Emergency

Under FAA JAA IKO rulings, it is mandated that if and when an emergency is declared by an airborne plane, ATC immediately diverts all incoming traffic and gives priority to the emergency situation. Most, if not all, of the events we have described as emergency are official emergencies. However, sometimes they are incorrectly reported as emergencies by our sources, have been downgraded from official emergency status, or are believed to be emergencies by passengers in fear for their lives.

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    Nepal: Chopper Crashes; Buddha Air Suspends Flights

    What: Mountain Air Helicopter
    Where: Mallarani Hill, Pyuthan
    When: Sept 25, 2011
    Who: Pilot Kumar Chalise, Shyam GC of Gulmi, Jitendra Jhankri and Hirababu Karki of Kathmandu
    Why: The chopper was on a medical evacuation mission when they had to make an emergency landing.

    Mallarani Hill is in Nepal, the country where the Buddha Air crash occurred yesterday,on the same day as this chopper emergency landing. Another source says the helicopter “made a crash landing at Okharpauwa of Nuwakot due to technical problems.”

    Buddha Air, no connection to Mountain Air other than operating in the same country, suspended domestic flights in mourning for the Buddha Air Crash on Sunday. The victims of the crash will be returned to their families on Monday, Sept 26, 2011, following their autopsy at Tribhuvan University. A committee of 5 has been assigned by Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to report on the crash within 90 days.

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    Guam Route Emergencies Reflecting Vigilance or Roulette?

    After four emergency landings in Guam in the past couple of weeks, Continental/United made a statement to the press.

    Actually, four emergency landings…that’s not that unusual, is it? Of course, they were all at the same airport, with the same airline. I’ve written here recently about shabby looking, poorly maintained commercial airlines. As frequently as I fly, I really do not want to worry about whether or not a plane is capable of staying in the air. I don’t want to worry about a crew with a crippling pecking order, or pilots who don’t know how to fly. I really don’t want to worry about a broken plane.

    I am always pointing out the need for maintenance to keep a plane in peak running order. Maintenance is important; and also, the pilots tell me that it is crucial to keep an eye on safety directives, and concurrent events which may reveal crucial matters affecting entire fleets, such as operating parts nearing the end of their lifespan, faulty parts, etc…

    So someone should maybe look closely at those flights, and see if there is some factor that applies. Better to have prevention now, beforehand, than have a disaster happen, and lawyers looking into it after it is too late. Have these Guam flights been problematic in the past? Why are there problems now?I might ask how necessary are those flights?

    About those 4 landings, Koji Nagata Director of Corporate Communications said that:

    “We treat any issue aboard our aircraft seriously and our pilots will not hesitate to declare an emergency, when the situation warrants, in ensuring landing priority and returning our passengers and crew safely to the ground as quickly as possible. Typically a declaration of an emergency is precautionary in nature, as was true with both cases in question, and the situations were effectively managed without incident.”

    Sure it would be great to never have emergencies. However. The time to handle an emergency IS BEFORE it turns tragic. Being able to handle emergencies is one safety skill at the top of the list of pilot skills, and one that can not be separated from the other skill that is becoming alarming among pilots (pilots who are losing the ability to fly due to automation.)

    Sometimes factors are not clear. For example, it is true that in some recent tragic situations like the RusAir jet crash I talked about yesterday, there was a problem in the cockpit that prevented the crew from coping with the emergency. Bad flying? Primitive Airport? Insubordinate navigator and Inexperienced pilot? But it all came down to one conclusion: together or not, at that date and time, they were unable to cope with their emergency-bad weather, foggy landing, a plane that is a flying behemoth landing in a primitive airport, and they took down a whole plane full of people with them.

    And as for the four emergency landings Continental/United experienced recently:
    -the air speed indicator (PITOT tubes? like in AF447),
    – -two landing gear situations
    -and in the Guam flight CO-117, altitude equipment failure (another tube?)

