Jetstar pilots let plane drop below minimum approach speed

Pilots distracted by a training exercise allowed a Jetstar aircraft landing at Sydney Airport to drop below the minimum approach speed and prompted automatic systems to abort the landing, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released today found.

The Airbus A320 was conducting an instrument landing system approach in mid-2013 using the aircraft’s automatic landing function when the training captain disconnected the autothrust system and pulled back the thrust levers to idle. He asked the first officer to assess the effect of his actions on the proposed approach and after consulting a quick reference handbook, the crew extended the landing gear and flaps and finalised the re-landing checklist.

But while they were discussing the exercise, the airspeed reduced below the minimum approach speed. The captain was in the process of applying thrust when the aircraft’s alpha-floor protection system, which automatically increases thrust if the plane slows too much, activated.

“Takeoff/go-around thrust was automatically commanded by this system and the flight crew conducted a missed approach, ’’ the report said.

The report found the pilots were distracted by the training exercise and failed to notice the airspeed approaching the minimum approach figure. Minimum and decision heights entered into the autoflight system as part of the training exercise were also not appropriate for the landing.

“The resulting increased workload impacted on the first officer’s capacity to effectively fulfil the pilot monitoring role,’’ the report said.

“As a result of this occurrence, Jetstar issued a memo to its check and training pilots highlighting the requirements for autoland training. The memo reiterated that flight crew must only use the minima for the approach being flown.’’ The air safety investigator urged training pilots to recognise their trainee’s experience and capability and ensure that a training exercise never compromises the primary task of monitoring and flying an aircraft.

Sourced from The Australian  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/jetstar-pilots-let-plane-drop-below-minimum-approach-speed/story-e6frg95x-1227548998536

Fire Fighting tanker arrives in Brisbane

As the horrific bush fire season will begin here in Australia in a month or so; the Australian Government has once again hired some help; and this time it is in the form of a DC10 water tanker.
The DC-10 is capable of carrying 43,910 litres of fire suppressant per load.
N612AX departed Albuquerque (KABQ) two days ago and headed for Brisbane (YBBN) making over night stops at Honolulu (PHNL) and Pago Pago (NSTU) before touching down here in Brisbane just a few minutes before 2pm today. N612AX will overnight here and depart for Williamstown Air Force Base (YWLM) sometime tomorrow.
N612AX (CN 48290) is a DC 10-30ER and was built in 1987
N612AX started out with Thai Airways then went to Northwest Airlines; moved on to Omni International and is now with 10 Tanker Air Carrier.

22/12/1987	Thai Airways	HS-TMB	Named Thepalai
27/04/1998	Northwest Airlines	N239NW
12/10/2006	Omni Air International	N612AX
17/04/2015	10 Tanker Air Carrier	N612AX

Below are some other images that were taken taken today while we waited for the tanker to be towed to the logistics apron.

When we got to the airport we were surprised to see two Boeing 737BBJ's

BOEINGS N835BA B737-7BC (CN30572)

BOEINGS N835BA B737-7BC (CN 30572)

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE B737-7DT (CN 30829)

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE B737-7DT (CN 30829)

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE B737-7DT (CN 30829)

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKA (CN 36227)

AIR NEW ZEALAND B767-310 ZK-NCG (CN 26912)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-838 (CN 33799)

AIR NEW ZEALAND A320-232 ZK-OJA (CN 2085)

TIGER AIR A320-232 VH-XUH (CN 6749)

