Remembering Alitalia flight 112

ALITALIA (NOW ITA) AIRBUS A319-112 EI-IMD (MSN 2074)

Alitalia Flight 112 was a scheduled flight travelling from Roma-Fiumicino Airport (FCO/LIRF), Italy to Palermo-Punta Raisi Airport (PMO/LICJ), Italy. On the 5th of May 1972, it crashed into Mount Longa, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Palermo while on approach to the airport, killing all 115 people on board. Investigators believe that the crew had 3 miles visibility and did not adhere to the established vectors issued by air traffic control. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy, and the second deadliest behind the Linate Airport disaster in 2001. 

The flight contacted Palermo Approach around 9:10 PM stating to be at 74 nautical miles (137 km) from VOR. Around 10:23 PM, the aircraft hit a crest 935 meters (1,980 feet) high, about 300 feet (91 m) below the top of the mountain and slid for a long time on the ground with its wings, its fuselage, and its four engines, until it disintegrated in the successive hits against the rocks of the crest. Part of the debris and bodies of the victims rolled on the mountain side (Carini side) from where the kerosene fire was witnessed. The wreckage was strewn across a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) area, so wide it took rescue teams three hours to reach it. Later on, some witnesses at Carini said that they had seen the aircraft on fire before the crash.

This incident is the worst in Alitalia's history.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Alitalia

Code: AZ/AZA

Aircraft: Douglas DC-8-43
Registration: I-DIWB
Serial Number: 45625
Engines: 4 Rolls-Royce Conway 508-12

First Flew: May 1961

Age: 11 Yrs 

Spotting at Perth's Jandakot Airport

Last week I went to Perth's second airport, and apparently the busiest light aircraft airport in Australia.
This was my first time visiting this amazing airport, but unfortunately, I witnessed a plane crash and even though the pilot survived the crash, sadly he passed away 5 days later.

 
Jandakot Airport (JAD/ YPJT) is a general aviation airport located in Jandakot, Western Australia. The airport is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the city of Perth and the same distance from Perth Airport (PER/YPPH) but southwest
Jandakot airport opened in 1963. From the 1st of July 1998, Jandakot Airport Holdings purchased a 50-year lease with a 49-year option to operate and maintain the airport including its conservation areas.

It is 30 metres (99 feet) above sea level and has three runways, which are:

06R/24L 1,150 metres (3,773 feet) Asphalt
06L/24R 1,392 metres (4,567 feet) Asphalt
12/30 990 metres (3,248 feet) Asphalt

The airport provides access for essential service organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Bushfire Water Bombers, RAC Rescue Helicopter and the WA Police Air Wing. There are two major flying schools at Jandakot Airport, and they are the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia, and Singapore Flying College

DUNN AVAITION AIR TRACTOR AT- 802A VH-8DA (MSN 802A-0978)

DUNN AVIATION AIR TRTACTOR AT-802A VH-8DB (MSN 802A-1018)

De HAVILLAND CANADA DHC-1 CHIPMUNK VH-POR (MSN OGMA 44)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR PILATUS PC-12 VH-OWX (MSN 1439)

POLICE AIRBUS HELICOPTER H145 VH-VQY (MSN 21187) 

AIRBUS HELICOPTER H125 VH-BTV (MSN 9038)

CESSNA 441 CONQUEST VH-LWK (MSN 441-0088)

McDERMOTT AVIATION AIRBUS AS365 DAUPHIN N97MD (MSN 6330)

McDERMOTT AVIATION AEROSPATIALE AS355F1 VH-YUQ (MSN 5057) 

AUS WEST AIRLINES BEECH B200 KING AIR VH-ZXM (MSN BB-1470)

BEECH 58 BARON VH-DMD (MSN TH-1294)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS PILATUS PC-12 VH-OWI (MSN 1232)

BUDBAY CESSNA 208 CARAVAN VH-MMV (MSN 20800096)

STAR AVIATION BEECH B200 SUPER KING AIR VH-NQT (MSN BB-305)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS PILATUS PC-24 VH-KWO (MSN 106)

CESSNA 172S SKYHAWK VH-ZES (MSN 172S10856)

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS PILATUS PC-12 VH-OWI (MSN 1232)

AIR AFFAIRS AUSTRALIA BEECH B200T SUPER KING AIR VH-LAB (MSN BT-23)

VAN'S RV-9A VH-LAT (MSN 90484)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 

FAIRCHILD METROLINER VH-KGX (MSN TC-326)

ROBINSON R22 BETA II VH-INZ (MSN 4506)

PIPER PA30 VH-TXC (MSN 30-1771)

