Airbus Updates No.688

Accident: Virgin Atlantic A333 near London on Apr 16th 2012, cargo fire indication

By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, Apr 16th 2012 13:29Z, last updated Monday, Apr 16th 2012 13:29Z A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-300, registration G-VSXY performing flight VS-27 from London Gatwick,EN (UK) to Orlando,FL (USA) with 299 passengers and 13 crew, was climbing out of London Gatwick's runway 08R about 75nm westsouthwest of London Gatwick Airport when the crew declared emergency, levelled off at FL220 reporting a cargo fire indication and returned to Gatwick. The aircraft landed safely on Gatwick's runway 08R about 35 minutes after departure, stopped about halfway down the runway and was evacuated, a number of tyres deflated. Responding emergency services found no trace of fire or smoke. A number of passengers received minor injuries in the evacuation. The airline reported a technical problem prompted the captain to return to Gatwick and to evacuate the aircraft. The airport was closed for about 2 hours as result of the occurrence until the aircraft was towed off the runway. Incident: Aerosvit A320 near Simferopol on Apr 17th 2012, unruly passenger By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Apr 17th 2012 15:18Z, last updated Tuesday, Apr 17th 2012 15:18Z An Aerosvit Airbus A320-200, registration UR-DAI performing flight VV-276 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Kiev Borispol (Ukraine), was enroute at FL340 about 125nm east of Simferopol (Ukraine), when the crew decided to divert to Simferopol after a drunk male passenger roamed around the cabin, pestered other passengers, refused to return to his seat despite instructions by cabin crew and subsequently struck a flight attendant. The unruly passenger was subdued and restrained, the aircraft landed safely about 25 minutes later, the unruly passenger was taken into custody by police. The aircraft reached Kiev with a delay of 2 hours. The airline reported the passenger was already drunk when he came aboard, he later began to roam around the cabin, clung to other passengers and refused instructions by cabin crew until he struck a flight attendant. The unruly was subdued by cabin crew with assistance of other passengers and taken into custody by police after landing. Incident: Aer Lingus A332 at Madrid on Apr 16th 2012, flaps problem By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Apr 17th 2012 16:30Z, last updated Tuesday, Apr 17th 2012 16:30Z An Aer Lingus Airbus A330-200, registration EI-LAX performing flight EI-6962 from Madrid,SP (Spain) to Washington Dulles,DC (USA) with 264 passengers, was climbing out of Madrid's runway 36L when the crew reported problems with the flaps, stopped the climb at 12,000 feet and returned to Madrid's runway 33L about 20 minutes after departure. A passenger reported the aircraft returned to Madrid after the crew detected a problem with the flaps. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto an additional flight the following day. The airline confirmed the aircraft returned to Madrid due to a technical issue. The flight was subsequently cancelled, the passengers were reaccommodated on an additional flight the following day