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    Brazil Crash Kills Businessman and Family

    What: King Air 350 jet en route from Sao Paulo to Trancoso
    Where: seaside resort town of Trancoso, Bahia near the resort area of Porto Seguro. Their destination had been the Terravista complex in Bahia.
    When: 23 May 2009
    Who: Eight passengers and three crew members including Roger Ian Wright, founder of a Sao Paulo-based investment company, his wife Lucilia Lins and two children–Veronica and Felipe, two grandsons, a grand daughter, a great aunt,and the 56-year-old pilot Jorge Lang Filho
    Why: UPDATED:The plane left Sao Paulo at 6:31 pm, and crashed in a forested area near the runway at 9: 10 pm while attempting to land during a heavy storm. Prior to impact, the pilot reported that “visual and landing conditions were normal.”

    In addition to being the ex-director of Banco Garantia, Roger Wright, was the owner of Arsenal Investmentos and a friend of Prince Andrew.

    George’s Point of View

    We share the sentiments expressed on the Arsenal Investment’s website:

    Arsenal Investimentos está profundamente pesarosa diante do trágico acidente aéreo ocorrido na noite de sexta-feira, dia 22 de maio, em Trancoso, na Bahia, que tirou a vida de seu sócio-fundador, o empresário Roger Ian Wright, e de seus familiares. Diante desse momento doloroso, a empresa se solidariza com todos os amigos e parentes das vítimas.

    Arsenal Investments is deeply sorry the tragic crash occurred on the evening of Friday, on May 22 in Trancoso, Bahia, which took the lives of their socio-founder, the entrepreneur Roger Ian Wright, and their families . In this painful moment, the company in solidarity with all the friends and relatives of victims.

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  • | | |

    Two In One Day

    What: experimental plane
    Where: Healdsburg Municipal Airport
    When: Thursday, May 21 10:58 a.m.
    Who: Pilot
    Why: A quartering wind caused the pilot to veer off the runway and into the Funsten Ranch vineyard grape vines. Plane owner/pilot was not injured when his homebuilt crashed.

    Then…a mere six hours later…same place…

    What: low-wing, single-engine Mooney
    Where: Healdsburg Municipal Airport
    When: 4:55 p.m
    Who: pilot
    Why: Right after take-off, the Mooney went to partial power, passed a home and powerlines, then skidded on its belly into the vineyard where this Mooney also crash-landed on grapevines by the Mazzocco Winery

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  • | | |

    United Hydraulics Failure over Pittsburgh

    What: United Flight 615 en route from Washington DC to Chicago O’Hare
    Where: Pittsburgh
    When: landed at 12:51 May 22, 2009
    Who: 119 on board including Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers
    Why: After a hydraulic system failure was announced, the crew announced there would be an emergency landing. There had been “loud bang” at take-off, then the noise and vibration increased.

    The landing was safe; and United was providing another plane for passengers to complete the flight to Chicago.

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  • | |

    Gulfstream International Airlines Fined

    Gulfstream International Airlines is being fined by the FAA for improper scheduling of flight crew duty, installation of unapproved air conditioner compressors and improperly maintained vent blowers on the airline’s fleet of 27 BE-1900-D aircraft.

    See the press release:

    Washington Headquarters Press Release
    For Immediate Release
    May 21, 2009
    Contact: Laura Brown
    Phone: (202) 267-3883

    FAA Proposes $1.3 Million Civil Penalty for Gulfstream International Airlines

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $1.3 million civil penalty from Florida-based Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc. for violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

    The alleged violations include improper scheduling of flight crew duty time, and the installation of unapproved air conditioner compressors and improperly maintained vent blowers on the airline’s fleet of 27 BE-1900-D aircraft.

    An FAA review of the airline’s electronic record-keeping system for tracking crew duty and rest time revealed that Gulfstream International did not accurately input the proper data from its manually generated hard-copy aircraft logbook records into the electronic system. The discrepancies resulted in scheduling crew members in excess of daily and weekly flight time limitations.