XCALIBUR CESSNA 208B GRAND CARAVAN VH-ZKA (MSN 208B0860)

AERO CLUB OF WA MOONEY M20J VH-JXC (MSN 24-3097)

CESSNA 172S SKYHAWK SP VH-PUJ (MSN 172S12626)

QUEST KODIAK 100 VH-KGO (MSN 100-0195)

BEECH 76 DUCHESS VH-KTB (MSN ME-409)

MAULE AIRCRAFT CORP VH-BOO (MSN 7431C)

PIPER PA -31P-350 VH-PWZ (MSN 31P-8414009)

On this day in history - the 4th of May

The Superga air disaster, also known as the Tragedy of Superga, occurred on the 4th of May 1949. The aircraft departed at 09:52 and stopped for refueling in Barcelona at 13:15. The aircraft then departed Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN/LEBL) for Torino-Aeritalia Airport (LIMA). The weather around Torino was poor, with visibility at the airport being 1200 meters and a cloud base at 400 meters. Near the 675-meter-tall Superga Hill, visibility dropped to just 40 meters. A Fiat G.212 of Avio Linee Italiane, which was carrying the entire Torino football team, famously called Grande Torino, struck the rear of the Basilica of Superga's retaining wall on a hill near Torino. The tragic crash led to the loss of all thirty-one people on board.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Avio Linee Italiane - ALI

Aircraft: Fiat G.212CP

Registration: I-ELCE

Serial Number: 05

Engines: 3 x Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp

First Flew: 1947

Age: 2 years

EAS Airlines Flight 4226, a scheduled domestic flight from Kano to Lagos, Nigeria, met with tragedy on the 4th of May 2002. The aircraft, a BAC One-Eleven 525FT carrying 69 passengers and 8 crew members, crashed into the Gwammaja Quarters, a densely populated residential area about three kilometers from the airport. The crash and subsequent fire claimed the lives of 66 passengers and 7 crew members. Additionally, no fewer than 30 civilians on the ground perished. With 103 fatalities, Flight 4226 stands as the deadliest accident involving a BAC One-Eleven aircraft.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: EAS Airlines

Code: EXW

Aircraft: BAC One-Eleven 525FT

Registration: 5N-ESF

Serial Number: 

Engines: 2 x Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan

First Flew: 1980

Age: 22 Years

An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, operated by African Express Airways, was reportedly shot down by the Ethiopian National Defense Force during its approach to Berdale. The aircraft was on a chartered cargo flight from Baidoa Airport (BIB/HCMB) on the 4th of May 2020. All six individuals on board, comprising four passengers and two crew members, perished in the crash. The plane was transporting medical supplies intended for COVID-19 relief efforts in Somalia, in addition to mosquito nets.

Ethiopian soldiers believed it was a suicide plane trying to find a target in the base camp. It was then shot down using a ZU-23 anti-aircraft cannon.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: African Express Airways

Aircraft: Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia

Registration: 5Y-AXO

Serial Number: 120259

Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW115 turboprop

First Flew: 1992

Age: 28 Years

       MAY THE 4th BE WITH YOU TODAY

Braniff Flight 352

On the 3rd of May 1968, a Braniff International Airways flight from Houston-William P. Hobby Airport, TX (HOU/KHOU) to Dallas-Love Field, TX (DAL/KDAL) disintegrated midair and crashed near Dawson, Texas, after encountering a severe thunderstorm. The flight was carrying 5 crew members and 80 passengers, with no survivors. Among the deceased was Texas State Representative Joseph Lockridge, the first African American to represent Dallas County in the Texas Legislature. The investigation determined that the crash resulted from the captain's decision to fly through a heavy storm, leading to structural overstress and airframe failure during an attempted recovery from loss of control in a sharp 180-degree turn made to evade the storm.

Probable Cause: "The aircraft's structure was stressed beyond its ultimate capacity during an attempted recovery from an unusual attitude caused by turbulence within a thunderstorm. This decision to fly through the turbulence stemmed from a choice to enter a region of known severe weather."

This is not the first time this aircraft was involved in an incident.

