The 6-seat Piper 32 plane was heading from Venice, Italy, to Leipzig, Germany, when it went down.

There were four people aboard at the time; all of them were killed in the crash. It is believed that the founder of German internet company ‘Unister’ Thomas Wagner, 38, was among those killed in the crash.

The plane was registered in the United States.

Authorities said the pilot reported problems with icing before the plane crashed.

The post Four Killed as Small Plane Crashed in Slovenia first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Authorities said the pilot was forced to land the single-engine plane in the field behind a home after the ice clogged its carburetor and the engine began seizing up. The plane was heading from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Rochester, New York, at the time.

The plane landed safely. Both people aboard, including the pilot Jeremiah Coholan and his passenger, Richard Medeiros, remained unhurt.

The post Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Backyard of Western New York Home first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Cessna plane was en-route from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Rochester, New York, when its carburetor froze up, forcing the pilot to land in a small backyard field area.

There were two people aboard at the time, including the pilot Jeremiah Coholan and passenger Richard Medeiros; both of them remained unhurt.

The post Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Wayne County Field first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

It is believed that the pilot was forced to land in the field due to icy conditions.

The plane landed uneventfully. There were two people aboard at the time, including the pilot Robert Fenton, 67, of Olathe, and his passenger Donald Davis, 68, of Lenexa; both of them remained unharmed.

The post Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Ottawa Field first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

According to the resident Monica Savath, she was with her family in the living room when they heard a loud bang. Upon checking, they found a hole in the garage’s roof and shattered ice.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Mathews, it could be a loose frozen vapor from an aircraft.

The post Plane Flying Overhead Suspected after Chunk of Ice Smashes through Roof of Modesto House first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Press release from the BEA and the Commission d’Enquêtes Accidents et Incidents de l’Aviation civile (Mali)

Following the publication of the Interim Report on 20 September 2014 in Bamako (Mali), investigative work has continued, based on the analysis of the accident flight parameters. Progress made in this work has led the Republic of Mali Commission of Inquiry and the BEA to communicate jointly the following information.

On 24 July 2014, the MD-83 registered EC-LTV was performing scheduled night flight AH 5017 from Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) to Algiers (Algeria). Takeoff occurred at 01h15, the climb towards the cruise altitude took place without any significant events, and the crew made several heading changes in order to fly around a storm cell. The autopilot and the autothrottle were engaged. The aeroplane reached the cruise altitude of 31,000 ft, that’s to say about 9,500 m. The autopilot then switched to the mode that maintains the altitude and the autothrottle to the mode that maintains the speed (Mach).

About two minutes after levelling off at an altitude of 31,000 ft, calculations performed by the manufacturer and validated by the investigation team indicate that the recorded EPR , the main parameter for engine power management, became erroneous on the right engine and then about 55 seconds later on the left engine. This was likely due to icing of the pressure sensors located on the engine nose cones. If the engine anti-ice protection system is activated, these pressure sensors are heated by hot air.

Analysis of the available data indicates that the crew likely did not activate the system during climb and cruise.

As a result of the icing of the pressure sensors, the erroneous information transmitted to the autothrottle meant that the latter limited the thrust delivered by the engines. Under these conditions, the thrust was insufficient to maintain cruise speed and the aeroplane slowed down. The autopilot then commanded an increase in the aeroplane’s pitch attitude in order to maintain the altitude in spite of this loss of speed.

This explains how, from the beginning of the error in measuring the EPR values, the aeroplane’s speed dropped from 290 kt to 200 kt in about 5 minutes and 35 seconds and the angle of attack increased until the aeroplane stalled.

About 20 seconds after the beginning of the aeroplane stall, the autopilot was disengaged. The aeroplane rolled suddenly to the left until it reached a bank angle of 140°, and a nose-down pitch
of 80°

The recorded parameters indicate that there were no stall recovery manœuvres by
the crew.

However, in the moments following the aeroplane stall, the flight control surfaces remained deflected nose-up and in a right roll.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

At least two similar events occurred, in June 2002 and in June 2014, with no serious consequences.

The event in June 2002 was the subject of an NTSB investigation report. On 4 June 2002, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82, registered N823NK performing Spirit Airlines flight 970, suffered a loss of thrust on both engines, in cruise at an altitude of 33,000 ft, that is about 10,000 m. The two pressure sensors, located on the engine nose bullets, were blocked by ice crystals, leading to incorrect indications and over-estimation of the EPR. The crew noticed the drop in speed and the precursor indications of a stall just before disengagement of the autopilot and putting the aeroplane into a descent. They had not activated the engine anti-ice systems. This event occurred during the day, outside the clouds.

