Air Park to transform grounded OzJet into 'luxury' accommodation

A family-owned air park in the West Australian Wheatbelt will soon be offering the "ultimate" luxury stay when accommodation is built from a grounded Boeing 737-200 jet.

White Gum Air Park in the Shire of York is one of just four Australian winners of a global competition that will see them receive $US100,000 ($158,000) towards their transformation project.

The site, located 122 kilometres east of Perth is home to two Boeing jets formerly owned by airline Ozjet, which collapsed after just 14 weeks in 2006.
The aircraft sat idle at Perth Airport for nearly a decade before they were disassembled and brought to White Gum on semi-trailers — one in 2019 and the other in 2021.

The air park owners, Andrew and Mary Cotterell, then reassembled the aircraft along with a team of volunteers and have since been offering tours of the planes as a tourist attraction.

Mr Cotterell has a background in mechanics and said the building process was a worthy challenge.

"It's not a small item you can just pull the bolts out and let it fall over. You need to be careful and do it right so you can get it back together again," he said.

The park also offers training flights and casual accommodation, but the Cotterells thought one of their grounded jets could be put to better use.

They applied for funding through a competition run by US company Airbnb, which was offering a prize pool of $US10 million to 100 "quirky" creations across the globe.

Ms Cotterell said the project would not have happened this quickly without the funding.

"It's amazing. It will be a game changer for us and our little community at White Gum. It's pretty special," she said.

"The Airbnb money will bring this project forward 10 years on what we would have been able to afford to have it up and running by August."

Design blueprints show the plane's cabin being split into two separate sleeping quarters, with ensuite bathrooms and lounge areas at either end.

The cockpit will remain untouched and protected by flexi-glass, which Ms Cotterell said would provide guests with an inside look at the plane's technology.

"When I was younger if you batted your eyelids at the cabin crew they'd take you up to say hi to the pilot — but that doesn't happen anymore," she said.

"Post-911 it's very hard for people to see the flight deck ... we can actually open the door and show people."

Mr Cotterell said the funding was a reward for months of planning and pitching.The air park also offers training flights and a place for leisure aircraft to stay overnight.(ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Sam McManus)

"Trying to sort out what goes where and what fits best, how to get the services, the septics, the water, the electricity to the aircraft all plays a part into how it's laid out," he said.

"I sometimes kick myself, 'What were you thinking?'.

"But it's been so gradual; it was never a plan from the start to do what we've done."

The rooms would be open to guests from August next year, but Mr Cotterell had some seemingly obvious advice for those hoping to book a stay.

"If you hate aviation, we're not the place for you," he said.

OZJET BOEING 737-229 VH-OZU (MSN 21176)

OzJet Airlines Pty Ltd, founded in 2005 with 4 Boeing 737-200 aircraft, was a scheduled and charter airline with its head office in Tullamarine, Melbourne, operating within Australasia from Melbourne Airport, Sydney Airport, and Perth Airport. In 2008 the airline was sold to HeavyLift Cargo Airlines, and on the 20th of May 2009 it suspended its last remaining operations from Perth. In June 2009, OzJet was purchased by the Strategic group. With the insolvency of Strategic Airlines on the 17th of February 2012, OzJet also ceased all operations and went as part of the mother company into administration.

 

United Airlines adds Brisbane to its network

BRISBANE CITY

After having the Amberley Air show cancelled this weekend, the next exciting event on the aviation calendar was United coming to Brisbane.  Today United Airlines were performing their inaugural flight from San Francisco to Brisbane and was due in around 6.30am Brisbane time, so my copilot (youngest daughter) and I got out to the airport at 5.40am. UA96, a Boeing 787-9, departed runway 28L in San Francisco at 11.45pm Friday night and landed 13 hours 41 minutes later in Brisbane at 6.26am Sunday morning. 

N29984 performed the inaugural flight, its serial number is 66143 LN:1044

Its first flight was on the 21/09/2020 so the aircraft is 2Yrs. 1 Mth old.

The aircraft will sit on the ground here in Brisbane for 27 hours and head back to San Francisco tomorrow morning at 10.30am as UA97.

Unfortunately, the sun was still low at 6.30 so I apologies for the back light photos.

