In repeat incident, another Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma helicopter, this one operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters, has crashed off the north east coast of Scotland in the North Sea with 16 on board.

Unlike the last time, when all persons on board survived, this time it appears 10 persons have lost their lives.

The Coastguards says the incident happened about 40 miles north east of Aberdeen, just before 1400 (1300 GMT), as the helicopter returned from British Petroleum's Miller field.

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency says a supply vessel called Normand Aurora had put its fast response boat into the water and was looking for survivors. Two helicopters from the RAF and a Nimrod marine patrol aircraft have been diverted to the area.

The earlier incident also involving the Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma occurred on February 19 this year. With two crashes less than 45 days apart questions about this workhorse helicopter are sure to be raised.

Read more news reports here, here and here.

An Indian Navy Kamov Ka-28 "Helix-A" helicopter crashed in the Arabian Sea, 22 nautical miles off the coast Goa, earlier day, but the three crew escaped unhurt.

The Ka-28 is the export version of the Ka-27Pl

Image courtesy Wikipedia

The helicopter had taken off from the Indian Navy base at Goa INS Hansa at 11:00 (05:30 UTC) on a routine sortie. Air Traffic Control officials at the Dabolim International Airport, Goa, indicated that the helicopter lost contact with them 20 minutes later.

A few minutes later, when a distress signal was received a Navy rescue helicopter was scrambled, which rescued the crew members.

The debris of the Kamov has been located and a court of inquiry has been initiated as per an Indian Navy spokesperson.

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First posted - March 23, 01:00 GMT

A FedEx MD-11 freighter registration number N526FE performing flight 80, from Guangzhou, China crashed at Tokyo Narita International Airport in heavy winds, and burst in to flames. The two crew on board were killed. The main runway at the international gateway airport to Tokyo has been shut down.

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Most airlines have been forced to divert incoming flights to Tokyo Haneda, Osaka, Nagoya and other airports, as the longest runway of two at Narita has been closed.

The FedEx plane landed hard, tipped onto its left wing and burst into a bright orange fireball of flames, the video of the crash from Tokyo Broadcasting System shows. I have upload the video since the TBS website does not allow resizing of the small video window. The copyright remains that of TBS.

The three engined MD-11F an improvement of the old DC10 made by McDonnell Douglas, now a part of Boeing, is the mainstay of FedEx's freighter fleet who has 58 aircraft in its fleet.


This crash is reminiscent of the July 31, 1997 crash of another FedEx MD-11F at Newark. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) faulted the pilots for the crash of FedEx Flight 14, from Anchorage, Alaska to Newark.

Airport officials are unclear how long the main runway would be closed at Narita. International Japanese carriers Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have cancelled 29 and 10 flights respectively.

Having flown frequently to Narita I can attest to the tough time pilots have in the frequently occurring crosswinds. Both runways are aligned in a roughly North South direction (156/336 degree headings on the compass), and the airport often has strong crosswinds in an easterly and westerly direction. Paucity of land prevents the authorities from building a crossing runway at the airport.

METARS (21:48 UTC):
2009/03/22 21:00 RJAA 222100Z 30013G28KT 260V330 9999 FEW020 13/M01 Q0998 NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2948
2009/03/22 21:00 RJAA 222100Z 30013G28KT 260V330 9999 FEW020 13/M01 Q0998 NOSIG
2009/03/22 21:08 RJAA 222108Z 31025G35KT 9999 FEW020 12/M01 Q0998 RMK 1CU020 A2949
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2952 P/RR
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG

Japan's meteorological agency had issued an advisory of gales for the area around the airport.

Update 1 - 04:30 GMT

FedEx has put out a statement

A FedEx Express MD-11 was involved in an incident today en route from Guangzhou to Narita, with two crew members on board. The incident occurred upon landing. We are sad to report that there were no survivors.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of these crew members. This loss pains all of us at FedEx. Right now our focus is on doing everything we can to assist those involved at this difficult time.

We are thankful for the quick response of emergency teams on the ground and will continue to work closely with the applicable authorities as we seek to determine the cause for this tragic incident.

