All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 206
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NewsUtair 737 hit 1.1m snow bank short of runway: inquiry
Investigators have determined that snow-clearance at Usinsk airport was inadequate before a landing accident in which a Utair Boeing 737-500 struck a shallow snow bank, about 1.1m high, situated 32m before the runway. The inquiry has also revealed that the aircraft was consistently slightly low on its descent path during ...
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NewsSouth African carriers urge system stress-test to speed recovery
South African carriers are urging the government to stress-test the early restoration of domestic air services, to quicken the introduction of an expanded route network. Operators have been forced to suspend services after South Africa entered a national lockdown on 26 March. The government’s coronavirus response plan entered a new ...
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NewsLufthansa Group urges shareholder support for aid package
Lufthansa Group’s supervisory board has given its approval to stabilisation measures offered by the German federal WSF fund, accepting the conditions attached by the European Commission. The company is formally recommending that shareholders similarly approve the measures during an extraordinary general meeting set for 25 June. “It was a very ...
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NewsSAA draft rescue plan signals termination of half its fleet leases
South African Airways’ rescuers are terminating leases on nearly half the airline’s 40 leased aircraft, while those on another 15 have been undergoing renegotiation. The carrier had a fleet of 49 jets when it entered the business rescue process on 5 December last year, including nine A340-300s and -600s that ...
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NewsDraft plan indicates restructured SAA would lose R20bn in first three years
Preliminary projections for a restructured South African Airways indicate the carrier would lose close to R20 billion ($1.1 billion) over the first three years, before it started turning a profit. The operation would have a fleet of 40 aircraft, according to a draft business plan obtained by the country’s political ...
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NewsJet2 parent to focus on airline after selling logistics business
UK budget carrier Jet2’s parent, Dart Group, has sold its sister logistics business to investor Culina Group. The divestment of Fowler Welch, for a gross cash consideration of £98 million, leaves Dart Group able to concentrate exclusively on the leisure airline operation. Jet2 is based at Leeds Bradford airport and ...
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NewsWake-vortex crash probe baffled by tight separation decision
Investigators have not been able to explain why the captain of a Diamond Aircraft DA62 calibration flight repeatedly breached minimum separation distances from commercial traffic at Dubai before a fatal wake-turbulence accident. Analysis of the accident sequence indicates the UK Flight Calibration Services DA62, conducting approaches to runway 30L, had ...
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NewsLufthansa board approves revision to financial aid conditions
Lufthansa Group’s executive board has accepted European Commission commitments in order to secure a financial package negotiated with a federal German stabilisation fund. But the supervisory board must still back the commitments, after it previously withheld approval. The company claims the scope of the conditions “has been reduced” compared with ...
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NewsMD-82 almost stalled at low level after go-around thrust overlooked
Bulgarian investigators have revealed that a Boeing MD-82 almost stalled while nose-high at low level, after the crew did not engage go-around thrust during a missed approach at Tarbes-Lourdes airport. The Bulgarian Air Charter aircraft descended to about 40ft while still nearly 500m from the runway, flying close to the ...
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NewsSAA rescuers request time to consult on government proposals
South African Airways’ rescue practitioners are seeking an extension to the deadline for publishing a business plan for the troubled flag-carrier. Under South African legislation a business plan is normally required within 25 days of a company entering business rescue, but extensions can be granted if necessary. SAA, however, has ...
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NewsKuwait Airways to lay off 1,500 staff
Kuwait Airways is to shed 1,500 foreign personnel in response to the problems presented by the coronavirus crisis. The flag-carrier states that the “difficult decision” follows the “great hardships that the company is facing” as a result of the impact on the air transport sector. As a result of the ...
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NewsA330neo approved with intermediate take-off weight hike
Airbus appears to have secured regulatory approval for an intermediate maximum take-off weight increase on the A330-900. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has listed two weight variants of a 245t version – designated WV910 and WV911 – on the aircraft’s type certificate. Airbus has been developing higher-weight versions of ...
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NewsUIA expects to restore long-haul hub services next year
Ukraine International Airlines is to put 14 aircraft into operation once it starts restoring services, as it expects government restrictions to lift on 15 June. But chief executive Yevhenii Dykhne says it has “stopped employing” around 900 personnel following a “substantial decline” in the airline’s operations. “We aim at sustaining ...
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NewsFrench investigators to download crashed PIA A320 recorders
French investigators are to handle the downloading of flight-recorder data from the Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 which crashed in Karachi on 22 May. The cockpit-voice recorder has been located, days after the flight-data recorder was retrieved, French investigation authority BEA states. BEA says it has received a request from ...
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NewsSAS to defer Airbus deliveries as it overhauls business plan
Scandinavia’s SAS is to defer and review future Airbus deliveries and those from lessors, as part of its response to the coronavirus crisis, as it continues to pursue additional funding. The airline is drawing up a revised business plan which aims to bring SKr4 billion ($417 million) in improvements by ...
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NewsLATAM immediately cutting 19 leased aircraft from fleet
LATAM Airlines Group has identified 19 leased aircraft which it will cut from its operators’ fleets, following the company’s filing for US Chapter 11 creditor protection. Six long-haul jets – comprising two Airbus A350-900s and four Boeing 787-9s – are among the aircraft listed in the filing. The remainder is ...
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NewsAerCap pushes back deliveries of 37 aircraft
Leasing giant AerCap is deferring deliveries of 37 aircraft which it had expected to introduce over the course of the next two years. AerCap says the measure brings to more than 100 the number of aircraft it had been intending to receive over 2020-22. The 37 which are the subject ...
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NewsE-Jet operators told to act to avert trim-switch misfitting
Operators of Embraer 170 and 190 regional jets are being instructed to modify control yokes to prevent horizontal stabiliser trim switches being inadvertently wrongly installed. Brazil’s national civil aviation regulator, ANAC, has advised of “occurrences” in which the pitch-trim switches on the yokes have been fitted with poles inverted. This ...
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NewsLATAM voluntarily files for Chapter 11 protection
South American operator LATAM Airlines Group, along with some of its affiliates, is filing for US Chapter 11 creditor protection in order to undertake a restructuring process. The company says the voluntary filing, with the Southern District of New York bankruptcy court, has the support of key shareholders Cueto Group ...
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NewsEasyJet finance chief to step down next year
UK budget carrier EasyJet’s chief financial officer, Andrew Findlay, is stepping down from his position next year. Findlay has advised the board of his intention to leave the low-cost carrier in May 2021, in line with contractual obligations. He had survived a 22 May bid by EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou ...