Airbus Updates No.701

Incident: Sichuan A319 near Chongqing on Apr 27th 2012, bird strike

By Simon Hradecky, created Sunday, Apr 29th 2012 13:39Z, last updated Sunday, Apr 29th 2012 13:39Z A Sichuan Airlines Airbus A319-100, flight 3U-8515 from Chongqing to Beijing (China), was climbing through about 6900 feet out of Chongqing when a bird impacted the right hand windshield causing the outer pane to crack. The crew stopped the climb and decided return to Chongqing. The aircraft entered a holding to burn off fuel and landed safely about one hour after departure. A replacement aircraft reached Beijing with a delay of 3 hours Incident: Air India A321 at Kozhikode on Apr 30th 2012, bird strike By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, Apr 30th 2012 14:41Z, last updated Monday, Apr 30th 2012 14:41Z An Air India Airbus A321-200, registration VT-PPV performing flight AI-937 from Kozhikode (India) to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) with 148 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Kozhikode when the right hand engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to return to Kozhikode, where the aircraft landed safely. A post flight inspection revealed several bent fan blades on the right hand engine. A replacement Airbus A321-200 registration VT-PPM reached Dubai with a delay of 4 hours. Incident: Singapore A388 over Andaman Islands on Apr 26th 2012, navigation system problems By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Apr 26th 2012 15:16Z, last updated Monday, Apr 30th 2012 14:56Z A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800, registration 9V-SKQ performing flight SQ-318 from Singapore (Singapore) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was enroute near the Andaman Islands about three hours into the flight when the crew decided to return to Singapore due to problems with the navigation systems and autopilot. The crew dumped fuel on their way back to Singapore. The aircraft landed safely back in Singapore about 6 hours after departure. The flight is now estimated to depart Singapore with a delay of 11 hours. Passengers reported the crew wasn't very clear in their announcements, they understood technical problems with the navigation systems that also knocked the autopilot off. Passenger Lisa told The Aviation Herald, that she was listening to music and waiting for her meal to be served, when a loud bang was heard sounding like "like a thunder clap or a car backfiring" followed by immediate violent shaking of the aircraft spilling the drinks everywhere and banging the service carts into the seats. The shaking stopped after about 3-4 seconds and did not re-occur. Lisa, seated in the back of the cabin, had the impression the bang came from very close and her right hand side. There were no comments from any passenger regarding observations on the engines or the like. Some time later passengers at the window seats observed fuel dump had started. About 45 minutes after the bang the crew announced that some turbulence had knocked off their autopilot and they were returning to Singapore. The aircraft descended to about FL200 (editorial note: radar data showed the aircraft coming into radar range of Malaysia's Penang Airport, about 350nm northwest of Singapore, at FL210), the gear was lowered in order to burn off fuel on the way back to Singapore. Incident: US Airways A319 near Tucson on Apr 30th 2012, smell of smoke in cockpit By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, May 1st 2012 13:43Z, last updated Tuesday, May 1st 2012 13:43Z A US Airways Airbus A319-100, flight US-338 from Phoenix,AZ (USA) to San Jose Cabo (Mexico) with 54 people on board, was enroute at FL320 about 60nm south of Tucson,AZ when the crew donned their oxygen masks, reported smell of smoke in the cockpit, turned around and diverted to Tucson for a safe landing on runway 11L about 20 minutes later. The remainder of the flight was cancelled. Accident: Onur A306 at Jeddah on May 1st 2012, landed without nose gear By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, May 1st 2012 18:39Z, last updated Wednesday, May 2nd 2012 18:02Z An Onur Air Airbus A300-600 on behalf of Saudi Arabian Airlines, registration TC-OAG performing positioning flight SV-2865 from Madinah to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with 10 crew, aborted the approach to Jeddah's runway 16L after the nose