Update 2 - 06:00 GMT

Widespread flight disruptions are being reported at Narita airport. Read the full article.

The crash of FedEx MD-11 freighter registration number N526FE performing flight 80, from Guangzhou, China at the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita has caused major disruptions in flight schedules.

The crash has shut down the 4,000 meter (13,123 ft) long main runway 16R/34L.

Map should not be used for navigation

The airport is forced to rely on the secondary Runway 16L/34R which, at 2,180 meters (7,152 ft) is just about half the the length of the main runway.

Narita is the main gateway to Japan's capital Tokyo, and home to all of Tokyo's intercontinental flights, many of which are operated by the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Unfortunately Boeing B747 and Airbus A380 operations are not permitted on the secondary runway. Even wide bodies like the Boeing 777, 767, MD-11, Airbus A340 and A330, will not be able to carry a full complement of passengers, baggage and fuel.


Air travel to and from Tokyo is going to be hard today.

Please use these links for real-time information from Narita airport on international flight arrivals and international flight departures.

Do contact your airline and determine what is their situation, what arrangements are being made or alternatives they suggest. Here is a list of all the airlines operating at Narita airport.

See two videos of the crash.

The National Aeronautical Laboratories Saras, India's first Indian multi-purpose light civilian transport aircraft crashed at Bangalore today.

Photo credit : Photoyogi. Used with permission.

VT-XRM departed HAL airport at 14:55 (09:25Z) for an "engine off" test with a crew of three. HAL ATC lost contact with the aircraft at 15:30 (10:00Z) and reports the plane crashing were received at 15:40 (10:10Z).

The crash site is in a barren deserted area at 252 radial BBG VOR at 17nm DME, this is near Bidadi and the Wonder La theme park on Mysore Road.

As per eyewitnesses in the vicinity of the crash, the aircraft turned abruptly and started losing height. After a couple of somersaults in mid-air, it crashed.



Wing Commander K. Praveen (pilot), Wing Commander Dipesh K. Shah (co-pilot), Squadron Leader S. Ilyaraja (flight engineer), perished in the crash. The aircraft was completely destroyed.

Praveen (35) was a resident of Bangalore, Ilyaraja (33) was from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu and Shah (34) was a native of Mumbai. This is the same team, and the same aircraft (prototype 2) which performed at the recent Aero India 2009 show, from where the picture is taken.

Villagers from Seshagiri village near the crash site, were all praise for the pilots for their presence of mind.

“They averted a major disaster and saved several lives. The pilots sensed the danger and were searching for a vacant plot for safe landing. That’s why they took two rounds, but it came down crashing.”

“Hats off to the pilots for their presence of mind at the time of crisis. There are more than three petrol pumps and hundreds of houses in the vicinity. Imagine the magnitude of the tragedy had the aircraft crashed in the village."

Bangalore Aviation salutes the three brave souls. Tailwinds and blue skies!!!!!

The Dutch investigation board headed by Pieter van Vollenhoven, examining the crash of the Boeing 737-800 Turkish Airlines flight TK1951 at Amsterdam Schiphol last week, released its preliminary report.

Simply put it was a combination of a faulty instrument, a breakdown in "artificial intelligence" (AI) of the plane, pilot error, and poor weather.

The instruments and "artificial intelligence"
The plane had a faulty radio altimeter (radalt). At 1,950ft altitude, one of the two radalts suddenly gave a wrong reading which fooled the autopilot into thinking the plane was just few feet above the runway. Since the auto-throttle was also engaged, which is a perfectly normal procedure, the autopilot reduced the engines thrust to 'retard' or 'idle' mode as we normally experience just before touchdown, except this was 2,000 ft up in the air. Naturally the plane started slowing down.

Distracted pilots
In the right seat the co-pilot was receiving training in making a landing by automatic pilot. The investigators say that too much time was spent exchanging information between the instructor and the trainee, and not enough was spent checking the actual readings which would have alerted the crew to the problem in time to override the automatic pilot.

Thick fog and low cloud may also have played a part in their failure to realise their actual height.

