Landing

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    Alaska Airlines Quick Fix


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Carter
    What: Alaska Airline Boeing 737 Phoenix to Seattle
    Where: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    When: emergency landing around 6:40 a.m
    Who: 113 passengers
    Why: After an emergency with an overheating hydraulic pump, the flight landed back at the Phoenix airport after 15 minutes; and (after 45 minutes of maintenance) was back in the air 1.5 hours behind schedule, but successfully en route to Seattle

    George’s Point of View

    Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance…

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    Airbus Diverts to Athens


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    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: Easyjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Heraklion (Greece) to London Gatwick,EN (UK)
    Where: Athens International Airport
    When: Apr 14th 2009 15.02 local time
    Who: 137 passengers and 7 crew
    Why: Pressurization. After observing problems with pressurization, the crew burned off ten minutes worth of fuel and landed on runway 21R. The problem turned out to be in the air conditioning. Easyjet’s press release terms this not an emergency but “merely a precautionary technical diversion.”

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    Bolivia Night Med-evacuation on Cessna Kills 4


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    Contact photographer Martin Eadie

    What: CESSNA 210 en route from Concepcion to Santa Cruz
    Where: Concepcion, Bolivia
    When: April 13, 2009
    Who: pilot and three passengers on a medical evacuation
    Why: The plane “impacted terrain” during the night flight, but no reason is listed. The cause is under investigation.

    George’s Point of View

    Impacted terrain at night? I can’t wait to see what the NTSB has to say about this.
    Brazil already says this is the pilots fault, though it is unclear what this quote is supposed to mean:

    “Due to the fact that the pilot had violated flight rules, as explained by the representative of DGAC, the plane took off from the city of Santa Cruz 20 minutes after the expiry of the permitted duration of flights.”

    Determining the cause at this point is a bit precipitous. Most accident investigations take years.

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    DeKalb County Crash kills Two

    What: 1946-era single-engine fixed aircraft listed as a “model 415 C ERCOUP/ MOONEY A-2 AIRCOUPE”
    Where: corn field near the city of Sandwich
    When: 04/11/2009 1:49 p.m.
    Who: 53-year-old Randall Hougham of Sandwich, who was flying the plane, and 22-year-old passenger Lauren Hamilton, also of Sandwich died in the crash
    Why: Circumstances are unknown.

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    Piper Crash in San Diego

    What: Piper Comanche (PA-24-250 Regis#: 7690P ) en route from Whiteman Airport just north of Los Angeles to Brown Field Municipal Airport near the Mexican border
    Where: east of the runways at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
    When: April 11 2009, 11 a.m. Saturday
    Who: pilot and passenger died on impact. (The NTSB preliminary report only listed the pilot; no passenger. News coverage, however, mentioned a passenger.)
    Why: There was no distress call made; air traffic controllers lost radio contact at 10:55. Weather at Montgomery Field, at 11:00 was light rain and southwest winds at 6 mile per hour.

    The pilot is (probably) the plane owner Friedrich L Weber of Burbank, California who with his wife was flying to Mexico for medical treatment.

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    Easter Sunday Emergency Landing

    What: Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Austin
    Where: Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla.
    When: April 12 2008
    Who: 104 passengers
    Why: There was no fire, but when a sensor detected an apparent problem in the cargo hold, the pilot chose to land immediately. Passengers lunched at the base’s Officer’s Club before boarding another Southwest flight which carried them to their destination.

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    Passenger Lands Plane when Pilot Dies


    What: 1982 King Air 55 owned by White Equipment Leasing flying en route from Marco Island to Jackson Mississippi
    Where: Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport
    When: Sunday April 12
    Who: 6
    Why: When the pilot passed out midflight, a passenger took the controls and safely landed the plane. The pilot died of cardiac arrest prior to landing.

    Landing safely was a group effort. The on board passenger who landed the plane had a pilot’s license but was not certified to fly a high-performance turboprop and had no experience flying this type of aircraft. The Fort Myers air traffic controller who talked the pilot down was getting HIS direction from a Connecticut pilot reading the landing checklist from a King Air manual.

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    Mexican Helicopter Crash Kills 3

    What: Mexican Geological Services helicopter
    Where: northwestern state of Sinaloa 19 miles from the city of Los Mochis in the mountain town of Sinoloa de Leyva
    When: Wednesday
    Who: Three Mexican Geological Service employees: David Barbosa Luna, engineer managing SGM’s Western Region, Alberto Montañes Castro, project coordinator , and helicopter’s pilot Capt. Rodrigo Navarro Jimenez
    Why: 3 SGM workers managing field activities for the preparation of two geological mining charts were killed on the job. The flight was returning from the mountain and landed on or in the Sinoloa de Leyva Baseball stadium. They were en route to Sinoloa to refuel and check a faulty engine.

