Crash

  • | | |

    Ex-legislator killed when Cessna Flips at Beluga Lake

    What: Cessna U206G Stationair
    Where: Beluga Lake, Homer, Alaska
    When: July 10, 2012
    Who: 5 aboard
    Why: Five passengers were aboard a plane that flipped on landing in Beluga Lake. The fire department found the plane upside down and underwater. Four passengers were evacuated safely; one passenger was trapped underwater and seatbelted in, but emergency teams were reportedly able to get a pulse. An inflatable Zodiac boat assisted in the rescue.

    The victim, Cheryll Heinze, a former state representative from Anchorage, was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage for treatment but was pronounced deceased at South Peninsula Hospital.

    The plane was piloted by 71-year-old Evan “Joe” Griffith, general manager at MEA,Matanuska Electric Association. Heinze was director of public affairs for MEA.

    Registration Number: N206VR
    Mode S Code: 50325070
    Certification Class: Standard
    Certification Issued: 2011-10-28
    Air Worthiness Test: 1979-02-22
    Last Action Taken: 2011-10-28

  • | | | | | |

    Dana Air Interim Payments Offered


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Peter Tonna
    What: Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria
    Where: Iju neighborhood, Lagos
    When: June 3, 2012
    Who: 153 passengers
    Why: Dana air stated that it is fully aware of the mandatory requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), for interim benefits to be paid to the families of the victims within 30 days of the accident.

    Although 68 families have completed their insurance compensation documentation, only nine families were given $30,000 each, having been the only ones to successfully run the legal gauntlet.

    Beneficiaries said the interim payment fell short of their expectations.

    Claim forms must be taken to Yomi Oshikoya & Co, for verification. Yomi Oshikoya & Co was appointed by the insurers in Lagos.

    Dana Air attempted to distribute cheques as interim compensation to some individuals made homeless by the crash. Dana Air prepared N500, 000 for one of the victims, Mr. Daniel Omowunmi, N100, 000, each to two occupants of the boys’ quarters and N200, 000 each to six families in the block of flats. Full payment of the compensation by the insurance company is pending. The lawyer rejected the checks as inadequate and also not all of the victims were included.

    In George’s Point of View

    Interim payments, that is good.

    It’s Lloyds of London.

  • | | | |

    Family Piper Lost in Miss. Storm

    What: Rgd. Flt Away LLC Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance en route from Andrews, N.C. to Oxford, Miss
    Where: Mississippi
    When: July 8 2012
    Who: 3 aboard
    Why: James Bartley Jr.; his wife, Terry Bartley; and their youngest daughter, Caroline Bartley died when their plane broke apart in the air over Mississippi. They were flying from a vacation home in North Carolina to the University of Mississippi. There was lightning reported in the vicinity when the plane crashed. The wreckage is described as burned and crumpled and may have fallen from an altitude of 8000 feet.

    Rescue teams responded on foot, four-wheelers and horseback.

    The debris field was spread over half of a mile n a field near County Road 4111 in New Site, Mississippi; the fuselage was found by a medical helicopter.

  • | | | |

    Alouette Crashed in Romania, 4 lost

    What: Romanian Air Force AR 316B Alouette III
    Where: Buzau, Romania
    When: July 5, 2012
    Who: 4 aboard
    Why: Captain Commander Docuz Mitica who was piloting the Alouette when it went down had over 1700 flight hours; and his copilot Viorel Cojocaru had 650 hours. Topoliceanu Catalin had more than 1,100 flying hours, Student Steven Corope?chi also died in the crash. One of the mechanics aboard might have been taking a flying lesson.

    The Air Force School of Boboc lost radio contact with the helicopter at around 12:00 shortly before the helicopter crashed in Buzau County in the area known as Cross Comsoaiei right near the highway E85.

    Rescue vehicles including water and foam trucks and ambulances responded but all four aboard died.

    A committee of Air Force Staff will be investigating the crash and the findings made public.

  • | | | | | |

    UTAir Crashes on 4th, killing 4 in Lensk


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

    What: UTAir Aviation Aérospatiale AS 350 B3 Ecureuil en route from Lensk to Talakan
    Where: Lensk, Russia
    When: July 4, 2012 18:11
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: Four people were aboard the UTAir helicopter when it crashed near Lensk Russia, killing the pilot and copilot and two passengers just moments after the pilots lost contact with ATC.

