What: SAA South African Airways Airbus A340-300 en route from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Perth,WA Where: Perth When: Dec 6th 2011 Why: After a normal flight, on approach to Perth, the plane was struck by lightning. Subsequently, pilots reported problems and began circling the airport. They did a flyby to observe the condition of the tires which were reported as having all “indications lost.” The plane eventually landed safely.
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What: American Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Los Angeles,CA to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX Where: Los Angeles When: Dec 18th 2009 Who: 193 passengers Why: On takeoff, the right main gear door was stuck open, and the landing gear would not retract. The plain turned around and landed safely at LAX. Passengers debarked and were provided an alternative flight.
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In the continuing quest recovering the bits and pieces of the Air France Flight 447 Airbus, and the Flight Data Recorder was recovered, the French navy sent a patrol to carry the black boxes to Cayenne, French Guyana, and then flown to Le Bourget to the BEA. The BEA Investigator-in-charge, a CENIPA Investigator, and French Judicial Peace officer will be present in the ten day exchange process.
BEA briefings indicate that on Monday the Cockpit Voice Recorder was identified. On Tuesday, it was recovered by the Remora 6000 ROV at 2:40, Tuesday May 3, 2001, and raised on board the Ile de Sein.
Bea Photos Documenting the Recovery
From the May 3 Briefing
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A team of around 200 police, military and rescue workers are headed in vehicles and on foot towards Salak mountain where the plane went missing.
A passenger list of 36 names posted at Halim airport showed that most of the people on board were Indonesian airline and aviation representatives, as well as five journalists and a representative of French aircraft engine maker SNECMA.
What: Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 en route from Jakarta to Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Where: Indonesia When: May 9th 2012 Who: 36 passengers, 6 crew and 2 Sukhoi official Why: The Sukhoi Sukhoi Superjet was thirty minutes into a demo flight over Jakarta when it disappeared from radio contact. It had already flown to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. After Jakarta, it was supposed to visit Laos and Vietnam.
The flight has not been reported landing at any airport. According to an individual who was supposed to be on the flight, it was only to last thirty minutes, and would have run out of fuel by now, if it had been flying all this time.
At 15:30L the crew asked ATC to descend to 6000 feet in an area where there is a 6,200 foot-high mountain. The plane lost contact on a descending right turn and has been reported as missing.
No crash site has been located; it may have crashed into Mount Salak.
The plane was flown by plane was operated by senior test-pilot Aleksandr Yablontsev and co-pilot Aleksandr Kochetkov, and there were six other russians aboard, Aero navigator Oleg Shvetsov, flight engineer Aleksey Kirkin, leading test flight engineer Dennis Rakhmanov, test flight deputy head Nikolay Martyshenko, “Sukhoi” company Sales Director Evgeny Grebenshchikov, and contract manager Kristina Kurzhukova.
Hijacking is unlikely, and appears to be a media rumor.
In George’s Point of View
Along with the rest of the world, we are hoping and praying the plane will be found intact.
One helicopter was sent out on a search mission, according to a local twitter. (See video below.)
Passenger Manifest
1. Kornel M. Sihombing (DI),
2. Edie Satiyo (Pelita Air),
3. Darwin Pelawi (Pelita Air),
4. Gatot Purwoko (Airfast),
5. Budi Rizal (Putra Arta Dirgantara),
6. Syafrudin (Carpedrem Mardin),
7. Peter Adler (Sriwijaya),
8. Herman Suladji (Air Maleo),
9. Donardi Rahman (Aviastar),
10. Eloni (Kartika),
11. Hurdiana Widjanda (Kartika),
12. Arief Wahyudi (TR),
13. Nam Tran (Snecma),
14. Ruli Dermawan (Indo Asia),
15. Ahmad Fazal (Indo Asia),
16. Insan Kamil (Indo Asia),
17. Edward Edo (Indo Asia),
18. Ismie (Trans TV),
19. Aditya Sukardi (Trans TV),
20. Indra Halim (PT KAI),
21. Rietyan S. (PT KAI),
22. Dody Aviantara (Angkasa),
23. Don Yusuf (Angkasa),
24. Femi (Bloomberg),
25. Stephen Kamaci (Indo Asia),
26. Capt. Aan (Kartika),
27. Yusuf Ariwibowo (Sky),
28. Maria Marcella (Sky),
29. Henny Stevani (Sky),
30. Mai Syarah (Sky),
31. Dewi Mutiara (Sky),
32. Sussana Vamella (Sky),
33. Nur Ilmawati (Sky),
34. Rossy Withan (Sky),
35. Anggi (Sky),
36. Aditya (Sky).
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What: BMI British Midland Airbus A320-200 en route from London to Edinburgh Where: Manchester When: Nov 9th 2009 Who: 147 passengers and 6 crew Why: While en route, although the crew got a cabin pressure warning, masks did not deploy. The plane diverted to Manchester where it landed safely, and the problem was judged to be a faulty indicator.
A replacement Airbus was provided.
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What: ContactAir Fokker 100/Lufthansa en route from from Berlin Tegel to Stuttgart Where: Stuttgart When: Sep 14th 2009 Who: 73 passengers including Franz Muentefering and 5 crew (6 injury/issues) Why:
Update:
According to news releases quoting Lufthansa, the Stuttgart emergency landing on Sept. 14 was “probably caused by a valve part that came loose and blocked the landing gear’s hydraulic system.”
“Part of a valve came loose internally and blocked a hydraulic line…It worked like a stopper.”
George’s Point of View
Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. It’s a 14 year old plane. Should I repeat “maintenance” 14 times? It’s not as if the plane were self-aware and could tighten or replace its own valves.
The plane’s last inspection was in August, prior to Contact Air acquiring the plane. Even if Contact Air is not legally required to perform a post-purchase inspection, it seems like it would be a reasonable thing for a new owner to do.
If this were a used car purchase, would we take it for an inspection with our own mechanics, and to get tags?
A Cathay Dragon plane suffered a tail strike while landing in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on March 3rd.