Small Jet Charter

On September 6, an ANA 737-700 with 117 aboard rolled through 130-degrees of bank and lost more than 6,000 feet of altitude partly due to poorly placed switches, according to Japan’s Transport Safety Board’s (JTSB) preliminary report. No serious injuries were reported. Flight NH140 was cruising at 41,000 feet out of Okinawa for Tokyo when the captain left the cockpit. Upon his return, the co-pilot reached for what he thought was the control that unlocks the cockpit door and moved it to the left. The preliminary report states that the pilot instead grabbed and moved to the left the rudder trim control, which on the incident aircraft shares a similar position at the rear of the control pedestal. The four-year old jet then reacted to that control input as it should.

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On Septembr 26, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 operated by Aeropostal landed at Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela with enough force to crack both engine pylons at the airframe, leaving them dangling at the rear fuselage sides. None of the five crew and 125 passengers were seriously injured and all were evacuated onto the runway after the aircraft was stopped. The jet, registered YV136T, is more than 35 years old. The flight, VH 342, according to the Aviation Safety Network had operated from Caracas and landed at Puerto Ordaz in a manner that has been described as “very hard.” This is one you really have to see to believe. We expect your letters, either way. Pictures (and very brief passenger account) after the jump.

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Like so many people, Larry Cutler was fascinated by flight when he was a young boy. And like so many people, that fascination was put on the back burner while life got in the way. But unlike most people, Cutler decided — at the age of 60 — to pursue that fascination. Once he got his private pilot’s license, he then decided to land at all the paved, public airports in his home state. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on September 29th, 2011 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2011.

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