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    Sikorsky S-92A Main Gearbox (MGB) Malfunctions.

    Subject:
    Sikorsky S-92A Main Gearbox (MGB) Malfunctions.

    Ref. Publications:
    Sikorsky Safety Advisory SSA-S92-08-006 dated 26 September Sikorsky Safety Advisory SSA-S92-08-006 dated 26 September 2008; and Sikorsky CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 dated 14 March 2009.

    Description:

    The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation published SSA-S92-08-006 to The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation published SSA-S92-08-006 to  inform owners and operators of impending Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) changes, prompted by service difficulties with the S-92A MGB lubrication system. More recently, CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 was published to inform owners and operators about a recent accident with an S-92A helicopter. The latest advisory document contains reminders of existing Sikorsky service publications that recommend specific action(s) that may or may not be related to the root cause(s) of the latest accident. CCS-92-AOL-09-0008 also specifies that ‘compliance’ with Sikorsky Safety Advisories is ‘essential’.

    After reviewing the information and pending the investigation, EASA supports the recommendations contained in CCS-92-AOL-09-0008, with the exception of SSA-S92-08-006. This advisory document refers to RFM changes that have not yet been approved by the FAA. In fact, the SSA specifies the ‘corrective action’ as “Ensure all flight crews become familiar with the RFM changes when received”. This SIB is published to ensure that all owners and operators of affected rotorcraft, registered in European Union Member States or associated countries, are aware that the procedures specified in SSA-S92-08-006 have not been approved by FAA or EASA. The relevant emergency procedures in the approved RFM must be observed.


    Applicability:

    Sikorsky S-92A helicopters, all serial numbers.

    Contact:
    For further information contact the Airworthiness Directives, Safety For further information contact the Airworthiness Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, Certification Directorate, EASA. E-mail: ADs@easa.europa.eu. Copies of the referenced advisory documents and any other related Sikorsky service publications may be obtained upon request from Sikorsky Commercial Product Support, or call the Customer Service Engineering Desk, telephone: +1 203-416-4299, or E-mail: sikorskywcs@sikorsky.com.

    http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=65f9e39d40a78110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD

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    Ill Alitalia Pilot Down in Shannon


    Pictured: an Alitalia Boeing-767-3S1
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Josh May
    What: Alitalia Boeing 767, travelling from Milan in Italy to New York’s JFK
    Where: Shannon Airport
    When: Wednesday April 15 2009 5 PM
    Who: 168 passengers and eleven crew
    Why: When the pilot became ill, the flight landed at Shannon Airport. The pilot was hospitalized in Limerick and the passengers were treated to an overnight hotel stay and will continue to JFK on Thursday. Rumor on the pilot network is that the pilot had a heart attack.

    iLVolo.it says it in Italian

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    Alaska Airlines Quick Fix


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michael Carter
    What: Alaska Airline Boeing 737 Phoenix to Seattle
    Where: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    When: emergency landing around 6:40 a.m
    Who: 113 passengers
    Why: After an emergency with an overheating hydraulic pump, the flight landed back at the Phoenix airport after 15 minutes; and (after 45 minutes of maintenance) was back in the air 1.5 hours behind schedule, but successfully en route to Seattle

    George’s Point of View

    Maintenance Maintenance Maintenance…

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  • AZ Schoolyard Landing

    What: plane en route from Glendale Municipal Airport
    Where: Villa de Paz Elementary School near 103rd Avenue and Camelback Road, Phoenix
    When: April 15, 2009 9:30 a.m. Wednesday
    Who: pilot and co-pilot suffered minor injuries
    Why: The pilot cut the engine, coasted across a field, hit a fence and ended up in a schoolyard behind a classroom.

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    Airbus Diverts to Athens


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Markman
    What: Easyjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Heraklion (Greece) to London Gatwick,EN (UK)
    Where: Athens International Airport
    When: Apr 14th 2009 15.02 local time
    Who: 137 passengers and 7 crew
    Why: Pressurization. After observing problems with pressurization, the crew burned off ten minutes worth of fuel and landed on runway 21R. The problem turned out to be in the air conditioning. Easyjet’s press release terms this not an emergency but “merely a precautionary technical diversion.”

