Remember

Everyone aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 passed away on March 24, 2015.

One hundred fifty fatalities, from infant to senior. Passed away is a soft euphemism, not adequately reflecting the chasm left in those who were left behind. But the memory of those who were lost remains. If nothing else, the memory is an inheritance, even maybe a lesson to families to live in the moment. The families persist, still fighting on behalf of those they lost, for justice and compensation for something that can never truly be replaced. How sad that these lost souls had to travel to that point in place and time to lose their lives on a lonely mountain.

I believe these lost passengers and crew have left a legacy to their families, to be strong and proud and kind.

Strong in the backbone and endurance to brave the next day, knowing that gradually, each day carries a little less pain than the one before.

Proud in that strength of yesterday, today, and the time to come.

Kind in sharing compassion and empathy with the suffering of everyone aboard, everyone left behind, regardless.

I have met so many of these families. Their cause gives my life meaning. I will never forget them, and consider it an honor to fight alongside them for truth, for justice, and for equity.

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Continental Ships Minors to Wrong Destination. 2x

George’s Point of View

Oops. And Oops again.

Taylor Williams of College Station got on a plane to go to Charlotte North Carolina. Only the plane ended up in Fayetteville, Ark., instead of Charlotte, N.C. She got to see a little more of the country than she’d bargained for. But then they figured out the mistake and sent her to Houston, and then to Charlotte, where she finally ended up with her father who was no doubt going crazy with worry.

Did I mention she is eight years old?

Then there’s Miriam Kamens. Miriam took off from Logan Airport in Boston to go to Cleveland to visit her grandparents. But SHE ended up in Newark NJ. And Miriam isn’t 8. She’s 10.

Apparently Continental Airlines has a little problem getting unaccompanied minors to their exact destinations.

There was a time when children flying alone on a plane had to do something really embarrassing, like wear a notebook sized placard around their neck with their destination written on it.

Maybe they should start doing that again. On the other hand…there’s no actual proof that airline staff can actually read.

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Airbus Yesterday, Air France Today: Justice Wheels Grind Slowly

George’s Point of View


Thursday’s news was that Airbus is being investigated for Air France Flight 447. Airbus officials made a public statement that they “strongly disapprove” of the decision, (no doubt!) but would comply with the investigation. Note to readers: This is law, not option. So let’s take that cooperation with a grain of salt, shall we? When the judge tells you that you’re being investigated, you say, “Yes Ma’am.”

March 20 is the date the search starts again, more on that below.

So yesterday, Thursday, was Airbus’s turn in court–
Today, Friday, Air France has been called in its turn before a judge in France to get its hand slapped. Or get in preparation to get its hand slapped, in ten years or so. Anyway, Air France is also on the mat.

Or, as they call it in France, (to be purists here) Mise en examen

This is a criminal investigation. It is a matter of FRENCH LAW. As it was explained to me, “Every air accident is also a criminal matter, and a judge is appointed to oversee the investigation and follow up including charges if any to be filed.”

So what was the problem with the flight? It crashed. It killed lots of people No one knows for sure why. (Though to some of us it seems obvious.) No black boxes, right? But we’re not idiots. We have plenty of information about what was going on. Not everything, of course, but we have the messages sent by the plane’s computers. They reflect faulty readings which are believed to be the result of faulty pitot tube readings and a series of system failures. We would have a rounder picture of events if the black boxes, which hold crucial information were not misplaced somewhere in the Atlantic. They think they know where it is, (or at least they say they know or say they think they know) based on drift and whatnot (heavy on the whatnot.) But millions have been spent finding this needle in a stack of needles under the ocean, in a submarine mountain range. Nearly 30 million dollars has been spent on the search for the black boxes so far. The cost of the new search is shared by Airbus and Air France and will cost 12.5 million.

What about the details about the mise en examen preliminary manslaughter charges filed Thursday against Airbus? They were filed in French court by Judge Sylvie Zimmerman over the 2009 deaths of 228 people aboard Air France Flight 447. Fatal accidents automatically prompt criminal probes running concurrent with civil investigations, but a couple of points which may not be obvious to Americans not versed in French Justice are that the charges may be issued pending further investigation, and may hinge on the black boxes which have not been found and may never be found; AND the dual investigation slows things down. That may be one item that delayed the Concord trial 10 years after the accident. You’ve seen pictures of a guy walking around with a tiny ankle-biting dog chewing on the hem of one pants leg? Well, instead of a chihuahua, picture the entire french justice system. Might tend to slow down ones progress, do you think?

So Air France will be in court Friday, ie today. Watch the news, because what we saw yesterday about Airbus, we’ll see today about Air France. I hope the families are getting some satisfaction from this, because it is going to be a long (long long long) time before they feel like they’re actually being heard, not herded into obscurity.

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Virgin Aborted Takeoff–Etc…

A Virgin Airlines flight taking off from Canberra aborted takeoff to avoid an incoming flight viewed by other passengers crossing in front of them to the left. Noteworthy is a report that the Virgin Airline pilots hit the brakes when ATC said “Actually, stop, because we’ve decided we’ll let this other aircraft land first and then you can take off.” Another non-collision is a good thing; as nerve-wracking as a rejected take-0ff can be, obviously it’s better than the alternative.

Boeing studies indicate one in 2000 takeoffs are aborted, though early rejected takeoffs may not always be reported.

