Indian Airliner Crashes Killing 158

Air India Express Crashes, Killing 158 People, 8 survive

The Boeing 737-800 plane, flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore, apparently skidded off the runway in rain at Mangalore airport in India’s Karnataka state at about 05:30UTC, killing 158 of 166 people aboard, the Airline said, adding that all the passengers were Indian nationals.

Villagers and rescue workers rush to the scene of the Air India plane crash at Mangalore Airport. Image: AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See Fair Use Notice.

“The accident occurred after the aircraft landed at Mangalore airport and overshot the runway,” Air India said.

According to another report the plane was carrying 163 passengers and 9 crew, and only six people survived the crash.

“The plane had broken into two. I jumped out of the plane after it crashed. I saw two other people also come out,” a crash survivor told a local TV channel.

“There was a tire-burst kind of noise. I tried to get out of the front but saw that there was a big fire. So I went back again and jumped out from there.”

The flight had already landed. There was slight rain. The flight skidded off,” according to an eye witness, “After that it caught fire. Villagers, everyone there, came to rescue.”

A local TV channel showed charred bodies strewn in the forested terrain, according to a report.

Related Links:

• Most Dangerous Airlines

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Ethiopian airliner ‘shot down by Israeli missile’

Ethiopian jet crashed into the Mediterranean

Informed sources advise the blog that the plane may have been shot down by an Israeli missile.

An Ethiopian Airlines jet with 90 people on board crashed into the Mediterranean sea earlier today.

An Ethiopian Airlines 737-800.  Photo released by Boeing. Image may be subject to copyright.

The plane crashed shortly after take-off from Beirut international airport at about 2:00am local time on Monday, airport sources said, Reuters reported.

“The Boeing 737-800 disappeared off the radar some five minutes after taking off, shortly after its scheduled departure time of 2:10 a.m. (7:10 p.m. EST), during a thunderstorm and heavy rain, the sources said. It was heading for Addis Ababa.”

Eyewitnesses say the plane exploded midair and they saw a “ball of fire” in the air before the plane crashed off Na’ameh village, a few kilometers south of Beirut, according to various sources.

“(The crash) site has been identified three-and-a-half km (two miles) west of the (coastal) village of Na’ameh,” officials said, Reuters reported.

There were Eighty-three passengers and seven crew onboard the airliner, according to the plane’s manifest, Reuters reported sources as saying.

“About 50 passengers were Lebanese nationals, three with dual nationalities: British, Canadian and Russian. Most of the others were Ethiopians. Hundreds of Ethiopians work as domestic helpers in Lebanon.”

The plane had flown to Beirut from Addis Ababa earlier in the night and was returning to Ethiopia.

Marla Pietton, wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, was on the downed plane, according to the French embassy.

“We saw a flash in the sky…  We saw a flash over the sea and it was the plane falling.” Another eyewitness told reporters.

Previous incidents of passenger jets destroyed by military shoot-down include:

• Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet air force jet on September 1, 1983, over the Sea of Japan, west of Sakhalin island, after it entered prohibited Soviet airspace.

• Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz by missiles fired from the U.S. Navy’s guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew onboard, including 66 children, on Sunday 3 July 1988.

• On July 17th, 1996, TWA flight 800, a Boeing 747-131, which had just taken off from JFK airport heading to Paris, France, was struck by an “external object” believed to be a military test missile, exploded and fell into the Atlantic ocean, killing all 230 people onboard.

State-owned carrier, Ethiopian airline flies to about 60 destinations, and is said to have a “good” safety record. In 1996 one of the airlines’ planes was hijacked and later ditched into sea off Comoros killing 123 people. Another 52 people survived the incident.

Related Links:

• Top 10 Most Dangerous Airlines in 2009/2010

Air New Zealand Jet Windscreen Cracked Midflight

Submitted by TEAA

An Air New Zealand jet windscreen cracked midflight between Auckland, New Zealand and Cairns, Australia

The plane carrying 118 passengers was forced to divert to Brisbane airport for emergency landing.

Air New Zealand Passenger Jet.

An Australian passenger was reported as saying:

“There was a moment when the airplane suddenly slowed down and we lost a lot of altitude,” she said.

“The seat light came on.

“The air hostesses were very firm in telling us to go back to our place and put the rubbish away and clear the path.

“It was enough to wake my child up – she was sleeping.”

It took  another long, heart-stopping 40 minutes before the diverted plane finally made an emergency landing in Brisbane.

“We were going very slowly at very low altitude when we landed – he’d dropped right down to below the clouds,” she said.

“We saw the windscreen when we left the airplane – they let us have a look out the front and it looked like an enormous slug trail across the windscreen with a Y shape.

“It was on the left hand side of the plane … it was a fairly scary looking crack, that’s for sure.”

Air New Zealand have not confirmed whether the passenger jet was an Airbus.