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    Airbus shutdown in Manila


    Pictured: Air Macau Airbus A319-132
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer TonyV
    What: Air Macau Airbus A319-100, en route from Macau to Manila Philippines
    Where: Manila.
    When: Apr 12th 2009
    Who: 102 passengers and 4 crew
    Why: Just before landing on runway 06, the crew had to shut dow an engine. The plane landed safely.

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    Bolivia Night Med-evacuation on Cessna Kills 4


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

    What: CESSNA 210 en route from Concepcion to Santa Cruz
    Where: Concepcion, Bolivia
    When: April 13, 2009
    Who: pilot and three passengers on a medical evacuation
    Why: The plane “impacted terrain” during the night flight, but no reason is listed. The cause is under investigation.

    George’s Point of View

    Impacted terrain at night? I can’t wait to see what the NTSB has to say about this.
    Brazil already says this is the pilots fault, though it is unclear what this quote is supposed to mean:

    “Due to the fact that the pilot had violated flight rules, as explained by the representative of DGAC, the plane took off from the city of Santa Cruz 20 minutes after the expiry of the permitted duration of flights.”

    Determining the cause at this point is a bit precipitous. Most accident investigations take years.

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    DeKalb County Crash kills Two

    What: 1946-era single-engine fixed aircraft listed as a “model 415 C ERCOUP/ MOONEY A-2 AIRCOUPE”
    Where: corn field near the city of Sandwich
    When: 04/11/2009 1:49 p.m.
    Who: 53-year-old Randall Hougham of Sandwich, who was flying the plane, and 22-year-old passenger Lauren Hamilton, also of Sandwich died in the crash
    Why: Circumstances are unknown.

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    Piper Crash in San Diego

    What: Piper Comanche (PA-24-250 Regis#: 7690P ) en route from Whiteman Airport just north of Los Angeles to Brown Field Municipal Airport near the Mexican border
    Where: east of the runways at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
    When: April 11 2009, 11 a.m. Saturday
    Who: pilot and passenger died on impact. (The NTSB preliminary report only listed the pilot; no passenger. News coverage, however, mentioned a passenger.)
    Why: There was no distress call made; air traffic controllers lost radio contact at 10:55. Weather at Montgomery Field, at 11:00 was light rain and southwest winds at 6 mile per hour.

    The pilot is (probably) the plane owner Friedrich L Weber of Burbank, California who with his wife was flying to Mexico for medical treatment.

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    Easter Sunday Emergency Landing

    What: Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Austin
    Where: Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla.
    When: April 12 2008
    Who: 104 passengers
    Why: There was no fire, but when a sensor detected an apparent problem in the cargo hold, the pilot chose to land immediately. Passengers lunched at the base’s Officer’s Club before boarding another Southwest flight which carried them to their destination.

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    Passenger Lands Plane when Pilot Dies


    What: 1982 King Air 55 owned by White Equipment Leasing flying en route from Marco Island to Jackson Mississippi
    Where: Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport
    When: Sunday April 12
    Who: 6
    Why: When the pilot passed out midflight, a passenger took the controls and safely landed the plane. The pilot died of cardiac arrest prior to landing.

    Landing safely was a group effort. The on board passenger who landed the plane had a pilot’s license but was not certified to fly a high-performance turboprop and had no experience flying this type of aircraft. The Fort Myers air traffic controller who talked the pilot down was getting HIS direction from a Connecticut pilot reading the landing checklist from a King Air manual.

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    Mexican Helicopter Crash Kills 3

    What: Mexican Geological Services helicopter
    Where: northwestern state of Sinaloa 19 miles from the city of Los Mochis in the mountain town of Sinoloa de Leyva
    When: Wednesday
    Who: Three Mexican Geological Service employees: David Barbosa Luna, engineer managing SGM’s Western Region, Alberto Montañes Castro, project coordinator , and helicopter’s pilot Capt. Rodrigo Navarro Jimenez
    Why: 3 SGM workers managing field activities for the preparation of two geological mining charts were killed on the job. The flight was returning from the mountain and landed on or in the Sinoloa de Leyva Baseball stadium. They were en route to Sinoloa to refuel and check a faulty engine.

