It’s not just that they’re sending American jobs out of the country. There’s another question here: Is outsourcing maintenance endangering passengers because the lack of federal oversight?
Forty percent of maintenance is being sent to third world countries which are documented to have lower standards and security lapses. Saving money may be the intent, but is the savings as important as the performer of the maintenance being able to read the manuals and order forms of the machines he is working on. The work is termed “typically inadequate.” To see Video, Click below.
What: Air France Airbus 380 en route from NY to Paris Where: JFK, NY When: April 11, 2011 Who: Air France Airbus passengers; and Comair passengers; Why: A Delta/Comair Bombardier CRJ-700 (N641CA) which had just flown in from Boston was struck in the tail by the left wing of an Airbus.
There were no injuries, but a lot of inconvenience, plus damage to both planes. (The Comair left horizontal stabilizer and the Airbus wingtip.) The Air France flight was cancelled because of the damage. Both flights were cancelled, although the Air France flight hadn’t gone anywhere. The Air France passengers had to disembark and retrieve their luggage as alternatives for reaching their destination were sorted out.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
What: Delta MD 80 en route from New York to Ft Lauderdale Where: Raleigh Durham NC When: April 11, 2011 9:30 pm Who: 94 passengers 5 crew Why: While en route, a noxious electrical smell developed. Crew complained of illness and diverted to Raleigh Durham NC where they made a safe landing.
What: Bell 206 helicopter crash en route from Bintangor, Sarikei to Dataran Sibu Where: Dataran Sibu When: April 11, 2011 Who: Captain Sahimi Razali Why: The helicopter Captain Razali was piloting crashed after three delegates disembarked. The helicopter was ten feet off the ground when he lost control of it and was pinned in the wreckage. He sustained undesignated injuries and died at Sibu hospital. His helicopter was a third of the units carrying a delegation to Dataran Sibu.
Do we know more than we did before the investigations? No, we do not. Because after almost 9 months, we still haven’t heard the official investigation of the Air Blue Airbus that crashed in Margalla Hills on July 28, 2010. And this is not one of those cases where the blackboxes disappeared. The black boxes on this flight were located and sent to France for processing.
What: AirBlue Airbus A321-200 en route from Karachi to Islamabad Pakistan Where: Margalla Hills about 10nm north of Islamabad When: Jul 28th 2010 Who: 146 passengers and 6 crew Why: While on approach to Islamabad in poor weather conditions during monsoon rain and low visibility, radio contact was lost (at 09:45) and the plane impacted the terrain.
Helicopters flew into the mountainous area, which is difficult to access. Initial reports were that there were no survivors then helicopters were reported to have flown five survivors to hospitals. Six bodies have been recovered including the pilot but there are no survivors (in spite of the video report.)
Scheduled 14 CFR Non-U.S., Commercial operation of Airblue
Accident occurred Wednesday, July 28, 2010 in Islamabad, Pakistan
Aircraft: AIRBUS A321, registration: AP-BCB
Injuries: 157 Fatal.
On July 28, 2010, Airblue flight 202, an Airbus A321 with IAE V2500 engines, registration AP-BCB, impacted terrain in the Margilla Hills during approach to runway 12 at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (OPRN), Islamabad, Pakistan. All 150 passengers and 7 crewmembers onboard were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The flight was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan (OPKC) to OPRN.
What: Twin engine Cessna en route from New Orleans to McComb Mississippi Where: McComb Mississippi When: April 10 2011 4:07 am Who: 2 women, one man Why: The plane struck trees before hitting the ground four miles from the airport. Witnesses reported an explosion and flames. Dr. Taylor Pickett and Laura Pickett, and Jacqueline Ham were killed in the crash. They were returning from Louisiana where they saw a friend perform music in New Orleans. The crash is under investigation. The deceased leave behind four children.
What: Emirates en route from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai Where: Chennai When: April 10, 2011 Who: 465 passengers Why: While en route, the plane had a technical failure resulting in smoke in the cockpit. The crew diverted to Chennai where they made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative transportation to Dubai. However, the passengers overnighted in Chennai as the problem could not be solved within the crews “max duty time.”
What: Vueling Airbus A320-200 en route from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela Where: Barcelona When: May 28 2006 Who: 137 passengers 7 crew Why: The airbus suffered wake turbulence causing the plane to roll to the right. The crew regained Santiagocontrol and continued to where they landed safely, although 4 passengers and 3 crew members were hurt.
