Ben Longden

November 12, 2007 - 55AM South African aviation authorities have grounded all Boeing 737 200 aircraft in the country for safety checks after an engine fell off the wing of a plane during takeoff, a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority said. "This (grounding order) is due to a recent incident on the affected aircraft type, where engine separation from airframe attachment occurred," the statement read. The order affects all Boeing 737s fitted with Pratt and Whitney JT8D engines. It is aimed at preventing the possibility of a similar accident happening and is not an indication of the cause of the accident, it said. On Wednesday, a Nationwide airline aircraft carrying 106 passengers had to make an emergency landing after an engine fell off the wing of the plane during takeoff. Bongani Maseko, Airports Company of South Africa operations director, told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio today they had received directives from the aviation authorities to ground all 737s across South African airports for safety checks. "All Boeings must go for a check for the mounting of the engines. The aviation have asked that by the end of business today we start helping them to ensure that all of the nationwide aircraft adhere to that," Maseko said. "The directive also says all the other airlines must have implemented the check for the mounting of the engines by Monday," he added. Boeing was not immediately available for comment. Reuters

Just ring CASA.... I did. Ben

Two suffer burns in aircraft crash Thursday Nov 8 20:08 AEDT Two men in their 50s have been airlifted to a Melbourne hospital with severe burns after a light aircraft crashed in northern Victoria. A 50-year-old man was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital with burns to 60 per cent of his body while another man, aged 58, was taken by ambulance to Echuca Hospital with burns to 50 per cent of his body. He was later also airlifted to The Alfred, Rural Ambulance Service spokesman John Mullen said. Emergency services received the call at about 5.50pm (AEDT) that a gyrocopter - a small helicopter - had crashed at Echuca airport and burst into flames. Nine News /AAP ------------------------------------------------------------------ I went there shortly after the prang (Nine newsroom called me) and what I was told by the plods was this was an instructional flight, and the aircraft suddenly lost altitude on late final, impacting the ground about 15 metres from the threshold of Rwy 17. The weather conditions were fantastic at the time, with winds light and variable. The fuel fed fire destroyed the bloody beautiful ship, a Firebird, leaving a molten mass of engine and a few broken bits of fibreglass fairing. The fire also burnt grass about 50x50metres. When I left the airport, the plods also told me that the airport was open, as it was required for the King Air, and that the wreckage would be removed before dusk, and had not affected the runway itself. I certainly hope the crew have a speedy recovery, as do the witnesses to the incident. Ben Postscript; Ten News had the story as , you guessed it... "an ultralight"

As well as these factors, it would be great if the deigners and importers could do a little homework first, and factor the COST of the plane into things. I was lusting after a Pioneer 300 for a time, but the fact it cost $175,000 put me off in nanoseconds. If firms are real about selling new aircraft in the RAA category, then consider the retail price/market equation. So, at the moment I will hire the clubs Tecnam, and if I buy an aircraft, it looks like being a second hand PA28 at the moment. Ben

Its a Bushby Mustang 2, made as a kit by Mustang Aeronautics in the US. It has the same wing shape and empennage as the Originals, but it has a two seat, side by side cockpit. Up front there is an O320, 150 Hp Lycoming. This one is VH registered and is night VFR capable.... Ben Info; http://www.mustangaero.com/Mustang%20II/MustangII.html

Yup... The last time I won the sweep, I was the new kid in year 11, and boy did the others hate it! Ben

Its official... well, sort of... Sitting at the Echuca airport during the Fly-in, it struck me that perhaps the best way to make it rain at your town is to get Ian to plan a Fly-in. As you guessed, the fly-in was plagued with weather problems, but looking at the bright side of the coin, it would appear Ian managed to get 13mm to fall at the airport, and there are local reports of storms dumping around 25mm of rain on the parched farmlands. Either way you look at it, 10 out of 10 for the weekend Ian. Ben

While we were waiting for the weather to clear at Echuca, I tossed this together.. Ben [/media

