What: (Registration pending) BE65 65 Queen Air (U-8F Seminole)
Where: SAN CARLOS, CA
When: Sept 2, 2010 1850
Who: 1 pilot, 2 passengers: 3 fatalities
Why: The plane crashed under unknown circumstances submerged in water about a mile from the airport.
What: crop-dusting helicopter
Where: SF Bay Area near the Municipal Airport in Salinas, Highway 101 south of Airport Boulevard
When: September 3, 2010
Who: pilot
Why: The pilot took off from Salinas Airport but became disoriented due to the fog, and lost control of the helicopter. No fatalities were reported.
What: Cessna 210 Centurion en route from Toluca to Huatulco
Where: Huatulco in Oaxaca 500 metres from Huatulco airport
When: Sept 3 2010 11:00 a.m.
Who: 6 fatalities, including the pilot Raymundo Manzano , a local coffee grower, Guillermo Zavaleta and Juan Huerta, both members of President Felipe Calderón’s National Action Party, and mayor-elect Joaquin Cortes
Why: The plane lost contact with ATC, and crashed on approach to the airport on encountering turbulence. Bad weather and possible pilot error are being investigated as possible causes.
The passengers were traveling to a training course for lawmakers.
What: Skydive New Zealand Fletcher FU-24-954 fixed-wing plane at Fox Glacier Airport
Where: New Zealand’s South Island
When: Sept 4 2010 1.15 p.m.
Who: 8 passengers and pilot
Why: Light aircraft which was taking off for tandem skydiving crashed just after takeoff near the airstrip. The plane burst into flames on impact. The pilot and four men from Fox Glacier and four tourists from Ireland, England, Germany and Australia were aboard. The wreckage was covered by a large tarp, awaiting investigators.
What: Leading Edge Aviation HILLER UH-12E ROTORCRAFT chartered for Idaho Fish and Game
Where: Near the U.S. Forest Service building in Kamiah, in the northern Idaho Clearwater Region
When: August 31 2010
Who: 3 fatalities:Larry Barrett, 47, of Lewiston, Idaho, Dani Schiff, 34, also of Lewiston, pilot Perry J. Krinitt, 43, of Belgrade, Mont.
Why: The biologists were counting salmon spawning nests on the nearby Selway River.
The crash is attributed to an apparent mechanical malfunction in the helicopter. Witnesses say the helicopter was making popping sounds and that material was coming off it before it nosedived straight down. The pilot struggled to keep the helicopter from crashing into a nearby school. It ended up in a driveway, damaging a home and a trailer.
Pictured: An Air Evac Lifeteam Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II filmed at General Dewitt Spain Airport
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Brent Beck
What: Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter en route from Vilonia to Crabtree, Arkansas
Where: Scotland, Arkansas
When: August 31, 2010 4:30 AM
Who: medivac crew based in Viloni
Why: While on the way to pick up a patient, the helicopter crashed in a woodsy area near 6831 Highway 95 west in Van Buren County. Parts of the helicopter are in the yard of Walnut Grove Church.
What: Australian Reef Pilots (ARP) Chartered plane
Where: Misima Airport,Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea
When: Aug 31, 2010
Who: 5 aboard, 4 fatalities (THREE Australians and one New Zealander)
Why: The weather had been wet and windy all day—after landing, the plane skidded into some trees off the edge of the runway, and burst into flames. The pilot is in critical condition.
ARP assists navigating vessels and provides emergency and temporary pilots consultancy.
What: Venezuelan National Guard Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter
Where: Buena Vista
When: August 27 2010
Who: 10 aboard
Why: The helicopter was engaged in searching for a group of suspected drug traffickers in southwestern Apure state.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Robert Domandl
What: AeroHorizontes Escuela de Vuelo Cessna 150G
Where: Maica Area Chica, behind Jorge Wilstermann Airport, Cochabamba Bolivia
When: August 27 2010
Who: Two fatalities: pilot/instructor José Gonzalo Grosveger Zegarra and passenger/student José Ignacio Guzmán
Why: During this instruction flight, the student was practicing “touch and go” maneuvers when the plane crashed. The school’s operations could be suspended pending investigation.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer S. Mendes
What: Passaredo Linhas Aéreas Embraer ERJ-145LU en route from Sao Paulo to Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil
Where: Brazil
When: August 25, 2010
Who: 24 passengers and 3 crew
Why: The plane had a normal approach. This sounds like the merging of several versions:
The crew was attempting a belly landing, after the landing gear were not responding properly.
