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    Unlicensed Pilots

    The Australian aviation authority, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is in the process of investigating Hempel’s Aviation. Barry Hempel was killed recently while flying a passenger in a stunt plane. Hempel had no commercial pilot’s license and wasn’t qualified to pilot paying customers. The CASA is actively looking for people who purchased flights from the now-liquidated company in the past year. Anyone who has information that may help CASA’s investigation should call: 07 3144 7532.

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    Boeing Forced Landing

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route to Amsterdam from Cincinnati
    Where: emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport
    When: early Sunday
    Who: 151 people on board
    Why: Smoke in the cockpit caused by faulty air-conditioning fan. The pilot circled back to Nova Scotia to land

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    Ultralight Emergency Landing in North Carolina

    What: ultralight aircraft
    Where: in Pine Hall on Knight Road in Stokes county NC
    When: 6:40pm.
    Who: unnamed pilot.
    Why: When the pilot’s engine quit, the pilot made an emergency landing in a tobacco field. The vehicle was described as a “hangglider with a motor”

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    Medical Evacuation Helicopter Crashes in Chicago

    What: Air Angels Inc.emergency medical transport Bell 222 helicopter en route from Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. The helicopter was based out of Clow airport in Bolingbrook.
    Where: Crashed in a corn field near a residential area in east Aurora near Eola Road and Liberty Street, and was engulfed in flames.
    When: Oct 15 Went down about midnight
    Who: victims included three crew members and the little girl.
    Why: The little girl was being transported to the hospital because of epileptic seizures. Witnesses report that after the helicopter crashed, it exploded. There is speculation that the helicopter struck a 750-foot tall radio transmission tower which is now about 15-feet off center. One witness reported a midair explosion, and then another explosion after the helicopter hit the ground. Two of the tower’s guy wires were impacted during the crash.

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    Perth: Yet Another Airbus Emergency Landing

    What: Emirates Airbus A340 Flight EK425 en route from Perth International Airport leaving at 6am bound for Dubai
    Where: PERTH Westralia Airport, Australia
    When: The pilot made a textbook emergency landing about 8.40am.
    Who: All 120 passengers disembarked safely at about 9am..
    Why:The pilot was forced to turn back after reporting smoke in the cabin. Fuel was dumped from the plane before it came in to land. The Airbus is the same set-up as the Qantas Airbus A330-300 that injured more than 70 people when it lost altitude. Passengers said no smoke was visible inside the jet.

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    News Chopper Forced Landing in Philadelphia

    What: Emergency landing by a CBS 3 backup chopper leased from U.S. Helicopters en route to cover a news event
    Where: Landed on an athletic field adjacent to Mayfair Elementary School in Philadelphia’s Northeast section
    When: On Columbus Day
    Why: The pilot landed after the chopper began losing a large amount of oil. A similar problem occurred recently with another leased helicopter several weeks ago in which a warning light came on for a different problem

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    Worldwide Alert on Failed Airline Computer System

    A computer fault on a Qantas Airways Ltd. flight switched off the autopilot and generated false data, causing the jet to nosedive. This failure in the onboard computer system caused the violent drop in altitude on the Qantas Airbus A330-300. The flight control system was supplied by Litton Industries, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp., Airbus issued a telex late yesterday to airlines that fly A330s and A340s. The fault originated in the main on board computer system which caused other system failure. Airbus has now issued guidelines in case the incident happens again.

    Preliminary analysis of the Qantas incident revealed the error occurred in one of the jet’s three air data inertial reference units, which caused the autopilot to disconnect.

    The crew flew the aircraft manually to the end of the flight,

    On 14 October 2008, Mr Julian Walsh, Director, Aviation Safety Investigation, discussed factual information known to the investigation team in a media conference in Canberra City discussing the progress of the investigation.

