Back to Squawk list
  • 53

FedEx Plane Crashes Off St. Maarten Coast

Submitted
 
After taking off from St. Maarten's Princess Juliana Airport on Wednesday around 6:45 pm a FedEx cargo plane en route to Puerto Rico crashed at sea shortly after takeoff. (www.thedailyherald.com) More...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


hanshanson
hans hanson 1
I new the captain well. Im still in disbelief. Reading everything I can. Nothing seems to jive yet. BTW two days earlier it was hydraulic fail during landing(I cant be pos thou). Looking for a shot of the weather radar over SXM during 18:45 oct29. This could help me. TS's down there are generally docile but never know. At this time anyone have a way to see backdated weather radar there. The flight7101 didn't get into the system oct29.
daveblevins52
Dave Blevins 3
God bless their families with grace and comfort.
MFC0019
It hurts to know I flew N38OMQ out of JFK for American Eagle in the early 90's. A trusted servant. God rest the crew's souls.
jwarrenphd
John Warren 1
I'm teaching on SXM and they took off in a thunderstorm. One of the most severe I've experienced. One body washed up on our beach. Down here it's rumored that the aircraft had a braking problem when it arrived two days earlier.
buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 1
That could explain the wind. I've flown 757's into SXM well over a hundred times and only recall taking off towards the west twice.
fedexman2
Eric Schmaltz -5
Anybody know of an aviation website that's just as good as flightware without all the stupid comments?
preacher1
preacher1 6
No, but if we find one, we'll be happy to let you know so you can leave.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
Easy there old man, your tea must be spiked!!!
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Don't be disrespectful there... He goes for the Hard Stuff.. Coffee or Bust.. Not tea for the preacher :)
preacher1
preacher1 1
Cold as it is today, need plenty of coffee. LOL
sgbelverta
sharon bias 3
When there is crash is of a cargo plane on takeoff, I always think cargo shift. The Emery crash in Sacramento in 2000 was a result of cargo shift. RIP pilots.

[This poster has been suspended.]

buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 2
Spammer
tldacosta
Pilot reported to be a German national with a green card. Co-pilot US citizen from Puerto Rico. The short SH36 was owned by SkyWay Enterprises based in Kissimmee, FL and was under contract to FedEx. The plane was based in Puerto Rico.
toolguy105
toolguy105 1
The BEA is going to be looking hard at the maintenance performed on this plane and those who performed it. I believe this Short was flown by a contract carrier for FEDEX deeding the Hub San Juan. I believe means since two American Nationals were at the controls and the carrier may be of American registry the NTSB will offer assistance and join the BEA in the investigation.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
That is pretty standard for any crash for the investigators to look into the maintenance.. that is pretty much a given regardless of if they find anything or not. They pulled the maintenance records on the UPS plane that pilot CFIT'd in Alabama...
toolguy105
toolguy105 3
Sparkie624, I agree though in this case I believe that maintenance is going to be the first place they are going to look and they are going to take a hard look at those that performed it.

Some time ago there was a US Air commuter flight that crashed. In checking the maintenance records they found that maintenance to the stabilizer was performed as part of the inspection. The maintenance was performed by an untrained mechanic and his supervisor with the supervisor signing off on the work. This is a violation of FAA rules. Inspection and sign off cannot be done by the same person who did the work. We followed the same rule in the air Force for any work that would ground the aircraft. Work to a control system met that criteria.

What I was trying to point out was. That in this incident the investigation will immediately center on maintenance and the people performing it. The BEA and the NTSB will want to talk to those that performed the work and those that inspected it. They will also be giving a hard look at the maintenance records for this aircraft.

We once cross hooked the rudder cables on a KC135 after changing the Rudder Seal. My shop chief was in a hurry to go home that night and did not perform a full checkout. I won't tell you what the pilot said when the plane would only turn left after takeoff. During the investigation those of us that did the work were cleared even though it was one of us that hooked up the rudder pedals backwards. Our shop chief got an Article 15 for failure to follow the checkout procedure and for participating in work he was going to be inspecting.

