Ryanair – Newcastle – 2011

On January 8th, 2012, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-ENI performing flight FR-9128 from Liverpool,EN (UK) to Oslo Rygge (Norway), was enroute at FL390 over the North Sea about 160nm northeast of Newcastle,EN (UK) when the captain became ill and was unable to continue duties. The first officer declared emergency and diverted to Newcastle descending the aircraft normally. The aircraft landed safely in Newcaste about 40 minutes later. Passengers reported the crew announced the captain was ill.

Ryanair B738 over North Sea on Jan 8th 2012, captain incapacitated

Air Berlin – Dusseldorf – 2011

On December 23rd, 2011, an Air Berlin Airbus A330-200, registration D-ALPG performing flight AB-7150 from Dusseldorf (Germany) to Bangkok (Thailand), was climbing out of Dusseldorf when the crew received an unsafe gear indication after retracting the gear and levelled off at FL100 for about one hour. The crew subsequently decided to continue the flight and climbed to FL370. Upon reaching the Black Sea about 140nm north of Istanbul the crew decided to divert to Istanbul’s Ataturk reporting a technical fault and landed safely on runway 35L about 3:40 hours after departure.

Air Berlin A332 at Dusseldorf and Istanbul on Dec 23rd 2011, unsafe gear

Ryanair – Bergamo – 2011

On December 23rd, 2011, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-DLS performing flight FR-4732 from Berlin Schoenefeld (Germany) to Milan Bergamo (Italy), ingested a bird into its right hand engine (CFM56) while on approach to Bergamo. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 28.

Ryanair B738 at Bergamo on Dec 23rd 2011, bird strike

easyJet – Asturias – 2011

On December 14th 2011, an Easyjet Airbus A319-100, registration G-EZIZ performing flight U2-3085 from London Stansted,EN (UK) to Asturias,SP (Spain), was on approach to Asturias Airport (runway length 7200 feet/2200 meters) about 50nm north of the aerodrome, when the crew aborted the approach at FL220 due to technical problems. The crew subsequently decided to divert to Madrid,SP (Spain), climbed back to FL300, requested emergency services on stand by in Madrid and landed safely on runway 18R (length 14,260 feet/4350 meters) of Madrid’s Barajas Airport about 50 minutes after aborting the approach to Asturias.

Easyjet A319 near Asturias on Dec 14th 2011, technical problems

Air Berlin – Madrid – 2011

On December 12th, 2011, an Air Berlin Airbus A320-200, registration D-ABFG performing flight AB-7522 from Palma Mallorca,SP to Santiago de Compostela,SP (Spain), was enroute at FL390 about 20nm north of Madrid,SP when the crew decided to divert to Madrid due to a fuel leak. The aircraft landed safely on Madrid’s runway 18R about 23 minutes later.

Air Berlin A320 near Madrid on Dec 12th 2011, fuel leak

Air Berlin – New York – 2011

On December 8th, 2011, an Air Berlin Airbus A330-200, registration D-ALPE performing flight AB-7451 from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Dusseldorf (Germany), was enroute at FL370 about 130nm west of St. John’s,NL (Canada) when the crew reported an unidentifyable odour on board, turned around and requested to divert to Bangor,MA (USA). The crew subsequently decided to return to New York’s JFK Airport for a safe landing on runway 31R with emergency services on stand by about 2:40 hours later. The incident aircraft was able to depart again after about 17 hours on the ground in New York and reached Dusseldorf with a total delay of 22 hours.

Air Berlin A332 over Atlantic on Dec 8th 2011, odour on board

Ryanair – Eindhoven – 2011

On Tuesday, December 6th 2011, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-EFE performing flight FR-5268 from Seville,SP (Spain) to Eindhoven (Netherlands) with 156 passengers and 6 crew, was on approach to Eindhoven about 15 minutes prior to estimated landing when the crew reported unreliable airspeed. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Eindhoven’s runway 22 at a higher than normal speed about 13 minutes later. Police reported an airspeed indication system failed.

