Cause

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    Family lost in Cessna Disappearance in Puerto Rico Day Trip

    What: Ernesto Ortiz(private owner) Cessna A185F Skywagon en route from Culebra to Ponce Mercedita
    Where: 1 mile from Yabucoa Puerto Rico
    When: July 1, 2011
    Who: 5 aboard
    Why: When the plane failed to reach its destination, a search began for the lost Cessna. It was apparently lost in a storm.

    The family was visiting from Hapeville Georgia and had flown to Puerto Rico for a day trip.

    The missing were identified as Antonio Torregrosa Sánchez, 65, pilot of the ship, Sonia Torregrosa Torres (68 years), Edd Diorio (58), Rosarito Villa Gomez (19 years) and Mario Villa Gomez, 13. Coast Guard Cutter Key Biscayne and response boats from the San Juan boat station have continued to search, along with local authorities and Puerto Rican Emergency Management. The Federal Aviation Administration tracked the plane’s radar history to its last point of contact, approximately a mile off the Yabacoa coast. Only the remains of Maria have been found.

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    Names Released in Construction Chopper Crash in Norwegian Mountainscape

    What: Airlift AS Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil
    Where: between Dalamot and Busete in Hardanger, Hordalan, Norway
    When: July 24, 2011, 21.30
    Who: 5 fatalities
    Why: About to transporting building materials into the mountains during heavy fog, the Airlift to Dagbladet helicopter crashed and caught on fire. The witnesses were part of a crew that had flown in earlier. A crisis team from Eidfjord and Ullensvang is on the scene.

    The Airlift company had a fleet of 17 helicopters.

    Police and fire departments, two air ambulances and at least two Sea King helicopters were engaged after emergency services were called. Three of the deceased were found quickly, and the other two took longer to find. The pilot was also killed in the crash.

    The crash occurred in a remote location far (5 hours walk) from a road. It was so remote that the individual who reported the crash had to travel to a location where there was phone service coverage.

    The state agency Havarikommisjonen is investigating.

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    Cessna Hits Car in San Bernardino County

    What: single-engine Cessna 182 en route to Adelanto
    Where: Summit Valley Road and Maple Avenue, San Bernardino County
    When: July 5, 2011, 7:30 pm
    Who: pilot and passenger
    Why: The plane lost power while en route and made an emergency landing aiming for a dirt road but ended up hitting a car, and butting up to an empty house. Neither the pilot nor the passenger was admitted to the hospital. the brush fire caused by the crash was brought under control.

     

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    Spatial Disorientation-in the pilot, or in the head of the investigator

    Donald Estell attempted to land the 21-year-old, single-engine Piper aircraft in challenging conditions, (on its second approach to St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia) but instead, struck a house. The crash that ended the life of 65-year-old Estell of Clayton, Mo., and Robert Clarkson, 77, of Belleville has been attributed to pilot error by a June 27 report by the NTSB. The crash occurred on Feb 21, 2010, and it happened (according to the NTSB) because of spatial disorientation.

    A pilot who loses his orientation, and whose proprioception (perception of direction) is compromised is described as suffering from spatial disorientation. Most useful for maintaining orientation is an external visual horizon, which helps maintain the sense of “up and down.”

    We know that spatial disorientation is a real condition. It is also one of several “pilot error” causes that officials point to when they can not figure out why an otherwise airworthy (or supposedly airworthy) plane crashes.

    There are cases rightly or wrongly attributed to spatial disorientation, for example, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 that spiraled into the sea off Beiruit; the May 12 2010 Afriqiyah Airlines Flight 771 crash where the pilot undershot the runway on approach to Tripoli; and the July 28 2010 Airblue Flight 202 which crashed in the Margalla Hills on an ILS approach to the opposite runway 30.* There are events attributed to spatial disorientation when it may or may not be a factor, and may or may not be the only cause. Even when it does occur, it is usually in combination with something else, such as foggy weather which obliterates the horizon, radar failure, cabin pressure loss (the sudden loss of pressure can cause a pilot to lose consciousness.)

    Families who have lost loved ones in airline crashes rely on investigations to determine what systems failed, and what went wrong that caused the crash. It is the solemn duty of investigators (like those in the NTSB) to sort through the wreckage, and analyze the black boxes to determine to the best of their ability what went wrong. The final report is usually the result of a year or several years of intensive study and research. It is usually the more responsible or determined investigators who do not settle for a spatial disorientation cause blaming the pilot, but who look beyond it to find the underlying factor—the radar failure, or system failure, or pressure leak or faulty automatic pilot—that instigated the disorientation.

