Look Out "Chinese Taxi", It's The "Spanish Pushback"

Not to be outdone by those passengers who had to push their Chinese CRJ-700 from the runway to the terminal earlier this week, these Air Nostrum rampers show you how to do the "Spanish Pushback" in Seville. Amazingly, it's another CRJ. There must be a shortage of CRJ towbars overseas.

Thanks, JB.

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CRJ vs. Pelican

This must be the sequel to F-111 vs. Pelican. I saw these late last week and wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to post them because I really have none of the details on this other than the obvious. That being this is a CRJ and the woman was photoshopped in the last picture. Otherwise, they are some pretty dramatic shots of what a 20 pound bird can do at 400 mph.






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My APU is on FIRE, Redux

Apparently the NTSB has forgotten about this incident in January of 2007 in their recommendation letter earlier this week. The photo is pretty self explanitory. In a similiar fashion to the Air Norstrum and ASA incidents, this Mesa Airlines CRJ-200 shed one of it fan blades over Cripple Creek, CO (coincidence?) in a flight from Denver to Phoenix. They were able to return and land without problem at Denver, but their wasn't much left of #1 engine fan assembly. All incidents involved the GE CF34-3B1 engine.

(Just in case you were wondering, yes we realize an APU was not involved in any of these incidents. It is simply a reference to an actual APU fire we were involved with years ago that included a French Canadian flight crew)

My APU is on FIRE (said in your best French accent)

Defective fan blades on General Electric CF34-3B1s should be taken out of service before another in-flight fire or engine failure occurs -- so says the NTSB, labeling the associated safety risks "unacceptably high."

Ok, so your APU is not on fire because of defective fan blade, however, saying "Oh my gosh, my left engine is on FIRE (in your best French accent) is much worse and not preferred...especially because the French play a role in Airbusness.

In its Mar. 5 recommendation letter, the safety board cites two previous failures, both involving Bombardier CRJ-200s. The first event occurred July 27, 2006, shortly after Air Nostrum Flight IB8174 departed Barcelona International. During climbout through 23,000 ft., the flight crew heard a loud bang and the aircraft experienced severe vibration. The No. 1 (left) engine fire warning continued for 9 min. 39 sec. and ended as the aircraft returned safely to the airport on one engine.

The second event occurred May 24, 2007, when an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight was in cruise flight at 23,000 ft. The pilots also reported a loud bang and severe aircraft vibrations, and inspectors determined that the blade in the No. 2 (right) engine separated below the platform in the blade attachment area. The ASA flight diverted to Blountville, Tenn., landing without incident. The NTSB expressed concerned that the ASA blade fractured "early" in its service life - after only 4,717 cycles and 5,845 hours.

The CRJ just keeps giving more reasons to hate on it.