    Initial reports said there were only three aboard. The helicopter normally performed a regular shuttle flight.
    https://airflightdisaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/aerorussiautair.jpeg

  • | |

    NC National Guard Firefighting Plane


    What: MAFF 7 C-130
    When: July 1, 2012 6:30 p.m. Sunday night
    Who: Six aboard, including Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal and Master Sergeant Robert Cannon
    Why: The tanker made at least two drops of fire retardant on the White Draw fire before it crashed around 6 p.m, the first SUCH crash in the 40-year history of the MAFFS program, a joint Defense Department and U.S. Forest Service program. MAFFS is the Forest Service’s self-contained aerial firefighting system. It can discharge 3,000 gallons covering an area a quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide in less than five seconds.

    Three firefighters were transported by ambulance to a Rapid City hospital. North Carolina state flag have been lowered to half-staff at all state facilities from sunrise to sunset(Tuesday, July 3) to honor the N.C. National Guard members who died.

    Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx said. “On behalf of the City of Charlotte, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the Airmen who lost their lives Sunday night in South Dakota, and wish the Airmen who were injured a full and speedy recovery,

  • | | |

    Sedona Breakfast Flight Ends in Tragedy

    What: Chopper II LLC Aérospatiale AS 350B Astar en route from from Sedona to Scottsdale.
    Where: Sedona AZ
    When: June 30, 2012
    Who: 4 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: A Aérospatiale AS 350B Astar, N729DP that was reported overdue on Saturday was found by a private pilot at 8:45 a..m. Sunday crashed into the Verde river south of Camp Verde, Arizona. According to FAA reports, “THE 4 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED.”

    The wreckage was consistent with a pilot flying at low speed and low altitude.

    The remains were found of the pilot, 70-year-old Raymond Perry of Phoenix, 68-year-old passenger Karen Stinn of Cave Creek and 63-year-old Mike Dunaway and 64-year-old Linda Dunaway of Glendale. They were taken to Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office. Perry is the CEO of the Arriba Mexican Grill restaurant chain.

    A helicopter mechanic reported that it looked as if the chopper nose-dived and the blades from the chopper and the transmission tore through the main cabin where the pilot and passengers were sitting. Wind may have factored in. The helicopter was found in the Verde river.

  • | | | |

    SD: More Firefighting Tragedy Strikes

    What: USAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules
    Where: Edgemont SD
    When: 1 July 2012
    Who: 6 aboard, 4 fatalities
    Why: A C-130 transport aircraft en route to support firefighting missions crashed in South Dakota. The crew was part of the fight against the White Draw Fire.

    The USAF Release said:

    PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) — At approximately 6 p.m. MDT July 1, a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System equipped C-130 aircraft supporting firefighting missions crashed in the southwest corner of South Dakota. The aircraft was supporting the efforts against the White Draw Fire.

    The cause of the crash is not known and the incident is under investigation. There are no details on the status of the aircrew available at this time.

    MAFFS is a joint DoD and U.S. Forest Service program designed to provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private airtankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the forest service.

    MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than 5 seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

    Media outlets made this update:
    .CHARLOTTE NC – The crash of a North Carolina-based Air National Guard cargo plane that was fighting wildfires in South Dakota has left at least one crew member dead.The family of Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal of Mooresville confirmed they were notified early Monday that he had died in the C-130 crash on Sunday. The 42-year-old married father of two was a veteran of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.Lt. Col. Rose Dunlap of the 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte says six crew members were aboard.The North Carolina Air National Guard confirmed that lives were lost in the crash. Other crew members who were injured were taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital. Names and conditions have not been released.The plane went down about 6 p.m. in the southwest corner of South Dakota where it had been dropping flame retardant on the White Draw Fire.The cause of the crash is under investigation and all other MAFFS-equipped C-130s have been grounded.

    In George’s Point of View


    So many heroes.
    So many tragic deaths.