The wake turbulence was caused by an A340 ten miles ahead.
Separation was met, and CIAIAC said weather was not a factor. The NTSB Report said probable case was due to In flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of loads beyond system design caused by first officer’s excessive rudder input.
What: Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from London to Jeddah Saudi Arabia Where: Rome When: Apr 6th 2011 Who: 232 passengers Why: While en route, an engine developed problems and was shut down. The pilots diverted to Rome and made a safe landing. The engine indicated that it was overheated; but the mechanism was faulty. Repairs were performed, after which the flight was continued.
What: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Sacramento to Kahului Where: Sacramento When: April 9, 2011, 10:20am Who: 169 passengers Why: After takeoff from Sacramento, a bird was ingested into the plane’s engine, causing engine trouble. The flight returned to Sacramento where it made a safe landing. A replacement flight was scheduled for the afternoon.
Recent bird include the Skywest/Delta Canadair CRJ 700 (Portland-Salt Lake City) strike on April 6 2011, the GOL Linhas Aereas Boeing 737-800 (Salvador-Aracaju) strike on April 3, and the Air France Boeing 777 strike in Paris (Paris-HongKong) on Mar 24.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Oakland,CA to Denver,CO Where: Oakland When: Apr 5th 2011 Who: 103 passengers Why: After take-off, the plane indicated a slat problem. The crew returned to Oakland and made a safe landing. It was replaced by another 737, which flew passengers to Denver.
What: United Nations/Georgian Airways Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional Jet CRJ-100ER en route from Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport (FIH) to Kisangani (FKI) and Entebbe (EBB), Uganda and back. Where: Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport (FIH) Congo When: 04 APR 2011 2 pm local time Who: 29 passengers 3 crew Why: On the final leg of the flight, the plane crashed in rainy weather. The pilot attempted a landing in heavy rain, and broke in two. There were some who initially survived who were taken to Biamba Marie Mutombo hospital in the town of Masina, which is fifteen minutes from the Kinshasa airport. Twenty UN workers were aboard. The plane ignited on contact.
One person survived the crash according to a UN Farhan Haq spokesman.
* A second source said the plane was a Fokker 834.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 en route from Phoenix to Sacramento Where: Yuma International Airport, AZ When: 01 APR 2011 Who: 118 aboard Why: A hole burst through the top of this Boeing while en route. The plane suffered decompression, descended to a safe level (when an attendant was injured) and made an emergency landing in Yuma.
The hole has opened a witch hunt on aging Boeings in search of the kind of metal fatigue that would result in a hole during operations now that the aluminum skin has been known to separate at the lap joints, where panels are spliced together. Although the incident did not result in death, it is being taken as a “warning.” 175 Boeing 737 are slated for examination, and maintenance programs (Southwest, FAA, Boeing) are being re-evaluated to take this into account.
Discussion of lap joint and the 3 rows of rivets. The skin separated at the lower rivet line. Pre-existing fatigue existed on the fracture surface. (Multi site damage.) The decompression happened 18.5 minutes after take-off, and no pre-indications. The flight crew immediately declared emergency.
On April 4, 2011, a United Airlines Airbus 320-232 with 109 passengers and crew aboard returned to the airport about 20 minutes after take-off due to electrical difficulties and smoke in the cockpit. On landing, the crew described a loss of anti-skid braking and nose-wheel steering and passengers had to exit via slide. (The right front slide failed.) Dan Bower is investigator-in-charge of the NTSB team including reps of Federal Aviation Administration,United Airlines, the Air Line Pilots Association, theAssociation of Flight Attendants, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and an Airbus rep appointed by the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) of the Government of France.
What: United Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from New Orleans,LA to San Francisco,CA Where: Louis Armstrong Airport When: April 4 2011 7:20 a.m. after a 13 minute flight Who: 100 passengers 5 crew Why: After takeoff, the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, and returned to the airport. The pilot reported losing all instruments, and landed on backup power, blowing out a tire and running off the runway. Passengers evacuated via slides.
After landing, passengers were taken to the Hilton.
TRANSCRIPT OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER, PILOT CONVERSATION
UA 497: Clear for takeoff runway 19, thank for you very much.