gear indicated unsafe. The aircraft subsequently needed to land on runway 16L without nose gear at about 12:55L (09:55Z), came to a stop short of the runway end and was evacuated via slides. No injuries occurred. Post accident video (Video: svastaff.com): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKqml8s9KV4 Incident: Air France A343 near Cork on May 2nd 2012, air data problems By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, May 3rd 2012 19:38Z, last updated Thursday, May 3rd 2012 19:38Z An Air France Airbus A340-300, registration F-GLZJ performing flight AF-378 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Detroit,MI (USA), was enroute at FL340 about 70nm south of Cork (Ireland) when the transponder altitude began to show deviations just above limits for instrument flight, the crew subsequently reported air data problems and decided to dump fuel and return to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport where the aircraft landed safely on runway 27L about 2 hours later. Maintenance replaced the captain's angle of attack sensor and released the aircraft to depart again with a replacement crew. The aircraft reached Detroit with a delay of 5 hours. Incident: Airblue A319 near Karachi on May 4th 2012, cabin did not pressurize By Simon Hradecky, created Friday, May 4th 2012 12:54Z, last updated Friday, May 4th 2012 12:54Z An Airblue Airbus A319-100, registration AP-BIF performing flight ED-602 from Karachi to Peshawar (Pakistan), was climbing out of Karachi when the crew decided to return to Karachi due to the cabin not properly pressurizing. The aircraft landed safely back on Karachi's runway 25L about 20 minutes after departure. The aircraft was able to depart again after two hours on the ground and reached Peshawar with a delay of 2.5 hours. Accident: Aerolineas Argentinas A343 near Quito on Apr 30th 2012, turbulence injures 9 By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, May 1st 2012 14:22Z, last updated Friday, May 4th 2012 13:23Z An Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-300, registration LV-CSD performing flight AR-1387 from Cancun (Mexico) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza,BA (Argentina) with 213 passengers, was enroute at FL370 east of Quito (Ecuador) around 16:30Z when the aircraft encountered turbulence resulting in several oxygen masks dropping and causing minor injuries to a number of passengers. The crew continued the flight to Buenos Aires where the aircraft landed safely on runway 11 about 5.5 hours later. 9 passengers were taken to hospitals with bruises and quickly released. A passenger reported the aircraft was hit by two turbulence encounters causing the injuries. A doctor on board provided first aid. Another passenger reported the aircraft experienced two large jolts causing passengers, who had not fastened their seat belts, to lift off and contact the cabin ceiling. The fasten seat belt signs were turned off at that time. The crew later announced they had encountered clear air turbulence not depicted by the weather radar. Incident: US Airways A332 at London on May 4th 2012, could not retract gear By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, May 5th 2012 16:12Z, last updated Saturday, May 5th 2012 16:12Z A US Airways Airbus A330-200, registration N284AY performing flight US-729 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Philadelphia,PA (USA), was climbing out of Heathrow's runway 09R when the crew could not retract the landing gear, levelled off at 6000 feet initially and entered a holding to burn off fuel at FL080. The aircraft landed safely back on runway 09L about 2 hours after departure. The flight was subsequently cancelled. Incident: Monarch A321 near Manchester on May 4th 2012, engine problem By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, May 5th 2012 17:36Z, last updated Saturday, May 5th 2012 17:36Z A Monarch Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration G-OZBM performing flight ZB-581 from Faro (Portugal) to Manchester,EN (UK), was enroute at FL330 close to the top of descent into Manchester when the crew declared emergency reporting problems with the right hand engine (V2533). The aircraft landed safely on Manchester's runway 05R and vacated the runway stopping on the adjacent taxiway to have emergency services inspect the right hand engine. The aircraft is still on the ground 24 hours later.