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  • Oregon: Ayres-S2R-T34 ditched


    Pictured: an Ayres-S2R-T34
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Tony Zeljeznjak
    What: S2R-T34
    Where: Cove, Oregon
    When: 04/09/2009 at 1537
    Who: 1 on board
    Why: AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED AND WENT INTO A DITCH. No fatalities.

    George’s Point of View

    The problem with small craft: When an aircraft has two engines, if you have trouble with one, you have backup.

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    Bolivia: Cessna 210 fatality


    Pictured: A Cessna 210M in Bolivia
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Giovanni Francisco Rodriguez Bravo

    What: Cessna 210M en route from Concepcion to El Trompillo Airport
    Where: Concepcion, Bolivia
    When: April 11, 2009
    Who: Pilot and 3 passengers
    Why: The cessna impacted terrain shortly after taking off from Concepcion Airport Concepcion, Bolivia.

    The certificated commercial pilot and three passengers, all Bolivian citizens, were fatally injured. Night visual conditions prevailed. The flight was operating on a visual flight rules flight plan from Concepcion to El Trompillo Airport (SLET), Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

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    Plane Crashes Mountain; 6 Fatalities


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jim Groom
    What: Aviastar Mandiri British Aerospace BAe146-300 en route from Jayapura to Wamena Indonesia
    Where: Mount Pike
    When: Apr 9th 2009
    Who: 6 crew: captain, co-pilot, engineer, loadmaster and two flight attendants
    Why: The plane was approaching runway 15 at Wamena Airport in foggy conditions, turned and air traffic control lost contact. The controller observed smoke coming from side of Gunung Pike Mountain. When search crews went to the source of the smoke, there were no survivors.

    Reportedly, the plane had been carrying rice and flour and 9 tons of Aviation Turbine Fuel. The airport is surrounded by mountains.

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    Undisclosed In-Flight Emergency in India

    What: Jetlite Boeing 737 en route from Delhi to Kolkata
    Where: IGI airport
    Who: 41 passengers and crew members
    Why: The pilot declared an undisclosed emergency and landed at IGI.

    Jetlite was formerly known as Air Sahara.

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    Afterword: American Airlines flight 1400

    See George’s Point of View here


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Art Brett
    What: American Airlines MD-82 aircraft en route from Lambert to Chicago
    Where: Lambert
    When: Sept. 28, 2007
    Who: 138 passengers, 3 flight attendants, two pilots
    Why: When the fight experienced an emergency (engine fire) and the MD-82 returned to land at the airport of origin, the nose landing gear failed. After a go-around, the plane conducted an emergency landing and everyone debarked on to the runway.

    The reason that this is in the news now is that the problems involved have been under investigation. The procedure that mechanics used to manually start one of the engines is held to be responsible for the fire. However the captain was also faulted for poor division of labor, resulting in inefficiency which is judged to have exacerbated the emergency.

    NTSB Identification: DCA07MA310
    Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of AMERICAN AIRLINES
    Accident occurred Friday, September 28, 2007 in St. Louis, MO
    Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82), registration: N454AA
    Injuries: 143 Uninjured.

    This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

    On September 28, 2007, at 1316 central daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82), N454AA, operated by American Airlines as flight 1400, executed an emergeny landing at Lambert-St Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, after the flight crew received a left engine fire warning during departure climb from the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 121 scheduled domestic flight. After landing, the 2 flight crew, 3 flight attendants, and 138 passengers deplaned via airstairs and no occupant injuries were reported. The intended destination of the flight was Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois.

    Upon receiving the left engine fire warning during climb, the flight crew discharged the aircraft engine fire bottles into the affected engine. During the visual return and single-engine approach to the airport, the nose landing gear did not extend. The flight crew then extended the nose landing gear using the emergency landing gear extension procedure. The airplane returned and then landed on runway 30L (11,019 feet by 200 feet, grooved concrete) and was met by STL Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Vehicles

    The NTSB identification number for this investigation was administratively changed from CHI07MA310 to DCA07MA310 on April 2, 2008.

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  • Criminal Regulation

    George’s Point of View

    The IATA ( Air Transport Association) is an association representing the world’s airlines commitment to excellence and safety in aviation. All of its 224 Member airlines live up to best practice standards in airline safety. 8 airlines lost membership due to failing a 2008 IOSA ( IATA Operational Safety Audit) audit.

