All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 17
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News
JAL firms remaining 20 A350s after replacing twinjet lost at Haneda
Japan Airlines is set to put the Airbus A350-900 on international routes, senior vice-president of procurement Yukio Nakagawa has confirmed as the carrier firmed orders for 20 of the type along with 11 A321neos. JAL had previously indicated in March that it would add 21 A350-900s to its fleet. The ...
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News
Britten-Norman flight-tests 5G array for future high-altitude connectivity platform
Britten-Norman has demonstrated the performance of a BN2T-4S Islander fitted with a 5G antenna array, as part of project to develop a high-altitude connectivity platform. The platform is intended for applications such as natural disaster management, to restore connectivity quickly if mobile network infrastructure has been destroyed or disrupted by ...
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News
Gazpromavia crash crew briefly arrested descent before Superjet entered fatal dive
Russian investigators have disclosed that the crashed Gazpromavia Yakovlev Superjet 100 crew switched to manual control after the aircraft started to pitch down, briefly arresting the descent, before it entered a steep fatal dive. The aircraft took off from Lukhovitsy airport, bound for Moscow Vnukovo, on 12 July following “periodic ...
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News
Boeing contrite over delivery delays as Flydubai gripes about 737 Max hold-ups
Boeing believes it is making progress with improving its aircraft delivery situation, even as Middle Eastern carrier Flydubai expressed dismay over continuing hold-ups which are forcing the airline to rejig its network. Flydubai operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet comprising 88 aircraft – among them 59 Max jets and 29 737-800s. ...
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News
Weak fares drag down Ryanair first-quarter profits
Ryanair’s net profit nearly halved over the first quarter, which the carrier blames on weak fares and the earlier Easter holiday. The carrier turned in a net profit of €360 million ($372 million) – down by 46% – on slightly lower revenues of €3.63 billion. Chief executive Michael O’Leary says ...
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News
UK facility starts ex-Delta 777 freighter conversion work for Mammoth
Boeing 777 cargo conversion firm Mammoth Freighters has delivered a -200LR for modification to the UK-based specialist STS Aviation Services. Mammoth had reached an agreement for conversion work with STS, located in Manchester, two years ago. The pact covers cargo modification for both 777-200LRs and -300ERs. STS states that US-based ...
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News
Iberia prepares for A321XLR introduction following certification
Spanish flag-carrier Iberia has shown off its first Airbus A321XLR carrying the airline’s colours, as the long-range model receives European type certification. Iberia will be the first operator of the XLR. It is to take delivery of eight aircraft, part of a batch of 14 XLRs ordered in June 2019 ...
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News
Initial A321XLR certification is for 97t version with higher weights to follow
Airbus’s A321XLR has initially been certified with a maximum take-off weight of 97t, but the airframer is working on approval for higher weights for the twinjet. This 97t figure is the same MTOW as the XLR’s immediate predecessor, the A321LR. The airframer had originally stated – when its unveiled the ...
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News
A330 short-landing crew perceived risk of overrun before descending below glideslope
Investigators have determined that a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 touched down short of the runway at Amsterdam, after the crew sought to mitigate a perceived risk of overrun and descended below the glideslope.
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Analysis
Airbus’s range-busting A321XLR secures European certification
Poised for certification and due to enter revenue service before year-end, the 4,700nm-capable A321XLR and its crucial range-boosting rear fuel tank have tested Airbus’s engineering mettle.
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News
Vibration from failed 767 engine caused fuel leak from fractured water-drain tube
Boeing has been examining whether slat-track housing drain tubes on 767s require further redesign, after vibration from an engine failure in Scotland caused a tube fracture, resulting in fuel leaking and igniting during flight. The event involved a Delta Air Lines 767-300ER which – as it took off from Edinburgh ...
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News
Superjet crash inquiry yet to clarify relevance of angle-of-attack sensor repair advisory
Investigators have yet to disclose preliminary findings from the fatal crash of a Gazpromavia Yakovlev Superjet 100, and have yet to clarify whether an apparent communication on angle-of-attack vane maintenance is relevant to the inquiry. The Interstate Aviation Committee has started analysing data from the flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders retrieved ...
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News
Frustrated Romanian carriers clash with regulator over hold-ups to fleet expansion
Romania’s civil aviation regulator is dismissing frustrations from two expanding carriers over delays to aircraft approval, insisting that the hold-ups result from incomplete documentation and findings from safety inspections. Both Dan Air and Fly Lili are seeking to expand their fleets. Dan Air is aiming to introduce a second Airbus ...
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Interview
Airbus chief Faury balances present-day pressures against pushing future boundaries
Since taking the reins at Airbus in 2019, Guillaume Faury has seen off several huge challenges – but there are still fires to fight, such as a creaking supply chain, even as the airframer eyes its future commercial product plans. Meanwhile, in the defence business, the manufacturer has embarked one of its most ambitious projects yet.
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News
Low fuel led Falcon 10 crew to attempt landing in Afghan mountains
Preliminary findings from investigators probing a fatal Dassault Falcon 10 crash in Afghanistan indicate the crew was attempting an emergency landing after running low on fuel. The Russian-registered aircraft (RA-09011) had been conducting a 20 January medical flight from U-Tapao in Thailand to Moscow Zhukovsky. After refuelling at Gaya, in ...
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News
Air Caledonie takes emergency steps as unrest tips carrier into crisis
Pacific carrier Air Caledonie is embarking on urgent restructuring measures after being engulfed by crisis, in the wake of political unrest in the French overseas territory. Air Caledonie is cutting its workforce by one-third and implementing a number of productivity improvements after finding itself in an “extremely critical” situation, it ...
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News
NATS adapting Heathrow delay-reduction tool to extract greater environmental benefits
UK air navigation service NATS is adapting a predictive decision-making took potentially to prioritise arriving flights based on environmental performance.
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News
Lessor GTLK Europe’s liquidators offer five A220-300s for sale
Joint liquidators of Russian-affiliated lessor GTLK Europe have initiated a sales process covering five Airbus A220-300s. The process – which commenced on 16 July – involves five 2019 airframes, all of which are based in the Netherlands. Interested parties are being invited to submit expressions of interest to IBA, the ...
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News
Angola’s TAAG to unveil new colour scheme on A220s and 787s
Angolan flag-carrier TAAG is to take delivery of Boeing 787s and Airbus A220s featuring a new colour scheme. TAAG says the livery revision will highlight the national black antelope symbol while retaining patterns inspired by traditional ‘samakaka’ fabric. The carrier says its initial A220-300, scheduled for delivery in the third ...
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News
Southwest pilots missed vital NOTAM before early-morning closed-runway take-off
US investigators have disclosed that a runway-closure notice for Maine’s Portland Jetport was missed by pilots of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 before the aircraft departed the closed runway 29. Although the crew had seen a NOTAM listing the closure at weekends, the captain “incorrectly assumed” that the same NOTAM ...