The AVSIG Blog

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2012-01-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

January 26 - The pilot of a Cessna 210 made a safe emergency landing in a field near Hemet, California after losing power on approach to Hemet-Ryan Airport.

January 24 - A student and instructor made a safe engine-out landing in their Cessna 150 in a field near Lewisburg, Tennessee.

January 23 - Both aboard a Yak-52 were killed after crashing in the Timona Recreational Reserve near Feilding, New Zealand. No injuries were reported on the ground.

January 21 - Both aboard a single-engine Cessna were killed after crashing near Madison, Indiana. The aircraft was reportedly on approach to Madison Airport at the time of the crash.

January 19 - A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Detroit from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania made a safe emergency landing at Elmira Corning Regional Airport in Elmira, New York after the crew encountered trouble with the wing flaps.

January 18 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after the aircraft reportedly broke up in flight over Leighton, Wales.

January 18 A Korean Airways cargo jet carrying cattle bound for Amsterdam from Chicago made a safe emergency landing at London's Heathrow International Airport after a cockpit warning light indicated fire in the cargo hold.

January 17 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on a public street near Topeka, Kansas after the pilot reported engine trouble.

January 16 - A chartered MD-80 carrying members of the Detroit Pistons professional basketball team made a safe emergency landing at its destination of Hobby Airport in Houston after the crew reported trouble with the left landing gear hydraulics.

January 16 - The pilot of a Piper Aerostar registered to M&H Ventures LLC was killed after crashing on takeoff from Philadelphia Municipal Airport in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

January 15 - Both aboard a Piper Comanche were killed after crashing in the Nantucket Sound near Brewster, Massachusetts. The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit prior to the crash.

January 15 - A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Costa Rica from Atlanta made an unscheduled landing in Tampa after a couple in the first class section reportedly became unruly. The passengers were met by authorities in Tampa.

Another Great Reason to let the TSA do the Joking ...

2012-01-21T16:27:00.007-05:00

This humble blogger's daughter recently ran the BMV gauntlet for her driver's license. The test station was in a state government building festooned with the usual oddball collection of DON'T DO THIS OR WE WILL DO THIS signs that spring up in public service offices protected by armed personnel.

Fall in line, everybody. It doesn't matter if you think you're being worked over by people who were fired by Wal-Mart, we have people with guns here.

The two examiners in the testing room, however, put on a small real-world 'guvmint-bot vs. human-hold-out passion play.

One wore her cop-looking State Examiner patch on her sleeve in every possible way, barking at applicants and moving with a majestic swagger belying the More Twinkies than Training tale told by her Humpty Dumpty frame. The other took great pains to be polite and disarming and simply got on with the business of testing license candidates. Her manner seemed willed, as if to counterbalance the hard-case pose of Barnameana Fife.

This Andy Griffith Show plays out in many public-contact government situations, but Andy is usually off in Mount Pilot, leaving Barney to mangle the public good will.

This week we salute the wise, funny, revealing blogging presence of the Transportation Security Administration, the just-a-url-away "Andy" for any Barney Fife you might to encounter on your travels.

These folks make blogging for the organization that has become the face of post-9/11 overreaching look easy.

There are no awkward, patronizing bureaucrat-who's-been-to-Toastmasters tones here -- just straight talk delivered with a wry grin that at first blush might look like the too-charming patter of a well-orchestrated PR campaign. Until you see what the TSA picks out of luggage, pockets, and persons with some regularity between cellphone cameos of little girls being traumatized for life by pat-downs.

Twelve-hundred firearms in 2011. Stun guns disguised as lipstick, as cell phones ... and as stun guns. Martial arts knives. Plain 'ol stabbin' knives. Inert land mines. Souvenir pieces of C4. And while the threat classification may be murky, there are often guys with exotic birds stuffed in their pants.

If you're of the mind that government types can easily make up wild contraband stories to justify their continued existence, be our guest, but this blogger would like to point out that just last night a fellow got arrested for drunk driving here in town and called his drunk father for a ride home. The lawmen noticed that the father was drunk after he arrived at their station via the front lawn.

Making stuff up to prove the world is off its tilt is often a waste of time these days.

A few best-of TSA Blog pull-quotes:

-- Gassed Up Chainsaw: Believe it or not, the chainsaw found at Elmira (ELM) was not [a] problem. You can travel with your chainsaw as checked luggage, however, gassing it up is the problem. You know ... Gas? (1/13/2012)

-- A passenger opted out of the body scanner at Buffalo (BUF) and during the pat-down, a 9” nonmetallic serrated knife was found in his pants pocket. The passenger stated later that he opted out of the body scanner because he was trying to get the knife through security ... (12/17/2011)

-- I’m sure you’ve heard the “What’s In Your Wallet” commercials… Well, a frustrated passenger at Boston (BOS) stated he had a bomb in his wallet. The police ended up citing the passenger, so while there was no actual bomb in his wallet, there is now less cash ... (12/9/2011)

And then there's Cupcakegate.

All the witty blog posts in the world will never excuse the occasional Barney Fife who shows up on your screening line (never mind the one who swipes your stuff), but this blog provides an astute summary of the TSA's role at U.S. airports a decade after the world was changed with box cutters and a plan. And as heart-warmingly funny as Grandmas with Grenades are, we hear the rubber-gloved ones are even still on the lookout for terrorists.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2012-01-13T09:53:00.002-05:00

January 12 - A U.S. Airways flight made a safe emergency landing at Yeager Airport near Charleston, West Virginia after smoke was detected in the cargo hold during a scheduled flight from Nashville to Washington D.C. No evidence of a fire was found.

January 12 - The pilot of a single-engine plane received minor injuries after crashing into a stand of trees near Stangelville, Wisconsin. The pilot was able to climb down from his airplane in the treetops and seek help. Authorities believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

January 11 - Both aboard a helicopter were killed after crashing near Mosjoen, Norway. The flight was reportedly herding reindeer at the time of the crash.

January 10 - A Piper PA-31 carrying employees of Aboriginal Strategies Inc. crashed in North Spirit Lake in Ontario, Canada, killing four and severely injuring one. The pilot was reportedly attempting to land at a nearby airstrip in heavy snow before the crash.

January 10 - A helicopter crashed near Churchfields Industrial Estate in Salisbury, England, injuring all three aboard. A witness reported that the pilot appeared to be searching for a landing spot when the aircraft contacted a treeline.

January 9 - An American Airlines B737 made an emergency landing at Albany International Airport in New York after losing oil pressure in one engine.

January 8 - The pilot of a single-engine experimental kit plane was killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Jackson County Airport northeast of Atlanta.

January 7 - A medevac helicopter was forced to land in Walterboro, South Carolina after the patient being transported broke free from his restraining straps and began fighting with the flight crew. The man had previously jumped out of a moving car on Interstate 95.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2012-01-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

January 6 - An Air New Zealand B737 made a safe emergency landing at Ohakea Air Force Base after a fire erupted in the cockpit shortly after departing Wellington.

January 5 - A British Airways flight bound for London from Istanbul made an emergency landing in Dusseldorf after the crew reported low fuel.

January 4 - A student and instructor made a safe emergency landing in a field near Stafford, Missouri after the engine of their Cessna 152 quit.

January 4 - All four aboard a single-engine plane were safe after crash-landing on the beach of Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia. The aircraft had previously landed on the beach and was reportedly attempting to take off again but struggled to gain altitude.

January 3 - A United Airlines B777 made an emergency return landing to Taipei after its nosewheel door failed to close after takeoff.

January 2 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing in a heavily-populated area near Grand-Bassam on the Ivory Coast of Africa. No injuries were reported on the ground.

January 2 - The pilot of a gyrocopter was uninjured after crash-landing at Whangarei Airport in New Zealand. High winds were reported at the time of the accident.

January 1 - A Southwest Airlines B737 bound from Denver to Newark made a safe emergency landing at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska after a windshield crack was discovered during the flight.

January 1 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was uninjured after crashing in a reservoir shortly after takeoff from Windham Airport in Willimantic, Connecticut.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-12-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

December 21 - A U.S. Airways flight bound for Charlotte from Ottawa made a safe emergency return landing to Ottawa after smoke filled the cockpit shortly after takeoff. A crew member speculated that fluids used to deice the aircraft entered an engine intake, causing the smoke.

December 20 - A single-engine Cessna registered to U.S. Aviation Academy crashed on approach to Denton Municipal Airport in Denton, Texas, killing one and injuring two. The aircraft was reportedly on an instructional flight at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

December 20 - All five aboard a Socata TBM-700 were killed after crashing on I-287 near Harding, New Jersey. The aircraft reportedly disappeared from radar after departing Teterboro and ascending through 17,000 feet in icing conditions. The wreckage reported left a half-mile debris field. (AVSIG Discussion)

December 19 - All five aboard a single-engine Piper were killed after crashing near Bryan, Texas. Heavy rain was reported at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

December 18 - Two single-engine aircraft collided near the airport in Leicestershire, England, killing the pilot of one aircraft. Both aircraft reportedly landed intact on a public road.

December 15 - A Cirrus SR22 crashed in a residential yard on approach to Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona, killing one and injuring one. No injuries were reported on the ground.

December 9 - All four aboard a Cessna 421 were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota.

December 7 - All five aboard a sightseeing helicopter operated by Sundance Helicopters were killed after crashing into a mountainside near Lake Mead in Las Vegas, Nevada. Weather was reported clear at the time of the crash.

December 3 - A Socata TB-21 crashed north of Silverton, Colorado, killing all four aboard. The aircraft was reportedly en route from Durango to Aspen at the time of the crash.

December 3 - A Piper Saratoga registered to Great Lakes Air Inc. crashed in the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, killing both aboard. The aircraft had reportedly just departed St. Ignace for Mackinaw Island at the time of the crash.

From Our Don't Cross Your Eyes within 1,000 Feet of an Airliner File ...

2011-12-13T13:40:00.001-05:00

When a well-known actor was recently escorted from First Class for acting less than, the resulting press coverage couldn't help but make the incident look like an elaborate publicity stunt. Was it really necessary to mention the specific playphone game that caused the actor, whose name we're not mentioning here simply because we're sick of seeing it, to disobey the flight crew and thumb away on his phone?

The game, Posturing with People (a name we made up, because we're also tired of seeing it) was gratuitously mentioned not once, but three times in the initial wire coverage, and every media outlet thereafter seemed compelled to mention Posturing with People in the breathless way that the real names of rappers are mentioned only after they've been shot.

Posturing with People.
Posturing with People.
Posturing with People.

Hopefully we're done now.

As easy as it might be to lump this into either the Celebrity Behaving Badly or Pea-Eye-Double-Essy-Flight-Attendant-on-a-Power-Trip Files, this internet blog is (almost) ignoring this too-smart-for-the-media publicity tweet and filing it under Mega-rich Celebrity Who's Too Cheap to Buy a NetJets Share.

Such twit-gawkering baubles distract from less-made-for-TMZ incidents of cabin rage where seemingly minor flight attendant/passenger conflicts are escalated into matters of national security, as in the case of three women who were recently booted off an AirTran flight in West Palm Beach for having the temerity to question the behavior of a flight attendant.

In an account not disputed by the airline, a flight attendant moved a bag from one overhead shelf to another. The bag's owner complained about the handling of the bag, which contained fragile items. The flight attendant took issue. A nearby passenger deemed this the perfect time to complain about her broken seat and the flight attendant invited both women to leave the airplane before a third woman came to their verbal defense in time join them on a perp walk off the airplane past roused-just-in-case Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies.

No drunkenness ... no threats. At worst maybe three testy passengers who might have been easily left to pound sand and compose nasty letters-to-the-CEO during the flight to Westchester County.

Unless these women failed to buckle in, delaying an airline flight and diverting law enforcement resources for such a petty spat calls for a closer look, not from the airline, which has made its position clear by expressing nothing but nothing in its public response, and not from passengers, who are always free to vote with their wallets, but from the people charged with making our air travel system safe from real threats.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-11-04T12:01:00.000-04:00

November 3 - A Cessna Citation skidded off the runway end at Key West International Airport in Florida after the pilot reported losing brakes. The aircraft safely impacted an EMAS arresting structure. (AVSIG Discussion)

November 1 - A LOT B767 made a safe emergency gear-up landing in Warsaw after encountering a complete failure of the landing gear hydraulics shortly after departing Newark, New Jersey. The aircraft circled Warsaw to burn fuel before the landing. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 31 - A Gulfstream G150 owned by Hendrick Motorsports skidded off the runway end at Key West International Airport in Florida after the pilot reported losing brakes. Two injuries were reported.

October 29 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing off a runway end at Richards Field Airport in Redland, Florida.

October 29 - The pilot of a 1990 Pietenpol Air Camper was seriously injured after crashing in a wooded area north of Youngstown, Ohio. Witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to struggle to make power before the crash.

October 26 - The crew of a Lufthansa A320 requested landing priority at its Frankfort destination after an unusual odor was noticed in the cabin.

October 24 - A fractionally-owned Cirrus SR22T crashed in a field adjacent to a high school in Carrollton, Texas, killing one and injuring two. The pilot reported engine trouble and was attempting to turn back to Addison Airport at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 23 - A single-engine plane crashed on approach to Davidson County Airport near Lexington, North Carolina, killing one and injuring one.

October 21 - Both aboard a single-engine experimental plane received minor injuries after striking a fence and flipping during an emergency landing in a field near Hibbing, Minnesota. The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit prior to crash landing.

October 20 - A U.S. Airways flight bound for Zurich from Philadelphia made an unscheduled landing in Boston after flight attendants were reportedly sickened by electrical fumes at the rear of the cabin.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-10-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

October 16 - The pilot of an Cirrus SR22 registered to Cirrwood LLC was killed after striking a house and crashing in Danbury, Connecticut. The aircraft was reportedly on approach to Danbury Municipal Airport at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 16 - A single-engine plane crashed near Lanwedel, Germany, killing both aboard. A witness reported that the aircraft appeared to experience engine trouble before the crash.

October 16 - All three aboard a Beech Bonanza were killed after crashing five miles short of the runway during an emergency landing attempt at Barstow-Daggett Airport in Daggett, California. No other details were available at post time.

October 15 - The pilot of a JH-7 "Flying Leopard" fighter-bomber was killed after crashing during an air show demonstration in Xi'an, China. The back-seat pilot safely ejected before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 14 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Yverdon-les Bains, Switzerland.

October 12 - The pilot of a Socata TBM 700 registered to SV Leasing Co. of America was forced to make an emergency landing on the Florida Turnpike near Hollywood, Florida after experiencing an engine failure on approach to North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines. Both the pilot and a passenger were reportedly injured during the landing.

October 10 - A Pen Air flight made an emergency return landing to Dillingham, Alaska after the airline received a bomb threat against the flight.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-10-10T09:59:00.001-04:00

October 8 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Thomasville Airport near Quitman, Georgia.

October 7 - The pilot of a Cessna 310 made a safe water ditching northeast of Hawaii Island after running out of fuel during an attempted flight between Monterey, California and Hilo. The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched both air and sea units to assist in the pilot's rescue. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 6 - All three aboard a Piper Saratoga were killed after crashing in mountainous terrain near Brake, West Virginia. Poor weather was reported at the time of the crash.

October 5 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing in a farm field near Moyock, North Carolina.

October 4 - A Bell 206 sightseeing helicopter crashed in the East River near New York's 34th Street heliport, killing one and injuring four. Witnesses reported that the pilot lost control of the aircraft shortly after takeoff. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 3 - A United Airlines CRJ-200 made a safe emergency return landing to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport after the nosegear failed to retract on takeoff.

September 29 - All 18 aboard a Casa C-212 were killed after crashing in heavy-forested terrain in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Heavy rain and high winds were reported in the area at the time of the crash.

September 25 - All 19 aboard a Buddha Air BE19 were killed after crashing during a landing attempt at an airport south of Kathmandu. Heavy fog was present at the time of the crash.

September 20 - A Salsa d’Haiti Beech 99 crashed in heavy rain near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, killing all three aboard.

September 19 - The pilot of a Skybolt stunt biplane safely ejected before his aircraft crashed in Greenleaf, Idaho. The pilot reported that the aircraft suffered a structural failure before he elected to eject.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-09-19T09:10:00.000-04:00

September 18 - A London-bound Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing in Jordan after the crew reported a "technical fault." Airline officials reportedly speculated the emergency landing and several similar recent flight delays were part of a concerted effort by unnamed parties to sabotage company operations.

September 17 - The pilot of a Cessna 172 was killed after crashing near Greenville Municipal Airport in Greenville, Maine.

September 17 - The pilot of a WWII-era T-28 operating on behalf of the Trojan Horseman aerobatic team was killed after crashing during an aerobatic maneuver at the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge air show in Martinsburg, West Virginia. (AVSIG Discussion)

September 16 - Eight spectators and the pilot of a modified P-51 Mustang were killed after the aircraft crashed near a spectator gallery at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada. High-resolution video frames of the aircraft before the crash revealed a broken elevator trim tab on the tail and an extended tailwheel gear. The wings of the crashed Mustang had reportedly been shortened by five feet on each side and ailerons shortened from 60 to 32 inches to increase speed and maneuverability. (AVSIG Discussion)

September 15 - A Thompson Airways flight made an emergency landing at London's Gatwick Airport after a passenger attempted to open an emergency exit at 36,000 feet, shouting, "It's OK, we are just on a flight simulator."

September 12 - A Cessna 182 crashed near Stanley, Idaho, killing both aboard. Search efforts were hampered by heavy terrain.

September 8 - The pilot of a Cirrus SR20 was killed after crashing near West Liberty, Ohio.

September 7 - A chartered Yak-42 operated by Yak-Servis crashed on takeoff from Yaroslavl, Russia, killing 43, including a professional hockey team and staff. Two crew members reportedly survived the crash. Witnesses reported that the aircraft struggled to gain altitude after rotation. (AVSIG Discussion)

September 6 - A Russian Air Force MiG-31 crashed during a training flight in the Ural Mountains in western Russia, killing both aboard. Russia grounded all MiG-31 pending an investigation of the crash.

Breaking: Reno Air Show P-51 Crash

2011-09-16T23:35:00.001-04:00

September 16 - A P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators during the Reno Air Races, killing the pilot and two on the ground. Many critical injuries were reported at post time. AVSIG Discussion. Video.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-09-05T10:02:00.001-04:00

September 5 - The pilot of a helicopter walked away uninjured after crashing in a field near Ingham, Queensland, Australia.

September 4 - A student and flight instructor were killed after crashing in a corn field shortly after takeoff from Seward Municipal Airport in Seward, Nebraska.

September 4 - A Spirit Airlines flight made a safe emergency return landing to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas after a passenger made a bomb threat against the flight.

September 2 - All 21 aboard a Chilean Air Force C-212 Aviocar were killed after crashing in the Pacific Ocean off the Juan Fernandez islands. The aircraft was reportedly making a third landing attempt in poor weather at the time of the crash.

September 2 - A single-engine plane struck utility lines before crashing near the A1 motorway in Peterborough, England. No serious injuries were reported.

September 1 - A helicopter registered to CHC Scotia made an emergency return landing to Great Yarmouth Airport in Great Yarmouth, England after its emergency flotation system deployed shortly after takeoff.

August 30 - No serious injuries were reported after a Lithuanian Air Force L-39 and French Air Force Mirage 2000 collided over Siauliai, Lithuania. The crew of the L-39 reportedly ejected while the Mirage crew made safe landing. The French plane was reportedly on routine NATO patrol at the time of the collision.

August 29 - A student pilot on a solo flight was injured after crashing into a house near the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in California. A house painter was also reported injured.

August 28 - Two single-engine planes collided over an airport runway end in Zell am See, Salzburg, Austria, killing three and injuring two.

August 26 - All four aboard a Lifenet Eurocopter AS-350 medevac helicopter were killed after crashing on approach to Mosby Airport in Mosby, Missouri. The helicopter was reportedly headed to the airport for refueling. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 25 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna was injured after flipping during a takeoff attempt from Monmouth Municipal Airport in Monmouth, Illinois.

August 23 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was critically injured after crashing into trees while performing touch-and-goes at an air strip in Coolin, Idaho.

August 20 - One pilot was killed after two planes performing aerobatics collided over Hammonton Municipal Airport in Hammonton, New Jersey. The surviving pilot was able to parachute to safety. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 20 - A charted B737 operated by First Air crashed on approach to Resolute Bay, Nunavut Canada, killing 12 and injuring three. Heavy fog was reported in the area at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 19 - The pilot of a homebuilt made a safe emergency landing on a public roadway near Coos Bay, Oregon after running out of fuel during a recreational flight.

August 17 - A Cessna 310 crashed into a residential yard shortly after departing Tupelo Regional Airport in Tupelo, Mississippi, killing the pilot. No injuries were reported on the ground.

August 14 - All four aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing near the airport in Burley, Idaho.

August 13 - A Cessna 207 operated by Inland Aviation Services crashed near McGrath, Alaska, killing two and injuring four. Weather was reported poor at the time of the crash.

August 12 - A seaplane-configured Cessna 206 Stationair registered to Key West Seaplanes crashed on takeoff from the Peace River near Arcadia, Florida, injuring all five aboard. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 12 - Eight passengers were injured after a PIA B747 made an emergency landing at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. High winds were reported in the area at the time of the crash.

What the $#!% is Happening to Free Speech on the Web?

2011-08-26T19:39:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time AVSIG was the last known place on the internet to require its members to use real names. We were archaic prudes. But we were just sticking with the theory we've had since back when we sort of invented online social networking in 1981*: Mobs of anonymous people won't hesitate to say terrible things about your mother on the internet, but Dr. John P. DeWalter of Rhinebeck, New York** will probably give her the benefit of the doubt.

This probably has something to do with Dr. DeWalter's full name being on his sentiments. Or his successful, readily located dental practice in Rhinebeck. Or his knowledge of the cost and inconvenience of getting one's front teeth replaced.

With a few exceptions the policy has always worked out for us.

Sure, some low life could print up, say, your musings from our political section and send a sheaf of it off to your soon-to-be-former employer, but we have always kept the low-life population pretty low on AVSIG. And honestly: do you really want to contribute your services to an employer who would fire you over your political beliefs? (You say the economy is in the dumper and you value any employment you can get? OK. Then just keep your big bazoo shut on politics anywhere your true identity is on the line, whether it's a glowing screen or a Rotary breakfast).

The larger web is embracing real names on a grand scale lately, as if the old-fashioned idea of knowing who you're conversing with on a regular basis is a new user experience upgrade.

Facebook and Google Plus may claim to want only to cultivate civil, productive social environments with their real name policies, but in reality these behemoths wouldn't be going to the mat over this issue unless they wanted the real good marketing data that rides along with real names.

Interblog counter-punching against this new-old real name trend has not exactly been bruising.

A blogger at InformationWeek recently compared the Google+ real name policy to an authoritarian regime, asserting that the search giant's latest attempt at social networking exposes users to potential harassment and persecution, stifles the exchange of free ideas, denies privacy, and isn't being enforced fairly.

If this sounds vaguely like a cross between some 60s flower child whining about not being able to pitch a tent on the White House lawn and some high-schooler's reluctant poli-sci position paper, it may be because the vanguard of tech writers today are children of the web's no-barriers free-for-all first decade-point-five. The consequence of bad behavior in the land of screen names rarely ever amounted to anything more than the inconvenience of being "banned," after which the "banned" reincarnate under new screen names to resume flaming, taunting, and trolling and other "ings."

Considering the millions of insults traded on web forums each day, the idea of, say, comfortably calling someone a bleepbag under one's real name must be discomforting to folks who have probably rarely written a letter to the editor, let alone a letter to the editor under their real names.

But let's look back to the recent days before DARPA, Bill, Steve, and Tim hooked us all up on the never-ending natter, when the only safe opportunities we had to call somebody a bleepbag was from a passing car or while sitting among thousands in a football stadium.

