BA Plane Off Runway In Durban

[rolling20]

Durban International Airport has been closed after an aircraft went
off the runway while landing on Wednesday, the Airports Company of
South Africa (Acsa) said.
British Airways Flight 203 was arriving from Johannesburg with 87
passengers and six crew on board when the incident occurred.
Acsa spokesman Colin Naidoo said: "On landing, the aircraft went off
the runway. We managed to move the passengers off the aircraft and to a
safe location and trauma counsellors and paramedics are presently
attending to them," said Naidoo.
At this stage, he said, no major injuries had been reported.
"The airport is officially closed due to where the aircraft is on
the runway. Once it has been moved and [the area] declared safe, the
airport will be re-opened," Naidoo said.
Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said a woman passenger was taken
to Kingsway Hospital.
"She had pain in her ears but I think it was just a bit of shock.
She's in a stable condition," he said.
No other passenger was injured.
Bad weather conditions were believed to have been the cause of the
incident.
Other flights headed for Durban International have been told to turn
back, said Naidoo.

[Human Factor]

BA don't operate to Durban so it's presumably Comair.

[Taildragger67]

That would be a Comair-operated service (under a BA franchise).

[ACMS]

I bet BA just love having their reputation dragged through the mud again.

[rolling20]

*BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT HIT WET PATCH ON RUNWAY IN DURBAN

*COMAIR, OPERATOR OF BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT, COMMENTS IN E-MAIL

Indeed, poor reporting I guess!!!

[fly nice]

So the BA publicity is great, till there is an incident! BA safety audit all their franchise partners before the aircraft are painted in their colours and passengers trust the association. So, stand by them when there is an incident. Or tell them to ditch the colour scheme. Most of the South African public havent a clue who Comair is!:=

[fly nice]

*BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT HIT WET PATCH ON RUNWAY IN DURBAN


Indeed, poor reporting I guess!!!



If I got sick from eating the colonels franchise fried chicken or a burger, I don't give a hoot who the grill hand was, my gripe is with the logo. In my mind, the use of BA in any reports is 100% acceptable

[fly nice]

Latest WX.
FADN 180930Z 32005KT 250V010 3000 -RA SCT009 BKN030 BKN080
19/18 Q1030 TEMPO 1500



From African forum

[Pinkman]

Time to build that new airport near Stanger. They got as far as clearing the ground, about 15 years ago...

[davidash]

I have just driven past Durban International Airport. The rain was so heavy that cars were travelling on the nearby freeway (a 120kph area) at 60kph with their headlights on at midday! Heavy rain is unsual for this time of the year and I am sure that the runway was extremely wet.
Incidentally, BA Comair has an excellent reputation for safety.

[Dash2Class]

Quote:
Latest WX.
FADN 180930Z 32005KT 250V010 3000 -RA SCT009 BKN030 BKN080
19/18 Q1030 TEMPO 1500


How is tha bad weather? Bad for the beach certainly but for flying...?

Does anyone have Durban insider knowledge as to why this would be bad?

Cheers Dash

[semp66]

Durban has been attempting to join Atlantis for the last 12 hours or so. The landing may have been done during one of the few lulls in the deluge. As the aircraft are tarted up in full British Airways paint job I see no reason why they should be called anything else. I work about 1km away from Durban Int. As an aside, the ground for Durban's "new" airport at La Mercy was cleared and prepared 30 years ago and the way things are here it may be another 30 years before it gets built.

[WHBM]

It's ever the way with franchised operators, when there is an incident the actual franchise operator tries to palm it of as a mainstream carrier flight, the mainstream carrier tries to palm it off as the franchised operator's flight, despite it being in their livery, tickets under their flight designator, etc.

It's all a matter of which has the better PR contacts with the media. It's a long way from London, so doubtless Comair are telling all first it's a BA flight.

[Finn47]

It says here that the aircraft went into a partial spin :hmm: Amazing, isn´t it?

http://blog.ecr.co.za/newswatch/?p=1910

[BALPA4life]

I thought 80 odd passengers for a BA flight would send me into an eco-warrior worrying about the environment, and all that fuel burned getting there. Shame it wasn't the openskies aircraft that would have sent a hare running:E

Alls fair in love and war in aviation - just wait until Ryanair start a franchise :eek:

[fourgolds]

" BA,s name dragged through the mud " , literally.

Having said that though , i understand the franchise operators pay BA big money for the privellage. So BA cant really jump up and down when this happens. You cant have your cake and eat it .

Hope everyone is ok.