UNITED BOEING 787-9 N29984 (MSN 66143)

Sadly, there wasn't a water canon salute for the inaugural. The aircraft will sit on the ground for 28 hours and depart back to San Francisco tomorrow at 10.30am.

Brisbane airport ran a competition where you could get a chance to go airside to photograph or film the arrival. Myself or my family members weren't lucky enough to be one of the 25 people.

The observation deck, known as the turning circle, was pretty full as well. 

I opted for the top-level domestic car park.

Below are some other movements I took today.

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-203 VH-EBM (MSN 1061)
QF16 ARRIVING FROM LOS ANGELES (LAX)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBR (MSN 1251)
QF52 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN)

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FGHZ (MSN 37169)
AC35 ARRIVING FROM VANCOUVER (YVR)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZQ (MSN 39357)
QF505 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-VOK (MSN 33578)
VA908 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHA (MSN 254)
SQ235 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE

ALLIANCE EMBRAER E190 VH-UYB (MSN 19000012)

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A320-271N ZK-NHF (MSN 10589)
NZ201 ARRIVIN FROM CHRISTCHURCH (CHC)

BATIK AIR BOEING 737-MAX 8 9M-LRC (MSN 42985)
OD158 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS)

JETSTAR'S 787-8 AND AIRBUS A320-232

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKG (MSN 36232)
JQ57 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOT (MSN 4269)
QF2372 OFF TO WAGGA WAGGA (WGA)

MALAYSIA AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-323 9M-MTA (MSN 1209)
MH135 ARRIVING FROM KUALA LUMPUR (KUL)

FIRE PRACTISE

PIONAIR BAe146-200 VH-SFV (MSN E2086)

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-842 A6-EUV (MSN 239)

Remembering Lion Air Flight 610

LION AIR BOEING 737-8GP PK-LQV (MSN 39861)

Lion Air Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII), Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang Airport (PGK/WIKK), Indonesia

On the 29th of October 2018, the Boeing 737 MAX operating the route crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers and crew. It was the first major accident involving the new Boeing 737 MAX series of aircraft, introduced in 2017, and the highest death toll of any accident or incident involving the entire Boeing 737 series, Original, Classic, Next Generation or MAX, surpassing Air India Express Flight 812 in 2010. It was the deadliest accident in Lion Air's history, surpassing the 2004 Lion Air Flight 538 that killed 25, and the second deadliest aircraft accident in Indonesia behind Garuda Indonesia Flight 152.

The aircraft departed at 6:20 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang at 7:20 a.m. It took off in a westward direction before circling around to a northeast heading, which it held until crashing offshore northeast of Jakarta in waters estimated to be up to 35 m (115 ft) deep. The flight crew had requested clearance to return to the Jakarta airport 35 km (19 nautical miles) into the flight. The accident site was located 34 km (18 nautical miles) off the coast of the island of Java.

Communication between air traffic control (ATC) and Flight 610 was suddenly lost at 6:33 a.m. ATC informed the National Search and Rescue Agency, which deployed three ships and a helicopter to the area. At 7:30 a.m., the agency received reports that Flight 610 had crashed a few kilometres from an offshore oil platform. Workers on the platform reportedly saw the aircraft crash with a steep nose-down angle. Boats from the platform were immediately deployed and debris from the crashed aircraft was found shortly after.

The aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration PK-LQP, serial number 43000, line number 7058, powered by two CFM International LEAP - 1B25 engines. The aircraft was leased from China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG) Aviation Capital. It made its first flight on the 30th of July 2018 and was delivered new to Lion Air on the 13th of August 2018. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was only three months old had flown around 800 hours in service.  

THOUGHTS ARE WITH THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS THINGING ABOUT THEIR LOVED ONES TODAY.

Latam A320 damaged in storm

LATAM BOEING 787-9 CC-BGE (MSN 38478)

A LATAM Airbus A320, flying from Santiago (SCL/SCEL) to Asuncion (ASU/SGAS), has been severely damaged after flying through a hailstorm on Wednesday. After landing in Asunción, damage could be clearly seen on the windshield, an engine and almost the entire nose radome had broken away.