Airbus Updates No.673

Incident: Singapore A388 enroute on Mar 27th 2012, engine shut down in flight

By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 10:38Z, last updated Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 10:38Z A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800, registration 9V-SKG performing flight SQ-26 from Singapore (Singapore) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany) with 430 passengers, was enroute about 3 hours into the flight when the crew shut the #3 engine (Trent 970) down and returned to Singapore for a safe landing about 6 hours after departure. The airline reported the #3 engine surged 175 minutes into the flight prompting the crew to shut the engine down. Incident: China Southern A388 near Beijing on Mar 27th 2012, cabin pressurization problems By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 11:09Z, last updated Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 11:09Z A China Southern Airbus A380-800, registration B-6136 performing flight CZ-3000 from Beijing to Guangzhou (China) with 418 passengers, was enroute about 130nm southwest of Beijing when the crew descended the aircraft due to the failure of the cabin pressurization and returned to Beijing for a safe landing about 60 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A380-800 registration B-6137 reached Guangzhou with a delay of 4:50 hours. Incident: US Airways A320 near Phoenix on Mar 26th 2012, hydraulic failure By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 13:27Z, last updated Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 13:27Z A US Airways Airbus A320-200, flight US-42 from Phoenix,AZ to Washington National,DC (USA), was enroute at FL330 about 170nm eastnortheast of Phoenix,AZ when the crew reported a hydraulic failure and decided to return to Phoenix entering holdings to burn off fuel. The aircraft landed safely in Phoenix about 2.5 hours after departure. A replacement Airbus A319-100 registration N827AW reached Washington with a delay of 5:20 hours. Incident: Aerolineas Argentinas A343 at Buenos Aires on Mar 22nd 2012, could not retract landing gear By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 22:39Z, last updated Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 22:39Z An Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-300, registration LV-CSD performing flight AR-1376 from Buenos Aires Ezeiza,BA (Argentina) to Caracas (Venezuela), was in the initial climb out of Ezeiza's runway 17 when the crew selected the gear up but the gear did not retract. The crew stopped the climb at 8000 feet and returned to Ezeiza Airport for a safe landing about one hour after departure. A replacement Airbus A340-300 registration LV-BMT reached Caracas with a delay of 4 hours. Maintenance determined the landing gear control unit had failed. Incident: Lufthansa A343 at Munich on Mar 28th 2012, unsafe gear By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Mar 28th 2012 15:58Z, last updated Wednesday, Mar 28th 2012 15:58Z A Lufthansa Airbus A340-300, registration D-AIGZ performing flight LH-639 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Munich (Germany), aborted the final approach to Munich's runway 26L due to an unsafe gear indication and went around. The aircraft climbed to 4000 feet and joined a left downwind for runway 26L reporting they now had all greens and landed safely on runway 26L about 12 minutes after aborting the first approach Incident: Cathay A343 at Johannesburg on Mar 27th 2012, bird strike By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Mar 28th 2012 10:43Z, last updated Wednesday, Mar 28th 2012 17:43Z A Cathay Pacific Airbus A340-300, registration B-HXB performing flight CX-748 from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Hong Kong (China), was in the initial climb out of runway 03L when the #1 engine (cfm56, outboard left hand) ingested a bird causing substantial damage to fan blades and the engine cowling. The crew stopped the climb at 8000 feet, dumped fuel and returned to Johannesburg for a safe landing about 65 minutes after departure. The airline reported the flight needed to be postponed to the following day (Mar 28th). The #1 engine needs to be replaced. Incident: Jetblue A320 near Amarillo on Mar 27th 2012, captain incapacitated by panic attack By Simon Hradecky, created Tuesday, Mar 27th 2012 18:06Z, last updated Wednesday, Mar 28th 2012 21:59Z A Jetblue Airbus A320-200, registration N796JB performing flight