The plane slowed down in to a stall, which is when the alarms sounded. The pilots tried to spool the engines back up, but it was too late.

Turkish Airlines' maintenance conflict
Another fact has arisen. Two weeks ago, a serious conflict arose between the union representing maintenance workers and the management of Turkish Airlines. The union warned the management of serious shortcomings in the maintenance system, including inadequate staff to cope with the rapid growth of the airline fleet, which could lead to safety risks in the air.

Sharing the blame
The investigators have concluded that blame for the accident must be shared between Turkish Airlines THY, the pilots, and the manufacturer, Boeing. The involvement of human error means that there will be legal repercussions, civil and possibly criminal, but then the pilots have already paid the ultimate price.



Is time to return to the basics ?
For long airplane manufacturers have tried to reduce the workload on pilots by automating tasks. One could say, they are trying to design the pilot out of the cockpit. The pilots have become increasingly dependent on the computers and their AI. It has become a vicious cycle to the point, many pilots now feel they are flying a computer not a plane.

Since the second radalt was working fine, one would naturally pose the question, why did Boeing build in to their AI some failsafe when the two radalts are giving conflicting information? Should Boeing not have put more thought in to this situation? A simple "whoop whoop" alarm that alerts pilots especially in this situation of conflicting instrument information before putting the engines in to idle?

Across the blogosphere I have seen many Boeing fans criticising the AI on the Airbus "Fly By Wire" system, and citing the June 26, 1988 crash of an Air France Airbus A320 as AI gone haywire.

It appears, that Boeing's AI is not much smarter either. Is it time for both these plane manufacturers to return towards the basics and give more control to the pilots? Machines are fallible, but it is humans who pay the price.

Share your thoughts via a comment.

In the mean while, Turkish Airlines has made an offer of compensation. Full details are in this release.

These powerful images made on the mobile phone seconds after the Turkish Airlines flight crashed at Amsterdram Schiphol airport. Video from Heart of the Netherlands.

Turkish Airlines THY released the names of their staff killed in crash of their Boeing 737-800 flight TK 1951 at Amsterdam, Schiphol.

A total of nine persons perished, including 3 pilots, 1 flight attendant and 5 passengers.

The pilots who died were Captain Hasan Tahsin Arısan, Murat Sezer and Olgay Ozgur and the flight attendant Ulvi Murat Eskin.

The bodies of victims will be brought to Turkey in a private flight after they are received from the officials of the Netherlands.

At the same time the airline announced compensation for the dead and injured.

Turkish Airlines will make payment of 50,000 Euros to the family members of our passengers and crew members who lost their lives in the crash, as well as the payment of from 5,000 Euros up to 10,000 Euros to those who are being treated in the hospitals. Those calling on this subject, please call +90 800 219 80 35 in order to receive information.

Turkish Airlines has just released a statement refuting rumours in the media, circulating after the crash of their Boeing 737-800 VT-JGE at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam yesterday, and clarifying their aircraft maintenance procedures.

The maintenance work of our aircraft has been carried out according to appropriate procedures.

It has become an absolute necessity to make the statement given below over the news coverage regarding the plane crash of Istanbul- Amsterdam Flight Number TK 1951:

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft involved in the accident was made in 2002, of which the last C class maintenance was completed on 22 October, 2008, and the last A class maintenance was done on 19 February 2009. Our aircraft have flown for 52 hours following the maintenance. All the maintenance work of the aircraft has been executed according to its scheduled program.

The allegation put forth in those news stories regarding the flight of this aircraft to Madrid is incomplete. In above mentioned incident, as soon as the pilot reported a malfunction of the “Master Caution Light”, the aircraft was taken out of service and the part was replaced on 23 February,2009. The aircraft had successfully accomplished landing and taking off for 8 times subsequent to the part replacement.

In reference to the issue of flaps in those news items, the component called Bonding Jumper of left Krueger Flap was changed on 28 October, 2008 and then the aircraft kept its flight service with no problems what so ever.

