Southwest Airlines passenger jumps out of emergency exit at New Orleans airport

SOUTHWEST BOEING 737-7H4 N953WN (MSN 36668)

A man on a Southwest Airlines flight opened an emergency exit door and climbed onto the plane’s wing on Sunday while the aircraft was at a gate at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, (MSY/KMSY) authorities said.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said it responded to a disturbance at the airport after a 38-year-old man opened the emergency exit door to access the wing and jump out. The plane was stationary and had not departed the gate at the time of the incident, and the man was stopped by personnel on the ground and held until deputies arrived.

Passenger Zed Webster said he heard what sounded like an argument between two passengers across the aisle from him and was concerned they might start a fight. He said he took out his phone and began to record the incident. As soon as he pressed the record button, Webster said the passenger unlatched the lock to the emergency exit door and jumped out the window. “I was terrified,” he said.

Webster’s video shows several passengers evacuating the plane and rushing through the jetway. Later, the video shows what appears to be an airline employee jumping from the jetway onto the tarmac to assist colleagues in subduing the passenger.

When deputies made contact with the passenger on the tarmac, he appeared “incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings,” the sheriff’s office said. The man was “transported to a local hospital for evaluation as the deputies believed he was suffering from a mental health emergency,” according to the sheriff’s office statement, and he remains hospitalized.

“There is no indication that the man left anything on the plane, nor was he found in possession of any weapons of any type,” the statement continued. “He is not expected to face any criminal charges locally, however, the investigation has been referred to federal authorities. No one was injured during the incident.”

Chris Perry, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, said in an email, “We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologise to our customers for their inconvenience.”

After a delay, the flight departed using a different aircraft. 

WN3172 was due to depart at 7.25pm (local) and arrive at 9.50pm

The flight eventually left at 10.10pm and arrived at 1.00am

Malaysia Airlines looks to restart Brisbane flights "again"

MALAYSIA AIRLINES AIRBUS A330-323 9M-MTD (MSN 1234)

Malaysia Airlines could 'once again' connect Brisbane with Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the Oneworld member’s steadily growing network, after the Queensland capital was axed in March 2023 as the airline worked to trim costs and right-size itself. But with travel booming and additional aircraft coming into the hangars, a restoration may soon be in the works.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the airline’s first Boeing 737 MAX jet this week, Malaysia Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Dersenish Aresandiran said Brisbane was once again “under review”

“Australia is one of our core markets (and) ideally we want to increase all our frequencies into Australia to where we were in pre-Covid.”

Sydney and Melbourne have already seen boosts for the summer 2023-2024 period, including an Airbus A350 to lift capacity over the more familiar A330.

Australia will eventually move to Malaysia Airlines’ newer A330neo jets, 20 of which will arrive across 2024-2026 to replace the old A330s, which the airline says are ageing and will require higher maintenance costs.

The A330neo fleet will also introduce a new international business class seat: the Elevation model from manufacturer Collins Aerospace, also seen in British Airways’ latest Club Suite business class and for Etihad Airways’ A350 Business Studio suite.

“The 330neo will be fantastic and will probably have one of the best business classes that you've seen, and that will also be retrofitted to the A350,” Aresandiran noted, adding that Malaysia Airlines is now looking at leasing more A330neo and A350 jets to underpin its expansion plans, “because demand is booming right now.”

Going through my records, Malasia has started flying into Brisbane, and then pulled out three times since 2015.

• Pulled out 8th of August 2015
• Resumed 6th June 2018
• Pulled out 28th of October 2020
• Resumed 6th of January 2022
• Pulled out 27th of March 2023

Air New Zealand's Mount Erebus disaster

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 787-9 ZK-NZE (MSN 34334)

Forty-Four years ago today, on the 28th of November 1979, Air New Zealand flight TE901 flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board.  

Flight TE901 left Auckland International Airport around 8:00 am for Antarctica and was scheduled to arrive back at Christchurch International Airport at 7:00 pm after flying 5,360 miles (8,630 km). 

