The aircraft, leased from Sabena Airways, had flown a total of 14,548 hours. Of these 583 hours were undertaken when leased to Caledonian Airways.
Thursday, 4 March 2021
Remembering Caledonia Flight 153
The aircraft, leased from Sabena Airways, had flown a total of 14,548 hours. Of these 583 hours were undertaken when leased to Caledonian Airways.
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
Remembering Turkish Flight 981
TURKISH AIRLINES B787-9 TC-LLI (MSN 65809) |
On Sunday the 3rd March 1974 flight TK981 departed Istanbul (IST/LTFM) for a flight to Paris-Orly Airport (ORY/LFPO), France to London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL), United Kingdom. The DC-10 landed at Paris-Orly at 11:02am and taxied to stand A2. There were 167 passengers on board, of whom 50 disembarked. The aircraft was refueled and baggage was loaded onto the plane. The planned turnaround time of one hour was delayed by 30 minutes. An additional 216 passengers embarked. Most of the passengers were booked on this flight because of a strike at British Airways. The door of the aft cargo compartment on the left-hand side was closed at about 12:15 pm. When all preparations were complete the flight received permission to taxi to runway 08 at 12:24. Four minutes later the crew were cleared to line up for departure and were cleared for departure route 181 and an initial climb to flight level 40. The aircraft took off at approximately 12:30 and was cleared by Orly Departure to climb to 6000, which was reached at 12:34. The North Area Control Centre then cleared TK981 further to FL230. Three or four seconds before 12:40:00, the noise of decompression was heard and the co-pilot said: "the fuselage has burst" and the pressurization aural warning sounded. This was caused by the opening and separation of the aft left-hand cargo door. The pressure difference in the cargo bay and passenger cabin, the floor above the cargo door partly collapsed. Two occupied tripe seat units were ejected from the aircraft. All the horizontal stabilizer and elevator control cables routed beneath the floor of the DC-10 and were thus also severely disrupted. Also the no. 2 engine power was lost almost completely. The aircraft turned 9 deg to the left and pitched nose down. The nose-down attitude increased rapidly to -20 deg. Although the no. 1 and 3 engines were throttled back the speed increased to 360 kts. The pitch attitude then progressively increased to -4 degrees and the speed became steady at 430 kts (800 km/h). At a left bank of 17 degrees the DC-10 crashed into the forest of Ermenonville, 37 km NE of Paris killing the 11 crew and the 335 passenger - total of 346 SOB.
The crash is also known as the Ermenonville air disaster. At the time, Flight 981 was the deadliest plane crash in aviation history until 27th March 1977, when 583 people perished in the collision of two Boeing 747s in Tenerife. It remained the deadliest single-aircraft accident until the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 on the 12th August 1985, and the deadliest aviation accident without survivors until the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision on the 12th November 1996. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors, the first fatal and deadliest crash involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in France. It is also the deadliest aviation accident that does not involve a Boeing 747.
Aircraft Information
Monday, 1 March 2021
Australia lifts 737 MAX suspension
Story Sourced from here
Australia lifts 737 MAX suspension - Asian Aviation
Sunday, 28 February 2021
Three killed as plane crashes shortly after take-off
Three adults on board a Florida-bound plane have died after it crashed in a wooded ravine after taking off from Georgia.
A Cessna 182 travelling from Gainesville-Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport, GA (GVL/KGVL) to Daytona Beach International Airport, FL (DAB/KDAB) had just taken off from north Georgia early Friday evening when it crashed into a wooded ravine, shortly after 6 p.m. (along Memorial Park Drive and Atlanta Highway near Gainesville) killing all three adults on board.
A family had just sat down for dinner when one of the plane's wings landed on their mobile home.
The four adults and one child inside the home were uninjured but had to leave due to the extensive damage caused to their home. According to US media, the pilot was trying to turn the plane around and head back to the airport when the crash near Gainesville occurred.
"The plane did leave from Gainesville and we confirmed they were en route to Daytona Beach authorities said, "And its only speculation at this point, but the pilot turned around for some reason and tried to get back to the airport," said Gainesville Fire Department.
Investigators have identified the victims as 44-year old Dan Delnoce of Gainesville, 45-year old Courtney Flanders of Gainesville and 39-year old Matthew Delnoce of Ohio.
Saturday, 27 February 2021
Two years since Budgam Mi-17 shootdown,
The Mi-17 V-5 chopper belonging to the 154 Helicopter Unit crashed within ten minutes of taking off from Srinagar after it was hit by the Air Force’s own Spyder air defence missile. Later, a Court of Inquiry confirmed that the crash was the result of "friendly fire", called "blue on blue" in military parlance. Six IAF personnel onboard, as well as a civilian on the ground, were killed in the crash, a rare incident in the IAF's history. The helicopter was flown by Squadron Leader Siddharth Vashisht with other members—Squadron Leader Ninad Mandvgane, Kumar Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, Corporals Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumar.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria, while admitting the crash was a "big mistake" on part of the air force, has assured that the IAF would "ensure such mistakes are not repeated in the future". With strict compliance of laid down Standard Operating Procedures along with stringent punishments for their violation, air force headquarters has taken measures to avert such accidents in future. Besides, the helicopter fleet is also undergoing major upgrades to its early warning suits.
It is learnt that the ill-fated chopper was mistaken as a possible drone, though even the IAF’s Barnala-based Integrated Air Command & Control System could not designate the helicopter as ‘red’—the classification for enemy aircraft. The Integrated Air Command and Control System are tasked to locate any hostile aircraft from the Pakistan side.
