All Items Tagged With: "Accidents"

NTSB isn’t happy with American, revokes its party status

The National Transportation Safety Board issued an update Friday on the incident Wednesday in which an American Airlines jet slid off the runway at Jackson Hole, Wyo.

IBut the board went on to say that American had committed a serious no-no in its han…

Continental responds to Concorde decision

Continental Airlines has put out a response to a French court’s decision finding it and a mechanic criminally responsible for the 2000 crash involving an Air France Concorde SST. Says Continental:

“While we agree with the court’s decision that Stanley…

Photos of Ted Stevens plane crash site

Looks like they just may have CFIT-ed it – controlled flight into terrain. I’m no NTSB investigator, but weather or mechanical (or both) just possibly flew them right into the mountain. We won’t probably have a probable cause from NTSB for a while…

Confirmed: Ted Stevens dead in Alaska crash

AP and now the NYT are reporting that former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens — who apparently had a long-standing premonition that he would die in a plane crash — did die in a plane crash in Alaska last night that killed four others.

Here’s one of many st…

Here’s a story about the British Airways flight that ran into a volcano cloud in 1982

Back in 1982, there was no worldwide effort to track volcano clouds and warn airlines and pilots about them.

When a British Airways Boeing 747 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash in 1982, the cockpit crew had no idea what was happening. But something was definitely wrong, leading to Capt. Eric Moody’s famous announcement to passengers over the public address system:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get it under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.”

The Times of London interviewed the now retired Moody about that incident and his thoughts about the danger of volcanos to aviation. It’s a good read.

PBS to air investigation into regional airlines

PBS stations will air an hourlong show Tuesday that takes a look at the growth of the regional airlines in the United States, and what it means for safety and the industry.

Here’s the Internet pitch from producer Rick Young:

“The crash of Continental 3407 outside Buffalo last year, killing all on board, was big news, as any commercial crash is. But like many who were fortunate enough not to be touched personally by the tragedy, what most caught my attention was the news that followed. The co-pilot had been making less than $16,000.

“While I knew the airline industry had been struggling through tough times since 9/11, I sure didn’t know that some of the folks that fly me around are working second jobs and overnighting on lounge room La-Z-Boys.

“And I didn’t know that regional airlines, once thought of as puddle-jumpers, had grown so fast that they now account for more than half the nation’s daily departures. We are on our way to becoming a regional airline nation.”

It airs at 9 p.m. EST, PBS says. It’ll be on KERA-13 at 9 p.m. CST.

If you’d like a 10-minute taste of the show, check out the video below. The reporter is Miles O’Brien.

American Airlines statement on Jamaica accident

From American Airlines, at midnight Tuesday:

On Tuesday, December 22, 2009, American Airlines Flight 331, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, overran the runway on landing at Kingston, Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport. The flight originated out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, operated into Miami International Airport, and then operated into Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport.

Preliminary reports indicate there are no serious injuries. The aircraft was carrying 148 passengers and a crew of six.

American Airlines is in direct contact with officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and is cooperating fully with appropriate authorities. American Airlines will not speculate as to possible causes of the incident. At this point, no additional details can be confirmed.

Leno, Letterman turn their needles on Northwest Airlines

Monday was a busy day for talk show hosts and the subject of airlines, particularly the Northwest Airlines pilots who overflew Minneapolis-St. Paul.

David Letterman on “Late Night with David Letterman” devoted his Top 10 list and part of his monologue to the subject, and Jay Leno brought it up on the “Jay Leno Show” again.

Oddly enough, Conan O’Brien did not mention the incident, even though he had renowned US Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” That relates to Letterman’s reason #7.

Sully on Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart had US Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger on “The Daily Show” Tuesday night, on the occasion of Sullenberger’s return to flying and the publication of his autobiography “”Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.”

Sullenberger, you’ll remember, was the captain of the US Airways flight that took off from New York LaGuardia on Jan. 15, lost power in both engines after the airplane flew through a flock of birds and was forced to land in the Hudson River.

One interesting point brought up by Stewart is that the manual consulted by the pilots during the in-flight emergency used to have tabs to quickly locate key sections, but the manuals had lost their tabs through cost-cutting. First officer Jeff Skiles had to go to the index to find vital information during the emergency.

Stewart started out the interview with the observation that Sullenberger had really captured the imagination of people.

“You did one of the most remarkable feats and it has struck such a chord with people,” Stewart said. “Are you surprised that people still react? I mean, everybody here on the set, they just wanted to hug you.”

Replied Sullenberger:

“I’m surprised it’s lasted so long. I’m surprised by the enormity of the response that we’ve received from around the world.

“It’s one of the reasons I wrote the book, is to try to answer the question for myself: What was it about this remarkable event that made people feel the way they do about the event and about me and the crew?

“I think the answer has to be that people were looking for good news. They needed to find a reason to feel hopeful again. They wanted to be reassured that good was still possible to be done in the world. I think it was life affirming. I think it reminded them that there is a potential for good that exists in each of us.”

Concluded Stewart: “A living Hallmark movie.”

Sullenberger’s first post-goose flight: Thursday, Oct. 1

US Airways announced Wednesday morning that Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will reunite with his first officer, Jeffrey Skiles, for his first post-accident flight Thursday.

Interestingly, the two will pilot an US Airways flight from New York LaGuardia to Charlotte, N.C., the same route they were flying before some geese intercepted them over New York City on Jan. 15 and had them land about 540 miles short on their 543-mile trip.

They’ll be operating Flight 1427, scheduled to leave LaGuardia on Thursday at 12:59 p.m. and arrive in Charlotte at 2:54 p.m.

But before they leave LaGuardia and after they arrive in Charlotte, Sully and Skiles will talk to the news media.

There’s a lot of interest in the two guys who guided a crippled US Airways flight down into the Hudson River with no deaths and only a few serious injuries on Jan. 15, so be sure and watch the evening news Thursday.

But why wait for the evening news? You can follow the extravaganza on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/usairwaysnews). (However, my colleague Steve Brown points out that considering the role of birds in the accident, ‘tweeting’ may not be a good idea.)