AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS

[Brent]

This is interesting...

LE BOURGET, France – An intact Air France Flight 447 slammed belly first into the Atlantic Ocean at a very high speed, a top French investigator said Thursday, adding that problems with the plane's speed sensors were not the direct cause of the crash.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090702/ap_ ... estigation

[Frank2]

Interesting thread - one of my earlest flights was on Piedmont Airlines (now a part of US Airways), and took place just 24 hours before the terrible American Airlines crash in Chicago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_A ... Flight_191

the return flight to Miami three days later was very quiet, even though our 737 was mostly full - in fact, an elderly woman boarded in Charlotte and sat next to me, and was saying her Rosary the entire way - a few people smiled that it took an old lady to remember to pray for the rest of us (it was a nice flight, but...)

I think we were all especially glad of the prayers after the rudder made a LOUD creaking noise as we reached 23,000 feet - followed by the pilot coming on the PA and saying "we've determined that we are not going to climb any higher" (he didn't explain why)...

As it turned out (not known in '79) the 737 rudder had a problem that resulted in later accidents (it's since been fixed in later versions)...

Of all aviation accidents, the above wikipedia photograph still gives me chills - still one of the worst accidents ever, but as I told my Mom before I left for the airport - it was fly home or wait for Amtrak (not that I mind Amtrak)...

Frank

[Ptarmigan]

I wonder if they will ever find AF447 wreckage in the ocean. It is in 2 to 3 miles of water.

[Dionne]

For the first time since my Army days.....a loooong time ago.....I've just realized I'm nervous about flying tomorrow. This is a new experience for me. I've been flying for more than 40 years.

Statistics prove that it gets narrow at the top. The longer you fly the greater the risk. I know, I know.....the risk patterns show it's more dangerous to drive to the airport than the flight itself. I happen to be the exception.

I think that regional jet flight out of DFW a few weeks ago during the derecho event is messin' with me. Not to mention I'm boarding an Airbus to NYC. I've never liked Airbus. I don't like the way they sound during takeoff and landing maneuvers. And now there is this sketchy info about composite fittings mixed with forged steel. (No, I don't have the link.....check the commercial pilot forums). Especially the French.

Now on the positive side.....the A320 is an eastern seaboard work horse. I have flown this same flight many times......MSY to JFK and back. About a year ago on the same flight we dodged some big cumulonimbus with turbulence and the sun peeking through....it was fun. The Captain and F.O. did a cool job. And I debriefed them as such.

So what am I worried about? This gut instinct?

[somethingfunny]

This thread has too many scary aircraft incident reports.

When I took off from DFW after the same derecho event Dionne flew in, as more thunderstorms approached, my mind was filled with fears of turbulence like what brought down Delta Flight 191 in 1985, and possibly the recent Air France crash. It was nerve-wracking, but thankfully uneventful...in fact it was pretty cool to fly around thunderstorms at night.

Here are some reasons you should love flying, taken by myself during a flight from Sacramento to DFW last month:

Sacramento, California


Storms building over the Sierras


They get extremely tall



A glimpse through the orographically forced thunderstorms


On the other side, desert



Hawthorne, Nevada. I'm not sure if it exists for any reason besides a good photo.


More strange sights from the Great Basin of America...


I don't know what these spots are



But this has got to be a fault line!


A solitary cloud floats over a canyon that runs perpendicular to a river in this image


I'm not sure where these shots were taken. Note that our MD-80's wing needs to be repainted pretty badly.



A beautiful panoramic shot, possibly of the Four Corners region


I think these are the Rockies of New Mexico


And the foothills


And they're behind us


What is THIS thing????


Holy crap, Christopher Columbus was right: the Earth is round:


The beautiful Panhandle of Texas


It looks less benign from this angle.


Cracks in the Earth


An enormous chasm comes into view...this is Palo Duro Canyon, one place I have now decided I MUST visit in person.







Getting towards the tail end of the canyon now



Lake Amon G Carter, Montague County, Texas


We begin our descent into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex



Texas Motor Speedway


Descending over Denton County, Texas. It happens very quickly....statistically, this is the most dangerous part of a flight.




This is Highway 114, which a Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed into in 1985 during takeoff in a thunderstorm, killing 80% of those onboard as well as one passing motorist.


We landed safely. This is one of DFW Airport's famous runway bridges.



Don't be afraid of flying! It's one of the most amazing experiences in the world!

As long as you don't get stuck in the middle seat, that is.