  • | | |

    Russian Pilots Bail out of Sukhoi Jet

    What: Sukhoi Su-27UB (“Flanker-C”) 2nd Air Group, 7000th Airbase, Russian Air Force
    Where: Besovets, Prionezhsky district, Karelia Republic, Russia
    When: June 28, 2012
    Who: 2 aboard, 0 fatalities
    Why: Col. E. Oleynik and Major general K. Botashov, ejected from a Sukhoi jet before it went down in Besovets village. The air force suspended Sukhoi flights pending investigation. It is not known if the engine ingested a bird or if a flight control system failed.

    The jet had been on a routine weather check and training flight.

  • | | | | | |

    Hunan Airlines Crash Report Released; Captain and 19 Others Blamed

    The report of the Henan Airlines crash suggests that Henan Airlines be fiend $795,000 due to safety issues and suggests the chief pilot should have his pilot’s license revoked, be removed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party, and should also face criminal charges.

    The report says “says chief pilot Qi Quanjun did not locate the runway before landing.” The jet crashed 2260 feet short of the runway. The pilot crash landed under conditions of poor visibility, then left the plane, failed to evacuate the passengers and rescue the injured. The report names 19 people in all as contributing to the accident. Airline officials and local civil aviation authorities are also cited in the report and may be subject to “disciplinary penalties, be demoted or dismissed.”


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

    What: Shenzhen Airlines/Kunpeng/Henan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Harbin to Yichun China
    Where: Yichun China
    When: Aug 24th 2010
    Who: 91 passengers (including 5 children) and 5 crew; 43 immediate deaths, 3 serious injuries and 50 minor injuries
    Why: The plane overran the runway—and departed the runway on landing—at Lindu airport in Yichun city in Heilongjiang province at 10:10 p.m, split on impact, exploded, and burst into flames. 53 people were rescued, three of whom with serious injuries.

    An investigation in 2008 revealed 100 pilots employed by Henan Airlines’ parent company had falsified their flying credentials; and about a hundred pilots flying for other airlines were found to have done the same thing.

  • | |

    Two Fatalities in Portuguese Cessna Crash on Training Flight

    What: Cessna 152
    Where: Matarraque, S. Domingos de Rana Portugal
    When: June 26, 2012 22:33
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: A pilot of the Leávia flight school and a student pilot had made one pass at the runway at Tires aerodrome in Cascais, and had circled to make another pass when they crashed on a training flight. The plane impacted between residences in Matarraque, Sao Domingos de Rana, Portugal.

    Judging by proximity, investigators conjecture that the pilot may have been intending to make an emergency landing on the A5. The plane ended up in a yard between two houses on Saudade street about two miles from the airfield. The plane crashed but did not burn. There were no casualties on the ground. Emergency responders included corporate volunteer firefighters and and an ambulance from the National Institute of Emergency Medicine.

    The instructor was 45 and his student was in her twenties.

    Witnesses say they heard the engine stop before the plane crashed. The “Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves” is investigating.

  • | | |

    Cape Elizabeth Crash near Lighthouse under investigation


    On a sunny day, the small plane just 100 yards from shore crashed near a historic lighthouse in a park in full sight of park visitors. The plane which remains in ocean waters at the ocean bottom in 60 feet of water, off Fort William but is not expected to cause environmental damage. The pilot was identified as Dr. Louis Hanson of Durham, who escaped the plane but was reported “unresponsive.”

    IDENTIFICATION
    Regis#: 39443 Make/Model: S10 Description: STINSON S108
    Date: 06/24/2012 Time: 1700

    Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
    Damage: Unknown

    LOCATION
    City: CAPE ELIZABETH State: ME Country: US

    DESCRIPTION
    AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AND CRASHED INTO OCEAN. NEAR CAPE ELIZABETH, ME. 1 FATAL.

    INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
    # Crew: 1 Fat: 1
    WEATHER: 30009 10SM CLR 26/12 A2989

    OTHER DATA
    Activity: Pleasure Phase: Cruise Operation: OTHER

    The NTSB is investigating the power loss and subsequent crash of the four-seat Stinson S108 that occurred in Cape Elizabeth.

