Remembering Alaska Airlines Flight 1866

 

ALASKA B737-990 N248AK (CN 62469)         File Photo

Alaska Airlines, Flight 1866 (AS66) was a scheduled passenger flight from Anchorage (ANC/ PANC), to Seattle (SEA/KSEA), with intermediate stops at Cordova (CDV/PACV), Yakutat (YAK/PAYA), Juneau (JNU/PAJN), and Sitka (SIT/PASI). The flight departed Anchorage at 09:13 and landed at Cordova at 09:42. AS66 departed Cordova at 10:34 after a delay, part of which was attributable to difficulty in securing a cargo compartment door. The flight landed at Yakutat at 11:07. While on the ground, AS66 received an air traffic control clearance to the Juneau Airport via Jet Route 507 to the Pleasant Intersection, direct to Juneau, to maintain 9,000 feet or below until 15 miles southeast of Yakutat on course, then to climb to and maintain FL230. The flight departed Yakutat at 11:35, with 104 passengers and seven crew members on board. At 11:46, AS66 contacted the Anchorage ARTCC and reported level at FL230, 65 miles east of Yakutat. The flight was then cleared to descend at the pilot's discretion to maintain 10,000 ft so as to cross the Pleasant Intersection at 10,000 feet and was issued a clearance limit to the Howard Intersection. At 11:54, the controller instructed AS66 to maintain 12,000 feet. Approximately 1 minute later, the flight reported level at 12,000 feet. The changes to the flight's original clearance to the Howard Intersection were explained to AS66 by the controller as follows: "I've got an airplane that's not following his clearance, I've got to find out where he is." The controller was referring to N799Y, a Piper Apache which had departed Juneau at 11:44 on an IFR clearance, destination Whitehorse, Canada.
On two separate occasions, AS66 acted as communications relay between the controller and N799Y.
At 11:58, AS66 reported that they were at the Pleasant Intersection, entering the holding pattern, whereupon the controller re-cleared the flight to Howard Intersection via the Juneau localiser. In response to the controller's query as to whether the flight was "on top" at 12,000 feet, the captain stated that the flight was "on instruments." At 12:00, the controller repeated the flight's clearance to hold at Howard Intersection and issued an expected approach time of 12:10. At 12:01, AS66 reported that they were at Howard, holding 12,000 feet. Six minutes later, AS66 was queried with respect to the flight's direction of holding and its position in the holding pattern. When the controller was advised that the flight had just completed its inbound turn and was on the localizer, inbound to Howard, he cleared AS66 for a straight-in LDA approach, to cross Howard at or below 9,000 feet inbound. The captain acknowledged the clearance and reported leaving 12,000 feet. At 12:08 the captain reported "leaving five thousand five ... four thousand five hundred," whereupon the controller instructed AS66 to contact Juneau Tower. Contact with the tower was established shortly thereafter when the captain reported, "Alaska sixty-six Barlow inbound." (Barlow Intersection is located about 10 nautical miles west of the Juneau Airport). The Juneau Tower Controller responded, "Alaska 66, understand, ah, I didn't, ah, copy the intersection, landing runway 08, the wind 080° at 22 occasional gusts to 28, the altimeter now 29.47, time is 09 1/2, call us by Barlow". No further communication was heard from the flight.
The Boeing 727 impacted the easterly slope of a canyon in the Chilkat Range of the Tongass National Forest at the 2475-foot level. The aircraft disintegrated on impact killing all 111 passengers and crew.

PROBABLE CAUSE: 

"A display of misleading navigational information concerning the flight's progress along the localizer course which resulted in a premature descent below obstacle clearance altitude. The origin or nature of the misleading navigational information could not be determined. The Board further concludes that the crew did not use all available navigational aids to check the flight's progress along the localizer nor were these aids required to be used. The crew also did not perform the required audio identification of the pertinent navigational facilities."

Aircraft Information
Airline: Alaska Airlines
Code: AS/ASA
Aircraft: Boeing 727-193
Registration: N2969G
Serial Number: 19304

First Flew: 24-06-1966
Age: 5 years 2 months

Engines: 3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B

Helicopter from USS Abraham Lincoln crashes into the Pacific

A MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter embarked on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln crashed into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday afternoon.

