Month: September 2007

Preliminary Report on Danish SAS Q400 accident

The Danish investigation board has released a preliminary report on the SAS Dash 8-400 (Q400) accident from September 9th at AAL.
Apparently corrosion in the Actuator Piston has been hold responsible for this accident.

Further details:

Technical investigation
The technical investigation was focused on the right main landing gear assembly. Significant fracture damage to the right main landing gear was observed.

SAS AAL Investigation - Landing Gear

During the investigation, it was observed that the rod end of the right main landing gear retraction/extension actuator had separated from its piston rod.
The main landing gear retraction/extension actuator, the actuator rod end, and stabilizer brace assembly were removed from the aircraft for further examination.
Examination of the internal threads of the retraction/extension actuator piston revealed the presence of corrosion, which led to separation of the rod end from the piston. The separation contributed to the landing gear collapse.
The regulatory authorities were apprised of the situation and have subsequently issued an airworthiness directive which requires immediate action by the operators.
The investigation continues.

History of flight
The accident flight was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Copenhagen International Airport, Kastrup (EKCH) to Aalborg Airport (EKYT).
The flight from EKCH until the approach to EKYT was uneventful.
On approach to EKYT, the landing gear was selected down. When the landing gear extension sequence was completed, the cockpit indication for the landing gear indicated two green lights and one red light. The two green lights indicated that the left main landing gear and the nose landing gear were down and locked (safe). The red light indicated that the right main landing gear was not locked (unsafe). A go-around was initiated.
An alternate landing gear extension procedure was conducted but the cockpit indication for the right main landing gear remained unsafe.
A visual inspection of the landing gear was performed.
The cabin was prepared for an emergency landing and the passengers were briefed.
The aircraft touched down on the left main landing gear, followed by the right main landing gear, and shortly thereafter the right main landing gear collapsed. The aircraft then departed the runway to the right and came to rest on the lower fuselage and right wing tip.
The aircraft was substantially damaged.
Some passengers sustained minor injuries.
The accident took place during daylight hours and visual meteorological conditions.

Source: hcl.dk

A380 Charity Auction Raises Over S$1.9 Million

siaa380ebay.jpgBidders have opened their wallets with generosity and enthusiasm to support the Singapore Airlines A380 First Flight Charity Auction. With almost all seats now sold, the total committed to charities from sold packages so far is approaching S$2 million. ($1.3 Mio)

Just 24 seats, listed especially for ‘last chance’ bids, remain for those who are still keen to be part of this historical flight. The seats, in Business and Economy Class in both directions, and Singapore Airlines Suites on the Sydney-Singapore leg, will be open for bids until the end of this week.

Throughout the two weeks of the auction – conducted on eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace – around 2,000 bidders pre-qualified by paying a security deposit, while several thousand others registered, so far buying 638 seats on both legs of the flight.

All the proceeds raised from the auction will be split three ways, between Singapore and Sydney charities, and a global humanitarian organisation:

  • One third to Singapore’s Community Chest
  • One third between the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, both in Sydney
  • One third to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

Cheques will be presented to the beneficiary organisations in conjunction with the First Flight on 25 and 26 October.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Chew Choon Seng, thanked the thousands of bidders who participated, and congratulated those who were successful in their bids.

“The auction has provided many aviation enthusiasts around the world with the opportunity to bid to be a part of history. We are pleased that the charities will benefit meaningfully from the proceeds of the auction. We thank all participants who demonstrated such enthusiasm and generosity. Now we look forward to the delivery of this magnificent aircraft and introducing it into commercial service” Mr Chew said.

Some Interesting Facts

A record was achieved for the sale of the first Singapore Airlines Suites package on the Singapore-Sydney flight, which sold for US$100,380 (S$153,000). The bargain of the auction was a single Economy seat from Sydney to Singapore, which sold for US$560 (S$853).

One Singaporean purchased three Singapore Airlines Suites, two Business Class seats and an Economy Class seat on the Singapore-Sydney sector, paying US$56,000 (S$85,280) for the six seats.

Australians made up the largest nationality of successful bidders (15%), followed by Singaporeans (11%), Britons (6%), Americans (4%) and Germans (3%). The other 60% come from all over the world.

Successful bidders ranged in age, from a San Francisco man who will turn 22 on the day of the flight, to a 76 year old from Vancouver, Canada.

The auction was one of the largest charity auctions, and among the most complex, ever held on eBay, and the largest it has operated across the Asia-Pacific. Some 366 auction items have been listed over the last 2 weeks, including seats in all three classes, in singles, pairs and blocks.
The eBay pages hosting details of the Singapore Airlines A380 First Flight Charity Auction recorded over 26 million hits during the auction, with Australia, Germany, the US then Canada making up the most visitors to the sites. Data suggests internet users from over 160 countries visited the auction pages at some point during the auction.

