Air show interrupted for NWA emergency

The folks who showed up for the Dayton Air Show on Sunday got a little extra action for free when a Northwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing putting the festivities briefly on hold. The Boeing 757 was heading from Tampa to Detroit when one of its engines had an in-flight computer failure. The flight crew shut down that engine and made a precautionary lading at the Dayton International Airport, right in the middle of their annual air show. The show's commentator announced over the loudspeaker, "All right, a piece of cake," as the crowd applauded the safe landing and rollout of the 757. The air show continued after a 25 minute delay, but the passengers of the Northwest flight spent the rest of their trip to Detroit on a bus.

(photo credit: James Mepsted via Airliners.net)

(story USA Today)

Home to PointNiner

Man gets naked, tackled by pro soccer team on AA flight

American Airlines flight 725 diverted to Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City on Friday during its trip from Boston to L.A. after a passenger on board decided to strip down to his birthday suit. The male passenger, whose name was not released, emerged from one of the 757's lavatories completely nude when he was immediately confronted by Craig Tornberg, General Manager of the New England Revolution, a Major League Soccer team enroute to play in Southern California. Tornberg told the AP, "I said he should get back into the bathroom and put on his clothes. He said something strange to me. He said, 'I don't hear you. I don't see you." I thought that line never worked anymore, but the man complied and got dressed before making a beeline for one of the aircraft's emergency exits. That's when Tornberg and other members of the Revolution subdued the man who was then strapped to a seat by flight attendants. The flight crew elected to divert to OKC where the man was taken into custody and placed under psychiatric evaluation according to FBI spokesman Gary Johnson. Flight 725 continued on to L.A. one hour after the diversion minus one crazy naked guy.

(Fox News)

Home to PointNiner

757 nose cone crumpled by bird

A Northwest Airlines 757 took a birdstrike right to the nose yesterday on a flight from Detroit to Tampa according to a spokeswoman for Tampa International Airport. There were no injuries to the flight crew or the 182 passengers on board flight 478, but the aircraft has been removed from service until the dent can be banged out with a hammer. Must have been a big bird but the picture doesn't really show any blood or snarge consistent with a birdstrike though.

UPDATE 7 JULY 20:15Z: The New York Times is now reporting that a spokesperson from the FAA is ruling out a birdstrike. Of course, they wouldn't say what caused the damage. The plot thickens...

Picture property of CNN.com

(via CNN and KXAN)

Home to PointNiner

Angry passenger leaves plane on emergency slide

A first-class passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight became so angry that a passenger in coach was going to exit the aircraft before him on arrival into Georgetown, Guyana that he decided to pop open an emergency exit and ride the evacuation chute ride off the plane on to the ramp below. Local police told the Associated Press that the man, who arrived from New York, appeared to be intoxicated and was arrested shortly after the stunt. Delta reps claim they will be filing charges against the man for interfering with flight crew members. Judging by Delta's schedule, I'm figuring the man got a free ride down the slide of a Boeing 757. (sarcasm)Good for that man. He's way more important then the cretins back in cattle class(/sarcasm).

(via MSNBC)

Home to PointNiner

1st FedEx 757 converted freighter gets its colors

She's finally here. The first converted 757 in FedEx colors got photographed on the Memphis ramp on Thursday night. I gotta say it looks good. But, when all you're used to seeing is FedEx widebodies, with an occasional 727, this bird looks way long and skinny.

Photo: M.J. Scanlon via Airliners.net

Home to PointNiner

NTSB wants 757 wings checked

The National Transportation Safety Board released a recommendation to the FAA today that would require operators of Boeing 757 aircraft to make "a one- time visual inspection of the upper wing fixed trailing edge panel support beam clips for cracks, proper orientation, and spacers." This is of course following two high profile incidents recently in which 757s have shed wing panels in flight. The first occurred in March with a US Airways 757, and the second took place earlier this month when a Northwest Airlines 757 did the same. We brought you both of those stories here at PointNiner as they unfolded and I was starting to wonder when the NTSB would get on this one. I'm glad to see that today they finally have released something on it.

The NTSB also takes a hit on Boeing by asking the FAA to require "Boeing to issue more explicit instructions and figures that clearly illustrate the correct orientation of the clips and spacers that attach the Boeing 757 panel". Maybe they should just request airlines to stock more 100 mph tape.

The photo above was actually taken by a passenger on the US Airways 757 after it lost a section of its wing panel.

Home to PointNiner

Another 757 loses part of its wing

Northwest Airlines became the latest Boeing operator to lose a piece of their airplane while inflight yesterday when one of their 757s had to divert to Las Vegas after a 3 foot by 2 foot wing panel ripped off the aircraft according to a story by Flight International. The flight, with 193 passengers enroute from LA to Detroit, diverted to Vegas as a precaution. And it's a good thing too as the right wing panel ripped off underlying hydraulic lines before hitting the row 28 window then damaging the right side horizontal stabilizer. This, of course, follows a string of Boeings falling to pieces we told you about here at PointNiner that include a US Airways 757 that lost a section of its wing in March, and an American 767 that lost a fuselage panel earlier this month. Mechanics better start stockpiling 100 mph tape.

Photo: AirTeamImages

Home to PointNiner

Wing panel falls off 757 at 27,000 feet

A 5 x 7 foot section of a left wing panel peeled off a US Airways 757 at 27,000 on Sunday, struck and shattered the outer pane of a cabin window, then fell to the Earth below. The flight, enroute from Orlando to Philadelphia, landed safely in the City of Brotherly Love, after the incident occurred 45 miles outside of Baltimore. The aircraft was taken out of service for inspections and an investigation, while the panel remains M.I.A. The Baltimore Sun has indicated that local fire officials are asking that if you live in Prince George's or Anne Arundel counties or near Kent Island in Maryland, check your backyard for airplane wings.

Return to Contact Ground .9

New pics of FedEx 757 freighter conversions

(Pictures courtesy of FedEx)

Bloggin' to you from the road on this one. These are brand new pictures of the first of FedEx's acquired 757s being converted to freighters. You can see the one is a former US Airways bird. The first of these new guys should be in service by June or July flying between Memphis, Indianapolis, and Dulles. By 2012, FedEx intends on having 87 in the fleet. Hopefully they'll be able to retire some of their gas guzzling 727s at that point. I bet these will look sweet in the FedEx colors.