MUMBAI: In a bid to make
landing at Mumbai airport more accurate, Mumbai International Airport
Pvt Ltd (MIAL) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are changing the
glides path angle. The glide angle at the main runway (27) is 3.3
degrees now. It will be changed to 3 degrees.
On Tuesday, the
main runway was unavailable for landing and the other end (09) was in
use. Officials said that while work is under way, the glide scope on the
main runway (27) will not be available for the coming two months. This
means, that if visibility drops, all flights would land on the secondary
runway or on the 09 end of the main runway. This may mean a delay of
10-15 minutes.
Airport officials say the glide angle on the main
runway was steeper than globally recommended standards. This means
aircraft descend at a steep angle and at a higher speed. This is now
being changed so that aircraft can land more accurately and at the right
speed. Glide path is an equipment that gives vertical guidance to a
landing aircraft. The aircraft locks the signal and descent angle from
the glide path and starts descending. Its function is to bring the
aircraft to a proper spot or touchdown zone on the runway. Three degrees
is considered optimum.
Though flights at Mumbai airport can land
easily on runway 09, there are no rapid exit taxiways (RET). Hence,
aircraft take 30-50 seconds extra to vacate the runway. Also, low
visibility during winters can hamper flight operations. Officials said
that without the glide path, main runway 27 will be used only when
visibility is at least 2,800 meters. Else, runway 09 or the secondary
runway will have to be used. These two face heavy tail wind conditions
making it tough for big aircraft to land.
"With the glide path,
the minimum required visibility on the main runway is 550m. Without it,
it goes up to 2,800m. During winters, such high visibility is scarcely
possible and landing will have to be moved to the other end of the
runway where tail winds are heavy," said an airport official. "This
means that certain airlines operating long haul flights on bigger
aircraft will have to cut load and fly into Mumbai," he added. Officials
also said that in case visibility drops below 1,800m (the required
minimum for the 09 end and the secondary runway, the airport will have
to be shut. "This, however, is an extreme case scenario," said an
airport official.
An MIAL spokesperson said, "A higher glide
angle has inherent operational disadvantages such as its unsuitability
for Cat-II and Cat-III ILS approaches. MIAL is working jointly with AAI,
Airlines and DGCA on this. Trials of the new flight procedures if
successful will further enhance CSIA's operational efficiency and safety
standards. Also taking all the historical weather pattern into
consideration, the trial period is chosen at the best time of the year
for getting desired results."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Piper PA-28 Cherokee, N5076W: Accident occurred November 23, 2012 in Tacna, Arizona
NTSB Identification: WPR13FA058
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, November 23, 2012 in Tacna, AZ
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-160, registration: N5076W
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 23, 2012, at an undetermined time, a Piper PA-28-160, N5076W, impacted desert terrain near Tacna, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was fatally injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, at 0957, with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot’s husband reported that he had received a voicemail from her. He stated that she appeared to be “acting paranoid” stating she was going to take the airplane flying to get away from “Them.”
Fueling records at Atlantic Aviation-Tucson established that the airplane was last fueled on November 23, 2012, with the addition of 15.1 gallons of 100LL octane aviation fuel. At the pilot’s request, the service technician also added air to the nose wheel tire. Afterwords he watched as the pilot taxied out and then saw her take off using taxiway “D” and flew southbound.
Air traffic controllers at TUS reported that at 0957 MST an unknown airplane departed using taxiway “D” without any coordination or communication with air traffic controllers. The airplane was not transmitting any transponder information. The airplane was tracked with radar until it neared Eloy, Arizona.
On November 28, 2012, a US Customs and Border Protection agent was on patrol and found the airplane wreckage with one deceased female person within the wreckage. The accident site was located 28 miles south of highway 8, about 650 feet west of Papago Road, and located inside the restricted area R-2301W. The terrain was flat desert small trees and shrubs.
Investigators responded to the accident site and documented the wreckage. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.
| News for Yuma, Imperial Valley, El Centro, AZ
YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — The Yuma County sheriff's office says one person has been found dead after a small civilian plane crashed on a military bombing range in southwestern Arizona.
The single-engine plane was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents Wednesday morning about 15 miles south of Interstate 8 and 50 miles southeast of Yuma on the Air Force's Barry Goldwater bombing range.
The sheriff's office was withholding the name of the person killed until next of kin are notified.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says searchers had been looking for a Piper Cherokee that took off from Tucson on Nov. 23. The pilot's husband reported her missing and a search was launched.
A Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent who was on routine patrol found the wreckage of a small plane Wednesday morning on the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range. One person was found dead inside.
Agents Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, said the agent located the scene at approximately 8:42 a.m. on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
“The U.S. Border Patrol notified the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office,” Tippets said.
According to Capt. Eben Bratcher, of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, his office received the report of a downed aircraft on the range just west of the Mohawk Mountains, approximately 10 to 15 miles south of Interstate 8.
“It had been out there for at least 24 hours, maybe even longer. It could have been there for several days,” Bratcher said. “We don’t know what the pilot was doing over the range. I think it is restricted airspace, and it’s something we will be looking into.”
Bratcher said the initial information is the plane was a civilian single-engine passenger plane, not a military aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board is on its way from Tucson and will be investigating the crash. The identity of the occupant is being withheld pending next of kin notification.
Capt. Staci Reidinger, director of public affairs at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, said the plane was located on the southeastern section of the range.
She added because the area is a protected refuge, it is restricted airspace and the air station does not conduct any training exercises in the area.
http://www.yumasun.com
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, November 23, 2012 in Tacna, AZ
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-160, registration: N5076W
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 23, 2012, at an undetermined time, a Piper PA-28-160, N5076W, impacted desert terrain near Tacna, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was fatally injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, at 0957, with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot’s husband reported that he had received a voicemail from her. He stated that she appeared to be “acting paranoid” stating she was going to take the airplane flying to get away from “Them.”
Fueling records at Atlantic Aviation-Tucson established that the airplane was last fueled on November 23, 2012, with the addition of 15.1 gallons of 100LL octane aviation fuel. At the pilot’s request, the service technician also added air to the nose wheel tire. Afterwords he watched as the pilot taxied out and then saw her take off using taxiway “D” and flew southbound.
Air traffic controllers at TUS reported that at 0957 MST an unknown airplane departed using taxiway “D” without any coordination or communication with air traffic controllers. The airplane was not transmitting any transponder information. The airplane was tracked with radar until it neared Eloy, Arizona.
On November 28, 2012, a US Customs and Border Protection agent was on patrol and found the airplane wreckage with one deceased female person within the wreckage. The accident site was located 28 miles south of highway 8, about 650 feet west of Papago Road, and located inside the restricted area R-2301W. The terrain was flat desert small trees and shrubs.
Investigators responded to the accident site and documented the wreckage. The wreckage was recovered for further examination.
| News for Yuma, Imperial Valley, El Centro, AZ
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 5076W Make/Model: PA28 Description: PA-28 CHEROKEE, ARROW, WARRIOR, ACHER, D
Date: 11/23/2012 Time: 1830
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: YUMA State: AZ Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, WRECKAGE LOCATED IN RUGGED TERRAIN 50 MILES FROM YUMA, AZ
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: SCOTTSDALE, AZ (WP07) Entry date: 11/29/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/N5076W
YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — The Yuma County sheriff's office says one person has been found dead after a small civilian plane crashed on a military bombing range in southwestern Arizona.
The single-engine plane was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents Wednesday morning about 15 miles south of Interstate 8 and 50 miles southeast of Yuma on the Air Force's Barry Goldwater bombing range.
The sheriff's office was withholding the name of the person killed until next of kin are notified.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says searchers had been looking for a Piper Cherokee that took off from Tucson on Nov. 23. The pilot's husband reported her missing and a search was launched.
A Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent who was on routine patrol found the wreckage of a small plane Wednesday morning on the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range. One person was found dead inside.
Agents Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, said the agent located the scene at approximately 8:42 a.m. on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
“The U.S. Border Patrol notified the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office,” Tippets said.
According to Capt. Eben Bratcher, of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, his office received the report of a downed aircraft on the range just west of the Mohawk Mountains, approximately 10 to 15 miles south of Interstate 8.
“It had been out there for at least 24 hours, maybe even longer. It could have been there for several days,” Bratcher said. “We don’t know what the pilot was doing over the range. I think it is restricted airspace, and it’s something we will be looking into.”
Bratcher said the initial information is the plane was a civilian single-engine passenger plane, not a military aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board is on its way from Tucson and will be investigating the crash. The identity of the occupant is being withheld pending next of kin notification.
Capt. Staci Reidinger, director of public affairs at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, said the plane was located on the southeastern section of the range.
She added because the area is a protected refuge, it is restricted airspace and the air station does not conduct any training exercises in the area.
http://www.yumasun.com
Iberia Airlines: Scorpion injures plane passenger
An Iberia aircraft had to be cordoned off after a passenger was found to have been bitten by a scorpion.
Sources from the airline say the Airbus 340 covering flight IB6316 had just landed in Madrid's Barajas airport from San José, the capital of Costa Rica, when a Swiss woman on board had to be taken to hospital.
She was kept in observation overnight due to a bite on the arm and was released the next morning.
The woman and another five in her group were due to catch a connecting flight to Zürich, but one of them stayed behind with her in hospital.
An Iberia spokesperson said the scorpion must have got onto the plane at the point of departure, in Costa Rica.
It had to be cordoned off and fully disinfected once the scorpion was found.
http://www.thinkspain.com
Sources from the airline say the Airbus 340 covering flight IB6316 had just landed in Madrid's Barajas airport from San José, the capital of Costa Rica, when a Swiss woman on board had to be taken to hospital.
She was kept in observation overnight due to a bite on the arm and was released the next morning.
The woman and another five in her group were due to catch a connecting flight to Zürich, but one of them stayed behind with her in hospital.
An Iberia spokesperson said the scorpion must have got onto the plane at the point of departure, in Costa Rica.
It had to be cordoned off and fully disinfected once the scorpion was found.
http://www.thinkspain.com
Caribbean Airlines takes disciplinary action against 3 employees
State carrier Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has taken disciplinary action against three employees following an incident involving one of its aircraft on a flight to Caracas, Venezuela last month.