On the 16th of October 1961 the same aircraft executed an emergency gear-up landing at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. After departing from Dallas Love Field for Chicago, the landing gear jammed. The plane circled for five hours over Dallas as the crew attempted to deploy the landing gear before commencing the emergency landing. The fuselage sustained severe damage when it was punctured by broken propeller blades.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: Braniff International Airways
Code: BN/BNF
Aircraft: Lockheed L-188A Electra
Registration: N9707C
Serial Number: 1099
Engines: 4 x Allison 501-D13A

First Flew: April 1959

Braniff Airways, Inc. (known as Braniff International Airways from 1948 to 1965 and then as Braniff International until the cessation of its air operations) was a U.S. airline that conducted air carrier operations from 1928 to 1982. Today, it operates as a retail, hospitality, travel service, and brand licensing company, managing the former airline's employee pass program and other administrative duties. Braniff primarily served routes in the Midwestern and Southwestern U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America, expanding to Asia and Europe in the late 1970s. The airline halted its air carrier operations in May 1982 due to high fuel costs, elevated credit card interest rates, and intense competition from major trunk carriers and new startups prompted by the Airline Deregulation Act of December 1978. 

Aer Lingus Flight 164 Hijacked

AER LINGUS AIRBUS A320-214 EI-CVA (MSN 1242)

Aer Lingus Flight 164, a scheduled passenger service was hijacked on the 2nd of May 1981 while flying from Dublin, Ireland (DUB/EIDW) to London Heathrow England ((LHR/EGLL).

As the plane was preparing to land at Heathrow, Laurence James Downey, a 55-year-old Australian, soaked himself in petrol in the lavatory. He then entered the cockpit, demanding the aircraft be flown to Le Touquet – Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ/LFAT) in France to refuel for a flight to Tehran, Iran. After landing in Le Touquet, Downey insisted on the Irish press publishing a nine-page document, which he had the pilot toss from the cockpit.

Following an eight-hour standoff, during which Downey released 11 of the 112 hostages, French special forces took control of the aircraft and captured Downey. The operation concluded without gunfire or injuries. Investigations revealed that Downey was wanted by Perth police in Australia for a $70,000 land fraud and in Shannon, Ireland, for an alleged assault. In February 1983, he received a five-year sentence in Saint-Omer, France, for air piracy.

Downey professed in his manifesto to have been a Trappist monk at Tre Fontane Abbey during the 1950s, a claim later verified by the monastery. Post-expulsion for assaulting a superior, he worked as a tour guide in Portugal at a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima. During the hijacking, he demanded the Vatican disclose the third secret of Fatima, known only to the Pope and select church dignitaries.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Aer Lingus

Code: EI/EIN

Aircraft: Boeing 737-248C

Registration: EI-ASD

Serial Number: 20219

Engines: 2 x PW JT8D-9A

First Flew: 26/09/1969

Age: 12 Years old

Plane crash victims identified as new mum and CFA volunteer

Kate Callingham, 39, a new mother, and Greig Wanless, 67, a volunteer with the Country Fire Association, have been named as the victims of a light aircraft crash in Victoria's alpine region. The pair, who were family friends, were aboard a powered glider over Mount Beauty to disperse the ashes of Callingham's late father, also a close friend of Wanless. 

Tragically, a Grob G109B crashed under unknown circumstances just short of runway 32 at Mount Beauty Airport (YMBT), Mount Beauty, Victoria. The aircraft descended from 300 feet before reaching the runway, leading to the fatalities of both the passenger and the pilot.

A witness who was playing golf at the time, reported seeing the plane circling unusually low over the trees. The incident is compounded by the fact that Callingham is survived by a five-month-old infant. Her relatives and friends had come to Mount Beauty last Friday to bid her father goodbye.

They convened for a memorial service in the afternoon and were present when the crash occurred. The accident has deeply shaken the community. The Plenty CFA, where Wanless served, honored him by lowering their flags to half-mast. Wanless is remembered as a devoted father of three, a skilled pilot, and a former educator.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Private

Aircraft: Grob G109B

Registration: VH-GUM

Serial Number: 6222

Engines: Grob Werke Gmbh & Co GROB 2500 E1

Built: 1983

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILES AND FRIENDS OF THE PILOT AND PASSENGER. 

Elderly pilot dies in hospital after plane crash at Jandakot Airport

Last Friday, I posted a story about a plane crash that happened at Jandakot Airport while I was there?

Sadly, the elderly pilot has died from his injuries that he obtained from the crash.

Emergency services were called to Jandakot Airport, in Perth’s south, about 1.15pm on Friday after a de Havilland Chipmunk crashed. At the time the 73-year-old male pilot, who was the sole occupant of the plane, was taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Witnessing this and watching it unfold makes me really sad to hear this news. 

My thoughts go out to his family and friends and everyone at Jandakot airport that knew him.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Private

Aircraft: de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk

Registration: VH-POR

Serial Number: OGMA-44

Engine: De Havilland GIPSY MAJOR 10 MK.2

First Flew:1958

Age: 66 Years Old