The crash occurred at about 4:30 p.m. roughly 60 nautical miles off San Diego, the Navy said in a statement. Search and rescue efforts involving several Navy and Coast Guard vessels were ongoing as of 11:50 p.m. local time. Abraham Lincoln had been underway in recent days, with Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet and E/A-18 Growler jets conducting carrier qualifications, according to a press release sent out earlier on Tuesday.

They confirmed that one person had been rescued but five other crew members were still missing, while the USS Abraham Lincoln had returned to Sam Diego as the rescue mission continues. The U.S. Navy Third Fleet said that the rescue mission is still ongoing involving "multiple Coast Guard and Navy air and surface assets," and confirmed that "more information will be posted as it becomes available."

The ship that the helicopter was embarked on is a Nimitz-Class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which are some of the largest warships in the world, with the USS Abraham Lincoln able to carry 90 helicopters, according to Naval Technology. Nimitz-Class ships, which support naval operations across the world, were the largest warships ever built until the introduction of commissioning of USS Gerald R Ford in 2017

Remembering Korean Air 007

On the 1st September 1983 a Korean Air passenger flight was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor. Korean Air Lines flight 007 was a scheduled passenger flight from New York-JFK Airport USA (JFK/KJFK) to Seoul-Gimpo (Kimpo) International Airport (SEL/RKSS), South Korea with an en route stop at Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC/PANC), USA

The aircraft, a Boeing 747-230B, arrived at Anchorage at 11:30 UTC (03:30 hours local time) after an uneventful flight. A crew change took place and the flight was prepared for the final leg to Seoul. The flight was to depart on the Standard Instrument Departure (SID) No. 8 and to proceed to Bethel VORTAC on ATS route J501. The flight was then to proceed on ATS route R20 in the North Pacific (NOPAC) composite route system to reporting point NIPPI where the flight would enter Tokyo Oceanic FIR and later enter the Taegu FIR for landing at Seoul. At 12:58 UTC KE007 was cleared for take-off from runway 32 and was airborne at 13:00. Radar contact was established shortly after take-off and KE007 was cleared to proceed direct to the Bethel VORTAC when able. KE007 turned to a magnetic heading of about 245° which it reached three minutes after lift-off.
The Kenai air route surveillance radar showed that the aircraft deviated from its track to BETHEL about ten minutes after departure and that the aircraft was about 6 NM north of J501 when radar service was terminated. The aircraft reported passing BETHEL at 13:49 hours and estimated NABIE at 14:30. The aircraft was about 12 NM north of track when the crew reported BETHEL.
After Bethel the flight was supposed to begin following route R20 on a magnetic heading of 238°. However, The flight proceeded on a magnetic heading of 245° without changing course.
This deviation resulted in a progressively greater lateral displacement to the right of its planned route which, ultimately, resulted in its penetration of adjacent high seas airspace in flight information regions (FIRs) operated by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), as well as of sovereign USSR airspace overlying Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island and their surrounding territorial waters.

While KE007 was approaching the Kamchatka peninsula, a US Air Force Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft was also orbiting the area east off Kamchatka. Soviet Air Defence command assumed that KE007 was an RC-135 as well. At least four interceptor aircraft were scrambled from airfields in Kamchatka and vectored to the west to intercept the intruder. The fighters were unable to make an interception and at 17:06 UTC were forced to return to base. Radar contact with the intruder was lost by radars on Kamchatka at 17:28 UTC. Two Sukhoi Su-15 fighter aircraft were scrambled from the airbase at Sokol: 805 at 17:42 hours and 121 at 17:54 hours. More interceptors were brought to readiness for immediate take-off at various airbases.


