Locale

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    Faulty indicator Sends Air Europa Flight back to Madrid


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Andreas Fietz

    What: Air Europa Airbus A330-200 en route from Madrid, to Tenerife
    Where: Madrid
    When: Mar 7th 2010
    Why: While en route, the flight experienced a technical problem and returned to Madrid to make a safe landing. The problem turned out to be an open door indicator, which was repaired. Passengers were able to reboard the plane and continue to their destination.

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    UK: On Board Panic Attack Calls Out RAF


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Steve Brimley

    What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Dallas to London
    Where: UK
    When: Mar 2nd 2010
    Who: 161 passengers and 12 crew
    Why: While en route, a female passenger apparently became hysterical and attempted to gain access to the cockpit. She was “chilled” down by the crew, and provided a reception by UK police on arrival to Heathrow. She was arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

    George’s Point of View

    On receiving news of the unruly passenger attempting to gain access, the UK also provided two Royal Air Force fighter Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as escort, flying side by side with the American Airlines flight.

    Although the jets returned to base when it was determined the incident was the woman’s emotional meltdown (reputedly due to an illness in her family), and not a “terror incident, it is a sign of the times that fighter jets are pulled into service and London Airspace is placed under a Restricted/security Alert when a pilot requests a priority approach (even though the situation is under control). Of course, if this were a terror incident, why would they continue to route to Heathrow? I find the course of action confusing.

    Consider some points and see if there is some kind of balance to be found:

    • How responsible is the woman, if she were having a true panic attack, which is a true mental disorder?
    • What was the fuel bill for the two Air Force fighters (plus the wages of those engaged to contain our fearful flyer?)
    • What were the fighters going to do? Shoot down a passenger jet with 172 normal people and 1 mentally ill passenger aboard?
    • Did anyone consider the likelihood of two fighter jets actually calming a woman in a panic? If her panic attack is the kind related to a Mitral valve prolapse, she may well have died.
    • Who made the decision to deploy fighter jets in an instance when the ones most endangered are inside? What can the jet pilots actually do other than shoot down the commercial jet? Did they not believe the pilot that things were under control, and had to actually peek in the window to make sure?

    Is this a little like using the lid of the superdome to contain a butterfly? And how reasonable is it to arrest someone for a panic attack? It seems that in response to her panic attack, everyone else must have had one too. Is it catching?

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    Pitot Diverts Dash 8 to Bergan


    Pictured: A Wideroe De Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 Dash 8
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Felix Goetting

    What: Wideroe de Havilland Dash 8-100 en route from Sogndal to Forde
    Where: Bergen
    When: Mar 2nd 2010
    Who: 16 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: While on route, the pitot heating system failed. The resulting nreliable airspeed indications convinced the crew to divert to Bergen, where they made a safe landing.

    Offhand, I think this may be the first that I recall pitot tube issues on a de Havilland Dash 8-100. I wonder if these were thales tubes; and I wonder if airspeed can not be better determined with a more robust methodology. If I were a manufacturer, I would certainly have my engineers thinking about developing alternative technologies to bring to market.

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    University Executives Die in Humanitarian Mission

    What: Piper PA-31 Turbo Navajo B en route from Tomé to Concepción
    Where: Tomé Chile
    When: Mar 1 2010
    Who: Fatalities included Pablo Desbordes, Ignacio Fernández, Luis ernesto Videla, Juan Guillermo Moya and Rodolfo Becker and pilot Marcelo Ruiz.
    Why: The plane crashed near the town of Tomé, Chile while transporting five University Santo Tomás executives for eartquake relief work. They were traveling to the site of the earthquake to evaluate shelter safety conditions. No reason has been reported for the crash.

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    ACT Airbus Last Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jussi Seppala

    What: ACT Airlines Airbus A300B4-200 en route from Bahrain to Bagram
    Where: Afghanistan
    When: Mar 1 2010
    Who: 5 crew
    Why: On landing, the left main gear collapsed, and the plane landed on its left wing, rear fuselage and right main gear. It remains to be seen if it was a high speed landing, or a collapse due to hydraulic failure. Substantial damage was incurred, but fortunately there were no injuries reported.

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    Belize Crash Kills Albany Businessman

    What: Cessna 206 Stationair
    Where: 1/2 mile from Rwy 06 at SPR, Ambergris Caye, Belize
    When: Feb 26 2010
    Who: 5 fatalities (3 adults 2 children) Sir Barry Bowen, Michael Casey, Jill Casey, a three year old child, and a newborn. A Belize resident and prominent citizen, Bowen was piloting the plane.
    Why: On final approach to San Pedro Airport, the plane developed some kind of problem and impacted a building under construction, at which point the plane lost a wing and impacted a marshy area half a mile from the runway.

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    Nazca Airlines Blames Wind Shear

    Updated

    Pictured: Nazca Airport
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net

    Pictured: A Cessna 206 Super Skywagon
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alan Lebeda

    What: Nazca Airlines Cessna U206F tourist flight en route from/to Nazca Airport
    Where: El Mirador in the coastal Nazca Desert, Peru
    When: Feb 25 2010
    Who: Four Peruvians, one of whom was a boy, and one who was the pilot, and three Chileans.
    Why: While on a tourist flight to view ancient geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, the plane crashed. The wreckage is about 150 yards (meters) from a figure known as “the spider”. Around 11:00 a.m. with seven people on board, the flight crashed. There were three Chilean tourists, a Peruvian couple with a 5-year-old daughter, and the Peruvian pilot.