Likewise. Its good to see the RAA executive have applied what others seem reluctant to do in relation to the ADS-B - common sense. Lets just hope that common sense will prevail when the decision making process is finalised.. Ben

If you cant make it to Perth, but can make it to Shepparton, the club is going to have the Red Bull race on a big screen... Ben

Brilliant, Decca.... I would never have picked that one up.... Ben

The second pic is bloody brilliant. Hope the tree is OK... ;) Ben

DO'H!!!! Ben

Mario Xuereb October 31, 2007 - 11:55AM Disruptive conduct by a woman passenger forced a Virgin Blue flight to make an unscheduled landing in Adelaide this morning. The flight from Perth to Brisbane was forced to divert to Adelaide Airport about 4.20am where Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the woman before handing her over to South Australian police, an airport spokesman said. A spokeswoman for the AFP said it was unclear what led to the incident but the woman was undergoing physical and psychological examinations in hospital. Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said no-one was at risk during the incident. "The plane had to divert to Adelaide because of an unruly passenger. "If there is an unruly passenger on the aircraft you just want them off the plane as soon as possible. It does happen from time to time," she said. Ms Bolger said passengers and crew were not at risk during the incident. "It is up to the crew to make a decision as to what the best course of action is." The plane resumed its flight to Brisbane at 5.15am before landing safely.

Stephen Moynihan October 31, 2007 Melb Age A JETSTAR flight that came within moments of landing on a runway its crew could not see had its engine throttles in the wrong setting, according to an investigation released yesterday. On the morning of July 21, the Jetstar A320 from Christchurch with 138 passengers made two attempts to land at a fog-bound Melbourne Airport. So heavy was the fog that the pilot made the decision to keep the plane on autopilot and land using instruments. Earlier flights had aborted their landings because of poor visibility. When the fog proved too thick for the Jetstar crew to see the runway lights, the pilot decided to abort the landing. Engine power was increased for the plane to climb, but instead it continued to descend with wheels lowered. At its lowest point, the jet was approximately 15 metres from the ground. The pilot switched to manual control and reached higher altitude, and after permission from air traffic control attempted to land again. After the second attempt was aborted, the plane touched down safely at Avalon. Yesterday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released its preliminary report on the incident. The report said the flight data recorder showed engine throttles were in the wrong setting during the first aborted landing. The bureau did not suggest pilot error was to blame and continues its investigation. Jetstar began its own investigation more than 10 days after the incident. Chief executive Alan Joyce welcomed the bureau's initial findings, saying the carrier had changed some of its reporting procedures. "Jetstar … has established procedures for the handling, notification and reporting of safety occurrences underpinned by a proactive safety culture," Mr Joyce said. "Jetstar has undertaken a number of immediate safety actions which have included the clarification of and revision of procedures … and continues to co-operate fully with the ATSB investigation."

Amen to that. The bloke at work was telling me of a flight his son went on and was right seat to a new Captain, when he was introducing himself, he said "now, you're not going to let me make any stupid mistakes, are you?" Ben

Annoys me totally. As in, gives me a good cure for constipation.... Seriously, I wish these folks would get their fact cards written up and checked before the show - and before opening both Mike and Mouth. I made mention of a similar thing (Ultralight crashes with four on board) in a professional news & IT journo forum a few weeks ago, and the replies were consistent with "duh, whats the difference, no one would care anyway". Bloody frustrating. Ben

Speaking with a bloke at work, whose son is a 747 driver, it would appear a cultural problem exists within the airlines of Indonesia... where it is seen as a professional and personal 'loss of face' to challenge the Captain and even more so for the Captain to entertain the thought of, let alone carry out a Go Around. Ben

The pilot ignored 15 warnings and requests for a go-around, so I read (Melb Age). Scary. Ben