Industry sources close to CAL confirmed to the Express yesterday that a trainee mechanic was dismissed while the pilot on the aircraft and another employee have been suspended pending further investigations into the incident on October 26.
Flight BW300, bound for Caracas with four crew and 44 passengers, returned to Piarco International Airport, after a section of exterior paneling became detached on lift-off at 6.49 a.m.
The aircraft, an ATR72, landed at 7.15 a.m. without incident.
The passengers and crew deplaned and were transported to the terminal where passengers were offered refreshments as they awaited the resumption of their flight, CAL said in a statement on its website last month.
Following authorisation from the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, CAL said it removed the aircraft from its position on the runway where the captain, in keeping with safety protocols, had switched off the engines on landing. The aircraft underwent an inspection as part of an investigation into the event.
No other damage to the aircraft was noted then.
All 44 passengers of the original flight boarded a replacement aircraft and Flight BW300 departed at 10.30 a.m. for Caracas.
Contacted for comment yesterday on the dismissal and suspension of its employees, CAL issued a statement through head of corporate communications, Clint Williams.
The statement read: "As a result of findings coming from the investigation into the incident involving Flight BW300 of October 26, 2012, Caribbean Airlines has reviewed all relevant safety procedures and is taking appropriate action in accordance with good HR practices."
Story, reaction/comments: http://www.trinidadexpress.com
Industry sources close to CAL confirmed to the Express yesterday that a trainee mechanic was dismissed while the pilot on the aircraft and another employee have been suspended pending further investigations into the incident on October 26.
Flight BW300, bound for Caracas with four crew and 44 passengers, returned to Piarco International Airport, after a section of exterior paneling became detached on lift-off at 6.49 a.m.
The aircraft, an ATR72, landed at 7.15 a.m. without incident.
The passengers and crew deplaned and were transported to the terminal where passengers were offered refreshments as they awaited the resumption of their flight, CAL said in a statement on its website last month.
Following authorisation from the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, CAL said it removed the aircraft from its position on the runway where the captain, in keeping with safety protocols, had switched off the engines on landing. The aircraft underwent an inspection as part of an investigation into the event.
No other damage to the aircraft was noted then.
All 44 passengers of the original flight boarded a replacement aircraft and Flight BW300 departed at 10.30 a.m. for Caracas.
Contacted for comment yesterday on the dismissal and suspension of its employees, CAL issued a statement through head of corporate communications, Clint Williams.
The statement read: "As a result of findings coming from the investigation into the incident involving Flight BW300 of October 26, 2012, Caribbean Airlines has reviewed all relevant safety procedures and is taking appropriate action in accordance with good HR practices."
Story, reaction/comments: http://www.trinidadexpress.com
Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee C, N8826J
NTSB Identification: ERA13FA064
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, November 19, 2012 in Canton, CT
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-180, registration: N8826J
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 19, 2012, about 1825 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N8826J, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain near Canton, Connecticut, while on approach to Simsbury Airport (4B9), Simbury, Connecticut. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Heritage Field Airport (PTW), Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was destined for 4B9. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the pilot contacted Bradley Approach at 1810 and reported he was at 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and inbound to land at 4B9. Bradley Approach informed the pilot he was in radar contact and 30 miles west of Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks, Connecticut. At 1814, the pilot stated he was at 2,500 feet and was told to report 4B9 in sight. The pilot’s last transmission to Bradley Approach was at 1822 when he acknowledged a previous traffic advisory was no longer a factor. No further transmissions were received from the flight, and radar contact was lost about 1 minute later at an altitude of 900 feet msl.
According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 20, 2011, at which time he reported 960 total hours of flight experience.
The accident site was located on a heavily wooded ridgeline approximately 6 miles southwest of 4B9. The initial impact point was identified by several damaged tree limbs, and a wreckage path about 75 feet in length, oriented approximately 070 degrees magnetic, extending through the impact area. Fragments of the airplane, including portions of the right wing, right main landing gear, and outboard portion of the left wing were located along the wreckage path. The engine remained attached to the fuselage, and one of the two propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage. One blade was bent aft about 45 degrees near the mid-span and had no leading edge gouging or chord-wise scratching. The other blade was under the engine and will be examined along with the engine after the aircraft is recovered.
A Connecticut company is scheduled to airlift the wreckage from the recent plane crash on Onion Mountain between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, Canton Police said.
Central Connecticut Aircraft out of Plainville will use a helicopter to help hoist the wreckage out of the woods and people should not be alarmed if they hear it operate for an extended period of time, Canton Police Chief Christopher Arciero said.
The Monday, Nov. 19 crash claimed the lives of Donald Derocher, 73, and Josephine Derocher, 74. According to family members, the couple was returning to the state to attend funeral services for Mr. Derocher's father.
Donald Derocher was piloting the craft and headed toward Simsbury airport, officials said.
The couple has family in Canton and lived for many years in Tolland and for a short time in Windsor Locks before moving to Florida about three years ago, said Bob Derocher, Donald Derocher's brother.
The state Chief Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy on Donald Derocher's body revealed no evidence of a medical emergency and ruled the cause of death as accidental multiple blunt trauma.
The National Transportation Safety Board has finished its field work and continues to investigate the likely cause of the crash.
http://avon.patch.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N8826J
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, November 19, 2012 in Canton, CT
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-180, registration: N8826J
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 19, 2012, about 1825 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N8826J, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain near Canton, Connecticut, while on approach to Simsbury Airport (4B9), Simbury, Connecticut. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Heritage Field Airport (PTW), Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was destined for 4B9. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the pilot contacted Bradley Approach at 1810 and reported he was at 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and inbound to land at 4B9. Bradley Approach informed the pilot he was in radar contact and 30 miles west of Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks, Connecticut. At 1814, the pilot stated he was at 2,500 feet and was told to report 4B9 in sight. The pilot’s last transmission to Bradley Approach was at 1822 when he acknowledged a previous traffic advisory was no longer a factor. No further transmissions were received from the flight, and radar contact was lost about 1 minute later at an altitude of 900 feet msl.
According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 20, 2011, at which time he reported 960 total hours of flight experience.
The accident site was located on a heavily wooded ridgeline approximately 6 miles southwest of 4B9. The initial impact point was identified by several damaged tree limbs, and a wreckage path about 75 feet in length, oriented approximately 070 degrees magnetic, extending through the impact area. Fragments of the airplane, including portions of the right wing, right main landing gear, and outboard portion of the left wing were located along the wreckage path. The engine remained attached to the fuselage, and one of the two propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage. One blade was bent aft about 45 degrees near the mid-span and had no leading edge gouging or chord-wise scratching. The other blade was under the engine and will be examined along with the engine after the aircraft is recovered.
The plane wreckage on Onion Mountain.
Credit John Fitts
Central Connecticut Aircraft out of Plainville will use a helicopter to help hoist the wreckage out of the woods and people should not be alarmed if they hear it operate for an extended period of time, Canton Police Chief Christopher Arciero said.
The Monday, Nov. 19 crash claimed the lives of Donald Derocher, 73, and Josephine Derocher, 74. According to family members, the couple was returning to the state to attend funeral services for Mr. Derocher's father.
Donald Derocher was piloting the craft and headed toward Simsbury airport, officials said.
The couple has family in Canton and lived for many years in Tolland and for a short time in Windsor Locks before moving to Florida about three years ago, said Bob Derocher, Donald Derocher's brother.
The state Chief Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy on Donald Derocher's body revealed no evidence of a medical emergency and ruled the cause of death as accidental multiple blunt trauma.
The National Transportation Safety Board has finished its field work and continues to investigate the likely cause of the crash.
http://avon.patch.com
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 8826J Make/Model: PA28 Description: PA-28 CHEROKEE
Date: 11/19/2012 Time: 2334
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: CANTON State: CT Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, 10 MILES FROM CANTON, CT
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: WINDSOR LOCKS, CT (EA63) Entry date: 11/20/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/N8826J
United Continental sues passenger complaint website: Lawsuits allege violations of copyright and employee privacy
United Continental sued the man behind Untied.com, which airs grievances from disgruntled customers. (November 28, 2012)
United Continental Holdings has sued a Canadian man who maintains the 15-year-old complaint website Untied.com, which airs complaints from disgruntled United Airlines passengers.
Two suits filed in Canada allege the complaint site violates the airline's copyright, trademarks and privacy of senior airline employees. United says in one of the suits it is not trying to prevent the site's owner, Jeremy Cooperstock, from operating a website where people can express their views about United, but instead is trying to protect its intellectual property, such as its logo.
Cooperstock denies the airlines' allegations and claims the effectiveness of his site is the reason for the lawsuits, which he calls SLAPP suits, standing for "strategic lawsuit against public participation."
"They are trying to shut down my site instead of dealing with their problems," Cooperstock said in a written statement. "If they had put as much effort into improving their service as into these SLAPP-suits, there'd be no reason for the website."
The site claims to have "collected more than 25,000 passenger complaints against United, along with hundreds of postings from mistreated employees."
The lawsuits, filed by United and Continental airlines, was filed Nov. 19 in both the Federal Court of Canada and Superior Court of Quebec.
United Airlines officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
http://www.chicagotribune.com
http://www.united.com
http://www.untied.com
Calhoun, Georgia: Civil Air Patrol looking for new members
For those with an adventurous spirit and an interest in flying, the Civil Air Patrol might be right down your alley.The Calhoun Composite Squadron #134 of the Civil Air Patrol-U.S. Air Force Auxiliary has openings for a safety officer, communications officer, and emergency services officer, among others.
Cadet slots (ages 12-17) are also open.
Civil Air Patrol members learn about aerospace topics, receive Air Force approved training, and emergency management procedures.
Members also participate in search and rescue missions and in disaster relief, among other duties.
If a plane goes down in north Georgia, the Air Patrol is called in to work with local Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) to help find the plane,” said Cpt. Hayden Collins of Calhoun Composite Squadron #134.
The Calhoun Composite Squadron meets at the Tom B. David Calhoun Airport on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
For more information please attend a meeting for orientation or contact Capt. Hayden Collins; htcollins@earthlink.net or visit Gocivilairpatrol.com
Calhoun Times - Civil Air Patrol looking for new members
Long Island Mac Arthur (KISP), New York: Airport to begin charging landing fees
The Islip Town Board voted unanimously to institute the fee, which deputy airport commissioner Terry Hennessy estimated will generate about $150,000 in annual revenue.
