Spotting at Brisbane Airport

On Wednesday my Co-Pilot and Cabin crew (wife and daughter) headed out to the airport to catch the new Qantas A220, previously posted, which finally came to Brisbane.

Below are other photos we took on the day. Photos marked * are my wife's photos.

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EEG (MSN 116)
ARRIVED AS EK434 FROM DUBAI (DXB)

TEXEL AIR BOEING 737-8BK ZK-TXA (MSN 33013)

OMNI INTERNATIONAL AIR BOEING 767-33A N351AX (MSN 27908)
PX4 ARRIVING FROM PORT MORESBY (POM) *
FLYING FOR AIR NIUGINI

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-XWT (MSN 11338)
VA605 OFF TO MACKAY (MKY) *
FLYING FOR VIRGIN AUSTRALIA

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBR (MSN 1251)
QF119 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL)

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBV (MSN 1365)
QF61 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT)

NAURU AIRLINES BOEING 737-86N (MSN 33003)
RETURNED FROM A TEST FLIGHT *

REX SAAB 340B VH-ZRB (MSN 340B-389)
ZL5717 ARRIVING FROM ROMA (RMA)

SOLOMOMS AIRLINES AIRBUS A320-232 H4-SAL (MSN 5566)
EI701 OFF TO HONIARA (HIR) *

ALLIANCE EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYF (MSN 19000038)
QF1984 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV)
FLYING FOR QANTAS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32CR (MSN 583)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANZHOU (CAN)

FLY PELICAN BAe JETSTREAM 32 VH-ACV (MSN 974)
PE999 OFF TO BALLINA (BNK)

SINGAPORE AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 9V-SHE (MSN 294)
SQ255 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE (SIN) *

LINK AIRWAYS SAAB 340B VH-VED (MSN 340B-442)
SF34 ARRIVING FROM COBAR (CAZ)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8FE (MSN 40701)
VA938 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

AERLINK ATR 72-500 VH-FVR (MSN 0812)
HT715 ARRIVING FROM MORANBAH (MOV)

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VXH (MSN 33478)
QF512 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY (SYD)

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKF (MSN 36231)
JQ9 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT)

REX BOEING 737-8FE VH-RQG (MSN 34168)
ZL332 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY (SYD)

AIR CANADA BEOING 777-333 C-FITW (MSN 35298)
AC36 OFF TO VANCOUVER (YVR)

PHILIPPINES AIRBUS A321-271N RP-C9936 (MSN 8619)
PR222 OFF TO MANILA (MNL)

CHINA EASTERN AIRBUS A330-243 B-6545 (MSN 1291)
MU716 OFF TO SHANGHAI (PVG)

SKYTRANS DASH 8-100 VH-QQB (MSN 004)
QN734 ARRIVING FROM CHINCHILLA (CCL)

NATIONAL JET EXPRESS DASH 8 Q400 VH-8QA (MSN 4582)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VFY (MSN 6362)
JQ931 ARRIVING FROM CAIRNS (CNS) *

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 777-319 ZK-OKO (MSN 38407)
NZ146 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL)

UNITED BOEING 787-9 N29977 (MSN 66136)
UA97 OFF TO SAN FRANCISCO (SFO)

QANTAS DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOW (MSN 4285)
QF2459 ARRIVING FROM MORANBAH (MOV)

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-7K2 VH-NVW (30369)
VA942 OFF TO SYDNEY (SYD)

LIFE FLIGHT BOMBARDIER 604 VH-OFC (MSN 5538)
AM634 OFF TO GLADSTONE (GLT)

FIJI AIRWAYS BOEING 737 MAX 8 DQ-FAB (MSN 64307)
FJ920 OFF TO NADI (NAN)

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251 VH-OFW (MSN 11380)
JQ905 ARRIVING FROM TOWNSVILLE (TSV)

ALLIANCE EMBRARE E190AR VH-UYB (MSN 19000012)
QF1928 ARRIVING FROM ADELAIDE (ADL)
FLYING FOR QANTAS

Coast Guard Dash 8 not cleared to enter runway.

Following on from yesterday's horrible crash in Japan, new details have emerged about the collision of Japan Airlines’ Airbus A350 and a Japanese Coast Guard Dash 8 aircraft on the 2nd of January. 

The transcripts reveal that the air traffic control asked the Dash 8 to stop short of the active runway while the A350 landed. Reports about warning lights at the holding point being out of order have also added another layer to the incident.

Transcripts of the communication between the ATC and the two aircraft involved in the 2nd of January incident at Tokyo Haneda airport reveal that Japan Airlines’ A350 was cleared to land while the Coast Guard Dash 8 was asked to hold short of the runway.

