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    Bea Briefs-Air France 447 Recovery Boat End Run

    The BEA has officially published its June 7 brief regarding Air France 447

    7 June 2011 briefing

    The operations on board the Ile de Sein came to an end on the afternoon of Friday 3 June. The vessel is on its way to Las Palmas (Canary Islands) for demobilisation on 9 June.

    In the course of next week, it will arrive in the port of Bayonne (south-west France), from where the airplane parts will be transferred to a hangar belonging to the DGA/Technique in Toulouse and the human remains taken to a forensic mortuary.

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    GoAir Emergency Landing after False alarm


    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.

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    United Airlines Smoke in Cockpit

    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.

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    Delta/Skywest Makes Safe Landing on one set of Landing Gear

    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.

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    4 Survive Antonov Crash offshore Gabon, Africa

    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

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    Rag Bags Plane Crashes during Vancouver Island Airshow

    What: Home built “rag bags” kit plane
    Where: Nanaimo Airport, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
    When: June 4, 2011
    Who: pilot Dr. Bill Phipps, 71, of Campbell River
    Why: Six minutes into a planned eight minute exhibition before 1000 spectators at the Wings and Wheels air show, while supposed to be doing a four point roll, Dr. Phipps home built plane was “tail-on to the crowd and upright” and flew into the ground. A witness describes that “The right wing clipped the ground and he did a cartwheel.” Another witness said it was likely he stalled and that his wings lost lift.

    Rag Bags was Phipps name for his home-built wood and fabric plane.

    B.C. Ambulance and Cranberry Fire and Rescue recovered Phips, who was airlifted to Victoria General Hospital. He was in serious condition, with severe injuries but was stable Monday.

    See Video here: https://airflightdisaster.com/?p=17289

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    Continental Engine Shut Down over Indianapolis


    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.

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    Air Canada Engine Shut Down, Diverts to Montreal


    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.

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    Managers Indicted on Spanair Flight JK5022


    update

    Three Spanair managers, the Spanair shift supervisor at Madrid airport, the maintenance manager and the quality manager, indicted for “negligent homicide” for Spanair Flight JK5022 will be appearing before a judge between June 20 and 22.

    Malware in the mainframe software may have been involved in the crash.

    Two mechanics were also indicted.

    https://airflightdisaster.com/?page_id=3438
    https://airflightdisaster.com/?p=626

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    Bird strike in Patna

    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.

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    Float Plane crashes in Lac Labelle

    What: float plane
    Where: Lac Labelle Laurentian Mountains, Quebec Canada
    When: May 30, 2011, 6 pm
    Who: 2 men aboard, 2 fatalities
    Why: The float plane crashed in the Laurentians in a lake resort area 160 km northeast of Montreal, between the towns of Alberton and Red River.

    The two men’s bodies have been recovered with difficulty in the remote area.

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    Virgin Airbus Diverts to St Johns

    What: Virgin Airlines Airbus A-340 en route from London to Washington DC.
    Where: St Johns International
    When: May 2011
    Who: 269 passengers
    Why: While en route, a passenger was ill. The flight diverted to DC to get the passenger assistance, and made a safe landing. THe passenger was transported to the Health Sciences Centre and the flight resumed.

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    Faulty Landing Gear Interrupts Austrian Airline, Delays Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Priesch

    What: Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Vienna Austria to Washington DC
    Where: Vienna
    When: May 27th 2011
    Why: After takeoff, the gear would not retract.

    The pilot returned to make a safe landing in Vienna; repairs were made and the flight left again less than an hour later.

    Anonymous Expert Opinion
    One common occurrence in Commercial Aviation is when a maintenance person forgets to remove the Landing Gear Safety Pin that is connected before starting the push back procedure during the aircraft start-up. It happens that that pin prevents the hydraulic system to actuate the nose gear allowing the tractor to freely steer the aircraft free from the gate. However that pin also locks the landing gear in the “down” position preventing the hydraulic system to retract in when commanded by the pilots. The result is that the aircraft is prevented from retracting its landing gear (one pin prevents them all) and returning is mandatory.

    If the airplane is engaged in an intercontinental flight (thus carrying a huge amount of fuel) the crew invariably must dump a great amount of fuel in order to reduce the weight to within the manufacturer’s certified maximum landing weight in order to perform a safe landing. After dumping the fuel as the aircraft’s weight reaches its maximum allowed for landing the crew land the airplane. Unfortunately it causes delays and it is a nuisance, although not a harmful one. The worst part is for the maintenance crew whom was responsible for the tow out procedure to explain to his (or hers) superiors the quite expensive forgetfulness.

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    Alaskan Greiner Family Lost in Cessna Crash

    What: Lonn D. Greiner’s Cessna 180 en route from Birchwood to Seldovia
    Where: Alaska
    When: May 27, 2011
    Who: 5 aboard
    Why: Not long after a successful takeoff, the nose of the cessna pitched up, then it banked and fell. Witnesses say that the engine sounded fine.

    The cessna crashed on train tracks, resulting in a fire. All 5 aboard were killed in the crash. The Alaska Railroad shut down the tracks until the wreckage was removed.

    All aboard were members of the Greiner family from the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River. Lonn Greiner, 46, from Eagle River; three of his children, Glory, 13, Nathan, 11, and Grace, 10; and his 69-year-old mother, Carolyn Greiner. They were on a Memorial Day holiday.

    Greiner performed jet maintenance at Ted Stevens Anchorage International.

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    Delta Flat Catches Fire Landing in Atlanta

    What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Pittsburg, to Atlanta
    Where: Atlanta
    When: May 28th 2011
    Who: 43 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: On landing in Atlanta, the right main gear tire blew and started a fire. The runway was vacated and the passengers disembarked via emergency slides.

    Emergency services responded to contain the fire. Foam was employed.

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    Allegiant Lands in Pittsburgh with One Engine Down

    What: Allegiant McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Youngstown to Orlando
    Where: Pittsburgh
    When: May 26 2011
    Who: 142 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: While en route, the right engine was running hot and low on oil. They shut down the engine and diverted to Pittsburgh where they made a safe landing. Maintenance examined the leaky engine.

    A replacement jet was flown in.

    Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!

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    Spicejet Lands over CargoFire indication

    What: Spicejet Boeing 737-800 en route from Mumbai to Hyderabad
    Where: Mumbai
    When: May 27th 2011
    Who: 140 passengers
    Why: While en route, the cargo hold indicated a fire. The crew followed procedures (checklists) and returned to Mumbai where they made a safe landing half an hour after take off. A replacement jet was provided.

    No actual fire was located.

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    Aero Resources Flight Crashes in North Carolina, 4 die in crash


    What: Aero Resources Corp. of Hazard Beechcraft 58 Baron en route from Georgia to Kentucky
    Where: Unaka, about 125 miles west of Asheville, NC
    When: May 25, 2011
    Who: 4 fatalities: pilot Mat Shuey, Tiffany Maggard, Kassie Robinson and Miranda Morgan
    Why: Pilot Mat Shuey was flying at 9,000 feet, above the area peaks when he reported an emergency over North Carolina when it crashed north of Lake Hiwassee near the Tennessee border, and started a brush fire.

    The wreckage was spotted on the afternoon of the 25th but the site was not immediately accessible. The pilot and three female passengers died in the crash. The four bodies were recovered by rescue crews on Thursday.

    Tiffany Maggard, Kassie Robinson and Miranda Morgan, who had all graduated from a Knott County Kentucky high school, had been visiting a friend in Alabama. The pilot’s name was not released.

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    Friday: Factual Data on Air France 447

    Media excesses, and rumor mongering (my words) have moved the BEA to publish an informational note for the families of the victims, and the general public. The following “chain of events” comes from the initial reading of the Flight Data Analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder. There are new facts in the timeline, but the interim report will not be published until the end of July. Interested parties should remain aware that this is not a substitute for later reports. Causes of the accident and safety recommendations will only be revealed and understood after “long and detailed investigative work.”



    Point Enquête 270511 on site

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    Air France 447- Coming Soon, Just the Facts, and Nothing But the Facts

    Tomorrow we’ll post the BEA’s statement regarding the latest in the Air France 447 crash saga. After the crash, the $50 million search operation to recover the black boxes that took two years, after a successful data recovery, a misfired unjustified conclusion of pilot error, finally, on Friday, the BEA promises more news.

    The data analysis will probably be as grueling as one could imagine, considering all of the data that has been recovered. The new data that has been recovered does not overwrite the messages received by Air Traffic control, but it will have to be logically coordinated so that the chain of events can accurately be determined, whatever lead up to the crash that ended up killing all 228 people on board. We cannot expect the analysis too soon.

    There are many hypotheses floating out there in the blogosphere, and myths and conjecture; but we have to give the investigators and engineers time to study the data and write the most accurate report that can, which they promise to produce by the summer. It is an ambitious promise, but one that the world expects the investigators to fulfill in a timely fashion. It is by virtue of the BEA’s history as one of the better governmental aviation institutions. They do have a history of publishing their reports, in accordance to international guidelines, following not just Montreal protocol, but also IATA and EASA.

    There are other crash investigations going on in which the agencies do not have as strong a history as the BEA. (Just consider the Concorde Disaster–it took ten years to resolve the criminal case but Continental had to pay more than 1.3 million in civil damages and a $265000 fine. Under French law, damages to 750 dependents were resolved in 11 months and the interim report completed after 12 months.)

