03 octobre 2009
Shanwick shut down
Une fois encore, c'est un problème informatique qui a été la cause de la fermeture du centre de Shanwick gérant une partie de l'Atlantique nord ce matin. Vers 10h heure de Paris, un taux 0 a ainsi été appliqué peu de temps avant que le flot habituel de transat ne décolle de toutes les plateformes européennes. Les vols déjà en l'air ont du se dérouter. Le taux a été ramené à 25 vers 12h et un retour à la normale prévu pour 15h.
Compte tenu du fait que Shanwick gère une grande partie du trafic transatlantique, il est heureux que cette panne ne soit pas intervenue plus tard dans la matinée ... ou plutôt dans la nuit !!
14 avril 2009
Assistance en vol ... retour d'expérience
Nos collègues du NATCA relatent un incident au dénouement heureux ...
In what can only be called an Easter miracle several air traffic
controllers in Southern Florida were able to guide a plane to a
successful landing after its pilot fell unconscious and a passenger had
to fly the aircraft – all during a heavy traffic push due to the
holiday and good weather.
Said NATCA President Patrick Forrey: “If you were to ask any one of the controllers who worked this event about what happened over the skies of South Florida they would tell you that it was just a typical day at the office and that it was merely their job however, the actions they all took to save the passengers aboard the flight were beyond heroic. They all went above and beyond the call of duty and it is times like these that I hope the flying public can see the invaluable lifeline that controllers provide every day – and particularly in emergency situations. These men and women are true heroes and I’m proud to be in the same profession as them”.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sunday a Super King Air two-engine turboprop aircraft, N559DW, carrying four passengers flying from Marco Island, Fla. to Jackson, Miss. entered into the jurisdiction of air traffic control at Miami Center – the facility responsible for high-altitude air traffic in both Southern Florida and the Caribbean. A controller at the center tried twice to acknowledge the aircraft’s presence and issue climb instructions, waiting for a read-back.
The transmission that then came from N559DW was a passenger stating that the pilot was unconscious and that they needed help immediately. From that point forward every controller working in that jurisdiction area began to lighten the load of the two controllers who began to work the incident – one of whom was called in because of her extensive pilot experience.
The passenger who radioed in was a private pilot, but was only certified in single-engine aircraft and had never flown a King Air. He informed air traffic control that the autopilot was on and that it was continuing to climb the aircraft from 10,000 feet. He then informed air traffic control that he needed to know how to take the plane off autopilot and how to land, then informing them that it appeared that the pilot had passed away.
A third controller at Miami Center stepped in to coordinate the rerouting of all aircraft in that area and transmitted emergency information to those at Ft. Myers International Airport. The controller with pilot-experience talked to the passenger to help him fly the plane and another controller worked traffic in the same area – all three working on the same radio frequency.
Quickly developing a system that enabled them to effectively share the frequency they would tap one’s shoulder to transfer and relinquish control on the radio channel. One would advise the passenger and then another would issue control instructions to other aircraft.
Due to the hard work of the controllers and the expertise that the one had in flying aircraft the passenger was able to get the plane off autopilot and steer the aircraft toward Ft. Meyers International Airport, transferring control to the controllers who worked that airspace.
The controllers at Ft. Meyers then took over the flight. One called a friend who was certified in the King Air for advice. When the friend had gotten out his flight checklists, manuals and cockpit layout sheets he was able to issue instructions through the controller to another controller who then relayed that information to the passenger flying the plane.
Because of this quick thinking the passenger-turned-pilot was able to safely land the aircraft on the first try.
Et comme toujours aux US, un enregistrement audio ...
12 novembre 2008
Incident Ryanair à LIRA
Alors que toute la presse avait annoncé une sortie de piste, il semblerait que le B738 de Ryanair se soit en fait immobilisé sur la piste, le train principal gauche s'étant effacé. Les passagers ont été évacués par toboggan.
Les premières constatations laissent penser à des impacts avec des oiseaux.
Sans remettre en cause cette hypothèse, les forums bruissent d'une rumeur selon laquelle les équipages de la compagnie auraient une fâcheuse tendance à l'appontage plutôt qu'au kiss landing.
L'aéroport a quant a lui été fermé pendant 48h.
Lien Google Earth : LIRA
19 octobre 2008
Fais voir un peu ce qu'il a dans le ventre ...
Federal aviation officials are investigating whether FAA supervisor violated federal rules by rerouting four airliners to test
the skills of a controller-trainee.
The aircrafts were rerouted inland on orders from a supervisor at an ACC in Florida who wanted to test the skills of a trainee.
"In my 20 years as an air traffic controller we had never done anything like what they just did. To do this with live traffic, airliners that are full of passengers, well, it's reckless. It's beyond reckless" said a NATCA representative.
The planes were directed at least 60-70 miles out of their way into an area of airspace known as the "Alma sector," where there were storms Saturday. The pilots would have had to "zigzag" to avoid the storms, adding more extra miles to their trip.
Besides rerouting the flights, the supervisor also ordered a veteran controller to leave the four flights "stacked" at varying altitudes above 30,000 feet rather than bringing them all down to 30,000 feet and stringing them out in a line, as would be the normal practice before reaching the Alma sector. The supervisor told controllers he wanted to leave the planes stacked so the trainee could practice unstacking them.
Moreover, the supervisor also ordered a veteran controller to tell one of the four pilots to report an incorrect altitude to see whether the trainee would catch the mistake.
03 octobre 2008
Quand le sous-effectif nuit à la Sécurité
An overloaded Washington Center air traffic controller struggling to handle a dozen planes in challenging conditions twice asked FAA management officials at the facility for help but was denied. After 10 minutes of fighting through the intense traffic rush by himself, the controller made a serious error and two regional jets got much closer than FAA rules allow.