JAL was operating flight JL516 from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda and was cleared to land on runway 34R. The Dash 8, however, was asked to “taxi to holding point C5,” an instruction which the pilots of the propellor aircraft acknowledged. Based on the transcripts, the communication seems straightforward, but only an official report will tell if there were any other gaps that may have led the Dash 8 to enter the active runway by mistake.

This also contradicts the statement given by the captain of the Coast Guard plane earlier, who said during the investigation that they were cleared to enter the runway. More details will likely emerge in the coming days as the investigation into the incident continues.

The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) and the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) of France are looking into the cause of the incident. Airbus is also dispatching a team of specialists to help with the investigation.

Meanwhile, another piece of information has surfaced about the possibility that the red lights that warn taxiing aircraft to stop short of runway 34R were out of order at the time of the incident. A report by the BBC mentioned it, and Pete Muntean, a CNN correspondent, tweeted about the NOTAM related to the lights

QantasLink's first Airbus A220 finally comes to Brisbane.

QANTASLINK AIRBUS A220-300 VH-X4A (MSN 55253)

QantasLink's first Airbus A220 has finally arrived in Brisbane after doing many trips between Canberra (CBR/YSCB) and Melbourne (MEL/YMML) since its arrival down under. 

It was scheduled twice before to come here but the trips were cancelled.

The A220 with the registration of VH-X4A touched down on runway 16L at Sydney Airport at 12:06pm on Wednesday the 20th of December after flying via Vancouver, Honolulu, and Nadi.
It had left Montreal on the 16th of December having undergone two test flights following its exit from the Airbus paint shop last month.

As the first A220 to be operated in Australia, the aircraft is flying the east coast doing a show and tell / regulatory checks and crew familiarisation flights before it starts flying the Melbourne-Canberra route this month. The special paint scheme is a beautiful representation of Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker's painting Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Sisters Creation Story).

Qantas has 29 of the 137-seat A220s on order to replace the existing QantasLink 717 fleet. The A220s will mostly connect smaller capital cities like Canberra and Hobart with larger cities like Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. The A220 has almost double the range of the 717 at over 6,000 kilometres, meaning it can fly between any city in Australia.

Qantas is expecting its next A220 any day now and is scheduled to take delivery of five more A220s between January 2024 and mid-2025, the remainder will be delivered through to the end of 2026.
In the past 12 months, Qantas has welcomed 13 new aircraft, including nine Airbus A321LRs for Jetstar and three Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the mainline fleet.

Today is its first time in Brisbane, flying in from Canberra as QJE6215, it landed on runway 19L at 9.55am local. It parked at the Qantas domestic terminal for three and a half hours, before departing back to Canberra at 1.25pm.

All photos were taken by my wife Judy.

Two aircraft collide in Japan- five dead

JAPAN AIR BOEING 787-8 JA838J (MSN 34849)

JAL flight 516, an Airbus A350-900, travelling from Sapporo-New Chitose Airport (CTS/RJCC) to Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND/RJTT) was engulfed in flames soon after landing as it struck the smaller coastguard aircraft, which was waiting to depart.

All crew and passengers onboard the Japan Airlines managed to make what can only be described as a “miracle” escape after a horrific collision on a runway at Haneda airport in Tokyo that killed five crew members of a coastguard plane it collided with.

Once the captain of the commercial jet managed to bring the burning aircraft to a stop, its 379 passengers, including eight children, plus 12 crew fled the plane’s smoke-filled cabin by sliding down inflatable slides at its front.

The jet was soon entirely overcome by fire, with flames seen licking out of the cabin’s windows. The Tokyo fire department said 14 of those evacuated from the passenger plane suffered minor injuries including burns to the throat. Four were taken to hospital.

Sadly, five of the six people onboard the coastguard plane, a De Havilland Canada DHC-8, were killed in the collision but its captain managed to escape the inferno with injuries.

The Dash 8, which was on its way to transport supplies to Niigata in response to the Noto Peninsula earthquake, had taxied onto runway 34R via taxiway C5 as JL516 was on final approach.
After touching down, the A350 struck the DHC-8. The nose section of the A350 suffered severe damage and a fire erupted in both aircraft.

A former commercial pilot said: “I think first of all, you’ve got to say that we just witnessed a miracle. The way they got all those passengers off that aeroplane is almost beyond belief.”

Passengers on the Japan Airlines jet, which had arrived at about 5.47pm local time from New Chitose airport on the northern island of Hokkaido, spoke of their terror after hearing the thud of the initial impact.

