[nokia-maps template=”nokia.blue.place” sizes=”{‘width’: ‘auto’,’height’: ‘370’,’label’: ‘Auto’}” placeId=”840dpcm4-a46ee2b1271748de83b8b4ac98241564″ ] What: United Airlines Michigan to Chicago Where: Green Bay When: Dec 1 2011 Who: 21 passengers Why: After takeoff, the flight developed problems with the landing gear. Pilots diverted to Green Bay where they made a safe landing at Austin Straubel International Airport.
Passengers were provided alternate flights from Green Bay.
What: Wizzair Airbus A320-200 en route from Bucharest Romania to Milan Italy Where: Bucharest When: Nov 30th 2011 Who: 157 passengers Why: We haven’t heard about falling parts in a while.
The airbus was en route over Bucharest when an engine access panel fell off.
Oops.
The pilots returned to the airport within twenty minutes. I wonder where the access panel ended up. Who forgot to fasten it? Inquiring minds want to know these things. There’s more to this story than what we’ve seen.
What: Skyworks Dornier Do-328 from Berne Switzerland to Hamburg Where: Hamburg When: Nov 30th 2011 Who: not available Why: After landing in Hamburg, maintenance ground crew found that the “left main gear outboard door” had not made the flight with the rest of the plane. The plane was ferried back to Berne.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 flight from New York City to San Francisco Where: Buffalo Niagara International Airport When: Nov 27, 2011 Who: 713 passengers Why: After having taken off from JFK, the flight developed smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots diverted to Buffalo, where they made a safe landing. No injuries were reported.
American Airlines routed another plane in to pick up the passengers. In the meantime, passengers were put up overnight in a hotel.
On an unrelated note, the CEO of American Airlines, CEO Gerard Arpey, stepped down. After a meeting in NY on Monday, the company is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Operations of the airline will continue as usual, and frequent fliers will not be affected. However, some jobs will be cut. American Eagle also filed for bankruptcy, delaying its spin off from American.
What: Flybe Avion de Transport Regional ATR 72-500 en route from Vaasa Finland to Tallinn Estonia Where: Pori Airport, Finland When: Nov 28, 2011 Who: 11 passengers Why: The Flybe flight was en route when the pilots discovered smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots made an emergency landing. A replacement jet was sent to the town Pori.
The source of the smoke was a faulty printer in the cockpit.
What: China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-200 from Osaka Kansai (Japan) to Shanghai (China) Where: Osaka When: Nov 28th 2011 Who: 245 people on board Why: The pilot was positioned for takeoff, and then took off without waiting for clearance.
A chopper on approach was near the runway at the time.
[nokia-maps template=”nokia.blue.place” sizes=”{‘width’: ‘auto’,’height’: ‘370’,’label’: ‘Auto’}” placeId=”8409qqhe-76950679e27e46f5b25ab22fe05702d3″ ] What: Cessna 230 Where: Henderson Executive Airport, Nevada When: Nov 26, 2011 Who: 2 aboard Why: The pilot of a Cessna 230 returned to the airport and made an emergency landing at Henderson Executive Airport when his landing gears did not come down. There were no injuries.
What: Marion Flying Club Cirrus SR-20 en route from Marion Municipal Airport Where: CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill When: Nov 26, 2011 10:30am Who: 4 fatalities Why: The one-engine Cirrus SR-20 was flying in rainy, overcast conditions when it crashed in a soybean field on a farm unincorporated McHenry County, killing the four aboard the plane. Marion businessman Ray Harris and his daughters Ramie and Shey were killed in the crash, along with one of the girl’s boyfriends. On impact, the plane shattered into debris which was spread over 100 yards. The plane carries a parachute, which had been deployed but it was tangled in a tree, which may have contributed to the wreck.
The pilot, Harris, had been flying one of his daughters back to Wheaton College.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 en route from Los Angeles,CA to New York JFK,NY Where: Los Angeles When: Nov 23rd 2011 Who: 164 aboard Why: The LA to New York flight took off as usual but once in the air, passengers and crew smelled something burning.
The pilots returned to LAX and made a safe landing.
The incident is under investigation. No details as of yet.
What: KLM Boeing 777-200, registration PH-BQB en route from Johannesburg to Amsterdam Where: Amsterdam When: Nov 25th 2011 Who: one passenger Why: While en route, a thirty-one year old male passenger believed to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol became unruly. After harassing other passengers, the passenger ignored warnings of the crew, attempted to open the plane’s emergency exit and cockpit. He was subdued, and on landing in Amsterdam, was handed over to military police.
What: Ponderosa Aviation Inc. Rockwell Commander 690A en route from Mesa, Ariz to Safford, Arizona Where: Apache Junction, Pinal County, AZ When: Nov 23, 2011 Who: 6 fatalities Why: On a thanksgiving flight that took off at 6:15, the pilot was flying to Safford and struck a rockface at the Superstition mountains. The children’s mother, Karen Perry, was not aboard. The fuselage is jammed between rocks.
