Happy Birthday, NTSB - 40 years today

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened its doors 40 years ago today: April 1, 1967. Since then, the NTSB has investigated about 130,000 aviation accidents and thousands of accidents in the other modes of transportation: highway, rail, marine and pipeline. Its major product is the safety recommendation, each of which represents a potential safety improvement. In its 40 years, the NTSB has issued some 12,600 safety recommendations, with an average acceptance rate of 82 percent.

Although the NTSB deals with every mode of transportation in the U.S., much of its work is devoted to aviation. The agency is charged with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States.

Aviation safety has improved, in part, because investigations now feature digital flight recorders with many hundreds of parameters, where foil recorders 40 years ago provided only 5 parameters and had to be read out by hand. Equipment or operational problems can now be more readily and confidently identified.

Turbine engines are so reliable that twin-engine aircraft are now allowed to fly for thousands of miles over open water.

Computers have led to the development of extremely realistic flight simulators, allowing pilots to be trained to handle virtually any conceivable flight condition.

Systems developed and installed on airliners - resulting at least in part from NTSB recommendations - have virtually eliminated mid-air collisions and controlled flight into terrain crashes in this country for aircraft so equipped.

If the air carrier accident rate were the same today as it was in 1965, the United States would average a fatal airliner accident every 10 days. Except for the terrorist attacks of 2001 - which were deliberate criminal acts - no year since 1990 has seen more than 4 fatal scheduled air carrier accidents in the United States. The annual number of general aviation crashes has dropped by two thirds in the last 40 years. [NTSB News].

On the occasion of the agency's 40th anniversary, NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said, "I am confident that in the years to come the National Transportation Safety Board will continue to be at the forefront of identifying safety problems in the transportation system and recommending changes to eliminate them. I think our nation has been well-served by the career professionals who comprise the dedicated workforce of the NTSB. I congratulate them and all who have come before them over the last 40 years."

Happy Birthday, NTSB. Onward and upward!

Vietnam Airlines ATR-72 slides off runway

On March 29, 2007 an ATR-72 aircraft operated by Vietnam Airlines made an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut airport after experiencing hydraulic problems. News reports about the incident say that the aircraft touched down safely, but then slid into the grass beside the runway. No one was injured.

Vietnam Airlines Flight VN479 had just departed from Ho Chi Minh City on a scheduled flight to Phu Quoc island when the hydraulic problem developed. An article about the incident in the Bangkok Post said:

The plane, carrying 65 passengers and 5 crew members, landed properly but could not stop in time and skidded 25 metres off the runway due to the malfunction of the brakes, which were powered by the hydraulic system.

"One of the valves of the hydraulic system had broken, leaving the plane unable to retract its landing gears so it had to return," Tran Van Mai, the state carrier's Ho Chi Minh City maintenance director, said Friday by telephone.

"It might have been a mistake by the manufacturer," Mai said, adding that the plane is only five-years-old.

An item on ThanhNienNews.com said that, after it landed, the plane "was to take the E1 taxiway after finishing the runway. However, the faulty hydraulic system affected the plane’s brake system, causing the plane to miss the E1."

VietNamNet Bridge reports that the aircraft was towed to a hangar for inspection and repair.

[Photo Source]

Hijacked Sudan Airways jet lands safely in Khartoum

A Sudan Airways flight landed safely in Khartoum earlier today after having been hijacked by a lone man armed with a knife. The flight originated in Tripoli, Libya. News reports say that there were more than 200 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus, but no one was harmed in the incident.

According to a  report in the Washington Post, the man had asked to be flown to South Africa, but the crew convinced him to allow the plane to land in Khartoum. A Sudanese civil aviation official said that the hijacker was arrested after the aircraft landed.

"The hijacker burst into the pilot's cabin about one and a half hours from landing and told the captain he wanted to meet with the British ambassador, then he asked to meet the American ambassador and the media," Abdel Hafiz Abdel-Rahim told Reuters.

"Snipers dressed as journalists then took him into custody," he added. The plane, which was carrying 210 passengers, began its journey in Tripoli.

Police released a statement later saying the hijacker was "mentally ill" and trying to take the plane to South Africa but the pilot persuaded him to land in Khartoum.

Abdel-Rahim said the hijacker identified himself as Haloub Saeed but authorities were trying to confirm this.

An article about the hijacking, published in Business Week  identified the hijacker as Said Faloun Said, 39, a Sudanese national, and said he was traveling on a temporary travel permit.

An Al-Jazeera correspondent reported from Sudan that the hijacker originally demanded to land in Bangui, the Central African Republic capital, but was persuaded by the crew to allow the plane to land in Khartoum for refueling. Once on the ground in Khartoum, Sudanese authorities were able to take all passengers off the plane and arrest the hijacker.

The Washington Post article said that the crew even managed to land the plane on schedule at Khartoum. Bravo!!

Allegiant Air jet lands at Orlando with nose gear up

Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB) was shut down this afternoon after an Allegiant Air jet made an emergency landing. Allegiant Air Flight 758 experienced "a hydraulic problem related to the nose gear," according to an FAA spokeswoman quoted by news media. The aircraft landed on its main gear only, after the nose gear failed to deploy.

News photos of the accident scene, on Florida's WFTV, show what appears to be an MD80 series aircraft with its nose planted directly on the runway. An emergency slide is clearly visible, deployed from the 1R door.

Soon after the accident, Local6.com reported that the 147 passengers and crew were evacuated via emergency slides. One woman suffered a sprained ankle in the evacuation, but there were no other injuries.

Later news reports said that there were 157 people on the flight, which originated in Portsmouth, NH.

At one point Local6.com referred to the event as a "hard landing." Maybe "hard" as in "difficult" -- but judging from the photos, it probably was not just a hard landing in the usual sense!

[Photo Source]

KLM pilot assaulted by pax at Amsterdam

The captain of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 737 was assaulted by a male passenger at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport last night after the man was denied boarding because he was "too drunk to travel." At the time of the incident, passengers were boarding the aircraft for a scheduled flight to Aberdeen.

A report on the BBC News website says that the passenger, who was not identified by name, was charged with assault and detained in Amsterdam. He was fined 1,500 Euros and later released.

The BBC provided these details:

The [KLM] spokesman said: "The captain told other passengers what had happened and was then able to conduct the flight as normal."

He said the airline had a strict boarding policy and added: "We do not tolerate any misbehaviour of passengers because we do everything we can to safeguard security.

"We can put people on blacklists, banning them from flying with the company, if they cause problems. Anyone who has any intention of causing disruption is a problem for KLM."

A spokesman for the Dutch military police said: "He had got through the security check and went to get on the plane when the captain told him he had drunk too much."

The flight was delayed 30 minutes because of the incident, but then continued on its journey to Aberdeen with the other 99 passengers. The captain was said to have suffered only "slight injuries" -- and a torn uniform.

LAN Chile A340 has near mid-air collision with Russian spacecraft?

Talk about being in the wrong place at just the wrong time!

A LAN Chile Airbus A340 aircraft en route from Santiago, Chile to Auckland, New Zealand had a near collision with debris, possibly from a Russian spacecraft, late in the evening on March 27, 2007. The fiery debris missed the aircraft by just a few miles and fell into the ocean. The plane landed safely at Auckland.

An article about the incident in the Sydney Morning Herald quotes a plane spotter who was listening on his HF radio to an exchange between the crew on the A340 and air traffic controllers at Auckland Oceanic Centre when he heard the pilots say that the rumbling noise from the space debris could be heard over the noise of the aircraft.

"He described he saw a piece of debris lighting up as it re-entered [the earth's atmosphere].

"He was one very worried pilot, as you would imagine.

"Auckland is talking to [an] Aerolineas Argentinas [pilot] who is travelling [in the] opposite direction at 10 degrees further south asking if they wish to turn back to Auckland.