    The DGCA is responsible for implementing, controlling, and supervising airworthiness standards, safety operations, crew training in India. Indian aviation has been plagued by safety issues, personnel issues, and they have not yet established for themselves a reputable track record regarding the timeliness of their accident reports (at least, not if you ask the families of Air India Express flight 812. )

    Likewise, in Pakistan, the families of Air Blue Flight 202 are waiting for word and assistance from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. Air Blue flight ED202 crashed in the Margalla Hills in Islamabad, killing all 146 passengers and six crewmembers on board on July 28, and the Pakistani High Court has been charged with the support of the victims’ family members, and a request of the federal government to constitute an independent board of inquiry for determining the causes of the crash, and to make the findings public.

    But I digress. Concerning Air France Flight 447–we can’t expect miracles, and it is too soon to expect all the pieces of the puzzle to fit; but Friday we can expect to see a factual update. And that is another step toward discovering the truth, another step toward justice.

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    Medical Evacuation Crash Kills 7 Aboard, 3 on Ground

    What: Air Charter Services Pvt. Ltd Pilatus PC-12/45 en route from Jagdish Memorial Hospital to Apollo Hospital.
    Where: Faridabad
    When: May 25, 2011 10:45 pm
    Who: 7 aboard, 3 on the ground, 10 fatalities
    Why: After the pilot reported flying into bad weather, the plane transporting a patient from a Patna hospital to Apollo Hospital (Delhi) and carrying two doctors, two attendants, the pilot and the co-pilot crashed onto the rooftop of two houses in Parvatiya Colony. The plane’s nose broke off and fell to the street below. It appears that local residents may have taken the propellor and other parts of the plane. It did not carry a cockpit voice recorder or a data recorder.

    After the crash, the plane and scattered medical equipment remained on the roof. The 22-year-old patient, was Rahul Raj and the plane’s crew was Dr Rajesh, Dr Arshad, Captain Harpreet, co-pilot Manpreet Kataria, Ratnesh Kumar and male nurse Cyril. Rahul and Ratnesh were cousins, and both residents of Bettiah in West Champaran. Raj, who was in a coma and on a ventilator was being transported to treat jaundice and complications of hepatitis.

    In the Sehrawats house, fifty five-year-old Vedvati, her daughter Sarita (19) and daughter-in-law Rani (20) died in their house in Gali, 3 Mukesh Kunj at 10.35 pm. Because of the heat, they were on the roof at the time of the crash.

    Sobharam Sehrawats, his son Deepak, and nephew Yash were injured.

    The other house that was damaged (but no fatalities) was owned by 37-year-old Chittaranjan Singh.

    Both the 3 residents of the house(s) and the 7 aboard the plane were burned beyond recognition.

    An Indian Airlines flight to Delhi which was due to leave at the same time stayed on the tarmac at Patna instead of flying into the strong winds.

    The plane disappeared from radar at 10:45 pm. It was reported that at the time of crash, strong winds were affecting planes landing at IGI airport. The DCGA is not carrying out the investigation, but it will be carried out independently.


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    TUIfly Pilots Lightheaded on Fumes

    What: TUIFly Boeing 737-800 en route from Alicante to Nuremberg
    Where: Alicante
    When: Mar 15th 2011
    Who: 144 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the pilots and crew of the flight felt dizzy and impaired. Passengers also reported feeling dizzy after the ground power unit started the engines. The pilot reported the emergency and returned to Alicante and made a safe landing.

    We don’t see a statement from the ministerio de fomento regarding this incident.

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    Colombia Chopper Crashes

    What: Aviheco Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III en route from Bucaramanga to Sardinata
    Where: El Alto, Lourdes, Norte de Santander Colombia
    When: May 23, 2011 4 pm
    Who: 2 aboard, both fatalities
    Why: Pilot Rodrigo Javier Acosta and tech Jorge Velez Valbuena died in the Aviheco helicopter crash in Colombia. The helicopter may have been struck by lightning or taken down by other storm related condition. The wreckage went down in an area known as “Los Cables” on the “La Aguadita” farm in the village of El Alto. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance flight sponsored by an oil company with local wells . The bodies have been recovered by the Civil Defense commission.

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    British Airways Emergency Diversion to Shannon


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Giovanni Verbeeck

    What: British Airways Boeing 777-200 en route from London Heathrow to Boston,MA
    Where: Shannon
    When: May 23rd 2011
    Who: 221 passengers
    Why: En route over the Atlantic, smoke developed in the cockpit and the pilots declared emergency and diverted to Shannon.
    (There is some speculation that the smoke was ash drawn into the cabin.)

    The smoke increased on descent, but the pilot made a safe landing. The smoke is being blamed on an undesignated mechanical problem.

    Above FL200, the atmosphere was (reported as) clear of Grimsvotn ash.

    Passengers were provided hotel accommodations until the replacement flight arrived (May 24.)