Being uncompromising in flight safety Turkish Airlines has been applying all those processes of maintenance under the directions of both international and domestic aviation authorities as well as the manufacturers of aircraft. The news articles covering technical defects can be easily misleading and our sole expectation is that this type of comment should be avoided.

And again, we offer our condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew members who lost their lives, and a speedy recovery to those passengers who are being treated for injuries. We pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in peace.

Turkish Airlines
Media Relations

I can understand the vicarious human nature to try and flush out all the gory details, especially nowadays, in our well sanitised lives. Even I suffer from it, but I have never accepted the need to speculate on reasons for air crashes or incidents, before proper investigations by the safety boards, are complete. It is a dis-service to the hundreds of people who work diligently to keep our skies safe.

You will observe, at Bangalore Aviation, I never post speculative reports about air crashes.

As usual, your comments are most welcome.

A Turkish Airlines (THY) Boeing 737-800 registration TC-JGE performing flight TK1951 crashed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 10:30 local (09:30Z)

The plane carrying 135 passengers on a flight from Istanbul, broke in to three parts when attempting to land on Runway 36L near motorway A9.

There is a massive presence of emergency vehicles and crew on the scene, and there are reports of survivors. There are conflicting reports of casualties. Turkish Airlines officials claim no casualities.



All flights at Schipol have been suspended or cancelled.

Dutch newspaper AD has published this photo of the crash.
TC-JGE, pictured below at Schipol was delivered by Boeing on March 27, 2002. Construction number CN29789. The plane named Tekirdag after the city in Thrace in Turkey, was powered by two CFM56-7B26 engines and had a capacity of 165 passengers.

METAR about accident time:
250925Z 20010KT 4500 BR SCT007 BKN008 OVC010 04/03 Q1027 TEMPO 2500=

Weather. Wind 200 deg/10 kts, visibity 4500m in mist, scattered clouds 700 ft.,broken clouds 800 ft, overcast 1,000 ft,temp. 4 deg. C, barometric pressure 1027QnH.

Some more pictures :


Update 1 - 18:00GMT

Video from Reuters

As per officials 84 people were taken to hospitals, including 25 who were severely hurt. Six in critical condition. Nine fatalities have been confirmed. The pilot and co-pilot are among the dead.

The bodies of three crew members in the cockpit are still in the plane's wreckage, as per investigators who need to complete their investigations before taking apart the cockpit.

The passenger count has been revised to 134 which includes, rather ironically, four employees of the plane manufacturer, Boeing.

This is the second crash of a plane just near the runway, recently. The previous one being the crash of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow.

Update 2 - 01:00GMT 26-Feb-09

Turkish Airlines issued the following statement

25.02.2009
Turkish Airlines regrets to confirm that its flight Number TK 1951 from Istanbul to Amsterdam the capital of The Netherlands was involved in an accident today near the Amsterdam Airport.

The aircraft, a B737-800 was during the landing when the accident occurred, at around 10:30 a.m. local time.

At this time, after the search and rescue operations, we have 9 casualties, and 50 passengers were injured. Turkish Airlines staff has been doing everything possible to assist the emergency services and local authorities.

There were 127 passengers and 7 crew members on board Flight Number TK 1951 and we are currently confirming the details of the passenger manifest for this flight.

Turkish Airlines has established a passenger information centre, and a toll-free number is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board Flight Number TK 1951. The phone number is: 0800 219 80 35. For those who are calling from outside Turkey, please call + 90 212 465 21 60.

Turkish Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be posted on the Turkish Airlines’ website, at www.thy.com

Update 3 - 17:00GMT 26-Feb-09

Turkish Airlines refutes speculation on reasons for crash.

A preliminary report into a crash of an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 jet last November off the coast of France, is pointing the cause toward its aircrew who were performing low speed tests, claiming “the flight crew’s failure to adhere to standard operating procedures”.

As a result of the interim finding air safety regulators have issued urgent advice on tightening up procedures on non-commercial or “non-revenue” flights.

France’s Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) released an interim report which shows why the plane crashed but not what caused it.

Read the full report here.

An Antonov AN-12, belonging to Aerolift a cargo operator in Windhoek, Namibia, registration S9-SVN freight flight LFT-1015 from Entebbe, Uganda to Nikolaev, Ukraine with 5 crew on board, had diverted to Luxor (Egypt) due to shortage of fuel. After refuelling the airplane caught fire and burned down while taking off Luxor, killing all 5 occupants.

According to the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority the airplane crashed about 700 meters off the runway at Luxor, while taking off from Luxor after being refuelled for the flight to the Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian aviation sources one engine caught fire, the fire quickly spread to the entire airframe.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Egypt reported, that flight LFT-1015 from Entebbe to the Ukraine via Luxor was performed by an AN-12 registration S9-SVN. All 5 crew were Ukrainian citizens, later this was corrected to 2 Belarus, one Russian and 2 Ukrainian citizens.

A source at Luxor Airport said, that the airplane had diverted to Luxor to refuel due to a fuel leak. Although the crew was aware of the risk of a fuel leak, they decided to takeoff again.

Russian diplomats in Egypt also reported, that the airplane had diverted due to a fuel leak. The crew was advised by mechanics to not take off before the damage was fixed, the commander however decided to depart despite the risk.

Reported by AVHerald

Video clip from CNN showcasing Steven Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) discussing the last moments of the crash of Continental flight 3407.

The NTSB indicates the plane rolled violently before the crash in Buffalo, New York, USA.

Aviation Herald is reporting a Colgan Air De Havilland Dash 8-400 on behalf of Continental Airlines, registration N200WQ performing flight 9L-3407/CO-3407 from Newark, NJ, USA to Buffalo, NY, USA with 44 passengers and 4 crew, crashed into a home in a surburb of Buffalo about 5 nm (10km) from the airport and burst into flames while on approach to Buffalo's Niagara Airport at about 10:17pm local time (03:17 GTM). All 48 occupants and one person on the ground died.

This is the second accident Continental is suffering in recent past. On December 20, 2008, a Continental Boeing 737 crashed at Denver airport.

The airplane was on the approach frequency, had been cleared down to 2300 feet, guided via radar vectors (heading 330 then heading 310) and cleared for an ILS approach to runway 23 and had just been handed over to the tower. The crew confirmed the frequency change, but didn't contact the tower anymore and also could not be reached on the approach frequency about one minute after hand over. A following Delta flight 1998 could not see the Dash 8 due to being in cloud, but also could not see the plane on their TCAS.

The home on 6050 Long Road is reported to be completely destroyed and reduced to rubble. Twelve homes along Long Road, Goodrich Road and Clarence Center Road near Clarence Town Hall in Clarence Center had to be evacuated. Two more residents on the ground were treated for injuries and brought to a hospital. Fire fighters were on the scene within seconds since their fire house on Clarence Center Road just next to the crash site.

A witness on the ground saw the airplane flying low with the left wing slightly low before it impacted ground.

The tower controller reported, that the airplane dropped off his radar without any anomaly beforehand.

Following the recognition, that the airplane was on the ground, the tower checked the ILS equipment of the airport sending Delta 1998 into a hold, found the ILS in the clear but transmitted a warning to all aircraft on tower and approach frequencies. Delta 1998 coming from the North reported upon request by the approach, that they were not building any significant ice, however reported a quarter of an inch. Another airplane, Cactus 1452 (US Airways/America West) coming from the South like the crashed Colgan Air, reported that they were picking up some ice for about 10 minutes for about 20nm. Subsequently Delta 1998 was commanded to not perform an autoland for possible localizer fluctuations.

The aircraft is new and was delivered 16th April 2008.

Relatives and friends of those traveling on flight 3407 who want to give or receive information about those on board may telephone the family assistance number at 1-800-621-3263.

Hear ATC conversation at Buffalo at the time of the accident.

For an edited version click here.

It was a routine afternoon on January 15th, New York TRACON La Guardia departure (L116) was handling outbound flights, including the US Airways Flight 1549, known by its radio call sign as Cactus 1549 (an America West flight).

The routine was rudely interrupted at 15:27:36 EST (20:27:36 UTC) by a terse transmission :

"Ah this is uh Cactus fifteen thirty nine, hit birds we lost thrust in both engines we're turning back towards La Guardia."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released a recording and transcript of the period seven minutes before the bird strikes for 20 minutes, and includes all the conversation from the TRACON, the various airports, and the flights in the airspace including the US Airways flight.

I am impressed by the calm in cockpit expressed by the short terse transmissions of Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III. He is fighting the ultimate emergency and still communicated his situation. Equally impressive is the complete understanding of the Air Traffic Controller, and the way he anticipates and reacts to the needs of Captain Sullenberger.

Thanks to Terry Maxon for breaking the story.

AP is reporting a FedEx cargo plane crashed during landing Tuesday at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB), in my home state of Texas, USA.

Wikipedia Image
Airport director James Loomis says both crew members were taken to a hospital, but FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz says both were able to walk from the crash. A supervisor at University Medical Center in Lubbock said the two crew members were being evaluated.

The ATR42-300F turboprop aircraft, registration N902FX, operating flight EM8284, was arriving from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW) in a freezing mist, touched down before runway 17R while landing in Lubbock with a visibility of about 2 miles at 04:36 local (10:36Z). Airport officials say the gear collapsed, the airplane veered to the right, the right wing impacted ground and the airplane caught fire, which was quickly extinguished by emergency services. Munoz says the plane had skidded off the runway.

The plane was operated by Idaho-based Empire Airways under contract with Memphis, Tennessee based FedEx Corp.

David Learmount at FlightGlobal has done an excellent analysis of the Global airline accidents. In the last ten years, 2008 is the second lowest, after 2004, in terms of fatalities.

Simple figures paint the picture: in 2003 there were 27 fatal airline accidents causing 702 deaths, and in 2008 there were 34 fatal accidents and 583 deaths. In the interim years the figures show that the trend for fatal accident numbers and the fatalities total are tracking the horizontal almost precisely. Although the number of deaths last year was relatively low at 583, the best result in the past decade was 466 in 2004.

One particular section regarding a breakdown in trust between pilots and their airlines is disconcerting.

The pilots at American Airlines and US Airways have both, independently, suspended their participation in their respective carrier's aviation safety action programme (ASAP), a voluntary incident reporting scheme intended to encourage the reporting of mishaps of all kinds that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

FlightGlobal's complete list of all accident for 2008, in PDF format, can be downloaded here.

A video of the US Airways A320 crash on the Hudson river, New York, from the Coast Guard camera. The plane hits the water around 2 minutes in to the video.

I reproduce the report from Aviation Herald, which I find to be on the best in terms of facts.

A US Airways Airbus A320-200, registration N106US performing flight US-1549 from New York La Guardia, NY to Charlotte, NC with 150 passengers and 5 crew, performed a controlled emergency landing into the Hudson River after losing engine power shortly after takeoff from runway 04 of New York's La Guardia Airport. The airplane had reached a maximum altitude of about 3000 feet. All people on board got out of the airplane. 78 people received injuries and were treated by paramedics, most of them minor injuries. One man suffered broken legs, a number of people had to be treated for hypothermia. Several ships and ferries helped to collect the people which got out to the wings and slides, which served a life rafts.

A New Jersey Coast Guard video shows the last few seconds of slow down and the evacuation of the airplane, covering the time between 3:29pm and 3:39pm local (20:29Z-20:39Z). The camera catches the airplane 2:02 minutes into the recording at the time time stamp of 3:31:02pm (watch the most left middle section of video).

The FAA reported, that the airplane hit a flock of birds (geese) causing both engines to lose power shortly after takeoff. The airplane took off runway 04 and was airborne for about 3 minutes.

Passengers reported, they had barely time to prepare for the ditching from time of impact with birds to impact with water. The airplane was airborne, when one loud bang was heard, the airplane shook, both engines flamed out and emitted smoke.

In radio transmissions to Air Traffic Control the pilot reported bird strikes to both engines and wanted initially to divert to Teterboro,NJ before turning onto the Hudson River.

