На русском языке:
Отказывают тормоза, не работает автопилот: Пилоты рассказали, что не так с самолетами «Белавиа»
На беларускай мове:
Адмаўляюць тармазы, не працуе аўтапілот: пілоты распавялі, што не так з самалётамі «Белавія»
The editorial office of MotolkoHelp received detailed statistics of (very many) failures that happened on Belavia's aircraft over the past four months – it turns out that during this time, pilots complained about the technical condition of the aircraft at least 63 times. Among the problems are both minor ones, like failure of air conditioning in the cabin, and quite serious failures. For example, the autopilot failed to work in some Belavia aircraft. We tell you what else we learned.
How many aircraft Belavia has and how many of them are "problematic"
According to the official information, Belavia’s air fleet currently consists of 29 aircraft:
- 1 — Boeing 737-8 MAX;
- 9 — Boeing 737-800;
- 1 — Boeing 737-500;
- 3 — Boeing 737-300;
- 3 — Embraer 195-E2;
- 7 — Embraer 195;
- 5 — Embraer 175;
However, in fact, the Belarusian air carrier has far fewer planes – of course, Belavia does not want to disclose this fact. As soon as the company started returning aircraft to lessors, its official website «suddenly» lost its «Fleet of Aircraft» page (although it is still available via URL). Later, in January 2022, Belavia stopped publishing data about the fleet in its in-flight magazine OnAir. Last time a page dedicated to the fleet was published in the magazine dated December 2021.
But we know: in fact, as of July 2022, Belavia has not 29, but only 13 aircraft at its disposal (plus, three more government aircraft that are also registered at Belavia). Among them:
- 1 — Boeing 737-8 MAX;
- 5 — Boeing 737-800;
- 2 — Boeing 737-300;
- 4 — Embraer 195;
- 1 — Embraer 175;
After studying the statistics, we found out that over the past four months, pilots complained about 11 Belavia aircraft. The least number of problems was registered with Embraer aircraft – a total of seven. The record-breakers in the number of problems were American Boeing aircraft – at least 56 cases of failures.
Complaints of Belavia pilots from April 1 to July 20 / motolko.help
Let’s also record: it turns out that 11 of 13 passenger aircraft of the airline have problems. This means that 85% of Belavia’s fleet is at least not in perfect condition, and at most – some of the aircraft have more than serious problems.
Brakes and autopilot do not work – what is wrong with Belavia's Boeing aircraft
If you have ever flown with Belavia, you would not be surprised to hear that pilots have seen air conditioning and toilets not working, lighting not working in the restroom, luggage shelves not opening. In addition, pilots complained about the condition and operation of seat belts, problems with seats, and a broken faucet in the plane’s kitchen. There were problems with window heating, radio control failures, GPS malfunctions — and even one of the plane’s headlights was malfunctioning. But all these are, in fact, minor things.
Next is a list of really serious problems with Belavia aircraft, as reported by pilots:
— Autopilot malfunction (which means that the autopilot either did not work at all or worked intermittently) – recorded twice in four months.
— Fuel system malfunction – twice in four months.
— Problems with aircraft control – recorded twice in four months.
— Problems with the operation of FMS and FCP navigation databases.
— Problems with the operation of Anti-Skid system (it is about the braking system – i.e. the aircraft had problems with brakes).
— APU malfunction (this is an auxiliary power unit that helps the aircraft’s engine work).
— Problems with starting the engine.
Serious complaints with Belavia aircraft / motolko.help
In addition:
— Problems with the operation of the air pressurization system (basically, this is the system that allows passengers to breathe normally on board, and the plane itself is not torn in the air from the pressure difference).
— Problems with electric system of the aircraft;
— FMC failure (i.e. flight management computer, which controls the flight);
— Problems with the stabilizer;
— Problems with attitude indicator (this a device that helps a pilot to perform the flight);
— Complaints about the condition of the inboard left wheel (chassis);
— Problems with the display alarm in the passenger compartment (there were problems with the display of information on the pilot panel).
— Problems with the front strut control (chassis);
— Problems with braking system;
— Also, one of the pilots reported: «While approaching a flight level, the aircraft had power failure on the transfer bus: «Transfer bus switch Off.» The pilots were forced to start the APU (auxiliary power unit) and continue flying with it.»
"The worst board is Wargaming's legendary tankolet."
The absolute leader in complaints among Belavia’s Boeing is Boeing 737-300 with registration number EW-254PA. This is the famous Boeing in the World of Tanks coloring, which the IT-company Wargaming repainted back in 2016. Over the past four months, there have been 15 complaints about this aircraft (and the company sold its business in Belarus, but that’s another story).
The EW-254PA is the oldest aircraft in Belavia’s fleet — it has been flying since 1993, i. e. it’s already 29 years old. It came to Belarus in 2008, and in 2018 Belavia planned to decommission the aircraft, but the plans changed — the use of the Boeing was prolonged for another year, until 2019. It’s 2022, but the «tankolet» still flies in the Belarusian sky.
