Kingfisher Airlines prides itself as the "King of Good Times", full of glamour and model quality cabin crew. A British trio took things too literally and decide to have a "bang" from Bangalore.
Sarah Hannon.Image copyright The Sun.
As per The Sun newspaper, model and cover-girl Sarah Hannon and her boyfriend Daniel Melia boarded IT001 from Bangalore to London Heathrow. Through the flight Sarah Hannon indulged in quite a few drinks (hey Kingfisher is also India's largest alcoholic beverages company), and fell asleep in a drunken stupor.
Daniel Melia got the itch for fellow passenger Clare Irby and decided to “get on well” underneath a blanket with her but was stopped by one of the Kingfisher cabin crew.
Obviously there must have been a commotion since Sarah Hannon woke up, caught her boyfriend romping in a "sky-high" sex act, and flew in to a rage. She had to be calmed down by the crew at 30,000ft.
Armed cops boarded Kingfisher Airlines Flight IT001 on its arrival at London's Heathrow airport, and arrested the trio.
Mr Melia, 36, and Ms Irby, 29, were arrested for alleged gross indecency while Sarah Hannon, 35, was held for being drunk on an aircraft. All three were released on bail.
None of the three had any comment.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
Call it post 26/11 jitters, but an quick reacting flight attendant and under-cover commandos caused a security flap and high drama at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
An Air India Airbus A320-200, IC-401 from New Delhi to Kolkata with 104 people on board, was lined up awaiting clearance for take-off when a woman passenger, an off duty flight attendant for another airline, alerted cabin crew of the suspicious behaviour of three fellow passengers travelling together, after she observed one of them reading a book about Air Disasters.
When she questioned them they were dismissive claiming the book had nothing to do with her. Her suspicions raised the off-duty flight attendant passenger alerted the Air India cabin crew. The three suspect passengers refused to answer questions about the book to the on-duty crew and also did not identify themselves.
The quick reacting Air India flight attendant informed the captain, who, following procedure decided to return to the gate.
The alert created high drama. As the airplane returned to the gate, security forces cordoned off the airplane and interrogated the three suspect passengers, who turned out to be three commandos of the elite Special Protection Group,which is entrusted with protecting amongst others, the Prime Minister of India.
The book they were reading was a training manual. For obvious reasons SPG commandos are expected not to reveal their identity, so no action could be taken against the commando for failing to clear the air at the outset. The airplane was finally able to depart after a delay of two hours.
Talk about the ultimate anti-climax.
What is your view of this incident? Post a comment.
Hat tip to Simon Hradecky for the tip.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
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.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
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.
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.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
Something is in the air at the Bengaluru International Airport. For the second time in less than a week, an Airbus A330 is getting grounded at the airport with a technical fault.
Following the five day grounding of a Dragonair A330, it is the turn of Air France. F-GZCB which was to perform flight AF191 early this morning, has been grounded with a technical flaw in the avionics bay.
An Air France engineer is flying out with the required spares on tonight's AF192 flight, and is expected to fix the aircraft which should fly out some time tomorrow afternoon.
All the passengers on the stranded flight were put on alternate airlines or accommodated in hotels.
Update 1 - 13:00GMT 18:30 local March 19
After many efforts by the engineers at Bangalore very futile, a team of senior engineers flew in from Dubai late this afternoon on the Emirates flight and have commenced inspection of the aircraft. Parts are expected in from Paris on AF192 which should come in around 01:00 local. Hopefully F-GZCB will be repaired by tomorrow morning and leave back to her home in Paris.
Update 2 - 06:00GMT 11:30 local March 22
Poor F-GZCB is still sitting on the ground. Very forlorn. The major electrical problem has been addressed. The parking bill from the Airport is going to be big.
Update 3 - 18:00GMT 23:30 local March 22
F-GZCB finally flew out as a ferry flight at 19:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Even the departure was not without drama as the aircraft was originally scheduled to leave at 15:45 local to avoid the night curfew plaguing most European airports including Charles De Gaulle. At the last moment a hydraulics problem cropped up. Luckily there were three engineers from Air France at the site, and the issue was addressed and corrected in a record two hours.
Still special permission was needed for the European curfew, and having obtained it, the A330 finally left Bangalore almost five days after being on the ground.
Since F-GZCB was in "AOG" status (Aircraft On Ground) for such a long period, she will undergo a thorough check today before being pressed back in to service.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
An Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500, Emirates Airlines Airbus A340-500, registration A6-ERG performing flight EK407 from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with 225 people on board, damaged and decommissioned the main runway at Melbourne airport while taking-off.
The aircraft ran off the runway 16 (length 3657 meters / 12,000 feet) around 22:30 local (12:30GMT) March 20, during its take-off run, struck its tail on the runway, and hit the runway end lights and the localizer antenna past the end of the runway 16.
The airplane climbed out safely, and tried to dump fuel over the ocean at Port Philip Bay but was forced to return to Melbourne for an immediate emergency landing when smoke started to fill the cabin.
The airplane was fully fuelled for the long non-stop flight to Dubai, and the heavily loaded aircraft landed hard on Melbourne's runway 34. She was able to taxi to the apron after being inspected by airport's emergency services.
Severe abrasions occurred to the tail skin and several access panels have been ripped off during the tail strike at take-off. The hard landing, un-avoidable due to the full fuel weight, has reportedly caused damage to the landing gear.
