Friday, November 28, 2008

Test flight in the disaster

So there is a flight every day somewhere in the world. An airline has a machine to another airline next, and before the handover is testing whether everything is in order. One to two hours in this rule, and after landing the paperwork is still regulated.

It should be even with the machine with the registration D-AXLA be an Airbus A320 of the German holiday airline XL Airways Germany. But the machine is on Thursday when landing at the airport Perpignan toppled into the sea. All seven occupants, including two German pilots, are probably died. The search for survivors had been on Friday, said the prefecture in Perpignan on Friday evening. There was no more hope for them. The flight data recorders have been located.

Why a routine flight to the disaster was all about puzzle now Beteiligten.Der Airbus was only three years old. The machine belonged to Air New Zealand, however, they in the past two years to XL Airways had rented. The lease would be on 1 December expired, it should be called a 30-month-check carried out, and when maintenance specialists EAS Industries in Perpignan. There was the Airbus in Air New Zealand colors umlackiert.

According to the French coastguard the machine is about seven kilometers off the coast toppled into the sea. On the exact circumstances there is conflicting information. An eye witness to have seen how the machine in aufschlug steep angle, another spoke of a belly landing. Aboard the plane were apparently in addition to the two German pilots four employees of Air New Zealand and one of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, which oversaw the flight. I understand the pilots have not stopped emergency. The Airbus was based on current information available from the radar screen disappeared without that air traffic controllers were aware of difficulties. This indicates a very sudden problem or that the crew lost the orientation might have.

XL Airways for the crash is the second bad news within a few months. In September, its parent company, the British XL Leisure Group, pleitegegangen, and a while it looked as if the German airline would therefore fail. But nevertheless opted for XL Airways Germany and the French offshoot XL Airways France at least an interim solution opened, enabling the two airlines has been allowed to continue. They were assisted by a creditor of the XL Airways Group over the Icelandic investment bank Straumur-Burdaras. XL Airways Germany operates seven aircraft and flies on behalf of large tour operators like TUI and Öger Tours.

Air New Zealand, the accident triggered great consternation. The group still wanted to head on Friday along with relatives of the victims on their way to make southern France. For the airline is the 28th November to a true Unglückstag: 29 years ago toppled a DC-10 for a sightseeing flight in Antarctica from. In this worst crash so far the company had 257 people died. As the Airbus crashed into the Mediterranean yesterday, in New Zealand was also the 28th November arrived.

No comments: