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Disabled aircraft prompts ground stop at Logan Airport
Massport said an aircraft returned to the Boston airport after a report of a loud noise.
By Michael Rosenfield and Mike Pescaro
A ground stop was ordered Tuesday evening after a plane bound for Zurich, Switzerland, had to abort takeoff out of Boston's Logan Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Swiss International Air Lines flight was disabled on Runway 22R.
"The crew of SWISS Flight 55 stopped their takeoff at Boston Logan International Airport due to engine issues around 6:25 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The FAA briefly paused some arrivals to the airport before the plane taxied off the runway," the agency said in a statement. "The FAA will investigate."
Video showed flames coming out of the plane.
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which manages Logan Airport, said the flight returned there because of a sound.
"The aircraft returned to Logan for a report of a loud noise," a Massport spokesperson told NBC10 Boston in a statement. "Nothing was found upon investigation."
"We're about halfway down the runway when all of a sudden, there's kind of a boom noise and a big jolt, so the plane jolts forward," said passenger Molly Furrer. "I could feel the plane braking and then started to skid down the runway until it came to a complete stop."
She says everyone seemed startled, but there was no screaming and passengers remained calm.
Soon, the plane was surrounded by first responders.
"Once the sirens and the ambulances started to come, and we weren't told what was going on, that was kind of when the panic started to build a little bit more," she said. "Because we're like, 'I don't know, is the plane on fire in the back?' We had no idea."
Furrer says it took several minutes for the pilots to explain what had happened.
"The captain came on and told us that there was an engine warning for the second engine and that they had to turn off the engine quickly during takeoff," she said.
She's thankful nobody was injured and she knows it could have been a lot worse.
"The first feeling, fortunately, that I had was general relief that this was caught before we even got into the air, so we didn't have to make an emergency landing," said Furrer.
The passengers on board that flight eventually headed out about five hours late.
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/aircraft-is-disabled-on-runway-at-logan-airport-faa-says/3810194/?fbclid=IwY2xjawM3FgpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqZF9FHHS4pdzOG2ghLbAFrL0cYBKIiVX953PEuhzbfnj8Ieb9bwfcTSQ1OD_aem_cwTJCQFU8XqUvB4M2252CA
Plane crash in Moriarty leaves one dead, one injured
By Nakayla McClelland / Journal Staff Writer
A plane crash in Torrance County killed one person and left another injured, the Moriarty Fire Department (MFD) said Tuesday.
Around noon, MFD responded to a plane crash in the area of McNabb Road and N.M. 41, according to a news release from the department.
“Initial arriving units reported a single-engine prop plane down in a field with power lines and poles down around the plane,” the release said.
Two people were on the plane when it went down, according to the release. One was pronounced dead on scene and the other was transported to an Albuquerque hospital in an “unknown condition.”
Authorities said the cause of the crash appeared to be an engine failure. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
According to the Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, multiple power poles were broken along N.M. 41 near McNabb Road, leading to a power outage. The company said it would likely take the remainder of the afternoon to restore power.
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_320bae65-fedf-4da7-b7e1-77c2f5365e29.html
Lancaster Airport to hold disaster response drill Thursday
LANCASTERONLINE | Staff
Emergency vehicles using flashing lights and sirens are expected around Lancaster Airport on Thursday during a required disaster response drill.
Between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., first responders will take part in an exercise involving a simulated aircraft incident at the airport in Manheim Township. The aircraft incident will be staged at the east end of Runway 31, near the intersection of Airport and Oregon roads.
The entire airport will be closed for the first 10 minutes of the drill. Additional runway and taxiway closures will take place, and will be communicated to pilots and flight crews.
The airport authority, traffic control tower and other local agencies will participate in the drill, which the Federal Aviation Agency requires the airport to complete every three years. Participating agencies will have additional personnel on duty to respond to regular emergencies during the exercise.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-airport-to-hold-disaster-response-drill-thursday/article_1785b85b-bae8-452c-9489-eb275690eadb.html
NTSB Final Report: Piper PA-46-310P
Purpose Of The Flight Was For The Accident Airplane To Be Photographed By Another Pilot From A Different Airplane
Location: Chandler, Arizona Accident Number: WPR24LA012
Date & Time: October 11, 2023, 10:50 Local Registration: N4380D
Aircraft: Piper PA-46-310P Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Fuel exhaustion Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
Analysis: The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was for the accident airplane to be photographed by another pilot from a different airplane. The pilot stated that he believed there were 35 gallons of fuel onboard the airplane based on the airplane’s flight logs. He was unable to visually verify the actual fluid quantity in the tanks during the preflight inspection because of the design of the tanks and the lower quantity of fuel (below the fuel filler). During the initial climb, at an altitude of about 1,500 ft above ground level (agl), the engine exhibited a partial loss of power. The pilot performed a 180° turn in an attempt to return to the airport. The airplane was unable to maintain sufficient altitude and touched down in a dirt area about 500 ft short of the runway.
