Cause

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    Thomas Cook Unexpected Stop in Bermuda


    photographer Andrea Tabanelli-Lugo Spotter
    A Thomas Cook Airbus A330-200 OY-VKF en route from Cancun to Manchester had 338 people aboard when pilots made an emergency diversion to Bermuda due to what one source called a “reported fire in the cabin” at about 8.20pm. Another account recorded the problem as ‘smoke coming from the in-flight entertainment system’.

    Pilots made a safe landing with emergency services on standby. Passengers disembarked without injury, and were provided hotel accommodations until their flight out.

    Thomas Cook’s official statement is that ‘It was initially reported as a suspected fire in the cabin, but there was no fire.’There was a small amount of smoke detected by a member of the crew in the cabin, but it is thought that was something to do with the in-flight entertainment system.’

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    Two planes collide over Westlake Village


    A Cessna 172 and a Cessna 172RG Cutlass collided over Westlake Village eight miles east northeast of Ventura.

    The Cutlass, registered to Ameriflyers of Florida LLC made an emergency landing on the Westlake Golf Course, Westlake Village, California. Three aboard sustained minor injuries in a belly landing at 2:15 p.m. near the third hole. They were hospitalized with minor injuries.

    The second plane crashed in the Santa Monica Mountains, sparking a brush fire and a search and rescue effort. The pilot was found under the wreckage.

    One of the planes had left Santa Monica Airport on an engine test flight and was heading east when it collided with the other.

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    Nordwind Commercial Passenger Flight Dodges Missiles over Syria

    On April 29, we saw a report that Nordwind passenger airlines dodged missles over Syria.

    The Airbus A320-232 was flying from Sharm el Sheikh-Ophira Airport to Kazan Airport (from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to Kazan, Russia) was over Syria when two missiles exploded in the air close by.

    Interfax.ru reported the crew steered the jet and saved the passengers’ lives. Unidentified forces launched the two ground-to-air missiles which came very close.

    Russian authorities announced the incident.

    “On April 29, at 0455 (Moscow time), a Northern Wind plane was travelling in Syrian airspace from Sharm el Sheikh to Kazan and the pilot crew has recorded military activities on the ground that could have endangered the plane and 159 passengers.”

    Pilots made a safe landing.

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    Saudi jet accident on runway


    On April 28, 2013, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-368ER HZ-AK16 struck a pole. According to another report, “The accident was caused after a chain connecting the aircraft to the vehicle snapped as it was pushing the plane back to prepare for takeoff”

    One engine and a tire was damaged by the impact.

    The accident occurred on the runway. Passengers disembarked and were sent home. Saudi Arabian flight information shows flight SV1036 leaving the gate at 15:02 and arriving at Riyadh at 21:06. This was probably the flight.

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    Wizz Air Airbus Turns Back

    On April 28, 2013, a Wizz Air Airbus A320-232 took off from Warsaw then descended rapidly from about 11000ft.

    Passengers smelled smoke. A passenger named Barbara was quoted (machine translation) “Zachybota?o plane dropped like a machine. Then I felt a burning smell. Other passengers can feel it. After a while we went to the employee. Were informed that there was a failure”

    Pilots notified ATC and turned around to return to Chopin Airport. The airport said that Pilots said this was not an emergency landing.

    There were 161 passengers aboard. They disembarked without any problem, and were provided a later Wizz flight to London.

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    Two Gliders Crash in New South Wales

    Two gliders, one of which was a Let L-13A1 Blaník, collided in New South Wales in a rural area in Carrick, near Goulburn. The incoming glider clipped the tail of the two-seater which nose-dived to the ground.

    One 72-year-old pilot, a member of Southern Tablelands Gliding Club, landed his glider safely.

    The fifty year old pilot of the other glider died on impact with the ground. His 70 year-old passenger had to be extricated from the back seat of the aircraft. He sustained major injuries and was airlifted to Liverpool Hospital.

    The accident occurred at 3.40pm on April 27, 2013.

    Emergency services, including Ambulance, Police, Towrang RFS and Police Rescue responded.

    The pilots were experienced. The ground crew including the winch operator and pilots of both gliders were on the same radio network but the club is “mystified” why the accident occurred.

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    Denver Emergency Landing

    Republic Flight 1557, operated as Frontier Airlines lost pressure and dropped from 24,200 to 28,600 feet over Aspen, and returned to Denver where it made an emergency landing.

    The cabin did not depressurize and the oxygen masks did not descend, but the crew descended to deal with the cabin pressure issue.

    The ERJ-190 made a safe landing with all of the 98 passengers and 4 crew uninjured.

