Orange marked area is the wheels that did NOT deploy on arrival.
Hero BA pilot has been praised after he dramatically grounded a packed passenger plane as two of the five sets of wheels malfunctioned.
Flight BA295 to Chicago, returned to Heathrow after 'technical problems' yesterday teatime. The flight
was met immediately by fire engines on the runway.
Passengers described their experience as 'very scary' and praised the pilot who managed to smoothly land the 747 after turning around two hours into the flight.
G-CIVX had been in maintenance at Heathrow since the 25th January and returned to service on this flight.
Picture of the 747 arriving at Heathrow with part of the main gear not deployed
Replacement 747 G-CIVI departed for Chicago at 9pm but some passengers chose not to re-board.
The flight consisted of over 300 people - 293 passengers and 14 crew members.
There were reports from Channel 4 News that Prince Andrew was on this flight, but that since has been rejected by a BA source.
15 years ago today, two Japan Airlines jetliners narrowly avoided a mid-air collision near Yaizu, Shizuoka, Japan.
Japan Airlines Flight 907, a Boeing 747-446D (JA8904) was en-route from Haneda International Airport to Naha International Airport with 411 passengers & 16 crew members on board.
Japan Airlines Flight 958, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-40 (JA8546) was en-route from Gimhae International Airport to Narita International Airport with 237 passengers & 13 crew members on board.
The mid-air incident occurred as flight attendants began to serve drinks onboard flight 907 (B747). The TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) sounded 20 minutes after its departure as the jet climbed towards 39,000ft.
Flight 958 (DC10) cruised at 37,000ft. The pilots of both planes had received instructions from their TCAS, but flight 907 received conflicting instructions from the flight controller at the Tokyo Area Control Center.
Flight 907 (B747) followed an order to descend issued by the flight controller while flight 958 (DC10) descended as instructed by the TCAS, meaning that both planes remained on a collision course.
The trainee for the aerospace sector handled ten other flights at the time of the near miss. Hachitani intended to tell Flight 958 (DC10) to descend. Instead, he told Flight 907 (B747) to descend. When the trainee noticed that Flight 958 (DC10) cruised at level altitude instead of descending, the trainee asked Flight 958 (DC10) to turn right; the message did not get through to the JAL 958 pilot. The trainee's supervisor ordered 'JAL 957" to climb, intending to tell JAL 907 to climb. There was no "JAL 957" in the sky.
The aircraft avoided a collision by using evasive maneuvers once they were in visual proximity, and passed in within about 135 meters of each other. An unidentified passenger told NHK "I have never seen a plane fly so close. I thought we were going to crash."
Seven passengers and two crew members of the B747 sustained serious injuries. 81 passengers and 10 crew members reported minor injuries. Some unbelted passengers, flight attendants, and drink carts hit the ceiling, dislodging some ceiling titles. The maneuver threw one boy across four rows of seats. Most injuries to occupants consisted of bruising. The maneuvers broke the leg of a 54-year-old woman. A drink cart spilled, scalding some passengers. No passengers & crew on board the DC-10 sustained injuries.
The incident was attributed to errors made by the air traffic controller trainee and trainee supervisor. The incident caused Japanese authorities to call upon the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to take measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring. Had the collision occurred given the 677 people on board both aircraft combined, this could have potentially been the deadliest aviation accident disaster in the world, surpassing the Tenerife Airport Disaster, which killed 583 people.
Almost 17 months after the Japan Airlines mid-air incident. On 1 July 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611 collided over Überlingen, Germany killing all 71 people on board both aircraft.
The accident was caused by similar circumstances one of the aircraft had received conflicting orders from the TCAS and ATC. The ICAO did not take action until after the crash over Germany in 2002. Four near misses in Europe occurred before the German disaster because one set of pilots obeyed the air traffic controllers while the other obeyed TCAS. The ICAO decided to fulfill Japan's request 18 months after the Japan Airlines incident. Article By: @AirCrashMayday
United Airlines is introducing daily nonstop flights between its San Francisco International Airport hub and Singapore’s Changi Airport, effective June 1, 2016 (westbound), subject to government approval. United will be the first airline to offer nonstop service between San Francisco and Singapore, and this will be the only nonstop service to the U.S. from Singapore.
Qatar Airways is starting 2016 with an expansion programme across Eastern Europe, enabling passengers to benefit from a wide range of additional flight options via Doha’s Hamad International Airport.
Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to Sri Lanka by introducing an additional daily service between Dubai and Colombo. Effective 1st August 2016, the airline will operate five daily flights between Dubai and Colombo every day except Wednesdays when it will operate four flights.
Turkish Airlines has signed a codeshare deal with Hawaiian Airlines, expanding options for customers to travel more conveniently from Turkey to Hawaii via Far East points. The agreement allows Turkish Airlines to put its “TK” booking code on Hawaiian’s daily flights between Osaka, Japan and Honolulu and HA’s five-times weekly service between Honolulu and Seoul, Korea.
