French authorities release preliminary report on the Germanwings crash investigation

On 6 May 2015, the BEA (Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile) released a preliminary report on the crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525 which highlighted the following findings:

• At about three minutes after the aircraft reached its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, the captain left the cockpit.

• Within 30 seconds of the captain leaving the cockpit, the first officer commanded the aircraft to descend to 100 feet, which is well below ground level.

• Within five minutes of the commanded altitude change, the airspeed was changed at least ten times, reaching a maximum of 350 knots (402 mph, 648 kph).

• The descent rate reached a maximum of 5,000 feet per minute, and averaged about 3,500 feet per minute.

• The descent was continuous, and controlled by the autopilot.

• Air traffic controllers and the French military attempted to contact the aircraft several times, but received no response.

• Before the collision with the terrain, there were multiple aural warnings heard on the CVR.

• The aircraft impacted the ground about 10 minutes and 13 seconds after the aircraft started its descent.

• Autopilot and autothrust remained engaged until impact.

• On the previous flight, while the captain was out of the cockpit, the first officer twice commanded the aircraft to descend to 100 feet for short periods of time.

The role of the first officer in the crash
The preliminary report did not state a definitive cause of the crash, but it did state that during the cruise phase, the first officer was alone in the cockpit and intentionally modified the autopilot instructions to order the aircraft to descend until it collided with the ground. The report also stated that the first officer did not open the cockpit door during the descent, despite requests for access made via the keypad, with cabin interphone, and by knocking on the door.

Aircraft trajectory

(click to enlarge)

First officer training history
The preliminary report provided an outline of the first officer's training history, including the fact that he started his flight training at the Lufthansa Flight Training Pilot School in Germany on 1 September 2008, but that his training was suspended for medical reasons for over eight months, from 5 November 2008 to 26 August 2009. It was during this period, specifically from April to July 2009, that the first officer did not have a valid medical certificate due to depression and his medical treatment for his condition.

From October 2010 to March 2011, he continued his flight training in the US, but was under contract as a flight attendant with Lufthansa for over two years before beginning his training to become an A320 first officer. He was appointed as an A320 copilot in June 2014.

Related information
Germanwings crash details from AirSafe.com
Lufthansa plane crashes
Other A320 crashes
Germanwings Wikipedia page
Flight 9525 Wikipedia entry

At least seven deliberate crashes by airline pilots since 1980

24 March 2015; Germanwings A320-200; D-AIPX; flight 4U9525; near Barcelonnette, France: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Barcelona, Spain to Düsseldorf, Germany. About a half hour after takeoff, while at a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, the aircraft began losing altitude, and crashed about ten minutes later. The investigative authorities suspect that the first officer deliberately crashed the aircraft. All six crew members and 144 passengers were killed.

A review of the cockpit voice recorder made the authorities suspect that the first officer locked the cockpit door while the captain was outside of the cockpit. The online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported than an analysis of their data showed that the autopilot was set to the minimum altitude of 100 feet, which is well below the ground level where the crash took place.

These recent revelations of the suspected cause of the Germanwings crash highlight the reality that despite all of the changes that the airline industry has made since 9/11 to prevent passengers or other outsiders from threatening aircraft, there is still a risk that crew members have the opportunity and the ability to deliberately crash airliners.

At least seven events since 1980
Since 1980, there have been at least seven occasions where an airline pilot is suspected to have deliberately crashed an airliner. One one occasion in 1994, a FedEx DC10 crew had to fight off an off duty pilot who had intended to crash the aircraft, and were barely able to survive the attack. For more details on these eight events, please visit http://t.co/XbqXIThVjB

Related information
Lufthansa plane crashes
A320 plane crashes
Airliners deliberately crashed by a flight crew member

Germanwings A320 crashes in France with the loss of all on board

24 March 2015; Germanwings A320-200; D-AIPX; flight 4U9525; near Barcelonnette, France: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Barcelona, Spain to Düsseldorf, Germany. About a half hour after takeoff, while at a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, the aircraft began losing altitude, and crashed about ten minutes later. All six crew members and 142 passengers were killed.