The aircraft was supposed to be repainted in more patriotic colors, as the contract for World of Tanks advertising expired long ago. They say that the aircraft has not yet been repainted in the company’s standard livery because of Belavia’s financial difficulties (repainting a plane is not a cheap procedure). It should be mentioned that in 2018 there was another collaboration of the airline and a computer game, but on a different aircraft. We are talking about Embraer 190-200LR with registration number EW-400PO – for this aircraft the advertising contract was signed for five years.
Part of problems with Boeing 737-300 (EW-254PA) / motolko.help
But let’s return to the first «tankolet» – as a confirmation of the information about its » problematic» aircraft we can remember that six months ago it even returned to the airport after the start of the flight due to a malfunction. This happened on December 21, 2021 – EW-254PA (Minsk-Tashkent flight) returned to Minsk due to problems with the air conditioning system on board.
The second highest number of complaints is Boeing 737-800, registration number EW-544PA, which has received 12 complaints in four months, even though it is half the age of the «tankolet.»
The third «leader» is Boeing 737-300 with registration number EW-366PA. This aircraft can’t be called young – it’s almost 25 years old. During this time, it has managed to fly under the flags of Germany, Great Britain, Czech Republic and Romania (and under the cornflower of Belavia).
Are you going to fly with Belavia in the near future? Check your flight
Here is a full list of the Belarusian airline’s aircraft, about which pilots have complained over the past four months (with the chronology and nature of complaints about each aircraft). We marked the most important complaints with the symbol ⚠️.
Press Ctrl+F (cmd+F) to check if your flight was complained about while you were on board. You can search both by the flight number after which the complaint was received (in the format of BRU***) and by the registration number of the flight in the EW-***P* format.
The complaints about each aircraft can be seen via hyperlinks:
— Boeing 737-800 (EW-544PA)
— Boeing 737-800 (EW-527PA)
— Boeing 737-300 (EW-254PA)
— Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-399PO)
— Boeing 737-300 (EW-366PA)
— Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-514PO)
— Boeing 737-800 (EW-457PA)
— Boeing 737-800 (EW-455PA)
— Boeing 737-800 (EW-456PA)
— Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-400PO)
— Embraer ERJ-175 (EW-512PO)
Boeing 737-300 (EW-254PA) — 15 complaints
⚠️ April 12. BRU952 flight (Moscow — Minsk): Problems with the braking system of the aircraft.
April 24. BRU952 flight (Moscow — Minsk): After the landing, a shift engineer was required.
April 25. BRU740 flight (Baku — Minsk): Oxygen was consumed. Problems with seat backs were recorded.
⚠️ May 19. BRU940 flight (St. Petersburg – Minsk): There were complaints about the attitude indicator (a device used by a pilot to control and stabilize the aircraft in the air).
May 25. BRU976 flight (Moscow — Minsk): A radio engineer was required to fix the radio control system.
May 26. BRU978 flight (Moscow — Minsk): After the landing, an engineer was required.
May 27. BRU730 flight (Kutaisi – Minsk): An engineer was required, there were complaints about the fuel system.
May 29. BRU956 flight (Moscow – Minsk): A technician was required to fix the engine start switch.
⚠️ June 13. BRU958 flight (Moscow – Minsk): An engineer was required, there were problems with the fuel system.
⚠️ June 22, BRU756 flight (Tashkent – Minsk): There were problems in the operation of the aircraft, navigation databases FMS and FCP, as well as problems in the operation of the air system.
June 26. BRU978 flight (Baku – Minsk): There were complaints about light indication of flaps.
July 11. BRU958 flight (Moscow – Minsk): There were issues with the fuel system and air conditioning.
⚠️ July 14. BRU956 flight (Moscow – Minsk): Autopilot malfunction was detected.
⚠️ July 14. BRU952 flight (Moscow – Minsk): There was a problem with the autopilot.
July 17. BRU740 flight (Baku – Minsk): There were complaints about the air conditioner and the cabin.
Boeing 737-800 (EW-544PA) — 12 complaints
April 10. BRU740 flight (Baku – Minsk): A technician was required after the landing.
April 12. BRU738 flight (Batumi – Minsk): An engineer was required, problems with the air conditioner.
April 19. BRU768 flight (Almaty – Minsk): The right transmitter could not be tuned.
April 26. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Engineer was required.
May 17. B2786 flight (Istanbul – Minsk): There were problems with air conditioning.
May 20. BRU8204 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Engineer required.
⚠️ May 24. BRU8107 flight (Minsk – Antalya): while approaching altitude, there was a partial failure of the power supply wiring on the aircraft – Transfer bus switch Off. They started APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). With the APU on, the aircraft continued its flight to Antalya. This is not the first time this aircraft had problems with electronics.
⚠️ May 25. BRU8108 flight (Antalya – Minsk): There were problems with the electrical system of the aircraft (because of this there was a delay in the return flight).