[MGC]

I was scheduled to fly from MSY to SFO two days after the Chicago DC-10 crash with a stop a DFW. The flight from DFW to SFO was scheduled to be a DC-10 but since they all got grounded by the FAA we were put on a L-1011 Tristar. Since the DC-10 was placed back in service, I've flown it to Hawaii from LAX several times roundtrip. My neighbor across the street from me in New Orleans died in the Eastern crash in NY that was brought down by a microburst. I also saw the wreckage of the Pan Am flight that crashed in Kenner La back in the 80's which was also caused by a microburst. There was little left of the plane.....MGC

[fwbbreeze]

an crash in IRAN...all feared dead

http://us.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/1 ... index.html

"A passenger plane carrying 168 people smashed into the ground in northwestern Iran Wednesday, killing everyone on board and creating a huge smoldering crater. "

aircraft involved in the incident!

[tropicana]

Yeah, RV-7908 had been cleared to climb to FL320. The radar showed, that after reaching the peak at FL288 the airplane began to lose altitude and came down to 14700 feet within 55 seconds (average sink rate 15400 feet per minute) while deviating to the left of the assigned flight path.
The plane took off from Tehran , Iran at 11:33am local time , skies were clear and the temperature was 35C 95F. It's destination was Yerevan, Armenia.

Caspian Airlnes was established in 1992. It operates more than 50 regular and numerous charter flights each week between Iranian cities and international flights to Hungary, the UAE, Syria, Ukraine , Armenia, Belarus and Turkey.

[tropicana]

Wed Jul 15 2009
ORLANDO FL:
AMERICAN AIRLINES Pressurization Problems:-

An American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, flight AA-1531 from Orlando,FL to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) with 115 passengers, was climbing towards 7000 feet after departure from Orlando, when the crew reported pressurization problems and decided to return to Orlando. The airplane landed safely about 20 minutes later.
The airplane was repaired and took off again one hour later, however the crew was again faced with the same problem and decided to return again for another safe landing.


Wed Jul 15 2009
AIR CANADA..FUEL LEAK OVER ATLANTIC
An Air Canada Airbus A319-100, registration C-GITP performing flight AC-966 from Toronto,ON (Canada) to Bridgetown (Barbados), was enroute at FL370 overhead the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 33N 67W (close to Bermuda) approximately 850nm into the 2100nm long flight, when the crew reported their aircraft was leaking fuel. The crew elected to return to Toronto, where the airplane landed safely on runway 23 with 2900kg (6400lbs) of fuel remaining with emergency services on standby about 150 minutes later.
The runway was closed temporarily for an inspection of both the aircraft and the runway.
A replacement Airbus A319-100 registration C-FYJI departed Toronto again and is estimated to reach Bridgetown with a delay of 6:45 hours

[tropicana]

just a few of the incidents over the last few days:-

AEROSPATIALE AIRLINES
PIG STRIKE...Fri Jul 17 2009

A Kingfisher Aerospatiale ATR-72-500, registration VT-KAC performing flight IT-2802 from Indore to Nagpur (India) with 56 passengers and 4 crew, had just touched down at Nagpur's runway, when three pigs darted across the runway. The crew could not avoid hitting at least one of the pigs. The airplane stopped safely, an immediate inspection revealed no obvious damage, so that the airplane taxied to the apron, where the passengers disembarked normally.
The airplane has to undergo a thorough inspection, a replacement aircraft was scheduled to complete the remaining sector of the flight to Hyderabad.


US AIRLINES
BIRD STRIKE...Fri Jul 17 2009

A US Airways Boeing 737-400, registration N424US performing flight US-1101 from Charlotte,NC to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), was struck on its radome (structure protecting the radar or antenna) by a bird. The crew checked the airplane while holding at 8000 feet and subsequently decided to carry on to Dallas, where the airplane landed safely about 130 minutes later.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Scorpion Incident... Sat Jul 18 2009

The crew of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, flight WN-2093 from Las Vegas,NV to Indianapolis,IN (USA), reported about 20 minutes prior to scheduled landing and just prior to midnight, that a passengers had received a sting by a scorpion and requested paramedics to meet the airplane upon landing. The aircraft landed safely about 18 minutes past midnight, the passenger was taken care of by waiting paramedics, but did not need to be taken to hospital.
6 scorpions were discovered in the carry on luggage of the passenger, the airplane had to be fumigated.
The airline reported, that the passenger had been going through his carry on luggage, when he felt numbness in his hand and arm and suspected a scorpion sting. They never had a scorpion on board of any of their airplanes before.


