Delta Airlines flight DL-1972 made an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, on May 2nd.
The Airbus A319-100 was flying from Austin, Texas, when the crew reported a flaps problem and requested emergency assistance.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 138 people aboard remained safe.
British Airways flight BA-1468 made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport, England, on January 15th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane took off for Inverness, Scotland, but had to return after the crew received indication of an issue with the brakes.
The plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU-736 had to return for an emergency landing in Sydney, Australia, on June 11th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Shanghai, China, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine issue.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
What: PAL Airbus A-319 Flight PR-124
Where: Zamboanga
When: Sept 22, 2012
Why: PAL Flight PR-124 was cancelled when engine inspection indicated a bird strike from an earlier flight. The 101 passengers who were scheduled on that flight were transferred to other flights.
The engine damage occurred on PR-123 Manila-Zamboanga which had arrived at 6:18 a.m.
Update
What: Spanair Flight JK5022, a 15-year-old MD-82 jet en route to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Where: Madrid airport Terminal Four
When: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 2:45pm
Who: Carrying 166 passengers and nine crew, at the time of this writing, the number of fatalities had mounted to 154 people.
Why: The jet swerved off the runway and caught fire during takeoff.
The final report of Spanair Flight JK5022 was released, it claims that the pilots failed to deploy the flaps for takeoff. The report blames the crash on “pilot error.” The automated voice warning to alert the crew did not sound.
Already more than one hour late, the flight experienced a technical issue with the plane (a sensor reporting excessive temperature in an air intake, and the temperature sensor was de-activated on the ground) that forced the first takeoff attempt to be aborted when there were failure signals taxiing away from the terminal. The aircraft was inspected and then tried to take-off for the second time, which ended in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board said that “that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew’s failure to use the taxi checklist to ensure the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the absence of electrical power to the airplane takeoff warning system which thus did not warn the flightcrew that the airplane was not configured properly for takeoff. The reason for the absence of electrical power could not be determined.”
A similar disaster occurred in the Northwest Flight 255 in Detroit in 1987 when 154 people also died in an MD-82 due to incorrect flap settings.
As a consequence, Spanair and McDonnell Douglas now require a TOWS* system check prior to every flight.
The Interim Report is available here.
*The Take Off Warning System is part of CAWS. TOWS provides alert warnings on the following components involved in the configuration of the aircraft for takeoff: Flaps, Slats, Brakes, Auto brake, Auto spoilers, Spoilers and Stabilizer Trim.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrew Compolo
What: United Boeing 757-200 en route from Newark to Berlin
Where: Newark
When: Aug 18 2012
Who: 173 aboard
Why: On takeoff, the plane blew a tire. Simultaneously, the plane gave feedback of problems with both engines, with witnesses seeing fire coming from the left engine. That engine was shut down. The plane managed to circle for two hours to burn off fuel before returning to make a safe landing in Newark.
–commenting from London
