These are the stories for today...
Be safe out there!
Tom
--
Plane makes emergency landing in Worthington
By Jessica Michalski and Ryan Trowbridge
WORTHINGTON, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A pilot is lucky to 
be alive after making an emergency landing at a Worthington airfield Tuesday morning.
Western Mass News spoke to the pilot on scene who told us the engine on the small plane he was flying suddenly stopped working mid-flight.
“The engine just went silent. I did a couple of checks and then realized I had to find a place to land...it was like a slow sinking anchor,” he explained.
Luckily, he saw an area where he could land. Noticing the small air strip at Albert Farms Airport in Worthington, MA would work, he was able to land the plane safely on the ground without flipping it or damaging it.
Mass. State Police reporting to us the plane made a rough landing at Albert Farms Airport around 8:30 a.m.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
While on scene, Western Mass News also saw the community come together to help this pilot out with one neighbor stopping by with some supplies and another neighbor assisting the pilot in pushing the plane off to the side.
With the engine inoperable, the aircraft will now remain grounded until repairs can be made.
https://www.westernmassnews.com/2026/06/02/no-injuries-after-planes-emergency-landing-worthington/
Door Ripped Off Boeing 787 Dreamliner at One of the World’s Most Remote Airports Leaving Engineers Flummoxed
by Mateusz Maszczynski
One of the main cabin doors of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by South American airline LATAM has been ripped clean off the fuselage during a mishap at one of the most remote airports in the world… And now, engineers have to work out how they are going to fix the airplane with only limited tools available.
The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flew from 
Santiago de Chile to Mataveri Airport on Easter Island, located 3,759 km off the coast of South America in the South Pacific Ocean, on Friday, May 29, and has been grounded ever since.
Mataveri Airport handles just one or two flights per day and has very limited resources. There isn’t a heavy engineering base at the airport, and carrying out repairs of this magnitude is going to prove incredibly challenging.
As the airport does not have jetbridges, the plane was parked up on a so-called remote stand, and a set of mobile airstairs was attached to the second main cabin door on the left-hand side of the aircraft.
It’s not quite what happened next, but it appears that the aircraft rolled back while the airstairs were still attached. The door was ripped off the frame of the airplane and ended up sitting atop the airstairs.
The 12-year-old plane (registration: CC-BBD) has been grounded on Easter Island ever since, while engineers formulate a plan to try to get it fixed.
The repair work required will depend on whether any structural damage has been caused to the carbon composite fuselage of the plane, although this isn’t the first time this type of accident has occurred to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and in past incidents, repairs have been fairly straightforward.
The issue is more with the limited resources available at Mataveri Airport.
There has been speculation that LATAM could try to get the aircraft back to Santiago without a cabin door attached, flying the plane unpressurized at low altitude.
Such a plan would require careful coordination with Boeing to ensure that the airplane has the structural strength to withstand a more than five-hour flight over a vast distance of ocean.
There is also speculation that a temporary plug could be installed, allowing this ‘ferry’ flight to take place without any structural integrity issues. The final option would be to fly out a replacement door, specialist engineers, and other equipment to carry out the repairs on Easter Island.
In any case, it appears that this particular Boeing 787 could be grounded for some time.
When an airline has all the necessary equipment at its disposal, however, these types of incidents can be easily remedied. In April, for example, the main cabin door of a China Airlines Airbus A350 was partially ripped off its hinges when it rolled back with the jetbridge still attached at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport.
The plane was only grounded for six days before positioning back to its home base in Taipei, Taiwan, and then returning to commercial service the following day.
In 2023, an American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded at Dublin International Airport after Door 2L was completely sheared off when the jetbridge unexpectedly dropped while attached to the plane.
No passengers or crew were onboard the plane when the accident happened… and thankfully, no ground staff were standing below the plane when the door came crashing down onto the tarmac below.
NTSB Update- CAROL Has Been Enhanced!
|
NTSB Trying To Keep Cockpit Voice Recordings Private
AI Is Creating Problems, So NTSB Pulled Down Public Documents In Crash Investigations
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has temporarily pulled down public documents for thousands of investigations after the agency inadvertently allowed the reconstruction of audio recordings from the cockpit of UPS flight 2976, which crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Ky., last year, killing 15 people, including all three pilots.
