TACA crash in Honduras: Crew identified

Late last evening, TACA International Airlines identified the crew members who were on board TACA Flight TAI390, which overran the runway after landing at Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the morning of May 30, 2008. The announcement confirmed that the captain had died, along with two passengers.

Here is the exact text of News Release No. 3 posted on the TACA website on May 30, 2008 at 20:30 hrs [En español - haga clic aquí]:

In order to continue de information flow in relation to TACA’s aircraft accident, Irish registration EI-TAF, serial number 1374 manufactured operating El Salvador-Tegucigalpa route, a press conference was held tonight in Tegucigalpa. Roberto Kriete, President and CEO; Joaquin Palomo, Senior Vice-president and CFO; Julio Gomez, Flight Experience Vice-President; Armando Funes, TACA Honduras General Manager informed the following:

Since early morning, TACA has been working along with the Honduran authorities on the procedures related to the flight 390 accident.

Our crew on board flight 390 was composed of Capitan D’Antonio, Copilot Juan Artero, cabin crew Lineth Girón, José Barraza, Herchel Downs y María Salgado, of Honduran nationality. Also flight crew members Leonel Barright, Daniel Izaguirre, Paola Mena, Brendi Mejía, and Jenny Mejía where traveling on board for repositioning purposes.

Regrettably, at the moment three people where reported deceased, captain D’Antonio, of Salvadoran nationality; Mrs. Jeanne Chantal Neele, and Mr. Harry Brautigam, to which TACA extends its profound condolences.

“All TACA Family members are deeply concerned with the demise of Captain D’Antonio, who had more than 11 thousand flight hours and was part of the airline since 1993; and the demise of our distinguished passengers Chantall Nelle and Harry Brautigam”, said Kriete.

All passengers received medical care in different city hospitals, at the moment 54 people remain under their care and the rest are following proceedings to mobilize toward their intended destinations or go back to their countries of origin.

Communication efforts are being followed with the families of the affected passengers. While this process doesn’t conclude, the airline can’t share the final passenger list.

At the moment, we can inform that seventy Hondurans, seventeen Costa Ricans, two Canadians, eight Guatemalans, six American citizens, two Spaniards, two Brazilians, nine Argentineans, three Mexicans, five Nicaraguans, two Colombians, three Salvadorans, one Georgian, one German, one Italian, and one Uruguayan were on board the aircraft.

TACA operates a new generation, all Airbus fleet complying with all regulatory regulations of the IOSA, International Operating Safety Audit (IATA Flight Safety Program) as well as the respective Civil Aeronautic Authorities, including the Federal Aviation Agency, FAA.

TACA operates two daily flights at Toncontín Airport in Tegucigalpa, which remain suspended until further notice. The airline’s operations are being strengthened in San Pedro Sula, to serve our passengers traveling towards Honduras.

The TACA Family thanks the many displays of solidarity received due to this unfortunate event and ratifies its commitment to continue serving its passengers in the Americas.

At the press conference, Dario Montes, Legal Advisor for TACA; Tomasita de Ramirez, Sales Manager for TACA Honduras; and Claudia Arenas, Corporate Communications Director where also present.

TACA will keep a permanent information process in order to deliver an updated flow of information on the different situations related to the present circumstances. TACA’s news center can also be viewed at http://news.taca.com

For inquiries about passenger status an international Call Center has been activated at:

1 (404) 5216274

Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Captain D'Antonio and the other accident victims. Best wishes to those who may have been injured for a quick and complete recovery.

Silverjet ceases operations

Silverjet, the 'low fare business class' airline, has grounded its three leased aircraft and suspended passenger service. In a brief message on the Silverjet website, CEO Lawrence Hunt announced that from May 30, 2008, the carrier "will cease operations." Referring to Silverjet investors, Hunt's message said that "due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to unlock the finance that we needed."

Seeming to suggest that there still was hope for the future, Mr. Hunt's message also said, "We are working actively with new investors who are prepared to inject new funds so we can recommence operations. If we are able to achieve this, we will make an announcement as soon as possible and we hope to be able to bring you our very 'sivilised' flying experience again."

Silverjet had been in operation since January of 2007. The airline had been offering all-business-class service from London Luton to Newark and Dubai, using Boeing 767 aircraft. The airline had never made a profit. Trading of Silverjet shares on the London stock exchange was suspended late last week, a foreshadowing of today's announcement.

An article on the Times Online website about the collapse of Silverjet said:

The decision to ground all flights came after Silverjet failed to secure a $5 million (£2.5 million) loan from a Gulf investor. Thousands of passengers have been left stranded or needing to change travel plans by the operator, which flies from Luton to Dubai and New York. The Civil Aviation Authority estimated that 7,000 UK and 2,500 nonUK customers have been affected and they are not covered by the air travel industry’s insurance scheme.