    Airlines which fail the safety audit, or are otherwise unable to reach the safety standards are banned by the European Union. One of those banned airlines is Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia. That’s the same airline which has been in the news for the recent sentencing of one of it’s pilots. Not that Garunda Indonesia even flies to Europe.

    Marwoto Komar who was piloting Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 , ignored warnings not to land the plane when he brought it in at twice the safe speed, resulting in the plane slamming into the runway, skidding off and bursting into flame, killing 21. While he did not get life in prison, he did get jail time.

    The pilot’s sentencing is really a symptom of what is going on with Garunda Indonesia, which is a lack of government supervision. In fact, aircrafts which would otherwise be considered safe, are NOT safe simply because of being part of GI’s under-supervised, under-inspected, under-maintained fleet. In fact, there is a $24 million Indonesian governmental program now in place to train Indonesian air safety inspectors, an ambitious program which may still take years to bring the airline up to acceptable safety standards.

    In the meantime, apparently the burden of safety rests on the shoulders of pilots, which in view of recent history, does not particularly appear to be a good thing. Furthermore, no one yet has made it public exactly why Marwoto Komar ignored air traffic control AND his instruments AND his co-pilot to attempt a landing at twice the safe speed, but perhaps while he is in jail, the Indonesian skies may be marginally safer. Not that it does any good for the 21 victims of Flight 200.

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    Boeing Depressurizes over Moscow


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Oleg Revin
    What: Yakutia Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Vnukovo airport to Yakutsk.
    Where: Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital of Moscow
    When: Apr 7th 2009
    Who: 174 passengers and nine crew members
    Why: After takeoff, the pilot experienced technical problems. The cabin depressurized; and the pilot decided to return to the airport of origin to land; however, before landing, the plane circled the airport for three and a half hours to burn off excess fuel.

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    Turbulence in Reno flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Ryan Coulter
    What: Horizon Air flight 2246 de Havilland Dash 8-400 en route from LA to Reno
    Where: Sacramento
    When: 7:10 p.m. April 7
    Who: 5 passengers (out of 40) plus one flight attendant.
    Why: When several passengers reported injuries resulting from turbulence experienced over Yosemite. Turbulence was so severe that Individuals not buckled in literally bumped into plane’s ceiling. The plane diverted to make an emergency landing at Sacramento International Airport so that the six affected individuals could be examined.

    George’s Point of View

    Wear Your Seatbelt.

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    29 Air Incidents posted April 6 2009