    Passengers were provided alternative flights from Denver to San Diego.

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    Lion Air Compensation

    Lion Air is compensating the passengers of the plane that crashed in Bali on April 13. The 101 passenger (we don’t know if the 7 crew are included) is handing out $5600 to each passenger.

    Lion Air is working with Jasa Raharja, an Indonesian insurance company to cover the medical bills for five injured passengers. The insurance company is paying up to IDR 25 million ($2500) and the airline is covering anything in excess of that.

    Unofficial reports state the plane was flying low.

    Twenty-five people have yet to receive their compensation.

    The alcohol and drug tests of the crew, cockpit voice recorder, and the flight data recorder are still in process. No conclusions have been public on the cause of the accident.

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    Singapore Airlines Emergency Landing

    The Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Singapore Dhaka with 105 passengers and 12 crew aboard diverted to Bangkok when they got an internal flight warning. There were no injuries.

    In spite of the cargo fire suppression system, there was a burning smell and a fire.

    The plane made a safe landing in Bangkok. The plane taxied to the gate, and passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations, meals and transferred to another airline.

    An investigation is underway.

    Singapore Airlines’ spokesman, Nicholas Ionides said that “Flight SQ446 operating between Singapore and Dhaka diverted to Bangkok as a result of indications of smoke from the aircraft’s rear cargo hold.”

    When Thai authorities clear the Airbus, it will be flown back to Singapore.

    In George’s Point of View


    It has been well documented that Airbus and Boeing are taking different paths regarding their approach on batteries.

    But still, it is one of my least favorite things to read (especially while I’m halfway to Singapore) that there has been yet another cargo fire at all, regardless of what kind of plane it is on.

    At least I had time to jot down some thoughts.

    I hope that the media shines as bright a light on this airbus cargo fire as it has recently on the Dreamliner battery situation. Sure, the Dreamliner is developing new technology and Boeing is responsible for going the distance to keep new developments safe. The Dreamliner battery issue is new. But the fact that Boeing is developing new technologies and new solutions does not provide Airbus and an established plane like a A330-300 a free ticket when it comes to combustion.

    Hopefully Airbus is paying attention to all problems and not getting too cocky. It should remember and respect that a plane is still an air-filled bubble hundreds of feet in the air. Until people develop their own wings, random combustion situations like cargo fires on an Airbus A330 are just as potentially hazardous situation–if not more so–than any battery incident that actually occurred on the ground.

    Let us please see a fix for this problem.

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    Medevac Crash in Oaxaca


    An Oaxaca State Government McDonnell Douglas MD 600N was en route from Hospital Regional de Putla Villa de Guerrero, Oaxaca, Mexico to Hospital General de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico when it crashed with four people aboard.

    The crash was located five miles from Oaxaca. The preliminary report lists Captain Guillermo Chavez Medina, the aeromedical Paul Hector Vicente, less than 24 hours old surname Martinez Sanchez (patient) and the latter’s father, Pedro Martinez, approximately 20 years old.

    The Medevac helicopter/air ambulance was transporting the infant who was less than 24 hours old.

    Bad weather or mechanical failure may have been behind the crash in Guerrero Cuilapan.

    Emergency services have cordoned off the area prior to investigation.

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    Helicopter Crash in Schoemanskloof Kills Lion Sands Game Resort CEO


    A privately owned Robinson R-44 with four aboard crashed in the vicinity of Schoemanskloof outside Nelspruit in South Africa. The flight had taken off from Johannesburg and was en route to White river when it crashed in heavy mist. No one aboard survived. The fatalities were listed as Nick More, Pierre de Villiers, Lance Cooper and Elmarie Martens.

    Remains of the victims will be handled at the state mortuary in Pretoria.

    The South African Civil Aviation Authority will be investigating the crash site, Zondagskraal farm, four kilometers from the N4 highway.

    Pilot Mr Nick More, owned the helicopter and was CEO of Lion Sands Game Resort.

    Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport indicated that the flight plan listed that More departed from Nelspruit Airfield at 06:30, collected passengers at Casterbridge. The destination was listed as Grand Central Airport in Gauteng.

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    Biplane Crashes in Santa Rosa California

    On April 20, 2013, a Boeing A75N1 Stearman took off from Petaluma airport and lost power at 2,000 feet before making a hard landing in a Santa Rosa vineyard near 6500 Jamison Road. Witnesses heard a plane flying low around 10 a.m..

    The pilot, Patrick Bell, circled looking for a place to land before finding the vineyard.