The flight had initially diverted to Foz do Iguaçu Airport (IGU/SBFI), after failing to land at Asunción Airport due to strong winds and limited visibility as a result of a thunderstorm.

At 00:51 UTC, (about three hours later landing at Foz do Iguaçu Airport) the flight departed Foz again for Asunción. The flight attempted to circumnavigate the storm but was apparently still caught by a hailstorm.
The aircraft landed safely at 02:03 UTC.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Latam Airlines

Code: LA/LAN

Aircraft: Airbus A320-232

Registration: CC-BAZ

Serial Number: 5229

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B4/P

First Flew: 11/07/2012

Age: 10Yrs. 3Mts.

Amberley Air Tattoo (Air Show) Cancelled

This is absolutely gut-wrenching news; I've been looking forward to this event for so long.

Image and story taken from the RAAF Facebook page

We are disappointed to announce the Ipswich Amberley Air Tattoo scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled due to recent heavy rainfalls in South East Queensland.

We understand people will be disappointed, we are too, but safety is paramount to us.
Unfortunately, the grassed areas for car parking at RAAF Base Amberley and the viewing hubs in Ipswich are waterlogged. The conditions at these sites are not safe for parking or spectator attendance.
Even if it doesn’t rain in the coming days and we have sunny conditions, the grassed areas will not dry out in time for the Air Tattoo.

All Ipswich Amberley Air Tattoo ticket holders will have their tickets refunded in full. Please note that refunds will occur automatically by the Civic Centre Box office. Due to the large volume of transactions that are required to be processed, this may take up to 30 days.

Korean Air A330 suffers damage after runway excursion.

KOREAN AIR AIRBUS A330-323 HL-7587 (MSN 0368)

A Korean Air Lines Airbus A330 travelling from Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN/RKSI), South Korea to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB/RPVM), Philippines with 165 passengers and 11 crew suffered substantial damage after a runway overrun in the Philippines, in challenging weather conditions.

The accident took place on Sunday the 23rd of October. It involved flight KE-631, a service that Korean Air performs four times per week. The flight normally departs Seoul Incheon International Airport at 18:35 pm, but on Sunday it got away 45 minutes late at 19.20pm. It landed in Cebu Mactan International Airport at 23.08.

Usually, the flight lasts around four hours, but the aircraft had spent an extra 50 minutes in the air after making two attempts and holding.

The Korean Air crew had already made two approaches, before the one where they had their runway overrun. Both go-arounds happened at relatively low altitudes, with the aircraft descending as low as 275 and 150 feet, very close to the runway threshold. All approaches were to runway 22. 

Before their third (and final) approach, the Korean Air crew entered a hold, likely to wait for the weather to improve. Then about 50 minutes after the first go-around, the crew came in for another approach. Unfortunately, the aircraft appeared to decelerate quite slowly, after touching down. As it reached the end of the runway, the aircraft still had a ground speed of 80 knots. Photos from the scene suggest that the aircraft struck the ILS localizer antenna array for runway 04, after overrunning the end of the runway. The nose landing gear appears to have collapsed.

All passengers and crew evacuated using airstairs. The airport, which has a single runway, had to close after the Korean Air runway overrun.

Below is from the Korean Air website.

Regarding Korean Air Flight KE631 on October 23

I would like to extend my sincere sentiments regarding the Korean Air Flight KE631 incident at Mactan-Cebu International Airport on October 23, 2022.

A thorough investigation will be performed together with the local aviation authorities and Korean authorities to determine the cause(s) of this event.

We always prioritize safety in all of our operations, and we truly regret the stress and inconvenience brought to our passengers.

We remain committed to standing behind our promise of safe operations and will do our very best to institute measures to prevent any recurrence. Our overall goal is for our valued guests to trust that Korean Air will treat them well, and honor us with the opportunity to welcome them once again.

October 24th, 2022

Keehong Woo, President

Korean Air

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Korean Air

Code: KE/KAL

Aircraft: Airbus A330-322

Registration: HL7525
Serial Number: 219

Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4168
First Flew: 12/05/1998 

Age: 24 years 6 months

Twelve passengers hurt in severe turbulence

AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS AIRBUS A340-211 LV-ZRA (MSN 085)

Twelve passengers were seriously hurt when an Aerolineas Argentinas A330-200 operating flight AR-1133 from Madrid (MAD/LEMD) to Buenos Aires (EZE/SAEZ) struck severe turbulence.

