Cause

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    June 30, Yemenia Flight 626

    We remember on June 2009 when 152 people died aboard a Yemenia Airlines Airbus A310-300.

    Yemenia Flight 626.

    We remember.

    The years pass and the headlines fade, but the families will never forget the loss of their loved ones, and neither should we.

    The pilot was about to land on an airstrip in the Comores Islands when ATC lost contact.

    The plane and all its passengers crashed into the ocean.

    12-year old Bahia Bakari survived the crash, rescued after thirteen hours in the ocean, clinging to debris. She was and is a miracle.

    The final report on Flight 626 concluded the crash was due to the crew’s inappropriate flight control inputs that led to an aerodynamic stall.

    Crews inappropriate flight control inputs means pilot error. In this case, the pilot error was exacerbated by a nineteen year old plane in dubious condition, bad weather conditions (winds gusting to 64 km/h 40 mph; 35 kn) and a primitive airport.

    Crashes like Yemenia should function like red lights. The only way they make sense is if when they happen, we stop and consider those who were lost, and investigate what went wrong. On behalf of safety, the aviation industry should mandate to use every atom of what is discovered to prevent future accidents. The industry in general, and the airlines in specific should make changes that will help prevent future accidents.

    Pilot error means airlines like Yemenia are still having problems training pilots. Still problems in the cockpit. Sadly, conditions still exist for more accidents like this in Yemenia’s future.

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    Crash in Nuevo Porvenir, 6 fatalities


    A Cessna 206 Stationair #XB-MSN or XB-MSI en route from Aeropuerto Internacional de Tapachula MMTP to Hermanos Serdán International Airport in Puebla crashed thirty minutes after takeoff near Nuevo Porvenir, Guatemala.

    The plane was not authorized to fly in Guatemala, and crashed near the border of Mexico. No homes, buildings or outbuildings were damaged. The plane crashed in a field.

    Neither the pilot nor any of the five passengers survived. Everyone aboard was apparently Mexican. Identification of the bodies will be by DNA. One description says all the young men aboard were corpulent.

    Locals heard the plane crash, but access to the scene is difficult, surrounded by trees ad crops in rural San Marcos, NW Guatemala. A radio broadcast by the mayor of Ixchiguán, Augusto Merida, said the small plane fell in Nuevo Porvenir. The plane is a total loss. One wallet was found with the name Eduardo Castillo Perez. Some luggage was also found. According to flight records:

    Rubén Villeda Sáinz, de 66 años;
    Pilot Eduardo Castillo Pérez;
    Antonio de Jesús Sánchez, 30;
    Jesús Enrique Borge Luna
    José Luis Camarena Rodríguez, 39;
    Elio Brito Lari Cechia, 46. Venezuela

    Volunteer Firefighters told local radio that the identification was based on documentation from Nuevo Porvenir.

    Authorities seized $2 million aboard the plane. The luggage contained a gun, jewelry and money in pesos and dollars.

    The investigation is underway.
    Video below

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    BC Float Plane Propeller Falls Off


    On June 24 a Beaver float plane took off from Powell River, B.C. and made an emergency landing in Halfmoon Bay when its propeller fell off.

    There was minor damage to the pontoons but otherwise the plane was intact.

    June 24 at approximately 1:40 p.m., Sunshine Coast RCMP and Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) were dispatched. The downed plane was towed to a dock with the respondents and a local boater.

    The pilot and three passengers were uninjured.

    The incident may have been the result of an engineering malfunction.

    Video below

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    Treestrike Kills Pilot Short of Runway

    A privately owned Cirrus SR22 en route from from Moorabbin Airport was on landing approach when it struck trees and crashed in Boxwood. The plane crashed north of Benalla a city in northeastern Victoria, Australia.

    The plane impacted trees near the private airstrip.

    The 51 year old pilot died at the scene.

    The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and CASA are investigating.

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    Wheeling Plane Misses Apts


    A TennAir LLC Beechcraft Super King Air 200 #N92JR out of Clarksville TN developed a problem, and diverted to Wolf Road, just shy of flying into the Foxboro apartments.

