Junaid | Founder of AViationSurf | Freelance AviAtionBloGger

An aviation geek and an aspiring pilot, trying to spread the love of aviation through blogging. Please do visit : http://www.aviationsurf.me

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Instrument Failure or Pilot Error ? Air India Flight 855, India's Deadliest Air Crash

Emperor Ashoka (registration: VT-EBD), the first-ever Boeing 747 delivered to the national airline of India, Air India Ltd, was involved in what was known and is amongst the deadliest aviation accident in India after the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision in 1996 and the bombing of Air India flight 182.

Consisting of 213 passengers including 23 crews, Flight 855 crashed during the New Years' eve of 1978, off the coast of Bandra, near the Santacruz Airport (currently operating as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport). Commanding the flight 855, was the 51-year-old Captain Madan Lal Kukar, having close to 18,000 flight hours. On the left-hand seat, the first officer having more than 4,500 flight hours, Indu Virmani, and the 53-Year-old Alfredo Faria, with about 11,000 flight hours.

Like many of the Air India jumbo jets, VT-EBD was named after the Mauryan ruler Emperor Ashoka, was infamously advertised as the "Palace in the Sky" due to the exotic and luxurious cabins, featuring the upper decked first-class Maharaja lounges, cocktail bars, and the embellished window panels of the Emperor fleet of the Air India's Boeing 747.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2021/05/sabotage-or-pilot-error-air-india.html

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Who Hijacked?: The Unresolved Mystery of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH653

It has been 7 years since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 vanished, the mystery of the strange disappearance remains unsolved. But with the world still not recovered, 4 months later, flight MH17 was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine. 

Yet, these are not the only incidents the Malaysian airline industry has encountered. 5 years after commencing its operations, the Malaysian Airline System (MAS), currently operating as Malaysian Airlines suffered its first disaster on the evening of 4th December 1977. A Boeing 737-200 (Registration: 9M-MBD) airline was hijacked during a routinely scheduled flight from Penang International Airport, Malaysia, and was to arrive at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at 8:00 pm, formerly known as Subang International Airport. MH653 was commanded by Captian GK Ganjoor and First Officer 

Kamarulzaman Jalil, both of them having a considerable amount of flying hours. Consisting of 93 passengers and 7 crew members, the majority of them being Malaysians perished upon impact at the Tanjung Kupang swamp, Johor. To this day we have no identification of hijackers or what necessarily went around inside the cockpit that led to the disaster. 

After making the initial contact at 7:47 pm to the Subang Airport tower and during its descent, The hijackers barged into the cockpit, held up the pilots, and thereby on force radioed the ATC  "Plane was heading towards Singapore and there has been an intrusion". After ascending, 20mins later, all radio communications were lost. It was no later than 8:40 pm that the authorities had received the devastating news of the crash.  

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2021/05/who-hijacked-unresolved-mystery-of.html

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Error In Judgement: The Buried Case of Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114

On 21st February 48 years back, Libyan Arab Airlines flight 114, a Boeing 727-200 (5A-DAH) was deliberately shot down by Israeli phantom fighter jets, killing all 108 of the 113 innocent civilians. What led to this "Error In Judgment" by the Israeli government?

The Boeing 727-200 with nine crew, of which five were of french nationality, the (PIC) pilot-in-command, 42-year-old Jacques Bourges, were all contracted to Air France and the Libyan Arab Airlines. It was a scheduled Tripoli-Benghazi-Cairo passenger service with 123 crew and passengers on board, with a brief stop at Benghazi continued onward to Cairo.

The LN114 after reaching Sidi Barrani in Egypt, At 13:45, the Cairo Traffic Control (CTC) saw the aircraft approaching from the west, and granted permission to land on runway 23.

To Read More: http://www.aviationsurf.me/2021/02/error-in-judgement-buried-case-of.html

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Strange Abandoned Ilyushin IL-76 in Umm Al Quwain (UAQ): The Story Behind it explained

Of all the mysteries around the world, there exists an abandoned Ilyushin IL-76 alongside the Barracuda Beach Resort crumbling its value, of which any left, beneath the scorching heat of Dubai's desert. 

Being one of the several visited tourist spots in the country, it does have an interesting tale behind it.

Umm Al Quwain (UAQ), one of the seven constituent Emirates, located in the north of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is popular with destinations like Dreamland Aqua Park, Al Sinniyah Island, and Falaj Al Mualla,

This IL-76, with the advert of Palma Beach Hotel, printed across its fuselage, rests beside the Barracuda Beach Resort, A laid back hotel, which is approximately 20 mins walk from Dreamland Aqua Park.

Although located at Umm Al Quwain Aeroclub a prominent spot for skydiving and paragliding, has been closed officially due to several accidents and mishaps, yet is still noticeable from a distance as you drive along the E-11 highway. 

