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    Flight 518-Andes Mountain Crash, 46 on board


    Head of the Civil Defense for Merida, Noel Marquez, said locals saw the plane go down 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Caracas, in the Andean region of Coyado del Condor.

    The Santa Barbara Airlines flight went missing after departing from Merida at 5:45 pm (2245 GMT).

    Rescue teams are in transit, according to Marquez. The plane they are searching for is a French-Italian-made ATR42 twin-engine turbo-prop. It crashed approximately 15,600 feet above sea level and sent no emergency signals prior to its disappearance. When air traffic controllers had been out of contact with flight 518 for hours, alarms went out.

    Advance rescue teams traveled toward the Paramo Mifafi valley. The first rescue team left Thursday night for the village of Mucuchies, an hour from Merida but won’t not arrive at the accident location for about three hours because of the steep terrain and near freezing temperatures. Marquez, said “Early tomorrow (Friday) two M17 rescue helicopters will be deployed.” Until then, over a hundred searchers are working on on the ground.

    National Civil Defense chief Antonio Rivero said officially that the plane is still listed as missing.The passenger list included a Venezuelan political analyst and relatives of a government official. The pilot had received special training for flying in the Andes and had been employed by Santa Barbara Airlines eight years.

    The 20-year-old plane had no record of technical problems but the Aviation Safety Network publishes that the ATR 42 series has been involved in at least 17 accidents its beginnings in 1984. Psychologists have been sent to counsel relatives waiting at the airport.

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    Five Manslaughter Convictions in Air Crash

    In October 2001, in thick fog, a Copenhagen-bound SAS airliner ploughed into a Cessna business jet as the airliner was taking off resulting in the deaths of 118 people in 2001 in Italy’s worst air disaster. Italy’s top tribunal, The Cassation Court, acquitted two senior airport officials who stood trial for the Milan’s Linate airport crash. The SAS plane slammed into a baggage hangar and burst into flames. All on board both planes died, plus four people in the hangar.

    Paolo Pettinaroli, spokesperson of an association of relatives of the victims, said he was “happy with the confirmation of the convictions, but I did not expect that they would acquit those responsible for the airports’ security…It was shameful then, and it is still today.”

    Following the disaster, the airfield was found to have safety shortcomings, and lacked a functioning ground radar system. The July 2006 Milan appeals court findings of multiple manslaughter as well as negligent disaster were upheld. Investigations verified that runway signs were confusing; the control tower failed to ask the business plane’s pilot to read back his instructions, ground radar was out of operation and safety procedures were poorly followed.

    Details of the accident
    In the fog, the private Cessna invaded the runway of SAS flight 686 which committed to take off. The collision at 270.5 km/h crashed the Cessna, instantly killing the four passengers. The MD-87 lost the right engine and debris from the Cessna weakened the left engine. Commander Joakim Gustafsson could not end the takeoff phase so he was forced to carry out a perfect textbook emergency landing. However the MD-87 crashed into the baggage hanger at around 260 km/h, bursting into flames, killing 110 passengers and four workers in the building. The only survivor was Pasquale Padovano, an employee of SEA, Milan’s airport management company. Italians, Swedes, Danes, Finns, Norwegians, a Romanian, a Briton, a South African and an American were killed.

    Upheld was:

    • a 6 year prison sentence for former head of air traffic control authority ENAV, Sandro Gualano. He received the longest prison term.
    • a 3 year sentence for Paolo Zacchetti, air traffic controller
    • a four-year, four-month sentence for Fabio Marzocca’s Former ENAV director general
    • a 3 year 3 month sentence for Lorenzo Grecchi, former official with the SEA airports agency,
    • a 3 year 3 month sentence for Antonio Cavanna, former official with the SEA airports agency

    Angelo Di Popolo, deputy prosecutor of the Cassation, requested cancellation of the acquittals for the ex-director of Linate airport Vincenzo Fusco (current ENAC director in the airport of Alghero-Fertilia), and the ex-director of the Milan airports, Francesco Federico (now ENAC director of the “Sandro Pertini” airport of Turin).

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    Convictions Stand in Milan Airport Crash

    Convictions Stand in Milan Airport Crash
    4 hours ago

    ROME (AP) — Italy’s top criminal court on Wednesday upheld prison sentences for five aviation officials convicted in a 2001 runway collision of two aircraft that killed 118 people, Italian news agencies reported.
    The Court of Cassation upheld the convictions of manslaughter and negligence and confirmed sentences ranging from three to 6 1/2 years in jail, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies reported.

    The longest prison term belongs to Sandro Gualano, who stepped down as chief executive of Italy’s air traffic agency ENAV after the Oct. 8, 2001, crash between an Scandinavian Airlines System airliner and a corporate jet at Milan’s Linate airport, the agencies said.