FREEDOM AIRLINES
LOW OIL PRESSURE.... Sun Jul 19 2009

A Freedom Airlines Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of Delta Airlines, flight F8-6208/DL-6208 from Hebron,KY to Syracuse,NY (USA) with 45 people on board, was descending from 14000 to 5000 feet on approach to Syracuse, when the crew declared emergency reporting a low oil pressure on the left engine requiring them to shut the engine down. The airplane was cleared for a visual approach 28 and landed safely on runway 28 9 minutes later.

UNITED AIRLINES
SMOKE IN CABIN.... Mon Jul 20 2009

A United Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N658UA performing flight UA-949 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) with 200 passengers, diverted to Keflavik (Iceland) after the crew declared emergency and reported smoke in both cabin and cockpit. The airplane landed safely.

-justin-

[Dionne]

For the first time since my Army days.....a loooong time ago.....I've just realized I'm nervous about flying tomorrow. This is a new experience for me. I've been flying for more than 40 years.

Statistics prove that it gets narrow at the top. The longer you fly the greater the risk. I know, I know.....the risk patterns show it's more dangerous to drive to the airport than the flight itself. I happen to be the exception.

I think that regional jet flight out of DFW a few weeks ago during the derecho event is messin' with me. Not to mention I'm boarding an Airbus to NYC. I've never liked Airbus. I don't like the way they sound during takeoff and landing maneuvers. And now there is this sketchy info about composite fittings mixed with forged steel. (No, I don't have the link.....check the commercial pilot forums). Especially the French.

Now on the positive side.....the A320 is an eastern seaboard work horse. I have flown this same flight many times......MSY to JFK and back. About a year ago on the same flight we dodged some big cumulonimbus with turbulence and the sun peeking through....it was fun. The Captain and F.O. did a cool job. And I debriefed them as such.

So what am I worried about? This gut instinct?

So here's an update. The flight north out of MSY was an A318. All went nice. The return this morning was an A320. We board on time and sit at the gate. After a few minutes we're told that we're waiting on "maintenance" as there is a "computer glitch". Are we having fun yet? The glitch lasts about 45 minutes.....with some guy that looks like he knows his stuff running the deal. They left the door to the flight deck open.....in row 8C, I had the perfect view.....they were flippin switches and hittin buttons to the tune of Alices Restaurant. It was impressive. While we're waiting, I turn my cell phone back on and advise the other side of the delay....while I'm talking I get this beep from JetBlue...(I'm on their flight notification).....they tell me flight 117 has departed....I'm sitting in 117...WE'RE STILL AT THE GATE.....THE DOOR HAS YET TO CLOSE! And what's with that damned squeaking noise coming from the tail when we're at a standstill in line for takeoff? The only thing that really bothered me.....why did I end up with one of the seats that the little tv in front of me keeps losing it's signal and the guys next to me doesn't? The flight was good once we got in the air......heck, they even handed out double servings.

[tropicana]

Thu Jul 23 2009
AIR CANADA... Flaps Problem
An Air Canada Boeing 777-300, registration C-FIUR performing flight AC-31 from Toronto,ON (Canada) to Beijing (China) with 288 passengers (pilots reporting 305 souls on board), returned to Toronto after the crew reported a flaps problem shortly after takeoff while climbing towards 7000 feet. The airplane returned to Toronto's runway 23 for an overweight landing (fuel remaining 106 tons) with emergency services on standby and blew all 6 left main gear tyres on landing. The passengers disembarked via stairs onto the runway.
A replacement Boeing 777-200 departed with a delay of 7 hours.

ANOTHER DEADLY PLANE CRASH IN IRAN
17 DEAD, 40 INJURED
Fri Jul 24, 2009

An Aria Air Ilyushin IL-62, registration UP-I6208 performing flight IRX-1525 from Tehran Mehrabad to Mashhad (Iran) with 153 people on board, overran Mashhad's runways 13L (formerly runway 14L), ploughed through the approach lights runway 31R and went through the airport's wall before coming to a stop outside the airport perimeter and just outside the village's cemetary about 1000 meters from the runway end during an emergency landing at 18:10 local (13:40Z). The nose section including the cockpit section was smashed. 17 people perished in the accident, more than 40 people received injuries.
The airport reported, that all 153 people including the dead and injured have been taken off the airplane, 17 casualties and 19 injuries have been accounted. A resulting fire has been extinguished.
The Transport Minister reported, that the airplane did not touch down in the touch down zone of the runway, but about mid of the runway. 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured.