June 3. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Engineer was required.
June 7. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): There were problems with the window heating.
June 8. BRU8902 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Engineer was required.
July 20. BRU786 flight (Istanbul – Minsk): There were complaints on household issues.
Boeing 737-300 (EW-366PA) — 9 complaints
⚠️ April 22. BRU740 flight (Baku – Minsk): There was a complaint about the alarm display of the passenger cabin.
⚠️ April 24. BRU940 flight (St. Petersburg – Minsk): There were complaints complaints the condition of the inboard left wheel.
April 25. BRU956 flight (Moscow – Minsk): Complaints about the left landing light, the responder (first set) did not work and the logo was not illuminated.
May 7. BRU756 flight (Tashkent – Minsk): Complaints about the cabin.
⚠️ June 13. BRU952 flight (Moscow – Minsk): APU (Auxiliary power unit – auxiliary source of mechanical energy on the vehicle) did not work.
June 15. BRU736 flight (Tbilisi – Minsk): An engineer was required.
June 17. BRU736 flight (Tbilisi – Minsk): An engineer was required.
⚠️ July 1. BRU952 flight (Moscow – Minsk): Problems with control. An engineer was required after the landing.
July 6. BRU736 flight (Tbilisi – Minsk): Complaints about seat belts were recorded.
Boeing 737-800 (EW-527PA) — 7 complaints
April 28. BRU768 flight (Almaty – Minsk): An engineer was required.
⚠️ May 24. BRU784 flight (Istanbul – Minsk): There were problems with the stabilizer.
June 12. BRU738 flight (Batumi – Minsk): An engineer required.
⚠️ June 20. BRU8192 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Complaints about the Anti-Skid system (braking system).
July 1. BRU784 flight (Istanbul – Minsk): A technician required.
July 11. BRU8192 flight (Antalya – Minsk): There were comments about toilets.
July 18. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): An engineer was required.
Boeing 737-800 (EW-457PA) — 6 complaints
May 18. BRU786 flights (Istanbul – Minsk): There were minor complaints.
⚠️ May 24. BRU728 flight (Sharjah – Minsk): FMC (flight maintenance computer) of the pilot on the right failed.
May 24. BRU8204 flight (Antalya – Minsk): They asked a shift supervisor to come, technical problems.
⚠️ May 27. BRU738 flight (Batumi – Minsk): A problem with the air pressurization system was reported.
June 1. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Complaints about the toilets.
June 24. BRU740 flight (Baku – Minsk): There were problems with the lighting of toilets.
Boeing 737-800 (EW-456PA) — 4 complaints
May 4. BRU736 flight (Tbilisi – Minsk): Complaints about displays
May 10. BRU8208 flight (Antalya – Minsk): The left GPS didn’t work.
May 19. BRU8902 flight (Antalya – Minsk): An engineer was required.
⚠️ May 27. BRU8204 flight (Antalya – Minsk): Complaints about the left engine start.
Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-514PO) — 3 complaints
May 1. BRU950 flight (Kaliningrad – Minsk): Problems with the opening of the luggage shelf.
May 21. BRU734 flight (Yerevan – Minsk): An engineering observations.
⚠️ July 1. BRU716 flight (Kutaisi – Minsk): There was a fuel system malfunction.
Boeing 737-800 (EW-455PA) — 3 complaints
May 29. BRU8106 flight (Antalya – Minsk): There were problems with the window heating.
June 3. BRU738 flight (Batumi – Minsk): Technical complaints.
June 10. BRU784 flight (Istanbul – Minsk): Problem with the window heating.
Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-400PO) — 2 complaints
⚠️ April 21. BRU940 flight (St. Petersburg – Minsk): There was a complaint about the control of the front strut.
May 1. BRU926 flight (Sochi – Minsk): Engineers were required to take the transcripts.
Embraer ERJ-195 (EW-399PO) — 1 complaint
⚠️ July 11. BRU776/BRU2022 flight (Astana – Minsk): The aircraft was replaced on the return flight from Astana due to a breakdown, it returned empty.
Embraer ERJ-175 (EW-512PO) — 1 complaint
April 26. BRU946 flight (St. Petersburg – Minsk): A crane in the front kitchen did not work.
In summary, right now Belavia’s fleet is in a dismal state. They had to return almost all new aircraft to lessors because of the sanctions – the carrier has only 13 aircraft at its disposal, some of which are not the newest. In addition to this, both Belavia and Minsk National Airport have serious financial problems, which appeared due to the cancellation of flights after the forced landing of Ryanair and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Although, not so long ago, the Russian aviation authorities lifted the ban on flights of Boeing 737-8 MAX that had been in force for more than two years – it’s hard to imagine what Belavia did for this decision, especially given that they have only one of five aircraft of this model left. Apparently, the company does not have a choice – 13 aircraft are not even enough to service the remaining flights (after all, most of them have to be repaired, and this also takes time).