Recent advances in artificial intelligence have made it easier to reconstruct audio from digital images that were published as part of the NTSB's investigation. And that's making it harder for the NTSB, which is forbidden by law from releasing those recordings, to stop them from being made public. 
The NTSB's response was dramatic and unprecedented. The agency temporarily pulled down the public docket from the UPS crash — and for all its other crash investigations — while it conducted a review.
"The NTSB has longstanding procedures in place to protect cockpit voice recordings and other sensitive onboard audio and video materials obtained during investigations," NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said in a statement to NPR.
"After becoming aware that artificial intelligence may allow approximations of cockpit audio to be digitally reconstructed from certain sound-spectrum imagery, the NTSB temporarily removed public access to its docket system while it reviewed investigative materials and evaluated additional safeguards," Knudson said.
The NTSB has since restored access to most of its public dockets, including UPS flight 2976, Knudson said, but 41 dockets remain under review.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy says the agency has good reasons for not releasing cockpit audio to the public.
"Laws against releasing CVR audio exist to protect privacy, preserve the integrity of NTSB investigations, and out of respect for accident victims and their families during a time of tremendous loss," Homendy wrote on X. She called posts using the reconstructed audio "disgusting" and "manipulated," and she urged social media platforms to take them down.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
NTSB Says EAA AirVenture Crash In 2024 Was Pilot Error
Lancair Super ES Crashed While Maneuvering For Traffic-Spacing Arrival At Oshkosh
A plane crash outside EAA AirVenture in 2024 was most likely caused by pilot error, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Sean Tommervik and James Sullivan were killed when their Lancair Super ES (file photo) crashed into a farm field south of Wittman Regional Airport and the EAA AirVenture grounds in Oshkosh, Wisc., on July 22, 2024.
The NTSB said the probable cause of the crash was “the pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall while maneuvering for traffic spacing.”
The report says “the pilot was flying the airplane on an arrival route when the air traffic controller instructed the pilot to widen the turn to allow for two warbird airplanes to land in front of him. The pilot acknowledged the transmission and stated that he had the two airplanes in sight. According to ADS-B data, the airplane turned south, consistent with a modified downwind, then back to the east, and then toward the north, consistent with a base-to-final turn. The airplane was about 975 feet mean sea level and 84 kts ground speed when it started a turn to the north toward the airport.
“The last data point recorded from the airplane was about 975 feet msl and 70 kts ground speed, 1.5 miles from the approach end of the runway. According to the airframe pilot operating handbook, the stall speed varies from 59 to 74 kts indicated airspeed at zero degrees of bank. The airplane impacted a soybean field upright and was destroyed by a postimpact fire. An examination of the airplane, engine, and flight-control system revealed no mechanical anomalies or failures that would have precluded normal operations.
“Further review of the ADS-B data from the warbird flight showed that the landing Aero L-39 airplane passed well to the east and above the flight path of the accident airplane. A review of the wake vortices generated by the L-39 revealed that the accident airplane would not have encountered the wake of the L-39 before impact,” the NTSB said in the report.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
14 Years ago today: On 3 June 2012 Dana Air flight 992, an MD-83, crashed while on approach to Lagos-Murtala Muhammed Airport, Nigeria, killing all 153 occupants and 6 persons on the ground.
| Date: | Sunday 3 June 2012 |
| Time: | 15:45 |
| Type: | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) |
| Owner/operator: | Dana Air |
| Registration: | 5N-RAM |
| MSN: | 53019/1783 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 60846 hours |
| Cycles: | 35219 flights |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-219 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 153 / Occupants: 153 |
| Other fatalities: | 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 9,3 km N of Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) - Nigeria |
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Abuja-Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV/DNAA) |
| Destination airport: | Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM) |
| Investigating agency: | AIB Nigeria |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Dana Air flight 992, an MD-83, crashed while on approach to Lagos-Murtala Muhammed Airport, Nigeria, killing all 153 occupants and 6 persons on the ground.
The airplane was on the fourth flight segment of the day, consisting of two round-trips between Lagos and Abuja. The accident occurred during the return leg of the second trip. The first officer was Pilot Flying.