    The landing gear situations could reflect bad tires, hydraulics, landing at too fast, or even runway conditions; altitude and airspeed problems could be anything on the system, from the tubes to the electronics. Only detailed examination will reveal if there is some common cause

    The planes landed safely. An emergency landing, a precautionary landing (whatever they want to call it), they handled the emergencies proactively, and landed safely. It is a whole lot better than the alternative.

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    Hoax Alarms Oakland Passengers


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

    What: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Seattle to Oakland
    Where: Oakland
    When: Sept 19, 2011
    Who: 126 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: While passengers were winging it from Seattle, a handwritten bomb threat note threatening the Oakland flight was found in an airport bookstore in San Francisco International Airport.

    The flight landed at Oakland as planned—twenty minutes early, due to some background aviation networking. The fake crisis brought in some real FBI agents and real bomb sniffing dogs who got everyone out of the plane (and screened); and the plane was sent to an isolated location to (fortunately, not) blow up. No bomb was found.

    A false report or threat of a bomb or harmful device is punishable by up to four years in prison, a $2,000 fine plus reimbursement of costs to government.

    Sent from 37 thousand feet headed to NY

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    TACA Airbus Cockpit Smoking

    What: TACA Peru Airbus A320-200 en route from Lima to Cuzco
    Where: Cuzco
    When: Sep 18th 2011
    Who: 90 passengers
    Why: While en route, the windshield heating system began smoking.

    Pilots continued to Cuzco, stepping up the pace, and made a safe landing, with no injuries. Some passengers erroneously believed the turbine in the right wing was on fire.

    “sobrecalentamiento en el sistema eléctrico de los parabrisas en la cabina de los pilotos originó humo y activó el proceso de emergencia preventiva“, the problem was due to overheating of the windshield heating system, according to TACA, a problem that was essentially a short circuit.

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    Biman Bangladesh Airlines= Running Late Airways

    What: Biman Bangladesh Airlines en route from Dubai to London
    Where: Amman Jordan
    When: Sep 18th 2011
    Who: 193 passengers
    Why: Before this flight, the plane had been delayed in Dhaka Bangladesh with an undesignated problem with an engine that delayed the prior flight for three hours.

    Then, after taking off from Dubai, the plane developed engine problems.

    The pilot diverted the flight to Amman Jordan, where there was a layover as the problem was handled.

    What: Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC10 en route to Jeddha and Riyadh
    Where: Amman Jordan
    When: Sep 18th 2011
    What: Since Thursday, 314 passengers on two DC10 had to wait 40 hours after the (two) Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC10s developed undisclosed problems. After being cleared by immigration,they were held in the airport without food since Saturday. The airlines has been plagued with scheduling issues snowballing after one flight was grounded for hydraulic leaks and another for engine problems. Currently three Biman Bangladesh Airlines are grounded, including a DC-10, a Fokker, and a Boeing 737.

    An unsubstantiated rumor is being circulated that within the airlines “a vested group…may have a hand behind [the flight delays] to realize some personal gains.”

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    Engine Fire at Dulles, Three Evacuation Injuries


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

    What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Washington DC to San Francisco,CA
    Where: CHANTILLY Virginia
    When: Sep 14th 2011
    Who: 179 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: Before taking off, while still at the airport on ramp for departure, the plane developed immediate problems.

    Smoke was reported coming from the right engine. Pilots stopped, the emergency slides were deployed, and passengers, three of whom were injured on the slides, evacuated from the plane.

    Emergency services were on standby. On inspection, no fire was found.

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    Continental Express Emergency Landing

    What: Continental Express flight from Knoxville to Houston
    Where: Jackson- Evers International Airport
    When: Sep 12, 2011, 11:45 am
    Who: 52 aboard
    Why: The flight was en route to Houston when it developed problems including smoke in the cockpit.

    The crew heard an audible pop when they began smelling (but not seeing) smoke. The pilots diverted to Jackson- Evers International Airport and made a safe landing. Emergency services were on standby during the landing. THere were no reported injuries.

    Repairs were made to the plane and the flight resumed by 12:30 pm.

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    DGCA Gulf Air Landing Examined

    What: Gulf Air Airbus A320-200 en route from Bahrain to Kochi, India
    Where: Kochi
    When: Aug 28th 2011, 3.55 am
    Who: 137 passengers and 6 crew, 8 injuries
    Why: In examining this August incident, after doing some runway testing, the DGCA is blaming the accident on a slick runway.

