NordStar Airlines flight TYA-62 had to return and make an emergency landing in Kyzyl, Russia, on September 8th.
The plane heading to Krasnojarsk, Russia, had to turn back due to an indication that a cargo door was open.
The plane landed safely. There were 29 passengers and 3 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
After four emergency landings in Guam in the past couple of weeks, Continental/United made a statement to the press.
Actually, four emergency landings…that’s not that unusual, is it? Of course, they were all at the same airport, with the same airline. I’ve written here recently about shabby looking, poorly maintained commercial airlines. As frequently as I fly, I really do not want to worry about whether or not a plane is capable of staying in the air. I don’t want to worry about a crew with a crippling pecking order, or pilots who don’t know how to fly. I really don’t want to worry about a broken plane.
I am always pointing out the need for maintenance to keep a plane in peak running order. Maintenance is important; and also, the pilots tell me that it is crucial to keep an eye on safety directives, and concurrent events which may reveal crucial matters affecting entire fleets, such as operating parts nearing the end of their lifespan, faulty parts, etc…
So someone should maybe look closely at those flights, and see if there is some factor that applies. Better to have prevention now, beforehand, than have a disaster happen, and lawyers looking into it after it is too late. Have these Guam flights been problematic in the past? Why are there problems now?I might ask how necessary are those flights?
About those 4 landings, Koji Nagata Director of Corporate Communications said that:
“We treat any issue aboard our aircraft seriously and our pilots will not hesitate to declare an emergency, when the situation warrants, in ensuring landing priority and returning our passengers and crew safely to the ground as quickly as possible. Typically a declaration of an emergency is precautionary in nature, as was true with both cases in question, and the situations were effectively managed without incident.”
Sure it would be great to never have emergencies. However. The time to handle an emergency IS BEFORE it turns tragic. Being able to handle emergencies is one safety skill at the top of the list of pilot skills, and one that can not be separated from the other skill that is becoming alarming among pilots (pilots who are losing the ability to fly due to automation.)
Sometimes factors are not clear. For example, it is true that in some recent tragic situations like the RusAir jet crash I talked about yesterday, there was a problem in the cockpit that prevented the crew from coping with the emergency. Bad flying? Primitive Airport? Insubordinate navigator and Inexperienced pilot? But it all came down to one conclusion: together or not, at that date and time, they were unable to cope with their emergency-bad weather, foggy landing, a plane that is a flying behemoth landing in a primitive airport, and they took down a whole plane full of people with them.
And as for the four emergency landings Continental/United experienced recently:
-the air speed indicator (PITOT tubes? like in AF447),
– -two landing gear situations
-and in the Guam flight CO-117, altitude equipment failure (another tube?)
The landing gear situations could reflect bad tires, hydraulics, landing at too fast, or even runway conditions; altitude and airspeed problems could be anything on the system, from the tubes to the electronics. Only detailed examination will reveal if there is some common cause
The planes landed safely. An emergency landing, a precautionary landing (whatever they want to call it), they handled the emergencies proactively, and landed safely. It is a whole lot better than the alternative.
All Nippon Airways flight NH-629 made an emergency landing at Kansai International Airport, Japan, on June 27th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane heading from Tokyo to Kagoshima, Japan, was diverted due to the loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and five passengers and eight crew members remained unharmed.
PSA Airlines flight AA-5394 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Dayton, Ohio, on January 15.
The Canadair CRJ-700 aircraft was en-route from Des Moines, Iowa, to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia, when the crew decided to divert due to hydraulic failure.
The plane, being operated on behalf of American Airlines, landed uneventfully. There were 69 passengers aboard at the time; all of the remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement aircraft for the passengers.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-1914 had to divert and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport, Illinois, on June 12th.
The Boeing 737-700 flying from Chicago, Illinois, to Connecticut, had to divert due to engine failure.
The plane landed safely.
All one hundred thirty-nine passengers remained safe.
A military plane made an emergency landing at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 30th.
Authorities said the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft declared an emergency after experiencing a lightning strike over Chicago.
The plane burst two of its tires as it landed.
Everyone aboard remained safe.
Lufthansa flight LH-689 made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on December 26th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Munich, Germany, was diverted after electrical smoke was noticed in aft galley.
The plane landed uneventfully. All eighty-one people aboard remained safe.