    The pilot was able to exit the plane under his own steam and although the plane flipped, Bell was uninjured.

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    Plane Crash in Dam

    The Vans RV-9A (a single-engine experimental aircraft) was being flown from Americana city by its owner with a female passenger aboard when it struck power lines and crashed by Ester Mill Dam in Cosmópolis in São Paulo, Brazil.

    Both people aboard died at the scene.

    The plane crashed in a remote area with difficult access in the dam. The fire department and the military are investigating but (Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents) are not.

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    Emergency Sun Country Diversion to Detroit

    On April 18, 2013, on landing in Lansing Michigan, a Boeing 737 owned by SUN COUNTRY suffered an incident. Almost landing, actually. We presume gusty conditions.

    On approach, a wing struck the runway.

    The crew aborted the landing, and diverted to Detroit where they made a safe landing.

    There were no injuries reported and the degree of damage to the wing and the rest of the plane has not been released.

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    New Lion Air Boeing Carcass Cut in Two for Removal


    The Lion Air jet that crashed short of the runway in Bali is going to be cut into pieces for removal since the plane is too heavy to tow.

    The wreckage is sitting on top of a reef, rocking with the waves.

    The cockpit voice recorder was recovered by navy divers.

    None of the 101 passengers or seven crew were injured when the crew opted for a water landing. The pilot and co-pilot tested negative for drugs and alcohol

    Lion Air AKA PT Lion Mentari Airlines is banned from flying in Europe because of its safety record.

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    Air Europa Airbus Runs over Debris.

    On April 16, 2013, an Air Europa Airbus A330-202 #EC-JPF was en route from Madrid-Barajas Airport to Caracas-Simón Bolívar International Airport in Venezuela.

    However, the flight took off after an Aéromexico tail strike, and ran over fuselage debris which punctured a nose gear tire.

    Pilots circled the airport, and returned to Barajas where they made a safe landing at 19:30 with emergency services on standby.

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    Trainer Flight Crashes in Modimola Dam, South Africa

    On April 16, 2013, a Pearl Coral-owned de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth with two aboard crashed in Modimola Dam in Mmabatho in South Africa.

    The training flight crashed into the water witnessed by a cattle herder near the dam.

    When boats arrived to search, it was dark, and too late to search.

    Initially, the occupants were assumed to be the pilot and an assistant; and it is assumed this was a trainer from Mafikeng Airport. The cause of the crash is unknown.

    Police divers found the instructor in the water. The student pilot’s body was trapped inside the plane which was submerged in water with only its tail visible.

    The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.


    Update
    The fatalities were named by police as instructor Marthinus Steyn, 54, and student pilot Narco van Straaten, 23.

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    Smoke in Korean Air Boeing 787

    Korean Air Boeing 787 en route from Seoul to Los Angeles developed smoke in the cockpit and diverted to Tokyo where they made a safe landing

    There was also smoke in the galley.

    288 people disembarked, and took a bus to the gate. Emergency services were on the scene.

    Passengers were provided an alternate flight the next day.

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    NTSB Assisting in Lion Air Boeing Investigation

    In George’s Point of View


    As I stand here on the balcony of my Cancun suite snapping a video of a gathering far below on the beach, the force of the wind off the ocean nearly knocks me off my feet.

    Yes, my Air Crash Consultant mind is at work, even when I’m relaxing on a vacation.

    I can’t help but think of the Lion Air Boeing that came down on approach to Ngurah Rai Airport and cracked in two on impact with the ocean. It didn’t fall far in terms of being a plane. I have heard it was flying 100 feet below where it should have been, which makes me wonder if the same winds that are knocking me over contributed to the crash. Trust the investigation to uncover the truth of what made this brand new plane to be a write off. It’s still a miracle of engineering that there were no fatalities, and only 45 injuries, and of those, only five still hospitalized one day later.

    The NTSB is joining the investigation, important enough news that it is announced on a Sunday.


    The NTSB is sending a team of investigators to assist the government of Indonesia on its accident investigation of a Lion Air Boeing 737-800.

    On April 13, 2013 at about 3:15 p.m. local time, the airplane crashed on approach to Ngurah Rai Airport, due to unknown circumstances. There were no fatalities reported.

    As the U.S. is the state of design and manufacture of the Boeing 737, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman has appointed Senior Air Safety Investigator Dennis Jones as the traveling U.S. accredited representative. Dennis Jones is leading a team of investigators specializing in airplane structures, systems, and survival factors, as well as advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

    The investigation is being conducted by the Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee which will release all information.