Prior to the runway, the plane had a tail strike and went out of control.
The flight touched down short of the runway and the landing gear ripped free and the plane skidded out of control.
What is indisputable is that after the plane skidded to a stop, the right engine briefly caught fire. Two passengers had minor injuries. From the photos, this looks like a miracle that no one was killed.
The Embraer sustained substantial damage and is considered a total loss.
I am marking this as unresolved. Of course ALL crashes we report are unresolved because the final report may not be out for YEARS. But this one seems contradictory. If the flight was making a belly landing, ATC would not be considering this a normal approach.
So this looks to me like the plane just landed short of the runway and sheared off its landing gear. But I am not in Bahia, Brazil and will have to wait on the report to know what really happened.
What: Filair Let 410 en route from Semendwa to Bandundu
Where: Bandundu Congo
When: August 25 2010
Who: 21 aboard (18 passengers 3 crew), 20 fatalities
Why: The preliminary information says that the plane was unable to land, and ran out of fuel. Landing short of the runway, the plane struck a building, killing two children inside.
The Let is a Czeck turboprop.
The Filair is based in Kinshasa. It’s fleet is reputed to be poorly maintained and is on the nofly list. The plane’s owner Danny Philemotte was piloting and died in the crash.
19 bodies were recovered and two survivors. One survivor died in the hospital. One survivor is hospitalized and in critical condition.
A survivor said that the crew had been told to land on a “reserve strip” beside the main runway. The passengers panicked, running to one side and unbalancing the plane, and the pilot lost control. Apparently fuel was not the issue (150 liters liters recovered from the crash.)
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.
Ten survivors were transferred Yichun Rehabilitation Hospital, which has burn specialists. eight survivors were taken to Yichun Forestry Hospital.
The plane was a two-year old Embraer 190 leased from RBS Aviation Capital. Mesa Air Group was a financial partner in Kunpeng Airlines. The airline is now called Henan Airlines, is based in Henan province and is partially owned by Air China.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vivek Manvi
What: Agni Air Dornier 228-101 en route from Katmandu to Lukla
Where: Bastipur, ~18nm SSW of Kathmandu, Nepal
When: Aug 24, 2010
Who: 14 aboard, 14 fatalities. 11 passengers, 3 crew (At one point there was an announcement of an additional passenger whose nationality was unknown. This is unconfirmed.)
Why: Due to poor weather conditions in Katmandu, the crew diverted to Simara Airport. ATC lost contact at 7.30 am. The plane’s generator had been causing problems and it failed, then the backup generator failed. Without a generator, the pilot is flying blind, without avionics. The flight crashed at 9000 feet in a hillside near Bastipur in Shikhapur.
Other reports say the engine failed.
The casualties were Capt. Lucky Shah, co-pilot Sophia Singh, flight attendant Sahara Sherpa, and passengers R Rijal, P Humagain, P Bhote, K Rai and P Sherpa.
Six foreigners were aboard:four Americans: Irina Shekhets (30), Levzi Cordoso (49), Heather Finch (40), and Kendra Fallon (18), one Japanese: Yuki Hayashe (19) and a Brit: Jeremy Taylor (30) .
This is monsoon season, and the area is remote, and roads many roads are blocked due to landslides. Villagers report scattered plane parts and body parts, and rescue teams are en route.
What: Helicopter en route from Fifth Avenue Terminal
Where: San Diego Bay
When: August 22, 2010 6:20 p.m
Who: Pilot
Why: When his helicopter suffered power loss, the helicopter pilot attempted landing on the Coronado Bridge. Persons on the bridge were in fear of a bridge collision, but those on the bridge need not have worried; the helicopter ended up instead in San Diego Bay.