At 18:18 hours the pilot of 805 reported, in response to questions from his ground control, that the target's navigation lights and flashing beacon were on. At 18:19 hours the Soviet ground control instructed the pilot of 805 to flash his lights as a warning signal and to force the intruder to land at Sokol. At 18:20 hours he was instructed to fire a warning burst from his cannon. He reported at 18:19 hours having flashed his lights and at 18:21 hours having fired a burst from the cannon. On board KE007 there was no indication that the flight crew was aware in any respect of the interception in progress. Shortly after 18:20 hours KE007 commenced the planned climb from FL330 to FL350 which it reached at 18:23 hours. The pilot of 805 reported that this climb by the target resulted in his aircraft forging ahead into a position where engagement was not possible.
At 18:22 hours the Soviet command again ordered the destruction of the target. The pilot of 805 was instructed to destroy the target with cannon fire but he reported falling back to try with missiles. Two air-to-air missiles were launched by 805 at about 18:25 hours.
The aircraft was struck by one or both missiles, resulting in holes in the fuselage with a total area in the order of 1.75 sq.ft (0.16 m2). As a result of the damage caused by the missile the aircraft initially pitched up and the vertical acceleration increased to approximately 1.2 g over three to five seconds. During this period, the aircraft rolled very slightly right wing down.
Eleven seconds after the hit, the sound of the cabin altitude warning was heard in the cockpit. As a result of the likely failure of hydraulic systems no.1, 2 and 3, the aircraft became difficult to control. The aircraft continued to climb and reached a maximum altitude of 38250 ft with a reduction in calibrated airspeed from the initial 286 kt to 220 kt. After the aircraft started to descend and at the time of temporary recovery to about level flight, it likely stalled.
The aircraft spiralled to the left and the last plotted radar position was at 18:35 UTC (03:35 local time) at 5000 metres. The aircraft subsequently impacted the sea, killing all 269 passengers and crew on board.


Aircraft Information:
Airline: Korean Air
Code: KE/KAL
Aircraft: Boeing 747-230B
Registration: HL7442
Serial Number: 20559
First flew 17/03/1972
Age: 11 years 6 months
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A

Happy 21st Birthday Virgin Australia

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA ATR 72-500 VH-FVM (CN 979)

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
VA	VOZ	VELOCITY

Virgin Australia (ex Virgin Blue) is having a milestone birthday today. Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, commonly referred to as Virgin, was one of Australia's largest airlines, (behind Qantas) and it was the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services here in Australia on the 31st August 2000 as Virgin Blue, with just two aircraft on a single route. 

VIRGIN BLUE B737-8FE VH-VUC (CN 34014)

It suddenly found itself as a major airline in Australia's domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. Before Covid the airline had grown to directly serve 52 cities both domestically and internationally. Virgin Blue also owned airlines like Pacific Blue; Polynesian Blue and V Australia but now they all operate under the name Virgin Australia.
The airline's head office is based here in Brisbane in the Flight Centre building in Southbank. It was co-founded by British businessman Richard Branson (the founder of Virgin Group), and former CEO Brett Godfrey. In 2011, the airline went through a massive transformation, changing of their brand to Virgin Australia. This included the introduction of a new aircraft livery, new uniforms, and new on board menu options. New wide-body aircraft were acquired for use to compete with Qantas, and the roll-out of business class across all the Virgin Australia network. On 4 May 2011, the former Virgin Blue revealed its new name, Virgin Australia, as well as its new livery. 

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A330-243 VH-XFC (CN 1293)

On  the 18th March 2020, Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah announced the grounding of the equivalent of 53 planes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, effective 30th March. On the 21st April 2020, Virgin Australia confirmed it had gone into voluntary administration, citing its inability to continue operations without a Federal Government bailout. On the 26th June 2020, it was announced that Bain Capital had entered into a sale and implementation deed with administrator Deloitte to acquire Virgin Australia. Fast forward to today and more than half their fleet are parked up all over Australia and the Bain group have announced Virgin Australia will no longer be doing long haul flights so their A330's and B777's will be sold off and with around 20 B737's. In August 2020, Bain Capital announced the plan for a new 'Virgin Australia 2.0', signally that the move was more focused towards streamlining and refocusing Virgin Australia, rather than a complete overhaul. The announcement included the immediate retirement of their 8 ATR's, 6 Airbus A330 and 5  B777 fleet, in addition to the full shut down of the Tigerair brand.

