AirAsia flight plunges 24,000ft in emergency - diverts to Brisbane

AIRASIA X AIRBUS A330-343 9M-XBG (MSN 1467)

An AirAsia flight from Sydney, Australia (SYD/YSSY) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL/WMKK) made an emergency diversion to Brisbane (BNE/YBBN).

About an hour and forty minutes into an eight-hour flight on Sunday night, Flight D7221 began transmitting the international general emergency signal, known as “squawking 7700.”

An AirAsia spokesperson informed the media the flight crew observed an alert related to low cabin pressure. While the cabin pressure remained at a safe level, the captain chose to make a precautionary diversion to Brisbane airport, in line with established operational safety procedures.

The airline said in a statement the aircraft will undergo a detailed engineering assessment in line with safety protocols."

The plane suddenly dropped from its usual cruising altitude of 34,000 feet to about 10,000 feet. The aircraft touched down in Brisbane at 14.48 Zulu (12.48 am Brisbane time) All 142 passengers and the 11-member crew evacuated without incident.

Passengers received accommodation offers and service recovery alternatives during the aircraft assessment period.

AirAsia flight D7221D resumed its Kuala Lumpur journey at 8.25 pm Monday.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: AirAsia X
Code: D7 / XAX
Aircraft: Airbus A330-343 
Registration: 9M-XBG
Serial Number: 1467
Engines: 2 x RR Trent 772B-60
First Flew: 13th October 2013
Age: 11.4 Years 

Plane spotting at Brisbane airport.

Yesterday morning, I got up early and headed to the airport for some plane spotting, but since they were using runways 19L and 19R, I decided to try a different spot — one that captures departures from both runways. A spot down by the river.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-MAX 8 VH-8ID (MSN 66638)
VA314 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 2 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-231 VH-VWT (MSN 3717)
JQ563 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 17 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VXR (MSN 33724)
QF824 OFF TO DARWIN (DRW) 22 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYU (MSN 19000126)
QF1882 OFF TO CAIRNS (CNS) 19 YEARS

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-YFK (MSN 41004)
VA775 OFF TO CAIRNS (CNS) 14 YEARS

KOREAN AIR BOEING 787-9 HL8084 (MSN 34813)
KE408 OFF TO SEOUL (ICN) 8 YEARS

Frustratingly, I was there for less than an hour when they switched runways to 01 departures. So, my brother and I headed to the airport and made our way to the turning circle, or loop road.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-7K2 VH-NBV (MSN 39446)
VA605 OFF TO MACKAY (MKY) 14 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZM (MSN 44574)
QF615 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL) 11 YEARS

MALAYSIA AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-323 9M-MTF (MSN 1281)
MH134 OFF TO KUALA LUMPUR (KUL) 14 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYB (MSN 19000012)
QF1863 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV) 21 YEARS

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-UQW (MSN 11367)
VA1105 OFF TO NEWCASTLE (NTL) 34 YEARS
FLYING FOR VIRGIN AUSTRALIA

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKG (MSN 36232)
JQ66 ARRIVING FROM BANGKOK (BKK) 11 YEARS

CHINA EASTERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-324X (MSN 489)
MU715 ARRIVING FROM SHANGHAI (PVG) 4 YEARS

PHOTO CREDIT DALLAS De

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPI (MSN 705)
QF61 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 20 YEARS

LINK AIRWAYS SAAB 340B VH-VEB (MSN 340B-425)
LR251 OFF TO WOLLONGONG (WOL) 28 YEARS

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FGFZ (MSN 37172)
AC35 ARRIVING FROM VANCOUVER (YVR) 9 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHH (MSN 316)
SQ256 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 6 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 777-319 ZK0OKM (MSN 38405)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 15 YEARS

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES AIRBUS A321-271N RP-C9933 (MSN 8242)
PR221 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MNL) 7 YEARS

AMERICAN AIRLINES BOEING 787-9 N848AN (MSN 66013)
AA8 OFF TO DALLAS (DFW) 1 YEAR

FIJI AIRWAYS BOEING 737- MAX8 DQ-FAB (MSN 64307)
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN) 7 YEARS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32EE (MSN 619)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN) 2 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZJ (MSN 39365)
QF57 OFF TO PORT MORESBY (POM) 12 YEARS

QANTASLINK DASH 8 400 VH-84L (MSN 4477)
QLK404D OFF TO EMERALD (EMD) 11 YEARS

QANTASLINK AIRBUS A220300 VH-X4B (MSN 55269)
QF1256 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 2 YEARS

REX SAAB 340B-VH-ZRM (MSN 340B-400)
ZL5724 OFF TO CHARLEVILLE (CTL) 29 YEARS

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRBUS A350-941 B-LQD (MSN 396)
CX153 ARRIVING FROM HONG KONG (HKG) 6 YEARS

RFDS BEECH KING AIR 200C VH-FDS (MSN BL-158)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPB (MSN 558)
QF51 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 22 YEARS

DELTA AIRBUS A350-941 N574DZ (MSN 265)
DL92 OFF TO LOS ANGELES (LAX) 7 YEARS

POLAIR BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER VH-XP7 (MSN 57476)

Two light planes crash in two Australian states - four hours apart

Around 4:20 pm on Friday, a light plane crashed off the coast of Adelaide in South Australia. Just three and a half hours later, around 8:00 pm, another light plane went down near Normanton Airport in far north Queensland.

A pilot who was killed in a horror light plane crash off the coast of Adelaide is being remembered as a “highly respected and experienced pilot”. The aircraft plunged into the ocean at Long Bay, near Goolwa South, Friday afternoon.

Police and emergency crews rushed to the scene, but all three men on board died. The pilot has since been identified as a 53-year-old Morphett Vale man Leo Howard, according to the Advertiser. His two passengers an 18-year-old Freeling man and a 19-year-old from Pasadena, also died in the crash.

The wreckage of the Cessna 210 had been brought into shore, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators attended the scene on Saturday morning amid ongoing investigations into the crash.
The registration of the crashed aircraft has not been released.

 

Then later that evening, a Beechcraft Super King Air, belonging to Machjet International, was traveling from Doomadgee Airport, QLD (DMD/YDMG) to Normanton Airport, QLD (NTN/YNTN crashed just 800 metres west of Normanton Airport, north-west Queensland. Emergency services rushed to the scene just after 8pm AEST, near the Gulf of Carpentaria. Only the pilot was on board, police said, adding that his injuries remain unknown and that the response to the incident is ongoing. The crash started a small grass fire which has knocked out power for local residents.

"Police and emergency services are at the scene of a small plane crash in Normanton," a police spokesperson said.
"The incident occurred just after 8pm, 800 meters west of Normanton Airport."
Normanton is an outback town that sits in a flood zone in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: Machjet International  

Aircraft: Beechcraft 200b Super King Air
Registration: VH-PUY
Serial Number: BL-41
Engine: P&W Canada PT6A-42
First Flew: January 1981

Age: 46 Years

We send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased during this difficult time.

Planes over Parkinson

Here are some aircraft spotted over or around home a few days ago and today.

BATIK AIR BOEING 737- MAX 8 9M-LRV (MSN 42998)
OD157 ARRIVING FROM DENPASAR (DPS) 7 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPA (MSN 553)
QF62 ARRIVING FROM TOKYO (NRT) 22 YEARS

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EON (MSN 188)
EK434 ARRIVING FROM DUBAI (DXB) 10 YEARS

AMERICAN BOEING 787-9 N847MF (MSN 66012)
AA7 ARRIVING FROM DALLAS (DFW) 7 MONTHS

DeHAVILLAND DH-82 TIGER MOTH VH-FAG (MSN A17-316) 85 YEARS

CESSNA 172N SKYHAWK VH-AVS (MSN 17269913)

These were from today, but unfortunately, 01 arrivals didn’t become active until after 9 a.m., and by that time, all the big international flights had already arrived in on 19.

FLIGHT TRAINING ADELAIDE DIAMOND DA40 VH-YTZ (MSN 40.777)

AERO VODOCHODY L-39C VH-SIC (MSN 433144) 42 YEARS

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRBUS A350-941 B-LRJ (MSN 061)
CX153 ARRIVING FROM HONG KONG (HKG) 9 YEARS

CHINA AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 B-18917 (MSN 208)
CI53 ARRIVING FROM TAIPEI (TPE) 7 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZO (MSN 34191)
QF612 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 14 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VGO (MSN 4356)
JQ562 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL) 15 YEARS

BASAIR PIPER SEMINOLE VH-BJC (MSN 44496409)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 400 VH-QOW (MSN 4285)
QLK170D ARRIVING FROM PORT MACQUARIE (PQQ) 16 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SMQ (MSN 133)
SQ298 OVERFLYING BRISBANE - CHRISTCHURCH TO SINGAPORE

MINRES AIR ROBINSON R22 BETA VH-VLI (MSN 2722) 29 YEARS

PITS S-2B SPECIAL VH-XFO (MSN 5228) 35 YEARS

STRIKE AVIATION CESSNA 172P SKYHAWK VH-BGX (MSN 17274425) 46 YEARS

PIPER ARCHER III VH-JRP (MSN 2843569) 23 YEARS

BASAIR PIPER ARCHER III VH-VOU (MSN 2843221) 27 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 787-9 ZK-NZC (MSN 41988)
NZ290 OVERFLYING BRISBANE - AUCKLAND TO DENPASAR 

BASAIR PIPER ARCHER III VH-BKM (MSN 2843041) 30 YEARS

CESSNA CITATION VH-CDG (MSN 525-0163) 30 YEARS

AUSLINK AVIATION DIAMOND DA40 VH-EUU (MSN 40.723) 20 YEARS

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A380-841 9V-SKZ (MSN 255)
SQ286 OVERFLYING BRISBANE - AUCKLAND TO SINGAPORE 7 YEARS

BASAIR PIPER ARCHER VH-RMZ (MSN 2843427) 25 YEARS

BASAIR PIPER ARCHER III VH-VDN (MSN 2843173) 28 YEARS

FLIGHT STANDARDS CESSNA 172P SKYHAWK VH-JOK (MSN 17275581) 44 YEARS

QANTAS BOEING 787-9 VH-ZND (MSN 63390)
QF126 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 7 YEARS