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  • Almost Hijacked in Russia

    What: Turkish Airlines en route from the Turkish resort of Antalya bound for St Petersburg, Russia
    Where: The plane landed safely in St Petersburg.
    When: Wednesday
    Who: 164 passenger and 7 crew
    Why: The hijacker gave the crew a note saying he had a bomb. The captain and crew followed procedure and locked the door. Passengers overpowerd the man; and the crew then took into custody the drunken man threatening to hijack the plane.

    The note said ” Take me inside (the flight cabin) or I will explode the bomb I have”

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    Houston TV station KTRK Crash and Burn has Two Fatalities

    What: Bell 206L-4 SkyEye 13 news chopper
    Where: on property owned by The Woodlands Development Company,heavily wooded area East of the W.E. Jones State Forest in southwest Montgomery County.
    When: Monday morning between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m
    Who: Pilot John Downhower, 43, and photographer Dave Garrett, 36. Downhower worked for Helicopters Inc., which operated the Bell 206L-4, and Garrett worked for Metro News on assignment for Houston TV station KTRK
    Why: Pilot and phtographer were en route to cover an officer-involved shooting when the accident occurred. On impact, the helicopter broke into pieces and burst into flames, Both men were pronounced the men dead at the scene, and both suffered massive trauma. One body was charred. The bodies were taken to the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe

    Memorial service for Downhower: 11 a.m. Friday at Fellowship of The Woodlands, One Fellowship Drive.
    Garrett’s funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday at River Pointe Community Church, 5000 Ransom Road, in Richmond.

    A fund has been established for Garrett’s son:
    Adam Ryan Garrett Educational Fund
    P.O. Box 1811
    Sugar Land, Texas 77478-1811.

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    Emergency Landing at Heathrow

    What: British Airways Flight BA 341 Boeing 757, en route from France
    Where: priority landing at Heathrow airport
    When: British Summer Time (BST) 063 Sunday
    Who: 137 passengers
    Why: Fumes were detected in the passenger cabin, instigating an emergency landing. There were no injuries.

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  • Tomahawk Crashes in Sierra Sky Park; no fatalities

    What: Single-engine Tomahawk.
    Where: Sierra Sky Park in northwest Fresno
    When: Saturday evening
    Why:the pilot was getting ready to land and going about 70 mph when a downdraft shifted the course of the plane and it clipped the top of a Mor Furniture truck driving on Herndon Avenue then slammed into the ground short from the runway. The impact sheared off the top of the truck

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    New Mexico Crash


    What: Raytheon A36 registered to ST Inc. in Peoria, Ariz.
    Where: Crashed a mile and a half northwest of the Santa Teresa airport runway where it took off
    When: Saturday 6 p.m.
    Who: Michael Perry and Jim Crosby were killed.
    Why: Witnesses saw the plane fly into the storm. The plane crashed during a storm and burned.

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    Piper Crash in New Hampshire

    What: single-engine Piper Cub owned by Phyliss Harvey
    Where: crashed in a field on Red Oak Hill Road
    When: Sunday afternoon
    Who: Paul Aquaviva, the injured pilot was taken to Exeter Hospital
    Why: The plane lost power and crash landed. The crash is under investigation.

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  • Tennessee Ultralight Fatality

    What: ultralight taking off from Cooper Field, a grass airstrip in far western Greene County
    Where: cornfield in Greene County Tennessee
    When: Sunday right after taking off
    Who: 46-year-old Edward Molden
    Why: The plane went up about 150 feet, then took a sharp left turn and did a nosedive into the ground, possibly due to wind.

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    Drunken Passenger Goes to Jail

    Back in mid July, we wrote about air passenger Dean Lyons trying to open the door of the Boeing 767-300 he was passenger in, en route to Cuba. Instead, the plane dropped him off in Bermuda in the guardianship of a police escort, while –due to flight crew flying time restrictions–the rest of the passengers on the flight had to wait till the next day to fly on to their destination, Varadero Cuba. On October 6, Lyons was jailed for that offense. That, and for punching a man in a Basingstoke pub.

