What: Bellenca 17-31ATC Super Viking en route From Oregon to Wyoming
Where: 13 miles East of Ukiah, Oregon
When: June 12, 2011
Who: 3 aboard
Why: The small plane crashed after taking off from Dallesport Washington. The wreckage was found near Ukiah in a remote area set in the mountains. The forest service cut a road into the area to make it accessible. According to reports, two bodies were found; the third was missing but also declared a fatality.
A power outage in Phoenix knocked out all of US Airways computers, grounding flights all over the US.
Boarding pass scanners are also down.
US Airways has published three press releases regarding the outage:
3:
US Airways Releases Third Update Regarding System Outage
TEMPE, Ariz., Jun 10, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
US Airways’ (NYSE: LCC) website, usairways.com and airport computer systems have been restored following a systems outage earlier today.
As the operation returns, flights may continue to be delayed.
Early reports indicate that the systems outage was the result of a power outage near one of the airline’s data centers in Phoenix.
We strongly encourage our customers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport by visiting usairways.com or by calling US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322. (LCCG)
SOURCE: US Airways
US Airways
Media Relations, 480-693-5729
2:
US Airways Releases Update Regarding System Outage
TEMPE, Ariz., Jun 10, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
US Airways’ (NYSE: LCC) website – usairways.com – and the airline’s airport computer systems are back online and we are working to restore operational order following a systems outage earlier today.
Flights throughout the US Airways system have been impacted and are delayed. While usairways.com is back online, it may perform unreliably and in a delayed fashion.
Early reports indicate that the systems outage was the result of a power outage near one of the airline’s data centers in Phoenix.
We strongly encourage our customers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport by visiting usairways.com or by calling US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322. (LCCG)
SOURCE: US Airways
1:
US Airways Issues Statement Regarding System Outage
TEMPE, Ariz., Jun 10, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
US Airways (NYSE: LCC) is experiencing a computer systems outage that has impacted usairways.com and the airline’s airport computer systems.
Early reports indicate that the systems outage is the result of a power outage near one of the airline’s data centers in Phoenix.
Some airport computer systems are coming back online now and we are working to restore operational order.
We strongly encourage our customers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport by calling US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322. (LCCG)
SOURCE: US Airways
US Airways
Media Relations, 480-693-5729
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Giovanni Verbeeck
What: Air New Zealand Boeing 767-300en route from Auckland to Perth,WA
Where: Auckland
When: Jun 9th 2011
Who: 206 passengers, 10 crew
Why: Just after takeoff, while climbing, the left hand engine shot flames and emitted engine backfire and banging noises. The pilots described an interruption to the airflow through the left hand engine. The pilot shut down the engine and returned to Auckland where they made a safe landing. No bird strike was found, although that was initially assumed to be the cause. The engine’s electronic control has been replaced, and the engine is being tested; and the engine’s electronic control has been shipped to the manufacturer for testing.
Passengers were provided an alternative flight to Perth. Some of them were shaken, although the airline says they were never in any danger.
What: Colombian Police Bell UH-1 Huey en route from La Salina to Yopal
Where: La Salina, Casanare Province Colombia
When: June 11, 2011
Who: 11 aboard, 8 fatalities
Why: In Bogata, a police Huey crashed on take-off when it became entangled with electrical cables (high voltage wires). Mechanical failure may have been involved. Seven died on the scene, and one en route.
The deceased included four helicopter crewmen (Pilot Captain Manuel Niño Nestor Acosta, co-pilot Lt. Fuentes Fabián Meneses and technical sub Leandro Mayor Sanchez) and four members of the police anti-narcotics service (Gutierrez Mendoza Eimer, John Contreras Lobo, John Jewel Delgado, Wilson Germain Medina Correa Delgado and Castillo). Four surviving narcotics officers (Miguel Ochoa Assistant Parrado, Domingo Gamarra Roso, Orlando Castillo and Jose Jaimes Torres Vesga) have been hospitalized.
The helicopter was completely destroyed.
The chopper’s registration number was PLC-0731
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrew Compolo
What: Emirates Boeing 777-20 en route from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Houston
Where: Dubai
When: Jun 8 2011
Why: During takeoff from Dubai, the left and right nose gear tire burst. (For whatever reason, the first tire burst, the second probably burst due to the increased weight.)
The plane rejected takeoff, and came to rest on the runway with overheated brakes that were handled by emergency services. The plane was towed off the runway, and passengers were provided an alternative flight.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gabriel Widyna
What: Delta Airlines Douglas DC-9-50 en route from Atlanta Georgia to Melbourne Florida
Where: Melbourne
When: Jun 9th 2011, 6:30 pm
Why: On approach to Melbourne, the flight developed a flaps problem.
Brevard County hospitals were notified and emergency crews were on the scene in less than eight minutes.
The pilot declared an emergency, aborted the approach and thirty minutes later made a safe landing. There were no injuries, and locals commended the pilot’s performance.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gerry Stegmeier
What: Iberia Airbus A319-100 en route from Madrid Spain to Frankfurt Germany
Where: Madrid
When: Jun 9th 2011
Who: 110 passengers
Why: After takeoff, one of the passengers undressed, and attacked the flight attendant who inquired about his naked condition. The pilot returned to Madrid. The plane was met at the gate by officials in Madrid, although no charges were filed.
What: N70FT Inc. Cessna 152 en route from Space Coast Aviation at the Merritt Island Airport
Where: Blue Cypress Lake, Indian River County, FL
When: June 9 2011
Who: 2 fatalities, Carly Beattie and Daniel Beattie
Why: A Cessna 152 chartered by Scottish visitors Carly Beattie and Daniel Beattie crashed in Indian River County southwest blue Cypress Lake. The plane crashed in mud and swampland in Blue Cypress Conservation area; the crash site is north of State Road 60 and east of Florida’s Turnpike, between Fellsmere and Yeehaw Junction, on land owned by the St. John’s River Water Management District. The rural area is home to venomous snakes and alligators, making recovery more difficult.
Carly was a student pilot, and not allowed to take passengers.
The plane apparently nosedived engine deep into the mud, splitting the fuselage behind the cockpit. The plane was lost on Thursday, reported Thursday at 11, and not found till Friday. Cell tower analysis helped to determine the location.
A crane will probably be used to recover the wreckage. An airboat was used to reach the site, and hikers were wearing waist-high boots. The NTSB is investigating.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Erezms
What: Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-96 en route from Petropavlosvk-Kamchatsky to Moscow Sheremetyevo
Where: Russia
When: Jun 8th 2011
Who: 258 passengers and 12 crew
Why: While lining up to take-off, the plane’s nose gear departed the runway surface on to the ground. The plane had to be towed, and caused a runway to be shut down.
What: Avianova Airbus A320 en route to Rostov
Where: Kuban region, Russia
When: June 3, 2011
Why: Pilots were approaching Rostov airport at (altitude) 300-400 meters when a green laser blinded one of the members of the flight crew.
The pilots managed to make a safe landing, then reported the laser situation.
Contact photographer Rob Beekmans
What: GoAir Airbus A320-200 en route from Delhi to Bangalore
Where: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
When: Jun 6th 2011, 9:23 am
Who: 165 passengers and 6 crew
Why: After taking off from Delhi, the flight returned within eighteen minutes due to an indication of smoke in the cockpit. Emergency services was on standby. VT-WAM is a new plane.
A faulty sensor was blamed for the indication.
What: United Airlines/Skywest Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Lincoln,NE to Denver,CO
Where: Lincoln Nebraska
When: June 6 2011, 7 am
Who: 53 passengers 3 crew
Why: On takeoff from Lincoln Airport, the crew detected smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots returned immediately to Lincoln and made a safe landing. Maintenance examined the plane. Takeoff was delayed for 9 hours.
What: Delta Air Lines/ SkyWest en route from Cincinnati to Milwaukee
Where: Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee Wisconsin
When: June 6, 2011
Who: 41 passengers, 3 crew
Why: On approach to the airport, the landing gear developed problems.
The plane made a safe landing at 10 pm Monday night on one set of landing gear. Passengers were bussed to the terminal. Once passenger was hospitalized.
According to news crews covering the incident, the plane looked tilted on the runway. The airport was closed for two hours after the landing.
What: DHL Aviation (leased from Solenta Aviation) Antonov 26
Where: 2.3 km S of Libreville Airport, Gabon
When: 06 JUN 2011
Who: 2 crew 2 passengers
Why: The flight had permission to land when it began experiencing a hydraulic problem, and was flying with difficulty when it crashed into the sea near Libreville Airport. (Although reported as a hydraulics issue, both propellors had stopped according to witnesses, so it may have been a fuel issue. )
One passenger from Gabon and one Bulgarian passenger were on board. The two member crew was Ukranian.
The flight ditched in shallow water and the plane is still visible above the water line.
Gabon has banned Antonov 26 flights in its airspace until further notice
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Frank Robitaille
What: Continental Express/Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Indianapolis to Newark
Where: Indianapolis
When: June 1, 2011
Who: 51
Why: While en route, the flight developed an oil pressure problem. At 10,000 feet, the pilot requested a return to the airport due to the engine issue. He shut down the left engine and returned to Indianapolis to make a safe landing.
Passengers were rerouted to alternative flights.
What: Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 en route from Kansas to Irvine
Where: LAX
When: 6:30 pm
Who: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team
Why: While en route the plane developed hydraulic issues and diverted to LAX.
The landing gear had to be manipulated manually.
The plane had been slated to land at John Wayne Airport in Irvine.
New technologies in aviation come about to solve problems and make air travel safer. From this new technology, controllers will have increased situational awareness.
Air traffic control relies on positive and procedural navigation: positive uses radar; procedural uses the radio-procedure of pilots reporting their position every few minutes.
