Two miles off shore of Waikiki, a US Coast Guard MH65 Dolphin was hit by a laser pointer. The pilot had to make an emergency landing at Barbers Point Air Station in Hawaii. A flight mechanic and rescue swimmer were aboard the helicopter when it had to divert back to the base.
The crew was sent to have their eyes checked and are temporarily off-duty.
It is a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft.
What: Piper PA-28 Cherokee#N55620 en route from Delaware, Ohio to Creve Coeur airport.
Where: Creve Coeur Lake, Maryland Heights
When: Oct 24, 2012
Who: 2 aboard
Why: While attempting a landing on the shore, the piper that crashed into Creve Coeur Lake had two occupants, pilot Russell Hazelton, 78 who died at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton and passenger Suzanne Hazelton, 69 who was on life support. The plane flipped on to its back during the attempted landing.
Lake Saint Louis Fire Protection District dive team, police and rescue services were on hand for the recovery.
What: Wings Over Holland General Avia F-22BV Pinguino
Wings Over Holland Diamond DA40D Diamond Star TDI
Where: Zeeasterweg, Dronten Netherlands
When: October 22, 2012 4:35pm
Who: 2 aboard, 2 injured
Why: A Diamond DA40D Diamond Star TDI (PH-TDE) and a General Avia F-22BV Pinguino (D-EDMJ) crashed following a mid-air collision. The accident happened during an air-to-air photo flight
Those aboard the Pinguino flight were airlifted by medical evacuation Lifeliner 1 and Lifeliner 4.
The two aboard the Diamond Star did not survive.
Rescue efforts were hampered by the wet ground which trapped afire truck that responded to the scene.
What: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s patrol Air-24-American Euro Copter
Where: Lakewood California
When: Oct 21, 2012 8:50 p.m.
Why: The flight crew heard a loud noise from the helicopter and made an emergency street landing at Del Amo Boulevard and Paramount.
After making a safe landing and determining that a bird had struck the fuselage above the pilot canopy, they returned to the helicopter and flew back for repairs.
Lakewood Sheriff Deputies handled traffic until the helicopter left the scene.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Antonio Carrasquilla
What: Jet2 737 en route from Glasgow to Alicante
Where: Glasgow Airport
When: October 19, 2012 7.40am.
Who: 189 passengers
Why: On the takeoff run, the pilot “hit the brakes” and according to passengers “the plane started shuddering and there were lights flashing and smoke and the crew started shouting ‘Get out, get out’.”
Another passenger told BBC “We were careering up the runway and smoke started belting out of all the air vents with a smouldering smell.Then the brakes went on and the emergency chutes went out and we were all evacuated.I have a nine-week-old daughter and a four-year-old daughter. I had my nine-week-old attached to my chest as I went down the emergency chute and my wife had our four-year-old and was in tears. it was like something out of a movie. There was panic, people started running and I shouted ‘slow down’, and then the pilot shouted ‘get out, get out'”
Passengers disembarked via emergency chutes; ten passengers climbed out on a wing where there was no chute but only a few of them jumped.
Six people were taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley; fourteen were treated at the scene. Injuries from the chutes are not uncommon, especially if they throw themselves down in a panic; and injuries from jumping off a wing could also occur.
This incident occurred a couple of hours prior to the Thomas Cook flight that diverted to Dublin Ireland
What: Helicopter
Where: Bucks County, Tinicum Township
When: October 17 2012
Who: pilot
Why: Pilot Cpl. Douglas Ward Brigham died in a crash when his helicopter went down in the woods and caught fire shortly after takeoff. Residents of the area heard an explosion. The helicopter impacted in woods off River Road in Erwinna, across the Delaware River from Frenchtown, N.J.Brigham had been flying for 25 years. He was a licensed pilot, instructor and volunteer rescuer. He had taken off from the private helipad at his house.
Tinicum Township Department of Emergency Management, and Patient Airlift Services responded to the scene.
What: ACS Helicopter LLC Bell 407 helicopter
Where: Mount Pocono
When: Oct 11, 2012
Who: Two fatalities, one injury
Why: The Tuesday wreck piloted by a full time American Airlines pilot (part time with ACS Helicopter LLC) was discovered at 2:30 a.m. wednesday. The helicopter encountered bad weather as it passed through northern Monroe County. Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport is not equipped for receiving distress calls.
The helicopter was found on its right side, leaking fluids, with broken rotor and tail.