Swiss International Air Lines took delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER today. Swiss has eight more 777-300ER's on order waiting to be delivered. The new planes feature a fully redesigned cabin that will begin service on the Zurich-New York JFK route. Rumor from Australian Business Traveler is that they are testing in-flight calling, which has been a highly contentious move. The airline will closely monitor the feature during the 12 month trial period, which includes disabling the feature during the overnight parts of the flight. Swiss has not yet released prices for phone calls. For more info on the new inflight calling feature, see: http://ift.tt/1QKjioD
Qatar Airways has announced that, commencing May 15th, the airline will offer four-times weekly non-stop flights between Doha and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, commented that passengers on the new direct service to and from Yerevan will benefit from easier access to the rest of the world via Qatar Airways’ global network.
With 2016 well under way British Airways Holidays can reveal the true cost of a holiday – and it’s double what many think it is. A whopping 45 per cent of the total cost of a trip abroad will go on pre-holiday pampering, new clothes, extras at the airport, food and drink and items when away.
The city of Palm Springs has become the newest destination of JetBlue Airways, with the launch of a new, non-stop service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Palm Springs International Airport. The seasonal flight route is operating five times a week, Thursday-Monday, until May 1st, 2016. JetBlue serves the route with its Airbus A320 aircraft.
United Airlines will introduce daily non-stop flights between its San Francisco International Airport hub and Singapore’s Changi Airport, from June 1st, 2016, subject to government approval. United will be the first airline to offer nonstop service between San Francisco and Singapore, and this will be the only non-stop service to the US from Singapore.
Iran officials have signed two agreements with Airbus covering new aircraft orders and a comprehensive civil aviation co-operation package. The agreements were signed at the Élysée Palace, Paris, during Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to France with French president François Hollande. Iran Air has signed an agreement with Airbus for the acquisition of the full range of new Airbus airliners.
ANA Holdings has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus covering the firm order of three A380s. With order for Airbus, ANA Group has joined the customer base for the world’s largest passenger aircraft and will become the first Japanese airline to operate the type. ANA Group will take delivery of the aircraft from 2019.
Iran officials have signed two agreements with Airbus covering new aircraft orders and a comprehensive civil aviation co-operation package. The agreements were signed at the Élysée Palace, Paris, during Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to France with French president François Hollande. Iran Air has signed an agreement with Airbus for the acquisition of the full range of new Airbus airliners.
Terminal One at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had to be evacuated Thursday morning after what airport officials have described as a false alarm.
According to airport officials, the alarm appears to have gone off due to a fault within the infrastructure of the system, and they do not believe anyone pulled the alarm.
Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, plans to add 37 new planes to its fleet in the fiscal year beginning April as it expands operations in Asia with new destinations. The airline will receive 21 Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos and 16 Boeing 777s in the year ending March 2017, Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori said Wednesday in Singapore.
30 years ago today, STS-51-L was the 25th flight of the Space Shuttle program and the disastrous 10th mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 28, 1986.
Space Shuttle Challenger launched for the first time on mission STS-6 on April 4, 1983. It launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission STS-51-L.
STS-51-L crew: Front row: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; Back row: Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith Resnik.
Challenger was originally set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 14:42 EST on January 22. Delays in the previous mission, STS-61-C caused the launch date to be moved to January 23 and then to January 24. The launch was then rescheduled to January 25 due to bad weather at the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site in Dakar, Senegal. Predictions of unacceptable weather at KSC on January 26 caused the launch to be rescheduled for 09:37 EST on January 27. The launch was yet again delayed the next day, due to problems with the exterior access hatch.
After several days of lengthy delays, challenger finally lifts off at 11:38 EST (16:38 UTC) on January 28, 1986.
Her three main engines were ignited at T-6.6 seconds and at T-0 the solid rocket boosters were ignited, lifting the shuttle stack off the launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center.
Almost immediately, cameras recording the launch registered the presence of smoke at the field join next to the attachment strut on the right-hand SRB, indicating the failure of the O-Rings that were supposed to seal the joint against the 'blow by' of hot gases from the boosters. However, sometime at around T + 2 seconds, a piece of solid fuel from inside the booster moved inside the joint and provided a temporary seal against the blow-by and as such the launch proceeded normally for around forty seconds after launch.
At around T+36 seconds and an altitude of just over 10,000ft, Challenger experienced the strongest wind shear ever felt by a Space Shuttle launch. The pitch and yaw commanded by the shuttle's computers in order to counter this wind caused the solid fuel plug to become dislodged from the field joint on the right SRB.
