What: Passaredo Embraer ERJ-145 from Sao Paulo to Uberlandia Where: Uberlandia When: Nov 15th 2011 Who: 27 passengers and 3 crew Why: Landing on the wet runway, the plane continued completely off the runway. There were no injuries.
As the airport was closed for six hours afterwards, some passengers took alternative transport.
What: Aéro-club d’Abidjan Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II Where: Near Daloa Airport, Cote d’Ivoire When: Nov 14, 2011 5 p.m. Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities Why: After taking off from Daloa, the Aero-club-owned Cessna crashed.
Witnesses say the pilot was clearly in trouble and the plane made several pirouettes in the air before falling.
Initially there was one survivor who died in the hospital. The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire responded to the scene of the crash, and the UN’s Bangladeshi batallion (BANBATT) assisted in the recovery.
The pilot was a local pilot. The three white foreigners have not been identified but one had been hired by a local logging company.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from San Francisco to Atlanta Where: Atlanta When: Nov 13th 2011 Who: 1 injury Why: While on approach to Atlanta, the flight encountered turbulence.
One person was injured.
The flight made a safe landing, and no other injuries were reported.
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Atlanta to Charlotte Where: Atlanta When: Nov 10th 2011 Why: Delta flight took off normally but once in the air, the engine seems to have caught fire (according to passengers who heard an explosion and saw sparks.) No fire was officially reported.
The right hand engine poured smoke into the cabin but no fire.
Pilots were able to gain altitude to turn minus one engine, and to make a safe landing in Atlanta. Passengers disembarked, and were provided pizza and alternative flights. At least one passenger would have preferred alcohol to pizza.
What: Fuerza Aerea Mexicana Aérospatiale AS 332L Super Puma Where: Temamatla , Edo de Mexico When: Nov 11, 2011, around noon Who: 9 aboard, 9 fatalities Why: A Mexican government helicopter en route from Mexico City to Cuernavaca carrying 9 passengers crashed, killing everyone aboard.
Those aboard included José Francisco Blake Mora, Secretary of the Interior, Felipe Zamora Castro, Legal Affairs and Secretary of the Interior Ministry DH, Jose Alfredo Garcia Medina, director of social communication Interior Ministry, Diana Miriam Hayton Sanchez, technical secretary of the office, and Major Rene de Leon, Lt. Col. Philip Bacio Cortes, Jorge Luis Juarez Gomez, Ramon Escobar Segundo and Pedro Teninete Becerra.
The chopper was en route to a prosecutors meeting. It went down in heavy cloud cover, so weather is considered to be a factor. Mexico’s No. 2 official, Francisco Blake Mora, who embodied Mexican government’s get-tough attitude, is one of the victims of the crash. Mora been a key figure in Mexico’s battle with drug cartels and he oversaw disaster response, like the pipeline explosion in San Martin Texmelucan in 2010. He is the 2nd interior secretary in this administration to die in an air accident.
What: Rented Robinson R22 recreational chopper Where: Palm Beach When: Nov 5, 2011 Who: 1 pilot, 1 passenger Why: The rented recreational chopper struck palm trees and power lines, then clipped the house, landing in the front yard. No fatalities. The damage to the chopper is described as substantial.
What: Blue Hawaiian Helicopters Eurocopter EC130 B4 helicopter departing from Kahului Where: Kaunakakai, Molokai island, Hawaii When: November 9, 2011 at 12:30 pm Who: pilot Nathan Cline, 30, of Kihei and 4 tourists Why: While on a 45 minute tour of West Hawaii, the chopper crashed into a mountain. The accident occurred on Wednesday, less than a mile from Kilohana Elementary School, right after a hard rain. At the school, students heard an explosion and saw black smoke when the chopper crashed.
The pilot and four tourists died at the scene. Although the investigation is ongoing, according to at least one published report, the NTSB said that the pilot failed to maintain enough altitude over the terrain amid low-lying clouds.
Two of the passengers were newlyweds, and they came from Pennsylvania and Ontario Canada.
Blue Hawaiian, which conducts 160,000 tours yearly, leased the year old chopper from Nevada Helicopter Leasing LLC.