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    Delhi Emergency Landing

    What: London-bound Air India Boeing 777-300 flight AI-111 en route from Delhi
    Where: Delhi
    When: Saturday. The flight took off at 6:50 am. Emergency was declared at the airport at 7:50 am and it was withdrawn at 8:25 am after a safe landing.
    Who: 115 passengers and 15 crew members, all safe
    Why: After flying for 30 minutes, the alarm sounded, the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. and returned to the airport under Emergency conditions.

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    Australian DNA Specialists Going to Nepal

    The Australian Federal Police are sending a team of 5 forensic specialists– Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team– to recover the remains of twenty-four-year-old Chalene Zamudio and 31-year-old Andrew McLeod who were killed in Wednesday’s plane crash in Nepal. DNA identification of the bodies is required; and Nepal does not have the resources or equipment. There were eighteen casualties. Only the pilot survived. The team will be based in Kathmandu.

    See also:
    Nepal Update
    Nepalese Plane Crash kills 18

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    Emergency Landing in San Diego


    What: American Airlines MD-80 Flight 1802 en route from rom San Diego International Airport to Dallas
    Where: Emergency landing onn San Diego International Airport’s Lindbergh Field
    When: Thursday morning 10/09 10:00 a.m
    Who: 145 passengers and crew
    Why: The pilot reported a warning light. It was reported that the pilot had to shut down one of two engines, but that is apparently not true. In any case, the plane returned to the airport and landed safely with no injuries.

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    Cessna Crash in Ojinaga, Mexico

    What: Cessna 421B, N7560Q en route from El Paso International Airport to Presidio, Texas
    Operator: Volare Air Charter
    Where: 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico
    When: September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time
    Who: The dead included the leaders of the U.S. and Mexican sections of the IBWC, Carlos Marin of El Paso and Arturo Herreraof Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Also on board was Jake Brisbin Jr., executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The chartered Cessna 421 was piloted by Matthew Peter Juneau.

    NTSB Report:

    DFW08RA232
    On September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time, a United States registered Cessna 421B, N7560Q, was substantially damaged after it collided with mountainous terrain approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico, near the border town of Presidio, Texas. The air transport rated pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to EAC Parts LLC, Springfield, Ohio, and operated by Volare Air Charter, El Paso, Texas. The pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), Fort Worth, Texas, at 1016, approximately 15 minutes after he departed El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas, and filed a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. The pilot informed an AFSS specialist that he intended to enter Mexican airspace for the purpose of flying over the Luis Leon Dam, but had no intentions of landing in Mexico. The pilot did not request a weather briefing for the flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135; however, he was informed by the specialist that visual flight rules were not recommended due to mountain obscuration.

    Onboard the airplane were the pilot, the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The purpose of the flight was to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio-Ojinaga and to coordinate joint US-Mexican efforts with local officials to address flood control concerns in the area due to heavy inflows to the Rio Grande from reservoirs inside Mexico as a result of recent storms.

    The airplane wreckage was located on September 17, 2008, by the Marfa Sector of the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Division, on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane came to rest approximately 100-150 feet below the top of a ridgeline on a heading of 055 degrees along victor-airway V81.

    A handheld Garmin 496 GPS was removed from the airplane wreckage and sent to the NTSB’s Research and Engineering Laboratory, Washington DC, for further examination and download.

    The investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Government of the Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from:

    Dirección de Investigación de Incidentes y Accidentes Aviacion
    Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC)
    Ave. 602 NUM. 161. COL. San Juan de Aragon 3RA
    Seccion C.P. 15620
    Delagacion Benustiano Carranza
    México, D. F.

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    Malibu Beach Crash

    What: Northfield Aviation single-engine Sky Arrow 600 taking off from Santa Monica Airport
    Where: in the ocean off Malibu Beach
    When: Oct 7 5:15 p.m
    Who: Two men were on board: One was Griff Horner, 70, an experienced pilot and helicopter instructor. Critical injuries.
    Why:The incident is under investigation.

