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NTSB Investigating October Turbulence Incident
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Cary Liao
The incident 35,000 feet above Norfolk where an AirTran Airways Boeing 717 maneuvered to avoid another aircraft on Oct. 26, and a passenger and flight attendant were both injured by turbulence is currently being investigated by the NTSB.
The FAA does not know if the sharp loss of altitude is related to the collision avoidance maneuver or turbulence. The incident is not being called a close call.
Nigeria: ATC Down
Pictured: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-3BG/ER
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Contact photographer Pieter-Jan Van De Vijver
What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Addis Ababa to Lagos
Where: Lagos Nigeria
When: Dec 13th 2009
Who: 180 passengers
Why: On approach, ATC communication failed. With air traffic control’s radar and communication radio out of service, the flight circled, and after two hours in a holding pattern, landed after declaring a fuel emergency.
Other flights also had the same experience.
Nigeria’s Airspace Management Agency NAMA was unavailable for two hours.
Transaero Airlines: Going to Pieces?
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Contact Photographer Vlad Moskvin
What: Transaero Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Moscow Domodedovo to St. Petersburg (Russia)
Where: Moscow
When: Jul 20th 2009
Who: 41 passengers and 6 crew
Why: On takeoff, the right wing lost a 60 by 80 centimeter “leading edge fairing”. The flight continued as usual and fortunately landed safely in St. Petersburg.
The part was found on the Domodedova airport runway.
George’s Point of View
I’m sure that all of us have heard of the old saying (paraphrased from De Minimis Maxima ) the mighty oak from tiny acorns grow.
When one considers the question of pieces falling off of a plane, it seems simultaneously a tiny pointless thing and a huge issue. Consider a miniscule hole in the roof of our house is hardly worth considering; perhaps it is even invisible to the naked eye. But look what damage it causes when it rains. Somehow I don’t think “the leading edge” is like a car’s hubcap, mostly for decoration. It’s there to do something, and when that part is gone, that something is undone and will have consequences. Maybe letting in some moisture. Maybe causing corrosion down the road.
As a frequent passenger, I tend to be somewhat fatalistic about plane parts. Look, some engineer put that part there for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but if it’s good enough for the plane’s engineer, it is good enough for me, and I’d just as soon not fly without it. So many carriers get bad reputations based on careless maintenance of old planes, and this is just the kind of incident that gets people talking. (Old planes need MORE maintenance as they get older, just like old furniture, old machines, old cars, old people, old EVERYTHING.) Certainly Russia knows that maintenance deferred–especially on an airplane–is a recipe for disaster.
I just hope they replace the part before the little acorn of a problem grows into a great big oak tree of a pending disaster. This may be the first incident in a chain of events that unravels the whole plane.
American Airlines Cautionary Landing in Wyoming
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Contact photographer Yash Rajgor
What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from San Francisco to New York
Where: Casper Wyoming
When: Jul 12th 2010
Who: 193 passengers, 9 crew
Why: While en route, the flight developed a smokey odor in the cockpit. The pilot decided to divert to Casper Wyoming. In Casper, when American Airlines found the source of the fumes to be a computer screen, maintenance dealt with the problem, and the plane was allowed to continue with its passengers to the destination.
Burbank: Close call
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Contact photographer Jason Whitebird
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Oakland to Burbank,CA
Where: Burbank on Apr 19th 201
When: Apr 19 2010
Who: 119 passengers and 5 crew
Why: Approaching the runway prior to takeoff, a a Cessna 172 passed over the passed over the 737, with a clearance of 200 feet (vertical) and 10 feet (lateral).
The NTSB is investigating.
Airbus Engine Shut Down over Pacific
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Contact photographer G.Luca D’Urbano
What: Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-200 en route from Auckland to Buenos Aires
Where: Pacific Ocean
When: Jan 21, 2010
Who: 229 passengers
Why: An hour into the flight, the left engine had to be shut down. The Airbus returned to Auckland to make a safe landing. After undergoing maintenance, repairs and essential services, the plane will optimistically be resumed eventually. It is not known if passengers have hotel accommodations or if they will be waiting at the airport.
Any time an engine must be shut down, especially when it is an airbus over a body of water, we all breathe a sigh of relief at a safe landing.