Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Oleg Chaplin
What: Vladivostok A320 en route from Novosibirsk to Krasnodar
Where: Novosibirsk
When: Jul 3rd 2011
Who: 152 passengers and 8 crew
Why: After takeoff from Novosibirsk, the plane’s right engine ingested a hawk.
The pilot burned off fuel and made a safe landing three hours later with engine vibration.
What: Emirates Airbus A330 en route from Dubai to Kochi
Where: Kochi
When: Jul 2nd 2011
Who: 270 passengers
Why: On approach to Kochi, the plane developed a loss of pressure in the hydraulics. (The landing gear would not retract.)
The flight made a safe landing however, though it’s return flight was delayed. Passengers on the return flight were provided alternative transportation or hotel accommodations.
What: Kingfisher en route from Delhi to Mumbai
Where: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
When: July 2, 2011, 9:08 a.m.
Who: 118 passengers and eight crew members
Why: The flight took off from Delhi but then an alarm went off, causing the pilot to declare an emergency and return to the airport.
The pilot made a safe landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 9:08 a.m. and taxied to the apron. There were no injuries. Passengers apparently disembarked normally and were provided an alternative flight.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from El Paso to Phoenix
Where: Phoenix
When: Jun 30th 2011, 9:33 pm
Who: 139 aboard
Why: On approach to Phoenix, the pilot declared emergency and shut down an engine when one of the engines failed. Some of the systems operating were backup systems. Details about the engine issues were not released but Southwest said there was an “issue with engine exhaust.”
The plane made a safe landing at 9:33 with emergency services on standby, but taxied to the gate, and did not need towing.
Maintenance is examining the plane.
What: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
Where: Buss Lake Canada
When: June 30, 2011
Who: 3 fatalities
Why: The pilot issued a distress beacon at 1:45 pm in a very remote location in Saskatchewan. The flight was apparently a fishing expedition.
The plane was spotted in the lake by a pilot who was flying by and heard the signal, and reported the location to Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario, who sent a Hercules aircraft from 435 Squadron in Winnipeg.
The Hercules was able to land after dropping a chainsaw to rescue techs to clear the brush.
The float plan crashed in Buss Lake, Saskatchewan. All three aboard, including the pilot, died in the crash. Two search and rescue team members are on site but the cause of the crash is unknown.
What: Republic of Poland Tupolev en route from Warsaw to Smolensk
Where: Smolensk, Russia,
When: October 4, 2010
Who: 7 crew
Why: The report blames the pilots.
Final Report .pdf (very large)
What: Cessna 150 en route from Anchorage to Beluga Lake
Where: west side of Cook Inlet, Beluga Lake Alaska
When: June 26, 2011
Who: 2 aboard, 1 fatality
Why: Pilot Timothy Hudok was killed in his Cessna three miles west of Beluga Lake. The wreckage was found by Alaskan State Troopers at Triumvirate Glacier after the pilot’s wife had alerted the FAA to the flight being overdue. Passenger Robert Goodwill who survived was airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical center.
What: Rusline/Rusair Tupolev TU-134A en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
Where: outskirts of the Besovets village, Petrozavodsk, Russia
When: Jun 20 2011 at 11:40 pm
Who: 43 passengers and 9 crew N
Why: On approach to the airport, the plane struck the ground about 2600 feet shy of runway 2. On impact, the plane burst into flame, and skidded into the gardens of a residential area, although missing residences.
Initially eight people survived, but on the 21st, a nine year old boy died, a woman died on the 25th, and a man died on the 26th.
Details on the Tu134 RusAir Crash
Russian Rusline/RusAir Tupolev Crash Kills 44, 8 Gravely Injured Survive
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alberto U.
What: Sol Linaeas Aereas Saab 340A
Where: 20 km (12.5 mls) N of Prahuaniyeu, RN Argentina
When: May 18, 2011
Who: 3 crew, 19 passengers
Why: After the last radio contact at 20:50, the aircraft crashed near Los Menucos en-route Neuquen to Comodoro after declaring an emergency and requesting descent out of icing conditions. There were no survivors of the 19 passengers and 3 crew.
There were newspaper reports of the flight coming down as a fireball, but that has been interpreted as journalistic license. We apologize if our translations reported this incident as a falling fireball when the fire apparently began after ground impact.
