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    Gear Up Landing in Vegas

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    What: Cessna 230
    Where: Henderson Executive Airport, Nevada
    When: Nov 26, 2011
    Who: 2 aboard
    Why: The pilot of a Cessna 230 returned to the airport and made an emergency landing at Henderson Executive Airport when his landing gears did not come down. There were no injuries.

    Henderson Fire Department responded.

    In George’s Point of View

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    Blackpool Emergency Landing

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    What: Manx2 LET-410 en route from Isle of Mn to Blackpool Eng (UK)
    Where: Blackpool
    When: Nov 26, 2011, 11:38
    Who: 9 aboard
    Why: On landing at Blackpool, a tire burst.

    A replacement plane flew to Blackpool with spare and maintenance crew.

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    Cirrus Wreck Kills 4 in Rural Illinois

    What: Marion Flying Club Cirrus SR-20 en route from Marion Municipal Airport
    Where: CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill
    When: Nov 26, 2011 10:30am
    Who: 4 fatalities
    Why: The one-engine Cirrus SR-20 was flying in rainy, overcast conditions when it crashed in a soybean field on a farm unincorporated McHenry County, killing the four aboard the plane. Marion businessman Ray Harris and his daughters Ramie and Shey were killed in the crash, along with one of the girl’s boyfriends. On impact, the plane shattered into debris which was spread over 100 yards. The plane carries a parachute, which had been deployed but it was tangled in a tree, which may have contributed to the wreck.

    The pilot, Harris, had been flying one of his daughters back to Wheaton College.

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    Burning Odor Cancels American Airlines LAX to NY


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Wladimir Castro

    What: American Airlines Boeing 767-200 en route from Los Angeles,CA to New York JFK,NY
    Where: Los Angeles
    When: Nov 23rd 2011
    Who: 164 aboard
    Why: The LA to New York flight took off as usual but once in the air, passengers and crew smelled something burning.

    The pilots returned to LAX and made a safe landing.

    The incident is under investigation. No details as of yet.

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    Inebriated Passenger Attempts Exit During Afrika-Netherlands Flight

    What: KLM Boeing 777-200, registration PH-BQB en route from Johannesburg to Amsterdam
    Where: Amsterdam
    When: Nov 25th 2011
    Who: one passenger
    Why: While en route, a thirty-one year old male passenger believed to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol became unruly. After harassing other passengers, the passenger ignored warnings of the crew, attempted to open the plane’s emergency exit and cockpit. He was subdued, and on landing in Amsterdam, was handed over to military police.


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    Three Children, Three Adults lost in Arizona Crash

    What: Ponderosa Aviation Inc. Rockwell Commander 690A en route from Mesa, Ariz to Safford, Arizona
    Where: Apache Junction, Pinal County, AZ
    When: Nov 23, 2011
    Who: 6 fatalities
    Why: On a thanksgiving flight that took off at 6:15, the pilot was flying to Safford and struck a rockface at the Superstition mountains. The children’s mother, Karen Perry, was not aboard. The fuselage is jammed between rocks.

    The victims of the crash included Joseph Hardwick, 22, mechanic; pilot and aircraft owner Russell Hardy, 31; pilot Shawn Perry, 39; and Perry’s three children, Morgan, 9, Logan, 8, and Luke, 6.

    The plane had just left Mesa’s Falcon Field when it crashed. It is a six hour hike from a campground to the wreckage. A ten member sheriff’s rescue team was flown in by chopper, and hiked down from a mountaintop.

    The flight path that the pilot took is a controversial one. The FAA redesignated Phoenix airspace, raising the floor altitude for commercial traffic at almost the same height as the tallest peak in the Superstitions (5,057 feet). Planes such as this one flying east from Mesa’s Falcon Field must either go around the peak or request permission to enter commercial airspace to fly above it.

    Webcam footage:

    News Coverage

    Views of the wreckage

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    Denver to Toronto Returns after “pop” and smoke


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Je89 W.

    What: United Airlines/Shuttle America Embraer ERJ-170 en route from Denver,CO to Toronto
    Where: Denver
    When: Nov 23rd 2011
    Who: 68 passenger
    Why: While climbing out of Denver, passengers and crew smelled smoke in the cabin.

    A newscast said that passengers heard a “pop” before the pilots turned around and returned to the Denver airport.

    They made a safe landing. Passengers disembarked on the runway and were provided an alternative flight.