Ryanair B738 near Eindhoven on Dec 6th 2011, unreliable airspeed

Ryanair – Dublin – 2011

On December 5, 2011, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-DCL performing flight FR-771 from Prestwick,SC (UK) to Dublin (Ireland), aborted the approach to Dublin’s runway 28 reporting leading edge slat problems and entered a holding at 3000 feet for about 30 minutes. While the crew initially indicated they would not need services on stand by, the crew subsequently declared PAN, requested services on stand by and indicated they would need to land at a minimum speed of 180 KIAS and could do only shallow turns. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Dublin’s runway 28 at a higher than normal speed about 40 minutes after aborting the first approach.

Ryanair B738 at Dublin on Dec 5th 2011, slat problem

Wizzair – Bucharest – 2011

On November 30th 2011, a Wizzair Airbus A320-200, registration HA-LPV performing flight W6-3131 from Bucharest Baneasa (Romania) to Milan Bergamo (Italy) with 157 passengers, was in the inital climb out of Bucharest Baneasa Airport’s runway 07 when the aircraft dropped an engine access panel. The crew levelled off at about 5000 feet and returned to Baneasa’s runway 07 for a safe landing about 18 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration HA-LPW reached Bergamo Airport with a delay of 5:20 hours.

Wizzair A320 at Bucharest on Nov 30th 2011, dropped engine access panel

Vueling – Paris – 2011

On November 29th 2011, a Vueling Airbus A320-200, registration EC-LAA performing flight VY-8026 from Paris Orly (France) to Barcelona,SP (Spain), was in the initial climb out of Orly’s runway 24 when the crew reported an open cargo door indication, levelled off at 6000 feet and returned to Orly for a safe landing on runway 26 about 25 minutes after departure. The aircraft was able to depart again after about 100 minutes on the ground and reached Barcelona with a delay of 130 minutes. A passenger reported the captain announced they had an indication of the rear cargo door being open and returned to Orly. The indication was later confirmed to have been false.

Vueling A320 at Paris on Nov 29th 2011, open cargo door indication

Flybe – Pori – 2011

On November 28th, 2011, a Flybe Nordic (former Finncomm) Avion de Transport Regional ATR 72-500, registration OH-ATL performing flight BE-5631 from Vaasa (Finland) to Tallinn (Estonia), was enroute near Pori (Finland) when the crew reported smell of smoke on board and diverted to Pori for a safe landing. Flybe reported the smell of smoke originated from the printer in the cockpit which suffered a technical malfunction. Finland’s Onnettomuustutkintakeskus (Accident Investigation Board) reported on Nov 30th that according to technical investigation so far the printer dropped a metal clip, which caused a short circuit. The investigation is ongoing.

Flybe Nordic AT72 near Pori on Nov 28th 2011, smell of smoke

easyJet – Amsterdam – 2011

On November 21st 2011, an Easyjet Airbus A319-100, registration G-EJJB performing flight U2-2197 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Barcelona,SP (Spain) with 116 people on board, was climbing out of runway 09 when the right hand engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to level off at 3000 feet, shut the engine down and enter a holding south of Amsterdam. The aircraft returned to Amsterdam’s runway 18R (Polderbaan) for a safe landing about 30 minutes after departure.

Incident: Easyjet A319 at Amsterdam on Nov 21st 2011, bird strike

Pilots Tiredness

Updated the page on pilots’ fatigue.

Ryanair – Stansted – 2011

On October 24th, 2011, a Ryanair flight, travelling from Stansted to Riga in Latvia, was aborted 20 minutes after takeoff when tape used to mend a cockpit window came unstuck and started to make alarming noises, a passenger has said. The tape had been fastened around the edges of the windscreen in the cockpit by ground crew shortly before take-off, he claims. According to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), it was being used as an extra precaution to secure a new window seal on the plane.

Ryanair flight aborted after ‘taped window comes loose’

Flybe – Brussels – 2011

On October 12th, 2011, a Flybe de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration G-JECH performing flight BE-593 from Manchester,EN (UK) to Brussels (Belgium) with 49 passengers and 4 crew, was on approach to Brussels descending from FL250 to FL200 when a pop was heard from the rear of the aircraft followed by noise of air escaping the fuselage, the flight crew felt mild inner ear pain and concluded the aircraft suffered a loss of cabin pressure. The cabin was climbing at 3000 feet per minute and was climbing above the set altitude of 7000 feet. The crew initially requested a continuous descent to FL100 with ATC, after the cabin pressure warning illuminated both flight crew donned their oxygen masks and initiated an emergency descent to FL080. The crew subsequently detected the cabin altitude had stabilized at 2000 feet again, the emergency was cancelled and the aircraft continued for a safe landing in Brussels.

