Airbus Updates No.242

Incident: Aegean A321 at Athens on May 22nd 2011, bird strike

By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 23rd 2011 12:26Z, last updated Monday, May 23rd 2011 12:26Z An Aegean Airbus A321-200, registration SX-DGA performing flight A3-618 from Athens (Greece) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) with 182 passengers, reported a bird strike upon takeoff from Athen's runway 03R but continued the climb. At FL160 the crew levelled off reporting an unusual sound, subsequently decided to return to Athens after burning off some fuel to get below maximum landing weight and landed safely on runway 03R about 55 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A321-200 registration SX-DVO reached Paris with a delay of 3 hours Incident: Singapore A388 near Amsterdam on May 20th 2011, electrical problems By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 23rd 2011 09:12Z, last updated Monday, May 23rd 2011 12:38Z A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800, registration 9V-SKD performing flight SQ-321 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Singapore (Singapore), was enroute at FL350 about 10nm east of Amsterdam (Netherlands) when the crew decided to return to London Heathrow where the aircraft landed over weight on runway 27R about 50 minutes later. The airplane burst 6 tyres upon landing. Singapore Airlines reported: "SQ321 (London-Singapore), with over 400 passengers onboard, turned back to Heathrow Airport on 20 May 2011, after an electrical fault was detected. Six of the aircraft's tyres burst due to a heavy landing, but at no point was passenger safety at risk. Accommodation was provided to the affected passengers, and they were rebooked on other flights. The aircraft was later declared serviceable and was flown back to Singapore." The incident aircraft departed for flight SQ-321D after about 20 hours on the ground in London. Passenger Nick reported the lights on the right hand side of the cabin extinguished and the inflight entertainment system ceased. No unusual sounds, vibrations, jolts or smells were observed (although ground personnel the next day hinted there may have been an engine failure involved, Nick however rated the ground staff as unreliable source of information). The crew announced they had an electrical power failure and were returning to Heathrow as a precaution. Landing was smooth, the airplane taxied to a gate where the passengers disembarked normally through the L1 door. Incident: Rossiya A320 near Chelyabinsk on May 22nd 2011, medical emergency By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, May 23rd 2011 14:03Z, last updated Monday, May 23rd 2011 14:03Z A Rossiya Airbus A320-200, registration VQ-BDQ performing flight FV-815 (dep May 21st) from Saint Petersburg (Russia) to Bishkek (Kyrgystan) with 141 passengers and 8 crew, was enroute near Chelyabinsk (Russia) when a female passenger suffered a fit and lost consciousness, a doctor on board suspected a possible epileptic fit. The crew diverted to Chelyabinsk for a safe landing, the woman was taken to a local hospital. The airplane reached Bishkek with a delay of about 2 hours. The hospital reported the woman on the way to recovery. An epilepsy related event has been ruled out, the exact cause of the fit is still to be determined. Accident: South African A342 near Cape Town on May 23rd 2011, leaking cargo injures 5 By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, May 24th 2011 13:50Z, last updated Tuesday, May 24th 2011 13:50Z A South African Airways Airbus A340-200, registration ZS-SLA performing flight SA-333 from Johannesburg to Cape Town (South Africa) with 231 people on board, was enroute about one hour prior to estimated landing in Cape Town when passengers began coughing inexplicably. The crew continued to Cape Town for a safe landing. Hazmat teams attended the aircraft after arrival, 5 people reported feeling ill, 3 of them were taken to a hospital. The hazmat teams found some hazardeous cargo had spilled in the cargo compartment as result of not being properly secured into place causing chemical fumes to reach to the cabin. South African Airways confirmed 2 crew members and one passenger were admitted to a local hospital.