B6-191 from New York JFK,NY to Las Vegas,NV (USA), was enroute at FL340 about 55nm north of Amarillo,TX (USA) when the captain suffered a panic attack and behaved entirely incoherent forcing the first officer to seek assistance by cabin crew and passengers to overpower the captain, lock him out of the cockpit and have him restrained in the passenger cabin. Another Jetblue pilot flying as passenger assisted the first officer while diverting to Amarillo for a safe landing about 20 minutes later. The airline confirmed the flight diverted because of a medical condition with the captain. Another captain travelling as passenger on the flight joined the first officer in the cockpit for the landing and assumed duties as a captain after landing. The ill captain was taken to a local hospital. A replacement aircraft is going to be dispatched to Amarillo to continue the flight. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration N624JB reached Las Vegas with a delay of 6.5 hours. Passengers reported the captain had visited the bathroom and when returning to the cockpit basically went nuts and screamed about terrorists and bombs on the aircraft knocking the cockpit door. The first officer locked him out of the cockpit and had him overpowered. It took six people to sit on the captain to restrain him. Another pilot on board went to the cockpit to assist the first officer for the diversion. On Mar 28th Federal Authorities filed charges against the captain for interfering with flight crew. A court affidavit claims the captain told the first officer they were not going to Las Vegas and started ranting, then left the cockpit and began shouting about a bomb. The airline reported on Mar 28th the captain has been suspended. He is still in hospital care. Incident: Air China A320 near Hangzhou on Mar 28th 2012, hydraulic failure By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Mar 29th 2012 10:10Z, last updated Thursday, Mar 29th 2012 10:10Z An Air China Airbus A320-200, flight CA-1952 from Beijing to Wenzhou (China), was enroute near Hangzhou about 140nm north of Wenzhou when the crew decided to divert to Hangzhou due to a hydraulic failure. While on approach to Hangzhou the crew received an unsafe gear indication prompting the airport to prepare a large emergency response. Working the checklists the crew was able to resolve the unsafe gear indication and get all gear down and locked. The aircraft landed safely. A replacement aircraft reached Wenzhou with a delay of 3.5 hours Incident: Rossiya A319 near St. Petersburg on Mar 29th 2012, engine shut down in flight By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Mar 29th 2012 11:12Z, last updated Thursday, Mar 29th 2012 11:12Z A Rossiya Airbus A319-100, registration VQ-BAQ performing flight FV-542 from Novosibirsk to Saint Petersburg (Russia) with 93 passengers, was on approach to St. Petersburg when the crew needed to shut an engine (CFM56) down. The aircraft continued to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport for a safe landing on runway 28L. Incident: TAM A319 at Goiania on Mar 31st 2012, rejected takeoff By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Mar 31st 2012 19:30Z, last updated Sunday, Apr 1st 2012 18:30Z A TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A319-100, registration PT-MZC performing flight JJ-3590 from Goiania,GO to Brasilia,DF (Brazil), rejected takeoff from runway 14 at high speed after the right hand engine (V2524) ingested a large bird. The aircraft slowed safely and taxied to the apron. The flight needed to be cancelled. The engine received damage to several fan blades and further downstream and is going to be replaced. The crew of an earlier departing aircraft had reported vultures sitting on the runway

Airbus Updates No.565

Airbus A310

-222

419

HS-PCC

P.C.Air

1st in svc 16dec11 BKK-URT-BKK in full cs

ex RPDL-34181

Airbus A319

-115ACJ

2487

4K-AI02

Azerbaijan Airlines

re-regd in svc at IST / BRN 14oct11/18dec11, “Baku-2”

ex 4K-AZ01

Airbus A320

-211

283

N754US

GECAS

ferried 19dec11 GYR-ROW after storage

ex YL-LCG

Airbus A320

-212

289

SE-RJM

Air Sweden

ferried 19dec11 ARN-SAW after storage

ex F-WBGE

Airbus A320

-214

4974

PR-MYO

TAM

delivery 19-20dec11 XFW-SID-GRU

ex D-AVVK

Airbus A330

-343

833

CS-TRH

XL Airways France

ferried 16dec11 MAD-NTE on winter lease from Orbest with XL titl

ex EC-KCO

Airbus A340

-313

123

LV-CSD

Aerolineas Argentinas

delivery 19dec11 HKG-AKL-EZE

ex B-HXM