    The crash happened on a foggy morning when the SAS MD-87, bound for Copenhagen, rolled down the tarmac for takeoff. The jetliner collided with a business plane with four people on board then careened into a baggage hangar, killing four ground workers and 110 people on the jetliner.

    Investigators have described the accident as avoidable, caused by a combination of human error and poorly followed safety procedures. The ground radar was out of operation.

    Investigators cited confusing runway signs, and the control tower failed to ask the smaller plane’s pilot to read back his instructions, authorities said.

    Wednesday’s ruling upheld the sentence of former ENAV director general Fabio Marzocca to four years and four months in jail. Three-year terms were also confirmed for Paolo Zacchetti — the controller on duty during the crash — and two other airport officials, ANSA reported.
    Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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    Brazil jet thrust reverser ‘off’


    This photograph was produced by Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency.Their website states: “O conteúdo deste site é publicado sob a licença Creative Commons Atribuição 2.5 Brasil”(This photo is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil)

    The thrust reverser had been deactivated during maintenance checks, the airline confessed.

    The reverser is used to help jets slow down on landing.

    Tam Airlines insisted the deactivation was in accordance with proper procedures. However, nearly 200 people–passengers and crew–are dead.

    Yet this was in accordance with proper procedures?

    The airbus started to land at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, and either aborted the landing or failed to slow down when the deactivated thrust reverser failed. The plane crossed the street, hit buildings and exploded.

    Tam Airlines said the right thrust reverser was “deactivated” at the time of the accident. To quote them specifically:
    “in conditions stipulated by the maintenance of the manufacturer Airbus and approved by [Brazil’s] National Civil Aviation Agency”.

    Brazil’s Globo TV televised that a problem with the right thrust reverser had emerged four days prior to the crash.

    The Airbus’s manual stipulates that ten days can lapse after a problem is first detected in an inspection and the plane can continue to operate in the meantime.

    sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk
    http://www.aviation.com/ap_070721_thrustreverser.html

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    Pilot Error Down

    Blame it on better training.

    Blame what? The good news that mishaps due to pilots’ poor decision-making declined 71 percent 1983 and 2002.

    Thanks to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for doing the research that says that though the overall rate of airline accidents remained stable during that period, the proportion of mishaps involving overall pilot error has decreased 40 per cent.

    The study’s lead author, Susan P. Baker says, “A 40 percent decline in pilot error-related mishaps is very impressive. Pilot error has long been considered the most prominent contributor to aviation crashes. Trends indicate that great progress has been made to improve the decision-making of pilots and coordination between the aircraft’s crew members. However, the improvements have not led to an overall decline in mishaps. The increase in mishaps while aircraft are not moving may require special attention.”

    Read more about Baker’s study in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.

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    Emergency Landing: Flight BA38 British Airways Boeing 777



    What: Flight BA38 British Airways Boeing 777
    Where: Heathrow
    When: January 17 2008
    Who: one passenger seriously injured and 12 others slightly hurt.
    Why: lost thrust in both engines at 600ft
    Initial report stated: drop in temperatures to -105F (-76C) may have caused the fuel in the aircraft to thicken during the flight which meant it was unable to get the additional thrust needed to land.

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  • Air Traffic Up

    Brazilian air traffic has been up for the end of 2007 holiday season. This is news as Brazil’s aviation infrastructure has been struggling since a fatal crash of a TAM airliner at Congonhas airport, which was Brazil’s main domestic hub, caused disruption and led the government to restrict flights and basically turn over most of the aviation leadership.

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    Top Ten Disaster

    The Tam Air Crash in Sao Paulo has made a top ten disaster list.

    #2. Brazil Plane Crash – Aviators call São Paolo’s Congonhas Airport “the aircraft carrier,” because landing on its notoriously short runway, surrounded by densely populated residential areas, is as touchy as trying to put down on the deck of a ship at sea. Though a Brazilian court had banned large jets from the airport in February, citing safety concerns, the ban was later overturned. On July 17, the pilot of TAM Airlines Flight JJ3054, tried to land at Congonhas, but realizing he wouldn’t be able to stop in time on the rain-slicked tarmac, tried to take off again. He failed. The Airbus A320 skidded across a road, smashed into a gas station and then into a building owned by the airline. The ensuing fireball killed all 186 people on the plane and 13 more on the ground, making this the worst air disaster in Brazilian history.

