Flight Safety Information August 14, 2013 - No. 167 In This Issue UPS Jet Crashes in Birmingham, Ala Two Unacounted For After Large Cargo Aircraft Crashed At Birmingham, Alabama Airport NTSB is launching a full Go-Team to UPS Accident Incident: Air France A320 at Bordeaux on Aug 2nd 2013, aircraft in hailstorm on approach All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines check their Boeing 787 fleets for wiring problem New Zealand warns of flying in Chinese-made MA60 aircraft Think ARGUS PROS UPS Jet Crashes in Birmingham, Ala. A300 Plane Crashed on Approach UPS cargo plane crashes, explodes at Alabama airport BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP)-A large UPS cargo plane crashed early Wednesday near an airport in Birmingham, Ala. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told the Associated Press the A300 plane crashed on approach to the airport before dawn. The plane was en route from Louisville, Ky., to Birmingham as UPS Flight 1354, Ms. Bergen said. Toni Bast, a spokeswoman for Birmingham's airport authority, said the cargo plane crashed near Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Bast said the crash site is outside the airport's perimeter fence and hasn't affected airport operations. Neither Ms. Bergen nor Ms. Bast had any information on injuries. A photo from the news site al.com showed a plume of smoke rising from the site in an open field. Several firetrucks and other emergency vehicles were lined up on a narrow road nearby. Representatives for Atlanta-based UPS couldn't immediately be reached Wednesday morning. *************** Status: Preliminary Date: 14 AUG 2013 Time: ca 04:50 Type: Airbus A300F4-622R Operator: United Parcel Service - UPS Registration: N155UP C/n / msn: 841 First flight: 2003-11-03 (9 years 10 months) Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4158 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM) (United States of America) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Louisville International Airport, KY (SDF/KSDF), United States of America Destination airport: Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM/KBHM), United States of America Flightnumber: 1354 Narrative: UPS Flight 1354, an Airbus A300F4-622R, N155UP, crashed and burst into flames at Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM). There were two pilots on board. Flight 1354 departed Louisville International Airport, KY (SDF) about 05:04 hours EDT on a regular cargo service to Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM). Radar data from Flightaware show the airplane on an apparent approach to runway 18 with radar data terminating at 04:49 hours CDT. Weather reported at the time of the accident (04:50 local time, 09:50 UTC): KBHM 140953Z 34004KT 10SM FEW011 BKN035 OVC075 23/22 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP141 T02330222 www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Two Unacounted For After Large Cargo Aircraft Crashed At Birmingham, Alabama Airport UPS Flight 1354, an A300 cargo plane en route from Louisville, Kentucky, to Birmingham, Alabama, has crashed while approaching the airport, the Federal Aviation Authority confirms. My Fox Tampa reports that two people, the pilot and co-pilot, were aboard the plane and have not been accounted for. KLAS-TV anchor Cale Ramker reports that radar shows the plane's rapid descent from 9,500 feet to 2,600 feet in two minutes. WVTM reports that the plane is burning and there have now been at least three explosions, adding that the debris from the crash stretches about a half-mile. It has not disrupted other airport operations. The crash happened at about 5 a.m. outside the fence of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-large-cargo-aircraft-has-crashed-at-an- alabama-airport-2013-8#ixzz2bwdhpLrF Back to Top NTSB is launching a full Go-Team to UPS Accident NTSB is launching a full Go-Team to investigate this morning's crash of a UPS A306 in Birmingham, AL. www.ntsb.gov Back to Top Incident: Air France A320 at Bordeaux on Aug 2nd 2013, aircraft in hailstorm on approach pitches up to 25 degrees nose up, alpha floor protection An Air France Airbus A320-200, registration F-HBNI performing flight AF-6270 from Paris Orly to Bordeaux (France), was on approach to Bordeaux's runway 29 at 3000 feet when the aircraft encountered hail causing the first officer's windshield to crack. The aircraft continued the approach, while descending through 2800 feet on autopilot the aircraft pitched up to 25 degrees nose up and alpha floor protection and TOGA LOCK activated at 20:45L (18:45Z), the aircraft climbed to about 4400 feet. The crew managed to regain control of the aircraft and landed the aircraft safely on runway 29 about 7 minutes later. The French BEA reported the aircraft entered a hailstorm on approach to Bordeaux while at 3000 feet causing the first officer's windshield to crack. Subsequently, while descending through 2800 feet, the aircraft, still on autopilot, pitched up to 25 degrees nose up, Alpha Floor and TOGA LOCK activated. The crew managed to continue for a safe landing at Bordeaux. The BEA have opened an investigation into the occurrence rated a serious incident. Metars: LFBD 022000Z AUTO 32009G19KT 260V010 9999 VCTS FEW010/// BKN056/// BKN078/// //////CB 21/18 Q1016= LFBD 021930Z AUTO 30006KT 270V350 9999 FEW047/// OVC054/// //////CB 21/17 Q1015= LFBD 021900Z AUTO 32011KT 9999 -RA VCTS FEW029/// BKN050/// BKN096/// //////CB 