Adept at Anything

A FIREFIGHTER AT TIRUPATI AIRPORT in India had a quick job description ammendment last month when the two air traffic controllers failed to show up for work.

Tirupati Airport (Wikipedia)

When a Jet Airways flight from Hyderabad arrived in the airport control area, they were not able to get any response from the tower for landing instructions. Tirupati has no approach radar and pilots rely on air traffic controllers to provide runway and weather information and give landing clearance.

Immediately the airport's deputy general manager orderd one of the airport's firefighters, known only as Basha, to the tower and gave him directions over the phone on how to bring a plane in for a landing.

Following his directions, Basha safely landed the plane carrying 60 passengers.  The quick-learning firefighter continued his fill-in duty for about 40 minutes before one of the tardy controllers finally showed up.

The grossly unsafe incident was made public yesterday when the airport executive that made the decision was suspended from his job along with the two missing controllers.

BBC News carried the STORY.
One India News has MORE.

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Sunday Morning – Where Do We Land?

Everybody is aware of the ineptitude of centralized government when it comes to getting things done efficiently.  Instead of allowing professionals to build or operate complex projects, the legislature or council will try and do it on their own (usually because they want the big contracts to go to their friends).  I don't know what the motives or origins of the design work for a new children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia were, but the results are familiar.  The new Royal Children's Hospital was built by the state government to replace an old, outmoded building and they laid out more than $1 billion for it.  That's right, a billion dollars (Aus.) for one hospital.

After it was built last year, it was found that the roof-top helipad is inadequate for some instances, primarily weather changes and weight limits.  The old hospital a few blocks away had its helipad on the ground and weight limits were never  consideration.  But apparently this new heliport which is on what appears to be a 5th-floor level, is right at the limit for a routine helicopter with crew and patient.  This being the state's primary children's hospital, it is also used frequently for advanced pediatric transports that require the hospital staff to load up equipment such as repirators, etc., along with a cadre of doctors and nurses.  But all that puts helicopter over the limit for safety on this roof.  (See article from The Age HERE.)

Currently their only alternative is to use the helipad at a hospital in Essenden which is a 25-minute drive (one-way) in the best of traffic conditions.  Rush hour and business day traffic will slow it down considerably, so that a mercy flight requiring the staft to travel out, retrieve, and return will require the staff to be gone from the hospital for more than two hours longer than should be. 

Another consideration overlooked is the occasional times that windy conditions prevent rooftop landings and a regulation that does not permit rooftop ops when the temperature goes over 30º C.  That has something to do with the air being "too thin," but I don't understand why you can take off in this thin air from the ground, but not from 50 ft. higher.  But then, that's government regulations for you.

Danger Zone photo by Joe Armao
for The Age newspaper.

So why not just build a new pad on the site of the old hospital which is only a couple of minutes away, to be used when the rooftop is unsafe?  Ohhh, noooo!!!   The old hospital grounds are designated to be turned into a park with valuable "green space" and when that alternative was advanced, the public outcry was politically deafening.  They just will not tolerate a playground and green area to be polluted with an occasional helicopter arriving to save an infant's life.  They have their priorities in Melbourne.

Right now our priority is to get this equipment checked out while cook gets the Sunday breakfast ready.  I'm going to make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is still operating at all temperatures.  See you back in the day room.

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Winner Proclaimed Early

A DAY-LABORER HAD TO BE FORCIBLY restrained  before continuing his journey to the emergency room this past Saturday evening.  Altoro Alveriz was riding in an SUV along with two colleagues down I-95 in South Carolina.  The Charleston Post & Courier tells us:

Around mile marker 60 on I-95, just north of the Bells Highway interchange, the vehicle's other occupants said they were listening to music and joking around when they heard a rear window being rolled down, according to the incident report. Then they saw Alveriz climbing through it.

Their attempts to catch Alveriz by his shirt failed, and the man fell onto the pavement, they told deputies. The Ford was traveling about 70 mph, they estimated.

Alveriz's head was bleeding when rescuers arrived. A LifeNet helicopter later started to take Alveriz to Medical University Hospital when he became combative with paramedics about five minutes into the flight.

Alveriz continued to fight with the medics while they were airborne and then he tried to jump out of the helicopter (certainly at a speed greater than 70).  By then the pilot had gotten clearance for an emergency landing at a nearby airfield along with a call for police and a ground ambulance.

