ARFF Daily News

Today is Friday the 18th of April, 2025 - Good Friday

These are the stories to close out this week...

Have a safe weekend, and I would like to wish all of you and your families a blessed and healthy Easter!

Tom

Flight from Houston to Cabo returns to Hobby, passengers evacuated on tarmac

The flight was scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. from Hobby to Los Cabos International Airport in San José del Cabo, Mexico.

Author: Sammy Turner, Cory McCord (KHOU)

HOUSTON — Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight were evacuated via slides after landing at Hobby Airport on Thursday, a Houston Airports spokesperson confirmed to KHOU 11.

Houston Airports said the flight landed safely at the airport, and passengers exited the plane using slides on the taxiway. In a statement, Southwest said there were 134 passengers on board.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. from Hobby to Los Cabos International Airport in San José del Cabo, Mexico, according to FlightAware.

According to traffic control audio obtained via liveatc.net, the pilot declared an emergency and said they lost an engine.

The runway was shut down while the plane returned to the airport.

Houston Fire Department officials said they responded to Hobby after getting reports of an engine fire. Their airport firefighters were ready when the plane landed and were able to put the fire out. It also caused a small grass fire near the runway that they were able to put out, too.

The plane was evacuated and the passengers were escorted back to the airport.

There were no reports of injuries.

Southwest Airlines issued this statement:

"Southwest Airlines Flight 3006 landed safely at William P. Houston Hobby Airport this morning after returning due to a reported engine issue. The Crew followed procedures and assisted all 134 passengers in evacuating the aircraft. Southwest is working to accommodate its Customers to their final destination of Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico. We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew in responding to this situation. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/southwest-airlines-flight-hobby-slides-evacuate/285-13997f78-30e1-4775-a93b-e3eee73bb943

Greenville plane crash reported off runway near I-385
by Zach Rainey

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

Officials with the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) have confirmed that a plane crash occurred just off the runway near Interstate 385 on Thursday afternoon.

According to the Greenville Police Department, the crash happened at 3:37 p.m. Officers and firefighters arrived on scene and made contact with the pilot who was conscious.

Officers said the single engine aircraft lost power during takeoff and crashed onto a grassy area across Woods Lake Road just after takeoff.

No fatalities were reported and the pilot, who was the only occupant, was transported to the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the incident.

Stay tuned with WYFF News 4 as we learn more.

https://www.wyff4.com/article/greenville-downtown-airport-sc-plane-crash-interstate-385/64516023

Archer And United Unveil eVTOL Plans For New York City

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to launch electric air taxis in NYC, cutting airport travel times to just five minutes.

Amelia Walsh

On Thursday, Archer Aviation, in partnership with United Airlines, unveiled its plans to launch an electric air taxi network in New York City.

The proposed service, featuring Archer’s flagship aircraft Midnight, aims to dramatically cut travel times between Manhattan and surrounding airports to as little as five minutes.

In a press release, the eVTOL manufacturer said it plans to leverage existing heliports and facilities near major airports, converting them into functional vertiports where practical. Archer is coordinating with Atlantic Aviation, Signature Aviation, Skyports/Groupe ADP, Modern Aviation and Air Pegasus to develop ground support operations and implement electric charging capabilities.

“The New York region is home to three of the world’s preeminent airports, serving upwards of 150 million passengers annually. But the drive from Manhattan to any of these airports can be painful, taking one, sometimes two hours,” said Archer Founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “We want to change that by giving residents and visitors the option to complete trips in mere minutes. With its existing helicopter infrastructure, regulatory support and strong demand, I believe New York could be one of the first markets for air taxis in the United States.”

Archer continues to work toward FAA Type Certification for Midnight, following the issuance of its Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator Certificate in June 2024. Once certified, the company plans to begin operations in New York, with additional air taxi networks slated for rollout in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

To meet anticipated demand, Archer is scaling up production at its manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California, and Covington, Georgia, in preparation for full commercial launch.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/archer-and-united-unveil-evtol-plans-for-new-york-city/?oly_enc_id=3681J3205156A2X

NTSB Prelim: Beech V35

Pilot Noticed An Alternator Caution Light And Corresponding Indication On His Primary Flight Display

