During an early inspection of the 787 in Takamatsu by Japanese officials, the battery’s electrolyte had leaked from the lithium-ion battery.
The charred insides of the battery show the battery received voltage in excess of its design limits.
In October 2011, the FAA issued an emergency order requiring lithium ion batteries in 42 Cessna Citation CJ4 to be replaced with nickel-cadmium or lead-acid batteries, after a connection with a ground power station led to overcharging and a fire.
Wait…was this human error and not battery error? Or a combination of both?
On January 16, 2013, an American Eagle Canadair CRJ-700 en route from New Orleans to Chicago encountered turbulence which injured flight attendants and a passenger. The pilots made a safe landing in Chicago.
If you’re buckled in, turbulence feels more dangerous than it is. Unfortunately, flight attendants, who are required to be up and about doing their jobs, are not infrequently injured by turbulence, whether it is clear-air (hard to predict changeable jet stream-rivers of air), wind shear, microbursts, mountain waves, thermal or wake turbulence left by another plane.
The physical consequences of being unbuckled when turbulence strikes means the unsecured person can be hurled about the plane, jolted in the air, struck by food carts or anything else loose in the plane. I’ve been on some white-knuckled flights where the flight attendants were champs and in spite of getting bounced around managed to calm the passengers. It’s only afterwards coming across either a cool and calm (or white-knuckled) pilot that I was able to determine just how dangerous the turbulence was.
In this case, great. A safe landing trumps everything. Too bad about the two injured flight attendants and passenger though.
On Jan 17, 2012, a Northeast Helicopters Flight Services LLC Robinson R22 landed in Ellington, Connecticut and rolled on its side. The student pilot and the teacher aboard were uninjured.
It was described as a hard landing at 360 Somers Road adjacent to the airport in Ellington at 12:45 pm. There was a minor fuel leak which was contained.
On Jan 18, 2013, a private crop dusting Bell 47 helicopter near Dunstan Farrell TB hospital in Hibberdene S. Africa developed an engine problem.
A witness says the pilot struck a tree while spraying a field of ground nuts.
The ambulance company received the call at 9:00 a.m.
The pilot managed to land in a sugar cane field before the helicopter caught fire. The pilot escaped by pushing out the glass, and suffered minor injuries but the helicopter was a total loss. He was hospitalized. There wasn’t much more than the tail left remaining of the cropduster.
Did this happen because of a random gust of wind? Was this an incident that was invisible or could it have been detected or predicted? You tell me. It’s tragic, whatever the circumstance.
On January 17, 2013, ( 13:50 local time), a Habilitaciones Turisticas SA CV Piper PA-31-325 Navajo #XBEZY took off from Angel Albino Corzo Intl en route to Xoxocotlán Intl. Airport in Oaxaca but crashed on takeoff.
Aboard there were a crew of two, and six passengers, three of whom were adults and three who were minors. All eight died in the crash immediately after takeoff in Chiapa de Corzo.
Witnesses said the ship had just taken off when it was hit by a gust of wind that knocked it to the ground, where it caught afire on impact.
The plane impacted the ground at Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas and caught fire, covering the airport in smoke.
The eight fatalities were the two pilots, the captain Alfonso Jimenez Racino, co-pilot Pablo Gomez, businessman Monterrosa Melchor Hernandez, his wife, two sons and two grandchildren. Melchor Hernandez Monterrosa is an entrepreneur, owner of ‘Mezcal Fandango’ and ‘Destiladora Orizaba Valley’ in Veracruz and Puebla,
??Civil Aviation, the Mexican Army, Fire, Red Cross, Secretariat of Public Safety and Civil Protection responded to the scene. The crash also started a grass fire that took some fifteen hours to put out and complicated rescue.
A cold front, clouds and air currents may have contributed to the accident. Civil Aeronautics will be investigating.
On January 17, 2012, at Miami International Airport at 5:45 pm, an Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus with 240 passengers aboard was taxiing when it struck an Air France 777-300 with 350 passengers at the gate. Impact occurred between Concourses J and H.
A passenger aboard the Air France plane said the impact felt like an earthquake.
The Aerolineas Argentinas flight hand just arrived from Argentina Passengers disembarked at the gate.
The Air France passengers disembarked, collected their luggage and had to reschedule.
The planes’ damage was limited to a wingtip of one (Airbus) and the tail of the Boeing. (Which is which has not been verified, but assuming it was the Airbus that was taxiing, i.e. moving, it is more likely to be the wingtip of the moving plane that struck the stationary Boeing at the gate.)
Damage to the planes was minimal. Damage to the patience of the Air France Passengers having to reschedule? Not so much.
