AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*QANTAS left a blind woman distressed and stranded interstate at night, because the Airline would not allow her guide dog on a flight. And, Qantas is not alone. Just 2 days earlier, TIGER AIRWAYS baulked at letting the same woman fly with her guide dog. The woman, traveling with her guide dog and husband, met a wall of resistance from Tiger Airways when they tried to fly return to Adelaide with her guide dog for a weekend away last month. First, she was told that Tiger did not take dogs, then she would have to buy an extra ticket for it and even then could not be guaranteed to fly. Eventually she convinced the Airline to take her to Adelaide, but when Tiger cancelled the return flight, she approached Qantas. Despite at least 20 seats being available on a plane that evening, Qantas asked her to stand aside while they processed other Tiger passengers. Qantas counter staff told her to call reservations, who told her dogs were not allowed in Adelaide Airport. The Airline finally booked them on a flight the next day. It left the woman and her husband stuck in Adelaide with no accommodation arranged or food for her seeing-eye dog, Hetty, a 3-year-old black labrador on a special diet. The woman has lodged complaints with both Airlines and the Human Rights Commission. ''I was shunned because I had a guide dog,'' she said. Tiger Airways, which could find no record of the complaint, yesterday apologized to the woman, blaming an outsourced company for not understanding the Airline's policy. ''Tiger Airways will take immediate action to remind our staff and business partners of our policies in relation to passengers with special needs,'' its communications manager said. The Qantas head of communication said the Qantas counter staff did not have the authority to make the seat allocation but the Airline took the matter seriously and had apologized to the woman, offered to pay expenses and was reviewing its processes.

*The 2 Pilots who flew their NORTHWEST AIRLINES jet about 150 miles beyond its intended destination say ATC bears at least part of the responsibility for the incident. The Pilot's responses to an Administrative Law Judge were made on November 24, but just made public yesterday. In their statement, the Pilots said "The air traffic controller(s) did not comply with the requirements of the air traffic control manual and other relevant orders, rules, procedures, policies and practices with respect to Northwest Flight 188, nor coordinate effectively with Northwest dispatch, and such failure was a causal or contributing factor in the incident". The Pilots, who are appealing the revocation of their Pilot certificates, told the NTSB they were using their laptops in violation of company policy and "lost track of time." They became aware of the situation when a Flight Attendant asked about the arrival time. The Pilots said during the investigation that there was "a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls" from ATC. Both said they heard conversation on the radio, the report in the investigation said. The FAA refused comment on the allegations from the Pilots saying that it is an "ongoing investigation".

*The Netherlands Antilles Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) has published a preliminary report on the DIVI DIVI AIR BN-2A Islander ditching off Bonaire Island on October 22, 2009. Flight 14 was on Domestic Service from Curacao to Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, with 9 passengers and 1 Pilot onboard, when the incident took place. The aircraft was ditched in the waters off Bonaire, after engine failed. The Pilot, who has been hailed as a hero, died in the crash. All 9 passengers survived the ditching. The preliminary report states that the Islander gradually lost height at 200fpm after a failure of engine No.2. The aircraft ditched 0.5 miles S of  Klein Bonaire and 3 miles W of the main Island, and sank. The investigation continues.

*An ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES CRJ700 had to divert while enroute, yesterday. Flight 5370 was on Domestic Service, on behalf of DELTA AIRLINES, from Flint, Michigan, to Atlanta, Georgia, with 61 passengers and 4 crew members onboard. The CRJ was inflight at 35000 feet, near Louisville, Kentucky, when the crew requested diversion due to the cockpt windshield cracking. Flight 5370 was then diverted to Louisville, where it landed without incident. The CRJ was removed from service for repairs.

*An AMERICAN EAGLE ERJ135 had to make an emergency return to San Deigo, California, on Sunday, December 6. Flight 3064, on Domestic Service to Los Angeles, California, was climbing thru 10000 feet, when the crew reported a smoke alert had been received. The ERJ landed back at San Diego about 10 minutes later. Emergency Services could find no trace of fire or smoke. The incident is under investigation.

*A CONTINENTAL AIRLINES Boeing 737 had to divert while enroute, on Sunday, December 6. Flight 784 was on Domestic Service from Newark, New Jersey, to Portland, Oregon, when the incident took place. The 737 was inflight at 32000 feet, overhead Montana, when the crew reported that they had to shut an engine down. The crew descended down to 15000 feet, while planning diversion to Great Falls, Montana. A short time later, Flight 784 was diverted to Helena, Montana, where it landed without incident. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*A FREEDOM AIR ERJ145 had to divert while enroute, on Sunday, December 6. Flight 6176 was on Domestic Service, on behalf of DELTA AIRLINES, from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Kentucky, to St Louis, Missouri, with 53 passengers and crew onboard, when the incident took place. The ERJ declared an emergency while on its initial climb, with the crew reporting elevator problems. The aircraft leveled off at 20000 feet, however the crew continued on to St Louis. About 30 minutes later, the crew requested diversion. The aircraft was then diverted to Louisville, Kentucky, where it landed without incident.

*An EXPRESSJET ERJ145 had to make an emergency landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, December 6, due to a bird strike. Flight 3046 was on Domestic Service, on behalf of CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, from Cleveland, Ohio, to Philadelphia, with 51 passengers and 3 crew members onboard. While on final approach at 2000 feet, the crew aborted their approach due to the failure of the right hand engine, due to a bird strike. The aircraft landed without incident about 10 minutes. No statement has been made on what kind of damage was sustained, but the ERJ was removed from service.

*An AIR CANADA ERJ170 had to make an emergency landing at Toronto, ON, Canada, on Sunday, December 6. Flight 765 was on International Service from Newark, New Jersey, to Toronto, with 63 passngers and 4 crew members onboard. The crew abandoned its 1st approach into Toronto and entered a holding pattern to troubleshoot problems with flaps. About 15 minutes later, the crew declared an emergency and requested the longest runway for landing. The ERJ landed shortly thereafter without incident and was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*A JETBLUE A320 had to make an emergency return to Rochester, New York, on Sunday, December 6, due to engine vibrations. Flight 33 was on Domestic Service from Rochester to New York JFK, with 147 passengers and 5 crew members onboard, when the incident took place. Moments after departure, the crew reported severe engine vibrations and requested return. They leveled off at 3000 feet and reported that the virbrations started after flap retraction. The A320 landed back at Rochester about 12 minutes later without incident and with Emergency Services in attendance. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and possible repairs.

*A BRITISH AIRWAYS Boeing 767 crew called a MAYDAY as they aborted takeoff from Calgary, AB, Canada, on Saturday, December 5. Flight 102 was on International Service to London Heathrow, when the crew called the Monday as the aircraft was on its takeoff roll. The crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway, cancel the emergency, and then taxi back to the gate. After inspection and repairs, the aircraft was allowed to depart for Heathrow about 5 hours later. In a brief statement, NAV Canada said that they did not know the reason for the aborted takeoff. Aviation experts reported that a MAYDAY call on takeoff is usually to warn other aircraft about a potential developing situation.