    During a June 2008 inspection, the FAA determined that the airline had installed unapproved automotive air conditioner compressors on its aircraft between September 2006 and May 2008. Following the FAA inspection, the airline grounded all of the affected aircraft and replaced the units with approved aircraft air conditioner compressors.

    In the course of a July 2008 inspection of Gulfstream International avionics and component shops in Fort Lauderdale, the FAA discovered that the airline had installed improperly maintained vent blowers on six planes between January 2008 and June 2008. Following that inspection, the airline replaced the blowers with properly maintained units.

    Gulfstream International Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the civil penalty letter to respond to the FAA.


    #
    (end of release)

    George’s Point of View

    Gulfstream is a former employer of the Captain Marvin Renslow of the ill-fated Continental Connection 3407 flight. If Gulfstream had kept proper records, trained and maintained according to accepted protocol, the Buffalo NY tragedy may never have happened.

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  • | |

    Carelessness Begats F-15 Escort

    What: single-engine Piper en route from Florida to Louisiana
    Where: Galliano Airport
    When: Thursday morning
    Who: Ricky Navarro, 62, of Riverview, Fla.
    Why: Ricky Navarro was flying near the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) facility offshore and ventured into restricted airspace at which point Harbor Police were unable to reach him on the radio. He was “given” an escort of F-15’s to the Galliano airport. All because Navarro had forgotten to turn on his radio.

    Navarro was released.

    George’s Point of View

    Let’s look at the predecessors to this event.

    -911
    -Banker Marcus Schrenker faking his death in a plane
    -semi-suicidal Turkish Canadian Adam Dylan Leon flying from Canada to the US
    -Brazilian father who abducted his 5 year old daughter and flew his stolen plane into a mall

    I’m not saying these events are directly linked. I’m just saying that the rate of air events of this nature is disturbingly frequent. Our brave, free-minded and patient fighter pilots who pursue flying fools can only keep their finger off the button for so long. Kamakaze-minded idiots keep testing the waters, doing stupid things and putting themselves and others in danger

    On the day we ever inch closer to war, there will not be a US resident who will blame the soldier for pushing the button the next time someone forgets to turn on their radio.

    Ricky Navarro, if you’re going to be that negligent–rookie mistake or not–you don’t need to be flying. The cockpit is no place for carelessness.

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  • | | |

    Boeing emergency landing in Buenos Aires

    What: Flight AA956, American Airlines Boeing 767 en route from Ezeiza International of Buenos Aires to New York
    Where: Buenos Aires
    When: May 20 took off at 8:39 p.m and landed at 1:17
    Who: 200 passengers
    Why: The flight returned to Buenos Aires for an emergency landing due to a technical failure of the “defrosters.” The 767 anti-ice system is essential as the plane flies at 10,000 feet. No injuries were reported. The flight had to fly over De la Plata River to “*finish the fuel.”

    There’s no indication if *finish in this context means dump (they did fly over a river) or use up. The term came verbatim from a Xinhua report–so we have a report that has gone from Spanish to Chinese to English and we do apologize if we lose details.

    The flight has been rescheduled for Thursday.

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  • | | | |

    TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus loses Airspeed, Data


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Normando Carvalho Jr

    What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 en route from Miami, FL to Sao Paulo Brazil
    Where: en route to Sao Paulo
    When: May 21st 2009
    Who: not listed
    Why: While in flight, the flight crew observed a drop of the outside temperature and recorded seeing St. Elmo’s Fire. They lost the air data reference system. Autopilot and autothrust system disconnected, and fly by wire switched to alternate law (and remained in alternate law for the remainder of the flight.)

    Rudder travel limiter was deactived and airspeed and altitude indication was lost.

    Standby instrumentation allowed data restoration in under ten minutes.