[damagecontrol]

Let's see what the investigation says, as far as I know, Comair does have a good record and do look after their aircraft very well. It' one of those things that happen when the weather(and a not too good runway) work against you and you try to get everyone home. Maybe pilot error, but I think we can say well done anyway, the pilot managed to keep her in one piece and no injuries were reported, right....:ok:

[oxenos]

A B.A. flight operated by Comair goes off the runway and it takes 16 replies before someone has a go at Ryanair. Come on, RYR bashers, you are usually quicker than that.

[JetPark]

The aircraft is already removed with little or no damage I believe from a friend on site. I have used that runway when wet (flooded) - not nice. The area has had exceptional rainfall.

[The Real Slim Shady]

Just goes to show that the World's favourite airline might be BA but the World Wide Web's is definitely Ryanair!!

[BALPA4life]

Don't know about that Shady - easyJet have - sorry had - The Webs favourite airline as their slogan for many years:=

Don't think Ryanair will be anyones favourite anything for a long time:\

Good luck Ryanair getting a Union - its events like these and Ba038 that make you realise one day you might need one:ugh:

[ADFPilot]

The weather report as indicated for DUR today bore no resemblance to what was actually happening there - very heavy rain and winds gusting 37 knots all over the place. It caught pretty much everyone napping as most aircraft did not have additional fuel and high-tailed it back to JNB after one approach.
The weather radar was showing significant areas of heavy rain and turbulence and aircraft were reporting 'severe' (always subjective) turbulence on the approach. DUR can have occasional periods of extreme weather and this morning was no exception.
BA Comair have an excellent safety record and it was just very unfortunate that this happened; we can be thankful that there were no injuries. Commiserations to the pilots - not one of us is immune to this sort of event and it highlights the dangers that lurk around every corner in this job.

[acepilotmurdock]

I second that. the day you become complacent is the day it will come round and bit you in the a#$e. Again at least no one was hurt apart from a little pride. :ok:

[Omni Range Zero]

that no one has queried the validity and accuracy of SA Weather Service TAF's and METARS. These have been at best "thumb suck" for the past thirty years (as long as I can remember)! May the "Investigator" address this problem......

[ukdean]

YOU KNOW WHAT!!! I'm disgaced that all most of you guys seam to worry about is "BA THIS BA THAT", should we not think about the passengers and crew who kept this bird in one condition. Make you're minds up are we pilot's or newspaper editors. Not the later I take it..We worked hard for our wings lets be grown up.

[babemagnet]

http://www.jetphotos.net/news/media/userfiles/4979331501.jpg

[Will Hung]

UKD, you'd best hope the Rainboe doesn't read that post !!

[Aus ATC]

Based solely on the above photo - how does an aircraft end up at one end of a runway (I presume) pointing the other way?

Oh! by the way. It looks like a BA aircraft to me.

[Finn47]

In this article, a passenger says the aircraft turned 180 degrees on the runway before stopping:

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=181&art_id=vn20080619110615188C906694

[blueloo]

Now thats a scary looking plane - old cigar engines.

[capster]

Youve no idea how fun they are to fly!:ok:

[chillie]

From article in News24:

Another passenger, who did not want to be named, said he thought a mistake by the pilot caused the accident. "I'm busy with a private pilot's licence and the guy landed completely wrong."

[sleeper]

From the article:

""As we landed, there were pockets of wind and it was raining. The plane started to sway and turned 180 degrees. The wheel went on to the grass and the plane stopped."

Now I don't know the runway layout, but is it not possible that the crew needed almost all of the runway to stop and then had to do the 180 to turn back. During the 180 the aircraft skidded and couldn't complete the turn within the runway boundary.

[Sir Osis of the river]

Looking at that photo, The sky looks pretty black in the backround.

Looks like he rolled out to the end and slipped off the side in the wet doing a 180. I cant remember Durbs too well. I think one end has a turning pad, but not the other??

Anyway, very glad no one hurt. There, but for the grace of God..........

[Smilin_Ed]

Google Earth shows a turnaround at the approach end of 06 but none at the approach end of 24.

[kwick]

Do you see anything just below that left wing? Maybe a drainage system?

Also, which runway was the pilot landing in?

[davehero]

The photo looks like it is taken from the north, looking south. By all accounts they were landing on 06, reached the rwy end and did the 180 turn (contolled or not), and ended up on the grass facing 240. There is no turning pad at this end.

[Sonic Bam]

An example of British journalism from one of the largest circulation rags:

"BA jet in crash-landing terror

A BRITISH Airways jet twists sideways on the runway yesterday after a terrifying crash-landing.

The Boeing 737-200 skidded into Durban, South Africa, in heavy rain after being delayed in Johannesburg.

Emergency crews rushed to aid the jet, carrying 87 passengers and six crew.