I have a feeling this is what we will hear about this incident. That somehow maintenance did not follow procedures.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Mx will be the obvious 1st choice though, as the crash cause appeared to be same thing that had been worked on. I can only imagine your 135 pilot's choice of words on the left turn. LOL
Bernie20910
Bernie20910 3
Interesting that the aircraft had been undergoing repairs for two days prior to the flight, after apparently having control problems on landing.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

[This poster has been suspended.]

anthony96
it was a mistake md11 was it fedex dosent own turboprops
preacher1
preacher1 1
dumbass. They have small market contracts all over.
chalet
chalet 1
First order of business: learn to read and write in good English, then learn and read all you can about the matter you want to discuss, and third...... well, I will tell you about it later on, OK
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 1
Spunky tonight there, Monsieur...
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Actually they do, but the regionals actually fly them. Where they physically own the planes, they are leased to the regionals and do not maintain responsibilities to crew or maintenance items.
atreznik
atreznik 6
Hi there, Balki Bartokomous here for incorrect aviation factoids. I don't always post what I don't know, but when I do, it's on Flightaware. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Tony Gynopolous, just save yourself the trouble and stop posting. Fedex does/did own Tprops, talk to a few pilots from the Mountain. Even if they don't own them, they certainly have many feeder contracts or wet leases that utilize Tprops.
sparkie624
sparkie624 8
It was a shorts that was converted from an MD11 :) - I imagine they had some spare parts left over...
SmokedChops
SmokedChops 2
for the win! well played , sir.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
This was a Shorts 360... I thought they stopped flying them a long time ago... But apparently I was wrong. It has to be a regional carrier for them.
buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 1
The Shorts 360 was flown out of ORD until the Indiana crash due to icing. The "solution" was to send them to San Juan.
andyc852
I think the Indiana crash was an ATR42?. Shorts 360 is the flying shoebox.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
Skyvan's more like the shoebox...
atreznik
atreznik 2
While no one should really hang out in icing conditions, aircraft with boots or a weeping wing anti-ice system should be operated even more conservatively. Climb into the clear or decend into warmer layers if you can.

Flight crews got burned a few times with boots in icing conditions and off the aircraft went to the Caribbean. Instead, they should have used turboprops with a hot wing. Hmmm, I wonder what they should have used...