Things were tense inside the tiny cabin of the Life-Net helicopeter  (WCSC-TV photo)

After safely putting down, the patient was strapped into a restraining garment and taken by land the rest of the way to a hospital.  His friends said that he had been drinking beer all day long after a phone call to his home in Mexico where he appeared to have received some upsetting news.

While enroute to the hospital in the ambulance, his condition began deteriorating rapidly and he was diverted directly into an ICU.  His condition has not been publicly released.

Read the full story in the Post & Courier HERE.

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All Victims Were in the Passenger Basket

Update:  Investigators have pieced together the sequence of events.  Scroll down.

A HOT AIR BALLOON CARRYING A PILOT AND TEN PASSENGERS caught on fire while airborne and plummeted to the ground killing everyone on board.

Burned turf marks the crash site.  (Sunday Herald photo)
Update:  Most of the heavily-charred bodies are still in the burn circles
awaiting the forensic teams.

The tragedy occurred near Carterton, New Zealand, Saturday morning NZ time.  There are varying descriptions on how high the balloon was when it caught fire.  All witnesses agree that it hit a power line, but some say that happened first and started the fatal sequence of events and other say that the balloon was already burning and dropped onto the lines as it was falling.

The Daily Mail has an early REPORT.

A report in NZ Stuff (HERE) describes the pilot:

The pilot of the company involved in the tragedy has been described as saftey conscious and professional. People spoken to today say operator and master balloon pilot Lance Hopping is one of the most respected balloonists in the Wairarapa.

Hopping gained his hot air balloon licence in 1995. He owns and operates Ballooning New Zealand Ltd, and has over 1000 hours commercial ballooning experience.

He has been flying one of New Zealand's biggest balloons, a Cameron 210, which can carry 10 passengers plus pilot.

Lance Hopping  (Wairarapa Times)

UPDATE:  The Herald Sun has an updated report with more new details and witness declarations  HERE.

Update #2:  After talking to witnesses and viewing still camera and video recordings, the investigators have pieced together the final sequence of events.  The balloon was trying to land in a nearby field and accidentally grazed the power lines.  The pilot then attempted to rise quickly, but the basket was already afire from the high-voltage contact.  Two of the passengers then jumped out to escape the flames and fell to their deaths.  The balloon rose to about 500 ft. elevation and then the entire balloon caught fire and dropped like a rock straight down to the crash site.  The Telegraph reported:  "It was just a long streak of flames, probably about 10 metres long," said David McKinlay, who watched as the balloon fall "at colossal speed" from a height of about 500ft. "It was just a sheer flame as it hit the ground. It came down like a bloody rocket and then there was a big bang. The impact must have been terrible."

Most of the bodies were burned so badly that they are completely unrecognizable and they are still in situ while the forensics teams work on the evidence gathering and body inspections.  All of them are expected to be removed by Monday.

Protective tarp are placed over the human remains
until the primary forensic activities are completed  (Reuters)

The NZ Herald adds:

Police and forensic specialists are continuing the investigation into yesterday's balloon crash, but warn it will take some time to complete.

"This is not a quick process and will take some time to complete, to ensure we complete a thorough investigation into how this tragedy occurred and ensure incidents of this nature do not reoccur in the future," said Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Brent Register.

The debris was spread over an area of 50m and was being forensically mapped.

He said the DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) process to formally identify victims could take several days.

"Last night, two of the eleven bodies were removed from the scene," he said . "We are working towards removing the bodies of the other nine victims over the course of the afternoon."

OneNews has provided this brief aerial tour over the crash site:

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Tragic Start to the Holiday Weekend

TWO LIGHT PLANES HAVE CRASHED In the past 24 hours killing all passengers on both aircraft, one in northern New Jersey and the other in Brazos County, Texas.

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A SINGLE-ENGINE PRIVATE AIRCRAFT that had just taken off from the Teterboro, New Jersey, airport at 9:51 am Eastern., bound for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near Atlanta crashed on a busy Interstate highway.  All five people on board were killed.

Star-Ledger photo

The New York Times reports:

A few minutes after takeoff, the pilot spoke with air traffic controllers about icing conditions, said Robert Gretz, a senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. But the pilot did not sound distressed, and it was unclear if he was reporting ice on his wings or simply asking about areas that could be icy.

The plane disappeared from radar at 17,500 feet. The crash occurred 14 minutes after takeoff.