    Nazca Airlines (AeroIca) announced they blame the crash on wind shear.

    The 7 who were killed were on a plane with a capacity of 6.

    In November 2008, the same plane was involved in an emergency landing near kilómetro 424 de la carretera Panamericana Sur (South Pan-American highway). At that time, the problems was ascribed to engine trouble.

    The Peruvian passengers were identified as Sameli Chavarry, Erika del Pilar Zúñiga, John Rojas Rodríguez and Dayesca Rojas Zuñira; the Chileans were Matías Poblete, Gabriela Ortega Poblete and Alejandra Cienfuegos.

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    Nazca Airlines Cessna Crash Kills 7 in Peru


    Pictured: Nazca Airport
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net

    Pictured: A Cessna 206 Super Skywagon
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Alan Lebeda

    What: Nazca Airlines Cessna U206F tourist flight en route from/to Nazca Airport
    Where: El Mirador in the coastal Nazca Desert, Peru
    When: Feb 25 2010
    Who: Four Peruvians, one of whom was a boy, and one who was the pilot, and three Chileans.
    Why: While on a tourist flight to view ancient geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, the plane crashed. The wreckage is about 150 yards (meters) from a figure known as “the spider”.

    In November 2008, the same plane was involved in an emergency landing near kilómetro 424 de la carretera Panamericana Sur (South Pan-American highway). At that time, the problems was ascribed to engine trouble.

    The Peruvian passengers were identified as Sameli Chavarry, Erika del Pilar Zúñiga, John Rojas Rodríguez and Dayesca Rojas Zuñira; the Chileans were Matías Poblete, Gabriela Ortega Poblete and Alejandra Cienfuegos.

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    Mexican Air Force Crash Kills 2

    What: Fuerza Aerea Mexicana Cessna 182
    Where: Chihuahua
    When: FEB 24 2010
    Who: 2 fatalities 3 injured
    Why: After takeoff, the small military Cessna 182 crashed, killing 2, wounding 3. The reasons for the crash are unknown, but possibly might be related to a technical problem according to officials. No other details have been released at this time.

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    Aberdeen: Eastern Airways Lands with Faulty Engine Fire/Alarm


    Pictured: AN Eastern Airways Saab 2000 in Manchester on August 29, 2009
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Stewart Andrew

    What: Eastern Airways Saab 2000 en route from Bergen to Aberdeen
    Where: Aberdeen
    When: Feb 21st 2010
    Who: 8 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: A quarter hour before approach to Aberdeen, systems detected a fire in the left engine.

    The crew shut the engine down and proceeded to land safely at Aberdeen with emergency crews on standby.

    The shutdown was attributed to a faulty fire alarm.

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    Jetlite Flight Goes Flat on Nagpur Runway

    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.

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    Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 Recovery Numbers fluctuate

    In a Fri Feb 12 release, Earthtimes says Lebanon announced 45 bodies had been retrieved and their DNA identified them as passengers of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409. 83 passengers and seven crew (or 82 passengers and 8 crew?) died in the 4 minute flight from Beirut international airport into the Mediterranean. However as we can not confirm that number anywhere, we believe the confirmed dna-identified deaths are of a much smaller number.

    U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile and Boeing are participating in the investigation.

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    Temperature rising in Spanish ATC

    PRESS RELEASE-Safety bulletin 12 February 2010–IFALPA has been notified by its Spanish Member Association SEPLA that the negotiation of a new labour agreement between Spanish controllers and AENA (the ATM service provider) has taken an unexpected twist after the approval by the Spanish government of a “Urgent Royal Decree” which changes the previous agreement.

    The Federation has no position on the state of the negotiations or the tactics employed in the dispute. However, the dispute does raise some safety concerns. Consequences may include increased tension in the controller’s work place, economic worries of ATC staff, unanticipated shortage of ATCOs and unexpected delays throughout Spanish airspace.
    SEPLA recommend that aircrews exercise extreme caution when flying within the Spanish FIRs (this includes the Spanish mainland, Balearic and Canary Islands as well as delegated airspace) and to consider the following safety recommendations:

    • Increased vigilance of all ATC procedures
    • Adhere strictly to standard operating procedures, paying extra attention to communications mainly when entering congested
      airspace (TMAs for example)

    • Consider taking extra fuel for unexpected extended delays or diversions
    • Exercise special attention during all ground movements
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    Klutzy Inspector Breaks Plane

    In Khartoum , a South African Inspector inspecting South African-registered aircraft noticed a Gulfstream II aircraft not under his jurisdiction, and after he boarded, damaged the door when trying to close it.

    The vehicle that sustained damage was Thabo Mbeki’s charter plane. Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as president of South Africa. The incident is under investigation and while the inspector is awash in paperwork due to the expense of the damage, but the rumors of his arrest are an exaggeration, as he was just doing his job.

