1. VIDEO: AIR France A380 hits CRJ while taxiing
Video footage emerged showing an Air France Airbus A380 colliding with a Comair Bombardier CRJ700 during taxiing at New York JFK in April. The A380 “clipped the tail fin” of the parked Comair jet, causing only “material damage”.
2. VIDEO: TU-154 struggles against in-flight oscillation
The video clips below show a TU-154 departing from an air base in Moscow before it appears to encounter problems in lateral and longitudinal control.
It eventually returns to the airfield to land.
3. ANA knocks first 787 into boarding bridge
All Nippon Airways’ first Boeing 787, JA801A, suffered slight surface damage to its engine inlet cowl after it hit a passenger boarding bridge, shortly before the aircraft was delivered.
Its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered aircraft suffered only surface damage while ground crew were towing the aircraft. It resumed regular flight tests on 14 October after checks. The inaugural flight for the 787 took place on 26 October with FlightBlogger Jon Ostrower one of its passengers. See his blog archives for the month of October to see how he recorded his ANA 787 experiences.
4. PICTURE: Crashed helicopter in Bin Laden raid revealed
News reports show the remains of what appears to be a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the US military raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.
The remnants of the helicopter, which include an intact horizontal stabiliser, are shown leaning upside-down against a brick wall with barbed-wire fencing.
5. Stalled, but crew maintained nose-up attitude
In an update to the loss of the A330 over the south Atlantic two years ago, the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) has detailed the final few minutes of the flight.
BEA said the aircraft climbed from its cruise altitude of 35,000ft (10,675 m) towards 38,000ft and stalled, but added that the flying pilot “maintained nose-up inputs” to the controls.
6. An-124 in-flight upset after passing A380 led to 747 conflict
German investigators disclosed preliminary details of a three-way encounter between an Airbus A380, an Antonov An-124 and a Boeing 747-400 near Frankfurt.
The An-124 suffered an in-flight disturbance moments after passing the A380, and subsequently came into conflict with the 747.
7. Bin Laden raid reveals US army helicopter secret
The operation that killed Osama bin Laden on 2 May inadvertently revealed a modification kit that reduces the radar profile of a small number of Sikorsky MH-60Ks operated by US special forces, according to sources familiar with the equipment.
A reduced-signature tail rotor shroud, low-observable treatments and faceted stabilators are visible in news photos of the helicopter, which was destroyed at the scene.
The images led to speculation about the existence of a new stealth helicopter.
8. Airbus rolls out A320 with sharklets installed
9. ANA 737 rolled near inverted after rudder trim blunder
Japanese investigators detailed the extraordinary in-flight upset involving an All Nippon Airways Boeing 737-700 that resulted in the aircraft banking to a near-inverted attitude.
Flight NH140 from Naha had been cruising at 41,000ft, en route to Tokyo on 6 September, and had been some 43km south of Hamamatsu when the incident occurred.
10. First images of Air France A330 crash site
French investigators released the first images of the wreckage of the Air France Airbus A330-200 that crashed in the South Atlantic in 2009, after discovering the site of the accident after a near two-year search.
The images show the aircraft’s General Electric CF6 engines, sections of the wing and fuselage, and landing-gear.
Source: FlightGlobal.com