Air Niugini crashes into the sea on landing

AIR NIUGINI B737-8BK P2-PXE (CN 33024)     File Photo

An Air Niugini aircraft has sunk in a lagoon after overshooting the runway in the Federated States of Micronesia at 9:30am (local time) this morning and ended up 160 metres from the runway.  Niugini flight PX 73 was travelling from Pohnpei Airport (PNI/PTPN) to Port Moresby via Chuuk/Weno International Airport (TKK/PTKK) when the accident happened. All 36 passengers and 12 crew were reportedly rescued safely from Air Niugini’s partially submerged Boeing 737-800, after local fishers took their boats out to the crash site almost immediately. Locals reported broken bones are among the passenger injuries after the flight came in “very low” for its landing, and ended up in the water. The plane is just over 13-years-old and started it's life with Air India Express in April 2005 before moving to Jet Airways in July 2010 and then joined ANG in September 2013. This is not the first incident this aircraft has been in as it was involved in a collision at Port Moresby in May this year. It was stationary at the Jacksons international airport when a cargo plane clipped its wing while turning. Air Niugini had only recently begun flying that route with the larger Boeing planes, a spokesman said. “United is mostly the only airline that comes out here, and it’s been that way for years … There are flights every day but this has never happened before. Mainly because this route is considered one of United’s hardest routes for the 737, so they … send their best pilots out here for the island hopper.” Air Niugini is PNG’s national airline.

Aircraft Details
Airline: Air Niugini
Code: PX / ANG
Flight Number: PX 73
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-8BK
Registration: PX-PXE
Serial Number: 33024
First Flew: 01/04/2005
Age: 13 Yrs 5 Mnths
Engines: 2 x CMFI CMF567B27

An hour spotting in Sydney before work.

As mentioned earlier I was staying very close to the airport so this morning  I got up at 5am, showered, dressed and checked out of my room by 5.40am. I called into Macca's on the way for breaky and a much needed coffee then headed to the viewing area at the airport, arriving there just after 6am.

NOVOTEL BRIGHTON - MY ACCOMODATION FOR TWO NIGHTS

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EEQ (CN 141)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EEM (CN 131)

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEG (CN 32911)

DOING A DOMESTIC RUN PERTH - SYDNEY

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES A330-343 RP-C8782 (CN 1449)

JAPAN AIRLINES B787-9  JA868J (CN 34845)

CATHAY PACIFIC A330-343 B-LAQ (CN 1349)

KOREAN AIR A330-323 HL-8027 (CN 1647)

ETIHAD A380-861 A6-APE (CN 191)

CAPITAL AIRLINES A330-243 B-8550 (CN 1028)

FIJI AIRWAYS B737-8X2 DQ-FJH (CN 29969)

UNITED B787-9 N26960 (CN 36408)

QATAR B777-3DZ A7-BEU (CN 65302)

UNITED B787-9 N26966 (CN 60143)

AMERICAN B787-9 N834AA (CN 40653)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA ATR 72-600 VH-VPI (CN 1107)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q200 VH-TQX (CN 439)

DELTA B777-232 N710DN (CN 40560)

SINGAPORE A380-841 9V-SKV (CN 247)

HAINAN AIRLINES A330-243 B-6088 (CN 0906)

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEE (CN 32909)

REX SAAB 340B VH-ZXU (CN 422)

THAI B747-4D7 HS-TGF (CN 33770)

TIGERAIR A320-232 VH-VNK (CN 3986)

QANTAS FREIGHT B767-381 VH-EFR (CN 33510)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA ATR72-600 VH-FVN (CN 1039)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBV (CN 1365)

GARUDA A330-343 PK-GPW (CN 1585)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A330-243 VH-XFG (CN 1407)

TIGERAIR B737-8FE VH-VOY (CN 33996)

RAAF BOMBARDIER CL604 A37-001 (CN 5521)

Pilot error to blame on crash killing five

Pilot error was responsible for a small plane crash that killed five people in Melbourne last year, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found.    See story on my blog

 https://madaboutplanes.blogspot.com/search?q=plane+crashes+into+shopping+centre

Pilot Max Quartermain and four American tourists died when a Beechcraft B200 Super King plane crashed into the DFO shopping centre at Essendon shortly after take-off, in February 2017. Today, the ATSB ruled the aircraft's rudder trim was left in the wrong position, causing the aircraft to turn — or "yaw" — sharply to the left after take off. It also prevented the aircraft from climbing.The report said the pilot had five opportunities to pick up the error. ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood said the crash could have been prevented if the pilot had have used a checklist prior to take-off. 

"Checklists ensure action items are completed in sequence and without omission," Mr Hood said.

