Air Niugini Dash 8-200 involved in incident in Russia - 20th Dec
 

Incident: Niugini DH8B near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Dec 20th 2020, technical malfunction

An Air Niugini de Havilland Dash 8-200 in completely white paint scheme with no company logo, registration P2-PXI performing a positioning flight from Sapporo (Japan) to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia), was enroute at FL270 about 80nm northeast of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia) when the crew requested to divert to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk reporting technical problems. The aircraft landed safely on Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's runway 19 about 25 minutes later.

Russian media report the aircraft is kept under guard, the two pilots, only occupants, were taken to a hotel.

Air Niugini sold P2-PXI to Canada, the aircraft was on the positioning flights to Canada. The aircraft had not been flown about 15 months prior to starting the positioning flights from Papua New Guinea to Canada on Dec 18th 2020.

270 sounds high for a Dash. Is that a -200/ferry thing?

That’s what I thought, AFM limit is 25,000, although I think the primary reason is due to no drop down masks in the cabin. Could be something in the AFM that allows flights at higher altitudes if the crew are on oxygen with no one in the back.

Max dif generally occurs at 250 in a good airframe and an empty 200 in cold conditions shouldn’t have problems getting to 270 or even higher.

There were two POB when the aircraft left POM..

The aircraft is reported as not being flown in possibly 15 months.

Prudent to have a flying spanner with a few spares on a ferry flight going around the world.

I also seem to recall that this was the Dash 8 that had an engine fire which caused substantial airframe damage a few years ago going into POM, with my good mate and sim buddy Lik Lik in the wheel haus.

Good outcome thanks to good training and experience, sadly things maybe somewhat different now.

That was on Christmas Day 2012 if I recall correctly.

Sounds about right, it wasn’t long after I left PX in 2011.

Engine prop seal failed, and oil leaking out forced the diversion. (hearsay)

Looks like an expensive and painful recovery that PX don’t need now!

Just arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Cold weather ops will be an eye opener for a couple of tropical pilots. Steeeep learning curve.

No suggestion they are PX crew.
To avoid covid they might be Canadians. Would make sense.
Most PX deliveries are done by Southern Cross
Permits to fly PNG aircraft readily available..

Most likely they are the Nordic Aviation pilot's whom delivered the Dash 8-400 a week ago... that would make even more sense...

.

My error. I had wrongly assumed with P2 rego that it would likely be holders of PNG licences, but on reflection temporary validations are just a rubber stamp away.

Who purchased said aircraft in Canada?

Pretty sure it was originally an Avmax lease aircarft when it arrived so probably gone back to them in Calgary

Makes sense. Thanks for that.