Shortly after the accident, about 0.5 gallon of fuel was drained from each wing tank. The airplane’s fuel gauges indicated that the fuel tanks were empty and the engine monitor indicated that 32 gallons remained. Both wings and their respective fuel tanks were not breached; there was no evidence of a fuel leak or blue staining on the airframe. A post-accident examination revealed only trace amounts of fuel throughout the system and the boost pumps sounded to be operating normally.
The engine monitoring system requires manual input by the pilot for the “Fuel Remaining.” The displayed indication of 32 gallons remaining was based on pilot-entered values and was not consistent with the airplane’s fuel quantity gauges, which indicated that no fuel was onboard. A review of the data from the engine monitoring system revealed that following takeoff, the engine was operating normally for about two minutes. Thereafter, engine power decreased and was not restored. Fuel flow data from the transducer indicated residual flow around 2 to 3 gallons per hour, consistent with air and fuel droplets moving through the engine-driven and electric boost pumps, which is indicative of fuel starvation or exhaustion.
The last occasion the fuel tanks were topped off to full was 7-8 months before the accident and the fuel quantities thereafter could not be definitively determined, nor could the fuel loss from evaporation be quantified. Because the fuel system did not appear to be breached and only trace amounts of fuel were found in both independent fuel tanks, it is likely the fuel quantity was inadequate, resulting in air entering in the system, leading to a partial loss of power. The pilot believed the likely erroneous fuel-remaining calculations from the pilotentered fuel quantities rather than visually confirming the quantity or verifying with the airplane’s fuel gauges.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s failure to adequately confirm the fuel quantity before departure, resulting in fuel exhaustion and a partial loss of engine power.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
64 Years ago today: On 17 September 1961 Northwest Orient Airlines flight 706, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashed shortly after takeoff from Chicago-O'Hare Airport, IL, USA, killing all 37 occupants.
Date: | Sunday 17 September 1961 |
Time: | 08:57 |
Type: | Lockheed L-188C Electra |
Owner/operator: | Northwest Orient Airlines |
Registration: | N137US |
MSN: | 1142 |
Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
Total airframe hrs: | 614 hours |
Engine model: | Allison 501-D13 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 37 / Occupants: 37 |
Other fatalities: | 0 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | ca 1,5 km S of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD) - United States of America |
Phase: | Initial climb |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD) |
Destination airport: | Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA/KTPA) |
Investigating agency: | CAB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Northwest Orient Airlines flight 706, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashed shortly after takeoff from Chicago-O'Hare Airport, IL, USA, killing all 37 occupants.
Lockheed Electra N137US operated on Northwest flight 706 from Milwaukee to Miami (MIA) with intermediate stops at Chicago, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. After a crew change at Chicago the plane taxied to runway 14R at 08:55 and was cleared for takeoff. Between the 8,000 and the 9,000-foot runway marker the aircraft was observed to commence an apparently coordinated right turn with a slowly increasing rate of bank. When the bank angle was 30 to 45 degrees, the crew made a short, garbled transmission. Immediately thereafter, at a bank angle of 50 to 60 degrees, the aircraft began to lose altitude. The maximum altitude attained in the entire turn was 200 to 300 feet. The right wing struck powerlines adjacent to the Chicago Northwestern Railroad tracks, severing the lines at an angle of about 70 degrees from the horizontal. It then continued in a direction of about 271 degrees magnetic and, when in a bank of about 85 degrees and a nose-down attitude of about 10 degrees, the right wing of the aircraft struck the railroad embankment.
Continuing to roll about its longitudinal axis, the aircraft cartwheeled, the nose crashing into the ground 380 feet beyond the point of first impact, and landed right side up. It then slid tail first another 820 feet. The aircraft disintegrated throughout its path.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "Mechanical failure in the aileron primary control system due to an improper replacement of the aileron boost assembly, resulting in a loss of lateral control of the aircraft at an altitude too low to effect recovery."