Wow I cant believe how fast the years go by, here we are at the start of another one. The highlights for me last year was the airside tour at Auckland Airport and my eldest daughter not only getting her car licence but she bought a car and graduated from grade 12.
I have put together some brief highlights of the year, if you see a story and want more information just search for it under that month on the left hand side of the page.I hope you enjoy.. 😅
Starting off with my flights.
I did 40 flights this year; 36 with Qantas, 2 with Virgin Australia and 2 with Emirates, the main routes being Sydney and Melbourne, I did Auckland twice this year. 34 flight were for business and 6 were for leisure.
JANUARY
Six killed in New Years Eve tragedy
This morning I woke to the news that a seaplane owned and operated by Sydney Sea Planes had crashed in Sydney yesterday afternoon killing all six people on board.
It is reported that around 3.15pm the float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver impacted the water off Cottage Point, Jerusalem Bay in Sydney NSW and flipped on impact then sank rapidly according to witnesses. The aircraft carrying one pilot and five British tourists, including an 11 year old girl, was on a return flight to Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour. It was reported that the plane sank to around 13 meters. Police divers have now confirmed all six bodies have been recovered.
Sydney Seaplanes offers scenic flights over Sydney tourist attractions and waterways including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and Pittwater, as well as the Hawkesbury River region.
Aircraft Information
Aircraft Type: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
Operator: Sydney Sea Planes
Registration: VH-NOO
Serial Number: 1535
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends and of course all the staff at Sydney Sea Planes.
A Pegasus plane slides off the runway
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, departed Ankara-Esenboga Airport (ESB/LTAC) at 22:33 hours local time on a domestic flight to Trabzon Airport (TZX/LTCG) in Turkey. The flight made a straight in approach to runway 11 and touched down at 23:25 hours.
About 2400 m past the runway 11 threshold, the aircraft went off the left side. It travelled across the grass and went down a steep slope, coming to rest with the tail sticking out just above runway level. The occupants evacuated through the rear and over wing emergency exits.
Runway 11 is an asphalt runway with a Landing Distance Available of 2640 metres. Elevation of the runway at the point of the excursion is 95 feet (28,90 m) above sea level.
Aircraft Information
Aircraft: Boeing 737-82R
Operator: Pegasus
Registration: TC-CPF
Serial Number: 40879
First Flew: 15/11/2012
Age: 5 Years 2 Months
Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7B26E
February
Virgin retired its last Embraer
In June 2016 Virgin announced it would be replacing their 18 Embraer E190 fleet within two years and replacing them all with new modern Boeing 737-800's.
Over the years we have seen the ERJ's in a few different liveries, they started out in the Virgin Blue red livery
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VIRGIN BLUE ERJ190 VH-ZPH (CN 19000199)
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They were even in the Pacific Blue livery
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PACIFIC BLUE ERJ190 VH-ZPM (CN 19000262)
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In May 2011 a new era was born for Virgin Blue by the way of a new name to Virgin Australia and a new colour scheme was also released.
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VIRGIN AUSTRLIA ERJ190 VH-ZPM (CN 19000262)
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On the helicopters website, Papillon calls itself "the world's largest aerial sightseeing company" and says it flies more than 600,000 people a year. The Grand Canyon, which is more than 1.6km (one mile) deep, is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the US.
Aircraft Information
Operator: Papillon Airways
Flight Number:
Registration: N137PH
Serial Number: 3775
First Flew: 5th Oct 2004
Age: 13 Years 4 Months
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends and of course all the staff at Papillon Airways.
MARCH
Brisbane looses A380 Auckland Return
Today was a day I have been waiting for for about 5 months, when I heard Emirates was cancelling the Brisbane - Auckland sector in March I had to be on the last Emirates flight. So when I booked my flight over I made it for the day before so I could get some plane spotting done. I have been on an A380 three times before now (1 Qantas and 2 Emirates) but I have never flown business class before. The flight was leaving at 8.10am and boarding was 7.50 so I arrived at the airport just after 6am anyway. After clearing the tight security and customs I made my way up to the Emirates lounge and had light breakfast of eggs benedict, chicken sausages and slow baked turkey rashes. From the lounge you could see the international aircraft at the gate while relaxing.
ASEAN summit in Sydney
As mentioned in the previous blog I headed down to Sydney today, arriving right on 3pm. I have seen on Instagram the last few days international aircraft with the countries Prime Ministers on board arriving for the 2018 ASEAN summit meetings. You can read about it here. https://aseanaustralia.pmc.gov.au/As we taxied in I saw the "Kingdom of Cambodia" A319 getting ready for towing with a tug attached.. I thought bugger its going to go and I will miss it.
I got my car and got into place as soon as I could hoping I didn't miss anything, then while I was talking to some of the locals I found out the meeting ended at midday and most of the ministers will be leaving from 4.30pm.
Some of them weren't visible on flight radar so you didn't know when they were coming out, so it was really exciting to see it when it did. The Government of Brunei's B747-8LQ is absolutely amazing to look at, I really loved it.
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BRUNEI GOVERNMENT B747-8LQ V8-BKH (CN 41060)
Airside tour of Auckland Airport
Knowing I was heading to Auckland in March I thought I would write to Auckland airport to see if I could get a airside tour of their airport. I didn't think it would go anywhere but it wouldn't hurt to give it a go. I was really surprised to get a reply with "we will discuss this and get back to you". Well after a few emails back and forward and sending off some personal information I am excited to say my request was granted. So yesterday at 10.15am I caught up with a gentleman by the name of Justis, together we went down to the airport security office where I signed in and got my TAI card.
We then went across the road to a waiting Auckland Airport van (car 55) and this is where we met our personal tour guide, Ronald. An ex pilot for Air New Zealand and now working for Auckland Airport as a airside safety office. Ronald was very knowledgeable and extremely accommodating and very patient with me when I asked can we go over there, can you please stop here and so on. During our time together as we drove around the perimeter I was told by Ronald if you drive from one end of the airport to the other end on the permitter road doing 65klms per hour it will you 4 minutes.
APRIL
257 dead in Algerian military plane crash
An Il-76 transporter travelling from Boufarik Airport (DAAK) Algeria to Béchar Boudghene Ben Ali Lotfi Airport (CBH/DAOR) has crashed soon after takeoff at Boufarik Airport.
The military aircraft, operated by the Algerian Air Force, carrying soldiers and their families crashed soon after takeoff in northern Algeria, killing 257 people in what appears to be the worst plane crash in the north African country’s history. The 247 passengers, made up of Algerian soldiers and their relatives, died along with 10 crew members when the plane crashed into a field yesterday. The crash, which happened around 7.50am local time, happened next to an airbase in the town of Boufarik 30klms (20 miles) from the capital Algiers. The cause of the crash was unclear and an investigation had been launched. The head of the Algerian army, the vice-minister of defence, and military chief of staff visited the crash site to inspect the wreckage. The aircraft that crashed on Wednesday was a Russian-built Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane. Several witnesses said they saw flames coming out of one of the planes' engines just before it took off. They went on to say it climbed briefly before rolling to its side and crashing to the ground wing first. The Il-76 has been involved in a number of crashes, most recently in 2016 when one on a firefighting mission crashed near Lake Baikal in north-east Siberia, killing all 10 crew members on board.
Aircraft Information
Aircraft: Ilyushin Il-76
Engines: 4 Soloviev D-30KP Turbofans
Operator: Algerian Air Force
Flight Number:
Registration: 7T-WIV
Serial Number: 1043419649
Test Registration:
First Flew:
Age:
Thoughts and prays go out to the immediate families and their friends and of course the staff at the Algerian Air Force.
Engine explodes in flight - one dead
This story, which is developing as I type, is seriously unbelievable.
An engine on a Southwest Airlines B737 exploded inflight, particles smashed through a window, a passenger was partially sucked out and passengers feared for their lives. Southwest flight WN1380; enroute from New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA / KLGA) to Dallas-Love Field, TX (DAL / KDAL); departed New York at 9.43am local time and had just reached it cruising altitude of 320, then at 10.04am the aircraft shuddered and the No.1 engine exploded sending particles smashing through a window. The female passenger sitting in that seat was partially sucked out of the window and passengers around her grad hold and held her tight, before bringing her back in. Reports I can find read other passengers started first aid including CPR on the lady. As oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling people were writing notes to loved ones as they feared they were going to die. The plane was traveling around 500 mph when the incident happened and descended by more than 3,000 feet per minute until the pilots levelled out around 10,000 feet. There were 143 passengers and 5 crew on board.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-7H4 and the registration was N772SW, this aircraft being 17 yrs old had its first flight on 26th June 2000 and was handed over to Southwest on the 7th July 2000. The engine on this aircraft was CFMI CFM56-7B24.
MAY
Sparks fly as A330 lands without nose gear
An Onur Air Airbus A330 (https://www.onurair.com/en/) in the colours of Saudi Arabian Airlines has diverted to Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN) in Saudi Arabia after suffering issues with the nose landing gear.
