Damage: Two pilots off duty

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has de-rostered two pilots of an Air India aircraft that damaged runway lights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on October 26. The pilots have been taken off duty till an inquiry is complete. Sources said the DGCA investigating team is also taking down the pilots' statements.
"Both Sachin (known by his first name only) and Manjeet S Bodhi have been taken off from duty,” confirmed an Air India spokesperson.
Sources said the DGCA team has also taken out the flight's Cockpit Voice Recorder to look into the incident in detail. Also, details of the conversation between the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and the pilots have been asked for by the agency.
The runway lights were damaged by Air India flight IC-415, that took off for Patna at 6.22 pm on October 26.
31/10/10 Faizan Haider/Hindustan Times

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Bird hits ground flights in Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Bird hits have grounded four flights in the last three days in Coimbatore Airport affecting flight operations in the region. According to airport authorities, two flights each of Spice Jet and Air India were hit by tiny sparrows since Tuesday night.
The unexpected groundings have affected normal flight operations resulting in severe inconvenience to air passengers. The flights sustained no damage as the hits were not severe. Each flight resumed the onward journey after spending about one hour at the airport to check damages if any.
The airport authorities have constituted an expert committee to ascertain the reason behind the repeated bird hits. Surveillance jeeps are being used to chase away birds about three minutes before the landing and taking off of each flight. The officials have also decided to meet the Coimbatore district collector very soon asking him to take urgent steps to prevent dumping of garbage close to the western wall of the airport. The dumping of garbage there too is causing the high presence of birds in the region resulting in bird hits.
30/10/10 K A Shaji/Times of India

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Explosive packages 'a threat' but won't hurt Obama's trip

Washington: US President Barack Obama called the discovery of some suspicious packages with "explosive material" as "a credible threat against our country," but officials considered it unlikely to affect his trip to India next week. "Whenever the President travels, we take a very careful look at what the threat environment might be and look at what the terrorist environment is," White House counter terrorism chief John Brennan told reporters on Friday.
"So we're taking this into account, but at this point there is no effect," he said at a White House briefing on discovery of suspicious packages in at least two locations abroad that were bound for Jewish organizations in the United States.
Asked if New Delhi had been briefed as India is the first stop on his four-nation swing through Asia, Brennan said: "We share on a regular basis with the Indian government. The Indian government is one of our best counter terrorism partners."
The packages led to increased searches of cargo planes and trucks in several US cities, CNN said citing law enforcement sources with detailed knowledge of the investigation.
30/10/10 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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Sharjah flight returns to Kochi

An Air India Express flight bound for Sharjah returned to Kochi 45 minutes after it took off following a technical problem, reports Press Trust of India.
The flight with 142 passengers and nine crew members on board had taken off from from Nedumbassery International Airport in Kochi, Kerala, at 10:15am.
29/10/10 Emirates 24-7

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Kingfisher seeks $3.5 mn from Jet for damage to aircraft

Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines has estimated the damage to its Airbus aircraft that was hit by a Jet Airways Boeing last weekend at Mumbai airport at around $3.5 million (Rs 15.6 crore) and expects Naresh Goyal’s airline to pay up. Aviation sources told The Indian Express that the amount was conveyed to Jet at a meeting involving the two airlines and the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The incident, classified as “serious” by DGCA, saw a Jet Airways aircraft, which had 122 passengers and was bound for Muscat, hit a parked Kingfisher Airlines aircraft while being tugged from its parking slot to the runway, damaging the left stabiliser of the Kingfisher Airbus. The damage was caused by the Jet aircraft’s left wing tip, which is made of glass fibre, and the the stabiliser would have to be replaced, the sources said, adding that the Jet aircraft hardly suffered any damage and was back in operation.
While insurance companies of the airlines are likely to end up footing at least a part of the bill, Kingfisher may have also taken into account the losses incurred due to the grounding of the aircraft to come up with the $3.5 million figure as a stabiliser is not expected to cost that much, aviation analysts said.
29/10/10 Ranjani Raghavan/Indian Express

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Pilots forced to fly sick: DGCA to probe issue

New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, the health ministry has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to examine complaints of Air India pilots that they are forced to fly even when not medically fit.
Earlier this week, minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi wrote to DGCA Nasim Zaidi, seeking examination of AI pilots' complaints of being penalized for refusing to fly when unwell "before this leads to some tragedy."
29/10/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Pan Am hijack compensation: 'US disowned Indian victims'

