What: Delta Boeing 737
Where: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
When: Mar 13, 2013
Who: Crew
Why: As mechanics were testing the engine of a Delta Boeing 737 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the plane developed braking problems. The jet ended at an awkward angle on a hill just off a runway.
The jet sustained damage but none of the mechanics were injured.
What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300 from Istanbul Ataturk Turkey to Bangkok
Where: Istanbul
When: Jan 24th
Who: assistant de-icer
Why: After de-icing, the airplane’s wing hit the de-icing hydraulic lift, struck the vehicle’s operator and knocked the lift on the assistant who died on the scene.
De-icing isn’t something we normally think about. Not for planes. Maybe those of us who have wintered in Chicago or New York have considered it. Those of us who have had to get up extra early to scrape the outer skin of ice and snow off of the car, even those of us who have had the forethought to stack a layer of cardboard over the windshield to limit the ice buildup, who turn on the heat inside so the commute will be tolerable. But frankly, scraping the windshield with the ice scraper, or knocking snow off headlights–with a car, it is usually not that hazardous–albeit sometimes slippery. Obviously de-icing a plane is significantly more dangerous. After all, the instructions on the back of an ice scraper fit on the ice scraper.
The aircraft ground anti-icing operations manual available from ICAO runs 37 pages and cost $25. So there are 37 pages worth of established procedures to follow.
News of a death makes me remember the ground crew who is working out there de-icing the plane while the passengers sit inside, all warm and cosy. It’s cold out there; and dangerous. More dangerous than we think about, but maybe we should.
It’s only by learning from our mistakes, in aviation, and in every other industry that we progress. It’s too late for these two ground crewmen, one in Calgary, one in Thailand. But it’s not too late for us to learn from our mistakes–if mistakes there were.
It has been just over a month since another de-Icing crew member in Calgarydied on the job. In that case, it was a Servisair ground worker who fell out of a cherry picker.
In this latest instance, we haven’t really heard much yet. We know that the death occurred in Thailand, and that it was snowing heavily. The investigation will reveal the details of what happened. Who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If the operator or crewman weren’t following guidelines–or the flight crew. The investigation will reveal who acted carelessly, or if it was simply an accident, and the plane just following the path of least resistance.
I respect winter.
And I respect ground crews. They brave the elements, just to make plane travel just a little bit safer. When you think about it, it’s a little bit heroic, and maybe a little bit sad how the ground crew works on plane after plane. It’s a little bit like a pastry chef who makes delicacy after delicacy, but never gets to eat them himself. The ground crew stays behind when the plane soars away.
On July 31, 2013, an Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 73703T) was en route from Guiyang to Phuket.
Pilots diverted to Surat THani airport and made an emergency landing around 7pm. While taxiing on the runway, a main gear tire slipped off the pavement had had a flat.
The plane was towed off the runway. Flights were disrupted till about 9 pm.
There were 137 Chinese passengers aboard. No injuries were reported.
Delta Airlines flight DL-603 had to make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, after a woman went into labour midair on August 24.
The Boeing 767-300, on its way from Amsterdam to Atlanta with 230 passengers, was flying over Blackpool, England, when the crew declared a medical emergency and requested to land at Shannon Airport.
The flight was then diverted to Ireland where it made an uneventful emergency landing at 1:50 p.m. Paramedics examined the woman and immediately shifted her to University Maternity Hospital Limerick where she later gave birth.
The flight resumed its journey and landed safely at its scheduled destination.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jason Whitebird
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88 en route from Hartford,CT to Atlanta,GA
Where: Bradley International Airport, Hartford
When: Nov 10 2010, 8:00 am
Why: The Delta flight was on the runway and aborted the takeoff. While on the runway, the plane experienced problems with the left engine and was able to taxi to the terminal under its own steam.
Passengers were rebooked.
The specific problem with the engine has not been made public.
A LOT Polish Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing at Scotland’s Glasgow airport at 11:35 a.m. on September 26.
The decision for emergency landing was made after the crew received an alert from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fire protection system. The aircraft, carrying 260 people, was on its way from Chicago, US, to Warsaw, Poland, at the time.
The plane landed safely and no one was hurt.
An airline spokesperson Barbara Pijanowska-Kuras said, “The emergency landing of the plane was caused by a glitch in the fire protection system…There was no fire or smoke onboard.”
Southwest Airlines flight WN-1932 encountered turbulence while descending towards Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 31st.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was flying from Seattle, Washington, when it ran into severe turbulence.
The plane continued for a safe landing.
Two crew members sustained minor injuries in the incident.
