Not a brilliant day for flying in Asia. Yesterday, state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation only domestic aircraft, a Twin Otter, was grounded following a right engine failure. The fault was detected soon after takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The Captain shut down the right engine and used the left one to land the aircraft back at TIA. All 15 passengers, including two infants and one child, and three crew members were safe. This morning (local time) a Malaysian 777 vanished en route from Kuala Lumut to Beijing. This afternoon, an Air Indigo Airbus 320 flying Flight 6E 031 from New…
Family support & grief over MH370 [updated]
Malaysia Airlines has reportedly spoken with family members of 80 per cent of the passengers who were on board MAS 370. Malaysian Airways CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya announced at a press conference that the carrier has also arranged to ferry a team to Beijing “to provide support and assistance to families there”. The passenger manifest will not be released until all families of the passengers have been informed but some names are listed here. In China at the Lido Hotel near Beijing Airport, security staff are apparently having a hard time holding back a large group of reporters who are making it…
Vietnamese Navy says MH370 HAS crashed into ocean
Tuoi Tre (“Youth News), a main daily Vietnamese newspaper has reported that the Vietnamese Navy has confirmed that the missing Malaysian Airways 777 crashed into the ocean. Navy Admiral Ngo Van Phat, Commander of the Region 5, military radar recorded that the plane crashed into the sea at a location 251kilometers (153 nautical miles) South of Phu Quoc island in Malaysian territorial waters. If there are any survivors, then they need to be rescued now as every hour in the ocean reduces their chances. The Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has not been able to confirm…
The search for MH370 [updated]
The Search and Rescue effort for Malaysian MH370 involves: Malasyia Airlines Malasyian Department of Civil Aviation Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Navy Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Butterworth-based Intergrated Area Defence System Headquarters the Hawaii-based United States Pacific Command. two Chinese maritime rescue ships are being sent to aid rescuers searching work for missing Malaysia Airlines 777. agencies from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines The mission involves maritime patrol aircraft, fighter jets, frigates, submarines and fishing vessels. “The plane lost contact near Ca Mau province airspace as it was preparing to transfer to Ho Chi Minh City air traffic…
MH370 Passenger & Crew information [updated]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crew members. The passengers were of 15 (originally reported as 14) different nationalities: 1. China – 152 plus 1 infant (Chinese media report that the passengers included 24 Chinese artists on their way back from an art exhibition in Malaysia) 2. Malaysia – 38 3. Indonesia – 7 (originally reported as 12) 4. Australia – 7 (four were on a trade mission to China) 5. India – 5 6. France – 3 7.…
MH370 lost in Vietnam Waters? [updated]
China‘s Xinhua state news agency are reporting that Malaysia Airlines 370 has crashed in southern Vietnam noting that : The aircraft did not enter airspace controlled by China and did not make contact with Chinese controllers. There has been earlier speculation that the aircraft had landed at Nanming. Malaysia Airlines were working to verify the authenticity of this report. Vietnam airport authorities acknowledged the plane entered its airspace at 1.30am local before subsequently losing contact at around 2:40am local time. Malaysian airlines are holding a Press Conference Saturday afternoon local time. The Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri…
Malaysian Airlines Missing Plane [updated]
A Malaysia Airlines 777-200 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has lost contact with air traffic control. This flight was Malaysian Airlines MH370. It was a code share with China Southern Airlines. The plane is said to have been carrying 239 – 227 passengers of 13 different nationalities and 12 crew members. 160 of the passengers were Chinese nationals according to China’s Xinhua State News Agency. The 777’s serial number is 28420 / 404 and its registration is: 9M-MRO. It was delivered to Malaysia Airlines on 31st May, 2002. Apparently it was involved in an incident at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on 9th August, 2012, when the tip…
No Place for a Woman
This comes from the category where one hopes the story is fictional. Alas, it checks out as true. A Westjet pilot was left this note by an unhappy passenger after a routine flight Victoria and Calgary in Canada. The note-writer apparently had questioned flight attendants about Captain Steacy’s ability as soon as she spoke over the PA system to passengers as the plane prepared for take-off. He asked them if she had enough flight hours to be flying a plane? Ironically, Proverbs 31 lauds the virtues of an ideal woman saying not only does she ensure the hime…
Stunning landing in Queenstown
This is a simply beautiful landing into Queenstown, New Zealand. This town located on the west of the country’s South Island is built around Lake Wakatipu. It is surrounded by incredible mountains.I have been lucky enough to get to Queenstown several times. Queenstown Airport (IATA: ZQN) is eight kilometres (five miles) from the centre of town. It is the country’s fourth busiest airport, handling around a million scheduled passengers per year. The Airport is served by Air New Zealand, Mt Cook Airline, Pacific Blue, Jetstar and Qantas. It has a lovely terminal building and a stunning vista! I have flown to…
Scoot crams 375 people into 787
Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot two weeks ago announced that their 787-9 will have a whopping 375 passengers aboard. This number of seats is a far cry from Boeing’s promise of roomy flights with passengers sitting 2-4-2. Budget airline Jetstar has gone with 335 seats on their 787-8s and Norwegian has 291 seats on theirs. The budget carrier will receive the first of their twenty 787s in November. The plane will replace their six Boeing 777-200s which were originally flown by Singapore Airlines. The plane will initially fly from Singapore to Australia, Japan and Taiwan. The airline has orders for ten 787-8s and ten 787-9s. Eight…
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