New Delhi: More than 24 years ago, her daughter, Neerja Bhanot, died at the hands of Libya-backed terrorists, who had hijacked a Pan Am aircraft at the Karachi Airport. Now, Chandigarh-based Rama Bhanot, unhappy with the discriminatory attitude of the US government in settling claims cases of those who died in the hijack, has sought an audience with US President Barack Obama.
Neerja was the first Indian woman to get the Ashok Chakra in what was a recognition of the supreme sacrifice made by her of giving up her life to save the lives of passengers on board the aircraft. It were the US citizens, who were the main target of the four Palestinian terrorists who had carried out the hijacking. She fell to a hail of bullets after she had opened the emergency doors, flung a chute and was assisting passengers in escaping from the aircraft.
In a letter to the White House and the US Ambassador to India, Bhanot and over 120 other Indians, including families of 13 Indians who were killed in the 1986 hijacking, have asked Obama to provide justice to them.
29/10/10 Maneesh Chhibber/Indian Express

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After emergency landing, flight stranded on runway

Kolkata: An IndiGo Airlines flight from Guwahati got stranded on the primary runway after making an emergency landing on Wednesday evening, forcing the airport to suspend operations till the landing strip was cleared. The Airbus 320 aircraft had to be physically towed by a push-back tractor after its surface steering control jammed. The latter allows a pilot to steer the aircraft to the left or right when taxiing on the ground after landing.
Around 7.30pm on Wednesday, the pilot of IndiGo Airlines flight 6E 291 from Guwahati to Chennai via Kolkata radioed the ATC at Kolkata and requested for an emergency landing as the aircraft had developed a hydraulic system failure. There were 169 passengers on board, including an infant. While the landing gear that is also controlled by hydraulics was all right, the problem was either with the wings or the ground steering control.
Following the SOS, full emergency procedures were rolled out at the airport. Fire tenders and ambulances were positioned next to the runway.
28/10/10 Times of India

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AI Patna flight damages runway lights at IGI airport; operations hit

New Delhi: Flight operations at the IGI airport were affected this evening after some of the runway edge lights were damaged by an aircraft forcing its closure. The main runway (10/28) was not in operation between 6.30 and 7.45 pm after some of runway edge lights were found damaged and some rubber pieces of
tyres were also found scattered between taxiways B and D, airport officials said.
The runway lights were damaged by an Air India plane (flight IC 415) which took off for Patna at 6.22 pm. The pilot of the aircraft also reported damage in the plane's tyre.
The officials said the normalcy in operation has been restored and the re-installation work of damaged lights will be undertaken tonight.
27/10/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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IA Delhi-Patna flight's tyre deflates on landing

Patna: The passengers of IC-415 flight of the Indian Airlines (IA) had a miraculous escape when one of the tyres of the plane deflated soon after it landed at Patna airport on Tuesday evening.
Airport sources said the plane had arrived here from New Delhi at around 7.30 pm. It had left Delhi at around 6.05 pm. IC-416 flight was cancelled and the passengers were accommodated in Jet Airways' flight.
27/10/10 Times of India

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Safety violation: SpiceJet sacks four senior officials

New Delhi: Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd has fired four senior executives after receiving a notice from the aviation regulator for listing children as infants to accommodate more passengers, a violation of safety norms.
The airline deployed a 189-seat Boeing Co. 737-800 aircraft for the Delhi-Mumbai flight SG-103 on 2 June instead of the scheduled 212-seat B737-900, because of a delay.
After 15 passengers protested for being asked to deplane because of a shortage of seats, SpiceJet officials asked children to sit on the laps of the adults they were travelling with—even though safety norms prescribe that anyone above the age of 2 must be given a separate seat.
Mint reported on 21 June that passengers had complained against the airline. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) then said it would investigate the incident. Late last month, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet after concluding that safety norms had been breached.
A senior SpiceJet official official said four senior executives had been asked to leave, including the head of airports, and head of customer services. “We have also asked all station managers of airports to put passengers on a different flight in such a situation. The matter has been take very seriously.”
The airline has also sent its reply to DGCA’s notice, the official added.
26/10/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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ATC, airport operator in row over false fire alarm from aircraft