The pre-ZuckerWinkle "social networks" were pool halls, Elks Lodges, corner taverns, churches, and the PTA. Everybody knew everybody's name at those places with the exception of maybe the pool halls and taverns, but the anonymity afforded in those places was never good enough to stand between you and a broken beer bottle.

Today there are endless destinations for anonymous web posters, but still very few online places where everybody knows your name. You can count the large sites on one hand.

So why even join one of these real-name social networks if your real name is such a big secret?

And if you do join a real-name social network, why spout off about politics unless you're proud of your opinion and willing to live with half of all registered voters (or more) disagreeing with it? For whatever it may be worth to you, research at the politically-biased institution of your choice shows that your political opinion counts for squat out there on the internet ... same as with your smug look-who-I'm-voting-for bumper sticker and your hip I-support-Bozo yard sign.

Your web time would be better spent plus-one-ing fan sites for Snooki and The Biebs.

Of course modern real name pushback isn't all about political persecution. There are certainly other ideals you can be "persecuted for" on the web and in real life, like being a Michigan fan or driving a PT Cruiser. Still: you make your choices and you and your real identity live with them.

There can be no doubt that InformationWeek's real name protester is on the money about real names stifling the free exchange of ideas, however ... at least the free exchange of ideas anon web punks have come to see as an online birthright.

Recently The Columbus Dispatch switched its online article comment module to one requiring real names for posting. Editor Ben Marrison, who under the previous anonymous comment arrangement enjoyed 24/7 insults accusing him of making up positive reader feedback anecdotes, having bad hair, and dribbling non-stop insipid observations about the world in his column each Sunday, couldn't have been more pleased with result. Real Name feedback on Mr. Marrison's column announcing this change dwindled to 1/100th the typical feedback under the anonymous comment arrangement, and it was mostly polite, glowing, and positive feedback congratulating Mr. Marrison on the publication's wise, prescient move. If prevarication serves, someone even complemented Mr. Marrison's hair.

But there was a little hiccup in the Dispatch Real Name changeover ... where Editor Marrison mistakenly announced that real account-holder names would not show up on posts in the new comment system ... but where the real account-holder names did show up on the posts, along with the fake names the commentators had been using as posting names on the old anon system. One outspoken and oft-inflammatory poster under the previous make-up-whatever-name-you-want setup, a prominent local attorney, was tragically outed. As they say on the internets under real names or fake, sucks to be him.

M.O.

(Real Name: BieberCleaver114)

*No, we're not going all Winklevoss on anybody. We only sort of invented it.
**Dr. John P. DeWalter of Rhinebeck, New York is a wholly fictitious person, we think.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-08-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

August 9 - All three aboard a Piper Apache were killed after crashing on approach to Holmes County Airport in Millersburg, Ohio. The pilot was reportedly diverting from his destination in heavy fog at the time of the crash.

August 8 - The pilot of a Cessna 150 made a safe emergency landing on the grounds of the Korbel Champagne Cellars in Rio Nido, California.

August 7 - A single-engine plane crashed near Warrenton, Virginia, killing both aboard.

August 6 - All four aboard a single-engine aircraft were injured after crashing near Harris Ranch Airport in Coalinga, California.

August 5 - A Cessna 210 registered to Muy Flying LLC of San Antonio crash-landed in a field near Amarillo, Texas, injuring all five aboard. The pilot reported engine trouble before the landing attempt.

August 4 - An ultralight crashed in the desert near Lordsburg, New Mexico. Authorities found 134 pounds of marijuana strapped to the underside of the aircraft. The pilot could not be located after the crash.

August 3 - A Piper Cherokee crashed on approach to Grove Field Airport in Camas, Oregon, killing the pilot.

August 2 - The pilot of an Indian Air Force Mig-21 was killed after ejecting from his crashing jet over Bikaner, Rajasthan India. The aircraft reportedly had just departed Naal airfield before the crash.

August 2 - A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Los Angeles from Minneapolis made an emergency landing in Salt Lake City after a lavatory toilet malfunctioned.

August 1 - A single-engine plane crashed near Dunkirk, Wisconsin, injuring both aboard. The aircraft reportedly had recently departed Matson Airport.

July 31 - The pilot of a Beechcraft Bonanza was killed after his aircraft broke up in flight over Byron, Georgia. Wreckage of the aircraft landed in a residential area. No injuries were reported on the ground.

July 29 - Five Colombian police officers were killed and one injured after their Cessna 206 crashed on takeoff from Antioquia.

July 28 - An Asiana Airlines 747-400 freighter crashed into the sea off the South Korean island of Jeju, killing both aboard. The flight was bound for Shanghai from Seoul when the crew reported a cargo fire and attempted to divert to the airport on Jeju. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 26 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna treaded water in Lake Huron for 17 hours after his aircraft crashed and sank in the lake. A fishing party rescued the man and transported him to shore. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 26 - A Moroccan military Hercules C-130 crashed into a mountainside near Rabat, killing 78 and injuring three. Heavy fog was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

July 24 - All three aboard a Piper P46 were killed after crashing on takeoff from Rantoul Airport in Rantoul, Illinois. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 21 - A single-engine Cessna crashed in the Cape Fear River on approach to Harnett Regional Jetport near Lillington, North Carolina, killing one and injuring one.

July 20 - A single-engine plane crashed on takeoff from Medina Municipal Airport in Medina, Ohio. No serious injuries were reported.

July 20 - A Robinson R22 registered to Nassau Helicopters crash-landed on the grounds of an elementary school in South Brunswick, New Jersey, injuring both aboard. The aircraft was reportedly engaged in aerial photography before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 18 - The pilot of a Mooney M20K was killed after crashing on takeoff from Augusta Regional Airport in Augusta, Georgia. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 16 - A helicopter caught fire after crash-landing in Kaeo, New Zealand. The pilot was reportedly able to walk away from the wreckage.

July 15 - A glider crashed into a tree after being released from its tow plane at St. Mary's Airport in Hollywood, Maryland, killing one and critically injuring one. Witnesses said the release occurred at low altitude and low airspeed. (AVSIG Discussion)

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-07-08T12:47:00.000-04:00

July 8 - A Hewa Bora B727 crashed short of the runway at Kisangani Airport in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 53 of 112 aboard. Heavy thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time of the crash.

July 7 - Both aboard a Mooney M20 were killed after crashing into a hospital in Watsonville, California. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude after departing Watsonville Municipal Airport. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 4 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after colliding with another single-engine plane near Shoreham Airport in Shoreham, England. The pilot of the other plane was able to safely return to the airport.

July 3 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after clipping utility lines and crashing shortly after departing Santa Paula Airport near Oxnard, California.

July 2 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing near Tom B. David Airport in Calhoun, Georgia.

July 1 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing at its destination of Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix after an engine failed in flight. The flight originated in El Paso, Texas.

Tu-134 Crash Kills 44

2011-06-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

A RusAir Tu-134 has crashed on a public highway in northwest Russia near Petrozavodsk, killing 44. The aircraft was reportedly on approach to Petrozavodsk in poor weather when it crashed a mile short of the runway.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-06-20T13:08:00.000-04:00

June 19 - A Cirrus SR22 crashed on takeoff from Rickenbacker International Airport near Columbus, Ohio, killing both aboard.

June 18 - Two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters intercepted a single-engine plane after it entered restricted airspace near Washington, D.C. The pilot was directed to land at Annapolis for an interview.

June 18 - All four aboard a Cessna 210 were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Westchester County Airport in Armonk, New York. The pilot was reportedly attempting to return to the airport at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

June 17 - A Pinnacle Airlines CRJ200 operating on behalf of Delta Air Lines made a safe emergency landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport after a low oil pressure warning light activated.

June 16 - A cargo plane operating on behalf of FedEx made a safe emergency landing at its destination of San Antonio after experiencing a hydraulic failure.

June 13 - A B-17 operated by The Liberty Foundation made a safe emergency landing in a field after catching fire during flight over Aurora, Illinois. No injuries were reported. The aircraft was consumed by the fire. (AVSIG Discussion)

June 12 - The pilot of a Goodyear Blimp safely offloaded all three passengers at a height of seven feet after it caught fire over Reichelsheim, Germany. After the passengers jumped, the airship rose rapidly and burned, killing the pilot. (AVSIG Discussion)

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-06-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

June 6 - A DHL cargo plane crashed into the sea on approach to Libreville, Gabon in Central Africa after reportedly suffering a hydraulic failure. The crew of four was rescued in good condition.

June 5 - The pilot of a Quicksilver MX Ultralight was injured after crashing on a runway at Langlade County Airport in Antigo, Wisconsin.

June 4 - No serious injuries were reported after a biplane crashed into a house in Junction City, Kansas. The aircraft reportedly lost power before the crash. The aircraft was participating in the National Biplane Fly-In at nearby Freeman Field.

June 4 - The pilot of a Mooney M20R was not injured after his aircraft veered off the runway during a landing attempt at Lake in the Hills Airport in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. The pilot reported losing power before running off the runway.

June 4 - An American Airlines MD-80 made a safe emergency return landing to Lambert Field in St. Louis after developing engine trouble shortly after takeoff. The engine burst into flames as the aircraft approached the gate; firefighters quickly extinquished the flames.

June 2 - A Delta B767 made a safe emergency landing at its destination of Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport after developing engine trouble on approach to the airport.

May 31 - The pilot of a single-engine plane registered to Southern Maine Aviation LLC was injured after crashing on landing at Concord Municipal Airport in Concord, New Hampshire.

May 30 - A Qantas B747 diverted to the Pacific island of Noumea to refuel after running low on fuel during a newly scheduled non-stop flight from Dallas to Brisbane. The airline is reviewing the route planning.

The Tale of One Tail

2011-05-27T14:02:00.009-04:00

It's hard to miss all the stories this week pinning the fate of Air France 447 on iced-over pitot tubes.

Two years after the Airbus 330 crashed in the Atlantic the French Bureau of Investigations and Analyses is finally reviewing data from flight recorders found at the bottom of the ocean after an exhaustive search. Preliminary investigation shows that conflicting airspeed information from onboard sensors caused the Airbus to disconnect the autopilot, leaving the crew to fly manually. A stall warning followed by several control inputs and the still confusing reaction of the pilot flying to pull up followed.

Even as some media outlets play this story like a zigged-when-he-should-have-zagged repeat of the crew proficiency issues in the Colgan Air tragedy, it's important to remember that these latest details of the crash must share the glare of scrutiny with the above photo of the A330's neatly-severed vertical stabilizer, which was found floating in the ocean some miles from subsequent debris fields in the days after the crash.

That is one pristine piece of airplane.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-05-23T11:09:00.000-04:00

May 21 - A Delta DC-9 made a safe emergency landing at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin after the odor of smoke was detected in the forward galley during a scheduled flight from Detroit to Minneapolis.

May 20 - The pilot of a Lancair Legacy was killed after crashing into a mountainside in El Dorado National Forest in California.

May 19 - Both aboard a Bellanca 17 were killed after crashing near Rock Springs, Wyoming. Heavy snow was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

May 18 - A B707 operated by Omega Air Inc. as a refueling tanker under contract with the U.S. Navy crashed on takeoff from Point Mugu Naval Air Station near Los Angeles, injuring all three aboard. An engine reportedly caught fire before the crash.

May 18 - All 22 aboard a Sol Saab 340 were killed after crashing in Argentina's southern Patagonia region. The airline reported receiving a distress signal from the flight prior to the crash.

May 17 - All four aboard a twin-engine plane were killed after crashing near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Controllers reported losing contact with the pilot for some time prior to the crash.

May 16 - A US Airways flight returned to its gate in Indianapolis after the first officer passed out shortly after pushback.

May 15 - The crew of an American Airlines MD-82 made a safe emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas after reporting an engine fire shortly after departure from Dallas.

May 15 - Both aboard a Tiger Moth biplane were seriously injured after crashing in Dorsett, England. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to be performing aerobatics before the crash.

May 14 - The pilot of a SportCruiser was killed after crashing on takeoff from Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to enter an aerodynamic stall before the crash.

May 13 - A US Airways A319 returned to Atlanta after the crew noted a mechanical malfunction with the main landing gear.

May 12 - The pilot of a A-29 Super Tucano was killed after crashing near Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Brazil.

May 11 - All four aboard a single-engine plane were injured after overrunning an embankment during a takeoff attempt at Rock Airport near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two middle school students and their science teacher were aboard the flight, which was reportedly operating on behalf of a school field trip.

May 11 - An unidentified airliner made an emergency landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport after a passenger reportedly gained access to the cockpit and attacked the flight crew during a scheduled flight from Poland to the United Kingdom. The passenger reportedly sustained substantial injuries while being subdued.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-05-09T10:07:00.000-04:00

May 8 - A passenger aboard an American Airlines flight was subdued and handcuffed after he approached the cockpit and banged on the door as the flight approached its destination in San Francisco.

May 8 - A Continental Airlines flight made an unscheduled landing in St. Louis after a passenger tried to open an emergency door during a scheduled flight from Houston to Chicago. Passengers subdued the man.

May 7 - A Merpati Nusantara Airlines Xian MA60 crashed into the sea on its approach to Kaimana Airport in the West Papua province of Indonesia, killing all 27 aboard. Heavy rain was reported at the time of the crash.

May 7 - Both aboard a Ravin 500 were killed after crashing while trying to return to Lone Star Executive Airport in Conroe, Texas. The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit prior to the crash.

May 6 - The pilot of a Czech Sport Aircraft was killed after bailing out of his spinning plane near Spring Hill, Florida. Witnesses reported the aircraft broke apart in midair.

May 6 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing on approach to Albert J. Ellis Airport in Richlands, North Carolina. The pilot reported loss of fuel pressure before the crash.

May 5 - A Cessna 172 crash-landed in a school yard near Burlington, Ontario Canada after the pilot reported low fuel. No injuries were reported. The aircraft sustained substantial damage after the wings clipped trees.

May 4 - An AirTran B717 bound for Atlanta from Charlotte, North Carolina made a safe emergency landing at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport after encountering engine trouble during the flight.

May 4 - The pilot of a Rockwell Commander was uninjured after running off the runway during a landing at Griffing-Sandusky Airport in Sandusky, Ohio. The pilot reported encountering a strong cross-wind before the accident.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-05-03T08:36:00.000-04:00

May 3 - A freight-carrying single-engine plane operated by Goma Air overshot the runway during a landing attempt and crashed at Juphal Airport northwest of Nepal, causing extensive damage to the aircraft. No injuries were reported. Authorities attributed the overrun to a brake failure.

May 2 - A freight-carrying Beechcraft 18 owned by Aircap Management crashed into a fence and van during a takeoff attempt from Opa-Locka Airport in Opa-Locka, Florida, killing the pilot.

May 1 - A single-engine plane crashed near Elephant Butte Lake in Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, killing the pilot. Witness reported seeing flames coming from the aircraft before the crash.

May 1 - A Delta B757 bound for Palm Beach International Airport made a safe emergency landing in Tampa after smoke was detected in the cabin during a scheduled flight from Atlanta.

April 30 - The pilot of a Piper Archer III lost control of his aircraft and clipped trees while landing at Sky Acres Airport near Poughkeepsie, New York, resulting in injuries to the passenger and substantial damage to the aircraft.

April 28 - Both aboard a Yak-52 were killed after crashing into a lake near Essex, England. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft performing aerobatic maneuvers before the crash.

April 27 - The pilot of a Cessna 180 was killed after crashing on Mount King near Golden, British Columbia. A dog aboard the aircraft survived the crash.

April 27 - An air traffic controller was found stabbed to death in a secure area of EuroAirport in Saint-Louis, France.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-04-25T09:30:00.002-04:00

April 24 - A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter made a safe emergency landing in Van Nuys after a gunman opened fire on the aircraft from the ground. Fuel was found leaking from the aircraft after the attack. The gunman was reportedly subdued by family members and taken into custody.

April 23 - A single-engine plane registered to Cub Crafters Inc., crashed at the Rocky Mountain Airpark fly-in community near Parker, Colorado, killing both aboard. A witness reported seeing the aircraft in a spin before the crash.

April 23 - A helicopter pilot received minor injuries during an emergency landing in Massillon, Ohio. The pilot elected to make the landing after transmission failure.

April 22 - All four aboard a Beechcraft Baron were killed after crashing in a field near Topeka, Kansas. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying under low cloud cover before the crash.

April 20 - A LOT flight bound for Warsaw from Chicago made an unscheduled landing in Reykjavik, Iceland to deboard two intoxicated passengers who assaulted the flight crew.

April 20 - A Thomson Airways B767 chartered for London made a safe emergency return landing to Orlando Sanford International Airport after striking birds shortly after takeoff.

April 19 - A Paven Hans Mi-17 helicopter with 23 aboard crashed during a landing attempt in Tawang, killing 17 and injuring six.

April 18 - Both aboard an experimental Christen Eagle II were killed after crashing near San Angelo, Texas. Witnesses said the aircraft was performing aerobatics before the crash.

Little Everyday Terrors

2011-04-14T09:35:00.001-04:00

Should we be outraged about a six-year-old girl getting a pat down at a TSA checkpoint? Here's the video.

The "cute little girl" (so-described by some blogger in the course of oh-so-subtly setting up a victimization rant ... though we think she looks somewhat dangerous) recently raised concern while passing through an enhanced imaging device at a TSA checkpoint in New Orleans. She was called aside for the white glove treatment.

Since the only other important news this week is Joe Biden sleeping through a budget meeting and the president of Czechoslovakia stealing pens, the video of a little girl being checked for contraband is all the rage.

A spokesperson for the Louisiana ACLU has breathlessly opined that clearly, the little girl didn't want a pat down. But who wants a pat down? That guy standing over there in the Bermuda shorts, maybe, but America's Next Suicide Airline Bomber probably doesn't want one, especially if not wanting one is acceptable logic for not getting one.

In response to the above video, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, promises to introduce legislation that requires "parental supervision" during such pat downs. Shucks, Jason. The parents were right there. They took video. Does the word "supervise" so boldly empower the poor chumps who sent you to Washington as to warrant a press release, let alone legislation?

The little girl, who appears in the video to be at worst bewildered and at best waiting to see if a clown with balloons comes next is purported to have burst into tears after the experience.

Some little girls burst into tears over dropped ice cream cones and snapped Silly Bandz. But assuming our cute little girl was indeed so-traumatized, a little proactive parenting might have worked wonders here.

"Sweetheart? We're traveling by airplane today. A stranger might touch you, but it's not going to be bad touching like in the videos they show you at school."

(Sweetheart? After the airplane ride we're getting a cab ride from a man who looks like one of those bad men in the videos they show you at school. But we're going pay him so he'll let us go, and right in front of our hotel!).

We like Derrionne Pollard's wisdom, filmed by a CNN crew as she hustled her yet-untraumatized young son through a TSA screening point:

"That took what? All of 20 seconds to get done? Suck it up. It's a part of travel right now."

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-04-11T11:04:00.001-04:00

April 10 - The pilot of a twin-engine Cessna was killed after crashing into a house near Biddeford Municipal Airport in Biddeford, Maine. One occupant in the house was reported injured. Witnesses said the aircraft clipped trees before the crash.

April 10 - All three aboard a Cessna 310 were killed after crashing near McComb, Mississippi.

April 6 - A Skywest flight operating on behalf of Delta Air Lines made a safe emergency return landing to Portland International Airport in Oregon after ingesting a bird shortly after takeoff.

April 6 - An American Airlines flight bound for Paris from Dallas made an unscheduled landing at O'Hare International Airport after a inebriated passenger became unruly.

April 5 - A Southwest Airlines B737 bound for Denver made a safe emergency landing at Oakland International Airport after the crew encountered trouble with the wing flaps.

April 2 - All four aboard a Gulfstream G650 were killed after crashing during a takeoff attempt at Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico. The aircraft was reportedly on a company test flight at the time of the crash. Witnesses said a wingtip brushed the runway during rotation and a subsequent hard touchdown caused the landing gear to collapse.

April 1 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona after a five-foot hole developed in the fuselage shortly after takeoff from Phoenix on a scheduled flight to Sacramento. The incident prompted Southwest to ground 80 of its high-cycle 737s for inspection. (AVSIG Discussion)

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-03-21T10:41:00.000-04:00

March 20 - A Cessna 210 crashed near Barstow-Daggett Airport in Barstow, California, killing all three aboard.

March 19 - A single-engine plane crashed west of Butte, Montana, killing the pilot. A witness reported the aircraft was flying at low altitude before the crash.

March 19 - A Delta CRJ made a safe emergency return landing to Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan after smoke filled the cockpit shortly after takeoff.

March 19 - The pilot of a homebuilt was killed after crashing on takeoff from Laurens, South Carolina.

March 19 - A firefighting helicopter crashed near Camerena, Spain, killing all four aboard.

March 18 - A single-engine plane crashed in a residential yard shortly after takeoff from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. No serious injuries were reported.

March 16 - A Beech King Air crashed on takeoff from Long Beach Airport in California, killing five and seriously injuring one. Witnesses said the aircraft made a sharp left turn shortly after rotation. (AVSIG Discussion)

Oliver at the Beach 2011

2011-03-16T09:05:00.003-04:00

This week we are reminded of our old friend Bob Besco, who has periodically published the Oliver Ostrich Head-in-the-sand awards celebrating those who issue clueless rationalizations for minimizing the reality of safety risks in aviation.

These awards ignore the relative cost-benefit arguments implicit in aviation safety risk management and zero-in on statements that just plain betray blissful denial. They highlight the imagery of the perpendicular Cheshire Cat left beaming at the world once one's head is fully ensconced in sand.

The usual suspects are airline suits, but that once-treasure trove of quotes has dried up thanks to our nothing-you-say-ever-goes-away new media-everywhere world.

In any case, Mr. Besco made certain the recipients of these awards remained anonymous to minimize embarrassment in favor of spreading enlightenment.

In that spirit we cloak the identity of this week's nominee submission (and paraphrase to fend-off Google sleuthing), which comes by way of a midwestern city elder who asks whether a proposed runway overrun barrier will result in any new customers at the local airport.

New customers? Some marketing wank could probably invent lots of them.

Return customers? More likely, which is what progress in aviation safety is all about, and not a bad cost-benefit argument, either.

The floor is open for new aviation risk-denying submissions in the comment section below.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-03-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

March 13 - The pilot of a helicopter was injured after crashing on the Raytheon Corporation campus in El Segundo, California. The helicopter was reportedly engaged in rooftop air conditioner lift operations at the time of the crash.

March 12 - The pilot and wing walker of a husband-wife aerobatic team suffered serious burns after crashing at the Air Fiesta 2011 air show at Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport in Texas. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 11 - The pilot of a Cessna 310 registered to Hudson Management Corporation was killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Smyrna, Tennessee. A witness said the aircraft appeared to struggle to gain altitude and clipped trees prior to the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 10 - An Austrian Arrows F70 made a safe emergency return landing to Vienna International Airport after the cabin began losing pressure shortly after takeoff.

March 9 - The owner/operator of a mine tour helicopter was killed after crashing near Keswick, Cumbria, England.

March 8 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing near Tara Field in McDonough, Georgia. A witness said the aircraft appeared to struggle to maintain altitude before the crash.

March 7 - A Diamond DA-40 crashed near Somerset, Maine, killing one and injuring one. Heavy snow was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

March 6 - An Atlantic Southeast CRJ operating on behalf of Delta Air Lines made a safe emergency landing in Albany, Georgia after the crew noticed a crack in the windshield during a scheduled flight from Atlanta to Tallahassee, Florida.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-03-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

March 5 - All six aboard a Russian An-148 were killed after crashing in central Russia. The aircraft was reportedly being tested by Myanmar Air Force pilots prior to delivery at the time of the crash.

