A passenger boarded a Boeing 777, then opened a door and fell out of the plane
An Air Canada passenger boarded a Boeing 777 and then opened a cabin door, Global News reported.
The person fell onto the tarmac below, and emergency services were called.
The incident delayed the flight’s departure to Dubai by about six hours.
An Air Canada Boeing 777. Robert Smith/Getty Images
An Air Canada passenger opened an aircraft door and fell about 20 feet to the ground, Global News first reported.
An airline representative told Business Insider the incident involved a Boeing 777 at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The spokesperson said the passenger “boarded the aircraft normally” but then opened a cabin door instead of going to their seat.
The representative added that the person sustained injuries from the fall and emergency services were called.
Data from Flightradar24, a flight-tracking site, shows Monday’s flight from Toronto to Dubai took off almost six hours late. It was scheduled to have 319 passengers on board.
An airline representative said: “We can confirm all of our approved boarding and cabin operating procedures were followed; we continue to review the incident.”
It’s the second time in less than a week that a passenger’s unusual behavior has delayed one of the airline’s flights.
Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport operational disruptions were caused by a severe power outage that occurred on Sunday morning 1 January 2023. At around 9:50 a.m. local time, a blower for the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) began breaking down. At this time, the backup UPS also failed to come online, which resulted in the internet, radios, radars, and other communication channels shutting down. Because of this, the airport’s Air Traffic Management Center was forced to suspend operations. Just after noon, some power was able to be restored. However, due to a following power surge, several critical very small aperture terminals (VSATs) were broken.
As a result of this power outage and the Air Traffic Management Center suspending operations, 282 flights were impacted. Some were delayed, some canceled, and several inbound flights were forced to divert to other airports. For example, Qantas Flight #19 departed Sydney, Australia, bound for Manila at just after noon local time on Jan. 1. However, three hours into the flight, it was forced to turn around and fly back to Australia as a result of the air traffic control shut down. By that afternoon, all airlines were restricted from landing in Manila.
To make matters worse, as a result of these disruptions, no aircraft could even use the airspace above the Philippines. This meant several flights that were currently en route were forced to deviate from their flight plans and take an alternative course.
On New Year’s Day alone, 56,000 passengers were impacted by the power outage. By late afternoon, several flights were able to arrive and depart from Manila, but many have criticized the Philippines’ air traffic control technology and questioned how something like this could happen.
Jaime Bautista, the Secretary of Transportation for the Philippines, explained that he too was frustrated by the power outages and unhappy with the current technology the country’s air traffic control system uses, saying, “This was an air traffic management system issue. If you will compare with Singapore’s, for one, there is a big difference—they are at least 10 years ahead of us.”
Fixing the issues with the Philippines’ outdated air traffic control system would be a complex and costly task that could take years to fully implement. In fact, by the time the current system was fully in place, it was already outdated due to delays in the rollout of the technology. In the meantime, the transportation department has worked with the airlines to get passengers food and accommodations. Future investigations into this problem and the entire air traffic control system are likely to follow in the near future.
With traveler numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, airports are navigating their way through an increasing surge of eager travelers. While the return to travel is a sigh of relief for many, travel over the holidays remains a stressful thought for some. To help travelers prepare for a busy holiday season, InsureMyTrip identified the worst performing airports in the U.S. by looking at data collected from 2019-2021 encompassing various negative factors.
#
Airport Name
City
Overall Average
1
Ted Stevens Anchorage International
Anchorage
27.2%
2
Newark Liberty International
Newark
23.6%
3
Palm Beach International
West Palm Beach
21.7%
4
Luis Munoz Marin International
San Juan
21.1%
5
Nashville International
Nashville
19.8%
6
El Paso International
El Paso
19.7%
7
Hollywood Burbank
Burbank
19.5%
8
San Francisco International
San Francisco
19.3%
9
Fort Laurderdale-Hollywood International
Fort Lauderdale
19.2%
10
Gerald R. Ford International
Grand Rapids
18.7%
The Worst Performing Airports Overall
Statistically, these are America’s worst airports for delays, cancellations, and diversions.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International in Alaska performed the worst overall, with a 27.15% chance of delay. System delays, with an 8.32% chance of causing delay, and late aircraft arrivals with a 7.06% chance of causing delay, appear to be this airport’s downfall.
Newark Liberty International in New Jersey grasped 2nd place, with an overall average of 23.55% chance of delay. It has a 12% chance of a system delay which is around 4% more likely to hold you up in comparison to Anchorage International, which has an average system delay of 8%.