Silverjet has told passengers to contact their credit card companies or travel agents to try to recover their money.

No mention was made of the fate of crew or other Silverjet employees.

The shut-down of Silverjet follows that of competitor Eos Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection about a month ago. Another competitor, MAXjet, filed for bankruptcy in December of 2007. Earlier this month it was announced that MAXjet's assets were being sold to a group that said it intended to operate a luxury charter service.

For the moment, privately owned French airline L'Avion is the sole independent carrier offering business-class-only trans-Atlantic flights. L'Avion operates Boeing 757-200 aircraft between Paris-Orly and Newark.

[Photo Source]

TACA International Airlines Airbus crash at Tegucigalpa, Honduras

This morning, May 30, 2008, an Airbus A320-233 aircraft operated by TACA International Airlines, the national flag carrier of El Salvador, overran the runway at Toncontín International Airport (MHTG) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The accident happened at about 09:45AM local time, as the scheduled passenger flight, TACA Flight TAI390, was arriving at Tegucigalpa from El Salvador International Airport (MSLP), according to a news bulletin on the TACA website. Early news media reports say there were some fatalities among the 124 and 11 crew on board, including at least one crew member (not yet confirmed by the company). Others had non-fatal injuries, although information was not made public about the number of those injured or the type of injuries.

A Miami Herald article about the accident  says:

Television images showed the Grupo TACA plane's fuselage buckled and broken apart in places. The cockpit was smashed under a billboard, and firefighters hosed down at least two cars trapped under the plane's left engine.

More than 2,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled out of the plane, and authorities tried to clear away hundreds of onlookers.

The Miami Herald website has a collection of photos from the accident scene at Tegucigalpa.

Click here to view a video of the accident scene, from Telemundo47.com.

A short time ago the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced that a team had been dispatched "to assist the governments of Honduras and El Salvador in their investigation of a fatal runway overrun."

NTSB Senior investigator Robert Benzon will serve as the United States Accredited Representative. He will be accompanied by an NTSB powerplants investigator, two investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and a representative from International Aero Engines. The BEA of France is also sending an Accredited Representative and a team to participate in the investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of El Salvador (under delegation by the Government of Honduras), which will release all information
on the progress of the investigation.

TACA has identified the accident aircraft as "an A320-233 Airbus, Irish plate EI- TAF, series number 1374 built on January 4th 2001. Until May 29th it had accumulated 21,957 flight hours and 9,992 landings."

Condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the victims.

UPDATE: Reuters news service is now reporting that 38 people were injured, and five have died as a result of the TACA accident at Tegucigalpa.

UPDATE May 31, 2008: TACA crash in Honduras: Crew identified

[Photo Source]

Kalitta Air crash may be associated with engine fire

Aviation news website FlightGlobal.com is reporting today that the rejected take-off of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747 freighter that overran a runway and broke up at Brussels several days ago may have been associated with an engine fire. The FlightGlobal.com article says that the crew "rejected the take-off at about the same time as air traffic controllers observed a fire in one of the aircraft’s two right-hand engines."

Quoting "sources familiar with testimony to the investigation," FlightGlobal.com reports that air traffic controllers monitoring the takeoff noticed flames from one of the right hand engines at around the same time that the crew notified ATC that they were rejecting takeoff. The article adds that it is unclear which one of the engines was affected.

FlightGlobal.com also reports:

Tyre marks at the end of the runway and wheel tracks across the grass, extending to the wreckage site, suggest the aircraft was deviating to the right of the centreline as it overran. Brussels Airport has three runways.

Its two parallels are longer than the accident runway, but the source states that runway 20 was always the “planned runway” for the 25 May flight.

The aircraft had been bound for Bahrain with 76t of cargo, and the source points out that runway 20 – which has a length of 2,984m (9,790ft) – was more than adequate for the type, particularly given its relatively light load.

Here is the link to the entire article: Engine fire alert preceded Kalitta 747F rejected take-off - FlightGlobal.com

Delta flight attendant union certification election results

Balloting for the election to certify the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) as the collective bargaining unit representing Delta Air Lines flight attendants was completed today, May 28, 2008. The AFA reportedly won the "vast majority" of the votes cast, however only about 40% of those eligible to vote did so. Under the rules of the National Mediation Board (NMB), which supervised the election, a majority of eligible voters must cast ballots in order for the election outcome to be certified. Since that did not happen, the AFA cannot be certified as the union representative for Delta's flight attendants at this time.

