Nabro

Nabro volcano, Eritrea sends ash plume more than 13.5 kilometres into the sky and disrupting air traffic across eastern Africa.
Nasa photo
Volcano Nabro in Eritrea


Volcano Nabro erupted today throwing ash clouds up to 13.5 kilometres.The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) said Monday that the 5,331 ft volcano has resulted in a large ash plume of up to 13.5 kilometres (8 miles) high. The scale of the eruption, compared to the ongoing eruption in Chile and 2010?s eruption at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, remains unclear. Ash is falling on the northern Ethiopian town of Mekele. The ash advisory issued by the VAAC (see below graphics) is predicting that the Ash plume will spread towards the Middle East Monday night.

Puyehue

Puyehue Volcano in Lago Ranco, Río Bueno and Puyehue Chile
Puyehue Volcano in Lago Ranco, Río Bueno and Puyehue Chile
The Puyehue Volcano in the Andes
The Puyehue eruption began June 4th, 2011 when 3,500 people were evacuated. First the local airport was closed, then cancellation of hundreds of flights have continued this last week and a half. As of Friday, the cloud spread causing cancellations across South America towards Uruguay and into Brazil.

*Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa.

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Congonhas Closed till Noon

On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, Congonhas diverted 8 flights due to bad weather in SP. 32 departures and arrivals were delayed and 17 were cancelled.

Infraero announced cancellation of two flights to the Santos Dumont Airport and two for the Galleon, both in Rio, one for Viracopos, in Campinas, one for the Afonso Pena, Curitiba, and one for the airport of Curitiba.

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Lebanon Crash Investigation Hung Up


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner

Lebanon’s public works minister announced the investigation report (re: Ethiopian jet that crashed into the Mediterranean in 2010 four minutes after takeoff on Jan. 25, 2010) has been finalized.

Ethiopia Airlines accused Lebanon of failing to provide evidence critical to the investigation. According to the airline, “The Lebanese government had failed to deliver documents, evidence, and data critical to the investigation.”

Ethiopia Airlines said that the report is only in the technical stage, that the analysis has not begin. Therefore the report is not finalized.

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Recent Crash Timeline

2009

22 March: A small plane crashes shy of the Butte, Montana, airport killing 17 adults and children.

25 February: Istanbul to Amsterdam crashes shy of the runway at Schiphol international airport. Nine are killed and at least 50 injured. 150 on board.

12 February: Buffalo, New York, killing 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

8 February: Amazonas, Brazil, killing 24 people, most of whom were from the same family.

15 January: A US Airways Hudson River in New York. All 150 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots are rescued. No loss of life.

2008

14 September: Boeing-737 crashes on landing near Perm, Russia killing all 88 passengers and crew members

24 August: Passenger plane crashes after take-off from Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, killing 68 people.

20 August: Spanair plane veers off the runway on take-off at Madrid’s Barajas airport, killing 154 people, injuring 18.

2 May: Engine trouble crashes a plane carrying a military delegation west of Juba. 22 dead.

15 April: DC-9 skids off the runway on take off in Goma Congo during heavy rain, smashing through a wall and into residential area. 40 die

24 January: Polish Casa C-295M military transport plane crashes killing officials who had attended an air safety conference. Nineteen die.

2007

30 November: 56 die on Atlasjet flight when it crashes in Isparta province 7.5 miles from Isparta airport near the town of Keciborlu.

16 September: 87 people die in One-Two-Go plane crashed bad weather at Phuket Thailand.

17 July: TAM jet crashes at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, in Brazil. All 186 on board die and 13 on the ground.

5 May: Kenya Airways’ Boeing 737-800 crashes in southern Cameroon swamp, killing 114 on board.

2006

29 September: Boeing 737 kills 154 passengers and crew crashed i Amazon rainforest in Brazil, killing all on board, after midair collision.

27 August: Comair CRJ-100 jet goes down in Kentucky, killing 49.

22 August: Russian Tupolev-154 passenger plane with 170 people on board crashes north of Donetsk, Ukraine.

9 July: Russian S7 Airbus A-310 skids off the runway during landing at Irkutsk airport in Siberia 124 on board die. 50 survive.

3 May: Armavia Airbus A-320 crashes in Black Sea near Sochi, killing all 113.

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Air Blue Families Safety Activists

As long as we’re talking about efforts made toward safer skies in Pakistan, we should mention Hans Ephraimson-Abt, the Air Crash Victims Families Group and the Air Blue Families which have been instrumental in:

  • Obtaining interesting progressive and unprecedented rulings from the Peshwar High Court;
  • Obtaining from the Government and Parliament, with the input of the Air Blue 202 families, a new progressive new Air Law;
  • “Lessons Learned” from past experiences;
  • 118 victims in BOJAH B4-123 were positively identified within 24 hours (in the fastest proceedings of other tragedies substantial ID took 4 days in Comair 191 (Lexington, KY);
  • The first 18 burials took place within 24 hours (Saturday);
  • 35 more burials and services could be conducted on Sunday;
  • The Government mandated the inspection of all commercial planes with the exception of PIA that had already been inspected previously.

    I can not emphasize too much how important the Family Association can be. A strong Family Association meets regularly and develops strategies to make sure that their voice is heard. They have a forum to express valid criticisms of flying conditions, the investigation, or other concerns that may develop. What is more important is that sometimes they have the strength to affect change to avoid future tragedies—as they are working to do in Pakistan. And when one Family Association has successes, it can be “catching”.