Air carrier delays present a challenge for all airports, as this may cause a hold-up when preparing for boarding. Luis Munoz Marin International in Puerto Rico and El Paso International in Texas led this category, with 10.27% and 9.05% respectively, potentially signifying issues regarding staff.
The Best Performing Airports Overall
For travelers looking for the top performers, these airports can be considered the best as a result of less delayed, cancelled, or diverted flights.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International in Georgia has been crowned the best or most efficient airport with a 14.39% chance of experiencing any issues. They boast a tiny 0.04% possibility of being diverted or delayed due to security problems on average.
BWI Marshall in Maryland is awarded least likely to sustain weather difficulties, recording just a 0.12% chance of weather-related delays on average. Narrowly beating Chicago Midway International in Illinois and George Bush Intercontinental in Texas, which both had an average weather delay of 0.14%.
Alternatively, Hawaii’s Kahului International, at 2.8% and Daniel K Inouye International, at 3.4%, held 2 of the 3 lowest percentages for late aircraft arrivals, proving to be well organized despite high levels of tourist traffic.
Worst Air Carrier Delays
These airports average the most delays due to the operating airline preparations.
Across the three years presented it is clear to see a contrast in results, best explained by the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 presents a decrease in delays, potentially due to the decrease in overall flights. However, 2021’s influx of holidays and business travel has pushed these airports to the brink.
Puerto Rico’s Luis Munoz Marin International endured the most air carrier delays across the three years, recently jumping from 6% in 2020 to a whopping 14.6% last year. This airport also sustained the largest decrease from 2019-2020, suggesting the pandemic severely halted Puerto Rico’s tourism industry.
Despite this, Tucson International in Arizona appeared to take pride in delivering consistently poor service, fluctuating the least of all the airports on this list throughout the three-year period with an overall average of 7.7%.
System Delays between 2019-2021
System delays are identified by being within the control of the National Airspace System (NAS), this includes operations, traffic volume, and traffic control. The airports listed show an overall percentage alongside another three-year comparison.
Newark Liberty International dominates this sector, with 12.2%. However, the real standout lies in 3rd place. In 2021 Nashville International held 19.3% (2019) but has since dropped to 2.96% (2021) despite all flights reopening. This indicates huge improvements as the number of flights put on was just 230 less in 2021 with 11,192, than in 2019 with 11,422.
Both New York airports; John F. Kennedy International, with 5.53%, and LaGuardia, with 6.65%, appear in this list, possibly due to the heavy amounts of traffic the city receives. Nevertheless, an area for improvement.
Late Aircraft Arrivals
This list identifies the airports with the most frequent number of previous flights arriving late, causing the present flight to depart late.
The top 10 list only differentiates 1.01%, with a 4.3% difference across all data gathered, the tightest of all the data sets.
As previously mentioned, Anchorage performed the worst in this category with 7.06% of delays caused by late aircraft arrivals. Next is Hollywood Burbank with 7.02% and El Paso International with 6.96%.
What do Hollywood Burbank (7.02%), Sacramento International (6.96%), Mineta San Jose International Airport (6.33%) and Metropolitan Oakland International (6.27%) all have in common? They are all in California, with 4 out of the 10 worst performing airports, California, is the worst state for aircraft arriving late.
Overall
Ted Steven’s Anchorage International was named the worst performing airport overall. System delays and late aircraft arrivals were identified as the airport’s weakest aspects.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International was crowned the best performing, scoring as low as 0.04% in diversions and security delays.
Whilst acknowledging the pandemics’ influence the data still presented valuable insights, as already this year we’ve seen major issues with airports struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels of travelers.
The first is how the contextual impacts on tourism have potentially led to difficulties surrounding delays. Specifically, Puerto Rico’s Luis Munoz Marin International is enduring a large increase in air carrier delays. Though it can be noted Tucson International remained consistently poor across the three-year period.
Nashville International in Tennessee seized the spotlight regarding system delays, having decreased by 16.3% throughout 2019-2021. Signifying either major improvements or a decrease in tourism.
Lastly, the late aircraft arrival list presents a minimal differentiation across 1st to 10th place, with airports within California standing out with some of the highest delays.
Methodology
InsureMyTrip gathered data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics over November and December for 2019, 2020 and 2021. An overall percentage was then gathered, taking the overall percentage from each year and dividing it by the number of years.
An average was also created from the three biggest reasons for flights to be delayed or canceled.
Korean Air says jet overran runway in Philippines, no injuries reported
A Korean Air Lines Co Ltd (003490.KS) jet with 173 people on board overshot the runway at Cebu International Airport in the Philippines late on Sunday, the airline said, adding that there were no injuries and all passengers had evacuated safely.
The Airbus SE (AIR.PA) A330 widebody flying from Seoul to Cebu had tried twice to land in poor weather before it overran the runway on the third attempt at 23:07 (1507 GMT), Korean Air said in a statement on Monday.
“Passengers have been escorted to three local hotels and an alternative flight is being arranged,” the airline said of flight KE361. “We are currently identifying the cause of the incident.”
Video from the scene verified by Reuters showed widespread damage to the plane. The nose landing gear appeared to have collapsed.
Korean Air President Keehong Woo issued an apology on the airline’s website, saying a thorough investigation would be carried out by Philippine and South Korean authorities to determine the cause.
Response crews gather around a Korean Air Airbus A330 widebody flying from Seoul to Cebu, which tried to land twice in poor weather before it overran the runway on the third attempt on Sunday, in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines October 24, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Randyl Dungog/via REUTERS
“We remain committed to standing behind our promise of safe operations and will do our very best to institute measures to prevent its recurrence,” Woo said.
The A330-300 jet involved in the accident was delivered new to Korean Air in 1998, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, which said that other flights to Cebu had diverted to other airports or returned to their origin.
The Cebu airport said on its Facebook page that it had temporarily closed the runway to allow for the removal of the plane, meaning all domestic and international flights were cancelled until further notice.
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Korean Air has not had a fatal passenger crash since 1997, according to Aviation Safety Network, a website that compiles aviation accidents.
The airline had a poor safety record at that time but sought outside help from Boeing Co (BA.N) and Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) to improve its standards.
Another incident at Emirates in Dubai, this time a Boeing 777 passenger flight bound for India was accelerating for take off at Dubai – without air traffic control clearance – meanwhile another Emirates jet was crossing runway at the same time.
Incident: Emirates B773 at Dubai on Jan 9th 2022, rejected takeoff without clearance due to crossing aircraft
An Emirates Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EQA performing flight EK-524 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Hyderabad (India), was accelerating for takeoff from Dubai’s runway 30R when the crew was instructed to reject takeoff at high speed (above 100 knots over ground) due to a crossing aircraft. The aircraft slowed safely and vacated the runway via taxiway N4 behind the aircraft, that had crossed the runway.
An Emirates Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EBY performing flight EK-568 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Bangalore (India), was taxiing for departure and was cleared to cross runway 30R from taxiway M5A to N4 and was entering the runway just when EK-524 began the takeoff roll.
According to information The Aviation Herald received from two independent sources, EK-524 began their takeoff roll without ATC clearance. Tower subsequently instructed EK-524 to stop. According to information EK-524 may have reached 130 KIAS when they rejected takeoff. According to ADS-B data transmitted by the aircraft’s transponder EK-524 had reached 100 knots over ground about 790 meters/2600 feet down the runway and about 1700 meters/5700 feet short of taxiway N4.
EK-568 continued taxi and departed normally. EK-524 taxied back the holding point of runway 30R and departed about 30 minutes after the rejected takeoff.
On Jan 13th 2022 the airline reported, that EK-524 was instructed by tower to abort takeoff on Jan 9th 2022, the crew rejected takeoff successfully. There was no damage to the aircraft and there were no injuries. An internal investigation has been initiated, UAE’s GCAA also opened an investigation.
Airline software super-bug: Flight loads miscalculated because women using ‘Miss’ were treated as children
Weight blunder led to wrong thrust used on takeoff, says UK watchdog
A programming error in the software used by UK airline TUI to check-in passengers led to miscalculated flight loads on three flights last July, a potentially serious safety issue.
The error occurred, according to a report [PDF] released on Thursday by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), because the check-in software treated travelers identified as “Miss” in the passenger list as children, and assigned them a weight of 35 kg (~77 lbs) instead of 69 kg (~152 lbs) for an adult.
The AAIB report attributes the error to cultural differences in how the term Miss is understood.
“The system programming was not carried out in the UK, and in the country where it was performed the title Miss was used for a child, and Ms for an adult female, hence the error,” the report says.
The Register asked TUI where the system programming was done, but the company ignored that question in its response to our inquiry.
“The health and safety of our customers and crew is always our primary concern,” a TUI spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Following this isolated incident, we corrected a fault identified in our IT system. As stated in the report, the safe operation of the flight was not compromised.”
Potentially fatal math
Flight load miscalculations have the potential to affect aircraft handling and to create serious safety issues: the figures are used for figuring out fuel levels, altitude, takeoff thrust, and so on. The 2018 fatal crash of Cubana de Aviación Flight 972, for example, has been attributed to excessive load, as has the 1997 crash of Fine Air Douglas DC-8 cargo flight.