The vote came after the board last month tabled the proposal following protest from some in the local aviation industry.
Councilwoman Trish Bergin Weichbrodt said the board wanted to ensure the proposed fees were in line with similar fees at other nearby airports. She said officials researched the issue and found that MacArthur was the only airport in the region not charging the fees, which are lower than what others are charging.
The fees, which go into effect Dec. 1, charge noncommercial transient aircraft — planes not based at hangars at the airport — $1.44 per 1,000 pounds of gross landing weight to touch down at the facility. A minimum $10 fee will be assessed.
The fees increase from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., with aircraft paying $2.16 per 1,000 pounds.
The fee will increase annually by a minimum of 3 percent, not to exceed 9 percent.
Commercial carriers at MacArthur have been paying the fee since 1991, officials said, and airport officials have said they want to take advantage of all revenue streams.
The board also unanimously approved a contract with Vector Airport Systems, Llc, to provide aircraft tracking and landing fee management at MacArthur.
Vector was the only company that bid on the contract, which runs three years and will pay the company 20 percent of the fees collected annually, officials said.
http://www.newsday.com
http://www.flylima.com
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KISP
Taylorcraft BC12-D, N94973: Aircraft struck powerlines and crashed, there were 2 persons on board, 1 person was fatally injured, 1 sustained unknown injuries - Traer, Iowa
There will be a guest book signing from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, at the Overton Funeral Home in Traer. The family will not be present at the signing.
Private family graveside services with full military honors will be held at the Oneida Cemetery, rural Clutier. For a full obituary or to leave online condolences go to: www.overtonservice.com.
He is survived by his three children: Kelly (Kirk) Fink and James Konicek and his fiancee Mary Schesselman, all of Clutier, and Lori Tyler, of Des Moines; five grandchildren; a sister Diane (William) Vesey, of Marion, and his ex wife and best friend Jean Konicek, of Clutier.
Overton Funeral Home is caring for William and his family.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 94973 Make/Model: BC12 Description: TAYLORCRAFT BC-12D
Date: 11/28/2012 Time: 1701
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: TRAER State: IA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT STRUCK POWERLINES AND CRASHED, THERE WERE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD, 1
WAS FATALLY INJURED, 1 SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, 6 MILES FROM TRAER, IA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 2 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: DES MOINES, IA (CE01) Entry date: 11/29/2012
http://www.duffysaircraft.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N94973
http://www.duffysaircraft.com/Duffys/services/for_sale_aircraft
Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera says when officials arrived at the crash site, the plane's passenger was trying to get the pilot out of the plane. Kucera says the pilot died and the passenger was taken to a burn center for treatment of his injuries.
Debris from a plane crash west of Clutier, Iowa, on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. (Brian Ray/KCRG-The Gazette)
The site of the plane crash in Tama County on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. (Kyle Grillot/The Gazette-KCRG)
Debris from a plane crash west of Clutier, Iowa, on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. (Brian Ray/KCRG-The Gazette)
(Brian Ray/KCRG-The Gazette)CLUTIER, Iowa --- Authorities say one person died when a small plane carrying two people crashed in a farm field near Clutier this morning. The site of the plane crash in Tama County on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. (Kyle Grillot/The Gazette-KCRG)
The single-engine plane crashed near the intersection of 245th Street and R Avenue, just west of Clutier, at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Clutier is roughly 30 miles south of Waterloo.
Aircraft records show the plane is a single-engine 1946 Taylorcraft registered to William Konicek of Traer.
Konicek purchased the plane earlier this year.
The person killed in the crash will be identified by local officials, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory. Local police and fire officials did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Bill Huntley with the Traer Fire Department says crews from his department were called in to help Clutier firefighters respond to the plane crash.
CLUTIER (KWWL) - One person is dead after a plane crashed near Clutier on Wednesday morning.
Crews were called to the area of 245 R Avenue Wednesday morning for a report of a small plane crash.
Bill Huntley with the Traer Fire Department says they were called to assist the Clutier Fire Department in responding to the crash.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory says one person died and the plane is registered to a Traer man.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
KWWL has a crew on scene and we will bring you more details when they become available.
UPDATE: Authorities say one person died when a small plane carrying two people crashed in eastern Iowa.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said the single-engine plane crashed near Clutier on Wednesday morning. Clutier is roughly 90 miles northeast of Des Moines.
Witnesses told KCRG-TV9 that the plane was flying low over the area prior to the crash.
Cory says the person killed in the crash will be identified by local officials. Local police and fire officials did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
FAA records show the plane was registered to a Traer, Iowa, man.
Bill Huntley with the Traer Fire Department says crews from his department were called in Wednesday morning to help Clutier firefighters respond to the plane crash.
http://thegazette.com
CLUTIER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person died when a small plane carrying two people crashed in eastern Iowa.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory the single-engine plane crashed near Clutier on Wednesday morning. Clutier is roughly 90 miles northeast of Des Moines.
Cory says the person killed in the crash will be identified by local officials. Local police and fire officials did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
FAA records show the plane was registered to a Traer, Iowa, man.
Bill Huntley with the Traer Fire Department says crews from his department were called in Wednesday morning to help Clutier firefighters respond to the plane crash.
CLUTIER, Iowa - Emergency crews are on the scene of a small plane crash near the Tama County community of Clutier. It happened late Wednesday morning near the intersection of 245th Street and R Avenue, just west of Clutier.
A neighbor tells KCRG.com that a medevac helicopter is on the scene of the crash.
Witnesses said that the plane was flying low over the area prior to the crash.
CLUTIER, Iowa (AP) — Emergency crews are responding to a small plane crash in eastern Iowa.
The plane crashed near Clutier on Wednesday morning. Clutier is roughly 90 miles northeast of Des Moines.
Many details of the crash remained unclear Wednesday morning because police and fire officials did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
Bill Huntley with the Traer Fire Department says crews from his department were called in Wednesday morning to help Clutier firefighters respond to the plane crash.
Low-flying aircraft still trouble local towns
by Dave Boyce
For years, at Peninsula community roundtable discussions with noise-abatement officials, representatives from Portola Valley and Woodside have complained about arriving commercial aircraft flying too low, and too noisily, as they pass over a navigation beacon in the Woodside hills.
Despite these efforts and those of Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Menlo Park, on behalf of her constituents, the cause of the noise — low-flying aircraft — appears likely to continue.
Ms. Eshoo extracted an agreement in 2001 with the Federal Aviation Administration that arriving aircraft will stay at least 8,000 feet above sea level when passing over the beacon. Ms. Eshoo reminded the FAA with another letter in 2005. And yet incoming planes continue to violate that minimum altitude.
In recent presentations to the Portola Valley Town Council, Vic Schachter of Portola Valley, in partnership with Jim Lyons of Woodside, claimed that 23,000 arriving flights now cross the beacon annually. Between May 2005 and February 2010, their average altitude dropped to 6,600 feet from 7,500 feet, while the number of flights rose by 70 percent. Between January 2009 and May 2012, more than 88 percent crossed at altitudes below 8,000 feet, with about 28 percent lower than 6,000 feet, Mr. Lyons told the Almanac.
Pilots speak
The Almanac sat down with Mr. Lyons and two retired commercial pilots, Chris Zwingle of Hillsborough and Bud Eisberg of Portola Valley. Asked about roundtable complaints from the vantage point of the cockpit, Macbeth's ghost could have been whispering into Mr. Zwingle's ear: tales told by the hopeful, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
"Nothing of what (the roundtable) works on is communicated to the pilots who operate the aircraft. Nothing," Mr. Zwingle said. "Pilots have and always have had complaints about noise-abatement-driven procedures. ... Not only is it not going to happen, it's never going to happen."
The Almanac contacted noise-abatement and air traffic representatives from Northern California, all of whom deferred to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, who replied via email. "Pilots follow (air traffic) controllers' instructions, and controllers do not communicate with individual pilots about the terms of any local noise abatement agreements," Mr. Gregor wrote. "There is no need to explain the reason for an instruction, and indeed we need to keep controller-pilot communications as simple, direct and concise as possible to limit the chances of a miscommunication."
Mr. Zwingle, when informed about Ms. Eshoo's letters to the FAA, replied: "I sincerely doubt that there's a formal letter of agreement." When Mr. Lyons produced a copy of Ms. Eshoo's letter, Mr. Zwingle said that the identifying number assigned to the letter indicated a policy. "There may be a policy, but there is no rule," he said. "Anna Eshoo can sign letters of agreement or whatever until she's blue in the face."
A spokesman for Ms. Eshoo, asked to comment on Mr. Zwingle's remark, replied via email that Ms. Eshoo "continues to work on the issue of airplane noise abatement for the Portola Valley and Woodside areas with all parties involved. She has brought together impacted residents, FAA and SFO officials, and the airlines, who all continue to show good faith in reaching an agreeable end."
"There is no firm requirement that airplanes fly at 8,000 feet over the Woodside (beacon)," Mr. Gregor of the FAA said. "Northern California controllers have noise abatement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and use them when traffic volume permits. Often, however, traffic volume prevents us from using them. ... While we keep almost all SFO arrivals at 8,000 feet at night, it is not possible to keep all SFO arrivals at that altitude during the day because that would create conflicts with other aircraft using that busy airspace."
A quieter future?
Mr. Zwingle unfolded a navigation chart depicting the airspace above the Bay Area. The route over the Woodside beacon showed two numbers: 4 and 10. Those numbers, Mr. Zwingle said, establish a minimum altitude of 4,000 feet and a maximum of 10,000 feet. "If traffic controllers agreed to do this, then they should be doing it," he said. "When traffic gets congested, the whole area is used."
Presentations by officials that project a quieter future, including the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), may "look glowing. They may or may not be accurate. They may or may not be true," Mr. Zwingle added. "You can go to all the meetings you want. I've never seen anything operational come out of any of it. Never."
Asked to comment, Mr. Gregor said that the FAA "can't speculate about the impacts from Bay Area NextGen procedures that are still in development. We will do a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for those procedures and until we complete the Draft EA, we won't know what the possible impacts of the new procedures will be."
