What: Eastern Airways Saab 2000 en route from Bergen to Aberdeen Where: Aberdeen When: Feb 21st 2010 Who: 8 passengers and 3 crew Why: A quarter hour before approach to Aberdeen, systems detected a fire in the left engine.
The crew shut the engine down and proceeded to land safely at Aberdeen with emergency crews on standby.
The shutdown was attributed to a faulty fire alarm.
What: GOL Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-700 en route from Bauru to Sao Paulo Brazil Where: Bauru When: Feb 2 2010 Who: 82 on board Why: Prior to take-off, the engine presented an automated warning sufficient to deter the pilots from taking off. Details about the warning have not been made public although they were adequate for Gol to begin an investigation. While the original plane went into maintenance, a replacement plane was provided within four hours.
George’s Point of View
While we of course have no idea what the warning was, nor how important an issue it represented, we commend GOL for taking proactive action and responding to warning systems as they were intended to be. Hopefully maintenance will become as diligent as the crew that actually has to be in the plane aboveground.
What: Air France Boeing 747-400 en route from Guadalajara to Paris Where: Guadalajara When: Jan 21st 2010 Who: crew (freight) Why: When the pilot aborted the takeoff due to alerts, the plane’s tires deflated due to overheating from braking. The flight was cancelled. We have no indication what the instrumentation indicated that caused the pilot to abort the takeoff.
What: Flybe Dash 8-400 en route from London to Isle of Man Where: Manchester When: Dec 16th 2009 Who: 45 passengers Why: While en route, the plane received a smoke alert, and diverted to Manchester, where they made a safe landing.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations when the rest of the flight was cancelled.
What: Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from the Nicaraguan capital of Managua to Fort Lauderdale Where: Owen Roberts International Airport, Grand Cayman When: November 25, 2009 Who: 133 passengers Why: While en route, a cockpit indicator signified smoke in the cockpit; the flight diverted to Owen Roberts International Airport, Grand Cayman where it landed safely.
On inspection, maintenance found neither smoke nor fire, and instead of rebooking the passengers, the flight continued on safely to its destination.
What: British Airways Boeing 747-400 en route from Mumbai to London Where: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport When: Thursday Oct 1 2009 Who: 207 passengers Why: Half an hour after takeoff, the fire alarm went off in the cockpit. The plane immediately returned to the airport, landing an hour after takeoff. Passengers debarked safely.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Orlando,FL to Denver,CO Where: Tampa When: Sep 7th 2009 Who: 129 (124 passengers and 5 crew) Why: After the smoke indicator lights indicated the possibility of smoke, and smoke in the cabin was confirmed by fire crews, the flight landed in Tampa and passengers debarked via emergency slides (which caused a few minor injuries.) However a Southwest spokesperson denied there was smoke, and claimed that the emergency landing was a precaution. But passengers reported a strong smell of smoke, and that the fire alarm had gone off in the lavatory.
What: Air Asia Airbus A320 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Macao Where: Macao International Airport When: 2009 08 24 Who: 148 passengers Why: While en route, a warning light signaled that the emergency door was open
The plane made a safe landing. Apparently the warning message went off in error on a securely locked door.
George’s Point of View
The issue here is not simply a warning light. It is the fact that warning lights on aircraft are crucial, life-saving equipment and cannot afford to fail. A warning that goes off for no reason may cause the “boy who cried wolf” syndrome (i.e. let’s ignore it because that warning always goes off;) or it can indicate some mechanical underpining that is faulty (loose wire, blown gasket); or a miniscule software error that could range in significance from mundane to catastrophic.
So let’s hope that maintenance looks at that door until they determine exactly what did happen to cause the warning to go off. Because the only way to prevent problems in the future is to pin down every issue now, before it escalates into another Airbus disaster.
What: Horizon Airlines CRJ700 Bombardier en route from Portland to Los Angeles Where: Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport When: August 14, 2009 9:30 AM (Departing at 11:05 AM) Who: 60 passengers, 4 crew Why: The official report said that the flight crew declared an emergency because of smoke in the cabin. Horizon Air says that cabin temperatures were too high and smoke never appeared in the cabin–that the plane landed for the comfort of the passengers, who debarked from the plane into the terminal as the plane was being worked on.
No explanation has been offered regarding the discrepancy of the explanations: (smoke vs no smoke.) With no further information, one can speculate that the incident may be akin to a home fire alarm going off due to the alarm alerting to ions in the air when the dryer is running.
The customer service, of course, contrasts with the recent Continental plane grounded overnight at a closed airport, where the passengers were held in the plane until the terminal opened at 6: 30 am.
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: Cessna 172 en route from a Canadian flight school into US Airspace Where: US Airspace When: about 3 p.m Who: one person aboard Why: The flight was intercepted by U.S. military aircraft when the unnamed pilot flew into US Airspace and did not respond. The plane was reported as stolen from a Thunder Bay, Canada flight school. Canadian authorities requested that U.S. aircraft tail the plane in U.S. airspace, hence the two U.S. Air Force F-16 jets.
The pilot, Yavuz Berke aka Adam Leon, landed on Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at 9:50 p.m. ET, and was caught by Missouri State Highway Patrol officers. He’s an ex-pat Turk, and naturalized Canadian. He is reportedly depressed and either left his girlfriend (or left her a note.) In any case, he left his car and keys at the airport.
With 2 F-16’s on his tail all day, he’s incredibly lucky to be alive and currently enjoying the hospitality of whatever government facility is housing him now (and likely to be housing him for a very long time.)
The category selected here is “pilot error” and “alarm.” And while this is actually a misuse of the sorting system, I’m thinking it is warranted because if this is not an error of the pilot and cause for alarm, what is?
George’s Point of View
Yavuz Berke aka Adam Leon is going to be enjoying government hospitality for a long, long time. Yavuz–or if I may call you Adam–as a parent and a human being, I am very sorry that you have chosen to damage your own life so terribly; and I am amazed and warmed by the restraint of our jet pilots who were charged at bringing you down should you prove a threat.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net Contact photographer Daniel J. Evans What: Continental Airlines Flight 145, Boeing 757-200 en route from Madrid to Newark, N.J Where: landed at Bradley International Airport north of Hartford . When: just before 3 p.m March 11, 2009 Who: not available Why: A smoke alarm sounded in the jet’s lavatory, instigating the emergency landing.
What: MacAir flight en route from Townsville to Mount Isa Where: 42-seat plane en route from Cloncurry airport, Queensland When: Jan 23 emergency call about 5.15pm Who: 21 passengers Why: News reports say that the pilot shut down the engine after a false mechanical warning. Passengers were taken the rest of the way to the airport (8 kilometers) by bus.
Note: alternating reports on this same incident say the plane was (was not) hit by lightning and the plane had 40 (21) passengers.
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.