According to the AAIB, the software issue was first spotted on July 10, 2020, when three adult passengers identified as Miss were checked in as children. Airline personnel caught the discrepancy and proceeded to make adjustments manually.
On July 17, the developer(s) working on the check-in application “adapted a piece of software, which changed the title of any adult female from Miss to Ms automatically.”
Alas, the revised code could only convert honorifics for passengers prior to check-in. Bookings made with the title Miss that had already checked in, including those checking in online 24 hours prior to departure, could not be changed.
“On 20 July, 2020, the programmer was making enhancements to the program to improve its performance,” the report says. “This should not have stopped the program from working, but as this was a ‘fix,’ it could not be known for sure. A combination of the [TUI] teams not working over the weekend [to make manual corrections] and the ‘online’ check-in being open early on Monday 20 July, 24 hours ahead of the flight, meant the incorrectly allocated passenger weights were not corrected.”
On 21 July, 2020, three TUI Airways flights departed from the UK with inaccurate load sheets as a result of the software issue, which would not be fixed until July 24, 2020.
The first of these, and the only one detailed in the report, was TUI Airways flight BY-7226, a Boeing 737-800 with the registration G-TAWG. The plane travelled from Birmingham International Airport in the UK to Palma de Mallorca in Spain, carrying 167 passengers and 6 crew.
The 737-800 departed with a takeoff weight that exceeded the load sheet (the projected weight) by 1,244 kg (~2743 lbs) because the load sheet listed 65 children on board, compared to the 29 children expected from the flight plan – which includes the actual weight. The load sheet also varied from the flight plan due to errant baggage weight calculations.
The result of all this was that the plane used less thrust to take off than it should have – 88.3 per cent instead of 88.9 per cent given its actual takeoff weight and environmental conditions. Fortunately, this was “marginally” more than the minimal regulatory requirements – 88.2 per cent – and the flight made it to its destination safely.
It’s suggested this won’t happen again: “An upgrade of the system producing load sheets was carried out to prevent reoccurrence,” the report concludes. ®
Arlington, Virginia — An American Airlines mechanic appeared in a Miami court Friday after being charged with sabotaging a jetliner. The aircraft was filled with passengers and set to take-off.
At 10:30 a.m. on July 17th, American Airlines flight 2834 pulled out of gate 49 at Miami International Airport headed for the Bahamas. But pilots noticed a problem and as the plane, with 150 people aboard, moved into position on the runway, they were forced to turn around.
According to investigators, American Airlines mechanic Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, who appeared in a Florida court Friday, was seen on surveillance video tampering with the plane’s navigation systems just an hour before it was scheduled to depart. Alani, who’s worked for American since 1988, said he tried to sabotage the plane because he was upset about a stalled contract dispute between his union and American Airlines and that it had affected him financially.
Captain Laura Einsetler said had the plane taken off, it could have been catastrophic.
“It is significant. Any time we reject a takeoff, that’s a big deal,” she said.
Alani said he hoped sabotaging the plane would allow him to get overtime pay to fix it. American Airlines called it a disturbing event and said that it has been cooperating with the investigation.
Mitigating the growing threat of wildlife hazards at airports.
The world’s increasingly busy airports face a growing threat of birdstrikes and wildlife hazards, partly due to expanding urban environments and bird populations, but also due to the global growth of airport traffic. Lee Pannett, Director at the Scarecrow Group, reveals how bio-acoustic technology can successfully mitigate the issue.
CLEARING RUNWAYS: A Scarecrow Group vehicle in Prague
Regulations concerning airside bird control differ across the world in terms of what is mandatory and the extent to which practices are then governed by authorities. The International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), for example, has published a set of Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and although not binding, the SARPs recommend that member countries establish a national procedure for aircraft and airport personnel to record birdstrikes.
Understanding the importance and the implications of birdstrikes and wildlife hazards remains a major challenge for all airports no matter their size, for ground staff, operations teams and management.
Robotic falcon takes to the sky above Southampton Airport
Robird, as it is called, is designed to strike fear into the hearts of a wide range of potential runway hazards, including ‘other’ birds of prey.
ON PATROL: Robird is the first of its kind to be used on a regular, long-term basis at an airport
Birds of prey are a popular method of keeping the population of pest species down. Hawks have been unleashed on the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom to scare of resident pigeons and seaside resorts to manage seagulls. For years, airports have used various species but now, increasingly, they are considering a turn to ornithopters for their needs – and Southampton Airport has become the first in Europe to employ the technology on a long-term basis .
