Azores Situation Report Wednesday 22nd March 2023

by Christopher Noble

Car on runway forces SATA plane to interrupt take-off. 

The take-off of the SATA Air Açores flight that was flying between Terceira Island and Ponta Delgada on Tuesday at the end of the day, had to be aborted because a vehicle crossed the runway during the procedure.

The report was made by passengers on flight SP 407, which departed from Lajes airport at 6:47 pm on Tuesday, explaining that moments after the plane – a Dash 400 – had started taking off, it stopped abruptly, with the aircraft’s pilot justifying this situation with the fact that a vehicle crossed the airport runway.

A source from the Azorean airline confirmed that the commander of the flight operated by SATA Air Açores, on March 14th, which connected Terceira Island (Lajes) to São Miguel Island (Ponta Delgada), was requested to interrupt the take-off.

According to SATA, “it was an order from the control tower, taking into account that conditions were not met to follow the usual procedure”. It says that “the interruption came in the initial phase of the run, which did not constitute any danger for passengers or crew”.

The airline also explains that, “when situations of this nature occur, they originate a detailed report, and it is not up to the airline to pronounce on the matter under analysis”.

Air Force transports emergency baby from Faial to the Continent 

The Air Force announced that it had transported a five-hour-old new-born from Faial to the mainland, on a flight under extremely adverse weather conditions, during the early hours of Wednesday.

The crew of Squadron 502 – “Elefantes” was activated shortly after the birth of the baby, to carry out the transport from the island of Faial, to the mainland, so that it would receive essential hospital care for survival.

Having taken off from Air Base No. 4, on Terceira Island, the C-295M plane was still in Faial waiting for the baby to be stabilized, guaranteeing the necessary conditions for the trip.

On the flight to that island, the atmospheric conditions were not the most suitable, with winds of 55 km/h. These conditions were expected to be more aggressive on the trip to the Continent, calling into question the feasibility of the flight.

However, taking into account the nature of the mission, the crew of the C-295M plane took off from that Azorean Island at 03:30 in the morning towards Lisbon. Ahead they faced a storm, with winds of around 150km/h, associated ice conditions and turbulence.

On board, a civil health team provided all the necessary care for the new-born baby. After a 4-hour flight, the C-295M plane landed in Portela at 7:30 am, where an ambulance was waiting for the baby to take him to a hospital.

 

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