One British traveller said: "We thought we were going to die. It felt like we were coming in too high and the pilot suddenly forced the plane down, slamming on the brakes."

One passenger on the flight, operated by US-based Comair, was slightly hurt. BA said it was investigating."

Journalism at its highest standards.

[shanwen]

For what it may be worth I read the following on a local website regarding the ' incident ': An airline pilot travelling as a passenger on the BA plane is reported to have said the following, " The pilot came in too fast and landed half way down the runway. He then applied full reverse thrust to slow the plane down. When we reached the end of the runway he swung the plane left to avoid running onto the grass. This caused the plane to slide sideways onto the grass. This resulted in the left undercarriage collapsing causing the plane to become stuck at the end of the runway."

shanwen
Durban

[banana9999]

An example of British journalism from one of the largest circulation rags:

"BA jet in crash-landing terror

A BRITISH Airways jet twists sideways on the runway yesterday after a terrifying crash-landing.

The Boeing 737-200 skidded into Durban, South Africa, in heavy rain after being delayed in Johannesburg.

Emergency crews rushed to aid the jet, carrying 87 passengers and six crew.

One British traveller said: "We thought we were going to die. It felt like we were coming in too high and the pilot suddenly forced the plane down, slamming on the brakes."

One passenger on the flight, operated by US-based Comair, was slightly hurt. BA said it was investigating."


Can anyone tell me what is factually incorrect about this? or is this just another dig at people doing their job by people that should know better :(

[cheesycol]

Serious?

First lets start with the operated by US-based Comair.

There is a US-based airline called Comair, but you would, unsurprisngly, find them in the US. The Comair involved here, is a SA company.

Twists

Nothing much twisted there, "turned" might be a better description

Crash Landing

The aircraft appears undamaged, fully configured for landing and is most certainly the right way up, doesn't look like a crash to me.

Finally the use of the passenger quote in the context it is presented, is designed to be senationalist and is most certainly not factual.

I was flying with Comair yesterday afternoon, and all staff were doing sterling work accommodating pax, providing info and rerouting where necessary.

[Lemurian]

Could it be another case of the young f/o flying and the captain not being able to follow on his sidestick ?
:ouch: :hmm: :rolleyes: :suspect:

[sleeper]

You must be joking!!
In a BOEING!! 737-200?

[blueloo]

You mean you didnt hear about the FAA airworthiness directive, to have sidesticks installed above the pilots heads on all 737-200s by March this year?

[Lemurian]

You must be joking!!
In a BOEING!! 737-200?
You are mistaken, my friend :It's not on the runway, therefore it's an Airbus.

Sorry, it looks more like a crosswind roll rate coupled with a misplaced antiskid on the runway and a single pilot at the controls as the other one couldn't log out the PF.
:p

But what do I know, really !
:E

[BeechNut]

Based solely on the above photo - how does an aircraft end up at one end of a runway (I presume) pointing the other way?

Haven't you jet jockeys ever heard of a ground loop? :}

Now thats a scary looking plane - old cigar engines.

Ground loops happen all the time in even scarier looking aircraft, like my buddy's with the big cooling fan ahead of the (only) engine and the wee little wheel on the tail. :)

I'm not a real scary plane pilot though, because my plane has a training wheel on the nose :O

But it does have that big cooling fan ahead of the engine!

[banana9999]

Serious?

First lets start with the .

There is a US-based airline called Comair, but you would, unsurprisngly, find them in the US. The Comair involved here, is a SA company. Yeah quite right on this one. This is a MAJOR scummy getting the country of registration wrong. If the journalist had got it right it would have changed the perception of the crash entirely!!!!! Journo scum :rolleyes:



Nothing much twisted there, "turned" might be a better description

"Twist" instead of "turn" - yep a hanging offence this one on the definition of similar words. JOURNO SCUM :rolleyes:


The aircraft appears undamaged, fully configured for landing and is most certainly the right way up, doesn't look like a crash to me.
Let's see if the relevant Accident investigation board gets involved. Seems to me you're splitting hairs there and you are trying to apply a specific technical aviation term to the wider English language. Journo correct.

Finally the use of the passenger quote in the context it is presented, is designed to be senationalist and is most certainly not factual.
He quoted a passenger probably correctly. Perfectly acceptable.


Seems to me yet another embarrassing episode of "Professionals" in aviation slagging off people that are their jobs perfectly adequately. I am not a journalist nor ever have been, nor do I know any. What gets my goat is posts like yours which are, quite frankly, the work of an idiot.

[cheesycol]

I don't recall using the phrase "Journo Scum", or knocking the media in general. My comments were directed at the article that YOU placed and then asked for a response. I gave one. Many congrats on making my Ignore list. Back to the thread...............