Flotation devices kept the helicopter from sinking, and harbor police rescued the pilot. Rescuers needed every moment as the the pilot canopy was “broken in around him” which I take to mean he was pretty well entrapped. After retrieving the pilot, he was treated at UCSD Medial Center.
Pictured: A Eurocopter AS-350B-2 Ecureuil owned by Thailand – Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation (KASET)
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer M Radzi Desa
What: Thai Eurocopter AS 350 helicopter en route from Phitsanulok province to take the officials to the inauguration of a river basin development project
Where: remote area of jungle in Na Muen district of Nan province northern Thailand
When: August 18 2010
Who: 5 passengers including Permanent Secretary for natural resources and environment Saksit Tridech, inspector-general of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department and a senior adviser to the Royal Household Bureau. The pilot who worked for the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry was Major Jenwit Arunsawat. Sergeant Withoon Thienngern, who was the machinist, also aboard.
Why: While flying over a remote jungle in stormy weather, the helicopter disappeared from radar. The search involved 350 rangers, soldiers, forestry officials, village headmen and villagers. Ground search of 17 separate search parties led by local guides and four search helicopters were utilized to find the wreckage which was located Wednesday, three kilometers from the closest settlement. The helicopter crashed into a mountainside at 1,500 meters. There was no fire.
Wednesday, rescue teams encountered steep terrain, making the recovery of the remains difficult but the five bodies were recovered.
Funeral services will be at Wat Phra Si Maha That in Bangkok.
What: Philippine Navy Volco 411 helicopter performing routine maneuvers
Where: 1,500 yards from Great Santa Cruz Island Philippines
When: August 17 2010
Who: 5 aboard, two missing pilots: First Lieutenant Cristan Corpuz and First Lieutenant Gerald Tamayo
Why: The crew was engaged in documenting a Special Operations unit Amphibious Small Boat exercise; they were taking aerial photos and videos when they seemed to have engine trouble–although the actual cause will be a mystery until the investigation.
The US is going to assist in recovery with their towed sonar. The crash site us 8 to 9 fathoms deep.
Petty Officers Abdon Martinez, Noel Ridad and Rodolfo Pataweg are the survivors.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Juan_BOG
What: Aires Boeing 737-700 en route from Bogota to San Andrés Island Colombia
Where: Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport on the Colombian island of San Andres
When: August 15 2010, 2:15 a.m.
Who: 131 aboard, 6 crew, 4 minors, 121 adult passengers
Why: Prior to touchdown, the plane was struck by lightning (11 strikes recorded within 6 miles of the runway within a five-minute span of the crash); the plane impacted 80 meters shy of the runway. The impact scattered pieces of the plane, and it broke at the midsection into three main parts. When help arrived, passengers were already strewn about the area. Praise Boeing for no actual fatalities.
The injured are being treated at “Amor de Patria Hospital” and “Villarreal Clinic” on San Andrés Island, with the most injured being ported to Bogata via air ambulance.
After the crash-landing, Mrs. Amar Fernández died of a heart attack en route to the hospital. She was 73. 66 were reported injured, five of them seriously, 35 hospitalized. Alejandro Colmenares Rua (18 months), Yiseth Rua Rojas (23), Catherine Rua Rojas (27), Jacqueline Rua Rojas(23), María Alejandra Ballesteros (21) and Andrés Cagua Calderón (33) were unhurt.
A room has also been opened for relatives at the Sheraton Hotel in Bogota. Aires published a release regretting what has happened. They are working with Aerocivil to serve the passengers and their families. They have provided a care line number: 018000-949490
Relatives of the occupants may contact the Hotel Habitel where they will receive all Aires information.
Flights at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla are suspended. Civil Aeronautics, the Navy, the Colombian Air Force, National Police, Red Cross, the company Aires and other institutions of the Regional Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response have responded.
This is not George A. Fortin’s N96389; it is a Taylorcraft BC-12D Twosome photographed at Millinocket Municipal Airport in Maine
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Paul Robbins
What: vintage 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D en route from Limington airport
Where: field near Cape Monday Road, Harrison, Maine,
40 miles northwest of Portland
When: August 14 2010
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: The flight was reported lost when it did not return Saturday night. The wreckage was found 6 am Sunday. It appears that the pilot struck trees while attempting a field landing.
