The US airline industry’s once-unblemished safety record took another hit this week when an MHIRJ CRJ900 operated by Delta Air Lines subsidiary Endeavor Air crashed while landing in Toronto.
All 80 people aboard escaped the overturned wreck, though the incident sent 21 people to the hospital and closely follows the deadly 29 January collision between a US Army Black Hawk and PSA Airlines CRJ700.
US investigators now say they are seeking to determine if the Black Hawk’s pilots had been seeing erroneous altitude data, which might account for them flying higher than permitted.
As the investigations continue, the US Department of Transportation has been defending its decision to eliminate several hundred FAA employees, moves it insists will not impact safety despite critics alleging otherwise.
Airbus and Pratt & Whitney scored this week when EASA approved several new PW1100G variants for A321neo jets. The engine models are intended to have better performance such as when taking off in hot conditions.
Recent days also revealed more cracks in the electric aircraft segment, with US firm Eviation laying off most workers and financially troubled Lilium Aerospace’s employees now crowdfunding to pay bills.
Meanwhile, developers of a new generation of seaplanes gathered in Miami, saying their designs can transform regional travel but that investment has become tougher to secure because investors have been burned by air taxis.
Also last week, Lufthansa Technik revealed a massive new expansion in Calgary aimed at supporting WestJet and other North American airlines.