      04/04/2009 1830 CENTRE, AL 8560E 7HC A DEST 1 AIRCRAFT CRASHED OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY, THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, CENTRE, AL
      04/04/2009 2249 VALDOSTA, GA 456CH EXP A DEST 1 AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORT OF THE AIRPORT, THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, 5 MILES FROM VALDOSTA, GA
      04/05/2009 1742 LONG ISLAND, NY 740RB EXP A SUBS 1 AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE OCEAN, THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, NEAR SMITH POINT PARK BEACH, LONG ISLAND, NY
      04/04/2009 1842 ENGLEWOOD, FL 88WG EXP A UNKN 1 AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD, ONE WAS FATALLY INJURED, ONE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, NEAR ENGLEWOOD, FL
      04/04/2009 2246 KALISPELL, MT 6433A C182 A DEST 0 AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD AND FLIPPED OVER, LOST PRAIRIE, 30 MILES FROM KALISPELL, MT
      04/04/2009 2300 CHICALOON, AK 40684 M4 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, FLIPPED OVER, CHICALOON, AK
      04/05/2009 2100 NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR 9600D PA22 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF, FLIPPED OVER, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR
      04/04/2009 1819 MONTEREY, CA 224RA 7GCA A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF, LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED, MONTEREY, CA
      04/05/2009 1815 SONOMA, CA 100VH BE36 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY AND WENT INTO A DITCH, SONOMA, CA
      04/06/2009 0420 RIDDLE, ID 610RJ EXP A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD, NEAR RIDDLE, ID
      04/05/2009 0242 GAITHERSBURG, MD 28059 BL17 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A BIRD STRIKE DAMAGING THE WINDSHIELD, GAITHERSBURG, MD
      04/04/2009 2145 OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC 1838Q C177 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY, OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC
      04/04/2009 2305 SNOHOMISH, WA 491SF C172 A SUBS 0 AIRCRAFT STRUCK A BIRD, LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, 3 MILES FROM HARVEY FIELD, SNOHOMISH, WA
      04/04/2009 1940 BROOKSHIRE, TX 89EA EXP A UNKN 0 AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO TREES NEAR THE AIRPORT, BROOKSHIRE, TX
      04/04/2009 1425 PHOENIX, AZ UNK J3 I MINR 0 PIPER J3 AIRCRAFT, REGISTRATION UNKNOWN, WHILE BEING HAND PROPPED, STARTED AND TAXIED UNOCCUPIED INTO A NEARBY HANGAR, GOODYEAR AIRPORT, PHOENIX, AZ
      04/03/2009 2125 FRESNO, CA 4326H MO20 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, FRESNO, CA
      04/05/2009 1210 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 767PA C402 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT WHILE AWAITING TO DEPART, FRONT WHEEL SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
      04/03/2009 1721 KEY WEST, FL 350ST PA31 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, KEY WEST, FL
      04/03/2009 2253 NORTH POINT, FL 509SR SR22 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED ON A ROAD, NEAR NORTH POINT, FL
      04/03/2009 1726 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 8909A BE36 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, WEST PALM BEACH, FL
      03/29/2009 1900 LAKE CHARLES, LA 740PH B407 I MINR 0 N740PH, A BELL 407 ROTORCRAFT, WHILE LANDING ON AN OIL PLATFORM, STRUCK A FENCE; GULF OF MEXICO, 120 MILES FROM LAKE CHARLES, LA
      04/05/2009 1849 CHARLESTON, SC 18PN SR22 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT ON LANDING RAN OFF THE RUNWAY INTO THE GRASS, CHARLESTON, SC
      04/05/2009 1922 CHARLESTON, SC 6208V C172 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, CHARLESTON, SC
      04/03/2009 1920 BREMERTON, WA 74545 M20 I MINR 0 AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, BREMERTON, WA
      04/04/2009 1538 ZEPHYRHILLS, FL 1077X PA28 I NONE 0 AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD, NEAR ZEPHYRHILLS, FL
      04/04/2009 1800 MARYSVILLE, OH 7288F PA28 I NONE 0 AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN AN OPEN FIELD, 15 MILES FROM MARYSVILLE, OH
      04/03/2009 1703 HOUMA, LA 2399V EXP I UNKN 0 AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, BLEW A TIRE AND VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY, HOUMA, LA
      04/05/2009 1634 STEVENSVILLE, MD 923AY EXP I UNKN 0 AIRCRAFT PROP STRUCK A PASSENGER WHO HAD JUST EXITED THE PARKED AIRCRAFT, STEVENSVILLE, MD
      04/04/2009 2020 PORTSMOUTH, NH 60402 BE36 I UNKN 0 AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF, LOST POWER, AND SETTLED ONTO THE RUNWAY GEAR UP, PORTSMOUTH, NH
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    Maintenance or Magic?

    George’s Point of View

    The NTSB conducted a hearing investigating when American Flight 1400’s left engine caught fire during departure from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The Sept. 28, 2007 incident is blamed on aircraft maintenance, or more properly, the lack of aircraft maintenance.

    Ten days before the incident
    After the left engine would not start, six times the “start valve” was replaced. Now, after the fire, the issue is judged to be the fault of mechanics who failed to properly maintain a metal air filter that disintegrated. Filter loss led to a bent pin, which led to the valves being replaced, which caused the engine fire. So the kingdom falls for lack of a horse. Or a filter, in this case.

    Maintenance workers who don’t follow procedure can cause serious problems. In this case, the 143 passengers were unhurt.

    Yes, this is a maintenance issue. However, aircraft mechanics are not magicians. Is the real question here actually one of maintenance, or is it an overly optimistic assessment of mechanical life? Is management thinking that replacement cost is so prohibitive that planes must literally be run until they fall apart? Is it possible that the mechanics in this place would have recommended to replace that engine rather than repair what may not have been repairable?

    There is a real question here whether the maintenance crew is guilty of substandard work–or if they are simply at the bottom of the food chain, and destined to be the fall guys for someone at the top. In this tight economy, do airlines have irrational expectations of squeezing mileage out of exhausted equipment?