On June 2, 2009 MSRB said:

The probability remains that the next major air disaster would occur as a result of an Air New Zealand Airbus crashing into the sea [with a certainty of 0.74]

Related Links:

• Top 10 Most Dangerous Airlines in 2009/2010
• How Air New Zealand Killed 257 People …
• Air NZ won’t apologize to Erebus families for negligent homicide
• Flying Coffins
• Air New Zealand Flying Coffin Crashes in the Mediterranean

• Pilot Error Downed Air New Zealand Airbus!
• Another Near Miss For Air NZ Flying Coffins
• Bend Over, Spread Your Legs and say Baa . . .
• Propeller falls off New Zealand plane
• An Air New Zealand Flying Coffin Forced to Land

How safe is your flight?

Every time you fly a passenger plane …

You risk about 100 times as much exposure to deadly viruses than a non-flier

All else being equal, airline passengers on average risk about 100 times more exposure to a  number of potentially deadly viruses than non-flyers.

An airline passenger also produces about 1.36 lbs (~ 0.62 kg) of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (CO2 Equivalents or CO2e) for every air mile she flies. [Source]

On average, passengers on international flights are exposed to a somewhat higher risk of contracting deadly or potentially deadly viruses than those on domestic flights. However, as highlighted by the following Air New Zealand case, a passenger on domestic flight Air NZ flight 509 was nearly as much at risk as one on the international flight NZ1 from London, UK, to Auckland, NZ.

The following is reproduced courtesy of TEAA at New Zeelend Blog:

Air New Zealand Exposes 84 to Potentially Fatal Virus

Posted by te2ataria on December 17, 2009

sent by a reader

Urgent Health Warning!

At least 84 passengers may have been exposed to measles virus on 2 Air New Zealand flights

At least 84 passengers may have been exposed to measles virus on two Air New Zealand flights: Flight NZ1 from London to Auckland on Monday, December 7, and the connecting domestic flight NZ509 from Auckland to Christchurch.

Original photo is by Gail Selkirk and may be subject to copyright.

“Auckland and Canterbury health authorities are trying to contact people sitting near the [infected] baby on both flights; for the international leg, 56 people sitting in rows 56-60 were at risk while 28 people sitting in rows 13-17 were exposed on the domestic flight.” A report said.

It is important that passengers sitting in those rows contact the health authorities to help prevent the spread of the highly infectious and potentially deadly virus that could spread rapidly among unimmunized groups.

“These passengers, or their family members, who have symptoms suggestive of measles are advised to immediately seek advice from a doctor,” Auckland Regional Public Health Service medical officer Dr Brad Novak said.

“Call ahead to alert your doctor or practice nurse about the possibility of measles as this will allow them to arrange to assess you safely without infecting others. People who suspect they may have measles should avoid contact with young children and pregnant women.”

People most at risk of contracting the disease are those who had not had the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine or who had just had one dose of it, the report said.

Some facts about measles:

• Measles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus.
• The classical symptoms of measles include 4-day fevers, cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis (sore, watery, red eyes).
• Measles is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality, World Health Org says.
• The measles incubation period is up to 21 days.

• Measles killed 345,000 in 2005.
• Measles virus is spread by
  • breathing
  • coughing
  • sneezing

• The measles incubation period is about 21 days.

Measles can be fatal.

Notes:

1.Complications with measles virus are quite common, ranging from less serious symptoms like diarrhea, to pneumonia and death.

2. Complications are often much more severe among adults who contract  the virus.

3. The fatality rate among immunocompromised people (e.g., patients with AIDS)  is about 30 percent. That rate is about 100 times higher than in people without similar medical preconditions.

Above Left: Measles virus. This thin-section transmission electron micrograph (TEM) revealed the ultrastructural appearance of a single virus particle, or “virion”, of measles virus. CDC/ Cynthia S. Goldsmith; William Bellini. More…
Right: Child infected with measles. This child shows a classic day-4 rash with measles. Credit: CDC/NIP/ Barbara Rice

For more information on measles see:

• Measles (Rubeola)

Related Links:

• Air New Zealand Exposes 84 to Potentially Fatal Virus
• New Zealand Visitor Health Warnings
• What Exactly Airlines Doing to You?

What Exactly Airlines Doing to You?

Six passengers faint on board British Airways flight

London Ambulance service were called to treat at least six passengers at UK’s Heathrow airport after they fainted while on a British Airways flight.

None of the passengers needed hospitalization and were told they could  continue their journeys, according to the airline.

London Ambulance Service was asked to meet the flight from Newark at Terminal Five at 0650 GMT on Saturday.

Emergency services teams initially wore protective suits as it was unclear what had caused the passengers to faint.

“A handful of passengers on the aircraft fainted during the flight. As a precaution, medical services met the aircraft.” A British Airways representative said.

