Crash

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    Helicopter Crashes in Baltic, One Survivor

    A Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht-operated MBB BK 117C-1 helicopter training out of Güttin airfield on Rügen island fell from the sky.

    The German Martime Search and Rescue Service was on a training mission in Christoph Offshore 2 chopper when the helicopter lost altitude and fell into the Baltic. Two pilots and two passengers, a doctor and a rescue assistant, were aboard.

    Both of the pilots were rescued, but one died shortly afterwards. The second pilot is suffering from hypothermia. Overnight, divers flew aboard a helicopter to the crash site and retrieved the doctor and rescue assistant’s bodies from inside the helicopter.

    Several vessels were involved in the rescue, as well as air support.

    The helicopter was stationed on Rügen for energy companies with wind turbines in the Baltic Sea.

    The MBB BK 112 is a joint development between Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki of Japan.

    The following video is of Christoph 43.

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    The Mystery of Why?

    Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. I’ve said this too many times to count.

    Here’s a question: The event below was a maintenance ferry flight. Every time I hear about a post maintenance ferry flight that crashed, I wonder how that maintenance was performed, and what they forgot to do. Maybe they performed maintenance perfectly—I don’t know. It’s just what strikes my mind when that ferry flight goes down. What did that maintenance crew miss? It’s too much like having a brake failure accident while bringing the family car home from the brake shop. But this accident was PRE-inspection. So maybe it is like having the brakes fail on the way to the brake shop…

    On January 19, 2014, at 12:20 , a PT. Intan Angkasa Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, PK-IWT, flying from from Sentani to Tual crashed on approach to Dumatubun Airport, Maluku, Indonesia. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed.

    Some reports say it was hit by lightning, but most planes are designed not to catch fire when struck by lightning; careful lightning protection has been engineered into the aircraft. The current tends to travel through the conductive aluminum exterior skin and off an extremity like a wing tip. Additional shielding protects components from haywire side effects called “lightning indirect effects” and bursting into flames is not one of those effects, except in the fuel system, where even a spark is lethal.

    So, again, I question maintenance, and the integrity of the fuel system. Was the aluminum skin around the fuel system thick enough to withstand a lighting strike?

    Or perhaps it was something else entirely. The flight was described as being pounded by rain and fierce winds (they had just refueled in a thunderstorm)…and the wing fell off before the plane crashed. So was it the gale force winds that caused the wing to come off? Inquiring minds want to know. As always, the investigation is key to finding out why the wing came off and the plane crashed.

    Those aboard were a pilot, a technician and two airline employees.

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    Automation at Fault?


    Here’s the question: do pilots rely too much on automation? This question has been on my mind since hearing the parallels between the UPS Cargo jet crash and the Asiana passenger jet crash. This is on my mind not only as one who works toward aviation safety but also as a very frequent flyer. You can only imagine how my work carries me into international situations. I don’t fly as frequently as a pilot, but sometimes I fly internationally several times a month. I am on these planes frequently. I rely on them.

    So I find it disturbing that the NTSB’s hearing Thursday revealed parallels between the crash of UPS Flight 1354 and Asiana Filght 214. While I don’t know the answers, I can only hope the investigation shines light on ways to deal with this problem. What is the solution? Less reliance on Automation? Better training for pilots?

    On the other side of the coin, some parties will want even more automation, but I am reluctant to go in that direction. The idea of even more reliance on automation is anathema to me because the engineers and advocates of reliance on even more automation will not be on those even-more automated planes. While the technology and/or training will be on the chopping block, their actual necks won’t be.

    What I don’t find disturbing is the professionalism of the hearings. The webcast is well worth watching.

    The hearing webcast is recorded here: http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/022014/ntsb_archive_flv.htm

    Note the NTSB cautions participants in the hearing not to engage the media and to stick to the facts.

    Or the recorded captions (unformatted) are here.
    https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ntsb022014.htm.pdf

    bio docket: https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/biodocket.pdf

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    President Rafael Correa’s Helicopter Crashes


    A HAL Dhruv helicopter flown by the Ecuadorian Air Force, the president’s helicopter, crashed at Chimborazo in Equador while en route from Guayaquil to Quito.

    Three people (Lieutenant Jorge Luis, Sargent H. Cristian and Captain C. Hector) aboard the plane died. The pilot Captain P. Fabian survived.

    Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa was not aboard.

    The director of communications of the Ecuadorian Air Force confirmed the bodies of the Chimborazo helicopter crash victims will be transferred to Quito.

    The crash is under investigation.

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    Military Air Ambulance Crashes

    On Friday Feb 21, 2014, a Libyan military Antonov 26 transport #5A-DOW crashed in Tunisia killing 11 including two injured civilians, three escorts and five crew and one doctor.

    A fire broke out on the helicopter. No report has been provided to indicate if the fire was before or after the air ambulance’s ground impact.

    The vehicle was en route to Tunis-Carthage Airport and apparently crashed on approach.

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    UPS Flight 1354 Agenda and Media Logistics for Investigative Hearing


    The National Transportation Safety Board today released the agenda for the investigative hearing on the ongoing investigation into the Aug. 14, 2013 crash of UPS Airlines flight 1354, an Airbus A300-600, on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala.

    The hearing will be held February 20 at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center at 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW in Washington and begins at 8:30 a.m.

    Hearing witnesses, including representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, Airbus, UPS Airlines, Independent Pilots Association and the Transport Workers Union will testify and answer questions from NTSB Board members, technical staff, and parties about non-precision approaches, human factors and flight dispatch issues. The agenda, list of panel witnesses, biographies and other related information is available at the hearing event page at http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/2014/ups1354_hearing/index.html

    Investigative exhibits for the hearing will be placed in the electronic docket at the start of the hearing and will also be available on the hearing event page once the hearing begins.

    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman will be available to answer questions from the media at the conclusion of the hearing. Additional details about the availability will be included in an advisory on Wednesday.

    Television coverage of the proceedings will be by network pool provided by CNN. Escorted cutaway for video media will be permitted for brief periods throughout the hearing. Still photographers will be permitted in the seating area of the Board Room and by escort to areas in front of the witness panels.

    Because of construction at and around L’Enfant Plaza, satellite and other media trucks will have to check in for parking and running cable through the construction zone. Please RSVP to eric.weiss@ntsb.gov by Feb. 19. Media access to the Board Room is available beginning at 7:30 a.m.

    A media room is also available with tables, chairs and an audio mult box. Generally-accepted media credentials will be required for access to the media room. In addition, a fully equipped overflow room has been established and will serve as a storage area for video equipment during the hearing.

    Seating for the general public in the Board Room is on a first-come, first-served basis. The hearing will be webcast live. Access to the webcast can be found at www.ntsb.gov.

    ===
    The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled an investigative hearing on February 20 into the crash of a UPS Airbus A300-600 on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 14, 2013.

    The two flight crew members were killed and the airplane was destroyed when it impacted the ground less than a mile short of Runway 18. The cargo flight had originated from Louisville, Ky. Runway 18 was being used because the main runway at the airport was closed for repairs at the time of the airplane’s arrival.

    The one-day hearing will examine:

    Execution of non-precision approaches, including initial and recurrent training, adherence to standard operating procedures, and proficiency
    Human factors issues associated with effective crew coordination and resource management applicable to this accident, including decision-making, communication, fatigue and fitness for duty, as well as monitoring and cross-checking, policies, standard operating procedures, guidance, and training provided to UPS crewmembers.
    Dispatch procedures, including the training, evaluation, roles and responsibilities of UPS dispatchers and the limitations of dispatch-related software.
    The investigation is ongoing and this hearing will develop additional facts to support the investigation. The hearing will be held in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, D.C. A detailed agenda and a list of attendees will be forthcoming.

    Parties to the hearing will include the Federal Aviation Administration, UPS, Airbus, the Independent Pilots Association and the Transport Workers Union. The accredited representative from the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA) will participate on the technical panels.

    The determination of the probable cause of the crash will be released when the investigation is complete. Just prior to the start of the hearing, the public docket will be opened. Included in the docket are photographs, interview transcripts and other documents.

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    NTSB public events are also streamed live via webcast. Webcasts are archived for a period of three months from the time of the meeting. Webcast archives are generally available by the end of the event day for public Meetings, and by the end of the next day for Technical conferences.

