On January 10, 2013, a Heliwest Oy Hughes 369 D was engaged to work on Tampere power plant’s power lines when it developed engine failure. The pilot made an emergency landing in Paavolantie, Kämmenniemi, near Tampere Finland.
The helicopter was damaged and the pilot was injured.
THe helicopter made a forced landing.
After a boat rescue failed, on January 9, 2013, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger with only the pilot aboard was rescuing two Nunavut seal hunters, Joe Karetak, who is in his 50s, and his 20-year-old son, who were stranded off the west shore of Hudson Bay. The brutal wind chill was -50 C.
The helicopter was from Customs Helicopter in Gillam Manitoba.
The hunters had left on snow mobiles but hadn’t returned home, initiating the search.
The helicopter landed safely but broke through the ice—it was partially on ice, partially in the water 100 meters from the hunters.
The pilot was rescued by the hunters.
A second helicopter assisting in the original rescue took the hunters and the pilot to Arviat. The rescue was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
On January 9, 2013. an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Ube Yamaguchi Japan was taxiing for takeoff to Tokyo when the plane developed brake problems. This was Boeing’s third Dreamliner incident in three days.
In the cockpit of the All Nippon Airways 787, an error message indicated brake parts in the left undercarriage needed attention.
The 98 passengers aboard the plane disembarked and were provided alternative transportation to Tokyo.
All three events appear to be from different routine situations rather than stemming from a single issue. The brake issue and fuel spill are routine events, not on par with the lithium battery fire at Logan Airport, which is a problem which requires serious investigation.
On January 9, 2013 Wednesday afternoon, a Lufthansa Airbus A320-214 was on the runway at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport preparing for a flight to Munich International when the plane slid off the tarmac.
Passengers disembarked and were returned to the terminal. No word on if the same plane continued their journey, if they were provided alternative transportation, or housed in the interim. No word on the cause of the incident.
The plane was towed off the runway.
None of the 76 aboard were reported injured.
On January 10, 2013, a Windlass Aquila Trike en route from Wintervogel Airfield with an instructor and student pilot took off on a training flight. Bystanders reported that the pilot turned back toward the airputt but crashed and caught fire.
Wintervogel is a private airfield near Klipheuwel in the Western Cape. The pilot was reported to be German, and the passenger from Tableview.
Paramedics and an emergency team responded to the scene but there were two fatalities.
A 2:10p.m GoAir flight G8302 Airbus A320 from Chennai to Mumbai made an emergency landing when the plane filled with smoke, probably from the air conditioning vents.
As soon as the plane made a safe landing, passengers disembarked and were moved a safe distance from the plane. There were over 50 passengers aboard.
The plane made it halfway to Mumbai when the pilots had to turn back to Chennai.
The problem is probably the AC system. An investigation is underway.
On January 7, 2013, Chinook helicopter (registration N241CH) Pucallpa-Tarapoto was en route near the Laguna Yarinacocha in Pucallpa Peru when it came down in the Amazon.
The helicopter took off at took off at 2:57 pm, taking a load to Tarapoto.
According to reports, although the crew tossed the load while airborne, the plane broke up in mid air and caught fire. There were seven people aboard.
There were 2 Peruvians aboard: Joel Castillo and Luis Ramos.
Five Americans: Dan Immel , Ed Córdova, Jaime Pickett, Lee Bradford and Darrel Birkes.
Those aboard were employed by Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm.
On January 5, 2013, a privately owned Embraer EMB Ipanema with only the pilot aboard was making an agricultural pass and spraying crops in Lucas do Rio Verde MT Brazil.
While cropdusting, the plane collided with a highway sign and the pilot lost control. Engine problems may have also been involved.
THe pilot’s plane struck a pole then impacted the field of soybeans, instantly killing the pilot, Rubens Fritsch. The plane is a total loss. (See photo)
His body was recovered by the firefighters who responded to the call at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.
The married pilot leaves no children. He was buried in Lucas do Rio Verde.