    Serial Number 108-13 Type Registration Individual
    Manufacturer Name UNIVERSAL STINSON Certificate Issue Date 11/21/2002
    Model 108 Expiration Date 03/31/2013
    Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Single-Engine Status Valid
    Pending Number Change None Type Engine Reciprocating
    Date Change Authorized None Dealer No
    MFR Year 1946 Mode S Code 51112245

  • | |

    Austrian Training Flight Crashes in Voglhub


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

    What: Flugring Salzburg Cessna F150L en route from Gmunden to Salzburg.
    Where: Straßwalchen, Salzburg
    When: June 21, 2012
    Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
    Why: After disappearing from radar at 2:30, while on a training flight, a 71 year old flight instructor and 44 year old student pilot were in a fatal crash in Salzburg near Voglhub village. The flight was from Gmunden to Salzburg. After the crash, the plane’s beacon helped rescuers find the wreckage.

    Rescuers attempted to cut the victims out until 4:30 pm. They did not long survive the collision. The area was foamed to prevent fire. The crash site was a field near the Western Railway.

  • | | |

    Kenya Crash Investigation Begins

    What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
    Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
    When: June 10, 2012
    Who: 6 aboard
    Why: The team put together to investigate the June 10 crash has visited the crash site and said they will begin mapping the area. A representative of the victims will be at the team meetings in an effort to promote transparency. Two Kenyan Ministers were aboard the helicopter.

    See Video below

  • | | | | |

    Military Fokker Crashes in Jakarta Neighborhood


    What: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force) Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M
    Where: Jakarta Indonesia
    When: June 21, 2012, 15:00 hrs.
    Who: 7 aboard
    Why: The flight was engaged in maneuvers when it crashed into a Jakarta neighborhood in the Rajawali housing complex (the Air Force Eagle Complex, at Halim Perdanakusuma airport.). It is reported that everyone aboard the flight except the co-pilot died in the crash. The co-pilot survived; and several people inside the buildings also died on the ground. A fireball erupted in the neighborhood. Some residents were hospitalized with burns.

    Major Flight Heri Setiawan (captain pilot), Sergeant Major Simulanto, Sahroni Flight Lieutenant, Captain Agus Supriyadi Engineering, Purwo First Sergeant, Master Sergeant Wahyudi (Engineering Squadron 021) were confirmed killed in the crash.

    Skies were clear at the time of the accident.

    The names of the victims who were in the housing were not released. Video below

  • | | |

    Glider Disengaged from Tow Rope Crashes in Texas, Kills 3


    What: Greater Houston Soaring Assn I.C.A. Brasov IS-28B2
    Where: Highway 36 at Cougar Road GHSA-Wallis Glideport, Wallis, TX
    When: June 17, 2012
    Who: 3 fatalities, 3 aboard
    Why: Investigators say that the glider was attached by rope 200 feet long, to another aircraft when it crashed during the climb. At 75 feet, the tow rope broke,

    The pilot, his daughter in law and her son died in the accident. The victims were named as 68-year-old Fred Blair, the glider pilot; his daughter-in-law, 32-year-old Matilda Blair; and his grandson, 3-year-old Andrew Blair.

  • | | | |

    Helicusco Victims Recovered, Koreans Returning Home Sunday

    clip from youtube
    What: HeliCusco Sikorsky S-58ET en route from Mazuco to Cusco
    Where: Hualla Hualla Peru
    When: June 6 2012
    Who: 14 aboard
    Why: The helicopter carrying two Peruvian crew members and 12 passengers (mostly Korean) is confirmed to have crashed in Hualla Hualla in the Cusco region in southern Peru on Mama Rosa mountain. The flight had gone missing on June 6 in a high Andes region of cloudy mountaintops. Difficulty retrieving the remains of eight Koreans, a Dutchman, a Swede, a Czech and three Peruvians, is due to the crash elevation of nearly 5,000 meters (16,393 feet). Between the elevation, weather and terrain, an air approach is impossible, and recovery crews had to approach by land. The consuls of Korea and Austria were in Cuzco to find out about the search for their fallen countrymen.

    The recovery operation was suspended Saturday afternoon because of bad weather.

    In addition to the police patrol, the parties of the High Mountain Unit included at least eight agents, a team of medical examiners and assistant prosecutors.

    One of the videos below includes footage of locals hand carrying the remains down the mountain.

    The eight Koreans who lost their lives in the accident will be returned to Korea on Sunday.

