News
01 APR - FAA Proposes Removal or Modification of Aircraft Insulation Blankets 08 APR - Phuket Air under scrutiny in the U.K. - defects found on two planes
09 APR - Qantas and Air New Zealand jets in near miss over Auckland
10 APR - FDR in Afghan Kam Air Boeing 737 crash did not work
11 APR - Phuket Air also under scrutiny in Thailand
11 APR - Japan: 159 cases of parts falling off aircraft last year
14 APR - Mishaps keep JAL on ministry watch
14 APR - Merpati Boeing 737 skids off runway at Makassar
18 APR - JAL punishes 15 employees following mishaps
19 APR - Study starts on how to keep animals off runways in Indiana
19 APR - Tobago Express temporarily grounded after landing incident
19 APR - UK Airprox Board publishes 2004-Q1/2 report
19 APR - UK Airprox Board publishes 2004-Q1/2 report
21 APR - Australian engineers union warns against cancellation of pre-flight checks
21 APR - Life raft inflates and explodes in-flight: five injured
23 APR - Skydiver killed in collision with Twin Otter
24 APR - South African Airways weighs passengers to ensure safety
25 APR - Antonov 12 swerves off runway at Kabul
25 APR - Flight safety inspectors in Greece under scrutiny
26 APR - Laser injures Delta co-pilot on flight
29 APR - Air Traffic Control the Netherlands reports increase in incidents
29 APR - FAA lowers safety rating for Ghana
30 APR - Britain and Canada voice concern over runway safety of Tehran`s new airport
01 APR 2005 FAA Proposes Removal or Modification of Aircraft Insulation Blankets [to table of contents]
To reduce the risk of fire spreading aboard aircraft, the U.S. FAA proposed requiring operators of more than 800 U.S.-registered Boeing aircraft to replace or modify certain insulation blankets over the next six years. The proposed airworthiness directive (AD) is prompted by the discovery that some insulation blankets, which are coated with a certain film no longer meet the standards for preventing the spread of fire.
(FAA)
press release
UK CAA safety inspectors have grounded a Phuket Air Boeing 747-200 and banned another from carrying passengers after uncovering a series of big defects. The TCAS on one 747 was found to be broken and the evacuation safety lights were not working on another. The Department for Transport had ordered the emergency inspections after three safety scares in four days, involving planes bound for London. (The Times) 09 APR 2005 Qantas and Air New Zealand jets in near miss over Auckland [to table of contents]
Qantas Flight 43 (SYD-AKL) and Air New Zealand Flight 124 from Melbourne were involved in a near miss over Auckland. The two Boeing 747 planes were unacceptably close and infringed the required separation between aircraft. The Qantas flight was said to be on an ILS approach when controllers noticed an unidentified aircraft tracking towards its approach path, and told flight 43 to abort the approach. Flight NZ124, also on an ILS approach to the same runway, had been cleared to descend to an altitude of 4,000 feet. As the Qantas 747 climbed away, its crew received a GPWS warning and, in response, initiated a pull-up to 5,000 feet. The pull-up occurred about one to one-and-a-half nautical miles from the NZ124, which was then descending through 4,500 feet. (AFX) 10 APR 2005 FDR in Afghan Kam Air Boeing 737 crash did not work [to table of contents]
U.S. analysts found no information recorded on flight data recorder on board the Afghan Kam Air Boeing 737 that crashed in February, killing all 104 passengers on board, according to an Afghan defence ministry spokesperson. The cockpit voice recorder was never found. (Independent Online) 11 APR 2005 Phuket Air also under scrutiny in Thailand [to table of contents]
The Thai Ministry of Transport launched a probe into budget airline Phuket Air, following a 24-hour delay in a flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam which left over 400 passengers stranded. The Ministry also ordered a meeting with representatives from all the nation`s airlines to tell them to rigorously follow safety procedures. (MCOT, Bangkok Post) 11 APR 2005 Japan: 159 cases of parts falling off aircraft last year [to table of contents]
Japanese airlines reported in the fiscal year to March 31 a total of 159 incidents of parts falling off aircraft, up from 96 reported in the previous year, a transport ministry survey showed. The fallen parts included outer panels, covers of lights and engine parts. (Kyodo News) 14 APR 2005 Mishaps keep JAL on ministry watch [to table of contents]
The Japanese Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said it will subject the Japan Airlines Group to special safety inspections through the end of the year, following a spate of safety-related problems. The ministry regards the manifold problems that arose even after the issuance of an operational improvement order as extremely rare. (The Japan Times) 14 APR 2005 Merpati Boeing 737 skids off runway at Makassar [to table of contents]
A Merpati Boeing 737-200 skidded off the runway upon landing at the Makassar Airport, Indonesia amid heavy rain and strong winds. Twenty of the 55 passengers were injured. The airplane had arrived after a flight (MZ749) from Biak. (The Jakarta Post, Kompas) 18 APR 2005 JAL punishes 15 employees following mishaps [to table of contents]
Japan Airlines said it has reprimanded 15 more officials for their involvement in four separate mishaps. The 15 include a pilot who attempted to take off without authorization from air traffic control at Hokkaido`s New Chitose Airport in January. The pilot will be suspended from working for 10 days. Another pilot and a copilot who misunderstood the control tower's instructions at Seoul-Inchon Airport, causing a runway incursion, were also given warnings. Two other mishaps were a March 16 incident in which cabin attendants failed to perform a safety procedure for emergency evacuation, and a case revealed in December in which a cargo plane was found to have had the wrong kind of wheel component for more than eight years. An executive in charge of the cabin attendant division has returned a month's salary over the safety violation, while a senior official in charge of maintenance was admonished, JAL said. (The Japan Times) 19 APR 2005 Study starts on how to keep animals off runways in Indiana [to table of contents]