On January 7, 2013, on a training flight, a Piper Cherokee VH-JXR with only the pilot aboard took off. He noticed a problem with flying the plane and did a flyby over the airport where his instructor discovered visually that the plane had lost a right rear wheel during takeoff from Mangalore Airport Australia.
The pilot circled to burn fuel, and talked with his instructor and emergency teams. He landed the plane safely on two wheels.
The 21 year old Chinese pilot trainee made a safe landing with emergency crews on standby. The pilot had 120 hours of flight experience. English is his second language.
On January 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m. a Weber Logistics-owned Cessna Columbia LC41-550FG landed and rolled off the San Carlos Airport runway into a pond.
There were two people aboard the single engine plane and neither was injured.
Raw Video Below
On January 7, 2013, a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner Japan-Boston had already landed in Boston, and all 184 passengers had safely disembarked when smoke filled the cabin.
A fire was found in a battery aboard the plane. Boston Firefighters arrived at 10:40 a.m. and put out the fire.
Passengers were provided alternative transportation and overnight accommodations.
Electrical issues in the avionics bay where the battery is located are a known issue in this type of plane, which uses electrical motors instead of hydraulics in certain areas. The auxiliary battery in the compartment kicks in after the engine kicks off. That’s what happened on test flights, and from what I have heard, that is what happened here.
According to the NTSB report below, the NTSB seems to agree with me that incidents like this warrant investigation.
Press Release
WASHINGTON– Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are gathering information regarding reports of smoke aboard a Boeing 787 at Boston’s Logan Airport today.
The Japan Airlines 787 was on the ground and empty of passengers at the time of the incident.
The NTSB has dispatched an investigator to Boston. Based on a review of the factual information gathered, the NTSB will determine the extent of its investigation.
Video Below
On January 5, 2013, a twin engine plane hit a remote hill near Grenoble and crashed, killing five. The pilot was flying his wife and three children from Grenoble France to Morocco. The plane (probably a Piper Seneca) disappeared from radar not long after takeoff.
The family was returning home from a vacation in France. No one on the ground was hurt.
Witnesses in Saint Pierre de Bressieux saw the plane crash. Emergency services dispatched to the scene found 5 deceased victims and a burning plane.
On January 4, 2012, a plane taking off at 11:00AM went missing at 11:30AM. The party was en route from the resort Los Roques Venezuela traveling 100 miles to Caracas and disappeared from radar. A search has been initiated for the private plane, a twin-engine Britten Norman BN2 Islander.
Map
Listed on the flight were fashion mogul Vittorio Missoni who owned the plane, and his wife Maurizia Castiglioni, entrepreneur Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi from Brescia and two crew members.
The search stopped at nightfall and began again on January 5.
Video
January 3, 2013, an Air Canada Dash 8 was on approach to Quebec City when a fire was detected.
The plane made an emergency landing with fire crews on stand by.
Passengers evacuated the plane and were bussed to the gate as emergency services put out the fire and examined the plane.
No injuries were reported.
On Friday January 4, 2012, Delta flight 65 en route from Atlanta to Las Vegas experienced engine problems and had to divert to sky Harbor.
The Boeing 757-200 made a safe landing minus one engine with emergency services on standby. An inspection determined there had been a fuel leak. Passengers were provided an alternative flight and were scheduled to land in Las Vegas before 8:30 pm.’
On January 4, 2013, a Beechcraft BE35 developed a vibration problem, reported an emergency. The pilot was diverting to Flagler County Airport when the plane crashed into a house a mile from the airport.
Three people aboard the flight died. Three people were inside the Palm Coast Florida house, but they were not trapped inside the building.
Two drunk women caused a British Airways flight Gatwick to Tunis flight to divert to Lyon. At 30,000 feet, the women smoked in the bathroom, and exhibited disruptive behavior, refusing to sit, attempting to get into the cockpit, and threatening to “track down and kill” the family of a BA stewardess.
They were arrested in Lyon, where gendarmes tossed them in the drunk tank overnight, and sent them back.
British Airways may ban them from flying BA flights.