The victims of the crash included Joseph Hardwick, 22, mechanic; pilot and aircraft owner Russell Hardy, 31; pilot Shawn Perry, 39; and Perry’s three children, Morgan, 9, Logan, 8, and Luke, 6.
The plane had just left Mesa’s Falcon Field when it crashed. It is a six hour hike from a campground to the wreckage. A ten member sheriff’s rescue team was flown in by chopper, and hiked down from a mountaintop.
The flight path that the pilot took is a controversial one. The FAA redesignated Phoenix airspace, raising the floor altitude for commercial traffic at almost the same height as the tallest peak in the Superstitions (5,057 feet). Planes such as this one flying east from Mesa’s Falcon Field must either go around the peak or request permission to enter commercial airspace to fly above it.
What: United Airlines/Shuttle America Embraer ERJ-170 en route from Denver,CO to Toronto Where: Denver When: Nov 23rd 2011 Who: 68 passenger Why: While climbing out of Denver, passengers and crew smelled smoke in the cabin.
A newscast said that passengers heard a “pop” before the pilots turned around and returned to the Denver airport.
They made a safe landing. Passengers disembarked on the runway and were provided an alternative flight.
What: Air India Express en route from Cochin-Salalah Where: Salalah When: Nov 3, 2011 9:45 Who: 87 passengers
In George’s Point of View
India has made noises in the press about cleaning house regarding some of the bad pilots that skated through a flawed and corrupt school and accrediting system.
In this event, the pilot of an Air India Express COK-Salalah (Oman) flight, made three attempts to land. A cumulation of numerous small errors threatened passenger safety and defied standard operating procedures and included mis-entering data into the system.
The pilot forced the B737 to land using “autoland” in high cross-winds.
Wind speed on the ground was 25 knot (46 kmph) gusting to 35 knot (65 kmph.) Operating procedure allows landing when winds are no higher than 25 knots. The Boeing FCOM lists 35 knots as the max permissible crosswind landing component on a 45m wide. The pilot would have been correct to divert to another airport. There was adequate fuel to do so (if he had realized the numbers entered into the system were incorrect). Ground conditions were at the top of what Boeing allows and would be a challenge. Instead of diverting to Abu Dhabi, the pilot landed in defiance of safety norms.
The pilot attempted to land twice, and then decided to divert. Having been entered with incorrect data, the FMC (Flight Management Computer) incorrectly concluded there was only six minutes of flight time left. This was incorrect, as the plane had 4.7 tons of fuel, more than enough to reach Abu Dhabi, 75 minutes away.
On the pilot’s third attempt, the pilot autolanded (without having trained for autolanding.) It was a safe, if hard landing, and one that damaged the plane and nearly went off the runway. Two tires burst, and the landing gear was damaged.
Maybe this pilot is a fool, or maybe just careless. The plane did land with no loss of life. You know they always say “the devil is in the details.” I don’t know verifiable particulars. We don’t have available first hand data to analyze, but Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation does.
But when we see evidence of problems like this, we wonder if India has gone far enough in raising the bar.
What: American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Pittsburgh,PA Where: near Dallas When: Nov 19th 2011 Why: Just after take-off, the pilot switched the fuel supply from center fuel tank to main wing tanks and the right engine flamed out.
Pilots returned to the airport and made a safe landing.
Maintenance is investigating why operating pumps were working, yet failing to provide fuel to the right engine.
What: (Fuerza Aérea Argentina) Argentine Air Force Piper PA-A28-236 Dakota light aircraft Where: Mercedes Airport, Argentina When: 21-NOV-2011 09:45 LT Who: 2 fatalities Why: On approach to Mercedes Airport, an Argentine Air Force Piper PA-A28-236 Dakota collided with an aviation school Cessna 152.
Both the flight school crew members in the Cessna 150 were killed in the crash. The Piper PA-28 landed safely. The two military personnel aboard the Piper survived.
According to witness Boloni Eduardo, the Air Force plane cut the back of the Cessna with its propeller, causing it to fall
Firefighters, police, ambulance, Air Force, and Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Board were on the scene. Mercedes is a public air field with no control tower.
What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-900 en route from Panama City (Panama) to Newark,NJ Where: Panama City When: November 18, 2011 Who: 176 aboard Why: After takeoff, while climbing out of Panama City, the Continental flight suffered a bird strike. After ingesting the bird, the left engine surged, and caught on fire. Pilots shut down the engine, and returned to Tocumen Airport where they made a safe landing.
