Sep 04 2011

Trans States Airlines ERJ-145 skids off runway at Ottawa

On September 4th, 2011 at approximately 3:30 PM local time, a Trans States Airlines ERJ-145 operating under the United Express banner attempted a landing at Ottawa International Airport.

The aircraft, ERJ-145LR (MSN 145341) N840HK, touched down successfully, but slid off the runway.

Trans States Airlines N860HK Post-Accident at Ottawa

Trans States Airlines N860HK Post-Accident at Ottawa

The aircraft was operating as flight UA3363 from Chicago to Ottawa. No one on the aircraft was injured, although the aircraft was  damaged and suffered a fuel leak. The main landing gear collapsed and punctured the underside of the wing when it did so. There was no fire.

This is the third such incident at Ottawa airport involving an ERJ-145 aircraft, all of the aircraft involved being operated by Trans States Airlines.

This accident occurred 15 months after another Trans States Airlines ERJ-145 landed long on Ottawa’s shorter runway after a flight from Washington and overran the runway by more than 150 metres. Both pilots and one of the 33 passengers suffered minor injuries and there was substantial damage to the aircraft.

According to an accident report on a 2004 runway overrun by another Trans States Embraer ERJ-145, that aircraft landed long, failed to stop and ran about 100 meters off the end of the runway. The TSB concluded the pilots approach in the rain was “high, fast, and not stabilized, resulting in the aircraft touching down almost halfway down the 8,000-foot runway.”

The aircraft is being examined by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board and a report on this incident is expected in the future.

Sep 01 2011

ASA CRJ 200 landing gear failure at Baton Rouge

On September 1st, 2011, a Atlantic Southeast Airlines Canadair CRJ-200, operating under the Delta Connection banner on behalf of Delta Airlines, had an incident in which the left main gear did not lower for landing.

The aircraft, N875AS (MSN 7559) was operating flight EV-5058/DL-5058 from Atlanta, Georgia to Baton Rouge, Louisiana with 50 passengers and 3 crew. The aircraft was on approach to Baton Rouge when the crew received an unsafe indication for the left main gear. The crew aborted the approach and entered a holding pattern over the airport to troubleshoot the problem. They were however unable to lower the left main gear forcing the crew to land on the right main and nose gear as well as left wing tip. The airplane came to a stop on the centerline of the runway, no injuries occurred.

ASA CRJ200 N875AS

ASA CRJ200 N875AS

The plane was removed from the runway at approximately 9:30 PM that evening.

Damage to the aircraft is minor and is expected to be returned to service after necessary safety inspections are performed.

Aug 28 2011

China Express Airlines CRJ200 Incident at Guiyang

China Express Air Logo

On August 28th, 2011, a China Express Airlines Bombardier CRJ 200 regional jet scraped the ground on landing at Guiyang Airport in southwest China. No one was injured during the incident.

This incident resulted in the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to order the airline to halt all flights beginning September 1st and to conduct safety checks on their operations.

After this suspension of service and completing the required checks, the CAAC approved the airline’s reopening of some flights after the company submitted a safety overhaul plan on September 6th.

China Express Air, also known as Huaxia Airlines is based in Guizhou’s provincial capital Guiyang, is China’s first private regional airline, and was established in September 2006. It operates five 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 200 regional aircraft.

The CRJ 200 Series aircraft operated are:

  1. B-3001 MSN 7565
  2. B-3012 MSN 7557
  3. B-3016 MSN 7614
  4. B-3565 MSN 7690
  5. B-7700 MSN 7704

Aug 26 2011

Mitsubishi regional jet on schedule for first flight in 2012

The Mitsubishi Aircraft regional jet is on schedule for first flight in the beginning of 2012. According to the manufacturer, sub-assemblies for the first aircraft began construction in April 2011, and final assembly of the first MRJ will begin at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.

Mitsubishi Regional Jet

Mitsubishi Regional Jet

This planned schedule it is hoped will give Mitsubishi Aircraft enough time for full testing of the aircraft before its roll-out and flight in 2012. The first MRJ to leave the assembly line will be the 90-seat MRJ90. There is also a 70-80-seat MRJ70 varient and the manufacturer is also considering production of a 100-seat variant.

All Nippon Airways is the launch customer for the MRJ90 with a firm order for 15 aircraft and U.S. operator Trans States Holdings has placed a firm order for 50 MRJs.

Indonesian aircraft leasing firm Aero Nusantara Indonesia has also announced its intention to buy five MRJ90s, and Vietnam Airlines is contemplating an MRJ order according to reports.

Mitsubishi Aircraft is also hoping the MRJ will replace some of the Japanese military’s aging NAMC YS-11 turboprops in the support as well as the search and rescue role.