What: UTAir/Tulpar Airlines Yakovlev Yak-42 en route from Moscow Vnukovo to Volgograd with 57 passengers and 7 crew When: Dec 10th 2011 Who: 57 passengers and 7 crew Why: While en route, the Yak developed engine problems in the left engine.
The crew shut down the engine (idled) and made a safe landing in Volgograd.
What: US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Where: SW training area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord When: Dec 12, 2011 Who: 2 occupants, 2 fatalities
What: US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Where: SW training area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord When: Dec 12, 2011 8 pm Who: 2 occupants, 2 fatalities Why: Two two-seat reconnaissance “Scout”choppers crashed during routine exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a few miles from Ranier Washington. Four individuals died in the event. Two were injured. It has not been released if the two injured were aboard, or if the choppers collided.
The remains were taken to Madigan Army Medical Center.
The debris field covered 300 meters. Military vehicles were securing the scene.
The Fort Rucker, Alabama Combat Readiness Center is coordinating the investigation, beginning with a six member team.
What: British Airways Airbus A319-100 en route from London UK to Zurich Switzerland Where: Zurich When: Dec 11th 2011 Why: On approach to Zurich, passengers and crew smelled an odor described as “burning” and “electrical.”
The crew made an accelerated approach and wore oxygen.
They made a safe landing.
Pilots taxied to the gate as usual, and passengers disembarked, with emergency services on standby.
What: Southern Air Transport Boeing 747-200 freighter en route from Charleston,SC to Liege Belgium Where: Liege When: Dec 11th 2011 Who: 5 crew Why: On approach to Liege, the pilots encountered issues with the hydraulic systems.
The flight made a safe landing in Liege.
After allowing the Southern Air Transport flight to land, the Liege airport shut down, forcing in bound traffic to divert to other airports.
What: Aviation Technology Innovators Beechcraft 65-80 Queen Air en route from Manila to McGuire Field, San Jose, Mindoro. Where: Parañaque City, Philippines When: Dec 10, 2011 2 p.m. Who: 3 aboard, 11 on the ground Why: After taking off from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the pilot reported trouble to ATC, and was trying to return to the airport. The pilots, Timoteo Aldo and Jessie Kim Lustica, had been fetching a cargo of fish. A witness described the plane “twirling” in the air before impact.
The Beechcraft crashed into Felixberto Serrano Elementary school and exploded, killing the 3 aboard and 11 on the ground in Better Living Subdivision, Parañaque City. The specific location was Taiwan St., Barangay Don Bosco. School was not in session, but there had just been a Christmas party there. The F. Serrano Elementary School burned down; school for 2000 will be suspended on Monday as plans are made to send students to alternative schools.
Victims included children playing at the playground.
Twenty injured were taken to Parañaque Doctors Hospital and Parañaque Community Hospital along the South Luzon Expressway. The Philippine Red Cross was on the scene, reporting a number of burn victims.
50 domiciles on the subdivision’s easement were damaged. Residents were not called “squatters” but were described as informal settlers. Seventy families were evacuated–a total of 600 people evacuated.
A covered court inside the subdivision is being provided as temporary shelter for evacuees.
Maricel Rodriguez Garado, Ronald Sabidario were two adults reported as lost in the crash in addition to the two pilots. See Videos Below
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Saint Louis,MO to Dallas Where: Saint Louis When: Dec 7th 2011 Who: 137 passengers and 5 crew Why: After takeoff, systems revealed unsafe gear.
The pilot returned to Lambert and made an emergency landing. No injuries were reported, and passengers were provided alternate flight.
What: US Airways Airbus A320-200 en route from Philadelphia,PA to Las Vegas Where: Philadelphia When: Dec 7th 2011 Why: After taking off from Philadelphia, those aboard noticed what was described as “the stench of dirty socks.” The plane returned to Philadelphia and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided an alternative flight.
Note that in spite of the uncharming description of the smell,the caution was due not to excessive fear of stinky feet but to caution over the kind of lawsuit that Boeing is dealing with right now over toxic air fumes from tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), carbon monoxide and other toxic components bleeding from faulty “bleed-air” systems. Drowsiness, disorientation and memory loss may occur as a result of exposure to aerotoxicity.