    George’s Point of View

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  • |

    Turbulence Injures Three on US Airways/Mesa Airlines

    What: US Airways/Mesa Airlines de Havilland Dash 8-200 en route from Phoenix AZ to Flagstaff AZ
    Where: Flagstaff
    When: May 20th 2009
    Who: two passengers and one crew member
    Why: The plane encountered turbulence on approach to Flagstaff during which two passengers seatbelts failed, and they collided with an attendant. After landing, all three were hospitalized.

    George’s Point of View

    I don’t know what good it is for me to constantly be harping to passengers on the merits of keeping the seatbelt fastened and obeying the signs when the seatbelts don’t work!

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  • | | |

    Indonesia-AU Crash


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Dinosat

    What: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force) Lockheed C-130H Hercules
    Where: near Madiun-Iswahyudi Airport, Indonesia
    When: 20 MAY 2009
    Who: 14 crew, 98 passengers
    Why: On approach to Madiun-Iswahyudi Airport, the plane hit four houses, skidded into a field and burst into flames. The number of injured and dead is unclear.

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  • Helicopter Down South of San Diego

    What: Carrier Air Wing 11 HH60 Navy Seahawk helicopter en route from the USS Nimitz
    Where 13 miles south of San Diego near the Coronado Islands
    When: 11:36 p.m. Tuesday
    Who: The bodies of three of the five people aboard have been recovered
    Why: The helicopter had been on a training exercise.

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  • | | |

    Spain Punishes Officers for Body Misidentification

    George’s Point of View

    After 30 bodies were misidentified and sent to the wrong grieving families, General Vicente Navarro received a three year sentence; and Commander Jose Ramirez and Captain Miguel Saez received 18-month sentences.

    Some of the bodies had to be exhumed so that the misidentification could be verified.

    Sixty-two soldiers died in the Yak-42 crash in Turkey on May 26, 2003. Imagine how the families felt. First they have to suffer the deaths. Then almost half of the victims were misidentified. And remember to the families, these weren’t random victims. They were husbands and sons.

    Imagine how the families felt when they had to dig up their husbands and sons and have the remains crosschecked with dental records and DNA samples. It probably wasn’t limted to 30, either; they probably exhumed all the victims except for whichever ones might have been visually recognizable by family members.

    One wonders if the buck stopped in the right place. Was the decision not to perform DNA/Dental verification really made by General Vicente Navarro or was it a decision that was passed down to him from defence minister Federico Trillo? Isn’t there a public policy of aviation procedure in cases such as this? My question is not whether the sentence is just, but whether the right individual was sentenced.

    Carelessness of this profundity goes beyond cruelty.

    If I were a Spanish lawyer or on the Ministerio de Fomento, Civil Aviation, I’d be going through policies with a fine toothed comb. I’d love to hear from Madrid to find out just exactly what they’ve done in the past three years to prevent this kind of inhuman treatment in the future.

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  • | |

    Longbeach Plane Collision

    View more news videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/video.


    What: Aero Aviation Cessna single-engine 172 en route from Longbeach Airport
    What: Cessna 310 en route from Longbeach Airport
    Where: TORRANCE, CA
    When: 05/19/2009 5:45 PM
    Who: The Aero Aviation Cessna had a pilot and student pilot.
    Why: N738NN, A CESSNA 172N AIRCRAFT, AND N777AL, A CESSNA 310P AIRCRAFT, COLLIDED OVER THE OCEAN.

    The planes collided in flight off the Southern California Coast. THE COAST GUARD LOCATED two debris fields five miles apart. On monday a seat cushion, nosewheel and several pieces of fuselage were recovered. THE SEARCH was suspended Tuesday.

