QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A passenger jet carrying more than 60 people ran off an airstrip in the Ecuadorean capital on Monday, skidding some 400 meters (400 yards) and smashing through a brick wall.
None of the 62 passengers or the crew members aboard the Fokker F-28 operated by Ecuadorean airline Icaro were injured, the carrier and Civil Aviation authorities said.
The flight attempted to take off just after 11:00 a.m. (1615 GMT) from Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport en route to the jungle city of El Coca, when it hit a metal antenna at the end of the runway, Ecuavisa television reported.
Civil Defense chief Gustavo Bravo told Sonorama radio that airport firefighters worked to extinguish the beginnings of a fire and then attended to the passengers and crew.
The airport was shut down for an hour, Civil Aviation deputy director Eduardo Larrea said in a news conference. Several flights were delayed, and two Lacsa flights to Costa Rica were canceled.
The cause of the accident was not known.
El Telegrafo newspaper reported that the yellow jet, painted with the logo of the Guayaquil-based Barcelona soccer team, is used to ferry the squad around the country. But there were no players on board, and it was not clear why it was being used for a regular passenger flight.
Icaro and Civil Aviation did not say how many crew members were on board, but local media reported there were six.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
terça-feira, 23 de setembro de 2008
NTSB Says Blown Tire A Likely Factor In Learjet Accident
Crew Tried To Abort Takeoff At Close To V1
Though a probable cause report on last week's fatal crash of a Learjet 60 as it attempted to takeoff from in Columbia, SC is at least a year away, investigators believe the plane's crew was attempting to abort the takeoff due to a suspected blown tire.
National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman told the Associated Press a cockpit voice recording indicates, "The crew reacted to a sound that was consistent with a tire blowout." She added pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff run on the 8,600-foot runway.
Hersman said an investigation is underway.
As ANN reported, former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Hollywood DJ Adam Goldstein were thrown from the plane, suffering from second- and third-degree burns. They're expected to fully recover. Both pilots and two other passengers died.
It has been determined that the plane was traveling at or above its minimum takeoff speed when the crew thought the tire burst.
Officials will now attempt to gain any insight into why the pilots may have decided aborting the takeoff was preferable to rotating and getting airborne.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 999LJ Make/Model: LJ60 Description: LEARJET 60
Date: 09/20/2008 Time: 0356
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: COLUMBIA State: SC Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON DEPARTURE ROLL, WENT OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY AND CRASHED,
THERE WERE SIX PERSONS ON BOARD, FOUR WERE FATALLY INJURED, TWO SUSTAINED
UNKNOWN INJURIES, COLUMBIA, SC
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 4
# Crew: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 4 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 2
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: KCAE 200556Z 06006KT 10SM CLR 18/12 A3021
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Take-off Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: COLUMBIA, SC (SO13) Entry date: 09/22/2008
FMI: www.faa.govaero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Though a probable cause report on last week's fatal crash of a Learjet 60 as it attempted to takeoff from in Columbia, SC is at least a year away, investigators believe the plane's crew was attempting to abort the takeoff due to a suspected blown tire.
National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman told the Associated Press a cockpit voice recording indicates, "The crew reacted to a sound that was consistent with a tire blowout." She added pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff run on the 8,600-foot runway.
Hersman said an investigation is underway.
As ANN reported, former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Hollywood DJ Adam Goldstein were thrown from the plane, suffering from second- and third-degree burns. They're expected to fully recover. Both pilots and two other passengers died.
It has been determined that the plane was traveling at or above its minimum takeoff speed when the crew thought the tire burst.