March 5 - A Cessna 172 operated by the Aeroflyer Flying School crashed during touch-and-go training at Cirebon Airport in West Java, Indonesia, causing minor injuries to the instructor and student. The plane's nose gear reportedly broke before the crash.

March 3 - An Austrian Airlines Fokker F70 made a safe emergency return landing to Franz Josef Strauss International Airport in Munich after a landing gear wheel fell off the aircraft during takeoff rotation.

March 3 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing near Mahanayim Airport in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel. The pilot reported engine trouble before the crash.

March 1 - Both aboard a helicopter were injured during a hard-landing crash at Tooele Valley Airport in Erda, Oklahoma.

March 1 - A French Air Force Mirage 2000 crashed near Saint-Pres-Oradoux Crocq in central France, killing both aboard. The aircraft was reportedly on a low-altitude training flight at the time of the crash.

February 28 - Two Kfir fighter jets collided over Colombo, Sri Lanka and crashed during a training exercise. Both pilots reportedly ejected; their fates were undisclosed at post time.

February 27 - All four aboard a McKinnon Turbo Goose G21G owned by Triple S Aviation were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Al Ain International Airport near Dubai.

February 26 - The pilot of a 1969 BAC-167 Strikemaster was killed after crashing into the Hudson River near Rhinecliff, New York. Witnesses said the aircraft struck the frozen river in a nosedown attitude. The pilot was reportedly performing a fly-by for friends on his maiden flight in the vintage military jet. (AVSIG Discussion)

Rake 22: Grounded No More

2011-03-01T11:03:00.003-05:00

The high-stakes, high-speed world-wide ongoing difference-of-opinion was invented on AVSIG. Before online discussion forums no other venue allowed so many people from so many backgrounds to debate on one worldwide stage.

There is no speaker list in online discussion. No "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and goodnight."

Instead a multitude of oft-times divergent opinions dispensed from anywhere at any time that shape and form issues by the hour.

An evening of back-and-forth on glass cockpits stretches for weeks.

Who's this new guy who claims to drive Concordes? Who's this lady who says she makes helicopters stay in the air?

Where are these know-it-alls from, and why are they banging out posts at three in the morning?

Over the decades we've had our share of industry Type As, unaccustomed to having their expertise so-challenged, punch-out of our little 24-7 electronic aerodrome in a huff.

But some stayed and embraced the highs and lows of controlled online free-for-alls, and one was John Wiley.

Wiley was that rare combination of 50,000-pound-thrust expert moderated by a unique yaw and pitch control system made up of equal-parts tough skin and biting humor. A decorated Vietnam vet, airline pilot, and award-winning journalist who didn't wear any of it on his sleeve.

As a regular air safety commentator on CNN, Mr. Wiley drew both plaudits and bile. Last July we blogged about John's unique capacity for getting AvSafety talking head wannabes to throw public tantrums about being left on the Look-at-Me-I'm-on-TV dance hall wall.

Those of us who were treated to John's whimsical retorts won't soon forget them.

A few years back John hit a pothole during a high-speed descent on his bicycle. He had spent many tortured months repairing a broken shoulder, and was hopeful of getting back on the bike and back up in little airplanes soon.

Last Friday John suffered a fatal heart attack while working out at the gym. He leaves a wife, two daughters, and many other family members and friends to repair broken hearts.

M.O.

About Our Safer Skies

2011-02-23T15:03:00.003-05:00

It's great to see another hopeful IATA report on the state of world airline safety. Even if 2010's record low hull loss rate story is buried 32 layers below Justin Bieber's new haircut, the air transport world should be proud.

Aviation has proven a quick study on some problems, painfully slow on others. The safety culture that has given us sterile cockpits and relentless emergency drills still hasn't cracked low-wage regional pilots and too-frequent reports of near misses in congested airspace, for instance. And in some parts of the world airline safety remains Plan B (C ... or D ...).

While the past decade's improving commercial airline safety record is very real, we know there will always be a "next big one." The harder we work to be wrong about that, the better.

In the meantime, congratulations to all the folks who work hard every day to make fewer accidents no accident.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-02-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

February 20 - A Delta Air Lines B737 made a safe emergency return landing to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida after an engine failed shortly after takeoff. (AVSIG Discussion)

February 19 - An Air France B777 made a safe emergency landing in St. John's, Newfoundland after a passenger suffered a medical emergency during a schedule flight from Paris to Houston.

February 19 - The pilot of a Cessna 150 was killed after crashing in a field near Princeton, South Carolina. Witnesses said they hear the plane's engine operation at high RPM before the crash.

February 17 - A Cessna 182 crashed during a landing attempt at Levelland Municipal Airport in Levelland, Texas, killing two and injuring two.

February 17 - A Heliswiss helicopter crashed during a landing attempt in the Swiss Alps near Thonon-les-Bains, injuring all six aboard. Weather was reported clear at the time of the crash.

February 16 - Both aboard a Cessna 172 operated by Phoenix East Aviation were missing and presumed dead after crashing off the coast of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The aircraft was on an instruction flight at the time of the crash.

February 15 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were injured after crashing in a heavily-wooded area near Americus, Indiana. Authorities believe the aircraft lost engine power before the crash.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-02-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

February 14 - Both aboard a Thai Air Force F-16 safely ejected before the aircraft crashed in the Chaiyaphum province of Thailand. The aircraft was on a training exercise at the time of the crash.

February 12 - No serious injuries were reported after a Cessna 150 crashed near Springdale Airport in Springdale, Arkansas.

February 12 - All five aboard an aircraft operated by Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter were killed after crashing in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. The aircraft was reportedly on a maintenance test flight at the time of the crash.

February 11 - A SkyWest flight bound for San Francisco from Santa Barbara made a safe emergency landing at Monterey Peninsula Airport in California after losing cabin pressure.

February 11 - All five aboard a single-engine plane were killed after the aircraft crashed into the 3,000-foot level of a mountainside in Saint-Luc, Val d’Anniviers Switzerland.

February 10 - An Alaska Airlines flight returned to the gate Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a rat was seen in the cabin. Passengers were transferred to another flight.

February 9 - Two single-engine planes collided at 1,500 feet over Mission, British Columbia Canada, killing one of two aboard a plane that crashed into a swamp. Both aircraft were reportedly locked together and spiraling to the ground when the crew of one aircraft was able to work the controls to free the airplane from the entanglement. The crew of that aircraft found that full flight control was still available, cut fuel, restarted, and made a safe emergency landing in a field. The aircraft involved in the collision were reportedly flying in formation with several other aircraft at the time.

February 9 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency return landing to Omaha after smoke filled the cockpit shortly after takeoff.

NOTAM: Still Watch for Cattle on the Runway

2011-02-09T14:58:00.002-05:00

We haven't gotten mailbags here at the AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm ever since the mail man was chased off by the FBO Labradoodle, but somehow these questions arrived in our mailbag this week:

Is the AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm a real place?
WM, Poughkeepsie, NY

Do you provide flight training?
WHM, Fargo, ND

Are there any beef cows in the runway overruns, and do you guys ship the steaks when someone lands long?
discoPete, Miami, FL

Well of course the AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm is real ... in every way that the tin man's heart, scarecrow's brain, and lion's courage are real. But we don't provide flight training, and we don't ship steaks from unfortunate ORBs*

Let's just say that in heavy rain we're the kind of real place where our hangar leaks, but nobody gets wet.

The 'Drome & Farm shtick developed in AVSIG's blinking fixed-pitch green-on-black beginning when something in our collective human nature demanded that we attach a folksy backdrop to the novel act of typing messages back and forth to strangers on CRT screens.

There were no Twitter feeds or YouTubes to suggest that there was anything normal or everyday about conducting life inside a glass rectangle in 1981. Sandy Trevor & Co. hadn't yet dreamed up GIFs to spare us our thousand words.

So the sight-unseen destination modem-connected aviators from around the globe converged on naturally became an airport. Land your bits and bauds a the AVSIG International Aerodrome.

Someone soon surrounded our airport by farmland, and then someone started talking about cows.

Industrial parks and golfers are used to intercept short and long runway traffic at some airports, but our virtual airport would use grazing cows. Land your bits and bauds at the AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm.

This year we celebrate AVSIG's 30th anniversary as the oldest real imagined place in all of online-dom. Though we've rehabbed the runways a few times and a metropolis of FaceGoogles have grown up around us we're still the same old place.

Please do log-in and land at our humble little aerodrome. Hang around our always-open, always-warm, always-well-lit hangar, where the coffee and conversation never stops flowing and the coffee pot always never gets cleaned.

Despite the fact we don't offer flight training and don't ship steaks, you might learn a thing or two about aviation, and you might periodically step in evidence of cows.

M.O.

*Overun Retention Bovine

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-02-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

February 6 - The pilot of an ultralight was critically injured after crashing near a landfill in Mojave, California.

February 6 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was injured after crashing near West Blocton, Alabama.

February 5 - A US Airways B767 bound for Philadelphia from Switzerland diverted to Greensboro, North Carolina after anti-icing equipment necessary for operating in Philadelphia's weather conditions failed.

February 4 - A jetBlue A320 bound for Bogata from Orlando made a safe emergency landing in Kingston, Jamaica after onboard instruments indicated smoke in the cabin. The aircraft was inspected in Kingston and cleared for takeoff three hours later.

February 4 - A twin-engine plane owned by Faruk, Inc. crashed on takeoff from Sulaymaniyah International Airport in Iraq, killing four and injuring eight. Heavy fog was reported at the time of the crash.

February 3 - A Hawker jet made a safe emergency return landing to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Missouri after an engine failed shortly after takeoff.

February 3 - Both Aboard a 1943 Aeronca 0-58B were injured after crashing on ranch land near San Luis Obispo, California. Air traffic controllers indicated the pilot reported mechanical trouble before the crash.

February 2 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing in Omaha after the crew detected the odor of smoke in the cockpit during scheduled flight from Denver to Philadelphia.

February 2 - Both aboard a Fouga CM-170 Magister were killed after crashing on approach to Kissimmee Municipal Airport in Florida. (AVSIG Discussion)

February 2 - A Colgan Air flight made a safe emergency return landing to Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York after experiencing engine trouble shortly after takeoff.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-01-31T10:12:00.002-05:00

January 30 - All three aboard a Cessna 182 were killed after crashing into a hillside near Adrian, Oregon.

January 30 - The pilot of an Ercoupe received minor injuries after his plane flipped on takeoff from a frozen lake near Newaygo, Michigan. The pilot reported striking a snow bank during the takeoff attempt.

January 30 - A Piper Comanche crashed into two houses during a takeoff attempt from Big Bear Airport near San Bernardino, California. The pilot and one person on the ground reportedly suffered minor injuries.

January 29 - No serious injuries were reported after a single-engine airplane crashed into a residential back yard during a landing attempt at Weiser Airpark in Houston, Texas.

January 28 - An American Airlines B757 made a safe emergency landing at Sangster International Airport in St James, Jamaica after encountering engine trouble during a scheduled flight from Quito to Miami.

January 27 - An RAF Tornado crashed into the sea off the west coast of Scotland during a training mission. Both aboard safely ejected before the crash.

January 26 - No serious injuries were reported after a Cessna 185 operated by the Montana Department of Natural Resources crashed on landing at Helena Regional Airport. The pilot was reportedly practicing touch-and-goes at the time of the crash.

What's a Security Perimeter?

2011-01-25T09:46:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time this humble blogger and an accomplice passed through pre-9/11 wand-n-go security at the airport for no reason but to embarrass a family member coming in from his first year at Princeton. The Ivy Leaguer had recently adopted tweed and rectangle glasses. Two bros and one videographer conspired to welcome his rarefied new personage home with overfamiliar bear hugs and loud backwoods drawls as he walked off the jetway. Stuffed in our jackets was seaweed paper that would be molded over staggered teeth to achieve the appearance of random toothlessness. Also furry bomber hats like you see on unshaven guys answering midnight knocks from the sheriff in trailer parks. We hadn't shaved.

Hilarious video, by the way. The wand guy didn't blink when yours truly opened his coat for a closer pass-by and everything fell out.

Try this silliness at an airport in 2011 and besides being bounced for lack of a boarding pass we would probably be sent straight to the Gitmo for being found in possession of concealed bomber hats.

The days of greeting or bidding adieu to friends and family at airport gates are long gone, and after yesterday's suicide bombing in the luggage return at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow the question of saying hello and goodbye anywhere in the airport terminal is again front and center.

Unlike many crowded public places, airports never have to be as crowded as they are, whether crowded with friends, family, and punks at the gate or anywhere on the premises save for driving by for curbside drop-off/pickup.

Should we expand the security ring or require a boarding pass to so much as enter an airport? The question puts a fine point on the psychology behind protecting people using the air transport system compared to protecting the same number of people who might regularly pack into any other low-security public venue.

Domodedovo-level suicide bombings can occur anywhere people are free to move about, and the sad fact remains that in many cases the call to "find the people responsible for this" rings hollow. Often there are accomplices, but sometimes the sole responsible party remains at the crime scene: there ... there ... there ... and way over there.

As is usually the case in these tragedies, the security question raised by yesterday's bombing feels lots more like a sociology question.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-01-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

January 23 - A U.S. Airways A320 made a safe emergency landing in Omaha after developing electrical problems during a scheduled flight from Chicago to Phoenix.

January 22 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing at Oakland International Airport after a warning light warned of high temperatures in a gear well shortly after takeoff from San Francisco.

January 21 - A Fresno, California police helicopter made a safe emergency landing in east central Fresno after a warning light activated during routine operations.

January 20 - A twin-engine plane crashed into a vineyard off the runway end of McChesney Field in San Luis Obispo, California, injuring the pilot.

January 19 - A Delta Air Lines DC-9 made a safe emergency landing at its destination in Little Rock, Arkansas after the crew encountered trouble with the hydraulics in one or more landing gear doors.

Confectioner's Notes

2011-01-19T09:06:00.001-05:00

This time of year found John Galipault, patriarch of the AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm, laying out steaming sheets of peanut brittle to flash-cool in the January chill, then passing tins of it out to family and friends around Worthington. Some northerners rush right out to the gym after the holidays, but others are in no mood to quit laying on insulation. Peanut brittle makes fine insulation.

As sure as fruitcakes pass from doorstep-to-doorstep in December and the maple sap runs in February, the crackle of peanut brittle can be heard in Worthington on the third week of January to mark eight-weeks-to-spring-and-counting. On the town square each January 21 a sheet of peanut brittle is brought forth by the town fathers and dropped level on a blacksmith's anvil from a height defined by a random citizen's open palm. The number of fractured pieces foretells the number of weeks until spring.

Though the Worthington Peanut Brittle Drop has been a tradition ever since this humble blogger made it up in this very post, alas the celebrated burgh a few hundred miles east with its large rodent continues to hog all the press in folksy predictions of mother earth's annual rebirth.

No one knows if John B's peanut brittle recipe was secret or not (he was secretive about that), but here's the recipe we continue to prepare for this hopeful mid-winter week:

Get ...

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. baking soda

Then ...

... Line a 10- by 15-inch baking pan, or really, any old pan with foil. Spray the foil with vegetable cooking spray; set aside.

... Combine sugar, light corn syrup, water, and salt in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, over medium high heat. Once the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring. Boil until the mixture reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer. Add the peanuts and cook, stirring, until the mixture is golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the butter and baking soda. Pour the mixture onto the prepared pan and spread as thinly as possible. Allow to cool. Brittle will cool faster if you leave the tray outside in the six-degree balm. If a squirrel should attempt to dine on the brittle during the cool-down you will know (and you will have world-famous Worthington Stuck Angry Squirrel).

... Bust up the brittle, share, enjoy and wait for spring.

M.O.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-01-17T09:19:00.000-05:00

January 16 - A Cathay Pacific B777 returned twice to Vancouver International Airport after the odor of smoke was detected in the cabin shortly after takeoff. After the second landing the flight was canceled and passengers were booked in hotels for the night.

January 15 - No serious injuries were reported after a single-engine plane crashed on takeoff from Plymouth, New Hampshire.

January 14 - A single-engine plane crashed in mountainous terrain near Senador Canedo, Brazil, killing all six aboard. Heavy rain was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

January 14 - No injuries were reported after a helicopter crashed on the lawn of The Rooms on the Beach in Ocho Rios, St. Ann Jamaica. The pilot reported having engine trouble before the crash.

January 14 - A man was found dead in an uncrashed helicopter in a secluded area near Mineral Wells, Texas. Authorities reported that no signs of bodily trauma were immediately evident.

January 13 - No serious injuries were reported after a single-engine plane crashed and flipped in Cheshire, Connecticut. The pilot reported engine trouble during an approach to Waterbury-Oxford Airport.

January 12 - An Alaskan Airlines flight made a safe emergency return landing to Sacramento International Airport after ingesting a bird in one engine shortly after takeoff.

January 12 - A Delta Air Lines A320 made a safe emergency landing at its destination in Salt Lake City, Utah after the crew reported failures in the steering and braking systems.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2011-01-10T09:13:00.000-05:00

January 9 - An Iran Air B727 crashed near Orumiyeh, Iran, killing 71 of 106 aboard. The aircraft was reportedly attempting an emergency landing in heavy snow at the time of the crash.

January 7 - A medevac helicopter crashed in southern Riyadh, killing all four aboard. The flight was en route to a patient pickup at the time of the crash.

January 6 - A Pinnacle Airlines CRJ operating on behalf of Delta Air Lines made a safe emergency return landing to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pennsylvania after the nosegear failed to retract on a scheduled flight to Detroit.

January 6 - The pilot of a 1942 Taylorcraft made a safe emergency landing on I-94 near Jamestown, North Dakota after heavy fog developed during his low-altitude flight.

January 6 - A Continental Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing in El Paso, Texas after smoke was detected in the cabin during a scheduled flight.

January 6 - A Qantas B767 made a safe emergency return landing to Melbourne after a cockpit warning light indicated a flap problem.

January 5 - A Columbia LC -41 crashed shortly after takeoff from Eagles Nest Estates Airport in Midolthian, Texas, killing both aboard. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude before the crash.

January 3 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna was killed after crashing near Walnut Grove, Missouri. Witnesses reported hearing the engine cutting out before the crash. Investigators believe the aircraft hit the ground nose first.

January 3 - A United Airlines A320 made a safe emergency return landing to Denver International Airport after smoke was detected in the cabin shortly after takeoff.

January 1 - A B767 made a safe emergency landing at Rostov-on-Don after encountering undisclosed trouble shortly after departing Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

January 1 - Both aboard a hot air balloon were killed after crashing near Midsomer Norton, Somerset England. The balloonists were reportedly engaged in an altitude record attempt. Witnesses reported seeing the balloon rapidly deflate before the crash.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2010-12-27T20:18:00.000-05:00

[[i]Accidents & Incidents published by [url=http://www.AVSIG.com]www.AVSIG.com[/url] are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.[/i]]

[b]2010[/b]

December 24 - All three aboard a Rockwell Commander were killed after crashing at 11,500-feet into the Wind River Mountains near Lander, Wyoming. Weather was reported as poor at the time of the crash.

December 24 - The pilot of a hot air balloon was uninjured after falling to the ground when Santa Claus tipped the gondola while leaning out to toss candy to onlookers at an elementary school in Midvale, Utah. The balloon reportedly ascended rapidly once the pilot had been jettisoned, but Santa was able to use the radio to receive instructions for landing. Residents of a nearby apartment complex helped grab the balloon's tethers; a resident was uninjured after being hit by a car during the rescue.

December 24 - A Southwest Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing at Oakland International Airport after the crew received an engine fire warning shortly after departing San Francisco.

December 23 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna was uninjured after flipping the airplane during touch-and-goes at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida.

December 22 - The pilot of a Mooney M20 was killed after striking trees on approach to Penn Yan Airport in Penn Yan, New York. Freezing rain was reported at the time of the crash.

December 22 - A single-engine plane crashed into an office building in Wheeling, Illinois, killing one and injuring one. The pilot reported mechanical trouble shortly after departing Chicago Executive Airport.

December 21 - A Gulf Air flight bound from Bahrain to Paris made a safe emergency landing in Munich after a passenger suffered a heart attack in flight. The stricken passenger was evacuated in Munich and the flight continued to Paris.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2010-12-13T10:03:00.000-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

December 13 - A single-engine plane crashed into a pile of manure while attempting to reenact a historical flight in Ballarat, Victoria Australia. No serious injuries were reported.

December 12 - A Delta Air Lines 747 made a safe emergency return landing to Kennedy International Airport after a fire broke out in a galley shortly after the aircraft departed for Tel Aviv. The aircraft circled the airport to burn fuel before the landing.

December 11 - Both aboard a helicopter were killed after crashing in a densely-wooded area west of Nice, France. Weather was reported clear at the time of the crash.

December 10 - A Bulgaria Air flight made a safe emergency return landing to Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria after the crew noticed anomalies in the operation of one engine.

December 10 A Kentucky State Police helicopter made an emergency landing near Hazard, Kentucky after clipping power lines during aerial survey work. A passing truck reportedly crashed into the low-hanging power line and dragged it across the roadway. No serious injuries were reported.

December 9 - A helicopter crash-landed on a beach in Cap-Chat, Quebec, Canada. Three of the five aboard sustained minor injuries.

December 9 - A single-engine plane flipped while landing in a field near Willard, Ohio. No serious injuries were reported.

December 9 - A U.S. Air Force C5 Galaxy made a safe emergency landing in St. Johns, Newfoundland after losing oil pressure in one engine during flight.

Recent Accidents & Incidents

2010-11-29T09:39:00.000-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

November 28 - A Delta Air Lines flight made a safe emergency landing at Denver International Airport after two passengers lost consciousness due to medical conditions during a scheduled flight from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

November 27 - An IL-76 cargo plane crashed into an under-construction apartment complex shortly after takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan, killing all eight aboard and four on the ground. Witnesses reported seeing flames from one of the plane's engines before the crash.

November 26 - A regional jet operating on behalf of United Airlines made a safe emergency return landing to Greater Rochester International Airport in New York after a warning light indicated a brake failure. The warning light was determined to be faulty.

November 25 - The pilot of a Mooney was killed after crashing near Hollister Municipal Airport in Hollister, California. Rescue efforts were reportedly hampered by muddy roads.

November 25 - An Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed in the Omsk region of western Siberia, killing seven of 10 aboard. The flight was reportedly en route to oil fields in Krapivinskoye at the time of the crash.

November 24 - A Mexican Air Force cargo plane crashed on takeoff from Monterrey International Airport in Mexico, killing all five aboard.

November 23 - The pilot of a Robinson R44 police helicopter was struck in the face by a pigeon after the bird came crashing through the canopy over El Monte, California. The pilot was able to make a safe emergency landing in the parking lot of a nearby public school.

November 22 - Both aboard a Piper Comanche were killed after crashing near Norfolk, Nebraska.

November 21 - All three aboard a Beech Musketeer were killed after crashing in the Pacific Ocean off Newport Beach, California. The aircraft was reportedly en route to Torrence, CA from Mexico at the time of the crash.

Thinking Outside the Crotch

2010-11-22T11:19:00.004-05:00

The Don’t Touch My Junk Guy is catching up with the Take My Job and Shove it Guy and the Fake it Till You Still Don’t Make it Guy for 2010’s YouTube Gold.

We’re going to reach up your thigh to your groin from the front and the back …

(Yes, you’re still reading an aviation blog).

National Opt-Out Day, whose promoters state they have no desire to disrupt air travel, is on for the busiest air travel day of the year. Airline passengers are invited to opt-out of airport body scanning on Wednesday in favor of getting a feel-up by a TSA official in full view of other passengers. It’s not disruptive to airline travel. It’s like, making a statement, man.

Our forum discussion on the subject covers the polemics.

One Side: If you don’t maintain surveillance over everyone and everything placed on airliners you will never prevent explosives from being placed on airliners.