    However defects have been found in the plane’s front wheel. And the statement of the DCGA’s opinion also mentions pilot error. So they have released a statement combining pilot error, plane flaws and a bad runway as being behind the runway excursion.

    Can a pilot land on a slick runway? What exactly was the pilot’s error in this situation? Does the entire runway have the identical friction coefficient or just the area tested? Runway friction is also going to be affected by the condition of the tires; what was the condition of the tire before it blew? Inquiring minds want to know.

    Airport testing at Cochin airport revealed airport friction level.

    A C K Nair, director of the Cochin airport made the following defensive statement:

    “As per the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) norms the friction coefficients of the runways should not go below 0.34, while the value was 0.61 to 0.86 till recently. On the day of the mishap the average value was hovering between 0.52 and 0.84. The value at the spot where the ill-fated aircraft touched the runway was 0.75 to 0.85. We did another test on September 3 and the value was above 0.5.’

    Read More about Gulf Air Airbus Skids into Mud On landing in Kochi

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    Congo Plane Excursion

    What: Protocole Aviation Douglas DC-8 freight flight from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville
    Where: Brazzaville
    When: Sep 12th 2011
    Who: 4 crew
    Why: En route transporting food from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville in the Congo, the flight landed hard. A tire burst on landing, resulting in the plane going off the runway.

    The landing gear was damaged.

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    Virgin Airbus Emergency Landing in Grand Junction


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

    What: Virgin America Airbus en route from San Francisco to New York City
    Where: Grand Junction Colorado
    When: September 8, 2011, 2:00 a.m.
    Who: 111 passengers and 6 crew
    Why: While en route, the Virgin America flight experienced problems, described by one passenger as “the engine quit” and by another as “a giant flame from the engine.” While en route, passengers were awakened by a loud noise, and according to one passenger, flight attendants rushed to the cockpit.

    Pilots shut the engine down and continued the flight. Individuals with military experience were asked to assist in case of emergency.

    (We don’t usually get this much detail, but it is clear that the passengers were terrified. Pilots always say these huge jets with multiple engines are built to fly without one, in case of emergency; but personally I can relate more to the anxiety of the passengers than the confidence of pilots in their machines. Though one has to admit, knowing a pilot confident in his plane is flying is more comforting to a passenger than a pilot who is hysterical.)

    Pilots explained the situation to the passengers. Forty minutes later landed safely in Grand Junction.

    Passengers were provided hotel accommodation, $150 for another flight, and another flight was provided within ten hours. The incident is under investigation.

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    Air India Emergency Landing in Kolkata

    What: Air India plane en route from Guwahat to Kolkata
    Where: NSCB International airport
    When: Sept 9 2011
    Who: 105 passengers
    Why: On approach to the airport, the plane developed issues with the landing gear, and declared an emergency.

    Rescue services were on standby as the pilot landed the plane. No injuries were reported.

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    Southwest Airlines Flight 871 Cockpit Fire

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Dallas to Little Rock to Baltimore
    Where: Little Rock Arkansas
    When: Sept 7 2011,
    Who: 103 aboard
    Why: While en route, an overhead light fixture in the Flight 871 cockpit caught on fire.

    The crew put out the fire and informed Little Rock Airport ATC to assemble emergency teams as they made an emergency landing in Little Rock.

    The plane made a safe landing with no injuries.

    An alternative flight was arranged for the next leg of flight to Baltimore.

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    Air France 447 Revisited by Air France 471

    Satellite Image Jul 22nd 00:00Z : NASA
    Satellite Image Jul 22nd 00:00Z : NASA

    What: Air France Airbus A340-300 en route from Caracas Venezuela to Paris
    Where: NW of Point A Pitre Guadeloupe
    When: Jul 22nd 2011
    Why: In an experience that is being compared to Air France Flight 447, in night/instrument conditions, the AF Airbus flew through turbulence (reported by pilots, not on METAR) at 35,000 feet, accelerated (to 0.66 mach), and autopilot quit. Pitch attitude increased to 11 degrees and decelerated. Turbulence reduced, and pilots were able to level off and return the flight to normal parameters.

