When a plane goes down in the ocean, the black boxes aboard have enough juice to ping for thirty days. The pingers on flight data recorders AKA “black boxes” last a minimum of 30 days. After 30 days, the devices are still active, but the sound on which searchers hone is expected to die out. The pinger is located by a “pinger locater,” a device that listens for the sound of the black box. It is towed within the search area but it’s listening radius is usually around 2 miles. The pinger’s sound is not very powerful, and the pinger is towed at 3 knots.
220px-ULBeacon

After AirFrance 447, legislation was underway to increase the battery life to 90 days. The technology exists, but because implementation of that transition has been slow, EgyptAir MS 804’s pinger battery is expected to expire at around 30 days.

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Crash in Cork; 6 Fatalities


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer A. Muñiz Zaragüeta

What: Manx2 leased from Flightline Swearingen SA-227BC Metro III en route from Belfast to Cork
Where: Cork Airport, Ireland
When: Feb 10, 2011
Who: 6 fatalities, 6 hospitalized (12 aboard) 10 passengers, 2 crew
Why: The plane was on approach to Runway 17 in fog and low visability. The plane made a go-around. The pilot attempted a second landing on Runway 35. The flight made a second go-around; on the second approach to Runway 17 the aircraft crashed and flipped.

The plane is an 18-seater Fairchild Metroliner leased by Manx 2 with the flight number BPS 7100.

The Spanish pilot and his British co-pilot are among the fatalities; also, Pat Cullinan, a partner in KPMG from Omagh and worked in the Belfast office of the accountancy firm; businessman Brendan McAleese from Co Tyrone, who is is a first cousin of Dr Martin McAleese, husband of President Mary McAleese.

A public announcement said “three men from the North, two men resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and a male Spanish national” were killed.

The six survivors (5 men and 1 woman) have been hospitalized at Cork University Hospital.

Irish Authority Statement
1015hrs 10 February 2011: Flight Avia No FLT400C a metroliner SW4 with ten passengers and two crew has crashed at Cork Airport. No details of injuries or fatalities are available. The aircraft made an approach to Runway 17 in low vis conditions (Category 2) and went around and did not land and attempted a second landing on Runway 35. The aircraft then went around a second time and came back for an approach to Runway 17. On the second approach to Runway 17 the aircraft crashed adjacent to Taxiway C. Rescue and Fire crew are in attendance. There is a fire and debris has been scattered onto the runway and over a wide area. The accident will be investigated by the Air Accident Unit of the Dept. of Transport. This is correct at this time and may be amended as more detail becomes available.

Ireland is conducting the investigation.

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Cropduster Lost in Mississippi


What: Yellow and blue crop duster en route from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland, Miss
Where: wooded area in the Bogue Chitto community, Mississippi
When: Friday
Who: Monty Hudson
Why: Hudson and his brother (in a separate plane) were traveling from Greenville and encountered bad weather. The plane dropped off radar in Alabama Friday–Hudson died Friday–and was missing until Monday. WHen the wreckage was found in Neshoba County, it was hanging nose down in pine trees at 5:30 p.m. two miles northeast of Bogue Chitto off Road 765. Apparently the plane had caught on fire after crashing.

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Air China Airbus False Emergency Causes Return to Sanya

<What: Air China Airbus A330-200 en route from Sanya to Beijing
Where: Sanya
When: Jan 8th 2012
Who: not available
Why: After a faulty cargo door refused to close and held up the flight for two hours, once the flight was in the air, the door emitted an unsafe indication.

The flight returned safely to Sanya and made a safe landing. The door problem was reported as a false indication.

In George’s Point of View


One wonders if the delicate electronic indicator mechanism was damaged during attempts to close the door? I can’t help picturing the cargo door being repeatedly slammed. But wHo knows? We haven’t heard if the flight continued, was cancelled or if the jet was replaced.

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Swiss International Air Lines Flight Returns to Stockholm After Engine Fire Indication

Swiss International Air Lines flight LX-1233 had to return for an emergency landing in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 27th.

The Airbus A319-100 plane took off for Geneva, Switzerland, but had to turn back after the crew received an engine fire indication.

The crew had activated the fire suppression system before the plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.

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Arm-wrestling Damages from the Mother Country: Brazil vs France


In the continuing saga of Air France Flight 447, whether the victims are Brazilian or French, they certainly qualify for compensation. The question is how much. Everyone involved, the airlines, the insurance companies, the lawyers, the families all have different numbers in mind.

Recovery of the black boxes is not the only Air France news.

In the poker game of damage recovery, Air France must have blinked. The Brazilian Court system rejected the latest offer to the family of the deceased Luciana Clarkson Seba, a 31-year-old Brazilian who died along with her husband and stepparents.

Brazil rejected the appeal and raised compensation from1.2 million reals ($744,000) to 1.4 million reals ($868,000). The decision was unanimous.

Currently French courts are considering manslaughter charges against Airbus. At least Airbus has some good news to temper the bad, since the search has revealed the black boxes. Whether or not the integrity of the boxes has been breached has not yet been revealed. Experts predict both extremes: complete data loss due to the pressure and time and complete data recovery. We tend to believe the data is safe, since these memory devices must pass certification at 3400 G/ 600 psi.

And when that data is recovered, the experts will be examining it, looking at the rest of the gathered evidence, including the wreckage that is being recovered right now, which will have its own tale to tell.

It remains to be seen if the pitot tube theory will be supported by the CDR and FDR; but with all of these various sources coming together, we can anticipate a dimensional inquiry, a coordinated synthesis, and a profound deduction to explicate the enigma that is Air France Flight 447.

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Fedex Flight Returns to Milwaukee After Bird Strike

Fedex Federal Express flight FX-2415 had to return and make an emergency landing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 8th.

The Airbus A300-600 plane took off for Appleton, Wisconsin, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.

The plane landed back safely. There were 2 crew members aboard at the time; both of them remained unharmed.

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