The Other Side: Hands off my junk, man.

An argument like this tends to get lots of people focused on crotches to the point where no one is seeing the forest for the … oh, never mind.

Explosive devices can be hidden in baggage, shoes, clothing, “junk,” feminine hygiene products, surgically implanted, etc. They can be carried by a guy with a towel wrapped around his head or your unwitting Aunt Martha or some hard-up ex-Lehman Brothers exec who wants his family to keep the estate on Long Island.

People who have direct access to airplanes can be bought or infiltrated. Baggage, galley supplies, that new cockpit panel installation -- watch everything. And let’s not forget about missiles, airspace control hijacking, and mind control implants in Captain Oveur.

Yet on September 11, 2001 terrorists killed 3,000 people with nothing but box cutters and a plan.

The sheer simplicity of 9/11 and subsequent fizzled shoe and underwear bombing attempts makes bomb detection efforts look misplaced, yet the threat of the successful bombing of an airliner remains … especially since we are this week drawing a torso line between just enough and too much airline security.

Be sure that once we emphatically define that line it will be crossed with impunity by the bad guys.

In this case we’re defining the line on a very large stage.

The Don’t Look at or Touch My Junk crowd is essentially shouting to the world that they would rather take the chance on someone blowing up their flight with a jockstrap bomb than submit to government invasion of their personal spaces.

Or are they? Maybe we need to look at the route that got us here.

The goal of law enforcement and security is public safety, yet tact is more often than not buried under layers of procedure in the mindset of these professions. Whether airport security, crowd control, or routine traffic stops, the you will comply mentality often steers the narrative.

Let’s say a full body scan is the best way to screen for body-borne explosives. Do we really need to get in everyone’s face about what these machines can see, who’s going to see the images, and what the consequences are for not walking through? Why aren’t we using modern technology to interpret body scan results, calling humans to the in-person screen only when something unusual walks by?

This is a “tweak” TSA Chief John Pistole might look into.

The question of whether airliner travel is safer since 9/11 or we have simply become Elmer Fudd shooting our house to dust as we draw ghost beads on a too-wascally wabbit remains open. A lack of a successful attack argues for the former, but count this blog firmly in the corner of Mr. Pistole for not backing down on full body scans in the face of popular outcry and congressional hearings.

Be sure that terrorists will always exploit weak links in the system, and that only relentless surveillance and tough, consistent follow-through can hope to thwart these attacks.

Be sure that smart, flexible thinking still counts for everything, whether it’s smart, flexible thinking on behalf of security authorities who opt-out of paying some $15-an-hour guy to look at nads all day or smart, flexible thinking on the part of airline passengers who choose to opt out of too-invasive airline security by taking the train rather than causing a screening jam at the airport.

To “The Terrorists have Won” crowd: Terrorists can’t lose at this game whether they kill people or compel the free world to slow to a crawl searching every cave and crevice for their evil.
The balance of the free world can’t win at this game until we stop producing terrorists.

It bears repeating that terrorists can be well-funded and well-organized Middle Easterners or some fellow who was just-yesterday an All-American boy draped in undoubting Thank You for Your Service to Your Country patriotic feel-good hoo-hah.

Be sure that the day an airliner is brought down by a body-borne bomb because we decided that body scanning was too invasive, this week’s congressional grandstanders will claim to have been for body-borne explosive scanning before they were against it and will resume holding conversations out both sides of their mouths over bean soup and coffee.

Be sure that the “Don’t Touch My Junk” guy will have a brand new You Tube mash-up.

M.O.

From the Smart, Flexible Thinking Dept:

... An Israeli security expert says gimme a dog any day … (thanks to one of our members for the link).

… Maybe travelers will wear this thing through security … Big Bro Consequences/Law of Unintended Consequences unknown at post time.

Accident & Incident Update for November 15, 2010

2010-11-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

November 15 - A Qantas B747 made a safe emergency return landing to Sydney after smoke began billowing from the cockpit control panel. The flight dumped fuel as a precaution before the landing.

November 14 - A student pilot soloing a Cessna 150 was killed after flipping during a touch-and-go attempt at Ryan Airfield near Tuscon, Arizona.

November 14 - A helicopter crashed on private property south of Lubbock, Texas, killing one and injuring one.

November 13 - The pilot of a single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing in a farm field near Schodack, New York after his engine quit during a pleasure flight.

November 12 - A Qantas B767 made a safe emergency return landing to Perth after the crew noticed vibration in the left engine shortly after takeoff.

November 12 - A South Korean military surveillance plane crashed near Jeonju during routine operations. Search and rescue operations were under way at post time.

November 11 - A Piper Seminole owned and operated by the Florida Institute of Technology crashed on takeoff from Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, killing all four aboard. The flight was reportedly on an instructional flight at the time of the crash.

November 11 - A passenger plane owned and operated by Tabco, Inc. crashed in the western Darfur region of Sudan, killing a still-undisclosed number of the 35 people aboard.

Accident & Incident Update for November 8, 2010

2010-11-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

November 7 - A helicopter operated by Fishtail Air crashed on Mount Everest near Nepal, leaving both aboard missing and presumed dead. High winds were reported in the area at the time of the crash.

November 6 - A Ural Airlines A321 skidded off the runway while landing at Koltsovo International Airport in Yekaterinburg, Russia. No injuries were reported.

November 6 - An AirTran B717 bound for Milwaukee from New Orleans made a safe emergency landing in Memphis after smoke filled the cabin shortly after takeoff.

November 6 - The pilot of a WWII-era T-6 trainer drowned after crashing into a river on approach to Fitchburg Municipal Airport in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The aircraft's engine reportedly quit before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

November 5 - All 21 aboard a Beech 1900 operated by JS Air Company were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan. The crew reported an engine problem prior to the crash.

November 5 - A Cape Air flight bound for Boston from Nantucket made a safe emergency landing at Barnstable Municipal airport on Cape Cod after the crew reported engine trouble.

November 4 - An American Airlines flight made a safe emergency return landing to Salt Lake City after two passenger became involved in an altercation shortly after takeoff. One passenger was taken into custody upon arrival.

November 4 - An AeroCaribbean ATR-72 crashed in Guasimal, Santi Spiritus Cuba, killing all 68 aboard. The flight was en route from Santiago to Havana when the crew declared an emergency of a still-undisclosed nature. Witnesses reported that the aircraft made several abrupt maneuvers before crashing.

November 4 - A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing at its destination of Chattrapathi Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai after officials at the flight's origin airport in Amsterdam reported that a suspicious package had been loaded on the plane. Explosives detection equipment was deployed in the cargo hold. No explosives were found.

November 4 - A Qantas A380 made a safe emergency return landing to Singapore after reportedly suffering an uncontained engine failure. Debris from the engine reportedly fell on a house in the flight path. (AVSIG Discussion)

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

October 31 - A TSA checkpoint and public lobby were evacuated at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut after a TSA official found a suspicious object in a piece of screened luggage. The suspicious object was determined to be a snow globe.

October 31 - A Vision Airlines 767 made a safe emergency landing in Baltimore after smoke was reported in the cabin during a flight to New York.

October 30 - One was killed and three were injured after a helicopter crashed near Thomas, West Virginia. The helicopter crew was reportedly working on the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line power line project at the time of the crash.

October 29 - The pilot of a single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing in I-65 near Huntsville, Alabama after he noticed the engine running rough.

October 29 - A Cessna 180 lost power and crashed shortly after takeoff from Nueces County Airport in Robstown, Texas. No serious injuries were reported.

October 28 - All four aboard a AS350 Squirrel helicopter were killed after crashing near Dumont-d'Urville, Antarctica. The aircraft was attached to the ice-bound French research vessel L'Astrolabe. Weather was reported poor at the time of the crash.

October 28 - A SkyWest CRJ made a safe emergency landing at its destination of Salt Lake City, Utah after officials received a telephoned bomb threat against the flight during its trip from Helena, Montana.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for October 25, 2010

2010-10-25T12:44:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

(For expansion/correction please reply in this thread)

2010

October 25 - A Cessna 182 operated by Ardmore Flying School crashed into a waste water pond after overshooting the runway during a landing attempt at Thames Aerodrome in Thames, New Zealand. Both aboard reportedly received minor injuries.

October 24 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing at Frederick Regional Airport in Frederick, Maryland after a landing gear failed to extend. The airport was reportedly closed for one hour during the incident as a precaution.

October 23 - Fifteen passengers were reported injured during a panicked evacuation from a B737 owned by Aero Contractors, Inc. at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Cabin pressure dropped and air-conditioning mist reportedly filled the cabin during approach to the airport, causing some passengers to believe the aircraft was on fire.

October 23 - Both aboard a Glasair were killed after crashing near Lake Mathews, California.

October 22 - An Air Corps sea patrol plane made a safe emergency landing at Kerry Airport in Farranfore, Ireland after an engine failed during patrol operations.

October 21 - A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 made a safe emergency landing in Rochester, New York after an engine failed during search efforts over Lake Ontario.

October 21 - Jetstar A320 made a safe emergency landing in Sydney, Australia after an engine failed on approach to the airport.

October 21 - A Cirrus SR22 crashed in a horse corral west of Agua Dulce Airport in Agua Dulce, California, killing both aboard. One person and three horses were also reported killed on the ground. Heavy fog was reported in the area at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

October 21 - An American Airlines B737 made a safe emergency landing at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio after a generator failed during a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Washington D.C.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for October 18, 2010

2010-10-18T09:12:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

October 17 - A 1969 Marchetti registered to Brookfield Aviation crashed in a parking lot shortly after takeoff from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York, killing one and injuring three. No injuries were reported on the ground.

October 17 - A single-engine biplane crashed at a private air strip in Fayetteville, West Virginia, injuring the pilot. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to descend quickly before hitting the runway at a nose-biased attitude.

October 16 - An American Airlines MD82 made a safe emergency return landing to Fresno Yosemite International Airport in California after a warning light indicated high heat in the aft cargo hold.

October 16 - A Van's RV6 crashed at the end of the runway at Monticello Sky Ranch Airport south of Atlanta, killing both aboard. The aircraft was destroyed by post-crash fire.

October 15 - A Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in rough terrain south of Ensenada, Mexico, killing all four aboard. The aircraft was reportedly operating in a medical aid capacity at the time of the crash.

October 15 - A US Airways A319 made a safe emergency landing at Sea-Tac International Airport in Washington after losing an engine during a scheduled flight from Anchorage to Phoenix.

October 15 - A Bell 212 helicopter registered to Heliservicios Campeche and operating on behalf of Petroleos Mexicanos crashed in Las Choapas, Veracruz Mexico, killing all eight aboard. Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from the aircraft before the crash.

October 15 - Missouri Highway Patrol helicopter crashed in Clarkson Valley, Missouri, killing the pilot. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to be struggling to maintain altitude before the crash.

October 14 - A student and instructor were killed after their Robinson R22 helicopter crashed in Bluff Harbor, Southland, New Zealand.

October 14 - A single-engine plan broke apart after the pilot lost control on a runway at Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington. No injuries were reported.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for October 11, 2010

2010-10-11T08:06:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

October 10 - A single-engine plane crashed in a river shortly after takeoff from Tobias Bolaños Airport in San Jose, Guatemala, injuring both aboard. Authorities reportedly found over 100 kilograms of cocaine aboard the crashed aircraft.

October 10 - The pilot of a 1941 Ryan PT-22 trainer made a safe emergency landing in a soybean field near Cary, Illinois after a throttle linkage failed during flight.

October 9 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was seriously injured after crashing shortly after takeoff from Gwinnett County Airport near Lawrenceville, Georgia. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to make a sharp turn immediately after takeoff.

October 8 - The pilot of a Challenger II was killed after crashing near Easton, Kansas.

October 8 - All 147 aboard an Allegiant Air MD-80 safely evacuated at Orlando-Sanford International Airport after the right engine caught fire at the gate.

October 8 - A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter made a safe emergency landing in a public park in Hollywood, California, after an engine warning light activated in flight.

October 8 - Both aboard a Cessna 172 were killed after crashing into a mountainside in Dixie National Forest near Panguitch, Utah. The pilot and passenger were reportedly park rangers scouting the park for an upcoming elk hunt.

October 7 - Authorities evacuated a Bermuda-bound US Airways flight at Philadelphia International Airport after a uniformed man with no ID badge was seen loading baggage in the aircraft and later disappeared. The aircraft was towed to a secure area and searched. No explosives or contraband was found.

October 7 - A single-engine plane overran the runway on landing at Dallas Bay Skypark north of Dallas and crashed through a fence. No serious injuries were reported.

October 7 - No injuries were reported after a helicopter made a hard landing near a public highway in Cocoa, Florida. The pilot reported that he was forced to land after a bird struck the aircraft's tailrotor.

October 7 - A US Airways A320 made a safe emergency landing at Kansas City International Airport after the crew detected a hydraulic problem with the nosegear during a scheduled flight from Phoenix to Chicago.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for October 4, 2010

2010-10-04T10:38:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

October 3 - A Chautauqua Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing at Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, Illinois after a passenger suffered a medical emergency during a scheduled flight from Moline to Chicago.

October 3 - A Cessna 172 crashed shortly after takeoff from La Plata County Airport near Durango, Colorado, injuring both aboard.

October 3 - All three aboard a Cessna 310 suffered serious burns after crashing on takeoff from Catalina Island, California. The pilot reported that an engine failed before the crash.

October 2 - A British Airways B747 made a safe emergency return landing to Heathrow International Airport after a cockpit warning light indicated an unsealed door. The warning light was reportedly found to be defective.

October 2 - The pilot of a single-engine plane received minor injuries after crashing near Taylorsville, Kentucky. The aircraft reportedly struck utility lines as the pilot attempted to land in a field.

October 2 - A single-engine plane operated by Nazca Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Nazca, Peru, killing all six aboard. The aircraft was operating as a sightseeing flight at the time of the crash.

October 1 - A Primera Air B737 en route from Stockholm to Larnaca, Cyprus made a safe emergency landing in Varna, Bulgaria after passengers noticed smoke coming from the left engine.

October 1 - A Delta Air Lines B767 bound for Seattle made a safe emergency landing at Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York after its right engine failed shortly after departing Kennedy International Airport.

October 1 - No injuries were reported after a single-engine plane swerved and crashed to avoid a deer during a takeoff attempt at Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

October 1 - A twin-engine plane crashed during landing approach to Tripp Creek Airport in St. John's, Michigan, injuring both aboard. The pilot reported losing an engine before the crash.

September 30 - An Air Nelson Bombardier Q300 operating on behalf of Air New Zealand made a safe nose-down landing at Woodbourne Airport in Blenheim, New Zealand after the nose-gear collapsed on landing. The crew became aware of the gear's failure to lock on approach to the airport and notified emergency personnel prior to landing.

September 30 - An Aer Lingus A320 bound for London from Dublin made a safe emergency landing in Birmingham after the crew noted a problem with the aircraft's fueling system.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for September 27, 2010

2010-09-27T09:53:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

September 27 - The pilot of an ultralight aircraft was killed after crashing between runways at Tauranga Airport in Tauranga, North Island New Zealand. Witnesses said the pilot was doing touch-and-goes at the time of the crash.

September 26 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing in a heavily-wooded area near Sweetwater, Tennessee.

September 26 - A Kamov Ka-32 helicopter crashed on Mount Fisht near Sochi, Russia, injuring one. The helicopter was reportedly participating in the installation of a utility pole at the time of the crash.

September 25 - A Pakistan International Airlines B777 landed safely in Stockholm after authorities received information that a passenger was carrying explosives aboard the scheduled Toronto-Karachi flight. The aircraft was searched and no explosives found.

September 25 - A powered paraglider experiencing control trouble made a safe emergency landing on Holland America’s Prinsendam cruise ship as it docked in Portimão, Algarve Portugal.

September 25 - An unruly passenger forced a Delta Air Lines flight to return to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington. The flight was one hour en route to Amsterdam at the time of the incident.

September 25 - A Delta Air Lines CRJ900 operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines made a safe emergency landing at Kennedy International Airport after its right landing gear failed to extend. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Atlanta to Westchester County Airport in White Plains at the time of the incident.

September 25 - The pilot of a homebuilt helicopter was killed after crashing near Pattison, Texas.

September 25 - A Wind Jet A300 slid off the runway while landing in Palermo, Italy, injuring 20. Light rain was falling at the time of the accident.

September 25 - An experimental plane crashed and flipped during a takeoff attempt from Springfield Municipal Airport near Springfield, Ohio. The pilot escaped serious injury.

September 25 - A Beechcraft Baron crashed into a cliffside in Baja, California, killing an determined number of people as of post time. Authorities believe the aircraft was flying from San Diego to Los Cabos at the time of the crash.

September 24 - The pilot of an Indian Air Force MiG-27 safely ejected before his aircraft crashed near West Bengal’s West Midnapore district. No injuries were reported on the ground.

September 23 - A single-engine Piper registered to Plane Nonsense, Inc. overran the runway and crashed into a chain-link fence during a landing attempt at Marlboro Airport in Marlboro, Massachusetts. Both aboard were able to walk away from the crash.

September 23 - A Delta Air Lines A320 made a safe emergency landing at its destination of Fort Myers, Florida after a warning light indicated a landing gear door malfunction. The aircraft made a normal landing.

September 23 - A JetLite B737 made a safe emergency return landing to New Delhi after suffering an engine failure shortly after takeoff.

September 23 - A Cessna 150 made a safe emergency landing on Port St. Joe Beach near Panama City, Florida after its engine quit during an instructional flight.

September 23 - A Delta Air Lines B767 made a safe emergency landing at Manchester Airport in Greater Manchester, UK after smoke was detected in the cockpit during a scheduled flight from New York to Athens.

September 23 - The crew of a Lufthansa B737 shut down an engine and declared an emergency upon arriving at its destination of Hamburg. The crew reported seeing fluctuating power output from the engine before electing to shut it down.

September 23 - The pilot of a Bangladesh Air Force F7 safely ejected before his aircraft crashed in a river near Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for September 20, 2010

2010-09-20T09:21:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

September 19 - Authorities evacuated Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport in Greater Manchester, UK after a suspicious bag was screened at a security checkpoint. The bag was later determined to be safe.

September 19 - A Delta Air Lines MD-80 made a safe emergency landing at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in St. Louis after smoke was detected in the cabin during a flight from Atlanta. Firefighters who boarded the aircraft could not determine the source of the smoke.

September 19 - An ultralight helicopter crashed near Halifax, Massachusetts, injuring the pilot. Witnesses said the engine sputtered before the crash.

September 18 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing on the beach on Palm Beach Island, Florida, after encountering engine trouble. The pilot reported that the engine settled back to and locked onto idle speed before the forced landing.

September 18 - A Turkish Airlines A330 bound for Beijing from Istanbul made a safe emergency landing in Astana, Kazakhstan after the crew feared an unattended and unclaimed PlayStation console found in the cabin might be a bomb. An examination of the console found no explosives.

September 18 - The pilot of a military helicopter was killed after crashing during an airshow in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. A six-year-old boy on the ground was reported injured.

September 18 - Two aircraft collided while performing aerobatics at an air show in Warngau, Bavaria Germany, killing the pilot of one aircraft. The other pilot safely landed his plane. No injuries were reported on the ground.

September 18 - A Beechcraft Baron crashed into a house on Sewell Mountain east of Beckley, West Virginia, injuring all five aboard. The homeowner helped the occupants out of the plane. No injuries were reported on the ground.

September 17 - A US Airways 757 bound for Kahului, Hawaii from Phoenix made a safe emergency landing at San Francisco International Airport after smoke filled the cockpit during the flight.

September 17 - A Cessna 210 crashed in a heavily-wooded area near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, killing both aboard.

September 16 - An Italian Air Force A319 carrying Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi made a safe emergency return landing to Milan after the crew noticed a growing deflection in the cockpit window glass shortly after takeoff.

September 16 - A Delta Air Lines DC-9 blew a tire before takeoff in Atlanta. Three more tires blew as the jet taxied back to the terminal.

September 16 - An American Airlines 767 made a safe emergency landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia after smoke was detected in the cabin during a scheduled flight from Milan to New York.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for September 13, 2010

2010-09-13T09:53:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

September 12 - No injuries were reported after a Piaggio Avanti skidded off the runway after its landing gear failed to extend during an aborted takeoff at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in Florida. The pilot reported hearing a popping sound before electing to abort.

September 11 - No injuries were reported after a helicopter chartered by National Broadcasting Services of Thailand struck utility lines and made a hard landing on a pier in the Chao Phraya River near Bangkok. The helicopter was evacuated just before the pier collapsed into the river under the weight of the helicopter.

September 10 - A JetBlue Embraer 190 made a safe emergency return landing to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida after the odor of smoke was detected in the cabin.

September 10 - A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Tampa returned to Detroit Metropolitan airport shortly after takeoff due to a disruptive passenger.

September 9 - A Delta Air Lines CRJ900 made a safe emergency return landing to Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee after losing cabin pressure shortly after takeoff.

September 9 - A U.S. Air Force Texan II made a safe emergency landing at Kansas City International airport in Kansas City, Missouri after encountering engine trouble during a flight from Enid, Oklahoma to Pittsburgh.

September 9 - A single-engine pontoon-equipped plane made a safe emergency landing in a field near Wolcott, New York after losing engine power. The pilot reported that he was headed to Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario to refuel during a flight from Michigan to Maine.

September 9 - Both aboard a single-engine seaplane were injured after crashing in a field near Huron, New York. The pilot and passenger were able to extricate themselves from the wreckage.

September 9 - A Kolb Twinstar Mark III veered off the runway and crashed on landing Elkhart Municipal Airport in Elkhart, Indiana, killing the pilot.

September 9 - The pilot of an ultralight was seriously injured after crashing in a residential back yard in Perris, California. Investigators found the engine still running in the wreckage.

Celebrating Leave the Co-pilot at Home Day

2010-09-08T09:54:00.008-04:00

I have friends and loved ones whom I otherwise respect who pay an annual fee for the privilege of buying groceries, jewelry, tires, and batteries all under one roof.

They walk into their warehouse store and show their membership cards, then roam the aisles with one or more out-sized shopping carts, piling in cubic feet of Captain Crunch and enough frozen California Mix to stock the lunch bar at the local MCL.

The entrance fee and paper towels stacked 20-feet high all shout, "Hey! Look! These have got to be lowest prices in town. Otherwise we wouldn't make this such a hassle."

The armed guard stationed vaguely between the jewelry case and the checkout registers suggests both "Hey! You're practically getting away with robbery at this joint!" and, "Hey! The jewelery in the case isn't so chintzy that you shouldn't buy that 40th Anniversary necklace for your wife here. And there's still room for it in your cart on top of that 5-gallon barrel of barbecue sauce."

Still others shop at the cash-only place that charges for bags and rents you your shopping cart for a quarter. There you can load up on ValueBest peanut butter and GoodHarvest powdered drink mix and maybe chip in an extra nickel to get a "Thank You" from the cashier when you leave.

The fact that neither of the above blow-out pricing establishments is appreciably cheaper than just shopping with discretion at the average large grocery chain is no deterrent to these customers, whose loyalty only grows stronger with each new in-store degradation.

So it is from time to time with air travel, where the cut-rate sacrifice-as-savings stunts never cease.

Cattle Call seating.

Carry-on Fees.

Pay-Snacks.

Pay-Toilets.

Leave the Co-pilot at Home Day.

Leave the Co-pilot at home?

Sure. Modern planes fly themselves. We actually make some of these people pay for the honor of pretending to fly our equipment, but sometimes they get groggy from working at the Piggly Wiggly to support themselves and go up and move the stick the wrong way in an ice storm.

We can train a flight attendant to land the plane in case the captain had the fish. Or was it the chicken?

(Silly us. The pretzels or the peanuts).

