When some 500 personnel of the Canadian Armed Forces set out on their yearly training exercise that included conducting a rescue of survivors from a simulated airliner crash site, little did they suspect that within a few hours they would be doing this very thing for real. First Air Flight 6560, a Boeing 737-200 was… Continue reading If you have to crash…
Category: Safety is no accident
Articles related to safety in the broadest sense of the word
EASA Annual Safety Review – 2010
2010 was special for air safety. For the first time ever, no fatal accident occured in Europe in aeroplane and helicopter operations. Nevertheless, the Annual Safety Review from by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), published to inform the public of the general safety level in the field of civil aviation, is interesting reading. Non-fatal accidents are… Continue reading EASA Annual Safety Review – 2010
AF447 – French investigators say it was pilot error
French accident investigators have concluded that the crash of AF447 was due to pilot error. Investigator Alain Bouillard said: “The pilots were in a situation they didn’t understand!” Download the latest summary report here. Get the 3rd Interim Report here.
A personal reflection on the AF447 accident
I write from the perspective of a long retired pilot who only flew on old fashioned round dial types (Britannias, VC10s, 707s and 747s). This does not mean that I decry the modern Airbus and Boeing systems – far from it, I think the Airbus philosophy has made a great contribution to air safety. The… Continue reading A personal reflection on the AF447 accident
The final minutes of Air France Flight 447
There are few things in aviation more nightmarish than an unsolved, major accident. When, on the night of 1 June 2009, an Air France Airbus A330-203 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on its flight from Rio to Paris it was easy to feel that such a nightmare was about to unfold. The plane went off… Continue reading The final minutes of Air France Flight 447
When birds meet
When the synthetic voice announces “Hundred above” we know that in 100 feet we will reach the altitude where we must decide whether we land or not.. Malmo Sturup airport runway 35 and the lemon-colored terminal slowly come into view from behind the low cloud layer that hid them from sight so far. “Minimum” and… Continue reading When birds meet
Boeing 757 runway excursion at Jackson Hole, Wyoming
At 11.38 am Mountain Time on 29 December 2010, an American Airlines Boeing 757 overran the 6300 feet asphalt Runway 19 at Jackson Hole airport in Wyoming, USA. The aircraft came to rest about 350 feet beyond the runway end but there was no damage to the aircraft and no injuries among the 181 passengers… Continue reading Boeing 757 runway excursion at Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Royal Aeronautical Society interview with Captain David Evans of Qantas
Captain Evans was the Senior Check Captain on the Qantas A380 during the incident in Singapore. He was interviewed by the RAeS on the 6th December. In the interview he describes how the crew reacted to the uncontained engine failure and discusses the decisions the crew had to make. In particular, he considers that the most serious… Continue reading Royal Aeronautical Society interview with Captain David Evans of Qantas
ATSB Preliminary Report on Qantas Flight 32
On the 3rd December the ATSB issued its preliminary report on the uncontained engine failure suffered by the Qantas A380 on the 4th November. The initial cause appears to have been a fatigue crack within a stub pipe that feeds oil to the HP/IP bearing structure. And this cracking was associated with a misaligned region of… Continue reading ATSB Preliminary Report on Qantas Flight 32
Inside a jet engine
If, like me, you are wondering what goes on inside a jet engine the site below from Rolls Royce might help. As a pilot I merely used the thing, in my case four Rolls Royce RB211-524s on a Boeing 747-200 and very good they were too. I also had a flight engineer who helped by… Continue reading Inside a jet engine