What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A319-100 from Sao Paulo to Sao Jose do Rio Where: Sao Jose do Rio When: Aug 5th 2010 Who: 137 people on board, Why: Before touching down, the crew reported technical problems. A hundred meters before the runway threshold, they landed onto grass, damaged a perimeter fence, and had a flat, but managed to taxi to the gate. There were no injuries. An alternate plane will be provided for the next leg of the journey.
What: Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 en route from Atlanta to Oregon Where: Atlanta International Airport When: July 22 2010 Who: 160 passengers and 6 crew Why: On takeoff, the Delta jet blew a tire. The pilots returned to Atlanta and made a safe landing after circling in a holding pattern for an hour to burn off fuel. Passengers disembarked safely and were booked on alternative flights.
What: U S Airways Express ( PSA) Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Charlotte to Mobile Alabama Where: Mobile Alabama When: Monday June 28 Who: 46 passengers Why: U S Airways Express en route from Charlotte to Mobile landed on a flat tire after taking off on a flat tire. The flight made a safe landing at Charlotte. Passengers disembarked on the runway and were ported back to the airport, where alternative flights were provided.
A hydraulic problem precipitated the tire and wheel failure.
What: Alitalia McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Rome to Lamezia Where: Catanzaro Italy When: Jun 13 2010 Who: 129 passengers Why: While landing presumably at high speed, a left tire burst. No injuries were reported, and the plane continued to the gate as usual.
What: Wizzair Bulgaria Airbus A320-200 en route from Madrid to Sofia Bulgaria Where: Madrid When: May 22nd 2010 Who: 136 passengers Why: During takeoff, two tires burst. Takeoff was rejected. Passengers disembarked and the tires were replaced, with the flight not arriving in Sophia until nearly 18 hours later.
What: Spicejet Boeing 737-800 en route from New Delhi to Srinagar India Where: Delhi When: May 24th 2010 Who: 188 passengers Why: After a normal takeoff, the crew was advised to return due to debris on the runway. After a flyby during which tire damage was observed, the Spicejet flight made a safe landing. Repairs were made and the flight took off again four hours later. No indication is made of passenger accommodation.
What: United Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Washington to Brussels Belgium Where: Dulles (Washington DC) When: May 8th 2010 Who: 176 passengers and 11 crew Why: About five minutes after takeoff, the on board crew was informed that pieces of the plane were left on the runway. Those pieces turned out to be the remains of tires. The plane went into a holding pattern to burn off fuel, then landed safely back at Dulles between two and three hours after takeoff. A piece of runway pavement was missing, leading to the conclusion that the runway popped the tire…
George’s Point of View
Most times I fly United and hope that their maintenance is better than the look of their wearing interiors. I don’t usually worry too much about the airport.
If I knew that the plane I was on had left pieces of itself on the runway, I’d rather be circling the airport than over the Atlantic. On the other hand, if I knew a shaggy runway was going to pop a tire on the plane I was on, I’d have walked the runway myself before taking off.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Miami to San Juan Where: Miami When: Apr 18th 2010 Why: The Boeing was maneuvering on the runway when it made an explosive noise. On acceleration, the plane began vibrating.
Instead of taking off, the plane returned to the gate with a flat tire. Passengers disembarked and were provided alternative transport.
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: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to Sydney Where: Sydney When: Mar 31st 2010 Who: 244 passengers Why: On landing, the plane blew its left tires; and there were sparks and and a brief fire from the brakes. The plane left a rubber trail. Damage assessment was made on the tarmac by engineers, with the plane sitting on its rims.
Qantas denies classifying this as an “emergency” landing.
George’s Point of View
I’m thinking how smart Boeing is to have held up release of their big jumbo, especially when I see A 380 incidents.
I am reminded of all the flaws that popped in the Airbus A310 (reputedly a rush copy of the Boeing 737); and I also remember reading about Airbus struggling to get the A-380 shipshape before Airbus rushed it to market. In development, Airbus wrestled with a plane that was severely overweight, withstructural, and production problems. Remember the trouble the A-380 had getting launched:
On Dec 4 2009, QANTAS Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- On the runway, the plane’s nose gear became unsteereable. The plane was towed to the gate and spare parts had to be flown in to deal with the problem.
On July 4 2009, Qantas Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- the approach was aborted due to nosegear problems. On landing, steering failed.
In March of 2008, Qantas removed all 3 of its A-380s due to fuel system problems (two unserviceable with a ‘”fuel tank indication system problem”.)
The A380 is a part of the Air France, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore airlines fleets , and in which fuel gauge problems, nosegear problems and braking problems are becoming known issues. Problems also arise because the prohibitive size of the plane limits where it can land.
Some Worrisome Airbus History
In 2004, Joseph Mangan, an Airbus whistleblower told European aviation authorities of flaws on a computer chip on the Airbus A380. (These were microprocessor flaws that could cause the valves that maintain cabin pressure on the A380 to accidentally open during flight, allowing air to leak out so rapidly that everyone aboard could lose consciousness within seconds.)
Mangan was chief engineer for the Viennese company TTTech Computertechnik, which supplied the chips and software controlling the A380 cabin-pressurization system assembled at the French Airbus plant. TTTech fired Mangan, filed civil and criminal charges against him for revealing proprietary company documents. Austrian law has no whistleblower protection, and there is currently a gag order imposed on Mangan. They claim his allegations have been disproved.
What did he know? Have the problems behind his concerns been addressed? What elsedo we not know? Without transparency, how can we ever know?