On 8 June 2014, the MD83 registered EC-JUG belonging to Swiftair, which was performing a passenger transport flight at flight level FL 330, suffered a drop in speed while it was flying during the daytime above the cloud layer. The crew detected the problem, put the aeroplane into a descent and activated the engine anti-ice systems without reaching a stall situation, then continued the flight.

This background, as well as the data on the accident to flight AH5017, was shared with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and through EASA with the American authorities (FAA); they should serve as the basis for future publication of corrective measures aimed at assisting crews in identifying and responding to similar situations to those encountered at the time of this accident.

NEXT STEPS

The investigative work is continuing, in particular on the analysis of:

the flight parameters to complete the scenario described above,
possible crew reactions, despite the absence of Cockpit Voice Recorder data from the accident flight, which remain unusable to this day,
the training and follow-up of Swiftair crews,
previous events and the follow-up undertaken.

The publication of the final report is planned before the end of December 2015.

Download Interim below:

https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ec-v140724.e1.en_.pdf

The post BEA on SwiftAir Air Algeria (Burkina Faso to Algiers) Crash July 2014 first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane, carrying the pilot, Mark Siegwart, 27, of Hammond, Indiana, Nathan Smoot, 41, of North Pole, Alaska and Martin Siegwart, 56, of Boon, Michigan, was flying from Hammond, Indiana when it went down.

According to Clark County Sheriff Greg Herrick, “Nathan and Mark were friends and were flying the recently purchased plane back to Alaska from the Griffith Airport in Hammond, Ind…Along the way, they stopped in Cadillac, Mich., and picked up Mark’s father who was accompanying them on the trip.”

According to the pilot, the aircraft began to ice up and lose altitude. He was attempting an emergency landing on a road when it crashed.

Martin Siegwart was pronounced dead at the spot, while Mark and Nathan were injured. Both of the injured were shifted to hospital where the authorities confirmed that Nathan was later discharged while Mark was in stable condition.

The post 1 Killed, 2 Injured after Cessna Crashed in Central Wisconsin first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The incident happened on November 25, when the plane was scheduled to fly from Igarka to the regional capital of Krasnoyarsk, with 74 passengers aboard.

According to the local transportation prosecutors, “Due to the low air temperatures, the chassis’s brake system froze and a tow truck was unable to move the plane onto the taxiway to carry out the flight…The passengers on board got out of the plane and started pushing it onto the taxiway.”

The passengers, mostly oil and gas workers, kept pushing the Tupolev-134 jet several meters on the taxiway. The flight was then able to take off successfully.

The incident is under investigation.

The post UTair Passengers Push Their Jet to Free it From Ice first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Piper Navajo aircraft, which departed from Stony Rapids at around 7 p.m., faced heavy ice built up on the windshield during the flight to Fond-du-Lac. Authorities said the plane had to turn back because Fond-du-Lac airport did not have facilities for de-icing.

The plane landed without incident. Transwest Air chief operating officer Garrett Lawless said that hot air from the engine was used to clear a section of windshield. He confirmed that all 7 people aboard, including 2 pilots and 5 passengers, remained unharmed.

The post Transwest Plane Makes Emergency Landing due to Icy Windshield first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane was taxiing when it struck ice, and veered off runway into snow where it was mired, blocking the runway.

The fifty-six passengers aboard evacuated with the assistance of emergency crews at about 6:30 after waiting about half an hour for a Saskatoon Transit bus from Tarmac to the gate. Weather conditions at the time were reported as heavy fog causing and near zero visibility in Saskatoon. It looks really cold, doesn’t it?

This image was tweeted:

The post Flight Slides off Runway first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

In the meantime, GE and Boeing are working to control the problem.

The post Engine Icing Warning for 747 and 787 first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane descended into a blizzard, and at one end of the runway struck an ice berm that knocked off the left wing. One wing and the landing gear were damaged. Conditions were so bad that no one at the hanger knew there was an accident until emergency crews arrived. Three Hills RCMP, Fire and EMS responded. An environmental services company cleaned up the fuel leak.

One passenger who was suffering chest pains was taken to the hospital.

The 2008 Piper PA-46-500TP Turbo Prop is registered to Image Air Charter Ltd.

The NTSB is investigating.