It is the latest episode of understaffing affecting safety at a major radar facility.
The error was classified as Category B by the FAA, the second-most serious classification.
The controller was working alone at the radar position without the assistance of a “D-side” controller, which is a position responsible for handling coordination issues involving flights between different airspace sectors and also different facilities.
The controller was holding traffic destined to enter New York Center’s airspace, which borders Washington Center due to delays in the New York area. The controller was also issuing re-routing instructions to aircraft. At that point, the controller first asked for help from an FAA manager that is qualified on this particular sector and could have worked as a “D-side.” But the manager refused. Five minutes later, the controller asked a different manager for help but still did not get the desired “D-side.”
After 10 more minutes of trying to fight through the difficult conditions, the error occurred.
30 septembre 2008
Airprox au plus haut niveau de l'Etat
L'information va forcément se retrouver partout sur internet ... avec son cortège d'absurdité ... si seulement cela pouvait avoir un impact sur les violations de la classe A en RP !
Mais ce qui m'amuse c'est la photo associée à l'article ... ce n'est pas un F900 de l'ETEC qui est proposé ... regardez bien l'indicatif vous trouverez le propriétaire facilement ;-)
06 septembre 2008
Vachage du B777 à EGLL ... de la glace dans le fuel
Le bureau d'enquête britannique (AAIB) vient de rendre public un premier rapport sur les causes de l'incident survenu à EGLL en janvier 2008 ... voir le post
"The investigation has shown that the fuel flow to both engines was restricted; most probably due to ice within the fuel feed system. The ice is likely to have formed from water that occurred naturally in the fuel whilst the aircraft operated for a long period, with low fuel flows, in an unusually cold environment; although, G-YMMM was operated within the certified operational envelope at all times."
Lire le rapport intégral : AAIB Interim Report
04 mars 2008
W00T !!!
Cela se passe de commentaires : Un A320 de DLH à EDDH ... le 2 mars vers 14h en provenance de EDDM ... wind $$$/50kts, Clear to land !
20 janvier 2008
La finale 27L à EGLL ...
Pour mieux apprécier l'incident du B777 à EGLL, un survol de la finale 27L montre qu'on s'en tire plutôt pas mal !
19 janvier 2008
Premiers éléments sur l'incident à EGLL
Le rapport initial de l'enquête de l'AAIB (le BEA de l'autre coté de la Manche) est sur leur site : http://www.aaib.gov.uk
| Aircraft Type and Registration: | Boeing 777-236, G-YMMM |
| No & Type of Engines: | 2 Rolls-Royce RB211 Trent 895-17 turbofan engines |
| Year of Manufacture: | 2001 |
| Date & Time: | 17 January 2008 at 1243 hrs |
| Location: | Undershoot RWY 27L, London Heathrow Airport |
| Type of Flight: | Commercial Air Transport (passenger) |
| Persons on Board: | Crew - 16 Passengers - 136 |
| Injuries: | Crew - 4 (minor) Passengers - 1 (serious) Passengers - 8 (minor) |
| Nature of Damage: | Substantial |
| Information Source: | AAIB Field Investigation |
Following an uneventful flight from Beijing, China, the aircraft was established on an ILS approach to Runway 27L at London Heathrow. Initially the approach progressed normally, with the Autopilot and Autothrottle engaged, until the aircraft was at a height of approximately 600 ft and 2 miles from touch down. The aircraft then descended rapidly and struck the ground, some 1,000 ft short of the paved runway surface, just inside the airfield boundary fence. The aircraft stopped on the very beginning of the paved surface of Runway 27L. During the short ground roll the right main landing gear separated from the wing and the left main landing gear was pushed up through the wing root. A significant amount of fuel leaked from the aircraft but there was no fire. An emergency evacuation via the slides was supervised by the cabin crew and all occupants left the aircraft, some receiving minor injuries.
The AAIB was notified of the accident within a few minutes and a team of Inspectors including engineers, pilots and a flight recorder specialist deployed to Heathrow. In accordance with the established international arrangements the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the USA, representing the State of Design and Manufacture of the aircraft, was informed of the event. The NTSB appointed an Accredited Representative to lead a team from the USA made up of investigators from the NTSB, the FAA and Boeing. A Boeing investigator already in the UK joined the investigation on the evening of the event, the remainder of the team arrived in the UK on Friday 18th January. Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer is also supporting the investigation, an investigator having joined the AAIB team.
Activity at the accident scene was coordinated with the Airport Fire and Rescue Service, the Police, the British Airports Authority and British Airways to ensure the recovery of all relevant evidence, to facilitate the removal of the aircraft and the reinstatement of airport operations.
The flight crew were interviewed on the evening of the event by an AAIB Operations Inspector and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Quick Access Recorder (QAR) were removed for replay. The CVR and FDR have been successfully downloaded at the AAIB laboratories at Farnborough and both records cover the critical final stages of the flight. The QAR was downloaded with the assistance of British Airways and the equipment manufacturer. All of the downloaded information is now the subject of detailed analysis.
Examination of the aircraft systems and engines is ongoing.
Initial indications from the interviews and Flight Recorder analyses show the flight and approach to have progressed normally until the aircraft was established on late finals for Runway 27L. At approximately 600 ft and 2 miles from touch down, the Autothrottle demanded an increase in thrust from the two engines but the engines did not respond. Following further demands for increased thrust from the Autothrottle, and subsequently the flight crew moving the throttle levers, the engines similarly failed to respond. The aircraft speed reduced and the aircraft descended onto the grass short of the paved runway surface.
The investigation is now focussed on more detailed analysis of the Flight Recorder information, collecting further recorded information from various system modules and examining the range of aircraft systems that could influence engine operation.
