Qantas today announced that five Bombardier Q400 ( Dash 8 ) aircraft operated by its regional airline QantasLink had been temporarily removed from service following an inspection by the airline of a main landing gear component.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce, said the inspections, and subsequent action, were initiated by Qantas following incidents experienced by another Q400 operator overseas and after discussions with the manufacturer.
Does this remind you of anything? … The never-ending story of the Q400 gear problems …
An AIRES Colombia Boeing 737-73V (HK-4682) crashed on landing today at San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (ADZ), Colombia. One passenger died, more than 100 were injured.
Flight 8250 was bound from Bogotá to San Andres Island. According to early reports the airplane may have been hit be a lightning bolt during landing on runway 06. The engines separated from the plane, it crashed on the runway and broke into three sections.
Boeing is sending a team to provide technical support to the Colombia DJAC to assist in the agency’s investigation of the accident, at the invitation of the Colombian authorities.
Internationally well-known flight school Hillsboro Aviation is charged with a $580,000 civil penalty by FAA for allegedly performing improper repairs, deliberately falsifying maintenance records and operating a helicopter in a reckless manner.
The FAA alleges that Hillsboro mechanics used incorrect parts and an unqualified individual to make repairs to a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter. The FAA also alleges the company made no record in the aircraft maintenance logs of work performed, and deliberately falsified maintenance documents claiming an airworthiness directive had been completed when the work had not been done.
In all, the company operated the helicopter on at least 103 flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations between June 29 and Sept. 9, 2008. At least four of these operations were conducted under Part 135 (Commuter and On-Demand Operations) of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
The FAA also alleges that Hillsboro mechanics failed to perform the required inspections after specified flight intervals on another Jet Ranger helicopter when the aircraft returned to service after maintenance. Hillsboro operated the aircraft on at least 430 flights, including at least 349 revenue flights under Part 135 between Jan. 13 and Sept. 7, 2008.
The third violation involved the operation of another Jet Ranger on a passenger-carrying flight, July 8, 2008. The pilot flew under the Interstate 5 and 205 highway bridges over the Columbia River in Portland, Ore. The FAA alleged the flight endangered the lives and property of others, because it was conducted within 500 feet of a structure, and at a low altitude where a safe emergency landing might not have been possible.
Today a USAF McDonnell Douglas C-17A Globemaster III, assigned to the 3rd Wing at Anchorage-Elmendorf Air Force Base crashed near the AFB. At the time of the accident, the C-17 was on a training mission for the upcoming Arctic Thunder air show.
All four crew members have been killed. Three of the crew were members of the Alaska Air National Guard and the other was active-duty Air Force from Elmendorf.
Today an Airblue Airbus A321-231 (AP-BJB) crashed into a mountains near Islamabad-Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Pakistan. Flight ED202 was bound from Karachi to Islamabad.
All 6 crew members and 146 passengers on board were killed.
The plane AP-BJB, MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 1218, was initially delivered from the production line in 2000. The aircraft was formerly operated by Aero Lloyd (D-ALAN) and Aero Flight (D-ARFA) and was leased to airblue in January 2006. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights. It was powered by IAE V2533 engines.
Today a Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (D-ALCQ) crashed during landing at Riyadh-King Khaled International Airport (RUH), Saudi Arabia. Flight LH8460 was bound from Frankfurt to Hong Kong with stopovers in Riyadh and Sharjah.
Both crew members were able to leave the aircraft down the emergency slide and have been treated in hospital.
The aircraft was delivered in 1993 and taken over by Lufthansa Cargo in 2004. The freighter completed its last comprehensive maintenance check (C-Check) on 22 June 2009, an A-Check was carried out prior to the flight to Riyadh.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed today, when his Tupolev 154M crashed on approach to Smolensk Airport (LNX) (Russia) in poor visibility. Already on the 4th landing attempt, the Polish Air Force flight, bound from Warszawa-Okecie Airport (WAW) (Poland), struck trees and broke up. All 88 people onboard have been killed.
According to aviation-safety.net weather reports at 08:00 CET indicated a temperature at Smolensk of 1°C, Dew Point:1°C, wind from 140 degrees at 6 knots, Pressure: 1026 hPa, heavy fog.
The landing of a Russian Air Force Ilyushin IL-76MD (RA-86863) comes to a sudden end as it touches down late due to strong crosswinds.
According to information on Youtube, this accident already occured on August 09, 2008 at Pskov (PKV/ULOO) (Russia).
Today Ethiopian Airlines flight 409, a Boeing 737-8AS(WL) (ET-ANB), crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon. The flight was bound for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unfortunately, no one of the 8 crew and 82 passengers survived this accident.
Weather reported about the time of the accident was: Wind 310 degrees at 8 knots, variable from 280° to 340°; visibility 8km; thunderstorms in the vicinity; few clouds with cumulonimbus at 2,000 ft; scattered clouds at 2,600 ft; temperature 13 degrees C
Almost one year after the famous US Airways 1549 New York Hudson River emergency landing, Airbus A320-214 N106US (S/N 1044) was put on auction recently. The auction closes March 27 and is open to the general public. Bids can be submitted online. The wreckage is currently stored in Kearny, NJ - wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers have been separated from the fuselage, the engines are not included in the sale.
The FAA also alleges that Hillsboro mechanics failed to perform the required inspections after specified flight intervals on another Jet Ranger helicopter when the aircraft returned to service after maintenance. Hillsboro operated the aircraft on at least 430 flights, including at least 349 revenue flights under Part 135 between Jan. 13 and Sept. 7, 2008. 
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