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    Indian Pilots: One bad seed


    What: Air India Express en route from Cochin-Salalah
    Where: Salalah
    When: Nov 3, 2011 9:45
    Who: 87 passengers

    In George’s Point of View


    India has made noises in the press about cleaning house regarding some of the bad pilots that skated through a flawed and corrupt school and accrediting system.

    In this event, the pilot of an Air India Express COK-Salalah (Oman) flight, made three attempts to land. A cumulation of numerous small errors threatened passenger safety and defied standard operating procedures and included mis-entering data into the system.

    The pilot forced the B737 to land using “autoland” in high cross-winds.

    Wind speed on the ground was 25 knot (46 kmph) gusting to 35 knot (65 kmph.) Operating procedure allows landing when winds are no higher than 25 knots. The Boeing FCOM lists 35 knots as the max permissible crosswind landing component on a 45m wide. The pilot would have been correct to divert to another airport. There was adequate fuel to do so (if he had realized the numbers entered into the system were incorrect). Ground conditions were at the top of what Boeing allows and would be a challenge. Instead of diverting to Abu Dhabi, the pilot landed in defiance of safety norms.

    The pilot attempted to land twice, and then decided to divert. Having been entered with incorrect data, the FMC (Flight Management Computer) incorrectly concluded there was only six minutes of flight time left. This was incorrect, as the plane had 4.7 tons of fuel, more than enough to reach Abu Dhabi, 75 minutes away.

    On the pilot’s third attempt, the pilot autolanded (without having trained for autolanding.) It was a safe, if hard landing, and one that damaged the plane and nearly went off the runway. Two tires burst, and the landing gear was damaged.

    Maybe this pilot is a fool, or maybe just careless. The plane did land with no loss of life. You know they always say “the devil is in the details.” I don’t know verifiable particulars. We don’t have available first hand data to analyze, but Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation does.

    But when we see evidence of problems like this, we wonder if India has gone far enough in raising the bar.

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    Indian Civil Aviation Official Meets with Mangalore Crash victims

    Vayalar Ravi, Indian Civil Aviation Minister met or called (on the 18th) victims of the Mangalore crash to discuss their compensation claims. A meeting on the 19th included representatives from the airline, the government and the insurance company.,

    The crash occurred in May of 2010, when the Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express jet overshot the runway, killing 158 people aboard.

    However other business was also being handled during the meetings.

    The outcome of the meetings has not yet been released.

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    American Airlines Lands over Fuel Pump Issues


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Brian Casity

    What: American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Pittsburgh,PA
    Where: near Dallas
    When: Nov 19th 2011
    Why: Just after take-off, the pilot switched the fuel supply from center fuel tank to main wing tanks and the right engine flamed out.

    Pilots returned to the airport and made a safe landing.

    Maintenance is investigating why operating pumps were working, yet failing to provide fuel to the right engine.

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    Flight School Cessna and Military Piper Collision In Argentina

    What: (Fuerza Aérea Argentina) Argentine Air Force Piper PA-A28-236 Dakota light aircraft
    Where: Mercedes Airport, Argentina
    When: 21-NOV-2011 09:45 LT
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: On approach to Mercedes Airport, an Argentine Air Force Piper PA-A28-236 Dakota collided with an aviation school Cessna 152.

    Both the flight school crew members in the Cessna 150 were killed in the crash. The Piper PA-28 landed safely. The two military personnel aboard the Piper survived.

    According to witness Boloni Eduardo, the Air Force plane cut the back of the Cessna with its propeller, causing it to fall

    Firefighters, police, ambulance, Air Force, and Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Board were on the scene. Mercedes is a public air field with no control tower.

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    Bird Strike over Panama


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Bill Shull

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 737-900 en route from Panama City (Panama) to Newark,NJ
    Where: Panama City
    When: November 18, 2011
    Who: 176 aboard
    Why: After takeoff, while climbing out of Panama City, the Continental flight suffered a bird strike. After ingesting the bird, the left engine surged, and caught on fire. Pilots shut down the engine, and returned to Tocumen Airport where they made a safe landing.

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    No Terrorist but Chautauqua Pilot Kidnapped by Lav Door

    What: Chautauqua Embraer ERJ-145/Delta Airlines en route from Asheville,NC to New York
    Where: La Guardia airport, New York
    When: Nov 16th 2011
    Why: By now, everyone has probably heard about this:

    A captain who was locked in the airplane’s bathroom gave a passenger a security code to inform the co-pilot.