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    Nepal Update

    Update
    Fourteen unidentified tourists who died in the crash remain unidentified due to the lack of experts and equipment who can do DNA testing in Nepal. Thursday the team was augmented by three German medical and forensic experts, and more are expected Friday. DNA samples will be taken and sent out of the country.

    What: Canadian built Twin Otter owned by Yeti Airlines
    Where: crashlanded at the mountainous Lukla airport in north-eastern Nepal in the Mount Everest region
    When: Wednesday morning
    Who: 18 people died in the crash, mostly foreign tourists from Germany and Australia: 12 Germans, including six women, four Nepalese and two Australian. The captain is the only survivor; he was airlifted to Kathmandu. There Swiss casualties reported turned out to be Australian.
    Why: Lukla airport, located 2,743 metres above sea-level has steeply-inclined runway and is considered one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

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    Conviasa Boeing Crash: Toacaso, Ecuador


    Contact photographer Ivan P. Nesbit

    Update

    Aircraft mechanic Edwin David Hernandez came home today for the last time. He was one of the casualties of Ecuador, leaving behind his wife, Dilma, and two children. Hernandez was one of three crash victims retrieved by members of the Civil defense and the Red Cross of Ecuador. One of the plane’s black boxes was also found.

    The two Venezuelan victims were identified as Pedro Menderi (pilot) and Gerald Rangel (copilot).

    Licensing is still under investigation. There appear to be irregularities regarding the plane’s registration, as well as 39 licenses for technicians, pilots and Venezuelan and Peruvian air hostesses. The maintenance plan must be supervised by the supervising body of the country of origin of the airplane’s owner.

    Masry & Vititoe has been retained on behalf of family members.

    What: Conviasa Boeing 737-291 advanced (reg. YV-102T) en route from (Simón Bolívar International Airport,) Maiquetia, Venezuela to Latacunga, Ecuador
    Where: Illiniza Volcano elevation approx. 17000 feet) Toacaso, Ecuador
    When: August 30, 2008
    Who: 3 crew members, no survivors
    Why: The plane was being delivered to a new owner after being in storage. The flight crew lost lost radio and radar contact with Ecuadorian air control at 02:56Z on beginning descent to Latacunga. The wreckage location (near the LOTOA waypoint (LOTOA at 0° 46′ 23S 78° 52′ 20W) at an altitude of approximately 4000 meters )suggests the airplane flew into the side of the Iliniza Volcano and was completely destroyed on impact. The wreckage was spread 400 meters.

    Hondorus states attorney opened an investigation against “Atlantic Airlines de Honduras.” It has yet to be established, whether the airplane was operating under a Honduran license and if all requirements for legal use were met.

    Atlantic Airlines had operated the airplane until March 31st 2007.

    As of Sept 3rd, both flight recorders (flight data and cockpit voice recorder) have been recovered and will be sent to the USA for analysis

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    Spanair Cause Inconclusive

    So far there have been no groundbreaking discoveries regarding the cause of the Aug. 20 Spanair crash beyond what was known originally: a problem with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm, evidence of which is backed up by the plane’s black boxes. The plane’s history indicates that this was not the first time the wing slats were an issue. Two days before the accident, they were repaired.

    Before the crash, on the plane’s first pass, a warning sounded from a “heat sensor in the engine inlet” which prompted the pilots to return to the gate and get it inspected. The system was “isolated, ” i.e. unplugged.

    The technician discusses the disconnected probe.
    http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espan…/elpepiesp/20080823elpepinac_5/Tes

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    Emergency Landing

    An airliner was having engine trouble, and the pilot instructed the cabin crew to have the passengers take their seats and get prepared for an emergency landing.

    A few minutes later, the pilot asked the flight attendants if everyone was buckled in and ready.

    "All set back here, Captain," came the reply, "except one lawyer who is still in the aisle passing out business cards."

    src rep-am.com/articles/2008/10/09/lifestyle/daily_laugh/doc48ecde248eb27266367816.txt

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