Four bodies have been recovered. The fifth has been located, but is in a difficult location.
What: Air-India flight from New Delhi to Gaya Where: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport When: Nov 10, 2011 Who: 119 passengers Why: After developing hydraulic problems, the flight landed in Kolkata at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport.
The plane is being repaired. Passengers were provided alternative flights.
What: South African Airlink Avro RJ-85 en route from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg South Africa Where: Johannesburg When: Nov 10th 2011 9:20 pm Who: 73 passengers and 4 crew Why: Just after takeoff from Johannesburg, the flight developed nose gear trouble. When the pilots returned to the airport, the nose gear did not come down, which was verified on a flyby.
While burning off fuel for two hours, pilots attempted to extend the nose gear, and when attempts failed, had to land without nose gear on the plane’s belly. Passengers evacuated on to the runway at the airport of origin, OR Tambo International, after the three hour flight.
What: Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Tel Aviv to Newark,NJ Where: Tel Aviv When: Nov 9th 2011 Who: 280 aboard Why: When smoke was reported as coming from the baggage compartment, the pilots returned to Ben-Gurion International Airport and made a safe landing.
45 ambulances and 17 mobile units were on the scene of the emergency landing.
The origin of the smoke turned out to be an oven in the aft galley.
What: LAN Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Santiago Chile to Cordoba Argentina Where: Andes When: Nov 8th 2011 Who: 2 injured Why: The flight from Santiago to Cordoba encountered turbulence over the Andes.
In a mountainous area, wind strikes the mountain causing updrafts and downdrafts. The turbulence the flight ran into occurred in an area where turbulence is frequent, and where the seatbelts are required.
On landing, the two injured parties were hospitalized with concussions.
What: Ural Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Novosibirsk to Moscow Russia Where: Novosibirsk When: Nov 6th 2011 Who: 130 passengers and 7 crew Why: Just after takeoff, the plane’s navigation system indicated a failure issue. Although the system is reported to have recovered after a quarter of an hour, the pilots returned to the Tolmachyovo airport in Novosibirsk where they made a safe landing.
What: China Eastern Yunnan Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Nanning China to Yangon Myanmar Where: Kumming China When: Nov 5th 2011 Why: Just after takeoff, the crew observed problems with the main gears.
The flight diverted to China Eastern Yunnan’s base in Kunming China where they made a safe landing.
What: Euro Copter EC 130 helicopter en route from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Indianapolis Where: Noblesville Hanbury Manor Boulevard near the Sagamore Golf Course When: Nov 3, 2011 Who: pilot and 5 passengers Why: The pilot made a public statement that he was piloting his chopper and encountered severe weather. He made an emergency landing described as “controlled” in an Indiana corn field.
After landing, when everyone aboard had vacated, the chopper caught fire. There were no injuries.
The incident is under investigation by the NTSB and the FAA.
What: Qantas Airbus A380-842 en route from Singapore to London Where: Dubai When: Nov 4th 2011 Who: 258 passengers, 35 Crew Why: While en route, the Qantas Airbus received an indication that the Trent 972 outboard right hand engine #4 suffered from low oil quantity.
Due to the indication, pilots shut down the affected engine and diverted to Dubai where they circled for an hour before they made a safe landing.
What: Hendrick Gulfstream G150 en route to Key West Where: Key West When: Nov 1, 2011 7:58 Who: Rick and Laura Hendric, pilot and copilot Why: On landing in Key West, the plane had no brakes and skidded off the safety area. Those on board had minor injuries and were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center. Rick Hendrick suffered a broken rib and shoulder.
The NTSB is investigating.
We doublechecked this news item, to make certain it was not a reposting of the 2004 crash that tragically took the lives of ten of the Hendrick team and family.
What: Saha Air Boeing 707-300 en route from Chabahar to Tehran Iran Where: Chabahar When: Nov 3rd 2011 Who: 77 passengers Why: After taking off from Chabahar, the plane developed an oil leak in engine 2.
Pilots returned to Chabahar and made a safe landing. A replacement flight was provided.
What: Bukovyna Aviation McDonnell Douglas MD-88 on behalf of Taban Air en route from Mashad to Hamedan Iran Where: Mashad When: Nov 2nd 2011 Who: unknown Why: After takeoff, the flight developed problems with the left engine.