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/11/strange-abandoned-ilyushin-il-76-in-umm.html

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One of The Most Bizarre Aircrafts In The World : The  Pregnant and Supper Guppy

This bizarre looking aircraft is one of the strangest airplanes built in the history of mankind. If you pay a closer look, you'll be awestruck with the size and sheer complexity it has. Although built in the 1960s, it still flies to this day. and is named after a fish, Pregnant guppy. 

Yes, it is old and cumbersome, but one of a kind.

During the 1960s, NASA was having difficulties in transporting its units of the future spacecraft from its manufactures in the west to the launch sites on the east coast. Although the journey was possible through other means of transport than air, but would cost NASA at least 18 days. 

With this potential idea of producing a transport aircraft, John M. Conroy, an American actor, aviator, and a businessman, discussed with aircraft broker, Leo Mansdorf, who had recently acquired a good number of Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, which later on became the main structural component of the pregnant guppy.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/11/one-of-most-bizarre-aircrafts-in-world.html

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The Abandoned Consolidated PBY Catalina Seaplane of Saudi Arabia

One of the most visited tourist destinations of Saudi Arabia is the PBY Catalina sea wreck located at Ras Al-Sheik Hameed, in the Tabuk region. 

The beaches of Ras Al-Sheik Hameed are spectacularly beautiful and offer a great sight to the Sinai Mountains located in Egypt, just 30 km apart. Although the area is uninhabited and is about 1000km from Jeddah, The country's commercial centre, It does offer an incredibly rich marine life and is the westernmost point of mainland Saudi.

Why is it in Saudi Arabia?

During 1960, Mr. Thomas Kendall, a retired businessman, with his luxury converted Catalina PBY, registration N5593V, landed on the sandy coast of Ras Al-Sheik Hameed, with his wife and children.

On the following day's after anchoring the flying yacht, they were ambushed by bedouins of the Saudi Arabian army, who mistakenly believed it to be a military attack. The firing lasted for about 30-40mins, to which Mr. Thomas and his family were able to swim back to the aircraft, but with him being wounded, managed to move it just 800 meters.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/11/the-abandoned-consolidated-pby-catalina.html

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Lufthansa Flight 540 : The First Boeing 747 Fatal Crash, Why and How it Happened ?

The Boeing 747, Queen of the skies, took its first flight on the 9th of February 1969, initially ordered for Pan Am. As of June 2020, 1556 Aircraft of such variants have been built, with 15 747-8s remaining to be delivered.

Just after 4 years in service, Lufthansa flight 540, carrying 157 people, crashed shortly after takeoff, on 20th November 1972, marking it the first fatal flight of Boeing 747.

Aircraft and AirCrew

The aircraft D-ABYB named Hessen, was the 2nd Boeing 747-130 delivered to Lufthansa, D-ABYA being the first. The aircraft was powered by 4 Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7A Turbofan engines according to airfleets.net/ and had about 16,781 flying hours before the crash.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/11/lufthansa-flight-540-first-boeing-747.html

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The Worlds Largest Airport in Terms of Area

Yes, you read that right, King Fahad International Airport in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, holds a world record of being the largest airport in the world in terms of land area. A former US base during the gulf war, has an area of whopping 776 square kilometres, almost the size of Kingdom of Bahrain.

Since 2017, The airport is being managed by DACO (Dammam Airports Company) and connects to about 43 destination and 10 million passengers a year, with Dubai being its busiest route of 70 weekly flights.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/09/the-worlds-largest-airport-in-terms-of.html

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Star Air : An Indian Regional Airline with business jets

Like many known regional airlines around the world, There exists an airline not commonly publicised or known like any other. After recently travelling with Star Air, I was quite amazed to know how little people know about this airline and the value it gives to the passengers.

Star Air, An Indian commuter airline based at Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore, Karnataka started operations in January 2019, connecting cities in Karnataka to neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. It currently employs 400 talented workforce with a fleet size of 3 ERJ 145LR.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/07/star-air-indian-regional-airline-with.html

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The Fleet of Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) in 2020

Saudia, Formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The airline is based at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, With Airports in Riyadh and Dammam being its other main bases.

The airline was founded in 1945, when U.S President Franklin Roosevelt offered a Douglas DC-3 as a gift to King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, The founder of Saudi Arabia. The airline then used 5  McDonnell Douglas DC-3 to initiate its operations in 1947, and later in 1962 took delivery of 2 Boeing 720s for its international operations, Thus becoming the 4th Middle Eastern Airline to fly a jet aircraft.