The aircraft would make a 45-minute stop at Christchurch for refueling and a crew change, before flying the remaining 464 miles (747 km) to Auckland, arriving at 9:00 pm.

(At the time of the crash, Air New Zealand had two IATA codes, TE for international flights (a relic from Air New Zealand's predecessor, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL)) and NZ for domestic flights (acquired from the merger with the National Airways Corporation in April 1978). 

Investigations concluded that the accident was primarily caused by two errors.

1. a correction made to the coordinates of the flight path the night before the disaster, coupled with a failure to inform the flight crew of the change, with the result that the aircraft, instead of being directed by computer down McMurdo Sound (as the crew had been led to believe), was instead rerouted to a path straight toward Mount Erebus.

2. The decision of the captain to continue the flight at low level toward an area of poor surface and horizon definition when the crew was not certain of their position and the subsequent inability to detect the rising terrain which intercepted the aircraft's flight path.

The aircraft used on the Antarctic flights were McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 trijets. 

The aircraft on the day was registered ZK-NZP. 

ZK-NZP was the182nd DC-10 to be built, and the fourth DC-10 to be introduced by Air New Zealand. The DC 10 was handed over to the airline on the 12th of December 1974 at McDonnell Douglas's Long Beach plant. It had only logged 20,700 flight hours prior to the crash.

Air New Zealand had been operating a scheduled Antarctic sightseeing flights since 1977. 

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Air New Zealand

Code: TE

Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 

Registration: ZK-NZP

Serial Number: 46910

Engines: 3 x GE CF6-50C2

First Flew: 08/11/1974
Age: 5 Yrs

More from Sydney Airport

Last weekend my wife and I spent the weekend plane spotting in Sydney.
Last Monday, I got up at 5am and headed out to a place called Mill Stream Lookout to catch the early morning international arrivals and the morning domestic departures.

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EMB (MSN 1061)
QF42 ARRIVING FROM JAKARTA (CGK)

QANTAS BOEING 787-9 VH-ZNK (MSN 66075)
QF74 ARRIVING FROM SAN FRANCISCO (SFO)

UNTIED BOEING 777-322 N2644U (MSN 63724)
UA829 ARRIVING FROM SAN FRANCISCO (SFO)

QANTAS AIRBUS A380-842 VH-OQB (MSN 015)
QF2 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE VH-YIT (MSN 38717)
VA901 OFF TO BRISBANE (BNE)

QANTAS AIRBUS A380-842 VH-OQG (MSN 047)
QF12 ARRIVING FROM LOS ANGELES (LAX)

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-842 A6-EUW (MSN 240)
EK415 DEPARTING TO DUBAI (DXB)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZK (MSN 34204)
QF401 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL)

DHL (SINGAPORE AIRLINES) BOEING 777-F 9V-DHD (MSN 67144)
SQ7459 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN)

FIJI BOEING 737-MAX 8 DQ-FAB (MSN 64307)
FJ914 OFF TO NADI (NAN)

BOMBARDIER GLOBAL 7500 N888GX (MSN 70036)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-232 VH-VWU (MSN 3948)
JQ810 OFF TO BRISBANE (BNE)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBV (MSN 1365)
QF654 ARRIVING FROM PERTH (PER)

FINNAIR AIRBUS A330-302 OH-LTR (MSN 1067)
QF292 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZB (MSN 34196)
QF405 OFF TO MELBOURNE (MEL)

QANTAS AIRBUS A380-842 VH-OQL (MSN074)
QF128 ARRIVING FROM HONG (HKG)

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-842 A6-EUV (MSN 239)
EK412 ARRIVING FROM DUBAI (DXB)

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-2BL VH-YQS (MSN 55179)
QF1502 ARRIVING FROM CANBERRA (CBR)

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKA (MSN 36227)
JQ38 ARRIVING FROM DENPASAR (DPS)

REX SAAB 340B VH-YRX (MSN 340B-178)
ZL6161 ARRIVING FROM ORANGE (OAG)

