FlightGlobal
• Jon Hemmerdinger
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board found that a fractured low-pressure compressor rotor blade caused the 2023 inflight failure and fire involving a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW150A. Investigators cited mechanical resonance and identified 13 similar incidents in their review.
Accident
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Canada’s Transportation Safety Board found that a fractured low-pressure compressor rotor blade caused the 2023 inflight failure and fire involving a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW150A. Investigators cited mechanical resonance and identified 13 similar incidents in their review.
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A U.S. Air Force F-16 assigned to Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany crashed Tuesday while attempting to land after a routine training or local mission. The pilot ejected safely before impact and was receiving medical treatment; the base’s F-16CM fleet supports the “Wild Weasel” mission.
A Royal Navy Merlin HC4 helicopter ditched fatally after its crew misdiagnosed an emergency and shut down two functioning engines while attempting to land on HMS Queen Elizabeth at night. The crew had intended to practice night deck landings, according to the report.
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French investigators are examining whether runway lighting standards and surface-movement radar use should change after an inbound Nouvelair A320 aligned with the wrong runway at night and overflew a waiting easyJet aircraft at Nice last year, creating a serious proximity event.
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A Fly Precision Eurocopter AS332L1 crashed Sept. 20 while conducting water drops on Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-acre Dome Fire, killing both crewmembers. The incident highlights the operational risks facing rotary-wing crews supporting wildfire suppression in complex terrain and demanding conditions.
Two gliders collided while en route to Piseco Airport in upstate New York, killing one pilot. The pilot of the second glider landed safely, according to the available reporting; the incident highlights the safety risks involved in operating multiple gliders in shared airspace.
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France’s BEA reenacted the nighttime approach at Nice Airport to examine how runway lighting may have affected a serious incident involving Nouvelair and easyJet aircraft. The evidence-gathering exercise is intended to clarify the visual cues available to crews and the contribution of airport lighting to the event.
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Delta Flight 394, an Airbus A321neo carrying 189 passengers from Kahului to Seattle, diverted to Honolulu after fumes were reported in the cabin shortly after departure. Several passengers were taken to an emergency room, while the crew followed established procedures during the incident.
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