The NTSB confirmed the registration of the airplane to be N106US and dispatched a go-team consisting of 20 investigators on site. The French BEA joins the investigation with 4 investigators, EASA with one specialist and Airbus Industries with 6 engineers. On Jan 16th the NTSB reported, that one of the airplane's engines is missing but they can't tell yet, which one is missing. (Editor's note: an images of the airplane just before touchdown - see below - shows both engines attached). The airplane has been secured south of Manhattan, attempts are underway to get the airplane fully recovered out of the water. The FAA later added, it is the left engine missing. Again later the NTSB clarified their previous report, that both engines are missing from the airframe and both apparently detached after hitting the water.

In a press conference on Jan 15th the Mayor of New York cautioned, that they only believe everybody got out of the airplane. The number of 155 souls on board is not yet entirely ensured as well. So far they don't have reports of any serious injuries. Only a few were actually delivered to the hospitals. The captain walked the airplane twice after landing to ensure, nobody was left on board.

The radar track by New York's La Guardia Airport has the airplane appear on the radar screen at 20:25:52Z, reaching the highest point at 3400 feet MSL overhead the Bronx Park at 20:27:30Z, entering the left hand turn on 20:27:51Z. A Helicopter (registration N461SA) is at that time tracking north over the Hudson River at 1000 feet MSL. The A320 leaves the turn at 20:28:27Z, reaches the George Washington Bridge at 20:28:53Z at 1300 feet, while the helicopter at that point descends to 800 feet and starts to turn right onto Manhattan, the Airbus also swerves right for a moment. At 20:29:10Z the aircraft are clear of each other. The last radar return of the aircraft is received at 500 feet MSL at 15:29:50Z.

There are large bird sanctuaries underneath the departure path of runway 04 respective approach path runway 22 like Rikers Island, Clason Point Park, Hunts Point Riverside Park or Barretto Point Park.

A marvelous article about the ditching including an extensive statement by Eric Moody, captain of the British Airways Boeing 747-200 flight BA-009 losing all 4 engines while flying into volcanic ashes overhead Indonesia in 1982, has appeared in the regional Scottish newspaper "The Scotsman".

On Sep 15th 1988 an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-200 registration ET-AJA collided with a flock of pigeons at about 200 feet AGL while taking off from Ethiopia's airport Bahar Dar. Both engines failed some time later resulting in a belly crash landing. 35 of the 104 occupants lost their lives.

Another very similiar accident happened to Scandinavian Airlines flight 751, a MD-81 registration OY-KHO on December 27th 1991, when during takeoff from Stockholm both engines failed as result of ice coming off the main wings and hitting the engines. All 129 people on board survived, 2 of them with serious injuries and 23 with minor injuries.

At least temporary total power losses (incomplete list):
Dec 28th 1978: United DC68 registration N8082U near Portland,OR (USA), fuel starvation
Jun 24th 1982: British Airways B742 registration G-BDXH over West Java (Indonesia), volcanic ashes
Jul 23rd 1983: Air Canada B762 registration C-GAUN ("Gimli Glider") near Gimli (Canada), fuel starvation
Mar 31st 1986: United B762 registration N609UA near San Francisco,CA (USA), dual flame out
Jun 30th 1987: Delta B762 registration N103DA near Los Angeles,CA (USA), fuel inadvertently turned off
Sep 15th 1988: Ethiopian B732 registration ET-AJA at Bahar Dar (Ethiopia), multiple bird strikes
Sep 03rd 1989: Varig B732 registration PP-VMK over Brazil, wrong heading
Dec 15th 1989: KLM B744 registration PH-BFC near Anchorage,AK (USA), volcanic ashes
Jan 25th 1990: Avianca B703 at New York,NY (USA), fuel starvation
Dec 27th 1991: Scandinavian MD81 registration OY-KHO at Stockholm (Sweden), ice ingestion
Nov 15th 1993: Indian Airlines A30B registration VT-EDV near Tirupati (India), fuel starvation during diversion
Nov 23rd 1996: Ethiopian B762 registration ET-AIZ at Comoros (Union des Comores), hijack
Jan 13th 2000: Avisto SH36 registration HB-AAM at Marsa Brega (Lybia), ice ingestion
May 21st 2000: East Coast J31 registration N16EJ at Wilkes Barre,PA (USA), fuel starvation
Jul 12th 2000: Hapag Lloyd A313 registration D-AHLB near Vienna (Austria), cruise with extended landing gear
Aug 24th 2001: Transat A332 registration C-GITS ("Atlantic Glider") near Azores (Portugal), fuel leak
Aug 16th 2005: Tuninter AT72 registration TS-LBB near Sicily (Italy), wrong fuel gauge
Jan 17th 2008: British Airways B772 registration G-YMMM at Heathrow,EN (UK), yet unexplained engine roll down