It was found that the helicopter's Identification of Friend or Foe’ (IFF) system, a transponder-based identification system, was switched off during the flight, which led to vital gaps in communication and coordination between the ground staff and the crew of the chopper. IFF is installed in all military aircraft and it communicates with radars to establish whether an aircraft is friendly or from the enemy. During a combat situation, air traffic controllers give a path to all aircraft and helicopters to fly in a green corridor.
Air Headquarters, has adopted a zero-tolerance approach for any deviation from laid down SoP. "In case of deviation of SoP, strict disciplinary action will be taken against the involved officer. Besides, integration of weapon with platform is also being done to prevent such mishaps," an official said while adding that it is being done if both (missile and helicopter) platforms are compatible with each other. The Mi-17 was a Russian chopper while the Spyder air defence missile was from Israel. Moreover, the Mi-17 helicopter fleet is also going for major upgrades including radar warning receiver, missile approach warning systems and countermeasure dispensing system.
Currently, IAF operates around 150 Mi-17 V5 helicopters, procured from Russia since 2008. While disciplinary action was initiated against the chief operations officer and senior air traffic control officer at the Srinagar base after both were found guilty by the COI, both pilots of the ill-fated chopper were posthumously awarded the Vayu Sena medal for gallantry along with Mention-in-Despatches posthumously awarded to four other IAF personnel.
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
United 811 disaster 32 yrs ago today
UNITED B747-422 N194UA (MSN 26982) |
Probable Cause:
The sudden opening of the forward lower lobe cargo door in flight and the subsequent explosive decompression. The door opening was attributed to a faulty switch or wiring in the door control system which permitted electrical actuation of the door latches toward the unlatched position after initial door closure and before takeoff. Contributing to the cause of the accident was a deficiency in the design of the cargo door locking mechanisms, which made them susceptible to deformation, allowing the door to become unlatched after being properly latched and locked. Also contributing to the accident was a lack of timely corrective actions by Boeing and the FAA following a 1987 cargo door opening incident on a Pan Am B-747.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-122 registration number N4713U - Serial Number 19875/89
On the 24th February 1989, the aircraft was scheduled by United Airlines to operate as Flight 811 from Los Angeles International Airport to Sydney Airport in Mascot, New South Wales, Australia, with intermediate stops at Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii and Auckland Airport in
After the accident, the aircraft was repaired and put back into service with United, but was re-registered N4724U. In 1997, the aircraft was taken out of service and passed onto Air Dabia as C5-FBS. Air Dabia ceased operations in 1998, and the aircraft was abandoned at Plattsburgh International Airport, where it was scrapped in 2004.
Tuesday, 23 February 2021
Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage - Alice Springs
Last August I flew out to Alice Springs to view the aircraft at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage facility (APAS) and back then there were around 65 aircraft.
TAKEN BACK ON THE 15th AUGUST 2020 |
Last Friday I once again flew out to Alice Springs especially to view the aircraft parked there. This time there were 140 aircraft and it really is a sight that needs to be seen.
TAKEN ON THE 19th FEBRUARY 2021 |
Like last time, I hired a helicopter from Alice Springs Helicopters Alice Springs Helicopters – Sightseeing Flights ALice Springs for a twenty minute hover around the air park. Kat, the pilot, is amazing seriously and will go and do what ever you want. Higher, lower, closer, further out, no issues. I strongly recommend hiring a helicopter as seeing these aircraft from the ground doesn't do it justice, as you can see by the below photos.
The world's newest "airliner boneyard" was completed in 2013; it began operations in June of 2014.
The storage facility is operated by Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) Ltd. which chose Alice Springs because its dry, arid climate is ideal for aircraft storage and preservation. It caters to Asia-Pacific carriers as well as other airlines from around the world. It is capable of handling all aircraft types, including the Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and Boeing 777. APAS represents the first commercial aircraft storage and recycling facility in the Asia Pacific region. The facility was ultimately selected due to its climatic suitability, significant existing infrastructure and capacity for major expansion. Alice Springs offers the perfect environment for the preservation of aircraft and their inherent capital value. The facility benefits from an arid desert environment characterized by an average year round humidity of approximately 25%, outside Australia’s cyclone zone, low rainfall, and with low lying vegetation providing additional dust suppression qualities.
It takes a team of a dozen people up to five days to induct a plane for storage. Two of those are spent entirely on taping and covering everything to protect the engines and systems, a process that can take between 40 and 50 rolls of tape. Every plane has different requirements, depending on the manual. Airbus, for example, requires all passenger windows be covered and taped as well, while Boeing does not. Once inducted, sealed and towed to a parking bay, each plane is on a rolling system of 7, 30 and 90-day checks. During this time, bags of desiccant* in the engine bays are examined, tyres are rotated, and brake systems are maintained. Storing a plane is certainly not simply a matter of parking it and walking away. When will these aircraft return to their owners remains an open question. For now, these planes sit silently in the Australian outback, a surreal monument to a different time.
Alice Springs Airport (IATA: ASP, ICAO: YBAS) is a regional airport 13 km (8.1 miles) south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. The airport has two runways, the principal one (12/30) at 2,438m in length and 45m in width, the second (and rarely used) is 17/35 and is 1,133m in length. The only scheduled flights using the airport are domestic, although international charters do use the airport at times. The airport is open 24/7 and there are no restricted flight paths for noise abatement procedures.