What: AeroUnion Airbus A-300B4-200 en route from Monterrey (Mexico) to Los Angeles,CA Where: Mexico When: April 13th 2010 Who: 2 crew ; 3 on ground fatalities Why: After taking off from Monterrey on a freight flight after 11:00 pm, it is reported that a turbine and wing fell off the plane, and then the Airbus fell out of the sky on to a highway not far from the runway. (Most of the wreckage is on airport property. ) The crew and three individuals on the ground were killed.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Paris to Dallas Where: Reykjavik When: 13 April 2010 Who: 133 passengers and 12 crew Why: While en route, five crew members became ill from chemical fumes aboard flight 49. The flight diverted to Keflavik Iceland where they made a safe landing. London was sending an alternative flight to pick up the stranded passengers and crew and continue to their destination.
There is no indication yet of the source of the fumes. Eight ambulances were on hand to treat those affected.
What: Slazenger’s single-engine two-seater kit Falco EI BMF landing at Powerscourt private airstrip Where: County Wicklow When: 10 April 2010 Who: pilot Dr Michael Slazenger and passenger Noel Whitney Why: While Slazenger was attempting to land his aircraft at a private airstrip on his Powerscourt estate in Eniskerry, the plane’s wing struck a tree and crashed. Noel Whitney died at the scene, Slazenger died Monday morning.
What: Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 en route from from Surabaya Indonesia to Hong Kong Where: Hong Kong When: April 13 2010 Who: 309 passengers and 14 crew Why: On approach to Hong Kong, the flight developed engine failure in one engine which was shut down, and the other engine failed on landing. On the runway, brakes overheated, caught fire, and the tires went flat.
Passengers evacuated the plane via emergency chutes; seven were injured though only five hospitalized. (Other reports indicate 8 admitted to hospital.)
What: Merpati Nusantara Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Sarong to Manokwari West Papua. (Sorong-Dominique Edward Osok Airport to Rendani Airport) Where: Rendani Airport, Indonesia When: 12 April 2010 Who: 97 passengers ( 76 men, 21 women, three children and three infants) 6 crew Why: While landing at Rendani in heavy fog and rain, the flight overshot the runway and/or hydroplaned on the wet runway, lost a wing in a forest at the end of the runway and partially ended up with the tail suspended in river shallows. The fuselage split in two. No one was trapped; everyone got out alive. Reports of injury vary, from 80 minor injuries to 20 individuals who sustained varying degrees of injury (broken bones and head injury), one who had facial injury and trouble breathing.
Merpati is on the banned list. Nevertheless, Merpati spokesmen say this was entirely due to weather and not pilot error.
What: American Eagle Aerospatiale ATR-72-500 en route from Lawton to Dallas Where: Dallas When: Apr 10 2010 Why: On landing in Dallas, the plane’s main gear door fell from the aircraft.
The incident occurred a few months after the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a multimillion-dollar civil fine against Fort Worth-based American Eagle Airlines for flying planes with inadequate repairs. Eagle flew 1,178 flights with improperly repaired landing gear doors on four Bombardier aircraft, violating rules set by the FAA.
What: DHL Bahrain/ACT Airlines Airbus A-300B4-200 en route from from Bahrain to Bagram Where: Bahrain/ When: Apr 10 2010 Who: 7 crew members Why: On takeoff, the right engine caught fire and scattered debris on the runway. The plane rejected takeoff and rolled to a stop. Subsequent flights were delayed during runway cleanup. No injuries were reported, and emergency services handled the engine fire.
What: Air New Zealand/Eagle Airways Beech 1900D en route from Auckland to Whangarei Where: Auckland When: Apr 9 2010 Who: 9 passengers and 3 crew Why: While en route, the left cargo door opened. The crew landed the plane back at the airport. There were no injuries.
What: Polish Air Force Tupolev TU-154M Where: Smolensk When: Apr 10th 2010 Who: 88 passengers and 8 crew Why: On approach to Smolensk North Airport in dense fog, the plane impacted a forest, coming to rest short of the runway. There are conflicting reports leading up to the decision to land at Smolensk (versus Minsk or Moscow), holding pattern, the number of approaches.
Everyone aboard the flight was lost, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers.