The aircraft, with the flight number SV 3818, took off from Madinah-Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport (MED/OEMA) Saudi Arabia at 17:25 local time bound for Dhaka-Shahjalal International Airport (DAC/VGHS) Bangladesh. The flight had just reached FL370 and was about 200nm northeast of Madinah when the flight crew decided to turn back. The pilots decided to divert to Jeddah and the aircraft then circled in the vicinity of Jeddah and carried out two low passes over the airport. The aircraft descended down to about 1000 feet AMSL on first approach. It then entered a hold for about one hour while working the checklists, the pilots then performed another low approach to Jeddah and subsequently positioned for a full stop landing without nose gear. The aircraft landed on Jeddah's runway 34R at 21.49 local time (about 4.5 hours after departure from Madinah) and skidded down the runway on the aircraft's nose producing sparks, smoke and fire before it came to a halt on the runway.
The aircraft was evacuated. No injuries are being reported, the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Aircraft Information
Airline: Saudi Arabian Airlines
Aircraft Type: A330-243
Registration: TC-OCH
Serial Number: 437
Engines: 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60
First Flew: 7th November 2001
Age: 16 Yrs - 5 Mths
Test Registration: F-WWYI
Window sucked out at 32,000 feet
No passengers were injured in the incident but the pilot sitting in the right seat, who is usually the first officer, suffered scratches and a waist sprain.
Aircraft Information
Aircraft: Airbus A319-132
Operator: Sichuan Airlines
Flight Number: 3U 8633
Registration: B-6419
Serial Number: 4660
First Flew: Sept 2011
Age: 6 Yrs 8 Mts
JUNE
Jetgo goes into voluntary administration
This is very sad news as Jetgo was one of the younger airlines here in Australia and seemed to growing well.
Sourced from Jetgo's Facebook page
JETGO Australia Holdings Pty Ltd has entered into Voluntary Administration on Friday 1st June 2018. Jonathan McLeod and Bill Karageozis have been appointed as the administrators.
JETGO Australia will continue limited Charter Operations, however, all Regular Passenger Transport (RPT) scheduled services are suspended for the duration of the administration period. We note that you may be a customer of the Company. In the circumstances all passenger operations of the Company have been temporarily suspended. In the interim Qantas has set up a hotline number for the Company’s passengers to assist with cancelled flights and other flight options.
90th Anniversary of the Southern Cross’s historic flight
On the 9th June 1928 the Southern Cross, a Fokker F.VIIb/3m Trimotor, settled on to the grass of Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Aerodrome, having left Oakland, USA, 10 days earlier. The aircraft flew 11,585km and had been airborne for 84 hours, with refuelling stops in Hawaii and Fiji.
Chuffed with the first ever trans-Pacific flight, the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, presented a cheque for £5,000 to the flight crew. Equally pleased the flight’s financial backer Californian, George Hancock, waived any right to recover his substantial investment.
It was Saturday night and hero Australian pilots, Brisbane born Charles Kingsford Smith “Smithy” and Melbourne born Charles Ulm, together with Americans, radio operator James Warner and American navigator and engineer Harry Lyon were thirsty, cashed up and debt free.
It’s not recorded what beer they celebrated their world record breaking flight with, but “Smithy was heard well in to the night yelling that’s a Fokkin’ Good Beer” .
Alliance Airlines have proudly commemorated the 90th Anniversary of the Southern Cross’s historic flight by painting one of their F28's.
Two aircraft damaged while being towed
A Korean Air Boeing 777 sustained substantial damage to the rear underside of the fuselage after being struck by an Asiana Airlines Airbus A330 at Seoul-Gimpo International Airport (SEL/RKSS), South Korea.
At the time of the incident the A330 was being towed from parking spot 228 to gate 39. At the same time, the Boeing 777 was being towed from parking spot 230 to gate 35. The Boeing 777 had stopped on the apron at the intermediate holding position opposite of gate 35.
The A330 was then towed behind it over taxiway N3.
The right hand winglet of the Airbus then impacted the horizontal stabilizer and underside of the rear fuselage of the Boeing 777
Aircraft Information Number 1
Airline: Korean Air
Code: KE / KAL
Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-2B5
Registration: HL-7764
Serial Number: 34214
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4090
First Flew: 30/11/2007
Age: 10 years 7 months
Test Registration: N50281
Aircraft Information Number 2 Airline: Asiana Code: OZ / AAR Aircraft Type: Airbus A330-323 Registration: HL-8286 Serial Number: 1464 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4168A First Flew: 22/10/2003 Age: 4 years 8 months Test Registration: F-WWCY
JULY
HiFly Takes Delivery of Its First A380
Portuguese wet-lease company HiFly has become the world’s
first second-hand A380 operator after receiving an ex-Singapore Airlines A380
on Thursday. MSN006, ex 9V-SKC, landed a couple of days ago at Malta Luqa
airport after a flight from Singapore via Abu Dhabi. This aircraft will be
painted in HiFly’s livery by Maltese-based Aviation Cosmetics and will be
registered as 9H-MIP.