Now, Saudia is the third largest Middle eastern airlines behind Emirates and Qatar Airways. As of September 2020, it operates to over 85 Destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/10/the-fleet-of-saudia-saudi-arabian.html

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The Worlds Largest Underwater Theme Park Featuring a Submerged Boeing 747

Kingdom of Bahrain, A country situated between Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Comprises  of a whopping 1.2 million residents, have deliberately sunken a Boeing 747 underwater to promote tourist attraction and divers to explore to wreck. So, Whats the deal ? "Dive Bahrain", An underwater theme park spanning about 10,000 square metre attraction, comprises of a Boeing 747, A replica of a Bahrain's Merchants Pearl House, Artificial Coral Reefs and many other Sculptures. Thus promoting underwater tourism and increasing environmental awareness on marine life.

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Why Did The Mighty Airbus A380 Fail?

We all have the seen or heard about the engineering marvel that was introduced to compete against the Boeing 747. But Unfortunately, Just after 12 years of commercial service airbus announced the retirement of this mighty aircraft.Depending upon the configuration, It has a seating capacity of 525 passengers, Twice the amount of new Boeing 787, to about 825 passengers, It provides a range of 14800 km, But burning twice more fuel, compared to fuel - efficient equivalent range jets like the new A350 and the 787.For the A380 to sustain in the aviation market, The airbus hoped that with restricted number of takeoffs and landings in the hub airports, The airlines would require bigger jets to serve passengers through increasingly congested airports, Instead of using frequent daily connections of smaller/mid sized jets. 

However, The introduction of fuel efficient jets like A350, 787s and the slow air traffic growth, The A380s future looked bleak.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/05/why-did-mighty-airbus-a380-failed.html

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What Led To The Demise of WOW Airline ?

The airline was founded in November 2011, by an Icelandic telecom Entrepreneur, Skúli Mogensen, and connected several destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia from Iceland, A Nordic Island Country in North Atlantic. The airline focused on being an ultra-low cost carrier, with a fleet of narrow-Body, Airbus A320-Family jets and competing against several airlines in the transatlantic market. In 2013, the airline had carried over 400,000 passengers and reached its 1 millionth passenger in December 2014. Moreover, In June 2016, The airline leased 2 Airbus A330-300 planes, Thereby connecting popular US destinations like Los Angeles and San Francisco, followed by Canada, and reaching its 1.6 million passenger mark.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/05/what-led-to-demise-of-wow-airline.html

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Why did Boeing build the 747SP ?

We have all seen the Queen of the skies, one of the most successful model Ever produced by Boeing. But could you imagine, A 747 in a Shorter Version?

 The Boeing 747SP ( special performance) is a shortened version of the Boeing 747-100 wide body aircraft, designed for a longer range. It was introduced in the 1971/1972 to compete against the DC -10 and L -1011 trijet wide-body aircrafts. The 747SP is 47ft ( 14m ) shorter than other 747 variants, with main deck doors being reduced to four on each sides. With a 700,000 lb MTOW, It is capable of flying 276 passengers in 3 - class cabin or 2 - class cabin over 10,800 km

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/04/why-did-boeing-build-747sp-we-have-all.html

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"Caspian Sea Monster" The Soviets 300 Foot Nuclear Warhead

he Lun-Class Ekranoplan built by the Soviets during the 1987 until sometime 1990s, were one of the highlights of the Cold War. However, these GEV(Ground effect vehicles) never came into production or saw any action whatsoever. To bring the war to their favour, The Russian ship and aircraft designer, Rostislav Alexeyev, designed the Lun-Class Ekranoplan or the "Caspian Sea Monster" by using the theory of Ground effect vehicles(GEV), which is a vehicle that is designed to attain sustained flight over a level surface (usually over the sea) by making use of ground effect and the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/08/caspian-sea-monster-soviets-300-foot.html

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What happened to the largest private carrier of Afghanistan ?

Safi Airways, Afghanistan's largest private carrier was forced to suspend operations by the (ACAA)Afghan Civil Aviation Authority due unpaid debt of $1.7 million. As the second largest airline, After Ariana,  Safi Airways, had connected 3 domestic and 4 international routes. Thereby, making business and government people, as its predominant passengers. Despite the EU ban barring all afghan carries to European countries, Safi airways was the first airline to operate in compliance with EASA, IOSA and ICAO.

To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/08/what-happened-to-largest-private.html

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The Mystery of Lost Diamonds: Swiss Air Flight 111

On the night of September 2, 1998,  Swiss Air flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic near a small fishing township in Canada. The plane hit the water, on impact killing all the 229 souls on board. With the tragedy after 22 years, The mystery of the staggering loss of 5kg worth of diamonds and jewels, A Picasso worth about millions, and 50kg in cash remains.

 To Read More : http://www.aviationsurf.me/2020/10/the-mystery-of-lost-diamonds-swiss-air.html