Partial list of those lost in the crash:
1. Lech Kaczynski, President of the Republic of Poland
2. Maria Kaczynska, the president’s wife
3. Ryszard Kaczorowski, head of Poland’s London-based government-in-exile during the communist period
4. General Tadeusz Buk, Head of Polish Land Forces
5. Leszek Deptula, MP
6. Grzegorz Dolniak, MP
7. Katarzyna Doraczynska, President’s Chancellery
8 Janina Fetlinska, Senator
9. General Franciszek Gagor, Chief of Staff
10. Grazyna Gesicka, MP
11. Przemyslaw Gosiewski, MP
12. Mariusz Handzlik, Minister at the President’s Chancellery
13. Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, MP
14. Sebastian Karpiniuk, MP
15. Admiral Andrzej Karweta, Head of Polish Navy
16. Mariusz Kazana, Foreign Ministry
17. Janusz Kochanowski, Poland’s Ombudsman
18. Stanislaw Jerzy Komorowski, Deputy Defence Minister
19. Andrzej Kremer, Deputy Foreign Minister
20. Janusz Kurtyka, National Remembrance Institute head
21. Tomasz Merta, Deputy Culture Minister
22. Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, MP
23. Piotr Nurowski, head of Polish Olympics Committee
24. Krzysztof Putra, Deputy Speaker of parliament
25. Arkadiusz Rybicki, MP
26. Slawomir Skrzypek, head of Poland’s central bank
27. Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of Kaczynski’s Chancellery
28. Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the National Security Bureau
29. Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Deputy Speaker of parliament
30. Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, MP
31. Izabela Tomaszewska, President’s Chancellery
32. Anna Walentynowicz, former Solidarity activist
33. Zbigniew Wassermann, MP
34. Wieslaw Woda, MP
35. Edward Wojtas, MP
36. Pawel Wypych, Minister and Kaczynski’s Chancellery
What: Kamchatka Airlines Mil Mi-8T helicopter Where: Elizovo, Kamchatka Russia When: April 9 2010 Who: 18 aboard, 7 fatalities Why: After an avalanche, the bodies of 7 German tourists aboard a helicopter have been recovered. Two survivors (the captain and one tourist) have been taken to a medical center and search is ongoing for the rest of those aboard. Inhospitable mountainous terrain is impeding the search
What: Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Oakland Where: Oakland When: April 10, 2010 Who: 134 aboard Why: While en route the pilot discovered hydraulic problems. The hydraulic fluid leaked on to the landing gear and smoked on landing; but otherwise the fight landed safely in Oakland with emergency vehicles on standby.
What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Washington to Denver Where: 157 passengers and 6 crew When: 7 pm Who: 157 passengers and 6 crew members;
The individual who was detained is Mohammed al Modadi, a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, D.C. Why: When an on board air marshal smelled smoke, he confronted the passenger in the first class bathroom. Mohammed al Modadi, who was apparently sneaking a smoke in the bathroom, declared diplomatic immunity and made a sarcastic declaration regarding Richard Reid.
Modadi was escorted to his seat and rode the rest of the flight flanked by two air marshals.
Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the flight the last 40 miles to Denver where Modadi was taken into custody.
No explosives were found.
George’s Point of View
People should be held accountable for their actions.
In this case, it requires looking closely at the actions. Some logical points are given:
1. Smoking is not allowed.
2. The air marshals were doing their job.
3. There is a time and place for everything. Standing in a plane’s bathroom after smoking a cigarette in a world where real people are really trying to blow up planes is not the place to make a shoe-bomb joke to a nervous air marshal. Even if one is a diplomat. Especially if one is a diplomat.
4. Diplomats are generally expected to smooth over or prevent international incidents, not cause them. (On the other hand, what exactly is Modadi’s job description, and exactly what is he supposed to do?)
5. This time the plane did not blow up.
Anything beyond this is speculation. I am sure the aviation lawyers and the aviation lawmakers will be hotly discussing this event, to see exactly how diplomatic status will affect policy, and playing the “what if” game. What if Modadi was just testing to see what would happen? What if there’s another diplomat biding his time for when we lower our guard, waiting to do this for real?
Whether a diplomat is a political officer to advocate for Qatar interests, a trade officer to advocate for Qatar interests, or a consular officer providing services for Qatar travelers, one can reasonably expect that Modadi’s agenda for today did not include deliberately getting caught sneaking a smoke in the United Airlines lavatory, nearly causing an international incident or providing puppet comedian Jeff Dunham grist for his “Achmed the dead terrorist” character for the next ten years. If Modadi has enough character and charm to jockey his ten minutes of fame into something more, we just may even see him as the new face of the nicotine patch or some other smoking cessation method or remedy.
On the other hand, we can not forget that there are people out there who wait for us to drop our guard so the next suicidal bomber can make his vicious mark.
What: Air Canada Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Montreal Where: on runway in Frankfurt; on runway in Montreal When: Apr 6 2010 Who: 219 aboard Why: On takeoff, the plane experienced significant vibration and a tire blew out. The flight crew decided to continue on to their destination.
