AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS

[tropicana]

Mon Mar 16 2009
A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N609DL performing flight DL-1053 from New Orleans,LA to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 191 people on board, encountered a bird strike during initial climb. The crew decided to level off at 4000 feet and returned to New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport for a safe landing. It is unclear, where the airplane was hit by the bird.


-justin-

[tropicana]

Tue Mar 17 2009

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N799SW performing flight WN-3162 from Raleigh/Durham,NC to Orlando,FL (USA), struck a bird during the landing rollout. The airplane stopped safely.

The FAA reported the damage as minor

WED Mar 18 2009

A Comair Canadair CRJ-100, flight OH-6520 from Cincinnati,KY (USA) to Toronto Pearson,ON (Canada), was on final approach to Toronto's runway 06L, while an Air Canada Airbus A320-200, registration C-FTJO performing flight AC-406 from Toronto Pearson,ON to Montreal,QC (Canada), was already in position. The Airbus crew refused the issued takeoff clearance due to crossing birds and thus forced the Comair crew to initiate a go-around.

The Airbus took off shortly thereafter, whereas the CRJ-100 landed safely a few minutes later after a "lap of honor".


Thu Mar 19 2009
TONGA UNDERSEA VOLCANO CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR FLIGHTS IN THE AREA

The ashes after a a very significant eruption of an undersea volcana about 6 miles southwest of Tongatapu and Fua'Amotu International Airport, rise up to 15km (50000 feet), Airways New Zealand managing air traffic and met services in the area said. Winds are blowing the ashes away from the Tonga Islands as of current. Airways New Zealand have therefore issued a warning to all aircraft in the area.

Flights in the area need to be rerouted to avoid the ash clouds, that are not visible on the airplanes' weather radar systems. Flying into ash clouds can cause multiple engine failures, as flights BA-009 in Indonesia (1982) and KL-867 in Alaska (1989) have shown.

[tropicana]

Fri Mar 20 2009

An Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500, registration A6-ERG performing flight EK-407 from Melbourne,VI (Australia) to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) with 225 people on board, experienced a tail strike on takeoff from Melbourne. The airplane climbed out safely, went to dump fuel but returned for an immediate emergency landing when smoke started to fill the cabin. The airplane landed heavily on Melbourne's runway 16, at 1030pm Melbourne time, no injuries occured.

Severe abrasions occured to the tail skin and several access panels were ripped off during the tailstrike, the landing reportedly caused additional damage to the gear.
The Melbourne Airport confirmed, that several runway end lights were damaged in the accident, too, and needed to be replaced.

The weather was clear at the time and the temperature was 16C 61F.

[tropicana]

Mon Mar 23 2009
A Fedex McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, registration N526FE performing flight FX-80 from Guangzhou to Tokyo Narita (Japan) with 2 crew, caught a gust while landing at Tokyo's Narita airport, rolled inverted, veered off the runway and burst into flames while landing on runway 34L at 06:50 local (Mar 22nd 21:50Z). The 2 crew on board perished in the crash.
Weather services in Japan reported gusts up to 40 knots at the time of the accident.
The airplane is reported to have rolled to its left, the left wing impacting ground and breaking off, before the airplane rolled on its back and came to a stop bursting into flames.

At the time of the crash, there were strong winds 26kts gusting to 40kts from the Northwest. In the hours just preceding this event, winds were blowing out of the west at the airport. Skies were generally clear, barometric pressure was rapidly rising at 999mb (they were down to as low as 992mb in the hours before) and the temperature was 12C 54F.

-justin-

[tropicana]

Tuesday March 24 2009

An Alitalia Boeing 777-200, registration I-DISU performing flight AZ-630 from Rome Fiumicino (Italy) to Miami,FL (USA), turned around over the Atlantic Ocean and diverted to Terceira Azores (Portugal), after one of the pilots fell ill and was unable to continue duties. The airplane landed safely about 5.5 hours after departure.
The airplane was enroute already past the Azores, when a flight attendant asked via the public address system, whether a doctor was on board. A physician identified himself and was brought to the cockpit. A short time later the aircraft turned around and started to descend towards Terceira's Lajes Airport.
An Alitalia Airbus A321-100 registration I-BIXJ (flights AZ-8900 to Lajes and AZ-8901 back to Rome) was dispatched to fly a replacement crew in, who continued the flight reaching Miami with a total delay of 12 hours.