Germanwings is owned by Lufthansa, and this crash was the fourth Lufthansa or Lufthansa-related crash since 1970

Related information
A320 plane crashes
Flight 4U9525 Wikipedia entry

Below is the flight track of flight 4U9525 showing the flight track ending in southeastern France

Source: FlightAware.com

A review of a very eventful week in airline safety

This has been a very eventful week in airline safety, which has been dominated by the fallout from the April 1st fuselage rupture involving a Southwest Airlines 737-300, and an announcement by the French government wreckage from Air France flight 447 had been located at the bottom of the Atlantic. The A330 crashed into the ocean in June 2009, While the Southwest event has dominated the media, two other dramatic events have been occurring in the world of airline safety, including a deadly crash of a United Nations aircraft in Africa and an emergency evacuation of a United Airlines A320 in New Orleans .

Southwest Airlines fuselage rupture
There have been a number of unexpected surprises and regulatory actions since the NTSB started its investigation into the Southwest Airlines fuselage rupture on April 1st. This is a fast moving story with many parts, but the quick summary of the status of the investigation and the actions taken to deal with early findings is as follows:

- The rupture happened because of undetected metal fatigue in the fuselage

- A visual inspection, the only type required at the time, would not have detected the problem

- A previous Southwest 737 fuselage rupture in 2009 was in a completely different area of the fuselage

- The manufacturer (Boeing) had redesigned that area of the 737 fuselage in the 1990s and did not expect fatigue problems in this area of the aircraft (The lap joints that run the length of the fuselage) before about 60,000 flight cycles

- The incident aircraft had 39,781 flight cycles

- Southwest airlines grounded 79 similar aircraft (737-300s) and found five with similar problems

- On April 4th, Boeing came out with a service bulletin that detailed a more advanced inspection procedure that could detect the problem on affected Boeing 737-300, -400, and -500 series airplanes

- The FAA came out with an Airworthiness Directive (AD 2011-08-51) that required these advanced inspections be performed on all the affected aircraft within 20 days, and within five days of the aircraft has more than 35,000 cycles

- Aircraft that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles must have this inspection procedure repeated at intervals not to exceed 500 flight cycles

- If cracks are detected, they must be repaired by an approved method before the aircraft can fly again

- Southwest has already complied with this Airworthiness directive.

AirSafeNews.com will provide updates on this investigation as they become available. Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com was also interviewed by the BBC about this event.

United A320 has emergency landing in New Orleans
4 April 2011; United Airlines A320-200 (N409UA); flight 497: Shortly after departing New Orleans on a nonstop flight to San Francisco, while climbing through 4,000 feet, the crew received multiple automated warnings and detected smoke in the cockpit. The crew also reported a loss of primary instrumentation and turned back to New Orleans. Air traffic controllers had to provide navigational assistance. The aircraft lost of anti-skid braking and nose-wheel steering upon landing and exited the runway approximately 2000 feet from the departure end of the runway. There were no injuries among the 119 passengers and crew.



Crash of a UN plane in Africa kills all but one on board
4 April 2011; Georgian Airways Canadair CRJ-100; 4L-GAE; flight 834; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DNC): The aircraft was on a domestic unscheduled flight from Kisangani to N'Djili airport in Kinshasa, and was attempting an instrument approach to runway 24 around 14:00L during heavy rain and under low visibility conditions. The aircraft missed the runway, broke up, and caught fire. , and crashed into a forest while en route to its destination. There was one survivor among the four crew members and 29 passengers.

At the time of the crash, the airplane operated on behalf of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Because this was not a regular airline flight, this crash was not counted as a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com. This was also one of those rare airliner crashes with a sole survivor and the sixth fatal crash involving a CRJ.

Airblue A321 crash kills all 152 on board

28 July 2010; Airblue; A321-231; flight 202; near Islamabad, Pakistan: The aircraft (AP-BJB) was on a scheduled domestic flight from Karachi to Islamabad, Pakistan when it crashed during approach in a hilly area near the airport. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash, and all 146 passengers and six crew members were killed. The crash occurred at 9:45 am local time, and early reports indicate that there was rain in the area at the time of the crash.