    If you wish to obtain a copy of NTSB meetings, please contact the NTSB Records Management Division at (202) 314-6551 or 800-877-6799. You may also request this information from the NTSB web site or write the following: National Transportation Safety Board, Records Management Division (CIO-40), 490 L’Enfant Plaza, SW,Washington, DC 20594.

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    Telluride Crash kills three pilots


    At 11:20 a.m. Sunday, three pilots were en route from Telluride Regional Airport to Cortez, Colorado. After the Arizona Cloudbusters Inc Beechcraft 35-33 Debonair “disappeared,” the Civil Air Patrol instituted a search and found the wreckage a mile from the airport. Sherry Anderson, 57, and Sherman Anderson, 64, of Phoenix, and Eric Durban, 48, of Mesa, died in the single-engine plane crash. There was light snow, one mile visibility and light wind at the time of takeoff. Shortly after takeoff, the plane impacted mountainous terrain then caught fire.

    The Andersons were commercial pilots. Durban was a military pilot. They were members of Arizona Cloudbusters Flying Club.

    Their last communication was with Telluride airport on takeoff at 12:40p.m. which is when ATC instituted the search. The plane was spotted at 5:17 pm.

    An investigation is underway.

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    Wellington Florida Plane Crash


    A Sonex, a two-seat homebuilt kit plane crashed into a lake at Greenbriar Dog Park a mile from Wellington Aero Club, killing the one person aboard the plane. The pilot, Leonard “Link” McGarity had been practicing “touch and goes” The accident occurred on Feb 17 in the morning. By 12:55 rescue crews were on the scene but unable to assist as the pilot died at the scene. McGarity was a longtime professional pilot who flew for American Airlines and Marine helicopters, and had a residence at Wellington Aero Club.

    Prior to the crash, witnesses heard the plane sputter.

    The Wellington Aero Club is a community built around a runway. A neighbor who is a seasoned aviator was quoted saying of McGarity, “If this happened to him, it’s something wrong with the plane, not him. He knew what he was doing.”

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    Jenni Rivera Flight Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in LA

    Even though Rivera had filed for divorce, the widower of Jenni Rivera, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Esteban Loaiza, is suing the owners of the Learjet that crashed on Dec. 9, 2012, killing the Mexican-American “Diva de la Banda” and six others. The wrongful death lawsuit in in Los Angeles Superior Court claims that the 78-year-old pilot and the co-pilot weren’t licensed to fly paying passengers.Also, the 43 year old jet flew unevenly and trembled when it hit cruising speed.

    The families of four of the others, Rivera’s deceased publicist, makeup artist, hairstylist and attorney filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January 2013.

    The pilot exceeded the age limit for the kind of license he obtained from Mexico, a fact for which Mexico’s civil aviation holds Mexico accountable. The pilot and co-pilot also died in the crash.

    The plane’s owners were Starwood Management LLC and its parent company, Rodatz Financial Group.

    The plane took off from Monterey and crashed within fifteen minutes.

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    Former mayor of Ponte Alta do Tocantins Dead in Plane Crash


    The former Mayor of Ponte Alta do Tocantins, Cleyton Maia, 51 years, his son, Isaias Maia Barros Filho, the 24-year-old Mayan Pradheep, and a family friend, and member of the Brasilia Fire Department, Luis Augusto Aragon Feitosa, 23 years, were en route to the anniversary of Tom Belermindo when they died Sunday on a Cessna 210N Centurion II flying from Porto Nacional to Pedro Afonso, Tocantins. The impact occurred on a farm near Taquaralto, Palmas, Tocantins Brazil during a heavy rain.

    The bodies are in a Porto mortuary.

    The wreckage was in a remote area, discovered by a cowboy. The aircraft was unsafe, according to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). The flight plan had not been cleared and was considered an illegal flight.

    Aviation experts arrived on Monday, the 10th of February, 2014, at Palms to investigate the causes of the accident. The site will be preserved, trace evidence will be preserved and the wreckage of the aircraft remaining in its original position.

    The former Mayor Cleyton Maia was in a crash in the same aircraft in 2008.

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    Algerian Plane Crash Kills 77, One Survivor


    Seventy-seven people were aboard a twenty-four year old missing C-130 Hercules (#7T-WHM) that was flying from Tamanrasset to Constantine when it crashed into Mount Fortas in Algeria. The wreckage was discovered on Feb 11, 2013. The Algerian TV and Radio initially reported 102 fatalities, but updates say there were 78 aboard.

    The Military Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules was flown by Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jaza’eriya.

    There were four members of the crew and seventy-four passengers which included men, women and children. The assumption is that these were soldiers and military families.

    One soldier aboard the military transport survived; he is hospitalized in a military hospital in Algiers.

    The plane broke into three parts on impact. Fifty-five bodies were recovered on the rugged terrain in showy conditions.

    Lockheed Martin who built the plane will be assisting the investigation. The plane may have been on approach to Constantine Airport.

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    A Disgraceful Attitude

    Here are a couple of facts:

    – Yemenia Flight 626 was an International Airbus A310-324 from Sana’a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros, that crashed on 30 June 2009 killing 152.

    –French authorities charged Yemenia Airways with manslaughter over the Yemenia Airways crash.

    –A judicial source said that Yemenia’s Airbus A310 “should not have been allowed to fly”.

    –152 people died in the crash.

    In spite of this, Yemenia announced they are “ready to challenge any allegation regarding the pilot’s competence, or the plane’s maintenance.”

    They kept on flying a plane which was judged unsafe. Now Yemenia Airways is denying responsibility for the crash, which in all likelihood was a consequence of flying an unsafe plane.

    Any way you look at it, no matter how vehemently they dismiss it, no matter how many times they make an “official” statement, in refusing responsibility for a plane crash on their watch —a plane crash which killed 152 people who trusted the airline to deliver them safely and which is clearly their responsibility—Yemenia Airways has displayed a disgraceful attitude.

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    Viral Video Pilot’s Engagement Cut Short in Cachoeira do Sul


    Last month, Arthur Demetrio must have been full of hope and good news when he took his girlfriend Thays Pereira da Cruz flying, and asked her to marry him by having his parents hold up banners saying “Thays Marry me” in an airfield in Cachoeira do Sul Brazil.

    See the proposal here

    I wish this were the end of the story.

    This Wednesday, Demetrio spoke to his fiancée Thays on the phone.
    Later that day, his Cessna 140 aircraft was flying out of the airfield where he proposed.

    He crashed in Cachoeira do Sul.

    His student Darlan Kabata dos Santos, 31, and he both died. There was almost no warning, though Demetrio had time to tell ATC he was having plane trouble, something about the elevator, which controls the nose of the plane.

    Officials informed his fiancée; she was the first to know. The family is devastated.

    Arthur Demetrio will be buried in Santa Catarina, where he is from.

    The accident is under investigation.

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    NTSB to Hold Investigative Hearing Into August 2013 UPS A300 crash in Birmingham, Ala.


    NTSB to Hold Investigative Hearing Into August 2013 UPS A300 crash in Birmingham, Ala.

    Jan. 30, 2014
    WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled an investigative hearing on February 20 into the crash of a UPS Airbus A300-600 on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 14, 2013.
    The two flight crew members were killed and the airplane was destroyed when it impacted the ground less than a mile short of Runway 18. The cargo flight had originated from Louisville, Ky. Runway 18 was being used because the main runway at the airport was closed for repairs at the time of the airplane’s arrival.
    The one-day hearing will examine:
    • Execution of non-precision approaches, including initial and recurrent training, adherence to standard operating procedures, and proficiency
    • Human factors issues associated with effective crew coordination and resource management applicable to this accident, including decision-making, communication, fatigue and fitness for duty, as well as monitoring and cross-checking, policies, standard operating procedures, guidance, and training provided to UPS crewmembers.
    • Dispatch procedures, including the training, evaluation, roles and responsibilities of UPS dispatchers and the limitations of dispatch-related software.
    The investigation is ongoing and this hearing will develop additional facts to support the investigation. The hearing will be held in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, D.C. A detailed agenda and a list of attendees will be forthcoming.
    Parties to the hearing will include the Federal Aviation Administration, UPS, Airbus, the Independent Pilots Association and the Transport Workers Union. The accredited representative from the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA) will participate on the technical panels.
    The determination of the probable cause of the crash will be released when the investigation is complete. Just prior to the start of the hearing, the public docket will be opened. Included in the docket are photographs, interview transcripts and other documents.

