Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Sri Ramani Kugathasan
What: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400 en route from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei)
Where: Kuala Lumpur
When: Jan 2nd 2012
Who: n/a
Why: The pilots were taking off when they received an indication and rejected takeoff.
The “low speed due to a takeoff configuration warning” was determined to be a false indication, and the plane took off three hours later.
United Airlines flight UA-818 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Santiago, Chile, on December 25th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane heading from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Houston, Texas, was diverted due to electrical problems.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
EVERETT, Wash., Feb. 8 /– The Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter successfully took to the sky for the first time today before more than 5,000 employees, customers, suppliers and community leaders. The flight begins a test program for the world’s most efficient freighter.
With 747 Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Tom Imrich in the flight deck, the newest member of the 747 family took off at 12:39 p.m. local time from Paine Field in Everett and landed at Paine Field at 4:18 p.m.
“It was a real privilege to be at the controls of this great airplane on its first flight, representing the thousands of folks who made today possible,” said Feuerstein. “The airplane performed as expected and handled just like a 747-400.”
Today’s flight was the first of more than 1,600 flight hours in the test program for the newest member of the Boeing freighter family. The airplane followed a route over Western Washington, where it underwent tests for basic handling qualities and engine performance. The airplane reached a cruising altitude of 17,000 feet (5,181 m) and a speed of up to 230 knots, or about 264 miles (426 km) per hour.
Powered by four General Electric GEnx-2B engines, the 747-8 Freighter will transition its testing program to Moses Lake, Wash., and Palmdale, Calif., where the other two test airplanes will join it in the coming month.
“This truly is a great day for The Boeing Company and the 747 program,” said Mo Yahyavi, 747 program general manager and vice president, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “It’s the culmination of the hard work and dedication of our employees, suppliers and customers. While there is still much to do, I am excited to begin the flight-test program, which will demonstrate the capabilities of this airplane.”
The 747-8 Freighter is the new, high-capacity 747 that will give cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any freighter. The airplane is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18 feet, 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared with its predecessor. That translates to an additional four main-deck pallets and three lower-hold pallets.
“The 747-8 Freighter continues the leadership of the 747 Freighter families, which carries more than half of the world’s air freight, making it the standard of the air cargo industry,” Yahyavi said.
Boeing launched the airplane on Nov. 14, 2005, with firm orders for 18 747-8 Freighters: 10 from Cargolux of Luxembourg and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines of Japan. All told, Boeing has secured 108 orders for the 747-8, of which 76 are orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have ordered the 747-8 Freighter.
Contact:
Tim Bader
747 Communications
+1 206-859-3633
tim.s.bader@boeing.com
Jim Proulx
Boeing Commercial Airplanes Communications
+1 206-850-2102
jim.proulx@boeing.com
Travel Service Airlines flight QS-7333 had to make an emergency landing in Katowice, Poland, on January 23rd.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Fuerteventura, Spain, was on final approach to Katowice when the crew reported a flaps issue and went around.
The plane landed safely on second approach. All 187 passengers and 6 crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ted Quackenbush
What: Bell 206 registered to Hillcrest Aircraft Company en route from Ogallala, Nebraska to Wichita. to Virginia for the U.S. Forest Service.
Where: Buckskin Road between 19th and 20th Avenues in McPherson County, 40 miles north of Wichita.
When: 2:45 p.m. Sunday March 8, 2009
Who: Pilot Roger Hershner was the only one aboard.
Why: The helicopter crashed after being in route for 2 hours; the crash is under investigation.
On April 18, 2013, on landing in Lansing Michigan, a Boeing 737 owned by SUN COUNTRY suffered an incident. Almost landing, actually. We presume gusty conditions.
On approach, a wing struck the runway.
The crew aborted the landing, and diverted to Detroit where they made a safe landing.
There were no injuries reported and the degree of damage to the wing and the rest of the plane has not been released.