Previous Airbus A320 Series Crashes
This is the ninth crash involving airline passenger deaths on an aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. The first was a June 1988 air show crash of an Air France A320, and the most recent was a May 2008 TACA Airlines A320 crash in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

About Airblue Airlines
Airblue is a private airline based in Pakistan. It began operations in 2004 and has an active fleet of about five A320 series aircraft. This was their first major crash.

Additional Resources
Wikipedia page about the crash
Wikipedia page about AirBlue
Fatal A320 plane crashes
Fatal airliner crash rates by model


Photo Credits: Wikipedia, Getty Images

The Miracle on the Hudson, Ejection Database, and A319 Landing Incident

Anniversary of the Miracle on the Hudson
One year after the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River, the NTSB investigation is still ongoing. While the investigation may not be completed for several months, there is a large amount of information from the investigation that is available for the public to review. The NTSB information page on last June's public meeting about the accident has links to past NTSB press releases, and links to transcripts and videos from the three day public hearing. Additional information on the accident is available at the NTSB's public docket for this investigation.

Ejection Seat Database
If you ever had a question about military plane crashes featuring the use of an ejection seat, then Project Get Out and Walk is worth a visit. The site is an illustrated history of assisted aircrew escape system and has a database of all known ejections and bailouts, with ejections listed by year, country, and aircraft.

United Airlines Emergency Landing at Newark
On January 10th, a United Airlines Airbus A319 (N816UA, flight 634)was damaged when it landed at Newark's Liberty International Airport with its right hand main landing gear retracted. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Chicago's O'Hare airport, to Newark, and the flight was normal until approach, when the crew experienced problems with lowering the landing gear.

The crew carried out a missed approach, and later landed with the right main gear retracted and came to rest on the runway, damaging the right engine and the underside of the aircraft. All 48 passengers and five crew members evacuated using the emergency slides and there were no major injuries.

This being the Twitter era, it isn't surprising that there were a few Tweets (Twitter posts) on this event. A passenger on another aircraft with Twitter name @expodebbie said: On runway. Newark just closed. Another aircraft with bad landing- mechanical issues. Emergency vehicles. Zero idea just how bad. 6:28 AM Jan 10th

Below are several photos of the damaged aircraft, plus a video of the actual landing taken from the cockpit of another aircraft.

Interview with Bird Strike Expert Dr. Ron Merritt

On January 18th, 2009, three days after the bird strike related ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in New York, Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com interviewed bird strike expert Dr. Ron Merritt. He's currently the president of Detect, Inc., which manufactures bird strike avoidance radars. Dr. Merritt was also at one time the military commander of US Air Force unit responsible for understanding and reducing bird strike hazards to Air Force aircraft. During this wide ranging conversation, they discus a variety of bird strike and wildlife hazard topics, including the need for wildlife experts in the US Airways accident investigation team, wildlife control policy issues, and the history of the key bird strike organizations in the US and Canada.

Interview with Dr. Merritt and Dr. Curtis

Post about the related interview of Dr. Curtis on the Escapes radio program.

For more information on the accident, including videos and background information on bird strike hazards and airliner ditchings, visit:
hudson.airsafe.org

Interview on the Escapes Radio Talk Show

On February 9th, 2009, Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com was interviewed on the "Escapes" radio show hosted by Ann Lombardi of the the Trip Chicks, who along Wendy Swartzell run the Atlanta area travel company Passport to Adventure. During the show, we discussed several of the issues around the previous month's ditching accident involving a US Airways A320 in New York, including what can be done about bird strike hazards, and how passengers should deal with fear of flying.

Listen to the interview

For more information on the accident, including videos and background information on bird strike hazards and airliner ditchings, visit:
hudson.airsafe.org

The "Miracle on the Hudson" and AirSafe.com

Last month's ditching of a US Airways A320 was quite dramatic, and the survival of all on board, due in part to a very quick and very effective rescue operation, has been called the "Miracle on the Hudson" by the public and the media. Two elements of the accident, the ditching and the suspected role of birds in the accident, were of particular interest to AirSafe.com. Dr. Todd Curtis, AirSafe.com's founder, has had a long relationship with bird and wildlife hazard professionals in the US, Canada, and Europe, and had designed and launched the web site of Bird Strike Committee USA.

