Riverfire rehearsals

With the 2017 River Fire tomorrow night the RAAF did a rehearsal run today over the city with their RAAF EA-18 Growler and the Roulettes with their Pilatus PC9 aircraft.


While I was waiting I took advantage of capturing some of the departing internationals.

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EET (CN 142)

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-323 B-5965 (CN 1593)

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OJT (CN 25565)

AIR CANADA B787-8 C-GHPX (CN 35261)

AIR NEW ZEALAND B777-319 ZK-OKQ (CN 40689)

EVA AIR A330-203 B-16311(CN 693)

Unfortunately the Roulettes only did one fly past. After the Roulettes I left and did a few calls but I knew there was going to be a second practice run by the Growler, so I took these from the other side of the city.

Two killed in Diamond accident south of Brisbane

Two men were killed early this morning when their aircraft crashed in the Scenic Rim, south-west of Brisbane. The aircraft took off from Archerfield airport just after 9am, for what is believed to be a training flight and crashed on a farm at Allenview near Jimboomba just before 10:00am.

The two men are believed to be an instructor and a trainee.
The plane was a Diamond DA 40, a four-seater aircraft, manufactured in 2006 and is owned by Aircrew Training and Support based at Springfield.
The cause of the crash is unknown at this stage but witnesses say the aircraft spiralled out of control before hitting the ground.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has investigators on site.

Aircraft Details are:
Operator: Aircrew Training and Support
Aircraft Type: Diamond DA 40
Engines: Textron Lycoming - Piston
Registration: VH-MPM
Serial Number: 40.674
First Registered: 18th May 2010


My thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends and of course everyone at Aircrew Training and Support.

GOD BLESS

Auckland fuel supply back to normal

Due to the fuel issues in Auckland, Brisbane has been getting diversions from there for the last 4 or 5 days. Because of commitments over the weekend I couldn't get out to the airport; so today I took my camera with me as I knew I would be visiting customers in suburbs very close to the flight path for 01 arrivals, and I was hoping to catch a few diversions.. Well; with the way my luck is I wasn't surprised to find out the fuel issues were fixed and Brisbane wouldn't be getting anymore diversions. I did manage to grab a few early regulars coming in

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA B737-8FE VH-VOL (CN 33759)

JET EDGE INTERNATIONAL GULFSTREAM GV N416RJ (CN 587)

CHINA SOUTHERN A33-323 B-8870 (CN 1776)

HAINAN AIRLINES A330-243 B-5979 (CN 1591)

AIR NIUGINI B767-383 P2-PXW (CN 25365)

CHINA AIRLINES A330-302 B-18358 (CN 1346)

MASALU TAIWAN LIVERY)

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5937 (CN 1468)

When I got home I noticed my friend Lloyd sent me a few photos as well from today, including the 3rd Cathay A350-941 to go unserviceable in Brisbane in the last month.

"All three photos below are courteous of Lloyd Fox."

JET EDGE INTERNATIONAL GULFSTREAM GV N416RJ (CN 587)

CESSNA 525A VH-IYG (CN 525A0236)

CATHAY PACIFIC A350-941 (CN 61)

On this day 51 yrs ago

On Thursday 22nd September 1966 an Ansett-ANA Flight 149 took off from Mount Isa Airport  (ISA / YBMA) for Brisbane via Longreach. At 12:08pm Flight 149 departed for a 73-minute flight to Longreach Airport (LRE / YLRE).  The flight progressed uneventfully until 12:52pm when the Longreach-Flight Service Unit heard the crew of VH-RMI say that it was on an emergency descent and to stand by. Two minutes later the aircraft advised that there were fire warnings in respect of No.1 and 2 engines, that one of these warning conditions had ceased and that the propeller of the other engine could not be feathered. At 12:59pm, information from the crew of Flight 149 indicated that there was a visible fire in no. 2 engine and that the aircraft was diverting below 5000 feet, to Winton (WIN / YWTN).
The Vickers Viscount was descending at an indicated airspeed close to 170 knots between 3500 and 4000 feet above ground level . At this point the port wing failed upwards between engines 1 and 2. It struck the top of the fuselage, which at the same time was cut open by the blades of the no.1 engine, and fell away from the remainder of the aircraft . The cabin shell above floor level was quickly broken away by air loads until eventually the rear fuselage and empennage also separated from the aircraft. The remaining forward fuselage, with the lower mid fuselage, starboard, wing and, engines and port wing stub with the no. 2 engine still attached, struck the ground at the edge of a clay pan and was immediately engulfed in flames.

As a result of this accident several changes to operating and maintenance procedures were made by Ansett-A.N.A and by the contracting organisation responsible for the periodic overhaul of the cabin blowers. The accident also emphasised the need for airline aircraft to carry cockpit voice recorders, as well as flight data recorders, particularly to cover accidents where the flight crew are not survivors. Within a couple of years most airline aircraft in Australia were fitted with this type of equipment.

4 crew and 20 passengers lost their lives

Aircraft Details are:
Operator: Ansett ANA
Aircraft Type: Vickers 832 Viscount
Engines: 4 Rolls-Royce Dart 525
Registration: VH-RMI
Serial Number: 416
Flight Number: AN 149
First Flight: 1959

Hainan adds Brisbane to its network from today

On the 1st July this year I posted a story about Hainan Airlines adding Brisbane to its network.
Today the long awaited flight arrived in the river city, touching down on runway 01 twelve minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 9.30am. I have seen this airline in both Sydney and Melbourne but it is exciting to see another airline coming into Brisbane on a regular bases. The aircraft used for the inguinal flight was their A330-243 B-5936 (CN 1573)

HAINAN A330-243 B-5936 (CN 1573)

Working in the area for the morning I went off and did a few calls before returning for the departure. The aircraft was on the ground for just over two hours pushing back right on time at 11.30am. After taxiing out to the holding point it actually waited there for 22 minutes before lining up, this was due to arriving and departing aircraft.
I was hoping to see the famous water canon salute but I have been informed Hainan requested not to have one.

DEPARTING FOR SHENZHEN

The times are as follows.
HU411 will depart Shenzhen at 10:35pm on Wednesdays and Sundays arriving in Brisbane at 9.30am the next morning.

HU412 will depart Brisbane at 11:30am on Mondays and Thursdays to reach Shenzhen at 6:40pm that same evening.

Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. It is the largest civilian-run air transport company and the fourth-largest airline in terms of fleet size in the People's Republic of China.  Hainan Airlines was established in October 1989 as Hainan Province Airlines in Hainan. Hainan Province Airlines became China's first joint-stock air-transport company following a restructuring in January 1993 and began scheduled services on 2 May 1993. In 1996, the provincial airline was renamed Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines is part of the HNA Group, a part-owner of Virgin Australia, it's not known yet whether Virgin Australia will codeshare with Hainan.



Below are a few other aircraft I saw today including Air Niugini returning to Brisbane due to an issue and a surprise Atlas Air B747 which I didn't know was in.

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VFY (CN 6362)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EDD (CN 020)

KOREAN AIR A330-323 HL-8002 (CN 1576)

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKI (CN 36235)

SINGAPORE A330-343 9V-STW (CN 1447)

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5903 (CN 1331)

ATLAS AIR B747-4KZ N407KZ (CN 36134)

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE B737-7DF A36-002 (CN 30790)

AIR NIUGINI B767- 383 P2-PXW (CN 25365)

RETURNING AFTER CALLING PAN PAN PAN

Fuel crisis in Auckland means diversions for long haul

Travellers heading out of Auckland will have some of their flights cancelled again tomorrow and ticket sales will be restricted, as the airlines deal with the ongoing fuel shortage. The shortage is due to a pipeline that supplies fuel to Auckland Airport being shut off over the weekend after a leak was discovered on Thursday. Air New Zealand also confirmed today it was sending a Boeing 777-200 aircraft to Wellington with just the pilots on board to fill up and return to Auckland for further long-haul flights.

For the second day in a row Brisbane has had diversions due to a fuel crisis in Auckland.
Flights that diverted to Brisbane today are

New Zealand 99   Auckland - Tokyo B787-9 ZK-NZE
New Zealand 245 Auckland - Denpasar B787-9 ZK-NZI
Thai 492 Auckland - Bangkok B777-3AL HS-TKO
and
Cathay 198 Auckland - Hong Kong A350-9 B-LRF

Yesterdays Cathay A350 which landed in Brisbane ended up going tech and is still on the ground today.

CATHAY A350-941 B-LRI (CN 58)

YESTERDAY'S FLIGHT GONE TECH

After work I went out to get a photo of the A350, which is a very rare "daylight" sight for Brisbane. While I was there todays A350 departed as well.

CATHAY A350-941 B-LRF (CN 46)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZB (CN 39360)

HIGH SPEED WiFi ON BOARD

MINEROLOGY MD 82 VP-CBH (CN 53577)

MINEROLOGY MD 82 VP-CBI (CN 53581)