Virgin Australia has just announced it will lease an additional nine Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft, with deliveries to begin in October this year. The airline said the new aircraft will be welcomed ahead of an anticipated uptick in domestic travel demand, as the rate of vaccination increases and interstate borders inevitably open, and the holiday and summer travel season approaches.

While deliveries will begin in October, Virgin hopes to see all nine jets in the air by mid-February 2022.

Happy Birthday Virgin Australia I really hope you are around for another 21 yrs

What are the different kinds of turbulence?

Turbulence usually ranks as one of the main reasons some passengers, including my wife, absolutely hate flying. While some like me might be fine with the “rollercoaster ride” experience onboard a 250-ton machine, others are more sensitive to the small bumps and jerks that might occur as a result of turbulence. Since not all turbulence is the same, let’s examine the various phenomena that cause it.

Clear air turbulence (CAT)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines clear air turbulence (CAT) as “sudden severe turbulence occurring in cloudless regions that causes violent buffeting of aircraft.”

The FAA adds that the CAT definition is most commonly applied to higher altitude turbulence associated with wind shear, which is a change in wind direction or speed over a specific distance. It should be noted that Weather.gov defines wind shear as its own type of turbulence.

Wind shear (including temperature inversions)

Beyond designating wind shear as its own type of turbulence, Weather.gov also notes that temperature inversions can be a cause for wind shear. Meanwhile, other sites might define temperature inversion as its own specific type of turbulence.

Temperature inversions are zones of strong stability that prevent the mixing of the stable low layer with the warmer layer above. “The greatest shear, and thus the greatest turbulence, is found at the tops of the inversion layer,” Weather.gov notes, adding that turbulence associated with temperature inversions often occur due to nighttime cooling of the Earth’s surface creating a surface-based inversion.

Jet stream turbulence is another term that can fall under wind shear but might also be categorized as its own type of turbulence. As you can tell from the name, turbulence comes from jet streams, which are strong horizontal winds that follow a wavelike pattern as a part of the general wind flow. National Geographic notes that jet streams occur at altitudes of eight to 15 kilometers (five to nine miles).

Convective (thermal) turbulence

According to Boldmethod, thermal turbulence occurs with localized columns of convective current (a rising column of warm air). These rising columns of air come from surface heating or cold air moving over warmer ground.

Wake vortex turbulence

Wake vortex turbulence is encountered when an aircraft follows or crosses behind another aircraft. Caused by wing tip trailing vortices generated by the first aircraft, this is the reason why planes have designated minimum separation distances. It’s also why the callsigns of larger aircraft add the term “heavy” or “super” as they another indication that a 747 or A380 (respectively) should be given sufficient space.

Mechanical turbulence

Mechanical turbulence occurs when there is friction between the air and the ground. Found at low altitudes, this is often the result of irregular terrain and man-made objects. Accuweather notes that this irregular terrain (think tall buildings and mountains) causes the obstruction of airflow. The intensity will depend on the strength of the surface wind and the nature of the surface.

Weather.gov defines mountain wave turbulence as a form of mechanical turbulence, while other sources put it in its own category. Mountain wave turbulence occurs when strong eddies occur downwind from mountain ridges. Mountain waves are said to produce some of the most severe mechanical turbulence.

Frontal turbulence

This occurs with the lifting of warm air by the sloping frontal surface of a cold air mass. It’s here that friction occurs between the two opposing air masses, producing turbulence in the frontal zone. When the warm air is moist and unstable, there can be a risk of thunderstorms, leading to more severe turbulence.

As you can tell from the above definitions, turbulence can be caused by a wide variety of phenomena, both natural and human-made, occurring at various altitudes. To avoid turbulence as much as possible, careful planning from both the pilot and airline operations staff is required.

Story sourced from here

What Are The Different Kinds Of Turbulence? - Simple Flying

Spotting at Brisbane Airport

Yesterday I had to drop my daughter off at dancing near the city for 3 hours so I decided to venture out to the airport. With New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia still completely band from entering Queensland by road and air the aircraft movements were about 5 an hour. I did however manage to get a few photos of the aircraft lined up on taxiway Papa.