One aspect of NextGen is ocean-tailored arrival, in which aircraft are assigned a 200-mile-long glide path to the runway, "like sliding down a bannister rather than walking down steps," Mr. Gregor said. Aircraft using this method "burn less fuel, emit fewer pollutants and make less noise because they are using minimal power." But NextGen requires that aircraft be outfitted with GPS devices, which they don't yet have, Mr. Eisberg noted.
In a traditional approach, pilots reduce air speed using wing flaps and the engines, both of which create noise. "NextGen will not change that," Mr. Zwingle said. Gliding in at a fixed low speed is "a concept," he said. "It's debatable." An air traffic controller may order a pilot to slow to 200 mph from 250, a maneuver that may require traditional, and noisy, techniques, Mr. Eisberg added.
Air traffic control is a delicate business. "I've been scared in that control room, knowing what could happen," Mr. Eisberg said. A supervisor constantly paces the room, peering at radar screens over the shoulders of controllers. Any hint of a problem and "he'll yell out 'Spin 'em,' to put the planes in a holding pattern," Mr. Eisberg said.
A complicating factor is the required gap between arriving planes; it must be large enough to avoid the effects on the air of wake turbulence and wake vortices, the pilots said. Then there is the fact that the San Francisco International Airport is not suited to handle the volume it receives. "The complexity of it is huge," Mr. Zwingle said. "A Cessna has as much right to the airspace as anyone else."
Mr. Zwingle did offer one bit of solace. The Woodside navigation beacon is no longer vital to arriving aircraft staying on course, he said. Authorities could "move the fix," he said, meaning that flights could be redirected to cross the Santa Cruz Mountains farther south, away from populated communities.
Article: http://www.almanacnews.com
For years, at Peninsula community roundtable discussions with noise-abatement officials, representatives from Portola Valley and Woodside have complained about arriving commercial aircraft flying too low, and too noisily, as they pass over a navigation beacon in the Woodside hills.
Despite these efforts and those of Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Menlo Park, on behalf of her constituents, the cause of the noise — low-flying aircraft — appears likely to continue.
Ms. Eshoo extracted an agreement in 2001 with the Federal Aviation Administration that arriving aircraft will stay at least 8,000 feet above sea level when passing over the beacon. Ms. Eshoo reminded the FAA with another letter in 2005. And yet incoming planes continue to violate that minimum altitude.
In recent presentations to the Portola Valley Town Council, Vic Schachter of Portola Valley, in partnership with Jim Lyons of Woodside, claimed that 23,000 arriving flights now cross the beacon annually. Between May 2005 and February 2010, their average altitude dropped to 6,600 feet from 7,500 feet, while the number of flights rose by 70 percent. Between January 2009 and May 2012, more than 88 percent crossed at altitudes below 8,000 feet, with about 28 percent lower than 6,000 feet, Mr. Lyons told the Almanac.
Pilots speak
The Almanac sat down with Mr. Lyons and two retired commercial pilots, Chris Zwingle of Hillsborough and Bud Eisberg of Portola Valley. Asked about roundtable complaints from the vantage point of the cockpit, Macbeth's ghost could have been whispering into Mr. Zwingle's ear: tales told by the hopeful, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
"Nothing of what (the roundtable) works on is communicated to the pilots who operate the aircraft. Nothing," Mr. Zwingle said. "Pilots have and always have had complaints about noise-abatement-driven procedures. ... Not only is it not going to happen, it's never going to happen."
The Almanac contacted noise-abatement and air traffic representatives from Northern California, all of whom deferred to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, who replied via email. "Pilots follow (air traffic) controllers' instructions, and controllers do not communicate with individual pilots about the terms of any local noise abatement agreements," Mr. Gregor wrote. "There is no need to explain the reason for an instruction, and indeed we need to keep controller-pilot communications as simple, direct and concise as possible to limit the chances of a miscommunication."
Mr. Zwingle, when informed about Ms. Eshoo's letters to the FAA, replied: "I sincerely doubt that there's a formal letter of agreement." When Mr. Lyons produced a copy of Ms. Eshoo's letter, Mr. Zwingle said that the identifying number assigned to the letter indicated a policy. "There may be a policy, but there is no rule," he said. "Anna Eshoo can sign letters of agreement or whatever until she's blue in the face."
A spokesman for Ms. Eshoo, asked to comment on Mr. Zwingle's remark, replied via email that Ms. Eshoo "continues to work on the issue of airplane noise abatement for the Portola Valley and Woodside areas with all parties involved. She has brought together impacted residents, FAA and SFO officials, and the airlines, who all continue to show good faith in reaching an agreeable end."
"There is no firm requirement that airplanes fly at 8,000 feet over the Woodside (beacon)," Mr. Gregor of the FAA said. "Northern California controllers have noise abatement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and use them when traffic volume permits. Often, however, traffic volume prevents us from using them. ... While we keep almost all SFO arrivals at 8,000 feet at night, it is not possible to keep all SFO arrivals at that altitude during the day because that would create conflicts with other aircraft using that busy airspace."
A quieter future?
Mr. Zwingle unfolded a navigation chart depicting the airspace above the Bay Area. The route over the Woodside beacon showed two numbers: 4 and 10. Those numbers, Mr. Zwingle said, establish a minimum altitude of 4,000 feet and a maximum of 10,000 feet. "If traffic controllers agreed to do this, then they should be doing it," he said. "When traffic gets congested, the whole area is used."
Presentations by officials that project a quieter future, including the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), may "look glowing. They may or may not be accurate. They may or may not be true," Mr. Zwingle added. "You can go to all the meetings you want. I've never seen anything operational come out of any of it. Never."
Asked to comment, Mr. Gregor said that the FAA "can't speculate about the impacts from Bay Area NextGen procedures that are still in development. We will do a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for those procedures and until we complete the Draft EA, we won't know what the possible impacts of the new procedures will be."
One aspect of NextGen is ocean-tailored arrival, in which aircraft are assigned a 200-mile-long glide path to the runway, "like sliding down a bannister rather than walking down steps," Mr. Gregor said. Aircraft using this method "burn less fuel, emit fewer pollutants and make less noise because they are using minimal power." But NextGen requires that aircraft be outfitted with GPS devices, which they don't yet have, Mr. Eisberg noted.
In a traditional approach, pilots reduce air speed using wing flaps and the engines, both of which create noise. "NextGen will not change that," Mr. Zwingle said. Gliding in at a fixed low speed is "a concept," he said. "It's debatable." An air traffic controller may order a pilot to slow to 200 mph from 250, a maneuver that may require traditional, and noisy, techniques, Mr. Eisberg added.
Air traffic control is a delicate business. "I've been scared in that control room, knowing what could happen," Mr. Eisberg said. A supervisor constantly paces the room, peering at radar screens over the shoulders of controllers. Any hint of a problem and "he'll yell out 'Spin 'em,' to put the planes in a holding pattern," Mr. Eisberg said.
A complicating factor is the required gap between arriving planes; it must be large enough to avoid the effects on the air of wake turbulence and wake vortices, the pilots said. Then there is the fact that the San Francisco International Airport is not suited to handle the volume it receives. "The complexity of it is huge," Mr. Zwingle said. "A Cessna has as much right to the airspace as anyone else."
Mr. Zwingle did offer one bit of solace. The Woodside navigation beacon is no longer vital to arriving aircraft staying on course, he said. Authorities could "move the fix," he said, meaning that flights could be redirected to cross the Santa Cruz Mountains farther south, away from populated communities.
Article: http://www.almanacnews.com
Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, C-GLGJ: Okanagan plane crash death sparks calls for shoulder belts
The family of a young Surrey, B.C. woman who died from injuries suffered in a plane crash last August are raising concerns about seatbelt regulations on small aircraft.
Lauren Sewell, 24, died after the PA 30 Piper Twin Comanche she was aboard went down last August west of Peachland, B.C.
Sewell survived the crash, but died in hospital from severe head injuries. One other passenger died in the crash, but two people survived, including the pilot, who was wearing a shoulder belt.
Sewell's parents, Greg and Fran Sewell, say they believe if there was a shoulder belt available to her instead of just a lap belt, their daughter would still be alive.
"Safety recommendations, such as the mandatory requirement for shoulder restraints, that is something I believe [in] after looking at the fuselage of the plane,” Greg Sewell told CBC News. “That would have saved her life.”
The Transporation Safety Board says there are no current recommendations about small aircraft passengers requiring shoulder seatbelts, such as those that are mandatory in cars.
The pilot still can’t recall how the crash happened.
"As people begin to recover, hopefully, they can remember more and shed more light on what went wrong, because we just don't know what went wrong,” Fran Sewell said.
“We want to make sure those safety recommendations are not forgotten
about. I will personally be on a mission to make sure those
recommendations are enacted into law,” said Greg Sewell.
Although Lauren Sewell did not survive the accident, her parents opted to donate her organs, which were later transplanted into six other people.
http://www.cbc.ca
Lauren Sewell, 24, died after the PA 30 Piper Twin Comanche she was aboard went down last August west of Peachland, B.C.
Sewell survived the crash, but died in hospital from severe head injuries. One other passenger died in the crash, but two people survived, including the pilot, who was wearing a shoulder belt.
Sewell's parents, Greg and Fran Sewell, say they believe if there was a shoulder belt available to her instead of just a lap belt, their daughter would still be alive.
"Safety recommendations, such as the mandatory requirement for shoulder restraints, that is something I believe [in] after looking at the fuselage of the plane,” Greg Sewell told CBC News. “That would have saved her life.”
The Transporation Safety Board says there are no current recommendations about small aircraft passengers requiring shoulder seatbelts, such as those that are mandatory in cars.
The pilot still can’t recall how the crash happened.
"As people begin to recover, hopefully, they can remember more and shed more light on what went wrong, because we just don't know what went wrong,” Fran Sewell said.
The TSB expects to release a report on the crash investigation next summer.
Although Lauren Sewell did not survive the accident, her parents opted to donate her organs, which were later transplanted into six other people.
http://www.cbc.ca
Live shotgun shell found on Delta Air Lines flight: General Mitchell International Airport (KMKE), Milwaukee, Wisconsin
>br> MILWAUKEE (AP) — Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight were taken off a plane in Milwaukee and rescreened after a man found a live shotgun shell at his seat.