Air China suspends Brisbane flights
On the 11th of December 2017, Air China commenced direct flights between Brisbane and Beijing for the first time. The flights operate four times per week, arriving in Brisbane at 3.10pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The return flights depart at 7.30pm the same day arriving in China early the next morning. The trip is made using Airbus A330-200. http://madaboutplanes.blogspot.com/2017/12/air-china-calls-brisbane-home.html
Not even 12 months in and Air China have decided to suspend flights out of Brisbane from September 2018 through to January 2019. This news has got the Queensland Government fuming and asking "WHY?" Air China says it is all due to a shortage of aircraft.
AUGUST Air Horizon plane crashes after being stolen
I heard about this story yesterday and shrugged it off as a false story as it was so unbelievable. Unfortunately the below story is true..
An Horizon Air employee hijacked one of his airline's aircraft from Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, WA (SEA/KSEA) Friday evening before crashing in south Puget Sound. The unauthorized flight took off around 8 p.m., Horizon parent company Alaska Air Group Inc. said. No passengers were on board and there were no reports of injuries on the ground. The employee had worked for Horizon Air for more than three years, and had undergone multiple criminal background checks, said Brad Tilden, the CEO of Alaska Air Group, in a Saturday press conference. Employees face background checks that go back 10 years, which they are required to renew every two years. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air said they were not aware of anything popping up during this employee's background checks. "The individual was fully credentialed. He had access to that area legitimately,” said Mike Ehl, director of operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. “It’s inside the security fence so no security violations were committed." Nosewheel landing gear dislodges and hits engine
A Capital Airlines Airbus A320-214 traveling from Beijing-Capital Airport (PEK/ZBAA) to Macau Airport (MFM/VMMC) diverted to Shenzhen Airport (SZX) after sustaining severe damage in an apparent hard landing at Macau Airport.
The aircraft departed Beijing Airport at 00:17 UTC (08:17 LT), bound for Macau. Reports indicate that the nose wheel bogey broke away during an attempted landing at Macau Airport at 03:15 UTC (11:15 LT) and one of its gears detached and hit a engine. After declaring a Mayday the aircraft performed a go around and entered a holding pattern before the flight was diverted to Shenzhen where it landed safely at 03:58 UTC. Aircraft Details
Airline: Beijing Capital Airlines
Code: JD/CBJ
Flight Number: JD 5759
Aircraft Type: Airbus A320-214
Registration: B-6952
Serial Number: 5331
Engines: CFMI - CFM56-5B4
First Flew: 24/09/2012
Age: 5 Yrs 9 Mts
Test Registration: F-WWIO
September Police chase ends on airport runway
A 31 year old man has been arrested after ramming a stolen grey Mercedes 350 car through two glass doors at Lyon’s international airport (LYS/LFLL) before speeding onto the runway. Officials said the man’s motives are unknown and that nothing is being ruled out at this point. The suspect has no criminal record and has not been reported for radicalisation. However, he "suffers from psychiatric disorders", according to a family member. A spokeswoman for the local government said the man first drove the wrong way down a major road and crashed into a barrier at a small aerodrome before heading to Lyon’s much larger Saint Exupery airport. She said the car then rammed through two glass doors at the airport’s Terminal 1 before driving onto the runway tarmac. Police who had been chasing him arrested the man on the runway. In scenes captured on amateur video, the man’s car is seen hitting a bump, then going airborne before landing in a cloud of dust.
The driver then jumps out while the vehicle is still rolling, and sprints off on foot, pursued by a police van. The video then shows other police vehicles and officers on foot try to cut off his escape until one of them catches up with the suspect and wrestles him to the ground.
The airport was closed until 4pm local time and flights had been cancelled or delayed.
Air Niugini crashes into the sea on landing
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.
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 Months
Engines: 2 x CMFI CMF567B27
OCTOBER RYAN AIR did nothing while woman was racially abused
I saw the below story on our morning TV news this morning and was sick to the stomach. This should NEVER happen ever!! Ryanair should have had the man removed from the flight, instead they chose to do nothing.