    Hopefully the events of this flight will inform us of what is going on in the Airbus at high altitude

    In George’s Point of View


    Perhaps this flight recapitulates the events of Air France 447. It certainly seems to. Because of what history shows us, I wonder if there was a repeat of faulty input from the pitot tubes. The pilots, in this case managed to regain control of the plane. (I doubt if there is an airbus pilot now who hasn’t studied the events of AF447 and worked out some kind emergency response.)

    Pilots blame the equipment. The BEA blames the pilots. Air France blames the instruments.

    When the dust settles and the finger-pointing stops, we want those involved to stop blaming, and start taking responsibility.

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    Slippery Turkish Airlines Airbus On Skids in Mumbai


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

    What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300 en route from Istanbul Turkey to Mumbai India
    Where: Mumbai
    When: Sep 2nd 2011
    Who: 93 passengers and 11 crew
    Why: After a fast landing in Mumbai on a slippery runway, the plane skidded off the runway onto mud, where it still sits.

    Passengers were provided an alternative flight. Photos of the jet on the runway show emergency slides. No injuries were published. The incident is under investigation.

    VABB 012310Z 19005KT 1200 R27/1400 RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB BKN090 25/25 Q0999 TEMPO 0800 +SHRA
    VABB 012210Z 19005KT 2100 HZ FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB BKN090 26/26 Q0998 TEMPO 1500 SHRA

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    Jet Blue Emergency Landing in Fort Lauderdale


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

    What: Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Fort Lauderdale to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
    Where: Fort Lauderdale
    When: Aug 29th 2011
    Why: After takeoff, the plane lost cabin pressure.

    Although they did not declare emergency, the crew did alert ATC, and descended to a safe altitude before returning to the Fort Lauderdale airport.

    Passengers were provided an alternative flight with an alternative jet flown in.

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    5-50 (?) Passengers Injured in Pia Turbulence


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

    What: PIA Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 747-300 en route from Jeddah Saudi Arabia to Lahore Pakistan
    Where: Lahore Pakistan
    When: Aug 30th 2011
    Who: 5 injured
    Why: On approach to Lahore, the flight encountered turbulence.

    Five passengers were injured during the turbulence. The flight made a normal (safe) landing. Published reports say the five injured passengers were not transported to the hospital, and that they were transported to the hospital.

    Pia spokesmen say the injured ignored the seat belt instructions. (We believe this.)

    The report that said there were 50 injured said they refused medical treatment.

    Some received treatment at the airport.

    The report that said there were 5 injured said they went to the hospital.

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    Gulf Air Airbus Skids into Mud On landing in Kochi.

    What: Gulf Air Airbus A320-200 en route from Bahrain to Kochi, India
    Where: Kochi
    When: Aug 28th 2011, 3.55 am
    Who: 137 passengers and 6 crew, 8 injuries
    Why: On landing in gusty wind and severe rain at Cochin International Airport, the plane skidded to the right and slid ten meters from the pavement into mud. The nose was damaged, and according to some reports, interfered with the operation of the slides; some slides were brought to the plane. Those who were injured were the ones who jumped. Said Muhamad, 47, sustained a fractured right ankle, left rib and left elbow and is recovering at Little Flower Hospital.

    One report says flight 270 hit an air pocket and overshot (or landed too far down) the runway. It may have been simple turbulence.The approach appears to have been too fast on the slick runway. No mention has been made of the runway surface, or if the runway had been resurfaced.

    According to Said Muhamad, the flight crew apparently did not adequately direct passengers, or explain what was going on, which may be why he did not wait for slides, and just jumped off the plane.

    The Metars:
    VOCI 282300Z 00000KT 4000 HZ FEW005 SCT015 OVC080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG
    VOCI 282130Z 29005KT 3000 HZ SCT010 SCT080 26/24 Q1008 NOSIG

    Passengers disembarked quickly after it appeared (to them) that the pilot had lost control. Evacuation occurred promptly, after “Mayday!” “Evacuation!” was shouted in the plane’s cabin.