A passenger reported, that according to crew announcements the nose gear did not deploy and the main gear also indicated problems prompting the emergency landing.
Witnesses on the ground said, that the main wheels produced sparks and fire streaks after touch down.
News media in Iran report, that the dead are the flight crew, cabin crew seated in the front and passengers seated in the first three rows.
Initial unconfirmed reports from Iran suggest, the airplane involved was UP-I6208 leased from Deta Air.
The weather was clear at the time, the temperature was 33C 91F and winds were light out of the east north east.

[tropicana]

Sat Jul 25 2009
AMERICAN AIRLINES, SMOKE IN CABIN
An American Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N601AN performing flight AA-1937 from Boston,MA (USA) to San Juan (Puerto Rico) with 185 passengers, was enroute at FL390 overhead the Atlantic about 25 minutes into the flight, when the crew declared emergency, reported smoke in the cabin (stating they didn't know how bad it was) and requested to return to Boston. About 5 minutes later the crew reported, that the source of the smoke had been put out. The airplane landed safely on Boston's runway 22L about 30 minutes after the smoke was reported.
The flight was cancelled, the passenger were rebooked onto other flights.

Sat Jul 25 2009
ICELANDAIR , CRACKED WINDSHIELD
An Icelandair Boeing 757-200, registration TF-FIJ performing flight FI-590 from Keflavik (Iceland) to Milan Malpensa (Italy), was enroute overhead the North Sea east of Scotland, when the crew diverted to Glasgow,SC (UK) due to a cracked cabin window. The airplane landed safely about 50 minutes later.
The airplane was repaired and could resume the flight reaching Milan with a delay of 12 hours.


Sun Jul 26 2009
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, SMOKE IN CABIN
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, flight WN-693 from Hartford,CT to Orlando,FL (USA) with 132 passengers and 5 crew, was climbing through FL340 about 15 minutes into the flight, when the crew donned their oxygen masks, declared emergency reporting smoke in the cabin with all passengers in the rear of the cabin on oxygen masks and diverted to Islip,NY for a safe landing on runway 24 45 minutes after takeoff. The crew reported, that according to cabin crew the smoke/smell had dissipated before landing, the crew taxied off the runway and held on the taxiway for inspection by the emergency services.
A replacement Boeing 737-300 resumed the flight departing Islip about 2:20 hours after the original departure from Hartford.

Sun Jul 26 2009
AMERICAN AIRLINES, SMOKE IN COCKPIT
An American Airlines Boeing 757-200, flight AA-2436 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Boston,MA (USA) with 139 people on board, was enroute at FL350 about 35 minutes into the flight, when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and decided to divert to Little Rock,AR, where the airplane landed safely 15 minutes later.
A replacement Boeing 757-200 registration N664AA reached Boston with a delay of 5 hours.

[tropicana]

Some of the incidents in the past few days....

Wed Jul 29, 2009
AMERICAN AIRLINES, BIRD STRIKE

An American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration N961TW performing flight AA-449 from Saint Louis,MO to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 140 passengers and 5 crew, ingested a bird (red-tailed hawk) into its right hand engine shortly after takeoff. The crew declared emergency, levelled off at 3000 feet, shut the engine down and returned to Saint Louis, where the airplane landed safely a few minutes later.



DELTA AIRLINES, BIRD STRIKE
A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300, flight DL-72 from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Istanbul (Turkey) with 202 passengers and 11 crew, rejected takeoff on JFK's runway 22R due to multiple bird strikes, one of them hit the right hand windshield. The crew reported, the strike occured after about 3000 to 4000 feet (900-1200 meters). A number of tyres deflated during deceleration of the airplane, the airplane however was able to taxi back to the gate on its own power. A runway inspection revealed no debris on the runway.
A replacement Boeing 767-300 registration N1604R reached Istanbul with a delay of 6 hours.

IBERIA AIRLINES, BIRD STRIKE
An Iberia Airbus A320-200, flight IB-3534 from Madrid,SP (Spain) to Munich (Germany) with 134 passengers, returned to Madrid's Barajas Airport after a bird was ingested into one of the engines when the airplane climbed through 3000 feet. The airplane landed safely about 30 minutes later.
A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration EC-HUL reached Munich with a delay of 2:20 hours

Thu Jul 30, 2009

BMI, LIGHTNING STRIKE
A BMI British Midland Embraer ERJ-145, registration G-RJXC performing flight BD-381 from Manchester,EN to Edinburgh,SC (UK) with 17 passengers, returned to Manchester after the airplane was hit by a lightning shortly after takeoff.
The passengers were rebooked onto the next flight to Edinburgh. The airplane was checked through by maintenance and resumed service about 5 hours after the lightning strike.

