09 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *Pilot error not to blame for Madrid air crash, say investigators *Nepal Govt forms panel to probe plane crash *Qantas jet plunge blamed on computer *Data shows Qantas jet in two sudden plunges *GoAir aircraft develops technical snag but lands safely *Fire breaks out in hangar at East Texas airport *************************************** Pilot error not to blame for Madrid air crash, say investigators The preliminary report by investigators into the Madrid air crash appears to absolve the pilots of any blame for the accident which killed 154 people. The crash on August 20 is blamed on a fault which prevented the wing flaps from opening on the Spanair MD-82. Initial findings by the Civil Aviation authority show the pilots followed recommended protocol in the moments leading up to the crash of flight JK5022, which was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Evidence from the black box data recorder indicated that the pilots made the appropriate checks on take-off but that an alert system in the cockpit failed to warn them that the wing flaps had not deployed correctly. Two other alarms, warning of nearby ground and imminent stall, did work as the pilots struggled to gain control when the plane left the runway at Barajas airport. The twin engine jet rose about 40 feet before it veered to the right and slammed into the ground tail first. The back of the aircraft broke apart and the fuselage bounced three times before crashing into a shallow ravine and bursting into flames. Only 18 people survived Spain's worst air disaster for 25 years. The report is expected to be made public later this week but investigators warned that it could be another year before the exact causes for the failures are known. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/3165478/Pilot-error-n ot-to-blame-for-Madrid-air-crash-say-investigators.html ************** Nepal Govt forms panel to probe plane crash Kathmandu (PTI): The Nepal Government on Thursday constituted a five-member probe commission to investigate into the Yeti Airlines plane crash at Lukla in Northeastern Nepal. The probe commission headed by Co-attorney General Pushpa Raj Koirala will submit its report within two months period, officials said. As per the preliminary investigations of the commission, the plane crash was caused by bad weather. Yesterday, 18 people, mostly foreign trekkers to the world's highest peak Mount Everest, including 12 Germans and two Australians, were killed when the small Nepalese private airliner crashed at Lukla. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200810091982.htm **************** Qantas jet plunge blamed on computer A COMPUTER glitch is believed to have contributed to a Qantas jet's wild ride off Western Australia which left 14 passengers seriously injured. Investigators believe the malfunction left the pilots without control of the A330-300 aircraft as it climbed and then plummeted, hurling passengers around. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating Tuesday's incident on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth. Initial investigations show that the jet, carrying 303 passengers and 10 crew, was flying at 37,000 feet, 204 kilometres off Carnarvon in Western Australia, when its pilots received an electronic message of an "irregularity" with the elevator control system, the function that sets the stability of an aircraft. The bureau's director of aviation safety investigation, Julian Walsh, said the plane climbed about 100 metres by itself before diving about the same distance. He said some of the passengers and cabin crew were thrown around the cabin, mainly in the rear of the aircraft. The crew sent a mayday call and managed to control the aircraft, before making an emergency landing on an RAAF airstrip at the WA town of Learmonth 40 minutes after the drama began. Fourteen people were taken by air ambulance to Perth with broken bones and cuts. Thirty others were taken to Exmouth Hospital with concussion, minor cuts and fractures. A further 30 were given first aid. The plane is grounded at Learmonth, where seven investigators from the safety bureau will analyse the flight data recorder, which they expect will shed more light on what happened. The bureau will provide a preliminary report within a month. Mr Walsh said there was no indication that the accident was due to a general fault with the five-year-old aircraft, which he said had a good safety record around the world. Maintenance of the aircraft would be assessed as part of the investigation, he said. Qantas said it would refund fares and give passengers travel vouchers equivalent to the value of a flight from Australia to London. Other compensation and medical costs would be assessed on an individual basis. The airline's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, said it was doing everything possible to help the passengers and crew. The incident continues a horror year for Qantas, during which it has been rebuked by the air safety watchdog for a series of maintenance problems. It follows an emergency landing by a Melbourne-bound flight in Manila in July after an oxygen tank exploded, blowing a hole in the plane's fuselage. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the head of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Captain Ian Woods, said the latest accident highlighted the need for passengers to wear seatbelts. Investors deserted Qantas in droves yesterday, wiping 7% of its share price, which finished 21 cents down at $2.90. But in some good news for Qantas flyers, the airline cut its fuel surcharge on international flights to reflect lower oil prices. From today, flights to Britain and Europe have fallen $20, North and South America by $15 and New Zealand by $5. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/09/1223145493800.html ************** Data shows Qantas jet in two sudden plunges RECORDED data from the Singapore-Perth Qantas flight that left more than 70 people injured on Tuesday indicates that the aircraft plunged more than 1000 feet in two separate nosedives. A preliminary review of the recorded flight data shows that the Airbus climbed about 200 feet from its cruising level of 37,000 feet, then pitched nose-down and descended about 650 feet in about 20 seconds. After the plane returned to the cruising level, it again pitched nose-down, descending about 400 feet in about 16 seconds, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The bureau's investigation will include the outside possibility that the controls of the heavily computerised Airbus 330-300 were affected by electro-magnetic emissions from a laptop computer or a mobile phone being used by a passenger. Aviation sources told The Age that, while that scenario was unlikely, electro-magnetic emissions from such devices were believed to have triggered unwanted changes of direction in aircraft over the years. The sources said the controls of a modern airliner should be so well protected that such interference would be impossible. "It's a possibility that will have to be eliminated." The bureau said yesterday it wanted to hear from passengers who had any information to contribute to their investigation. The bureau said data from the aircraft's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder had been sent to Qantas, the French Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses and the Airbus corporation as parties to the investigation. http://www.theage.com.au/national/data-shows-qantas-jet-in-two-sudden-plunge s-20081009-4xo4.html *************** GoAir aircraft develops technical snag but lands safely New Delhi, October 9: A Delhi-bound Airbus aircraft, with over a hundred passengers on board, developed a technical snag in its nose-wheel but landed safely at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Thursday Delhi amid full emergency conditions. All the 117 passengers and crew members of the GoAir flight from Mumbai were safe, an airline spokesperson said. More than half way into the flight, the pilots of the A-320 aircraft noticed the problem and informed the Air Traffic Control, airport sources said. They apprehended that the aircraft's nose-wheel was not functioning properly, which could have made the landing difficult. The ATC immediately alerted the emergency control room, which swung into action declaring full emergency at the airport and deploying fire brigades, ambulances and other essential services. The ATC also directed other planes coming into Delhi to land to hover over and make way for the GoAir aircraft. However, the A-320 landed safely around 1700 hours despite the problem with its nose-wheel and undercarriage, they said. In a statement, a GoAir spokesperson said the Mumbai-Delhi Flight 456 was being operated by a brand new A-320 which was "delivered in November 2007." "The reasons for the technical problem will be investigated in cooperation with the agencies involved and the manufacturers," the airline spokesperson said. A spokesman for the aircraft manufacturer, Airbus Industrie, said they would fully cooperate with the probe to be initiated by the DGCA and other agencies. "As always the airbus will give all necessary support to the airlines and the authorities," the spokesperson said. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/GoAir-aircraft-develops-technical-sn ag-but-lands-safely/371367/ ************** Fire breaks out in hangar at East Texas airport LONGVIEW, Texas - A 125-gallon gas tank on a Lear jet caught fire at East Texas Regional Airport, injuring one worker. The airport worker was flown to a Dallas hospital for burn treatment. Gregg county officials did not identify the employee. Airport officials tell KETK-TV that the worker was conducting a test Wednesday afternoon when a flash fire broke out inside a hangar. The blaze involved a Lear 45 jet at Aerosmith Aviation and happened around 1 p.m. No word yet why the tank caught fire. The Gregg County Fire Marshal and investigators are on the scene. ***************