All Safety News – Page 1348
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Out of control ?
Yet again, too many passengers and crew who died in airline accidents in the last year died in aircraft which, until the moment at which they hit the ground or water, were functioning perfectly - but whose crews were not. These accidents are classed as Controlled Flight Into Terrain, or ...
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737 is back under FAA quality control microscope
Boeing is expecting, on 21 January, the results of a US Federal Aviation Administration audit of its quality control which was triggered - along with inspections of 211 Boeing 737s - by the unexplained crash of a SilkAir 737-300 on 19 December. The FAA's quality-assurance audit is focused on ...
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Asiana and MAS attempt to offload widebody orders
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Asiana Airlines is circulating a letter to rival international carriers offering newly ordered and existing aircraft for sale or lease. There appear to be few takers in Asia, though, with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) offering its Boeing 777 delivery positions in 1998 to Delta Air Lines and other struggling ...
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1997 showed highest CFIT death total
David Learmount/LONDON Having caused a record 640 fatalities in airline accidents during 1997, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) has been confirmed as the accident category which poses the greatest danger to life. The latest figures reveal that, despite new technology and a well-orchestrated international campaign to reduce the mistakes ...
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US airport introduces firefighting advances
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Connecticut's Bradley International has fielded the "Snozzle", a firefighting device manufactured by Crash Rescue Equipment Service of Dallas, Texas, and mounted on one of the airport's two new fire trucks . The Snozzle's adjustable boom can apply fire retardants on hard-to-reach aircraft areas, concentrating firefighting ...
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Order boom peaks
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON If the latest round of year-end order announcements from Airbus and Boeing seemed to lack some of the high drama of previous years, perhaps it comes as recognition that there may be some tougher times ahead. Quite apart from the internal restructuring issues that pre-occupy both manufacturers, the ...
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Asia-Pacific pathfinders
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE The Asia-Pacific region has been at the forefront of promoting the new communications, navigation and surveillance/air-traffic-management (CNS/ ATM) system since the concept emerged in 1983. These efforts will begin to bear fruit in 1998, with the planned opening and start of trials on key new routes between Asia, ...
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Insurers warn on 1997
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Aviation insurers are again warning that they face a serious shortfall for 1997 following estimates which have put the cost of losses at close to $1.4 billion, despite a relatively encouraging year for air safety. The preliminary year-end figures from the UK Airclaims consultancy, widely used ...
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MEA revises A310 lease agreement
Middle East Airlines (MEA) has agreed a revised deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing (SALE) over the five-year lease of three Airbus A310-200s. The new agreement reduces the price of the lease from $39 million to $34 million. Agreement has been reached as investigations by the Lebanese public prosecutor into alleged ...
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P&W tests new combustor design for JT8D-200
Pratt & Whitney is testing a new combustor design for the JT8D-200-series engine. The new design is expected to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions by 20% as part of a drive to keep the engine compatible with imminent emissions legislation. The revised combustor is aimed at new-build -200s and ...
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Bucharest Airport upgrade progresses
The first phase of modernisation of Bucharest's Otopeni Airport has been inaugurated by Romanian transport minister Traian Basescu. The $120 million project was carried out by Romairport, a consortium led by Italian Milan Airport managing company SEA. The programme includes the construction of a terminal, developed from an unfinished ...
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SAA prepares to rethink 777 purchase
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON South African Airways (SAA) has widened the brief of the task force set up to re-evaluate its fleet plan to include new Airbus A330/A340 types. This confirms that the long-delayed order for Boeing 777-200s could be revised. The airline says that it will include a smaller ...
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Air France profits roll but alliances come under EC scrutiny
Air France's transatlantic alliances have become the latest to come under scrutiny by the European Commission (EC), although the French flag carrier is pressing ahead with its expansion, buoyed by its recent financial turnaround and the prospect of a private cash injection. Regardless of the EC inquiry, Air France ...
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Swissair 'back in profit' in 1997
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH The SAir Group says that its core Swissair airline operations are due to show a profit for the first time in eight years when the 1997 results are revealed. The airline points to soaring load factors, which have climbed to 70% from just above 60%, as ...
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Forced landing in Iran
All 104 passengers and nine crew of an Iran Air Fokker 100 are safe following a night emergency landing on flat ground about 10km (5nm) from the pilot's planned diversion airport at Isfahan, Iran. Loss-adjuster Airclaims confirms that the aircraft was in landing configuration and that the gear was destroyed. ...
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FAA orders 737 checks after wrecked tail find
Precautionary checks on certain Boeing 737-300s, -400s and -500s have been ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration following the discovery of tailplane wreckage from the crashed Silk Air 737-300. Fasteners are missing from sections of the horizontal stabiliser, and bolts from elevator attachments. The accident occurred on 19 ...
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Boeing firms up the flightdeck design of stretched 767-400
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing has completed the firm design configuration of the stretched 767-400ER, revealing an upgraded flightdeck and a new-look cabin based on the 777 interior design. The bulk of the design was fixed by September 1997, but airline pressure drove Boeing to conduct trade studies on the additional ...
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Training fails test
The oversight of pilot and flightcrew training by the US Federal Aviation Administration must improve, says a US General Accounting Office (GAO) report. It states that accident rates can be reduced by improved pilot training. The study examines the relationship of airline pilots' performance to accidents, and the FAA's system ...
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Collins for America
American Airlines has selected Rockwell-Collins as the primary avionics supplier for its new fleet of Boeing 737s and 777s. The ten-year agreement, worth $200 million, allows for guaranteed acquisition pricing and provides for maintenance and logistics support, and includes the GLU-920 multi-mode receiver, traffic-alert collision-avoidance system and WXR-700X forward- looking ...
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Boeing delivery delay forces Hokkaido to defer start-up
A delay in the delivery of aircraft has forced the Japanese start-up Hokkaido International Airlines to postpone its launch of regular services until mid-1998. The airline's first aircraft, a new Boeing 767-300ER leased from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services, was scheduled for delivery in February but will now be up to ...