AIR FRANCE, SMOKE IN CABIN
An Air France Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCJ performing flight AF-946 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Douala (Cameroon) with 184 passengers, was climbing out of Paris at about FL200, when light haze appeared in the cabin due to an air conditioning problem. The crew declared emergency and returned to the CDG Airport, where the airplane landed safely about 30 minutes after departure.
A replacement Airbus A330-200 registration F-GZCE departed as flight AF-946A the following morning with a delay of 20 hours.

Fri Jul 31, 2009

EGYPT AIR, CROCODILE ON BOARD
An Egypt Air Airbus A320-200, flight MS-916 from Cairo (Egypt) to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), was enroute, when passengers noticed a young crocodile about 30cm (1 foot) in length wandering around the airplane causing quite some excitement amongst the passengers prompting cabin crew to engage as "Crocodile Dundee" and catch the animal. The airplane continued to Abu Dhabi and landed safely, the crocodile was returned to Cairo and brought to the local zoo.
Police is investigating, how the crocodile got on board. All passengers deny, that they brought the animal on board.

JAPAN AIRLINES, REJECTED TAKE OFF
A JAL Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration JA732J performing flight JL-406 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Tokyo Narita (Japan), rejected takeoff at high speed due to the failure of the right hand engine (GE90-115). The airplane was able to turn off the runway, but got stuck on the taxiway when tyres deflated due to overheated brakes. The passengers disembarked onto the taxiway via stairs. The airplane was subsequently towed to the apron.


Sat Aug 1, 2009

US AIRWAYS, MAINTENANCE ISSUE
A US Airways Airbus A330-300, registration N277AY performing flight US-704 from Charlotte,NC (USA) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany) with 220 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 100nm eastnortheast of Moncton 2:20 hours into the flight, when the crew reported a maintenance issue preventing them from crossing the Atlantic. The crew requested to return to Philadelphia, a few minutes later requested to cancel the Oceanic clearance - already taken care of by ATC who received a "Good man!" by the crew - and to descend to FL200 for burning off fuel. No further assistance was needed. The crew later decided to carry on to Charlotte, where runway 18L was needed for operational reasons. The airplane landed safely about 3:30 hours after turning around - no emergency services on standby - and taxied to the apron.

[tropicana]

Mon Aug 3, 2009
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, SEVERE TURBULENCE, 26 INJURED

A Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200, registration N76156 performing flight CO-128 from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Houston,TX (USA) with 168 passengers and 11 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 50nm north of the Dominican Republic and 600nm from Miami, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. A number of people on board received injuries, 4 of them severe injuries. The airplane diverted to Miami,FL (USA), where the airplane landed safely about 85 minutes later.

Miami emergency services reported 26 injuries, 4 of them serious, the airplane was received by ambulances and medical staff taking care of the injured after landing.
Continental Airlines said, that 9 people were brought to local hospitals and 28 others treated at the airport

[Dionne]

Mon Aug 3, 2009
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, SEVERE TURBULENCE, 26 INJURED

A Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200, registration N76156 performing flight CO-128 from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Houston,TX (USA) with 168 passengers and 11 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 50nm north of the Dominican Republic and 600nm from Miami, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. A number of people on board received injuries, 4 of them severe injuries. The airplane diverted to Miami,FL (USA), where the airplane landed safely about 85 minutes later.

Miami emergency services reported 26 injuries, 4 of them serious, the airplane was received by ambulances and medical staff taking care of the injured after landing.
Continental Airlines said, that 9 people were brought to local hospitals and 28 others treated at the airport

What could possibly have been out there to cause turbulence that rough? I don't see anything on GOES.

[vbhoutex]

Mon Aug 3, 2009
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, SEVERE TURBULENCE, 26 INJURED

A Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200, registration N76156 performing flight CO-128 from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Houston,TX (USA) with 168 passengers and 11 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 50nm north of the Dominican Republic and 600nm from Miami, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. A number of people on board received injuries, 4 of them severe injuries. The airplane diverted to Miami,FL (USA), where the airplane landed safely about 85 minutes later.