[banana9999]

I don't recall using the phrase "Journo Scum", or knocking the media in general. My comments were directed at the article that YOU placed and then asked for a response. I gave one. Many congrats on making my Ignore list. Back to the thread...............

Ignore it....best thing to do with criticism for those that won't or do not want to develop.

I didn't say you used "Journo Scum", I did as it a common and recurring theme on here. One that you have reinforced.

You said however "Journalism at its highest standards" which was meant in a sarcastic tone.

[skyloone]

As an aside, my understanding is that both the Cap & FO were new to Comair. Just been drafted in from Nationwide that went into administration a short while back.

[VAFFPAX]

Bizarre. Comair in South Africa is certainly NOT a South African subsidiary for the US airline. In fact British Airways has a stake in the airline (they used to have a stake in Sun Air too - before they went bang). For all intents and purposes that flight IS a BA flight, even if it's run on a franchise basis.

DUR has had issues in the past, and its location (and lack of expansion capability) was quoted to be one of the reasons why the provincial government wanted to move the airport to St Lucia.

Oh well.

S.

[very old flyer]

FADN is too small for the requirements of the City of Durban, but apart from that is a fully equipped and modern airport. The lack of capacity is the only reason for the proposed new airport, which has been given the go-ahead.

BA used to fly 747's directly from EGLL a few years back, but stopped the service for economic reasons. Air Mauritius flew heavies to FADN as well.

A tight squeeze, but can be done!

[whiskeyflyer]

The new airport of Durban at La Mercy is under construction . Will it be finsihed by target date 2010, who knows as I am not a civil engineer, but they now building the terminals, runways cleared

For current status photos, details on plans etc
click on
http://www.dubetradeport.co.za/index.aspx


The initial runway length of 3,7km will accommodate the latest New Generation Large Aircraft (NGLA, including the A380 Airbus). Space is to be allowed for the lengthening of the runway to 4km.

The airport will be developed to handle 7,5 million passengers per annum by 2015 and more than 25 million passengers by 2060.

[Flower Duet.]

British Airways Comair
BA Comair operates over 400 scheduled flights per week within southern Africa. Flights are scheduled to provide a seamless connection with British Airways international flights and other international carriers to and from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Harare.

Popular destinations to Southern Africa include daily flights between Harare and Johannesburg, flights between Johannesburg and CapeTown, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Windhoek and Mauritius.
http://www.travelconnections.co.zw/image_user/BA_Map(1).jpg

[VAFFPAX]

whiskeyflyer, looks like La Mercy is at least on schedule, as opposed to 'Gautrain', which was supposed to be ready and operational by 2010. From the last thing I heard, I gathered that there were certain Gautrain sections that were cancelled from the 2010 deadline.

Why is it that KZN manages to do stuff that Gauteng horribly fails at?

S.

[Sir Osis of the river]

Skyloone you idiot.

What does the crew being ex Nationwide have to do with it??

That they were hired, certified and on line means the company had faith in them.

If they WERE ex NW, then they most certainly were familiar with Durban.

[very old flyer]

Thank you Sir Osis. Good words! I would buy you a drink, except for your condition!

Good Health anyway.

[Tailspin2001]

VOF... BA only ever did a shuttle to Durban, from HRE first then JNB. Durban is one of the shortest runways we operated in to with the 747 and there is no way we could have operated to EGLL(LHR).

[very old flyer]

Tailspin, you are right of course. I stand corrected. It was some time ago, and my memory was faulty.

[Sonic Bam]

Posted by banana9999:
"You said however "Journalism at its highest standards" which was meant in a sarcastic tone"

banana9999
Actually, I said it. It was meant in a sarcastic tone, glad you noticed. I stand by that sarcasm, the report is inaccurate, sensationalist and typical of the Sun.

[skyloone]

Sir Osis and Old Flyer....Oh dear boys, a little sensitive are we....?
I made an observation... if all observations were to be deemed the comments of idiots, where would we all be. But again, as an aside... you might find that if SA goes down the JAR route ones AOC (ops chapter 8) if you must know, may well specify crew composition requirements with particular notes on time on the line etc.... etc... I stand to be corrected on that one. And before you howl like a pack of hounds, I have not suggested crew composition was a factor here.

[banana9999]

Posted by banana9999:
"You said however "Journalism at its highest standards" which was meant in a sarcastic tone"

banana9999
Actually, I said it. It was meant in a sarcastic tone, glad you noticed. I stand by that sarcasm, the report is inaccurate, sensationalist and typical of the Sun.

Whereas posters on here are NEVER EVER inaccurate, sensationalist (see your quote above) and (IMHO) even worse than The Sun.