The pilot asked to descend from 5.800 meters to 4.300 due to ice. In the last communication ATC was informed that “the flight was was at 1.000 metres and going back to NQN.”
Wing Icing and a failure of the inlet deicing system is being considered as responsible. The black boxes were recovered.
The investigation is ongoing.
On board RusAir Flight 9605, there were 9 crew members, and a total of 52 people, 44 of whom died on the scene. At this time of the year, in Petrozavodsk, this is the time of White Nights so the accident occurred in subdued daylight. One died on 22 June 2011.
Nationalities have been released:
one Swede
one from Netherlands
two Ukranians
4 with US/Russian citizenship (dual)
Fatalities include chief designer of Gidropress Sergei Ryzhov, and the deputy CEO and chief designer, Gennady Banyuk, and football ref Vladimir Pettay.
While on final approach to Petrozavodsk Airport in poor weather and heavy fog, Flight 9605 crashed on the A133 highway, 3900 feet shy of the runway. The weather during the arrival of the flight was deteriorating from OVC005 to OVC003 to fog with zero visibility. The black boxes were recovered. The fire at the crash was extinguished 45 minutes after midnight. The Tu-134 was 31 years old.
Russia is considering removing the Tu-134 from service.
Click title to access Karelia plane crash video
Le R44 Raven II Capitale Hélicoptère
What: Capitale Helicoptere Robinson R44 en route between Quebec City and a small mining camp
Where: Lake Deborah Quebec
When: June 24, 2011
Who: Pilot and passenger
Why: Pilot, Allan Da Encarnacao was flying the two year old Robinson R44 helicopter in a remote area when the chopper crashed in an area with no cell or radio reception. The pilot had been engaged to fly the passenger to the mining camp.
The pilot, who is 25 ,survived the crash and was taken to a Quebec City hospital with serious injuries.
The Capitale Helicoptere flight was near Lake Deborah when the helicopter went down.
The provincial coroner’s office and Quebec provincial police are investigating
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Michael Fritz
What: Nepal Food Corporation/Tara Air Dornier Do228 a freight flight from Nepalgunj to Simikot
Where: Simikot
When: Jun 23rd 2011
Who: 3 crew
Why: The pilot made a hard landing at Simikot, and rolled over an embankment off the runway.
There was significant damage to the plane, including a collapsed main gear, and damaged nose and wing. No one aboard was injured.
What: SATA International Airbus A320-200 en route from Funchal to Copenhagen
Where: Funchal Portugal
When: Jun 20th 2011
Who: 104 passengers, 6 crew
Why: On takeoff, the plane flew through a flock of birds, resulting in damage to both engines. There was vibration but no loss of power. Within a quarter of an hour, the pilot landed safely back at Funchal.
Both engines ingested seagulls, resulting in damaged fan blades. Also, on impact with a gull, one of the cargo doors opened.
About last tuesday’s Fatal Rusline/RusAir Tupolov crash in Russia, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Sergei Ivanov, mentions that familiar phrase “obvious pilot error” while simultaneously promising he is not pre-emping the findings of the actual investigation. Officials have made spontaneous statements in the past, and lived to regret it, so that point remains to be seen.
The question of pilot error is questionable. The plane was flying in at too low an angle, (I may have read somewhere that the angle was what was directed by ATC but my source could be mistaken.)
Flying too low, the landing gear caught on electrical wires which caused an area blackout that included the local town and the airport runway lights. Is being unable to land on a runway without lights something that could be called pilot error? I suppose that remains to be seen, also.
So the cause is up for grabs: bad weather, technical malfunction or human error. What’s left? We do not know yet. We rely on the investigation to reveal the facts.
Irrespective of what caused this horrible tragedy, the decedents were fault-free. Rusline and RusAir are responsible for compensating the families who had entrusted the safekeeping of their loved ones into their care.
There is no amount of money that will bring back the loved ones, but compensation is due.
For 44 individuals, it was fatal; for 8, it was nearly fatal. I hate to sound too judgmental here, but a government official should probably not make sweeping generalizations about the causes of a tragic event without making it clear what is personal opinion and what is an official statement. Every supposition before the official report is released is guess work. All the conjecturing that will take place between now and when an investigation report is released is just that–conjecture. Some of it will be based on emotional responses; some of it will be based on varying perception of what may or may not be facts. For now, we can offer condolences to the families.