    Read More: HeliCusco Sikorsky Missing in Andes, 14 aboard

  • | | |

    Helicopter Crash In Germany Kills 4


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

    What: Robinson R44 helicopter, Austrian registration OE-XKS en route from Augsburg – EDMA, Germany to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Airport- LOWS, Salzburg, Austria
    Where: Teisendorf, Germany
    When: June 9, 2012
    Who: 4 fatalities
    Why: Moments after the pilot told ATC he would be making an precautionary landing 15 km from their destination, ATC lost contact with the aircraft, and the helicopter crashed into trees and mountaneous terrain, bursting into flames near Teisendorf, Germany.

    The pilot and three passengers on board the helicopter were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The foreign, non-scheduled cross-country flight originated at Worms, Germany, and was en route to Salzburg, Austria.

    At 1520, the weather conditions at Salzburg, Austria, 12 miles east-southeast of the accident was wind 200 degrees at 3 knots, few clouds at 500 feet, broken ceiling at 6000 feet, visibility 6 miles, rain, temperature 57 degrees Fahrenheit (F). The German government is investigating.

  • | | | | |

    NTSB Investigation Arrives in Lagos


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

    What: Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria
    Where: Iju neighborhood, Lagos
    When: June 3, 2012
    Who: 153 passengers
    Why: The plane crashed after experiencing failure in both engines.

    The black boxes were sent last week to the US, and now the US has sent US National Transportation Safety Board investigators to assist Nigeria’s AIB in the investigation.

    According to Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, prior to the accident, there had been complaints of Dana Air and he had warned them to maintain or suspend flights and to check its fleet.

    The NTSB published the following release:
    The NTSB is dispatching an investigator to assist the government of Nigeria in its investigation of the crash of a Dana Air Boeing MD-83 airplane, Flight # 0992.

    On June 3, 2012 at about 11:51 a.m. local time, the airplane, en route from Abuja to Lagos Nigeria, crashed outside the airport into a two story building. All 153 passengers and crew onboard were fatally injured, and an undetermined number of ground fatalities and injuries also occurred.

    As the state of design and manufacture of the Boeing MD-83, the NTSB has designated Senior Aviation Accident Investigator, Mr. Dennis Jones, as the traveling U.S. Accredited Representative. Mr. Jones will be assisted from NTSB headquarters by investigative staff specializing in operational factors, powerplants, and airworthiness as well as advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney.

    The investigation is being conducted by the Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau, which will release all information.

    Questions follow Dana Air
    Dana Air Semantic Wars
    Husband Files Dana Air Flight 992 Lawsuit
    Dana Air’s license Suspended
    Witnesses of the Dana Air Crash Recount What they Saw
    First Report of Dana Air Crash in Lagos
    IDENTIFICATION
    Regis#: DANA992 Make/Model: MD80 Description: MD-81/82/83/87/88
    Date: 06/03/2012 Time: 1530

    Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
    Damage: Destroyed

    LOCATION

    DESCRIPTION
    DANA AIR FLIGHT 992 BOEING MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD83 AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A 2-STORY BUILDING IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA,153 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, UNKNOWN GROUND INJURIES, LAGOS, NIGERIA

    INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 153
    # Crew: 6 Fat: 6
    # Pass: 147 Fat: 147

    OTHER DATA
    Activity: Business Phase: Unknown Operation: Air Carrier

  • | | | | |

    Questions follow Dana Air


    After a crash, the stories always come out that put faces on the “seats.” The one that has, so far, struck me the most in the Dana Air crash is a tale of mixed blessings.

    First Omonigho Akinsanya had come to visit, and now she was waiting in the crowded, overheated Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to catch a plane to take her home. She, with her 5-year-old son Moyo, and her sister had been waiting in line, trying to travel back home.

    The airport, which is undergoing renovations is reportedly hot and crowded, and Omonigho Akinsanya had her son to manage. She was understandably upset when a man broke in line and took the last seat in the crowded airplane that her sister had already boarded.

    His breaking in line saved her life. But she cannot rejoice in the luck, fortune, Karma, coincidence that left her alive. Her sister was one of the victims.

    This is her sister’s sad story, and her own too, because it is a terrible loss and a close call. But it is only one of 153+ losses (not forgetting the families on the ground who were minding their own business in their own apartments when a plane fell on their heads.)

