Injured On An Airplane?

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by DEBORAH FELDMAN and ALLEN SCHAUFFLER / KING 5 News

KING5.com

Posted on August 18, 2010 at 11:57 AM Updated yesterday at 5:50 PM

Narrative:
An AIRES Colombia Boeing 737-73V, registered HK-4682, was destroyed in a landing accident at San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (ADZ), Colombia. One occupant died, 114 were injured and six were unharmed. The airplane broke in three.-
Flight 8250 had departed Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG) at 12:07 at night on a domestic service to San Andres Island. The airplane landed on runway 06 in the midst of a major storm.
Weather around the time of the accidet (01:49 local, 06:49 UTC):
SKSP 160500Z 07006KT 9999 FEW016 SCT200 29/26 A2990=
SKSP 161100Z 00000KT 9999 FEW013CB SCT080 27/25 A2985 RMK LTNG/CB/E=
Sources:
» El Tiempo, 16-8-2010
» AIRES press releases

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20101016-0

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By VIVIAN SEQUERA (AP)

BOGOTA, Colombia — A Boeing 737 jetliner carrying 131 people crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid onto the runway on a Caribbean island on Monday. The region’s governor said it was a miracle that only one person died.

Colombian Air Force Col. David Barrero said officials were investigating reports the plane had been hit by lightning before crashing at 1:49 a.m. (3:49 a.m. EDT; 0649 GMT) on San Andres Island, a resort area of 78,000 people about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of the Nicaraguan coast.

San Andres Gov. Pedro Gallardo said 125 passengers and six crew members had been aboard Aires Flight 8520, but the only person killed was Amar Fernandez de Barreto, 68.

“It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God,” that only one person died, said Gov. Pedro Gallardo.

Officials said 119 people were treated or checked at local clinics and five of them were seriously injured.

The state government said in an e-mail that passengers aboard the plane that left Bogota about midnight included eight U.S. citizens and four Brazilians. They were not identified.

Passenger Ricardo Ramirez, a vacationing civil engineer, told Caracol Radio that all had seemed normal, even though the plane was flying through a storm, with flashes of lightning, as it neared the airport.

“The plane was going perfectly, we practically going to land, everything was under control,” he said. The accident “appeared out of nowhere.”

The plane hit short of the runway and slid forward on its belly as the fuselage fractured and bits of landing gear and at least one engine were ripped off.

Survival was “a miracle of God. Thanks to God we are alive,” Ramirez said.

The jet wound up on one end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces, as passengers scrambled or were helped to safety.

Firefighters quickly doused the beginnings of a fire on a wing, said police Gen. Orlando Paez.

Ninety-nine passengers were taken to the Amor de Patria Hospital on San Andres, said the hospital director, Dr. Robert Sanchez.

“It’s incredible. For the dimension (of the accident), there should be more,” he said.

Sanchez said an initial examination indicated that Fernandez de Barreto may have died of a heart attack.

Twenty other passengers were treated at another clinic, according to the national civil aviation agency.

Barrero, commander of the Caribbean Air Group, said by telephone from San Andres that “the skill of the pilot kept the plane from colliding with the airport.”

He said the cause of the accident was uncertain. “You can’t speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say.”

The airline, Aerovias de Integracion Regional SA, said in a Twitter posting that it has 20 planes, including 10 Boeing 737-100 planes.

It said it was “working and investigating with the aeronautical authorities to determine the causes of what happened.”

Barrero said part of the 7,800-foot (2,380-meter) runway had been closed because parts of the plane were still scattered across it. But enough was usable that air ambulances would be able to land.

Paez said by telephone that a group of police officers who had been waiting at the airport for the plane to take them back to the Colombian mainland aided in rescuing the victims.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gw3-tyohDhSGDplj8TPrYOq3ojSwD9HKNU8G0

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

August 10, 2010

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched

a Go Team to investigate last night’s airplane crash near

Dillingham, Alaska.

At about 8:00 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, a DeHavilland

DHC-3T (N455A) crashed 10 miles northwest of Aleknagik,

Alaska.  Reports are that 5 of the 9 persons on board died

in the accident.

Senior air safety investigator Clint Johnson, from the

NTSB’s Anchorage regional office, will serve as

Investigator-in-Charge.  He will be assisted by

investigators from the Alaska office and from NTSB

headquarters in Washington, D.C.

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman is accompanying the

team and will serve as spokesperson for the on-scene

investigation.  Terry Williams is the NTSB press officer

traveling with the team.  The full team is expected to

arrive in Dillingham around mid-day today.

Contact information for the team will be released when

it is available.

NTSB Press Contact:     (In Washington)

                        Keith Holloway

                        keith.holloway@ntsb.gov

                        202-314-6100

The United States National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the turbulence event that injured so many passengers on July 21, 2010. They have released a press advisory that states as follows:

NTSB INVESTIGATING TURBULENCE EVENT OVER MISSOURI

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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating yesterday’s turbulence event experienced by United Airlines Flight #967 (N773UA).The airplane, a Boeing 777-200, en route from Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to Los Angeles, Calif.(LAX), encountered severe turbulence at approximately 6:14 p.m. (MDT) about 60 miles southeast of Kansas City, Missouri and about 40 miles north of Springfield, Missouri, at approximately 34,000 feet. The aircraft diverted and landed in Denver, Colorado.