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  • | | |

    Indonesian Crash Kills Over Fifty



    Pictured: Indonesian C-130 Hercules. On the video, it appears that the C-130 involved in the crash was painted in the military’s standard camo pattern.
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Richard Vandervord
    What: C-130 Hercules Indonesian military transport en route from Jakarta to East Java
    Where: Magetan, East Java. Geplak 325 miles east of Jakarta.
    When: Wednesday May 20
    Who: 112 passengers and 13 crew. 57 were killed, 5 on the ground. 70 were hospitalized. The exact number of those aboard is unclear. (Some overlap with passengers and crew numbers. The reports range from 99 to 113 passengers and 13 or 14 crew members.)Update:The number of dead has risen to 98. Ten children were on the flight. Two were killed on the ground. 15 are injured.
    Why: The plane was about to land at Iswahyudi military airbase. Witnesses claim the plane split apart in the air, (one of the wings fell off when the plane was still in the air) and exploded.

    The plane destroyed four houses in Geplak and skidded into the rice paddy.

    George’s Point of View

    A colleague said that the fact that this is a 30 year old plane loaded with soldiers speaks for itself.

    I think it’s terrible that old planes are allowed up in the air, taking lives.

    The manufacturers build a deadly weapon like a plane and the craft is sold and resold. It seems to me that the manufacturer should maintain control of deciding the airworthiness of their planes from birth to retirement, no matter who owns the plane.

    Maybe one day manufacturer’s sale agreements will be written including a clause that the decision of a plane’s airworthiness is part of the ownership certificate for the life of the plane. Then Lockheed would be diligent about keeping maintenance crews diligent.

    Am I dreaming?

    I anxiously await the preliminary report from the NTSB, and to hear what happened from Lockheed what caused the explosion.

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  • | | | |

    Bird Strikes Pilot in the Face


    What: Northern Colorado Med-Evac Bell 407 Helicopter en route from Greeley to a hospital south of Denver
    Where: two miles from Swedish Medical Center (landed at Centennial Airport)
    When: 1:10 a.m. Sunday May 17
    Who: The 4 people aboard were uninjured.
    Why: The helicopter made an emergency landing after a bird strike left a small hole in the front windshield. The bird actually struck the pilot in the face and ended up on the floor of the helicopter.

    The pilot and passengers were not injured. No word on the bird’s condition.

    The helicopter was repaired and is back in service. The neurology patient was driven the rest of the way to the hospital.

    George’s Point of View

    I love birds, but I wish they would stay away from our aircraft.

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    Smoke in the Cockpit Diverts Allegiant to Vegas

    What: Allegiant Air MD-83 en route from Los Angeles to Grand Junction
    Where: McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas
    When: 2:22 p.m May 18, 2009
    Who: 130 passengers and 5 crew members
    Why: After reporting smoke in the cockpit, the crew diverted to the Las Vegas airport. There were no injuries. The replacement flight is not expected to arrive in Grand Junction until after 6 pm.

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  • |

    Kazakhstan Emergency Landing

    What: An-24 en route from Taraz to Almaty.
    Where: Taraz airport
    When: Sunday May 17
    Who: 27 passengers and 4 crew members
    Why: When the plane experienced engine failure, the crew was forced to have an emergency landing back at the airport of origin. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

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    Air Canada Turbulence at LAX

    What: Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Calgary to Los Angeles,CA
    Where: Los Angeles
    When: May 18th 2009
    Who: 58 passengers and 5 crew, 4 minor injuries
    Why: The flight experienced a few minutes of moderate in-flight turbulence but landed as scheduled. Several passengers were treated at the airport.

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  • | |

    Turkish Airbus Birdstrike

    What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Konya to Istanbul
    Where: Konya
    When: May 16th 2009
    Who: 140 passengers
    Why: After a bird strike, the flight returned to Konya. Two passengers were taken to the hospital.

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  • | |

    Lufthansa Emergency Landing In Prague


    What: Lufthansa en route from Duesseldorf to Budapest
    Where: Prague’s Ruzyne airport
    When: May 15 at 1400 hrs.
    Who: 35 update: 30 passengers; 5 crew
    Why: When smoke was detected in the luggage compartment, the flight was diverted to Prague where they made a safe landing. No injuries were reported.

    If we are apprised of more details, we will update.
    All 30 passengers were able to continue to Budapest at 1700 hrs on another flight.