Robird, a drone designed and flown to mimic the actions of a bird of prey, has been trialled patrolling the skies above the Hampshire international airport.
Traditional bird scaring methods lose their impact over time and need to be backed up with lethal deterrents. The benefit of Robird is that all types of birds including corvids (crows), birds of prey, pigeons and gulls see the drone as a predator, and change their behaviour to keep well away. No harm comes to any bird through this method of bird control.
The drone has been trialled at Southampton Airport in partnership with NATS and the developers, Clear Flight Solutions. The successful trial means similar robot bird systems could take flight at other airports in the future.
Dan Townsend, Southampton Airport’s Airside Operations and Safety Manager, said: “At Southampton Airport, we invest every effort to make sure our airfield is as safe as possible. Robird is an innovative idea that we’ve found to be an effective and durable way to reduce bird strikes — so you could say this idea really has wings.”
Ian Rogers, UK & Ireland Director, Clear Flight Solutions, added: “Clear Flight Solutions and Southampton Airport worked together to establish a drone operation on a regular and on-going basis in a CTR for the first time in Europe. The effect of flying Robird at Southampton has been to remove bird hazards safely and controllably from safety critical areas. This will benefit the airport and its customers.”
Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar casus flight chaos at Hong Kong International Airport
The 2nd major storm to hit Hong Kong within a week leads to 206 flight cancellations and 471 delays
Forty-two landing attempts were aborted at Hong Kong International Airport between 7am and 7.30pm on Sunday as winds whipped up by Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar made conditions unsafe.
A review by the Post of data from Flightradar24, which tracks commercial flight movements, found some aircraft tried two or even three times to make a safe touchdown, as crosswinds and wind shear, which exerts a turning force on aircraft, wreaked havoc on operations.
Some pilots eventually opted to divert to other airports, with Xiamen, Kaoshiung, Haikou, Manila and Bangkok taking a large chunk of flights.
Diverted aircraft included Cathay Pacific flight 238 from London, which made no fewer than three failed attempts at landing before being diverted to Kaoshiung. Another flight, CX616 from Bangkok, made one failed attempt to touch down before flying back to the Thai capital.
A Hong Kong finance worker who asked not to be named said his flight to Singapore was supposed to depart at 11.15am on Sunday, but had been delayed twice.
On Twitter, affected fliers complained of delays, with one hitting out at Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay for bumping him to a flight on Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said 44 flights had been diverted to other destinations.
A total of 206 flights were cancelled and 471 delayed due to the storm, with 50 planes left stuck on the tarmac at one point in the day as the city was pummelled by its second severe storm in a week.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a T8 warning on Sunday morning as Pakhar lashed the city with heavy rain, but downgraded that signal to T3 at 1.40pm and T1 at 5.40pm.
Both of the airport’s runways were set to operate overnight instead of the usual one, to cope with a backlog of flights.
At noon on Sunday, all airlines closed their check-in services until 2pm.
Earlier in the week, more than 450 flights were cancelled due to Typhoon Hato, which hit the city on Wednesday and caused major damage.
The typhoon left 10 people dead in nearby Macau and at least 244 people injured.
On Sunday, as Pakhar lashed the city, an authority spokesman advised travellers to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport.
“Operations are quite severely affected,” he said.
The spokesman said flights were still coming and going from the airport on Sunday afternoon, but a flight attendant on a Delta plane waiting to take off said no planes were taking off or landing, according to a Post reporter on board an affected flight.
The pilot for flight DL38 to Seattle said that at one point 20 planes were stuck on the runway waiting for safer conditions, while another 30 were waiting to push off from the terminal.
He estimated that take-off could be a few hours away at the very least.
Now we are just stuck on the flight like sitting ducks
MARK STRANSON, BUSINESS TRAVELLER
Flights heading southeast of Hong Kong were largely cancelled, while planes to Thailand, Japan and the United States boarded their passengers, the pilot said.
Mark Stranson, aboard DL38 after visiting Hong Kong on business, said he was pleased with the decision not to fly.
“I’d prefer that they delayed us before boarding because now we are just stuck on the flight like sitting ducks, but I’m glad they’re not trying to fly in this weather.”
But Cheri Cheung Wing-lam, a Georgetown University student, expressed concern she would miss her connecting flight.
“I cannot believe we have to sit here for so long, they shouldn’t have boarded us if they were going to keep us waiting. I’m thankful they’re not risking anything and that they provided refreshments, but I cannot imagine sitting here for hours.”
CLEARING RUNWAYS: A Scarecrow Group vehicle in Prague
ON PATROL: Robird is the first of its kind to be used on a regular, long-term basis at an airport