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    LionAir Flight Undershoots Bali Runway, 108 Aboard


    On April 13, 2013, a Bandung to Denpasar Lion Air Boeing 737-800 en undershot the Denpasar Airport runway and ditched in the ocean—literally falling from a height of 55 yards. All of the 101 passengers and 7 crew got out alive, but at least twenty people were injured.

    On impact, the plane broke in two. The brand new plane was delivered to Lion Air on March 28, 2013.

    Passengers were evacuated into rubber boats. The injured were taken to three hospitals. No serious injuries were reported.

    The pilot had 10,000 hours in the air.

    In George’s Point of View


    A plane drops 55 yards breaks in half and no one is seriously injured.

    Something happened. The investigation will do its best to pinpoint what exactly could knock out a plane with weeks of service. But with no serious injuries in a plane that is cracked in half, I have only two things to say: two best safety devices are 1) a well built plane and 2)a well-trained crew.

    We’re posting this only hours after it happened. So expect updates when more information is available. Initial reports can be prone to misinformation.

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    Guntersville Plane Crash


    A plane crashed in Guntersville Alabama. The pilot was the only person aboard when the engine stalled, and he ditched in a lake near Lake Guntersville Marina and Guntersville Sailing Club.

    The pilot extricated himself from the plane and was rescued by fisherman. Alabama Marine Police and Marshall County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene and will be securing the site until the NTSB investigation.

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    Fatal Crash in Loreto


    On April 7, 2013, a Helicópteros del Pacífico (Helipac) Mil Mi-8PS with 13 aboard crashed near Perenco Oil in Peru.

    There were four crew and nine passengers aboard—all Peruvian— when the flight crashed in the Napo River. Hernán Cervantes Paiva, Trider Pasmiño and Máximo Rolando Cuello have been identified.

    The helicopter failed at 11:00 a.m.

    Perenco Peru made a public announcement regarding the crash:

    “Perenco Peru regrets to announce an accident involving a MI-8 (P 1916 OB) helicopter operated by HELIPAC. The helicopter came down with 13 passengers on board during a routine flight from Iquitos to Block 67. Those on the flight, all Peruvian nationals, comprised nine passengers and four crew members. The passengers included one Perenco employee and representatives of three contractors.

    The Peruvian Army is at the scene and two additional helicopters are supporting the rescue efforts. At this stage, no survivors have been found.

    The company is working closely with the relevant authorities and is providing what support it can to the families of those involved. “

    Block 67 is a 630-square-mile (1,020-square-kilometer) block of more than 300 million barrels.

    The Peruvian Air Force activated the System Search and Rescue (SistemaSAR), which mobilized National Search and Rescue Twin Otter aircraft to land in the water in Curaray with the rescue team.

    Video Below

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    British Airways Diverts to Orlando with Drunken Englishman

    BA2202 flight passenger Sean Jude Kelly was drunk aboard his flight from Cancun Mexico. Normally, he is a moneybroker from Kent. But after a week in Cancun drinking, he became a hooligan.

    On the flight home, he started threatening (278) passengers.

    Three hours after taking off from Cancun, the British Airways captain detoured to Orlando Florida, where Kelly was arrested (before or after?) attacking a female Orlando police officer. Kelly is now being held in jail.

    Flight attendants said Kelly spat at them, and fought other passengers. He drank half a 750ml bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka aboard the plane, and prior to boarding had taken anti-anxiety meds.

    Speaking from my fantastic hotel in Cancun…
    There’s plenty of rest and relaxation to be had in Cancun without spending the week in a bottle…

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    Boarding Bridge Collapses in Hong Kong

    A Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 in Hong Kong China with 262 aboard was scheduled to fly from Hong Kong to Nagoya.

    After all the passengers had boarded, the rear boarding bridge collapsed, ripping the door off the A330. Passengers were able to exit via the first class bridge.

    Passengers had to take another flight.

    All rear bridges used at the airport are suspended pending inspection. The incident is under investigation.

    One technician was injured.

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    Hawaiian Airlines Oil Light Cuts Flight Short

    If you’re one of those drivers who ignores that oil light on your car’s dashboard when it goes off, then be glad you’re not a pilot. Pilots have the same light, and it can’t be ignored.

    It’s a good thing you’re not a pilot, then.

    258 passengers aboard a 10:30 a.m. Hawaiian Airlines A330 to Los Angeles were relieved to be back on the ground after the plane they were on developed engine problems and had to return to Honolulu.

    Fifteen minutes into the flight, the oil light went on. Pilots shut down the affected engine.

    Passengers caught the alternative flight at 11:15 a.m.