According to reports, the flight with 271 passengers and 13 crew, was en route at FL360 over the Atlantic Ocean nearing the Brazilian Coast when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence causing injuries to 12 passengers. The 12 passengers all admitted to not wearing their seat belts at the time.

It was reported that the aircraft continued to Buenos Aires for a safe landing about 6 hours later. 

9 passengers were treated at the airport for minor to moderate injuries, and 3 were taken to a hospital.

The airline stated:

As a result of severe turbulence on flight AR1133 from Madrid, which landed at Ezeiza airport at 4:30, nine passengers had to be treated with various injuries. They were immediately released by airport health. While another three had to be transferred to hospital for a more exhaustive control.

According to what was reported by the crew, the seat belt indicator signs were on and the corresponding announcement had been made. The passengers who were the most compromised and who were the ones who had to be transferred, were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the turbulence.

The event occurred over the Atlantic Ocean entering the American continent and the plane, an A330 with registration LV-FVH, was carrying 13 crew members and 271 passengers. 

The evaluation of the aircraft did not show significant damage to its structure.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Aerolineas Argentinas

Code: AR/ARG

Aircraft: Airbus A330-202

Registration: LV-FVH

Serial Number: 1605

Engines: 2 x GE CF6-80E1A4

First Flew: 06/02/2015

Age: 7Yrs. 8Mts.

Ethiopian Airlines flight intercepted after radio silence.

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 ET-AWN (MSN 0310)

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight flying from Liege, Belgium (LGG/EBLG) to Bole Airport in Addis Ababa (ADD/HAAB) last Saturday lost radio communication for an hour. 

Reports say its last communication with air traffic control (ATC) was made with the Zagreb Center in Croatian airspace. Despite many attempts no further contact was made with the flight crew as it crossed over Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece.

When air traffic controllers in Greece were unable to raise the crew on radio, despite multiple attempts, including on the designated international emergency channel 121.5, fighter jets were ordered to intercept the plane.

According to reports, the Greek fighter jets, (two GRC F-16's were scrambled at 18:45) reached the Ethiopian Airlines plane over the Mediterranean Sea, just before it crossed into Egyptian territory. After an exchange with the Greek pilots, the 767-300 crew resumed communications. 

Although communications disruptions occur, “it is unlikely that any external variable could have disrupted communications in this instance, as the aircraft was well within range of many operating ATC frequencies, and many other aircraft had no communication difficulties.”

The aircraft departed Liege Airport in Belgium at 15:58 from 22L, over three hours behind schedule. Despite the alarming flight, the aircraft landed safely on runway 07R at 23:37 at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Airlines has not acknowledged or made formal comment on the incident, which appears similar to an August 2022 Ethiopian flight in which a crew flying from Khartoum to Addis Ababa reportedly fell asleep and did not respond to air traffic controllers. They landed safely after first overshooting the runway.

Both pilots in that incident were suspended after an investigation by the airlines.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Ethiopian 

Code: ET/ETH

Aircraft: Boeing 767-360

Registration: ET-ALO

Serial Number: 33768

Engines:  2 x PW PW4062

First Flew: 07/05/2004

Age: 18 Yrs. 5 Mts.

Snake on plane make passengers panic onboard United Airlines

No, we are not talking about the movie Snakes on a Plane which was a 2006 American action film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. This is the real deal.

A Snake on the plane just got real for passengers aboard a United Airlines flight as they discovered a snake aboard the aircraft. Passengers onboard United Airlines flight 2038 were shocked to see a snake on a plane which resulted in a lot of panic at the end of a flight from Florida’s Tampa city (TPA/KTPA) to New York (EWR/KEWR). The officials were called to catch the reptile. The Boeing 737 registered N27252 had landed only a few minutes before the snake was discovered on the flight. The snake was found while the aircraft was taxiing to the gate. None of the passengers were injured and no delays in operations were reported.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that the airport’s wildlife operations staff and Port Authority Police Department officers met United Flight 2038 at the gate and removed the "garter snake" and later on released it into the wild, according to The Washington Post. The statement further added that no one was injured, and operations were not affected.

(Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus Thamnophis in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus Thamnophis can be found from the subarctic plains of Canada to Costa Rica.)

In a statement, United said passengers alerted the crew to the snake, and the airline "called the appropriate authorities to take care of the situation." The Washington Times reported citing local media of New Jersey, News 12 New Jersey, that the passengers flying in business class spotted the snake while the plane was taxiing after landing. Passengers started shrieking and pulling up their feet, according to the TV station.

After the snake was removed, passengers deplaned with their baggage, and the plane was searched for any other reptiles crawling aboard and found none.

In February this year, a similar incident took place on an AirAsia flight in Malaysia when the passengers found a snake while the plane was in the air. The viral Tik Tok video from the flight showed that the reptile was inside a light fixture above passengers. Meanwhile, in 2016, a large snake -- believed to be a venomous green viper -- emerged from an overhead compartment on an Aeromexico flight in Mexico, according to The Washington Post. A passenger`s video posted on Twitter shows the creature hanging from the ceiling of the plane, which received priority landing clearance when it reached Mexico City.

Airport fire and rescue workers threaten to go on strike

How do you know when Christmas is close... when airline or airport staff threaten strike action, and of course this year is no exception.

Australians could soon be dealing with more airport delays as a dispute over a life-threatening issue continues. Airport fire and rescue workers will soon vote on whether they will strike, in a move which could plunge Australians’ travel plans into chaos during the peak holiday period.

Airservices Australia staff have been locked in a heated dispute with their employer over pay and safety conditions. Staff are seeking a 15 per cent pay rise over three years and a bump to their superannuation payment, while they have also expressed concerns over a national shortage of aviation firefighters. 

Staff will vote on whether they should stop working for up to an entire shift, with the strike action likely to start in November or December and run through the holiday season.

That strike ballot has been approved by the Fair Work Commission, with workers required to give seven days' notice if any action goes ahead. The ballot will be put to union members on Wednesday, with a vote taking place in the next two weeks.

UFUAV secretary Wes Garrett said planes would be grounded across the country if the strike goes ahead. He said the lives of air travellers were being put at risk every day because aviation fire and rescue staffing levels are not compliant with safety regulations.

The aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union has been bargaining with Airservices for nearly a year, with workers now looking at taking industrial action.

“Airservices Australia, the federal government owned corporation responsible for the provision of aviation firefighting services at Australia’s airports, cut the number of firefighters by 94 during the pandemic,” Mr Garrett said.

“With people returning to the skies, we don’t have enough staff and right now, we can’t say, hand on heart, that if there was a fire, we’d be able to deal with it.

“Right now, there simply will not be enough firefighters to rescue passengers from a burning aircraft and that’s not acceptable.

“Every day, dozens of flights are operating from Australia’s airports without the necessary protection from aviation firefighters on the ground.”

Mr Garrett said they “fully expect a yes vote to take strike action”.

Travellers have become accustomed to regularly experiencing delays, long queues and cancelled flights as Australia’s aviation industry struggles in the aftermath of Covid. An Airservices Australia spokesperson called on the union to end its strike ballot so the two parties could continue negotiating.

“Airservices Australia is currently in enterprise agreement (EA) negotiations with our Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service (ARFFS) employees and their representatives, the United Firefighters Union of Australia – Aviation Branch (UFUAV),” they said.

“Airservices continues to negotiate in good faith with the UFUAV to finalise a new EA. We have made a generous pay increase offer to the UFUA and are calling on them to abandon their strike ballot and return to negotiations.

“Airservices will take all steps necessary to prevent disruptions to flights as a result of the industrial action. Our priority is to ensure the safe and efficient continuation of our services to keep Australian aviation moving.

“Airservices will continue to respond to the safety needs of airlines, airports and the travelling public.”

The UFUAV also said they would continue to negotiate in good faith over the coming weeks in the hope the two parties could reach an agreement, but said the ball is “very much” in Airservices’ court.