JAPAN AIR BOEING 787-9 JA862J (MSN 34841)
JL51 ARRIVING FROM TOKYO (HND)

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRBUS A350-941 B-LRE (MSN 039)
CX 111 ARRIVING FROM HONG KONG (HKG) 

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-LQH (MSN 4431)
QF2037 ARRIVING FROM DUBBO (DBO)

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A330-323 B-8870 (MSN 1776)
CZ3071 ARRIVING FROM SHENZHEN (SZX)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZP (MSN 44577)
QF861 OFF TO CANBERRA (CBR)
RETRO ROO LIVERY

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-XZJ (MSN 39365)
QF140 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL)
MENDOOWOORRJI LIVERY

The hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305,

D. B. Cooper is an unidentified man who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 aircraft, in United States airspace on the 24th of November 1971. 

At 14:58, a man traveling under the name D.B. Cooper hijacked the aircraft which was travelling from Portland International Airport (PDX/KPDX) to Seattle (SEA/KSEA), with the threat of a bomb. 

The jet was taxiing on the ground in Portland, when Cooper, who was seated in the last row of the jet, handed a note to a flight attendant, which said, "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked." Copper demanded $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to $1,400,000 in 2023) and requested four parachutes upon landing in Seattle. By requesting two sets of parachutes, Cooper implied that he planned to take hostages with him, thereby discouraging authorities from supplying non-functional equipment.

The hijacker instructed the flight crew to refuel the aircraft and begin a second flight to Mexico City (MEX/MMMX), with a refueling stop in Reno, Nevada (RNO/KRNO). About 30 minutes after taking off from Seattle, the hijacker opened the aircraft's aft door, deployed the staircase, and parachuted into the night over southwestern Washington. 

The hijacker has never been found or conclusively identified.

In 1980, a small portion of the ransom money was found along the banks of the Columbia River near Vancouver, Washington. The discovery of the money renewed public interest in the mystery but yielded no additional information about the hijacker's identity or fate, and the remaining money was never recovered. The hijacker identified himself as Dan Cooper, but a reporter confused his name with another suspect and the hijacker subsequently became known as "D. B. Cooper".

For 45 years after the hijacking, the Federal Bureau of Investigation maintained an active investigation and built an extensive case file, but ultimately did not reach any definitive conclusions. The crime remains the only unsolved case of air piracy in the history of commercial aviation. The FBI speculates Cooper did not survive his jump, for several reasons: the inclement weather on the night of the hijacking, Cooper's lack of proper skydiving equipment, the heavily wooded area into which he jumped, his apparent lack of detailed knowledge of his landing area, and the disappearance of the remaining ransom money, suggesting it was never spent. In July 2016, the FBI officially suspended active investigation of the NORJAK (Northwest hijacking) case, although reporters, enthusiasts, professional investigators, and amateur sleuths continue to pursue numerous theories for Cooper's identity, success, and fate.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Northwest Orient Airlines

Code: NW/NWA

Aircraft: Boeing 727-51

Registration: N467US

Serial Number: 18803

First Flew:09/04/1965. 

Age at accident: 6 Yrs. 8 Mts

Cabin crew injured after 'unexpected and severe' turbulence rocks Bonza flight

BONZA BOEING 737 MAX 8 VH-UIK (MSN 43975)

Cabin crew have been left injured after a flight in Queensland was rocked by severe turbulence.

Bonza flight AB626 departed Rockhampton (ROK/YBRK) 20 minutes late at 3.55pm from runway 33 on Tuesday to make its way to the Sunshine Coast (MCY/YBSU) landing there on runway 13 at 4.40pm.

During the flight the aircraft experienced “unexpected and very severe turbulence” which led to some staff receiving injuries, Bonza Chief Executive Tim Jordon said. He confirmed the plane was later able to safely land at Sunshine Coast Airport.

“At this time, no customers have presented with injuries and the cabin crew are currently being assessed by medical professionals,” he said.