Location: Engelwood, CO Accident Number: CEN25LA126
Date & Time: March 16, 2025, 17:41 Local Registration: N7987R
Aircraft: Beech V35 Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On March 16, 2025, at 1741 mountain daylight time, a Beech V35 airplane, N7987R, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Englewood, Colorado. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot noticed an alternator caution light and corresponding indication on his primary flight display (PFD) while enroute to his destination. He performed electrical load shedding procedures and arrived at his destination with enough remaining battery power to maintain radio communications and extend the landing gear and flaps. The pilot reported that the landing was normal in all respects, to include the gear indicator light, until the right main landing gear collapsed followed by the collapse of the front and then the left main landing gear. The airplane departed the runway and impacted a taxiway sign and taxi light, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

Security camera video was obtained that showed the landing gear were extended before touchdown and the initial landing roll appeared normal before the landing gear collapse. The airplane was retained for further examination.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Today in History

53 Years ago today: On 18 April 1972 An East African Airways Vickers VC10 crashed during an overrun after an aborted takeoff from Addis Ababa-Bole Airport, Ethiopia, killing 43 occupants; 64 survived the accident.

Date: Tuesday 18 April 1972

Time: 09:39

Type: Vickers Super VC10-1154

Owner/operator: East African Airways Corp. - EAAC

Registration: 5X-UVA

MSN: 881

Year of manufacture: 1966

Total airframe hrs: 18586 hours

Engine model: Rolls-Royce Conway 550

Fatalities: Fatalities: 43 / Occupants: 107

Other fatalities: 0

Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off

Category: Accident

Location: Addis Ababa-Bole Airport (ADD) -   Ethiopia

Phase: Take off

Nature: Passenger - Scheduled

Departure airport: Addis Ababa-Haile Selassie I International Airport (ADD/HAAB)

Destination airport: Roma-Fiumicino Airport (FCO/LIRF)

Investigating agency: CAA Ethiopia

Confidence Rating:  Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:

An East African Airways Vickers VC10 crashed during an overrun after an aborted takeoff from Addis Ababa-Bole Airport, Ethiopia, killing 43 occupants; 64 survived the accident.

East African Airways Flight 720 to London via Addis Ababa and Rome departed Nairobi at 06:55 hours. The flight to Addis Ababa was uneventful and the VC10 landed there at 08:23. During the transit stop at Addis Ababa, some freight was off-loaded together with 40 passengers. Fifteen passengers joined the flight and the airplane was refuelled. Start up clearance was given at 09:21 hours and the aircraft taxied out six minutes later via the eastern taxiway for takeoff on runway 07. The tower advised the aircraft that the wind was 5 knots and variable in direction. At 09:32 hours, as the aircraft was backtracking to the takeoff point, the pilot reported a number of dead birds on the runway. He requested that these birds be removed before the aircraft took off. A fire truck was dispatched to take care of this. The aircraft continued to backtrack down the runway and turned in the pad at the end. It then lined up on the runway and stopped a short distance from the threshold.

At 09:38:40 hours, the tower cleared the aircraft for takeoff. Shortly after the aircraft had passed the mid-point of the runway, at or just below the V1 speed, the nose wheel ran over a steel jacking pad. This jacking pad belonged to a Cessna 185 that had departed 4:40 hrs earlier. The pad punctured the right hand nose wheel tire. A loud bang was heard and severe vibration was felt on the flight deck. Almost immediately after the nose wheel tire had burst, the nose of the aircraft rose momentarily and then come down. The flight crew decided to abort the takeoff. The engines were throttled back and reverse thrust was selected. The aircraft continued down the runway, veering slightly to the right.

Then the no.1 rear main tire burst. Just before the aircraft reached the end of the runway, it veered slightly to the left and ran approximately parallel to the centre line. After crossing a storm drain located at the end of the runway at right angles to the centre line, the aircraft became momentarily airborne as it left the lip of the embankment on which the 60 m stopway was laid. As it did so, the left outer wing of the aircraft struck a steel lattice tower forming part of the approach lighting system to runway 25. This ruptured the no. 1A fuel tank and the released fuel promptly ignited. Sixty metres beyond the end of the runway the aircraft fell heavily on to the lower ground 10.6 m below the runway level. It broke up immediately on impact and after sliding a short distance, came to rest and caught fire.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was due to a partial loss of braking effort arising from incorrect re-assembly of part of the braking system, as a result of which the aircraft could not be stopped within the emergency distance remaining following a properly executed abandoned take-off procedure."