Another flight diverts due to flooding in flight

ALASKA DeHAVILLAND DASH 8 Q400 N427QX (MSN 4156)

Another airline with a flooding issue, two in two days.

An Alaska Airlines flight from Honolulu (HNL/PHNL) to Anchorage (ANC/PANC) had to turn around after a malfunctioning bathroom sink flooded the cabin of the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, according to reports.

The flight took off from runway 8R at 10:41 p.m. last Friday. When the water began leaking about 90 minutes into the flight, the captain of Alaska Airlines Flight 828 decided to turn around. The plane landed back on runway 8R one hour and fifty minutes later, at 11.31 p.m.

"There was probably two to four inches of standing water that swooshed out as soon as you opened that front door of the lavatory," passengers said. "I would say an hour and a half into the flight is when we noticed the water and it was significant. The entire floorboards of that airplane were completely wet."

Videos and photos shared on social media shows a flight attendant throwing paper towels on the plane's floor in an attempt to mop up the water. The center aisle can be seen glistening from what appears to be the front of the plane all the way to the back. Eventually, the paper towels are swapped out with what looks like airline blankets.

"We apologise to our guests for the inconvenience caused and commend our crew for their actions to ensure the well-being and comfort of our guests," stated Alaska Airlines. 

Flights from Honolulu to Anchorage typically take around six hours. 

The flight was canceled due to the unavailability of an aircraft for a swap; however, the affected passengers were reaccommodated on alternative flights, the airline reported.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Alaska Airlines

Code: AS/ASA

Aircraft: Boeing 737 Max 9

Registration: N955AK

Serial Number: 63810
Engines: 2 X CFMI LEAP -1B

First Flew: 25th November 2022

Age: 1.4 Years

Couple on a morning stroll badly burnt by plane crash

A couple out on their usual morning stroll had the extremely unlikely and unfortunate experience of almost being struck by a plane. The two victims were walking on a trail close to Delaware County Regional Airport shortly before 10.30am on Monday, when a four-seater Piper Cherokee traveling from Bloomington-Monroe County Airport, IN (BMG/KBMG) to Muncie-Delaware County Airport, IN (MIE/KMIE) crashed onto a field.

Both pedestrians were burned by a fire that ignited as the plane smashed into two lines of trees by Cardinal Greenway path, according to the Delaware County Sheriff. ‘They’re out doing some exercise, going for a walk, and the next thing you know they’re almost being struck by a plane and killed. It’s very unfortunate, we’re praying for the best for everyone involved.’

One of the individuals was in a very serious condition, as was the pilot who needed to be cut out of the wreckage.  All three were rushed to local hospitals.

The pilot did not issue any call for help as it dropped from the sky.
‘There was no communication of an emergency from the aircraft,’ the airport’s manager, Tim Baty ‘At some point, he decided he was going to circle back and basically missed the approach and circled back and this is what happened.’

The pilot got into trouble before crashing, said emergency officials.

Construction workers who were on an electrical job at the airport managed to put out the blaze before emergency responders arrived at the scene.

It was the first plane crash in Delaware County resulting in serious injuries in two decades, Baty said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board and could take months to determine due to the condition of the wreckage being examined.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: CR Aviation LLC

Aircraft: Piper PA-28-236 Dakota

Registration: N8438B

Serial Number: 28-8211002
Engine: Lycoming O-540-J3A5D

Built: 1981

Age: 43 Years

Sparks fly on the Gold Coast as plane does belly landing

My daughters informed me this morning that there were diversions from the Gold Coast airport (OOL/YBCG) to Brisbane last night. Thinking it was due to bad weather, I never really gave it another thought.

Then, I find out the reason for the diversions was because a light plane was forced to make an emergency landing without its landing gear at a Gold Coast airport last night.

The aircraft's pilots raised the alarm their landing gear wasn't working at about 8pm.
The Beech Baron circled the airport at Coolangatta for two hours and six minutes doing around 40 circuits in an attempt to burn fuel and reduce the chance of ignition before touching down.

Sparks could be seen flying from beneath the plane's fuselage as it landed on runway 32 at 8.19 p.m.  Emergency services were standing by as the forced landing unfolded.
"We prepare for the for the worst. And just hope for the best," a spokesperson for the Queensland Ambulance Service said.

"We obviously had some of our critical care paramedics on site just in case there was some sort of a failed landing. But thankfully that wasn't the case."
The two pilots, aged in their forties and sixties, were assessed at the scene but weren't injured.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Air Gold Coast

Aircraft: Beech 58 Baron  

Registration: VH-YDC

Serial Number: TH-755
Engines: Teledyne-Continental IO-520-C

Built: January 1976

Age: 48 Years

Flight diverts after toilets flooded and raw sewage leaked down the aisle

UNITED BOEING 787-10 N12010 (MSN 40926)

A United Airlines flight from Frankfurt (FRA/EDDF) to San Francisco (SFO/KSFO) was forced to divert back to Germany after one of the toilets started to flood shortly after takeoff, and raw sewage leaked down the aisle, with passengers reporting a nauseating smell that permeated the entire cabin.

One of the passengers on United flight UA59 said that even before takeoff, the flight attendants had warned them that two of the ten lavatories onboard the Boeing 777-300 would be out of action for the entire 11-hour flight to California due to a maintenance issue.

Once the six-year-old aircraft was airborne, however, things quickly went from bad to worse as the out-of-action lavatories started to flood as the plane was still making its ascent to cruising altitude for the transatlantic crossing.

As raw sewage started to leak into the cabin from the flood lavatory, the pilots entered a holding pattern over the North Sea for the coast of the Netherlands.

