All Safety News – Page 1232
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Aviation industry unites on frequency protection issue
Emma Kelly/LONDON The aviation industry has developed a unanimous position on the protection of its radio frequencies, says John White, director of the Infrastructure Support Group at the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The decision precedes May's International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC). IATA and the International Civil ...
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Nav Canada aims for North Atlantic ADS datalink trials
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Nav Canada hopes to begin full operational trials with automatic dependence surveillance (ADS) over the North Atlantic in early May, followed by controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC), with the upgrade of its Gander Automated Air Traffic Control System. "We are targeting being operational on 7 May. ...
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777-200ER takes polar route to Asia
American Airlines has flown a Boeing 777-200ER twinjet over the North Pole from North America to Asia for the first time, demonstrating wider applications for the new route and strengthening its bid for services to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The American flight from Chicago to Hong Kong was ...
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Slow service take-up hits Globalstar/Iridium
Loral Space and Communications is considering selling all or part of its 45% stake in the Globalstar worldwide mobile-communications satellite system following slower than expected sales of the telephone service. Meanwhile, Iridium prime investor Motorola has notified customers of its worldwide satellite mobile-telephone and paging services that it will ...
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NASA reacts to study criticisms
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA has promised swift action following criticism in three separate reports of the space agency's Space Shuttle and "faster, better, cheaper" spacecraft programmes. The Space Shuttle Assessment Team has criticised NASA for cutting staff at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), saying that it has eroded safety - ...
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Magnetosphere deal for UK company
The UK's Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has won a $120,000, 100-day, Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission (MMS) study contract to investigate the range of suitable concepts for a five-spacecraft mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere. Planned for launch in 2005, the five-spacecraft MMS fleet will involve formation flying and two lunar ...
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People
Gareth Kirkwood, managing director (MD) of British Airways subsidiary Brymon Airways, has been appointed MD of British Airways World Cargo. Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems sector has appointed four new vice-presidents (VPs): Donald Wilhelm - airspace management systems, George Perkins - space systems, James Armitage - engineering, Baltimore operations ...
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Frequency wars
At last, the aviation industry has woken up to the fact that it no longer has a birthright to all of the radio frequencies it had assumed belonged to it forever. Radio frequencies are valuable commodities, especially to mobile satellite service (MSS) companies, keen to expand their services and profits ...
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MD-80s avoid disaster at Oslo
David Learmount/LONDON Three Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) Boeing MD-80s came close to a multiple collision at Oslo Gardemoen Airport on 8 March, endangering the lives of over 300 passengers and crew. The incident is being investigated by the airline and the aviation authorities, according to SAS' chief pilot for the ...
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Airbus begins A3XX proposal process
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS Chris Jasper/LONDON Airbus Industrie has begun submitting proposals to airlines it regards as key potential customers for the A3XX as it bids to rack up sufficient commitments for the 480-660 seat family to be launched later this year. Unofficial agreement has been reached on assembly ...
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Ayres LM200 Loadmaster takes shape
Ayres aims to kick-start flight testing of its LM200 Loadmaster twin turboshaft, single-propeller, utility aircraft by the end of July at its Albany, Georgia, base. The US manufacturer has taken delivery of the aircraft wings, tail cone and other components supplied by its Czech Republic-based subsidiary, Let Kunovice. ...
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Philippines suspends Taiwan flights again
The Philippines has again suspended all flights to Taiwan, saying that an interim accord reached in January was not agreeable to both sides. China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Air halted all Philippines flights from 15 March, re-routing passengers through Hong Kong, or issuing refunds. Flights between the two countries ...
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Runway incursion technology delayed
New technology to reduce runway incursion incidents in the USA - listed by the Federal Aviation Administration as among the most serious risks to air travellers - will be delayed by two years because of continued technical problems, says the FAA. Northrop Grumman's Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) ...
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USA calls in ICAO to referee European hushkit dispute
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC David Learmount/LONDON The Clinton Administration has asked the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to arbitrate in its row with the European Union (EU) over plans to limit the number of hushkitted aircraft operating in Europe after the 2002 introduction of a ban on non-Stage III compliant aircraft. ...
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Argentina suspends law to block LanChile advance
Guy Norris/LONDON The Argentinian Government has suspended for six months a 1994 law allowing foreign ownership and control of Argentinian carriers. The move is apparently aimed at blocking a takeover of ailing Aerolineas Argentinas by LanChile, which had expressed an interest in taking a share in the Buenos Aires-based ...
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Asiana returns to profit after disastrous 1998
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE South Korea's number two carrier, Asiana Airlines, has staged a spectacular turnaround in its 1999 financial performance, after a disastrous 1998 during which some observers doubted the airline's ability to survive. The carrier reports a 109.68 billion won ($9.7 million) net profit for the year, compared with ...
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Mergers
Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications expects to complete its merger with Comsat early in the third quarter, after the US Congress approved satellite communications reform legislation that clears the way for the privatisation of the Intelsat and Inmarsat satellite networks. The legislation allows US customers to bypass Comsat, which controls access ...
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FANS-A datalink tested on A340-300
Airbus Industrie's A340-300 testbed has demonstrated datalink communications between pilot and air traffic controllers as part of round-the-world trials of Airbus' FANS-A (future air navigation system) avionics (Flight International, 8-14 September, 1999). The aircraft features an air traffic services unit manufactured by Aerospatiale Matra Aerospace Airbus, Smiths Industries' digital ...
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FAA to push TCAS II for US freighters
The US Federal Aviation Administration plans to release later this year a draft notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that calls for the latest traffic-alert and collision-avoidance systems (TCAS II) to be installed in US-registered freighters. The mandate for TCAS II equipment is expected to draw fire from the US ...
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El Al finance review freezes A330 plans
El Al has put plans to acquire of up to four Airbus A330s on hold until a re-evaluation of its ability to finance the deal is conducted later this year. In a contest that saw the US Government use political pressure to influence the outcome of the negotiations, Israeli ...