[tropicana]

Wed Mar 25 2009

A Continental Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N27421 performing flight CO-1716 from San Francisco,CA to Houston,TX (USA), was descending towards Houston about 65nm out near College Station, when the airplane encountered unexpected turbulence. One flight attendant received undetermined injuries. The airplane landed without further incident.
Overcast skies and temperatures around 73F 23C were being observed at College Station at the time of this incident.

Sat Mar 28 2009
A Jetblue Airways Embraer ERJ-190, flight B6-1004 from New York JFK,NY to Boston,MA (USA), had reached the parking position at Boston, the luggage was to be unloaded, when the luggage handlers discovered a man in the cargo compartment and called police.
The police reported, that the man (21) identified himself as a Jetblue employee working as luggage handler at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, who had involuntarily been locked into the compartment. According to the man's testimony the man was working in the luggage compartment, when he realized the airplane was no longer on the ground and phoned his company.
Boston Airport reported, that the man was found asleep in the cargo compartment. The workers called police, who took the man into custody, but released him after he was identified. The man refused medical treatment and was sent back to New York - this time not in the cargo compartment.
Jetblue officially confirmed the incident, but refused further comment stating that an investigation is underway. A Jetblue official however hinted, that the man fell asleep before takeoff while working in the cargo compartment. It is being investigated whether the employee was accidentally locked in by co-workers. The cargo compartment is pressurized.
The airplane's maximum cruise altitude was 17000 feet MSL during the 37 minutes flight.



Sat Mar 28 2009

The crew of an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N907AN performing flight AA-1586 from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Toronto Pearson,ON (Canada), declared emergency while descending towards Toronto about 70nm west of Toronto and reported, that they had rising fuel temperature indications. The airplane landed safely on runway 05 18 minutes later.


Sun Mar 29 2009
A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800, flight DL-149 from New York JFK,NY to Las Vegas,NV (USA), was already waiting for departure for about 3 hours due to inclement weather and traffic congestion at New York. While the airplane was idling at a taxiway, a Scottish passenger lost patience and attempted to open an exit. Cabin crew intervened and prevented the evacuation slide from deploying. The airplane returned to the gate, where police took the passenger into custody.
The flight was cancelled, the other passengers rebooked onto other flights.

The Scottish passenger (60) was travelling with his wife and had arrived in New York from Edinburgh and was to continue to Las Vegas. After the airplane returned to the gate, police took the man into custody but released him the following day after filing charges. The passenger is ordered to return for trial on May 18th, he could face up to one year in jail.
The weather in New York at the time was overcast and temperatures were 11C 52F with very low visibility due to fog.

[LilGrimmy]

After the plane that went down by the Buffalo Niagra Airport, I have been super scared because that's the airport I fly in and out of I'd say 4 times a year.

[tropicana]

Mon Mar 30 2009

An American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, flight AA-1708 from Las Vegas,NV to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) with 140 passengers and 5 crew, diverted to Omaha,NE due to the loss of pressurization with the oxygen masks deploying. The crew performed an emergency descent from FL250 reaching 10.000 feet within 4 minutes. The airplane landed safely at Omaha's Eppley Field about 25 minutes later.
A MD-82, that had just arrived in Omaha as flight AA-1706 from Dallas Ft. Worth and was thought to stay overnight, continued flight AA-1708 and reached Chicago with a delay of 3:15 hours.


Tue Mar 31 2009

The crew of an American Eagle Embraer ERJ-135, registration N717AE performing flight MQ-4920 from New York La Guardia,NY (USA) to Montreal Trudeau,QC (Canada), declared emergency due to smoke in the luggage compartment while descending towards Montreal 30nm south of the airfield and requested emergency services on stand by for the arrival. The airplane landed safely 12 minutes later.