After circling several times as the crew attempted to ‘troubleshoot’ the smelly situation, the pilots decided to return to Frankfurt, where the plane was met by waiting fire engines – presumably as a precaution because the aircraft was still ‘heavy’ with fuel.

Once on the ground, United was forced to cancel the flight and put the passengers in a hotel for the night before getting them on a replacement flight the following day.

In a statement, a spokesperson for United said:  "United Flight 59 returned to Frankfurt following a maintenance issue with one of the aircraft’s lavatories”.

The statement continued: “The passengers were provided with hotel accommodations overnight in Frankfurt – and were rebooked on a different flight to San Francisco the next day”.

In January, flight attendants on a 16-hour flight from Delhi to New York JFK were forced to use blankets to mop up ‘sewage’ that was leaking from the lavatories down the aisles of a packed Boeing 777-300.

In that incident, passengers reported that four of the onboard lavatories started to flood around six hours into the flight. The pilots, however, decided to keep going to New York.

United Airlines has made headlines in recent weeks for a string of maintenance issues affecting its aircraft, in particular its Boeing fleet.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: United Airlines 

Code: UA/ UAL

Aircraft: Boeing 777-322

Registration: N2243U

Serial Number: 63723
Engines: 2 x GE GE90-115B

First Flew: June 2017

Age: 6.10 Years 

Boeing 727 freighter breaks in two after hitting an MD82.

A Safe Air Boeing 727-200F traveling from Juba Airport (JUB/HJJJ) to Malakal Airport (MAK/HJMK) has run off the side of the runway while landing at Malakal Airport, South Sudan, where its undercarriage collapsed. It then collided with a disabled MD-82 of African Express, which had been stuck there for over a month.

The 727 then came to rest and broke into two parts.  

On Friday the 9th of February a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at Malakal Airport (MAK/HJMK), South Sudan. There were no injuries.
Preliminary information indicates that the airplane landed short of runway 04.  The main gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest on its belly.

In a statement on Sunday, Bol Mijok Lual, the acting airport general manager said, “A large cargo plane landed and crashed at our airport at 11 a.m. This plane landed a few meters outside the runway, causing its tyres to burst and turn inside out. As a result, the plane lost control and hit a plane that had previously crashed.”

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Safe Air Company

Code: N/A

Aircraft: Boeing 727-209(F)

Registration: 5Y-IRE

Serial Number: 21931

Engines: 3 x Pratt & Whitney JT8D

First Flew: September 1979

Age: 44 Years

Aircraft Information:

Airline: African Express 

Code: XU/AXK

Aircraft: Mc Donnell Douglas MD-82

Registration: 5Y-AXL

Serial Number: 49204

Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217A/C

First Flew: December 1984

Age: 39 Years

Fiji's A350 damaged by Asiana A380

FIJI AIRWAYS AIRBUS A350-941 DQ-FAI (MSN 299)

A Fiji Airway's A350 has been grounded in Los Angeles after being hit by an Asiana A380 on the night of the 27th of March LAX time. Both aircraft sustained damage however there are reports that the Asiana crew did not think the collision was serious enough and continued to its destination
The A380 sustained minor damage to a winglet and after a few hours delay, departed for Seoul. 

OZ203 was due to depart at 23.00 but didn't get a way until 02.21.

The A380 is certified to fly without a wingtip fence if necessary.

ASIANA AIRLINES AIRBUS A380-841 HL-7641 (MSN 231)

The Fiji Airways FJ811 was scheduled to depart Los Angeles (LAX/KLAX) for Nadi, Fiji (NAN/NFFN) but was grounded after allegedly being hit by the A380 while on the ground at Los Angeles airport.

“We want to reassure our passengers that no guests or crew were aboard the aircraft at the time of the incident,” said Fiji Airways. “In light of this incident, we anticipate some delays to our services for the next few days. Rest assured; guests impacted by these changes will be promptly notified of any alterations to their travel plans.”

At the time of writing this, the A350 was still on the ground in LAX.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Fiji Airways

Code: FJ/FJI

Aircraft: Airbus A350-941

Registration: DQ-FAI

Serial Number: 299

Engines: 2 x RR Trent XWB

First Flew: 24th October 2019

Age: 3.4 Years

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Asiana Airlines 

Code: OZ/AAR

Aircraft: Airbus A380-841

Registration: HL-7634

Serial Number: 179

Engines: 4 x RR Trent 970

First Flew: 17ht December 2014

Age: 9.4 Years

BA flight almost crashes with drone

BRITISH AIRWAYS AIRBUS A320-232 G-EUUS (MSN 3301)

A report has just been released about a British Airways plane with 180 passengers on board that came a few feet away from colliding with a drone over Kent, according to a report. The Airbus A321 from Athens, Greece, to London Heathrow was flying at a speed of more than 250mph and at a height of 9,600ft at the time.

The incident is thought to be one of the closest ever near misses recorded between a British Airways jet and an illegally flown drone.

It happened just before 4.30pm on the 3rd of January as the airplane was heading into a holding stack around six miles south of Sevenoaks while waiting its turn to join the final flight path into Heathrow Airport.

The drone was being flown at 24 times the usual maximum legal height for the devices which is just 400ft. It is believed that the operator of the drone was never found, but they could have been jailed for up to five years for endangering an aircraft.

The UK Airprox Board report states that pilots observed a drone approximately 5ft above their wing and merely 30ft away from the cockpit. The drone was described as small with a distinctive shape. It traversed down the right side of the aircraft, passing over the right wing. The information was promptly relayed to London Air Traffic Control, who then alerted the pilot of the following aircraft.