Is this the worlds worst airline

FOUND THIS AND HAD TO SHARE

It’s been ranked the world’s worst airline for four straight years. But don’t let that fool you into thinking North Korea’s airline is unsafe.
It’s food may look dubious, it’s in-flight entertainment may not match current trends and its cabin crew may not speak your language, all good reasons why Air Koryo is the only carrier to have been awarded just one star in rankings released recently by the UK-based SkyTrax consultancy agency.
More than 180 airlines are included in the five-star ranking system, which is widely considered the global benchmark of airline standards.
Among many quirks that may help explain why Air Koryo has earned its singular distinction include flight attendants removing cameras from passengers who ignore the airline’s “no photography” rule and deleting the pictures.
Crumpling up a newspaper bearing the image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can also earn travellers a stern lecture, or worse.
However, some experts and frequent Air Koryo passengers disagree with the “world’s worst” title.
The airline is a definitely a unique ride, but fairly reliable, they say.
The SkyTrax ratings are focused on service and not safety.
Cockerell says Air Koryo’s weaknesses tend to be the kind of thing SkyTrax focuses on: cabin attendants tend not to speak foreign languages, there is no in-flight magazine, the meals aren’t going to win any awards and, on older planes, condensation from the cooling systems tended to dampen seats and drip on passengers.
In-flight entertainment is usually limited to the popular Moranbong Band girl group singing patriotic odes to the leader, or North Korean cartoons, shown on drop-down screens attached to the cabin ceilings.
On the less than two-hour hop from Beijing, there is a meal of sorts. It resembles a hamburger or something.
Its four-plane fleet of aircraft used on international flights is surprisingly new – acquired in 2008.
Lax practices, like not announcing when the plane was about to land or skipping the safety demonstrations before take off, were fixed long ago.
Air Koryo’s only regular international destinations are Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang in China and the Russian port of Vladivostok.
“I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen or heard any references to Air Koryo being unsafe, only that its service is really terrible,” Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of the Ask The Pilot blog, said in an email before the latest ratings came out.
Smith noted that Air Koryo’s fleet is mainly Russian TU-204s and AN-148s, which may not be as comfortable or efficient as their American or European-built counterparts, but are not unsound.
In fact, getting its passengers where they are going – in one piece – might be Air Koryo’s strong point.

Jetstar's final A330 flight touches down in Brisbane

Jetstar's last A330-202 VH-EBE (CN 0842) made its final revenue flight today coming in from Honolulu as JQ 6 touching down in Brisbane just before 5pm.

EBE rolled off the production line at Toulouse, France in May 2007; it was first flown as F-WWYV on the 29th May 2007.

The A330 departed Toulouse as JQ 7992 on delivery flight to Australia on the 21st June 2007

It was then was registered to Qantas Airways Ltd, and was given the registration VH-EBE; it was then Sub-leased to Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd  in June 2007

VH-EBE operated its first revenue service from Melbourne - Denpasar as JQ 035 3rd July 2007.

As of now it will be handed back to its original owner; QANTAS
The return flight to Honolulu tonight will be on a Boeing 787-8 VH-VKK (CN 36273)

Day Five in Perth

Yesterday was our last day in the amazing city of Perth Western Australia and as our flight wasn't until 1.25pm we had a few hours up our sleeve, so we headed off to the airport early for one last spotting session before heading home. Unfortunately in the whole three hours we were there there were only two international movements, one in and one out, but we still enjoyed seeing aircraft like Network, Skippers and Skywest, these airlines are not seen anywhere else out side of Western Australia.

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28 100 VH-NHI (CN 11479)

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28 100 VH-NHI (CN 11479

SKIPPERS DASH 8-314 VH-XFZ (CN 365)

THAI INTERNATIONAL B787-8 HS-TQD (CN 35320)

THAI INTERNATIONAL B787-8 HS-TQD (CN 35320)

THAI INTERNATIONAL B787-8 HS-TQD (CN 35320)

THAI INTERNATIONAL B787-8 HS-TQD (CN 35320)

COBHAM BAe146 100 VH-NJY (CN E3331)

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28 100 VH-NHF (CN 11458)

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28 100 VH-NHF (CN 11458

SKIPPERS DASH 8-314 VH-XFV (CN 350)

SKYWEST (VIRGIN AUSTRALIA) FOKKER F28-100 VH-FNC (CN 11334)

SKYWEST (VIRGIN AUSTRALIA) FOKKER F28-100 VH-FSW (CN 11391)

SKIPPERS DASH 8-314 VH-XFW (CN 356)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VZX (CN 34188)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A320-231 VH-FNP (CN 429)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A320-231 VH-FNP (CN 429)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A320-231 VH-FNP (CN 429)

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28-100 VH-NHO (CN 11312)

NETWORK (QANTAS) FOKKER F28-100 VH-NHP (CN 11399)

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

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

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VXC (CN 30897)

ALLIANCE F28-100 VH-XWM (CN 11276)

QANTAS LINK B717-200 VH-NXH (CN 55055)

QANTAS LINK B717-200 VH-NXH (CN 55055)

AIR ASIA A320-216 PK-AZE (CN 5098)

AIR ASIA A320-216 PK-AZE (CN 5098)

AIR ASIA A320-216 PK-AZE (CN 5098)