It’s not yet known what caused the British Airways passengers to faint.

Related Links:

• Premature births caused by Virgin Blue airline food
• Airlines & Aviation Industry, Airline Safety, Air Travel …

• The Most Dangerous Airlines for 2009/2010

Another Airbus Caught Fire?

Airbus Engine Catches Fire in Orly, Paris

Eight people were injured when 165 passengers on an Airbus 310 stampeded toward the emergency exists after an engine suddenly caught fire as the plane prepared for takeoff.

Vueling Flight 9127, was preparing to take off from Orly Airport in Paris, France, heading toward Alicante in southeastern Spain when the engine caught fire at 10:36 am, on Wednesday.

“Before getting out, everybody was panicking inside the plane. When people heard about the incident, everybody was pushing each other to get out and eventually everybody went down the emergency slides,” a passenger told Associated Press.

“Jose Luis Casado, a representative of the Spanish carrier Iberia, which owns nearly half of Vueling, said that a ground employee spotted liquid leaking from one of the engines as it was starting. The employee sounded an alert, but the fire broke out soon after.”

The management decided to use the emergency slides to evacuate the passengers, Casado said.

“Of course, it is a very spectacular procedure because we use the emergency slides, we make the usual announcements, asking people to take off their shoes and leave their luggage on board the plane. It’s quite a traumatic experience for the passengers.”

For a list of most recent air crashes and Airbus near misses click on the link below.

Related Links:

• Links index: Airlines & Aviation Industry, Airline Safety, Air Travel …

30 hurt as airliner hits turbulence

Severe turbulence shakes Continental airliner near Dominican Republic

A Continental airliner flying from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas,  Monday experienced severe turbulence at 36,000 feet, injuring more than 30 passengers—at least 4 of them seriously—and forcing the plane to divert to Miami International Airport.

“There were 168 passengers on Flight 128, which was originally headed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas, according to Lt. Elkin Sierra of the Miami-Dade Fire Department.” CNN reported.

Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in Miami, while others  with less serious injuries were treated on the spot after the plane landed at Miami International Airport at about 6 am ET.

“The Boeing 767 hit turbulence about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic at about 38,000 feet, according to an official with the Federal Aviation Administration.”

“The airline will decide whether or not to leave the uninjured passengers on the aircraft and continue the flight or disembark the entire aircraft,” Sierra said.

A Report Video

Related Links:

• Links index: Airlines & Aviation Industry, Airline Safety, Air Travel …

Airbus Crashes in Comoros

Yemenia Airbus A310 with 153 People Crashes in Comoros

A Yemen Airways (Yemenia) Airbus A310 with 153 people onboard crashed in the Indian Ocean near the archipelago of Comoros earlier today, according to an airline official.

Most of the 142 passengers  (total of 153 people onboard) were Comoran or French. There are no report of  survivors.

Yemenia Airbus A310. Source:  aviationexplorer.com. Image may be subject to copyright.

The downed Yemenia Airbus A310 passenger jet was flying from Sanaa, Yemen,  to Moroni, in the Comoros, carrying also a 11-strong crew, Reuters reported an official as saying.

The Comoros (Population of 800,000), which consists of four small volcanic islands (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Moheli and Mayotte) in the Mozambique channel, about 300 kilometers northwest of Madagascar, is not believed to have any sea rescue capabilities.

Map of the Comoros Islands. Original map: UN.

“We still do not have information about the reason behind the crash or survivors,” the deputy general manager for Yemenia operations, said.

“The weather conditions were rough; strong wind and high seas. The wind speed recorded on land at the airport was 61 kilometers an hour. There could be other factors.”

“Two French military aircraft have left from the islands of Mayotte and Reunion to search the identified zone, and a French vessel has left Mayotte,”the director general of Moroni International Airport was reported as saying.

“The plane has crashed and we still don’t know exactly where. We think it’s in the area of Mitsamiouli,” Comoros Vice-President Idi Nadhoim told Reuters.

“We think the crash is somewhere along its landing approach,” Mr Kassim a representative from regional air security body ASECNA said. “The weather is really not very favorable. The sea is very rough.”

Reuters sketch showing the flight path of downed Yemenia Airbus. Image may be subject to copyright.

Who owns Yemenia?

Yemenia is 51 percent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 percent by the Saudi Arabian government. Yemenia’s fleet includes four Airbus A310-300s, two Airbus A330-200s and four Boeing 737-800s, according to the airline site.

Airbus Crash Stats

If you really have to fly because your life depends on it [sic,] and if you are flying an Airbus, then fly on odd days of the month because the Airbus is statistically twice more likely to crash on even days!

The Next Airbus Crash?

The probability that the next major air disaster would involve an Air New Zealand Airbus has now increased to 0.78.

Related Links:

• Links index: Airlines & Aviation Industry, Airline Safety, Air Travel …