All air transport news – Page 2365
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Level busts in the UK bust the record books
Level busts in the UK have reached record levels in the first few months of this year, according to a report by the UK Civil Aviation Authority safety regulation group (SRG). The study also revealed that level busts, the term for incidents where aircraft climb or descend through the ...
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SAA chief urges government protection
Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN South African Airways (SAA) chief executive Coleman Andrews has urged Pretoria to cut jet fuel prices and use regulatory powers to defend SAA on international routes while it reorganises its fleet and network. Andrews told a parliamentary committee that SAA could save up to R80 ...
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Kitty Hawk cuts it fine in bid to acquire Southern Air Transport
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Kitty Hawk has revealed plans to purchase Southern Air Transport (SAT) after merger negotiations unexpectedly broke off between financially ailing SAT and Fine Air. Dallas, Texas-based Kitty Hawk, a charter passenger and cargo carrier which recently acquired American International Airways and other Kalitta companies, agreed ...
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Sporty Games
So British Airways has at last placed an order with Airbus Industrie, some 30 years after the European consortium was conceived with the primary aim of building an aircraft for BA's predecessor, British European Airways (BEA). The fiercely fought battle between Airbus and Boeing for this much prized order ...
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First multi-role MiG-31BM prototype goes on show
Howard Gethin/LONDON MAPO has revealed the first prototype MiG-31BM defence-suppression-capable variant of the MiG-31 interceptor. The aircraft is based on the MiG-31B interceptor in service with the Russian air force. The Russian company is already offering the type for export, possibly to China and India, there being little ...
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Daewoo buzzes for Woong Bee
Daewoo Heavy Industries (DHI) is gearing up to begin production of the KT-1 Woong Bee turboprop basic trainer at a new plant, as South Korean air force operational testing of a fifth and final prototype nears completion. The South Korean conglomerate has built a 15,600m² (168,000ft²) facility at Sachon ...
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Lockheed Martin and Mitsubishi to link in defence partnership
Mitsubishi Electric and Lockheed Martin have reached a basic agreement to develop and market military equipment jointly to Japan's Defence Agency. The tie-up reflects Mitsubishi's desire to boost its military research and development efficiency by adopting US technologies, and Lockheed Martin's drive to expand Japanese market share. Although the ...
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JSF X-35 remains on schedule despite late controls change
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin says it is on schedule to fly the X-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) in 2000, despite a late change to the fly-by-wire flight control computer. An advanced computer under development by Lockheed Martin Controls will now be used instead of the ...
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Back to basics
Paul Lewis/SEOUL & SINGAPORE Asia's embattled aerospace industry will likely reflect on 1998 with utter dismay. Once-bold Asian aeronautical ambitions to be a global player have been confined to the scrapheap after a series of setbacks. The focus is now on a post mortem examination to determine if and ...
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Back from the brink
Guy Norris/Seattle What went wrong, and what action is being taken to make sure it never happens again? These are the questions being asked by Boeing and the investment community as the company begins recovering from a dire production crisis that continues to wreak havoc with its financial performance. ...
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Seeking quiet
Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCO Airport noise regulations worldwide are becoming ever stricter, putting airframe and engine manufacturers under increasing pressure to deliver quieter aircraft. In the USA, NASA's Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) programme is a joint government-industry research effort which names aircraft noise reduction as a primary objective. Running since ...
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Signs of hope
Howard Gethin/LONDON For the Russian military aviation industry, things look a little brighter than they did two years ago. For the first time in several years, Russia has ordered new military aircraft (albeit only a handful) and the manufacturers have flown new designs, with the tenuous promise of meaningful ...
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Crisis and complication
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW The Civil aviation industries of Russia and its CIS neighbours are in deep crisis. In 1996, only five airliners were delivered from the 22 factories which form the industry. In 1997, the total grew to just six aircraft. So far this year, only four aircraft have ...
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Sensing safer skies
Guy Norris/SEATTLE The aviation industry's continual search for safer skies is reaching "crusade" status as the chilling implications sink in of predicted traffic growth on accident rates. The US Federal Aviation Administration, for example, expects "a serious accident" every week by 2015 unless some radical changes are made. That ...
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Too much, too late
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US government's unexpected opposition to Lockheed Martin's planned $12 billion acquisition of Northrop Grumman led to the deal's demise, but the so-called "merger mania" evident since the end of the Cold War is now expected to produce a wave of consolidation among smaller, second-tier US ...
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Found finds first customers for new Bush Hawk
Found Aircraft Canada is assembling the first pre-production Bush Hawk light utility aircraft, with a maiden flight expected by early October. The aircraft will be used to certificate modifications to the original 1960s vintage Found FBA-2C design, which will be incorporated into new production aircraft. Found hopes to begin deliveries ...
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Jetcruzer sales accelerate as flight testing continues
Guy Norris/Los Angeles Advanced Aerodynamics & Structures (AASI) has taken orders worth more than $180 million for 150 Jetcruzer 500s, as a third aircraft is prepared to join the certification programme. The Long Beach, California-based start-up manufacturer reached the new sales mark after taking a further 23 orders ...
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Meridian on course for 2000 certification
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC New Piper Aircraft flew the single-turboprop Malibu Meridian for the first time on 21 August, 10 days ahead of schedule. The Vero Beach, Florida-based manufacturer says there were "no major problems" on the maiden flight of the turboprop derivative of its Malibu Mirage high-performance piston single. ...
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777-X studies pass presidential scrutiny
Boeing's plans to launch the 777-200X/300X development, possibly with a tail-mounted auxiliary power and thrust unit (APTU), took a further step forward on 25 August when its product development team reported study plans to the company's Office of the President. No hurdles were raised as a result of the ...
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Airbus breaks into BA with huge A320 order
Max Kingsley-Jones/TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie has landed one of the biggest deals in its history with British Airways' decision to place an order for up to 188 A320 family aircraft - the first time it has placed an order with the European consortium. The deal was only done after BA ...