Milwaukee County sheriff’s spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin says the passenger notified flight crew at about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday of the live shotgun shell while it was at General Mitchell International Airport.
She says deputies and Transportation Security Administration officials had the passengers leave the plane and screened them again and found nothing. She says a canine unit also swept the plane and didn’t find anything.
The passengers again boarded the plane, which was bound for Detroit.
Delta spokesman Michael Thomas says the flight was delayed about an hour and landed safely in Detroit at 9:55 a.m.
http://www.foxnews.com
http://southshore.fox6now.com
http://www.mitchellairport.com
http://www.delta.com
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMKE
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Cessna 177RG, N1912Q: Accident occurred November 27, 2012 in Lansing, Michigan
NTSB Identification: CEN13LA076
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in Lansing, MI
Aircraft: CESSNA 177RG, registration: N1912Q
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 27, 2013, about 1904 eastern standard time, a Cessna 177RG, N1912Q, impacted terrain following a loss of engine power on takeoff from runway 28L at the Capital Region International Airport (LAN), near Lansing, Michigan. The pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial empennage damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The flight was originating from LAN at the time of the accident flight and was destined for the Chicago Executive Airport, near Wheeling, Illinois.
According to an initial interview, the pilot reported that he was given a clearance to taxi to runway 28. No operational anomalies were detected during the engine run up. Flaps were set to 10 degrees for takeoff. The pilot was given a clearance to fly the runway heading on takeoff. He retracted the landing gear and flaps during the climb. The pilot reduced engine power to 25 inches of manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm. At that time, the engine lost power. The pilot declared an emergency and he performed a forced landing to the runway. He lowered the flaps and landing gear and flared about six feet above the ground. The landing gear did not fully extend, the airplane skidded, and it came to rest at the runway departure end.
At 1853, the recorded weather at LAN was: Wind 250 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; scattered clouds 22,000 feet; temperature -2 degrees C; dew point -8 degrees C; altimeter 30.26 inches of mercury.
A small plane made an emergency landing at Capital Region International Airport Tuesday evening. Airport spokeswoman Nicole Noll tells wilx.com the Cessna 177 lost power during takeoff on the main runway. It landed with the nose gear down on the west end of the runway at 7:10pm. The three people on-board were able to walk away from the plane, but later taken to a hospital to be checked out for back pain.
The plane was removed from the main runway about two and a half hours later. Small planes were able to use the other runways during while crews cleared the scene. A Delta flight from Detroit was delayed and then later canceled because the flight crew ran out of hours it could work in one day. A later Delta flight from Minneapolis and the nightly UPS flight were on schedule at last check.
http://www.wilx.com
http://www.flylansing.com
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLAN
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1912Q
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in Lansing, MI
Aircraft: CESSNA 177RG, registration: N1912Q
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 27, 2013, about 1904 eastern standard time, a Cessna 177RG, N1912Q, impacted terrain following a loss of engine power on takeoff from runway 28L at the Capital Region International Airport (LAN), near Lansing, Michigan. The pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial empennage damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The flight was originating from LAN at the time of the accident flight and was destined for the Chicago Executive Airport, near Wheeling, Illinois.
According to an initial interview, the pilot reported that he was given a clearance to taxi to runway 28. No operational anomalies were detected during the engine run up. Flaps were set to 10 degrees for takeoff. The pilot was given a clearance to fly the runway heading on takeoff. He retracted the landing gear and flaps during the climb. The pilot reduced engine power to 25 inches of manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm. At that time, the engine lost power. The pilot declared an emergency and he performed a forced landing to the runway. He lowered the flaps and landing gear and flared about six feet above the ground. The landing gear did not fully extend, the airplane skidded, and it came to rest at the runway departure end.
At 1853, the recorded weather at LAN was: Wind 250 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; scattered clouds 22,000 feet; temperature -2 degrees C; dew point -8 degrees C; altimeter 30.26 inches of mercury.
A small plane made an emergency landing at Capital Region International Airport Tuesday evening. Airport spokeswoman Nicole Noll tells wilx.com the Cessna 177 lost power during takeoff on the main runway. It landed with the nose gear down on the west end of the runway at 7:10pm. The three people on-board were able to walk away from the plane, but later taken to a hospital to be checked out for back pain.
The plane was removed from the main runway about two and a half hours later. Small planes were able to use the other runways during while crews cleared the scene. A Delta flight from Detroit was delayed and then later canceled because the flight crew ran out of hours it could work in one day. A later Delta flight from Minneapolis and the nightly UPS flight were on schedule at last check.
http://www.wilx.com
http://www.flylansing.com
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLAN
http://registry.faa.gov/N1912Q
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1912Q
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 1912Q Make/Model: C177 Description: 177, Cardinal
Date: 11/28/2012 Time: 0004
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: LANSING State: MI Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY, LANSING, MI
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 3 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: GRAND RAPIDS, MI (GL09) Entry date: 11/28/2012
Piper PA-28-181, N8314E: Accident occurred November 25, 2012 in Aurora, Utah
NTSB Identification: WPR13FA061
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, November 25, 2012 in Aurora, UT
Aircraft: PIPER PA28, registration: N8314E
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 25, 2012, about 1300 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-181 airplane, N8314E, was substantially damaged following impact with remote mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 9 nautical miles west-northwest of Aurora, Utah. The certified private pilot and 2 passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, which was being operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Fillmore Municipal Airport (FOM), Fillmore, Utah, about 1245, with the Gillette-Campbell County Airport (GCC), Gillette, Wyoming, as its destination.
According to the fuel records provided by the city of Fillmore, Utah, the airplane was refueled at the FOM self-serve fuel facility on the day of the accident at 1233 with 26.87 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. There were no witnesses at FOM on the day of the accident who observed the airplane refuel or depart. When the flight failed to arrive at GCC, concerned family members contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for assistance in locating the airplane. An Alert Notification (ALNOT) was issued by the FAA at 1148 on November 26, 2012. The airplane was subsequently located by a Utah State Department of Public Safety helicopter pilot on December 2, 2012, about 0800. The location of the accident site was in remote mountainous terrain, about 11.2 nautical miles east of FOM, the departure airport.
On December 2, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), accompanied by representatives from the FAA, Piper Aircraft and Lycoming Motors, were escorted to the accident site by members of the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department using all terrain vehicles. A survey of the wreckage revealed that it had topped several trees about 50 feet tall on a measured magnetic heading of 140 degrees and had come to rest upright on a measured magnetic heading of 330 degrees. The main wreckage was located at coordinates 38 degrees 57.244 minutes north latitude and 112 degrees 07.466 west longitude, at an elevation of 8,992 feet mean sea level. The cabin and cockpit areas were both consumed by fire. It was determined that after examining the wreckage, all components necessary for flight were accounted for at the accident site.
At 1259, the FOM weather reporting facility, which was located about 11 miles west of the accident site, reported wind 290 degrees at 4 knots, visibility unlimited, temperature 12 degrees Celsius (C), dew point -3 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.02 inches of mercury.
The airplane was recovered to a secured storage facility in Phoenix, Arizona, for further examination.
The bodies of the pilot and the plane’s two passengers were found in the wreckage, according to information released by the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office.
Matthew Ahrens, 37, Bakers-field, Calif., was the pilot. The two passengers were Trista Meyer, 34, and Shyann Lenz, 9, both Rozet, Wyo. Their remains were transported to the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner Monday.
The sheriff’s office is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration in the investigation of the crash.
“A UHP [Utah Highway Patrol] helicopter located the wreckage shortly before 8 a.m.,” said Sheriff Nate Curtis. He said the UHP pilot was able to land near the crash site and confirm there were three deceased victims in and near the debris.
The plane had taken off from Fillmore’s airport Nov. 25 after fueling and was headed to Wyoming.
“The plane did not have an ELT [emergency locator transmitter] transponder aboard and there was no flight plan filed,” Curtis said. He said since the plane had not been on radar, its last known point of contact was with the airport in Fillmore the day it lifted off, at approximately noon.
“The cause of the accident is unknown at this time,” Curtis said. “However the NTSB will be the investigating agency and will make the determination.”
The plane was a 1982 Piper Archer.
This is the second plane crash with fatalities in Sevier County in 2012.
In July, a Cirrus SR22, en route from California to Aspen, Colo., went down in Saleredas Canyon, killing the two people on board — Peter and Ramona Branagh, both Lafayette, Calif.
CALLOWAY COUNTY, Ky.--- An experienced pilot, the love of his life, and her 9-year-old daughter are missing tonight for the fourth night in a row. Relatives in the Local 6 area tell us the three took off in a private plane after a Thanksgiving celebration this weekend in Bakersfield, California.
They stopped for fuel in Fillmore, Utah and they were heading home to Gillette, Wyoming, but never made it.
Meanwhile, an intense search is underway on the ground and from the air.
A representative from the Utah Civil Air Patrol says as of right now this is still considered a rescue mission. The plane, a 'Piper Archer II' is equipped with a device that sends out a signal if the plane crashes, but that signal was never detected.
Family members in Calloway County, Kentucky hope their loved ones are still alive.
This is the season of hope, and right now that's all Tamela Hayton has.
"We're hoping and praying they just kind of landed somewhere and they're just kind of stuck because of weather and can't get out.," Hayton said.
When Hayton's cousin and childhood friend Trista Meyer met the love of her life, pilot Matthew Ahrens, she also discovered a passion for the sky.
"She talks about how much peace she has when she's in the air, she just really enjoys it," Hayton said.
So much, she was working on getting a pilot's license herself.
But after refueling on sunday the three disappeared in a mountainous region of Utah.
A place 16-hundred miles away from extended family, here in Kentucky.
"We feel so powerless we've gotten on Google Earth just to look on there and we know it seems silly but it feels like the only thing we can do," Hayton said.
Rescuers are doing all they can do, searching from sky and ground.
"We can never thank them enough I mean, I'd be out there with them if I could it's people like them that give us hope," Hayton said.
Hayton constantly checks the "Prayers for Trista, Shy and Matt" Facebook page.
As candles are lit at a vigil in Wyoming, Hayton will do the same.
"I'll be lighting the candles and they'll stay lit until they come home," Hayton said.