Management at Delta Air Lines openly opposed flight attendant unionization. The AFA has claimed that an aggressive voter suppression campaign by Delta management kept thousands from casting a vote. Tactics included the posting of signs in flight attendants' crew lounges (see photo) "encouraging them to rip up the voting information before even bothering to read about their rights."

"For months, Delta management has touted its commitment to the democratic process, yet never let up on their intimidation and coercion of voters. Their empty rhetoric cannot conceal their interference. The conditions surrounding election were neither free nor fair, as required by NMB statutes. Now it is up to the National Mediation Board to defend the Delta flight attendants’ right to an election free of interference," said AFA International President Patricia Friend in a statement issued by AFA.

Delta Air Lines put a different spin on the outcome of the union certification election. Instead of mentioning that only about 40% of those eligible cast a vote, the airline's management interpreted the non-votes as NO votes, by stating the following in a Delta Air Lines press release issued today:

Delta Air Lines has received notification from the National Mediation Board (NMB) that a decisive majority – more than 60 percent – of eligible flight attendants rejected representation by the Association of Flight Attendants/Communication Workers of America (AFA) in the representation election at Delta, and the airline will continue a direct relationship with its flight attendants.

“We are pleased that Delta’s flight attendants clearly believe that our unique culture and direct relationship are worth preserving,” said Delta CEO Richard Anderson. “Delta continues to be the best advocate for its people, and our employees recognize the benefits of working together to enhance their careers and drive successful results for themselves and our company.”

Joanne Smith, senior vice president – In-Flight Service and Global Product Development, added, “This decision was one of the biggest our flight attendants faced in their career at Delta and it arose during some challenging times in our industry. Through all of these distractions – soaring fuel costs, a softening economy and an unrelenting AFA campaign of scare tactics and inaccurate information – the professionalism of all of our flight attendants shone as they maintained an unwavering focus on safety and service. This comes as no surprise however, because that is the Delta Difference; it is what sets us apart from the rest of this industry.

Not all Delta flight attendants share management's view of the situation, as evidenced by a particularly well-written opinion piece by a Delta flight attendant in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is part of what she said:

To protect our future, it is critical that we have safeguards to keep management from destroying our profession —- safeguards that are detailed in a legally binding contract. Delta flight attendants want to maintain the quality of middle-class jobs that have benefited the local Atlanta economy and communities across the country for decades. We want to have a say in building and growing the world's largest airline.

What once was a "family style" environment at Delta is no more. This sad fact faces us each day. The new Delta is run by a group of executives who have only been around for nine months. People like former Northwest CEO Richard Anderson are making decisions that will affect the future of Delta flight attendants who have spent their lives building our company.

Our airline has evolved, and Delta flight attendants intend to do so as well. By becoming union members, we will actively defend our profession. We will protect our interests as we work alongside management in creating the world's largest airline.

There is another chapter to this story that has yet been told: When the Delta - Northwest Airlines merger takes place another union certification election will be held, since Northwest's flight attendants already are represented by AFA. Under the rules of the NMB, when a non-union work group merges with a union group, if 35 percent of combined workforce has union representation or signs a union card, a union election will automatically be called. That vote is expected to occur in early 2009.

[Photo Source]

Continental Airlines Boeing 737 has a 'close encounter' with -- a rocket?

Various news media are reporting on an incident in which the crew of a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft saw what appeared to be a rocket (or similar projectile) pass them shortly after departure from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This may have been something serious, may have been a prank, or it may come to nothing much, but it certainly is interesting. The FAA and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force think it's interesting, too: They are investigating the incident.

Here is a summary of what has been reported by the news media. On Monday, May 26, 2008, the crew of a Continental Airlines B737-800, operating as Flight COA1544 from Houston to Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, reported to air traffic control that they saw an object with a flaming tail and a trail of smoke flying vertically near their aircraft. The Houston Chronicle, which had the most detailed article about the 'rocket incident', quoted an FAA official who said it was not yet known how close the object came to the aircraft, or what altitude it reached.

"We don't know for sure what the object was. But we think it might be somebody doing model rocketing," said Roland Herwig, an FAA spokesman. "The pilot saw the rocket and some people saw the rocket's trail (of smoke)."

A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines told the Houston Chronicle reporter that the crew made "no diversionary maneuvers," and added that the plane was not damaged, and nobody was injured.

The working assumption seems to be that the object was a model rocket. The Houston Chronicle quoted an FAA spokeswoman in Washington D.C. who said this would not be the first time a rocket had crossed paths with an airliner. "But so far, no plane has been hit by a launched model rocket." Yeah, so far, so good.

You're going to love this part, also from the Houston Chronicle article:

Robert Morehead, an engineer who is president of the Amateur Spaceflight Association in Houston, said the FAA would only need to be notified if a rocket would be entering controlled airspace.