Officials will now attempt to gain any insight into why the pilots may have decided aborting the takeoff was preferable to rotating and getting airborne.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 999LJ Make/Model: LJ60 Description: LEARJET 60
Date: 09/20/2008 Time: 0356
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: COLUMBIA State: SC Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON DEPARTURE ROLL, WENT OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY AND CRASHED,
THERE WERE SIX PERSONS ON BOARD, FOUR WERE FATALLY INJURED, TWO SUSTAINED
UNKNOWN INJURIES, COLUMBIA, SC
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 4
# Crew: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 4 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 2
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: KCAE 200556Z 06006KT 10SM CLR 18/12 A3021
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Take-off Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: COLUMBIA, SC (SO13) Entry date: 09/22/2008
FMI: www.faa.govaero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
FAA Touts Benefits Of Traffic Management Advisor
Program Increases Airport Capacity Through Better Planning
Passenger delays are being reduced thanks to a program that increases the efficient use of runway capacity at major airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The agency says airlines are reporting major savings in time -- and money -- because of Traffic Management Advisor (TMA), which analyzes traffic approaching an airport hundreds of miles away and calculates scheduled arrival times to maximize arrival capacity.
TMA's metering capability has resulted in capacity increases of 3 to 5 percent, with some airports seeing even higher results. At Newark, where the system recently began operating, preliminary data shows TMA's time-based metering function is already helping reduce delays. One airline reports reduced flying time of four minutes per flight into Newark.
TMA is also expected to be up and running at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports next year.
TMA provides controllers with automated information on airport arrival demand and available capacity to improve sequencing and to better balance arrival and departure rates. Essentially, TMA evaluates the inventory that is scheduled for a particular airport.
Overall, ground delays and time in the air are reduced with TMA, the FAA asserts.
The benefit of TMA and its time-based metering capability can be seen mostly when demand exceeds capacity as the system calculates how best to flow traffic into an airport during each hour.
Using TMA, holding patterns have been reduced going into Phoenix, according to the FAA. TMA has also been used to manage throughput for both arrivals and departures at Las Vegas.
FMI: www.faa.govaero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Passenger delays are being reduced thanks to a program that increases the efficient use of runway capacity at major airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The agency says airlines are reporting major savings in time -- and money -- because of Traffic Management Advisor (TMA), which analyzes traffic approaching an airport hundreds of miles away and calculates scheduled arrival times to maximize arrival capacity.
TMA's metering capability has resulted in capacity increases of 3 to 5 percent, with some airports seeing even higher results. At Newark, where the system recently began operating, preliminary data shows TMA's time-based metering function is already helping reduce delays. One airline reports reduced flying time of four minutes per flight into Newark.
TMA is also expected to be up and running at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports next year.
TMA provides controllers with automated information on airport arrival demand and available capacity to improve sequencing and to better balance arrival and departure rates. Essentially, TMA evaluates the inventory that is scheduled for a particular airport.
Overall, ground delays and time in the air are reduced with TMA, the FAA asserts.
The benefit of TMA and its time-based metering capability can be seen mostly when demand exceeds capacity as the system calculates how best to flow traffic into an airport during each hour.
Using TMA, holding patterns have been reduced going into Phoenix, according to the FAA. TMA has also been used to manage throughput for both arrivals and departures at Las Vegas.
FMI: www.faa.govaero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Mesa Flight Was Within 10 Feet of Runway Collision
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- A Mesa Air Group Inc. flight came within 10 feet of hitting a small Cessna plane on a runway in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a U.S. board said today, citing crew estimates.
The pilots of the Mesa CRJ-700, taking off Sept. 19 for Chicago with 60 people on board, saw the Cessna on the airstrip ahead, aborted the takeoff and swerved around the aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said. No one was hurt.
The incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. when an air-traffic controller trainee incorrectly thought the Cessna had vacated the runway, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said. The Mesa crew, given clearance to take off by the trainee, heard the Cessna pilot say that he had missed a taxiway turnoff as they accelerated, the NTSB said in a statement.
``We're going to be looking closely at air-traffic control's role in this,'' NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.
The NTSB, which investigates accidents and advocates for safety improvements, has made reducing runway near misses one of its top priorities. A U.S. House panel also plans a hearing Sept. 25 on runway safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration has tracked 23 serious instances in the year that will end Sept. 30 of planes coming too close together on runways, according to the agency's Web site. That's almost equal to the 24 for the previous federal fiscal year.
A spokesman for Phoenix-based Mesa didn't immediately return a telephone call and e-mail seeking comment.
