All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 209
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NewsEASA considers alternatives to US order on 727 fuel tanks
European regulators are looking into alternative measures to mitigate an apparent safety risk relating to Boeing 727 auxiliary fuel tanks, after opting not to adopt a US FAA directive on the matter. The directive, to which Boeing had objected, argues that the fuel-quantity indicating system presents a potential electrical ignition ...
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NewsTrent-powered A380s to be checked for rotor shaft cracks
Operators of Rolls-Royce-powered Airbus A380s are set to be ordered to inspect the type’s engines for cracking of spacers between intermediate-pressure compressor discs. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency says examination of a Trent 900 rotor shaft revealed a crack in an interstage spacer between the stage two and stage ...
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NewsSouth African CAA calibration aircraft involved in accident near George
South Africa’s civil aviation regulator is investigating an accident involving its flight inspection and calibration aircraft, which occurred shortly after it took off from George airport. The South African Civil Aviation Authority says the aircraft went missing shortly after departing the airport, on the south coast, at 10:40 on 23 ...
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News737 Max engine software revised to address icing thrust loss
Boeing 737 Max operators are to be instructed to update engine-control software to address a loss of thrust issue, attributed to icing, on the type’s CFM International Leap-1B powerplants. At least two occurrences have been investigated which Leap-1Bs suffered temporary loss of thrust control as a result of icing in ...
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NewsSAA should be retained and restructured: ruling party
South Africa’s ruling political party insists that embattled South African Airways should be restructured and retained as the country’s flag-carrier. The African National Congress made the declaration following strategy meetings of its national executive council over 17-20 January. It states that SAA should be “retained as a national airline” but ...
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NewsFuel indicator flaw led to A319’s single-engine landing
French investigators have disclosed that an Air France Airbus A319 was forced to make a single-engine landing at Paris Charles de Gaulle after an undetected indicator fault resulted in partial fuel exhaustion. Investigation authority BEA – which analysed the 12 March 2014 event – says pilots operating a series of ...
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NewsBritish Airways checks newest A350-1000 after Tel Aviv hard landing
British Airways is expecting to put a four-week old Airbus A350-1000 back into service on 23 January, after precautionary checks following a hard landing at Tel Aviv. The aircraft (G-XWBD) had registered the abnormal landing as the aircraft touched down on runway 12 at about 05:30 on 20 January, following ...
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NewsBek Air defends operations after regulator’s safety accusations
Grounded Kazakh operator Bek Air is continuing to defend its operations and practices after being slated by the country’s regulator in the aftermath of the fatal Fokker 100 accident at Almaty. Bek Air is accusing Kazakhstan’s aviation administration of proving “strained and biased” remarks about the airline’s procedures and safety ...
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NewsDutch reject notion of US pressure during Turkish 737 crash probe
Investigators from the Netherlands have defended their inquiry into a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash near Amsterdam, after suggestions that the final report into the accident was watered-down in response to US remarks. The Dutch Safety Board, in its response, has published in full a human-factors analysis which contributed to ...
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NewsTwo anti-aircraft missiles fired from north towards UIA 737: inquiry
Iranian investigators have disclosed that two missiles from a Tor-M1 anti-aircraft system were fired before the loss of a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shortly after departure from Tehran. The Civil Aviation Organisation states that secondary radar contact with flight PS752 was initially lost at 06:15, about 3min after take-off, ...
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NewsAirbus to build first A321neo line at Toulouse in place of A380 facility
Airbus is to increase its A321 production capability, by converting its A380 facilities in Toulouse in order to accommodate a digitally-enabled A321 final assembly line. It will introduce A321 production to Toulouse for the first time – Airbus’s largest single-aisle variant is currently built in Hamburg Finkenwerder and Mobile. The ...
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NewsAdministration justifies Bek Air grounding with damning catalogue of flaws
Kazakhstan’s civil aviation administration has revealed a damning list of flaws in Bek Air’s flight operations and maintenance processes, to justify the carrier’s grounding. One of Bek Air’s Fokker 100s crashed on take-off from Almaty on 27 December, resulting in the enforced suspension of the airline’s operation – a measure ...
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NewsStruggling SAA insists flight operations are continuing
South African Airways is maintaining operations for the time being, despite apparent increasing uncertainty over the ailing flag-carrier’s financing. The airline says it is “aware” of local media reports suggesting the airline is on the verge of ceasing operations. But it insists that flights to all destinations “continue as normal”. ...
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NewsWestJet Q400 damaged by sharp de-rotation at Edmonton
Investigators have determined that a WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 suffered damage at Edmonton after de-rotating sharply during a high-speed landing. The Q400 – arriving from Fort McMurray on 19 July last year – had been approaching Edmonton’s runway 12 with storms in the vicinity of the airport. Its captain opted ...
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NewsBek Air appeals against suspension as IATA code withdrawn
IATA has recalled the designator code for Kazakh carrier Bek Air, three weeks after a fatal take-off accident led to an enforced suspension of the carrier’s operations. Bek Air has filed an appeal against the suspension, claiming that the decision is illegal. The airline had been operating under the ‘Z9’ ...
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NewsAir Algerie 737 lost altitude during Orly go-around
French investigators have disclosed that they are probing a substantial loss of altitude by an Air Algerie Boeing 737-800 during a go-around at Paris Orly last month. The aircraft, arriving from Tlemcen in north-western Algeria on 6 December, had been established on the localiser of runway 25. French investigation authority ...
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NewsProbe opens into S7 A321neo start-up engine fire
Russian investigators are probing an engine fire involving an Airbus A321neo which occurred as the aircraft was preparing to depart Novosibirsk. The twinjet – fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G powerplants – had been operating the S75783 service to the Vietnamese resort of Cam Ranh at about 01:30 on 18 ...
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NewsFAA broadens emergency order in wake of 777 engine failure
Operators of Boeing 777-300ERs are being ordered urgently to remove another batch of interstage seals from General Electric GE90 engines, following an uncontained failure last October. The failure involved a Thai Airways International 777-300ER which had been preparing to depart Bangkok for Zurich. While the US FAA has already issued ...
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NewsPutin orders proposals for new far-east Russian airline
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered a study into the potential for establishing a new airline for transport in the eastern regions of the country, particularly to remote areas. Putin has instructed prime minister Dmitry Medvedev to submit proposals for setting up an operator which would use Russian-built aircraft types, ...
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NewsAir Greenland opts for A330-800 to modernise fleet
Air Greenland has tentatively agreed to take a single Airbus A330-800 to replace the carrier’s ageing A330-200. The 305-seat aircraft – currently the subject of a memorandum of understanding, according to Airbus – is set to be delivered in 2021. It will mark a powerplant switch for the airline, because ...