The Wednesday January 16, 2013 crash of the helicopter that struck a crane on top of London’s St George Wharf Tower did result in two casualties. Two office buildings, 5 cars & 2 motorbikes were damaged. The AgustaWest AW109E #G-CRST was flown by Rotormotion, and leased from Castle Air.
Weather people are saying that the top of the crane was not in fog but in a low cloud. (This is apparently different from fog, and might be something I should ask my pilots about. And this London. London=Fog, no?)
Four people were injured and taken to St. Thomas’ Hospital. Five injured were taken to Kings College Hospital. Seven people were treated at the scene. One of the injured was rescued from a burning car. The helicopter fell to Wandsworth Road, hit some vehicles, burst into flames; and falling burning debris started flames in some buildings. Although there were people in the area who thought the accident was a bomb and didn’t realize the helicopter had struck the crane, some witnesses saw the helicopter clip the crane and in seconds, spin out of control. Part of the crane also fell.
I think it’s nothing short of a miracle that there were only two killed and nine injured. London has 8.2 million people.
The pilot, Peter Barnes, was en route from Redhill to Elstree, but had diverted to Battersea because of the visibility. Barnes had over 12,000 flying hours, was employed by charter firm Rotormotion and had flown in the movies Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan.
Night officially ended thirty minutes before the crash, at which time lights on tall structures were allowed to be turned off. The lights are not visible during fog and bad weather.
The accident resulted in some subway/tube/station closures.
On Wednesday January 16, 2013, a helicopter crashed into a crane and fell to a London street just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, killing two and injuring nine. London Ambulance said only one of the people they took to the hospital had critical injuries.
The crane was on top of the 50-story St. George Wharf Tower. The top of the crane was not visible from the street because of fog.
An investigation is underway, among other things questioning if the crane was equipped with lights, if the pilot committed an error, if the helicopter was fit for use, and if weather was a factor.
On Jan 15, 2013, Robert Lewandowski, the pilot of a Morgan Aviation Aeronca 7A was training at Central Maine Airport—practicing landings— but on his eighth landing, it appeared that the plane’s rear wheel developed a problem.
The plane veered off-runway, hopped snowbanks, struck a snow bank and flipped. The rented plane’s propeller and right wing strut sustained damage. The FAA is investigating.
US Airways Embraer 135 twin-engine regional jet with 49 aboard en route from Windsor Locks Connecticut to Pittsburgh was en route when a fire occurred in the jet’s auxiliary power unit.
The pilots returned to Windsor locks and made a safe landing.
Passengers disembarked and were provided alternative flights.
On Jan 13, 2013, a private plane with two aboard taking off from Roanoke Island crashed into the water on its second approach back to the airport.
ATC made contact with the plane before it came down with the pilot making no indication of problems.
The female passenger was rescued from the water and taken to Outer Banks Hospital. The coast guard is searching for the pilot.
The plane went down between 11 and 11:15 a.m and the weather was hazy with rolling periods of fog. Visibility on the ground was less than 30 feet.
The woman was located in the water, found by rescuers who followed her screams. They were unaware that a plane had crashed.
Hatteras Island and other dive teams were searching for the Pilot in limited shifts due to the water temperature, looking from Umstead to Virginia Dare bridges. Agencies cooperating in the search included Dare County Emergency Management, Dare County EMS, Roanoke Island Volunteer Fire Department, Chicamacomico Volunteer Fire Department, Nags Head Fire and Rescue, NC Highway Patrol, NC Marine Patrol and NC Wildlife.
On Sat Jan 12, 2013, Polet Airlines Saab 340 engaged in flight 770 was en route from Belgorod to Moscow when the left engine developed engine failure. The pilots made a safe landing in Voronezh at 21:04.
17 passengers and 3 crew were aboard. There were no injuries reported.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight to Moscow on Sunday.
On January 12, 2012, a privately owned Kestrel Hawk took off from Pattaya Airpark with only the pilot aboard and developed an engine fire while aloft.
At 6:30 pm, the pilot crashed in the area of Huay Yai near the Pattaya Dolphin World and Resort.
The ultralight was beyond repair.
The pilot, Mr. Nawaporn ”Neil” Sawaetwong, sustained critical injuries— severe trauma to his legs and arms and a head injury— and was rushed to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.
He was President of the Pattaya Pilot Club Association, Owner of the Pattaya Airpark & Pilot Village and C.E.O. of the Fun Flying Thai Air Service Company.
The Thai Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.
On January 13, 2013, an Arkia Airlines ATR developed an engine problem forcing the pilot to shut down the affected engine and divert from Sde Dov to Ben-Gurion airport. The flight landed with emergency services on standby. None of the 67 aboard had any injuries.