    At 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the plane stopped half on the street, barred from hitting the apartment complex by a stand of trees. A couple of eleven year olds witnessed the force landing and ran into their apartments in anticipation of an explosion that didn’t happen. They did get interviewed about the accident.

    The pilot had trouble with the plane and managed to get on the ground without injuring any one.

    He survived, although not quite at the airport in Wheeling Illinois. THe extent of damage to the plane was not released.

    Raw Videos Below


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    Indian Rescue Chopper Crashes During Flood Evacuation


    On Jun 25, 2013, an Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 V5 newly acquired helicopter was on a rescue/medical mission assisting victims of floods in Northern India when it crashed in bad weather (rain and fog). An Indian newspaper says there were 19 aboard, including NDRF, ITBP and IAF personnel.

    The helicopter was from Barrackpore Air Force Station in West Bengal under the Eastern Air Command.

    The helicopter crashed near the pilgrimage site of Gaurikund. Flash floods in the area are having dire consequences.

    According to one report, eight bodies were recovered, five of whom were crew. There appear to be no survivors of the crash.

    At the time of the crash, the helicopter was on it’s third run. more than 7,500 people are reported as being still stranded by the flooding in the hills of Uttarakhand. Buildings are being washed away, and roads flooded.

    A court of Inquiry has been convened to investigate the cause of the helicopter crash. The flight recorder has been recovered.

    A later report amends 19 to 20 aboard. Twenty bodies have been recovered. The air chief marshal offered condolences on the death of 5 IAF, 6 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 9 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel who died.

    Air Force officials said their personnel on the chopper that crashed were: Wg Cdr Darryl Castelino, Flt Lt. K Praveen, Flt Lt Tapan Kapoor, JWO A.K. Singh and Sgt Sudhakar Yadav.

    The NDRF personnel were: Commandant Nitya Nand Gupta, 48, resident of Kanpur; Inspector Bhim Singh, 49, resident of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir; Sub Inspector Satish Kumar, 44, resident of Bhiwani in Haryana; Constable K. Vinaygan, 28, resident of Chitoor in Andhra Pradesh; Constable Bassavaraj Yaragatti, 31, resident of Gadag in Karnataka; Constable Santosh Kumar Paswan, 24, resident of Koderma in Jharkhand; Constable Sanjiva Kumar, 27, resident of Balia in Uttar Pradesh; Constable Shashi Kant Ramesh Pawar, 31, resident of Dhulia in Maharashtra; and Constable Ahir Rao Ganesh, 32, resident of Jalgaon in Maharashtra.

    The six ITBP personnel were: Commandant Nand Ram, 27, Sub Inspector Jayender Prasad, 55, Constable Jomon P.G., 26, Constable Bibhuti Roy, 26, Constable Sarvesh Kumar, 31, and Constable Ajay Lal, 23.

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    Dominican Republic Flight Cancelled with a Bang

    On a takeoff run, an Airbus 330 en route from Manchester to the Dominican Republic suffered an engine explosion.

    The pilot aborted the takeoff. None of the 325 passengers aboard the Thomas Cook A330 were injured.

    Passengers disembarked and the plane was inspected and for half an hour, the runway was closed. Emergency services were deployed.

    How passengers were accommodated was not released.

    See Video Below

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    Thomson Airways Boeing Grounded after Bird Strike

    A Thomson Airways Boeing 787-8 sustained a bird strike on a Manchester—Cardiff—Shannon flight on the Cardiff-Shannon leg.

    On taking off from Cardiff, the bird strike occurred. The pilot reported that all systems appeared operational. Pilots continued to Shannon and made a safe landing with emergency services on standby.

    On the ground, the flight did not need to be towed but continued under its own power.

    Maintenance did confirm evidence of damage in the jet’s right side engine. The training flight was cancelled and crews worked on the damaged engine.

    This is listed as a training flight of a recently delivered jet.

