Aircraft in the News and Odd Stories

Drunk passengers make BA flight emergency land

Two very drunk passengers onboard a BA (British Airways) flight caused the aircraft to make an emergency landing recently. The inebriated duo made several attempts to break into the cockpit of the aircraft and that forced the pilots to return to the ground. The flight redicted to Lyon in France where police boarded the aircraft and aprehended the brash female pair. They were tossed in a cell overnight to sober up and then placed on a flight the next day to their intended destination. According to The Sun, the 43 and 50-year-old women, who were intoxicated from a bottle of Malibu, behaved terribly on the BA 737 flight. Apparently they threatened one of the stewardesses, claiming to hunt down their family and kill them and subsequently held a smoke in one of the aircraft's lavatories. They allegedly cursed and swore in front of numerous children on the flight as well.

Rescue effort underway for twin otter crew

A rescue effort is underway to look for the crew of a twin-otter aircraft that vanished in the Antartic Mountains. The plane has been assumed to have gone down at some 13,000-feet above sea level on Wednesday night. The flight was on the way from South Antartica to the coast of Antartica by an Italian base camp.

Jet Man flying in formation with two aircraft on the second day of the New Zealand International Air Show.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=540742099283775&set=a.141742599183729.22810.133301946694461&type=1&theater

Remember that USAF C-17 Transport aircraft landed at a small general aviation airport last July (2012) an created all of that buzz, literally? Well the Air Force released their report to the investigation as to why. Apparently it was simply down to 'human error'. You would kind-of figure that out anyway.

The big C-17 created a stir when it landed at the Peter O Knight airport for smaller general aviation rather than at the McDill Air Force Base (McDill AFB). It was a wonder how such a large plane could land on such a small runway and better yet take off from it but that's what the C-17 has been designed to do so if anything the manufacturers must have been smiling.

The C-17 pilots proabably thought they had the right airport runway because both are designated 4/22 and to make matters worse, the two airports are on peninsulas. Simple Pilot Error!

This was the take off...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi58Ds3Krgw

and the landing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t0dBZTYR4g

New year's eve pilot shot in the head while flying, survives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry-FtN8ES0I&feature=player_embedded

Kam Air of Afghanistan refutes allegations of drug running

Afghanistan's largest private carrier is now strongly refuting media allegations that it has been involved in a drug-running operation. In a media report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), U.S military officials are said to have suggested that the carrier ships "bulk" quantities of opium to Tajikistan.

The European Court of Justice instructs Ryanair to compensate 'Ash Cloud' passenger

European Court of Justice says airlines have an unlimited duty of care towards passengers in situations like the Eyjafjallajokull volcano's eruption. In April 2010, Ryanair passenger Denise McDonagh was at Portugal's Faro Airport, waiting to fly back home to Ireland. Her wait ultimately lasted almost a week, during which time her accommodation, transport and food bill exceeded 1,000 Euros, all because of the Icelandic volcanic eruption.

Male pleads guilty after shooting crop-duster

A man pleads guilty after shooting a crop-duster flying low near to his 'hunting-ranch'. This was in a 2008 incident and 41-year old Stephen Paul Riley has been accused of shooting the aircraft. The investigation took a few years to gather enough evidence to charge Riley but now he has pleaded guilty to the accusations. The crop-duster was struck several times along the rudder cable, fuselage, V-strut and so on. Riley is expected to be sentenced in May where he could face $250,000 in fines as well as 20-years in prison.

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The U.S military lifts ban on Kam Air after furious reaction from the airline and Afghan transport authority. Even though the ban has been lifted, this event seems to have strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. Kam Air says they commend the lifting of the ban.

Furbies on airport security watch list in Asia

Asian security officials are now being warned to be more vigilant when it comes to the 'innocent'-looking Furbies Toys. The alarm has been raised after Thailand's Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai International Airport officials seemed to see something suspicious with one of the toys. While the toys are still being permited on flights they have to be screened much like laptops or cells and the batteries have to be removed. Furbies are now on the explosives watch-list.

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Lol...'remove before flight'

Another meteorite sighting, this time in Southern Florida, on the other side of the planet from where one crashed into a part of Russia last week.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/18/17001094-another-meteor-fireballs-light-up-florida-sky?lite

Four Piper Models instructed by FAA for emergency inspections

An Airworthiness directive by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) calls on four Piper models to be inspected for defective parts. The FAA directive affects the entire fleet of PA-28 Cherokees, PA-32 Cherokee Sixes, PA-34 Senecas and PA-44 Seminoles older than 15 years under U.S registration. The repairs are expected to cost owners $425.00 and labour costs are roughly $1.000 more.

So a toddler, well three year old child had her wheel chair aggressively searched by airport officials for... a bomb! The child was on her way to Disney World when airport officials at the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in Missouri were almost convinced that the child's wheel chair was suspicious. The parents were so outraged at the frisking that they recorded the event...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3oPloe08a3Q

FBI investigators are now working hard to find out what, why and how in relation to a drone aircraft that was flying near the flightpath of an Alitalia Boeing 777 aircraft that was on final approach to JFK in New York. The FBI's New York field office says the pilot apparently observed a small, unmanned aircraft while about 3 nautical miles from runway 31R. Reports suggest that the drone came within 200-feet of the inbound 777.

People in the know are saying that questions are lingering as the long-range version of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 prepares to enter service in 2014. Apparently the first prototype of the SSJ 100LR made its first flight on February 12, 2013. The Longer range variant has a range of 4,578 KM or 2,845 miles, compared to 3,048 KM for the standard SSJ. The longer-range version can carry more fuel and is powered by NPO Saturn-Snecma SaM146-1S18 engines. They give an additional 5-percent thrust than the standard SaM146s. I think many people do not trust some Russian technology.

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Air China Boeing 737-800 suffers nose damage at Tianjin Binhai International

A Boeing 737-800 aircraft belonging to Air China was involved in an incident a few days ago at the Tianjin Binhai International Airport. It seems that excessively strong winds managed to push this aircraft into a jet-bridge at the airport. As a result the 737-800 suffered damage to its nose.

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