All news – Page 6876
-
News
F-117 error
The crash of a Lockheed Martin F-117 stealth fighter near Baltimore, Maryland, was probably caused by a maintenance error, according to the US Air Force's accident investigation. The crash occurred as the F-117 was participating in a local air show on 14 September. After a portion of the left wing ...
-
News
Aerial targets
Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $29 million contract from the US Navy for 119 BQM-74E aerial targets. The contract represents the third option to a competitive contract awarded in 1996. The target simulates aircraft, anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. First deliveries are expected in May 1999. In October, the ...
-
News
Maritime CASA
CASA has received an order from the Spanish ministry of agriculture and fishing for a single C212-400 for maritime-patrol duties. The aircraft will be equipped with a 360 degrees Bendix RDR-1500 search radar, and will be delivered in 1998. Source: Flight International
-
News
PAC-3 test
A Lockheed Martin Vought Systems Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile was successfully test-fired from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on 15 December. The US Army says that preliminary test data indicate that mission objectives were met, including missile integration with the launcher and radar and missile performance. This was ...
-
News
Boeing expects to receive JAA approval of 737-700 in January
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing expects the first of the Next Generation 737 models, the -700, to be given long-awaited European certification by "mid- to late-January" when final tests are conducted on the first European production-standard -700, which is destined for Maersk Air of Denmark. The tests centre on the ...
-
News
Alitalia restructures Airbus narrowbody order
Alitalia has completed the restructuring of its A321 orderbook with Airbus Industrie and placed additional orders, which will see the majority of the 27 aircraft now on backlog delivered as smaller A320s. It was revealed earlier this year that the Italian flag carrier was negotiating to re-arrange its outstanding ...
-
News
Navigator survives Sharjah crash
A chartered Tajik Air Tupolev Tu-154B-2 crashed on 15 December near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, killing all 85 passengers and eight of the nine crew. The navigator survived. Inbound from Tajikistan, the aircraft disappeared from air-traffic-control radar screens at 1,600ft (500m) and hit the ground 13km (7nm) short ...
-
News
US airlines get EGPWS mandate
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE Enhanced ground- proximity warning system (EGPWS) is to become compulsory for aircraft operated by major US long-haul and most regional airlines. The US Federal Aviation Administration will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in April 1998, calling for implementation by the end of the ...
-
News
FAA recommendations
US air-traffic-control services must be removed from the US Federal Aviation Administration to a "performance-based" organisation if a "looming disaster" of aviation gridlock after 2000 is to be avoided, says the National Civil Aviation Review Commission. The Clinton Administration has previously failed to win Congressional approval to shift the FAA's ...
-
News
French/US bilateral talks stall
Julian Moxon/PARIS Failure of the latest round of negotiations on a bilateral deal between France and the USA has put at risk a major element of the commercial agreement between Air France, Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines and American Airlines' separate plans to link with Air Liberté. ...
-
News
GE-P&W starts A3XX study
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Team members from the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance began installation studies with Airbus Industrie on 18 December aimed at finalising a firm engine configuration for the A3XX by as early as the first quarter of 1998. "I would like to have a firm ...
-
News
Cost cuts increase hopes for MD-95 production
Guy Norris/LONG BEACH Douglas Products division is optimistic that Boeing will clear continued develop- ment of derivatives and production of the MD-95 in January, after the development of a series of cost-saving initiatives by the manufacturer and its risk-sharing partners. Boeing is due to decide whether to proceed ...
-
News
Marketplace
++ Philippine Airlines has agreed to the early return of two Boeing 747-200s to the lessor, Atlas Air. The two aircraft, acquired by Atlas under earlier sale/leaseback deals, were scheduled to be handed back in late 1998 and 2000 but will instead be terminated in January and February 1998. The ...
-
News
RVSM comes of age after trial period
Following a successful eight-month trial period, North Atlantic tracks (NAT) working to reduced vertical-separation minima (RVSM) are to be declared fully operational on 27 March. Plans have also been announced to extend the RVSM vertical band in 1998. The NAT RVSM vertical band is now FL330-FL370 (33,000-37,000ft/10,060-11,280m). This is ...
-
News
Sahara prepares for growth in spite of Government demise
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Sahara India Airlines (SIAL) aims to implement a comprehensive expansion plan in 1998 despite the delay caused by the fall of the Indian Government in November. The former Government had proposed new legislation which would have supported private domestic carriers . SIAL is preparing to place ...
-
News
Singapore Airlines wins bond legal case in USA
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has successfully pursued a former first officer in a US court in a case to decide whether the carrier can legally enforce bonded contracts of employment on cockpit crew. The decision, which is viewed by many as setting a legal precedent, will cost the pilot $205,000 in ...
-
News
TAECO may grow Xiamen venture with engine overhaul
Taikoo Aircraft Engineering (TAECO) is discussing expansion of its Xiamen-based Chinese joint venture with the addition of an aero-engine maintenance capability. The proposal is in the "initial stages of discussion" with potential partners. The Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering (HAECO)-managed joint venture is conducting a market study, with emphasis on ...
-
News
TWA crash hearing helps to clarify policy on fuel tanks
The public hearing on the 1996 Trans World Airlines flight 800 fatal crash ended in Baltimore on 12 December without the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) coming any nearer to discovering the cause, although it can claim to have clarified potential safety policies. Measures to reduce the risk ...
-
News
Air France president Spinetta lays plans for competitiveness
Julian Moxon/Paris Air France president Jean-Cyril Spinetta has unveiled the main elements in his plans to solve the "persistent competitiveness problems" which he says continue to plague the airline. Pilots' unions have objected to the plan, however. The strategy centres on a Fr40 billion ($6.7 billion) investment in ...
-
News
British Midland expects to make record profits for 1997
British Midland (BM) expects to return record profits for 1997, after having successfully fended off growing competition from low-fare airlines, and benefited from the industrial dispute at British Airways. The news comes as the airline reveals plans for head-on competition with BAon the London-Manchester route. BM expects to ...