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    Borneo Emergency Landing


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

    What: Trigana Air Service Aerospatiale ATR-42-300 en route from Berau to Samarinda Indonesia
    Where: East Kalimantan, Borneo
    When: Feb 11th 2010
    Who: 46 passengers and 5 crew
    Why: While en route, the plane suffered engine failure in one of its turboprops. The pilot had diverted to Balikpapan but could not reach the airport, and was forced to land in a rice field near Bone village. The plane was feared missing after losing contact with ATC. One individual had a broken leg but no other serious injuries were reported. No other details have been released regarding the retrieval of the passengers.

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    Helicopter Crashes While Filming Robbery


    What: Record TV News helicopter
    Where: Sao Paulo’s jockey club
    When: February 10
    Who: Pilot and cameraman
    Why: News network’s Astar helicopter developed rear engine failure and careened to the grass of Sao Paulo’s jockey club. The pilot managed to avoid rush hour traffic on Marginal Pinheiros, and no one on the ground was injured. The cameraman Alexandre Borracha was conscious when on the way to the hospital, surviving with serious injury. The pilot Rafael Delgado Sobrinho was found slumped over the controls died on the scene. The accident was filmed by another news crew.

    Pilot of the helicopter filming the crash incident was Globo pilot Dato de Oliveira, who followed and landed, and rushed to assist; he turned off the fuel pump and battery to avoid an explosion.

    Both crews were in the area filming a bank robbery.

    Longer video from the crashed vehicle and Portuguese newscast

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    Pakistan: Runway Excursion


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

    What: Shaheen Air International Boeing 737-200 en route from Abu Dhabi to Peshawar
    Where: Peshawar
    When: Feb 8th 2010
    Who: 112 passengers
    Why: While landing on a wet runway, the Shaheen Air flight either hydroplaned or experienced a “technical fault.” If the plane had hydroplaned off the end of the runway instead of veering off the side, it could have impacted the traffic like the Congonhas crash. Instead we have a minor muddy runway excursion.

    No on one was injured. An airline spokesman said “It was tremendously heavy rain and the aircraft skidded off the runway” but others say it was not raining that much. The plane may return to service this week.


    View Peshawar International Airport in a larger map

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    Crash au large des Comores, les familles des victimes réclament justice

    Publié le 5 février 2010 par Nabiha Gasmi

    Prises en étau entre le droit européen, comorien, américain et français, et face à des compagnies d’assurances des plus alertes, les suites juridiques du crash de l’air bus A310-300 de la compagnie Yéménia qui s’est échoué au large des Comores le 29 juin dernier , tuant 152 passagers sur les 153 à bord, promettent d’être longues et scabreuses. Demeurant sans indemnités ni explications sur ce funeste vol, à Marseille, les familles de victimes réunies en collectif, n’ont eu d’autre alternative que de faire appel à des magnats du droit, le célèbre cabinet d’avocat américain : Masry & Vititoe.Toutes les infos

    Caught between European, Comoros, American and French legal systems, the families of Yemenia flight 626 are suffering at the mercy of insurance companies, and struggling with the legal consequences of the crash of the Yemenia airlines airbus that crashed on June 29, 2009. After all this time, the families still have no compensation. Demanding explanations, families of victims gathered to appeal for help from the American lawyer Masry & Vititoe in Marseille, this Saturday. Google Translation

  • Bulgaria Air Emergency Landing in Sofia

    What: Bulgaria Air flight en route from Sofia to Madrid
    Where: Sofia
    When: Feb 8 2010
    Why: The Bulgaria Air airlines took off for Madrid, but the plane developed undisclosed technical issues while still over the airport. The crew managed a safe landing, and passengers were provided an alternative plane.

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    Russia: Aborted Take off


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Dmitry Belov

    What: Yakutia Airlines Antonov AN-24 en route from Yakutsk to Olekminsk Russia
    Where: Yakutsk
    When: Feb 4 2010
    Who: 38 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: On takeoff, the left engine failed. The pilot aborted the takeoff, and with the gear retracted, the plane skid along the runway on its belly, incurring damage on its lower fuselage, left wing, propeller, and engine.

    Passengers evacuated with no injuries reported. The left engine was on fire though, but was successfully extinguished.

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    Smoke causes British Airways Diversion to Dusseldorf


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Ole Simon

    What: British Airways Airbus A320-200 en route from Budapest to London
    Where: Dusseldorf
    When: Feb 3 2010
    Why: While en route, a smoke detector went off. The crew diverted the plane to Dusseldorf and made a safe landing. Passengers evacuated safely. The flight was cancelled, and passengers were rebooked on a Lufthansa flight. The cancellation was called a precautionary measure.

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    Turku Finland: SAS CRJ Engine Shut Down


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Shaun Simpson

    What: SAS Scandinavian Airlines/ Cimber Air Canadair CRJ-100 en route from Turku Finland to Copenhagen Denmark
    Where: Turku
    When: Feb 4 2010
    Who: 43 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: After takeoff, the plane developed a problem with the left engine and it was shut down. The crew returned the plane to the Turku airport and made a safe landing.