Heavy snow causes business jet to pull a wheelie at Truckee airport

More than 16 inches of dense, wet snow that fell Tuesday night on the Truckee Tahoe Airport caused a business jet to pull some on-ground aerobatics on Wednesday morning. 

The snow, regionally dubbed “Sierra cement” for its thick, heavy and sticky texture, piled on the tail and rear-mounted engines of a Cessna Citation X aircraft parked at the airport. 

The weight caused the nose of the jet to lift off the ground, resting on its tail in a stationary wheelie. 

“That aircraft (has) really massive engines in the rear, so they tend to be a little tail heavy anyway,” said Mark Lamb, aviation and community services manager at the airport. 

Business jets like the citation are generally moved from the Truckee airport when big winter storms are forecast, but in this case the jet was down for maintenance and couldn’t take off, according to Lamb. 

A business jet like the Citation is generally supported by a tail stand while it’s on the ground, which would prevent the nose from lifting if weight (like Sierra cement snow) were to be added to the already heavy tail. 

Lamb could not say if the Citation at Truckee Tahoe had such a tail stand during the storm Tuesday night. 

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/

Saha B703 at Fath on Jan 14th 2019, landed at wrong airport

A Saha Airlines Boeing 707-300 freighter, registration EP-CPP performing a freight flight from Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) to Karaj (Iran) with 16 crew and a cargo of meat, was on approach to Karaj’s Payam Airport’s runway 30 (length 3660 meters/12,000 feet) when the crew descended towards and landed on Fath’s airport 31L (length 1000 meters/3300 feet), overran the runway, broke through an airport perimeter wall, crashed into houses past the end of the runway and burst into flames at about 08:30L (03:00Z). So far one survivor (the flight engineer) and 16 bodies have been recovered. A number of houses were damaged.

Emergency services reported 16 bodies (15 male, 1 female) have been recovered so far. One survivor was taken to a hospital.

Another aircraft had confused the same airports but gone around in time, see Incident: Taban MD88 at Karaj on Nov 16th 2018, went around from very low height at wrong airport.

Iran’s Air Force confirmed the aircraft belonged to Saha Airlines. The only survivor recovered so far was the flight engineer on board of the aircraft.

Metars Karaj:
OIIP 140400Z 16010KT 4000 BR FEW025 SCT035 OVC090 00/M01 Q1012 RERA=
OIIP 140300Z 12010KT 3000 SN RA FEW025 SCT035 OVC080 M00/M01 Q1012=
OIIP 131800Z 14008KT 6000 SCT035 BKN100 M01/M07 Q1014=

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Wizzair A320 descends below cleared level and causes near collision, November 10th 2018.

A Wizz Air Airbus A320-200, registration HA-LPM performing flight W6-3763 from Craiova (Romania) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL310 about 110nm east of Madrid when ATC cleared the aircraft to descend to FL300.

An Air Europa Express Embraer ERJ-195, registration EC-KRJ performing flight UX-1084 from Venice (Italy) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL290 110nm east of Madrid on the same airway as W6-3763 exactly below the A320.

The A320 descended below its cleared flight level 300 and reached FL292 before climbing again.

Spain’s CIAIAC reported the separation between the two aircraft reduced to 200 feet vertical and 0.2nm horizontal. When ATC noticed the A320 descended below its cleared level, ATC immediately instructed the aircraft to climb. The CIAIAC did not report any advisories by TCAS. An investigation was opened into the occurrence.

After being clear of conflict both aircraft continued to Madrid for safe landings without further incident.

http://avherald.com/

A VietJetAir Airbus A320-200, registration VN-A695 performing flight VJ-689 from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), was climbing out of Nha Trang’s Cam Ranh Airport’s runway 02 when the crew stopped the climb at FL130 due to a technical problem, entered a hold south of Nha Trang and decided to return to Nha Trang. The aircraft’s transponder stopped transmitting position data after the second holding pattern. The aircraft subsequently approached runway 02, however, landed on the already finished but not yet opened runway 02R instead of runway 02. There were no injuries and no damage.

Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority reported the aircraft departed Nha Trang at 11:14L (04:14Z) and was climbing out a few minutes after takeoff when the crew received a warning indication of a technical problem. The crew decided to return to Cam Ranh Airport for an emergency landing, however, mistakenly landed on a runway that was completed but not yet opened. The CAA assigned an investigation team and opened an investigation, soon after the CAA decided to suspend all staff by VietJetAir involved in the operation of this flight, to prohibit the airline to introduce new routes and to put VietJetAir under special monitoring.

A similar occurrence had happened earlier this year – Vietnam A321 at Nha Trang on Apr 29th 2018, landed on a runway under construction. 

Related NOTAM:
A3253/18 NOTAMN
Q) VVTS/QMRHW/IV/NBO/A/000/999/1200N10913E005
A) VVCR B) 1809281029 C) 1812311659 EST
E) REF AIP SUP A12/18 CONTINUOUS CONSTRUCTION OF RWY NR 2, TWYS AND
APRON AT CAM RANH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WEF 07 MAY 2018
– ITEM 2.1.1 PHASE 1: CONT UNTIL 1659 DATED DEC 31 2018

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Incident: Southwest B737 at Burbank on Dec 6th 2018, overran runway on landing

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N752SW performing flight WN-278 from Oakland,CA to Burbank,CA (USA) with 112 passengers and 5 crew, landed on Burbank’s runway 08 (length 5800 feet/1765 meters) at 09:02L (17:02Z) but overran the end of the runway and came to a stop in the EMAS (engineered material arrestor system) past the end of the runway. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained minor if any damage. The passenger disembarked via mobile stairs.