"In this particular tragic accident there were opportunities in the checklist that existed for the pilot to ensure the rudder trim was set to neutral." Mr Quartermain made a distress call shortly after taking off from Essendon airport, repeating the word "mayday" seven times.  The flight was bound for King Island, Tasmania, and was one of Victoria's worst civil aviation crashes. Paul Henderson, a lawyer acting on behalf of the wives of the passengers killed in the crash, is advising them to take legal action against the pilot's insurance agency and his estate. "Considering the cause of the accident, we hope that the insurers of the carrier and pilot will take a conciliatory approach and seek to resolve these claims as soon as possible to avoid any further trauma to all families involved in this tragedy," he said.

"The circumstances of this accident are indefensible. It's pilot error."

"All up [damages] for this group of people, it will be in the millions." In a statement, the pilot's widow Cilla Quartermain said her husband loved to be a pilot and always cared about the passengers he was flying.  The report found the pilot also failed to identify that the cockpit voice recorder was not operational before the plane took off and meant investigators had no further information about what occurred in the plane immediately prior to the crash. The ATSB found the location of the Essendon DFO shopping centre did not contribute to the crash. In a statement, the chief executive of Essendon Fields, which operates the shopping centre, welcomed the release of the finding that the building's location didn't increase the severity or consequences of the crash. "The ATSB is conducting a separate investigation into the approval process of two other buildings at Essendon Fields DFO," Steve Dabkowski said.  "We note those buildings were approved by CASA before construction."

Story sourced from here

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-24/essendon-plane-crash-report-released-pilot-error-blamed/10295982

Mobile phone catches fire in flight

QANTAS A380-842 VH-OQA (CN 014)        File Photo

Ever wondered why the in-flight safety videos tell you not to move your seat if you drop your phone? Well this is why.
A Qantas business class passenger learned the hard way after dropping their phone during a flight on an Airbus 380 from Los Angeles to Melbourne on Wednesday morning.
After their phone became stuck in their seat, they attempted to retrieve it and moved their seat in the process, crushing the device. The passengers on board later reported a strong burning rubber smell. Cabin crew reportedly raced through the plane with fire extinguishers.
The flight was only two hours from landing at Tullamarine and almost had to divert to Sydney amid the chaos. It's understood cabin crew made an announcement about 10 minutes after the incident telling passengers someone had dropped their personal electronic device but everything was under control. A Qantas spokesperson said the phone then began "smoking", before the cabin crew "contained the situation".
The captain of Qantas flight 94 then spoke to the operations centre before completing the flight into Melbourne. A phone was destroyed in a similar incident in 2016, when the lithium battery of a passenger's phone was crushed in a seat mechanism and caught fire.

Lithium batteries 'capable of ignition'

The incident prompted the airline to issue a reminder to passengers not to attempt to pick up any electronic devices dropped during the flight.
"This incident shows why we ask passengers to seek help from our cabin crew in retrieving their mobile phone," the Qantas spokesperson said.
In its investigation into the 2016 incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) cited the United States Federal Aviation Administration's guidelines which warn of the risk posed by lithium batteries.
"Lithium batteries are capable of ignition and subsequent explosion due to overheating," the administration said.
"Overheating results in thermal runaway, which is a chemical reaction within the battery causing the internal temperature and pressure to rise.
"The result is the release of a flammable electrolyte from the battery and, in the case of disposable lithium batteries, the release of molten burning lithium."


Aircraft Details
Airline: Qantas
Code: QF/QFA
Flight Number: 94
Aircraft Type: A380-842
Registration: VH-OQA
Serial Number: 014

Sydney - Room with a view

Staying near the airport I had a fairly good view from my balcony.
Last night I thought I would play around with the camera and take a few night shots.

Then this morning, with the rainy skies, I thought I would take a few a photos before work.

AIR INDIA B787-8 VT-ANZ (CN 36297)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EEG (CN 116)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6-EDN (CN 056)

QANTAS B747-48E VH-OEB (CN 25778)

QATAR B777-3DZ A7-BEV (CN 65303)

DELTA B777-232 N701DN (CN 29740)

AMERCIAN B787-9 N827AN (CN 40647)

QANTAS A380-842 VH-OQG (CN 047)

THAI B747-4D7 HS-TGG (CN 33771)

Then after work, even though the weather was bad, (cold and windy) I thought I would still go out to the airport for an hour or so.

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKA (CN 36227)

QANTASLINK B717-2BL VH-NXJ (CN 55166)

EMIRATES B777-31H A6-ECU (CN 35593)

AIR NEW ZEALAND A320-232 ZK-OJC (CN 2112)

EMIRATES A380-861 A6- EOL (CN 186)

QANTASLINK B717-2BL VH-YQT (CN 55179)

ETIHAD A380-861 A6-APF (CN 195)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOS (CN 4263)

QATAR A380-861 A7-APE (CN 181)

RAAF BOMBARDIER CL604 A37-001 (CN 5521)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZP (CN 44577) RETRO ROO 1