Not sure if your english is good enough to express true feelings, but if you are saying you don't care about John Hanley because he has done this to others you can kiss my a$$. John Hanley is one of the best men you would ever have the opportunity to meet.
My dad died in a tragic accident. Please inquire to the cause and make a personal commitment to use your common sense and best judgement in your future endeavers based on this event so that it doesn't repeat itself. I am not in the aviation field, I decided to get into the natural gas transportation field so many of the acronyms used are unfamiliar to me on these threads. All I ask is that you all come together as pilots (disagree or not) and fly safe. Make the right decisions when they are put in front of you. You are all a very valiable asset to this industry and to the world in general. I cannot say enough good things of the personal sacrfice you introduce into your daily lives! Fly safe and feel free to contact me at any time.
Gentlemen,
Please use some prudence when posting to this string - the family is reading. A new thread has been opened to discuss the pressures placed on aircrews to perform a flight - lets post related comments there and reserve this string for memories to honor the fallen.
J.
First of all, my heartfelt sympathy to John Hanley, Jr., his siblings and to his Thai family. Also to Obaid al Marashda's family. They'll be living with this accident long after the rest of us have moved on.
Secondly, I'm a long time pilot with ADA and flying the AW139 so have a keener interest in the root cause of this accident than most. I'd like to assure other AW139 pilots that, according to a source very close to the investigation with first hand knowledge of the contents of the FDR and CVR, that there was no technical fault with the helicopter. The full report is forthcoming.
I'm no apologist for ADA but to its credit it has been made crystal clear to its pilots that they have the full backing of the company if forced to deny a VIP access to the front seats. This being the Middle East such a memo, of course, is trumped by a phone call from someone more 'connected' than the ADA manager who wrote the memo, but it does show the intent is there to back up its crews should the situation John faced be repeated.
BellBoy, Thank you for your post. Would it be too much to ask for you to come back when the report is made available and post a link? Have found navigating the ME aviation authority web sites some what difficult in that an equivalent to the USA NTSB or British AAIB does not seem to exist.
John,
Don't let them bait you. In every profession there are the good, the bad and the ugly.
Smile 412 or whoever you are - shame, son - no need.
This is not an incident - this is a memorial for those who died - for whatever reason.
PLEASE STOP rubbing salt in open wounds.
WE are ALL affected by this, one way or another.
WE have ALL been in that position, only difference is that we were lucky enough to have survived.
STOP!! Put yourselves in John Jnr's position.
While obviously feeling for the affected families I cannot help feeling that this kind of string is less than helpful.
Hang in there Stacey_S, my thoughts are with you. Have been in your position when the 330J went in in Mirri and know its not easy.Hang in there mate.
ELT is ELT406-2HM with no water switch and manufacturer gives accelleration rates for trigger, generally require more than 6 g's. On the AW139 it is fitted on the bottom of the tail boom just behind the cargo bay.
To the gentlemen who questionned CFIT, you need to know that this term
mean that a perfecttly flyable aircraft was put into the ground accidently by
his crews, this i`am sure, what i`m not so sure is, does that stand for CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN or CONTROLLABLE FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN, the second version fit the description a bit better, however, it is obvious that
when a crew put a perfectly flyable aircraft into the ground, they lost control of something.
As for John sitting in the back, but being somewhat, between the 2 guys in the front with a full view of the cockpit, unless they have changed the configuration of that aircraft during the last year, it would have been
impossible for him, A6 BBB was the first AB 139 that came to the company with the Royal Jet colors and with a full VIP interior, wich was a 6 pax configuration, 3 seats in the back+3 aft facing seats, maybe there was divison between the back and the front, but i dont remember, there is not much you could see or interact with this arrangement.
I arrived at ADA the same week as JOHN in 1992 and we became good friends while flying the line over the next 4 years. He regularly referred to abiding love for his family back in Texas, in particular his son JOHN. A terrific sense of humour, serious fisherman, intrepid golfer, and generally the kind of guy you always enjoyed having a beer with! In 1996, I joined him on holiday in Thailand where his infatuation with Asia was about to launch him on the second phase of his life and he was extremely enthusiastic about it. My condolences to both families for they have truly been deprived of a GOOD MAN. Rest in peace Capt. J. Sincerely, Grant W.
For all those that cannot resist commenting and adding further discredit to yourself the following is exact data on A6-BBB, serial no. 31028.
A6-BBB was never an Agusta Westland airframe as she was purchased well in advance of the change over from Bell. To that end she was registered with the GCAA as an AB139, not Ab 139, and her registration is A6-BBB and not A6 bbb.
INFORMATION LETTER
DATE: October 24, 2006
No.: AW139-06-001 Rev. 1
“AW139 and AB139 are two names for the same product.
They identify two batches of aircraft manufactured in conformity with a unique Type Certificate Data Sheet:
- AB139 up to SN 31054
- AW139 from SN 31055 onward."
She was a beautifully constructed and proudly maintained 5 (five) seat VVIP airframe with Bose Noise Canceling intercom for passenger comfort.
There was a solid wall partition installed that restricted movement between her passenger compartment and her flight deck, the design of which had a narrow gap and centre relief to facilitate installation/removal while providing limited passenger view forward. Additionally the installation of her Lounge Chaise style seats would have created a great obstacle to navigate over in the unusual flight regimes she apparently was experiencing. Between the two most rear forward facing seats was a chiffonier of sorts to facilitate storage and presentation of refreshments.
Affectionately known to those of us who cared for her and crewed her as
"Triple Bravo".
Last edited by rotortuna : 12th June 2008 at 05:31.
Reason: images
well said Rotortuna, you as all Engineering Employees of the parent Company of 'Triple B' will not only miss the crew but also understand the implications of losing an airframe in your (our) charge, as Engineers, and I use that title "Engineer" correctly. RIP The crew, we the Engineers will wait for the results of the investigation, we will not speculate,m we know better.
Hey Allwornout,
If it is so bad why are you still there?
In all my years there I never heard of anyone being shot in a Mall. It must have been recent.
ADA does carry some problems for sure, but usually made worse by individuals banding together and crying, making the problems seem worse.
As to what happened to John, for sure , had he been at the controls we wouldnt have a result to talk about. There are a number of issues at play, the series of events that led to this unfortunate accident. It will not be a simple matter of pointing a finger at ADA, John, Obaid, or any other party. there is one issue that does shine through , and that is the position a pilot is placed in when faced with a powerful local. For John I believe the options were limited, as I understand the VIPs were picked up at a coastal location. It was not simply a matter of not riding along, there was no way home for the guy. Sure it cost his life, but he must have had enough faith in the remaining pilot onboard. Albeit, in hindsight, incorrect.
Very shocking and very sad news, and hopefully this will paint a glaring picture to the Arab aviation industry, that their own rules are in place for good reason, and that no exceptional cicumstances are to circumvent that. Because at the end of the day they are designed for their safety.
You guys do realize that this accident is going to be Johns fault dont you? There is no way that the arrogance of the local Arabs will allow anything else.
Put yourselves in John Jnr's position.
139
Tarzaniac
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