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  • | | |

    Airbus: Emergency Landing LAX

    What: Airbus 320 en route from LAX to Dulles
    Where: LAX
    When: Friday, May 15, 2009 2:42 p.m.
    Why: The plane developed a hydraulic leak and returned to LAX for an emergency landing. No Injuries were reported.

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  • | |

    Injured Helicopter Pilot Flies to Med Center

    What: crop dusting helicopter
    Where: 1778 Richvale Highway, Richvale, Butte County California
    When: Wednesday May 13
    Who: pilot Craig Compton
    Why: The pilot (and business owner of Avag ) was moving the plane when it crashed into a building. Compton was flown to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

    AVAG’s business is aerial seeding.

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  • |

    Luggage Strike Database Upcoming?

    George’s Point of View

    LAX! We set the standards for the world.

    This is getting embarrassing.

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  • | | | |

    Colgan/Bombardier – Another Near Tragedy?


    What: Colgan Airlines/ Continental Q400 Bombardier turbo-prop en route from Newark to Buffalo
    Where: Buffalo International Airport
    When: May 12 6 pm
    Who: 73 on board
    Why: On landing, part of the wheel assembly disengaged. A passenger video shows the tire assembly coming to pieces on landing. One tire of the two-tire assembly comes off; the remaining tire sustains the landing.

    George’s Point of View

    Notably, the wheel assembly had been recently serviced, but whether or not the problem lies with Colgan maintenance or the established fact that the tire assembly on the Q400 Bombardier is well renowned for problems is as yet undetermined. At the end of the tape above, take a look at the shot of the 2007 Denmark incident where the Q400 Bombardier’s right landing gear collapsed. There were 8 such landing gear failures in the Q400 Bombardier in 2007 alone.

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  • Expert Opinion: Fatigue and Bad Choices

    For some things, you don’t need experts.

    Anyone who has ever attempted driving cross-country without taking an overnight knows the answer to the question of whether or not fatigue affects your judgment while driving. Of course fatigue has an affect on making serious assessments. It happens while driving on the nation’s highways, so why should it be any different on the nation’s skyways?

    But of course the experts have to chime in. At least this time they agree with the rest of the real world that fatigue is hazardous to judgement. Furthermore, there is airline culpability here, since those low-wage pilots were flying cross-country just to get TO work, there’s no way they could start their shift fresh. Pilot Marvin Renslow had flown from his Florida residence to Newark and either had no hotel room, stayed up, or napped in the Newark crew lounge (which at Colgan Air is a fireable offense.) His abysmal training/test record stands as its own worst advocate. Co-pilot Rebecca Shaw who lived in Seattle had just pulled an all-nightter so she could get a free ride to work–and she was sick.

    The pilot and co-pilot of the Colgan flight were facing multiple issues. The speed of the plane had dropped. Ice had gathered on the wings. The shaker stick had engaged. Neither pilot nor co-pilot appeared to be familiar with how to handle icing; neither were adequately grounded on emergency procedure; neither knew whether this was a wing or tail stall (which affected whether or not the nose should be down); and neither knew what to do with the shaker stick.

    That the pilots were discussing subjects not related to flying is a “red herring.”

    Admittedly, they could have been paying more attention to what was going on, but think of how many of us who have driven long distances use conversation to help us stay alert in similar circumstances. Even if they’d been speaking exclusively of the emergency, doing so would not have been the magic bullet that filled in the gaps left by inadequate training. They still would not have known what to do.

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  • | | | | | |

    United Airlines Emergency Landing in Indianapolis


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Art Brett
    What: United Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Baltimore MD to Chicago O’Hare,IL
    Where: Runway 23 Right at Indianapolis International Airport
    When: May 15, 7:15 am
    Who: 140 people aboard.
    Why: While en route to Chicago, the 757 cockpit filled with smoke and requested an emergency landing at Indianapolis.

    As you can see in the silent digital recording above, the plane lands safely, although we do not see the passengers debarking.

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