22/18 Q1014= LFBD 021830Z AUTO 29012KT 2400 +TSRA BR BKN046/// BKN066/// BKN096/// //////CB 23/18 Q1014= LFBD 021800Z AUTO 32011KT 300V010 9999 FEW043/// SCT170/// //////CB 27/17 Q1013= LFBD 021730Z AUTO 35010KT 320V020 9999 NSC 28/18 Q1013= LFBD 021700Z AUTO 36010KT 9999 NSC 28/18 Q1013= LFBD 021630Z AUTO 36012KT 9999 NSC 29/18 Q1013= LFBD 021600Z AUTO 35011KT 320V020 9999 NSC 30/18 Q1012= http://avherald.com/h?article=466d11a4 Back to Top All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines check their Boeing 787 fleets for wiring problem TOKYO (AP) - All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines are checking their Boeing 787 fleets for wiring problems unrelated to battery defects that plagued the aircraft earlier this year. ANA said Wednesday the departure of a 787 plane was delayed over problem wiring for a system to put out engine fires. ANA, which has 20 Boeing 787 jets, said the flight from Tokyo to Frankfurt departed after the part was exchanged. Spokeswoman Masumi Oguchi says ANA found two similar problems while inspecting its other 787 Dreamliners. Japan Airlines says a 787 headed to Helsinki returned for inspections, and its nine other 787s are being checked. Dreamliner jets were grounded worldwide in January for lithium-ion batteries that overheated or caught fire. Flights resumed four months later after a revamped battery system was installed. Back to Top New Zealand warns of flying in Chinese-made MA60 aircraft WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- New Zealand has warned its nationals in the Pacific island country of Tonga against flying in a Chinese-made aircraft recently acquired by Real Tonga airline. New Zealand also suspended millions of dollars in tourism aid until the safety issues surrounding the aircraft are addressed. The New Zealand Herald reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade posted a travel advisory saying the aircraft type "has been involved in a significant number of accidents in the past few years" around the world. The turboprop MA60, built by Chinese-government-owned Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corp. in Xi'an, isn't certified to fly in New Zealand, the ministry's travel warning said. "Travelers utilizing the MA60 do so at their own risk," the ministry advisory said. Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully also said aviation experts have "serious concerns" about the MA60 aircraft. He said the MA60 isn't certified by comparable jurisdictions such as the European Aviation Safety Agency, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia. "In the absence of an internationally respected certification process for Tongan conditions, it is the government's obligation to draw the attention of the traveling public to these issues and our Tongan travel advisory has been updated accordingly. "The New Zealand government has put support for the Tongan tourism industry on hold, and we will not be spending taxpayer money promoting tourism in Tonga until we are satisfied with the safety and reliability of this new air service,'' McCully said. Reliable air transport is important for Tonga's economy, in particular for bringing in tourism dollars, because of the Polynesian kingdom's geographic spread. The archipelago country, with a population of 103,000, is 500 miles long. But its land surface of 290 square miles is scattered over 176 islands -- of which 52 are inhabited -- in 270,000 square miles of ocean. TVNZ reported China "gifted" Tonga the one MA60 for its Real Tonga airline to use for domestic flights. Since 2009, there have been 11 serious incidents involving MA60 aircraft, three of them in the past two months. Most of the crashes were caused by technical or system failure, TVNZ reported. "We will not be spending taxpayer money promoting tourism in Tonga until we are satisfied with the safety and reliability of this new air service," McCully said. He also said New Zealand is in discussions with the Tongan government to resolve the issue. The high-wing aircraft first flew in February 2000 and in June that year was certified safe by China's Civil Aviation Administration. But safety concerns have dogged the aircraft, although orders have kept coming in, mostly from Chinese and Asian airlines. In June, Channel NewsAsia reported that Myanmar had grounded its MA60 aircraft for safety checks following two landing incidents within a month. An aircraft with 60 passengers skidded off a runway at an airport in southern Myanmar and an MA60 overshot a runway at an airport in Myanmar's eastern Shan state, injuring two people. "I think the accidents happened because of system failure," Tin Naing Tun, director general of Myanmar's Civil Aviation Department, said. "We will check all the systems. That's why we stopped the operation of the planes." A report by the Indonesia's Jakarta Post in May 2011 said critics were questioning the quality of a Merpati Nusantara Airlines MA60 after it crashed in West Papua province, killing all 27 people on board. A month after the fatal Indonesian crash, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Herry Gumay, director general for air transport at Indonesia's Transport Ministry, said an investigation found the MA60 aircraft were "good and airworthy." http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/08/12/New-Zealand-warns-of-flying-in- Chinese-made-MA60-aircraft/UPI-52251376301840/#ixzz2bwh9i1oI Curt Lewis