Four people killed in Agusta Westland AW119 helicopter crash in Russian Siberian city of Ulan-Ude

30.12.2018/ 10:38 LT
Russia/ Eastern Siberia/ 18km NE of Ulan-Ude
 
Four people were killed after the private Agusta Westland AW119 helicopter (RA-01908) crashed near Ulan-Ude, the capital of Siberia’s Buryatia republic.
The department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry in the republic of Buryatia confirmed the information. The helicopter belonged to a local businessman.
Rescuers extinguished the fire of the helicopter, which broke out after the accident.

Gomair Antonov An-26B cargo crashes near Kinshasa N’Djili Airport

20.12.2018/ 10:00 LT
DR Congo/ 37 km from Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH)

An Antonov An-26B transport plane (9S-AGB - msn 13402), operated by Gomair, crashed while descending towards the destination of Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport, D.R. Congo and in preparation for an approach to runway 06. The aircraft was returning from Tshikapa where it had delivered election materials for the national electoral commission (CENI). On December 21, CENI confirmed that the aircraft had crashed and that all 7 occupants died.

The Congolese authorities didn’t deploy a rescue team to search for the aircraft, only 24 hours after the crash, the wreckage was found by locals.

"The pilots complained that they had to take off with very hot engines, which meant that these engines were very tired. This aircraft had very few navigational instruments. At the time of the crash, it rained on the region. Not a very violent rain that can be dangerous for a normal camera but with this Antonov very very tired, that could be enough, " - says one connoisseur.

2 US warplanes crash off Japan; 2 found, 5 missing

06.12.2018/ 02:00 LT
Japan/ 100 km (62.5 mls) SSE off Muroto Cape in Pacific Ocean

The two aircraft were carrying seven crew members in total, two in the F/A-18 and five others in the KC-130, when they collided and crashed into the sea south of the Muroto Cape on Shikoku island in southwestern Japan. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The airmen might have been taking part in a nighttime midair refuelling exercise – a difficult manoeuvre used on long-range flights – when the collision occurred.
Both F/A-18 crewmen were rescued by Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces. One later died.
The search for the 5 crew-members of the KC-130, attached to the Marine Aerial Refuel Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152), was abandoned on December 11, 2018.

Five dead after helicopter crashes

in central Istanbul

26.11.2018/ 08:00 UTC
Turkey/ Istanbul/ Sancaktepe district

Four Turkish soldiers were killed and another was wounded after a military Bell UH-1H helicopter crashed in a central district of Istanbul. The sergeant, who was wounded, later died from the injuries sustained in the crash.

The helicopter crashed in the middle of a residential area in the Sancaktepe district of Istanbul, where a military base is situated on the Asian side of the city.
The aircraft was carrying out training flights at the Samandira air base in Istanbul.