Mumbai: Differences between the Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) and the airport operator, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) surfaced again on Monday when ATC officials alleged that fire tenders at the city airport were slow in reacting to a call in an Air India flight. The ATC officials said the
pilot of flight IC 864 from Mumbai to Delhi reported a suspected fire soon after a tow tractor pushed it back for take-off at 10:28 am.
ATC officials, following the procedure, tried contacting the fire department using the radio device but claimed that the fire department officials failed to respond to the radio calls thus wasting precious time. “Assistance came only after we called them on the hotline,” said MG Jhunghare, general manager, ATC.
MIAL denied the charge. An MIAL spokesperson said the fire tenders attended to the flight immediately after getting the call from the ATC.
“On inspection the rescue team did not find any visible sign of fire or smoke. Subsequently, the fire watch tower sent a message that no assistance is required and the flight took off and was airborne by 10:47 am,” the spokesperson said.
26/10/10 Hindustan Times

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Bird-hits: Deadline to phase out shotguns, crackers extended

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry and security agencies have decided to push the deadline to phase out shotguns and firecrackers deployed to scare birds at airports across the country to November 1. Failing to meet the July deadline earlier, some of the airports, including the private ones like the Delhi airport, had asked for an extension, and were allowed to continue using firecrackers.
In a review conducted recently by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), it has been decided to ban firecrackers too and instead deploy alternate technologies at airport to shoo away birds. For this purpose, it has issued November as the new deadline as some of the airports had complained that they were not informed in time.
The issue of phasing out of firecrackers had assumed heightened importance after it was found that some of the firecrackers used at the Bangalore airport to scare birds, had escaped security check and found their way on board the Kingfisher Airlines's Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram flight.
26/10/10 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Air India crash victims’ kin to form action committee

Family members and relatives of the Air India crash victims met in Dubai again this weekend, for the second time in less than seven days, to form an action committee against the delaying tactics by airline representatives in awarding compensation.
The Air India Express flight that was flying from Dubai to Mangalore on May 22 crashed at the Mangalore airport after it overshot the runway killing 158 passengers. An investigation in the accident revealed that the incident was caused by pilot negligence.
The family members are protesting the lack of transparency and commitment from the airline and its representatives towards awarding compensation to the kith and kin of the crash victims.
Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe and a UK firm are representing Air India's insurance underwriters in compensating victims of the Air India air disaster.
Relatives who met again on Friday said they would form a representative committee that would operate under the Malabar Pravasi Coordination Council (MPCC), a UAE based association representing Non Resident Indians from Kerala State.
“Our first step will be to take it up at the political level. We are planning to take up the issue up the president of India and to the President of the ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi. The committee will meet again and finalise these decisions,” said Abdul Rahman, who lost his wife and children in the crash.
Members have also threatened to file a legal case in the UAE, the place where the flight originated, in-order to force the officials into taking speedy action.
The Air India Express plane crash in Mangalore is estimated to result in an insurance claim that could reach Rs4 billion (Dh313m, $85m) – the largest payout in Indian aviation history – according to experts.
25/10/10 Joseph George/Emirates 24-7

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A night of madness at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Three air safety incidents in a span of eight hours on Friday night and early Saturday put Mumbai airport authorities to test besides disrupting flight schedules.
At 1.50 am on Saturday, the wing tip of Muscat bound Jet Airways Boeing 737 rammed into left horizontal stabilizer of a stationary Kingfisher airbus which was parked at the adjacent bay.
The tail of the Kingfisher aircraft can be seen above while the Jet Airways plane that collided into it is seen below “While being taken towards the runway, the Jet Airways plane cut through a portion near the tail and got stuck after. It is being viewed as a serious incident,’’ said an airport source.
On Friday night, an Air India Boeing 777 from London was stuck on the taxiway after landing.
The main runway had to be closed for use as landing planes would have been unable to vacate using this taxiway. Although the secondary runway was opened, seven incoming flights were diverted to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
“At 11.12 pm the pilot of an Air India plane reported smoke emanating from the landing gear. Emergency services sprayed foam on it, but the operation blocked the taxiway for an hour,’’ said MIAL spokesperson.
A source said, “The Air India pilot radioed the problem to the Air Traffic Controller. However, for next 2-3 minutes ground controllers were unable to establish contact with fire station and safety jeeps because of some communication problem. If it was a real fire situation, such a delay would have proved costly.’’
Earlier in the evening, an emergency landing by a cargo plane led to massive delays and diversions. “A Fedex plane on Dubai-Bangalore route made an emergency landing because of suspected fire in cargo hold at 6.30 pm.
24/10/10 Mumbai Mirror

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Air India plane stuck on runway, operations hit

