12 Years and 99 Deaths Ago, TAM Airlines flight 402 Was Lost But Not Forgotten

Friday, October October 31 2008

It has been 12 years since 99 people died in the Tam Congonhas Fokker-100 accident.

On October 31 1996. TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 set off for Rio De Janeiro and fell to earth minutes after take-off from Congonhas airport, spreading destruction on two building and seven houses, killing 99 people: 90 passengers, six members of the crew and three people on the street.

Inquiries of TAM and Fokker, (the company who manufactured the airplane) concluded that a malfunctioning relay caused he opening of the right reverser. In December 1997, the Aeronautics Report found TAM guilty and made Fokker responsible for imperfections in the airplane.

According to the Center of Inquiry and Prevention of Air Accidents (Cenipa) Report, during take-off, the reverser of the right engine of the Fokker-100 opened, and without any alarm, was set in motion, catching by surprise a crew in the command cabin that never was trained for this situation.

The report disclosed that on 28 of June 1995, the Fokker sent a letter claiming it was not necessary to train pilots for this type of emergency because it was impossible for the Fokker reverser to open during take-off.

The report says that a system changed altered the probability of imperfection in the system to one in ten million from one in a million.

One another factor helped to knock down the airplane: the contacts of a relay (controlling of electric circuits) that should have set in motion the alarm system. This relay, according to Douglas colonel Axe, head of the Cenipa, was found 13 days after the accident.

The human error that was the consequence of these other two situations: the lack of information on pane, caused by the burnt relay, and the lack of training for the situation by the manufacturer of the aircraft. According to report, the pilots had not followed basic recommendations.

According to colonel Axe, the pilots could have gained time if they had allowed the airplane to go up to stabilize, without "forcing the engine in pane because of the reverse."

The Cenipa said that the only acknowledgment that the pilots had of the opening of the reverser was the brusque jib of the manual acceleration of the aircraft, then later when the airplane left the soil, the landing gear.

A computer animation showed how the pilots acted in a desperate attempt to discover what was occurring.

The tragedy timeline:

8h26m: The control tower authorizes the airplane to take off.

29 seconds: The airplane runs about 90 kilometers per minute in the track.

55 seconds: The airplane raises in flight. The reverse of right turbine opens and closes for the first time, without the pilot perceiving it. Manete of the one I lock stops backwards and the pilot speeds up the turbine manually.

70 seconds: The reverser opens for the third time and it does not close.

74 seconds: The Fokker stick starts to tremble and the airplane loses height.

79 seconds: The Fokker inclines to the right, the wing striking a three story building . The airplane blows up. Ninety and nine people die.

8h27m.

Postado for Jorge Tadeu Da Silva
Apologies for any errors in translation

Há 12 anos, 99 pessoas morreram em acidente com Fokker-100 da TAM em Congonhas

Sexta-feira, 31 de Outubro de 2008

Há 12 anos, 99 pessoas morreram em acidente com Fokker-100 da TAM em Congonhas


No dia 31 de outubro de 1996 um acidente com o Fokker-100 da TAM, vôo 402, que ia de São Paulo para o Rio de Janeiro e caiu minutos depois da decolagem no aeroporto de Congonhas, espalhando destroços sobre dois prédios e sete casas, matou 99 pessoas, sendo 90 passageiros, seis tripulantes e três pessoas que estavam nas ruas. A causa do acidente foi uma rara combinação de falha material funcional e humana, que só aconteceu por causa de um defeito no reverso.

Investigações da TAM e da Fokker, a empresa que fabrica os aviões, concluíram que o funcionamento indevido de um relé provocou a abertura do reverso direito do jato (que auxilia a freagem e só deve abrir na hora do pouso). Em dezembro de 1997, relatório da Aeronáutica isentou a TAM de culpa e responsabilizou a Fokker por falhas no projeto do avião.

Segundo o relatório do Centro de Investigação e prevenção de Acidentes Aéreos (Cenipa), durante a decolagem o reverso do motor direito do Fokker-100 abriu sem que nenhum tipo de alarme fosse acionado na cabine de comando, pegando de surpresa uma tripulação que jamais fora treinada para essa situação.

A Aeronáutica revelou que a Fokker enviara, em 28 de junho de 1995, após consulta prévia da TAM, carta informando que não era necessário treinar os pilotos para esse tipo de emergência porque, simplesmente, era impossível que o reverso do Fokker se abrisse durante a decolagem.

O relatório diz que a falha no reverso pode ter sido provocada por mudanças no sistema de alimentação de energia do equipamento. Até 1995, o reverso era alimentado por uma barra de energia que serve a toda a aeronave, o que impediria o reverso de funcionar no caso de falha dessa barra. A Fokker decidiu implantar um sistema próprio de alimentação de energia para o reverso que, segundo o Cenipa, aumentou a probabilidade de falha no sistema, que era de uma em dez milhões, para uma em um milhão.

Um outro fator ajudou a derrubar o avião: os contatos de um relé (controlador de circuitos elétricos) que deveria acionar os sistemas sonoro e visual de alarme na cabine de comando podem ter se fundido antes da decolagem, o que fez com que os pilotos morressem sem saber o que provocou a pane. Esse relé, segundo o coronel Douglas Machado, chefe do Cenipa, foi encontrado 13 dias depois do acidente em meio aos destroços.