It is also suspected, that a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 registration EI-DYG lost all power following multiple bird strikes on approach into Rome Ciampino (Italy) on Nov 10th 2008.

Congratulations to the pilot for a great landing on water.

In a second incident involving a commercial jet mishap at a major airport in just about twelve hours, as per Reuters, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737 plane went off the runway and caught fire at Denver International Airport at 18:18 December 20, (01:18 GMT December 21).

Less than 12 hours earlier, at 13:51 GMT, December 20, a Gulf Air Airbus 321 plane caught fire at Mumbai airport.

None of the injuries at Denver were life-threatening, but the injured passengers were taken to area hospitals, as per DIA spokesperson, Kim Day at a news conference, but CBS Denver is reporting one critical injury.

As in Mumbai, Denver airport reported significant flight delays after the crash, as some runways were shut down.

There were 112 passengers and crew on flight CO 1404, which was taking off Denver International Airport for Houston.

It wasn't immediately known why the plane crashed, but the right side of the plane caught fire after it landed in a ravine between two runways on the west side of the airfield. Denver assistant fire chief Steve Garrod said the plane "crashed, caught fire" and flames extended into the cabin. He said the right wing was cracked, as was the fuselage.

Despite freezing temperatures, officials felt "ice was not a factor".

An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 passenger plane, on a test flight, crashed off France's southern coast Thursday, killing all seven people onboard, authorities said.

The plane plunged into the Mediterranean at 4:46p.m. local, officials said. A witness told French radio he saw the Airbus dive and plunge into the sea. "It was flying straight, then it turned brutally towards the ground," the witness, a local policeman, told France Info radio. "I said to myself, it will never pull out and there was a big spray of water."

Five boats, two diving teams and a helicopter searched for survivors, but now the mission has become one of retrieval.

The cause was not immediately clear, Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe told a news conference in Auckland. He said five New Zealanders and two Germans were aboard the aircraft, which had been leased to German carrier XL Airways and was being tested after a refit prior to its return to New Zealand next month.

The airframe manufacturer Airbus released the following statement

Airbus regrets to confirm that an A320 operated by XL Airways Germany and owned by Air New Zealand was involved in an accident this afternoon. The aircraft was operating a flight from Perpignan, France with seven passengers on board.

The aircraft involved in the accident was MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 2500, delivered in July 2005. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 7000 flight hours in some 2800 flight cycles. It was powered by IAE V2500 engines. At this time no further factual information is available.

In line with ICAO Annex 13 international convention, Airbus will provide full technical assistance to the investigation authorities of France, who will be responsible for the investigation into the accident. A team of 5 specialists from Airbus is being dispatched to the site.

The A320 is a twin-engine single-aisle aircraft, seating 150 passengers in a standard two-class configuration. The first A320 entered service in March 1988. By the end of October 2008, 1,960 A320 aircraft were in service with 155 operators. To date, the entire A320 fleet has accumulated some 45 million flight hours in some 24 million flights.

The concerns and sympathy of the Airbus employees go to the families, friends and loved ones affected by the accident.

For further information, please contact:
AIRBUS - MEDIA RELATIONS
Tel.: (33) 05.61.93.33.87 or 05.61.93.34.31 or 05.61.93.10.00