    It is hard to sift rumor from fact. One rumor is that the flight had been diverted or delayed due to Dame Patience Jonathan, the first lady, but that rumor has been discounted; she was at an event on Sunday when the crash occurred, and nowhere near the airport. There was a rumor of a bird strike, stemming from an official speculating on the cause. And then of course, everyone is studying the plane’s history, and wondering if it was airworthy.

    The MD-83 belonged to Alaska Airlines from 1990 when it was new until 2007, when the plane’s title went to North Shore Aircraft LLC (probably the financier) and leased back for a year. Before it was retired in 2008, it had gone through a diversion on Nov 4 2002 due to an overheated light ballast; on August 20, 2006 due to a “chafed wire bundle.” And as Dana Air 5N-RAM it suffered a bird strike on April 19, 2010.

    The pilot, Peter Waxtan, was an American, and the first officer was Mike Mahendra, from India. Captain Waxton called a double engine failure. The pilot had requested to land on Murtala Muhammad Airport’s longer runway 18R before calling air controllers back a few minutes later to report a total emergency.

    There has been some negative buzz regarding maintenance of this MD83 in the hands of Dana Air, and a recent discussion of Dana Air crew being reluctant to fly in this plane, due to mechanical difficulties on a recent flight, even that Dana Air execs insisted the plane be flown. Plus, it was overloaded.

    It is still so soon after the crash that we hardly know which questions to ask first. There are so many questions. But if Dana Air was putting faulty aircraft in the air, they will have to answer for it. Too bad it will be too late for those who were aboard.

  • | | | |

    Kenya Crash Hits Kenya Administration Hard

    What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
    Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
    When: June 10, 2012 8:30 a.m.
    Who: 6 aboard, 6 fatalities
    Why: Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security George Saitoti and his permanent secretary Orwa Ojode, pilots Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja and bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi, died in a helicopter crash in Ngong Forest in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The remains were badly burned. There were no survivors.

    The helicopter was en route to a church service.

    Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared three days of official mourning, and said a full investigation into the crash is planned. “On behalf of the Government and the people of Kenya I send my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the six Kenyans.”


  • | | | | |

    Family Lost in Swamp Crash


    What: Roadside Ventures LLC Pilatus PC-12/47 en route to Kansas
    Where: Tiger Creek Swamp area, Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida
    When: June 7, 2012, 12:36
    Who: 6 aboard, 6 fatalities
    Why: After taking off from Fort Pierce, the plane returning the Bramlage family from Bermuda began having trouble at 28,000 feet, and crashed in a remote area in Florida in an area of the Tiger Creek Preserve reachable by helicopters and all-terrain vehicles. The remains of the pilot 45-year-old Ronald,his wife Rebecca, 15-year-old Brandon, 11-year-old Bo, and 8-yea- old Roxanne have been recovered. Thirteen year old Boston is missing. There is a gaping hole in the plane, and the NTSB and FAA is speculating that Boston may have been sucked from the plane while in the air.

    Witnesses in the Babson Park area heard a loud noise and apparently witnessed mechanical issues. Some witnesses saw the plane “twirling” before it crashed; other witnesses saw the plane flip and fly upside down.

    The recovery party says the debris field covers hundreds of acres and that the plane came apart in the air. The investigation is being conducted by the NTSB and the FAA, and the search for Boston continues.


    Aircraft Pilatus PC-12 (single-turboprop) (PC12/G – track or photos)
    Origin St Lucie County Intl (KFPR – track or info)
    Destination Freeman Field (3JC – track or info)
    Route LAL SZW (Decode)
    Date Thursday, June 7, 2012
    Duration 4 hours 36 minutes
    Status result unknown (?) (track log & graph)
    Distance Direct: 1,239 sm Planned: 1,253 sm
    Scheduled Actual/Estimated
    Departed 11:30AM EDT 12:05PM EDT
    Arrival 03:10PM CDT 03:41PM CDT (?)
    Speed 233 kts
    Altitude 26,000 feet

  • | | | | | |

    Husband Files Dana Air Flight 992 Lawsuit


    Joy Chiedozie Allison died on Dana Air Flight 992. Her family has hired attorney Gary Robb. On June 7 (yesterday) Robb filed a 56 page lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago, a discovery motion naming The Boeing Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp., United Technologies Corporation and Estate of Peter Waxtan.