UA 497: We need to vector back to the airport, we got a smoke issue with the airplane.
N.O. Approach: Turn right 030 (degrees) and maintain 4,000 (feet.)
UA 497: 030 4,000. And we’d like the longest runway please.
N.O. Approach: There are men and equipment on the runway – they’re going to try to get them off now. Descend at pilot’s discretion. Maintain 2,000.
UA 497: We are declaring an emergency and please roll equipment for our landing please.
N.O. Approach: We are unable for (runway) 10, can you take (runway) 19?
UA 497: ..no..
N.O. Approach: Roger, we are clearing the runway now.
Airport operations: How much time do we have?
New Orleans Tower: I’d say they are about 11 miles to the west.
Airport operations: Tower, we can start trying to pull them off, but I don’t think we will get them all off in time.
N.O. Approach: United 497, Say souls on board and fuel remaining.
UA 497: 106 souls on board, fuel remaining 32,400 pounds.
N.O. Approach: They are still trying to get all the vehicles off the runway and 19 is still available if you like….
New Orleans Tower: … working as fast as they can (unintelligible) There is a bunch of equipment on there they’re tying to get off now.
UA 497: You need to clear it for us.
New Orleans Tower: I understand, sir. We’re getting them off as fast as we can.
N.O. Approach: Turn right heading 140, main 2,000 ….cleared ILS runway 10 approach.
New Orleans Tower: Can you verify the vehicles are exiting?
Airport operations: We are attempting to get the vehicles off right now, I’m removing the cones also.
New Orleans Tower: OK, cause I haven’t seen any of the vehicles move and the aircraft is ten to the northwest and they have to have runway 100.
N.O. Approach: United 497, Turn right heading 180.
UA 497: um…. We only have one… um … (Alarms sounding in background.)
N.O. Approach: United 497 say again sir?
New Orleans Tower: We need three minutes to get the runway clear.
UA 497: (alarms blaring) We’ve lost all our instruments right now and we’re going to need (directions)
N.O. Approach: United turn left heading, 20 degrees left
N.O. Approach: Just continue left turn, I’ll tell you when to stop.
UA 497: (unintelligible) What vector are we from the airport?
N.O. Approach: Right now sir you are on the 330 degree heading from the airport. Northwest of the airport for runway 19er. If you continue on this present heading you’ll set up on the shoreline for 19.
UA 497: Shoreline for 19.
N.O. Approach: I can set u up there or I can vector you, what’d you need?
UA 497: That’s fine.
N.O. Approach: (unintelligible…)You got the water, right?
UA 497: Yeah, we got the water and we’re going to stop here about 600 feet.
N.O. Approach: Roger that. The airport’s currently at your 1 o’clock and five miles.
UA 497: 1 o’clock and five miles roger.
New Orleans Tower to fire crews: Fox-6, next arrival runway 19er is our aircraft. And the aircraft is approximately 3 miles northwest runway 19er.
N.O. Approach: If you start your right turn now I can set you up on final.
UA 497: Start turn on final.
New Orleans Tower to fire crews: The aircraft is over the shoreline around two miles out. You do have permission to proceed on to the runway after he lands.
N.O. Approach: Make a right turn. The airport is off to yoru right side,
N.O. Approach: 497, clear to land 19er. You’ll be able to make it sir? Winds 180 at 16, gusts to 20, Clear to land. Runway 19er.
New Orleans Tower to fire trucks: Fox-5, this is our aircraft touvh ing down bow.
New Orleans Tower: Follow the aircraft down the runway.
New Orleans Tower: We’re going to need runway 10 operational. Runway 19er is fouled at this time.
What: Alitalia Airbus A321-200 en route from Palermo to Rome Fiumicino Italy Where: Palermo When: Apr 3rd 2011 Who: 150 passengers Why: While en route, the crew encountered an undesignated technical problem.
The crew returned to Palermo where they made a safe landing. The Airbus was flown to Milan for examination and repair.
What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Boston,MA to Saint Thomas US Virgin Islands Where: Atlantic When: Apr 3rd 2011 Who: 157 aboard Why: While en route, the flight developed a problem with cabin pressure. The flight was 150nm southeast of New York City at the time. They descended to 10,000 feet for the sake of the pressure.
Then the pilots diverted to jfk to make a safe landing.