All we know for certain is that the crash that should not have happen, did, and people’s lives were cut short because of it.
There are two accounts of the Pilot Alexander Glusicia’s situation prior to the Mangalore-Dubai-Mangalore flight. We wonder which of these versions is true.
1. Alexander (Zlatko) Glusica was initially not rostered by Air India to fly on the day of the crash— not scheduled to fly till May 23.. His schedule had last minute changes, when Glusica was asked to fly though he was fatigued, having just returned from a Serbian vacation.
2. Capt Glusica had landed in Mangalore two days in advance, and was plenty rested prior to flying.
Officials claim the family had opportunity to appear before the Court of Inquiry but they never came.
PILOT NOT ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO FLY
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: Passengers include 23 children, 6 crew, 158 fatalities and 8 survivors
What: US Airways commuter en route from Philadelphia to Islip
Where: Long Island MacArthur Airport
When: June 22, 2011, 1:10 p.m
Why: The 50 person commuter jet had to make an emergency diversion to MacArthur Airport when the flight developed a flap problem.
What: Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Seattle,WA
Where: Calgary
When: Jun 18th 2011
Who: 197 aboard
Why: Over Greenland, the Airbus A330-300 developed APU and generator failure. On board electrics failed (right hand generator (engine Trent 772), affecting reading lights, cabin and lav lighting. The crew initially was going to divert to Edmonton, but diverted to Calgary when there was a medical emergency.
The flight made a safe landing.
And about fifteen minutes later…
What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-300, registration D-AIGX performing flight LH-494 from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Calgary,AB
Where: Calgary
When: June 18, 2011
Who: 213 aboard
Why: The Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing with rescue services on standby when they developed a hydraulic problem while approaching Calgary.
The plane made a normal landing.
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 747-400 en route from Honolulu to Osaka
Where: 300 nm southeast of Sand Island/Midway Atoll
When: June 17, 2011
Who: 359 passengers, 19 crew
Why: While en route, a windshield cracked. Although they did not lose cabin pressure, the crew decided they had to land while it was daylight. The plane had two birdstrikes and had flap damage also.
The pilots made a safe landing on a 7,900 foot runway on the atoll, Sand Island’s Henderson Field.
Passengers waited on board until a replacement jet was provided within 16 hours. The replacement 747 jet left at 5:00 am before the “sea birds woke up.”
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta,GA to Brasilia
Where: Caracas
When: Jun 19th 2011
Who: 119 aboard
Why: En route near Caracas, the plane developed an issue with the right hand engine.
The crew diverted to Caracas where they made a safe landing.
A replacement jet was provided within 20 hours.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alejandro Torres
What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from New York to Burlington,VT
Where: Burlington
When: Feb 19th 2011
Who: 2 injured
Why: On approach to Burlington, the plane encountered severe turbulence, which injured two flight attendants. The pilot continued, to make a safe landing in Burlington. Both attendants were hospitalized, one with bruises, and one with broken ribs.
Lare photo
Contact the photographer John E. Jauchler
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta to Los Angeles
Where: Atlanta
When: Jun 21st 2011
Who: 174 passengers
Why: Taking off out of Atlanta, the left hand engine indicated fire.
The engine was shut down, and pilots made a landing back in Atlanta, ten minutes after takeoff. Passengers exited via emergency slides, resulting in three injuries.
External examination of the engine reveals charring, and results of a fire inside the cowl.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alexey Litvinov
What: Rusline/Rusair Tupolev TU-134A en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
Where: outskirts of the Besovets village, Petrozavodsk, Russia
When: Jun 20 2011 at 11:40 pm
Who: 43 passengers and 9 crew
Why: On approach to the airport, the plane struck the ground about 2600 feet shy of runway 2. On impact, the plane burst into flame, and skidded into the gardens of a residential area, although missing residences.
Eight passengers were retrieved alive from the wreckage, in conditions ranging from severe (6) medium severe (1), critical grave (1). 44 were killed. The injured were ported to Moscow via IL-76 with a full medical team aboard (15 doctors, 5 psychologists.) One crew member survived, Julia Skvortsova, an attendant, is struggling for survival.