Wed Apr 01 2009

The crew of a United Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N654UA performing flight UA-923 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Washington Dulles,DC (USA) with 178 passengers and 11 crew, declared emergency reporting smoke in the cockpit and diverted to Bangor,ME (USA). The airplane landed safely about 35 minutes later.
Emergency services found no trace of heat or fire, the cause of the smoke is being investigated.
A replacement Boeing 757-200 registration N524UA has been flown in as flight UA-9928 and continued the flight with a delay of 6 hours.
Bangor Airport said, that the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and one engine inoperative

[tropicana]

Fri Apr 3 2009
A Virgin Blue Boeing 737-700, flight DJ-1370 from Melbourne,VI (Australia) to Launceston,TS (Australia) with 117 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Melbourne about 10 minutes into the flight, when the airplane was struck multiple times by lightning. The crew decided to return to Melbourne, where the airplane landed safely.
Three passengers were checked out for smoke inhalation, but nobody was send to hospital, emergency services reported.
Passengers said, that the flight got very turbulent, then they heard multiple pops and saw several flashes.
A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VH-VOS resumed the flight and reached Launceston with a delay of 5 hours.
A weather front was moving through Melbourne at the time of the incident resulting in flooding and failed traffic lights in Melbourne.

[tropicana]

Thu Apr 16 2009
An Air Canada Boeing 767-300, registration C-FCAF performing flight AC-90 (departing Apr 15th) from Toronto Pearson,ON (Canada) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) with 129 people on board, was overhead the Atlantic near Bermuda (approximate position N30 W65) at FL330 about 2.5 hours into the flight, when the crew reported problems with the left (captain's) autopilot system and decided to return to Toronto. The airplane landed safely in Toronto about 5:20 hours after departure.

A replacement Boeing 767-300 registration C-FMWV resumed the flight with a delay of 9:45 hours.

Air Canada reported, that the trouble was caused by an indication problem

[tropicana]

Tue Apr 21 2009
A United Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N542UA performing flight UA-593 from Baltimore,MD to Denver,CO (USA) with 149 people on board, diverted to Washington Dulles Airport,DC after the airplane was hit by lightning while the airplane was climbing towards cruise altitude above 11000 feet. The crew observed the lightning to hit the radome, but was unsure of any damage and decided to divert as a precaution. The airport dispatched emergency equipment to stand by for the landing. The landing on runway 01C 20 minutes after departure was safe. The crew requested after roll out that emergency services immediately check the nose of the aircraft.

A replacement Boeing 757-200 registration N528UA continued the flight and reached Denver with a delay of 2:40 hours.

A frontal system with severe thunderstorms passed the Washington area, including Baltimore's Baltimore/Washington International Airport at the time of the incident.


Wed Apr 22 2009
An Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of Continental Airlines, registration N16981 performing flight XE-2517/CO-2517 from Savannah,GA to Newark,NJ (USA), was struck by lightning at an altitude of about 5000 feet about 8nm from Teterboro,NJ while on approach to Newark. The airplane landed safely 6 minutes later.

The FAA reported, that the airplane received damage to its radome and wing tip. It was the fourth lightning strike that evening with three more at Philadelphia about 3 hours earlier.


Wed Apr 22 2009
A Republic Airlines Embraer ERJ-170 on behalf of US Airways, registration N817MD performing flight RW-3407/US-3407 from Montreal,QC (Canada) to Philadelphia,PA (USA), was on approach to Philadelphia, around 10:50pm when the airplane was struck by a lightning. The crew did not declare emergency and continued for a safe landing on runway 27L.

This was the first of three lightning strikes at Philadelphia that evening, the FAA reported.

Wed Apr 22 2009
The crew of an AirTran Airways Boeing 717-200, registration N991AT performing flight FL-626 from Orlando,FL to Philadelphia,PA (USA), declared emergency while on approach to Philadelphia reporting, that the airplane had been hit by lightning directly into the nose cone. The airplane landed safely on runway 27R.

This was the second of three lightning strikes within one hour. Runway 27L was still occupied with the first lightning strike at the time of the landing.

Wed Apr 22 2009
A US Airways Boeing 757-200, registration N938UW performing flight US-1036 from Saint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles) to Philadelphia,PA (USA) with 96 passengers and 7 crew, was hit by a lightning while on approach to Philadelphia at an altitude of 6000 feet. The airplane landed safely on runway 27L 14 minutes later.

The FAA reported skin damage at the pitot/static port area.
This has been the third lightning strike in a row of three that evening.

[tropicana]

Accident: Air Canada B772 near Hawaii on Apr 24th 2009, turbulence injures 22

An Air Canada Boeing 777-200, registration C-FIUJ performing flight AC-34 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to Vancouver,BC (Canada) with 256 passengers and 17 crew, was enroute at FL370 about one hour past Hawaii, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence in an area of thunderstorms sending the airplane into a sudden descent injuring 3 flight attendants and 19 passengers. The flight crew decided to turn around for an emergency landing at Honolulu Airport,HI. The airplane landed safely about one hour later. 2 flight attendants and 2 passengers were hospitalized, the other injured were treated at the airport and continued the journey.

