Pilots diverted to Khabarovsk where they made a safe landing with emergency services on standby.

The post TransAero Emergency Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The pilot diverted to Krasnoyarsk but the child died as the plane was landing. He has a twin who is cancer free, and who had not yet been told his brother died.

The West Siberian Transport Investigative Committee is investigating.

The post Sick Child Dies during Russian Flight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post Transaero Diverts to Rostov-on-Don first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The post Rostov Emergency Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Transaero Boeing 737-500 en route from Moscow to Krasnodar
Where: Moscow
When: May 19th 2010
Who: 87 passengers
Why: While en route, the crew received an indication of low hydraulic pressure. The flight returned to Moscow and made a safe landing. Passengers were booked onto other flights.

The post Moscow: Transaero Boeing Hydraulic Issue first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Transaero Boeing 737-400 en route from Moscow to Tel Aviv
Where: Tel Aviv
When: Dec 15th 2009
Who: 102 passengers and 7 crew
Why: On approach to Tel Aviv, twice the plane received re-directs, and in both cases, the flight made a go-around. (The approaches were made to runways scheduled with departing traffic.)

On the third approach, the plane landed safely.

The post Transaero Go-round first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: A Transaero Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Atyrau to Almaty
Where: Kzyl-Orda
When: Dec 8th 2009
Who: 81 passengers and 9 crew
Why: While en route, the crew detected a faulty fuel flow sensor and diverted to Kzyl-Orda for repairs, after which passengers resumed the flight on the same plane.

The post Transaero Sensor Error first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Transaero Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Moscow Domodedovo to St. Petersburg (Russia)
Where: Moscow
When: Jul 20th 2009
Who: 41 passengers and 6 crew
Why: On takeoff, the right wing lost a 60 by 80 centimeter “leading edge fairing”. The flight continued as usual and fortunately landed safely in St. Petersburg.

The part was found on the Domodedova airport runway.

George’s Point of View

I’m sure that all of us have heard of the old saying (paraphrased from De Minimis Maxima ) the mighty oak from tiny acorns grow.

When one considers the question of pieces falling off of a plane, it seems simultaneously a tiny pointless thing and a huge issue. Consider a miniscule hole in the roof of our house is hardly worth considering; perhaps it is even invisible to the naked eye. But look what damage it causes when it rains. Somehow I don’t think “the leading edge” is like a car’s hubcap, mostly for decoration. It’s there to do something, and when that part is gone, that something is undone and will have consequences. Maybe letting in some moisture. Maybe causing corrosion down the road.

As a frequent passenger, I tend to be somewhat fatalistic about plane parts. Look, some engineer put that part there for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but if it’s good enough for the plane’s engineer, it is good enough for me, and I’d just as soon not fly without it. So many carriers get bad reputations based on careless maintenance of old planes, and this is just the kind of incident that gets people talking. (Old planes need MORE maintenance as they get older, just like old furniture, old machines, old cars, old people, old EVERYTHING.) Certainly Russia knows that maintenance deferred–especially on an airplane–is a recipe for disaster.

I just hope they replace the part before the little acorn of a problem grows into a great big oak tree of a pending disaster. This may be the first incident in a chain of events that unravels the whole plane.

The post Transaero Airlines: Going to Pieces? first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.