airplane runs about 90 kilometers per minute in the track.

    55 seconds: The airplane raises in flight. The reverse of right turbine opens and closes for the first time, without the pilot perceiving it. Manete of the one I lock stops backwards and the pilot speeds up the turbine manually.

    70 seconds: The reverser opens for the third time and it does not close.

    74 seconds: The Fokker stick starts to tremble and the airplane loses height.

    79 seconds: The Fokker inclines to the right, the wing striking a three story building . The airplane blows up. Ninety and nine people die.

    8h27m.

    Postado for Jorge Tadeu Da Silva
    Apologies for any errors in translation

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    Safety-Minded Qantas heeds Landing gear Indicators

    What: Qantas Boeing 767 en route from Melbourne Airport bound for Sydney,
    Where: Flight 434 left Melbourne at 1.30pm (AEDT) and landed back at Tullamarine at 2.15pm.
    When: shortly after 2:00pm (AEDT)
    Why: After the pilot discovered a fault with landing gear indicators, he returned to the airport where passengers deplaned and took another flight. Passengers were delayed more than two hours.

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    Lufthansa Fire and Emergency Landing

    What: German Lufthansa Airbus A300-600 en route from Malta to Frankfurt.
    Where: Malta International Airport
    When: Tuesday
    Who: 205 passengers evacuated with no injuries.
    Why: The crew reported a fire in its cargo hold and returned for an emergency landing 25 minutes after embarking.

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    German XL Emergency Landing in Belgrade

    What: Frankfurt-based XL Airways Boeing 737-800 flight G1-614 en route from Frankfurt Germany to Antalya Turkey registration D-AXLF
    Where: emergency landing at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport
    When: on Saturday Oct 18 7:47 a.m. (0547 GMT)
    Who: 163 passengers and six crew (official release said 183 passengers and 6 crew)
    Why: The pilot reported engine failure, and requested an emergency landing with five minutes to manoeuvre and land the plane at the nearest airport. Smoke was seen coming from one of the plane’s two engines and the emergency crew doused said engine with foam. The official report denies fire, and says only “unspecified “engine problems” instigated the emergency landing

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    Spanair Update

    Madrid Superior Court Judge Juan Javier Perez is questioning three mechanics in relation to the Spanair plane crash. The purpose of the inquisition is to decide if there is a question of criminal accountability (manslaughter) for mistakes that lead to air disasters. To date, the only problem pinned down on the plane is with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm.

    The plane’s take-off warning system is supposed to be checked before every flight; it is supposed to warn pilots when planes properly configured for takeoff. Legally, the system is looking for someone to blame. However, some believe that getting caught up in blame clouds the larger issue of developing safety checks and balances.

    Air Crash News and Information Urls

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    UA Emergency Landing in Shannon

    What: United Airlines flight 952 en route from Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. to Frankfurt in Germany
    Where: emergency landing at Shannon Airport. Shannon Airport is reducing from 280 staff to being manned by skeleton staff of fewer than five Aer Lingus ground personnel; but emergency services were deployed.
    When: Friday October 17 2008 landing safely at landed safely at 6.13am
    Who: 190 passengers and crew
    Why: A technical problem in the cockpit area resulted in smoke entering the flight deck. A replacement plane was provided for the passengers.

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    Norway: Rygge Airport Emergency Landing

    What: Norwegian Air Boeing 737-8Q8 en route from Rygge Airport to Barcelona
    Where: Rygge Airport
    When: 10/17/2007 Friday
    Who: 163 passengers 7 crew
    Why: 20 minutes into the flight, an alarm warned of fire in one of the wings. Smoke was reported in the cabin.The aircraft was breaking very hard, and used half the runway to stop. On return to the airport, passengers deplaned via emergency slides, but there was apparently no external wing fire. There was a minor injury on the slide disembarkment.

    In Dutch

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    Boeing Forced Landing

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route to Amsterdam from Cincinnati
    Where: emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport
    When: early Sunday
    Who: 151 people on board
    Why: Smoke in the cockpit caused by faulty air-conditioning fan. The pilot circled back to Nova Scotia to land

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    Emergency Landing at Heathrow

    What: British Airways Flight BA 341 Boeing 757, en route from France
    Where: priority landing at Heathrow airport
    When: British Summer Time (BST) 063 Sunday
    Who: 137 passengers
    Why: Fumes were detected in the passenger cabin, instigating an emergency landing. There were no injuries.