What: Lufthansa Airbus A320-200 en route from Frankfurt to Moscow Where: Frankfurt When: Apr 2nd 2011 Who: 80 passengers Why: Engine exhaust increased in temperature. The pilots returned to Frankfort where they made a safe landing. Passengers were provided a replacement flight 3 hours later.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Dallas to Santiago Chile Where: Dallas When: Apr 1st 2011 Who: 170 passengers 12 crew Why: After taking off from Dallas/ft Worth, the crew returned to the airport because of a tail strike. They made a safe landing 30 minutes after takeoff. The flight was cancelled.
What: Egyptair Airbus A321-200 en route from Brussels (Belgium) to Cairo (Egypt) Where: Cairo When: Apr 1st 2011 Who: 76 passengers Why: On landing at Cairo, the crew aborted the initial approach on receipt of an unsafe gear indication.The plane rotated with the airport to the right, and leveled off.
The cabin crew announced the flight would be landing later due to traffic then made a hard landing on runway 23L. The plane rolled out, with firetrucks on standby. The landing gear was examined on the runway.
What: Lakeland Linder Regional 2011 Sun n’ Fun fly-in and exposition Where: Central Florida When: March 31 2011 Who: Multiple injuries, no fatalities Why: A tornado disrupted a central Florida airshow, although reports that a hanger collapsed on spectators is false. Seven people reported injuries but there were no fatalities. Heavy winds, damaging rain, fallen trees, and alot of wrecked planes. The airshow is planning on reopening Friday. You have to give them credit for that.
And elsewhere in Florida, the storm caused more problems. At Cape Canaveral exercises were put on hold while the storm passed through.
What: TUIFly Boeing 737-800 en route from Tenerife Sur Reina Sofia, Spain to Frankfurt Germany Where: Tenerife When: Mar 27th 2011 Why: On the runway, the Boeing and struck its tail and rejected takeoff. There was substantial damage to the plane. Passengers disembarked after the pilot told them there was a fault in the instruments. We can only speculate: There is some disagreement whether this was due to instrumentation, poorly balanced load or human error.
The single-engine, four-seat Cirrus SR22 was on course for Kissimmee, Fla., and maintaining altitude at 11,000 feet, but had not responded to repeated contact attempts from controllers; at the same time, ten miles behind the Cirrus at 12,000 feet was Southwest Flight 821, a Boeing 737. Rather than following the protocol for unresponsive aircraft, the supervisor asked the Boeing to visually check the Cirrus cockpit. The Boeing did so, reporting 2 people in the cockpit. Both planes landed safely.
But the planes violated proximity guidelines. The Boeing could have caused air turbulence upsetting the Cirrus. They flew too close. As a consequence, the FAA suspending the FAA controller, and they are reviewing procedures, and training practices.
What: Eurocopter EC135P2 Helicopter registration OE-BXF Where: Lake Achensee, Austria When: March 31, 2011 Who: 4 crew members, 4 fatalities Why: During a border inspection flight, the helicopter was flying very low, and tipped the surface lightly, the helicopter shot up, then fell. The helicopter had a crew of 3 Tyroleans and one Swiss. The air rescue and mountain guide, Stephen L. (38) was found floating; Pilot Mark P. (41), Mr Herbert F. (53) from the state police, and a Swiss civil servant (43) were not found until evening. They appeared to have been trapped in the cockpit. The pilot had 2,500 flight hours,and the helicopter was new.
Fire and water emergency personnel responded, and (3 rescue helicopters and 43 divers) dive teams are on site using sonar imaging. They are looking for the black box so they can learn the details of the crash.
In 2009 in Syria, two people died in an EC 135 helicopter.
What: American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Fort Myers to Dallas TX Where: Jacksonville When: Mar 30th 2011 Why: While en route, the crew smelled smoke in the cabin.
They diverted to Jacksonville. By the time they landed, the odor dissipated. The plane was examined; and a replacement MD-83 was flown in.
What: United Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Washington to Portland Where: Chicago When: Mar 29 2011 Who: 3 unruly passengers and one ill passenger Why: While en route, three unruly passengers caused the pilot to divert to Chicago for an overweight landing. The passengers disembarked, and the fight continued to Portland, albeit between four and five hours late. The passengers who disembarked were re-screened.
What: Lakeland Linder Regional 2011 Sun n’ Fun fly-in and exposition