A falha humana detectada pelo Cenipa foi decorrente de outras duas: a falta de informação sobre a pane, provocada pelo relé queimado, e a falta de treinamento para a situação, estimulada pelo fabricante da aeronave. Segundo o relatório, os pilotos não seguiram a recomendação básica de não adotar procedimento algum na cabine de comando antes de a aeronave alcançar altitude de 400 pés (cerca de 250 metros).

Segundo o coronel Machado, os pilotos poderiam ter ganhado tempo se tivessem deixado o avião subir e se estabilizar, sem forçar o motor em pane por causa do reverso.

O Cenipa constatou que o único aviso que os pilotos tiveram após a abertura do reverso foi o recuo brusco do manete (o acelerador manual da aeronave), logo depois que o avião saiu do chão e começou a recolher o trem de pouso.

Uma animação feita por computador, apresentada pela Aeronáutica, mostrou que entre a decolagem e a queda os pilotos travaram uma queda-de-braço com os manetes, numa atitude desesperada para descobrir o que estava ocorrendo. Um dos pilotos decidiu forçar o manete do motor em pane para ganhar potência. Fez tanta força que conseguiu quebrar o cabo de segurança que impede o motor de ganhar potência com o reverso aberto. Os pilotos pensaram que tinham feito tudo certo, esperando o Fokker se chocar cientes de que tinham os manetes à frente e os motores na potência total.

A tragédia segundo a segundo:

Autorizado pela torre de controle, às 8h26m o avião começa a correr na pista para decolar

29 segundos: Neste momento, o avião corre a cerca de 90 quilômetros por minuto na pista

55 segundos: O avião levanta vôo. O reverso da turbina direita abre e fecha pela primeira vez, sem que o piloto perceba. O manete dá um tranco para trás e o piloto acelera a turbina manualmente

70 segundos: O reverso abre pela terceira vez e não fecha mais

74 segundos: O manche do Fokker começa a tremer e o avião perde altura

79 segundos: O Fokker inclina-se ainda mais para a direita, batendo com a asa num prédio de três andares. O avião explode. Noventa e nove pessoas morrem. São 8h27m.

Postado por Jorge Tadeu da Silva
Marcadores: Acidentes Brasil, Notícias Brasil

National Airspace

24 hours of air traffic in the National Airspace System, provided by NASA

Valley View Airport Crash update

What: 1964 Cessna P206 en route to Valley View Airport in Estacada
Where: a field near the 30700 block of Northeast Lawrence Road
When: Found at 7:50 pm
Who: 54-year-old Mark Greenup, a Christmas tree farmer believed to have been flying the 1964 Cessna
registered to him, and 50-year-old George Smetana, both killed in the crash
Why: The pilot called the airport's owner of the airport to report all of the electrical equipment on the plane had become inoperable.

Safety-Minded Qantas heeds Landing gear Indicators

What: Qantas Boeing 767 en route from Melbourne Airport bound for Sydney,
Where: Flight 434 left Melbourne at 1.30pm (AEDT) and landed back at Tullamarine at 2.15pm.
When: shortly after 2:00pm (AEDT)
Why: After the pilot discovered a fault with landing gear indicators, he returned to the airport where passengers deplaned and took another flight. Passengers were delayed more than two hours.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Emergency Landing

What: en route from Congonhas airport (1030 GMT) in Sao Paulo to the northeastern city of Salvador.
Where: Cumbica air base
When: 046 GMT October 28th 2008
Who: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Why: The plane landed at Cumbica air base at 1046 GMT, because a light on the pilot's control panel indicated that the cargo compartment wasn't properly closed. The cargo compartment was closed, but the control panel was in error. The plane took off again at 9:31 am.

Airnet Electrical Fire in Michigan

What: twin-engine courier 1978 Beechcraft Baron owned by AirNet Systems of Columbus en route from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Burke Lakefront Airport near downtown Cleveland
Where: Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport
When: OCTOBER 27, 2008 Monday landing about 6:15 p.m
Who: Kyle Bryant (Bryan?) , of Canton, Mich employee of AirNet Systems of Columbus
Why: Pilot pilot reported smoke (from a wiring problem) coming from the dashboard. The plane disappeared from radar when the pilot shut off the electricity and flew below the clouds. The fire went out on its own. The pilot landed safely and with commendations.

Helicopters In Trouble

There are at least a dozen news articles today discussing the issue of helicopter safety, many of them responding to the AP article that references the 9 medical crashes in the eleven months.

Part of the problem is a shortage of night vision (infrared “synthetic vision”) that displays terrain of the type the military uses.

The article also lists recommendations of the NTSB, which may or may not be adopted by the FAA. The recommendations are as follows:

• Require EMS helicopter operators to install Terrain Awareness Warning Systems (TAWS) on helicopters. The system warns pilots when helicopters are in danger of crashing into the ground, mountains and some buildings.
  
• Require EMS flights that carry only medical personnel to follow the more stringent safety rules that apply to flights carrying patients and organs for donation.
  
• Require a formal flight risk evaluation before an EMS flight.
  
• Require EMS flights to use formalized dispatch procedures that include up-to-date weather information and assistance in flight risk-assessment decisions.
  

One hopes that through this 20-20 hindsight the FAA will have better vision.

There are issues going on with the FAA. "A federal logjam has held up the report on the Oct. 15 crash." There have been a lot of crashes lately and the paperwork must be piling up.

And then there is this: "Shelley Garrett, guardian over Dave Garrett’s only son and heir, filed a product-liability and negligence lawsuit late last week against Bell Helicopter in Harris County District Court" over the channel 13 helicopter crash. While not a medical evacuation crash, it is still helicopter crash news. Are the NTSB and FAA qualified to supervise helicopter safety issues?

Cessna Flips after Hard Landing

What: Cessna 172 en route from Lafayette
Where: runway at 2222 S. Airport Rd White County Airport
When: 5:10 p.m. Oct. 25.
Who: four people on board
Why: The cessna approached the airport with a tailwind condition complicated by pilot's judgment to use the runway without knowing which way the wind was blowing. After a hard landing, the plane flipped forward over its nose. All passengers were able to exit the plane.

Homebuilt Crashes in Utah.

What: Blue and white homebuilt plane owned by David A. Silfvast (described as a small homemade plane with a tube-like frame, cloth covering and a small fiberglass cockpit) en route from the Salt Lake County area.
Where: Crashed into side of the Oquirrh Mountains near West Canyon a few miles north of Cedar Fort, a small town west of Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs off state Route 73.
When: Around 11:00 a.m. 10-28-2008
Who: pilot and passenger, both fatalities.
Why: The crash was witnessed by several onlookers who said the engine died, and the plane began dropping in a spin. and the pilot couldn't pull the plane's nose up. (Some witnesses said the plane was doing aerobic stunts; others described a loss of control. The wreckage was on fire when officials arrived. Officers and investigators from Saratoga Springs, Cedar Fort and Eagle Mountain fire departments, Utah County Fire, Utah County Sheriff's Office, and the state medical examiner were on scene Tuesday.
The plane was identified as a Starduster Too constructed in 1984. The plane's owner was identified as the deceased pilot.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Lufthansa Fire and Emergency Landing

What: German Lufthansa Airbus A300-600 en route from Malta to Frankfurt.
Where: Malta International Airport
When: Tuesday
Who: 205 passengers evacuated with no injuries.
Why: The crew reported a fire in its cargo hold and returned for an emergency landing 25 minutes after embarking.

Sewage Landing

What: Cessna
Where: Thames Airport on New Zealand's North Island
When: Monday October 27, 2008
Who: Pilot
Why: Pilot overshot the runway. The pilot was not hurt but the plane landed in a sewage pond and had to swim (through the sewage pond) to safety.

Historic Plane Lands in Rialto

What: yellow 1941 Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3, a World War II-era trainer en route from from Flabob Airport in Riverside
Where: in a field off North Laurel Avenue near Rialto Municipal Airport
When: and had been gone less than 30 minutes before the 12:30 p.m. emergency landing
Who: Pilot Kevin McKenzie
Why: The plane had engine trouble and lost power at 150 feet. On landing, the plane suffered minor damage to the wings. There were no injuries.

Out of Gas Field Landing

What: biplane
Where: in a field southeast of Ohio 123 near the Ohio 122 intersection north of Lebanon in Clearcreek Township.
When: Sunday, Oct 26, about 5:20 p.m
Who: Nobody was injured and no damage was done and only the pilot was aboard.
Why: The plane ran out of gas, landed, refueled and and took off by 6:45 p.m

Safe Power-Off Landing at Southern Illinois Airport

What: Cessna 172/RG owned by Southern Illinois University Carbondale on an administrative flight "to check the plane's operational systems
Where: grassy area adjacent to a landing strip at Southern Illinois Airport.
When: October 26 Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Who: The pilot was a part-time flight instructor; a student also was on board.
Why: One side of the landing gear malfunctioned. The pilot circled for more than an hour to burn fuel, then made a power-off landing, then the plane slid about 30 yards on its belly before stopping. Officials are saying that "The pilot was incredible"

Jaw-Breaking Cessna Crash on Okinawa

What: four-seater Cessna 172
Where: sugarcane field in Nago on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa
When: Friday,
Who: The pilot--a 45-year-old airman from Kadena Air Base--broke his jaw. The three others aboard were rescued without injuries.
Why: The plane ran low on fuel while while returning to base.

The plane cracked its nose cone and caught fire as soon as it hit the ground. It also hit a power line on descent and caused a power outage.

Four Dead in Russian Helicopter Incident

What: Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the Kazan helicopter factory
Where: near the capital of Russia's Volga Republic of Tatarstan on the outskirts of Kazan.
When: During a test flight Sunday around 2 p.m. (1100 GMT)
Who: Five individuals--three crewmembers and two test experts--one of whom parachuted out of the cabin before the helicopter's fall at an altitude of about 70 meters. He has been taken to hospital in a state of shock. .
Why: The incident is under investigation. The helicopter recently underwent repairs.

Ireland: Missing Wreckage, Bodies Found

What: Piper PA-28 single-engined plane en route from Gloucester to County Kildare in the Irish Republic
Where: remote mountain region in the Corriebracks, just south of Hollywood, in the west of the county, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Dublin, in a mountainous area accessible only by helicopter.
When: Plane went missing Saturday
Who: pilot, Sharif Booz, was travelling with his wife, Margaret, his son and his son's friend
Why: When it was discovered to be missing, the plane's last-known location was determined to be over the Wicklow mountains at around 12.30 pm, The plane was found with its nose was embedded in the ground.

Hard Mud Landing in Utah Lakebed

What: Rans S-7 homebuilt en route from Idaho Falls, Idaho to Lake Havasu along the California/Arizona border.
Where: the dry lake bed of Sevier Lake
When: Friday
Who: Pilot Errol Spaulding of Rigby and passenger Dale Cresap of Idaho Falls
Why: The plane landed in several feet of soft deep mud in Sevier Lake and had to be retrieved by a hovercraft. After landing, the plane's wheels sank into the mud, tilting the plane forward onto the propeller which was damaged.

Teenager Lands in Oregon Basin

What: 1978 Cessna fixed wing, single engine aircraft en route from Hillsboro Airport to Corvallis
Where: in the Jackson Bottom Wildlife Refuge
When: Saturday
Who: Teenaged pilot
Why: The Cessna experienced mechanical problems near Hillsboro Airport.


The dates reported are not infrequently incorrect. One wonders if this misreported unfound Florida Hillsboro Imaginary Crash may have somehow been a misdirected Ham radio report of the above Hillsboro Oregon Crash.

Smoke Forces Emergency Landing in Sweden

What: SAS Boeing 737
Where: Vasteras Airport in Sweden
When: Friday
Who: 97 passengers and six crew were evacuated down the slides
Why: smoke was detected in the cabin while the plane was on its way to Stockholm from Oslo in Norway, and then diverted to Vasteras Airport, some 40 nautical miles west of Stockholm's Arlanda Airport. Smoke was thick, and passengers were wearing oxygen masks when the plane landed.

'

Piper Crash in Virginia Kills Man and Woman

What: single-engine aircraft, Piper PA-24 en route from Asheville, North Carolina, to Charlottesville
Where: in a densely wooded area about one-half mile from Route 20 near the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport
When: Oct. 24, 2008 7:20 p.m. Friday
Who: 47-year-old Thomas Mahoney and 50-year-old Elizabeth Marie Paris died instantly.
Why: The airport received a distress call at 7:20. The crash occurred 12 miles from CHO after the flight hadbeen cleared for an instrument approach to the airport, but the aircraft was found crashed 2 hours later at approximately 9:30 p.m. Weather conditions were unfavorable. (It was drizzling.)

Nose landing at Portland airport

What: Angel Flight plane (not being used for a patient)
Where: Portland Jetport
When: Thursday afternoon
Who: The pilot was the only one on board. No injuries.
Why: nose gear was damaged -- meaning the front wheel would not fully extend -- so the plane was forced to land on its belly.

Eight Die In Italian Helicopter Crash

What: Search and Rescue Italian Sikorsky HH3F Pelican Helicopter en route from Dijon to Florent-en-Argonne
Where: field in eastern France near the town of near the town of Vaubecourt in the Meuse department and L'Isle-en-Barrois
When: Thursday 1430 local time
Who: Eight Italian military personnel on board all died
Why: The helicopter crashed in flames, 4.30 pm local time (1430GMT) in open countryside not far from Strasbourg . The weather was clear. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation

Lost or Imaginary Plane Crash

What: Cessna
Where: a wooded area around Buckeye Road in Manatee County, Florida
When: Thursday evening.
Who: unknown
Why: No holds were barred as emergency and rescue teams searched for a reported crash. Manatee Fire Rescue, Hillsborough Aviation and Coast Guard Aviation unsuccessfully searched a three mile radius.

Pilot Dies in Selmer Tn

What: Piper model PA30 registered to Hopkins Auto & Aircraft Sales in Corinth, Miss
Where: rural area south of Selmer Tennessee near U.S. Highway 45
When: Thursday night.
Who: Leroy Hopkins, the pilot was the only person aboard. Business owner from Corinth MS.
Why: The cause has not been determined.

Helicopter Emergency landing in NC

What: Marine Corps CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter belonging to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
Where: farmer’s field near Tarboro N.C.
When: just after 6 p.m. Tuesday
Who: No one was injured
Why: Emergency landing because of a small electrical fire that started on board. The helicopter is to be repaired on-site and returned to MCAS New River

Washington Plane Crash

What: Stinson 108 built in 1946 registered to a Bellevue address.
Where: near Concrete near the intersection of SR20 and Russell Road Skagit County
When: 10 p.m. Wednesday
Who: 71-year-old Wayne "Red" Smith of Bellevue was killed. His two passengers were identified as a 46-year-old Craig Foster of Sequim a 43-year-old Veronica Parker of Seattle.
Why: The injured were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital then flown to Harborview in Seattle where they are reported to be in satisfactory condition. The passengers had just flown from purchasing a dissembled plane.

Two planes Collide; Six are shaken but Survive

What: Two small planes :
Mesa County Sheriff's Department single-engine Cessna 210 en route from from Grand Junction to the state penal system;

single-engine Cessna 180 4 seater, single engine plane

Where: in the sagebrush and scrub oak at the foot of the towering Grand Mesa about 10 miles south of the Grand Junction Regional Airport near Kannah Creek.
When: Wednesday
Who: six people ( two inmates, a deputy and a pilot. ); (pilot Tom Haefeli and passenger John Haefeli)
Why: The planes collided in midair; the sheriff's plane with the inmates aboard made it to the airport and managed a hard landing at 9:48 a.m, with front end damage. The other landed safely in sagebrush ten miles shy of the airport at about 9:30 a.m.. Some of those aboard were taken to a fire station in Whitewater Colorado. Pilot Tom Haefeli is quoted as saying "All of a sudden, there was an airplane headed for us. We tried to dive under him and they just clipped us and took our vertical stabilizer off."

The cause is under investigation and the FAA will look into weather, pilot error, tower air controllers, and flight plan. No one was injured.

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Experimental Plane Crash. Pilot killed

What: experimental Quick Silver GT-500 plane registered to Tim Moses of Monroe
Where: Union County 3200 block of Austin Chaney Road just northeast of Monroe near privately owned Arant Airport
When: early Tuesday afternoon before 1 p.m
Who: Pilot was killed, passenger injured.
Why: When the crash occurred, the plane was under visual flight rules, i.e. not in contact with the control tower.

Enrique Inclesias Emergency Landing

What: private plane
Where: flying over the Atlantic emergency when there was a problem with one of the engines. Landing at the the Bedfordshire airport in Luton and then flew on to London on the same plane.
When: Monday
Who: Enrique Iglesias
Why:After engine trouble, the pilot shut down one of the jet's engines, and made an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

Catalina Plane Crash

(Update pending)
What: single-engine Mooney M20J registered to a Corona resident
Where: three-quarters of a mile off the departure end of Runway 22 of Catalina island airport.
When: 1:15 p.m . Monday
Who: 2 were dead at the scene, one died shortly after help arrived, one transported to hospital.
Why: Under investigation.

Emergency Landing in Kansas

What: single-engine plane en route to Salina airport
Where: Kansas Interstate Highway 135.
When: Saturday afternoon
Who: pilot Joseph Prelogar, of Kansas City, Kan. and his wife
Why: The engine quit. The pilot was trying to switch to the fuel tank with the remaining fuel but engine would not restart. After landing, the plane's nose gear collapsed and the front end was damaged but there were no injuries.

Missing Helicopter Dead Pilot found in NY

What: Robertson R-22 en route from Norwich in Chenango County to Zanesville, Ohio.
Where: found in wooded area of the Town of Dryden, east of Ithaca.
When: Found 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Who: Pilot Earl L. Small Jr., 57, of Powder Springs, Ga.
Why: The pilot has been missing since Thursday

Crash Update: Westwood One Announces Regrets

What: KTRK’s SkyEyeHD helicopter crash on October 13, 2008
Where: wooded area in Montgomery County
Who: John Downhower and David Garrett, Pilot and photographer employed by contractor Metro Traffic killed in helicopter Crash

"The Westwood One family wishes to express its deepest sympathies to the families of the two occupants of the news helicopter that crashed outside of Houston today. The photographer on board, David Garrett, was a Metro Networks employee; the pilot, John Downhower, worked for a vendor from whom Metro Networks leases helicopters. At the time of the incident, the helicopter team was covering news for KTRK Channel 13. Sadly, there were no survivors in the crash. We are awaiting further reports and information from the investigating authorities on this tragic incident." Westwood One

The families of both Garrett and Downhower are asking that that memorials are sent to funds set up for the men's children in lieu of flowers.
For the Garrett family, contributions can be made to:

Adam Ryan Garrett Educational Fund
PO Box 1811
Sugarland, Tx 77478-1811

For the Downhower family, you can make contributions at any Wells Fargo bank by asking specifically for the Mitchell Downhower College Fund.

Southern Utah Crash Kills Pilot

What: home built single-engine plane en route to Las Vegas
Where: near the Parowan airport about 1 mile north of the runway on private property.
When: Saturday 1:45 p.m
Who: Pilot William Phillips, 59 and wife 52-year-old Janice Phillips, a Vegas couple with a cabin in Iron County
Why: Pilot experienced mechanical problems shortly after takeoff. Witnesses also reported the plane making noises that indicated a mechanical problem. The pilot was alive when deputies arrived at the scene but died a few minutes later. Passenger suffered broken bones and internal injuries and was "LifeFlighted" to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. Investigating deputies are Tony Gower and Nate Houchen.

Pilot's body found

What: two-seater Piper 38 en route from from Teesside to Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington
Where: in sea off Robin Hood's Bay near Whitby, North Sea, UK
When: Crash witnessed at 4.20 p.m. on Friday
Who: Pilot, a middle-aged man from the Ripon area, was the only fatality. He was a member of a Tees Valley flight school.
Why: Pilot sent out a Mayday distress call. Witnesses reported seeing the plane crash into the sea. A full scale search operation was in effect until the pilot's body was found by divers at 11.45 am near rocks near the crash site and taken to Scarborough Hospital. The aircraft salvage operation is co-ordinated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the coastguard and the RNLI. The plane was dismantled to facilitate transportation.

Hidalgo Mountain Crash

What: twin-engine Cessna 402C owned by the state government en route from Monterrey to La Paz airport in Baja California Sur.
Where: in the Sierra de Hidalgo mountains
When: 10 minutes after taking off from an airport in the city of Monterrey
Who: Victims include Baja California Sur state Finance Secretary Nabor Garcia Aguirre, the pilot and the copilot.
Why: The plane was flying on instruments because of poor visibility and heavy cloud cover in the area

Victoria Helicopter Crash injures Instructor and Student

What: R-22 training helicopter
Where: Victoria International Airport off of the tarmac in a field in the 9800 block of Willingdon Road outside the airport security fence, but on property owned by the Victoria Airport Authority.
When: just before noon Friday Oct 17 on a training flight
Who: The instructor was seriously injured; the student was trapped in the wreckage for some time with minor injuries. The student was freed by firefighters from the airport and North Saanich. The injured parties were Coast Helicopter College instructor Wayne Goodridge and student Richard Yuen.
Why: Witnesses said the helicopter "...was doing an exercise about 100 metres above a grassy training area west of the airport when it fell to the ground, bounced twice and landed upside down." The chopper crashed in an area where trainee pilots practice a maneuver called autorotation, coming down without power.

