We close out the week with the following stories...
Have a safe weekend!
Tom
-
2 injured after plane crashes near Wickenburg airport
WICKENBURG, AZ (AZFamily) — An
investigation is underway after a plane went down northwest of the Valley early Thursday morning.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an Alpha Trainer crashed south of Wickenburg Municipal Airport around 6:45 a.m.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said the plane began experiencing engine troubles, forcing an emergency landing in the desert area of 355th Avenue and Smokehouse Trail. Two people were on board and sustained minor injuries.
An Alpha Trainer is a small two-seat aircraft, sometimes used for flight training.
Arizona’s Family news chopper witnessed the plane upside down in a dirt field. Several law enforcement agencies, including the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, were at the crash site.
FAA officials are working to determine what caused the plane to crash.
https://www.azfamily.com/2025/09/25/2-board-plane-crashes-near-wickenburg-airport/
A plane had to be stopped by a safety zone at the end of the runway at a Virginia airport
AP
ROANOKE, Va. -- No injuries were reported after a
commercial regional jet overshot the designated touch down zone at a Virginia airport amid heavy rain Wednesday night, but was stopped in a safety area at the end of the runway, officials said. Delays continue at the airport Thursday morning.
CommuteAir Flight 4339 "landed long" as it arrived at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport around 10 p.m., according to a Federal Aviation Administration statement. It was safely stopped by an engineered materials arresting system bed at the end of the runway.
The safety area made of cellular cement blocks meant to slow and stop an aircraft that overruns the runway was upgraded last year and performed as intended, airport spokesperson Alexa Briehl said in an email. There was heavy rain in the area at the time of the incident, Briehl said.
There were 50 passengers and three crew
members on board the flight operating as United Express from Washington Dulles International Airport when it overran the runway while landing at Roanoke, CommuteAir executive vice president and chief financial officer Sean Frick said in an email. The captain reported no injuries, Frick said.
Passengers aboard the Embraer 145 were bused to the terminal and law enforcement released them to go home a little before midnight, officials said.
All runways at the airport were closed for a time. One runway reopened after midnight to arriving and departing traffic, but the runway where the overrun occurred remained closed, the airport said.
The FAA said it will investigate.
This was the third save this month by an engineered materials arresting system, according to the FAA. On Sept. 3, an arresting system stopped a Gulfstream G150 with two people aboard that overran the runway at Chicago Executive Airport. On the same day, a Bombardier Challenger 300 with four people on board was stopped when it went beyond the runway during landing at Boca Raton Airport. No serious injuries were reported in either case, the FAA said. There are currently 122 such systems at 70 U.S. airports.
Delays continued at the Roanoke airport Thursday morning, but most flights were on time by afternoon, officials said.
https://abc7.com/post/plane-had-stopped-safety-zone-end-runway-virginia-airport/17882460/
NTSB Prelim: Vu Holdings LLC/DBA Vanilla UN VA 001
The UAS Experienced A Total Loss Of Engine Power And Began An Uncommanded Descent
Location: Ninilchik, AK Accident Number: ANC25LA091
Date & Time: August 20, 2025, 06:32 Local Registration: N246VU
Aircraft: Vu Holdings LLC/DBA Vanilla UN VA 001 Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Public aircraft
On August 20, 2025, at about 0632 Alaska daylight time, a Platform Aerospace VA 001 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), N246VU, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident on a beachside cliff near Ninilchik, Alaska. The aircraft was unmanned. The aircraft was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Public Use Armed Forces Aircraft on a Certificate of Authorization (COA) Waiver.
According to the operator, the airplane was returning to Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai Alaska after a 72-hour continuous flight to Shemya Island. While flying over open water at an altitude of 5500 ft msl, less than an hour from its expected return, the UAS experienced a total loss of engine power and began an uncommanded descent. While troubleshooting, the flight crew was able to briefly restore partial power after opening the wing fuel drain solenoid. However, this was not enough to maintain altitude. After further attempts to restore engine power were unsuccessful, the flight crew shutdown the engine, to arrest the descent rate, and began a power-off glide towards shore for an off-airport emergency landing. During the emergency landing, the UAS impacted a beachside cliff which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.
The wreckage has been moved to a secure location, and a detailed NTSB examination is pending.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
28 Years ago today: On 26 September 1997 Garuda Indonesia Airways flight 152, an Airbus A300B4-220, from Jakarta to Medan, Indonesia, was destroyed after impacting terrain near Medan. All 234 occupants suffered fatal injuries.
| Date: | Friday 26 September 1997 |
| Time: | 13:34 |
| Type: | Airbus A300B4-220 |
| Owner/operator: | Garuda Indonesia Airways |
| Registration: | PK-GAI |
| MSN: | 214 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1982 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 27095 hours |
| Cycles: | 16593 flights |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 234 / Occupants: 234 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 25 km SSW of Medan-Polonia Airport (MES) - Indonesia |
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) |
| Destination airport: | Medan-Polonia Airport (MES/WIMM) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSC |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Garuda Indonesia Airways flight 152, an Airbus A300B4-220, from Jakarta to Medan, Indonesia, was destroyed after impacting terrain near Medan. All 234 occupants suffered fatal injuries.
The aircraft, an Airbus A300B4-220, was cleared for an ILS approach to Medan's runway 05 and was flying on a 316 degree heading on Airway 585/W12. Having descended to 3000 feet the crew were instructed to turn left, heading 240 degrees for vectoring to intercept the runway 05 ILS. The flight crew did not respond to this instruction, as the controller addressed the call to 'Merpati 152'. The instructions were repeated, this time using the correct call sign. The flight crew replied: "GIA 152 heading 235. Confirm we cleared from a (pause) mountainous area?"
At 13:28 the controller confirmed they were turning towards a mountainous area and the flight was instructed to continue on a 215 degree heading. At 13:30 ATC directed the flight to turn right heading 046 and report when established on the localizer.
Although the clearance for a right hand turn had been read back correctly, confusion on the part of the air traffic controller followed over whether GA152 was turning left or right: "152, confirm you're making turning left now?" Garuda 152 responded, as cleared, that they were turning right. The controller subsequently added to the confusion by stating: "152 OK, you continue turning left now."
This was contrary to the crew's expectations, so they enquired: "A (pause) confirm turning left? We are starting turning right now." The controller, possibly realising his error, replied: "OK (pause). OK..... GIA 152 continue turn right heading 015."
Ten seconds later, the Airbus impacted a wooded area, broke up and burst into flames. The wreckage covered a 150x75 m area near the village of Pancur Batu, which is located at 900-1000 meters amsl.
The region was affected by smog from forest fires; visibility was reported to be 600-800 meters.
Probable Cause: "There was confusion regarding turning direction of left turn instead of right turn at critical position during radar vectoring that reduced the flight crews vertical awareness while they were concentrating on the aircrafts lateral changes. These caused the aircraft to continue descending below the assigned altitude of 2000 ft and hit treetops at 1550 ft above mean sea level."
