A bad day for civilian aviation

[FastCargo 412]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510082,00.html

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=asia

 

A prayer to everyone's families during this tragic time.

 

FC

 

PS I know some of you may be tempted to post the video of the MD-11 accident here. I would ask that you don't for now.

[column5 63]

Damn.

[Silverbolt 104]

oh damn!

[Nesher 628]

cruel irony that the plane crashed into the cemetery

may the killed rest in peace!

[macelena 1,070]

RIP

[cgold 0]

Wind Shear Alert Preceded FedEx Narita Crash

Monday, March 23, 2009

 

AviationWeek.com

 

"Two pilots on board killed in crash landing on FedEx Flight 80 operating from Guangzhou in southern China

 

Japanese meteorologists warned of a risk of wind shear at Tokyo's Narita Airport the night before a FedEx MD-11 crashed on landing this morning, killing the two crew members aboard.

Winds were reaching 72 km/h. (39 kt.) at the time of the accident, about 6:49 a.m. local time (21:49 GMT).

 

The aircraft crashed on the longer of Narita's two runways. A video shown on television shows that the aircraft's main gears touched down first but the nose then dropped heavily. The aircraft bounced and flipped over as flames exploded from the wing.

 

The local weather observatory issued a warning of wind shear after the weather became rough on Sunday evening, Kyodo News reports.

 

The aircraft was operating FedEx Flight 80 from Guangzhou in southern China. The crew members have been identified as captain Kevin Kylemosley, 54, and copilot Anthony Stephen-Pino, 49.

 

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dispatched a team of experts from Washington to help Japan with the investigation of the crash.

 

Japanese authorities will lead the investigation. The NTSB designated Senior Air Safety Investigator John Lovell as U.S. accredited representative. He is joined by two additional NTSB investigators, along with representatives from the FAA, Boeing and ALPA.

 

According to the NTSB, the aircraft burned after it came to rest. AviationWeek will provide updates as details unfold."

 

 

I have a question for you all. Has there been an unusual number of aircraft crashes and/or losses within this particular time frame between about December to now, or is it just me?

Edited March 24, 2009 by cgold