The pilots returned to Mashad and made a safe landing.
What: ATA Flight School Cessna Where: Pompano Beach Air Park When: November 1, 2011 reported at 5:52 pm Who: 2 aboard, 2 survivors Why: A 27 year old instructor Vincent Paul Citrullo and 42 year old student pilot David Bakalar survived a crash at the intersection of Northeast 10th Street and Fifth Avenue in Pompano Beach Florida.
The crash occurred during a ATA Flight School (Pembroke Pines) training flight while the student pilot was flying and losing altitude due to engine trouble. The instructor took the controls, and the plane struck a palm tree and a concrete pole, landing shy of Pompano Beach Air Park. Both were taken to North Broward Medical Center.
Two fire trucks used foam on spilled fuel.
Pilot Vincent Paul Citrullo, a former C130 crew chief and vet, is credited with landing the plane after the throttle became inoperable, and securing their survival, in spite of the plane breaking in half.
What: Indigo Delhi flight-6E 482 en route from Vadodara to Delhi Where: Vadodara When: Nov 1, 2011 at 10:30 Why: The Indigo flight en route from Vadodara to Delhi had a bird strike right after takeoff, and had to return to Vadodara. The pilots managed a safe landing on soft tires.
The flight was cancelled, and passengers were provided an alternative plane to take them to Delhi.
What: Turkish Air Force F-4E Where: Karakaya Village, Konya, Turkey When: Nov 3, 2011 Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities Why: During a training flight, a turkish fighter jet crashed, killing two pilots.
The Turkish Air Force F-4E fighter jet crashed near Konya.
What: Sol Lineas Aereas Saab 340A en route from Rosario,SF to Buenos Aires, Argentina Where: Rosario When: Nov 2nd 2011 Who: 30 passengers and 3 crew Why: On takeoff from Rosario, the left engine had to be shut down. The engine had developed an oil leak through a conduit washer which had to be replaced.
The flight returned to the airport and made a safe landing fifteen minutes later.
What: Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-312ER en route from Manchester to München-Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Germany Where: Germany When: Nov 3, 2011 at 12:14 Who: 158 passengers Why: Although there were problems presented to ATC in advance, on landing in Munich, the Singapore Airlines Boeing suffered a runway excursion, when it veered right on landing. Landing occurred with reduced visibility and low cloud cover. All three gear were off the runway when the plane stopped. Passengers evacuated with no injuries via stairs brought to the jet.
The three year old jet has General Electric GE90 engines and appears to have suffered no obvious damage.
What: Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer ERJ-195 en route from Fortaleza to Teresina,PI Brazil Where: Timon and Teresina When: Oct 30th 2011 Why: The pilots flying the Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer ERJ-195 made a perfect landing in Timon.
Unfortunately, their destination was not Timon but Teresina.
They made a 3.1 mile goof, and had to take off and fly the rest of the way to Teresina where they made a second safe landing, this one at the appropriate airport.
In George’s Point of View
I know it is ridiculous, but I can’t help but picture the pilots rolling up to a hanger bay, sitting in the cockpit with a roadmap out, and shouting out the window at passersby: Which way is Teresina?
Glad to hear that the flight landed and took off safely and landed again.
What: LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Newark,NJ (USA) to Warsaw (Poland) with 220 passengers and 11 crew Where: Warsaw When: Nov 1st 2011 Who: 220 passengers and 11 crew Why: On the first approach to Warsaw, the flight crew aborted the approach. They had gotten an unsafe gear indication for the three gear struts. They spent over an hour trying to amend the problem, but efforts to lower the gear failed, and the failure was confirmed by a visual fly by.
Captain Tadeusz Wrona and First Officer Jerzy Szwarc then nailed a gear up landing, landing on the Boeing’s belly and skidding to a stop. The runway was foamed beforehand to lower potential fire damage.
In George’s Point of View
Right away the operator is quick to report that no one was injured.
Below, you can see that a US Airport like Indianapolis (with its “beastmaster”) would handle the flight differently. There is always controversy about landing on a foam-slick runway.