SIA – Regular A380 Service Begins Oct 28th

siaa380thumb.jpgSingapore Airlines today announced that regular Airbus A380 service will begin on 28 October from Singapore to Sydney. The A380 will replace a Boeing 747-400 serving this route from Singapore to Sydney and back. A380 operated flights will be SQ221 (SIN – SYD) and SQ220 (SYD – SIN).
These flights are bookable from now.

SQ221 and SQ220

Seatmap and Cabin Layout can be found at:
http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/images/company_info/eot/fleet_info/380/A380.gif

This first Airbus A380 has 471 seats in three classes, thats 100 seats more than in SIA’s Boeing 747-400 configuration. On the main deck will be 12 Suites (Class R), the “Singapore Airlines SkySuite”. This newly introduced class, which will not be called First Class, will offer for example a personal 23 inch LCD screen with 1280 x 768 pixels in each suite, surround sound and of course a flat bed.
Located on the main deck are also 311 Economy Class (Y) seats in 3-4-3 configuration. The Economy Class as well as the Business Class (J), 60 seats located on the upper deck, will be similar to the upgraded classes introduced on the Boeing 777-300ER last year.
Besides the Business Class in 1-2-1 configuration, are also further 88 Economy Class seats with 2-4-2 configuration located on the upper deck.

SAS grounds entire fleet of Dash 8-400 after another accident

Scandinavian Airlines regrets to confirm that one of its aircraft, again a Dash 8-400 (Q400), with flight number SK2748 from Copenhagen to Palanga (Lithuania) has been involved in an accident. The aircraft experienced technical difficulties and the crew decided to divert to Vilnius Airport (Lithuania) where the accident occurred at 01:36 hrs local time today.

SK2748 accident
Photo: alfa.lt

According to a Bombardier statement is this indeed the second accident involving the collapse of the right main landing gear shortly after touchdown on a Q400. It is confirm that the 48 passengers and 4 crew onboard were evacuated after landing and no injuries are reported.

A team of specially trained SAS personnel is currently on its way to Vilnius to assist all passengers and crew.

The Canadian manufacturer of Dash 8-400, Bombardier, is in the process of developing an inspection programme. As a precautionary measure, Bombardier and Goodrich, the landing gear manufacturer, is highly recommending that all aircraft worldwide of this type with 10,000 landing gear cycles (a cycle is one take-off and landing) or more will be grounded until the recommended inspection is carried out.
Bombardier has delivered more than 160 Q400 aircraft to airlines around the world, of these there are currently about 60 Q400 aircraft with more than 10,000 landing gear cycles.

Scandinavian Airlines have decided to ground the entire fleet of Dash 8-400 aircraft until further notice. No aircraft will be released for operations until inspections have been carried out on all aircraft.

Source: SAS, Bombardier

Help finding Steve Fossett

You can help finding Steve Fossett via Google Earth! The satellite images have been updated for the affected area since Steve Fossett disappeared.
For further instructions and to ensure that you see the most recent image you need to visit http://www.mturk.com/mturk/preview?groupId=9TSZK4G35XEZJZG21T60&kw=Flash
and download a special .kml file.
It is highly recommended to turn OFF terrain by unchecking the “Terrain” box under Layers in the lower left corner of Google Earth!

Visit: http://www.mturk.com/mturk/preview?groupId=9TSZK4G35XEZJZG21T60&kw=Flash

Source: http://www.stevefossett.com

Video – SAS Dash 8 crashed at landing

An SAS Dash 8 Q400 (LN-RDK / flight number SK1209) with 73 people on board crashed on Sunday in Aalborg, western Denmark during an attempted emergency landing. Prior to the landing was an unsafe gear warning of the right landing gear. The right landing gear collapsed seconds after touchdown. The right wing and engine contacted the ground and the right propellor penetrated the fuselage. The plane skidded off the runway and caught fire.
Fortunately no one was seriously injured. 5 passengers have been lightly injured during evacuation. That no one was seriously hurt by the propellor penetrating the fuselage is due to the pilots decision to move passengers seating in rows near to the wings, to the far back and front of the plane, before landing.

SK1209 damage - propellor penetrated fuselage

The accident was filmed by danish TV2. This flight was a code-share with Spanair, BMI and Lufthansa.
Photo credit: dr.dk

Information about the second accident can be found here:
SAS grounds entire fleet of Dash 8-400 after another accident

Investigation – Preliminary Report:
Preliminary Report on Danish SAS Q400 accident

Skytypers plane crashed at Virginia Navy base (Video)

A pilot who flew with a World War II stunt plane team died Friday during a practice run for a Virginia air show, officials said.