Flight DAN992 initiated engine startup at 14:36, taxied to runway 04 at Abuja Airport and was later airborne at 14:58. Fuel endurance was 3.5 hours. The flight climbed to a cruise altitude of 26,000 ft.
DAN992 made contact with Lagos Area Control Center at 15:18. At the time the captain and first officer were in a discussion of a nonnormal condition regarding the correlation between the engine throttle setting and an engine power indication. However, they did not voice concerns then that the condition would affect the continuation of the flight. The flight crew continued to monitor the condition and became increasingly concerned as the flight transition through the initial descent from cruise altitude at 15:22 and the subsequent approach phase.
DAN992 reported passing through 18,100 at 15:30. Shortly afterwards the crew confirmed that there was no throttle response on the left engine and subsequently the Captain took over control as Pilot Flying (PF). The flight was however continued towards Lagos with no declaration of any distress message. With the confirmation of throttle response on the right engine, the engine anti-ice, ignition and bleed-air were all switched off. At 15:32, the crew observed the loss of thrust in engine no. 1.
Between 15:37 and 15:41 the flight crew were engaged in pre-landing tasks including deployment of the slats, and extension of the flaps and landing gear. At 15:41:16 the first officer inquired, "both engines coming up?" and the captain replied "negative." The flight crew subsequently discussed and agreed to declare an emergency. At 15:42:10, DANA 992 radioed an emergency distress call indicating "dual engine failure...negative response from throttle."
At 15:42:35, the flight crew lowered the flaps further and continued with the approach and discussed landing alternatively on runway 18L. At 15:42:45, the captain reported the runway in sight and instructed the first officer to raise the flaps and 4 seconds later to raise the landing gear.
At 15:43:27 hours, the captain informed the first officer "we just lost everything, we lost an engine. I lost both engines". During the next 25 seconds the flight crew was attempting to restart the engines.
The airplane did not reach the runway and crashed in a residential area about 9,3 km short of the runway 18R.
During the impact sequence, the airplane struck an incomplete building, two trees and three buildings. The wreckage was confined, with the separated tail section and engines located at the beginning of the debris field. A fire erupted.
An investigation by AIB Nigeria showed that the captain was employed by Dana Air on 14th March, 2012. He was originally from the United States, but was suspended in 2009 by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for some misdemeanours.
It was noted that most of the recommendation letters submitted by the captain were also signed. Further, the line trainings that preceded the captain's checkout had a lot of adverse remarks made by the training captain.
He started flying as checked out captain on 2nd May, 2012 and had accrued over 120 hours of flight time before the accident.
Tear down of the engines showed that the no.1 engine was overhauled in the U.S in August 2011 and was not in compliance with Service Bulletin SB 6452. Both engines had primary and secondary fuel manifold assemblies fractured, cracked, bent, twisted or pinched which led to fuel leaks, fuel discharge to bypass duct, loss of engine thrust and obvious failure of engine responding to
throttle movement.
This condition was similar to the no.1 engine of a different Dana Air MD-80, 5N-SAI, that was involved in an incident in October 2013 when the aircraft returned to the departure airport with the engine not responding th throttle movements. This engine also was not in compliance with Service Bulletin SB 6452. This bulletin was issued in 2003 and called for the installation of new secondary fuel manifold assemblies, incorporating tubes fabricated from new material which has a fatigue life that was approximately 2 times greater than the previous tube material.
Probable Causal Factors:
1. Engine number 1 lost power seventeen minutes into the flight, and thereafter on final approach, Engine number 2 lost power and failed to respond to throttle movement on demand for increased power to sustain the aircraft in its flight configuration.
2. The inappropriate omission of the use of the Checklist, and the crewÂ’s inability to appreciate the severity of the power-related problem, and their subsequent failure to land at the nearest suitable airfield.
3. Lack of situation awareness, inappropriate decision making, and poor airmanship.
METAR:
15:00 UTC / 16:00 local time:
DNMM 031500Z 19007KT 140V230 9999 SCT014 30/23 Q1013 NOSIG
Wind 190 degrees at 7 knots; winds varying between 140 and 230 degrees; Visibility 10+ km; Scatter clouds at 1400 feet; Temperature 30°C, Dew point 23°C; pressure 1013 mb.