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    Plane Crashes Mountain; 6 Fatalities


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jim Groom
    What: Aviastar Mandiri British Aerospace BAe146-300 en route from Jayapura to Wamena Indonesia
    Where: Mount Pike
    When: Apr 9th 2009
    Who: 6 crew: captain, co-pilot, engineer, loadmaster and two flight attendants
    Why: The plane was approaching runway 15 at Wamena Airport in foggy conditions, turned and air traffic control lost contact. The controller observed smoke coming from side of Gunung Pike Mountain. When search crews went to the source of the smoke, there were no survivors.

    Reportedly, the plane had been carrying rice and flour and 9 tons of Aviation Turbine Fuel. The airport is surrounded by mountains.

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    Boeing Depressurizes over Moscow


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    Contact photographer Oleg Revin
    What: Yakutia Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Vnukovo airport to Yakutsk.
    Where: Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital of Moscow
    When: Apr 7th 2009
    Who: 174 passengers and nine crew members
    Why: After takeoff, the pilot experienced technical problems. The cabin depressurized; and the pilot decided to return to the airport of origin to land; however, before landing, the plane circled the airport for three and a half hours to burn off excess fuel.

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    Turbulence in Reno flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Ryan Coulter
    What: Horizon Air flight 2246 de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from LA to Reno
    Where: Sacramento
    When: 7:10 p.m. April 7
    Who: 5 passengers (out of 40) plus one flight attendant.
    Why: When several passengers reported injuries resulting from turbulence experienced over Yosemite. Turbulence was so severe that Individuals not buckled in literally bumped into plane’s ceiling. The plane diverted to make an emergency landing at Sacramento International Airport so that the six affected individuals could be examined.

    George’s Point of View

    Wear Your Seatbelt.

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    24 Casualties in Indonesia Crash

    What: 32 year old Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force) Fokker 27 registration A-2703
    Where: Bandung-Husein Sastranegara International Airport, Western Indonesia
    When: 06 APR 2009 1 p.m. Monday local time
    Who: Six crew members, one trainer and 17 military skydiving students. All 24 people on board died.
    Why: While landing during a regular training flight, the plane crashed and burst into flames at 1:05 pm (0605 GMT) in Bandung, 110 kilometres (74 miles) southeast of Jakarta. No one on the ground was injured. The weather is said to have been wet; and the plane is said to have been undermaintained due to funding problems. The plane is said to have been shaking–possibly encountering a 20-knot crosswind at the time of the accident– before it crashed in an air craft hanger and burst into flames.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing at Islip NY


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Sheldon Johns
    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 Flight 195 en route from Islip,NY to to Fort Myers, Fla
    Where: returned to New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport
    When: landed safely at 10:24 a.m
    Who: 127 passengers aboard and 5 crew members
    Why: The 737 experienced engine trouble which forced them to shut down the left hand engine; they returned to MacArthur Airport for a safe landing. Contrary to rumor, lightning did not cause an engine fire.

    George’s Point of View

    The addendum to this is that mechanics are now looking over this 737. Maybe they should have had this inspection before it took off. D’ya think?

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    March 2007: Yogyakarta Crash Landing

    This is the sad story of Marwoto Komar, a pilot with 22 years of flight experience.

    In March 2007, he piloted a Boeing 737-400 with 140 passengers on board which crashed on landing at the Yogyakarta airport. The plane came in for landing too high and too fast, and although the co-pilot called for a go-around, he landed on that pass anyway. The Boeing overran the runway and caught fire. Twenty-one people died in that crash.

    The* IFALPA position is that criminalisation of individuals does not improve air safety.

    In July 2008 he was arrested, tried and found guilty of negligence.

    An Indonesian court sentenced Komar to two years imprisonment for his role in the crash.

    * International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations

    see src

    George’s Point of View

    You make a mistake.
    People get killed.
    You go to jail.

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    Flat Tire Tornado Diverts Airbus to Spain


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    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: British Airways Airbus A319-100 en route from London Gatwick to Gibraltar.
    Where: Malaga Spain
    When: Apr 3rd 2009
    Who:
    Why: Airbus passengers got a little extra traveling in when the runway at their Gibraltar destination airport was blocked by a Tornado fighter with burst tires after its brakes overheated on landing.

    The British Airways jet flew on to Malaga Spain where the runway was thankfully NOT blocked; and the plane was able to land safely, and allow passengers to take a bus ride back to Gibraltar, their actual destination.

    And for those individuals left planeless at the Gibraltar gate, eventually the Tornado was moved off the runway; and the Airbus was able to land and pick up those passengers.