The fire was under control by 1 a m on June 21. The investigation has just begun, and is cautioning the local papers not to jump the gun assuming runway lighting failure.
Metars: ULPB 201949Z 10002MPS 2100 RA BR OVC004 15 Q0993 TEMPO 1500 RMK QBB120 QFE741/0988 SC0, 6
ULPB 201900Z 15001MPS 3000 BR OVC005 15/14 Q0994 NOSIG RMK QBB170 QFE741/0989 SC0.6
The RusAir site expresses condolences to all who lost loved ones in the tragedy. The local family hotline numbers are:
8 (495) 626 37 07 ?oskva
8 (814) 256 16 34 ?etrozavodsk
Some airlines refuse to perform night approaches to the Moroni airport in the Comoros islands on the western coast of Grande Comoros. The airport is a non-redar environment, which means any inbound plane must use an instrument approach.
That instrument approach was fatal for Flight 626, which crashed on June 30, nearly 2 years ago.
International Lease Finance Corporation first leased the Airbus 310 to Air Liberté and from September 1999 to Yemenia airlines. In 2007, the plane had failed French inspections and was banned from French airspace. The French passengers aboard the flight had transferred to Flight 626 at Sana’a
The crash is under investigation.
Description of the runways of Moroni Airport:
Length: 2900 meters Runway 02 is equipped with an automatic instrument landing system (ILS) Runway 20 is equipped with VOR-DME system (VHF Omni-directional Range navigation system, and Distance Measuring Equipment)
work below cited from the Internet Wire, Feb 15, 2011 pNA
LOS ANGELES, CA, Feb 15, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — For the families of the victims of the Yemenia Airlines flight 626 plane crash on June 30, 2009, a group of California law firms has filed case BC452279 in Los Angeles Superior Court against International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The Airbus A310 leased by ILFC to Yemenia airlines crashed on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport, in Moroni, Comoros.
The case charges both ILFC and the unnamed principals whose negligence contributed to the crash that killed a hundred and fifty-two individuals, and nearly killed the one survivor, 12-year-old Bahia Bakari who was rescued after spending thirteen hours adrift in the Indian Ocean.
Plaintiffs assert that Yemenia Airlines was “incompetent, unfit, inexperienced and/or reckless in its operation as an air carrier,” which can be ascertained by looking at the airline’s “long and notorious history of poor maintenance on an epic scale, poor pilot training and total lack of compliance with minimum standards of safety at every level of the company from 1999 to the present” (including but not limited to substandard or non-existent SARP, training, inspections, pilot certification and supervision, plane maintenance and airworthiness, and in-house regulations/documentation.) As the leasing agency ILFC is responsible for seeing they lease to responsible airline operators.
Yemenia Airlines Flight 749 flew from Marseille to Sana’a International Airport, where passengers disembarked from a different airbus, and boarded Flight 626 Airbus A310 (70-ADJ). This second Airbus had avoided European airspace since an inspection in 2007 revealed it as being in noncompliance with ICAO standards.
“We expect that attorneys representing other families in France will want their clients to join this lawsuit in the United States,” explains George Hatcher, whose Air Crash Consultants firm provides international communications support, investigative, paralegal and claims management services in the case.
The investigation is ongoing.
What: SAR Aviation Bell 407 helicopter en route from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, to Sahastradhara India
Where: Ladpur Jungle near Raipur, India
When: June 19, 2011
Who: 2 aboard, 0 fatalities
Why: One of the choppers hired for porting Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari and his family to Sahastradhara crashed, injuring a pilot and an engineer.
The weather was clear at the time of the crash, and a technical problem is presumed. Two of the three choppers in the party landed safely. The BJP chief and family were not aboard the Bell helicopter at the time of the crash.
The chopper broke in to pieces on impact and just missed Vigyan Vihar, a residential area. There were no casualties on the ground.
SAR is Swajas Aviation Company based in Chennai.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jason Whitebird
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Los Angeles to New York
Where: Las Vegas
When: Jun 16th 2011
Why: While en route, the right windshield of the Boeing developed a crack.
The flight crew diverted to Las Vegas where they made a safe landing. The disposition of the passengers is not known, though we presume that the passengers were provided alternative flights to Kennedy airport