A spokesperson for the Utah Civil Air Patrol also said rescuers from Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado are all searching a 500 mile area. Most of them are volunteers.
If you'd like to visit the family's Facebook page, click here.
Searchers are looking for a small plane in central Utah that disappeared Sunday after taking off from Fillmore. The plane hasn't been heard from since Sunday. The Campbell County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming identified the missing pilot as Matthew Ahrens, 37, and the passengers as Trista Meyer, 34, and her 9-year-old daughter, Shyann Lenz, all from Gillette, Wyoming
FILLMORE — The Utah Civil Air Patrol was looking for a plane that disappeared Sunday after taking off from Fillmore.
The single engine Piper Archer II took off Sunday from California en route to Gillette, Wyo., according to a prepared statement from the Civil Air Patrol. The plane made a stop in Fillmore to refuel just before noon, according to the statement.
The Campbell County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming identified the missing pilot as Matthew Ahrens, 37, and the passengers as Trista Meyer, 34, and her 9-year-old daughter, Shyann Lenz, all from Gillette.
Authorities were alerted to the situation when Lenz's father called to report the little girl was overdue.
Lt. Stephen Miller, spokesman for the Utah Civil Air Patrol, said planes from Salt Lake City, Provo, Logan and St. George were participating in the search Tuesday, flying potential routes the plane could have taken over the mountainous terrain between Fillmore and the Wyoming border.
Ground searches also are being coordinated with sheriff's departments in the area, Miller said.
All searchers with the Civil Air Patrol are volunteers, Miller added.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
http://www.theglenrockbird.com
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, November 25, 2012 in Aurora, UT
Aircraft: PIPER PA28, registration: N8314E
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 25, 2012, about 1300 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-181 airplane, N8314E, was substantially damaged following impact with remote mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 9 nautical miles west-northwest of Aurora, Utah. The certified private pilot and 2 passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, which was being operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Fillmore Municipal Airport (FOM), Fillmore, Utah, about 1245, with the Gillette-Campbell County Airport (GCC), Gillette, Wyoming, as its destination.
According to the fuel records provided by the city of Fillmore, Utah, the airplane was refueled at the FOM self-serve fuel facility on the day of the accident at 1233 with 26.87 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. There were no witnesses at FOM on the day of the accident who observed the airplane refuel or depart. When the flight failed to arrive at GCC, concerned family members contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for assistance in locating the airplane. An Alert Notification (ALNOT) was issued by the FAA at 1148 on November 26, 2012. The airplane was subsequently located by a Utah State Department of Public Safety helicopter pilot on December 2, 2012, about 0800. The location of the accident site was in remote mountainous terrain, about 11.2 nautical miles east of FOM, the departure airport.
On December 2, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), accompanied by representatives from the FAA, Piper Aircraft and Lycoming Motors, were escorted to the accident site by members of the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department using all terrain vehicles. A survey of the wreckage revealed that it had topped several trees about 50 feet tall on a measured magnetic heading of 140 degrees and had come to rest upright on a measured magnetic heading of 330 degrees. The main wreckage was located at coordinates 38 degrees 57.244 minutes north latitude and 112 degrees 07.466 west longitude, at an elevation of 8,992 feet mean sea level. The cabin and cockpit areas were both consumed by fire. It was determined that after examining the wreckage, all components necessary for flight were accounted for at the accident site.
At 1259, the FOM weather reporting facility, which was located about 11 miles west of the accident site, reported wind 290 degrees at 4 knots, visibility unlimited, temperature 12 degrees Celsius (C), dew point -3 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.02 inches of mercury.
The airplane was recovered to a secured storage facility in Phoenix, Arizona, for further examination.
A piece of plane wreckage is found among the trees near the north fork of Chalk Creek in northwest Sevier County Sunday. The bodies of three people were found in the crash of the airplane, which had been missing since Nov. 25.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 8314E Make/Model: PA28 Description: PA-28 CHEROKEE, ARROW, WARRIOR, ACHER, D
Date: 11/26/2012 Time: 1750
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: FILLMORE State: UT Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 3 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE ISSUED 11/26/12, WRECKAGE
LOCATED 9 MILES FROM FILLMORE, UT
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 3
# Crew: 3 Fat: 3 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: SALT LAKE CITY, UT (NM07) Entry date: 12/03/2012
http://flightaware.com/photo
http://registry.faa.gov
Searchers found the wreckage of an aircraft missing since Nov. 25 Sunday in northwest Sevier County. The crash site was located near the north forkof Chalk Creek, east of Fillmore.
The bodies of the pilot and the plane’s two passengers were found in the wreckage, according to information released by the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office.
Matthew Ahrens, 37, Bakers-field, Calif., was the pilot. The two passengers were Trista Meyer, 34, and Shyann Lenz, 9, both Rozet, Wyo. Their remains were transported to the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner Monday.
The sheriff’s office is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration in the investigation of the crash.
“A UHP [Utah Highway Patrol] helicopter located the wreckage shortly before 8 a.m.,” said Sheriff Nate Curtis. He said the UHP pilot was able to land near the crash site and confirm there were three deceased victims in and near the debris.
The plane had taken off from Fillmore’s airport Nov. 25 after fueling and was headed to Wyoming.
“The plane did not have an ELT [emergency locator transmitter] transponder aboard and there was no flight plan filed,” Curtis said. He said since the plane had not been on radar, its last known point of contact was with the airport in Fillmore the day it lifted off, at approximately noon.
“The cause of the accident is unknown at this time,” Curtis said. “However the NTSB will be the investigating agency and will make the determination.”
The plane was a 1982 Piper Archer.
This is the second plane crash with fatalities in Sevier County in 2012.
In July, a Cirrus SR22, en route from California to Aspen, Colo., went down in Saleredas Canyon, killing the two people on board — Peter and Ramona Branagh, both Lafayette, Calif.
CALLOWAY COUNTY, Ky.--- An experienced pilot, the love of his life, and her 9-year-old daughter are missing tonight for the fourth night in a row. Relatives in the Local 6 area tell us the three took off in a private plane after a Thanksgiving celebration this weekend in Bakersfield, California.
They stopped for fuel in Fillmore, Utah and they were heading home to Gillette, Wyoming, but never made it.
Meanwhile, an intense search is underway on the ground and from the air.
A representative from the Utah Civil Air Patrol says as of right now this is still considered a rescue mission. The plane, a 'Piper Archer II' is equipped with a device that sends out a signal if the plane crashes, but that signal was never detected.
Family members in Calloway County, Kentucky hope their loved ones are still alive.
This is the season of hope, and right now that's all Tamela Hayton has.
"We're hoping and praying they just kind of landed somewhere and they're just kind of stuck because of weather and can't get out.," Hayton said.
When Hayton's cousin and childhood friend Trista Meyer met the love of her life, pilot Matthew Ahrens, she also discovered a passion for the sky.
"She talks about how much peace she has when she's in the air, she just really enjoys it," Hayton said.
So much, she was working on getting a pilot's license herself.
But after refueling on sunday the three disappeared in a mountainous region of Utah.
A place 16-hundred miles away from extended family, here in Kentucky.
"We feel so powerless we've gotten on Google Earth just to look on there and we know it seems silly but it feels like the only thing we can do," Hayton said.
Rescuers are doing all they can do, searching from sky and ground.
"We can never thank them enough I mean, I'd be out there with them if I could it's people like them that give us hope," Hayton said.
Hayton constantly checks the "Prayers for Trista, Shy and Matt" Facebook page.
As candles are lit at a vigil in Wyoming, Hayton will do the same.
"I'll be lighting the candles and they'll stay lit until they come home," Hayton said.
A spokesperson for the Utah Civil Air Patrol also said rescuers from Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado are all searching a 500 mile area. Most of them are volunteers.
If you'd like to visit the family's Facebook page, click here.
Searchers are looking for a small plane in central Utah that disappeared Sunday after taking off from Fillmore. The plane hasn't been heard from since Sunday. The Campbell County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming identified the missing pilot as Matthew Ahrens, 37, and the passengers as Trista Meyer, 34, and her 9-year-old daughter, Shyann Lenz, all from Gillette, Wyoming
Facebook.com
FILLMORE — The Utah Civil Air Patrol was looking for a plane that disappeared Sunday after taking off from Fillmore.
The single engine Piper Archer II took off Sunday from California en route to Gillette, Wyo., according to a prepared statement from the Civil Air Patrol. The plane made a stop in Fillmore to refuel just before noon, according to the statement.
The Campbell County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming identified the missing pilot as Matthew Ahrens, 37, and the passengers as Trista Meyer, 34, and her 9-year-old daughter, Shyann Lenz, all from Gillette.
Authorities were alerted to the situation when Lenz's father called to report the little girl was overdue.
Lt. Stephen Miller, spokesman for the Utah Civil Air Patrol, said planes from Salt Lake City, Provo, Logan and St. George were participating in the search Tuesday, flying potential routes the plane could have taken over the mountainous terrain between Fillmore and the Wyoming border.
Ground searches also are being coordinated with sheriff's departments in the area, Miller said.
All searchers with the Civil Air Patrol are volunteers, Miller added.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
http://www.theglenrockbird.com
New Zealand not meeting air safety obligations - pilots
Wednesday, 28 November 2012, 9:10 am
Press Release: NZ Air Line Pilots' Association
New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association For Immediate Release 28 November 2012
1979 Erebus Accident: New Zealand not yet fulfilling our international aviation safety obligations
33 years on from the Erebus Disaster, and the failure to submit the Mahon report to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) means New Zealand is not yet fulfilling its international aviation safety obligations we have to share the lessons learned with 191 other signatories to ICAO, says the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA).
“We cannot understand why the Ministry of Transport has not yet officially submitted this report to ICAO” says NZALPA President Glen Kenny. The New Zealand taxpayer funded an extensive investigation but officials in New Zealand have never felt the need to send the Mahon report to ICAO. Mr Kenny says “New Zealand should be prepared to stand by Justice Peter Mahon and the findings of the Royal Commission Report into the TE901 accident on November 28th 1979, and submit this to the ICAO to form part of the official ‘Annex 13’ record.”
