Video – Beechcraft Bonanza Close Call with Terrain

I just found this video on YouTube.
According to the YouTube user, a Beechcraft Bonanza took of June 10th, 2009 to videotape a friend flying an Aero L-39 Albatros. Due to bad weather with low visibility, the Bonanza came very close to terrain. How close it really was, you can see on the damage of the plane in the end of the video.

Pilots Forget to Land – Northwest Plane Overshoots Destination

It sounds like a bad joke: Northwest Airlines flight 188 from San Diego (KSAN) to Minneapolis (KMSP) overshot its intended destination by 150 miles on Wednesday evening.

What happened in that cockpit? The pilots say they “lost situational awareness” while arguing about airline policy. The immediate suspicion is that they fell asleep.

Northwest Airlines Flight 188 Flight Path Map

Contact with the Airbus A320 was lost at about 6:45 p.m. local time, the aircraft overflew Minneapolis and crossed the state line into Wisconsin before the crew responded to ATC and turned back. A review of the cockpit voice recorder is underway and will probably reveal the real cause of this small detour.

Video – Short interview with pilot

Flight 188 at Flightaware:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NWA188/history/20091021/2135Z/KSAN/KMSP

Related Link:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-22/the-new-cockpit-threat/?cid=hp:mainpromo1

Boeing 707 Crashed in Sharjah United Arab Emirates

Today a Sudan Airways Boeing 707-300 cargo plane crashed shortly after take-off from Sharjah Airport (SHJ/OMSJ), United Arab Emirates. The Boeing was leased from AZZA Transport and operated as flight SUD2241, bound for Khartoum (KRT/HSSS), Sudan.
The plane crashed near a road, broke up and burned. No one of the 6 crew on board survived.

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News story & photos at http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/emergencies/six-dead-after-…

FAA Proposes Fine Against US Airways and United Airlines

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today proposed fines against US Airways and United Airlines because of violating maintenance procedures and operating airplanes in unsafe conditions.

US Airways is fined a $5.4 million civil penalty for allegedly operating eight aircraft on a total of 1,647 flights from October 2008 to January 2009 while not in compliance with certain Airworthiness Directives (ADs) or the airline’s maintenance program. ADs are rules issued by the FAA when an unsafe condition exists on a type of aircraft, and additional maintenance is required to remedy the problem.

The FAA found the following issues:

  • The airline operated one Embraer 190 aircraft on 19 flights from October 22, 2008 to October 26, 2008 while the aircraft was not in compliance with an AD that required inspections to prevent a cargo door from opening during flight.
  • The airline failed to perform inspections required by an AD for cracking of a landing gear part on one Airbus A320. The airline operated the aircraft on 26 flights from November 2, 2008 to January 20, 2009 while not in compliance with the AD. The airline also operated another A320 for 17 flights from December 3, 2008 to January 21, 2009 while not in compliance with the same AD.

The FAA found the following problems with maintenance practices:

  • US Airways failed to meet the requirements of its Maintenance Policies and Procedures Manual, which required inspections related to engine work on a Boeing 757 aircraft. The airplane was flown on 505 flights from May 2, 2008 to December 3, 2008.
  • From October 20, 2008 to November 14, 2008, US Airways operated one Boeing 767 aircraft on 51 flights after failing to perform the inspections, tests, and samplings required by its maintenance program on that aircraft.
  • From October 1, 2008 to November 24, 2008, US Airways operated one Boeing 757 aircraft on 121 flights without proper maintenance.
  • The airline failed to follow its maintenance program and perform a weekly maintenance check for one Boeing 767 aircraft, which was then operated from November 2, 2008 to November 6, 2008 on 53 flights.
  • From May 22, 2008 to January 13, 2009, US Airways operated one Airbus A320 aircraft on 855 flights while the aircraft did not meet the airline’s maintenance program requirements for an engine repair. US Airways could have deferred maintenance of this item for ten days under its maintenance program but failed to do so. Fifty-one of the flights occurred after the FAA, on December 31, 2008, brought the problem to the airline’s attention.

United Airlines was fined a $3.8 million civil penalty for allegedly operating one of its Boeing 737 aircraft on more than 200 flights after the carrier had violated its own maintenance procedures on one of the plane’s engines.

On April 28, 2008, a United 737 returned to Denver after shutting down an engine due to low oil pressure indications. During teardown of the engine a week later, United mechanics found that two shop towels, instead of required protective caps, had been used to cover openings in the oil sump area when maintenance was done in December 2007. As a result of United’s failure to follow its maintenance procedures, between February 10 and April 28, 2008 it flew the aircraft on more than 200 revenue flights when it was not in an airworthy condition.
United’s maintenance procedures specifically require use of protective caps or covers on all components that could be adversely affected by entry of foreign materials.