Early reports say that the plane suddenly started spiraling out of control and shedding parts as it dropped, then a wing came off and the fuselage dropped straight down into a wooded area in the median of Interstate 287 across the river from New York City.  Parts were strewn over an area of a half-mile and the debris burst into flame in several spots.

Star-Ledger photo

On board the private single-engine turbo-prop, according to a press release from a New York City investment bank, Greenhill & Co., were two of its managing directors, Jeffrey F. Buckalew, 45, and Rakesh Chawla, 36, both from New York City. Buckalew’s wife, Corinne, and their two children, Jackson and Meriwether, also were on board.

WABC-TV posted this raw video taken from their helicopter shortly after the crash:

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A SINGLE-ENGINE PIPER SARATOGA AIRCRAFT that was flying from Atlanta to Waco, Texas, Monday night went down as it passed through violent weather around 10 pm Central.  The crash killed all  five passengers who were family members from Georgia.

Air traffic control said that the plane knew of the bad weather and had requested a new flight path around it.  When the controller gave them directions to avoid it, the pilot mistakenly turned in the opposite direction and shortly after the plane came down in a field near College Station.

KWTX-TV filed this video report from the scene:

The Associated Press tells that Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, identified the victims as 33-year-old Michael D. Butler; his 34-year-old wife Kelly; their 14-year-old daughter Brooke; and son Braden, age 2. The family was from Stockbridge, Georgia, south of Atlanta. Also killed was the pilot’s brother, David S. Butler, 37, of Mount Clam, Texas.

The Bryan-College Station Eagle has more DETAILS.

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Airport Employees Save Some Planes

A FIRE IN A HANGER AT THE GREATER CUMBERLAND Regional Airport Wednesday night damaged or destroyed 10 personal aircraft that were kept in the 16-stall building.  The airport is located in Wiley Ford, West Virginia, across the Potomac River from Cumberland, Maryland, and is operated by a bi-state authority.

News-Tribune photo

Airport manager Terry Malone lives next door to the airfield and got a phone call around 10:50 pm from one of the aircraft owners.  The man had stopped by the hanger to get something from his plane and when he opened the door he was met with smoke and heat.  He called Malone to report it and the manager, who is also a volunteer firefighter in the community, dialed 9-1-1 before dashing over to the hangar.

The Cumberland Times-News reports:

Setting aside airport paperwork that he had been working on, Malone raced to the scene from his Wiley Ford home located next to the airport.

"Myself and some other airport employees pulled some of the airplanes out before firefighters arrived. It was an intense fire that melted the aluminum frames of the planes and the structure," he said late Thursday morning after meeting with an investigator from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Nine airplanes were destroyed — most believed to be single-engine models — and one other plane was damaged. Four planes were pulled out of the 700-by-64-foot hangar that Malone estimated to be valued at $500,000.

Times-News photo

Late Thursday afternoon, Malone said the fire marshal’s office estimated the property losses from the fire at $2.1 million.

Ten units in the unheated metal structure were destroyed and six others were damaged by smoke. The cost of one unit was estimated at $35,000.

The heavily damaged hangar is owned by the airport and is estimated to be about 20 years old. Sixty other hangars located at the airport and other buildings were not affected by the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not currently considered suspicious.

Malone also explained to the Times-News:  "The incident has not affected the airport operation," said Malone, who estimated 39 corporate- and privately-owned aircraft fly in and out of the airport daily, according to the latest information from the Federal Aviation Administration.

"This airport is a lot busier than people realize. The airport is home to over 40 employees, including the Maryland State Police Aviation Division and its medevac helicopter, the Runway Cafe restaurant that closed in August — we’re hoping to have it reopen with a new contractor in the spring — and other businesses located at the airport, including a construction company and Emma’s video gaming outlet. The airport employs nine workers in addition to my part-time position as manager.

"The airport is an integral part of the community. We have flights in and out throughout the day, including medical missions that are providing crucial services," he added.

Read the full STORY.

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Updates posted.  Scroll down.

APSN NATL ALERT: PINAL COUNTY ARIZONA: LARGE AIRCRAFT CRASH – LOST DUTCHMAN MINE AREA (NEAR APACHE JCT). PINAL COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTING MULTIPLE LARGE EXPLOSIONS. SEVERAL 911 CALLERS REPORTED SEEING A PLANE FLY INTO THE MOUNTAIN. NO EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ON SCENE AT THIS TIME, BUT PCSO IS REPORTING A CONFIRMED PLANE DOWN.