There was no fire found in the turboprop engine, but Akia Airlines began an investigation, and seems to have discovered a faulty indicator.
On January 12, 2013, a Jetblue Airbus A320 was en route from New York to the Dominican Republic when they suffered a bird strike.
The pilots returned to the airport where they made a safe landing with emergency services on standby. No injuries were reported among the 139 passengers.
On 12-JAN-2013 at 3:30 pm, a single engine SEAWIND 3000 seaplane was taking off from Sarasota for Venice Airport when it crashed after takeoff.
The pilot died in the collision; the passenger survived with injuries. The seaplane did not gain enough altitude and struck a couple of trees. It impacted near the New College of Florida campus. The passenger, a 63-year-old man from Michigan was taken by medivac to Tampa General Hospital.
Witnesses say the plane made a sound like a gunshot before it lost altitude, missed power lines and reached a grassy field owned by USF New College. One witness saw the plane on fire before it hit the ground.
On January 12, 2013, an S7 Airlines Airbus A319 en route from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don made a fast landing at Rostov-on-Don Airport, sliding 40 meters past the end of the runway. Reports are of poor traction on wet concrete.
The fifty passengers aboard the flight disembarked safely. No injuries were reported although the plane suffered some damage.
Weather conditions may be to blame for the accident.
THe runway was shut down after the accident, resulting in a number of flights having to divert to other airports.
On Jan 11, 2013, Flight 1868, an American Airlines MD-80 en route from Las Vegas to Dallas was in the air when a problem developed in a plane generator. There were 150 passengers and 5 crew.
The Captain told passengers that the backup generator failed, so they had to divert to Albuquerque International where they made a safe landing at 8:30 a.m.
No injuries were reported.
Passengers were informed the plane was going to maintenance and they were placed on alternative flights to Dallas.
photographer Andy Egloff
On Jan 8 2013, a Delta Airlines Boeing 777-232LR was en route from Johannesburg to Atlanta when one of the engines developed problems.
The pilots dumped fuel and diverted to the island of Ascension where they made a safe landing. Passengers say the plane swerved and fuel came pouring out. The crew was handling problems but did not make a lot of explanations to bewildered and hysterical passengers.
There is a British Air Force Base on the island, and the island is a British territory.
The good news is that the pilots made a rough but safe landing on Ascension. The bad news is that Ascension is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean about halfway between Recife Brazil and Luanda Angola.
Other sources say that a replacement 777-200 was flown in to Ascension, and that stranded passengers return to Atlanta was delayed less than 24 hours.
On January 10, 2013, a homebuilt Rans S4 Coyote went missing. A search was underway for the plane which is not equipped for night flight. Only the pilot, ERIC P HEINZ was aboard.
The missing plane was located when the pilot’s campsite was discovered, at 9:30 after it had crashed in Lake Pleasant Arizona.
The experimental plane sustained damage. The pilot survived.
The family of the victims (Arturo Rivera, makeup artist Jacob Yebale, attorney Mario Macias Pacheco and hair dresser Jorge “Gigi” Armando Sanchez Vasquez) of a 43-year-old Learjet that crashed in Mexico on December 9 have filed a negligence suit against Starwood Management LLC, Rodatz Financial Group Inc., McOco Inc. and Jenni Rivera Enterprises Inc.
Jenni Rivera was killed in the crash along with the 78 year old pilot and 20 year old co-pilot, neither of whom appeared to be licensed to operate the flight under the conditions (time and altitude) they were flying.
On Jan 10, 2013, a Robinson R44 Astro en route from Augsburg to Bretzfeld got caught up in a 380 kilovolts high voltage power transmission line and crashed on the Autobahn 6 in Southwestern Germany.
The helicopter was flying below radar.
Pieces of the helicopter hit a truck, but the driver was not seriously hurt. The accident occurred during rush hour between the junction Schwäbisch Hall and just before the Kochertalbrücke.
The pilot, 42 year old Sven Berger was killed in the crash and will have to be identified thru his dna. The remains of the helicopter are melted, burned, broken and bent, and smell like burned plastic. First responders could not get through the flames to the helicopter.
Berger was a firefighter, member of the Commerce and Industry association and owned the Schwab Bacher Kithcen Studios. The tentative cause for the accident is poor visibility. There were spots of freezing temperatures, rain and fog in Brachbach.
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.
On Jan 15, 2013, Robert Lewandowski, the pilot of a Morgan Aviation Aeronca 7A was training at Central Maine Airport—practicing landings— but on his eighth landing, it appeared that the plane’s rear wheel developed a problem. 