But wait a minute. We're going to ditch the co-pilot but still pay a flight attendant to demonstrate the little rubber hose thingy and sell us a half-can of BubbleKing Kola for five bucks?

The FA doesn't even pay us to work for us ...

As the forum's finest have already pointed out, some small-capacity airline flights already employ first officers in the role of flight attendants, so the foundation for the bait-and-switch of perception is already in place:

Let's just call the first officer a flight attendant now. And come to think of it, we need a new flight attendant anyway. The last one we had left in a huff.

Remember: everybody complained when we got rid of the flight engineer, too. The last FE anybody needed hung out in the engine room of the Starship Enterprise.

Will the future of airline travel be no co-pilot? And no pilot?

The day of the co-pilotless and even onboard pilotless flight may yet come to pass. But until then, take heart in the knowledge that attention-grabbing thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another cheapskate airlines usually don't hold consumer fancy past their first flaming swamp ditchings.

In the time between consumer cost/safety value paradigm shifts there remains the opportunity to book early and cheaply on a carrier that's a little more concerned about its long-term business model.

And if we do see the day of remotely-flown airliners, remember that business travel is rarely required nowadays, and even vacation travel is overrated.

Web-cammed computers are cheap. Why just last week while meeting with the AVSIG suits via GoogleMeeting this humble blogger learned that AVSIG revenues are up for the quarter ... or maybe it was costs that were up. We buffered and froze, but somebody was going to send a follow-up e-mail.

HD televisions are cheap. I got a stunning one-hour tour of Glacier National Park the other evening while dining on a Little Ceaser's cheese pizza and BubbleKing Kola, and without so much as a bear attack. There was the atmosphere-killer of the adult diaper commercial dropped between the majestic mountain flyover and tranquil glacial pools, but no deal killer compared to a missed connection in Chicago.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for September 7, 2010

2010-09-07T08:18:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

September 6 - A single-engine plane crashed into a residential street in Las Vegas, killing the pilot and injuring three aboard. No injuries were reported on the ground. At least one house sustained damage from the post-crash fire.

September 6 - A Scandinavian Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany after smoke was detected in the cabin during a scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Copenhagen.

September 6 - A hot air balloon made a safe emergency landing in Huber Heights, Ohio after experiencing control trouble.

September 5 - A biplane crashed into spectators during a takeoff attempt at an air show at Lillinghof Airfield near Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, killing one spectator and injuring 33. The pilot was reportedly uninjured.

September 5 - Both aboard a homebuilt aircraft were killed after crashing on takeoff from Mabel Lake air strip near Lumby, British Columbia, Canada.

September 5 - A police helicopter made a safe emergency landing on a residential cul-de-sac in Columbus, Ohio after encountering control problems during routine patrol.

September 4 - An engine on a Slovak AirExplore 737 caught fire shortly after passengers deplaned at Kos Island International Airport in Kos, Greece. No injuries were reported.

September 4 - An Air Canada flight made a safe emergency return landing to Vancouver International Airport after the crew detected a problem with the landing gear shortly after takeoff.

September 4 - A single-engine plane crashed near DeLand, Florida, killing one and injuring one. Witnesses said the aircraft clipped power lines before the crash.

September 4 - Two aircraft competing in the Merlin Trophy races collided over Hampshire, England, killing both aboard one aircraft. The other aircraft involved in the collision made a safe landing at Bembridge airport on Isle of Wight.

September 4 - A single-engine plane flipped while making an emergency landing on the baseball field of Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The pilot was reportedly uninjured.

September 3 - The pilot of a kitbuilt plane received serious injuries after crashing near the airport in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.

September 3 - A United Parcel Service 747 crashed as the crew attempted to make an emergency return landing to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, killing both aboard. The crew reported a cockpit fire before declaring the emergency. (AVSIG Discussion)

September 2 - All terminals at Miami International Airport were evacuated after a metal canister was found in luggage near a baggage claim area. The canister was found to be non-threatening.

September 2 - A Beechcraft Queen Air crashed into a lagoon near Redwood City, California, killing all three aboard. Witnesses said the engine was running rough before the crash, and that the aircraft entered the water at steep angle. (AVSIG Discussion)

September 2 - A single-engine plane crashed into an embankment during a landing attempt in Hirschbach im Mühlkreis, Austria, killing both aboard.

September 2 - An American Airlines 737 made a safe emergency return landing to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after being struck by lightning shortly after takeoff.

September 2 - A banner-towing Cessna 150 registered to Drake Aerial Enterprise in Genoa, Ohio crashed on takeoff from Boone Airport in Boone, Iowa, killing the pilot. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude before the crash.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for August 30,, 2010

2010-08-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

August 29 - A single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing on a golf course in Bentwater, Georgia after losing power shortly after takeoff from McCollum Field in Kennesaw.

August 28 - Both aboard a single-engine aircraft were seriously injured after crashing at Marana Northwest Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona. The flight reportedly carried an instructor and 16-year-old passenger on an introductory flight. Witnesses said the aircraft made a sharp right turn back to the airport shortly after takeoff.

August 28 - A crop duster crashed into a golf course parking lot shortly after takeoff from Pompano Beach Air Park in Florida, injuring the pilot. The pilot reported the engine quit before the crash.

August 28 - The pilot of a single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on U.S. 23 near Wise, Virginia after reportedly running out of fuel shortly after takeoff from a nearby airport.

August 28 - An AirTran flight made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after a 64-year-old passenger died of an apparent heart attack during a scheduled flight from Los Vegas to Milwaukee.

August 28 - An IndiGO flight made a safe emergency return landing to Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar, India after striking birds on takeoff.

August 27 - A flight instructor was killed after walking into a turning propeller at Beverly Municipal Airport in Beverly, Massachusetts. The pilot reportedly exited his plane during taxi to assist the crew of another aircraft with a stuck canopy. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 27 - No injuries were reported after a single-engine Cessna registered to LZ Max Air LLC slid off a wet grass runway in Clayton, Georgia.

August 26 - Fifteen passengers were hurt after a JetBlue A320 made a hard landing in San Diego. The crew elected to evacuate the aircraft after several tires blew on landing. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 26 - A Midwest Express flight bound for Milwaukee from Boston made a safe emergency landing at Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York after the crew detected a crack in the cockpit window during the flight.

August 26 - Two Greek Air Force F-16s collided near Crete, killing the pilot of the single-seat configured aircraft and injuring both aboard the tandem. The aircraft were participating in a training exercise at the time of the collision.

August 26 - Both aboard a T-18 Thorp were killed after crashing on takeoff from Cochise County Airport in Willcox, Arizona.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for August 24, 2010

2010-08-24T09:13:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

August 23 - All six aboard a Piper Aztec escaped serious injury after crashing three miles off Grand Bahama Island. The passengers and crew clung to the wreckage until nearby boats came to their rescue. The pilot reported that an engine failed before the crash.

August 23 - A Delta Air Lines flight made an unscheduled landing at Narita International Airport in Japan after its toilet flushing system failed twice shortly into a flight bound for Seattle.

August 23 - Both aboard a Cessna 310 were killed after crashing northeast of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

August 22 - A helicopter made a safe emergency landing in San Diego Bay in California after experiencing engine trouble shortly after takeoff from a nearby yacht.

August 22 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing near Clearwater, Minnesota. Witnesses said the aircraft was performing aerobatics before the crash.

August 21 - An Air Canada B767 made a safe emergency return landing to Vancouver International Airport after the crew detected a whistling noise in the cabin near the windshield.

August 21 - A single-engine plane crashed in a field in Amherst, Virginia, killing both aboard.

August 21 - The pilot of a Piper Cub was injured after crashing into a parked car near Southern Cross Airport in Williamston, New Jersey.

August 20 - No injuries were reported after a Cessna 152 flipped on landing at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The aircraft was reportedly returning to the airport after the engine began running rough shortly after takeoff.

August 20 - All eight aboard a Aeroexpreso del Pacifico flight were reported safe after crashing on landing at Alfonso Bonilla Aragon Airport in Palmira, Colombia. Officials believe the aircraft's landing gear failed upon touchdown.

August 20 - Air traffic controllers in Frankfurt reported that flights were halted in northern Europe due to an unspecified traffic control problem.

August 19 - The pilot of a twin-engine plane made a safe emergency landing at Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after clipping trees and damaging the aircraft on an instrument takeoff from Bedford. Firefighters met the aircraft in Johnstown.

August 19 - A Flybe De Havilland DHC-8-400 made a safe emergency return landing to Manchester Airport in England after smoke was detected in the cabin shortly after takeoff.

August 19 - The pilot of a Grumman G-164B operating as a cropduster was injured after crashing near Buckeye, Arizona. The aircraft was destroyed by post-crash fire.

August 19 - Both aboard a single-engine plane escaped serious injury after crashing in a field near LeGrange, Indiana. The aircraft struck utility lines before the crash. A horse in the pasture was killed.

Accident & Incident Update for August 16, 2010

2010-08-16T09:12:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

August 15 - Both aboard a BC-12 Taylorcraft were killed after crashing near Harrison, Maine.

August 14 - An American Airlines MD-80 safely returned to Los Angeles International Airport after experiencing engine trouble shortly after takeoff.

August 14 - The pilot of a Piper Cub made a safe emergency landing on the shores of Lake Chelan in Chelan, Washington after his engine quit. Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the engine before the landing.

August 14 - Passengers evacuated an American Airlines A320 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after a cargo hold sensor indicated an onboard fire. No injuries were reported, and no fire was found.

August 14 - The pilot of a 1956 PA-23 Piper Apache made a safe emergency landing at J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport in Sydney, Australia after a cockpit warning light indicated a nose gear failure. The pilot circled the airport to burn fuel before the uneventful landing.

August 14 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna received minor injuries after crashing in the ocean off Key West, Florida. The crew of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration survey vessel rescued the pilot as he swam from the wreckage.

August 13 - No injuries were reported after a single-engine plane crashed into Lake Erie near South Bass Island in Ohio. Witnesses said the pilot appeared to be attempting a water landing at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

August 12 - A banner-towing aircraft clipped a tree and car while making an emergency landing on a city street in St. Petersburg, Florida. The pilot, who was uninjured, reportedly released the tow banner and landed on the roadway after experiencing engine trouble three hours into tow operations.

August 12 - No serious injuries were reported after a Learjet operated by OceanAir air taxi service crashed in the sea after overrunning the runway on landing in Rio de Janeiro.

August 12 - A Robinson R44 helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from Giammoro, Messina Italy, killing all four aboard. The aircraft's tail boom was reportedly found apart from the wreckage and near the takeoff site.

August 12 - An AirTran B717 made a safe emergency landing in Dayton, Ohio after a cockpit warning light activated during a scheduled flight from Indianapolis to Baltimore.

August 12 - No serious injuries were reported after a single-engine Cessna crash-landed on a beach at Wiggins Island, near Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. Six skydivers and the pilot were reported to be aboard the aircraft, which reportedly struggled to gain altitude on takeoff from a nearby airstrip.

Steven Slater's Great Escape

2010-08-10T10:07:00.011-04:00

Steven Slater's grand exit from his flight attendant career on the ground at JFK this week will probably go down in history as a tipping point where just one person puts a fine point on just how far-gone society gets from time to time.

Slater is already the Bernie Goetz of bullied flight attendants to some; the too-tightly-wound gone-postal poster boy for repetitive-task rules minions to others. But to authorities in New York, Slater was briefly Public Enemy Number One yesterday afternoon.

After saying his fond goodbyes to a planeload of JetBlue passengers (one of whom had grabbed her bag from the overhead bin before the aircraft had come to a complete and final stop and then cursed-out Slater when asked to return to her seat) Slater grabbed two beers from the galley, popped an emergency evacuation chute aboard the Embraer, and went sliding off into folklore.

As the chumps aboard JetBlue 1052 waited to shuffle out of the aircraft and push their way through the airport to fight for taxis, Steven Slater ran off to his car in the parking lot wild and free with his complimentary $12 beers. He drove home to Queens.

Goodbye, Rude World.

Slater's house in Queens was shortly thereafter surrounded by cops.

A contractor working across the street was quoted by The New York Times as being under the impression there was a hostage situation in the house.

Law enforcement officials explained the response by pointing out that activation of the plane's emergency chute without warning was reckless, and that the chute could have killed someone standing on the ground.

True.

But call out the cavalry because some guy popped an emergency aircraft slide at JFK?

"Who knows how many other aircraft emergency chutes the guy might have pulled before we caught him," a high-ranking law enforcement official didn't say. "This may have been only a practice run," said another, not.

Apart from the everyday drama of jerk passengers and ready-to-snap-anytime-now flight attendants, Steven Slater's Great Escape reminds us that we continue to treat any unusual event involving an airliner as a matter of scramble-the-F16s national security.

And each time we do so, we contribute to the stressed-out paralysis that is airline travel today ... and waste resources that could otherwise be available to respond to real emergencies.

Even if we haven't thwarted a future airline tragedy with the successful shock & awe capture of Steven Slater, there are at least three things we can be confident of after this incident.

1. Some passenger, somewhere, is going to joke about popping an emergency slide as he or she sits grounded at an airport due to mechanical or weather issues, and law enforcement will show up in overwhelming numbers to subdue the perp. You'll read about it right here in an Accidents & Incidents entry on The AVSIG Blog.

2. No passenger will actually figure out how to pop an airliner emergency slide, even after receiving explicit instructions on how to do so from a flight attendant. Who listens to those clowns, anyway?

3. There's beer in the galleys of JetBlue airliners.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for August 9, 2010

2010-08-09T08:41:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

August 8 - The pilot of a powered glider was killed after crashing into a building at Bend Airport in Bend, Oregon. Witnesses reported that the aircraft had just departed the airport and appeared to be attempting to return at the time of the crash.

August 8 - A Quest Kodiak 100 seaplane registered to New England Seaplane flipped while landing on Brandy Pond in Naples, Maine, injuring one.

August 8 - An Alaska Airlines B737 safely aborted takeoff in Sitka, Alaska after ingesting an eagle in one engine during takeoff roll.

August 8 - The pilot of a MD-500 helicopter was killed after crashing during a landing attempt at the CIS Open Cup in Helicopter Sport near Minsk, Belarus.

August 7 - Both aboard a twin-engine plane were killed after crashing into a house near Pittsburgh. No injuries were reported on the ground.

August 7 - No injuries were reported after a crop duster crashed while spraying a field in Hopewell, New York. A witness reported that the aircraft snagged a plant with its landing gear before the crash.

August 7 - An Indian Air Force MiG-21 crashed near Tezpur, Assam, India during a training flight. The fate of the pilot is unknown.

August 7 - No serious injuries were reported after a single-engine aircraft crashed into a house near Melbourne, Australia. The aircraft was reportedly returning to Moorabbin Airport at the time of the crash.

August 5 - The pilot of a single-engine experimental aircraft made a safe emergency landing on a public roadway near Hollywood, Maryland. The pilot then taxied the aircraft into a residential yard.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for August 1, 2010

2010-08-02T09:47:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

August 1 - All three aboard a Fairchild C-123 cargo plane registered to All West Freight were killed after crashing into the southern slope of Mount Healy in Denali National Park, Alaska. Witnesses reported that the aircraft rolled inverted before the crash.

August 1 - Both aboard a Bellanca Citabria were killed after crashing on takeoff from Midway Airport in Midlothian, Texas. Witness said the aircraft banked sharply before the crash. The aircraft's propeller was reportedly found a significant distance from the wreckage.

August 1 - A helicopter crashed in a rice paddy near Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture Japan, killing both aboard.

August 1 - A single-engine plane crashed in Moosehead Lake near Rockwood, Maine, killing one and injuring one.

August 1 - A Cessna 185 crashed near Wilson, New York, seriously injuring all six aboard. The aircraft was reportedly engaged in skydiving operations at the time of the crash.

July 31 - Both aboard a Conair water bomber were killed after crashing northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia during wildfire-fighting operations.

July 31 - A taxiing Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 struck the tail of a stationary Air China Boeing 737 at Beijing International Airport. Heavy fog shrouded the airport at the time of the accident.

July 30 - A Canadian North B737 made a safe emergency return landing to Yellowknife, North West Territory after losing power to one engine shortly after takeoff.

July 29 - Both aboard a Cirrus SR22 registered to NXCK LLC escaped injury after crashing in the Tennessee River in South Knoxville, Tennessee. A witness reported that the aircraft appeared to be attempting to land at Downtown Island Airport, but that it was "still in the air three quarters of the way down the runway" before the crash. Rain and wind was reported at the time of the crash.

July 29 - A Zodiac CH 601 HDSA crashed on takeoff from Kapowsin Field Airport in Graham, Washington, killing one and injuring one. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to enter an aerodynamic stall before the crash.

July 29 - A Pakistan International Airlines 737 made a safe emergency landing in Lahore, Pakistan after a panel of its cockpit window was shattered while flying through a thunderstorm on a Kabul-Islambad flight.

July 29 - A U.S. Air Force C-17 crashed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, killing all four aboard. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft on fire before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 28 - The pilot of a White Gobash G-700S was killed after crashing on approach to Delaware Municipal Airport in Delaware, Ohio. Witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to enter an aerodynamic stall before the crash. The pilot was killed in the post-crash fire.

July 28 - A Eurocopter AS350 medevac helicopter operated by LifeNet crashed in Tucson, Arizona, killing three and injuring two.

July 28 - An Airblue Airbus A321 crashed on a mountaintop near Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 aboard. Heavy fog was reported at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 27 - A United Airlines 757 made a safe emergency landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after smoke was detected in the cabin on a flight from Dulles International Airport to San Diego.

July 27 - A Beechcraft Premier jet registered to Roush Fenway Racing LLC skidded off the runway and crashed after a hard landing at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, injuring both aboard. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 27 - The pilot of a Beechcraft Baron was killed after crashing on takeoff from Oceanside Municipal Airport in Oceanside, California. Witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to have engine trouble before the crash.

July 27 - A Lufthansa Airlines MD-11 ran off the runway and broke apart during an emergency landing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after fire was detected in the cargo hold. No injuries were reported. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 26 - A Lee County Sheriff's Office helicopter made an emergency landing on a public road in Bonita Springs, Florida after suffering a mechanical failure. No injuries were reported.

July 26 - A Delta Connection Flight Saab 340 operated by Mesaba Airlines made a safe emergency landing at Muskegon County Airport in Muskegon, Michigan after shutting an engine down during a flight from Wausau, Wisconsin to Detroit.

July 26 - No injuries were reported after a the landing gear collapsed on a twin-engine plane operated by Nantucket Shuttle upon landing in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

July 26 - Two Cessna 152s collided over North Island, Wellington New Zealand, killing both aboard one aircraft. The other aircraft made a safe landing at a nearby airstrip.

July 26 - No injuries were reported after an aircraft struck a hangar wall while being taxied at Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas. Authorities believe the throttle on the aircraft became stuck open during taxi.

Airblue Airbus A321 Crashes on Mountaintop Near Islambad

2010-07-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

An Airblue Airbus A321 has crashed on a mountaintop near Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 aboard. Heavy fog was reported at the time of the crash. Recovery efforts are being hampered by the mountainous terrain. (AVSIG Discussion) (Times of India Report)

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for July 27, 2010

2010-07-27T08:07:00.001-04:00

Accidents & Incidents published by [url=http://www.AVSIG.com]www.AVSIG.com[/url] are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.

2010

July 26 - A Delta Connection Flight Saab 340 operated by Mesaba Airlines made a safe emergency landing at Muskegon County Airport in Muskegon, Michigan after shutting an engine down during a flight from Wausau, Wisconsin to Detroit.

July 26 - No injuries were reported after a the landing gear collapsed on a twin-engine plane operated by Nantucket Shuttle upon landing in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

July 26 - Two Cessna 152s collided over North Island, Wellington New Zealand, killing both aboard one aircraft. The other aircraft made a safe landing at a nearby airstrip.

July 26 - No injuries were reported after an aircraft struck a hangar wall while being taxied at Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas. Authorities believe the throttle on the aircraft became stuck open during taxi.

July 25 - A Beechcraft Bonanza made a safe emergency landing in a field west of Oshkosh, Wisconsin after its engine quit on approach to EAA Airventure.

July 25 - A Eurocopter Dauphin crashed in mountainous terrain in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, leaving five of seven aboard reported missing. The helicopter was en route to rescue stranded mountain climbers at the time of the crash.

July 25 - An Allegiant Airlines MD-83 made a safe emergency landing in Flagstaff, Arizona after an engine reportedly caught fire during a flight from Billings, Montana to Phoenix.

July 25 - The pilot of a single-engine plane received minor injuries after a gust of wind flipped his plane while landing at an airport in Iroquois, Ontario Canada.

July 24 - A Ryanair B737 made a safe emergency return landing to South Charleroi Airport in Brussels after striking a large bird shortly after takeoff.

July 24 - The pilot of a Beech Musketeer was injured after crashing shortly after takeoff from Muskegon County Airport near Norton Shores, Michigan.

July 24 - A DeHavilland Beaver crashed near La Grande Rivière, Quebec, Canada, killing two and injuring three.

July 24 - No serious injuries were reported after a Cessna 172 registered to Apollo Aviation, Inc. crashed in a cow pasture on takeoff from Eagle's Nest Airport near Waynesboro, Virginia.

July 24 - A Piper Warrior on approach to Black Hills Airport near Spearfish, South Dakota, killing one and injuring one. The pilot reportedly struck a tree near the runway end.

July 24 - Both aboard an Indian Air Force MiG-27 were killed after crashing in Moinaguri, West Bengal, India. Two on the ground were also reported injured.

July 23 - An American Eagle Embraer 135 bound for LaGuardia International Airport from Montreal made a safe emergency landing at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, New York after the crew was forced to shut down an engine in flight.

July 23 - A Cessna 206 crashed in Lake Michigan near Ludington, Michigan, killing four of five aboard. The crew of a nearby fishing boat was able to help the pilot from the water. The pilot reported that his engine quit before the crash.

July 23 - The pilot of a Canadian Forces F-18 safely ejected before his aircraft crashed during practice for the Alberta International Air Show in Lethbridge, British Columbia Canada.

Aviation Experts, Stupid and Brilliant ...

2010-07-23T14:37:00.002-04:00

The ego wars on AVSIG are rare, and almost always over high-stakes issues like Bonanza flap settings and whether or not it’s OK to use a hand-held GPS to navigate around a TFR in D.C. (it’s not -- turns out a hand-held GPS can’t be used concurrently with more than two acronyms, GPS inclusive, in any flight scenario ... FAR 7689.456.76BS).

But should these arguments reach the last pathetic gasps that some web discussions do, knock-down, drag-out fights over grand subjects on AVSIG are always found to be no different than disagreements over Ford vs. Chevy (Chevy. Fords smell funny) or Angelina Jolie vs. Jennifer Aniston (neither: it’s always Mary Ann, silly) on other forums. In the end they are propped up to their last withering stands by at least one fragile but proud soul who can’t tell gray from black or white.

A few years back on AVSIG we witnessed one of those petty little ego dust-ups. John Wiley, an AVSIG member most famous for using an instrument panel with all kinds of dials and switches on it as his avatar (oh, and plus being a retired airiline pilot who flew some fun stuff in Southeast Asia back when Wavy Gravy was keeping unruly flower children in line with seltzer bottles and cream pies) had the nerve to show up on CNN to help Miles O’Brien discuss an airliner accident.

Within hours, another AVSIG member who once had a gig doing aviation commentary for another network showed up on the forum to lambast Mr. Wiley for taking food from his mouth: A retired airline pilot with a pension taking aviation commentary work from a working journalist.

Sigizens couldn’t help but spend a few days asking different versions of the question “Really?” ... keeping everything within our strict posting rules until the conversation somehow devolved into a discussion about underwear.

That was supposed to be the end of that. Just more warped human logic on display for everyone out there on the internets, courtesy of the fully-voluntary submission of its producer, same as with this blog.