The emergency alert was transmitted shortly after 6:30 pm Mountain time Wednesday evening after a twin-engine private aircraft flew at full speed into the side of Superstition Mountain in northern Arizona.

East Valley Tribune photo

This home video camera was already set up and taping the view for an undisclosed reason when the plane flew into the frame.  You can see the airplane's lights entering from the left-hand edge of the view and traveling to the right until the impact at the 55-second mark:

The plane was believed to have been carrying six family members and it was immediately announced that there appeared to be no survivors.  The crash site is in an especially rugged terrain and there were no emergency units anywhere around that could reach the crash zone in a timely manner.

KNXV-TV Ch. 15 Phoenix has an updated report:

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office said three children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old were among the six on board when the plane went down.  PCSO spokesman Elias Johnson confirmed the body of one of the children was recovered at the crash site just before 10 p.m. The age and gender of the child are unknown at this time.

During a Wednesday night press conference, Sheriff Paul Babeu said 10 deputies were flown to the top of Flat Iron Mountain to search the area, but had difficulty locating the passengers. According to Babeu, it "does not look promising" that anyone on board survived the fiery crash.

As of 10 p.m., the plane fuselage was still burning in the rugged terrain atop the mountain range, making it hard for crews to access the crash site.  Babeu said deputies and other agencies called in to assist will continue searching the area through the night. Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to visit the site at noon on Thursday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer told ABC15 the twin engine Rockwell AC69 plane "crashed under unknown circumstances."  Kenitzer said the plane, registered to Ponderosa Aviation Inc. out of Safford, Ariz., had just departed from Falcon Field in Mesa before crashing. It appears the aircraft initially left from Safford and stopped at the East Valley airfield around 4:30 p.m. to refuel.

The explosive crash sent up a large fireball that was witnessed by many people in the area and the flaming debris set many small brush fires all around the crash site that were still burning several hours later.

The Los Angeles Times adds:

A witness identified as Lou Adams told KNXV-TV in Phoenix that he was camping in the mountains when he heard a loud noise, then saw a "fireball and a couple of pieces disappear behind the mountain. I could definitely see it fell out of the sky."

Rescue crews struggled to reach the crash site in the Superstition Mountains, uneven terrain with jagged peaks and deep crevices. The plane slammed into a mountainside in an area so remote that deputies had to be airlifted to it in pairs.

They found two debris fields with still-smoldering wreckage wedged into crevices, Babeu said. The plane had refueled in Mesa, which probably helped fan the large, post-crash fireball that residents spotted from the valley floor.

Update:  KPHO-TV is reporting that the airplane flew from its base in Safford to Falcon Field in Mesa to pick up three children, all between the ages of 5 and 9, for Thanksgiving. (Sheriff Babeau) says besides a pilot, a mechanic and another adult were also on board.  The area is being searched by helicopters equipped with infra-red cameras.  KPHO also filed this video update:

At the time of this posting it is still dark in Arizona.  Firegeezer will update this report later today when more information is made available.

Update, 11 am Eastern:
It has been confirmed that the three children were siblings.  They were being taken to be with their father over the Thanksgiving weekend.  The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

Elias Johnson with the Pinal County Sheriff's Department spoke to the Los Angeles Times from the scene of the crash on Thanksgiving morning.  "Six people — three children, two of them boys and one girl" were killed, Johnson said. Three of those aboard were adult men.

The mother of the children lives in Arizona's Pinal County, where the crash took place in a mountainous area near Flatiron. "I personally made a visit and notification" to the mother "with the information we had late last night.  The mother is a pilot herself," Johnson said. "She understands when a plane crashes at 230 miles an hour … directly into the face of the mountain … and when it's a fiery crash" there's little hope of survivors. "So she understood that."

No confirmation yet on the identities of the three adults nor any mention if one of them might be the children's father.  Check back later for further updates.

Update #2, 9:30 pm Eastern:
It has been confirmed that the pilot was the children's father.

The plane apparently crashed near the crest of the mountain, just short of clearing it.  The estimated speed of the aircraft at impact is 230 mph.