    In a recent case in Brazil, the Family Association pressured not only the airline company but the military, federal aviation department, and the airport commission all of whom were suspected to have contributed to the accident. The association pushed for criminal prosecution of those who were negligent, as well as against those who allowed wrongdoing to occur. And they didn’t stop there. Leaders like the secretary of Associação Brasileira de Parentes e Amigos das Vítimas de Acidentes Aéreo Christophe Haddad—who lost his fourteen year old daughter to the Tam crash—lend their experience and passion for justice—to other families struck down by tragedy. As Christophe recently told me “Again and again we see the same picture. Pain, sorrow, tragedy, families broken…Hard to comment about but here we are again.”

    With help from men like Christophe Haddad and Hans Ephraimson-ABT, the Air Blue Family Association is developing its own teachers, leaders, and power of influence. In Pakistan, we look forward to when the Air Blue Family Association may become equally as instrumental a force for change in Pakistan as the Brazil group is in Brazil. There is power in right. There is strength in numbers.

    Since 1985, Hans Ephraimson-ABT has been the Chairman of “The American Association for Families of KAL007 Victims.” Since 2000 he has been the spokesman for the “Air Crash Victims Families Group” and is also an invited observer delegate at the “International Civil Aviation Organization.” His group is a model for other groups, and he is a frequent spokesman. He has stakeholder status at the European Union. During the past 26 years, he has participated and served in various capacities in workgroups at the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, two Presidential Commissions, the Task Force that implemented the “Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996” and subsequently the ICAO “Guide on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families” of 2001. He has been invited to testify before Committees of the US Senate and the House of Representatives. He was one of the original members of the air carrier focus groups that developed and subsequently implemented post-crash crisis management plans in the United States. Since 1996, he has been asked to assist airlines and governments with the resolution of air transportation tragedies, including the “September 11, 2001 Victims Compensation Fund” and as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the “Families of September 11th Association.” He is often invited to participate and speak at international conferences and he is a published author. He is not a disinterested observer in the fight for aviation safety. He is a survivor. In 1983, his daughter Alice Ephraimson-Abt was aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by a Soviet pilot.

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    FAA Issues Battery Statement. And Me Too…Attention, Boeing…

    My experts are telling me that it looks like Boeing is all alone on these 787 battery fires. The FAA issued 31 ‘Special Conditions’ (you can read that to mean that the FAA gave Boeing a whole lot of slack) but this battery problem is not getting a free ride, or any favors.

    SAFETY is the top priority. Make no mistake. The sooner the Dreamliner and its battery is grounded, the sooner the fix will be found and it will be safe to fly again. Well. While you’re at it fixing the battery problem, get that team of pilots who fly this thing to go over all areas of failure thus far, including the engines. Look at ALL of these…

    • Nov 6 2010: Boeing flight Texas: electrical problems in the aft electronics bay which disabled the primary flight displays in the cockpit.
    • Nov 6 2011: ANA Flight Okayama forced to deploy the landing gear using the alternate extension backup system, after an active warning light, which said that the wheels were not properly down.
    • July 28 2012: Boeing Flight Charleston: contained engine failure during a taxi test at Charleston International Airport PRE Delivery Taxi test. Debris fell from engine
    • Dec 4, 2012: United over Mississippi: “multiple messages” regarding flight-system errors, and diverted to New Orleans (KMSY). The problems occurred when one of the plane’s generators failed. Power was supplied to the aircraft with the five functioning generators.
    • Jan 7, 2013: JAL Boston: fire was discovered in a battery and electrical compartment of the aircraft.
    • Jan 8, 2013: JAL Boston: 40 gallons of fuel had spilled from one of its wing tanks at the gate. The plane was contacted before takeoff and it returned to the terminal without incident. Probably a case of overfilling the tank.
    • Jan 9, 2013: ANA Yamaguchi: Brake problems
    • Jan 16, 2013: ANA Takamatsu: instrument indications of smoke in the forward electrical compartment. No fire was found.

    Boeing? Are you listening? I fly everywhere, all over the world but at the moment, I’m not comfortable getting on this great plane that I really want to love for future travel. I’m am confident you can do it, even if all of these wrinkles are going to mean you need to bring in the really big iron. We need all the finders and fixers on this! The world has places to go and things to do, and you’re holding their safety in the palm of your hand.

    The Emergency Airworthiness Directive has been issued. Issued Jan 16, 2013
    and here is their announcement:

    As a result of an in-flight, Boeing 787 battery incident earlier today in Japan, the FAA will issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) to address a potential battery fire risk in the 787 and require operators to temporarily cease operations. Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered, Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the batteries are safe.
    The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.
    The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013. The AD is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery. The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes. The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment.

    Last Friday, the FAA announced a comprehensive review of the 787’s critical systems with the possibility of further action pending new data and information. In addition to the continuing review of the aircraft’s design, manufacture and assembly, the agency also will validate that 787 batteries and the battery system on the aircraft are in compliance with the special condition the agency issued as part of the aircraft’s certification.

    United Airlines is currently the only U.S. airline operating the 787, with six airplanes in service. When the FAA issues an airworthiness directive, it also alerts the international aviation community to the action so other civil aviation authorities can take parallel action to cover the fleets operating in their own countries.

    See Directive:

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