Pilot George A. Fortin and passenger Anatole “Tony” Kalinuk were killed in the crash.
Following the Air India Express tragedy in Mangalore India (and definitely in response to it), the DGCA (India’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation) has been trying to shut the gate after the horses are out. They’re still pointing their fingers at the pilot.
The tape of the crash records the co-pilot Capt H S Ahluwalia (*i.e. the pnf) insisting to Commander Capt Zlatko Glusica to initiate a go-around. The Captain (**i.e. the pf) did not, and the plane landed too far down the runway, clipped an antenna, crashed thru the end of the runway, off the edge of the runway plateau. We can only assume the captain ignored his co-pilot, as no go-around was initiated.
Apparently the pilot was in error and the co-pilot knew it. It must have been obvious to Ahluwalia that they were landing at the wrong angle too far down (the middle) of the runway–but he did not act on his knowledge. At any rate, he was in disagreement with his superior officer.
Consequently, the DCGA has issued an operations circular highlighting procedural assertiveness for the co-pilot when he knows the pilot is wrong. The Mangalore tragedy is not mentioned by name, but it is certainly the silent subtext.
Did the crash occur because the co-pilot did not take the controls? What exactly will this circular accomplish? Had this circular been public already, would the pilot and co-pilot have ended up in a wrestling match over controls of the airplane?
It will be interesting to hear from pilots about what they think the consequences of this directive might be, and if they think a cultural context may play a part.
I always turn to the experts. Right now, before the full investigation is out, I am hearing a lot of speculative “pilot error” but it is all speculation. But is it all pilot error?
My experts remind me that “Every incident is linked to a chain of events. Each event alone is not sufficient reason to provoke an accident although when they link together the chances are multiplied and sometimes the accident occurs.” ( I am quoting a pilot.)
For example, if pilot fatigue were a contributing factor (landing at dawn after a long tiring duty cycle), isn’t the carrier’s policy on pilot fatigue a contributory factor?
The Boeing 737 landed midway on runway 24, and then overshot it, crashing into a gorge. Initial reports on the civil aviation website showed runway 27 mislabeled as runway 24. The actual crash site was not even pictured, a mistake that certainly casts doubt on the quality of the investigation, and possibly even the quality of the resources available to pilots at the time they were negotiating a landing. What did their map say? Is a pilot alone in error if the resources provided him are in error? I know I am digressing, but the point I want to make is this:
I don’t have years of flight school, or engineering training but I do have opinion. And in my opinion, pilot error alone does not cause a crash like this.
Terminology
*pnf – pilot not flying
**pf – pilot flying
—
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer WT
What: Air India Express Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai to Mangalore
Where: Mangalore airport
When: 6:00 a.m May 22 2010
Who: 160 (?) passengers including 23 children, 6 crew= 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
Why: Air India Express flight 812 attempted touch down was around the middle marker. (Conflicting) reports are that it overshot the runway, and that the pilot intended a go round (tapes reveal the co pilot was urging a go-round) but the plane hit the localizer antenna at the runway’s end, plowed through the perimeter losing part of a wing, and went down 75 feet into a ravine, and broke into pieces and burst into flames. On touchdown, there was a reported “bang” which may have been a tire bursting. A drizzle started after the accident. From 5 to 10 people have been hospitalized, but according to reports there are possibly 3 survivors.
Survivor Abdul Puttur suffered burns. He was seated near the wing exit and said that the pilot had announced the landing, then there was a thud. He saw huge flames after the plane fell into the ravine and then he jumped out from the back entrance. Another passenger said the pilot made no announcement.
The Serbian pilot was Zlatko Glusica, first officer was S.S. Ahluwalia.
According to DGCA rules, Mangalore International Airport is deemed a “critical airfield” which means that “supervised take offs and landings” are prohibited. Only the captain (not the first officer) can pilot take-offs and landings. Mangalore International Airport has a controversial table top runway and which forces pilots to make a precision landing. The airport has no buffer zone, and pilots landing planes must fly precisely or risk hurtling off the edge.