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    Delta: Flight delayed by Mud

    Delta Flight 1763 McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Washington DC to Minneapolis was on the tarmac when the right gear left the pavement and got mired in a foot of mud.

    160 passengers had to disembark on to the runway. They were bussed back to the terminal, and their takeoff was delayed.

    Meanwhile airport crews had to get the plane unstuck.

    Passengers scheduled on the 2:53 flight were put on a delayed flight that arrived in Minneapolis/St Paul Intl at Gate G19 at 8:13 p.m..

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    Air Show Emergency Landing


    On Sunday, pilot, John Klatt was performing at the QC Airshow at the Davenport Municipal Airport in Davenport, Iowa on the Air Guard demonstration team when he had to make an emergency landing.

    A piece broken off of the plane punctured his engine, spraying oil over his windshield. He jettisoned the canopy. Klatt told spectators that he had cut himself worse while shaving.

    Click to see Video

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    United Boeing Dreamliner Flies Houston to Houston


    photographer Greg Kieca

    On June 24, 2013, a United Boeing 787 Houston to Denver flight developed an issue with the brakes (or brake indicator) and made an emergency landing. Details about the specific problem were not released.

    The flight left Houston at 9.12am and arrived in in Houston at 11:58 a.m.

    None of the 219 passengers and 13 crew members sustained any injury. Maintenance examined the plane. The plane was returned to service.

    Stranded passengers were provided travel solutions by a Boeing field service representative.

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    Sydney Birdstrike

    On June 21, 2013, a Business Aviation Solutions Citation was en route to Sydney when it made an emergency landing after a birdstrike. One engine was damaged.

    The plane took off at 5 am, suffered the bird strike and had to make an emergency landing returning to Coolangatta. There were two crew aboard and no passengers, and no injuries.

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    Helicopter Crash

    June 20, 2013
    A helicopter in Tinglayan Kalinga crashed, injuring three policemen: Sr. Supt. Oliver Enmodias, chief of regional operations and plans of the Cordillera police; Chief Inspector Dexter Vitug; and Police Officer 3 Jude Edwin Duque. There is no indication that the Pilot Vitug sustained any injury.

    The helicopter suffered engine trouble during strong winds, and crashed at Mt. Bitulayunga at 11:00 a.m.

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    United Airlines Passenger Poisoner

    June 17 2013 2pm
    On an United Airlines Flight 116 from Tokyo to Newark, a passenger got up during the flight and yelled to fellow passengers that he’d poisoned everyone.

    The flight landed at 1:30 pm in Newark, and was taken into custody by the FBI and Port Authority Police. No one became ill but he was hospitalized. He is reported to be mentally disturbed.

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    Egyptian overrun

    June 15, 2013
    A six year old Boeing 373-86N # SU-BPZ leased from an Egyptian company was providing flight 921 en route from Novosibirsk Russia to Thessaloniki Greece when it skidded off the runway.

    The plane stopped past the end of pavement. There were 160 aboard, including 5 crew, none of whom were injured.

    The cause of the incident has not been released.

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    Virgin Australia Emergency Landing

    June 18, 2013
    A Virgin Australia plane en route from Brisbane to Adelaide could not land due to foggy conditions, and diverted to Midura where they could not land due to foggy conditions, then made two aborted attempts to land (during foggy conditions) when they nailed the landing on the third try.

    I expect all 85 passengers exited the plane as quickly as their little feet would carry them. (I know I would.) The airline said they would get the passengers from Midura to Adelaide but did not indicate if a plane, bus, or carrier pigeon was going to be employed.

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    Plane Crash Investigation Reveals Cause

    On April 29, we reported the National Air Cargo flight that crashed when it’s load shifted and the plane stalled. Federal investigators and Boeing experts went to Afghanistan to to assist in the investigation.

    On Jun 2nd 2013, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Afghanistan investigation announced officially that it was the weight of three armored vehicles and two mine sweepers 80 tons––of shifting cargo that caused the plane to crash.