Gander Automated Air Traffic System Plus (GAATS+) is Canada’s new trans-oceanic flight control system developed especially to help deal with sixty percent (the percentage of jets equipped with GPS position-reporting and text-based communications avionics) of the thousand jets crossing the North Atlantic daily (just as Air France 447 did.) It reduces radio procedure by extending positive control via north coast radar feeds.
The new technology is an advance in integration which automates ATC processes (taking advantage of the newest GPS technology, ADS-B and ADS-C) and is expected to save client airlines a million in fuel yearly. It is said that GAATS+ “provides significant enhancements to the original GAATS system, including electronic flight strips and increased automation of data exchange with other ATC facilities. GAATS+ also integrates automated flight plan processing, track generation, advanced conflict prediction and data-link communication for position reports.”
Of course I can not help but have opinions on operational technology, even without a single tangible thing that qualifies me to have an opinion.
The phrase that caught my eye is the statement that “GAATS allows reduced separation by lessening reliance solely on procedural control.”
I am not now nor will I ever be working in a control room. I will have to take the word of Air Traffic Controllers on how this system will work at making flying safer.
My opinion is only based on a layman’s experience and too much attention paid to aviation detail. I only see a few sticking points and they are broad ones:
What: American Airlines MD-80 en route from Dallas to Calgary
Where: Oklahoma City
When: June 2, 2011
Who: 56 passengers 5 crew
Why: While en route, emergency indicators came on in the cockpit. The pilot diverted to Oklahoma City and landed at Will Rogers World Airport.
(Latitude 35.396 Longitude -97.597 )
The flight made a safe landing and passengers disembarked without problems. Maintenance is examining the plane
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Tokyo Spotter
What: Air Canada Boeing 767-300 en route from Halifax to London Heathrow
Where: Montreal
When: Jun 2nd 2011
Who: 138 aboard
Why: After takeoff, the left engine emitted a loud explosive noise. Pilots shut down the engine but weather prevented a return to Halifax. The flight diverted to Montreal where it made a safe landing between two and three hours later. A replacement jet was sent to Montreal for passengers, resulting in a 13 hour delay on that flight.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Klaus Ecker
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Las Vegas to Atlanta,GA
Where: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Atlanta
When: Jun 2nd 2011, 5:53 p.m
Why: While en route to Atlanta, on approach the left engine developed issues and began smoking. Pilots made a safe landing.
Passengers disembarked on the runway and were provided transportation to the terminal.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gerry Stegmeier
What: United Airlines Boeing 767 en route from Chantilly Virginia to Ghana
Where: en route
When: May 29 , 2011
Who: 144 passengers
Why: After passenger one reclined his seat into passenger two’s lap, passenger two objected
and slapped passenger one in the head. Apparently passenger one retaliated. This escalated into a fight, which had to be broken up by passenger 3 and a flight attendant.
The fight that erupted between passengers resulted in a fighter escort from Andrews Air Force Base being sent in to shadow the flight on its return/diversion to Washington.
No one was arrested and no charges were filed, but police did meet the UA flight on its arrival. The flight was delayed for eighteen hours.
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Lanzarote Spain to London
Where: Porto
When: Jun 2nd 2011
Why: The flight was east of porto when the pilot saw an indication of engine problems (technical malfunction.) The pilot diverted to Porto and made a safe landing at Porto.
Passengers disembarked normally on the apron, without emergency slides.
Media reported smoke although Ryanair said there was no smoke.
A replacement jet was provided.
What: Cessna 172R Skyhawk
Where: Tooele County-Wendover Airport – Kenv Utah
When: June 1, 2011
Who: 4 fatalities
Why: The pilot of the Cessna was making a fuel stop at Wendover airport when he ran into difficulty, termed “a tough crosswind landing.” He approached for touchdown, bounced and turned north to make a second pass, and crashed 400 feet north of the runway. The four men aboard died in the crash.
Wind is considered to be a factor in the crash.
The names of those aboard the flight are Lincoln Marshal Dastrup, 57, of Salt Lake City, Chad A. Wade, 38, of South Jordan, Justin Michael Yates, 37, of Lehi, and Harish Parashar, 53.
What: Air France Airbus A320-200 en route from Athens to Paris
Where: Athens
When: May 30th 2011
Who: 152 passengers and 6 crew
Why: While over Athens, the plane incurred a bird strike. In Athens, a dismembered sea gull was found on the runway. The plane continued until unusual vibration of the engine made them decide to return to Athens. They had to burn off fuel.
They made a safe landing.
What: Jetlite Boeing 737-700 en route from Mumbai to Ranchi to Patna
Where: Patna Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport
When: Jun 1st 2011
Who: 100 aboard
Why: On landing at Patna, the plane had a bird strike on one of the engines.
The plane made a safe landing at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport anyway, although the next leg of the return (to Mumbai) had to be delayed due to damage to the plane.