Avtur tastes better.... goes further... Ben

Melb Age October 22, 2007 - 5:07PM The chief pilot of a plane that crashed in Indonesia, killing five Australians and 16 other people, ignored 15 alarm bells as the plane came in to land too quickly, a report has found. The Boeing 737 exploded into flames in a rice field after skidding off the end of the runway in Yogyakarta, Central Java on March 7. Investigators have scoured the plane's black box cockpit voice recorder and data log for clues to the disaster. The final report stemming from the crash investigation found the pilot had landed, despite a flood of warnings. "During the approach, the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alerts and warnings sounded 15 times, and the copilot called for the pilot in command to go around," the report found. "The aircraft was flown at an excessive air speed and steep flight path angle during the approach and landing, resulting in an unstabilised approach. "The pilot in command did not follow company procedures that required him to fly a stabilised approach, and he did not abort the landing and go around when the approach was not stabilised. "His attention was fixated or channelised on landing the aircraft on the runway and he either did not hear, or disregarded the GPWS alerts, and warnings, and calls from the copilot to go around." The investigation also found the copilot did not follow company procedures and take control of the plane when he saw the pilot repeatedly ignore the alerts and warnings. Garuda records also showed no evidence that the pilots had been trained to respond appropriately to the warnings. The investigation also found Yogyakarta airport's fire fighting service was unable to reach the accident site and some vehicles lacked necessary equipment. "The delay in extinguishing the fire, and the lack of appropriate fire suppressant agents, may have significantly reduced survivability," the report said. "The airport emergency plan and its implementation were less than effective." National Transport Safety Committee chairman Tatang Kurniadi said the report was aimed a preventing further accidents, and was not to be used as the basis for any legal action over the March crash. Kurniadi said the committee would not (not) hand over any evidence gained from the plane's flight recorders, to help the police investigation. Police are continuing to investigate the crash and have interviewed the pilots, who survived by scrambling out of the cockpit. "I would like to go back to the objective of this, the report was made by NTSC for safety purposes only, not for blaming,'' he said. "If any institution wants to ... follow up that accident, that's their own decision." He said the committee's report could not be used for legal purposes. "The report contained the results from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, but according to international regulations on aviation these black boxes are not allowed to be used for ... liability purposes," Kurniadi said. "We will not give police or any institution (information) other than for safety purposes only - it's in international regulations and we want to follow those regulations." AAP

Good one Adelie, But what Mike has NOT told us is the fact that Adelie cleaned the board at the club comps a few days ago, greasing the spot landing, the forced landing and the flour b*mb to win the comp... Me, I'm happy I landed, walked away from the plane and someone else could reuse it... Ben

I would prefer to do the thing right, and by the book - and ensure that all bases were covered... so speak to the CFI at the school there. And get the current publications as well, so you can draw lines on the map that wont get you shot down, er, I mean into trouble.... Ben

ABC fri 19.10 Air safety investigators may spend days in desert country in the West Australian Goldfields as they try to determine the cause of a fatal ligh plane crash. The pilot of a Cessna died when the plane crashed on Wednesday evening on its way back to Kalgoorlie, after making a cargo delivery to Warburton. Police say the remote location and rugged terrain hampered the recovery operation, and the body of the 25-year-old pilot was removed late yesterday. The Air Transport Safety Bureau says it expects to face the same difficulties. Keryn McCaulay from the bureau says investigators will not arrive to begin sifting through the wreckage until later today. "We've dispatched already two of our investigators from Perth and one is actually travelling from Canberra," she said. "It's a very very remote site as you know and they'll travel by chartered helicopter out to the site itself." The Managing Director of Goldfields Air Services Geoff Horsley says the young pilot's death is a devastating loss for the man's family and the airline. "Everyone's pretty close and pretty tight knit and so, yeah very, shocking...can't really put it into words actually. He was a pretty happy go lucky sort of a soul, he was pretty popular around the place and yeah look he was just a pretty nice young bloke."

It arrived yesterday (18 oct). It would seem the big bad boy to worry about is the proposed introduction of ADS-B especially the cost of the units... privacy... and all that. Ben