    Read More here

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  • Airline Panic Attack

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    Recent Airline Accidents since the Tam Air Crash in Sao Paulo

    30 November 2007; Atlasjet MD83; near Keciborlu, Turkey:
    Domestic flight from Istanbul to Isparta disappeared from radar screens. The crew had requested permission to land and subsequently crashed in mountainous terrain near the town of Keciborlu 7.5 miles from the Isparta airport. All seven crew members and 50 passengers were killed.

    16 September 2007; One-Two-Go Airlines MD82; Phuket, Thailand:
    Scheduled domestic flight from Bangkok (DMK) to Phuket (HKT). After landing heavy rain and poor visibility , the aircraft skidded off the runway, impacted trees, and caught fire. At least 89 deaths, including 85 of the 123 passengers and five of the seven crew members.

    20 August 2007; China Airlines 737-800; Naha, Japan:
    After landing at Naha on the island of Okinawa, the left engine caught fire and the crew initiated an emergency evacuation. All 157 passengers (including two toddlers) and eight crew members survived. This event did not result in a passenger death.

    9 August 2007; Air Moorea Twin Otter; Moorea, Frech Polynesia:
    Scheduled domestic flight from Moorea (MOZ) to Tahiti (PPT) crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff. The single crew member and all 19 passengers were killed.

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    Brazil Compensation

    Defense Minister Nelson Jobim announced Brazilian airlines will have to compensate customers for excessive delays of more than five hours.

    During the past 14 months after two fatal plane crashes, the Brazilian government limited flights at certain airports and allowed air-traffic controllers to reduce the number of flights they monitor.

    Brazil’s federal government is in charge of managing and operating the country’s ailing aviation industry, which has been struggling since the GOL and TAM crashes.

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    Reali Taxi Aerea responsible for 8 More Dead

    The Learjet 35 that crashed on November 4 in São Paulo, Brazil, is responsible for the death of at least eight people. The São Paulo-based Reali Taxi Aerea Learjet was attempting to return to Campo do Marte Airport just after takeoff in light rain. It slammed nose first into a suburban neighborhood. The deceased include the pilot, copilot and at least six people in the residential neighborhood.

    The head of Brazil’s National Civilian Aviation Agency, Milton Zuanazzi, resigned in October after two recent aviation accidents: the July crash of a TAM Airbus at Congonhas Airport and the September 2006 midair between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and an Embraer Legacy 600.

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    David Barioni Neto CEO

    SAO PAULO, Nov 28 (Reuters) -TAM, Brazil’s largest airline appointed David Barioni Neto as its chief executive, replacing Marco Antonio Bologna, who stepped down following disaster after disaster over the past year. Though Bologna resigned, he remains a special adviser to TAM’s controlling shareholders, the airline said in a statement.

    TAM hired Barioni Neto in September from rival Gol Linhas Aereas

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    Brazil’s Turbulent Airline Biz

    São Paulo-based BRA suspended all operations as it struggles to find financing. Currently Brazil is left with TAM and Gol/Varig, both of which have had their own issues.

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    8 Dead in New Crash

    Officials of Reali were not immediately available for comment on the crash of the Learjet 35 on Sunday. It was raining at the time, but not badly; the cause of the crash is unknown.

    The private jet can carry up to 10 passengers. The first three victims identified were not passengers.

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    Sao Paulo Crash Sunday Nov 4

    Reali Taxi Aero’s small executive Learjet 35 took off in the rain at 14:10 local from Campo de Marte Airport in Sao Paulo and crashed into a house in the Casa Verde neighborhood half a kilometre from the runway after taking off. Eight people died; the bodies of four men, three women and a baby were found in the plane wreckage.

    Three others were rescued, including Claudia Lima Fernandes, 30,who was badly burned, and an 11 year old girl.

    Other neighborhood houses had to be evacuated and are being evaluated for safety.

    Witnesses said that the jet, which took off from Campo de Marte for Rio de Janeiro, ploughed nose first into the houses when it seemed to attempt a return to the airport.

    This was Sao Paulo’s second large air tragedy this year. On July 17, a TAM Airbus crashed while landing at the Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.

    São Paulo is known for its large helicopter fleet. Businessmen often fly the vast city by helicopter to avoid traffic and security threats .However last Monday three helicopters crashed in Sao Paulo in two hours.

    Three people died. Five days earlier, after having mechanical problems, an air force plane crashed north of Sao Paulo, There were no casualties.

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    Chairman Resigns!

    At a press conference Oct 31 in Brasília, Board Chairman Milton Zuanazzi, the last remaining member of ANAC’s former board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) announced his resignation from the board.

    Zuanazz based his decision on claims that the National Civil Aviation Agency was the “scapegoat” for Brazil’s current air crisis.

    He said publicly that he “would not like to work” with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, a position which is certainly understandable since Jobim has been trying to remove him since July.