At around T+58, cameras noted the creation of the plume on the aft attachment strut on the right-hand SRB - ignited gas had begun to force itself through a rapidly growing hole in the field joint. Within a second, the plume became well defined and intense. Internal pressure in the right SRB began to drop because of the rapidly enlarging hole in the failed joint. At T-60, there was visual evidence of a flame coming through the joint and impinging on the external tank.
At T+64 seconds, the plume suddenly changed shape, showing that it had burned a hole in the liquid hydrogen tank in Challenger's ET, causing the tank to leak. The pressure in the tank began to drop, whilst meanwhile, Challenger's onboard computers began to pivot the nozzles of the SSMEs in order to counter the now-unbalanced thrust between the two SRB's.
At T+68, the CAPCOM informed the crew that they were 'GO at throttle up" and Commander Dick Scobee confirmed the call. His response, "Roger, GO at throttle up," was the last communication from Challenger.
At around T+72, the right SRB apparently pulled away from the aft strut attaching it to the external tank. Later analysis of telemetry data showed a sudden lateral acceleration to the right at T+72.525, which may have been felt by the crew. The last statement captured by the crew cabin recorder came just half a second after this acceleration when Pilot Michael J. Smith said "Uh oh." Smith may have been responding to onboard indications of main engine performance or to falling pressures in the external fuel tank.
At T+73.124, the aft dome of the liquid hydrogen tank failed, producing a propulsive force that pushed the hydrogen tank into the liquid oxygen tank in the forward part of the external tank. At the same time, the right SRB rotated about the forward attach strut and struck the intertank structure.
At T+73.162 and at an altitude of 48,000ft space shuttle challenger began to break up. With the external tank disintegrating, Challenger veered from its correct attitude with respect to the local air flow and was immediately torn apart by abnormal aerodynamic forces resulting in a load factor of up to 20g - well over its design limit. The two SRBs, which can withstand greater aerodynamic loads, separated from the ET and continued in uncontrolled powered flight for another 37 seconds. The SRB casings were made of 12.7 millimetres (0.50 in) thick steel and were much stronger than the orbiter and ET; thus, both SRBs survived the breakup of the space shuttle stack, even though the right SRB was still suffering the effects of the joint burn-through that had set the destruction of Challenger in motion. The boosters were destroyed by the range safety system at around 110 seconds after launch.
Millions of people from around the world witnessed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on TV.
The accident resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission, a special commission appointed by United States President Ronald Reagon to investigate the accident.
It found that the Challengers accident was caused by a failure in the O-rings sealing a joint on the right solid rocket booster, which allowed pressurized hot gases and eventually flame to "blow by" the O-ring and make contact with the adjacent external tank, causing structural failure. The failure of the O-rings was attributed to a faulty design. Whose performance could be too easily compromised by factors including the low temperature on the day of the launch.
London-based, all-director agency White Tiger PR has been appointed by the pioneering travel search and inspiration brand Cheapflights to handle its UK consumer and trade public relations from February, following a competitive pitch. White Tiger is tasked with strategically raising the brand’s consumer, travel trade and travel technology media profile to support traffic growth and revenue targets.
United Airlines has appointed James Olson to the role of senior vice president of corporate communications, bringing to the airline 25 years of public relations and employee engagement experience. He has worked for several of the world’s most admired and innovative companies, including Starbucks, US Airways and Nissan.
British Airways is getting set to toast the first serving of its new champagne on short-haul flights from February 1st. Champagne de Castelnau Reserve Brut NV is the new champagne of choice for customers flying in the airline’s Club Europe cabin. The Reims-based champagne house, which was established in 1916, was chosen as the top tipple for short-haul travellers after a blind taste test, with quarter bottles of ‘Castelnau Brut NV’ winging their way on board.
American Airlines flight has retuned to Heathrow while close to Iceland.
Its reported a flight attendant fainted and that five other crew members fell ill.
Three passengers aboard the flight also reported to be feeling faint.
The plane declared an emergency around 4pm (London time) where it then returned to Heathrow.
When arriving at LHR, passengers luggage was confiscated for checks.
Passenger Alan Gray told the Daily Mail, of how flight AA109 was escorted by emergency services to the terminal and said himself and his fellow passengers had not been given an explanation.
He also said they "they would let us have our luggage. They're doing checks on it so it looks like there could be something more to it".
He said that once the flight had landed, there was police cars, ambulances and firefighters who escorted the flight and was held for 45 minutes.
Kris Evans told the Daily Mail that he didn't know what was going on and thought it was related to the air conditioning.
He said a flight attendant had fell within touching distance of where he was sitting and then another guy next to him looked 'iffy'.
One flight attendant collapsed while walking down the aisle.
Aviation history is set to be made in the UK this summer when, in a major airshow 'first', the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the Joint Strike Fighter, makes its much-anticipated international display debut.
Visitors to the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford will be the first outside the US to see the stealthy, supersonic aircraft's state-of-the-art capabilities when it displays on all three days of the airshow (July 8-10).
