FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1989
1989 - 2237.PDF
OPERATIONS: SAFETY Unconscious pilot survives crash AWashington D.C. pilot sur vived after he fell uncon scious at the controls of his Cessna 210 last week and flew 800 miles on autopilot before crashing into the sea. He was found to have a self inflicted gunshot wound. Attorney Thomas Root, 36, took off from Washington's National airport early last Thurs day morning, bound for North Carolina. Shortly after take-off he radioed that he was suffering severe chest pains, and switched on his autopilot before losing consciousness. US Army, and later US Coast guard aircraft shadowed the Cessna as it flew steadily south at about 10,000ft altitude. 'We could see the pilot slumped in his seat," a Coastguard crewmember said. Finally, the aircraft ran out of fuel 14 miles west of the Bahamas, banked 45° to port, and corkscrewed into the sea. Root was then seen emerging from the water and swimming towards the rescue helicopter. He suffered internal injuries, and his condition has been described as "fair". v Theories that Root blacked out from oxygen deprivation or carbon monoxide poisoning have been discounted. "We simply don't know what happened," says a doctor at the Miami hospi tal, where he is recovering. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. • The Royal Jordanian A310's wingtip undergoes examination Heathrow taxiing incidents An investigation has begun into two taxiing accidents at London Heathrow within eight days of each other. In the first incident, the wing of a Thai International Boeing 747 struck the tail of a British Airways Boeing 757 at the hold ing point for one of Heathrow's westerly runways. In the second, the wing of a Royal Jordanian A310 taxiing for take-off caught the tail of an Aer Lingus Boeing 737 which was stationary on the spur from a taxiway to the runway 09L. • 707 aquaplanes off runway A Boeing 707 freighter of Liberian charter operator Sky Cargo, carrying 37 tonnes of fruit, overran runway 26 at Ostend Airport on June 29 after aquaplaning following a tailwind landing. The crew was told of a change in wind direction while on approach, but elected to continue, eventually touching down 1,000m beyond the threshold with a 17kt wind from the 030° direction. The Sky Cargo 707 freighter finally stopped in Ostend's grass safety zone, apparently undamaged. • 1 I rf¥:lff: SOVIETS CONFIRM MiG BIRDSTRIKE The Soviet Union says that the MiG-29 Fulcrum which crashed at Paris suffered a catastrophic engine failure after a birdstrike. Detailed exam ination of the engine in the Soviet Union showed evidence of bird remains. Initial examination at Paris showed extensive damage to the Tumansky R33's first-stage fan blades, consistent with foreign-object ingestion, but the nature of the FOD was unclear at the time (see Flight, June 17, page 4). Flight observed a small flock of birds in the MiG's vicinity just before the engine failure which led to the yaw/roll coupled departure and Anat- oly Kvotchur's successful ejection. Baggage spills acid in flight A South African passenger on board a flight to Pietermaritzburg has been charged under the Civil Aviation Act after a bottle containing 200ml of sulphuric acid broke open in his suitcase. The Comair Fokker F.27, carrying 43 passengers from Jan Smuts Airport, was delayed for three hours in the Natal capital while members of the fire brigade sprayed the freight hold with bicarbonate of soda to neutralise the acid. At least nine other passengers' suitcases and their contents were damaged after the acid seeped out of the chemical factory employee's case. • Japan reviews T-2 fatigue life The Japan Air Self-Defence Force is reviewing the fatigue lives of its Mitsubishi T-2s, following a series of accidents. Thre"e T-2s of the 5th Air Wing at Nyutabaru AB, Kyushu, have crashed, and the service and Mitsubishi are to conduct fatigue tests on two T-2 airframes to re establish the type's safe life. The 5th AW is an aggressor unit, so its aircraft regularly pull more g than those of other T-2 units, Flight understands. • CASUALTIES CAMEROON Three people, including the captain, died when an HS.748 of Cameroon Airlines crashed at Yaounde on June 28. The aircraft reportedly made, a fourth attempt to land in rain and fog, but crashed into trees while attempting to go-around after touching down too far along the runway. USA A Kansas Air National Guard General Dynamics F-16 based at McConnell AFB crashed in south-east Kansas on June 28. The pilot, ejected safely. UNITED KINGDOM An RAF Tornado F.3 of 23(F) Sqn, RAF Leeming, had a nose- wheel collapse on landing at RAF Adrotire, Cyprus on July 4. Both crew ejected safely. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 July 1989 11
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