What: Cessna 172M Skyhawk en route from Orange Massachusetts to Bar Harbor Maine
Where: Winter street, Orange, Massachusetts
When: August 10, 2010
Who: 2 aboard
Why: The plane is believed to have originated in Maryland, and to have refueled at Orange airport.
The plane went down in a wooded area about a mile to the north of the airport, at the end of Winter Street. The plane did not impact any houses. The residential community came together to attempt a rescue, but the two aboard were confirmed dead.
What: PA-32 sight-seeing in Alaska
Where: Knik Glacier, about 113km northeast of Anchorage
When: Sunday August 8, 2010 1 pm
Who: pilot, Donald Erbey, 49 and 4 friends
Why: Erbey had taken Texas friends sightseeing in his small family Piper 32. When he realized he was flying into bad weather, he turned to head back, “hit a downdraft” and crashed in a snowbank, leaving them stranded since Sunday on Knik Glacier, Alaska.
Monday evening, highly trained pararescuers—Maj. Jesse Peterson, Master Sgt. Al Lankford, Tech. Sgt. Chris Uriarte and Tech. Sgt. Angel Santana—braved a 4 mile trek to walk in food and supplies. The plane’s locator beacon was operable.
Helicopters with additional supplies and support are in the area but weather conditions have not permitted drops or a rescue. They have adequate resources to wait till weather clears enough for helicopters to land as hiking out is a last resort.
What: Japanese Coast Guard Bell 412EP “Akizuru”
Where: off Kagawa, Shikoku Japan
When: August 8 2010
Who: 5 occupants 4 fatalities
Why: Akizuru hit offshore power lines and crashed into the sea. The five member crew was missing; but the remains of 4 were found by searchers. One is still missing.
What: TSI Titanium (1982) Beechcraft 58 Baron en route from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Where: Bell Township Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
When: Aug 7 2010 9:19 am
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: The plane crashed nine minutes after take-off. Witnesses say it sounded like the engine cut out before it crashed. The pilot did not contact ATC and the cause is unknown, pending investigation.
Edward Sobota, president and owner of TSI Titanium, was flying his new Beechcraft two engine plane, and working on getting certified in it, when it crashed into a Bell Township neighborhood. Ted Kokolis a pilot for Bayer, who was also on board and killed in the crash. Steve Yanko was sleeping on his couch in his family room and was not injured when the plane crashed and burned in his wife’s art studio at the opposite end of the house. His wife was not in the house at the time.
What: 2006 Robinson R44II en route North Palm Beach County airport to Brasstown Valley Resort and Spa in Young Harris
Where: north Georgia mountains
When: Monday evening
Who: pilot Adam Reeves, of Jupiter, Fla and unidentified passenger
Why: The helicopter had been missing since Monday. It was found Friday afternoon by the Civil Air Patrol, having crashed in the N. Georgia mountains in northern Lumpkin County around 2:30 p.m. The search began after relatives of the passengers made inquiries at the airport about a helicopter that had never arrived.
The flight had been due in Blairsville at 7 p.m but had never arrived.
The helicopter refueled in Madison, Ga around 6:30 pm Monday. At some unknown time it left North Palm Beach County.
Reeves was a former U.S. Air Force medic who ran health care and realty companies in Palm Beach County.
What: Cessna 206 en route from Alma Michigan to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn
Where: Lake Michigan, Ludington MI
When: July 23, 2010
Who: 4 fatalities, 1 survivor 66-year-old pilot, Jerry Freed
Why: While en route on a medical evacuation flight, the pilot contacted ATC about experiencing mechanical problems, then the medical flight crashed into Lake Michigan on July 23. The pilot was rescued by boaters Randall Schmidt and his wife, Kristin Berg, about 2 miles from shore. Six foot waves hindered the recovery efforts.
The Michigan State Police Underwater Recovery Unit sonar found the plane at approximately 6 p.m. last Thursday.
The remains of Alma school superintendent and cancer patient Don Pavlik and his wife, Irene, were recovered Friday by divers. The body of Dr. James Hall was recovered Saturday night and identified Sunday. Co-pilot Earl Davidson was found last, on Sunday at 9 a.m..
