Hong Kong Airlines flight HX-690 had to return and make an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on December 11th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Sapporo, Japan, but had to turn back due to an engine failure.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Yemenia Air Airbus 310 flight 626 en route from Yemen’s capital Sanaa to the Comoros Islands crashed on the second pass to land at the ill-equipped airport during heavy weather.
Westlake Village, California (Press Release) July 8, 2009 — A lawyer has contacted George Hatcher to dispatch a team of his consultant staff to work on the Yemenia Air crash. The latest development in this recent aviation disaster is that the thirteen bodies found by fishermen 500 miles away from the Comoros Islands may be victims who have drifted from the Yemenia Airbus crash. On its second pass at attempting a landing at the airport during a fearsome storm off the Comoros, the Yemenia Airlines Airbus flew into the ocean, killing 141 passengers and 11 crew members. This is the second Airbus lost at sea in a single month, and the crash points to an ominous trend toward a lessening of safety in aviation. Bahia’s survival and thirteen hour ordeal clutching at floating debris while suffering a broken collarbone, and too weak to climb into the rescue boat is one that clutches at our heartstrings, especially when we find out that her mother died in the crash. Bahia was flown back to her family in Marseilles. But that is not the end of the story.
Almost half of the dead were French citizens; and French citizens are up in arms over Yemenia Air. Having failed required criteria, the Airbus involved in the incident was under scrutiny, and not allowed to fly in French airspace; but the plane was allowed to regularly fly to Comoros, a poor island society with an ill-equipped airport. There is culpability to be assigned here, though it is all speculation until the black boxes are found. A 40 year veteran of litigation investigation and evaluation (including aviation,) George Hatcher explains that he was contacted by a lawyer working, “on behalf of some families, and we have dispatched a team there to assist.”
The thirteen bodies that were just found washed ashore on “Mafia Island,” some 500 miles from the site of the crash. A wing with “Airbus” scribed on it, and a plane seat were found in close proximity to the bodies. However, the black boxes have NOT been found yet; and the vast distance that the wreckage traveled bodes ill for the prospects of finding them.
There is already a group organized to protest the substandard plane accommodations. Spokesperson Farid Solihi of the protest group “SOS voyage aux Comores” has been an outspoken detractor of intolerable conditions aboard flights to and from Comoros. Hopefully the Hatcher team will be able to make contact with Solihi or some other “SOS voyage aux Comores” member.
About George Hatcher
George Hatcher is an independent generalist, a consultant dedicated to the support of the victims of aviation incidents or accidents. Known internationally, Hatcher works with well known lawyers, and develops crack teams to help support litigation, communication, and safety initiatives. To read further about the company, visit http://aircrashconsultants.com
Contact: george@georgehatcher.com
Aviation Consultants
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Stefan Sonnenberg
What: Swiss International Airlines Airbus A340-300 en route from Sao Paulo Brazil to Zurich Switzerland
Where: Sao Paulo
When: Jan 17th 2010
Who: not available
Why: On takeoff, the flight crew reported they had a cracked windshield. They entered a holding pattern, dumped fuel and landed safely under emergency overweight conditions.
Croatia Airlines flight OU-631 made an emergency landing in Zadar. Croatia, on February 5th.
The plane was flying from Pula, Croatia, when a bird struck it, prompting the crew to declare an emergency.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 23 passengers aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Sergey Nesterenko
What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Brussels to Taba
Where: Athens
When: Mar 8th 2010
Who: not available
Why: While en route, the crew noticed fumes in the cabin, and diverted to Athens where they made a safe landing. An alternative flight was provided.
Air Canada flight 623 made an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada, on January 8.
According to the airline, the pilot reported an “acrid odour” and requested an emergency landing back at the airport. The plane was heading to Toronto at the time.
The Embraer 190 regional jet landed safely.
All 66 passengers remained unhurt.
Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-750 suffered a bird strike on landing in Hyderabad, India, on August 6th.
The incident happened when the Airbus A330-300 plane was coming from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The plane rolled out uneventfully.
Everyone aboard remained unharmed.