What: Delta flight en route from Kansas City to Detroit Where: Kansas City When: Dec 6, 2011 Who: 73 aboard Why: The Delta flight took off but after about twenty minutes, the flight became rocky and turbulent.
The pilots had to shut down the right engine after it lost power; then they returned to the airport to make a safe landing.
What: Great Lakes Air Inc Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six en route from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island Where: Lake Huron shore, about three miles north of St. Ignace, northern Michigan When: Dec 3, 2011 Who: 2 fatalities Why: Thomas Phillips, 52, with homes in Kirkland and Mackinac Island, and Joseph Pann Jr., 29, of St. Ignace were killed in a piper crash in Michigan. From Mackinac County Airport at St. Ignace to the destination Mackinac Island Airport is 4.5 miles and should have taken six minutes, but the plane was reported missing and was later found 100 yards from shore. Search and rescue controllers were involved at 10:07 p.m after police called. No distress call was reported but the plane was tracked by the cellphone of one of the victims.
Phillips was general manager with Amazon Web Services.
What: LAN Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from Iquitos to Lima (Peru), Where: Lima When: Dec 5th 2011 Why: While en approach to the Lima airport, the plane lost nosewheel steering.
The flight made a safe landing but was stranded on the runway had had to be towed.
What: Qantas/Eastern Australia de Havilland Dash 8-300 en route from Cairns,QL to Weipa,QL Where: Weipa When: Dec 6th 2011 Why: On approach to Weipa, the plane flew through a cloud and encountered disruptive turbulence.
While there were no reports of injury, the turbulence resulted in engine problems. The plane made a safe landing but the incident is under ATSB scrutiny.
What: SAA South African Airways Airbus A340-300 en route from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Perth,WA Where: Perth When: Dec 6th 2011 Why: After a normal flight, on approach to Perth, the plane was struck by lightning. Subsequently, pilots reported problems and began circling the airport. They did a flyby to observe the condition of the tires which were reported as having all “indications lost.” The plane eventually landed safely.
What: Air Canada flight en route from Toronto to Beijing Where: Vancouver Who: George Campbell of Conestogo and 38-year-old Paul Alexander Wilson Why: The two, both apparently employed by RIM, (Research in Motion, the company that introduced the Blackberry in 1999), were suspended after their drunkenness aboard an Air Canada flight forced pilots to divert to Vancouver. The two alleged drunks were also held responsible in paying Air Canada over &70,000 in hotel fees and restitution for delaying the flight.
What: American Airlines flight Where: LAX When: Dec 6 2011 Who: Alex Baldwin Why: Refusing to stop playing the game “words with friends,” Alex Baldwin was ejected from an American Airlines flight by an irate flight attendant. It was waiting at the gate (not in the air.)
He was rebooked on another flight, but not without attempting twitter revenge, badmouthing American Airlines, and also filing a complaint against a flight attendant who was like a “retired Catholic school gym teacher from the 1950’s.”
Baldwin is not the only individual we heard about this week who was removed from a plane due to conduct, but the others were taken to a mental unit or released into police custody.
What: Tiara Air Aruba Shorts 360-100 en route from Las Piedras Venezuela to Aruba Where: Las Piedras When: Dec 5th 2011 Who: 29 passengers, 4 crew Why: Taking off from Las Piedras, the plane struck a donkey with its right main gear.
Pilots continued on to Aruba where they made a safe landing.
There were no injuries. Apparently the forecast for repair is better in Aruba than Las Piedras.
In George’s Point of View
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, keep the donkeys OFF the runway.
Actually, that’s one thing I never thought I’d need to say
What: Colombian Blackhawk Where: San Jeronimo mountains When: Dec 3 2011 Who: 4 soldiers, 4 crew Why: The chopper crashed in the San Jeronimo mountains. No one aboard was seriously injured. The team had been deployed to support a fight against FARC, a group of drug traffickers.
The chopper had just refueled and caught a crosswind. There was minor damage that is reparable.