The airplane had 255 passengers and 10 crew members onboard. Seventeen passengers and four flight attendants reported minor injuries. Initial reports indicate minor damage to the interior of the cabin.

Information from the flight data recorder was downloaded in Denver and was received at NTSB headquarters today where it will be studied by investigators.

Senior Air Safety Investigator, Bill English, is the Investigator-in-Charge. Mr. English and the NTSB technical experts assisting him will conduct the investigation from the NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C. and will not travel to the scene.

Crew member, passenger, and weather information will be gathered over the coming days.

Although the NTSB has stated that reported injuries are minor, this is preliminary information. As more information becomes known to the NTSB this may change. Certainly it is in everyone’s interest for any and all injured passengers to make the NTSB aware of the full extent of their injuries. Knowing how serious this event was may well help prevent future incidents, and future injuries. You can use this link for information on how to contact the NTSB.

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                      NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2010

SB-10-27

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LACK OF RULES REQUIRING DISSEMINATION OF WIND CONDITION DATA

AND PILOT’S INSUFFICIENT RUDDER CONTROL CITED AS PROBABLE

CAUSE OF 2008 DENVER RUNWAY ACCIDENT

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Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board

today determined that the probable cause of the 2008

Continental Airlines flight 1404 runway excursion accident

was the captain’s cessation of rudder input, which was

needed to maintain directional control of the airplane,

about 4 seconds before the aircraft departed the runway,

when the airplane encountered a strong and gusty crosswind

that exceeded the captain’s training and experience. 

Contributing to the accident was the air traffic control

system that did not require or facilitate the dissemination

of key available wind information to air traffic controllers

and pilots, and inadequate cross wind training in the

airline industry due to deficient simulator wind gust

modeling.

On December 20, 2008, Continental Airlines flight 1404

veered off the left side of runway 34R during a takeoff from

Denver International Airport.  As a result, the captain

initiated a rejected takeoff and the airplane came to rest

between runways 34R and 34L.  There was a post-crash fire. 

All 110 passengers and 5 crewmembers evacuated the airplane

immediately after it came to rest.  The captain and five

passengers were seriously injured.  

At the time of the accident, mountain wave and downsloping

wind conditions existed in the Denver area and the strong

localized winds associated with these conditions resulted in

pulses of strong wind gusts at the surface that posed a

threat to operations at Denver International Airport.     

“This aircraft happened to be in the direct path of a

perfect storm of circumstances that resulted in an

unexpected excursion in an airport with one of the most

sophisticated wind sensing systems in the country,” said

NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman.  “It is critical that

pilots receive training to operate aircraft when high wind

conditions and significant gusts are present, and that

sufficient airport-specific wind information be provided to

ATC controllers and pilots as well.”

As a result of this accident the NTSB issued 14

recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration

regarding mountain waves, wind dissemination to flightcrews,

runway selection,   pilot training for crosswind takeoffs,

and crashworthiness.      

A synopsis of the Board’s report, including the probable

cause, conclusions, and recommendations, is available on the

NTSB’s website, at

http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/2010/AAR1004.htm.

The Board’s full report will be available on the website in

several weeks.

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NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams

(202) 314-6100

williat@ntsb.gov

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                       NTSB ADVISORY

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

July 8, 2010

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NTSB TO MEET ON 2008 CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1404

ACCIDENT AT DENVER AIRPORT

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The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a Board meeting on

Tuesday, July 13, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. in its Board Room and Conference

Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. There is one item on

the agenda.

On December 20, 2008, Continental Airlines flight 1404 departed the left

side of runway 34R at Denver International Airport during takeoff.  There

was a post-crash fire.  The captain and five of the 110 passengers were

seriously injured.

A live and archived webcast of the proceedings will be available on the

Board’s website at http://www.ntsb.gov/events/Boardmeeting.htm.

Technical support details are available under “Board Meetings” on the

NTSB website. To report any problems, please call 703-993- 3100 and ask

for Webcast Technical Support.

A summary of the Board’s final report, which will include findings,

probable cause, and safety recommendations, will appear on the website

shortly after the conclusion of the meeting. The entire report will appear on the website several weeks later.

# # #  

NTSB Media Contact: 

Terry N. Williams

(202) 314-6100

williat@ntsb.gov

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By JOAN LOWY and JOSHUA FREED

WASHINGTON —

Federal aviation officials have known for years that cockpit window heaters in some Boeing planes catch fire. But they haven’t required airlines to fix the problem, even after dozens of incidents that unnerved pilots and, in many cases, forced emergency landings.

Pilots have complained about heaters that burned, smoldered or sent electric currents dancing across cockpit windows since at least 2002, according to an Associated Press search of a NASA aviation safety database. Safety investigators have traced the problem to a simple loose screw.

None of the reported incidents was deadly, but they were scary. Sometimes, flames would reappear after flight crews had blasted them with fire extinguishers. In many cases, the window heater would cause an inside ply of windshield to shatter into spidery cracks that obstructed pilots’ view. Sometimes, pilots and instrument panels were sprayed with glass.

Pilots reported having to remove their oxygen masks in smoky cockpits in order to reach circuit breakers or grab fire extinguishers.

The National Transportation Safety Board has prodded the Federal Aviation Administration to make airlines fix the problem, concerned that a major accident could happen if nothing is done. The FAA has yet to mandate the repairs, although it has promised the NTSB since 2004 that it would.

Read the entire article at:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012232676_apuscockpitfires.html