"They have elected to carry on at the moment.

"[It's] not something you come across everyday and I am sure the Lan Chile crew will have a tale to tell."

Indeed, I'm sure they will!

The SMH says that a spokesman for Airways New Zealand, which provides air navigation services across airspace known as the Auckland Flight Information Region, confirmed to them that the incident occurred about 10 minutes after the LAN Chile flight had entered the Auckland Flight Information Region.

Airways New Zealand had been warned by Russian authorities almost two weeks ago that a satellite would be entering the earth's atmosphere sometime today between 10.30am and midday [NZ time].

Airways New Zealand then provided that information to airlines and pilots that would be travelling in that region at that time.

They could then decide for themselves whether they wished to fly during that period.

"But clearly there has been a timing issue," the spokesman said.

"Either the time that was indicated to us was incorrect or the satellite de-orbited early."

Because the timing was wrong, the coordinates of where the satellite was supposed to enter the Earth's atmosphere also turned out to be incorrect.

In case you are wondering, the spacecraft in question was thought to be an unmanned Russian Progress 23P freighter that had been used to deliver fuel, oxygen and spare parts to the International Space Station.

Ah, but now the plot thickens: A more recent news report posted barely an hour ago on Stuff, a New Zealand news website, says that the flaming debris might not have been space junk at all. Instead it may have been a meteor.

Stuff quotes a NASA scientist from the Johnson Space Center who said that he had checked on this with the Russians. They told the NASA guy that their unmanned cargo spacecraft had fired its re-entry rockets a half day after the airliner reported the near-miss.

In any case, there were no injuries and no damage to the airliner caused by the unidentified falling object -- just a couple of pilots with their hair standing on end.

Piaggio P.180 Avanti accident at FLL

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a preliminary report on an accident involving a Piaggio P.180 Avanti aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport (FLL) earlier this month. The aircraft, registered to and operated by Avantair, was "substantially damaged" in the accident. The two crew were the only people on board at the time of the accident. Neither was injured.

The twin turboprop aircraft, which was operating under CFR Part 91 rules, was being repositioned from Teterboro to FLL at the time of the accident on the morning of March 20, 2007. The gear collapsed on landing.

The NTSB preliminary accident report provides these details:

According to the captain, the first officer was flying the airplane. They were landing on 9R at an approach speed of 120kts. Full flaps had been deployed.

On the landing roll the airplane began to drift to the left side of the runway. The first officer said he applied right rudder, but not to the extent necessary. He then applied right brakes. The airplane then veered right and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded down the runway and came to rest west of taxiway Echo.

Examination of the airplane revealed the left main landing gear had collapsed, the left main tire had separated, and fuel was leaking from the airplane onto the runway. Examination of the tire revealed it had been deflated and there was a bald spot in the tread. [NTSB Report DEN07LA077].

An estimated 50 gallons of fuel leaked from the airplane, but there was no fire. The NTSB report notes that protein foam was applied to the runway surface and surrounding area.

[Photo Source]

Falcon 900 slides off runway at Rifle, Colorado

A Falcon 900 aircraft slid off the runway after landing at Garfield County Airport (RIL) in Rifle, Colorado this past Friday evening. There were no injuries to the people on board, but the preliminary report about the incident posted on the FAA website lists damage to the aircraft as "substantial."

No further details were included in the FAA report, however an article about the event published in the Aspen Daily News quoted airport manager Brian Condie, who said that the runway was wet at the time of the accident. The aircraft was towed to a hangar.

Condie also said that about 500 gallons of jet fuel spilled in the accident, and that RIL was closed for several hours on Friday night and early Saturday morning as a result. At least one inbound aircraft was diverted to another airport.

FAA records list Ohana Aircraft Ltd, LLC of Redwood City, CA as the registered owner of the aircraft. The Aspen Daily News says that the jet is leased to XOJet. Click here to view a photo of the aircraft, taken in 2003.

[Photo Source]