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Firefighters Tanker Goes Down Fighting Wildfire


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Mike Freer

What: Neptune Aviation Services Inc.Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune
Where: Iron County, Utah
When: June 3, 2012, 1 pm
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: While fighting a fire east of the Utah/Nevada border, two fire fighting pilots working with the Ely division of the Bureau of Land Management lost their lives.

The plane was carrying 2000 gallons of water and 1,600 gallons of fuel, and was approaching the fire when it crashed in rocky terrain.

Pilot 48-year-old Todd Tompkins, and co- pilot, Ronnie Chambless, 40 were on their second run dropping retardant on the fire when the plane went down.

No probable cause of the accident has been released.

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    Greece-bound Boeing Diverts to Boston


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer N94504

    What: Continental Airlines Boeing 767-400 en route from Newark to Athens
    Where: Boston
    When: June 11, 2010
    Who: 233: 220 passengers and 13 crew
    Why: After the pilot had reported smoke in the cockpit, the flight was diverted to Logan International Airport for safety reasons. A replacement jet was provided; and no cause has been released as to the source of the smoke.

    George’s Point of View

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    SAS Iced en Route


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Ruby Allesina

    What: SAS Scandinavian Canadair CRJ-900 en route from Copenhagen Denmark to Helsinki Finland
    Where: Copenhagen
    When: Dec 28th 2009
    Who: not available
    Why: While en route, the pilot determined that deicing had failed. (Prior to taking off in icy weather, planes are treated with icing retardant. One can presume that the plane was icing over in spite of the de-icing procedure.) Also, conditions in Helsinki were a factor.

    At the time of this posting, these are the weather conditions in Helsinki:

    TAF – Terminal Area Forecast
    Updated at 10:50 PM GMT on December 28, 2009 (12:50 AM EET):
    TAF EFHK 282035Z 2821/2921 15009KT 9999 SCT008 BKN013
    TEMPO 2821/2906 BKN008
    TEMPO 2909/2921 2000 SN BKN003=
    Decoded:
    ID: EFHK Helsinki/Vantaa, FI
    REPORT TIME: 28 20:35
    VALID TIME: 28 December AT 21:00Z to 29 December AT 21:00Z.
    INITIAL WX
    WINDS: 150 AT 9
    CLOUDS: 8 SCT
    CLOUDS: 13 BKN
    TEMPORARY WX FROM 21Z TO 06Z
    CLOUDS: 8 BKN
    TEMPORARY WX FROM 09Z TO 21Z
    VISIBILITY: 1.2 MILES
    WEATHER: SN
    CLOUDS: 3 BKN

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    Turkish Boeing Lands Safely on One Engine


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Tommy Desmet

    What: Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Istanbul to Stuttgart
    Where: Istanbul
    When: Jan 28th 2010
    Who: 42 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, the flight crew found an (undesignated) problem in the left engine. That engine was shut down, and the flight returned to Ataturk Airport for a safe landing. Passengers were rebooked when the flight was cancelled.

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    27 Perish in Kaimana Bay in Merpati Crash

    What: Merpati Nusantara Xian MA-60 en route from Sorong to Kaimana
    Where: Kaimana, West Papua
    When: May 7, 2010 12:21 pm
    Who: 21 passengers (including 2 children and a baby), 4 crew, 2 technicians
    Why: After flying a holding pattern for a quarter of an hour, the plane was on its final approach when it crashed in shallow water .3 miles before it reached the runway. On impact with the water, the plane broke in two and sank, with the passengers trapped within. Officials say bad weather and low visibility (6,600 ft) are responsible for the crash.

    The divers recovering the bodies from Kaimana Bay have been hampered by heavy rain; those recovered were described as “not intact.”

    The Chinese-made plane was new and only had been in operation for just over 600 hours, since its purchase in October. Merpati flies three other Xian MA-60s’.

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    Plane Crash at Anchorage’s Merrill Field Airport Kills Pilot

    UntitledA 1964 Piper PA-12 plane crashed during takeoff from the runway 7/25 of Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, at about 8:24 a.m. on July 2.

    The pilot identified as Charles Hancock, 61, died in the crash. The NTSB investigator Cathy Gagne confirmed that he was the only person aboard the aircraft and had made contact with the Merrill Field tower before the plane crashed.

    The police and Anchorage fire department responded to the scene.

    According to eye witnesses, the plane was airborne before it crashed nose-down.

    All runways at the airport were closed following the crash. They were later re-opened after removing the plane by 11 a.m.

    Hancock was the owner and operator of a urethane insulation contractor, AIC Foam and Coatings.

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    Helicopter Crash in Russia; German tourists lost

    What: Kamchatka Airlines Mil Mi-8T helicopter
    Where: Elizovo, Kamchatka Russia
    When: April 9 2010
    Who: 18 aboard, 7 fatalities
    Why: After an avalanche, the bodies of 7 German tourists aboard a helicopter have been recovered. Two survivors (the captain and one tourist) have been taken to a medical center and search is ongoing for the rest of those aboard. Inhospitable mountainous terrain is impeding the search

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