On landing in Montreal with emergency services standing by, the plane’s landing on a damaged nose wheel (right main) incurred damage to the flap, wheel well and gear door. Passengers disembarked on the runway and were driven to the terminal.
On a completely unrelated note, on the same day, on a different Air Canada flight, a sleeping passenger was left for an hour and a half on the plane after everyone had disembarked. The passenger, departmental head of sports law from Staffordshire University was on a Calgary-Vancouver flight. He was offered a ticket discount as compensation.
One wonders if he will change his specialty to aviation law.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta to Las Vegas Where: Will Rogers Airport When: Apr 7 2010 5 pm Who: 182 passengers and 7 crew Why: While en route (near Oklahoma City), the plane developed unspecified mechanical problems in an engine. The crew decided to divert to the nearest airport. The flight landed safely. Passengers were provided refreshments, and given the option to either continue that day on an alternative flight or fly the next day.
What: Republic Airlines Embraer ERJ-170 en route from Omaha to Milwaukee Where: Milwaukee When: Apr 3 2010 Why: While en route, the flight encountered turbulence that injured a flight attendant. The flight made a safe landing, without further injury.
What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Addis Ababa to Rome Where: Rome When: Apr 5 2010 Why: On approach to Rome, the Ethiopian Airlines jet experienced hydraulic failure. The flight made a safe landing, but had to be towed to the apron. No injuries were reported.
What: US Airways/PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Charlotte,NC to Lexington,KY Where: Charlotte-Douglas International Airport When: Apr 6 2010 Who: 14 passengers and 3 crew Why: After takeoff, the left engine failed. The crew returned to Charlotte and made a safe cautionary landing 20 minutes after it left.
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 en route from New York JFK to Los Angeles Where: Dulles, Washington When: Apr 6th 2010 Who: 152 passengers Why: While en route, the systems detected an indication that a cargo door was “not fully secure”. The flight diverted to Dulles where it made an unscheduled stop, and landed safely. The cargo door problem was promptly taken care of by mechanics before the flight continued on to LA.
What: SAS Scandinavian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Pristina Kosovo to Copenhagen Where: Berlin When: Apr 3rd 2010 Who: 89 passengers and 5 crew Why: After takeoff from Kosovo, a part fell from the engine. the crew diverted to Berlin and made a safe landing.
What: Front Range Helicopters Where: near Mount Morrison When: April 04, 2010 Who: Pilot instructor 29-year-old Jesse Whitsett of Fort Collins and student Michael McDonald Why: The student was practicing a “remote site landing,” a move required for a license. McDonald was practicing to get his license.
After the crash, the pilot radioed in his location. Neither instructor nor student was seriously injured, although McDonald did go to the hospital.
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Bangkok to London Where: Bangkok When: Apr 6th 2010 Who: 335 passengers Why: After takeoff, engine four had an engine surge. The crew decided to return to Bangkok where they circled, dumped fuel and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided accommodations, and an alternative flight. There were no injuries.
What: Egypt Air Airbus A330-200 en route from Cairo to Hurghada Where: Cairo When: Apr 2nd 2010 Who: 195 passengers Why: Prior to take-off, there was crew error on the ground, and the plane impacted two runway light poles. The wings were damaged; the streetlights collapsed. Passengers were transferred to another plane.
What: American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Tulsa to Chicago O’Hare Where: Dane County Regional Airport When: 9:46 p.m. Sunday April 4 2010 Who: 27 passengers on board Why: While en route, the pilot detected smoke/electrical fumes in the cockpit and decided to divert to Madison.
Passengers were provided overnight accomodations by the airline and continued to Chicago on Monday.
What: Anlægsselskabet Dansk Nybyg Piper PA-28-151 Warrior en route from Laesoe island. Where: between Solsbæk and Sæby, North Jutland, Denmark When: April 5 2010 Who: Two were hospitalized; remains of Niels and Bente Birch Nielsen recovered on the scene Why: The 35-year-old Piper PA-28-151 Warrior crashed into trees near Solsbæksvej (Solsbæksroad), between Solsbæk and Sæby, North Jutland. The parents were were killed and the two daughters (17 and 25) were taken to hospital with serious injuries. At the time of the crash, visibility was not good, and according to witnesses, the plane was flying low.
What: Qantas Boeing 747 en route from Los Angeles to Melbourne Where: Melbourne When: Apr 5 2010 Why: While en route over Canberra, a crack developed in the outer pane of the first officer’s windshield. The flight landed safely, and was temporarily taken out of circulation/rotation for repairs.
