Two killed as two small planes collide midair in Arizona

Two individuals lost their lives when two small aircraft collided midair near a airport in southern Arizona on Wednesday morning, according to officials.

The planes, a Cessna 172S and a Lancair 360 MK II, each had two people on board when they collided just before 8:30 a.m. near Marana Regional Airport in Marana Regional Airport, AZ (AVW/KAVQ) according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Lancair was performing circuits at 2,100 ft and the Cessna was on final approach to runway 12 with the Lancair closing in on the Cessna. After landing, the Cessna appears to have initiated a takeoff with the Lancair going around until both datapoints merge just southeast of runway 3/21.

The two people aboard the Lancair were killed, while the two in the Cessna were unharmed, said Vic Hathaway, the town’s communications manager. The names of the people who were killed have not been released, but Ms. Hathaway said they were from out of town.

Marana Airport is an “uncontrolled field,” meaning it does not have an operating air traffic control tower but instead relies on pilots to use the CTAF Frequency (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency) to announce their positions to other pilots.

The town of Marana was enrolled in a five-year program of the Federal Aviation Administration that was meant to help them build an air traffic control tower by the end of 2024, Ms. Hathaway said. The construction was delayed because of the pandemic, and a new deadline was set for the end of 2029.

Ms. Hathaway said the town had been petitioning for a tower at the airport because the area was growing rapidly, and the Marana Airport was also used to help relieve traffic from Tucson International Airport, which is about 30 miles southeast of their town.

It was only last week in Arizona when a small plane owned by the Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil veered off a runway at the Scottsdale Airport and struck a parked jet, killing a pilot and injuring three other people.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Private

Aircraft: Lancair 360 Mk11

Registration: N3602M

Serial Number: 941-320-781

First Flew: 2001

Age: 24 Years

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Private

Aircraft: Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP

Registration: N463ER

Serial Number: 172S11597

First Flew: 2015 

Age: 10 Years

OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS INVOLVED

Two aircraft declaring an engine emergency on the same day

On the 20th of February 2021 there were two aircraft declaring an emergency due to engine failure.

The first instance was:

United Airlines Flight 328, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Denver (DEN/KDEN) to Honolulu (HNL/PHNL), experienced a contained engine failure approximately four minutes after takeoff from Denver International Airport, despite shedding large pieces of debris. The falling parts from the engine cowling created a debris field at least 1.6 km long over suburban residential areas of Broomfield, Colorado. Eyewitnesses recorded the falling debris using smartphone cameras and car dash cam. The debris penetrated the roof of a private home and caused significant damage to a parked vehicle.

The engine failure resulted in an in-flight engine fire, extensive damage to the engine nacelle, and minor damage to the fuselage. Passengers also recorded video of the engine nacelle damage and in-flight fire and posted these to social media. 

The failed engine was a Pratt & Whitney model PW4077 turbofan. The crew secured the failed engine, and the aircraft returned to Denver using the remaining working engine, landing without further incident 24 minutes after takeoff at 13:28 local time. There were no reported injuries to persons onboard or on the ground. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board immediately began investigating.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: United Airlines

Code: UA/UAL

Aircraft: Boeing 777-222

Registration: N772UA

Serial Number: 26930

Engines: 2 x PW PW4077

First Flew: 19/11/1994

Age: 30.3 Years 

The second instance was:

Longtail Aviation flight 5504, an international cargo flight, operated by Longtail Aviation from Aachen Airport, Netherlands (MST/EHBK) to New York, United States (JFK/KJFK), experienced an engine failure shortly after departure, resulting in debris falling to the ground near the Dutch town of Meerssen. Two individuals on the ground sustained minor injuries, and there was property damage to buildings and vehicles. The Boeing 747-400(BCF) cargo plane diverted to Liege Airport (LGG/EBLG) with the failed engine shut down and landed safely.

At 16:11 local time, flight 5504, experienced a nominally contained engine failure shortly after departing Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands in a southerly direction. Nevertheless, two people were injured by debris that also fell in a residential area. An elderly woman suffered an extensive head injury that was treated at a hospital, and a child suffered burns after touching a piece of debris on the ground.

The converted freighter aircraft, originally delivered in 1991, was powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4056-3 engines, a version of the earlier PW4000-94 engine. "A few seconds after the plane took off, air traffic control noted an engine fire and informed the pilots. They then switched off the engine concerned and sent out an emergency signal," according to Maastricht Aachen Airport. Metal parts of engine #1 believed to be turbine blades, came down in the Sint Josephstraat area of the village of Meerssen, approximately 2 km past the end of the runway.

Aircraft Information:

Airline:  Longtail Aviation

Code: 6G/LGT

Aircraft: Boeing 747-412 (BCF)

Registration: VQ-BWT

Serial Number: 24975

Engines: 4 x PW PW4056

First Flew: 25/02/1991

Age:  24 Years 

Nighttime spotting at Brisbane airport

Last night our eldest daughter and her partner departed Brisbane for Phuket. The Singapore flight wasn't leaving until 11.30pm but that didn't bother us, I just tried my hand at nighttime photography. I am far from professional photographer, but I don't think the photos are too bad...

Delta airlines aircraft flips on landing at Toronto airport

DELTA AIRLINES BOEING 77232 N706DN (MSN 30440)

A Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP/KMSP) to Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ/CYYZ), operated by Endeavor Air, has ended up inverted after landing in Toronto.