    *See Comment

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    Smoke in Cockpit Causes Saudi Arabian Airlines Diversion


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer K.L.Yim

    What: Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-400 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah
    Where: Chennai
    When: Jul 6th 2011
    Who: 200 passengers
    Why: While en route, the flight developed smoke in the cockpit. Pilots diverted to Chennai and made a safe landing. Emergency services examined the plane and found no fire or heat. Maintenance examined the flight.

    The flight continued about 4 and a half hours later, and made a safe landing eventually in Jeddah

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    RusAir Update


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alexey Litvinov

    What: Rusline/Rusair Tupolev TU-134A en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
    Where: outskirts of the Besovets village, Petrozavodsk, Russia
    When: Jun 20 2011 at 11:40 pm
    Who: 43 passengers and 9 crew
    Why: Family members of the 44 deceased victims of the RusAir crash attempted to identify the bodies of their loved ones in Petrozavodsk, although visual identification in some cases was impossible. For those victims, DNA identification will be employed.

    The RusAir crash occurred in heavy fog, carrying passengers from the Ukraine, Sweden, Holland, plus four people with dual Russian-U.S. Nationalities. The video below was released on 2011-06-23

    Read More

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    Illushin IL-76 Hits Mountain in Afghanistan


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Matthias Bindseil

    What: Silk Way Airlines Illushin IL-76TD en route from Baku Azerbaijan to Bagram Air Force Base Afghanistan
    Where: Bagram Afghanistan
    When: Jul 6th 2011
    Who: 9 crew
    Why: Carrying 18 tons of automobiles and trailers, the flight took off from Baku and lost radar contact 13.5 miles from Kabul. The plane struck a mountain near Akhshay in the Ghorband/Syahgerd district at 19:40 on Jul 5th. Eight bodies were recovered at 12,500 feet.

    The cause of the crash is unknown. The distict chief of Siagerd stated publicly that there was a big explosion heard when the plane struck the mountain.


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    ATR Emergency Landing in Sao Paulo


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Matheus Netto de Lima

    What: Pantanal Linhas Aereas Avion de Transport Regional ATR-42-300 en route from Sao Paulo to Sao Jose de Rio Preto Brazil
    Where: Sao Paulo
    When: Jun 30 2011
    Who: 44 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the plane’s right engine made an explosive noise and began emitting smoke and sparks, and the propeller stopped.

    The crew shut down that engine and returned to Sao Paulo. The pilot made a safe landing in Sao Paulo. Passengers were rebooked on another flight. Maintenance confirmed a leak in the right hand engine.

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    Mistral Engine Shut Down over Italy


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Roberto Bianchi Piti Spotter Club

    What: Mistral Air Boeing 737-300 en route from Fuerteventura,Spain to Rome
    Where: Alghero Airport
    When: Jul 4th 2011
    Who: 139 passengers
    Why: Halfway between Mallorca and Sarina, an engine developed problems. Pilots shut it down and diverted to Sardinia, where they made a safe landing (described as a soft landing.)

    *One source describes the flight as originating in the Canary Islands.

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    Bird Strike in Novosibirsk


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Oleg Chaplin

    What: Vladivostok A320 en route from Novosibirsk to Krasnodar
    Where: Novosibirsk
    When: Jul 3rd 2011
    Who: 152 passengers and 8 crew
    Why: After takeoff from Novosibirsk, the plane’s right engine ingested a hawk.

    The pilot burned off fuel and made a safe landing three hours later with engine vibration.

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    Emirates emergency Landing in India

    What: Emirates Airbus A330 en route from Dubai to Kochi
    Where: Kochi
    When: Jul 2nd 2011
    Who: 270 passengers
    Why: On approach to Kochi, the plane developed a loss of pressure in the hydraulics. (The landing gear would not retract.)

    The flight made a safe landing however, though it’s return flight was delayed. Passengers on the return flight were provided alternative transportation or hotel accommodations.

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    Kingfisher Flight makes Emergency Landing

    What: Kingfisher en route from Delhi to Mumbai
    Where: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
    When: July 2, 2011, 9:08 a.m.
    Who: 118 passengers and eight crew members
    Why: The flight took off from Delhi but then an alarm went off, causing the pilot to declare an emergency and return to the airport.

