Yemenia flight IY-600 had to return and make an emergency landing in Aden, Yemen, on June 8th.
The Airbus A310-300 plane took off for Cairo, Egypt, but had to turn back after the crew needed to shut down one the engines due to an oil leak.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and eighty people aboard remained unharmed.
We remember on June 2009 when 152 people died aboard a Yemenia Airlines Airbus A310-300.
Yemenia Flight 626.
We remember.
The years pass and the headlines fade, but the families will never forget the loss of their loved ones, and neither should we.
The pilot was about to land on an airstrip in the Comores Islands when ATC lost contact.
The plane and all its passengers crashed into the ocean.
12-year old Bahia Bakari survived the crash, rescued after thirteen hours in the ocean, clinging to debris. She was and is a miracle.
The final report on Flight 626 concluded the crash was due to the crew’s inappropriate flight control inputs that led to an aerodynamic stall.
Crews inappropriate flight control inputs means pilot error. In this case, the pilot error was exacerbated by a nineteen year old plane in dubious condition, bad weather conditions (winds gusting to 64 km/h 40 mph; 35 kn) and a primitive airport.
Crashes like Yemenia should function like red lights. The only way they make sense is if when they happen, we stop and consider those who were lost, and investigate what went wrong. On behalf of safety, the aviation industry should mandate to use every atom of what is discovered to prevent future accidents. The industry in general, and the airlines in specific should make changes that will help prevent future accidents.
Pilot error means airlines like Yemenia are still having problems training pilots. Still problems in the cockpit. Sadly, conditions still exist for more accidents like this in Yemenia’s future.
I glance at a lot of news sites, mostly skimming just to make sure the facts are the same across the board, and I don’t usually stop and make comments about one particular site, or other. I’m usually focused on the message, not the messenger.
But once in a while, I come across erroneous content.
What should I do when I come across a site that posts an article that says up till the crash in the Comoros, Yemenia Airlines had an unblemished record?
What world is that staff reporter living in? Who gave them that information? Because it’s wrong.
Today’s Yemenia was formerly Yemen Airlines and Yemen Arab Airlines and Yemen Airways. (There may be more DBA names I’m leaving out.)
This airline, rebranded over and over, has had at least 11 crashes and a couple of hijackings thrown in (1973 and 1975.) Just take a look at the actual record.
And there were EU Safety sanctions in JUL 2008: EU safety action (Safety deficiencies noted by ramp inspections in several countries; Yemenia took corrective actions.); on JUL 2009: EU safety action (The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the maintenance organisation approval EASA.145.0177 issued to Yemenia Yemen Airways, due to unresolved safety deficiencies.) On JUL 2009: EU safety action (The authorities of France suspended the certificates of airworthiness of the aircraft of type Airbus A310 registered in France (F-OHPR and F-OHPS) and operated by the carrier.) On NOV 2009: EU safety action (Member States will verify systematically the effective compliance of Yemenia with the relevant safety standards through the prioritisation of ramp inspections to be carried out on aircraft of this carrier.)
The EU is right to be so demanding. Yemenia Airlines has a dangerous record, no matter what the airline is called. Lack of safety is the reason the airline has been on the EU blacklist. Don’t the people of Yemen deserve a safe carrier?
(See below)
Hijacks first:
During a training exercise, a Yemeni military fighter jet crashed in Sana’a, Yemen, killing the pilot—although one report says the pilot ejected. Witnesses hearing a loud explosion on impact, and report black smoke. The pilot was named as Mohamed Shaker. In addition to the pilot, there were 12 fatalities and 18 injuries.
The pilot was returning to base after a training mission and requested authorization to land when the aircraft lost altitude and crashed.
The plane was a Russian SU-22 that struck three buildings in al-Qadissiya near Change Square. It struck a building on Rabat Avenue, then hit another and ended up on a third building. Several cars were on fire. Five bodies that were recovered were burned beyond recognition.
All of the victims were civilians and included three women and two children. Several ambulances responded. Some reports said they took a long time to arrive.
An investigation is underway.
What: Yemen Air Force Antonov
Where: Al-Anad Air Base, Yemen
When: October 25, 2011
Who: 15 aboard, 5 fatalities
Why: A plane carrying eight Syrian engineers and seven Yemenis crashed while landing at Al-Anad on October 25 in the southern province of Lahij.
Three Syrian technicians and one Yemeni died at the scene. Four, then five deaths have been reported.
The condition of the survivors has not been released.
Last year, after explosives were found on flights originating in Yemen, a ban was imposed.
A US technical team visited Yemen and found security measures to be up to ICAO standards and recommended lifting the ban on freight. The Sana’a International Airport meeting also involved security and staff training.
Yemenia Airlines and other carriers still have to abide by regulations, but the ban on flights from Yemen has been lifted.