What: Private Socata TB21 Trinidad TC en route from Durango to Aspen Where: Silverton, CO When: Dec 3 2011 Who: 4 aboard Why: Forty minutes after leaving Durango for a Christmas party in Snowmass Village., the plane crashed into mountains near Silverton Colorado. Hampered by inclement weather, searchers had to deal with nearly a foot of snow between Saturday and Sunday in the mountains at 11,000 above sea level.
The bodies of Jenna Rich and Tyler Black were found and recovered, and are headed for autopsy.
The search continues for two more bodies. The four adult passengers have all been reported as deceased. Three of those aboard were employees of Alpine Bank, and the fourth aboard was a spouse.
The debris field of the crash covers more than a mile.
What: American Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Dallas to Los Angeles Where: Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport When: Dec 4, 2011, 10:00 a m Who: 175 aboard Why: The flight was en route when it developed problems with one of its engines. Apparently it ingested something in one of its right engines (or “encountered an unknown obstacle”) disabling the right engine.
The pilots made a safe landing in Lubbock. We assume alternative arrangements were provided for the stranded passengers.
What: WESTJET en route from Vancouver to Toronto Where: Thunder Bay, Ontario When: December 3, 2011 5 pm Who: 118 passengers Why: A Westjet Boeing 737 was en route when a Portuguese passenger made what seemed to be bomb threats.
The flight diverted to Thunder bay. The passengers disembarked, and the disturbed passenger, a former mental patient, was taken into custody and hospitalized.
The plane was examined and no explosives were found. Passengers were able to resume their flight on December 4.
What: Qatar Airways en route from Doha to Bangalore Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad When: December 2, 2011 Who: 240 passengers Why: While en route, the pilots received information of bad weather in Bangalore.
They decided to divert to Hyderabad, and made a 5 a.m. emergency landing.
Passengers were provided alternate transportation to Bangalore.
Last week, an Emirates flight from Bangkok to Dubai diverted to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to make an emergency landing due to what was reported as a “technical snag” which may have been hydraulics, or 3 generators off line depending on which rumor you wish to believe.
What: Emirates Boeing 777-300 en route from Colombo Sri Lanka to Male, Maldives Where: Male When: Dec 2nd 2011 Why: On landing in Male, the plane’s tires burst.
Passengers disembarked on the runway, as the plane was disabled. No explanation was given regarding the tires. (We assume a too fast landing, but one should never assume.)
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Albuquerque,NM to Oakland,CA Where: Oakland When: Dec 1st 2011 Who: 95 passengers and 5 crew Why: On approach to Oakland, the plane flew through ten seconds of turbulence that injured the cabin crew.
The pilots made a safe landing half an hour later, after which two members of the crew were hospitalized.
In George’s Point of View
Given the time and place, we might be able to chalk this one up to the Santa Ana Winds.
The widow of John Goble was awarded $10 Million for wrongful death after the chopper he was in was flown between two electrical towers, striking the power lines. The vintage 1951 military helicopter was en route to an aircraft and classic car show in Riverside, CA. The crash occurred on Nov 7, 2009, over two years ago.
Goble co-founded Sectra North America, the North American unit of Linköping, Sweden-based PACS firm Sectra, in 1997, and had served as its president ever since. Prior to that, Goble was medical marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard’s workstation division.
Two million was awarded in compensation for lost wages; the remainder was for loss of companionship. The pilot owned Classic Rotors, a vintage aircraft museum.
A case against Goble and the utility company involving the surviving family of another deceased passenger, James Jantz, is still pending.
What: Wittman W-10 Tailwind (Built by John R. Wing) practicing touch and go Where: Fulton, 1 mile SW of Oswego County Apt.- KFZY, NY When: Dec 1, 2011, 2:30 pm Who: pilot Why: After practicing touch and go the pilot crashed in a wooded area called Old Incinerator Hill, off Whitaker Road, near the line between Fulton and Volney, a mile sW of Oswego County Airport.
Witnesses heard the engine sputtering before it went down in a heavily wooded area. Part of the wreckage was found fifteen feet up, in a tree.
What: Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter en route from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Singapore Where: Singapore When: Dec 2nd 2011 Why: The freighter flight was landing on runway two, but drove off the runway.
The excursion caused the runway closure for more than an hour, although the plane did not require towing. There were no injuries.