“Our priority is always the safety of our staff and customers, and we will be supporting our cabin crew legends as they need.” The airline boss did not detail how many cabin crew members were injured or the extent of the injuries.

The aircraft was being assessed and a scheduled flight from the Sunshine Coast to Mildura (MQL/YMIA), AB603, had been cancelled.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Bonza

Code: AB/BNZ

Aircraft: Boeing 737-Max 8

Registration: VH-UJK

Serial Number: 43974

Engines: 2 x CFMI LEAP-1B

First Flew: 16th May 2019

Age at accident: 4 Yrs 6 Mts

More on the Midair collision in Melbourne

A cameraman who worked on Channel 10's Master Chef was one of two people on board a plane that crashed into the water near Melbourne on Sunday.

James Rose, 30, was filming footage for a new TV show in one of two Viper S-211 Marchetti fighter Jets flying in tandem on Sunday, when the two aircraft collided about 1.40pm. One of the jets plunged into Port Phillip Bay off the Mornington Peninsula while the other miraculously made it back to Essendon airport.

A massive search operation has uncovered wreckage from the plane but so far found there is no sign of Mr. Rose or the pilot. The search is set to continue throughout the night.

The harrowing mayday call by the surviving pilot reveals what happened in the aftermath of the collision.

'Viper 1 … mayday, mayday, mayday,' the surviving pilot said.

An air traffic control operator then replies: 'Viper 1, roger your mayday. You anticipate Viper 1 in the water?'

'I am anticipating Viper 2 in the water… we can see a splash mark,' the pilot responded.

The family of Mr. Rose now have an anxious evening ahead as they hold out hope he and the pilot may still be alive.

'I don't know if I'll be able to cope with staying all night. It's all so surreal,' His father David Rose said. Members of their family have gathered at the Mount Martha Life Saving Club, where the search and rescue mission is being directed from.

'We're so proud of him,' his father added. 'He is recognised as one of the best drone operators in Australia and worked on all the big-name TV shows.

'That's why he was up there, in the plane today.'

Aircraft Information: No 1
Owner/ Operator: Jetworks Aviation
Aircraft: SIAI Marchetti S211
Registration: VH-DZJ
Serial Number: 005/02/002

Aircraft Information: No 2
Owner/ Operator: Jetworks Aviation
Aircraft: SIAI Marchetti S211
Registration: VH-DQJ
Serial Number: 025/02/015

Midair collision in Melbourne

Two aircraft on a civilian flying formation yesterday has ended in tradgity.

The two planes involved were both Viper S-211 Marchetti jets with second aircraft safely landing at Essendon airport after mid-air incident, authorities say.

A search was under way for a pilot and passenger who were onboard a small military-style jet that crashed into the water off Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula after a mid-air collision.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said the two light aircrafts collided over Port Phillip Bay on Sunday afternoon with one of the planes crashing into the water.

Amsa said the two planes were Italian-made Viper S-211 Marchetti jets which are often used for military training. Reports say the planes were on a civilian-operated formation flight when they collided.

The second plane – also carrying two people – subsequently landed safely at Essendon airport on Sunday.

Three rescue helicopters were scouring the scene along with water police and volunteer marine rescue units, authorities said. The wreckage of the crashed plane had been located.

Aircraft Information: No 1
Owner/ Operator: Jetworks Aviation 
Aircraft: SIAI Marchetti S211
Registration: VH-DZJ

Serial Number: 005/02/002

Aircraft Information: No 2
Owner/ Operator: Jetworks Aviation 
Aircraft: SIAI Marchetti S211
Registration: VH-DQJ

Serial Number: 025/02/015

  

Spotting from our motel room

After spending the morning spotting, we came back to the hotel for a full buffet breakfast. From there we went to back to our room and decided to do some plane spotting from there for a few hours. Shooting through soundproof double-glazed windows wasn't an easy task as we'd hoped. 

Later on, that afternoon we headed down to the beach area.

All these photos were taking by my wife.