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    Will Yemenia Airways Be Held Accountable at Last?

    In 2007 there was this Airbus A310 that failed to pass inspection in France and was therefore banned from French Airspace. The plane was still in use though. Yemenia Airlines quit flying the plane over French Airspace, limiting its routes to non-euro airspace like the hop from Sanaa to the Comoros.

    Listen, I’ve heard some bad things about some planes but the descriptions I saw of this plane are so vivid I remember them, even though its been nearly five years. Frankly, the description sounded straight out of Romancing the Stone like the bus that takes Kathleen Turner (romance novelist Joan Wilder) to Cartagena, Colombia—crowded to the gills, livestock inside, seats rolling around, standing room only, everything that was portrayed in the movie, except (one hopes) people hanging off the outside of the plane. This rickety plane, which failed to meet safety standards continued to be in use until it crashed one stormy night in 2009.

    Now, five years later, France is charging Yemenia Airlines with manslaughter.

    I wonder at the timing. Apparently Yemenia Airlines is no longer on the EU banned list.

    I wonder if they waited for Yemenia Airlines to become more solvent before they charged them.

    I wonder if International Lease Finance Corporation is going to be held accountable. They leased the plane to Yemenia; and, like a father who hands his fifteen year old the keys to his car, they could have taken away the keys, or withheld them till the plane was brought up to code.

    I wonder if the delay was five years worth of research, and maybe evidence found.

    I wonder if another accident or enlightening incident happened that pointed the finger at Yemenia.

    I wonder if it was pressure from the families of the 153 passengers and crew (and little Bahia Bakari the twelve year old miracle survivor) aboard that international flight from Sana’a, Yemen to Moroni, Comoros that crashed on 30 June 2009.

    Pressure from the families brings change. I have a lot of confidence in family groups. Plane crash victims are united by a common cause, a cause which is ethical and pragmatic and yet impossible, because they are seeking justice when there can really be none. Because all these people want, if they could have their way, would be to have their loved ones back. They have the power of right on their side; and to make a galvanizing cause even more magnetic, they are fighting for the safety of every future airline passenger. I wish my friend Hans Ephraimson-Abt, who died last October, could be here to witness the charges being brought. He lost a daughter when her plane was shot down in 1983, and ever after made it his business to advocate for families. I think of him now because up until October, whenever I’d post an editorial concerning crashes, or family groups, he would always write back with encouragement, or some pithy bit of advice.

    Maybe I should be objective. After all, helping families in crashes is my business. But when you’re on the front lines of aviation safety trying to get better treatment for victims and the families of victims, it doesn’t take long to feel very personal. There are a lot of people who saw those headlines that France is charging the carrier with manslaughter who think that after four and a half years, it is about time. I just hope that somehow the 152 victims—and Hans—could know that the responsible parties may yet be held accountable.

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    Compensation Begins

    Without their admission of fault, compensation has begun by Bond Aviation Group whose helicopter crashed the Clutha pub in Glasgow and injured dozens and killed ten.

    A statement by Bond Aviation Group said that “Most claims should be capable of being settled without delay…However, for complex claims which may take longer to resolve, and where appropriate, we will make interim payments without the need for each party to apply to the court.”

    After the accident, Eurocopter issued a Safety Information Notice.

    17-Dec-2013

    Eurocopter has issued a Safety Information Notice (SIN) to operators of the EC135 across the world regarding the issue involving the fuel indication and alert system discovered by Bond during normal service operations on Wednesday 11th, which we immediately reported to Eurocopter and the appropriate authorities. The SIN states: “Following this incident, fuel system functionality tests performed by Bond Air Services and two other EC135 operators in Europe have revealed possible similar supply-tank fuel gauging errors on some aircraft.”

    As soon as we discovered this issue, in line with our commitment to the highest standards of safety, we took the prudent decision to temporarily suspend service operations whilst we conducted checks on our fleet of EC135s. The results of these tests were subsequently validated by Eurocopter, and appropriate repairs made before returning the aircraft to service. We also took the decision to increase safety barriers by mandating that all our EC135s should maintain a minimum of 90kg of fuel onboard at all times. All our EC135 aircraft are now fully operational and are available for missions with our air ambulance and police customers.