At present, the only Annex 13 record that ICAO holds is the 1980 report submitted by Ministry of Transport’s investigator, Ron Chippindale. On 19 September 2012, the Secretary for Transport, Martin Matthews wrote to ICAO stating that the Government considers both the Chippindale report and the Mahon report to be “official government reports into the accident”. But that the Chippindale report “continues to be the official Annex 13 accident investigation report.”
“Until the Mahon report is submitted as an official Annex 13 record of the 1979 Mt Erebus accident, with equal status to the Chippindale Report, we are not fulfilling our international obligations. For the Ministry to attempt to argue otherwise is disingenuous,” he says.
“The 1981 Mahon report was officially tabled and accepted in Parliament in August 1999 by the then Minister of Transport Maurice Williamson” states Mr Kenny. “This investigation report into the loss of 257 lives on Mt Erebus holds many valuable safety lessons for the aviation community and travelling public worldwide and has been widely accepted as a groundbreaking investigation into accidents caused by systemic failure.”
The report findings have never been legally challenged, and have even been recognised by ICAO’s own team of safety specialists in the 1994 Dryden Report into another aircraft accident and in 1982 it even received special mention by the Law Lords during the Mahon Privy Council case. “Clearly by any standard the Mahon report into the causes of the TE901 accident stands up to critical scrutiny and is beyond reproach in terms of Government endorsement” says Mr Kenny.
Glen Kenny says that when the global aviation industry goes to ICAO to find out about an accident, the Annex 13 report is the go-to document. “Simply acknowledging the Mahon report as an “official” report is a different matter”.
ENDS
http://www.scoop.co.nz
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz
Press Release: NZ Air Line Pilots' Association
New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association For Immediate Release 28 November 2012
1979 Erebus Accident: New Zealand not yet fulfilling our international aviation safety obligations
33 years on from the Erebus Disaster, and the failure to submit the Mahon report to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) means New Zealand is not yet fulfilling its international aviation safety obligations we have to share the lessons learned with 191 other signatories to ICAO, says the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA).
“We cannot understand why the Ministry of Transport has not yet officially submitted this report to ICAO” says NZALPA President Glen Kenny. The New Zealand taxpayer funded an extensive investigation but officials in New Zealand have never felt the need to send the Mahon report to ICAO. Mr Kenny says “New Zealand should be prepared to stand by Justice Peter Mahon and the findings of the Royal Commission Report into the TE901 accident on November 28th 1979, and submit this to the ICAO to form part of the official ‘Annex 13’ record.”
At present, the only Annex 13 record that ICAO holds is the 1980 report submitted by Ministry of Transport’s investigator, Ron Chippindale. On 19 September 2012, the Secretary for Transport, Martin Matthews wrote to ICAO stating that the Government considers both the Chippindale report and the Mahon report to be “official government reports into the accident”. But that the Chippindale report “continues to be the official Annex 13 accident investigation report.”
“Until the Mahon report is submitted as an official Annex 13 record of the 1979 Mt Erebus accident, with equal status to the Chippindale Report, we are not fulfilling our international obligations. For the Ministry to attempt to argue otherwise is disingenuous,” he says.
“The 1981 Mahon report was officially tabled and accepted in Parliament in August 1999 by the then Minister of Transport Maurice Williamson” states Mr Kenny. “This investigation report into the loss of 257 lives on Mt Erebus holds many valuable safety lessons for the aviation community and travelling public worldwide and has been widely accepted as a groundbreaking investigation into accidents caused by systemic failure.”
The report findings have never been legally challenged, and have even been recognised by ICAO’s own team of safety specialists in the 1994 Dryden Report into another aircraft accident and in 1982 it even received special mention by the Law Lords during the Mahon Privy Council case. “Clearly by any standard the Mahon report into the causes of the TE901 accident stands up to critical scrutiny and is beyond reproach in terms of Government endorsement” says Mr Kenny.
Glen Kenny says that when the global aviation industry goes to ICAO to find out about an accident, the Annex 13 report is the go-to document. “Simply acknowledging the Mahon report as an “official” report is a different matter”.
ENDS
http://www.scoop.co.nz
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz
Methane detector tracks pipeline leaks
UC Davis atmospheric scientist Ian Faloona shows a plastic tube that collects air samples.
Photo: David Baker, The Chronicle / SF
UC Davis atmospheric scientist Stephen Conley's laptop computer highlights areas of heavy methane.
Photo: David Baker, The Chronicle / SF
Five hundred feet above the Central Valley, a line on Stephen Conley's laptop screen jumped.
Conley peered over from the pilot seat of his single-engine plane. The line showed methane levels in the surrounding air as he flew downwind from a natural gas pipeline buried in the green hills below. A sharp spike could mean that the pipeline had sprung a leak, venting gas into the sky. Methane is the fuel's main ingredient.
Conley studied the screen and shook his head. False alarm.
"That's not the shape you'd want," he said. The line, twitching as it updated every second or so, had leveled off into a plateau - probably just elevated background levels of the gas.
A few miles more, and it leapt again, sharper this time.
"Now, this could be interesting," Conley said, glancing from the screen to the ground, dotted with grazing cattle. "Or maybe not. Could just be the cows."
Conley, an atmospheric scientist, is part of a team at UC Davis that has developed a system to hunt pipeline leaks by plane. For utility companies, the benefits could be big.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which helped fund the project, operates roughly 6,000 miles of natural gas transmission lines. The deadly 2010 explosion of one of them, beneath San Bruno, forced the company to re-evaluate the safety of its entire network.
In the past, checking for leaks, particularly in California's vast rural spaces, often meant flying over buried pipelines and looking for vegetation killed by escaping gas. It's an imprecise method - especially in a state where most of the vegetation looks dead for half the year. Another approach uses lasers fired from hovering helicopters to detect methane. But helicopter flights are expensive.
Other potential uses
Conley and fellow UC Davis atmospheric scientist Ian Faloona developed their system with a $295,000 grant from PG&E and the Pipeline Research Council International, an energy-industry collaborative. That doesn't cover the cost of the plane but does include the methane-sniffing equipment, bought off the shelf for around $50,000.
"Our No. 1 goal at PG&E is the safety of the public, so we're always looking for ways to find and fix leaks in our pipelines, and we believe this technology can help," said Kevin Armato, a manager of asset engineering at PG&E.
The technology has other potential uses as well.
The growing use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract natural gas from shale has alarmed environmentalists, many of whom question whether the process releases too much methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping heat much more effectively than carbon dioxide. Conley has already flown over fracking fields in Utah, where he found high methane levels, and Colorado, where he found very little.
"One of my thoughts was to just go across the country and see which fields are worth a serious look," Conley said. "Does fracking have a particular profile, or does it vary from field to field? That's the kind of thing we could look at."
The system developed by Faloona and Conley sucks in air through a small plastic tube beneath the plane's right wing. A small, portable spectrometer inside the plane uses light wavelengths to determine how much methane, carbon dioxide and water vapor the air contains.
Some locations difficult
A computer program developed by the UC Davis team displays the methane levels on one half of the laptop screen. The other half shows the plane's location and heading, as well as the path of the nearest pipeline.
The system constantly monitors wind speed and direction, using that information to calculate the best route to fly when hunting for leaks. The route, downwind of the pipeline, shows on the computer screen as a series of yellow dots.
PG&E has already run the UC Davis system through several tests, intentionally releasing methane along pipelines and asking Conley to spot the plumes. It works, although finding leaks can be easier in some locations than others. One test was located near Rio Vista, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where methane from decaying plants regularly bubbles to the surface.
"It was so hard to see things there - so messy," Conley said.
Conley and Faloona are still fine-tuning the system but want to make it available for other people to customize and tweak.
"The idea is that it's a technology that anyone can take and improve on," Faloona said. "We have this great opportunity to do a service that can do real good for the industry and for the environment."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com
Freefall Adventures at Cross Keys Airport (17N), Willamstown, New Jersey: Skydiver never pulled cord in fatal fall in Gloucester County -police
Gloucester County Trial Chief Mary Pyffer said the man was identified as Donald Lawrence Morozin, 62, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. He was a certified diver and a regular at Freefall Adventures, based out of the Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
"The man had hypertension and other medical issues that caused him to pass out," Pyffer said, explaining why he never pulled the cords.
Morozin was reported missing after an afternoon jump on Nov. 21. A New Jersey State Police helicopter located his body around 5 p.m. that day, in a field off Pitman-Downer Road.
The Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene to investigate the incident, according to Pyffer. The FAA examined the parachute and "determined it to be packed correctly," according to Pyffer.
"The primary and emergency cords were never pulled," Pyffer added.
An autopsy conducted on Nov. 23 determined the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death was accidental, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
http://www.nj.com
The victim of a fatal skydiving accident last week in Monroe Township was identified by authorities today as Donald Lawrence Morozin of Bala Cynwyd. He was 62.
Morozin's death on Wednesday has been ruled accidental, the result of multiple traumatic injuries, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. His body was found 300 feet from the parachute landing zone at the Freefall Adventures skydiving school, based in Cross Keys Airport in Williamstown, officials said.
Accident investigators found that the certified skydiver, who had performed more than 3,500 jumps, had not pulled the parachute's primary or emergency chords, said Mary Pyffer, trial chief with the Prosecutor's Office.
Morozin was "known to have hypertension and other medical issues that could cause him to pass out," Pyffer said.
The Federal Aviation Administration examined the parachute and determined that it had been packed correctly and was operational, she said.
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attempts to reach family members have been unsuccessful.
http://www.philly.com
Hughes 369D, N163PJ: Accident occurred November 27, 2012 in Sheridan, Oregon
NTSB Identification: WPR13CA057
14 CFR Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in Sheridan, OR
Aircraft: HUGHES 369D, registration: N163PJ
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
During a Christmas tree harvest the pilot was repositioning the trees from the harvest field and placing them into the bed of the load truck using an 18-foot tag line. He had completed at least five loads prior to the accident load. On the accident load the pilot had just released the load into the truck when he felt the helicopter was encountering a settling with power condition. The pilot attempted to maneuver the helicopter to land on the road in front of the load truck. The pilot thought he was clear of the truck when the main rotor blades hit the truck just above the cab. The helicopter impacted the ground and the main rotor blades separated the tail boom. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter or engine, which would have precluded normal operations.
