China Southern Airlines flight CZ-6763 made an emergency landing in Shenzhen, China, on January 9th.
The plane took off for Luoyang, China, but had to turn back due to an issue with the communication system.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Vulkan Air flight VKA-143 was intercepted by Italian Air Force fighter jets on the way to Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Italy, on September 16th.
The incident happened after the plane flying from Tangier, Morocco, lost communication with the ATC.
The plane subsequently landed safely. The fighter jets returned to the base.
TAROM flight RO-371 was intercepted by fighter jets on the way to Brussels, Belgium, on September 6th.
The incident happened after the Boeing 737-700 plane flying from Henri Coanda International Airport, Romania, lost communication with ATC.
The communication was subsequently restored, and the fighter jets returned to the base.
Air France flight AF-267 was intercepted by fighter jets on the way to Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, on July 23rd.
The incident happened after the Boeing 777-300 plane flying from Seoul, South Korea, lost radio communication.
The Eurofighter jets dispatched from Germany returned as the communication was re-established.
The flight continued to France.
Transavia flight HV-1834 was intercepted by fighter jets on the way to Amsterdam, Netherlands, on July 22nd.
The incident happened when the Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Kos, Greece, lost communication with the ATC.
The Eurofighter jets dispatched by the Italian Air Force later returned as the communication was restored.
The flight continued to Amsterdam.
American Airlines flight AA-759 was intercepted by fighter jets on the way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 19th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane flying from Athens, Greece, was in Italian Airspace when it lost radio communication, prompting the authorities to dispatch two Eurofighter jets from Istrana, Italy.
The communication was later re-established, and the fighter jets returned to the base.
The flight continued to Philadelphia.
Air France flight AF-671 was intercepted by two Italian fighter jets over Italy, on March 22nd.
The incident happened after the Boeing 777-300 plane flying from Roland Garros Airport, Reunion, to Paris Orly Airport, France, lost communication with the Italian ATC.
The plane subsequently landed safely at Paris Orly Airport.
Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Ryanair flight FR-9525 was intercepted by Belgian fighter aircraft over Netherlands, on February 10th.
The aircraft were dispatched after the Boeing 737-800 plane, heading from Lublin, Poland, to London Stansted Airport, England, lost contact with the ATC.
The communication was subsequently re-established, and the fighter jets returned to their bases.
The flight continued to London Stansted Airport.
Air Algerie flight AH-1460 was intercepted by two French fighter jets on the way to Lyon, France, on January 9th.
The Mirage 2000 fighter jets were dispatched after the Boeing 737-800 plane, flying from Constantine, Algeria, lost communication with the ATC.
The plane continued for a safe landing under escort. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Tassili Airlines flight SF-2210 made an emergency landing in Oran, Algeria, on October 14th.
The plane heading from Algiers to Tlemcen, Algeria, was diverted after it lost communication with the ATC.
However, while trying to send a transponder signal for loss of communication, the crew mistakenly set the code that indicates unlawful interference.
The plane landed safely and was surrounded by security forces.
Korean Airlines flight KE-917 was intercepted by two supersonic fighter jets on July 15th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Seoul, South Korea, to Zurich, Switzerland, was over Berlin, Germany, when it lost communication with the ATC.
The German Air Force subsequently dispatched two fighter jets that escorted the plane to Stuttgart, Germany.
The plane landed safely in Stuttgart. All two hundred and eleven passengers aboard remained unharmed.
Blue Air flight 0B-405 was intercepted by two Hungarian fighter jets on May 31st.
The Boeing 737-500 plane heading from Constanta, Romania, to Paris-Beauvais Airport, France, was intercepted after it lost contact with ATC in the Hungarian air space.
The communication was subsequently restored and the plane continued for a safe landing in France.
American Airlines flight AA-150 had to return and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on May 18th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, but had to turn back after the crew reported an issue with the primary communication radio.
The plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-8957 was intercepted by two Greek F-16 fighter aircrafts on May 19th.
According to the airline, the radio contact with Greek ATC was lost for a brief period of time when the Boeing 767-400, en-route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Kuwait, was transiting through Greek Airspace.
The fighter jets returned to the airbase as the communication was restored.
The flight continued to Kuwait.
Egypt Air flight 4D-54 had to be intercepted before it made a safe landing at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 23rd.
The Embraer ERJ-170 was en-route from Cairo, Egypt, when upon entering Israeli Airspace, it lost communication due to a radio failure, prompting Israeli Authorities to intercept the plane.
The plane landed safely after gaining its frequency back.
All passengers onboard remained unharmed.
Air Kasthamandap flight 9N-AJB crash-landed in Chilkhaya, Kalikot district of Nepal, on February 26th.
The single engine PAC 750 plane took off from Nepalgunj and was heading to Jumla when it developed some technical problems and went down. Authorities said the plane lost contact with the control tower just 11 minutes after take off.
There were 11 people aboard at the time, including the pilot Dinesh Neupane, the co-pilot Santosh Rana, and nine passengers. The pilot and the co-pilot were killed in the crash while the passengers were injured.