Go to Flight Aware

The post Piper Lands in Canadian Blizzard first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

On January 9, 2013 at t 01 h 10 min, a Mordovia Airlines Antonov 24rv#RA 46640 landing at Saransk Airport, Mordovia Russia skidded off the runway.

The flight was from Krasnodar to Kazan, with a fuel stopover in Saransk airport.

The plane was carrying a flight crew and the “Ariada – Akpars” hockey team. Five crew and twenty-nine passengers were aboard. There were no injuries reported. Passengers were provided an alternative flight for the remainder of their trip.

The post Hockey Team not injured in Mordovia Mishap first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

No passengers were injured. A wing is mired in the bank of snow, tying up the runway for takeoffs and landings.

The flight was delayed until 13:00 Moscow time. The incident is under investigation.

The post Russian Tatarstan Airbus Ends Up in Kazan Airport Snowbank first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Paris to New York
Where: Paris
When: Dec 25th 2011
Who: 187 passengers and 12 crew
Why: On takeoff from Paris, the crew detected problems.

The engine anti-icing system indicated a problem, so the pilots returned to Paris two hours after leaving.

An anti-ice system valve was apparently repaired. After two more hours, the flight took off for New York.

The post Air France Paris-New York Flight Turns Back Due to Ice first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Sol Linaeas Aereas Saab 340A
Where: 20 km (12.5 mls) N of Prahuaniyeu, RN Argentina
When: May 18, 2011
Who: 3 crew, 19 passengers
Why: Was it wing icing, a failure of the inlet deicing system or pilot error which caused the May crash which killed 22 people? The plane was flown by pilots John Raffo and Adriano Bolatti.

The brother of John Raffo, Víctor Raffo cites his brother’s 2400 flight hours, and denies that the crash was the pilot and copilot’s fault. With that many hours under his belt, John knew how to fly, he knew the area, he knew about icing.

These are the questions which are nagging at experts who disagree over the causes. The investigation is ongoing, but there is disagreement.

The flight stalled and then lost control, and impacted the ground, apparently due to wing icing. Was the pilot’s flight plan at fault? Was there a lack of situational awareness among the crew? It is all speculation now, until facts are turned up the investigation.

The pilot’s decision to descend is also being questioned.

Some say the pilot’s decisions are moot, and that the plane was not in optimal flying condition to begin with, as it had failed two mandatory inspections.

Portions of the transcription of the pilot’s dialogue have been published, but we have not heard the actual audio. Desde la Asociación de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas, a pilot association, is threatening action because of transcription inaccuracies, mistakes and misinterpretation. We apologize for any errors, as we can only repost the transcription, as we don’t have the audio.

The following document is inset in google docs.
To view FULL SIZE in your browser, doubleclick the icon that looks like this:

It may take a few moments to load. The magnifying glass will then not be restricted by the width of the column.
https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Untitled.pdf

The post Contention Grows over Cause of May 2011 Sol Tragedy first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Rusline/Rusair Tupolev TU-134A en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
Where: outskirts of the Besovets village, Petrozavodsk, Russia
When: Jun 20 2011 at 11:40 pm
Who: 43 passengers and 9 crew N
Why: On approach to the airport, the plane struck the ground about 2600 feet shy of runway 2. On impact, the plane burst into flame, and skidded into the gardens of a residential area, although missing residences.

Initially eight people survived, but on the 21st, a nine year old boy died, a woman died on the 25th, and a man died on the 26th.

Details on the Tu134 RusAir Crash

Russian Rusline/RusAir Tupolev Crash Kills 44, 8 Gravely Injured Survive

The post RussAir Death Toll Rises as 3 Succumb After Rescue first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Sol Linaeas Aereas Saab 340A
Where: 20 km (12.5 mls) N of Prahuaniyeu, RN Argentina
When: May 18, 2011
Who: 3 crew, 19 passengers
Why: After the last radio contact at 20:50, the aircraft crashed near Los Menucos en-route Neuquen to Comodoro after declaring an emergency and requesting descent out of icing conditions. There were no survivors of the 19 passengers and 3 crew.

There were newspaper reports of the flight coming down as a fireball, but that has been interpreted as journalistic license. We apologize if our translations reported this incident as a falling fireball when the fire apparently began after ground impact.

The pilot asked to descend from 5.800 meters to 4.300 due to ice. In the last communication ATC was informed that “the flight was was at 1.000 metres and going back to NQN.”

Wing Icing and a failure of the inlet deicing system is being considered as responsible. The black boxes were recovered.

