Continue reading »]]> COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A pilot can be heard on newly released cockpit recordings warning air traffic controllers that his plane was “going off the end” of the runway, the last words captured before the private jet crashed and killed four people.

Also among the eerie recordings are controllers at the Columbia, S.C., airport scrambling to divert other planes and summon emergency personnel after the jet shot off the runway in September, ripped through a fence and came to rest in flames.

“Roll the equipment, we’re going off the end,” co-pilot James Bland says on the recordings, released Tuesday.

“We’ve had an emergency, just fly straight ahead,” a controller tells another pilot, who changed course to land at another local airport. Flying over the blaze, the pilot reported back to the tower: “We see it down there. It doesn’t look good.”

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, were severely burned in the crash just before midnight on Sept. 19. Both men are expected to fully recover.

Four people were killed, including both pilots and two of the musicians’ close friends.

Aviation authorities have said cockpit recordings showed the jet’s crew thought a tire had blown before takeoff, but those sounds were not in the files released Tuesday. National Transportation Safety Board officials have said pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff down the 8,600-foot runway.

Last month, NTSB said the plane was traveling at a speed of 156 mph just before the pilots tried to abort the takeoff. The preliminary report also indicated there was very little rubber left on the jet’s wheels, and the brakes were severely damaged when the plane crashed.

Some aviation experts told The Associated Press the pilots should have lifted off the runway and tried to burn off fuel rather than try to stop.

Barker and Goldstein had performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia the night of the crash. The jet, which was headed for Van Nuys, Calif., is owned by Global Exec Aviation, a California-based charter company, and was certified to operate last year.

Company officials have said they are cooperating with the investigation into the crash.

The Associated Press:

Continue reading »]]> A QantasLink plane made an emergency landing at Brisbane Airport last night, after smoke filled the cockpit.

- QantasLink plane emergency landing
- White smoke ‘filled the cabin’
- 35 passengers land in Brisbane

The Dash-8 aircraft, en route from Roma in central Queensland, touched down at 7.23pm, less than five minutes after the pilot contacted Air Traffic Control to request the emergency landing.

Emergency crews were on standby on the ground but none of the 35 passengers on board were injured or suffered smoke inhalation.

Despite initial reports the plane had caught fire, a Qantas spokeswoman this morning confirmed white smoke came from the rear of the cabin.

A Brisbane Airport Corporation spokeswoman said a possible worse outcome was avoided due to the smooth landing.

“The pilot contacted the (Air Traffic Control) tower at 7.10pm after white smoke filled the cabin … and passengers had all disembarked by 7.25pm,” the spokeswoman said.

Engineers will today investigate the cause of the smoke.

QantasLink plane lands in Brisbane after smoke fills cabin