Fatalities of the crash were Pilot William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, N.J., and passenger Tighe Sullivan, 51, of Darien, Conn.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Chicago to Miami
Where: Miami
When: Oct 11, 2012
Who: 148 aboard
Why: On landing in Miami, the plane suffered a bird strike. The bird was ingested in the engine according to Matt Miller of American Airlines. Pilots made an emergency landing with emergency services on standby.
Passengers in the video below describe the smell of the burning bird, taking off after touching down.
No injuries were reported on Flight 1388. 145 of those aboard were passengers.
What: Pintail Lodge Inc.Bell 206B JetRanger
Where: Lyons Point, Crowly, LA
When: Oct 10, 2102
Who: 1 fatality
Why: A helicopter out of Texas was flying low over a Crowly Louisiana field when it made contact with a KSIG radio guidewire.
The helicopter subsequently crashed in the field. Local residents who heard the impact described a thud.
The pilot was identified as Hugh Clifton Kelley, 66, of Beaumont.
See Video Below
KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend
What: Azza Air Transport Antonov An-12BP en route from Khartoum to El Fasher
Where: 25 miles SW of Omdurman Khartoum,Sudan
When: Oct 7 2012
Who: 22 aboard, 15 fatalities
Why: The pilot of a Sudanese military plane informed the airport that he had a problem with one of his engines before the plane crashed in a rural area west of the capital Khartoum. Twenty armed forces personnel were on board. The Antonov military transport plane was carrying military equipment from Khartoum to the capital of North Darfur.
Initially thirteen people died on the Azza Air jet, and nine were injured.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are investigating.
Discovery, Dragonfly Film and Television Productions deliberately crashed a $450,000 unmanned 727 in the Sonoran Desert of Baja California, Mexico south of Mexicali, Mexico. The plane was equipped with crash dummies, scientific sensors and experiments. Among other things such as creating a sensational topic for the Curiosity series, the crash is postulated as a study the crashworthiness of the aircraft’s airframe and cabin.
Pilots parachuted from the plane minutes before it was remote-controlled to a crash.
The video called “part of a scientific experiment for an unprecedented international television documentary” was captured by 19 cameras inside the plane and 2 on helicopters outside. The film will be presented as an episode of Curiosity.
What: FlyMontserrat Britten-Norman Islander en route from Antigua to Montserrat Island
Where: V.C. Bird International Airport
When: October 7 2012
Who: pilot and 3 passengers
Why: The twin-engine Britten-Norman Islander en route from Antigua to Montserrat Island overran a rainy runway at 4 p.m. and crashed.
Witnesses heard irregularities in the engine before it “plunged into the end of the runway.”
The pilot was reported as a fatality. A female British tourist died in the crash, and two other passengers are reported to be hospitalized at at Mount St. John’s Medical Centre.
What: Gandy Air LLC Cirrus SR22 GTS G3 Turbo en route from Smyrna to Gary
Where: A mile SE of the Gary Chicago Int. Airport
When: Oct 3, 2012, 11:00 a.m.
Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: A plane that took off from Smyrna, Tenn. General Airport crashed for unknown reasons in a wooded area about 400 feet from the Lighthouse Charter School in Gary. The bodies of the two men aboard were retrieved from the scene of the crash around 5:35 p.m.
No one reported a distress signal. A witness in Gary heard the plane’s engine “sputter” before the plane crashed. Many of the 650 students of West Gary Lighthouse Charter School heard the plane come down.
What: American Airlines Dallas to St. Louis
Where: Dallas
When: Oct 2, 2012, 8:40 a.m
Why: On takeoff, the American Airlines landing gear jammed.
Pilots returned to Dallas and made a safe landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Passengers were provided an alternative plane to St. Louis.
This is just one of numerous maintenance issues plaguing American Airlines.
8,000 pilots have been casting votes for a month on authorization for their union to call a strike, escalating a long-running labor dispute with the airlines.
The voting deadline passes at noon central time on Wednesday (1 p.m. EDT)
What: American Airlines Boeing 777 from Chicago to London
Where: Shannon Airport
When: Oct 2, 2012
Why: American Airlines Flight 98 diverted to Shannon due to an unspecified technical fault. The smell of smoke was detected in the cabin.
Ennis and Shannon fire crews and ambulances were on standby. Passengers disembarked at 1.07pm.
Maintenance said a fan overheated.
What: Experimental Ultralight aircraft en route from Rowan County Airport to High Rock Lake,
Where: a field close to Shaw’s Mobile Home Park
When: Sept 30, 2012, 6 p.m.
Who: pilot
Why: The ultralight ppeared to stall out shortly before impact. Cecil Dwayne Brown, of West Second Street, in Faith, died in the crash. His remains were recovered within two hours of the accident.
The plane apparently impacted power lines, causing an immediate outage.
What: American Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Boston to Miami
Where: JFK
When: Sep 29th 2012
Who: 3 passengers
Why: While en route, a row of seats in the coach cabin became loose in flight.
The three passengers were provided alternative seats and pilots diverted the plane to JFK where they made a safe landing.
Passengers disembarked and boarded another plane to continue their flight. The incident has been cited in national news reports as an example of an “increase in maintenance issues.”
What: Sita Air Dornier 228-202 en route from Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport to Lukla
Where: 500 Meters from airport
When: Sept 28, 2012
Who: 19 fatalities
Why: After takeoff, the pilot hit a vulture. The pilot attempted to return to the airport. (The vulture strike is unconfirmed.)
Villagers could not assist because of the fire. Firefighters had difficulty reaching the area on the banks of Manohara River in Thimi, just a few kilometers east of Kathmandu.
Four passenger and three crew were from Nepal. Five were Chinese, and seven were British. the remains were taken to the morgue at TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj in Maharajgunj.
The crew who died in the crash were pilot Bijay Tandukar, co-pilot Takesingh Thapa and air-hostess Ruja Shakya.
The passengers were identified were Kumar Marshyangdi Magar (Nepal Army), D Rai, Yangchay Tamang and LN Sherpa. One Britain was identified as Eagle Raymond.
The show premiers on October 2nd, according to the site
The show is described as an all-access pass to the intense and dramatic world of Miami International Airport told by the workers running one of America’s largest airports (38 million passengers a year) running around the clock.
And (FYI) watch what you carry on. Don’t Carry On Video below courtesy of the travel channel.
What: Helisul Taxi Aéreo Bell 206B JetRanger
Where: Foz do Iguaçu Brazil
When: Sept 25, 2012
Who: 4 aboard
Why: Taking off from the entrance of the National Park of Iguaçu,Foz do Iguaçu in western Paraná, the helicopter had a problem at the helipad and fell from a height of five feet.
The company that owns the helicopter is a concessionaire of the National Paraque selling air tours over the Iguazu Falls.
The four aboard the helicopter were wounded. The chopper was described as badly damaged. Three men and one woman were rushed to Hospital Costa Cavalcanti and to City hospital. There was one crewman aboard. The three passengers were tourists.
What: Fake Pilot
Where: Turin Airport
When: Sept 21, 2012
Who: Andrea Sirlo
Why: “Andrea Sirlo” was arrested in the Turin airport for impersonating a pilot.
He had already flown several times as a “third pilot” in the jump seat, and had a fake uniform and resumes. The name Andrea Sirlo is a fake identity, not his real name.
What: Asplundh BELL 206B HELICOPTER helicopter crash
Where: Pole lake road southeast of Mammoth Lakes, near Deer Springs Road
When: Sept 19, 2012, 12:30
Who: 2 aboard
Why: Two Asplundh employees were working on power lines and crashed near the lake causing a small fire. They were taken to Mammoth Airport and ambulanced to Mammoth Hospital. They suffered minor injuries.
According to the FAA preliminary report, the rotorcraft tail rot0r struck the ground and crashed 12 miles from Mammoth lakes California.
Mono County Sheriff’s Department, Mammoth Lakes Fire Department, Long Valley Fire Department, Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, and Mono County Paramedics responded to the scene.
What: Beechcraft 55 Baron en route from Baytown TX to Sarasota FL
Where: 28 miles east of South Pass in the Gulf of Mexico
When: Sept. 20, 2012
Who: 2 aboard
Why: After the International Emergency Response Coordination Center notified 8th Coast Guard District command center of a beacon alert, the search began.
Two men whose flight ditched were rescued after the Border Patrol spotted them adrift in the Gulf of Mexico. A Coast Guard MH-65C Dolphin helicopter was launched.
The pilot hit the water at an estimated 100 knots after the plane caught fire and the cockpit filled with smoke. The two men aboard survived the crash and three hours in the water.
Coast Guard helicopter pilot Lt. Becki Fosha said that “They had a limited time to bring the aircraft to the water and then they had about two minutes to get all of their survival gear together and get ready for a survival situation before the aircraft submerged…They had a GPS sport beacon. They had their current EPERB 406 beacon. They had floatation and survival equipment for just this kind of scenario…the men did a great job ditching the plane.”
Theodore Wright and Raymond Fosdick were pulled out of the Gulf and flown to Belle Chasse Naval Base. Fosdick was hospitalized at Ochsner Medical Center.