What: SEAir South East Asian LET L-410 ferry flight from Manila to Caticlan Where: Godofredo P. Ramos Airport Caticlan When: Mar 15th 2010 6:30 a.m. Who: 3 crew composed of pilot Capt. James Bihasa, his co-pilot and a mechanic. Why: On landing, the plane had a flat, the fifth SEAir aircraft to have a flat at that airport. (There is only the one runway.) There were no injuries, but the plane blocked the runway until the left main tire was replaced. Because there was no spare, and lacking the equipment to relocate the plane, the airport closed for six hours during which time, flights diverted to Kalibo airport 70 kilometers away.
As a consequence, Philippines Civil Aviation Authority Director General Alfonso Cusi has ordered a review of the airport’s “Emergency and Rescue Plan.”
What: JetLite en route from Mumbai to Nagpur Where: Nagpur When: Feb 20, 2010 Why: After landing, while the plane was taxiing towards the bay, one of the tires on the nose-wheel deflated. The plane was briefly taken out of commission for repair, inconveniencing some passengers on the scheduled return flight. The pilot appeared to be unaware of the tire’s condition until pointed out on the runway.
What: Air France Boeing 747-400 en route from Guadalajara to Paris Where: Guadalajara When: Jan 21st 2010 Who: crew (freight) Why: When the pilot aborted the takeoff due to alerts, the plane’s tires deflated due to overheating from braking. The flight was cancelled. We have no indication what the instrumentation indicated that caused the pilot to abort the takeoff.
What: WestJet Boeing 737-800 en route from Vancouver to Honolulu Where: Vancouver When: DECEMBER 31, 2009 4:10 PM Who: not available Why: After takeoff, the pilot realized the plane had blown a tire. The flight circled the airport burning off fuel before making a successful and safe emergency landing. Ten ambulances were waiting but none were needed.
Earlier this week, an Air Canada had a bird strike and also returned to the Vancouver airport.
What: Mesa Airlines/US Airways Canadair CRJ-900 en route from San Antonio, TX to Phoenix, AZ Where: San Antonio When: Dec 30th 2009 Who: 87 aboard Why: On takeoff, after the plane blew a tire, it circled the airport and burned off fuel, then landed safely at 3:20 on the remaining tire. An emergency crew was on standby.
What: Air Dolomiti Embraer ERJ-195 en route from Turin to Frankfurt Where: Frankfurt When: Dec 11th 2009 Who: not available Why: On approach to Frankfort, the plane developed an electronic problems with the landing gear. The crew managed a safe landing, and a replacement plane was provided for passengers, while the original plane moved to maintenance.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Santo Domingo to New York Where: Santo Domingo When: Nov 20th 2009 Who: 142 passengers Why: About to take-off, the plane had two flat tires, and had to be towed. Passengers debarked, the flight was cancelled; and the airline provided hotel accommodations for the passengers.
What: Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-500 en route from Jakarta to Banda Aceh Where: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport When: October 30, 2009 Who: 49 passengers Why: When the plane’s inner left wheel fell off at 500 feet, the plane returned to the airport. After the safe albeit wobbly landing, passengers debarked and boarded an alternative flight. Apparently the tire fell in an open area.
What: Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Portland Long Beach CA Where: Long Beach When: Oct 26th 2009 Who: Not available Why: On take-off (most likely) one of the jet’s tires blew out. Prior to landing, the flight verified that a tire was flat. The emergency landing was safe, with rescue standing by.
What: Vladivostok Avia Airbus A330-300 en route from Vladivostok to Moscow Vnukovo Where: Vnukovo When: Oct 24th 2009 Who: 267 passengers and 12 crew Why: After the flight had taken off, ground crew discovered tire debris on the runway. ATC notified the on board crew of the pending emergency. The plane performed a flyby at Vnukovo, and made a successful landing with no reported injuries.
What: Delta/Northwest Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Portland, Minneapolis Where: Billings,MT When: Oct 17th 2009 Who: 174 passengers Why: While en route, the plane developed a hydraulics problem, and diverted to Billings Montana. The flight landed safely, but blew a tire on landing, and had to be towed.
It is not uncommon for a heavy flight (plane full of fuel) diverting early in the flight before burning its fuel load–or landing at a too-high rate of speed–to get a flat.
The replacement flight took seven hours to arrive.
What: Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 en route from New York to Frankfurt/Main Where: JFK,NY When: Oct 11th 2009 Why: Prior to take-off, the plane was believed to run over runway lights, which blew out the plane’s main gear tires. The flight was delayed while the flat/damaged tires were removed and new tires were installed.
What: Ethiopian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-11 en route from Cairo Egypt to Liege Belgium Where: Liege When: Oct 9th 2009 Who: 2 crew members Why: On approach, tire pressure sensors indicated a flat tire/tire failure. However, the flight landed safely without further problem.
What: Kish Air Fokker 100 en route from Bandar Mahshahr to Tehran Where: Bandar Mahshahr When: Aug 5th 2009 Who: undisclosed number of passengers Why: On takeoff, the plane had tire damage. Pilots decided to land for repairs, but they turned out to be too extensive for the flight to continue.
What: Lufthansa A 330 en route from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa Where: Frankfurt International Airport When: Friday July 3 Who: not available Why: After some technical fault was experienced, the plane made an emergency landing at Frankfurt; however on landing, the plane’s nose gear tires burst and caught on fire.
The incident was reported by News Yemen and since we only have one reference on this event, we are awaiting corroboration to verify that the incident is not being confused with the (July 3) Monarch Airlines Airbus A320-200 that was diverted to Munich after smoke was detected in the cabin, or the (July 2) Air One Airbus A320-200, flight AZ-2970 from Milan to Palermo that returned to Milan when smoke filled the cabin or the (July 2) Air Arabia Airbus A320-200 flight from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates that diverted to Kolkata with engine failure.
