ANZ plane down in Mediterranean.

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18 years 11 months

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CNN reporting that a A.320 on a training flight has crashed in the sea.:(

Crew of seven are reported as missing. Aircraft is believed to be ZK-OJL ex D-AXLA.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/27/319474/air-new-zealand-a320-crashes-off-france-during-training-flight.html

Original post

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18 years 5 months

Posts: 992

Grim news. They've had an excellent run since Mt. Erebus in '79. Hopefully the crew will be found alive.

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18 years 5 months

Posts: 992

Air NZ plane crashes in France, one dead - reports

PARIS - An Airbus A320 passenger plane crashed off the coast of southern France during a training flight Thursday, killing at least one of seven people on board, French authorities said.

Reuters is reporting that the plane was an Air New Zealand aircraft.

The plane plunged into the Mediterranean sea 20 kilometers east of the French city of Perpignan, near the border with Spain, at around 4.30pm local time (3.30am NZB), according to a communications officer at the headquarters of the government representative in the region.

One body has been recovered at sea, the official said on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

There were seven people on the flight which left from Perpignan airport, said First Officer Sandrine Parro of the Regional Operational Center for Monitoring and Rescue (CROSS) for the Mediterranean.

Five launches, two helicopters and a patrol airplane have been dispatched to the area of the crash, Parro told The Associated Press.

"The fuselage has been located. The rescue operations will determine if there are any survivors," she added.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10545449

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17 years 1 month

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Apparently it was on an end-of-lease check flight, not a commercial operation:

"One person is confirmed dead and six people are missing after an Air New Zealand jetliner crashed into the Mediterranean sea off the coast of France.

The Airbus A320 with seven people on board was on a training flight when it went down after it took off from Perpignan. The crash was reported by a civilian vessel.

There are no immediate reports of survivors, but rescue efforts involving French navy vessels and a helicopter have been launched. The A320 is under 30 metres of water, about 10 kilometres off the coast of Perpignan. Rescuers have found the body of one crew member. Paris correspondent Catherine Field says it is pitch dark in the Mediterranean at the moment, which will make rescue efforts difficult.

Local newspaper journalist Christian Bachelier says the plane was in for repair at Europe Aeroservice at Perpignan airport. Air New Zealand had been about to lease the plane and it is understood three of its senior pilots are on board.

Air New Zealand says the plane was on lease to a European based company, X L Air."

NZCity/Radio 1ZB news

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24 years 2 months

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I think this says three bodies found.:(

http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/france/faits-divers/0,,4174755,00-un-a320-coule-au-large-de-perpignan-.html

Correct, 3 bodies found out of 7 on board. There where 2 German pilots and 5 New Zealanders. Speculation at airliners.net is that the flight was D-AXLA from XL-Airways (Germany). The plane was on a test flight prior to delivery to ANZ. The plane was already in ANZ livery, hence the confusion in the media stating this was a ANZ flight.

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A sad loss of life, and obviously feel for their families. Having had a major check, I am guessing there is a good chance the accident may be related.
However I am confused as to why it is ironic?

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However I am confused as to why it is ironic?

I think Newforest was just trying to make the point that it's a weird coincidence that two of their major accidents have occured on the same day.

It's a real tragedy. I suppose the only slim positives to take are that no passengers were onboard and that hopefully lessons can be learned as to the cause. RIP to the crew/engineers.

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24 years 2 months

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The authorities report 2 bodies found at this point.
The wreckage of the plane lies 35 deep on the bottom of the ocean.

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16 years

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Oopps! read straight past the 'to the day' bit....my bad!

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19 years 5 months

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Having had a major check, I am guessing there is a good chance the accident may be related.

or the fact that it was on a training flight with newly Airbus qualified pilots?????? Personaly I have heard of more aircraft losses during flight crew training than post maintenance test flights.
Sad for the familys no mater why
Rgds Cking

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24 years 2 months

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or the fact that it was on a training flight with newly Airbus qualified pilots?????? Personaly I have heard of more aircraft losses during flight crew training than post maintenance test flights.
Sad for the familys no mater why
Rgds Cking

Actually, it appears the plane was flown by two highly experienced pilots from XL-Airways Germany.

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The jet had been undergoing servicing at EAS Industries in Perpignan and flying circuits for 90 minutes before it crashed, an emergency services spokesman said

An hour and a half circuits and bumps would have shook the defects out of her. Any defect due to maintenance would have shown up long before then

Rgds Cking

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18 years 11 months

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Retrieval of the aircraft is likely to be delayed until next year due to its location and the currents in the area. Only three bodies have been found so far.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4793543a11.html

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Six bodies have now been recovered. According to the Washington Post, no useful information has been gained from either of the flight recorders!:confused:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4803818a11.html

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20 years 8 months

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Six bodies have now been recovered. According to the Washington Post, no useful information has been gained from either of the flight recorders!:confused:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4803818a11.html

Not yet, the flight recorders still have not been returned to Honeywell who will have a much better chance of retrieving any information they may contain.

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20 years 11 months

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My son was to fly to the Gold Coast on a Jetstar A320..i've now convinced him to fly Qantas or Virgin Blue on their Boeings

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24 years 2 months

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The previous two incidents were on the A330 which has a different configuration of flight computers, this is the first on the A320.

What was the cause of the infamous Air France A320 crash, captured on video ploughing into the forest ? Not quite a defective computer, but one that decided it was in charge of the plane...