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo
http://registry.faa.gov/N163PJ
Photo of crash site: http://www.sheridansun.com
A Christmas tree harvesting helicopter crashed into a truck Tuesday afternoon on top of Cherry Hill, outside of Sheridan, injuring the pilot.
The pilot’s name had not yet been released at press time. Eyewitnesses said he was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with an injury to his head and a possible knee injury.
The land is owned by J Wrigley Vineyards and leased to Holiday Tree Farms, a Corvallis-based company established in 1955 that employs 600 people during the harvest season.
Jody Wrigley, who owns the property with her husband, said she had just returned home with her children from school when the helicopter crashed onto her driveway.
“It happened 10 minutes after my kids were safely home,” she said.
James Jackson, a worker helping with the harvest, spent a year in Iraq and was about 100 feet away when the helicopter came down.
“I knew the sound,” Jackson said. “I knew exactly what it was.”
This was not the first time he’d witnessed a helicopter crash, but the first at a tree farm. Jackson said his first response was to get the pilot out of the aircraft before anything else could happen. Jackson didn’t know the pilot’s name, but said he was coherent.
The pilot was transported to Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville by a West Valley Fire District ambulance.
Multiple emergency vehicles responded to the scene as well as the West Valley medic and Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives.
LifeFlight was put on stand-by but was not needed.
The scene of the crash that Wrigley estimated happened at approximately 3:20 p.m. was cleared shortly after 4 p.m.
Story and photo: http://www.sheridansun.com
A McDonnell Douglas MD 500D helicopter, civilian version of the military OH-6 Cayuse, crashed north of Sheridan about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
It was being used to load Christmas trees into trucks at a 164-acre Holiday Tree Farms tract at 19350 S.W. Cherry Hill Road. The tree farm operates on land leased from the adjacent J Wrigley Vineyards, situated atop the hill.
The 29-year-old pilot was conscious, alert and out of the helcopter when emergency services personnel began arriving. He was taken to the hospital, but was not believed to have suffered significant injuries.
Life Flight was placed on standby initially, but medics soon decided its services would not be neceesary.
The hill, encompassing about 375 acres in all, also features a rock quarry and timber stand. It lies about three miles due north of Sheridan on Cherry Hill Road, which intersects Highway 18 at the bottom.
An array of police, fire and medical personnel converged on the scene.Though no fire or fuel leakage was reported, Sheridan Fire District personnel laid out hose lines as a precaution.
The crash occurred just as school was letting out in Sheridan, putting school buses on the road simultaneously with fire trucks and ambulances. Due to congestion and safety issues, buses were unable to immediately deliver students living the vicinity of the crash.
Holiday Tree Farms, based in Corvallis, bills itselt as the largest Christmas tree grower and supplier in the world. It harvests trees on 8,500 acres in all, using a fleet of helicopters.
A blade from the craft that crashed struck a company truck, carving a large, highly visible gash. It was not immediately clear whether that caused the helicopter to come down or was merely a byproduct.
The MD 500D was produced in five- and seven-seat configurations from 1976 to 1982, when it was replaced by the more powerful 500E. Manufactured by Hughes Helicopters, it is also known as a Hughes 369D.
Federal aviation officials were planning to lauch an investigation.
http://www.newsregister.com
14 CFR Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in Sheridan, OR
Aircraft: HUGHES 369D, registration: N163PJ
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
During a Christmas tree harvest the pilot was repositioning the trees from the harvest field and placing them into the bed of the load truck using an 18-foot tag line. He had completed at least five loads prior to the accident load. On the accident load the pilot had just released the load into the truck when he felt the helicopter was encountering a settling with power condition. The pilot attempted to maneuver the helicopter to land on the road in front of the load truck. The pilot thought he was clear of the truck when the main rotor blades hit the truck just above the cab. The helicopter impacted the ground and the main rotor blades separated the tail boom. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter or engine, which would have precluded normal operations.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 163PJ Make/Model: H369 Description: HUGHES 369D
Date: 11/27/2012 Time: 2330
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: SHERIDAN State: OR Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N163PJ HUGHES 369D ROTORCRAFT CRASH LANDED DURING LOADING, NEAR SHERIDAN, OR
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Other Phase: Other Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: PORTLAND, OR (NM09) Entry date: 11/28/2012
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo
http://registry.faa.gov/N163PJ
Photo of crash site: http://www.sheridansun.com
A Christmas tree harvesting helicopter crashed into a truck Tuesday afternoon on top of Cherry Hill, outside of Sheridan, injuring the pilot.
The pilot’s name had not yet been released at press time. Eyewitnesses said he was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with an injury to his head and a possible knee injury.
The land is owned by J Wrigley Vineyards and leased to Holiday Tree Farms, a Corvallis-based company established in 1955 that employs 600 people during the harvest season.
Jody Wrigley, who owns the property with her husband, said she had just returned home with her children from school when the helicopter crashed onto her driveway.
“It happened 10 minutes after my kids were safely home,” she said.
James Jackson, a worker helping with the harvest, spent a year in Iraq and was about 100 feet away when the helicopter came down.
“I knew the sound,” Jackson said. “I knew exactly what it was.”
This was not the first time he’d witnessed a helicopter crash, but the first at a tree farm. Jackson said his first response was to get the pilot out of the aircraft before anything else could happen. Jackson didn’t know the pilot’s name, but said he was coherent.
The pilot was transported to Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville by a West Valley Fire District ambulance.
Multiple emergency vehicles responded to the scene as well as the West Valley medic and Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives.
LifeFlight was put on stand-by but was not needed.
The scene of the crash that Wrigley estimated happened at approximately 3:20 p.m. was cleared shortly after 4 p.m.
Story and photo: http://www.sheridansun.com
A McDonnell Douglas MD 500D helicopter, civilian version of the military OH-6 Cayuse, crashed north of Sheridan about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
It was being used to load Christmas trees into trucks at a 164-acre Holiday Tree Farms tract at 19350 S.W. Cherry Hill Road. The tree farm operates on land leased from the adjacent J Wrigley Vineyards, situated atop the hill.
The 29-year-old pilot was conscious, alert and out of the helcopter when emergency services personnel began arriving. He was taken to the hospital, but was not believed to have suffered significant injuries.
Life Flight was placed on standby initially, but medics soon decided its services would not be neceesary.
The hill, encompassing about 375 acres in all, also features a rock quarry and timber stand. It lies about three miles due north of Sheridan on Cherry Hill Road, which intersects Highway 18 at the bottom.
An array of police, fire and medical personnel converged on the scene.Though no fire or fuel leakage was reported, Sheridan Fire District personnel laid out hose lines as a precaution.
The crash occurred just as school was letting out in Sheridan, putting school buses on the road simultaneously with fire trucks and ambulances. Due to congestion and safety issues, buses were unable to immediately deliver students living the vicinity of the crash.
Holiday Tree Farms, based in Corvallis, bills itselt as the largest Christmas tree grower and supplier in the world. It harvests trees on 8,500 acres in all, using a fleet of helicopters.
A blade from the craft that crashed struck a company truck, carving a large, highly visible gash. It was not immediately clear whether that caused the helicopter to come down or was merely a byproduct.
The MD 500D was produced in five- and seven-seat configurations from 1976 to 1982, when it was replaced by the more powerful 500E. Manufactured by Hughes Helicopters, it is also known as a Hughes 369D.
Federal aviation officials were planning to lauch an investigation.
http://www.newsregister.com
Comox Air Show Confirmed for 2013
After a seven-year absence, the Comox Air Show is being revived to celebrate 70 years of Air Force history in Comox.
It will take place on August 17, 2013, with an Armed Forces Day (ADF) and Air Show, featuring military and civilian aircraft and performers from across North America.
Local residents are accustomed to seeing the Snowbirds and CF-18's practicing their tricks, but now the Comox Valley can look forward to the full demonstrations from both, as well as the Skyhawks parachute team. There will also be plenty of static aircraft to tour, as well as comprehensive displays from the Army and Royal Canadian Navy.
"Based on previous years' attendance, conservative estimates indicate that approximately 30,000 spectators will take in the sights," said 2013 Director, Major Dwayne Kerr. "We intend to present the region with an amazing and memorable Air Show."
19 Wing Base Commander, Colonel Jim Benninger, says the event is certain to attract visitors from across Vancouver Island and be a a true highlight of the summer.
"Interest in a renewed Air Show in Comox has been on a seady increase throughout northern Vancouver Island," said Col. Benninger. "The objective of this AFD/Air Show is to thank our surrounding communities for the support they give to our service members and their families year-round."
"The rich history of 19 Wing Comox began in 1942 when the Royal Air Force began construction of our air base to protect the Pacific coastline and train air crews for service during World War II," explained Maj. Kerr. "On June 12th, 1954, roughly 20,000 people attended the first ever Air Force Day and Air Show at Comox... The 2013 Air Show aims to continue this tradition."
Click here to keep up to date with the event on Facebook.
http://hqcomoxvalley.com
It will take place on August 17, 2013, with an Armed Forces Day (ADF) and Air Show, featuring military and civilian aircraft and performers from across North America.
Local residents are accustomed to seeing the Snowbirds and CF-18's practicing their tricks, but now the Comox Valley can look forward to the full demonstrations from both, as well as the Skyhawks parachute team. There will also be plenty of static aircraft to tour, as well as comprehensive displays from the Army and Royal Canadian Navy.
"Based on previous years' attendance, conservative estimates indicate that approximately 30,000 spectators will take in the sights," said 2013 Director, Major Dwayne Kerr. "We intend to present the region with an amazing and memorable Air Show."
19 Wing Base Commander, Colonel Jim Benninger, says the event is certain to attract visitors from across Vancouver Island and be a a true highlight of the summer.
"Interest in a renewed Air Show in Comox has been on a seady increase throughout northern Vancouver Island," said Col. Benninger. "The objective of this AFD/Air Show is to thank our surrounding communities for the support they give to our service members and their families year-round."
"The rich history of 19 Wing Comox began in 1942 when the Royal Air Force began construction of our air base to protect the Pacific coastline and train air crews for service during World War II," explained Maj. Kerr. "On June 12th, 1954, roughly 20,000 people attended the first ever Air Force Day and Air Show at Comox... The 2013 Air Show aims to continue this tradition."
Click here to keep up to date with the event on Facebook.
http://hqcomoxvalley.com
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