The seventeen year old student pilot who took off with two friends on a late-night flight New Year’s Day 2013(10:30 p.m. Tuesday) and crashed in north Alabama, killing everyone aboard was not following regulations at the time of the crash.
17-year-old Jordan Seth Montgomery and 19-year-old Brandon Tyler Ary, both of Arley were passengers aboard the plane.
A student pilot “may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger.” Student Pilot Jordan Ryan Smith was one test away from his pilot’s license, according to family members.
The airport says the student pilot was flying a plane he wasn’t rated on, without permission, in overcast weather.
What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
Where: Ventura Iowa
When: Jan 2 2013
Who: 3 Fatalities
Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route Mason City to Emmetsburg to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau.
About a dozen pilots annually fail their Breathalyzer tests, and this year’s dozen will include an American Eagle pilot who boarded his flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and was arrested by airport police for failing a Breathalyzer test. It took two and a half hours to arrange for an alternative pilot to fly to New York. The affected pilot’s blood alcohol was measured at Fairview Southdale Hospital. The pilot was suspended.
On January 4, 2013, a Pia Airbus A310-324 en route from Kuwait to Lahore with 198 passengers aboard diverted to Kerman Airport, Iran.
The plane was en route when it developed a hydraulics problem and diverted to Kerman Airport, according to http://www.aerocenter.ir/forum/thread22299.html#post104898
The flight left Kerman Airport and flew to Karachi where they made a safe landing.
On January 2, 2013, a Condor MB ultralight was over rural Luziânia Brazil when the engine shut down.
The ultralight crashed in a forest and was damaged beyond repair.
Pilot Alberto Rossi Junior, and his son Lucas Ferreira Rossi, survived, and were taken to a Brasilia hospital.
Military police and the Fire Department respnded to the scene. The paperwork of the pilot and the plane is reported to be up to date.
What: NordStar Airlines Boeing 737-8K5 (WL)en route frm Sharm El Sheikh t Moscow
Where: Antalya Turkey
When: Jan 3, 2013
Who: no injuries
Why: The Nordstar Airlines flight was en route over the Mediterranean sea when the plane lost cabin pressure.
Pilots diverted the flight to Anatalya where they made a safe landing with emergency services on standby at 12:22.
What: Sol Linéas Aéreas Saab 340A en route from Mendoza to Neuquén to Comodoro Rivadavia.
Where: El Plumerillo airport, Mendoza Argentina
When: Jan 2, 2013
Who: 33 aboard, 30 passengers, 3 crew, no fatalities
Why: On takeoff, the Sol Linéas Aéreas flight exited the runway with a jammed wheel.
A wing touched the ground and a propeller broke. While there was damage to the plane, and no fatalities, the passengers were reported as being in a panic, with women and children screaming and one person possibly having a nervous breakdown.
To paraphrase Sol’s statement:
“The aircraft performed maneuvers 8R5420 taxiway but transitioned off the track and had to interrupt operation.
Emergency services were available. Passengers were provided another Aerolineas flight. Many passengers praised the pilot for handling a dangerous situation that resulted in no injuries reported.
Passengers said they were told a locked wheel caused them to end up on the grass.
What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
Where: Ventura Iowa
When: Jan 2 2013
Who: 3 Fatalities
Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau. The pilot had 2,800 hours flight time.
The weather at the time was a light freezing drizzle, fog and mist at 8 p.m. at the Mason City airport, 27 degrees, and overcast conditions at 9 p.m.
The patient was taken by ambulance to Mercy-North Iowa Hospital.
The helicopter service of Mercy Medical Center-North that employed the pilot is Med-Trans. The nurse and paramedic worked for the hospital.
The crash occurred fifteen miles from where it took off. The helicopter did not have a black box but it did have a tracking satellite system. The Bell 407 was new in April 2011 and had night-vision goggles, a terrain warning system and a satellite tracking system.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating. Weather is being investigated as a possible cause. There was no SOS or emergency communication from the helicopter. The wreckage will probably be relocated on Jan 4 2013. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department is keeping the site secure.
