Flight Safety Information January 10, 2011 - No. 008 In This Issue Passenger plane crashes in Iran, killing 72 Iran Airlines B727 Accident Preliminary Information Plane Crashes During Approach at Birmingham International Airport Airlines ignore safety norms, fly bigger aircraft to small airports (India) Aeromedical Helicopter crash kills four on board Phd Student Survey Request: Passenger plane crashes in Iran, killing 72, official says Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Seventy-two people died and 33 were injured Sunday night when an IranAir passenger jet en route from Tehran to the northwest city of Orumiyeh crashed as it attempted to make an emergency landing in a snowy field, an official said. In all, 105 people -- 93 passengers and 12 crew members -- were aboard the Boeing 727, West Azerbaijan's coroner told the semi-official Fars News Agency. Severe weather at the site was making rescue operations difficult, the coroner, told the news agency. All members of the crew were killed, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. "Fortunately, reports say that the plane did not explode upon impact," and the crash may have happened as the plane was nearing its destination and close to the ground, the Mehr news agency quoted the head of Iran's Emergency Services, Reza Masoomi, as saying. At least 10 of those aboard were hospitalized with severe injuries, said an emergency services official, Mojtaba Khaledi, according to the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency. The incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. (11:15 a.m. ET), he said. Back to Top Iran Airlines B727 Accident Preliminary Information Status: Preliminary Date: 09 JAN 2011 Time: ca 19:45 Type: Boeing 727-286 Operator: Iran Air Registration: EP-IRP C/n / msn: 20945/1048 First flight: 1974-06-12 (36 years 7 months) Engines: 3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 Crew: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12 Passengers: Fatalities: 93 / Occupants: 93 Total: Fatalities: 72 / Occupants: 105 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 8 km (5 mls) from Urmia (Orumiyeh) Airport (OMH) (Iran) Phase: Unknown (UNK) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR) (THR/OIII), Iran Destination airport: Urmia (Orumiyeh) Airport (OMH) (OMH/OITR), Iran Flightnumber: 277 Narrative: An Iran Air Boeing 727 passenger jet was damaged beyond repair in an accident about 8 km from Urmia (Orumiyeh) Airport (OMH), Iran. There are conflicting reports about the exact number of people on board. ISNA quotes the Roads and Transportation Secretary stating there were 94 passengers and eleven crew members on board. Fars News Agency reports 93 passengers and twelve crew members. The airplane operated on flight IR277 from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR) to Urmia (Orumiyeh) Airport (OMH). It left Tehran at 18:15, after a delay of over two hours due to severe weather at the destination. Fars News Agency reported that 72 people were killed in the accident, including all twelve crew members. According to local aviation sources in Iran, the airplane involved in the accident was EP-IRP. This has not yet been confirmed by CAO officials. The Deputy Minister of Roads and Transportation indicated that the accident occurred during a forced landing outside the airport. Weather reported about the time of the accident (16:15 UTC / 19:45 local) was: OITR 091600Z 26004KT 0800 SN SCT015 SCT020 OVC060 00/00 Q1016= [16:00 UTC: Wind 260 degrees at 4 knots; Visibility 800 m in snow; scattered clouds 1,500 ft; scattered clouds 2,000 ft.; overcast 6,000 ft.; Temperature 0°C; Dew point 0°C; 1016 hPa] www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Plane Crashes During Approach at Birmingham International Airport; Pilot Killed Birmingham, AL-A pilot was killed when the small plane he was operating crashed into a residential neighborhood near Birmingham International Airport (BHM) Wednesday evening, Jan. 5, 2010. The fiery Alabama aviation accident involved a Beech BE-58 twin-engine aircraft, according to information provided by the Associated Press. Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Kathleen Bergen reported that an unidentified individual was piloting the Beech BE-58 plane when it went down during its final approach at Birmingham International Airport. The plane crashed into a power line and burst into flames on impact. Sgt. Johnny Williams with the Birmingham Police Department said the plane managed to avoid striking any homes and/or pedestrians. Williams noted that the aircraft sustained extensive damage in the fiery plane wreck, making it hard for rescue crews to recover the pilot's remains. Authorities have not released the name of the victim killed in the Birmingham plane crash. According to federal records, the aircraft is registered to Sutter's Mill Gold & Jewelry and Pee Wee's Pawn. The FAA, along with officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), were expected to conduct a full investigation into the fatal aviation accident. http://www.justicenewsflash.com/ Back to Top Airlines ignore safety norms, fly bigger aircraft to small airports (India) Flying to several smaller airports in the country may be risky with many airlines found to be operating aircraft bigger than those permitted to land at these hubs. Airports at Agartala, Port Blair, Dehradun, Ranchi, Raipur, Vizag and Varanasi have fire-fighting infrastructure adequate to handle small 60-seater ATR planes, but several A321s, B737-700s and B737-800s are being operated to some of these airports. "Most of these airports are safe to fly. But to handle a fire accident they don't have enough fire tenders and personnel. This would jeopardise passenger safety," said a pilot. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has categorised airports based on fire- fighting equipment, manpower and other infrastructure available to deal with a fire emergency involving an aircraft. Based on an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendation, it has also specified the kind of aircraft based on the length and width of the fuselage an airport can handle in case of accidents. Agartala, Varanasi, Vizag, Raipur, Ranchi and Port Blair are category six airports where airlines are not allowed to fly A320s, A319s, B 737-700s or those that are longer than 28 metres. These airports should handle only ATR-type planes. Their fire-fighting capability needs to be improved for DGCA to upgrade them to the next category. However, some airlines are already operating bigger aircraft to these destinations instead of requesting that the airport be upgraded. Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher have been operating A321s and B 737-800s to be flown only to a category seven airport to Port Blair to meet the demand. Similarly, Dehradun is a category four airport where even an ATR should not land only planes whose length is 18 metres or less can be flown here. Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has a fleet of B737-800s and B737-900s that should be operated to category seven airports. However, the airline has also been flying to airports like Agartala and Vizag. When SpiceJet started services from Madurai in September 2010, it was a category 6 airport. It was upgraded to category seven on October 18. Airlines are the violators because the "safety department of every airline is supposed to ascertain all aspects of an airport topography, wind condition, fire-fighting facilities, runway bearing, runway capacity and others before applying for permission to operate services. These parameters are reported to DGCA and should also be briefed to the pilots. DGCA gives approval based on the application and the report submitted by the airlines," said an airport official. However, an airline official said rules were drafted in such a way that the responsibility does not fall on the DGCA. "Officials merely go through the safety assessment report submitted by airlines to approve services. They check only the flight number but don't check if we are allowed to fly a particular type of aircraft to the airport. The onus of safety and compliance of rules is on us," said an official of a private airline. Airlines have for years been flying larger aircraft to smaller airports and the DGCA didn't know about it, say sources. Often, the rules remain only on paper. "The fire- fighting infrastructure and preparedness at an airport often do not match with that shown on paper. Chennai is a category nine airport with fire-fighting equipment and personnel for any eventuality. But, that's in theory only. There is a shortage of personnel. Recently, when a Cambata Aviation vehicle caught fire, the crash tender brought to the spot did not have water in it. The vehicle was gutted by the time the fire tender returned with water," said a source. In 1999, when an Air France freighter plane crashlanded here it got stuck on the runway and caught fire. But, fire services personnel, who were to rush there, were relaxing after a hard night's partying. By the time they reached the spot the plane was gutted and the pilot was injured after jumping out of the cockpit window. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ Back to Top Aeromedical Helicopter crash kills four on board RIYADH: A medical chopper crashed Friday morning in southern Riyadh killing all four crew members, according to an official from the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The medical helicopter that belonged to the Saudi armed forces was en route to Hawtah Bani Tamim, 240 km from the capital to pick up a patient. The dead were identified as pilot Capt. Khaled Al-Dakhil and First Lt. Mandeel Al- Subaihi, both Saudis, Egyptian doctor Amjad Al-Iraqi and Filipino nurse Rosella, whose full name was not disclosed. The cause of the accident is unknown. Medical choppers are used in the Kingdom to ferry patients from one hospital to another. Patients are brought to the urban hospitals by these aircraft when the medical officers feel that the facilities and medical apparatus are not adequate to treat patients in rural hospitals. http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article230958.ece ***** Date: 07-JAN-2011 Time: Type: Eurocopter AS532M Cougar ? Operator: Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 22 miles (35 km) S of Riyadh - Saudi Arabia Phase: En route Nature: Ambulance Departure airport: Destination airport: Hawtah Bani Tamim Narrative: Saudi Arabia's Defense and Aviation Ministry says an emergency medical helicopter has crashed south of Riyadh killing all four people on board. The ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency said the helicopter went down Friday some 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Riyadh. The medical helicopter that belonged to the Saudi armed forces was en route to Hawtah Bani Tamim, 240 km from the capital to pick up a patient. The dead were identified as pilot Capt. Khaled Al-Dakhil and First Lt. Mandeel Al- Subaihi, both Saudis, Egyptian doctor Amjad Al-Iraqi and Filipino nurse Rosella, whose full name was not disclosed. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Phd Student Survey Request: As part of a course I am taking toward the ERAU PhD in Aviation, we are tasked with recruiting participants to take a very short survey that deals with perceptions of what makes someone a "great pilot." The survey will be used for data analysis within this course (Applied Multivariate Data Analysis). At the end of the survey, participants are asked to select which student asked them to take the survey. My name is listed as B. Goodheart. The survey may be accessed online at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/greatpilotsurvey Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC