Boeing advised Japan’s Mitsubishi Regional Jet to revamp the design of their upcoming 70-90 seat airliner MRJ by increasing cabin and cargo space and switching to aluminium for the wings, from carbon-fibre.
US carrier Trans States has signed a letter of intent for 50 orders of this, the first jet to be developed in Japan. The jets are expected to be in circulation by 2014.
A ruling by Kentucky Supreme Court regarding the Comair crash that killed 49 people in 2006 says that as part of the county government, Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport cannot be held accountable.
While not the primary factor, poor runway markings, bad signs, and lighting problems contributed to the accident. The crash is being blamed on decisions made by the pilots.
Since the crash, have markings, signs and lighting been improved? If so, then it would seem that any such revisions made to improve conditions stand as testament to acknowledge pre-existing problems.
The sovereign state can do no wrong?
What country are we in, anyway.
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Contact photographer Jason Whitebird
What: British Airways Boeing 747-400 en route from Mumbai to London
Where: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
When: Thursday Oct 1 2009
Who: 207 passengers
Why: Half an hour after takeoff, the fire alarm went off in the cockpit. The plane immediately returned to the airport, landing an hour after takeoff. Passengers debarked safely.
The only heat maintenance found was hot brakes.
It’s published so it must be true. Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger–hero of the Jan. 15 Airbus A320 miracle landing on the Hudson–is going to be part of US Airways Flight operations safety management team. This means he’ll be handling regular flights and also they’re giving him a suit and making him management. (Or would that be the uniform with the really shiny epaulettes?)
Never has anyone deserved recognition more.
Do you hear us Sully? We’re still applauding.
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Contact photographer David Field
What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 en route from Frankfurt/Main to Vancouver
Where: Vancouver,BC
When: Sep 30th 2009
Who: 1 injury
Why: After landing, a piece of the galley fell on someone causing an injury.
Pictured: an R-44 Astro
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Contact photographer Jaroslaw Zaczek
What: R-44 Astro Helicopter
Where: Mount Charleston.NV
When: Sept 26 2009, 7 p.m
Who: pilot and 2 passengers
Why: Currently the FAA report only says “A ROBINSON R44 ROTORCRAFT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, NEAR MOUNT CHARLESTON, NV.”
Three people were rescued after the place crashed into the mountain and burst into flames. One person is being treated for burns, one for undisclosed foot injuries, and one person had no visible injuries.
The accident is under investigation.
Three cheers to Boeing for wiring changes before anything bad
happened
Supplier Spirit AeroSystems announced that Boeing will be introducing a new wiring standard for the 787 to reduce weight, improve maintainability and address a spacing issue between wires.
The revised wiring standard is known as NC5 or Net Change 5 which is planned for entry into service for the 787 by the end of 2010 should deal with eliminating a problem with the original configuration picking up signals jumping from wire to wire.
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Contact photographer Jerome Zbinden
What: Eurofly Airbus A-330 en route from the Seychelles to Milan Italy
Where: Cairo airport
When: 9-27-2009
Who: 235 people on board
Why: While en route, the plane experienced an engine problem and had to shut down one of its engines. On landing, passengers were provided accommodations and an alternative flight on a Neos Boeing to continue to their destination.
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Contact Photographer Frank Robitaille
What: Continental Airlines Flight 3407, Bombardier Q400 turboprop operated by regional carrier Colgan Air en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Where: Clarence Center, New York.
When: Thursday Feb 12 2009 10 pm.
Who: 44 passengers and four crew members, 1 off-duty pilot, 1 person on the ground, all fatalities. The passenger manifest has not officially been released.
Why: The New Jersey-to-Buffalo flight was cleared to land on a runway pointing to the southwest. But the plane crashed with its nose pointed to the northeast. Seconds after two automatic warnings to the pilots that the plane was not moving fast enough to stay aloft, the twin turboprop aircraft went through a “severe pitch and roll” after positioning its flaps for a landing. It did not dive into the house, as initially thought, but landed flat on the house.