The airplane was examined by engineers, no damages were detected, so that the airplane was returned to service and could carry the remaining passengers and crew to Vancouver, where the airplane arrived with a delay of 4 hours.

Air Canada reported, that 11 passengers and 4 crew received injuries, while the FAA as well as Transport Canada (Canada's Transportation Ministry) reported 19 passengers and 3 crew being injured. The fasten seat belt signs were turned on at the time of the accident, however a number of passengers were not strapped in and were affected most in the turbulence.

[tropicana]

Thu Apr 30 2009
An Air Canada Airbus A320-200, registration C-FKCR performing flight AC-101 from Toronto Pearson,ON to Vancouver,BC (Canada), had just lifted off Toronto's runway 05, when the tower controller noticed black smoke trailing the aircraft. The crew declared PAN PAN PAN reporting the right hand engine on fire while climbing through 1600 feet for 5000 feet and reported shortly thereafter, that the engine fire was out, the engine was still running at idle thrust. The airplane levelled off at 3000 feet and was vectored for a return to runway 05, the approach however was abandoned due to debris left on the runway. The airplane positioned for an approach to runway 15L, where the airplane landed safely 19 minutes after liftoff.

A runway 05 inspection revealed some metal debris from the engine on the runway.

A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration C-FLSS resumed the flight and reached Vancouver with a delay of 2:12 hours.

[cycloneye]

Fri May 1 2009

BOSTON - A flight from Germany to Washington has been diverted to Boston because a passenger complained of flu-like symptoms.

Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella says United Airlines Flight 903 was being diverted Friday afternoon after a 53-year-old female passenger told flight attendants about her symptoms.

He says the flight from Munich had 245 passengers and six crew members. The flight had been scheduled to land at Washington Dulles International Airport later Friday.

[tropicana]

Mon May 4 2009

A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N171DZ performing flight DL-148 from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Rome Fiumicino (Italy), was enroute at FL330 about 120nm south of Bangor,ME (USA) in night time conditions, when the crew declared emergency reporting, that they had lost all air data computers and had lost most of the flight instruments. They requested to return to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and asked for a block altitude clearance due to unreliable altimeter readings. In the end the crew diverted to Bangor,ME (USA), where the airplane landed safely on runway 33 about 23 minutes after declaring emergency at 20:23 EDT (May 5th 0:23Z).

A replacement Boeing 767-300 registration N1602 was dispatched from JFK to Bangor as flight DL-9904, resumed flight DL-148 8 hours after N171DZ touched down in Bangor and reached Rome with a delay of 9.5 hours.

Delta Airlines confirmed, that the airplane diverted to Bangor due to technical reasons, but did not release details. A replacement aircraft and replacement crew was ferried to Bangor. The flight from Bangor to Rome went without further incident.

[tropicana]

Tuesday May 5 2009

NOT ONLY GEESE CAUSE PROBLEMS

A Westjet Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration C-FWSF performing flight WS-237 from Calgary,AB to Victoria,BC (Canada) with 114 people on board, was on its takeoff roll, when three Mallard ducks walked across the runway and struck the left hand engine. Engine #1 subsequently produced vibrations, that did not require to shut down the engine. The crew decided to return to Calgary with both engines operating and performed a safe landing on runway 16.

The Canadian TSB reported, that the engine received fan blade, but no core damage.

[tropicana]

Thu May 7 2009

A Pacific Blue Embraer ERJ-190, registration VH-ZPM performing an evaluation flight from Hamilton to Palmerston North (New Zealand), was on its takeoff roll at Hamilton, when a flock of plovers hit the right hand engine. The crew rejected takeoff and brought the airplane to safe stop, then taxied back to the apron.

Several dead plovers were recovered from the runway.

The airline reported, that three fan blades of the right hand engine were damaged in the incident. Spare parts were brought in and the engine repaired, so that the aiplane could continue its evaluation schedule the following day, however without the trip to Palmerston.

Pacific Blue is based in Australia, it's NZ operations however is based in Christchurch and is preparing to set a domestic route network up within New Zealand.