    The original incident:
    NTSB Identification: DCA07MA310
    Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of AMERICAN AIRLINES
    Accident occurred Friday, September 28, 2007 in St. Louis, MO
    Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82), registration: N454AA
    Injuries: 143 Uninjured.


    This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

    On September 28, 2007, at 1316 central daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82), N454AA, operated by American Airlines as flight 1400, executed an emergeny landing at Lambert-St Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, after the flight crew received a left engine fire warning during departure climb from the airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 121 scheduled domestic flight. After landing, the 2 flight crew, 3 flight attendants, and 138 passengers deplaned via airstairs and no occupant injuries were reported. The intended destination of the flight was Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois.

    Upon receiving the left engine fire warning during climb, the flight crew discharged the aircraft engine fire bottles into the affected engine. During the visual return and single-engine approach to the airport, the nose landing gear did not extend. The flight crew then extended the nose landing gear using the emergency landing gear extension procedure. The airplane returned and then landed on runway 30L (11,019 feet by 200 feet, grooved concrete) and was met by STL Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Vehicles

    The NTSB identification number for this investigation was administratively changed from CHI07MA310 to DCA07MA310 on April 2, 2008.

    src: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20071005X01522&key=1

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  • | | |

    High Drama in US Airspace

    What: Cessna 172 en route from a Canadian flight school into US Airspace
    Where: US Airspace
    When: about 3 p.m
    Who: one person aboard
    Why: The flight was intercepted by U.S. military aircraft when the unnamed pilot flew into US Airspace and did not respond. The plane was reported as stolen from a Thunder Bay, Canada flight school. Canadian authorities requested that U.S. aircraft tail the plane in U.S. airspace, hence the two U.S. Air Force F-16 jets.

    The pilot, Yavuz Berke aka Adam Leon, landed on Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at 9:50 p.m. ET, and was caught by Missouri State Highway Patrol officers. He’s an ex-pat Turk, and naturalized Canadian. He is reportedly depressed and either left his girlfriend (or left her a note.) In any case, he left his car and keys at the airport.

    With 2 F-16’s on his tail all day, he’s incredibly lucky to be alive and currently enjoying the hospitality of whatever government facility is housing him now (and likely to be housing him for a very long time.)

    The category selected here is “pilot error” and “alarm.” And while this is actually a misuse of the sorting system, I’m thinking it is warranted because if this is not an error of the pilot and cause for alarm, what is?

    George’s Point of View

    Yavuz Berke aka Adam Leon is going to be enjoying government hospitality for a long, long time. Yavuz–or if I may call you Adam–as a parent and a human being, I am very sorry that you have chosen to damage your own life so terribly; and I am amazed and warmed by the restraint of our jet pilots who were charged at bringing you down should you prove a threat.

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    24 Casualties in Indonesia Crash

    What: 32 year old Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force) Fokker 27 registration A-2703
    Where: Bandung-Husein Sastranegara International Airport, Western Indonesia
    When: 06 APR 2009 1 p.m. Monday local time
    Who: Six crew members, one trainer and 17 military skydiving students. All 24 people on board died.
    Why: While landing during a regular training flight, the plane crashed and burst into flames at 1:05 pm (0605 GMT) in Bandung, 110 kilometres (74 miles) southeast of Jakarta. No one on the ground was injured. The weather is said to have been wet; and the plane is said to have been undermaintained due to funding problems. The plane is said to have been shaking–possibly encountering a 20-knot crosswind at the time of the accident– before it crashed in an air craft hanger and burst into flames.

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  • | | |

    Southwest Emergency Landing at Islip NY


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Sheldon Johns
    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 Flight 195 en route from Islip,NY to to Fort Myers, Fla
    Where: returned to New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport
    When: landed safely at 10:24 a.m
    Who: 127 passengers aboard and 5 crew members
    Why: The 737 experienced engine trouble which forced them to shut down the left hand engine; they returned to MacArthur Airport for a safe landing. Contrary to rumor, lightning did not cause an engine fire.

    George’s Point of View

    The addendum to this is that mechanics are now looking over this 737. Maybe they should have had this inspection before it took off. D’ya think?

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