Social media footage from within the cabin showed how passengers could see the flames at the back exterior of the plane through the cabin windows as it continued down the runway immediately after the collision.

Investigations are still under way, but what is clear is the passenger jet was “understood to have been cleared to land by ATC”

This is the first hull loss of an Airbus A350

The first accident for Japan Air in 39 years

The first hull loss at Tokyo's Haneda in 42 years 

Aircraft Information

Airline: Japan Airlines

Code: JL/JAL

Flight Number: JL516

Aircraft: Airbus A350-941

Registration: JA13XJ

Serial Number: 538

Engines: 2 x RR Trent XWB

First Flew: 20/09/2021

Age: 1.3Yrs

Aircraft Information

Airline: Japan Air Coast Guard

Code: JCG

Aircraft: de Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA

Registration: JA722A

Serial Number: 656

Engines: 2 x PWC PW123E

First Flew: January 2010

Age: 14 Years

OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND STAFF AT THE JAPAN COAST GUARD

Plane makes emergency landing due to fumes on board

DELTA AIRLINES BOEING 757-251 N544US (MSN 26491)

Almost 300 people were evacuated from a transatlantic jet after it made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport (SNN/EINN) after strong fumes were reported on board.

Delta Air Lines flight 113, on route from Rome (FCO/LIRF) to Boston (BOS/KBOS), was some 230kms off the south coast of Ireland when the flight crew contacted air traffic controllers at Shannon to declare a pan-pan -pan emergency around 11.20am. The Airbus A330-900m with 294 souls on board, then decided to divert to Shannon, where the airport’s fire and rescue service was put on standby.

The National Ambulance Service, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service and gardaí were also notified and mobilised to the airfield. As the flight was on route to land at Shannon, the flight crew advised air traffic controllers that had at least one person on board who was complaining of feeling unwell from the effects of the fumes.

Several ambulances were dispatched to the airport along with fire crews from Shannon and Ennis stations. The flight landed safely on runway 06 without incident at 11.49am where it was met by the various emergency services and inspected.

The aircraft was then cleared to taxi to the terminal where paramedics were standing by to assess any passengers that may require assistance.

The flight crew advised controllers that they wished to evacuate everyone from the aircraft as soon as possible to ensure no one else was affected by the fumes.

The passengers were then cleared to leave the aircraft via mobile stairs placed at the front and rear of the aircraft, where with the help of fire service personnel and paramedics, they were escorted to the terminal. Paramedics also assessed anyone on board who complained of feeling unwell. No-one required hospital treatment.

It is understood that engineers have traced the source of the fumes to a galley area on the aircraft, and they are expected to investigate the matter further before a decision is made on whether the aircraft can continue its journey.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Delta Airlines

Code: DL/DAL

Flight Number: DL113

Aircraft: Airbus A330-941

Registration: N413DX

Serial Number: 1995

Engines: 2 x RR Trent 7000-72

First Flew: 13th June 2022

Age: 1.6 Year

Time travel is real

What is better than a New Year's Eve party? Two New Year's Eve celebrations, of course! 

This is simply where a flight departs on the 1st of January and - because of passing the International Date Line and flight length - the flight arrives on the 31st of December. 

As a great example of time travel, it means you go back to 2023. Imagine if it was a different millennium rather than 'just' a year.
Using Cirium to examine more than 91,000 scheduled flights planned for the 1st of January it indicates that only six fit the bill. Organized by departure time on the 1st, they are summarized in the following table. Cathay Pacific operates half of the flights...
While you might be pushed to celebrate, the first leaves Hong Kong at 00:15 and arrives in Los Angeles at 20:55 the day before, which is enough time to celebrate a second time. That assumes you have energy after 11 to 12 hours of flying. To do it in a much more relaxed way, Air New Zealand to the Cook Islands is a better option.

Below are the other flights where you can celebrate twice.
Departs: January 1st, 2024, Arrives: December 31st, 2023,     Airline    Route Flight   Aircraft

00:15     20:55        Cathay Pacific    Hong Kong-Los Angeles       CX880        777-300ER

00:55    21:00         Cathay Pacific    Hong Kong-San Francisco     CX872        A350-900

00:50    17:50         All Nippon          Tokyo Haneda-Los Angeles   NH106        787-9

01:00    20:30         Cathay Pacific    Hong Kong-Vancouver           CX888        777-300ER

07:35    18:50        United Airlines    Guam-Honolulu                      UA200        777-300ER

08:50    13:40        Air New Zealand    Auckland-Rarotonga            NZ946        787-9