But now some airline pilot who blogs for Salon is also taking shots at Wiley. Patrick Smith, who writes the Ask the Pilot blog for magazine, recently whined that the Associated Press contacted Wiley instead of him for insight on this week’s United Airlines turbulence incident between Dulles and Los Angeles. He went on to call Wiley’s commentary “stupid” and to suggest he might have supplied smarter insights had the AP only had the wisdom to contact him.

This humble blogger wants to chalk up this apparent smear to misunderstood English humor, since this Patrick Smith writes like an Englishman, using the word, “Bloody” and claiming to still jot down bursts of creative brilliance on hotel stationary ... though it’s possible he’s just some Yank who’s gone Madonna, idiom-wise, after attending Farnsborough.

See, English humor is very sophisticated, and people in other parts of the world just don’t get it. When Benny Hill parades around in a waitress uniform sporting volleyball falsies and smacks a customer who gets fresh, causing the patron to go tumbling out the coffee shop entrance and into the street at high speed to the accompaniment of popcorn-popping sounds, it’s always funnier than we think it is.

“Stupid” could be an affectionately cute term in an English humor sort of way.

But what if in-fact this is another real case of sour grapes aviation-commentator-on-aviation-commentator violence?

And Wiley? Again?

It takes some kind of troublemaker to end up in all these dust-ups, regardless of the apparent provocateur, right?

There’s a bigger question begged by all of these complaints of retired airline pilots taking all the commentary glory from working aviation journalists.

Just what is an “aviation journalist” nowadays?

A print stalwart like David Learmount? Any old web punk with a blog?

It’s a tough distinction , as serious journalists of all stripes have been taking it on the chin ever since those pouty-lipped silicone babes started showing up on the local Action News reporting overturned tankers spewing pneumonia all over the roadways. Ted Koppel has to bristle at sharing the camera with some of these clowns ... so why wouldn’t a real aviation journalist get ticked off at being usurped by some great pretender out there ... by some guy with decades as a professional pilot and instructor and two Aviation Journalist of the Year awards?

Still, the biggest question of all weighing on me this morning is why on earth a hairstyling magazine is publishing an aviation blog. (Please save your angry comments about the author thinking Salon is “a hairstyling magazine.” I happen to know salons give massages and mud baths too -- pickle slices at the classier places).

M.O.

In Other News: Before Pigs Flew

2010-07-20T15:35:00.001-04:00

In case anyone is still wondering about the whole Capitalism Thing, it’s alive and well in Russia, where some enterprising bizfolks sent a donkey parasailing over a beach in the southern part of the country to promote their parasailing company this week. You have to wonder, all animal abuse considerations aside ... whether Golubitskaya’s soaring donkey returned to his donkey flock to extol the beauty of flight.

OK, you really don’t have to wonder.

The AVSIG International Aerodrome & Farm Department of Wordplay predicts company officials will see a parahandcuffs before they see any new parasailing business.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for July 19, 2010

2010-07-19T10:52:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

July 18 - The pilot of a U.S. Marine Corps Harrier safely ejected before his aircraft crashed in Ocala National Forest in Florida. Rescue personnel located the pilot in a nearby treetop.

July 18 - A Cebu Pacific ATR-72 made a safe emergency landing at Nino Aquino International Airport in Manila after a landing gear failure.

July 18 - A Beechcraft Bonanza clipped a car while attempting to land on a public road near Phoenix, Arizona. The pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash landing; the driver of the car was uninjured.

July 18 - A two-seat experimental plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Denton Municipal Airport in Denton, Texas, killing one and injuring one. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude before the crash.

July 18 - A Turkish Airlines B737 made a safe emergency return landing to Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey after an unspecified cockpit warning light activated.

July 17 - A Delta Air Lines MD-88 made a safe emergency return landing to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta after the crew detected smoke in the cockpit. The crew reportedly extinguished a cockpit fire that erupted during the landing.

July 17 - Both aboard a Yak-52 were killed after crashing on a city street shortly after departing Portland International Jetport in South Portland, Maine. Witnesses reported that the aircraft made a sharp turn before plummeting to the ground. No injuries were reported on the ground.

July 16 - The pilot of a Pilatus PC-12 made a safe emergency landing at Albany International Airport in Albany after losing power during a flight from Chicago to Westchester County Airport in New York.

July 16 - The pilot of a single-engine airplane made a safe emergency landing at Coleman A. Young International Airport in Detroit after determining the aircraft's nose gear was inoperable. The pilot circled the airport to burn fuel before the landing.

July 16 - A DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver crashed into the side of a mountain near Chute de Passes, Quebec, killing four of six aboard. Heavy fog was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

July 16 - A Robinson R44 helicopter crashed while attempting to land on a pickup truck trailer at Salt Lake City International Airport, killing one and injuring three. The fatality involved one of two people standing by the trailer during the maneuver.

July 15 - No serious injuries were reported after a Piper PA-14 crashed near King Salmon, Alaska. The pilot reported being in a holding pattern in bad weather when the engine lost power.

July 15 - The pilot of a single-engine kit plane was killed after crashing in a bean field on approach to Iowa Falls Municipal Airport in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to lose power before the crash.

July 15 - A Batavia Air flight made a safe emergency return landing to Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport Pekanbaru, Riau after passengers reported hearing two loud explosions from the left engine of the aircraft shortly after takeoff. Passengers also reported flames coming from the left engine. The crew circled the airport for two hours to burn fuel.

Accident & Incident Update for July 12, 2010

2010-07-12T10:07:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

July 11 - All three aboard a Cessna 177 were killed after crashing on approach to Gundy's Airport in Owasso, Oklahoma. Witnesses said the aircraft nose-dived before the crash.

July 11 - A single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing on a golf course near Chino Hills, California. The pilot reported running out of fuel before the landing.

July 11 - A single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing on the beach near Rapid Creek in Darwin, Northern Territories, Australia. The aircraft reportedly ran low of fuel before the landing.

July 11 - An American Airlines B777 made a safe emergency landing at Shemya Air Force Base on Shemya Island in Alaska after the crew received indication of a cargo fire over the Bering Sea during a flight from Dallas to Tokyo. (AVSIG Discussion)

July 10 - A twin-engine Cessna crashed in a public park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing one and injuring three.

July 10 - Both aboard a biplane were killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from White Waltham Airfield near Rotherfield Greys, South Oxfordshire U.K.

July 10 - A Delta Air Lines MD-88 made a safe emergency landing at its scheduled destination of Kansas City International Airport after cockpit warning lights indicated a landing gear failure on approach to the airport. The aircraft flew by the control tower to confirm that the gear was down.

July 10 - A telephoned bomb threat forced an Air France flight bound for Paris from Rio de Janeiro to make an emergency landing in Recife, Brazil. The aircraft was removed to a remote area of the airport and searched. No explosives were found.

July 9 - The pilot of a Cessna 172 was injured after crashing on takeoff from a private airfield near Wichita, Kansas. Witnesses said the aircraft struggled to gain altitude before the crash.

July 8 - The pilot of a single-engine experimental aircraft received minor injuries after crashing near Coral Springs, Florida. No injuries were reported on the ground.

July 8 - The pilot of a single-engine Cessna reported chest pains before crashing on Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California. Rescue personnel found the pilot deceased in the wreckage. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft nosedive before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

Mama Tried ... Now Check your Tie-downs.

2010-07-07T15:34:00.011-04:00

Lots of the fun and romance has been sucked out of general aviation over the past few decades. Popular wisdom says liability lawsuits, terrorist attacks, and everybody being broke has forever buried those carefree days when operating a personal airplane was considered only slightly more indulgent than operating a powerboat.

Now we have new single-engine planes that go for 1970s Learjet money.

Retina scans at the ramp.

F-16 escorts for just one impulsive lazy Sunday afternoon route diversion.

(Oh, and no money).

But like so many parts of life, good times and bad times are largely illusion.

Yeah, the stock market is still in the dumps, the house you bought in 2006 is worth half of what you paid for it, and you’re surrounded by foreclosed houses that have had their heat pumps jacked and copper wiring stripped. The only nice houses on the block are lovingly cared for by squatters.

Yet even as we blog, there’s a carefree young fellow out there who flies where he wants when he wants. This guy never files a flight plan. Never arrives at the airport two hours early. Never chumps-up dough for aircraft cost-of-acquisition, tie-down fees, or big-buck engine overhauls. He rarely even pays for gas.

Do you like this guy already?

There’s more.

He never had to sweat through an FAA check ride. Doesn’t bother with log books or proficiency training.

This new age flying Bohemian is so footloose and fancy free that he rarely even wears shoes.

He’s the Barefoot Bandit and he may be coming to a town near you. He’s had no formal flight training, but readily boosts airplanes, flies them to exotic locations like the Yakama Indian Reservation, dumps them and goes looking for cars ... V8 Fords, maybe ... before taking to the skies on his next flight adventure.

Six- and four-cylinder cars and even those odd 5-cyls made by VeeDubya aren’t snubbed by this bandit, nor are bicycles, or any other form of transport. An empty vacation house is as good as any night in the woods between capers. Anyone else’s cash and credit cards gladly accepted.

This is the sub-10k-Dow 2010s, when nobody had any money or prospects, and the world needed someone glamorous and free besides LeBron James to live vicariously through. We turned to folk-hero criminals named by media pundits who have watched too many Home Alone sequels. Rooted them on. Even the feds helped out, by keeping the bounty low. When we found out our hero-felon was six-foot-five, we automatically made him our favorite six-foot-five fugitive. (Seriously ... how are all these six-foot-five guys hiding so well)?

A Cessna 400 Corvalis stolen from Bloomington, Indiana on July 4th and found ditched off Abaco Island in the Bahamas yesterday is believed to the be latest joy ride of this so-far-non-violent modern-day celebrity delinquent.

If you’re still living the dream of flying your own airplane, please consider yourself forewarned regarding Colton Carpe DiAirplane Harris-Moore. He’s after your lifestyle and gives not a whit for bills and all that other silly paperwork.

Lest you think it might be an honor to have your airplane listed on the Barefoot Bandit's Wikipedia rap sheet, he takes off well but picks the most hull-damaging out-of-the-way places to land.

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled, responsibility-filled modern-day hard times.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for June 28, 2010

2010-06-28T08:13:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

June 27 - A helicopter carrying photojournalists crashed in Rotterdam, Netherlands, killing two and injuring three.

June 26 - The pilot of a banner-towing plane was killed after crashing near West Jordan, Utah. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to lose power and the pilot released the banner before the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

June 26 - A WW-II-era trainer crashed at Eagle Creek Airpark near Indianapolis, Indiana after the pilot reported the brakes locked on the aircraft during landing. No injuries were reported.

June 26 - No injuries were reported after a Cessna 180 spun and crashed on landing at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, Illinois. The left landing gear of the aircraft reportedly snapped off prior to the crash.

June 25 - A Continental flight bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from Houston made a safe emergency landing at San Antonio International Airport after losing cabin pressure shortly into the flight.

June 24 - A Continental Airlines 737 bound for Newark from Seattle made a safe emergency landing at Hector International Airport in Fargo, North Dakota after a fire broke out in the galley. Flight attendants were able to extinguish the flames prior to landing.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for June 21, 2010

2010-06-21T08:53:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

June 20 - Three crew members were injured after a Thai Airways flight encountered severe turbulence at 18,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean off Kochi Prefecture.

June 20 - The pilot of a 1943 Taylor Craft L2 received minor injuries after crashing near a recreational lake in Canton, Ohio. Authorities used the pilot's cellphone GPS signal to locate the wreckage.

June 20 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing in a suburb of Toronto. The aircraft reportedly crashed into a parking lot on approach to Buttonville Airport.

June 19 - An Air New Zealand Beech 1900 made a safe emergency landing at Woodbourne Airport near Blenheim, New Zealand. The crew noticed a vibration coming from the front of the plane shortly after departing Gisborne.

June 19 - A DC3 "Candy Bomber" which participated in the Berlin Airlift made an emergency return landing to Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport after encountering undisclosed trouble shortly after takeoff. Seven passengers were reportedly injured during the landing. The aircraft is currently operated by Air Service Berlin, which provides tourist flights.

June 19 - No injuries were reported after a Robinson R22 helicopter crashed near Hillsboro, Oregon. The pilot reported losing power before the crash.

June 19 - A Robinson R44 helicopter crashed on Unalaska Island in Alaska, killing the pilot and injuring both passengers.

June 19 - A twin-engine Cessna operated by Oasis Flight Services crashed in a residential area near Plymouth, Massachusetts, injuring all three aboard. No injuries were reported on the ground.

June 19 - A single-engine plane clipped a van before crash-landing on Highway 99 near Merced, California. The pilot reported that his engine had begun shaking violently before the forced landing. No injuries were reported.

June 18 - No injuries were reported after a twin-engine plane crash-landed at Perranporth Airfield in Perrenporth, Cornwall, U.K. The pilot reported losing an engine on takeoff.

June 18 - All 11 aboard a Mexican military helicopter engaged in drug trade intervention were killed after crashing near Durango, Mexico. Poor weather was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

June 18 - A 1910 Glenn Curtiss replica crashed on its maiden flight out of Penn Yan, New York, seriously injuring the pilot.

June 18 - The pilot of a Siai Marchetti F260 was uninjured after making a gear-up landing at Somerset Airport in Bedminster, New Jersey. The pilot reported that his landing gear failed to extend.

June 18 - Both aboard a South Korean Air Force F5 were killed after crashing near Gangneung, South Korea. The aircraft was on a training flight at the time of the crash.

June 17 - A Cessna Caravan seaplane operated by V1 Jet Management LLC struck a rock while landing off Long Island, New York, causing substantial damage to the aircraft. The four occupants swam safely to shore.

June 17 - A six-place Cessna 310 registered to Rod Aviation crashed on landing in Sierra Blanca, New Mexico, killing five of seven aboard. The aircraft reportedly overshot the runway while landing. (AVSIG Discussion)

Calling the Yes-way Police

2010-06-13T13:31:00.002-04:00

Recently this humble blogger's year-old Ford failed to start in the driveway. After a flatbed tow to the dealership, the service tech determined that the vehicle's onboard fuel cut-off inertia switch had been tripped.

"We've determined that the switch isn’t faulty," he further asserted. "And it would take a major impact to trip it.“

Yet there sat the pristine Ford, not so much as a spider-web washcloth scratch on it, never mind any sign of impact.

Humble Blogger: "Did we have an earthquake this morning?"

Ford Tech: No.

HB: "Then what do you 'spose tripped the fuel cut-off switch?"

FT: "I don't know, but the switch tests-out OK and there's no way you could even trip it by slamming on the brakes. Not even if you dropped it from four feet in the air. It had to be a major impact. And if you think about it, that switch is a great idea. Cuts off the fuel in the event of a crash. They’ve really thought of everything."

HB: [Tries high-school-stage-worthy over-acting once-over double-take of the uncrashed Ford. Just sitting in the driveway. Winds west at 7. No earthquakes].

FT: No response.

Fuel Cut-off Inertia Switch checks out OK.

No way could anything but a Major Impact cause that switch to trip.

Unimpacted, Unscathed Ford.

“No way” is a comforting phrase in all forms of denial. So is “One-in-a-million-chance” and “Next-to-nil.” It’s not only used by car service techs, but by people who drill for oil, and by people who design airplanes.

In the 90s we noticed the first automated airliners going about their business just as the programmers designed, flying themselves into trouble as pilots fought for control in situations that apparently wouldn't likely happen in any operating model envisioned by the pocket protector crowd of that era.

More than one engineer, you can bet, said “one-in-a-million” to the likelihood of a number of in-flight emergencies (if considering them at all) in the rush to perfect the computer-controlled safe flight envelope.

Maybe even a few said, “No way.”

So airplanes entered Go-around Mode. Limp-home Mode. Everything-but-what-the-crew-is-trying-to-do Mode.

We’re not done yet.

In September, 2008 a Lear 60 ran off the runway at full throttle in Columbia, SC as its crew attempted full-on thrust reversers during a post-V₁ on-again-off-again-on-again aborted takeoff on severely underinflated tires. Apparently after these human miscues, the crew was under the impression that as a last resort, activating the thrust reversers to slow the airplane down would activate the thrust reversers and slow the airplane down.

But a sensor damaged by a tire blowout prior to the high-speed abort signaled the reversers that the airplane was in flight ... that their services would no longer be needed ... leaving the Lear on fast-forward before the crash that killed four of six aboard.

According to NTSB investigation, the thrust reverser levers in the cockpit of the Learjet remained in the raised full-reverse-thrust position even as the flight systems computer decided the aircraft was in “Air Mode” and stowed the reversers. Effectively, the computer let the pilots play at being pilots while it went off into I Know Better Than You Mode.

Whether computer programming brilliance is crashing airplanes or shutting your car down or making synthesized female voices at the self-serve grocery check-out call for pepper spray and handcuffs (Please place the item in the bag. Please Place The Item In The Bag. I know you didn’t place the item in the bag. Please freeze ... please don’t move ... until authorities arrive) it’s clear that we’re long past the point in computer automation where we don’t have a dedicated killjoy group of people to do battle with the No–way Could That Happen Group of get-the-code-out computer engineers who have otherwise thought of everything.

Somehow the phrase "Yes-way Police" sounds catchy in a WayneGarthian sort of way, so let's use it.

Our grand new automated world needs formal Yes-way Police to crack down on the No-way scofflaws of Murphy’s Law, a law that doesn’t care how perfect any plan or machine might be. A law that really digs our fascination with automation, it turns out.

These knaves need to be positioned where they’ll exact the most damage: at initial project planning, design, and production. Of course they will be unpopular deadline derailleurs ... but only if deadlines don’t provide book time for this unsavory work.

In aviation, once you’re up there, you’re stuck with what you’ve got. Sometimes an Al Haynes or Chesley Sullenberger saves the day despite the best mislaid plans, but safe flight relies on good airplane design for starters.

When the wheel chocks are away and something goes wrong, no crew should be held hostage by non-defeatable code-solid operating decisions made by people who have thought of everything.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for June 7, 2010

2010-06-07T10:41:00.000-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

June 6 - A passenger aboard a Lufthansa flight bound for Frankfurt from Buenos Aires became ill and died during the flight. An autopsy suggested that one of 104 cocaine capsules in the man's stomach burst during the flight.

June 5 - Both aboard a Beech 19 received serious injuries after crashing shortly after takeoff from Long Island MacArthur Airport in Long in New York. The pilot was reportedly performing touch-and-goes at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

June 4 - A Royal Australian Air Force C-130 made its second emergency landing within 24 hours after smoke fumes entered the cockpit. The aircraft landed safely at an RAAF Base in Edinburgh, South Australia. The aircraft reportedly made an emergency landing at Richmond Air Base near Sydney hours earlier due to an engine fire.

June 4 - An Alliance Air ATR-42 operating on behalf of Air India made a safe emergency return landing to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Pathankot, Punjab, India after airport personnel found shards of tire rubber on the runway shortly after the aircraft departed.

June 3 - A Federal Aviation Administration Beech King Air made a safe nose-down landing at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas after the nose gear failed to deploy. The FAA check pilot was reportedly on a check flight at the time of the incident.

June 3 - A JetBlue Airways A320 bound for New York made an emergency return landing at Orlando International Airport for undisclosed reasons.

June 3 - A Hawaiian Airlines flight made a safe emergency return landing to Honolulu International Airport after the crew was forced to shut down an engine shortly after takeoff.

June 3 - A Utah National Guard C-130 made an emergency landing at Salt Lake International Airport after smoke was reported in the cockpit during an exercise.

U.S. Airlines: Now with Stars Upon Thars ...

2010-05-27T07:36:00.003-04:00

If you happen to be one of those fine people we call AVSIG Members you may now read, rate, and comment on U.S. airlines in our Airline Travel section. Our goal is to provide some guidance on specific U.S. major air carriers with the understanding that there is no magic numerical means of differentiating among carriers that share the lowest accident rates in the industry.

Statistically speaking we have been at a happy place with U.S. domestic carrier accident rates for some time now.

But browse our Accident & Incident listings and you will find major carriers making emergency landings each week. Smoke odors in the cabin. Hydraulic leaks. Miscellaneous warning lights. These unscheduled landings are service failures to some, indicators of ill-maintained aircraft to others, and proactive caution to others yet. You will also see accounts of hard landings, gear lock failures, and security breaches. Pilots who miss Minneapolis. Indicators of perfection sought but never gained in some cases and loudly-chirping canaries in coal mines in others.

Links to the A&I listings are provided for each carrier (currently requiring a manual CTRL+F search in your browser, as our forum's UBB search engine su ... well ... remains a cruel joke) but we think there's always more to reading the tea leaves of major air carrier safety culture than just these events.

We believe FAA fines for unspoken but institutionalized revenue-over-caution policies like deferred maintenance/inspection and outed-by-strong-headwinds low-fuel airport diversions mean something too.

And if you're flying the typical U.S. hub-and-spoke carrier we believe it's also useful to consider your chances of being sent to Chicago in January on BigBox Airlines Connection Operated by You Ain't Never Heard of Us Airlines ... where your working-up-to-the-big-leagues low-pay pilot may have only just recently gotten off his or her wait shift at Red Lobster.

We've made For and Against comments that we hope you find helpful, except in cases where they're not helpful. (Not every airline has a compelling "for" or "against" attribute. In recognition of the fact, never mind that aviation safety is serious business, we've here and there slipped some throwaway lines in, since it's so hard for you to (actually) hurl tomatoes at us via the internet). We'll be counting on the AVSIG braintrust to add insight to this project along the way.

Wishing you safe and happy travel this summer ...

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for May 24, 2010

2010-05-24T10:04:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

May 23 - All four aboard a helicopter were killed after crashing near a highway in Schleiz, Thurinigia, Germany.

May 23 - A Skywest Airlines CRJ200 was forced to make a nose-gear-up landing at Ontario International Airport near Los Angeles after the nose gear failed to extend after a flight from San Francisco. No injuries were reported.

May 22 - A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Fokker F70 was removed from its flight schedule and searched after airline personnel discovered the aircraft had been entered by unknown parties overnight at Linkoping City Airport in Sweden.

May 22 - The pilot of a Fairchild M62 World War II training plane made a safe emergency landing in a soybean field near Fairborn, Ohio, after the aircraft's fuel pump quit.

May 22 - An Air India Express 737 overshot the runway and crashed in a ravine during a landing attempt in Mangalore, India killing 158 of 166 aboard. Steady rain was reported at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

May 22 - A Socata TB-20 Trinidad was missing and presumed crashed in mountainous terrain near Happy Camp, Oregon. Residents in the area reported a loud crash shortly after air traffic controllers lost contact with the flight.

May 21 - The pilot of a Beech 90 made a safe emergency landing at Fulton Field in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada after smoke filled the cockpit in flight. The pilot first reported the smoke 40 miles out from the airport.

May 21 - The pilot of a Long-EZ was killed after crashing during a landing attempt at Wakefield Municipal Airport in Wakefield, Virginia.

May 21 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were injured after crashing shortly after takeoff from Bakersfield, California. The pilot reported having engine trouble.

May 20 - All four aboard a Cessna 172 were injured after overshooting the runway and crashing into a residential yard during a landing attempt at Kobelt Airport in Wallkill, New York. No injuries were reported on the ground.

May 20 - A JetBlue pilot was taken into custody in Boston after reportedly threatening in an e-mail sent to his estranged girlfriend to crash the plane he was scheduled to fly out of Logan International Airport. JetBlue denies the report and states the pilot was removed from the trip for health reasons.

May 20 - The pilot of a helicopter was killed after crashing near Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The helicopter reportedly struck utility lines before the crash.