Mumbai: Air India aircraft arriving here from London got stuck off the runway shortly before Friday midnight, airport officials said on Saturday.
Shortly after vacating the main runway, the flight, AI-130 got stuck while taxiing to the bay. The captain of the plane reported smoke emanating from the landing gear of the aircraft and failure in the landing apparatus.
The airport emergency services were immediately pressed into service and they sprayed foam on the right-side landing gear.During the operation, the taxiway was blocked for over 55 minutes.
Seven incoming flights were diverted, six to Ahmedabad and one to Hyderabad, the officials said.
23/10/10 IANS/SIfy

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Jet's wing brushes Kingfisher flight

Mumbai: Passengers of Jet Airways flight 9W 540(Bombay - Muscat) had a narrow escape at Mumbai Airport when the wing of the aircraft brushed the tail of a Kingfisher plane early this morning.
According to airport sources, the Jet airways flight was pushing back into Bay 85 when its wing brushed against the tail of a Kingfisher plane, that was parked in Bay 84.
The Jet Airways flight had 122 passengers on board, while the Kingfisher flight had none.
The incident took place at 2:05 a.m. on Saturday No injuries were reported. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the incident.
23/10/10 ANI/Sify.com

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Safety takes a beating at Chennai airport

Chennai: Two near-collisions at Chennai airport this week due to runway incursions by aircraft raise serious questions on the level of pilots' adherence to safety parameters and the efficacy of monitoring systems at the aerodrome.
In both incidents, one on Wednesday and the other on Sunday, it was Saudia airline's aircraft that attempted to jump queue.
The airline's B747 aircraft with 360 passengers on-board almost entered the runway without ATC clearance on Wednesday after a Jet Airways flight from Hyderabad was cleared for landing, while on Sunday another Saudia aircraft of the same capacity crossed over the holding point, delaying by half an hour the arrival of a Jet flight from Madurai, which had been cleared to land.
An Air India pilot, who did not want to be named, attributed such incidents to "miscommunication between controller and pilot, improper use of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) phraseology, readback and hearback errors, pilots ignoring ATC instructions and lack of knowledge of operational area among airport staff."
However, an airport official pointed fingers at shortage of technical experts in the mandatory 'apron safety' and 'runway incursion' committees.
23/10/10 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

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25 years later, Canada offers $25,000 to each Kanishka victim family

Toronto: The Canadian government has reportedly offered $20,000 to $25,000 to families of each Air India Kanishka victim - 25 years after all 329 people on board Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi perished when it was blown off mid-air near the Irish coast June 23, 1985.
A public inquiry by former Canadian chief justice John Major in June blamed various Canadian agencies for failing to stop the bombing plot by Khalistani militants and asked the government to compensate the families.
Member of some victim families met Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and public safety minister Vic Toews here Friday for discussions on the package.
The ministers are said to have made no offers at the meeting, but reports say the Canadian government has told the families that compensation offered in similar cases ranged from $20,000 to $25,000 for each victim.
Though the families have already been paid about $75,000 each in an out-of-court settlement a few years ago, the John Major inquiry report asked the government to compensate them further.
But some families are not happy with the reported offer, citing the huge payout of $10 million by Libya to relatives of each victim in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
The proposed compensation is part of the current Canadian government to put closure on the tragedy.
23/10/10 IANS/Thaindian.com

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Plane hit by cart at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: The chartered aircraft of Joyce Meyer, a leading practical Bible teacher, was badly damaged when an inebriated staffer of a private airline rammed his cart into the plane on Wednesday night. The evangelist and her team are on an Asia missions trip to Thailand and India and are currently in Kolkata where conferences and sessions titled Festival of Life are scheduled from October 21 to 24. The errant driver has been suspended.
Routine operations were under way at Kolkata airport on Wednesday night when the driver of a Kingfisher Airlines push-back cart, Ram Singh, rammed the vehicle into the plane parked in a poorly-lit section of the airport at 10.30pm. The cart's upper part tore into the wing of the plane, ripping a portion off the body.
A probe initiated into the incident by the DGCA official in Kolkata revealed that Singh was already inebriated when he reported for duty at 9pm.
The plane, a Gulfstream Aerospace IV aircraft (registration no. N7 JM), had landed in Kolkata the previous evening at 6.30pm. On board were three crew members and nine passengers, including evangelists Dave and Joyce Meyer, pastors Tommy Barnett and Dino Rizzo and worship leader Darlene Zschech.
22/10/10 Times of India

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