Pictured: A Delta Air LinesMcDonnell Douglas MD-88
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Hartsfield Photography
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from New York to Fort Lauderdale
Where: West Palm Beach
When: Dec 26th
Who: 147 on board
Why: While en route, the flight’s generator developed problems. The plane lost electrical backup and diverted to West Palm Beach.
U.S. Airways Express flight 3846 had to return and make an emergency landing at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 20.
According to a statement issued by the American Airlines, “US Airways Express flight 3846 from Milwaukee to Charlotte returned to Mitchell airport due to an indication of possible smoke in the lavatory. The flight is operated by AirWisconsin.”
The plane landed uneventfully at 2:44 p.m. and was taken for inspection.
There were no passengers aboard at the time.
TAM Airlines flight JJ8065 had to return and make an emergency landing at Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain, on December 15.
The Boeing 777 took off for Sao Paulo, Brazil, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bomb threat.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
IndiGo flight 6E-395 made an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on March 1st.
The Airbus A320-200N plane took off for Kolkata, India, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine issue.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and sixty-six passengers aboard remained unharmed.
Los Angeles – International approaching Sepulveda
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Contact photographer Sandro Mederle
What: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to Sydney
Where: Sydney
When: Mar 31st 2010
Who: 244 passengers
Why: On landing, the plane blew its left tires; and there were sparks and and a brief fire from the brakes. The plane left a rubber trail. Damage assessment was made on the tarmac by engineers, with the plane sitting on its rims.
Qantas denies classifying this as an “emergency” landing.
I’m thinking how smart Boeing is to have held up release of their big jumbo, especially when I see A 380 incidents.
I am reminded of all the flaws that popped in the Airbus A310 (reputedly a rush copy of the Boeing 737); and I also remember reading about Airbus struggling to get the A-380 shipshape before Airbus rushed it to market. In development, Airbus wrestled with a plane that was severely overweight, withstructural, and production problems. Remember the trouble the A-380 had getting launched:
I can think of 3 other A380 incidents. Feb of this year, Air France A380-861 (F-HPJA) had fuel system issues that turned back a New York-Paris flight. A380 muss wegen Problemen mit Treibstoffsystem umkehren
On Dec 4 2009, QANTAS Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- On the runway, the plane’s nose gear became unsteereable. The plane was towed to the gate and spare parts had to be flown in to deal with the problem.
On July 4 2009, Qantas Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- the approach was aborted due to nosegear problems. On landing, steering failed.
In March of 2008, Qantas removed all 3 of its A-380s due to fuel system problems (two unserviceable with a ‘”fuel tank indication system problem”.)
The A380 is a part of the Air France, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore airlines fleets , and in which fuel gauge problems, nosegear problems and braking problems are becoming known issues. Problems also arise because the prohibitive size of the plane limits where it can land.
Some Worrisome Airbus History
In 2004, Joseph Mangan, an Airbus whistleblower told European aviation authorities of flaws on a computer chip on the Airbus A380. (These were microprocessor flaws that could cause the valves that maintain cabin pressure on the A380 to accidentally open during flight, allowing air to leak out so rapidly that everyone aboard could lose consciousness within seconds.)
Mangan was chief engineer for the Viennese company TTTech Computertechnik, which supplied the chips and software controlling the A380 cabin-pressurization system assembled at the French Airbus plant. TTTech fired Mangan, filed civil and criminal charges against him for revealing proprietary company documents. Austrian law has no whistleblower protection, and there is currently a gag order imposed on Mangan. They claim his allegations have been disproved.
What did he know? Have the problems behind his concerns been addressed? What else do we not know? Without transparency, how can we ever know?
Pictured: Centurion Air Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11(F)
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Thomas Posch
What: Centurion Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F en route from Miami International Airport to Carrasco International Airport, Uruguai
Where: Carrasco
When: 20-OCT-2009
Who: 5 crew members
Why: The cargo plane, a weekly visitor to this airport, suffered a “minor” accident when the main wheel landing gear ruptured on landing. None of the 5 member crew was hurt. The plane is currently parked in the airport taxiway pending a damage assessment. Local speculation refers to fatigue to some element of the landing gear but the investigation is pending.
Air France flight AF1117 had to make an emergency landing at Birmingham International airport in England, on November 16.
The passenger jet was en-route from Dublin, Ireland to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France when one of its windows cracked. The pilot reported the issue to the control tower shortly before 6:30 p.m.
The Avro RJ85 plane landed uneventfully and none of the 86 passengers and crew members was harmed.
It is not clear what caused the crack.