From the Everybody's Thinking It File

2010-05-19T13:31:00.004-04:00

Today Polish and Russian authorities have released one significant new piece of information on April's Smolensk Tu-154 crash that killed 96, including the Polish president, first lady, and several high-ranking Polish government officials: voices of two or more non-cockpit personnel are heard on the cockpit voice recorder minutes before the crash ... and the crew apparently ignores a cockpit warning to increase altitude just 18 seconds before the crash.

It's clear that Russia is in charge of this "joint" investigation, and as that nation's political culture has never nurtured Lance Itoesque media lackeyism, don't count on getting details of just what kind of non-cockpit personnel conversation we're talking about here anytime soon.

We're going to guess, based on statements from Smolensk air traffic controllers that clearly suggest that the president's plane was coming down one way or another in the lousy weather on April 10, that no one was discussing the latest cuts on Dancing with the Stars.

As an aviation safety organization that knows better than to speculate on air crash causes, let's put the above educated, insightful guess in our Everybody's Thinking it but this is Off The Record File, a safe bet for a worldwide internet blog. (Did you hear that gunshots are heard on a post-crash video taken by a videographer in Smolensk who was later assassinated by Elvis at Jack Ruby's night club? Mikey, Pop Rocks, Messy Gastric Explosion. See? Everything hides in plain sight on the web).

We might as well fess up to more aviation mishap mind reading while we're making the case for reading the minds of the Polish presidential transport crew:

Each week when we compile aviation accidents and incidents we can't help but notice a preponderance of apparent weather- and fuel-related general aviation crashes on Sunday evenings.

Mind Reading: Gotta be into work on Monday morning.

When Jessica Dubroff's plane crashed in a rainstorm during a whirlwind, media-hyped "child pilot solo record" tour in 1996 we couldn't help but notice the TV crews waiting at each stop on the itinerary.

Mind Reading: The instructor (and true pilot-in-command) must have been thinking more about meeting the next cluster of television cameras than making a safe departure decision in Cheyenne.

And even with the newest information on the circumstances of the crash in Smolensk, it's hard not to keep reading minds along with everyone else who is privy to the same sparse third-hand information we possess regarding this event.

The crew of a presidential transport full of government and military brass that is already an hour-and-a-half behind schedule en route to a make-it-or-miss-it national commemoration is advised by air traffic controllers at least twice to land at another airport after thick fog blankets its destination primitive instrument airport, but nonetheless presses on before crashing in the woods short of the runway.

Mind Reading: Your bosses and your bosses' bosses ... the latter of which just happen to be as high up as bosses go in your country, really want to be wheels-on-the-ground to commemorate an important national event. A diversion means your choice between missing the time or the place. And you're a relatively young military (read "no union to cover you butt") crew. Your careers may be negatively impacted by failing the mission, even if the alternative is really failing the mission. (The New York Times lends some credence to this kind of speculation with a report that President Kaczynski ordered his pilot to land in poor weather in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2008, only to be countermanded by the pilot, who is presumably still alive if not highly decorated).

Add to this the ultimate throw-down for a planeload of politicians and military bosses: the press plane made it in just ahead of you. Journalists on the ground with stories to write, perhaps stories about those too-timid, or those too-bold.

Have at it with international cover-up subterfuge, but no tight-lipped KGB spook made up the impossible-to-ignore nuances of this all-too-familiar get-there-itis air crash scenario ... especially after we're done reading minds here.

M.O.

Accident & Incident Update for May 17, 2010

2010-05-17T09:40:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

May 17 - A Pamir Airways flight has crashed in the mountains of northern Afghanistan. Heavy fog and rain was reported in the area at the time of the crash. The fate of the reported 46 aboard is unknown at post time. More ...

May 16 - A United Airlines 757 made a safe emergency landing at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. after fire broke out in the cockpit during a flight from New York to Los Angeles. Passengers reported an electrical burning smell 30 minutes into the flight. (AVSIG Discussion)

May 16 - A Cirrus SR22 overran a runway at Huggins Memorial Airpark in Timmonsville, South Carolina after the pilot reportedly realized he was "out of runway" during a landing attempt. The aircraft came to a rest on a public highway. Authorities closed the road for several hours after the incident.

May 16 A Piper PA-46 crashed into a house shortly after departing Clearwater Air Park in Clearwater, Florida, slightly injuring its three occupants. No injuries were reported on the ground, however a post-crash fire caused extensive damage. Witnesses reported the the plane, which was loaded with relief supplies bound for Haiti, struggled to gain altitude and struck utility lines before the crash.

May 16 - Three passengers were removed from a Pakistan International Airlines flight at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport after becoming unruly upon hearing that the flight would be making an unscheduled stop.

May 16 - The pilot of an experimental plane sustained minor injuries after flipping on landing in a field short of Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. The pilot reported engine trouble before the crash.

May 15 - A Cathay Pacific flight was escorted to Vancouver International Airport by Canadian Forces F-18 fighters after a bomb threat was made against the flight. The aircraft landed without further incident.

May 15 - All three aboard a single-engine Cessna were safe after making an emergency gear-up landing at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California. The pilot circled the airport for over an hour to burn fuel after it became apparent that the landing gear would not extend.

May 15 - A United Airlines 757 made a safe emergency landing at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas after developing an electrical problem shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles.

May 15 - A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing in Sharourah after the crew detected smoke in the cockpit during a flight from Sharourah to Riyadh.

May 15 - A crop-dusting helicopter crashed in a field in Honey Creek, Wisconsin, slightly injuring the pilot. Witnesses reported that the pilot had just taken on a full tank of fertilizer and attempted to turn shortly after liftoff when one of the helicopter's sprayers made contact with the ground.

May 15 - A powered parachute crashed into the lone tree in an otherwise empty field during a takeoff attempt in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Both occupants were rescued in good condition.

May 15 - Both aboard a Yak-52 were killed after crashing in the Atlantic Ocean off St. Port Lucie, Florida. Witnesses on the beach reported seeing the aircraft make a low pass and sharp turn before the crash.

May 15 - A Blue Wing Airlines twin-engine Antonov with eight aboard was missing and presumed crashed in rough terrain near Paramaribo, Suriname. Weather was reported as poor in the area at the time of the crash.

May 15 - Two people and seven sled dogs were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter in good condition after crashing in a helicopter near Seward, Alaska. The aircraft reportedly tipped and made contact with the ground in heavy wind and snow.

May 14 - The pilot of a Piper Super Cub was killed after crashing near Susitna Landing, Alaska. Witnesses reported the aircraft clipped a tree before the crash.

May 13 - An Aerogal 737 made a safe emergency landing in Cali after experiencing pressurization trouble during a flight from Quito to Bogota.

May 13 - A Piper Seneca operated by CTA Cleiton Taxi Aereo crashed near Manaus, Brazil, killing all six aboard. The crash reportedly occurred approximately 15 minutes after takeoff.

Afriqiyah Airways Crash in Libya

2010-05-12T08:01:00.008-04:00

Image from Libyan Television

Breaking ...

An Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A-330 crashed during a landing attempt at Tripoli International Airport in Libya. One official estimated over 100 fatalities at post time. More ...

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for May 10, 2010

2010-05-10T08:22:00.002-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

May 9 - Pakistani authorities in Karachi arrested a man who was attempting to board a Thai Airways flight to Muscat after finding batteries and an electrical circuit in one of his shoes during passenger screening.

May 9 - The pilot of a Berkut Jet was uninjured after crashing near Loveland, Colorado. The aircraft's engine reportedly exploded before the crash.

May 9 - A Piper Cherokee crashed near Livermore, California, killing both aboard. Heavy rain and hail was reported in the area at the time of the crash.

May 9 - A Continental 777 made a safe emergency return landing to Newark Liberty International Airport after the crew noted a hydraulics failure shortly after takeoff.

May 8 - Four, including a flight attendant, were injured after a Continental Express flight encountered turbulence during a flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Albany, New York. The flight was met by paramedics in Albany.

May 8 - A United Airlines 767 bound for Belgium made a safe emergency return landing to Dulles International Airport in Virginia after blowing a tire on takeoff.

May 7 - A British Royal Air Force Hercules transport made a safe emergency landing at RAF Brize Norton after the landing gear failed to extend.

May 7 - A United Airlines 747 returned to Sydney, Australia after reportedly clipping its tail on takeoff. The flight landed without incident.

May 7 - A single-engine plane operated by the California Highway Patrol crashed near Ocotillo Wells, California, killing the pilot. The aircraft was engaged in highway speed surveillance at the time of the crash.

May 7 - No injuries were reported after a Robinson R-22 helicopter crashed near Mendon, Utah. The pilot reported that the engine failed at 1,500 feet prior to the crash.

May 6 - Authorities met an ExpressJet Airlines flight at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport after the crew reported an unruly passenger on approach to the airport.

May 6 - A single-engine Cessna crashed in a field near the city grid in Somerton, Arizona, killing the pilot. The pilot was reportedly dropping sterile fruit flies in the area at the time of the crash.

May 6 - Authorities evacuated a concourse at Sea-Tac International Airport in Washington after a baggage handler discovered a smoking bag in luggage that was being loaded on a Delta Airlines flight. The bag was found to contain batteries and electronics.

May 6 - A U.S. Air Force C-130 made a safe emergency landing at Salt Lake International Airport after smoke filled the cockpit during flight.

May 6 - The pilot of a Vans RV-8 escaped serious injury after crashing shortly after takeoff from Prague Municipal Airport in Prague, Oklahoma. The pilot reported that the plane lost part of its propeller before the crash.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for May 3, 2010

2010-05-03T08:19:00.003-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

May 2 - The pilot of a hang glider was killed after crashing during an emergency landing attempt in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The glider reportedly struck cabling before the crash.

May 2 - Both aboard a single-engine Piper were killed after crashing near Elizabeth, Indiana. Witnesses said the aircraft spiraled out of the sky.

May 2 - The pilot of a single-engine plane escaped injury after crashing during a takeoff attempt from a private airstrip near Los Alamos, California. The pilot stated that a gust of wind caused his wingtip to strike a parked pickup truck during takeoff roll.

May 2 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on its nosegear in Medford, Oregon after the main gear failed to extend.

May 2 - The crew of an Airbus A-320 operating as a passenger charter made a safe emergency landing in Tolmachyovo after a navigation system failed during a flight from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk.

May 2 - A Jet Airways Canadian Regional Jet made a safe emergency return landing to Kolkata, India after the crew was forced to shut down an engine shortly after takeoff.

May 1 - A United Airlines flight from Chicago declared an emergency upon reaching its destination in Philadelphia after a suspicious note was found aboard the flight. The aircraft landed without incident.

May 1 - A South Carolina National Guard AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed at McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Columbia, South Carolina, killing one and injuring one. The aircraft was engaged in training maneuvers at the time of the crash.

May 1 - An Air Canada Jazz Dehavilland Dash 8 made a safe emergency return landing to Prince George, British Columbia after smoke was detected in the cockpit shortly after takeoff.

May 1 - A single-engine plane crashed on takeoff from Springbank Airport in Calgary, Canada, slightly injuring the student pilot. The student was reportedly practicing solo takeoffs and landings. Strong wind gusts were reported in the area at the time of the crash.

May 1 - A China Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing in Hangzhou, China after a passenger reported having a bomb in his luggage. No bomb was found.

April 29 - A single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing at Belfast Municipal Airport in Belfast, Maine after smoke filled the cabin shortly after takeoff.

When there Oughta be a Law ...

2010-04-29T11:44:00.003-04:00

In the bad old days it wasn't uncommon to go through an intra-cockpit voice recorder after, say, a runway overun in heavy fog and rain, and hear pilots discussing dinner plans or flirting with flight attendants on final approach, just moments before the "Oh $#&%" entry on the transcript.

Such incidents for U.S. carriers were supposed to be over decades ago after the FAA drafted the sterile cockpit rules that govern airline operations during critical phases of flight.

But increasingly we're learning that all phases of flight are critical, including the phase of flight where you notice it's time to land at your destination.

We know of a few transoceanic airline captains who pioneered electronic cockpit distraction as far back as the 80s, toting offline-reader-equipped laptops to read and reply to messages on AVSIG during long overwater flights.

No one flew off the horizon so far as we know, and we attribute that happy fact to the judgment of said Great Captains, and maybe a little bit to the horrendous laptop battery life of that era. But mostly to good judgment.

After the crew of a Northwest Airlines flight overflew its own hub city of Minneapolis because they were playing checkers, networked Call of Duty (delicious irony, eh?) or watching YouTube videos of bug-eyed lemers (with so many internet rumors, including these brand new ones, it's hard to keep track) the FAA is revisiting cockpit distraction issues.

The agency recently issued Information for Operators asking airlines to establish a "top-down" safety culture in training and daily operation that discourages pilots from engaging in distractions, electronic or not, during flight.

Not very toothy. Another no-duh policy for the internet-in-your-pocket age that recognizes that there are long stints at cruise, and that even with a complete ban on personal electronics in the cockpit, somebody will pack playing cards.

Back on the ground, approximately every three minutes some municipality passes a "no texting while driving" law. Such laws are pretty much unenforceable prior to an accident triggering a cell phone record subpoena. But while it goes without saying that texting while driving is dangerous (there, I said it) somebody has to say something official about it.

The FAA's latest guidance is surely issued in this spirit, minus the rulemaking.

But in an age where we decry the nanny state, make no mistake: we are the nanny state. We proclaim our ability to exercise common sense, yet won't suffer the reliable percentage of the population who won't ... especially when public safety is involved.

Eventually the "There Oughta be a Law" posse will come calling on distracted high-altitude drivers too ... approximately the day after we ask our nanny state to put cockpit video in airliners.

M.O.

Accident & Incident Update for April 26, 2010

2010-04-26T08:54:00.002-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

April 25 - A hot air balloon operated by Balloon Adventures Emirates crashed south of Dubai, United Emirates, killing two of 14 aboard. A sudden wind gust during landing reportedly precipitated the crash.

April 25 - A New Zealand Air Force UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crashed near Wellington, New Zealand, killing three of four aboard. Low cloud cover was reported over the hilly terrain of the crash area.

April 25 - A Jordanian Royal Falcon Airlines 767 made a safe emergency landing in Warsaw after the cockpit windscreen cracked during a flight from Sweden to Iraq.

April 24 - The pilot of a Piper Aerostar made a safe belly landing at Immokalee Regional Airport in Florida after his landing gear failed to extend.

April 23 - The pilot of a TBM Avenger was killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Miramichi, New Brunswick. Weather was reported clear at the time of the crash.

April 23 - The pilot of a Cessna 310 was uninjured after his nosegear collapsed on landing at Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville, California.

April 23 - A Piper Arrow crashed near Porvoo, Finland, killing one and injuring two. Witnesses reported that the engine appeared to quit before the crash.

April 22 - A Southwest Airlines 737 made a safe emergency return landing to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas after developing undisclosed trouble shortly after takeoff.

April 22 - The pilot of a Cessna 210 sustained minor injuries after making an emergency landing in a field near Moorpark, California.

Fun with À la carte Marketing

2010-04-21T09:47:00.010-04:00

In the beginning there was Aunt Martha, who traveled from Buffalo each summer to visit, and who managed to bring most of her household thanks to her indestructible set of Samsonite. You met her at the gate back when you could do that, and accompanied her down to the baggage claim belt -- sometimes with other recruited family members or friends to whom you would soon owe favors.

The wait at the baggage carousel could be long. Lots of bags to unload, people crowding the belt looking for their own discrete tag or tape marking on otherwise identical-looking beige hard-side luggage, and periodically some duct-taped trash bag full of clothes whose cleverness some college student bragged about before going to the airport, and whose self-destruction on the conveyor belt that same college student would laugh about back at the frat house.

You brought the station wagon, and hauled all of auntie's junk out to the short-term parking lot. You knew you were going to spend a frenzied hour trying to help her find everything she brought before taking her back to the airport for her trip home.

Then airlines began charging fees for checked luggage.

Hallelujah.

Lots of the junk haulers got lost. Some just quit flying and can now be seen wallowing down the turnpikes in sagging minivans. Aunt Martha learned to leave her Hummel collection behind.

Other airline travel givens have disappeared on most domestic flights over the years.

Meal service ... gone.

(Not many flights over four hours, so big deal. Buy some Pepperoni Pizza Combos at the airport snack shop if you can't rock 1,200 calories at Burger King before boarding).

Alcohol ... gone.

(We have enough to worry about with sober unruly passengers).

But now, some airlines are planning to charge for carry-on bags.

Next thing you know, they'll be charging for you to get on.

Oh, wait.

They already do charge for you to get on.

Presumably airlines long ago figured-in the cost of your carry-on luggage, as evidenced by the built-in overhead bins on most airliners. Not much airline labor involved in stuffing them either, except for the two- or three- interventions-per-departure where a flight attendant figures out a polite way of saying, "That ain't gonna fit no matter how much you push. I'll take it up to the First Class closet since you managed to get past the boarding gate with this monstrosity."

Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza, who is the first to sing the praises of this wonderful new travel fee choice, says his airline is charging for carry-ons in-part to streamline the boarding process.

But airlines can already control pre-departure luggage bin mayhem by simply snagging bags that don't meet size restrictions at the gate and playing tough with the lap baby mother who thinks she's getting on with a stroller and diaper bag in addition to her baby and two overstuffed carry-ons. (Don't whine about the cruelty. Let's face it: the kid's going to scream all flight-long, and the mother's going to inadvertently leave him or her on the plane in her preoccupation with collecting all of her stuff later).

Baldanza further argues that Spirit has already lowered fares by the amount that will be charged for carry-on articles ... which is the very same logic used by restaurants that advertise free dinners for those who don't want to eat.

Generally when people take a trip that requires airline travel they'd like to take a change of underwear. Maybe even a T-shirt to rotate.

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), observes that "We are going from the sublime to the ridiculous with airlines."

He's right, of course, but maybe we're all getting duped.

Say ... just how often was Spirit Airlines front page news before this proposition?

And their prices are the same or lower than other carrier fares even with the bag-check fees?

How many senators were holding press conferences about Spirit Airlines before this?

How many bloggers were ...

Dang.

Clever work, Mr. Baldanza.

M.O.

Accident & Incident Update for April 19, 2010

2010-04-19T08:42:00.004-04:00

Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes

2010

April 18 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing on takeoff at Orlando North Airpark in Zellwood, Florida.

April 17 - A single-engine Cessna made a safe emergency landing at Panama City-Bay County International Airport in Florida after smoke filled the cockpit. The smoke had reportedly subsided by the time firefighters reached the aircraft.

April 16 - A Spanish military Bell AB-212 crashed in the Fond Verrettes, Haiti, killing all four aboard. The aircraft was engaged in earthquake relief efforts at the time of the crash.

April 16 - A Cessna 182 registered to Aerial Advertising in Vista, California, crashed during a landing attempt at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California, injuring both aboard. The aircraft reportedly struck utility lines before the crash.

April 16 - A United Airlines Airbus A320 made a safe emergency landing in Lincoln, Nebraska after smoke filled the cockpit during a New York-Denver flight. No serious injuries were reported.

April 16 - The pilot of a 1961 Brantly B-2 helicopter lost control of the aircraft as he performed engine testing at Ukiah Municipal Airport in California, destroying the helicopter and embedding a two-foot piece of the main rotor in a hangar wall 100 feet away. The pilot suffered minor injuries in the crash.

April 15 - The pilot of a single-engine plane received serious injuries after crashing on approach to Baraboo Airport in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Heavy wind and rain were reported at the time of the crash.

April 15 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on the shores of Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana after the pilot reported an oil pump failure. The pilot reported he intentionally conducted the flight hugging the shoreline of the lake in case trouble developed.

April 15 - A Red Bull race plane crashed in the Swan River in Perth, Australia, causing minor injuries to the pilot. The aircraft was making a low pass over the river at the time of the crash.

Accident & Incident Update for April 12, 2010

2010-04-12T08:03:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

April 11 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was injured after crashing shortly after takeoff from Sky Acres Airport near Verbank, New York. An AVSIG member reports that the pilot stated he failed to latch the plane's canopy before takeoff. (AVSIG Discussion)

April 11 - A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aborted takeoff in Sacramento after the cabin filled will smoke during taxi. No serious injuries were reported.

April 10 - A Tupolev Tu-154 crashed on approach to Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 aboard including the Polish president and first lady, Lech and Maria Kaczynski. Heavy fog was reported at the time of the crash, and air traffic controllers in Smolensk reportedly twice asked the crew to consider landing at another airport prior to the crash. The aircraft was making its fourth landing attempt when it clipped trees and crashed. (AVSIG Discussion)

April 9 - An An airBaltic Fokker 50 made a safe emergency return landing to Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania after a cockpit warning light indicated fire aboard the aircraft. No fire was found.

April 9 - A Delta Air Lines flight declared an emergency prior to landing at its destination of Atlanta after an "unusual note" was found aboard during the flight. Federal authorities are investigating the incident.

April 9 - An Onur Air Airbus A321 made a safe emergency landing in Istanbul after experiencing a hydraulic failure in flight.

April 9 - A United Airlines MD-83 made a safe landing with a flat tire at Palm Springs International Airport after a scheduled flight from Chicago.

April 9 - A Southwest Airlines 737 made a safe emergency landing at Oakland International Airport in California after a hydraulic leak was detected just before the scheduled landing. Some passengers reported seeing smoke coming from the vicinity of the landing gear on touchdown.

April 8 - The driver of a fuel truck was pinned in his cab after being struck by a jet making a U-turn at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. Rescue workers were able to free the driver by cutting into the cab.

April 8 - Two Ohio National Guard F-16s reportedly triggered the onboard TCAS on an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight near Cincinnati. The airline crew reportedly maneuvered out of harm's way and continued to its destination of Atlanta.

April 8 - A U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing four and injuring an undisclosed number of passengers.

April 8 - A Detroit-bound CRJ-200 operated on behalf of Delta Air Lines made a safe emergency landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after smoke was detected in the cabin.

April 8 - A Delta Air Lines 757 made a safe emergency landing in Tampa, Florida after the crew detected the odor of smoke in the cockpit during an Atlanta-Cancun flight. (AVSIG Discussion)

April 8 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed after crashing on approach to Borrego Valley Airport in Borrego Springs, California.

April 8 - A Southwest Airlines 737 made a safe emergency return landing to Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama after smoke was detected in the cockpit shortly after takeoff.

April 8 - Two terminals were closed at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger took a bag flagged for secondary screening and disappeared into a crowd.

News from Down Under

2010-04-07T09:38:00.002-04:00

Qantas Airways crosses the 'drome & farm news desk this week, not for any accident or incident, but for having people onboard their airliners bent on crashing them.

Not terrorists, even.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a government workman's compensation body in Australia has ordered Qantas to pay pilot Bryan Arthur Griffin $160,000 for failing to take him off the flight line after he expressed his compulsion to crash the airliners he flew during the trailing end of his Qantas career in 1979-1982. Griffin claims he had to leave the cockpit on several occasions while fighting the urge to shut down all engines in flight. On one occasion the newspaper reports that in the cockpit Griffin was ''forced to immobilize his left arm" to avoid moving other controls in an effort to crash the airplane.

Griffin reportedly told several colleagues about his urge to crash the airliners in his command, but after being examined by several doctors was cleared for takeoff and repeatedly scheduled to fly Qantas jets.

Three decades later the airline appears to take such threats more seriously.

This week a passenger threatened to crash a Qantas 747 "with his mind" during a flight from Sydney to Singapore. Crew members immediately restrained the man in his seat.

Bravo.

But if a pilot can get a large payout just for being permitted to fly suicidal on Qantas 30 years ago (instead of the payout going to, say ... paying customers who were put in harm's way), who knows what will happen when some similarly odd-minded government body figures out that physical restraints were the best thing the airline could come up with when faced with the threat of a mind-activated airliner crash.

We're betting on matter over mind here.

M.O.

