All Safety News – Page 1262
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News
Crane files lawsuit against BFGoodrich and Coltec in merger bid
BFGoodrich's agreement to acquire Coltec Industries has come under attack from US engineering concern Crane, which has filed a lawsuit against both companies in a bid to force Coltec to consider its merger offer. Stamford, Connecticut-based Crane says the lawsuit is intended to remove anti-takeover provisions in the Coltec/BFGoodrich ...
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Buzzing along
Allan Winn/LONDON According to the laws of mathematics and physics, bees cannot fly. Millions of bees every day prove, of course, that either this theory or the laws of physics are wrong: according to apiarist Rex Boys, it is the theory which fails the test. The physics are sound: it ...
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Moving swiftly
Kanichi Amano/TOKYO Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE When the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) approved funding for a new supersonic engine demonstrator programme, Tokyo once again proved its readiness to put real money behind the development of technology for a new supersonic transport (SST) aircraft. In September, the ...
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Chasing a dream
Paul Duffy/PERM The last seven years have been difficult for the Russian aviation industry. Long accustomed to producing to Soviet state orders, the industry's finance and income also came from the same source. Now in crisis, most state-owned companies in the industry are waiting for state rescue. If ...
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The final frontier
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Every time a Space Shuttle blasts off, its booming sound waves pass unseen over the forgotten bones of a long abandoned project. Lying at the edge of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, are the forlorn remains of Boeing's 2707-200 supersonic transport (SST) full-scale mock-up. Abandoned when the ...
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Lufthansa delays decision on 728JET
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Lufthansa CityLine has backed away from making a formal commitment to the Fairchild Dornier 728JET programme by the end of 1998. A decision is not expected until March. The German flag carrier's regional arm had been due to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in December, ...
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Thai probe focuses on ILS and weather
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Investigations into the accident which destroyed the Airbus A310 operating Thai Airways International flight TG261 on 11 December are focusing on weather conditions, human factors and the lack of a working instrument landing system (ILS) at Surat Thani Airport, Thailand. The 12-year-old A310-200 (HS-TIA), one of ...
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Canada Boeing CF-18s to get life extensions
Canada has launched a 10-year, C$1.2 billion ($780 million) upgrade to extend the life of its Boeing CF-18s by 14 years. The programme includes the possible sale of 22 or more of the Canadian Force's fleet of 122CF-18s to help pay for the upgrade, which will enable the aircraft ...
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India freezes airline merger with senior management purge
The Indian Government has purged the senior management of state-owned Air India and Indian Airlines airlines, claiming it wants to speed up their privatisation. The civil aviation minister, Ananth Kumar, dissolved the joint board of Air India and Indian Airlines on 11 December, days after the board announced plans ...
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P&W confirms major delay for Korean Air Lines 777-300
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Pratt & Whitney is being forced to recertificate its PW4098 engine for the heavyweight Boeing 777-300, adding several months to the already delayed programme and making first deliveries to Korean Air Lines almost a year late. The latest problems with the PW4098 emerged during flight ...
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Pan Am to set up two centres
Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) has won contracts to establish simulator centres for Atlantic Coast Airlines and DHL Airways. PAIFA, which operates a simulator centre in Miami, won a contract earlier this year to build and operate a training centre for FedEx. Under the 10-year agreement with Atlantic ...
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Hughes technology transfer error helped China's missile programme
The US Department of Defense has confirmed that Hughes Space and Communications inadvertently aided China's missile and satellite programmes during an investigation into the failure of a Long March 2E launcher attempting to orbit the Hughes built ApStar 2 satellite in 1995. The Pentagon says that Hughes gave China ...
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Safety changes
The US National Transportation Safety Board is urging the US Federal Aviation Administration to require safety-related changes for German-made Glaser-Dirks gliders. The recommendations, which result from a fatal accident in 1997 involving a DG-300 glider in Nevada, call for design changes to the aircraft which will enable "reliable jettison of ...
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BA chooses to bring A320 training in-house
British Airways is to bring training for its new fleet of Airbus A320s in house, with the airline's Flight Training (BAFT) division finalising the acquisition of its first Airbus simulator. In August, BA selected the A320 family for its future short-haul fleet, placing orders and options for up to ...
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Low cost is key for regional jet, airlines tell Bombardier
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Bombardier has launched technology cost/benefit studies after the first meeting of its BRJ-X airline advisory council confirmed that potential customers for the 90-seat regional jet are looking for the lowest possible operating cost. The council conducted preliminary talks on fly-by-wire versus conventional flight controls, steel ...
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Austria favoured for Ceats ATC centre
An independent report has come out in favour of Austria as the location for a new air traffic control centre for the central European area. While there is still some dissent on the findings of the report, there is, say industry sources, "considerable optimism" that the findings will be ...
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Special delivery
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Columbus Orbital Facility (COF), a pressurised science laboratory, was until recently the European Space Agency's (ESA) only major contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). Now, development of a fleet of Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) to support ISS operations has begun with the award of a ...
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The spectrum challenge
Chris Yates/MANCHESTER The aeronautical community must pool its resources and protect its strategic interests if it is to avoid losing the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in satellite navigation. The threat comes from an Inmarsat-sponsored proposal, currently before the International Telecommunications Union-World Radio Council (ITU-WRC), to share frequencies ...
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Boeing to revise twin-aisle development strategy
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing Commercial Airplanes is revising its twin-aisle development strategy because of the collapsing Asian market. The board is due to be briefed on the plan by 18 December. Product development cost cuts ordered as a result of the downturn will affect key programmes, including the ...
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Survivors in A310 crash
A Thai International Airways Airbus A310 crashed while attempting to land at Surat Thani in southern Thailand on 11 December. Early reports suggested there were at least 50 survivors among the 161 crew and passengers. The aircraft is believed to have been delivered new to Thai in 1986 and registered ...