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    Continental Safely Lands Hot Plane


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Mark Kryst
    What: Continental Airlines Colgan Air de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from Newark to Montreal .
    Where: Burlington,VT
    When: Apr 3rd 2009
    Who: 33 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: The pilot and crew reported high temperatures, requesting diversion to Albany, NY. They shut down the left engine but decided against Albany because of weather (severe precipitation), and landed instead at Burlington,VT.

    George’s Point of View

    Emergency landings are always a cause for concern. The pilot who responds with a cool head and skill in an emergency situation is to be commended.

    What about the maintenance of the plane? Who chose to fly instead of maintain, or to maintain in half-measures? Someone needs to look into this–

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    Air Canada Airbus A333 Diverted for Illness and Bad Manners

    George’s Point of View

    Sometimes you really have to wonder what air travel is coming to–especially when you hear about the Air Canada Airbus (you know I keep an eye on those Airbuses)–that stopped for a medical emergency. That’s not the big thing–the big thing is after the medical emergency, we had yet ANOTHER person whose basic bad manners caused enough disruption for the authorities to be called. Apparently a Toronto TV and radio host decided to pitch a fit on the plane. Drunk, cussing and escorted off by police to sleep it off in the drunk tank. I prefer my flights without that kind of live entertainment, thank you very much. Maybe the airlines should start giving a little deportment test before every flight, and those who flunk have to go to a session of charm school NOT run by Larry King.

    I started to put up a new category, “cracked passenger” right above “cracked windshield” but decided to settle for “disruptive passenger.”

    And below, for those who are here for the aircraft, please note the plane, when it is in operation and NOT boarded by publicity hounds.


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

    What: Air Canada Airbus A330-300, registration C-GFUR en route from London to Toronto
    Where: St. John’s, Canada
    When: Mar 31st 2009
    Who: Shall remain nameless simply on general purposes
    Why: see above.
    src avherald.com

    * This incident is NOT to be confused with Robert McDonald, of Glasgow, who opened an emergency exit hatch as his flight waited out two and a half hours of bad weather delay at JFK.

    * OR Southwest Flight 1402 where a large woman started pummeling someone for touching her

    * OR American Airlines Flight 1343 from Charlotte to Dallas/Fort Worth where a man ran and jumped into a plane to slide down the the inflatable exit slides

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    North Sea Helicopter Crash: 18 on board


    Actual helicopter G-REDL NOT pictured
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer
    What: Bond Helicopters Eurocopter AF332 L2 Super Puma crashed
    Where: In the sea off north-east Scotland
    When: 2pm Wednesday April 1
    Who: 16 people
    Why: Returning from an oil platform, the helicopter crashed in the North Sea

    Normand Aurora supply vessel was in the area and is looking for survivors and RNLI lifeboats from Peterhead and Fraserburgh are racing to the scene.

    Relatives of victims have been asked to call 01224 836479.

    You may remember Bond Helicopters Feb 18 crash in which 18 people on board survived. That was when individuals were allowed to wear transmitters. (Currently there are safety concerns over the use of personal distress beacons–they are NOT allowed because they interfere with the on board transmitter.)

    George’s Point of View

    When I was 16, I took my hard earned bucks and purchased a used car, my first car. And my Dad said, “Son, you have to change the oil regularly. Check the water in the radiator, air in your tires and take it to a mechanic regularly for a checkup.”

    Aviation vessels need simple attention and lots of love and care by mechanics.

    You have to wonder about maintenance. Some planes, helicopters, are busy all day long, taking off and landing. When are they on the ground enough to get checked?

    At this time, eight dead have been found. Would they all have been found alive if they had been allowed PCBs (Personal Locator Beacons) like in Bond’s February crash where they had PCBs and were rescued?

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    Smoke on Boeing…


    Pictured: UA Boeing 767-322
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Daniel Nicholson
    What: United Airlines Boeing 767 en route from London to Washington D.C.
    Where: Bangor International Airport
    When: Wednesday April 1
    Who: 178 passengers
    Why: When the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, the plane was granted permission to land at Bangor International, which it did, safely.

    George’s Point of View

    I worry about all emergency landings, I’ve experienced just one.

    When I see a United doing an emergency landing for any reason, my skin creeps because I fly United all the time. No pun intended.

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    Cessna Emergency Landing in Palm Springs

    What: Cessna Citation business jet en route from Palm Springs International Airport to Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Where: Palm Springs International Airport
    When: 10:55 a.m Tuesday
    Who: six people aboard
    Why: When smoke was detected in the cabin, the pilot then burned off fuel before landing back in Palm Springs. The cause of the smoke is under investigation. No injuries.