Thu May 7 2009
A Wideroe de Havilland Dash 8-300, flight WF-406 from Oslo Sandefjord to Bergen (Norway) with 34 passengers and 3 crew, was struck by lightning while on approach to Bergen. A few seconds later a strong smell developed in the cabin. The crew made an announcement reassuring passengers and performed a safe landing on Bergen's runway about 10 minutes later.

The return flight was cancelled due to the necessary inspection of the airplane.


Sat May 9 2009
A Lufthansa Airbus A321-100, registration D-AIRS performing flight LH-4544 from Munich (Germany) to Lisbon (Portugal) with 147 passengers, was enroute with meal service in progress about 45 minutes into the flight, when the aircraft was hit by clear air turbulence without any warning causing injuries to 12 passengers, most of which were not strapped in, and 2 cabin crew. The flight crew decided to divert to Geneva (Switzerland), where the airplane landed safely.

9 ambulances and emergency doctors provided treatment to the injured, 5 people needed to be brought to a hospital, two of them on stretchers.

A replacement Airbus A321-100 registration D-AIRF was dispatched to Geneva and resumed the flight reaching Lisbon with a delay of 5 hours.

[tropicana]

the trip to no-where

oh joy

Sun May 10 2009

An Air France Airbus A330-200, flight number AF-218 departed Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at 10:50 am local time, on time, scheduled to go to Mumbai, India, with its 169 passengers and 12 crew members.
Due to a technical problem, the flight was forced to return to Paris and landed at 11:30am local time, just 40 minutes after its departure.

A seond departure occurred. The Air France Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCL performing flight AF-218 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Mumbai (India) with 169 passengers and 12 crew, was about 3:45 hours into the flight after second takeoff at 12:45 local (10:45Z) and enroute overhead the Black Sea, when the crew decided to return Paris again due to undisclosed technical trouble. The airplane landed safely in Paris 7.5 hours after departure.
The flight from Paris to Paris took 7 1/2 hours.

Air France reported, that the crew decided to return in consultation with the flight operations department following an initial technical assessment. A technical investigation is currently conducted by Air France, Authorities have been informed.

The flight was rescheduled to depart as flight AF-218A on Monday 2pm local with a delay of 27 hours.

[tropicana]

Tue May 12 2009

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300, registration N371SW performing flight WN-519 from New Orleans,LA to Houston Hobby,TX (USA) with 47 passengers and 5 crew, just landed on Houston Hobby Airport's runway 22, when a tire blew a few seconds after touch down. While the airplane slowed down, the tower reported seeing smoke from the right landing gear and a small fire. The airplane stopped on the runway just past the intersection with runway 12R/30L, video footage of the landing showed the outer right hand main gear tire ablaze. The airplane was evacuated via the slides. Emergency services quickly put out the fire.

The airport had to close runway 04/22 and 12R/30L for about one hour until the airplane was towed off the runway.

The damage was limited to the tire, mechanics found no damage to the landing gear.

[tropicana]

wed may 20, 2009

An Indonesian Air Force civilian Lockheed L-100-30(P) Hercules, registration A-1325 performing a flight from Jakarta to Madiun's Iswahyudi Airport [WIAR] (Indonesia) with 98 passengers and 11 crew, impacted ground near Geplak village about 5km northnorthwest of the airport at approximately 6:20am local time (May 19th 23:20Z). Indonesian Authorities report, that they have recovered 97 bodies so far. 15 survivors have been brought to a local hospital, some with minor, most with serious injuries.
Passengers are reported to have been troops and families including children.

The airplane impacted a rice field, left the tailplane and a wing behind, broke through a row of trees and impacted two houses. 9 people were in those houses, two of them are confirmed dead, the conditions of the other 7 are currently unknown.
Weather was reported clear with good visibility at the time of the crash. No Metars are available for the airport.

Initial eye witness reports suggested, the aircraft may have suffered an engine problem resulting in unstable flight. Later witness accounts suggest, that the airplane may have lost the right hand wing in flight and then came down. Witnesses about 2km from the crash site report, that bolts, axles and other small parts rained down, then the airplane started to nosedive.
The Lockheed L-100 is the civilian variant of the better known Lockheed C-130 Hercules. There are claims, that only 2 of the 39 still operating L-100 aircraft are passenger planes, A-1325 and A-1326, both operated by the Indonesian Air Force.

The plane left the tail behind and impacted two houses