The injured were airlifted to Nepalgunj Medical College.
The government has appointed a four-member commission to investigate the accident.
Air Berlin flight AB-2266 (callsign BER344E) made a safe landing at Málaga Airport, Spain, on February 5th.
The Airbus A320-200, flying from Munich Airport, Germany, lost communication with ATC mid-air. The plane could contact back the ATC after around 10 minutes.
The plane landed safely.
No injuries were reported.
A helicopter landed in emergency on a levee in Everglades Holiday Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the afternoon of September 13.
The helicopter was carrying the pilot and a passenger at the time of incident. According to the officials, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after he lost contact with the control tower.
The spokesperson for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, Mike Jachles, confirmed that none of the 2 persons aboard were injured.
Further details are not yet available.
A Luton-bound private passenger jet was escorted from Lagos by two British fighter jets to make emergency landing at Stansted airport, Essex at 7:49 p.m. on July 24.
The aircraft, which is believed to be a Gulfstream small business jet, lost contact with UK authorities shortly after 7 p.m., forcing deployment of two Eurofighter Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
Reportedly one of the jet fighters also landed at the airport.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “Military jets were deployed on a precautionary basis when a private jet was diverted to Stansted…This was due to a loss of communication with the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely at Stansted airport at 7.49pm… All three people who were on board have been spoken to by police, it was established that everything was in order and the police response was stood down.”
After making note of the Oct 31 near miss in Oslo, I remembered this 100 foot close call of two Boeing 747’s over Scotland. This occurred in late June, when a Lufthansa pilot was climbing, and a British Airways flight were 24.3nm apart on converging courses. A STCA (Short Germ Conflict Alert)
The Oslo near miss could have been prevented if the repetition protocol have been observed.
The Scotland near miss had two planes
(DLH418 Lufthansa Boeing 747-830, D-ABYC Frankfurt (FRA) – Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD))
and
(BAW87 British Airways Boeing 747-436, G-BNLM London-Heathrow (LHR) – Vancouver (YVR))
on a collision course 100 feet Vertical/3.9 nm Horizontal and 1100 feet Vertical/2.8nm from impact. The study of the event concluded that actions of both the pilots and the controller contributed but that the pilots avoiding ATC instructions caused the proximity issue.
The added pressure of reporting incidents such as these should help pilots and air traffic control to avoid similar events in the future. It will do so ONLY if adequate attention is paid to the mistakes, if alternative/better responses are deter mend, if the resulting studies are closely attended, and if protocol is adjusted to reduce the possibility of such problems re-occurring. On some level, the protocol worked, because these incidents were not collisions. However, they were closer than they should be. All I can say about this event is that it is a good thing that mistakes are reported.
If you’re wondering about the Airblue 202 case, it has run into the politics of Pakistan. The situation has been piled high with difficulty. Even though I am an optimist and see opportunity in every difficulty, even though I have a great team of attorneys in Pakistan, and a great team here in the states coordinating on this case, there comes a time when we must realize where we stand. Despite our efforts, with the present laws and political situation, helping the families is like patching shattered glass with paste. It has been a very difficult to make things stick. Or to change metaphors, it has been an uphill climb.
The Flight: 28 July 2010, Airbus A321, Air Blue Fight 202, en route from Karachi to Islamabad
146 passengers and 6 crew members flew into a mountain near the airport. Witnesses wondered why it seemed as if “the plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down.”
Why it was flying so low? Why did it strike the mountain? Audio and a report were released that seemed to answer those question—lack of coordination in the flight crew.
Our study of the audio indicates the pilots are served tea early on, then…
When the audio was released and studied, it became clear there was no teamwork between the pilot Perve Iqbal Chaudhary and the first officer Muntajib Ahmed.
The pilot had 35 years and more than 25,000 hours of flying experience but made inexplicable mistakes and demeaned the co-pilot. The first officer was aware of the danger and tried to amend the situation but he had been so disheartened beforehand by sharp questions putting the first officer “in his place.”
He was unaccountably meek for a former F-16 Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot. The pilot did not properly respond to Air Traffic Control directives and automated cabin warning systems and flew the plane into a mountain. Air Traffic Control responses were less than professional. The first officer appeared helpless and ineffective.
On January 17,2013, two and a half years after the accident, the Peshawar High Court closed proceedings for the Airblue compensation case.
Counsel was directed to withdraw the client’s petition from the Islamabad High Court or the the Peshawar High Court. The client refused to do so on the basis that the cases were different. The court closed the case because the heirs of the victims had had filed an independent lawsuit at Islamabad High Court.
We believed the Airblue compensation case had merit. The pilot committed the error. The first officer was ineffective. They were Airblue employees.
Yes, there was pilot error, but the airline is doubly responsible, because the flight crew did not have adequate CRM training. (COCKPIT Resource Management/Crew Resource Management) Absolutely what happened in the case was the result of the airline failing to establish a working protocol.