The Winds of Change Blow Through

2010-04-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

It's looking more like this blog will be powered by wind by 2012. The Obama Administration has just authorized wind exploration here in Central Ohio despite protests from right-wing conservatives, who claim that wind is already in great evidence in the state with no need for a federally-funded study.

The first green-technology, fully-wind-driven windsocks will be going up here at the AVSIG International Aerodrome and Farm in May. Our own base Mr. Fixit, Robin Bee, will be working with the federales to hook-up the bright orange socks to the blog you're now reading so that even if nothing comes of the wind study efforts, at least we'll harvest blog entries out of the deal.

The wind-to-words process still strikes this humble blogger as fuzzily dodgy ... I just don't get it.

But regular readers whom I trust assure me that this blog's conversion from hot air to clean wind technology will result in a brighter future for our children and our world.

Happy first of April, everyone.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for March 29, 2010

2010-03-29T08:15:00.002-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

March 29 - Both aboard a Piper Comanche were killed after crashing near Perth, Australia. Weather was reported as clear at the time of the crash.

March 28 - A JetBlue Airbus A-320 made a safe emergency return landing to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after being struck by hail shortly after takeoff. The crew reportedly initially believed the aircraft had struck a flock of birds.

March 28 - A Delta Air Lines MD-88 made a safe emergency return landing to Albuquerque after a cockpit warning light indicated a landing gear problem shortly after takeoff. The crew prepared passengers for a hard landing, but the aircraft extended and locked gear and landed without further incident.

March 28 - A helicopter ditched in the Atlantic Ocean off Key Biscayne, Florida after developing control trouble during a photo shoot on behalf of boatpics.com. Both aboard were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in good condition.

March 28 - Both aboard a Piper Cherokee sustained serious injuries after crashing near Palermo, New York. The pilot radioed an emergency and was reportedly trying to land on a public road before the crash.

March 28 - The pilot of a single-engine plane was on life support after crashing near Regency Downs, Queensland, Australia. The aircraft reportedly crashed in a parking lot. No injuries were reported on the ground.

March 25 - An Air Arabia flight returned to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India after a cockpit warning light reportedly indicated a chemical reaction in the cargo hold. The aircraft landed without incident. Upon inspection, oil was reported to be found to be leaking from one freight consignment. (AVSIG Blog Discussion)

March 25 - A FlyBe de Havilland Dash 8-400 made a safe emergency return landing to Belfast City Airport in Ireland after smoke was seen billowing from one engine shortly after takeoff. The aircraft was evacuated without incident.

March 25 - A Thai Airways TG-318 made a safe emergency landing at Kolkata International Airport in Kolkata, India after the crew suspected a fuel leak.

March 25 - A Malaysian Airlines 737 made a safe emergency landing in Penang, India after the crew suspected an engine fire. The plane was inspected and no evidence of fire was found.

March 25 - A single-engine plane crash-landed in the South River near Edgewater, Maryland, but the pilot escaped the wreckage without serious injury. The crew of a civilian boat rescued the pilot before the plane's wreckage sank.

March 25 - The pilot of a Malaysian Air Force Pilatus PC-7 was killed after crashing during an air show in Kedah, Malaysia. Witnesses reported that the aircraft's engine appeared to explode before the crash.

March 25 - All three crew members aboard a medevac helicopter were killed after crashing near Brownsville, Tennessee. Thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

More from Our Inferiority Complex Files

2010-03-26T10:46:00.001-04:00

Our hand-wringing over the terse accident & incident entries we make on this blog continues.

Earlier this week we pointed out that the Russians were monetizing airliner incidents by selling train tickets via links in the text of air mishap stories. Today we're being shown-up by the Indians and the airline mishap-as-graphic novella.

After reporting on a cargo oil leak aboard an Air Arabia flight recently, the Ahmedabad Mirror recaps in toon ...

We just can't compete.

(For the conclusion of this week's cargo leak drama, please click here).

Next Time, Take the Train

2010-03-24T22:44:00.003-04:00

From the Sure Signs the World Economy is Coming Back Dept: Seen while sorting through world aircraft accident and incident stories recently, a Russian site reporting on the emergency landing of a UTAir Air Company ATR-42. After detailing the airliner emergency, the enterprising Russians wrapped up their story with this missive:

"One of the best ways to travel Russia and see all its beauties is surely by train. The tickets for all Russian trains can be booked and bought on our site." (With link included).

Presumably there will be a reciprocal link to airline tickets on all the train mishap stories at this site.

And it's only a matter of time before news stories about earthquakes beget links to commercial space flight bookings.

Struggling world news sites could learn from the Russians ... or not. In any case, this kind of cheek makes all those in-your-face pop-ups that online news sites insist on assaulting even their subscribers with look downright quaint.

(In the spirit of the new Russian Aditorialepreneurship, if this blog entry bored you, we suggest you visit someone more bored than you).

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for March 22, 2010

2010-03-22T07:59:00.003-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

March 21 - A United Airlines 737 made an emergency return landing to Chicago O'Hare International Airport after developing pressurization problems shortly after takeoff.

March 21 - The pilot of a Marchetti SF 260 made a safe emergency landing in East Anglia, U.K. after losing the canopy on his aircraft in flight.

March 20 - The pilot of a Zenith 610 made a safe emergency landing near Cincinnati, Ohio after losing oil pressure.

March 20 - A WestJet flight bound for Hawaii from Vancouver made a safe emergency return landing to Vancouver after striking an unknown object shortly after takeoff.

March 20 - All three aboard two single-engine planes were killed after colliding in midair over Williston, Florida. Weather was reported clear at the time of the crash.

March 19 - A Cirrus SR22 registered to Washtucna Aviation LLC crashed near Morton, Washington, killing the pilot and critically injuring the passenger. The aircraft clipped trees before crashing into the front yard of a residence. No injuries were reported on the ground. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 19 - A Super Puma helicopter transporting Queen Sofia of Spain made a safe emergency landing in Toledo, Spain after struggling to gain altitude after takeoff.

March 19 - Five of 23 aboard a Russian Mi-8 helicopter were injured after crashlanding near Kamchatka, Russia. Heavy snow was reported at the time of the accident.

March 19 - A medevac helicopter operating out of Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida made a safe emergency landing in Land O'Lakes after the crew noticed an unusual vibration shortly after picking up a patient. The patient was transferred to another helicopter without further incident.

March 19 - A single-engine Cessna made an emergency landing on U.S. 40 near Brazil, Indiana. The pilot and passenger reportedly sustained minor injuries during the landing.

March 18 - An Exin Antonov An-26 operating as a cargo flight made a safe emergency landing on the frozen Lake Ulemiste near Tallinn, Estonia. The aircraft reportedly developed both engine and landing gear trouble during a flight from Finland. The aircraft broke through the ice shortly after the crew was evacuated. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 18 - A UTair Air Company ATR-42 made a safe emergency landing in Roshchino, Leningrad Oblast, Russia after the right engine failed.

March 18 - A single-engine plane crashed on takeoff from Huntsville, Arkansas, killing the pilot. The aircraft reportedly struggled to gain altitude before the crash. A witness reported seeing the aircraft at an extreme nose-up attitude before impact.

March 18 - The pilot of a Beechcraft Travel Air was killed after crashing shortly after takeoff from Sky Acres Airport in LaGrange, New York. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 18 - A float plane crashed into Lewisville Lake near The Colony, Texas, injuring one. Another occupant was reportedly missing after the crash.

Inventing the HOOYA Display

2010-03-17T09:55:00.005-04:00

One summer's evening a few years back when everybody was pretending to have money, I witnessed a fellow in a Mercedes SLR make a grand entrance into a trendy local outdoor cafe. He first struck the opposite curb of the narrow drive with his half-million-dollar exotic, then gingerly backed up and tried a tighter turn, this time hanging his ground-bound silver missile up on the near curb and crushing the doorsill. A repair bill rivaling the cost of a semester at Princeton, to be sure.

In fairness, the alleyway was tight, and the SLR, with its Holmesian schnoz, clearly required two traffic lanes of initiating arc to accomplish the maneuver. Maybe a few 2 a.m. practice runs before trying to impress the beautiful people?

Just up the road, some tubby-ish 30-something guys in team logo uniforms riding matching carbon fiber race bikes huffed and puffed up a hill, a half-football-field back from a fit 50-something guy riding a steel bike straight out of the 70s. The old guy was wearing the team jersey of whatever cycle racing team wears plain white T-shirts.

These two road-going tales, when stretched every-which-way by your humble blogger to make a theme, reinforce the old adage that those of us who can't afford Mercedes SLRs and carbon fiber race bicycles like to bandy about: It's not about whether you own a Mercedes SLR or a carbon fiber race bike: it's all about not looking like a dork.

Good judgment, talent, competence, cannot be packaged in a machine of any price.

The National Transportation Safety Board recently reviewed the safety merits of advanced glass cockpits in general aviation aircraft and concluded that pilots of advanced computerized light planes live no safer lives in the skies than pilots of old-school analog aircraft.

Less safe lives, perhaps.

Of course, the Board's initial report on the safety of glass cockpits makes no presumption about pilots becoming over-confident in sophisticated machinery -- rather that interface standards differ from cockpit to cockpit, and pilot training on these new systems is inconsistent at best.

AVSIG folks who are currently discussing the report agree that unlike the advanced cockpits in airliners, which require weeks of intensive type-specific training for airline pilots, general aviation glass cockpits may be presented to pilots with little opportunity for familiarization, and even with extensive factory training on a given glass cockpit, transition to another can be problematic.

Think about the last time you had to navigate the menus on a new cell phone. It's hard not to agree.

But the forum braintrust points out another set of factors that work against general aviation pilots in glass cockpits, namely the tendency of those who have taken to the air in the computer age to look at computerized airplane primarily as a computer with wings, and worse, to associate state-of-the-art technology with state-of-the-art safety. One guy, whom we'll refer to as J. Wiley, commented on working with new pilots in glass environments. He compared their cockpit demeanor with that of the average cubicle dweller at-work, locked in trance-like gaze with the glowing computer screen.

No verifying that what's happening on the screen is happening out in the real world

No looking out the window. (This thing has a window too?).

Possibly forgetting that in this video game, he/she *is* the video game.

There is much to recommend in modern general aviation aircraft: collision avoidance, weather, and systems monitoring that far exceeds the onboard information available in decades past. But in any case where airmanship becomes an afterthought to flight technology, it's fair to say things won't go well when things, for lack of a better term, don't go well. And chances are that the many menus of tech in a modern airplane place the thought process for sheer survival many layers beyond the world of some modern winged computer jockeys.

More than a few Cirrus crashes have I've-got-a-State-of-the-Art-Plane-with-a-Parachute written all over them, including a number of chute-first-and-aviate-later incidents. One chartering company actually touts the capability of its weather radar-/parachute-equipped fleet by offering that passengers can "Travel on your schedule, where you want, and when you want" -- no mention of little killjoys like weather.

If the bad decisions that crash airplanes are increasingly no more sophisticated than the bad decisions that crash more mundane transportation, the future isn't looking bright.

Back here on the ground, after recently being rear-ended in a snowstorm by a kid checking his text messages, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the body shop. There were a lot of brand new smashed luxury cars there. The fresh kills, according to the shop manager, had a common story.

"When everybody started buying SUVs we'd get crashed SUVs after snowstorms, because these people thought they were invincible in the snow. Then people started buying high-end cars with traction control, roll control, anti-lock brakes, lane departure warning, and all this gee-whiz stuff, and now they're the first ones we see after a snow storm."

He pointed to an S-Class Mercedes sedan, whose three-pointed star had been fractured into a more terrestrial-looking mishmash of chrome twigs after its driver had run into a stopped semi-trailer on the freeway.

"The guy saw an ad for a Mercedes with a collision avoidance system on television," said the body shop man. "And he said he assumed if it was on the lower-end car in the commercial, it was sure to be on his car, which was brand new and cost twice as much."

Funny, no? Gets better.

Mr. Mercedes, said the dent man, saw he was in trouble on the snowy freeway but didn't even hit his brakes. He assumed the (non-existent) computer crash avoidance program in his car would do a better job.

"Instead of the Head-Up Display," said the man who spends his days correcting bad decisions with blowtorches and mallets, "they should have invented the The Head-Out of Your *** Display."

M.O.

Accident & Incident Update for March 15, 2010

2010-03-15T10:17:00.001-04:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

March 14 - The pilot of an ultralight was killed after crashing in Eklutna, Alaska. The crew of a passing freight train discovered the aircraft wreckage.

March 13 - A Nigerian Air Force G22 crashed at Port Harcourt International Airport in the Rivers State of Nigeria, injuring two of 30 reported aboard. The aircraft was reportedly participating in a mock disaster drill at the time of the crash.

March 13 - The pilot of a single-engine experimental aircraft made a safe emergency landing on a public road near San Marcos, California. The pilot reported that his engine quit before the landing.

March 12 - An AirTran Boeing 717 made a safe emergency landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee after being struck by lightning during a Washington D.C.-Atlanta flight.

March 12 - The pilot of a Beechcraft Bonanza was killed after crashing on approach to Boulder City, Nevada. The pilot had reportedly radioed being low on fuel prior to the crash.

March 12 - The pilot of a Yak-52 was killed after crashing into a van during a takeoff attempt from a private airstrip in Marsden Point, New Zealand. Three occupants of the van reportedly suffered minor injuries.

March 11 - A US Airways Airbus A-319 made a safe emergency return landing to Rochester International Airport after striking a flock of geese shortly after takeoff.

March 11 - A helicopter operated by the Prince George's County, Maryland police department made an emergency landing on a football field near an elementary school in Washington D.C.. The school was reportedly evacuated as a precaution prior to the landing.

March 11 - A P-51 Mustang registered to Hirani Oil Arizona LLC crashed into a hangar at Stellar Airpark in Chandler, Arizona, killing the pilot. No injuries were reported on the ground in the residential air park. (AVSIG Discussion)

***

Accident & Incident Summary for March 8, 2010

2010-03-08T08:52:00.002-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

March 7 - A Skywest Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-700 made a safe emergency return landing to Sardy Field in Aspen, Colorado after the cabin filled with smoke shortly after takeoff. No injuries were reported.

March 7 - A twin-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on its right wing gear and nose gear at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, IL. The aircraft damaged its left gear after striking a deer on takeoff from Campbell Airport in nearby Graylakes.

March 6 - A WWII-era AT6-Texan crashed in the Gulf of Mexico off Miramar Beach, Florida, killing both aboard. The aircraft was reportedly flying in formation at the time of the crash. (AVSIG Discussion)

March 6 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing in the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One pilot reported that the aircraft lost power while attempting to land at Jones Riverside Airport. The aircraft was operating as an instruction flight at the time of the landing.

March 6 - A single-engine plane made a safe emergency landing on Interstate 25 near Los Lunas, New Mexico. The pilot reported engine trouble before the landing.

March 6 - A helicopter crashed on a private hunting reserve near Dilley, Texas, killing both aboard. The aircraft was reportedly engaged in aerial hog hunting at the time of the crash.

March 5 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing in a wooded area near Marysville, Ohio. The aircraft was reportedly on approach to Union County Airport at the time of the crash.

March 5 - Both aboard a Piper Seneca registered to Lois Aviation, LLC were seriously injured after crashing in a residential area in Vero Beach, Florida. No injuries were reported on the ground.

March 5 - A single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Hodges Airpark near Georgetown, Georgia, killing the pilot. The wreckage was found submerged in a lake off the runway end.

March 5 - A United Airlines flight bound for Chicago from Rochester, New York made a safe emergency landing in Buffalo after a fire broke out in a lavatory. Preliminary investigation suggested the fire was caused by a malfunctioning water pump.

March 4 - The pilot of a Cessna T303 Crusader was killed after crashing into a house near Louisa, Virginia. The aircraft had reportedly just refueled at Cessna T303 Crusader before the crash. No injuries were reported on the ground. (AVSIG Discussion)

The Child's Play at JFK

2010-03-04T15:59:00.013-05:00

Plenty of discussion on the Sig about that cute air traffic control kid this week. You know: the one overheard teasingly instructing a Bolivian airline crew to preface their fuel emergency with, "Simon Says ..."

Or not quite.

Anyone who's heard the recordings can hear that the kid who handled a few flights at JFK in mid February did just fine. He gave a few "cleared for takeoff" instructions.

This 'drome & farm blogger's gut reaction? Yeah, I'd let my kid do that too, if I thought I could get away with it. No harm, no foul.

But aviation is not a no-harm, no-foul world, and the point is reinforced by commentary on AVSIG.

Many "No big deal" responses peppered with "Yeah, but somebody's gonna get a little vacation" and one resolute and paraphrased "That man should be fired ... end of story."

These varied views are very much a collision between people from different workplace rules backgrounds. Private industry tends to tolerate workplace anomalies until a bad quarterly report or lawsuit trend develops, whereas government workplace protocol is more often than not some version of U.S. Postal Service rules-accretion mayhem.

One of our members compared JFK Kiddie Kontrol to the Aeroflot Airbus A310 flight that was turned into Take your Son to Work Day by a crew member on March 23, 1994. Investigation concluded that the 15-year-old boy inadvertently disconnected autopilot authority from some flight controls as he sat in the cockpit of the Airbus, sending the plane into a dive that Dad & Co. could not recover. The airliner crashed into a hillside in Kemerovo Oblast, killing all 75 aboard.

On its face, the Kids in the Tower incidents (two siblings on consecutive days) don't compare to letting a teenager fly an airliner full of passengers, but in an imperfect world, if just one crew on the ground at JFK got distracted by workplace fun & games in the control tower, something horrific very well may have happened, and we wouldn't be light-heartedly blogging about this right now.

Many of our members pointed out that all aspects of aviation have become zero-tolerance affairs, a factor that weighs into the reaction from the spoilsport side of the floor.

A rubber-gloved gauntlet to run before entering airline terminals.

Play Doh confiscated.

Recently, authorities at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport were called to the scene of a roll of toilet paper by airline personnel who were cleaning a plane that had just arrived from Toledo. Situation: White powder found on toilet paper. Investigatory Conclusion: White toilet paper dust generated by white toilet paper.

Like it or not, the Zero Tolerance crowd is onto something.

We're about a century past barnstorming, and about a decade past demonstrating any emotion exceeding stone-faced in the presence of an Official Anybody prior to boarding (and once aboard) an airliner.

If there's a silver lining in the swift death of Take Your Child to Work Day at the ATC tower, it's in the prospect of explaining to future generations of children who will be denied this work experience day that there is no room for distraction or error in mommy or daddy's job directing airplanes -- that the job is just *that* important.

It's in explaining to children that there are some job disciplines that simply don't permit an environment of good-natured goofing off ... some jobs that require all the attention, all the time, of at least one trained adult.

It's in reminding your kids of exactly what they proceeded to do the first time they found themselves playing with two toy airplanes at once.

M.O.

Lessons Un-Learned

2010-03-03T11:13:00.005-05:00

If the crash headlines have been thankfully scarce for U.S. airlines recently, the regulatory news does not inspire.

Southwest, US Airways, and American Eagle have recently received formal FAA attention for flying planes with unresolved maintenance issues, brazenly in the case of Southwest, which is statistically among the safest carriers in the world.

The Airline that Herb Built reportedly flew 46 737s on 59,000+ flights without mandatory fuselage inspections, and when informed of the oversight promptly flew the planes on 1,451 additional flights.

The FAA fined Southwest $7.5 million, an impressive figure, but less so if we estimate revenue at $350 million on these "maintenance oversight flights."

When there's a mere two-percent haircut waiting for an airline that repeatedly ignores mandatory maintenance items (and then often only after many zero-dollar warnings) there's little incentive to keep the books current.

The incentive is less yet when some passengers shrug their shoulders at nagging rules that pull an airplane out of service for "theoretical" safety issues, especially if that airplane is supposed to get them somewhere soon.

We've been on the other side of the "should we really take this stuff seriously?" question on past occasions ... say, after a crash ... when the question is rephrased to "why didn't anybody take this stuff seriously?"

If you're reading this blog we believe you do take this stuff seriously. We're pretty sure that you know that aviation safety isn't a business expense in aviation, but that aviation safety is the business of aviation.

Beginning in May we'll begin publishing U.S. airline safety evaluations on AVSIG, and we will be giving our members the opportunity to weigh-in. You can be sure that we'll consider more than just hull loss records in looking at each airline's operational safety merits.

We are approaching this project with the attitude that U.S. airline travel is as safe as air travel gets, but that it can always be safer -- especially when the back-page regulatory headlines belie the absence of front-page smoking holes.

M.O.

Aviation Accident & Incident Update for March 1, 2010

2010-03-01T10:13:00.000-05:00

[Accidents & Incidents published by www.AVSIG.com are preliminary and not meant to reflect the complete or official record of aviation accidents/incidents and their causes.]

2010

February 28 - Both aboard a single-engine plane were killed after crashing on approach to Jones Memorial Airport in Bristow, Oklahoma. The aircraft reportedly clipped utility lines before the crash.

February 28 - A Cessna 150 crashed west of Vienna, Austria killing both aboard. The pilots were reportedly student and instructor.

February 28 - A Sibir Airlines Airbus A-319 made a safe emergency landing in Rostov-on-Don, Russia after an unspecified cockpit warning light was activated.

February 27 - A single-engine plane crashed near Gatesville, Texas, killing the pilot. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to struggle to maintain altitude before the crash.

February 27 - A single-engine plane crashed on approach to Lee Airport in Edgewater, Maryland, killing the pilot.

February 25 - An aircraft operated by Nazca Airlines crashed near El Mirador killing all seven aboard. The aircraft was operating as a sightseeing flight at the time of the crash.

February 25 - A single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Winter Haven, Florida, killing the pilot and injuring a passenger and a dog. Witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to struggle to gain altitude before the crash.

February 25 - A Chautauqua Airlines Embraer ERJ-145 operating on behalf of Delta Airlines returned to the gate at LaGuardia International Airport after smoke was detected in the cabin. No injuries were reported.

Outside the Garden Wall

2010-02-24T16:18:00.007-05:00

Our Accidents & Incidents section has traditionally been one of our most viewed discussion areas, logging daily updates on aircraft mishaps and discussion by industry professionals. It's the place to go for high-signal, low-noise lessons-learned talk and insight on both the operational and regulatory sides of the aviation industry.

Most of our sections are private to AVSIG members, but we've purposely made the A&I area visible to passers-through, hoping that this kind of transparency will benefit everyone.

Near as we can tell, we've accomplished most of that goal. A check of our forum viewing cache finds unlogged guests viewing the A&I section more than any other, and several hundred guests often come by in the hours after a major airline accident to read updates and industry discussion.

If anyone has not benefitted from the arrangement it's the AVSIG members who have shared their expertise with the world.

AVSIG has been running on real people with real names for the past three decades. The practice tends to foster high-quality interaction and little, if any "internet wisdom" passing through our hallowed phosphor halls. It's not a policy that's popular with everyone, and with good reason. There are those in the industry who would just as soon not have their airman database-searchable real name on aviation crash discussion out there where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can cruise by and cut, paste, & harangue.

Tom, Dick, and Harry, as it turns out, are alive and well, and they've been reading AVSIG.

Recently some of our members have been subpoenaed -- some even telephoned at home -- for testimony and/or other information on aircraft systems, operations, and in some cases specific accidents based on their AVSIG postings.

Straight out of the We Just Knew this Would Happen Some Day Department.

So we're going to make life a little tougher for web-trolling accident litigators and government officials.

We will continue to publish aviation accident and incident updates and selected edited discussion on this blog, but if you'd like to know what specific AVSIG members are saying about aviation mishaps you're going to have to log in as an AVSIG member using your real first and last name.

We won't hold anything against you if your first name happens to be Tom, Dick, or Harry.

In addition to becoming part of one of the swellest groups of aviators anywhere, you will get to know the real people behind the real names on AVSIG -- the biggest bonus we know of for becoming an AVSIG member.