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    Emergency Landing in San Diego


    What: American Airlines MD-80 Flight 1802 en route from rom San Diego International Airport to Dallas
    Where: Emergency landing onn San Diego International Airport’s Lindbergh Field
    When: Thursday morning 10/09 10:00 a.m
    Who: 145 passengers and crew
    Why: The pilot reported a warning light. It was reported that the pilot had to shut down one of two engines, but that is apparently not true. In any case, the plane returned to the airport and landed safely with no injuries.

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    Nepal Update

    Update
    Fourteen unidentified tourists who died in the crash remain unidentified due to the lack of experts and equipment who can do DNA testing in Nepal. Thursday the team was augmented by three German medical and forensic experts, and more are expected Friday. DNA samples will be taken and sent out of the country.

    What: Canadian built Twin Otter owned by Yeti Airlines
    Where: crashlanded at the mountainous Lukla airport in north-eastern Nepal in the Mount Everest region
    When: Wednesday morning
    Who: 18 people died in the crash, mostly foreign tourists from Germany and Australia: 12 Germans, including six women, four Nepalese and two Australian. The captain is the only survivor; he was airlifted to Kathmandu. There Swiss casualties reported turned out to be Australian.
    Why: Lukla airport, located 2,743 metres above sea-level has steeply-inclined runway and is considered one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

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    Conviasa Boeing Crash: Toacaso, Ecuador


    Contact photographer Ivan P. Nesbit

    Update

    Aircraft mechanic Edwin David Hernandez came home today for the last time. He was one of the casualties of Ecuador, leaving behind his wife, Dilma, and two children. Hernandez was one of three crash victims retrieved by members of the Civil defense and the Red Cross of Ecuador. One of the plane’s black boxes was also found.

    The two Venezuelan victims were identified as Pedro Menderi (pilot) and Gerald Rangel (copilot).

    Licensing is still under investigation. There appear to be irregularities regarding the plane’s registration, as well as 39 licenses for technicians, pilots and Venezuelan and Peruvian air hostesses. The maintenance plan must be supervised by the supervising body of the country of origin of the airplane’s owner.

    Masry & Vititoe has been retained on behalf of family members.

    What: Conviasa Boeing 737-291 advanced (reg. YV-102T) en route from (Simón Bolívar International Airport,) Maiquetia, Venezuela to Latacunga, Ecuador
    Where: Illiniza Volcano elevation approx. 17000 feet) Toacaso, Ecuador
    When: August 30, 2008
    Who: 3 crew members, no survivors
    Why: The plane was being delivered to a new owner after being in storage. The flight crew lost lost radio and radar contact with Ecuadorian air control at 02:56Z on beginning descent to Latacunga. The wreckage location (near the LOTOA waypoint (LOTOA at 0° 46′ 23S 78° 52′ 20W) at an altitude of approximately 4000 meters )suggests the airplane flew into the side of the Iliniza Volcano and was completely destroyed on impact. The wreckage was spread 400 meters.

    Hondorus states attorney opened an investigation against “Atlantic Airlines de Honduras.” It has yet to be established, whether the airplane was operating under a Honduran license and if all requirements for legal use were met.

    Atlantic Airlines had operated the airplane until March 31st 2007.

    As of Sept 3rd, both flight recorders (flight data and cockpit voice recorder) have been recovered and will be sent to the USA for analysis

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    Spanair Cause Inconclusive

    So far there have been no groundbreaking discoveries regarding the cause of the Aug. 20 Spanair crash beyond what was known originally: a problem with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm, evidence of which is backed up by the plane’s black boxes. The plane’s history indicates that this was not the first time the wing slats were an issue. Two days before the accident, they were repaired.

    Before the crash, on the plane’s first pass, a warning sounded from a “heat sensor in the engine inlet” which prompted the pilots to return to the gate and get it inspected. The system was “isolated, ” i.e. unplugged.

    The technician discusses the disconnected probe.
    http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espan…/elpepiesp/20080823elpepinac_5/Tes