The controller trainee cited in the air-traffic controllers' statement was certified to work in that airport tower position by himself, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. The FAA is examining the incident, she said.
Cessna is a unit of Textron Inc., and Bombardier Inc. built the CRJ-700.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
The pilots of the Mesa CRJ-700, taking off Sept. 19 for Chicago with 60 people on board, saw the Cessna on the airstrip ahead, aborted the takeoff and swerved around the aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said. No one was hurt.
The incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. when an air-traffic controller trainee incorrectly thought the Cessna had vacated the runway, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said. The Mesa crew, given clearance to take off by the trainee, heard the Cessna pilot say that he had missed a taxiway turnoff as they accelerated, the NTSB said in a statement.
``We're going to be looking closely at air-traffic control's role in this,'' NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.
The NTSB, which investigates accidents and advocates for safety improvements, has made reducing runway near misses one of its top priorities. A U.S. House panel also plans a hearing Sept. 25 on runway safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration has tracked 23 serious instances in the year that will end Sept. 30 of planes coming too close together on runways, according to the agency's Web site. That's almost equal to the 24 for the previous federal fiscal year.
A spokesman for Phoenix-based Mesa didn't immediately return a telephone call and e-mail seeking comment.
The controller trainee cited in the air-traffic controllers' statement was certified to work in that airport tower position by himself, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. The FAA is examining the incident, she said.
Cessna is a unit of Textron Inc., and Bombardier Inc. built the CRJ-700.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Diverted American Airlines flight rolls off runway
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An American Airlines plane rolled off the end of a runway as it landed in Chicago on Monday after it diverted from its planned destination due to electrical problems, the airline said.
The plane, a Boeing Co. 757 headed for New York from Seattle, stopped just off the end of a runway at O'Hare International Airport, a spokesman for American's parent company AMR Corp said. The aircraft's landing gear came to rest in the grass.
No injuries were reported.
"After the Chicago Fire Department checks the airplane, the passengers will deplane using air stairs and be taken by buses to the terminal for reaccommodation," the spokesman said.
AMR did not give a reason for the reported electrical problem that led to the flight diversion or the rocky landing that occurred in Chicago.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had tire damage that may have occurred on landing.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2247871720080922
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
The plane, a Boeing Co. 757 headed for New York from Seattle, stopped just off the end of a runway at O'Hare International Airport, a spokesman for American's parent company AMR Corp said. The aircraft's landing gear came to rest in the grass.
No injuries were reported.
"After the Chicago Fire Department checks the airplane, the passengers will deplane using air stairs and be taken by buses to the terminal for reaccommodation," the spokesman said.
AMR did not give a reason for the reported electrical problem that led to the flight diversion or the rocky landing that occurred in Chicago.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had tire damage that may have occurred on landing.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2247871720080922
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Convair 580 crashed on first flight after cable-rigging check
US investigators have disclosed that the Air Tahoma Convair 580 freighter which crashed in Ohio earlier this month was conducting its first flight following a C-check, part of which included flight-control cable rigging.
The aircraft had been operating a post-maintenance check and training flight from Columbus Rickenbacker Airport to Mansfield, Ohio, on 1 September.
But just one minute after departing on Rickenbacker's runway 5L, the crew requested a return. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to land on the same runway but it crashed into a cornfield at 12:06, only three minutes after beginning its take-off roll.
All three crew members - the only occupants - were killed in the accident. During the attempted return to the airport, they had advised air traffic control that emergency equipment was not required.
While the US National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident, it has released preliminary information which confirms the aircraft was flying for the first time since undergoing a C-check.
It states that this work "included flight-control cable rigging as part of the check", although the NTSB has not said whether this bears any relevance to the accident.
The 52-year old Convair struck the ground, on a southerly heading, about 1.6km (1mi) southwest of the approach end to runway 5L.
Marks in the corn indicate that the undercarriage had been lowered, and that the aircraft was on a glide path of about 10°, with its right wing slightly down, at the point of impact.
From this point the debris field stretched about 200m (665ft) to a tree line, and the main wreckage was located a further 50m (160ft) south.
