All Safety News – Page 1412
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News
Robinson design cleared by NTSB
A SPECIAL US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation has exonerated the Robinson R22 and R44 light helicopters of suspected design defects, but it recommends that tougher flight-training requirements remain in force. The ruling comes after an investigation which started in 1994 after a series of fatal ...
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United plans to launch all-cargo service to Asia
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA United Airlines plans to launch an all-cargo service between the USA and Asia, using four McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 freighters. Approval is being sought for six flights a week in both directions between Tokyo, Osaka, Taipei and Manila and New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San ...
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Re-usable software tested by MDC
McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has begun flight-testing a re-usable navigation-software module hosted on a commercial Power PC processor. The software and hardware were flown for the first time on 29 March in an AV-8B Harrier II technology-demonstrator. The same MDC-developed software module will be flight-tested in an F-15 equipped ...
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Regionals continue to grow in USA
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON WHILE THE MAJOR US carriers continue to make the most of the present business recovery, beneath the surface the second tier of national and regional airline groups are in the throes of making major changes. Perhaps the most visible evidence of these changes ...
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Italy becomes part of Eurocontrol
Italy has finally become a full member of Eurocontrol, clearing the way for its full participation in the agency's efforts to harmonise air traffic control (ATC) throughout Europe. Italy is the 21st nation to join Eurocontrol, its membership having previously been blocked by successive governments, which failed to ...
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Europe aims for tighter foreign-airline safety
David Learmount/LONDON FOREIGN AIRLINES are to face tougher safety surveillance when they enter European airspace because of an agreement by the directors-general of the 33-member European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) to raise safety standards. This follows a similar decision by European Union ministers early in March. ...
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In-flight disruption
CAPT BILL ARCHER, chairman of the British Airline Pilots Association, addressed the conference on an undesirable consequence of modern passenger services and cabin in-flight entertainment systems. These systems are complex and so far do not have a good enough record of in-flight serviceability. Since passengers have come to ...
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Aer Lingus continues cost drive despite recovery
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Signs of recovery at Aer Lingus have been accompanied by stern warnings from management that the airline will continue its "remorseless" drive to keep down costs. The Irish flag carrier, which made heavy losses three years ago, posted a relatively respectable IR£15 million ($24 million) net profit for ...
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Deutsche BA suspends deliveries of Saab 2000
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH DEUTSCHE BA HAS suspended further Saab 2000 deliveries to its fleet, after both it and Swiss carrier Crossair were hit by poor dispatch reliability during the harsh European winter. The main problems were brake icing and the ingestion of de-icing fluid by the ...
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Congested Africa
THE CONFERENCE debated the rapid increase in flights over Africa and the several critically deficient air-traffic-control systems in the region. Manoeuvres initiated because of TCAS warnings have occurred, IFALPA notes, and selection of the TCAS display to maximum range was debated, but rejected as a policy because of the varying ...
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Going up market
Russia's Orient Avia is getting the best out of its Ilyushin Il-62 airliners. Paul Duffy/MOSCOW THE COMMONLY HELD belief that Russian and ex-Soviet civil aircraft are not able to achieve the high utilisation levels of Western airliners has been challenged by the experience of Orient ...
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Wake up and join the real world
Sir - At last an accident investigation board, the UK AAIB, has had the courage and professionalism to speak its true mind. The crash of the Boeing 737 freighter at Coventry in December 1994 was contributed to by the likely fatigue of the crew. Crew members, had been on duty ...
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Pilot worries
Not enough of it, sometimes too much of it - pilots remain concerned about technology. Harry Hopkins/DUBLIN AIRLINE PILOTS have issued strong warnings about the premature use of new technology in air-traffic operations, but the absence of technology troubles them as well, it emerged at the annual ...
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Air France opens hub in drive to improve services
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIR FRANCE HAS stepped up its efforts to become competitive with its inauguration on 31 March of a new "hub" at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The airline has spent Fr51million ($10 million) on the changes, which it hopes will increase by 117% ...
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UK ATC tiptoes towards independence
David Learmount/LONDON The UK's air-traffic-control system made its first steps towards independence on 29 March as the National Air Traffic Service ceased to be a government department and emerged as a limited company. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) now becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of ...
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PTI's infra-red system de-ices 727 in 6min
A RADIANT ENERGY de-icing system has been demonstrated to airlines, airports and regulatory authorities at Rochester in New York. The InfraTek system developed by Process Technologies (PTI) burns low-cost natural gas to generate focused infra-red energy which melts the ice and dries the aircraft without damaging the surface or heating ...
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CRM purchase
Westwind Aviation Academy, of Phoenix, Arizona, has bought a Frasca 242 simulator for use in its cockpit-resource-management (CRM) programme. Pilots will receive 20h of two-crew training, including 16h of simulated cross-country flying using CRM procedures. Source: Flight International
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UPS picks Flight Dynamics head-up system
UPS Airlines is to equip its 59-strong Boeing 727 fleet with the Flight Dynamics head-up guidance system (HGS). The move will allow UPS 727 crews to fly manual Category IIIA approaches in visibility as low as 210m (700ft) and take off in visibility down to 90m. ...
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USA gains more time in bilateral disputes
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS THE USA HAS temporarily headed off the threat of serious confrontations in Asia and Europe over airline traffic rights. In the last week of March, US Department of Transportation officials have secured a cargo deal with Japan and agreed with France to ...