Jan Wildbergh, 74, the flight leader of the Geico Skytypers Air Show Team, was piloting one of six SNJ-2 planes over the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., around noon, officials said.

Larry Arken, deputy squadron commander of the nine-pilot team, said that the pilots had just finished rehearsing their routine and were coming in for a landing when Wildbergh’s No. 6 plane, the last in the formation, crashed.

Arken said witnesses told him the plane appeared to crash while still under its own power. Team spokesman Ralph Robert told WAVY-TV in Portsmouth that the plane had no ejection system and was probably flying too low for Wildbergh to use his parachute. “He probably tried to continue making the maneuver and save the plane, possibly by doing a belly flop,” Roberts said.

The squadron performs at air shows throughout the country, delivering aerial messages 10,000 feet in the air that can stretch eight miles wide. The planes were used to train naval pilots during World War II.

Video: whdh.com

Source: newsday.com

Answers to Your Aviation Questions

Many users visit this Blog because of some specific questions they are looking for answers for.
Today I will address first of those questions to help you finding your answers quickly.

How many SU-37 does Russia have?
0! The SU-37 is a prototype aircraft and is not in production. Russia has not ordered any Su-37. In total only 2 fighters have been built. One of them crashed in 2002.

Is the A380 ready?
Yes! First delivery to Singapore Airlines will be on 15 October. Its first commercial flight will be on 25 October, to Sydney.

737-800 accidents
In total 7 so far. See http://aviation-safety.net/database/dblist.php?Type=103-8 for further information.

funny atc transcripts
Can be found at http://www.flightstory.net/gate2/4/ATC-Radio-Transmission

How old is Travolta’s Boeing?
43 years (built in 1964). See http://blog.flightstory.net/45/john-travoltas-boeing-707/ for more information.

Hong Kong Airport whilst waiting for flight?
You can do several things while waiting at Hong Kong Airport, world’s best Airport. Hong Kong International Airport has world class shopping, dining and entertainment facilities. There is also a free Airport-wide Wi-Fi Service! Following links may help you.
HKIA Terminal1: Skymart, Passenger Guide
HKIA Terminal2: Skyplaza, Passenger Guide

Is flight-mode in phones safe to use?
Yes. Using Flight-Mode all phone functions are beeing disabled, so it’s not interfering with the sensible aircraft systems. In Flight-Mode it’s not possible to make or receive phone calls or SMS/MMS. Using the Flight-Mode is also recommended for use in hospitals.

Is the F22 Raptor the best jet?
Depends on your personal opinion. 🙂 In fact it’s one of the best jet fighters available today. If you like you can join the discussion at f-22-vs-su-37-vs-su-30-vs-eurofighter

Why Kingfisher chooses only Airbus?
Because they are smart enough. 😀 Seriously, they do not operate only Airbus aircrafts, they also use 10 ATR 72-500’s (22 orderd). Not using any Boeing plane may have financial and/or operational reasons.

Where are the F-22 Raptors based?
Tyndall AFB, Florida (43d Fighter Squadron)
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia (1st Fighter Wing)
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (53d Wing)
Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska (53d Wing)
Future bases:
Hickam AFB, Hawaii
Holloman AFB, New Mexico

Why Airbus A380 2 reverse?
The Airbus A380 only has thrust reversers on the 2 inboard engines. The reasons for that are that you simply don’t need additional 2 reversers to stop the aircaft, weight savings, because of risk of FOD (Foreign Object Debris / Foreign Object Damage) since the outboard engines are hanging off the paved portion of the runway.

Why using composites in planes
Composite materials have lighter weight than traditional materials which results in fuel savings.
But composites are hard to inspect for flaws, some of them absorb moisture. Dangerous hairline cracks can happen which could lead to a fatal crash if not discovered and repaired immediately. Composites are more expensive than traditionally used materials due to complex and expensive fabrication. Furthermore it has higher maintenance costs and the repair of damaged parts is much more complicated and more expensive.
Aluminum is a very tolerant material and can take a great deal of punishment before it fails. It can be dented or punctured and still hold together. Composites are not like this. If they are damaged, they require immediate repair. An airplane made entirely from aluminum can be repaired almost anywhere. This is not the case for composite materials.

How many Boeing 787 have been ordered
706 orders from 48 customers so far.

How many orders Kingfisher gives to Boeing
0 😀

China Airlines – Boeing 737-809 what you should do
Follow the instructions given by cabin crew, leave back your bulky hand luggage and run run run…. 😀

What was John Travoltas first airplane
As far as I know a Ercoupe 415