January 4
At this time of the year it's customary for the News Desk to compare the accident statistics of flying in light aircraft compared to that of ground transport over the Christmas + New Year holiday period
          ...so here 'tis again

January 4
In Egypt the captain of a Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300 departing from the Sharm el-Sheik airport for Paris France reported that there was a problem with the aircraft shortly after take-off and that he was returning for an emergency landing

The charted B737 impacted the Red Sea waters off the Egyptian coastline
..."none of the 148 people - mostly French tourists on board - have survived"

Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry was quick to say the crash appeared to have been an accident and that there were no indications of terrorism involved

January 7
At Camden airport just to the west of Sydney yesterday a two-seat Citabria carrying out training circuits had an electrical fault in the cabin forcing the pilot in command to make an emergency landing on the airport

"The radio went dead and the occupants smelt smoke...
...the plane burst into flames after the 28-year-old male pilot made an emergency landing"

The 2 on board the aerobatic tandem-seat tail-dragger escaped without injury with the ensuring fire fully consuming the fabric covered "rag-and-tube" constructed aircraft

January 4
In New Zealand a Kiwi built Fletcher 500 aircraft used for 'topdressing' impacted the ground yesterday in a hilly farming area near Mairoa 30km south west of Te Kuiti killing the pilot - an experienced 57yo local

On Christmas Day a PAC750XL - the turbine version of the Fletcher - was lost along with the pilot on it's delivery flight to the USA
...that report is HERE

Air Parts (NZ) Ltd began building the FU24 Fletchers in 1965 after production in the USA ceased - the company was eventually taken over and finished up as part of Pacific Aerospace Corporation building a revised PT6 turbine powered PAC750XL which is popular with skydiving companies here in OZ

January 6
An Austrian Airlines Fokker 70 carrying around 30 passengers made an emergency landing in a snow covered field near Munich after the pilot reported problems with one of the engines

An airport spokesman said there were no injuries
"It is looking very, very good -- no dead, no injured"

The emergency landing was helped by a covering of thick snow on the ground allowing the passenger jet to slide to a safe halt near the town of Reisen about 2 km short of the main airport runway at Munich