    The wiring in the back of the plane was cut by impact with the cargo, leaving the pilots helpless to control the plane.

    There were no survivors.

    As a result of the April Crash, on May 17, 2013 Boeing issued the following SAFO:

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    Midair Collision in Phoenix Kills 4


    On May 31, 2013, a Transpac Aviation Academy Piper out of Deer Valley airport, and a Westwind School of Aeronautics Cessma were fifteen miles from the Deer Valley Airport when they collided.

    Two people were aboard each flight, and there were no survivors.

    The Cessna caught fire after impact.

    Passengers names have not been released.

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    Mechanics Forgot is no excuse


    Remember that British Airways Airbus A319 event we talked about the other day? The one where (oops) the engine cover fell off of the engine on that Oslo flight?

    The one where “the coverings broke off and punctured the right engine’s fuel pipe, damaging the aircraft’s systems?” The Air Accidents Investigation Branch the investigation said evealed that the fan cowl doors on both engines were left unlatched during maintenance.”

    In George’s Point of View

    Oops. FORGET does not work, not even once with an aircraft.

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    Small Plane Crashes Into Virginia Building


    An Aerial Photographers LLC Cessna 177B Cardinal en route from Philadelphia to Manassas with two people aboard ran out of fuel and crashed into the living room of Virginia apartment. The pilot William Larson, passenger Tache L. Alejandro, and an apartment resident were injured when the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in David Ventura’s apartment.

    The plane displaced 20 tenants.

    The Red Cross is assisting the families.

    A crane removed the plane from the building. The photo at the top of our screen was posted on Twitter.

    Video

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    Diversion to Nagpur

    On May 27 2013, an Air India Flight 452 A321 en route from Visakhapatnam to Delhi was in the air for an hour and a half when alerts indicated engine fluctuations.

    Pilots diverted to Nagpur where they made a safe landing at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport at 11:00 a.m.. None of the 174 passengers and crew reported injury.

    Passengers were provided alternative flights to Delhi.

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    Brazilian Air Force Jet Engine Catches Fire


    On May 26, 2013, a FAB Força Aérea Brasileira Boeing KC-137 (707-324C) developed problems during takeoff from the airport in Port au Prince, Haiti, bound for Manaus. The flight was making a takeoff run when its engine caught on fire.

    The plane veered off the runway, with the landing gear broken off.

    Twelve crew and 131 passengers were bound for a peacekeeping mission in Haiti. No one was injured.

    The official statement came from Air Brigadier Kanitz Marcelo Damasceno, Head of the Center of Social Communication of Aeronautics

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    Official Czech Airbus Glass Cracks


    A Czech Air Force Airbus A319-115X CJ was en route in Belarus when the cockpit glass cracked—just the front top cover glass The Airbus was on an official flight with prime minister Petr Ne?as and minister of industry Martin Kuba aboard.

    Pilots had to descend to a safe altitude and continued to Moscow.

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    BA Airways emergency landing with Engine fire


    A British Airways Airbus A319-100 was en route from London to Oslo when it developed an engine problem.

    Passengers heard a loud explosion, and saw smoke from the right engine. Apparently the engine doors blew off.

    During takeoff, the casing of the left engine ‘came away’ and the right engine exploded when the plane made a quick return, landing in London.

    Good thing that Emergency services were on standby to extinguish the engine fire.

    Passengers and crew made an emergency evacuation via emergency slides.

    None of the 5 crew and 75 passengers were injured.

    The ABC News video below suggests a birdstrike that is purely speculative

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    Helicopter Crash in Hickory County

    A helicopter failed to return from a flight on May 24 2013 in Missouri. The flight took off at 5:45 p.m.

    The Lucas Oil Products-owned helicopter was located crashed, and two people died in the crash.

    The NTSB will arrive on site Sunday to begin the investigation. The pilot was flying passenger 21-yearold Missouri State University student Catalina Richard around the perimeter of a Lucas Oil Speedway event. The pilot’s name has hot been released as of this posting.

    The helicopter crashed in rural Cross Timbers Missouri.