All Safety News – Page 1263
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African nations to finance CNS/ATM system
Michael Wakabi/KAMPALA Twenty-one African countries are to invest jointly in a communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system to manage their upper airspace. A memorandum of commitment is expected to be endorsed by members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in October, with ...
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Surge problems prompted P&W switch at CAL
Brent Hannon and Andrzej Jeziorski/TAIPEI Continuing surge problems with its Pratt & Whitney PW4056-powered aircraft contributed to China Airlines' (CAL) decision to choose General Electric as the engine supplier for its latest aircraft orders. "Engine surge is still a problem. We can live with it, but we are ...
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COMESA states agree open skies
Airline operations across a swathe of eastern and southern Africa are poised for a major shake-up following the adoption of a new open skies policy by 21 countries spanning the continent. Aviation authority representatives from Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) states agreed the regional pact at ...
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Boeing completes 717-200 tests as certification nears
Boeing is "on track" to achieve certification of the 717-200 on 1 September after completion of the flight test programme at its Yuma test site in Arizona. This will allow deliveries to begin next month to launch customer AirTran Airways, which has begun training crews. The 717 is set to ...
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Heads roll in Kazakhstan over N Korean deal
Kazakhstan has sacked its defence minister and launched a criminal investigation into alleged illegal sales of fighters, following South Korean protests that the country had supplied Soviet-built fighters to North Korea. South Korea has expressed "serious concern" over the alleged sales, and intelligence chief Chun Yong-Taek claims North Korea ...
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FAA continues augmentation system flight tests
The US Federal Aviation Administration conducted the latest stage of its local area augmentation system (LAAS) flight testing this month. LAAS, based on use of the global positioning system (GPS), will replace the 40-year-old Cat 1/2/3 instrument landing systems operating in the USA. The US agency had conducted LAAS ...
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AeroPeru goes into liquidation after final rescue efforts fail
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Final hopes of finding a new financial backer for AeroPeru have been extinguished as creditors rejected four last-ditch rescue proposals and initiated moves to liquidate the grounded national carrier. "The creditors met to consider four proposals, none of which were acceptable-The creditors were obliged to ...
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Strategic stretch
More than a long-range niche filler, Boeing's 767-400ER promises to bring new life to the entire big twin family Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing's big twinjet strategy takes another important step forward on 26 August when the 767-400ER is officially rolled out of the company's Everett assembly site in ...
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Boeing focuses on longer-range 757-200
Guy Norris/SEATTLE As pressure builds on Boeing to inject new life into the 757 programme, the company is focusing studies of a longer-range 757-200X on a group of six key scheduled and charter operators. It believes the variant could enter service after 2003. Major changes to the current 757-200 would ...
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A300 autopilot checks ordered after approach yaws
Uncommanded rudder inputs on final approach traced to a faulty Airbus A300-600 autopilot have caused the US Federal Aviation Administration to issue an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring autopilot checks on the entire A300B, A310 and A300-600 fleet. The unidentified incident is still under investigation by the French civil aviation ...
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Malaysia launches audio/video on demand, plans e-mail service
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) launched audio- and video-on-demand (A/VOD) capability on one of its Boeing 777s this month. It is the first stage of a programme that will see the airline's entire 777 and Boeing 747-400 fleet equipped with the latest in-flight entertainment (IFE) feature. A/VOD, which allows passengers to ...
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French collision sparks VFR/IFR debate
The fatal mid-air collision last July between a Cessna 177 and a Proteus Airlines Beech 1900D off the French coast raises questions about procedures for separating public transport aircraft operating under visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) in the same area, says France's accidents investigation bureau (BEA). ...
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Boeing tackles 777 power problems
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is working on an urgent redesign of the variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) generators on the 777 after a number of failures caused damage to engine mounted gearboxes. The VSCF problem is receiving maximum priority as it directly affects extended range twin operations (ETOPS) just as ...
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Airbus focuses on A330 shrink in search for 200-seater
Paul Lewis and Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Airbus Industrie's search for a new 200-seat widebody jet is focusing on a further shrink of the A330 as a possible alternative to earlier studies of updating the A300/A310 family or developing an all new design. Internal attention is now focused on an ...
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Oneworld proposes one frequent flier plan
Chris Jasper/LONDON The American Airlines/British Airways-led oneworld airline alliance has developed a plan that could see the merger of member carriers' frequent flier programmes (FFPs) under a standalone company. Oneworld airlines have set up a project group to explore FFP options under the codename "Monaco". BA director of alliances ...
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Ryanair disputes landing charges
Irish airports operator Aer Rianta is to take legal action against low-cost carrier Ryanair in a bid to recover alleged unpaid landing fees at Dublin . The issue was placed before arbitrators at Ireland's Department of Public Enterprise, which - Aer Rianta says - concluded that Ir£500,000 ($690,000) was ...
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FAA moves to ease air traffic delays
The US Federal Aviation Administration is implementing air traffic control (ATC) operational changes designed to quickly ease the ATC gridlock that has led to worsening delays in the USA this summer. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey hopes the short-term "practical steps" will appease US airlines which have become increasingly vocal ...
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FAA orders insulation to be replaced on 700 aircraft
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Thermal insulation on all McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Boeing MD-80s, MD-90s and MD-11s must be replaced within four years, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered. The regulation has been under consideration for more than a year, but has become mandatory just as the Transportation ...
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FAA revises pilot rest rules after MD-80 incident
Revised rules on rest periods for commercial pilots should be ready for review by the end of this year or early next, with the US Federal Aviation Administration drafting new regulations. The latest attempt to update rest requirements for commercial transport pilots follows years of unsuccessful attempts to reach ...
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Canada turns to Europe after USA denies licence
Graham Warwick/VANCOUVER Canada is to order a European spacecraft bus for its Radarsat-2 earth observation satellite, after original supplier Orbital Sciences (OSC) was denied an export licence by the US Government. Industry minister John Manley says Canada will select a supplier within the next eight weeks. The move ...