Miami emergency services reported 26 injuries, 4 of them serious, the airplane was received by ambulances and medical staff taking care of the injured after landing.
Continental Airlines said, that 9 people were brought to local hospitals and 28 others treated at the airport

What could possibly have been out there to cause turbulence that rough? I don't see anything on GOES.

Presumably it would be clear air turbulence, which I would imagine would be the worst kind, since it wouldn't be expected. My daughter and her husband, as well as her Mother-in-law have flown that route. It is a somewhat regular flight for her MIL due to business. I am presuming she was not on it since we have heard nothing.

[tropicana]

Mon Aug 3, 2009
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, SEVERE TURBULENCE, 26 INJURED

A Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200, registration N76156 performing flight CO-128 from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Houston,TX (USA) with 168 passengers and 11 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 50nm north of the Dominican Republic and 600nm from Miami, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. A number of people on board received injuries, 4 of them severe injuries. The airplane diverted to Miami,FL (USA), where the airplane landed safely about 85 minutes later.

Miami emergency services reported 26 injuries, 4 of them serious, the airplane was received by ambulances and medical staff taking care of the injured after landing.
Continental Airlines said, that 9 people were brought to local hospitals and 28 others treated at the airport

What could possibly have been out there to cause turbulence that rough? I don't see anything on GOES.

Presumably it would be clear air turbulence, which I would imagine would be the worst kind, since it wouldn't be expected. My daughter and her husband, as well as her Mother-in-law have flown that route. It is a somewhat regular flight for her MIL due to business. I am presuming she was not on it since we have heard nothing.

my brother works in the oil industry (hes near Pittsburgh now) but he goes to Houston on wednesday...and flies frequently on the Houston-Port of Spain, Trinidad route (hes doing it on friday) always on Continental and they more or less fly that same route and hes never reported anything crazy, its just one of those things. CAT is the worst. You dont expect it.

-justin-

[vbhoutex]

Last report I heard was that it was CAT, which of course can not be detected by any modern technology that I am aware of. Fortunately, as I suspected my daughters MIL was not on the flight. It is one she takes pretty regularly.
I am sorry some passengers were injured, but when I fly, if I am in my seat, which I usually am since most flights I take are less than 2 hours, my seat belt is on. If I were on a long flight I would still have my seat belt on at all times. I've been through enough severe turbulence over the years that I just made it a practice, like always buckling the seat belt of a car.

[tropicana]

Tue Aug 4 2009
PINNACLE AIRLINES, TURBULENCE INJURES 2

A Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight 9E-2871 from Knoxville,TN to Detroit,MI (USA) with 24 passengers, encountered turbulence while enroute at FL300 about 100nm southwest of Louisville 35 minutes into the flight. A flight attendant and a passenger were injured in the encounter. The crew decided to divert to Louisville,KY, where the airplane landed safely 25 minutes later. The flight attendant was brought to a hospital.
The airline described the injuries as minor.


BANGKOK AIRWAYS, SKIDDED OFF RUNWAY, CAPTAIN KILLED

A Bangkok Airways Aerospatiale ATR-72-500, registration HS-PGL performing flight PG-266 from Krabi to Koh Samui (Thailand) with 68 passengers and 4 crew, skidded off runway 35 at Koh Samui (6750 feet/2060 meters asphalt) and collided with an old unused control tower at around 14:30 local (07:30Z). The captain was killed, the co-pilot and 6 passengers received serious injuries and were brought to hospitals, 27 people received minor injuries (bruises and shock) and were treated on scene. The airplane received substantial damage to the nose section.
The airline believes, heavy rain at the time of the landing contributed to the accident. The airline confirms the death of one pilot and four serious injuries amongst the passengers with two others also being delivered to hospital with minor injuries. An investigation team has arrived at the accident site.
Authorities in Samui report, the captain of the flight has been killed in the accident, the co-pilot and six foreign passengers (4 UK, 1 Swiss, 1 Italian) received serious injuries (broken legs/bones) and were brought to local hospitals, 27 other people were suffering from bruises and shock and were treated at the airport. Emergency services managed to free the co-pilot, who was still trapped in the aircraft.


AIR JAMAICA, CRACKED WINDSHIELD
An Air Jamaica Airbus A320-200, flight JM-15 from Kingston (Jamaica) to New York JFK,NY (USA), was enroute already overhead Cuba, when the right hand windshield developed a crack. The crew decided to return to Kingston, where the airplane landed safely.
A replacement North American Airlines Boeing 767-300 registration N769NA reached New York with a delay of 12 hours.