The airline reported the aircraft went into the EMAS at Burbank. All 112 passengers and 5 crew are unharmed and have disembarked via stairs.

https://flightaware.com/

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Incident: Van L410 at Dubrovnik on Nov 29th 2018, touched down before displaced threshold

A Van Air Europe Let L-410 operating on behalf of Trade Air, registration OK-LAZ performing flight C3-821 from Split to Dubrovnik (Croatia) with 7 passengers and 3 crew, landed on Dubrovnik’s runway 12 at about 12:45L (11:45Z) but touched down before the displaced threshold of the runway. The aircraft rolled out safely and became stuck amidst machinery and workers performing runway reconstruction work. There were no injuries, the aircraft did not sustain any damage.

About 10 minutes later a taxi path was cleared for the aircraft and the aircraft was able to taxi to the apron.

Croatia’s Civil Aviation Authority have opened an investigation.

Trade Air confirmed their flight C3-821 landed on the closed portion of Dubrovnik’s runway, Croatia’s CAA is investigating. Fire brigades and ambulances responded and deployed to the aircraft, however, did not need to intervene. A short time later the aircraft was able to taxi to the apron, where the passengers disembarked normally. The aircraft had been leased in from Van Air Europe.

Dubrovnik Airport is currently undergoing a major reconstruction project, the threshold of runway 12 was displaced by 1745 meters leaving 1425 meters of runway (TORA=TDA=ASDA=LDA=1425 meters) available.

http://avherald.com/

Engine Failure Caused Texas Jet Crash

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) – A fatal plane crash involving a flight instructor last year in Texas was caused by a total hydraulic failure of the jet’s engine, the U.S. Air Force said.

Investigative documents were released Wednesday about the November crash that killed Capt. Paul J. Barbour, The San Antonio Express-News reported .

The twin-jet, two-seat T-38 Talon jet was based out of Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas. It was flying a routine training mission when it crashed near Amistad Reservoir between two subdivisions, about 14 miles (23 kilometers) northwest of the base.

Capt. Joshua Hammervold, an instructor pilot, was able to eject. He was injured but survived.

The ejection system also should have propelled Barbour from the cockpit, said Marilyn Holliday, spokeswoman for the San Antonio-based Air Education and Training Command. But the 32-year-old flight instructor failed to arm his ejection seat during a pre-flight checklist and was trapped in the plane during the crash, the report said. Barbour was from Van Nuys, California.

https://www.usnews.com/

Qantas A380 nosedives after wake turbulence. A Qantas A380 operating from Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne was sent into a nosedive for 10 seconds over the Pacific Ocean, on June 10, 2018. The incident was attributed to a “wake turbulence” induced by another Qantas A380 that left Los Angeles minutes earlier.

The two A380s took off from Los Angeles two minutes apart, QF12 heading to Sydney and QF94 heading to Melbourne. However, according to Qantas, the separation standards were respected, as they were about 20 nautical miles from each other, and 1000 feet of altitude apart, when QF94 hit the vortex produced by QF12.

The nosedive that ensued lasted for about 10 seconds. No passengers or crew were injured during the incident.

Qantas Fleet Safety Captain Debbie Slade acknowledged the incident, however, said passengers were not at risk: “We understand that any sudden turbulence can be a jolt for passengers but aircraft are designed to handle it safely.”

Both planes arrived safely at their respective destinations, QF94 landing with a delay of 30 minutes.

Clément Charpentreau
Aerotime.aero

Image: Brian

American A319 near El Paso, Jun 3rd 2018, severe hail strike. An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N806AW performing flight AA-1897 from San Antonio,TX to Phoenix,AZ (USA) with 130 passengers and 5 crew, was enroute at FL340 about 115nm northeast of El Paso,TX (USA) when the aircraft encountered turbulence and a severe hail strike at around 01:08Z (Jun 4th) causing damage to both windscreens and the nose cone of the aircraft. The crew decided to divert to El Paso initiating a normal descent, entered a hold at 9000 feet to burn off fuel and landed safely in El Paso about 70 minutes after leaving FL340.

Passengers reported there was lightning outside the aircraft windows, there was sound of hail pelting the aircraft.

A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration N929AN reached Phoenix with a delay of 3 hours.

https://avherald.com/

Southwest Airlines flight 1380 from New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Dallas Love field (DAL) made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) as the airline’s Boeing 737-700 suffered damage mid-flight. At least one passenger was injured, according to early reports.

It appears that the accident occurred as debris from the broken engine shattered a window of the aircraft, causing depressurization and injuring a passenger.

Damage to the left engine of the aircraft, as well as its fuselage and no less than one window were confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration, NBC News reports.
AeroTime.aero

Joe Marcus
@joeasaprap