In several weeks, researchers from Purdue University will begin studying the hazards caused by animals at 10 airports in Indiana, including South Bend Regional. For instance in 2002, a Canadair jet landing at South Bend struck a deer on the runway. (USA Today) 19 APR 2005 Tobago Express temporarily grounded after landing incident [to table of contents]
The nose gear of a Tobago Express DHC-8-300 failed to extend prior to landing at Piarco, Trinidad & Tobago. An emergency landing was carried out, but none of the 63 occupants were injured. In a response, the Trinidad and Tobago CAA suspended the airline's operations and grounded the fleet pending an investigation. (Trinidad and Tobago Express) 19 APR 2005 UK Airprox Board publishes 2004-Q1/2 report [to table of contents]
The twelfth report of the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) was published today. It covers the 109 Airprox reported by pilots and air traffic controllers between January and June 2004. Although the 109 Airprox compares with an average of 93 for the first six months of the years 2000-2003 inclusive, more than half the 109 incidents were assessed as `no collision risk`. During the first six months of 2004, there were eight risk category A Airprox (actual risk of collision), none of which involved civil airliners. (CAA)
UKAB website
19 APR 2005 UK Airprox Board publishes 2004-Q1/2 report [to table of contents] The twelfth report of the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) was published today. It covers the 109 Airprox reported by pilots and air traffic controllers between January and June 2004. Although the 109 Airprox compares with an average of 93 for the first six months of the years 2000-2003 inclusive, more than half the 109 incidents were assessed as `no collision risk`. During the first six months of 2004, there were eight risk category A Airprox (actual risk of collision), none of which involved civil airliners. (CAA)
UKAB website
21 APR 2005 Australian engineers union warns against cancellation of pre-flight checks [to table of contents] The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) is alarmed by plans to cancel pre-flight safety checks on some commercial flights in Australia. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has proposed cancelling checks by licensed engineers in newer aircraft, saying technical advances have made those checks unnecessary. (ABC) 21 APR 2005 Life raft inflates and explodes in-flight: five injured [to table of contents]
An Avior Airlines Boeing 737-200, YV-917C, was on a flight from Caracas to San Tomé when the crew had to carry out an emergency landing at Barcelona, Venezuela. Reportedly the on-board life raft had activated and subsequently exploded. Five passengers were injured in the incident. (NotiSar ORH) 23 APR 2005 Skydiver killed in collision with Twin Otter [to table of contents]
A skydiver was killed after being hit by a DHC-6 Twin Otter in midair over DeLand, FL. The Vertical Air Twin Otter N24HV struck the skydiver at 600 feet altitude with its left wing. (FAA, Newsday) 24 APR 2005 South African Airways weighs passengers to ensure safety [to table of contents]
South African Airways (SAA) has begun randomly weighing its passengers together with their hang luggage through a voluntary process at Johannesburg Airport. The survey will be carried out on ca. 1000 passengers over a period of two weeks. The weighing is done to calculate the correct take off weight. (SAA)
press release
25 APR 2005 Antonov 12 swerves off runway at Kabul [to table of contents] An Antonov 12 cargo plane swerved off the runway at Kabul Airport, Afghanistan. A tyre had burst on landing, causing the plane to run off the side of the runway. A small fire erupted near the undercarriage, but was quickly contained. Five of the six crew members were slightly injured. The airplane was on a flight from Dubai. (Reuters, AFP) 25 APR 2005 Flight safety inspectors in Greece under scrutiny [to table of contents]
A report compiled by the Greek State Audit Council recommended that most of the country’s civil aviation authority inspectors should return almost 350,000 euros in total from their salaries because they were not properly qualified for their jobs. A probe covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 found that the majority of flight safety inspectors employed during this time lacked the necessary qualifications. Investigators said that many of the inspectors were also paid full salaries to work in another department of the CAA. (Kathimerini) 26 APR 2005 Laser injures Delta co-pilot on flight [to table of contents]
A Delta Air Lines co-pilot suffered eye injuries from a laser light while his Boeing 737 was descending into Dallas/Fort Worth through an altitude of 9000 feet. Delta Flight 476 had departed from Salt Lake City. Between 1997 and 2003 over 200 laser incidents have been reported to the FAA. Several dozen more have been reported in the last year. (The Dallas Morning News) 29 APR 2005 Air Traffic Control the Netherlands reports increase in incidents [to table of contents]
Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) reported an increase in incidents in 2004: 368 compared to 239 in 2003. A marked increase in incidents was noted with regards to aircraft deviation from ATM procedures, aircraft deviation from ATC clearances and runway incursions. In just 7 of the 53 runway incursion cases avoiding action was necessary however. (LVNL)
Jaarverslag 2004 (in Dutch)
29 APR 2005 FAA lowers safety rating for Ghana [to table of contents] The U.S. FAA announced that Ghana does not comply with international safety standards set by the ICAO, following a reassessment of its civil aviation authority. As a result of Ghana's failure to comply with ICAO standards, its safety rating was lowered from the highest score of Category 1 to the lowest rating, Category 2. (FAA)
press release
30 APR 2005 Britain and Canada voice concern over runway safety of Tehran`s new airport [to table of contents] Britain and Canada have advised travellers not to use Tehran`s main new international airport because of concern over its safety, just hours before the airport was due to receive its first flights. The runway would not be suitable for use. Iran said the runway had been approved by international experts. (Reuters)