Lion Air flight JT610 crash, 189 killed

29.10.2018/ 06:33 LT
Indonesia/ near Kerawang

According to Indonesian NTSB Preliminary report and other sources:
On 28 October 2018, a Boeing 737-8 (MAX) aircraft registered PK-LQP was being operated by PT. Lion Mentari Airlines (Lion Air) as a scheduled passenger flight from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (WADD), Denpasar to Jakarta as LNI043. During pre-flight check, the PIC discussed with the engineer of the maintenance actions that had been performed including replacement of the AoA (Angle of Attack) sensor and had been tested accordingly.
The aircraft departed at 1420 UTC (2220 LT) at night time, the DFDR showed the stick shaker activated during the rotation and remained active throughout the flight. About 400 feet, the PIC (Pilot in Command) noticed on the PFD (Primary Flight Display) the IAS DISAGREE warning appeared. The PIC handed over control to the SIC and cross checked the PFDs with the standby instrument and determined that the left PFD had the problem. The PIC noticed the aircraft was automatically trimming AND (Aircraft Nose Down). The PIC moved the STAB TRIM switches to CUT OUT and the SIC (Second in Command) continued the flight with manual trim without auto-pilot until the end of the flight.
The PIC declared “PAN PAN” to the Denpasar Approach controller due to instrument failure and requested to maintain runway heading. The PIC performed three Non-Normal Checklists and none contained the instruction “Plan to land at the nearest suitable airport”.
The remainder of the flight was uneventful and the aircraft landed Jakarta about 1556 UTC. After parking, the PIC informed the engineer about the aircraft problem and entered IAS and ALT Disagree and FEEL DIFF PRESS problem on the AFML.
The engineer performed flushing the left Pitot Air Data Module (ADM) and static ADM to rectify the IAS and ALT disagree followed by operation test on ground and found satisfied. The Feel Differential Pressure was rectified by performed cleaned electrical connector plug of elevator feel computer. The test on ground found the problem had been solved.
At 2320 UTC, (0620 on 29 October 2018 LT), the aircraft departed from Jakarta with intended destination of Pangkal Pinang. The DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder) recorded a difference between left and right AoA of about 20° and continued until the end of recording. During rotation the left control column stick shaker activated and continued for most of the flight.
During the flight the SIC asked the controller to confirm the altitude of the aircraft and later also asked the speed as shown on the controller radar display. The SIC reported experienced „flight control problem‟.
After the flaps retracted, the DFDR recorded automatic AND trim active followed by flight crew commanded ANU trim. The automatic AND trim stopped when the flaps extended. When the flaps retracted to 0, the automatic AND trim and flight crew commanded ANU trim began again and continued for the remainder of the flight. At 23:31:54 UTC, the DFDR stopped recording.
The plane went down in waters about 30 meters to 35 meters (98 to 115 ft) deep. On 01 November 2018 the DFDR was recovered and its data downloaded. In the middle of January 2019 divers from the Indonesian navy have recovered the second "black box" - the cockpit voice recorder.
According to the plane's flight data recorder, a new anti-stall system known as "MCAS" kept automatically pushing the nose of the plane down. During the aproximatley 13-minute flight, the pilots fought the downward tilt more than two dozen times until finally losing control and crashing into the Java Sea at 450 mph.
All 189 people on board were killed.

List of crew and passengers || Photos

Aeronautical engineer Peter Lemme reviewed the data from the investigator's preliminary report.
"This is a situation where they're flying the plane manually, they don't expect this kind of motion, so that definitely threw them off," he said.
Investigators believe a faulty sensor on the outside of the aircraft caused the MCAS system to malfunction. They also found the plane experienced incorrect readings on its three previous flights. The sensor was replaced, but the problem continued.
The pilots made attempts to regain control of the aircraft, but investigators said they did not hit two cutoff switches that would have deactivated the automated system - as was done by pilots on the plane's previous flight.
An erroneous angle-of-attack reading while pilots are flying manually can cause the plane’s flight computers to command the Max models to dive, Boeing said in the bulletin to airlines. While planes like the Max fly mostly on autopilot, pilots can fly manually if they’re dealing with unusual situations like the malfunctions that occurred on the Lion Air flight. Pilots can override the nose-down movement by pushing a switch on their control yoke, but the plane’s computers will resume trying to dive as soon as they release the switch, the manufacturer said.
Pilots should follow a separate procedure to halt the potentially dangerous action by the plane, the bulletin said. Flight crews are taught to handle “uncommanded nose-down stabilizer trim” by memorizing a procedure to disengage the angle-of-attack inputs to the plane’s computer system.
That angle-of-attack sensor is intended to measure the direction of air flow over wings so that they maintain lift. If the flow is disrupted by a plane going too slow or climbing too steeply, that can cause an aerodynamic stall and a plane will plummet. However, if the sensor malfunctions, it can cause the plane’s computers to erroneously think it is in a stall - which can then command the aircraft to abruptly dive.
 
History of the Flight JT610