In the news…
The NTSB are investigating a near miss between an Airbus 320 with 90 passengers and a Beech 99 cargo plane who had less than 100 feet separation when they passed each other at 1,500 feet. The Airbus heard the other aircraft (that really is damn close) but the pilot of the Beech was apparently unaware of the near miss.
On September 16, 2010, about 6:49 a.m. CDT, US Airways flight 1848 (AWE 1848), an Airbus 320, was cleared for takeoff on runway 30R en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, carrying five crewmembers and 90 passengers. At the same time, Bemidji Aviation Services flight 46 (BMJ46), a Beech 99 cargo flight with only the pilot aboard, was cleared for takeoff on runway 30L en route to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Weather conditions at the time were reported as a 900-foot ceiling and 10 miles visibility below the clouds.
Immediately after departure, the tower instructed the US Airways crew to turn left and head west, causing the flight to cross paths with the cargo aircraft approximately one- half mile past the end of runway 30L. Neither pilot saw the other aircraft because they were in the clouds, although the captain of the US Airways flight reported hearing the Beech 99 pass nearby. Estimates based on recorded radar data indicate that the two aircraft had 50 to 100 feet of vertical separation as they passed each other approximately 1500 feet above the ground.
A Saratoga landed on the Interstate in Atlanta during rush hour. The pilot is fine but it sounds like the plane is a write-off. I’m not sure why the plane landed with the wheels up (the Saratoga undercarriage is electric but has a manual override for emergencies like this).
Owner Of Interstate Plane Talks To CBS Atlanta – Atlanta News Story – WGCL Atlanta
Dominic Ottaviano said never thought he’d receive a call like the one he got Monday.
“Said, ‘Hey, did you see the news? Your plane is on the interstate.’ And it wasn’t really funny,” said Ottaviano.
Ottaviano watched the scene unfold on I-85 near Shallowford Road. He’s one of three owners of the single-engine six-passenger plane that landed on the interstate in the middle of rush hour.
Alaska Dispatch has a fascinating piece about the survivors of a Cessna 185 which crashed in a remote area of Alaska. They were quickly rescued thanks to one of the passengers who was carrying a satellite messaging device.
When the plane goes down, the good gadget is the one that gets you found
After the crash, after everyone pulled themselves out the wreckage of the single-engine airplane in the Alphabet Hills north of remote Glennallen in Southcentral Alaska on Sunday, 30-year-old Wayne Humbert reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow, six-ounce, palm-size satellite messaging device called “Spot.”
On its face there were four buttons. A battered Humbert, knowing he and three friends in the airplane now a tangle of metal in the wilderness were in trouble, pressed the one that said “help.”
Vincent posted this YouTube video on Plastic Pilot which plays the radio interaction when a Lancair Legacy engine fails at high altitude in bad weather over high mountains.
Mark Patey, the pilot wrote:
I couldn’t ask the controllers to tell my wife this or that, heck, it would take a lifetime to say what you would want to say. But maybe, just maybe, if they knew all my actions, they would know, it was just my time. I was going away, calm, still myself, at peace with who I was in life, and in the end, I had done all I could do… Did ATC really need pireps on icing? No, I needed someone to talk to. Did they need to know my window was icing up on the inside? No, they can’t scrub it for me. In life’s emergencies, others can’t do it for you; they can provide direction, some warnings about upcoming obstacles, a calming voice with words of encouragement, and IF we are willing to listen and take action we just might make it. I can think of quite a few Sunday school lessons and analogies that could come from this at this point. Anyway, in the end, it’s up to you to fly the plane. The government, your neighbors, your family and friends, even your flight instructor can’t fly the plane for you and there is only so much time to finish the flight, maybe not even as much time as we think. In the end, did we do all we could do? If so, Someone else will make up the difference! I’m eternally grateful for the fact that I was not alone up there.
And this just in: Sandown Airport on the Isle of Wight is not closing after all. The airfield was due to close on the 1st of October but according to the County Press Online, there has been a high court injunction preventing Sandown from closing.
Delight at High Court airport order
This week, a high court judge sided with Mr Woodhouse and Mr Williams, who own the surrounding land, as well as the Specialist Flying School, and served an ex-partae high court injunction preventing the airport from being closed for the foreseeable future.
Mr Woodhouse said: “It’s absolutely brilliant the injunction has been served. We applied for the injunction because we had heard the runway was going to be ploughed so it couldn’t be used.
“We have rights on the runway and taxiway and the judge was satisfied with those rights. The airport has to be saved.
“This weekend we have got more than 100 aircraft flying in to show our solidarity. We have got some exciting plans for the future, including an event with vintage cars, stalls and a visit from a parachute team.”
Via Mikel, I found that the NTSB has completed a preliminary finding regarding the JetBlue A320 that blew out its tyres landing at Sacramento. Their conclusion? The aircraft had its parking brake on for the landing.
According to airplane recorded flight data, the parking brake had become engaged during the landing approach approximately 5,100 feet mean sea level, and it remained engaged throughout the landing. During interviews with the flight crew, neither pilot recalled any abnormal indications or warnings associated with the braking system prior to landing.