Also, it's a fallacy there's no ice in the Caribbean. Plenty of airframe icing to go around, however, AzTrucks and SD3-60s rarely get high enough to encounter it.
shsce750
Stuart Smith 3
You are thinking about the ATR's and the Woodlawn, Ind. accident. American Eagle flight 4184, 20 years ago today, Oct. 31, 1994. ATR-72.
jshhmr
josh homer 1
I was a crew scheduler for Simmons who handled the DFW and ORD bases for Eagle. That was a terrible night for us. One of the original F/A's for the ORD-IND turn called in sick. One of my co workers begged an F/A finishing her trip to take that turn. He felt responsible for her death and quit shortly after.
preacher1
preacher1 1
When were you Eagle scheduler and is this your given name? After retirement from Alta Vista, I did some long reserve type fill in at DFW, me and about 1/2 dozen other guys. Reason I asked about the name, it's not ringing any bells. We were flying in 09/10/11 and early 12.
jshhmr
josh homer 1
Preacher, were you flying for Simmons or Wings West out of DFW? Simmons handled DFW and ORD domiciles, while WW had DFW and LAX. Do the names Luis, Joe, or Chris ring a bell?
preacher1
preacher1 1
Wings West, but seems like Chris is ringing a bell. All that went away though the Saturday before BR filed on Monday and I have slept since then. LOL. That last Saturday, I got down there and by virtue of being there and known, I got drug over on mainline and wound up pulling a mad dog to ATL and back, then dh back to the house late evening. Last I did with any of that bunch. That BR lobbed off a whole bunch of folks. I was back down there with AV for currency and SIM but past that, haven't really had any contact.
jshhmr
josh homer 1
I was with Simmons from July 94 to February 98. Didn't know the people over at WW other than Dennis, who was the manager. Bucky Diehl and Scott Gies were the chief pilots that I remember from Simmons. It's possible I flew on one of your flights to GGG since I had family there. So you were on reserve during your DFW assignment?
preacher1
preacher1 1
More or less. We had our names on the reserve board but never got called unless they were in a bad bind. We had our names on the cert for legal purposes but most of the time it was just an easy out around the contract. That's just like that last flight; sheer dumb luck. By contract, that flight should have got cancelled as all reserves were gone, but I was there. Scab Labor I guess but some of those folks had the airline interests at heart. I didn't retire until 09 so all our activity was past your time. As I said earlier, there were about 1/2 dozen of us.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I never flew into GGG. Driven by there quite a bit. You still got family over there?
jshhmr
josh homer 1
Yep I still have family in Longview, Marshall, and Carthage. My family moved from Virginia to Texas around 1845 and helped establish Panola county. After my parents married, they discovered they were related since both had family there lol. Did my family tree a few years ago and sure enough, my parents were 3rd cousins!
preacher1
preacher1 1
You living down in this part of the world?
jshhmr
josh homer 1
Moved from a small town near SJT in May, now I live a few blocks away from KFTW.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Flew in/out of SJT in our bird, which at the time was a C421. Been to Brownwood by road 1 time in my life. All I've been in that part of the world. Haven't been by Meacham in at least 20 years. Mw ans son were at Texas Mtr. Spway about 5 years ago for a weekend. Came down on a Friday and spent the nighte over in McKinney. What are you doing now, anything?
jshhmr
josh homer 1
Not doing anything aviation related unfortunately. I am going to get my sport license in March at KFTW.
preacher1
preacher1 1
10-4, I had tickets and reservations for the speedway this weekend but this cancer / surgery / recovery kinda changed my plans. Doing OK on the recovery but just not far enough along to make the trip. I'll have to watch it on TV. LOL
buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 1
Oh yes, you're correct. Then they sent the ATRs to the Caribbean.
anthony96
your right may the passingers rip
buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 1
When at ORD they were flying with AA colors but operated by a commuter carrier (can't remember the name) based up at Marquette, MI. I commuted from ORD to CWA on those crates for years.
PeterMcDevitt
Ditto, commuted from ORD to GRB in those POS'. Didn't like them one bit
buzzard767
Buzz Schranz 3
Shame on you Peter. What's not to like about noise, vibration, lousy A/C, and inexperienced pilots? lololololol
preacher1
preacher1 1
After I retired the 1st time in 09 and was doing some fill in for Eagle, they started running one or 2 of them a day in place of ERJ's between DFW and FSM as well as several other points in TX. POS is an understatement, and to be called for an ERJ and have one of them sitting in the slot was really a let down. Got down there one day and had a whole day of them. The only ERJ in the crowd was the DH home.
bentwing60
bentwing60 2
Every other Aztec ever built is still flying in the Caribbean, a Shorts 360 would fit right in. I suspect a local contractor for FEDEX, kinda like Martinair in the U.S.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

[This poster has been suspended.]

btweston
btweston 0
Only if he can tell you to get over yourself.
ms06877
ms06877 13
That's nice. Two guys died trying to deliver your stupid package.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 5
I wonder if you'd feel that way if it were your stupid package. Hmm I wonder if there was a package of needed medications in the lot. Actually it's more likely that two guys died because someone didn't do their job and what they swore they did.
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
Don't worry... It's insured :)

Login

Don't have an account? Register now (free) for customized features, flight alerts, and more!
Did you know that FlightAware flight tracking is supported by advertising?
You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. It's quick and easy to whitelist ads on FlightAware or please consider our premium accounts.
Dismiss