A woman who was subjected to a racist attack on a Ryanair flight has said the incident left her stunned and depressed. Delsie Gayle, who was the target of a tirade of abuse by a fellow passenger on flight FR015 from Barcelona to London Stansted, said: “I was shocked, nobody has ever said those words to me.” Another passenger, David Lawrence, who filmed the incident on 15 October and posted it online, said he chose to publicise it to show the world what had happened. The footage shows a man shouting at Gayle, telling her to move seats, while her daughter tries to stand up to him, telling him her mother is disabled. The man can be heard saying: “I don’t care whether she’s fucking disabled or not – if I tell her to get out, she gets out.” He can be heard in the video calling the woman an “ugly black bastard”. When Gayle remonstrates with him he shouts at her: “Don’t talk to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow.” Gayle, 77, moved from her seat, but the man was allowed to remain in his after the incident, which occurred before the flight took off. “I feel very low Gayle said. He paid a fare to go on holiday, I’ve paid mine, so why does he abuse me for that due to the colour of my skin? He do it with me and he gets away, he’ll do it to somebody else.”
Lion Air 737 crashed shortly after takeoff…killing all on board
A Lion Air flight traveling from Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang Airport (PGK/WIPK) Indonesia crashed shortly after take off this morning killing all 188 people on board. Lion Air flight JT610 took off from runway 25L at Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 06:21am local time and was due to land at around 7:30am in Pangkal Pinang. Weather at the time of departure was fine with light winds. The aircraft is believed to have gone down 13 minutes into the flight and about 34 nautical miles north-west of Jakarta. Officials said the plane had been carrying 178 adults, one infant and two babies, as well as two pilots and six cabin crew. Three of those cabin crew were in training and this was their first flight.
The aircraft itself, a Boeing 737-8 Max, is brand new having been manufactured earlier this year and Lion Air took ownership on the 15th August . The aircraft had only clocked up 800 hours of flying time. Lion Air flies to 126 destinations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and China and is the second largest low-cost carrier in south-east Asia after Malaysia's AirAsia. The low-cost carrier has had a poor safety record for many years. Since 2002, Lion Air has had more than a dozen major incidents or accidents. The most deadly was in 2004 when a plane overshot the runway and crashed into a cemetery in Surakarta, killing 31 people.
Aircraft Information
Airline: Lion Air
Code: JT / LNI
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737 MAX 8
Flight Number: JT 610
Registration: PK-LQP
Serial Number: 43000
Engines: 2 x CFMI - LEAP 1B
First Flew: 30/07/2018
Age: 3 months
Thoughts and prayers go out to the immediate family and friends who lost loved ones, our thoughts also go out to the staff of Lion Air
GOD BLESS
NOVEMBER
Last night Taylor Swift performed her last Australian concert here in Brisbane and while the fans were getting excited to see her, there were other fans like myself excited to see her flotilla of aircraft here to move her equipment. Today Brisbane had an extremely rare event in the way of two Antonov 124-100 aircraft on the ground at the same time. We also had a Singapore B747-400 freighter and a DHL B767, not to mention her very own chartered Dassault Falcon 7X. The freighters were here to transport her equipment to Auckland in time for her next concert. I left home at 4am and got to the airport at 4.40. The first one of two Antonov's (UR-82072) came in at 11.30 last night and the other one was coming in at 5.30am along with the Singapore freight and the DHL.  Today Brisbane said hello to one aircraft and good bye to another
Earlier this morning we had a PAE (Pacific Air Express) Boeing 757 arrive into Brisbane for the first time, and late this afternoon Brisbane said goodbye to the very last Boeing 747 to Los Angeles.
Pacific Air Express is an airline based in here in Brisbane. It operates cargo services to Honiara, Nauru, Noumea, Port Moresby and Port Vila. The airline was established in 1993 by Australian expatriate Gary Clifford (General Manager) and a business partner from the Solomon Islands. The airline was originally based in Honiara, but relocated due to civil unrest in 1999. PAE took delivery of this aircraft back in March this year but today it made its new home here in Brisbane. PQA has had many owners.
For many years Qantas has operated a single daily flight to Los Angles using their Boeing 747-438 aircraft. From the 1st September Qantas dropped the early morning 747 service and replaced the aircraft with their new 787-9 Dreamliner. The very same day Qantas introduced a second service using the 747 and this service operated three times a week, (Mon, Wed and Sat) departing at 5.25pm.
Today Qantas sent their Boeing 747 to Los Angeles for the last time as come Saturday (1st Dec) the aircraft will be replaced with a new 787-9. QF 55 departed just before 6pm local time and will return on Saturday the 1st as QF 56 at 5.15am. It will be on the ground for a few hours and will depart Brisbane for Sydney as QF56 and this will be the last 747 departure Brisbane will see.
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