Both airlines have 30 days to respond to the FAA.

Source: FAA

Malaysia Airlines B737 Gear Collapse at Kuching

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400 9M-MMR sustained substantial damage as the left main gear collapsed at the gate at Kuching (KCH), Malaysia. The wing was punctured by the undercarriage leg and the left engine contacted the ground.

Source: aviation-safety.net
Photo: miricommunity.net user “avantgarde”

Safety Report – 09/30/2009

Date: 09/29/2009 21:58
Location: New York LaGuardia, NY
Aircraft Type: McDonnell Douglas MD-88 Registration: Unknown
Operator: Delta Air Lines Flight: DAL1393
Phase: Landing
Level of Damage: Unknown
Injuries & Fatalities: None
Description: On final to runway, struck a bird causing damage to the nose cone. The a/c landed without incident.

Source: FAA
Correctness of this posting is not guaranteed & completeness not intended. This posting is just for informational purpose.

Video – Fokker 100 Emergency Landing in Germany

Today a Fokker 100 (D-AFKE) with 73 passengers and 5 crew on board, made an emergency landing at Stuttgart (Germany).
The Contact Air (Lufthansa Regional) flight 288 from Berlin Tegel to Stuttgart reported landing gear problems during approach.
After several unsuccessfull attempts to unlock the gear, the pilot decided to carry out the emergency landing. The aircraft landed on a foam carpet. The Fokker 100 had just been acquired by Contact Air, entering service on 1 September 2009.
Nobody was seriously injured.

Raw video by AP

Video – Cold War Bomber Accidentally Took Off

A British Handley Page Victor Cold War Bomber, that was retired in 1993 accidentally took off during a photo shooting at Bruntingthorpe Airfield (England). The Victor was only meant to have slowly taxied down the runway and stop for a photoshoot, but the co-pilot had accidentally slammed on the throttle, sending it 150ft up into the sky.

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The 70 year old retired RAF pilot, who last flew a Victor in the 1980s, wrestled with the plane’s controls to steer it away from potential disaster.

He landed on one wheel and in a cloud of dust, but without a scratch – on grass at the end of the runway.
Hailed a hero after an inquiry into the near disaster he said it was “the most terrifying nine seconds of my life”. “I was petrified. There wasn’t time to think about anything. Everything was pure instinct on that day. It all happened extremely fast. I was shouting at the co-pilot to pull the throttle back. For some reason he never did and I saw the nose rise into the air, I thought ‘Oh God here we go, how are we going to get out of this one?”

“So I had to make a snap decision: “Do I try to land the plane or do I fly round in a circle and land properly?”
“I put the nose down and noticed that we were well and truly airborne but because of the crosswind we were not over the runway.”
“I thought, ‘where are we and what can we do to rescue the situation?”
“Thankfully, I managed to pitch the plane back towards the runway and away from any spectators.”
“My only concern was getting the plane down as quickly and safely as possible.”
“Although I touched down on the grass I still managed to keep it under control. All that was left to do was get out and kiss the ground.”
“Nobody could really believe what had happened. There were people slapping me on the back and congratulating me on not crashing the thing and ruining the day.”

Read the full story at (many photos included):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211925/Hero-pilot-averted-air-disaster-pilot-hit-throttle-giant-bomb…

Video – Su-27 Crashes At Polish Air Show

On Sunday, a Suchoi Su-27 operated by Belarussian Air Force crashed during Radom Air Show in Poland. It’s believed that the crash was caused by a bird strike. Both pilots did not eject and were killed.

Just a few weeks ago 2 Suchoi Su-27 collided near Moscow during a training flight for Maks 2009 Air Show, killing 1 pilot and 1 person on the ground.

Safety Report – 08/31/2009


Date: 08/29/2009 23:51
Location: Charlotte, NC
Aircraft Type: McDonnell Douglas MD-88 Registration: N974DL
Operator: Delta Air Lines Flight: 1606
Phase: Landing
Level of Damage: Unknown
Injuries & Fatalities: None
Description: On landing, the landing gear door was extended and made contact with the pavement during rollout

Date: 08/27/2009 20:03
Location: Tampa, FL
Aircraft Type: Boeing 717-200 Registration: Unknown
Operator: Airtran Airways Flight: TRS163
Phase: Unknown
Level of Damage: None
Injuries & Fatalities: 1 injured crew member
Description: The flight encountered turbulence and one flight crew member sustained a broken ankle – 60 Miles from Tampa, FL

Source: FAA
Correctness of this posting is not guaranteed & completeness not intended. This posting is just for informational purpose.