After the crash, a number of bird hazard items were added to AirSafe.com, including updates of two previous research projects of Dr. Curtis. You can find links to those projects, as well as other links to Bird Strike Committee USA and other bird hazard related information, at http://birds.airsafe.org.

The crash involved a suspected bird strike, a common occurrence that rarely leads to a crash. The ditching aspect of this accident was even more rare, with this event being only the fourth time that a passenger jet airliner has been involved in a ditching. The attention the site attracted, especially an article published in the USA Today newspaper the day after the accident, led AirSafe.com to clarify its definition of ditching, a definition that is much more specific than those provided by the NTSB, FAA, and other major aviation safety organizations (See http://www.airsafe.com/events/define.htm).

You can find many more details about the event, and about issues related to the US Airways ditching, at http://hudson.airsafe.org. Among the resources at that location are:

AirSafe.com podcasts about the US Airways accident
http://www.airsafe.com/plane-crash/us-airways-flight-1549-hudson-ditching.htm

Previous US Airways crashes
http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/usair.htm

Other significant A320 events
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/a320.htm

An overview of bird strike hazards to aircraft
http://www.airsafe.com/birds.htm

Jet airliner ditching events
http://www.airsafe.com/events/ditch.htm

Selected bird strike videos
http://strikevideos.blogspot.com

Comparison of the US Airways event with seven other bird strike accidents
http://www.airsafe.com/birds/bird-strike-comparisons.pdf

Bird strike study from the AirSafe.com Foundation
http://www.airsafe.org/birds/BirdstrikeRates.pdf

Interview on WGN Radio after the US Airways Ditching (audio - MP3)

On 15 January 2009, a US Airways A320 encountered a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. Both engines lost power, apparently as the result of experiencing multiple bird strikes, and the crew was able to successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River. All five crew members and 150 passengers survived the accident. The following day, Dr. Todd Curtis was a guest of Dean Richards on Chicago's WGN radio. They discussed the US Airways event, how the public's fear of flying is affected by extensive media coverage of airline accidents, and what kind of measures could be taken to deal with the threat of bird strikes.

Listen to the interview

For more information on the accident, including videos and background information on bird strike hazards and airliner ditchings, visit:
hudson.airsafe.org

Ditching of a US Airways A320 on the Hudson River in New York

Crash of US Airways Flight 1549
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

On 15 January 2009, a US Airways A320 experienced a loss of power to both engines shortly after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. The crew was able to successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River near midtown Manhattan. Reportedly, the aircraft encountered a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. The aircraft reached an maximum altitude of about 3200 feet before it began to descend. After ditching, all five crew members and 150 passengers evacuated the aircraft. One passenger sustained serious injuries.

According to early reports, the aircraft took off normally toward the north, but the flight crew reported striking a flock of birds about two minutes after takeoff. Both engines lost power, and unable to either return to LaGuardia or to land in nearby Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, the crew turned the aircraft toward the south. After flying over the George Washington Bridge, the crew executed a controlled ditching on the Hudson River just west of midtown Manhattan. The passengers and crew escaped with the help of numerous ferries, tour boats, fireboats, and other vessels in the area.

This was the first crash of an Airbus A320 operated by a US airline. The A320 has had eight events involving passenger fatalities. The first was a 1988 crash involving Air France, and the most recent was a May 2008 crash of a TACA airliner in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

While many jet airliners have crashed in the water, prior research by AirSafe.com revealed only three previous events where the crew of a large passenger jet intentionally ditched the aircraft in a controlled manner. Prior to the US Airways event, the most recent ditching involved a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines 767 in 1996. The others included a 1963 ditching of an Aeroflot jet in Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg), and a 1970 ditching of a DC-9 in the Caribbean.

Fatal and serious bird strike related crashes of large jet aircraft are also quite rare. The last fatal US bird strike accident involving a large jet was the crash of a US Air Force E-3 AWACS in Alaska in 1995. The last time bird strikes led to passenger deaths in the US was in 1960 in Boston. Since 1990, five other large jet airliners have crashed due to bird strikes, but only one involved fatalities.