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    Small Plane Crashes in Indonesia, Four Fatalities

    On January 19, 2013, a PT. Intan Angkasa Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain was en route from Sentani to Surabaya when it was struck by lightning. It fell on the Un beach in Tual but no one on the ground was injured. No one on the plane survived. There were four people aboard—the pilot and three crew.

    The plane was coming from Sentani Papua and its final intended stop was Ambon, Malaku.

    The actual cause of the accident has not been determined. Reports are that residents saw the plane falling in fire from the sky.

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    Life Jacket with AirPocket Can Save Lives


    The Lifejacket Airpocket Plus (LAP) combined lifejacket and hybrid rebreather is a lifesaver. Imagine a life jacket that lets you breathe air. Genius, right? I’ve seen too many helicopter crashes to and from oil rigs. Some of those fatalities should be preventable. This hybrid life jacket would really come in handy to have on a Super Puma helicopter plunging into the North Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico. I hope I’m never in that situation, but if I am, you can bet I’ll be wearing one, and I’ll have read the directions.

    A couple of lives may not have been saved with it simply because of directions.

    A rebreather is an apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of exhaled breath to permit the recycling of available oxygen. The hybrid unit is a little something extra.

    The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) believes the instructions on how to use this device need to include the information that the rebreather has an air supply; so if someone is in the middle of drowning, they don’t have to be going down with a last breath of air. The rebreather already has some. It’s not like a scuba diving tank with loads of air, but hey, it’s a way to breathe if you’re submerged in a helicopter and don’t have gills. What if all you need is just enough air to keep you alive to get the seatbelt off, or to swim out of an opening? That’s some precious air, all right.

    So kudos to the revised pre-flight briefing material. Even if it is a knee-jerk reaction after another tragic helicopter crash, good idea AAIB.

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    Medical Plane Crash Leads to Resignations in Romania


    A medical rescue crew boarded a plane and left Bucharest for Oradea to pick up transplant organs from a patient who just passed away. But they became victims themselves.

    We have seen intensive searches for missing planes all over the globe; but here’s a medical rescue team aboard a BN-2A Islander who suffered tragedy in the accident when an inadequate search for their missing plane failed to reach the plane in time. Pilot Adrian Iovan and student Aurelia Ion died from severe injuries and cold. Authorities failed to find the site in the first six hours. The fallout from that failure has led to the resignation of political officials including Minister of Interior, Radu Stroe, Director General of Romatsa, Aleodor Frâncu and Chief of General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), Ion Burlui. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta dismissed state secretary Constantin Chiper, who was in charge of the rescue mission, and who should have coordinated the teams better.

    A doctor who survived Radu Zamfir said that he gave the emergency service his exact GPS location provided by a smartphone.

    Pilot Adrian Iovan died of internal bleeding and cold. AURELIA ION was an officer-student in the fifth year at the UMF Carol Davila, Military Medicine Institute in Bucharest and was also doing an internship at Fundeni Hospital.

    A ranger found the wreckage and initiated the rescue. Initially all aboard—four doctors, a nurse and two flight crew—were alive.

    Near Petreasa, Romania the airplane sustained substantial damage but the seven aboard initially survived. Near Poiana Horea, the plane had engine trouble. Pilot ADRIAN IOVAN tried to make an emergency landing, came down on a hillside in deep snow near Fântânele village near a lake.

    Video of Funeral: Romanian plane crash victim and medical student buried at Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest

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    Experimental Crash in Brazil kills Deputy Mayor


    A small plane, an INPAER Explorer#PR-ZAL with three aboard was en route from Campos dos Amarais, Campinas to London but disappeared from radar while talking to ATC in Pirassununga Brazil at about ten on January 23rd. The experimental plane was registered but not certified, and barred from flying over populated areas.

    The Brazilian Air Force, Botucatu and São Manuel police forces were searching with a C-105 Amazonas, a H1 and an Eagle Helicopter, and found the remains of the passengers in dense forest, in a rugged area near Monte Alegre.

    The Squad of Campo Grande rescue team is on the scene.

    Locals who heard the failing engine, a roar and saw a flash of light in the woods notified authorities.

    The remains have been identified as:
    -Alderman and Deputy Mayor of Suzano (SP) Jessé Almeida,
    -Edson Geraldino, identified as owner of the plane.