Meet Alex Simon. An Austrian man who booked himself on a short flight from Manila to Boracay. The lucky holidaymaker, 28, had the entire turboprop jet to himself as he was the only passenger to show up for the Philippine Airlines flight. The travel blogger was the only passenger along with 2 flight attendants and 2 pilots.
American Airlines flight AA109 to Los Angeles is returning to London Heathrow due to medical emergency on board. When the call for doctors, the aircraft was close to Keflavik (Iceland) but the crew decided to go back to origin.
UPDATE We have confirmation AA109 safely landed runway 27L at London Heathrow at 17:04.
Khallum Wood
UPDATE American Airlines is confirming medical emergency on board. UPDATE Landing is expected at 17:03.
Boeing has reported fourth-quarter revenue of $23.6 billion and core earnings per share of $1.60. Fourth quarter 2015 results reflect the previously announced $569 million after-tax charge ($0.84 per share) on the 747 program as a result of a slow recovery in the air cargo market which was partially offset by solid core operating performance across the company. GAAP earnings per share was $1.51.
A China Airlines flight CI32 from Tapei landed just before 6:30 p.m. (local time) at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) Tuesday. The Boeing 747-400 taxied to the gate when the front landing gear ended in some muddy grass.
British Airways is getting set to toast the first serving of its new champagne on short-haul flights from March 1st. Champagne de Castelnau Reserve Brut NV is the new champagne of choice for customers flying in the airline’s Club Europe cabin. The Reims-based champagne house, which was established in 1916, was chosen as the top tipple for short-haul travellers after a blind taste test, with quarter bottles of ‘Castelnau Brut NV’ winging their way on board.
Singapore Airlines is to introduce services to both Canberra and Wellington with the launch of a new ‘Capital Express’ route. The new flights from Singapore will connect the capitals of both Australia and New Zealand. Subject to regulatory approvals, flights will be operated four times per week from September 20th on a Singapore-Canberra-Wellington routing.
Bomb scare on 2 aircraft at Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport. UPDATE #AI215 False alarm. The flight is expected to depart at 1730 hrs. Boarding has commenced.
Air India #AI215 (Airbus A320) from Delhi to Kathmandu is isolated and waiting for security clearance. Authorities received that it has a bomb in a laptop All passengers are waiting in terminus building. Security personnel are screening baggage. Flight will depart on receipt of clearances.
An airplane slid off the runway early Tuesday morning at Chicago Executive Airport in suburban Wheeling, officials confirmed. At about 4:30 a.m., a Falcon FA20 operated by Kalitta Flying Service slid into the crushable concrete at the end of the runway, an FAA spokeswoman confirmed. The FAA is investigating. No injuries, runway 16 remains closed.
This plane slid off the runway at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling. No injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/cAc7Ha3KFQ
Air India Dreamliner #AI137 to Milan (departing at 1500 LT) reported smoke inside the cabin, just returned for emergency landing at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Air India flight 137 Delhi to Milan which departed at 1500 hours has reported smoke inside the cabin. Full emergency landing back at IGI
Motorists on a Russia highway caught the unusual sight earlier in the week after a light plane came to rest in the middle of a busy highway.
The footage posted online shows the Polish-made Wilga-35 looking much worse for wear on the Yaroslavskoe highway, about 65 kilometres from Moscow.
Almost two years after one of its Boeing 777s went missing, Malaysia Airlines is grounding its remaining fleet of the aircraft - and cancelling the route on which one of the planes was shot down.
The Malaysian carrier’s last 777 operation is scheduled took off from Amsterdam just before noon, on tuesday. It ends 19 years of flying the twin-jet - and four decades of the route between the airline’s hub, Kuala Lumpur, and the Dutch capital.
French public services strike today. French Air traffic Control is impacted: about 20% flights cancelled from Paris CDG.
The French civil aviation authority DGAC called on airlines to cancel one in five flights as a preventive measure ahead of the air traffic controllers' strike.
Air France said it would operate all of its long-haul flights and more than 80 percent of its short- and medium-haul flights in France and elsewhere in Europe, but that "last-minute delays or cancellations cannot be ruled out."
The airline warned its passengers that access to Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, as well as those of Toulouse, Marseille and Bordeaux, could be "greatly disrupted".
easyJet said it had cancelled 35 flights, mainly within France but also to or from Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
The controllers' unions want to be exempted from proposed changes to how salaries are calculated, which they say would hurt their purchasing power. They also denounce the loss of some 1,000 jobs in less than 10 years.
Air New Zealand has signed a three year global strategic partnership with STA Travel to boost revenue and promote inbound tourism to the youth and student market. The agreement builds on previous work between Air New Zealand and STA Travel globally and will focus on generating sales by leveraging STA Travel’s global distribution network in the priority markets of New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, North America and Asia.