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBJ (MSN 0940)    

Hi FLY AIRBUS A330-313 9H-TQZ (MSN 0202)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBS (MSN 1258)

AIRWORK BOEING 737-36E ZK-FXJ (MSN 25264)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-QQR (MSN 11564)

SOLOMONS AIRBUS A320-232 H4-SIB (MSN 2445)

ALLIANCE EMBRAER E190LR M-ABOB (MSN 19000420)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VXQ (MSN 33723)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VXP (MSN 33722)

MINERALOGY BOMBARDIER 700 VH-UPH (MSN 9281)

SAMOA BOEING 737-85R 5W-TFL (MSN 42805)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-QQW (MSN 11569)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QQP (MSN 4238)
QF2533 ARRIVING FROM LONGREACH

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZD (MSN 34198)
QF713 ARRIVING FROM CAIRNS

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOI (MSN 4189)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-YIB (MSN 37825)
VA782 ARRIVING FROM CAIRNS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-XSJ (MSN 5482)
JQ889 ARRIVING FROM MACKAY

TOLL AVIATION ATR 42-300 VH-TOQ (MSN 0079)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHQ (MSN 439)
SQ236 OFF TO SINGAPORE

Alliance Airlines to build a new MRO facility at Rockhampton

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK 100 VH-UQD (MSN 11460) 

A new aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility will be constructed by Alliance Airlines at Rockhampton Airport via support from the Queensland government.

Alliance Airlines has received $60 million in Jobs and Regional Growth funding to establish the facility. It will mean the airline’s major maintenance activities can be carried out domestically, rather than overseas.

“In a state as vast as Queensland, we know how important it is to have a thriving, competitive aviation sector,” treasurer and minister for Investment Cameron Dick said.

“In recent years, Alliance Airlines has grown rapidly and expanded from resources-based operations to conventional passenger and freight services. In the next 12 months, Alliance’s fleet of aircraft will expand from 43 to 75.”

In supporting the airline’s growing fleet, the Rockhampton MRO facility will see 98 new long-term, operational jobs created by 2024.

“There will also be a significant number of construction jobs to manage the capital works and other indirect employment opportunities created,” Dick said.

“Base maintenance means a lot of overhaul work and that means a lot of opportunities for local businesses in the supply chain. This will create a raft of new opportunities for avionics, aerospace technologies, wheels, tyres, brakes and landing gear, engine maintenance, interiors and upholstery and cabin accessories suppliers.”

Headquartered in Brisbane, Alliance Airlines provides dedicated contract, charter and aviation services to support mining, energy, tourism and government sectors with its fleet of Fokker and Embraer aircraft.

ALLIANCE FOKKER F28 MK 70 VH-NUY (MSN 11560)

The company also operates flights on behalf of most of Australia’s largest airlines. The company operates across all mainland Australian states and territories, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

Alliance Airlines’ $250 million investment into its fleet expansion over the past 12 months was further motivation to relocate its major maintenance activities to Queensland.

“This move will give us better control and coordination of our fleet, minimise costs and exposure to border closures and currency fluctuations, and will increase efficiencies across the entire Alliance group,” Alliance Airlines chairman Steve Padgett said.

“Once the facility is fully operational, we expect to achieve approximately $20 million per annum in full export replacement. We’re pleased to be working with the Queensland government with its funding support going directly to establishing the facility.

“This is in addition to the recently announced $25 million from the Australian government for upgrades to the Rockhampton Airport to service the facility.”

The state government is focused on supporting industry growth, according to minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing Glenn Butcher.

“This is just another example of our government’s commitment to delivering opportunities for regional businesses and manufacturers to access new supply chains and create secure, long-term jobs,” Butcher said.

The state government has identified MRO services as a key growth opportunity for Queensland as outlined in the Queensland Aerospace 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan. It will continue to maximise opportunities to support the industry.

Story sourced from here

Alliance Airlines to build a new MRO facility at Rockhampton (manmonthly.com.au)