    Reports conflict as to the success of the emergency slides which did not apparently deploy perfectly, and some people jumped from the plane. There were 8 injured, one with extreme fractures.

    Evacuation was reported to be in more than twenty seconds. (though I interpret that to mean that the evacuation began within twenty seconds of landing—one can hardly picture 137 passengers and six crew members making it out of a disabled plane within twenty seconds.)

    The interior of the plane smelled like some kind of fumes, and the pilot was described as being in shock.

    Although the English video says otherwise, the flight originated In Bahrain, and landed in Kochi.

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    Jet Blue Hydraulic Failure over Orlando


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Hector A Rivera-

    What: Jetblue Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Stewart International Airport, Windsor ,NY to Orlando,FL
    Where: Orlando
    When: Aug 23rd 2011
    Who: 95 aboard
    Why: While en route, a hydraulic system failed.

    With brake failure pending prior to landing, the crew requested emergency services, which was on standby as the Jet landed in Orlando.

    The flight made a safe landing, and was towed off the runway.

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    Student Pilot in Palo Alto Lesson Scare

    What: single engine Beechcraft Musketeer on student flight
    Where: East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood Open Space Preserve
    When: 08/23/2011, 9:30 am
    Who: instructor and student pilot
    Why: While practicing touch and go maneuvers at Palo Alto Airport, the plane’s engine failed.

    When the engine failed, the plane went down in the Ravenswood Open Space Preserve. A plane crashed there in Feb of 2010, which shook the neighborhood, but many locals were unaware of when this incident happened. This was an emergency landing, although the plane went off course after glancing against a tree.

    Both Instructor Jassen Todorov and student pilot David Shoemaker survived.

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    Kelona Flightcraft Makes Hot Landing with Wrong Engine On Fire


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

    What: Kelowna Flightcraft Boeing 727-200 en route from Edmonton,AB to Hamilton,ON
    Where: Edmonton Canada
    When: Aug 19th 2011
    Who: flight crew on freight flight
    Why: After takeoff, the crew got an indication that one engine was hot.

    The crew shut down the engine before fire suppression engaged.

    They returned to Edmonton and made a safe landing, if a landing can be called safe with flames shooting out of an engine.

    The emergency crews dealt with the engine that had been reported on fire, but actually it was another engine entirely which had been the source of the flames.

    We aren’t entirely sure whose wires were crossed, the flight system or a human reading the flight system. What matters for the time being, is that there were no injuries. It will be interesting hearing how the investigation goes on this.

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    Emergency Diversion and Tire trouble

    What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Lousiville to Los Angeles
    Where: Los Angeles
    When: Aug 21st 2011
    Who: 197 aboard
    Why: This was a double trouble flight, en route from Boston to Los Angeles, when they had to divert to Louisville when a passenger had an emergency. After three hours in Louisville, the plane was back in the air. However, on approach to LAX, the crew experienced gear problems and performed a flyby.

    Tower observers noted a main gear tire was missing.

    The crew continued to make a safe landing, with the tireless gear shooting sparks. There were no injuries reported.

    But…where’s the tire?

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    Webjet Engine Trouble over Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    What: Webjet Boeing 737 en route from Belo Horizonte to Sao Paulo
    Where: Belo Horizonte
    When: Aug 10, 2011
    Who: 108 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the pilots received indications of problems with the right engine.

    Passengers reported hearing noise from the engine, which jarred the plane.

    Pilots shut down the engine and diverted back to Belo Horizonte where they made a safe landing. There is no indication if it was a bird strike or some other type of mechanical problem.

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    Batavia Lands Flat in Pekanbaru

    What: Batavia Boeing 737-400 en route from Jakarta to Pekanbaru
    Where: Pekanbaru Airport
    When: Aug 15 2011
    Why: On landing at Pekanbaru, the plane blew out its tires.

    Hard landing? Fast landing? We do not know. We do know the plane had to be towed off the runway. Injuries were not reported.