Flybe DH8D near Brussels on Oct 12th 2011, loss of cabin pressure

Air Berlin – Berlin – 2011

On October 7th, 2011, an Air Berlin Boeing 737-800, registration D-ABAG performing flight AB-6187 from Berlin Tegel to Munich (Germany), was climbing through FL230 out of Berlin when the aircraft encountered turbulence causing injuries to two flight attendants. The flight continued to destination for a safe landing at Munich about 45 minutes later. The German BFU reported the aircraft rolled left to about 30 degrees bank angle during the unexpected turbulence encounter. Cabin crew was just preparing cabin service, a number of trolleys toppled over causing a fractured ankle to one and minor injuries to another flight attendant.

Air Berlin B738 near Berlin on Oct 7th 2011, turbulence injures 2 flight attendants

Air Berlin – Berlin – 2011

On October 3rd 2011, an Air Berlin Airbus A330-200, registration D-ALPI performing flight AB-7249 from New York JFK,NY (USA) to Berlin Tegel (Germany) with 254 passengers and 10 crew, was climbing through 2500 feet out of New York when an unusual odour of wet pullovers was observed in the cockpit and cabin, especially in the forward area of the cockpit. The crew identified the smell as oil fumes and continued the climb to FL380 where the odour reduced to bearable intensity. Several cabin crew reported headache resulting from the fumes, cockpit crew members complained about dizziness and tumb fingers causing difficulty to operate the MCDU. Medical services contacted via radio refused service arguing the oil fumes event was “political” because of the involved TCP (“TriCresyl Phosphate”) problems. After monitoring the oil consumption over the first 4 hours of the flight the crew identified a loss of 4 quarts of oil for the left hand engine (PW4168) with the right hand engine’s oil consumption remaining normal. During the approach to Berlin, while descending through FL070 the smell increased in intensity again. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Tegel’s runway 26R about 7 hours after departure from New York. The purser received serious injuries.

Air Berlin A332 near New York and Berlin on Sep 25th and Sep 26th 2011, odour causes all crew feel unwell

Jet2 – Leeds – 2011

On Sunday, October the 2nd, a pilot landed a Jet2 plane at Leeds-Bradford International Airport using only his footbrake after the jet developed a major problem. Fire crews from 11 stations were scrambled to the airport when the aircraft flying from Venice developed a problem with the brake. The plane’s reverse thrusts, used to slow the plane down on landing, were also understood to have failed.

With fire crews waiting on a full-scale emergency, the relieved pilot landed the plane safely but was said to have looked ‘shook up’ afterwards. Firefighters from across Bradford district were called to the airport.

Full-scale emergency after plane’s brake fail

Ryanair – Zaragoza – 2011

On October 1st, 2011, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-EFG performing flight FR-5275 from Zaragoza,SP to Sevilla, SP (Spain) with 80 passengers and 6 crew, was accelerating for takeoff on Zaragoza’s runway 30R when the crew noticed a vehicle stopped on the left side of the runway. Considering the distance to the vehicle and the speed of the aircraft the crew elected to continue the takeoff and cleared the vehicle overflying it in about 120-150 feet. The aircraft continued for a safe landing in Sevilla. Spains CIAIAC opened an investigation into the serious incident.

Ryanair B738 at Zaragoza on Oct 1st 2011, takeoff with vehicle on runway

Ryanair – Madrid – 2011

On September 27th 2011, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-EKH performing flight FR-5308 from Santander,SP to Madrid,SP (Spain), was on approach to Madrid when the crew received an indication of a flaps asymmetry. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 33L at a higher than normal speed.

The aircraft was able to resume service 6 hours later.

Ryanair B738 at Madrid on Sep 27th 2011, flaps asymmetry