German XL Emergency Landing in Belgrade

What: Frankfurt-based XL Airways Boeing 737-800 flight G1-614 en route from Frankfurt Germany to Antalya Turkey registration D-AXLF
Where: emergency landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport
When: on Saturday Oct 18 7:47 a.m. (0547 GMT)
Who: 163 passengers and six crew (official release said 183 passengers and 6 crew)
Why: The pilot reported engine failure, and requested an emergency landing with five minutes to manoeuvre and land the plane at the nearest airport. Smoke was seen coming from one of the plane's two engines and the emergency crew doused said engine with foam. The official report denies fire, and says only "unspecified "engine problems" instigated the emergency landing

Evacuation Ordered after Helicopter Crash

Evacuation was ordered for those living near the radio tower that was involved in the Air Angels helicopter crash in Aurora Illinois, 42 miles outside of Chicago, specifically those living in the Amli and Oakhurst North apartments and homes on Riverstone Drive and Riverstone Court. The crash site is the Night Heron Marsh – part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve – at the intersection of Eola Road and Waterstone Drive on the Aurora's far east side. The helicopter clipped a guy wire connected to a 750-foot tall WBIG radio antennae tower on the west side of Eola Road. Structural damage to the tower is being investigated. The top of the tower has been removed. Ironically, a helicopter was involved in the remediation procedures.

Read More about the Medical Evacuation Crash

Spanair Update

Madrid Superior Court Judge Juan Javier Perez is questioning three mechanics in relation to the Spanair plane crash. The purpose of the inquisition is to decide if there is a question of criminal accountability (manslaughter) for mistakes that lead to air disasters. To date, the only problem pinned down on the plane is with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm.

The plane's take-off warning system is supposed to be checked before every flight; it is supposed to warn pilots when planes properly configured for takeoff. Legally, the system is looking for someone to blame. However, some believe that getting caught up in blame clouds the larger issue of developing safety checks and balances.

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• Spanair Survives Emergency Landing
  
• Latest Spanair Madrid Fatality August 23
  
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• Early Video Coverage of Spanair Crash
  
• Repost: Breaking News of Spanair Crash
  
• Spanair Death Toll Rises
  
• Spanair Crash follows Strike Threat. 145 Dead.
  

Young Pilot injured in Ultralight Crash

What: motorized hang glider
Where: off Piedmont Road, Anderson County S.C.
When: Thursday night
Who: pilot Andy Walls, 20
Why: While attempting to land, the glider hit a stand of trees. Pilot suffered a broken back, a broken leg, fractures to his face and burns over 14 percent of his body and is recuperating in Greenville Memorial Hospital.

Fatal Crash south of Lake Tahoe

What: Piper Cherokee
Where: crashed in trees two miles from Alpine County, Calif., airport, near Woodfords south of Lake Tahoe.
When: late Thursday morning
Who: Pilot 53-year-old Raymond Wieveg
Why: Pilot radioed in engine failure then attempted an emergency landing. The pilot was the only one on board. He did not survive the crash.

757 Emergency Landing in Syracuse

What: United Airlines 757 en route from Boston to San Francisco.
Where: Hancock Airport
When: 10/16/08
Who: 155 passengers
Why:smoke detector in a bathroom went off. No injuries on landing.

UA Emergency Landing in Shannon

What: United Airlines flight 952 en route from Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. to Frankfurt in Germany
Where: emergency landing at Shannon Airport. Shannon Airport is reducing from 280 staff to being manned by skeleton staff of fewer than five Aer Lingus ground personnel; but emergency services were deployed.
When: Friday October 17 2008 landing safely at landed safely at 6.13am
Who: 190 passengers and crew
Why: A technical problem in the cockpit area resulted in smoke entering the flight deck. A replacement plane was provided for the passengers.

Norway: Rygge Airport Emergency Landing

What: Norwegian Air Boeing 737-8Q8 en route from Rygge Airport to Barcelona
Where: Rygge Airport
When: 10/17/2007 Friday
Who: 163 passengers 7 crew
Why: 20 minutes into the flight, an alarm warned of fire in one of the wings. Smoke was reported in the cabin.The aircraft was breaking very hard, and used half the runway to stop. On return to the airport, passengers deplaned via emergency slides, but there was apparently no external wing fire. There was a minor injury on the slide disembarkment.

In Dutch

Downed Kit Plane Kills Pilot in York

What: Skyranger II, a home built single-engine kit plane
Where: nose down in a soybean field in York County SC in a very rural area near the Chester County line along East Chappel Road near Horse Road
When: crashed between 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Thursday
Who: 51-year-old Theodore Hargett of Rock Hill
Why: Cause is unknown. The pilot had not long owned the Skyranger and was inexperienced.

Unlicensed Pilots

The Australian aviation authority, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is in the process of investigating Hempel's Aviation. Barry Hempel was killed recently while flying a passenger in a stunt plane. Hempel had no commercial pilot's license and wasn't qualified to pilot paying customers. The CASA is actively looking for people who purchased flights from the now-liquidated company in the past year. Anyone who has information that may help CASA’s investigation should call: 07 3144 7532.

