All Safety News – Page 1224
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MD-11 wiring to be tested for arcing
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) is devising tests to find out whether cockpit ceiling wiring from the crashed Swissair Boeing MD-11 suffered from electrical arcing before or after it was exposed to fire. "Tests are under way to assess the significance of arcing found on 14 segments ...
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USA limits chemical tank numbers
The US Department of Transportation has put into force new restrictions on the transport of chemical oxidisers and compressed oxygen aboard commercial air transports. The regulations bar carriage of chemical oxidisers in an inaccessible aircraft cargo compartment that does not have a fire or smoke detection and fire suppression ...
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Airbus flies towards FANS approval
Airbus is expecting certification of its FANS-A (future air navigation system) avionics next spring following extensive in-flight trials of the system and the first tests in an operational environment. The system, developed for the A330/A340, supports satellite communications (satcoms), datalink communications and automatic dependent surveillance (ADS). The first operational trial ...
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Engine under Buenos Aires crash spotlight
David Learmount/LONDON Initial information on the Argentine Boeing 737-200 fatal accident on 31 August indicates that take-off was abandoned following a mechanical failure in the No 1 engine. Witness and survivor statements supporting this view have yet to be confirmed by official sources, although the captain survived and the ...
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Police label SilkAir investigation as 'suicide cum murder'
The Singapore Police Force has classified its investigation into the crash of the SilkAir Boeing 737-300 in Sumatra on 19 December 1997 as "suicide cum murder". The police stress that the label has been adopted "solely to assist us in our investigation. It is not an indication of our ...
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Atlas restart scheduled after engine is cleared
Lockheed Martin is to resume Atlas launches on 10 September, but the maiden flight of its Atlas III booster has been pushed back into 2000. Atlas launches were halted in May following the loss of Boeing's first Delta III, caused by the failure of a Pratt & Whitney RL10 ...
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FAA selects Arinc to develop datalink
ARINC has been awarded a five-year contract by the US Federal Aviation Administration to support the development and initial operational capability of controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) in the US national airspace system (NAS). The aeronautical communications specialist will develop a prototype CPDLC system in conjunction with the FAA's William ...
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Raytheon output rise may not be enough
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Raytheon Aircraft has increased planned production of its new Premier I and Hawker Horizon business jets to meet demand, but faces challenges meeting the programmes' schedules. Production of the entry-level Premier I will be increased by 25% to 60 a year, while production of the ...
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FAA satellite programme investigated
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) has launched a Congressionally requested investigation into the US Federal Aviation Administration's satellite navigation programme following concerns about the agency's plans to move from a ground-based to a satellite-based navigation system. The GAO expects to report next spring. The study follows an investigation ...
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NASA selects projects to pave way to future technologies
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC A massive cargo airship, a flying-wing airliner and a low-cost supersonic engine are the three projects chosen by NASA to jump-start a new programme to accelerate development of promising new aeronautical technologies. The Revolutionary Concepts (RevCon) programme will fund early flight testing of advanced technologies using ...
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Eurocontrol training goes to FANS
FANS Information Services has been contracted by Eurocontrol to develop an online training course for pilots, air traffic controllers and airline operational staff on procedures to be followed for 8.33kHz channel-spacing. Seven European countries - France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - are due to introduce ...
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Mind games
Twenty months into one of the most controversial accident investigations of the decade, SilkAir has told the world that a pilot who apparently intended to kill himself and 103 others was "by the best standards of the industry-fit to fly". To put it charitably, this demonstrates a disturbing readiness ...
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Modified A319 gets basic European certification
Airbus has won basic European certification for its A319 Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) as two are delivered for interior fitting. The changes to the A319 airliner certificate include installing up to six auxiliary fuel tanks (ACTs) to provide a range of up to 11,700km (6,300nm). The $40 million ACJ is approved ...
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FlightSim 2000 upgrade on test
Dave Higdon/WICHITA FlightSafety International has begun testing Microsoft's new flight-simulation software programme, FlightSim 2000, as an enhancement to its airline ab initio training programme at Vero Beach, Florida. Microsoft says the FlightSim 2000 upgrade includes improvements to the graphics, functionality and versatility of the flight simulation software programme. ...
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CAL crash raises fresh fears
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The crash on 22 August of a China Airlines (CAL)Boeing MD-11 at Hong Kong International Airport has placed both the airline and the airport authority on the defensive. In a bad week for Asia-Pacific air safety, the crash was followed days later by a ...
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ARINC kicks off next classic upgrade talks
ARINC is talking to two flight management system (FMS) suppliers about the next stage of its cockpit upgrade programme for classic aircraft. The move follows recent US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification (STC) for phase one of the communication upgrade for Boeing 747 Classic aircraft. The first phase ...
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European wrangle looms over EASA's powers
A special committee of European member states and the European Commission (EC) has finished preparing a draft convention for the planned European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The document is due to be sent to relevant European aviation bodies for comment this month. A battle is expected between aviation organisations ...
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Boeing-GE 777X deal sparks EC probe into exclusivity
Chris Jasper/LONDON The European Commission (EC) is poised to launch an investigation into airframe-engine exclusivity deals following the sole supplier agreement between Boeing and General Electric on the Seattle giant's planned ultra-long-range 777X. Outgoing EC competition chief Karel Van Miert ordered that a file be opened on exclusivity deals ...
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Airports
Brussels Zaventem Airport is planning to spend BFr1 billion ($26 million) to build a new air traffic control tower. This has become necessary because the view of one of the runways from the existing tower will be obstructed when terminal construction work is completed. The new 75m (246ft)-high tower will ...
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Dasa presses case for Hamburg assembly of A3XX
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) is stepping up its campaign for A3XX final assembly to be located at its Hamburg Airbus plant with claims that Aerospatiale Matra's proposals for Toulouse production would load the programme with "unnecessary" transport and production costs. Dasa's bid hinges on what it considers to be a ...