A 1992 Takeoff Safety Training Aid Aid by the FAA says that

  • More than half the RTO accidents and incidents reported in the past 30 years were initiated from a speed in excess of V1.
  • About one-third were reported as occurring on runways that were wet or contaminated with snow or ice.
  • Only slightly more than one-fourth of the accidents and incidents actually involved any loss of engine thrust.
  • Nearly one-fourth of the accidents and incidents were the result of wheel or tire failures.
  • Approximately 80 percent of the overrun events were potentially avoidable by following appropriate operational practices.

For passengers, the terrors of flight are certainly eased when there is some explanation to go along with the crisis. Perhaps a lack of narration can be forgiven if the pilot has his hands full averting a would be crisis. Still, a couple of word scan be very comforting and enlightening.

Personally, I can say this:

Molly and I experienced a aborted takeoff from Athens.

We were past the half way mark for sure and later were told the pilot had a warning light.

The plane came to a screeching halt taking maybe 45 seconds or more to bring it to a halt.

It is a scary situation, especially since the crew in the cockpit are dealing with whatever needs to be handled and we passengers are told NOTHING.

Maybe daredevils and roller-coaster enthusiasts would get a kick out of it, but it was a kick I’d have just as well gone without.

The plane was filled with people. We all weathered it pretty darn well. I heard no screams or crying, but they’d have had to be pretty loud, because my own heartbeat drowned out everything else. I’m sure there were a lot of rapid heartbeats that moment in that plane.

But I am here now, thanks to that pilot and crew handling a situation they might not even have called a crisis.

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Warsaw: An opinion

What: LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Newark,NJ (USA) to Warsaw (Poland) with 220 passengers and 11 crew
Where: Warsaw
When: Nov 1st 2011
Who: 220 passengers and 11 crew

Belly landings happen frequently enough that there is a checklist of procedures. What makes it difficult? Visualize how a match works. Then think about that plane landing, full of fuel, scraping on the runway. That’s what makes it difficult.

There are basic procedures that are performed. Consider that a 767-300ER has a total of 24,140 gallons, or 161,800 pounds in two wing tanks at 6,070 gallons (or 40,700 pounds), and a center tank at 12,000 gallons, or 80,400 pounds. ( Landing heavy on wheels would cause a wheel or brake fire.) In a gear up landing, the pilot has to lighten the plane by burning off and/or dumping fuel; and in the meantime, the crew does their best to get the gear to work. If they do not, they have to land with the nose up, on a long runway on fire retardant foam. Of course nothing is certain till the investigation is complete, but in my opinion, the crew did a stellar job. And everyone survived, which is what most matters.

Dumping fuel and spending eighty minutes circling Warsaw would not have been enough to completely burn off fuel. There was still the danger of fire as the flight was landing. Flight and cabin crew took every precaution. The landing appeared picture perfect, sliding smoothy on the fuselage. Inside the plane, the passengers were quietly terrified.

It may be that the pilot’s glider experience was a help. Between you and me, it looks a lot smoother if you watch the videos with the sound off, so you don’t hear metal screaming against pavement.

The airport was well prepared, and crews foamed the runway with flame retardant in advance, and stopped any fires from spreading. There is plenty of footage of sparks and flames from the friction of the weight and force of the fuselage driving forward, and yet it came to rest with remarkably little damage.

The emergency crews did their job. So did the pilots, and so did the flight crew. The flight crew secured the stairs in place as soon as the plane was at a standstill. Passengers could not have moved out of the jet and on to the runway any faster.

It isn’t that common for all the gears to fail, but less common for all of them to fail at the same time. . My pilot-experts tell me that the most likely way for the hydraulics of all three landing gear to fail is total loss of fluid. There’s an alternate system; the alternate system for landing gear performs as a combination of electricity and gravity. You release the electronic locks, and gravity kicks in. I don’t think I have seen a reason given why the alternative system failed, but that would seem to be an electrical problem.

But enough speculation–the investigation will reveal everything. For now it certainly appears that even if the gear system failed, the human system did not.

We hear so many bad things about pilots, and airlines, about the entire industry. Aviation watchdogs were badmouthing the industry yesterday, and will be doing so again tomorrow, but for today, it is refreshing to hear something good. What I am hearing about the expertise of the Polish flight crew and airport is all commendable. LOT, you did well. First Officer Jerzy Szwarc and Captain Wrona, you have made your mark in history with the lives you saved today. The Polish media has been hungry for heroes to balance the April 2010 disaster, and now they have you.

Already there is already a polish jingle that is a play on the pilot’s name, Captain Wrona. Wrona means “crow.”

“Lataj jak orze?, l?duj jak Wrona”
This translates to:
“Fly like an eagle, land like a Crow”

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Plane Crashes in South Bend

The pilot of a Montana Beechcraft Premier I Twin Jet en route from Tulsa Oklahoma attempted a landing about 4:15 p.m but aborted to make a go round.

The pilot failed to return to the airport.

Eight minutes later, the 7700 Enterprises-owned plane crashed near South Bend Regional Airport on March 17, 2013. The jet clipped a house, damaged the next, and impacted the final house where it came to rest.

Leaking fuel posed a danger so area electricity was cut off. Two fatalities were reported, including Wes Caves, the owner of the business that owns the plane.

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Update on United 777 Diversion to Henderson Field Airport Midway Atoll.

midwayatoll

United Airlines revealed what went wrong on Flight 201.

A problem with the equipment supply cooling fan on board the Boeing 777 caused the problems which required the pilots to divert to Midway to land there in the dark. The passengers waited in a gym until the replacement flight arrived.

The plane that flew in to Midway to pick up the passengers also brought parts and a repair crew. The plane with the bad fan was fixed, and returned from Midway Island back to San Francisco.

In fact, it was returned to service.

Now we’d like to hear about the passengers getting their luggage back.

Read More

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