Boeing Forced Landing

What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route to Amsterdam from Cincinnati
Where: emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport
When: early Sunday
Who: 151 people on board
Why: Smoke in the cockpit caused by faulty air-conditioning fan. The pilot circled back to Nova Scotia to land

Ultralight Emergency Landing in North Carolina

What: ultralight aircraft
Where: in Pine Hall on Knight Road in Stokes county NC
When: 6:40pm.
Who: unnamed pilot.
Why: When the pilot's engine quit, the pilot made an emergency landing in a tobacco field. The vehicle was described as a "hangglider with a motor"

Medical Evacuation Helicopter Crashes in Chicago

What: Air Angels Inc.emergency medical transport Bell 222 helicopter en route from Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. The helicopter was based out of Clow airport in Bolingbrook.
Where: Crashed in a corn field near a residential area in east Aurora near Eola Road and Liberty Street, and was engulfed in flames.
When: Oct 15 Went down about midnight
Who: victims included three crew members and the little girl.
Why: The little girl was being transported to the hospital because of epileptic seizures. Witnesses report that after the helicopter crashed, it exploded. There is speculation that the helicopter struck a 750-foot tall radio transmission tower which is now about 15-feet off center. One witness reported a midair explosion, and then another explosion after the helicopter hit the ground. Two of the tower’s guy wires were impacted during the crash.

Perth: Yet Another Airbus Emergency Landing

What: Emirates Airbus A340 Flight EK425 en route from Perth International Airport leaving at 6am bound for Dubai
Where: PERTH Westralia Airport, Australia
When: The pilot made a textbook emergency landing about 8.40am.
Who: All 120 passengers disembarked safely at about 9am..
Why:The pilot was forced to turn back after reporting smoke in the cabin. Fuel was dumped from the plane before it came in to land. The Airbus is the same set-up as the Qantas Airbus A330-300 that injured more than 70 people when it lost altitude. Passengers said no smoke was visible inside the jet.

News Chopper Forced Landing in Philadelphia

What: Emergency landing by a CBS 3 backup chopper leased from U.S. Helicopters en route to cover a news event
Where: Landed on an athletic field adjacent to Mayfair Elementary School in Philadelphia's Northeast section
When: On Columbus Day
Why: The pilot landed after the chopper began losing a large amount of oil. A similar problem occurred recently with another leased helicopter several weeks ago in which a warning light came on for a different problem

Worldwide Alert on Failed Airline Computer System

A computer fault on a Qantas Airways Ltd. flight switched off the autopilot and generated false data, causing the jet to nosedive. This failure in the onboard computer system caused the violent drop in altitude on the Qantas Airbus A330-300. The flight control system was supplied by Litton Industries, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp., Airbus issued a telex late yesterday to airlines that fly A330s and A340s. The fault originated in the main on board computer system which caused other system failure. Airbus has now issued guidelines in case the incident happens again.

Preliminary analysis of the Qantas incident revealed the error occurred in one of the jet's three air data inertial reference units, which caused the autopilot to disconnect.

The crew flew the aircraft manually to the end of the flight,

On 14 October 2008, Mr Julian Walsh, Director, Aviation Safety Investigation, discussed factual information known to the investigation team in a media conference in Canberra City discussing the progress of the investigation.

Almost Hijacked in Russia

What: Turkish Airlines en route from the Turkish resort of Antalya bound for St Petersburg, Russia
Where: The plane landed safely in St Petersburg.
When: Wednesday
Who: 164 passenger and 7 crew
Why: The hijacker gave the crew a note saying he had a bomb. The captain and crew followed procedure and locked the door. Passengers overpowerd the man; and the crew then took into custody the drunken man threatening to hijack the plane.

The note said " Take me inside (the flight cabin) or I will explode the bomb I have"

Houston TV station KTRK Crash and Burn has Two Fatalities

What: Bell 206L-4 SkyEye 13 news chopper
Where: on property owned by The Woodlands Development Company,heavily wooded area East of the W.E. Jones State Forest in southwest Montgomery County.
When: Monday morning between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m
Who: Pilot John Downhower, 43, and photographer Dave Garrett, 36. Downhower worked for Helicopters Inc., which operated the Bell 206L-4, and Garrett worked for Metro News on assignment for Houston TV station KTRK
Why: Pilot and phtographer were en route to cover an officer-involved shooting when the accident occurred. On impact, the helicopter broke into pieces and burst into flames, Both men were pronounced the men dead at the scene, and both suffered massive trauma. One body was charred. The bodies were taken to the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe

Memorial service for Downhower: 11 a.m. Friday at Fellowship of The Woodlands, One Fellowship Drive.
Garrett's funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday at River Pointe Community Church, 5000 Ransom Road, in Richmond.

A fund has been established for Garrett's son:
Adam Ryan Garrett Educational Fund
P.O. Box 1811
Sugar Land, Texas 77478-1811.

Emergency Landing at Heathrow

What: British Airways Flight BA 341 Boeing 757, en route from France
Where: priority landing at Heathrow airport
When: British Summer Time (BST) 063 Sunday
Who: 137 passengers
Why: Fumes were detected in the passenger cabin, instigating an emergency landing. There were no injuries.

Tomahawk Crashes in Sierra Sky Park; no fatalities

What: Single-engine Tomahawk.
Where: Sierra Sky Park in northwest Fresno
When: Saturday evening
Why:the pilot was getting ready to land and going about 70 mph when a downdraft shifted the course of the plane and it clipped the top of a Mor Furniture truck driving on Herndon Avenue then slammed into the ground short from the runway. The impact sheared off the top of the truck

New Mexico Crash

What: Raytheon A36 registered to ST Inc. in Peoria, Ariz.
Where: Crashed a mile and a half northwest of the Santa Teresa airport runway where it took off
When: Saturday 6 p.m.
Who: Michael Perry and Jim Crosby were killed.
Why: Witnesses saw the plane fly into the storm. The plane crashed during a storm and burned.

