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The Resurgence of Air Safety but also a Watch Out Alert
Marcelo Gerin Giacomeli • Jul 06, 2023
The Resurgence of Air Safety but also a Watch Out Alert
In a recent discussion through our WhatsApp group we were trying to find what could be the probable cause(s) for the sudden increase in accidents throughout our aerospace industry.
As some have read on past news, weird accidents happened (weird because they are not common) and they were sad enough to think what might be the cause of such misfortune.
A fire truck got struck by an aircraft while crossing the landing track in an airport in Peru; notably, none of the aircraft passengers and crew were injured; unfortunately, two firefighters were killed in the accident.
In another weird and also not usual, a ground crew member got ingested by an airplane engine while supporting a ground handling operation.
Although there were all kinds of disruptions over our industry mostly because the pandemic was drastic and dramatic, the recovery of the sector brought together the risks of operating a whole chain that lost not only skilled people but also the confidence that is acquired when you perform and assure that all safety processes are being followed in a every day basis.
The ramp-up of demand was sharp!
After the lock-down attenuation, airliners and passengers were in a hurry to live all again what they seemed to have lost during the isolation.
On the other side, companies had to bring again a mass (literally) of workers that were laid-off during the pandemic. From a simple perspective, there was the entrance of a fraction of new people, with low to none knowledge of the risks inherent to the operations.
Of course, on the other side there is a serious set of regulations and agencies that not only watch the market but also support and lastly, but sometimes necessary, punish if there was a clear intention (and maybe not) to overlap the laws.
According to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network, aka ASN, on its Safety Report there were 115 accidents in 2022, of which 16 were fatal crashes resulting in 233 fatalities between passengers and crew and 4 people on the ground.
Also according the ASN, the total number of accidents in 2022 is a 22% increase when comparing with 2021 and a staggering 37% increase facing the 2020 data.
On the other side, the EASA Air Ops Risk Review for 2022 focus on the risks and challenges of the air industry after the recovery has had its true restart.
On its report, fortunately there were no fatal accidents involving an EASA Member State (MS) operator since 2016.
But the message is also clear: There is a continual reduction in worldwide fatalities, but this should never lead to COMPLACENCY in our safety efforts.
So, spread the message to those you might think can contribute to Air/Ground Safety. A review is always worth.
Sources:
On May 2, 2024, a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321Neo that had just arrived from Kahului to San Francisco International Airport suffered damage to its left front door. The passengers had all disembarked before the jet bridge collapsed. No injuries were reported. The aircraft was taken out of service. Source: FlightMode Image: A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge
On April 26, 2024, a Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 performing flight from JFK New York to Los Angeles encountered an issue and promptly decided to return to JFK due to reports of vibrations. The aircraft landed safely. An after-flight inspection revealed that the right-hand overwing emergency slide was missing. The crew, who responded swiftly and effectively, stated that they had received an indication about the emergency slide and that they had heard a sound from that side of the aircraft during the climb out. The location of where the overwing slide could be is still unknown. Source: Aviation Herald Images: JACDEC
On April 26, 2024, an Ethiopian Boeing 787-8 performing a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Goma, DR Congo, became disabled after landing due to a hydraulic leak that caused the aircraft to lose nose-wheel steering. The aircraft was towed off the runway, and clean-up crews cleaned up the hydraulic fluid. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Source: AvHerald Images: Mafuta Kasongo & Flightradar24
On April 21, 2024, an American Airlines Airbus A321 was involved in an incident at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The aircraft, which was under tow and had no passengers on board, experienced substantial damage when the tug lost control and struck the underside of the fuselage behind the nose gear. No injuries were reported. Source: FlightMode Images: twitter/goodbadugly_ap
On April 24, 2024, an ANA All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8 performing a flight from Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo Chitose, Japan, experienced a hydraulic fluid leak upon landing, causing its number two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine to emit smoke. The aircraft stopped on the runway and shut both engines down. Emergency services responded, and no injuries were reported. The runway was closed until the aircraft was towed off. What caused the hydraulic leak is still unknown. Source: JACDEC, FL360aero, Aviation Herald Images: JACDEC, FL360aero, Aviation Herald
On April 22, 2024, an Aeroflot Airbus A330-300 performing a flight from Yekaterinburg, Russia, to Phuket, Thailand, suffered a severe loss of hydraulic fluid while landing at Phuket International Airport. The aircraft stopped and blocked the runway for over an hour until a tug towed it away. A team cleaned up the hydraulic fluid from the runway, and operations then restarted on the runway. No injuries were reported. What caused the loss of hydraulic fluid is still unknown. Source: FlightMode Images: AOT Phuket
On April 21, 2024, a Safair Boeing 737-800, under the skilled command of its crew, performed a flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Despite the unexpected loss of its left-outboard main wheel on departure, the crew demonstrated their professionalism by leveling off at FL220 and burning off fuel before performing a low approach at Johannesburg. The aircraft then finally landed on runway 21R, sustaining damage to its left main landing gear. However, due to the crew's swift and decisive actions, no injuries were reported. Source: AvHerald Images: Twitter/MDN News
On April 17, 2024, an Air Algerie Boeing 737-800 performing a flight from Algiers, Algeria, to Lyon, France, decided to return to Algiers after reaching cruising altitude FL340 because of a cracked outer window pane. The aircraft landed without any incident, and no injuries were reported. Another aircraft was used to take the passengers to Lyon with a 7-hour delay. The cracked window pane aircraft was repaired and returned to service 19 hours later. Source: AvHerald Images: JACDEC
On April 15, 2024, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 received minor damage at New York JFK Airport when a vehicle from the Gategourment catering service struck the number 1 engine nacelle of the Rolls Royce Trent XWB aircraft which was parked at the time. The aircraft had no passengers and was subsequently taken out of service. No injuries were reported. Source: Aviation Safety Network Image: JACDEC