Second Bird Strike For Southwest Airlines In 2 Days

A bird struck a Southwest Airlines 737 landing at Sacramento International Airport Thursday night, becoming lodged in the plane's right wing flap.

An airport source said the cockpit crew was unaware of the bird strike until after the plane was safely on the ground and the aircraft underwent a routine post-flight inspection.

Southwest Airlines flight 2983 from Burbank arrived at 7:19 p.m.

The source said supervisors were examining the wing to see if it was safe to keep the aircraft in service. 

The blood pattern in this photograph of the bird strike obtained by News10 suggested the bird hit the right wing flap when the flaps were deployed during the final approach to the airport, then was pinched in the hinge when the pilot retracted the flaps after touchdown.

On Wednesday, a departing Southwest Airlines flight was forced to return to Sacramento International Airport following a bird strike.

Sacramento International Airport lies within the Pacific Flyway and experiences more bird strikes than any other airport on the West Coast.

Source: George Warren, News10/KXTV

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iPad In The Cockpit: Large Airlines Given The Go To Use Device For Landing And Takeoffs

The FAA has given their final approval for iPads to be used in the cockpits of American Airlines aircraft during all phases of flight. Using iPads as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers means increased safety and efficiency on the flight deck.

The existing paper manuals and charts weigh in around 35 pounds, so with an iPad being closer to 1.2 pounds there will be a significant savings not only in the shoulder strain of the pilots who need to cart those things around but will result in an estimated $1.2 million dollars less fuel per year as well!

American Airlines will begin the transition by replacing existing materials with iPads on all B-777 aircraft. This will then systematically extend to all of their other fleets.

Using digital readers makes good sense. Not only can they be indexed allowing for quick information location and retrieval, they can also be updated much easier and are not as cumbersome as large binders and loose papers. (not to mention the benefit for the environment with so much less paper and fuel being consumed)

To receive full FAA approval, American Airlines conducted a 6 month test that included thousands of hours evaluating the iPad as a replacement. Currently their approval extends to both the iPad 1 and iPad 2 models of the device.

Other airlines are currently testing and evaluating the iPad as well, though we suspect many are looking toward American Airlines as the guinea pigs allowing them to work out all of the bugs and kinks that are inevitable during a large-scale transition such as this.

Source: Yahoo News

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United Airlines With One Engine Out Lands Safely In Colorado

An engine shut down on a United Airlines jetliner  earlier today, forcing it to make an emergency landing in western Colorado with 125 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 757 was flying from Denver to Los Angeles when one of its two engines shut down, and the flight was diverted to Grand Junction Regional Airport, typically a landing spot for smaller aircraft. Passenger Jim Schreckengast said ground crews at first had trouble finding stairs high enough to reach the door of the 757. The plane landed safely at about 11:44 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. No injuries were reported. United spokesman Charlie Hobart said he didn't know the nature of the problem, or whether the crew shut down the engine or it stopped on its own.

 Amy Jordan, deputy director at Grand Junction airport, news officials that "the engine had problems shortly after takeoff. "Schreckengast, of Fort Collins, Colo., told The Associated Press that the pilot announced over the public address speakers that the engine had lost oil volume. Schreckengast said passengers remained calm and no one appeared to be afraid. "There was some applause when we landed," he said. "I think the crew handled it very well." United Airlines sent another plane from Denver to pick up the passengers in Grand Junction and take them on to Los Angeles.

Source: The Associated Press

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On 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight LX 3597 crashed into a hill after aborting their landing into Zurich. 28 passengers and 5 crew members were aboard, but only 9 survived. The cause was the pilot descending below the minimum safe altitude for the approach. 





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