The NTSB is currently investigating this US Airways accident. For updates on this investigation, and for the latest news from AirSafe.com, visit hudson.airsafe.org.

For related information, visit:
Previous US Airways Crashes
Other Significant A320 Events
Bird Strike Hazards to Aircraft
Jet Airliner Ditching Events

TACA Has First Fatal Jet Airliner Event

A TACA Airbus A320-200 crashed in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on 30 May 2008, killing the captain, two passengers, and two people outside of the aircraft. The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from San Salvador to Tegucigalpa. The aircraft touched down on the runway on its second landing attempt, but after landing it departed the runway, went beyond the airport perimeter, and struck several vehicles on a nearby road.

There were 124 passengers and five crew members on board the aircraft. In addition to the three onboard fatalities, about 65 other passengers were injured.

The fuselage was broken in several locations with one of the engines was separated from the wings. Although there was a fuel spill and a post crash fire, most of the aircraft was not damaged by that fire.



At the time of the accident, the runway was wet from the passage of tropical storm Alma earlier in the day.

This was the first fatal jet airliner event involving TACA. Prior to this fatal event, the airline had two significant events involving its jet fleet.

On 24 May 1988, a TACA 737 flying to New Orleans lost power to both engines due to water ingestion from a storm. The crew was able to glide safely to a landing on a levee next to a waterway.

On 6 April 1993, a TACA 767 overran the runway during a landing in Guatemala City, and crashed into a nearby neighborhood. Although three people in the neighborhood were injured, no one was on the ground or in the plane was killed.

The crash in Tegucigalpa was the eighth fatal event involving the A320, with the first occurring in 1988 and the previous one, involving the Brazilian airline TAM, in July 2007.

The civil aviation authorities of Honduras are leading the investigation, with support from TACA, Airbus, the engine manufacturer, the NTSB, FAA, and civil aviation authorities from France and El Salvador.

Because of the crash, and because of ongoing concerns about the main airport in Tegucigalpa, that airport was immediately closed to all aircraft, and even after the airport is reopened, large jet airliners will not be allowed at the airport.

Commercial jets are now operating through the city of San Pedro Sula, and later this year the Honduran government plans to allow larger jets to land in Soto Cano Air Base (formerly known as the Pamerola Air Base).


Updates or findings from the investigation will be posted on AirSafe.com as they become available.

If you would like more details about this podcast and about the fear of flying, please use the links below:

Podcast from the Day of the Accident (MP3)
http://www.airsafe.com/podcasts/show50_taca.mp3

Podcast Transcript
http://www.airsafe.com/podcasts/show50.htm

Fatal and Significant TACA Events
http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/taca.htm

Fatal Airbus A320 Events
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/a320.htm

Lufthansa A320 Has Close Call in Hamburg

On 1 March 2008, a Lufthansa Airbus A320 arriving from Munich was attempting a landing at Hamburg, Germany under high crosswind conditions. The left wingtip struck the ground during the attempt, and the crew successfully executed a go-around. The aircraft landed without further incident. At the time, winds at the airport were gusting up to 49 knots. The left wingtip and winglet were damaged, and there were no injuries to any occupants..

Video of the Event


Photos of Event and the Aircraft Damage

Turbulence Event on an Air Canada A319 Flight on 10 January 2008

The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Victoria, BC to Toronto, ON. The aircraft had a possible encounter with moderate to severe turbulence while in the vicinity of the Canadian Rockies. The crew diverted to Calgary, where injured passengers and crew members were treated for minor injuries. The aircraft was not seriously damaged, and there were no fatalities among the five crew members or 83 passengers.

For further details, please choose one of the podcast options below:

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

To download a copy of the MP3 audio file or one of the MP4 or WMV video files, visit the AirSafe.com podcast home page at http://podcast.airsafe.org.

Related Resources: Turbulence Risks http://www.airsafe.com/cabin/turb.htm

To obtain a PDF file or PowerPoint presentation of the contents of this podcast, please contact AirSafe.com at http://feedback.airsafe.org/.