The investigation is ongoing.

LA JUNTA DE INVESTIGACIONES DE ACCIDENTES DE AVIACIÓN CIVIL YA ESTÁ TRABAJANDO EN EL ACCIDENTE DEL VUELO 5428 DE SOL

The post May 2011 Saab Crash in Argentina first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s decision on the Colgan Air Flight 407 crash is that the pilot responded inappropriately to the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. The stick shaker only comes into play when the plane is already slow enough to stall. The plane fell 800 feet before crashing pointing northeast, away from the airport

The family of Ellyce Kausner has filed a lawsuit against Bombardier. Bombardier is the manufacturer of the plane involved in the crash. The suit charges that Bombardier was “negligent and careless” in the design of the plane by not providing more efficient internal mechanical warning systems.

Kausner was a 24 year old Jacksonville law student traveling to NY to visit family.

At least 19 other families have filed suits.

At the time of the crash, the automated “stick-pusher,” pushes the control column down in order to send the aircraft into a temporary dive so it can regain speed and recover from a stall but Capt. Renslow yanked back on the controls while adding thrust, manually overriding the stick-pusher.

Colgan Air, Clarence Center, NY, Accident Dockets

George’s Point of View

Time for Bombardier to step up to the plate. Although this has little to do with the pilot, who had flunked numerous flight tests during his career and was never adequately taught how to respond to the emergency that led to the airplane’s fatal descent. Maybe Ellyce would still be here if the warning systems on the Bombardier were simply better.

When the plane slowed down to a dangerous level, it set off the stall-prevention system, and the pilot performed the opposite of the proper procedure. So there were hiring and training issues involved too. And Captain Renslow had about 109 hours of experience, hardly enough to be pilot.

Even if procedures seem counter-intuitive, shouldn’t the pilot be aware of them?

Barring the inefficiency of an ill-prepared pilot, shouldn’t Bombardier have some kind of way to limit ineffective pilot responses?

When the hiring and training fails, and when the pilot fails, shouldn’t there be some kind of fail-safe within the plane? Even a copy of the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Not Crashing your Bombardier for pilots who flunked their last check write 16 months before and who apparently didn’t read the real manual?

The post Family Charges Bombardier with Negligence first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: First Air Boeing 737-200 en route from Winnipeg,MB to Rankin Inlet,NU
Where: Winnipeg
When: Feb 18th 2011
Who: not available
Why: The plane rejected takeoff on receipt of the left engine’s low power indication.

Maintenance subsequently found ice on the PT2 probe. Disposition of the passengers was not released.

The post Ice on PT2 Probe Disrupts Take Off first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

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

The flight landed safely back in Philadelphia; and then went on to arrive in Ottawa about an hour and a half late.

The post De-Icing Delays first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Ural Airlines Airbus A321-200 en route from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Ekaterinburg (Russia)
Where: Ekaterinburg
When: Nov 6 2010 at 4:25
Who: 143 passengers and 8 crew
Why: While landing at Ekaterinburg while the runway was covered in ice, and although ATC informed the “that the runway condition was good and permitted a safe landing,” the plane did not respond to proper braking and overran the runway.

Russian investigators are investigating.

George’s Point of View

Apparently Russian airport crews don’t bother to salt, plow or otherwise make their runways more safe. Or maybe this was just a particularly lazy crew.

The post Ural Airbus Overruns Iced Runway first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Sydney to Brisbane
Where: Sydney
When: Jul 26th 20
Why: While en route, the anti-icing system of the 737 failed. The flight diverted to Sydney and made a safe landing–after having experienced the same problem on the 25th.

It would be interesting to know the details of the system failure. Around this time last year, Air France Flight 447 went down in mysterious circumstances; it is speculated that the pitot tubes froze over, and that the fly by wire Airbus (unlike this Qantas Boeing) was rendered uncontrolled.

So if this was a frozen pitot tube situation where the pilots were able to make a safe landing in a Boeing, one wonders if aspects of Airbus fly by wire should be re-considered.

But this is food for thought only, as I do not have the exact details of the anti-ice system failure.

The post Qantas Emergency Landing in Sydney first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Chicago
Where: Amsterdam
When: Mar 24th 2010
Why: While over Amsterdam, the left engine developed a problem with its anti-ice system. The flight returned to Frankfurt and made a safe landing. After maintenance and repairs, the plane took off again and made a safe landing in Chicago.

The post American Airlines Germany-Chicago Emergency Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.