Fuselage broken into two pieces.  (KNXV-TV)

As soon as it was light, helicopters began lowering the search and rescue posse, additional deputies, and federal aviation officials to the mountain top. From there they descended to the crash site and the 40 search specialists repelled into the many crevices looking for any further victims.  Their mission was to remove the bodies without disturbing any of the evidence.  They also photographed and documented as much of the crash scene that they could before 4 pm when they had to leave with high winds expected to pick up shortly after that.

KSAZ-TV Ch. 10 has a good video showing the crash site and explaining the arduous search methods being used:

Ch. 10 also posted the sheriff's press conference:

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Not One Single Injury

A NEW ZEALAND HELICOPTER PILOT will be going to church for sure this Sunday.  Earlier this morning (Wednesday) around 10:30 am local time, Greg Gribble was using his helicopter in a work zone to help set up a 70-ft.-high fiber-optic Christmas tree for the New Zealand Telecom when the rotors appeared to strike a cable.

Fairfax Media photo

The impact caused the aircraft's rotor blades to start breaking apart while sending the fuselage spinning out of control just 15 feet off the ground.  The helicopter broke into pieces while flinging the strapped-in pilot around the cabin before it came to rest nose up on the ground.  Fortunately there was no fuel leak to trigger a hot and potentially fatal fire and several of the construction workers were able to climb onto the wreckage and free the pilot who remained conscious the entire time.

NZTV was videorecording the operation for their news broadcast when the incident took place.  They captured the entire wreck plus the daring rescue by the site workers who leapt onboard to get Gribble to safety amidst the obvious fire hazard:

Amazingly, despite the flying debris being pitched around, nobody on the ground was struck or injured.

Greg Gribble

Greg Gribble is the owner of the family business Helisika Helicopters and is in his mid-50's according to his daughter.  He was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital just a few hours later.

Stuff.co.nz has a good, complete report plus an 11-image photo gallery HERE.

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Pilot Escapes Serious Injury

AN AERIAL TANKER WORKING A SCRUB FIRE in southern France Saturday afternoon crashed while making a drop and paritally burned.  The pilot of the Morane class plane was able to extricate himself and escape the flames with only minor injuries.

TF1 News

The Herault region has been experiencing unusually hot and dry climate for several months and on Saturday the wind was blowing at 50 to 80 km/h as at least 13 wildfires sprang up.  Two hundred firefighters were mobilized in the area along with a dozen aircraft including two helicopters.  A Morane-type aerial "bomber" was making a drop on one of the fires when a sudden and violent wind burst slammed it into the ground.  The pilot suffered a head injury, but was able to get out of the wreckage that soon became mostly consumed with a fire.  He will be ok, the medical authorities have said.

In the late afternoon the winds died down and all the fires were either extinguished or brought under control before the sun set.

TF1 News has the STORY.

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No Injuries on Nearly-Empty Wheel

AN ULTRA-LIGHT AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO AN OPERATING Ferris Wheel Saturday afternoon near Sydney, Australia.

NZ Herald

The wheel was set up at a rural fair and was designed for children only.  But a light rain had started falling and only five children were on the ride when the ultra-light carrying a pilot and one passenger  inexplicably flew into the framework of the amusement ride.

This ITN video report includes a bystanders video that caught the impact:

Two of the children, ages 13 and 9 were trapped in their seat but were freed after about an hour. The pilot and passenger were trapped in the wreckage for three hours while the fire brigade cautiously worked to extricate them.  The two men were enveloped inside the fuselage with their seatbelts wrapped around them as fuel from the gas tank leaked onto the machinery of the ride.  The firefighters had to maintain a foam blanket over the spill as they worked to release the two men by utilizing an overhead crane.

AP

One eyewitness told the Sydney Morning Herald:

''I was watching and saw the little plane take off to the south. It wasn't gaining height from the moment it left the ground. I was thinking: 'What's this guy doing?' He was slightly to the left of the airfield where the temporary Ferris wheel has been erected.

''He started to veer to the left and he flew straight into the second from top carriage on the right hand side … there were lots of ambulances and fire crews using foam and water because the plane dropped its fuel. When the plane took off there was very little breeze, if any."

The 52-yr.-old pilot said that he never saw the wheel and he was surprised to find himself tangled up in it.

Air safety authorities are wanting to find out why the ferris wheel was erected right next to the airstrip, but neighbors say it has been set up in the same spot during the fair for at least six years.

ABC News carried the STORY.
The Sydney Morning Herald has MORE.

Shown is some raw video of the crane operation:

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