    The identity of the third party, Rubens Geraldino, has not been confirmed by the family. The passengers (uncle and nephew) were from Mogi das Cruzes, SP, Brazil.

    Video Below

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    Slow ID in November 2013 LAM Crash

    Identification of the remains of those aboard the LAM Embraer-190 that crashed en route from Maputo to Luanda is moving at a snails pace. Sixteen of the 33 fatalities have been identified, mostly, according to police reports, by fingerprint evidence.

    The scientists who are making the identification are working with fragments.

    I am not a scientist, and it does not appear that the scientists in this case are using DNA identification. But I did uncover an article here where a forensic scientist explicitly lists the time it takes for DNA identification. This reference might prove useful in providing some kind of framework to the families who are waiting for remains of their recently lost family members to be identified if the Mozambique investigation turns to DNA identification. The families have been waiting since the date of the crash, 29 November 2013.

    The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR), were recovered from the crash site within four days of the crash. But the preliminary report only says:

    NTSB Identification: DCA14RA018
    Accident occurred Saturday, November 30, 2013 in Rundu, Namibia
    Aircraft: EMBRAER ERJ190 – UNDESIGNAT, registration:
    Injuries: 33 Fatal.
    This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.

    The Namibia Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT) has notified the NTSB of an accident involving an Embraer ERJ-190 that occurred on November 30, 2013. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the MWT investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Manufacturer and Design of the engines.

    All investigative information will be released by the MWT.

    Read more

    Read more

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    Parachute Flight Comes to Quick Halt


    On Jan 14, 2013, six people—pilot Marcelo Rodríguez, two instructors and three parachutists—were aboard a Cessna 205 during a parachute flight in Punta el Este, Uraguay.

    When the engine lost power, the pilot made a forced landing and flipped. No fatalities were reported. The injured include Uruguayans, two Argentine women and one other. The injured were treated on the scene by mobile emergency units and then transferred to medical centers in Maldonado and Punta del Este.

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    Unidentified Body Discovered


    Remains of some poor soul were discovered on the banks of the Dordogne River ten kilometers from where the helicopter crash killed Hong Kong tycoon Kok Lam. The body has not been identified yet. Due to its condition after being in the water, the id will have to be found through DNA testing. The remains of 12-year-old son Kok Shun-yu, son of Kok Lam, were found indie the Robinson R44 a day after the helicopter crashed.

    The body found in the river may be a person missing since April, which might explain the extent of the damage of the remains.

    Kok Lam was owner of the Hong Kong based Brilliant group, which runs upmarket hotels and other properties, including the newly purchased Château de la Riviere.

    Read more:

    Billionaire Lost in French Helicopter Crash

    Helicopter Lost in Dordogne river

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    Another Robinson Crash

    On January 12, 2013, a Sky Clear Aviação Robinson R22 Beta II was in Santa Maria Madalena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on a training flight when it crashed into a forested area. Because he helicopter crashed on top of trees, some of the crash force was dispersed. Both the pilot and student sustain injury. Herbert Campbell, 39, and Gabriel Silva Mataruna Ahmed, 23, were the accident victims. They were conscious when the rescue team arrived but the helicopter is a total loss.

    Emergency responders were the fire brigade of Conceição de Macabu.

    The farm where the accident happened is on the edge of St. Mary Magdalene with Conceição de Macabu, North Fluminense. The Centre for research and prevention of Aeronautical Accidents is investigating.

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    Three Soldiers and Two Civilians Die in Colombian Helicopter Accident

    On JAN 9 2014, a Sociedad Aeronáutica de Santander (SASA) Bell 206L-3 LongRanger
    # HK-4462 en route from Puerto Berrío to Anori was north of Anori, Colombia when it suffered controlled flight into terrain, striking a mountain. No one aboard survived the impact. Three soldiers and two civilians died on the 9th when the helicopter went missing.

    The Seventh Division of the National Army had made a public statement that the aircraft, affiliated with the Aeronautical Society of Santander was “transporting a priest and military personnel assigned to the Fourteenth Brigade”.

    The helicopter crew failed to check in on Thursday afternoon and was located on Friday in rural Anori. Fatalities were two soldiers, one police, one military priest and the pilot.

    Director of the Department of Care andPrevention of Disasters César Hernández confirmed the fatalities.