Although Icing is emerged as a factor for why flight 3047 fell, it has been found that the flight’s captain had lied on his job application to Colgan Air and only reported one of three failed FAA check rides. The co-pilot who could not afford to live in NY on her salary had flight-hopped across the country from Seattle and is recorded mentioning “a couch with her name on it.” The FAA investigators believe pilots made errors that contributed to the crash.
What: helicopter
Where: Tanglewood Golf Course in East Drumore Township
When: September 26, 2009
Who: pilot
Why: The helicopter was attempting a special landing for a fundraising tournament when it clipped a statue on the golf course then crashed.
Pictured: Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800
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Contact photographer Florent Metra
What: Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800 en route from Paris to Singapore
Where: Paris
When: Sep 27th 2009
Who: 444 passengers
Why: South of Krakow (Poland), an oil leak was detected in the outboard left engine so it was shut down. The flight returned to Paris over five hours after departure and landed safely.
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Contact photographer Felix Sieder
What: Continental Airlines / Express Jet Embraer en route from Houston to Omaha
Where: Eppley Airfield
When: 2:40 p.m. Thursday
Who: 3 crew 49 passengers
Why: While descending to land, the plane’s automatic pressurization system failed . Oxygen masks were released for passengers. The emergency pressurization system was activated manually. Passengers did feel the pressure. One woman was treated for bleeding from the ears.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,555660,00.html
What: Helicopter out of Blackpool Airport
Where: Barnaby Sands on the Lancashire coast near Fleetwood.
When: 23 September 2009
Who: Pilot and student: Pilot Steven Lewis, 38, from Rainhill, Merseyside, died along with Philip Gray, 45, of Mawdesley, Lancashire.
Why: The helicopter crashed on a training flight. The pilot issued a mayday based on engine troubles, and steered away from populated areas, hoping to find a softer landing.
PICTURED: a Eurocopter AS350B2
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Contact photographer Michal Nowicki
What: OmniFlight American Eurocopter AS350B2 medical helicopter en route from Charleston to Conway
Where: 63 miles southwest of Conway, S.C
When: 2308 PM, ET on Friday, September 25, 2009
Who: 3 person crew:p ilot, flight nurse and paramedic
Why: The helicopter had dropped off a patient at about 9:35 p.m. Friday in Charleston. Thunderstorms were in the area at the time of the crash. The weather was described as “convective.”
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Contact photographer Marian Musil
What: Air Canada Jazz de Havilland Dash 8-100 en route from from Toronto to London Canada
Where: Toronto
When: Sep 23rd 2009
Why: Immediately after takeoff, the left engine had to be shut down. The flight returned to Toronto and landed eleven minutes after takeoff.
On the Isla Margarita in Venezuela on a trip to Angel Falls, tour operator First Choice is being sued for the death of six year old Thomas Horne, who died on a tour while not wearing a seat belt. In fact, an investigator reported in an inquest that “Thomas would probably be alive had he been restrained properly by a seat belt.”
A 14 seat Cessna 208 crashed while they were aboard.
The crew did not inform the passengers how to fasten a four-point waist and shoulder seat belt. The Cessna manual indicates that not wearing the shoulder harness could be fatal.
The flight was not run by First Choice, but by a third party.
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Contact photographer Petr Gorbunov
What: Air Astana Airbus A321-200 en route from Almaty to Astana
Where: Almaty Kasakhstan
When: Sep 24th 2009
Who: 59 on board
Why: While en route, the indicator revealed overheated hydraulics fluid before it failed. The flight returned to Almaty and landed safely.
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Contact Brian Spurr
What: SA Airlink JS41 en route from from Durban to Pietermaritzburg
Where: Durban
When: Sep 24th 2009
Who: 4 people, (3 crewmembers) and a woman working on the ground at the school perimeter, have been airlifted to local hospitals. The captain is critical, the other 3 with serious injuries.
Why: The plane had smoke coming from its engines, lost height after takeoff.
The crew called Mayday and reported engine loss and smoke. They attempted an emergency landing in the field in front of a school and impacted the fence surrounding the school.
Preliminary examination apparently shows the hand engine was operating under full power and the left engine failed.
George’s Point of View
The fact that anyone at all survived this indicates that the emergency landing was a success.
However, maintenance is suspect.
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Contact Photographer Oleg Chaplin
What: Vladivostok Tupolev TU-204-300from Vladivostok to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Russia
Where: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
When: Sep 21st 2009
Who: 95 passengers and 5 crew
Why: On approach to Sakhalinsk, the flight underwent a “switch-off” of the right engine, but landed safely.
__________
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Contact photographer Siegi N.
What: Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 en route from Frankfurt to New York JFK,NY
Where: southwest of Iceland
When: Sep 19th 2009
Who: 334 passengers
Why: After finding an oil leak over Iceland, the plane returned to Frankfurt; an alternative flight was provided for passengers who arrived in NY after a delay of less than 10 hours.
_________
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Contact photographer Von Wedelstaedt
What: Egyptair Boeing 777-200 en route from London to Cairo
Where: near London
When: Sep 23rd 2009
Who: 234 passengers
Why: Due to an undisclosed technical failure, the flight returned to Heathrow. The flight was cancelled and passengers were provided accommodations.
__________
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Contact Maciej Klatt
What: SAS Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-600 en route from Dusseldorf to Stockholm
Where: Dusseldorf
When: Sep 22nd 2009
Why: The flight reported engine problems after takeoff. Passengers were rebooked on other flights. Unverified passenger quotations posted on the Aviation Safety net indicate the crew may have known ahead of time there were issues; and they were attempting to fly the plane back to its base for repairs.
_________
George’s Point of View
It’s all about maintenance, doesn’t matter your nationality.
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.
Pictured: an Embraer-EMB-712-Tupi
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Contact photographer Joao Vitor Sayao
What: Single engine Embraer Tupi plane ( EN-RYC)en route from Sao Jose dos Campos to Sao Jose do Rio Preto
Where: southeast of Brazil in the municipality of Santa Isabel, in southeastern Sao Paulo
When: between 9:45 and 11:45 on the Sept 21
Who: 3 possibly 4 passengers: two adults and a child
Why: The plane went missing for three hours and there was difficulty finding it because rain hampered search efforts. The local fire department which located the missing plane found the remains of the 3 passengers “carbonized” in aa forest near the Pouso Alegre Peak. They say the plane exploded. Local residents saw a flash.
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Contact photographer Klaus Ecker
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Dallas to Seattle,WA
Where: Dallas
When: Sep 22nd 2009
Who: 95 passengers
Why: While en route, a hydraulic system malfunctioned and the flight was forced to return to Dallas.
Several reports have recently been received of loose pneumatic quickdisconnect unions on Goodrich pitot probes P/N 0851HL. These may be the result of mis-torque of the affected unions at equipment manufacturing level.
Investigations are still on-going to determine the root cause(s).
See the full report here (.pdf)
Pictured: A Cougar-Helicopter/Sikorsky-S-92A
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Contact photographer Michael Durning
What: Cougar Sikorsky S-92 helicopter
Where: Halifax airport
When: Sept 23
Who: 17 people on board
Why: Chopper experienced engine failure in one of its engines while returning from an offshore rig. The helicopter landed safely and no one was injured.
Flicker image
What: Hillsboro Aviation ROBINSON R22 BETA HELICOPTER
Where: Fern Hill Wetlands, 2 miles south ofForest Grove, Washington County Oregon
When: Sep 20, 2009
Who: Two fatalities: Douglas Doty, a 34 year-old flight instructor from Beaverton, and Thomas Hagner, a 32-year-old student from Hillsboro.
Why: The pilot lost control of the helicopter and crashed and caught on fire, according to witnesses at a nearby fruitstand and a farm. The difficult location made it difficult for rescue and safety personnel to reach the burning wreckage.
What: ROBINSON R22 two-seater ROTORCRAFT en route from Island airport
Where: Heritage Road and Steeles Avenue area of Brampton. GEORGETOWN, ONTARIO, CANADA
When: 09/21/2009 Monday 8 pm
Who: One fatality- pilot Keith Siversen
Why: The helicopter is reported to have “careened out of control” in an orchard. It was owned by KEITH SIVERSEN with a temporary certificate expiring 03/05/2009.