He said the only danger to a plane might be if the rocket is ingested by a plane's engine.

"But their engines are designed to ingest birds and not come apart," said Morehead, who lives in Clear Lake. "The real question is if the rocket would tear up the engine instead of just shutting it off."

I beg your pardon?

At first this incident reminded me a bit of the another mystery last year, when a LAN Chile A340 en route from Santiago, Chile to Auckland, New Zealand had a close encounter somewhere over the Pacific Ocean with a fiery object falling from the sky above. In that case, what at first was believed to be debris from a Russian spacecraft was later thought to be a meteor. But it seems to me that there's a bit of a difference between a random fiery object falling from the sky, and one that intentionally shoots up from the ground into commercial airspace.

If any conclusions about this latest incident are reached and made public, I will certainly report those here on Aircrew Buzz.

[Photo Source]

South African Airways pilots agree to pay concessions

The pilots of South African Airways (SAA) have agreed to a number of pay concessions in order to save costs for the airline. The airline announced that it had reached "a three year salary agreement, as well as a restructuring agreement" with the pilots union, the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA).

According to a press release on the South African Airways website, the salary agreement includes these key aspects:

• For the financial year 2007/08 no increases will be applied to the current salary scales.
• For 2008/09 and 2009/10, a local market movement formula for salary increases will apply. To determine the local market movement for South Africa, a study will be done to benchmark salary increases in comparable companies and job categories.
• The Maintenance of Parity (MOP) agreement is suspended for three years from 1 April 2007, ending 31 March 2010 and temporarily replaced by the three year salary agreement. Within the next year the parties will negotiate a new agreement.

As a part of the restructuring agreement, SAAPA also has agreed that the overtime rate for pilots will be reduced from 1.5 times the hourly rate to 1.25 times. An article about the agreement on the AllAfrica.com website also mentioned a "drop in uniform allowance, 5% productivity rise, and having their sick leave slashed."

The AllAfrica.com article reported that 45 SAA pilots have left the airline in the past six months, quoting SAAPA official Cathy Bill who said that "of those who had left the airline only five pilots had accepted the voluntary severance packages offered to staff at the end of last year, but that the rest were disillusioned with the restructuring process."

Bill said the pilots recognised the need to cut costs, and had made suggestions for cost savings.

She hoped that the second part of the restructuring plan, expanding SAA's network and fleet, would help improve conditions for pilots.

SAA announced recently that it would be recruiting 100 pilots. "We have had co-pilots that have been waiting for promotions for 12, 13 years, and we hope with the expansion that will now finally be possible," Bill said.

Bill also said that SAA's pilots were "certainly vulnerable" to poaching from other airlines.

[Photo Source]

Kalitta Air Boeing 747 freighter crash at Brussels

Earlier today, May 25, 2008, a Boeing 747-209F aircraft (registration number N704CK) operated by Michigan-based cargo carrier Kalitta Air, overran a runway at Brussels Zaventem Airport (EBBR) after what witnesses said appeared to be a rejected takeoff. The freighter's fuselage broke apart (see video below), but there was no fire. The five crew members evacuated the aircraft using an emergency slide. None of the crew members was injured seriously, and there were no injuries reported on the ground.

According to various news reports, Kalitta Air Flight K4-207 was departing Brussels Zaventem for Bahrain around noon local time when the accident occurred. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang, after which the aircraft overran the end of runway 02. It was not clear whether the aircraft had completed its takeoff roll and begun to rotate prior to the overrun.

The aircraft came to rest a just inside the airfield's perimeter fence, several hundred meters beyond the threshold of the runway. The fuselage split open just aft of the wings, and photos taken at the scene appear to show another break just forward of the empennage, but this has not been officially confirmed.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched at team to assist the Belgian government in its investigation of this accident. The NTSB announced:

NTSB investigator Joe Sedor has been designated as the U.S. Accredited Representative, and he will be accompanied by technical specialist in the areas of flight operations, aircraft systems, structures, and powerplants. The U.S. team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney.

The Belgian government is leading the investigation and will release all information on its progress.

Updated information about today's accident will be posted here on Aircrew Buzz as it becomes available. [Links to updates are at the end of this post, after the video.]

A collection of still photos of the Kalitta Air crash at Zaventem Airport can be found on the Belgian website LeSoir.be. Video footage of the aftermath of the accident, from LiveLeak.com:



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on LiveLeak.com)

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Related:

• Kalitta Air crash may be associated with engine fire, AircrewBuzz.com, May 29, 2008
• Final report issued for Kalitta Air Boeing 747 freighter accident at Brussels, AircrewBuzz.com, July 11, 2009