26 AUG 2008 _______________________________________ *Mid-flight scare as Ryanair jet makes emergency landing *Air Force confirms crash of C130 plane off Davao Gulf *EASA to participate in Madrid plane crash investigation *African aviation safety in spotlight *Aeroflot sets out Tu-154 withdrawal plans **************************************** Mid-flight scare as Ryanair jet makes emergency landing Arctic explorer Pen Hadow and his family were among scores of British holidaymakers who thought they were “going to die” when the Ryanair jet in which they were travelling was forced to make an emergency landing in France late last night. Sixteen people were hospitalised and treated with ear problems after the plane, en route from England to Spain, was forced to land at Limoges International Airport in western France as a "safety precaution", following the loss of cabin pressure. Mr Hadow, who became the first man to walk solo and unsupported from the northern coast of Canada to the North Pole in 2003, was on board the flight, from Bristol to Barcelona-Girona, along with his wife, Mary, and their son and daughter. He said there was a loud sound as the cabin pressure dropped and there was a “sudden drop in temperature and a rush of cold air” as the plane plummeted. “You think to yourself: God, is there a hole in the aircraft? It actually felt like somebody had opened a door in the back of the aircraft,” he said. Mr Hadow, whose son was one of those taken to hospital, said a number of oxygen masks inside the plane had failed and many of the passengers appeared to be in shock. "I would say some people thought we were going to die - that is how frightening it was. The woman sitting in the seats in front of us was whimpering," he said. He added some people had cried with relief when the plane landed safely, while others had clapped. A Ryanair spokeswoman said flight staff had followed the correct procedures. "Ryanair confirms that the FR9336 from Bristol airport to Barcelona Girona airport on the evening of August 25 experienced an inflight depressurisation incident which caused the oxygen masks on board to deploy," she said. "As a safety precaution the captain descended and diverted the aircraft to Limoges Airport at approximately 23.30 local French time. "All 168 passengers disembarked safely upon landing. A total of 16 passengers together with five accompanying family members have transferred, at their request, to a local hospital complaining of ear ache." The spokeswoman said a replacement aircraft would take passengers on to Spain this morning. It is the second passenger scare in a week for the Dublin-based budget airline. On Friday, a live gun cartridge was reportedly found by a passenger on board a plane which was about to take off from Dublin airport. The plane was evacuated immediately. It also comes amid troubled times for the aviation industry. Last week a Spanair jet, which was packed with families bound for holidays on the Canary Islands, crashed during take-off, killing 154 people on board and badly injuring 18. And Australia’s major airline Qantas, encountered problems when a Boeing 747 flying from London to Melbourne was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila last month after an oxygen cylinder exploded mid-air, ripping a massive hold in the jumbo jet’s fuselage. None of the 346 passengers or 19 crew were injured. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article4610209.ece **************** Air Force confirms crash of C130 plane off Davao Gulf The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has confirmed Tuesday that a C130 Hercules transport plane with two pilots and seven crewmembers onboard, has crashed after takeoff from Davao International Airport Monday evening. Air Force spokesman, Maj. Gerardo Zamudio, made the announcement after search and rescue operations for the missing military air transport on Tuesday recovered several debris believed to be parts of the transport plane, combat boots and body parts off Davao Gulf. Quoting an earlier report from Col. Isagani Silva, the commander of Tactical Operations Group 11, PAF chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog had said pieces of an aircraft, two combat boots, body parts and manuals were found in an area between Samal Island and Davao City. Search and rescue operations were launched after the plane, with two pilots and seven crewmembers onboard, went missing shortly after takeoff from Davao International Airport Monday evening. The two pilots were identified as Major Manny Sambrano and Captain Adrian de Dios. Personnel from PAF, Philippines Army, Coast Guard, Navy and the Philippine National Police were deployed to scour sea and land areas, according to Cadungog. Cadungog added that two Air Force Nomad planes, three UH-1H helicopters, one S-76 chopper and Beechcraft 200 chopper were also dispatched to search for the missing plane. The local government units also helped in the search operations. Earlier, Cadungog said the aircraft "most probably crashed that’s why we are concentrating our search within a 20-mile radius." Cadungog said it took off around 8:50 p.m. and it was expected to arrive at the Iloilo City airport around 10 p.m. The plane was bound for Iloilo City to pick up personnel of the Presidential Security Group and fly them to Metro Manila. "Unfortunately, their aircraft was not able to land… so we initiated search operations as early as that, around 10 last night. Their aircraft is still missing up to now and we’re conducting search and rescue operations concentrating on the 20-mile radius around Davao City International Airport," he said in an ANC interview. The last communication from the pilots was one minute after takeoff wherein they were given instructions to turn left for Iloilo City, Cadungog added. He said the plane was expected to communicate two minutes later but when there was none the airport personnel in Davao City immediately informed PAF that the C-130 was missing. "We’re still verifying really as to what really transpired because this is something very unusual… the aircraft and the pilots were all OK before take off and everything was normal until that time," he said. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=129280 *************** European Aviation Safety Agency to participate in Madrid plane crash investigation The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will participate in the investigation of the Spanair plane crash JK 5022 in Madrid (20/08/2008) as it has been invited to participate as experts. The European Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union which has been given specific regulatory and executive tasks in the field of aviation safety. The Agency constitutes a key part of the European Union’s strategy to establish and maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe. The Agency’s mission is twofold. It shall provide technical expertise to the European Commission by assisting in the drafting of rules for aviation safety in various areas and providing technical input to the conclusion of the relevant international agreements. In addition, the Agency has been given the power to carry out certain executive tasks related to aviation safety, such as the certification of aeronautical products and organisations involved in their design, production and maintenance. European Commission President Barroso expresses sympathy over Madrid plane crash European Commission expressed its sympathy to the families of the victims of airplane crash in Madrid. The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso said: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life caused by this tragic plane crash. On my own behalf and that of the European Commission I would like to express our condolences to all those affected and to the Spanish authorities. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims". Spanish Commissioner Joaquín Almunia and Antonio Tajani, Commission Vice President responsible for Transport, joined President Barroso in presenting their personal condolences. http://euroalert.net/en/news.aspx?idn=7727 **************** African aviation safety in spotlight AFRICA has a high aviation accident rate proportional to its air traffic, an aviation conference heard yesterday. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US regulatory body, said “political will” was needed to make African skies safer. Speaking at the 14th Aviation and Allied Business Leadership Conference in Johannesburg yesterday, top FAA official Robert Sturgell urged African leaders to share aviation safety information globally. Sturgell said the US had asked the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao), a United Nations agency, to make the US’s entire aviation audit report public. Icao requires member states to adhere to the universal safety oversight audit, which promotes aviation safety through the regular auditing of safety oversight systems. The US bars all countries that fail to comply with the Icao standards from extending their air services to that country. Sturgell said Africa had 4,5% of the world’s air traffic, but accounted for 25% of total accidents. Noting that the US was helping some sub-Saharan countries to comply with Icao standards, Sturgell said Africa’s air traffic was growing faster than the global average. “This growth is good news, but we need to make sure that our ability to meet safety standards grows as well,” he said. Transport Minister Jeff Radebe agreed that aviation safety statistics in Africa made “poor reading”. He said accidents related to poor ground handling at the airports were a “concern”. Some airports in Africa were saddled with outdated air traffic and navigation technologies, infrastructure deficiencies and a lack of skills. Radebe said SA was making progress in liberalising the country’s skies. However, his Kenyan counterpart, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, said there were still some instances where one had to fly to another continent in order to reach another African country. He said African countries were increasingly opening up their air space to airlines from sister countries, even though the pace of this liberalisation “may not be as fast as some people would desire”. “The easing of unnecessary restrictions involving travelling for our citizens across the continent, movement of high-value goods and perishable horticultural products could benefit our people and open up more markets for our products,” he said. African Civil Aviation Commission president Chris Kuto said what African countries needed was a “common civil aviation policy”. He said some policies were not friendly to aviation on the continent. Christian Folly-Kossi, secretary-general of the African Airlines Association, said the recent European Union-US open sky deal had increased pressure on Africa to create a “single air space” too. http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A830167 *************** Aeroflot sets out Tu-154 withdrawal plans Aeroflot has set the timeframe for withdrawing its uneconomical Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft from operations in light of rising fuel costs. The carrier plans to phase out eight Tu-154Ms before next year and the remaining 18 by 2010 as it replaces them with Airbus A320/321s. A spokesman for the company says it wants to sell all Tu-154s on the secondary market rather than hand over to its regional subsidiaries as was the case with some of Tu-134s that it has already retired. "This is one of our key proposed measures to ensure we can maintain a healthy financial performance despite higher fuel costs," he says, adding that the relevant programme will be submitted for approval by the board in the next week. Citing similar goals, S7 Airlines and Vladivostok Avia intend to phase out 27 and five Tu-154Ms respectively before the upcoming winter season. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************