Aircraft shoot at Baghdad
 

A Dutch reporter with good connections in the Middle East reports that at least two aircraft were shot at near Baghdad Airport by IS troops.
Likely while landing. One was a Iraqi Airways B747-400. The aircraft departed Malaysia and was on approach for Baghad airport when it was hit 5 times. Because the fuel tanks were not full the tanks did not exploded. Was the aircraft hit at departure it could be much worse.
The Boeing 747-400 was grounded at Baghdad since the incident at August 24.

The other shooting was also an Iraqi Airways aircraft on August 26.

According a former Iraqi Airways pilot she spoke to, shootings happen weekly.

Anyone can confirm this? Iraqi government does not want to make this public. They only communicate about successes in the battle against IS.
Do we have to wait for another aircraft to crash before something is done?

CBS reports IS has MANPADS
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-wit...-with-manpads/

Huh?
A full tank is more likely to explode than a partially empty one?
Doesn't a partially empty tank have more fumes in it?
And, aren't the fumes the explosive bit?
And, doesn't it depend on what they're shooting?
If they're shooting bullets, there's not much chance of blowing up a fuel tank. But if they're shooting explosive ordinance, it wouldn't matter much how much fuel is in the tanks, there would be an explosion.

This is what the journalist said. And maybe she got that info from the former Iraqi Airways pilot.

No, I can't confirm or refute this allegation.

However, based on the technically incorrect "lucky the tanks were not full so didn't explode" explanation, I'd say that report is not credible at all.

Move on....

To be able.to shoot bullets at a pax aircraft you would reallistically need the aircraft to be at or below around 3000ft AGL. And even then you would have to be a pretty good shot. 3000 feet corresponds to around 9 miles on a 3 degree glide. Assuming the pilots level off for any ammount of time approx. 6 miles that means the IS guys would have to be within 15 miles of Baghdad airport, to take a realistic shot at the aircraft. The question is, are they that close? Any way I just made those numbers up I don't really remember the platform alts at baghdad.

Some reports say ISIS is about 8 miles from Baghdad airport now.

ISIS attack on Baghdad Airport thwarted by US helicopters says US General Dempsey - Iraqi News

ISIS within 8 miles of Baghdad airport, and armed with MANPADs - CBS News

Amazing you discredit a story from a journalist because some parts are technically not correct.

Please take some minutes to study the situation: IS is close to the airport. IS is not very friendly to its enemies. The have all kinds of weapons. The US needed Apache helicopters to defend the airport.

Iraqi government is not known for being open en transparent. Not many airlines operating into Baghdad at the moment, so hard to verify.

I would almost guarantee that shooting down an airliner is on the ISIS to do list. The fact that the UAE has joined the fight makes EK and Fly Dubai targets. If they wish to continue to fly there do it in all white plane. (I noticed a few sitting over by the hanger.) Also, Bagdad and Kabul should require an expression of interest form and pay $500 more for hazard pay. My life insurance will not pay my loved ones if something happens as these are both considered war zones. Will EK pick up the difference? Hallas. Not to worry, guys we've checked the performance on the 343 and if you turn off the packs and galleys, move everyone to the back of the plane, use TOGA thrust while you stand on the brakes, hand fly the engine out SID because the autopilot is too stupid to bank enough to miss the mountain. (Please be careful not to bank too much as this would affect your vertical component of lift, and you would also hit the mountain.) We are almost certain you will make the 14,000 foot engine out crossing restriction safely. Also, kindly note, do not do this more than 5 minutes before scheduled departure as it would be very inconvenient to those of us in DXB. As I am sure you noticed, we placed the full set of instructions somewhere in your new flight bag.

Just to add my five pence worth: Whenever I read an article or watch a news clip about a topic that I know something about or was directly involved in, the content is 95%+ garbage. Even from 'respected' sources like CNN, BBC, Der Spiegel, the NYT or Washington Post.

I am allowing myself to extrapolate that the content has the same 5% accuracy value when it is about events or topics I have no clue about.

I am also very cautious about news which is not in the MSM. In this case I asked the journalist some details. The source is reliable and known to the journalist for quite some time.

YI-ASA was the aircraft hit on August 24. It flew KUL to Baghdad.
I was told : cut the oil duct and hit the central fuel tank during final approach for landing from Abu Ghraib area, North West from Airport.

An Iraqi B767 reported fireballs thrown at him on August 26.

And I believe there was a third case of shooting.

New York times had an article about safety.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/wo...rews.html?_r=1

“We’re very sure that Baghdad International Airport is safe for departure and for arrival,” said Capt. Saad M. Saeed, the general director of Iraqi Airways, Iraq’s national carrier. “I’m a pilot. If I know there’s one-in-a-million chance, I won’t take the risk.”

Yet in August, an Iraqi Airways captain told colleagues that his plane had been hit by gunfire as it approached the airport from the north, a route that would have passed over the restive Sunni district of Abu Ghraib. The plane, which landed safely, was hit by at least two bullets, according to two Iraqi Airways pilots who said they had been told about the shooting.

Ali al-Bayati, deputy director of Iraqi Airways, denied that such an event had occurred. Rumors, he said, were part of the Islamic State’s arsenal. “Considering that the airport is a very high-value target for them,” he said, “they’re spreading a lot of rumors.”

Shots fired at FlyDubai plane in Baghdad
 

Never would have seen that as a possibility? Who would have thought?:ugh:

I see EK have cancelled flights to BGW now.

Erbil? Basrah? No, no risk there.

How could that possibly happen?:ugh:

They're only expendable crew right? Money is more important. Same as with rocket attacks into Kabul airport. Let's keep going there until people are killed.

Its ridiculous! We all know there are serious safety concerns flying into these airports! Our Management know it too. Does it honestly take someone getting killed before they accept this! F--k the money EK, FlyDubai and any other airline that thinks it acceptable to put their crew at this level of risk!
Basra, Erbil, Kabul, Peshawa and other airports all have these unacceptable dangers. STOP FLYING to these destinations now before someone is killed!

Apparently, multiple bullets hit the aircraft, resulting in two passengers being rushed to hospital...... Still think FZ insurance/ death in service cover is adequate?

This now vindicates what pilots at FZ have been saying for the last few years. This has been on the cards ever since we started flying into these destinations and I'm just surprised that it hasn't happened sooner or more often.

Time to re-assess.....:mad:

"The safety of our Crew and Passengers will never be compromised!!! Our security department is constantly reviewing threats at our various destinations" (thats our sister company).

They have known about the instability for years. However the calculated risk was minimal....until our sister company "bites the bullet" (pun intended)

Come on management... you sit behind your desk and read security reports. Please stop putting us in harms way. People could lose their life......

Yeah, but managers could lose some bonus!
In this region a choice quickly made .....

It's all about the greed