    But when the co-pilot heard the passenger’s heavy accent, he told ATC “the captain has disappeared in the back and I have someone with a big foreign accent trying to access the cockpit.” ATC urged him to land ASAP.

    The situation was resolved before the plane landed, and fortunately before the fighter jets were deployed.

    video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

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    Chopper Pilot from Belarus Dies in Congo Crash

    What: Mil Mi-8
    Where: Badondo north of Brazzaville, Congo
    When: Nov 15, 2011
    Who: 4 aboard, 1 fatality
    Why: The military chopper which had been chartered by a mining company crashed during bad weather when it tried to land.

    The pilot, Alexandre Kossiarev, was from Belarus and died in the crash.

    Three passengers were injured.

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    Cirrus Crashes in Poland

    What: Cirrus
    Where: Katowice International Airport southern Poland
    When: Nov 13, 2011
    Who: 2 men and 2 women were aboard
    Why: After takeoff, the plane disappeared 4.3 miles from the airport.

    The wreckage was found in Zyglinie Forest at 8:20 pm. The four passengers all in their late forties and early fifties, died in the crash.

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    Poconé Crash Kills Brazilian Farmer Minutes from Airport

    What: Cessna 210
    Where: Poconé Municipal Airport, Brazil
    When: Nov 12 2011
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: Twelve miles from the airport, the pilot apparently lost control and crashed. The plane took off at 5:12 pm, and crashed 12 km later in the Pantanal region of Mato Grosso.

    Martin Wagner, his son James, two mechanics named Dede and Alcindo died in the crash.

    Wagner, who is a local cattle farmer, was reported missing by his family, after which a search plane was sent out and did not locate them. The charred wreckage of the plane was located the next day after sunrise, only minutes from the airport. The owner of the plane died in the crash.

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    Mangalore Crash Families Long for Closure


    Plane crash cases take a long time to settle, and the families of the Mangalore Crash can vouch for it, having been waiting since the date of the crash in May of 2010. Families who are still waiting on a settlement, and will be back in court this November. They aren’t looking for extraordinary measures, but want compensation for flight 812–the Air India Express Dubai-Mangalore in accordance with the Montreal Convention. 152 died in the crash.

    According to The National, Airlines are required to pay compensation of 7.5 million rupees (Dh560,000) per passenger to families of crash victims, just as a Kerala judge ordered. Then that judge was overruled in favor of Air India Express. This November, the case will move into the highest court to rule in favor of the victims or Air India Express.

    In George’s Point of View


    It’s not that simple.

    I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating.

    I must remind the families that the value of the aviation case is usually much higher than 75 lakhs.

    And this is because Tier II of the Montreal Treaty.

    The convention’s second tier deals with the portion of a claim exceeding the $155,000 limit. An airline can avoid liability for portions of claims over the limit by proving it was “not negligent or otherwise at fault.”

    I’m not a lawyer but I know from experience how it works. I have been working with wrongful death cases for years, and have learned a lot from the experience my aviation experts have graciously passed on to me.

    If you can prove provable damages, then Tier II (referred to in Article 21(2) of the Montreal Convention) Air India Express is liable to families/passengers for all personal injury or wrongful death damages exceeding 100,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), unless the carrier(s) can prove that the injuries or deaths were not due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the carrier or it servants or agents OR the injuries or deaths were solely due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party.

    My guess is that the carrier will never prove this. The burden of proof is on them. If I am correct, and know the experts who have taught me, are correct, Air India Express is liable to the victims’ families for all damages under the applicable law, including but not limited to, pain & suffering of your loved one prior to death.

    They are liable for pain and suffering, the loss of support, i.e., money, the loss and enjoyment of life of the victim.

    I hope the families don’t sell themselves short, and give up all that may be coming in return for even a payment of the 75 lakhs. Accepting 75 lakhs—which may look like a lot after the losses they’ve suffered—but if they sign their name on the dotted like, they give up the right to future compensation.

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    Oklahoma Coaches and Ex Senator Die in Piper Crash in Arkansas

    What: Privately owned Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee B
    Where: Four miles south of Perryville, AR
    When: Nov 17 2011
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: Women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant women’s basketball coach Miranda Serna were on a routine recruiting trip to Arkansas, when the plane crashed in steep terrain in the eastern Ouachita Mountains in the Winona Wildlife Management Area. The other two aboard were Former State Senator Olin Branstetter and his wife, Paula. A local deer hunter’s wife told 911 when she saw the airplane nose-diving in a swirling pattern and crashing in the forest. By 6pm, the wreckage had been located. The passengers had been ejected from the plane, which drove a six foot deep furrow into a ridge but did not catch on fire. Rescuers reached the site on YO4 Forest Access Road via four wheelers.

    Miranda Serna was in her seventh season as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State.

    The cause of the crash is unknown but it was the catalyst of an outpour of support for Oklahoma State.

    That the plane was co-owned by the Branstetters, who were from Ponca City. 82 year old Olin Branstetter was a longtime pilot.

    Eleven years ago, a plane carrying 10 crashed, killing two OSU men’s basketball players, two members of its radio broadcast team, three members of the team’s support staff and two pilots in a snow storm in Byers, Colorado.

    PIPER PA-28-180 Serial 28-1756 #N7746W
    Year of Manufacture: 1964
    Number of Seats: 4
    Certification Issue Date: 29 Sep 1978
    Builder Certification Code: Type Certificated
    Aircraft Speed: 107
    Aircraft Type: Fixed wing single engine
    Aircraft Category Code: Land
    Airworthiness Date: 17 Jun 1964
    Aircraft Weight:
    Mode S Code: 52475442


    NTSB investigating Aviation Accident in Perryville, Arkansas
    November 18, 2011
    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched investigators to examine the circumstances of an aviation accident that occurred yesterday afternoon near Perryville, Arkansas, involving a Piper PA-28-180 (N7746W).

    Jason Aguilera is the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge. He will receive headquarters support from air traffic control and meteorology. Parties to the investigation include the Federal Aviation Administration, Piper Aircraft and Lycoming.

    Terry Williams will be the public affairs officer on scene.Once he arrives in Perryville, Mr. Williams can be reached on his cell phone at (202) 320-2594 or via email at terry.williams@ntsb.gov.

    NTSB Office of Public Affairs: 202-314-6100

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    Aer Lingus Airbus Overnight in Santiago de Compostela


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Timo Jäger

    What: Aer Lingus Airbus A320-200 en route from Dublin to Fuerteventura Spain
    Where: Santiago de Compostela
    When: Nov 15th 2011
    Who: 147 passengers
    Why: While en route the plane developed a problem, and diverted to Santiago to make a safe landing.

    Passengers stayed in hotels overnight, until the curfew lifted and they were able to take off.

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    Tap Airbus Hydraulics Fail Luanda Angola Emergency Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Christian Bremer

    What: TAP Air Portugal Airbus A340-300 en route from Luanda Angola to Lisbon
    Where: Luanda
    When: Nov 16th 2011
    Why: On takeoff, the plane developed a hydraulic failure.

    The pilots returned to Luanda and made a safe landing. Passengers were in the air about a half hour.

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    19 Haitian Politicos Make Cuban Emergency Landing

    What: Aerolineas Mas turbo prop en route to Havana
    Where: Camaguey Cuba
    When: Nov 15, 2011
    Who: 19 Haitians aboard
    Why: While en route, the turbo prop experienced problems with the air conditioning system and had to divert to Camaguey Cuba. This is a few days after a chopper had to make an unplanned emergency landing in Port-au-Prince (Saturday.)

    No injuries were reported.

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    Brazil Runway Overrun, No Injuries


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Tsuyoshi Hayasaki – AroundWorldImages

    What: Passaredo Embraer ERJ-145 from Sao Paulo to Uberlandia
    Where: Uberlandia
    When: Nov 15th 2011
    Who: 27 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: Landing on the wet runway, the plane continued completely off the runway. There were no injuries.

    As the airport was closed for six hours afterwards, some passengers took alternative transport.

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    Single Engine Plane Crashes in Cote d’Ivoire, UN Attempts Rescue

    What: Aéro-club d’Abidjan Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II
    Where: Near Daloa Airport, Cote d’Ivoire
    When: Nov 14, 2011 5 p.m.
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: After taking off from Daloa, the Aero-club-owned Cessna crashed.

    Witnesses say the pilot was clearly in trouble and the plane made several pirouettes in the air before falling.

    Initially there was one survivor who died in the hospital. The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire responded to the scene of the crash, and the UN’s Bangladeshi batallion (BANBATT) assisted in the recovery.

    The pilot was a local pilot. The three white foreigners have not been identified but one had been hired by a local logging company.