Delta Connection flight DL4819 was destroyed following a landing accident on runway 23 at Toronto-Pearson International Airport, Ontario. There were no fatalities, however, one person was critically injured, 7 others received minor injuries.

Photos spread across social media from the scene shows that the right wing had separated, and the aircraft came to rest inverted. The main gear and tail control surfaces were impact damaged and separated as well. The left wing and nose gear remained attached to the airframe.

At 14.00 LT, about 12 minutes before the accident, the YYZ automated surface observing system reported winds were 270 degrees at 28 knots, gusting 35 knots, 6 miles surface visibility, blowing snow, 3,400ft above ground level broken cloud layer, temperature -9°C (15.8°F), dew point -14°C (6.8°F), and an altimeter setting of 29.93 inches of mercury. (QNH 996)

At 14.32 LT, about 20 minutes after the accident, the YYZ automated surface observing system reported winds from 270 at 20 knots, gusting 32 knots, 6 miles surface visibility, blowing snow, 3,000ft above ground level broken cloud layer, temperature -8°C (17.6°F), dew point -13°C (8.6°F), and an altimeter setting of 29.94 inches of mercury (QNH 996).

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Delta Express 

Code: DL/DAL

Owner: Endeavour Air

Code: 9E/EDV

Aircraft: Boeing CRJ 900LR

Registration: N932XJ

Serial Number: 15194

Engines: 2 x GE CF34-8C5

First Flew: September 2008

Age: 16.5 Years 

Spotting on a Sunday morning

Following on from the below post, my wife and I were out to Brisbane Airport on Sunday morning for plane spotting. Here are some of the photos I took.

 

BATIK BEOING 737- MAX 8 9M-LRL (MSN 43012)
OD158 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS) 5 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271NX ZK-NNE (MSN 8799)
NZ142 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL) 5 YEARS

BOMBARDIER GLOBAL 7500 N919FG (MSN 70025)

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271NX ZK-NNF (MSN 8839)
NZ272 OFF TO WELLINGTON (WLG) 5 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 787-9 VH-ZNB (MSN 39039)
QF1330 OFF TO ANTARCTICA FOR A JOY FLIGHT

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS BEECH KING AIR 360 VH-8FQ (MSN FM-110)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-YFR (MSN 41012)
VA775 OFF TO CAIRNS (CNS) 11 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBD (MSN 513)
NOTICE NO ENGINES ON THIS AIRCRAFT

CHINA EASTERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32FP (MSN 607)
MU715 ARRIVING FROM SHANGHAI (PVG) 1 YEAR

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 100 VH-UQC (MSN 11468)
VA605 OFF TO MACKAY (MKY) 31 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251NX VH-OFS (MSN 11229)
JQ57 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS) 2 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VFU (MSN 5814)
JQ565 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 11 YEARS

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FVND (MSN 38361)
AC35 ARRIVING FROM VANCOUVER (YVR) 6 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHY (MSN 494)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 2 YEARS

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBS (MSN 1258)
QF119 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL) 13 YEARS

KOREAN AIR BOEING787-9 HL-7208 (MSN 34817)
KE408 OFF TO SEOUL (ICN) 6 YEARS

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-FGB (MSN 11446)
VA1388 OFF TO ADELAIDE (ADL) 31 YEARS

FIJI AIRWAYS BOEING 737 MAX 8 DQ-FAD (MSN 64308)
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN) 6 YEARS

PHILIPPINES AIRLINES AIRBUS A321-271N RP-C9936 (MSN 8619)
PR221 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MNL) 6 YEARS

AMERICAN AIRLINES BOEING 787-9 N824AN (MSN 40643)
AA8 OFF TO DALLAS (DFW) 8 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 787-9 ZK-NZN (MSN 38182)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 6 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-251N VH-A5A (MSN 12328)
JQ815 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD) 4 MONTHS

ALLIANCE AIRLINES FOKKER 100 VH-UQG (MSN 11520)
VA1102 OFF TO NEWCASTLE (NTL) 30 YEARS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32CQ (MSN 568)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN) 2 YEARS

ALLIANCE EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYJ (MSN 19000056)
QF1904 ARRIVING FROM CANBERRA (CBR) 19 YEARS

LIFE FLIGHT LEONARDO AW139 VH-XIJ (MSN 41405)

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKA (MSN 36227)
JQ9 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 11 YEARS

CHINA AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 B-18908 (MSN 121)
CI53 ARRIVING FROM TAIPEI (TPE) 7 YEARS

DELTA AIRBUS A350-941 N512DN (MSN 267)
DL92 OFF TO LOS ANGELES (LAX) 6 YEARS

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-QQW (MSN 11569)
VA1239 OFF TO ROCKHAMPTON (ROK) 28 YEARS

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOH (MSN 4132)
QF2322 OFF TO BUNDABERG (BDB) 18 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBV (MSN 1365)
QF51 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 12 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHT (MSN 464)
SQ255 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE 4 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VFY (MSN 6362)
JQ759 OFF TO HOBART (HBA) 10 YEARS

UNITED BOEING 777-224 N77022 (MSN 39777)
UA97 OFF TO SAN FRANCISCO (SFO) 14 YEARS

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-842 A6-EVE (MSN 250)