    In the Dana Airlines crash, both of the MD-83’s engines failed before it crashed into several buildings in Nigeria

    The chief engineer of Dana Air was also aboard the plane when it crashed. Employees of Dana airlines have said that owners were aware that the jet had mechanical troubles struggling on a Calabar flight;, but the crew was forced fly anyway, and fly it loaded to the hilt with passengers and luggage.

    Captain Oscar Wason is saying there may have been a bird strike. The black boxes have been recovered and will be sent to the US. The black boxes will have the truth.

    Joy Allison worked for Federal Express.

  • | |

    Dana Air’s license Suspended


    Dana Air’s operating license has been suspended after the crash of the Dana Air McDonnell Douglass jet in Lagos. According to reports, just prior to the crash, the pilot reported that both engines failed.

    According to Dana Air, the Dana Group is owned and registered in Nigeria. Only the managing director, Jacky Hathiramani is Indian.

    These items have also been released:

    • The first officer had flown 1,100 flight hours, 800 of which (were) on the MD83 aircraft.
    • The aircraft had flown over 60,000 flight hours
    • The last 400-hourly check was May 30, 2012. The statutory annual maintenance was not until Sept 2012.
    • The co=pilot was Mahendra Singh Rathore.
    • Eight Americans, six Chinese, two Lebanese, and one each from Canada, France, Germany, India and Indonesia were aboard. Seven of the eight Americans had dual nationality.
    • Lucky Fiakpa, of The National Insurance Commission said “NAICOM wishes to assure members of the public that the aircraft in question was properly insured and all reinsurance contracts were duly entered into. Seven local underwriters were involved in the business…it believes no amount of money is sufficient to compensate for loss of dear ones…and all the same, will ensure that compensation as stated in the insurance contract between the airline and the underwriter was adequately paid to all beneficiaries of victims of the crash.”
    • Fatalities include a northern elder and a retired federal permanent secretary under General Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Muhammed’s government, Alhaji Ibrahim Damcida; the spokesman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Levi Ajuonuma; a director of Mainstreet Bank, Shehu Sa’ad; Ehimie Aikhomu, Professor Celestine Onwuliri, the husband of the minister of state for foreign affairs, Prof Viola Onwuliri and a family of seven.

    The Kolkata based family of the co-pilot has been promised the remains of Mahendra Singh Rathore will be returned to them after identification through DNA testing which may take a week. He leaves a wife and seven year old son. The family is waiting in Bikaner for the remains.

    The Dana Air website finally posted a release regarding the accident:

    The Dana Air family is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the passengers and crew of Flight 9J-992 of Sunday, June 3, 2012. The aircraft, with Registration Number 5N-RAM, departed Abuja for Lagos with 146 passengers onboard. 1 Dana Air Flight Engineer, 2 Pilots and 4 Cabin Crew were also aboard the flight.

    We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the deceased, and we are doing everything we can to assist them in this extremely difficult time. A 24hr Call Centre service has been initiated and we have also set up an information center at MMA2 to look after their needs and keep them as quickly informed as possible.

    An investigation into the cause of the accident got under way immediately, under the guidance of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who are being assisted by investigators from the U.S. National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB). Dana Air is cooperating fully and assisting the investigation in every possible way.

    In accordance with international protocol governing aviation accident investigations, all information about the investigation will come from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Dana Air will however provide information relating to the flight itself and updates on steps being taken.

    Once again, we at Dana Air extend our profoundest condolences.

    Jacky Hathiramani

    Chief Executive Officer

  • | | | | | | |

    Witnesses of the Dana Air Crash Recount What they Saw


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

    update
    The Dana Air flight crashed into a suburb of Lagos on Sunday. All 153 people on board and an unknown number of residents on the ground were killed in the crash.

    Witnesses below talk about what they saw.

    Using cadaver dogs and cranes, emergency crews recovered 48 bodies. Local residents helped with spraying water on the fire, but after three hours, there was apparently no water to put it out.

    Passengers aboard the plane included four Chinese citizens, and two Lebanese citizens (identified as Nadim Chediac and Roger Awwad.) The pilot was reported to be American, and the co-pilot Indian.