What: Chautauqua Embraer ERJ-145/Delta Airlines en route from Asheville,NC to New York Where: La Guardia airport, New York When: Nov 16th 2011 Why: By now, everyone has probably heard about this:
A captain who was locked in the airplane’s bathroom gave a passenger a security code to inform the co-pilot.
But when the co-pilot heard the passenger’s heavy accent, he told ATC “the captain has disappeared in the back and I have someone with a big foreign accent trying to access the cockpit.” ATC urged him to land ASAP.
The situation was resolved before the plane landed, and fortunately before the fighter jets were deployed.
What: Mil Mi-8 Where: Badondo north of Brazzaville, Congo When: Nov 15, 2011 Who: 4 aboard, 1 fatality Why: The military chopper which had been chartered by a mining company crashed during bad weather when it tried to land.
The pilot, Alexandre Kossiarev, was from Belarus and died in the crash.
What: Cirrus Where: Katowice International Airport southern Poland When: Nov 13, 2011 Who: 2 men and 2 women were aboard Why: After takeoff, the plane disappeared 4.3 miles from the airport.
The wreckage was found in Zyglinie Forest at 8:20 pm. The four passengers all in their late forties and early fifties, died in the crash.
What: Cessna 210 Where: Poconé Municipal Airport, Brazil When: Nov 12 2011 Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities Why: Twelve miles from the airport, the pilot apparently lost control and crashed. The plane took off at 5:12 pm, and crashed 12 km later in the Pantanal region of Mato Grosso.
Martin Wagner, his son James, two mechanics named Dede and Alcindo died in the crash.
Wagner, who is a local cattle farmer, was reported missing by his family, after which a search plane was sent out and did not locate them. The charred wreckage of the plane was located the next day after sunrise, only minutes from the airport. The owner of the plane died in the crash.
What: Privately owned Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee B Where: Four miles south of Perryville, AR When: Nov 17 2011 Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities Why: Women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant women’s basketball coach Miranda Serna were on a routine recruiting trip to Arkansas, when the plane crashed in steep terrain in the eastern Ouachita Mountains in the Winona Wildlife Management Area. The other two aboard were Former State Senator Olin Branstetter and his wife, Paula. A local deer hunter’s wife told 911 when she saw the airplane nose-diving in a swirling pattern and crashing in the forest. By 6pm, the wreckage had been located. The passengers had been ejected from the plane, which drove a six foot deep furrow into a ridge but did not catch on fire. Rescuers reached the site on YO4 Forest Access Road via four wheelers.
Miranda Serna was in her seventh season as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
The cause of the crash is unknown but it was the catalyst of an outpour of support for Oklahoma State.
That the plane was co-owned by the Branstetters, who were from Ponca City. 82 year old Olin Branstetter was a longtime pilot.
Eleven years ago, a plane carrying 10 crashed, killing two OSU men’s basketball players, two members of its radio broadcast team, three members of the team’s support staff and two pilots in a snow storm in Byers, Colorado.
PIPER PA-28-180 Serial 28-1756 #N7746W
Year of Manufacture: 1964
Number of Seats: 4
Certification Issue Date: 29 Sep 1978
Builder Certification Code: Type Certificated
Aircraft Speed: 107
Aircraft Type: Fixed wing single engine
Aircraft Category Code: Land
Airworthiness Date: 17 Jun 1964
Aircraft Weight:
Mode S Code: 52475442
NTSB investigating Aviation Accident in Perryville, Arkansas
November 18, 2011
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched investigators to examine the circumstances of an aviation accident that occurred yesterday afternoon near Perryville, Arkansas, involving a Piper PA-28-180 (N7746W).
Jason Aguilera is the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge. He will receive headquarters support from air traffic control and meteorology. Parties to the investigation include the Federal Aviation Administration, Piper Aircraft and Lycoming.
Terry Williams will be the public affairs officer on scene.Once he arrives in Perryville, Mr. Williams can be reached on his cell phone at (202) 320-2594 or via email at terry.williams@ntsb.gov.
What: Aer Lingus Airbus A320-200 en route from Dublin to Fuerteventura Spain Where: Santiago de Compostela When: Nov 15th 2011 Who: 147 passengers Why: While en route the plane developed a problem, and diverted to Santiago to make a safe landing.
Passengers stayed in hotels overnight, until the curfew lifted and they were able to take off.
What: Aeroflot Airbus A320-200 en route from London to Moscow Where: London When: Nov 15th 2011 Who: 108 passengers Why: On takeoff, the plane’s right engine developed problems.
Pilots shut down the engine and returned to the airport to make a safe landing.
Passengers were rebooked on flights outgoing on Nov 16.
What: TAP Air Portugal Airbus A340-300 en route from Luanda Angola to Lisbon Where: Luanda When: Nov 16th 2011 Why: On takeoff, the plane developed a hydraulic failure.
The pilots returned to Luanda and made a safe landing. Passengers were in the air about a half hour.