It’s like children at school practicing a fire drill so they know what to do when a crisis occurs. Fire drills save lives. They prevent missteps in the face of danger. They give the people in trouble a set of directions to follow that will get them out of the jam they are in. A drill answers questions ahead of time, so precious time is not wasted figuring out what to do. Without the drill, what happens when disaster strikes? Chaos. Loss of life.
I feel bad for the people. First they lose their families. Then they don’t get all the compensation available to them.
Take a look at the safety recommendations from the report (pasted below).
See how 3.1-3.5 and 3.7 all duplicate the same working environment issue? Investigators recognize the troubled working environment. Today’s flight crews are taught CRM which means they have safe practices in place in case the captain is incapacitated and starts to fly into mountains like the captain of Air Blue 202.
But realistically, will recommendations change AirBlue? Will Air Blue be able to implement non-traditional interpersonal relations on the job? And if they can not, how will they ever fly safely with a first officer culturally unable to do his job?
The first officer was ineffective in securing the plane; and sadly, the court appears to be equally as ineffective in getting justice for some of the heirs of the victims.
Re: Investigation Report -AB-202 CHAPTER – 13 :
SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS
13.1 All aircrew be re-briefed on CFIT avoidance and Circling Approach procedures
and a strict implementation of this procedure be ensured through an intensive
monitoring system.
13.2 Aircrew scheduling and pairing being a critical subject be preferably handled /
supervised by Flight Operations.
13.3 The implementation of an effective CRM program be ensured and the syllabus of
CRM training be reviewed in line with international standards.
13.4 Existing aircrew training methodology be catered for standardization and
harmonization of procedures.
13.5 Human factor / personality profiling program for aircrew be introduced to predict
their behaviour under crises.
13.6 Instrument landing procedure for RWY-12 be established, if possible.
13.7 Safety Management System be implemented in ATS as per the spirit of the ICAO
document (doc. 4444).
13.8 New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) be completed and made functional on
priority
13.9 Visual augment system (Approach Radar Scope) be installed in control tower to
monitor the positions and progress of aircraft flying in the circuit.
13.10 Review of the existing Regulations for the compensation and their expeditious
award to the legal heirs of the victims be ensured.
13.11 Adequacy of SIB resources comprising qualified human resource and equipment
be reviewed.
13.12 Information to public on the progress of the investigation process through the
media by trained / qualified investigators of SIB be ensured on regular intervals.
13.13 NDMA be tasked to acquire in-country airlift capability for removal of wreckage
from difficult terrain like Margalla etc. As an interim arrangement, some foreign
sources be earmarked for making such an arrangements on as and when
required basis.
13.14 Civil Police Department be tasked to work out and ensure effective cordoning and
onsite security arrangements of crashed aircraft wreckage at all the places
specially remote / difficult hilly locations.
13.15 Environment Control Department be directed to recover the ill effects of
deterioration / damages caused to Marghalla hill due to the crash.
What: Vueling Airbus A320-200 en route from Malaga to Amsterdam
Where: Amsterdam
When: Aug 29 2012
Who: 183 passengers
Why: While en route, the pilots of the Vueling Airbus lost contact with Dutch ATC.
The lack of communication led the Airbus to be escorted by F16s to “establish visual contact with the crew.”
On landing at Schiphol, the plane was isolated more than a mile from the terminal, with medical and security teams on hand, and a bus to transport passengers to the airport. Schiphol had already been evacuated after a World War II bomb which had been uncovered was scheduled for removal.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Rafael Alvarez Cacho
What: British Airways Airbus A321-200 en route from London to Amsterdam
Where: Amsterdam
When: Mar 2nd 2012
Why: While landing in Amsterdam, communications became disrupted between two landing pilots.
The crew of the British Airways flight made a cautious safe landing ten minutes after radio problems began.
The plane was able to perform the return flight as scheduled.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tiago Palla – Portugal Spotters
What: TAAG Angola Airlines Boeing 777-300 en route from Lisbon (Portugal) to Luanda (Angola)
Where: Lisbon
When: Feb 27th 2012
Who: 197 passengers
Why: On departure from Lisbon, ATC said that the frequency was blocked. The pilots began responding to Lisbon on the wrong frequency, squawking loss of communication.
Communication was restored, then was lost again, intermittently. ATC directed that the other radio be turned off and changed to the correct frequency. The radio began blocking frequencies again, and pilots returned to Lisbon for a safe landing.
Eighty minutes after departure (ten minutes after the safe landing) the airport resumed normal operations.
All airlines out of Angola are on the EU banned list, banned from flying in the European union, with the exception of 3 Boeing 777-200s, 2 Boeing 777-300 and 4 Boeing 737-700s of TAAG Angola Airlines.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Sebastian Sowa
What: China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-200 from Osaka Kansai (Japan) to Shanghai (China)
Where: Osaka
When: Nov 28th 2011
Who: 245 people on board
Why: The pilot was positioned for takeoff, and then took off without waiting for clearance.
A chopper on approach was near the runway at the time.
The airbus continued to Shanghai.
An investigation is ongoing.