    He delayed his resignation to the current time to allow Jobim to find new directors. Zuanazzi says that Jobim is not well-informed about Brazil’s aviation system, and classifies some of his proposals as “reckless.” The last straw was Defense Minister Nelson Jobim’s proposal to increase the required distance between airplane seats. Doing so would force carriers to raise fares, Zuanazzi said.

    One wonders how raising the distance between airplane seats will increase the safety factor, which is at the root of the whole aviation problem in Brazil.

    Zuanazz recommends Civil Aviation Secretary Solange Paiva Vieira to be his replacement.

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    Tam Air Threatens Football’s Future

    Fifa, football’s world governing body has awarded the 2014 tournament to Brazil–a brave move, considering that Brazil’s justice ministry has recorded 150 murders per day in Brazil, and the state of Brazil’s aviation industry is less than stellar.

    Currently it only takes a brief thunderstorm in Sao Paulo to knock out Brazil’s domestic air system. Congonhas airport must shut during storms, which has a domino effect.

    Two major crashes occurred in the past 13 months:

    Gol-In September last year- 155 people died when a Boeing 737-800 operated by domestic company Gol collided with an executive jet

    Tam-In July,- 187 people were killed when an Airbus A320 overshot the runway at Congonhas.

    President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is quoted as saying “Our aviation system, in spite of the investments we have made in expansion and modernisation, is passing through difficulties.”

    An overland journey from Rio de Janeiro to Manaus takes 60 hours on a bus to Belem, followed by several days on a boat down the Amazon river. There is no astrobus.

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    Tam: Business as usual?

    With July’s fatal crash and a year of turmoil in the Brazilian airline sector, it has been a tough year for Brazil’s TAM Linhas Aéreas. Following months of air traffic controller strikes, airport delays and flight cancellations, one of Tam’s Airbus A320s overran the runway at São Paulo Congonhas airport in a catastrophe that claimed 199 lives.

    TAM president Marco Antonio Bologna has been feeling the brunt of Brazil’s favorite blame game: “who is responsible?” Bologna is reluctant to discuss the accident other than to describe the measures taken by TAM to assist the victims’ families.

    What did cause the crash?

    Brazil’s aviation industry continues on in a climate of fear and mistrust.

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    Pleas for Brazil to Drop Criminal Investigation

    Brazil’s air traffic control problem did not begin in July when a TAM Linhas Aereas SA Airbus crashed into a warehouse in Sao Paulo, killing 199 people. There was another crash the year before, a crash which led to a criminal investigation.

    The criminal investigation relates to this event: the mid-air collision between a GOL Boeing 737-800 and an Embraer Legacy executive jet last year The Boeing crashed into the Amazon jungle, killing all 154 people onboard. The business jet landed safely.

    The International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations claims that “The bottom line is they’ve got the cart in front of the horse on this. If they’re serious about improving air safety in Brazil, they’ve got to wait for the (technical) report and swiftly apply any recommendations made by it.”

    IFALPA is asking the Brazilian government to suspend the legislative inquiry and the Justice Ministry to adjourn criminal proceedings.”

    CRIMINAL CHARGES

    Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino of Westhampton Beach, New York are the Legacy’s two American pilots. Additionally four Brazilian controllers face charges in the criminal case in connection with the accident.

    The probe by Brazil’s air accident investigation body has yet to publish its findings.
    The pilots’ association claims that “A Federal Police investigation running in parallel with the independent accident investigation … risks obscuring the benefits of a proper investigation.” The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers also criticizes the police probe.

    U.S. and Brazilian officials say the Legacy’s transponder and its collision-avoidance system were not functioning at the time of the crash, and that this went unnoticed by its American pilots. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warns that pilots flying Embraer Legacy executive jets can accidentally switch off the transponder when placing their feet on a footrest under the instrument panel. The pilot’s left shoe can touch the switch controlling both instruments and accidentally switch them into “standby” mode.

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    Gol Linhas Aereas Buyback Under Consideration

    The Tam Air crash revealed defects in Brazil’s civil aviation system. The system has been stressed subsequent to air traffic controller strikes and work slowdowns that have been causing mass delays and cancellations and damaged Brazilian airlines.

    Gol Linhas Aereas Intelligentes SA shares dropped since Brazil’s deadliest air accident in July, when theTAM passenger jet crashed in Sao Paulo and killed 199 people.

    Following the crash, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded to pressure by firing the defense minister in charge of civil aviation, and the government is imposing a plan to reduce air traffic at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, the site of the crash and the nation’s busiest airport.

    The family-run fund that controls the company announced it is considering a share buyback.

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