MH 198 Flight Incident

MH 198 flightradar24 Screenshot 2014-09-14 00.02.41
MH 198 flightradar24 Screenshot 2014-09-14 00.02.41

Sunday, September 14th 2014: A Malaysia Airlines flight bound to Hyderabad is circling just above Selangor-Perak border, shortly after it took off from Runway 14R at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL).

The flight departed from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, September 14th at 10:34 PM (MST) and scheduled to arrive at Hyderabad, 11:56 PM local time. However, about an hour after the departure,  the plane made a turn back while it was cruising in Malacca Strait airspace. It then began to circle around Perak-Selangor border.

Update 12:40 AM: At least two Twitter accounts (other than LANDASAN) reported about the matter to Malaysia Airlines (MAS). MAS has yet to respond or issue a statement.

 

At 1:35 AM, the aircraft is still circling the same area. It has flown for about 3 hours already. Assuming the aircraft fuel tank is full and the fuel consumption rate is at 2000 liters / hour, it can fly continuously for another 10 hours.

Boeing 737s are not equipped with fuel dumping system. Therefore, in the event of emergency, the aircraft will either 1) fly in circles (holding pattern) to burn off fuel or 2) land overweight. If option 2) is taken, the aircraft will be inspected upon landing before returned to service.

At 1:47 AM, the aircraft is seen to be on descent and will be landing soon at KUL. It is no longer flying in circles.

 

The Problem: Possible Cause(s)

  1. There is mechanical problem of the aircraft. It probably happened before or after takeoff. The cabin crews realized this while airborne and they are waiting for clearance to land back in Malaysia. Even if it is already safe to land, the aircraft needs to do fuel dumping process to lighten its load before landing.
  2. Something has happened onboard. Malaysia Airlines has yet to come up with a statement at 1:00 AM, even about two hours after the turn-back. As stated before, even if they have to land as soon as possible, the aircraft needs to reduce its weight before landing.

A user from Lowyat forum, “peelfresh”, mentioned that there were problems in the cockpit and they decided to turn back. No major incident happened onboard. Source

Update 12:05 PM: News reports have surfaced this morning about the incident. Malaysia Airlines has yet to come up with an official statement regarding the incident, although most likely the turn back is caused by technical problems. Reports cite autopilot problem is the leading cause.

 

The Landing

At 2:01 AM, the aircraft finally has landed on Runway 14L at KUL. The reasons is not yet known, although it is believed that mechanical problem is the cause.

Unofficial sources said that the landing was successful. Data from Flightradar shows the plane was taxiing to Main Terminal Building, KLIA.

We have contacted several Malaysian media sources but no one has yet so say anything regarding the incident. While we can only speculate now, we will put additional information as soon as they become available.

 

The Aircraft

The aircraft type is Boeing 737-800 (737-8H6) and its registration number is 9M-MXI. It was delivered new to MAS on July 16th 2012. The serial number is 40136 while the Line Number is 4105.

According to Boeing website, the fuel capacity of the aircraft is 6,875 U.S. gal (26,020 L) and its maximum range 3,115 nautical miles (5,765 km) for 2-class with winglets.

It also has maximum takeoff weight 174,200 lb (79,010 kg)

 

Previous Incidents Involving 9M-MXI

The aircraft has involved with at least one accident before. It happened on March 21st 2014 at 10:45 PM (local time) at Kathmandu Airport (Malaysia Airlines Flight 114). It struck a flock of birds during the approach process. As a result, the aircraft landing light lens was broken and subsequently replaced. Although no human fatalities was recorded, the airport was closed for half an hour and the following flight was canceled. Source

 

 

Revision: 8

MH 370: 58 Hard Objects Identified in the Indian Ocean

9M-MRO Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, Photo by Bernhard Ebner, obtained from flightradar24.com
9M-MRO Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, Photo by Bernhard Ebner, obtained from flightradar24.com

The search and rescue team in charge for MH 370 recovery at the southern part of Indian Ocean has found a suspicious hard object, believed to be inconsistent with usual Indian Ocean seabed, according to a news report by New Straits Times (link: here).

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 was reported missing on March 8th 2014. No significant lead has yet to be determined.

AirAsia (Indonesia) Flight QZ8501 Incident

Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216; PK-AXC at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), 2011 By Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216; PK-AXC at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), 2011 By Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

DEVELOPING STORY

KUALA LUMPUR, December 28th 2014 (Sunday): An Indonesia AirAsia flight (QZ 8501) from Surabaya, Indonesia has lost contact with air traffic control on  at 6:17 AM (local time, Indonesia) – 2317 hrs GMT.

All times are stated in Malaysian Standard Time (MST, GMT +8:00) unless specified otherwise.

An official from Indonesian Transport Ministry, Hadi Mustofa said the plane asked for unusual route before losing contact with air traffic controller.

The flight is scheduled to arrive Singapore at 8:30 AM but it has yet to arrive.

It is currently unknown whether Flight QZ 8501 has anything to do with the weather or not.

 

Flight Path

AirAsia QZ 8501 Flight Path - Picture from flightradar24.com
AirAsia QZ 8501 Flight Path – Picture from flightradar24.com

Shortly after departure, the aircraft disappeared at cruising altitude and speed. Main article: AirAsia QZ 8501 flight path

It deviated few degrees by heading from it original route shortly before it disappeared. From weather data near to the point of lost contact, the aircraft is seen traversing through bad weather area.

 

Passengers and Crew

The Airbus A320-200 had 155 passengers for QZ 8501. The total figure given by TIME is 162.

The flight comprise of 149 Indonesians, 2 Koreans, 1 Singaporean, 1 Briton and 1 Malaysian (source).

The pilot is identified as Iriyanto.

 

The Aircraft

The aircraft in flight QZ 8501, Airbus A320-200 is registered as PK-AXC. The ICAO-designated PK-prefix means it is registered in Indonesia.

The aircraft has just 4.5 hours of fuel left at the time of disappearance.

 

Search and Rescue Process

Click here for search and rescue effort by country

The aircraft is confirmed missing as of 7:55 AM while the last contact occured at 7:24 AM (6:24 AM Western Indonesia Time).

Day 1: Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia worked together to search for the missing plane. Australia has also offered assistance of deemed necessary. No positive results have been found.

Day 2: Royal Australian Air Force and Navy has joined the search. As of 11:21 AM, no positive results have been found.

 

Jurisdiction

The aircraft is registered in Indonesia and owned by an Indonesian company, AirAsia Indonesia. Besides, the incident does not occur in Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysian government is not involved with this incident. Read more here.

 

Contact Information

AirAsia has established an emergency call centre for family and friends of those who are affected. The phone number is +622129850801.

Please check back this page for updates.

Source: CNBC

AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 – 1st Statement by AirAsia

The following statement is posted on its Facebook page and shared via Twitter @airasia as well.

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.

At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.

AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.

AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.