Piper Crash in New Hampshire

What: single-engine Piper Cub owned by Phyliss Harvey
Where: crashed in a field on Red Oak Hill Road
When: Sunday afternoon
Who: Paul Aquaviva, the injured pilot was taken to Exeter Hospital
Why: The plane lost power and crash landed. The crash is under investigation.

Tennessee Ultralight Fatality

What: ultralight taking off from Cooper Field, a grass airstrip in far western Greene County
Where: cornfield in Greene County Tennessee
When: Sunday right after taking off
Who: 46-year-old Edward Molden
Why: The plane went up about 150 feet, then took a sharp left turn and did a nosedive into the ground, possibly due to wind.

Drunken Passenger Goes to Jail

Back in mid July, we wrote about air passenger Dean Lyons trying to open the door of the Boeing 767-300 he was passenger in, en route to Cuba. Instead, the plane dropped him off in Bermuda in the guardianship of a police escort, while --due to flight crew flying time restrictions--the rest of the passengers on the flight had to wait till the next day to fly on to their destination, Varadero Cuba. On October 6, Lyons was jailed for that offense. That, and for punching a man in a Basingstoke pub.

Delhi Emergency Landing

What: London-bound Air India Boeing 777-300 flight AI-111 en route from Delhi
Where: Delhi
When: Saturday. The flight took off at 6:50 am. Emergency was declared at the airport at 7:50 am and it was withdrawn at 8:25 am after a safe landing.
Who: 115 passengers and 15 crew members, all safe
Why: After flying for 30 minutes, the alarm sounded, the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. and returned to the airport under Emergency conditions.

Australian DNA Specialists Going to Nepal

The Australian Federal Police are sending a team of 5 forensic specialists-- Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team-- to recover the remains of twenty-four-year-old Chalene Zamudio and 31-year-old Andrew McLeod who were killed in Wednesday's plane crash in Nepal. DNA identification of the bodies is required; and Nepal does not have the resources or equipment. There were eighteen casualties. Only the pilot survived. The team will be based in Kathmandu.

See also:
Nepal Update
Nepalese Plane Crash kills 18

Emergency Landing in San Diego

What: American Airlines MD-80 Flight 1802 en route from rom San Diego International Airport to Dallas
Where: Emergency landing onn San Diego International Airport's Lindbergh Field
When: Thursday morning 10/09 10:00 a.m
Who: 145 passengers and crew
Why: The pilot reported a warning light. It was reported that the pilot had to shut down one of two engines, but that is apparently not true. In any case, the plane returned to the airport and landed safely with no injuries.

Cessna Crash in Ojinaga, Mexico

What: Cessna 421B, N7560Q en route from El Paso International Airport to Presidio, Texas
Operator: Volare Air Charter
Where: 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico
When: September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time
Who: The dead included the leaders of the U.S. and Mexican sections of the IBWC, Carlos Marin of El Paso and Arturo Herreraof Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Also on board was Jake Brisbin Jr., executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The chartered Cessna 421 was piloted by Matthew Peter Juneau.

NTSB Report:


DFW08RA232
On September 15, 2008, approximately 1318 central daylight time, a United States registered Cessna 421B, N7560Q, was substantially damaged after it collided with mountainous terrain approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico, near the border town of Presidio, Texas. The air transport rated pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to EAC Parts LLC, Springfield, Ohio, and operated by Volare Air Charter, El Paso, Texas. The pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), Fort Worth, Texas, at 1016, approximately 15 minutes after he departed El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas, and filed a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. The pilot informed an AFSS specialist that he intended to enter Mexican airspace for the purpose of flying over the Luis Leon Dam, but had no intentions of landing in Mexico. The pilot did not request a weather briefing for the flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135; however, he was informed by the specialist that visual flight rules were not recommended due to mountain obscuration.

Onboard the airplane were the pilot, the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The purpose of the flight was to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio-Ojinaga and to coordinate joint US-Mexican efforts with local officials to address flood control concerns in the area due to heavy inflows to the Rio Grande from reservoirs inside Mexico as a result of recent storms.

The airplane wreckage was located on September 17, 2008, by the Marfa Sector of the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Division, on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane came to rest approximately 100-150 feet below the top of a ridgeline on a heading of 055 degrees along victor-airway V81.

A handheld Garmin 496 GPS was removed from the airplane wreckage and sent to the NTSB's Research and Engineering Laboratory, Washington DC, for further examination and download.

The investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Government of the Republic of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from:

Dirección de Investigación de Incidentes y Accidentes Aviacion
Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC)
Ave. 602 NUM. 161. COL. San Juan de Aragon 3RA
Seccion C.P. 15620
Delagacion Benustiano Carranza
México, D. F.

Malibu Beach Crash

What: Northfield Aviation single-engine Sky Arrow 600 taking off from Santa Monica Airport
Where: in the ocean off Malibu Beach
When: Oct 7 5:15 p.m
Who: Two men were on board: One was Griff Horner, 70, an experienced pilot and helicopter instructor. Critical injuries.
Why:The incident is under investigation.