    The pilot made a safe landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9:08 a.m. and taxied to the apron. There were no injuries. Passengers apparently disembarked normally and were provided an alternative flight.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing in Phoenix

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from El Paso to Phoenix
    Where: Phoenix
    When: Jun 30th 2011, 9:33 pm
    Who: 139 aboard
    Why: On approach to Phoenix, the pilot declared emergency and shut down an engine when one of the engines failed. Some of the systems operating were backup systems. Details about the engine issues were not released but Southwest said there was an “issue with engine exhaust.”

    The plane made a safe landing at 9:33 with emergency services on standby, but taxied to the gate, and did not need towing.

    Maintenance is examining the plane.

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    India Aviation In Crisis-DGCA Examiners Examined

    What does it mean when the teacher flunks the exam he’s teaching?
    What does it mean when three teachers flunk the exam they’re teaching?

    Three Jet Airways examiners flunked the DGCA exam, Manoj Manha and M. Shain had “inadequate subject knowledge” of the Airbus they are purported to be experts of and Anupam Khanna was “casual” and “lacking in cockpit discipline.” Manha and Shain will be continuing as examiners after corrective training.

    The deficiency casts a shadow on all of those whose expertise was qualified by Manha, Shain and Khanna.

    It means that if the DGCA is going to follow through and maintain standards, every person qualified by these examiners (or otherwise taught by them) is scrutinized and retested.

    Can pilots be deemed competent when they have been trained by incompetents?

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    A330 and A340 Landing Gear Airworthiness Directive

    EASA Emergency AD No.: 2011-0122-E has been published limiting the life of A330 and A340 landing gear parts.

    During ground load test cycles on an A340-600 aeroplane, the MLG bogie beam prematurely fractured. The results of the investigation identified that this premature fracture was due to high tensile standing stress, resulting from dry fit axle assembly method. Improvement has been introduced subsequently with a grease fit axle assembly method.

    Click to read the full pdf

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    United Airlines Omaha-bound Engine Shut Down


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jason Whitebird

    What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from San Francisco to Boston
    Where: Omaha Nebraska
    When: June 29, 2011, 8:20 pm
    Who: 181 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: While en route to Boston, the plane developed a fuel leak in its right engine. The engine was shut down.

    The pilot made a safe landing in Boston within 20 minutes.

    Passengers were provided an alternative flight.

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    Pilot Dies in Alaska Crash

    What: Cessna 150 en route from Anchorage to Beluga Lake
    Where: west side of Cook Inlet, Beluga Lake Alaska
    When: June 26, 2011
    Who: 2 aboard, 1 fatality
    Why: Pilot Timothy Hudok was killed in his Cessna three miles west of Beluga Lake. The wreckage was found by Alaskan State Troopers at Triumvirate Glacier after the pilot’s wife had alerted the FAA to the flight being overdue. Passenger Robert Goodwill who survived was airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical center.

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    Jazz Rocky Ride over Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Gustavo Corujo – Gusair

    What: Air Canada Jazz de Havilland Dash 8-100 en route from Rouyn,QC to Montreal,QC
    Where: Montreal
    When: Jun 28th 2011
    Who: 28 aboard
    Why: Thirty minutes outside of Montreal, the flight encountered thunder storms which caused severe turbulence lasting about two minutes.

    The flight landed safely in Montreal.

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    RussAir Death Toll Rises as 3 Succumb After Rescue

    What: Rusline/Rusair Tupolev TU-134A en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
    Where: outskirts of the Besovets village, Petrozavodsk, Russia
    When: Jun 20 2011 at 11:40 pm
    Who: 43 passengers and 9 crew N
    Why: On approach to the airport, the plane struck the ground about 2600 feet shy of runway 2. On impact, the plane burst into flame, and skidded into the gardens of a residential area, although missing residences.

    Initially eight people survived, but on the 21st, a nine year old boy died, a woman died on the 25th, and a man died on the 26th.

    Details on the Tu134 RusAir Crash

    Russian Rusline/RusAir Tupolev Crash Kills 44, 8 Gravely Injured Survive

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    May 2011 Saab Crash in Argentina


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alberto U.