Another bomb threat causes flight to declare emergency

Aeroflot Boeing 777 makes an emergency landing at Delhi following a suspected bomb threat

Bomb threats have been on the rise recently within the global aviation industry, with several airlines having to divert or conduct emergency landings on otherwise routine scheduled flights. Russian carrier Aeroflot has become the latest after a bomb threat was made against one of its flights on the 13th of October.

A possible bomb onboard

Aeroflot Flight SU 232 was a routine flight from Moscow (SVO/UUEE) to New Delhi (DEL/VIDP), and operating the flight was one of the airline's Boeing 777-300ERs registered as RA-73144. The flight departed from Moscow uneventfully, but while en route to New Delhi, the Central Industrial Security Force received an email warning about the presence of bombs onboard, which prompted the police to get the flight crew to declare an emergency landing.

Air traffic controllers cleared the aircraft, and flight SU 232 landed at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport at approximately 02:48, where the flight's 386 passengers and 14 crew members were promptly evacuated to safety. 

A police official said:
"On Thursday around 11 pm, a threat message was received at IGI Control Room social media site regarding bombs planted onboard Russian flight no SU-272 arriving at IGI Airport. The flight landed at 2.48 am safely."

Passengers, crew members, and baggage were individually checked, but nothing suspicious was found. The aircraft was also thoroughly checked, though no explosive devices were found either. To ensure the bomb threat was not a hoax, police officials grounded and isolated the aircraft for a few hours before finally releasing it. RA-73144 eventually departed from New Dehli at 17:30 and arrived back in Moscow at 20:55.

The unfortunate rise of bomb threats

As mentioned, the Aeroflot incident is the latest in a lengthening string of recent bomb threats across the global aviation industry. The most recent one also occurred on October 13th when a Jet2 Airbus A321 was operating a scheduled flight between Dalaman Airport and Manchester Airport. After a bomb threat was made, the Jet2 Flight LS 922 was escorted by the Royal Air Force and diverted to London's Stansted Airport instead.

And within the Indian aviation industry alone, there have been at least two incidents of bomb threats onboard flights in a few weeks. On September 30th, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 173 was delayed at the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport after a fight between passengers onboard gave rise to a false bomb threat. The threat was eventually cleared, and the flight departed for Kuala Lumpur after a delay of nearly three hours, though the four involved passengers were arrested.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Aeroflot
Code: SU/AFL
Aircraft: Boeing 777-3M0
Registration: RA-73144
Serial Number: 41690
Engines: 2 x GE GE90-115B
First Flew: 02/04/2016
Age: 7Yrs. 6Mts.

Story Sourced from here

Aeroflot Boeing 777 Makes An Emergency Landing At Delhi Following Suspected Bomb Threat (simpleflying.com)

Passengers 'started crying' as flight diverted over 'bomb scare' in mid air

A Jet2 flight traveling from Dalaman, Turkey (DLM/LTBS) to Manchester, England (MAN/EGCC) was forced to divert to Stansted (STN/EGSS) due to a bomb scare. 

A spokesperson for London Stansted Airport said: "We can confirm that flight LS922 from Dalaman to Manchester had diverted to London Stansted under the direction of the UK authorities.

Passengers on the diverted Jet2 flight were left in the dark during reports of an unconfirmed bomb scare, as the flight was diverted from Manchester to Stansted where it was surrounded by armed police.

Passengers recalled the terrifying moment armed police surrounded the plane after it was diverted away from Manchester after a security threat.

The Jet2 flight from Dalaman was escorted by two RAF jets to London Stansted following unconfirmed reports of a bomb threat.

Travellers were left in the dark and said they “had no idea” what was going on as the plane landed in a “red point” at the airport before armed police swarmed around it.

Andrea Aspinwall said police had their guns pointed at the aircraft as it sat stationary for about two hours. She said passengers onboard were told to “sit calm” but that “everyone started panicking”.

Andrea, from north Wales, said she sensed that “something was wrong” when the plane began circling in the moments after the pilot announced that they would soon be landing at Manchester Airport.

Andrea said: "We thought we were near Manchester but then the plane kept circling.

"The pilot had said we would be landing soon, and all the staff were in their seats."

She said the toilets were then locked, everyone was told to stay in their seats and then the plane landed after turning.