About 3m (10ft) of the forward fuselage separated at impact. Both wings separated from the fuselage, and both engines from the wings, during the crash. The wings and fuselage sections suffered fire damage.
The propeller gearboxes of both engines separated and were found near the initial impact point, although the propeller hubs were discovered 380m (1,250ft) away.
All four blades from both propellers separated from the hubs and were found throughout the debris path. Both flight recorders were retrieved from the wreckage and the information they contain is still undergoing analysis.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
The aircraft had been operating a post-maintenance check and training flight from Columbus Rickenbacker Airport to Mansfield, Ohio, on 1 September.
But just one minute after departing on Rickenbacker's runway 5L, the crew requested a return. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to land on the same runway but it crashed into a cornfield at 12:06, only three minutes after beginning its take-off roll.
All three crew members - the only occupants - were killed in the accident. During the attempted return to the airport, they had advised air traffic control that emergency equipment was not required.
While the US National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident, it has released preliminary information which confirms the aircraft was flying for the first time since undergoing a C-check.
It states that this work "included flight-control cable rigging as part of the check", although the NTSB has not said whether this bears any relevance to the accident.
The 52-year old Convair struck the ground, on a southerly heading, about 1.6km (1mi) southwest of the approach end to runway 5L.
Marks in the corn indicate that the undercarriage had been lowered, and that the aircraft was on a glide path of about 10°, with its right wing slightly down, at the point of impact.
From this point the debris field stretched about 200m (665ft) to a tree line, and the main wreckage was located a further 50m (160ft) south.
About 3m (10ft) of the forward fuselage separated at impact. Both wings separated from the fuselage, and both engines from the wings, during the crash. The wings and fuselage sections suffered fire damage.
The propeller gearboxes of both engines separated and were found near the initial impact point, although the propeller hubs were discovered 380m (1,250ft) away.
All four blades from both propellers separated from the hubs and were found throughout the debris path. Both flight recorders were retrieved from the wreckage and the information they contain is still undergoing analysis.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
FAA under scrutiny for slow response to controller complaints
An outside US federal watchdog has launched criticism of FAA for inadequate responses to air-traffic controller complaints about runway safety at Memphis, Tennessee, and Newark, N.J.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch, an independent monitor of workplace complaints from federal employees, is demanding DOT launch an investigation of whistleblower reports made to FAA.
Bloch says there is a "substantial likelihood" that conditions at the two airports "create a substantial and specific danger to public safety".
The whistleblowers who approached Bloch's office said they made internal complaints but were not satisfied with FAA's response. Their concerns center on safety risks when an aircraft aborts a landing and begins to climb for a 'go-around.' The airports in question have intersecting runways. One of the traffic controllers who complained to Bloch has 18 years of experience.
FAA assistant administrator for communications Lynne Tierney says in a statement that the Bloch letters concern "old investigations" and "old allegations".
Tierney explains the "runway safety situation in both Memphis and Newark was thoroughly investigated by both the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety Oversight and by the DOT'S Inspector General. The safety data demonstrates that there are no safety issues associated with operations at either of these two airports. It is highly irresponsible of the Special Counsel to needlessly scare travelers".
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch, an independent monitor of workplace complaints from federal employees, is demanding DOT launch an investigation of whistleblower reports made to FAA.
Bloch says there is a "substantial likelihood" that conditions at the two airports "create a substantial and specific danger to public safety".
The whistleblowers who approached Bloch's office said they made internal complaints but were not satisfied with FAA's response. Their concerns center on safety risks when an aircraft aborts a landing and begins to climb for a 'go-around.' The airports in question have intersecting runways. One of the traffic controllers who complained to Bloch has 18 years of experience.
FAA assistant administrator for communications Lynne Tierney says in a statement that the Bloch letters concern "old investigations" and "old allegations".
Tierney explains the "runway safety situation in both Memphis and Newark was thoroughly investigated by both the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety Oversight and by the DOT'S Inspector General. The safety data demonstrates that there are no safety issues associated with operations at either of these two airports. It is highly irresponsible of the Special Counsel to needlessly scare travelers".
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.
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