    What: Sol Linaeas Aereas Saab 340A
    Where: 20 km (12.5 mls) N of Prahuaniyeu, RN Argentina
    When: May 18, 2011
    Who: 3 crew, 19 passengers
    Why: After the last radio contact at 20:50, the aircraft crashed near Los Menucos en-route Neuquen to Comodoro after declaring an emergency and requesting descent out of icing conditions. There were no survivors of the 19 passengers and 3 crew.

    There were newspaper reports of the flight coming down as a fireball, but that has been interpreted as journalistic license. We apologize if our translations reported this incident as a falling fireball when the fire apparently began after ground impact.

    The pilot asked to descend from 5.800 meters to 4.300 due to ice. In the last communication ATC was informed that “the flight was was at 1.000 metres and going back to NQN.”

    Wing Icing and a failure of the inlet deicing system is being considered as responsible. The black boxes were recovered.

    The investigation is ongoing.

    LA JUNTA DE INVESTIGACIONES DE ACCIDENTES DE AVIACIÓN CIVIL YA ESTÁ TRABAJANDO EN EL ACCIDENTE DEL VUELO 5428 DE SOL

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    Details on the Tu134 RusAir Crash


    On board RusAir Flight 9605, there were 9 crew members, and a total of 52 people, 44 of whom died on the scene. At this time of the year, in Petrozavodsk, this is the time of White Nights so the accident occurred in subdued daylight. One died on 22 June 2011.

    Nationalities have been released:
    one Swede
    one from Netherlands
    two Ukranians
    4 with US/Russian citizenship (dual)
    Fatalities include chief designer of Gidropress Sergei Ryzhov, and the deputy CEO and chief designer, Gennady Banyuk, and football ref Vladimir Pettay.

    While on final approach to Petrozavodsk Airport in poor weather and heavy fog, Flight 9605 crashed on the A133 highway, 3900 feet shy of the runway. The weather during the arrival of the flight was deteriorating from OVC005 to OVC003 to fog with zero visibility. The black boxes were recovered. The fire at the crash was extinguished 45 minutes after midnight. The Tu-134 was 31 years old.

    Russia is considering removing the Tu-134 from service.


    Click title to access Karelia plane crash video

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    Delta Flats Land in Atlanta


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alessandro Lukas

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Denver to Atlanta
    Where: Denver
    When: Jun 24th 2011
    Who: 159 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: On takeoff, the flight blew two tires.

    Pilots continued to Atlanta where they made a safe landing on the blown tires. After landing, the plane stopped on the runway, the tires replaced, and then the flight continued to the gate, when passengers disembarked normally.

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    Quebec Chopper Crash Kills Passenger, Pilot Survives


    Le R44 Raven II Capitale Hélicoptère

    What: Capitale Helicoptere Robinson R44 en route between Quebec City and a small mining camp
    Where: Lake Deborah Quebec
    When: June 24, 2011
    Who: Pilot and passenger
    Why: Pilot, Allan Da Encarnacao was flying the two year old Robinson R44 helicopter in a remote area when the chopper crashed in an area with no cell or radio reception. The pilot had been engaged to fly the passenger to the mining camp.

    The pilot, who is 25 ,survived the crash and was taken to a Quebec City hospital with serious injuries.

    The Capitale Helicoptere flight was near Lake Deborah when the helicopter went down.

    The provincial coroner’s office and Quebec provincial police are investigating

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    SATA Emergency Landing in Funchal

    What: SATA International Airbus A320-200 en route from Funchal to Copenhagen
    Where: Funchal Portugal
    When: Jun 20th 2011
    Who: 104 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: On takeoff, the plane flew through a flock of birds, resulting in damage to both engines. There was vibration but no loss of power. Within a quarter of an hour, the pilot landed safely back at Funchal.

    Both engines ingested seagulls, resulting in damaged fan blades. Also, on impact with a gull, one of the cargo doors opened.

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    Flight Data Recorders Beyond 447

    Honeywell could be resting on its laurels, since the Honeywell Flight Data Recorders aboard Air France Flight 447 certainly performed, resisting two years worth of extreme water pressure and temperature. Skeptics did not expect the data to be recoverable. The fact is that the flight data recorders working for two years at 12,800 feet is operability beyond the design parameters. They were only expected to last about 28 days under water.

    The FDR reports confirmed that in the minutes leading up to the crash, pilots were given conflicting speed readings.

    The event does provide Honeywell a wakeup call with at least one FDR feature.

    The only thing that gave out within 28 days was the battery. Honeywell plans to extend battery life.