Andrea continued: "When we actually landed on this strip with nothing there, we were taken to a 'red point'. The air hostesses couldn't tell us what was going on.

"We sat there and then we saw all these armed police driving up. We were terrified. We knew something was wrong then. Police had their guns pointing at the plane.

"Everyone started panicking, I started crying. I'm disabled so I don't take things good as it is."

Andrea added: "The pilot came on and said: 'Don't worry we need to sit calm' but no one could stand up and this was for a good two hours. We didn't even know where we were.

"We saw it on the internet and people saw it on social media. Everyone was saying 'oh my god' as it said it was a bomb scare.

“It was scary, it really was. I don't get frightened very easily, but I was scared. It was the scariest moment of my life."

Andrea said the pilot was eventually able to leave the cockpit and speak to passengers. He apologised and said they were told they had to land as soon as possible, she added.

Once passengers were allowed off the plane, she said “the chaos started” as passengers were unsure what would happen next.

Andrea said: "There was no one showing us where to go or what to do next. We had to stay downstairs for hours until we got direction.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Jet2 Holidays

Code: LS/EXS

Aircraft: Airbus A321-211

Registration: G-HLYB

Serial Number: 6056

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B3/P

First Flew: 04/04/2014

Age: 8Yrs. 6Mts

Aircraft History
10/04/2014 Thomas Cook UK G-TCDE     Ceased operations 23 sept 2019
22/12/2021 Jet2 G-HLYB

Spotting at YBBN

I work a nine-day fortnight, so every second Friday I have off. Since I hadn't been spotting at Brisbane for some time, and we had Air Canada, Malindo and Malaysian coming in, I thought I would go out for a few hours. I left home at 5.30am and it was a quick 30-minute drive due to no traffic, getting to the viewing area just after 6am. You can't get there any earlier as the gates don't open until 6.am.

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-2K9 VH-YQY (MSN 55056)
QF1786 OFF TO GLADSTONE (GLT)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VXC (MSN 30897)
QF1076 OFF TO Mt ISA (ISA)

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q 400 VH-QOI (MSN 4189)
QF2402 OFF TO EMERALD (EMD)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-7FE VH-VBZ (MSN 34322)
VA361 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV)

AIRPORT OPERATIONS

ALLIANCE FOKKER F70 VH-NKQ (MSN 11572)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-XNN (MSN 4872)
JQ904 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV)

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A320-271N ZK-NHD (MSN 9207)
NZ201 ARRIVING FROM CHRISTCHURCH (CHC)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZS (MSN 39358)
QF933 OFF TO PERTH (PER)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-YWE (MSN 41015)
VA908 0FF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

REX SAAB 340B VH-ZLO (MSN 340B-382)
ZL7516 OFF TO ROMA (RMA)

SKYTRANS SAAB 340B VH-QQB (MSN 004)
QN733 OFF TO CHINCHILLA (CCL)

AIR CANADA BOEING 787-9 C-FRTG (MSN 37184)
AC35 ARRIVING FROM VANCOUVER

LINK AIRWAYS SAAB 340B VH-VEC (MSN 340B-433)

SINGAPORE AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHL (MSN 371)
SQ235 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN)

PIONAIR AUSTRALIA BAe 146-200 VH-SFV (MSN E2086)
QF7423 ARRIVING FROM MACKAY (MKY)

REX BOEING 737-8FE VH-RQC (MSN 33797)
ZL202 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE (MEL)

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-2K9 VH-YQT (MSN 55179)
QF1730 ARRIVING FROM CANBERRA (CBR)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-UQG (MSN 11520)
VA1230 ARRIVING FROM ROCKHAMPTON (ROK)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTORS BEECH KING AIR 350C
VH-FDF (MSN FM-63) FD 449 OFF TO ROCKHAMPTON (ROK)

MALAYSIA AIRBUS A330-323 9M-MTO (MSN 1489)
MH135 ARRIVING FROM KUALA LUMPUR (KUL)

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKG (MSN 36232)
JQ57 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS)

BATIK AIR BOEING 737 MAX 8 9M-LRQ (MSN 42988)
OD158 OFF TO DENPASAR (DPS)