Melbourne airport authorities have confirmed that ILS runway 16 will need repairs and will not be available until Monday, March 23rd.
For full technical details of the accident including NOTAMs and METARs please visit Aviation Herald. Hat tip to Simon Hradecky who runs a great site keeping track of all the aviation incidents around the world.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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!!!!!
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
March 2nd, the crew of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration 9V-SFK performing freight flight SQ7344 from Nairobi, Kenya to Amsterdam Schiphol, Netherlands, declared an emergency reporting a fire alert and automatic activation of the cargo fire suppression system and diverted to Munich, Germany.
The aircraft landed safely, and the crew remained on board while the emergency services checked the aircraft after which they could not determine if there has been any fire or not.
The airplane was subsequently towed off the northern runway and subject to a detailed inspection. As per Singapore Airlines, the airplane was carrying flowers, mangos, other fruit and vegetables. It appears that the emanations by the mangos caused the smoke detectors to trigger, resulting in a false alert.
The airplane was allowed to take off again and reached Amsterdam with a delay of approximately 8 hours.
In India, the mango is the king of fruits and thousands of tons are grown, sold, and consumed each year. The Alphonso mango is a prized export in markets as far as the United States. No reported problems with Indian mangos or their emanations.
May be the Dutch importer should buy Indian mangos instead of African ones.
Qantas' bad luck with its planes continue. On March 2, Qantas was forced to declare one of its flagship Airbus A380 superjumbos "unserviceable" at London Heathrow.
Despite best efforts and making hundreds of passengers wait over 12 hours, Qantas engineers could not repair a leak in the fuel system.
Qantas was forced to transfer its passengers on to a Boeing 747, after making them wait overnight for QF10 from London Heathrow to Melbourne to depart. The 747 flight finally departed 13 hours late.
This is the second embarrassing incident for Qantas in recent times. Earlier on January 19th, another of Qantas' A380's was grounded at Los Angeles LAX airport.
Admittedly the Qantas A380's are brand spanking new, and may have some occasional issues, but neither of the other two airlines operating the A380, Emirates and Singapore Airlines, are reporting this level of failure.
Hopefully the engineers at Airbus and Qantas can resolve the issues soon.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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.
Share this article If you liked this article please share it with your friends
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=
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
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.
A Lion Air Boeing MD90 registration PK-LIO performing flight JT-972, on February 23, 2009, had to perform an emergency landing while on a flight from Medan to Batam, both in Indonesia.
The flight with 156 passengers and 6 crew, could not lower the nose gear while on approach to runway 04. While on approach to Batam the crew noticed, that the nose gear did not show down, green, and locked. They aborted the approach and circled the airport which trying to troubleshoot the problem. After 60 minutes, they were forced to land without the nose gear at around 18:30 local time (11:30GMT). The airport's emergency services sprayed foam on the runway for the landing, which the crew performed safely.
The airplane was evacuated with no injuries being reported, however three passengers were taken to local hospitals in shock.
Batam Runway 04/22 is closed, as the airplane is 1990 meters from threshold runway 04.
On February 9th, there was a near miss incident at Mumbai airport which involved the President of India.
The Indian Air Force is at the receiving end of an article by 737 instructor pilot Captain A. Ranganathan, who complains that poor navigation, lack of communication with the control tower and non-conformation with procedures on the part of the navy pilots operating the helicopters, one of which had the the President of India on board, could have resulted in a major disaster in Mumbai.
What is utterly appalling is that the man who saved the situation, the air traffic controller, is the one facing the heat now, while both the pilots involved in the incident have got away scot-free.
The Air Chief Marshall of the Indian Air Force has gone on record to state that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has to set his house in order. What has angered a lot of people in the civil aviation community is the fact that he said this in front of international media, maintained that his pilots were the best and made no mistakes, when the tape transcripts from the ATC clearly show the helicopter pilots in poor light.
The question on everyone's mind is whether the DGCA has the political guts to counter the Air Chief Marshall. The facts show the Air Force had not used the helicopters that were designated for the flight. They did not follow procedures. They did not use the mandatory safety equipment like the Transponders and TCAS (if they were fitted with them). They did not comply with ATC instructions........and they did this with the President of India on board!!!!!
A Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-400, registration N676NW performing flight NW2 from Manila, Philippines, to Tokyo Narita, Japan, with 408 passengers and 14 crew, was in a holding pattern near Chiba, 40nm south of Narita, about 30 minutes before landing with seatbelt signs turned on, when the airplane encountered severe turbulence and suddenly dropped from its assigned altitude of 15000 feet.
The crew reported about 2-3 injuries via radio, but did not declare emergency. The landing 30 minutes later at 12:19 local (03:19 GMT) was safe.
A total of 43 passengers were injured in the upset and were brought to hospitals. Initially reported two serious injuries turned out less severe. However, Japanese officials reported later, that one passenger received a serious injury (neck fracture).
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.
As per The Sun newspaper, model and cover-girl Sarah Hannon and her boyfriend Daniel Melia boarded IT001 from Bangalore to London Heathrow. Through the flight Sarah Hannon indulged in quite a few drinks (hey Kingfisher is also India's largest alcoholic beverages company), and fell asleep in a drunken stupor.
