Rolls-Royce ships first Trent 1000s
POWERPLANT Rolls-Royce last week shipped the first pair of Trent 1000 engines for the Boeing 787, in preparation for the new twinjet's roll-out scheduled for 8 July. The Trent 1000 is the lead 787 powerplant and offered in competition with General Electric's GEnx. Nine development engines are being used for ground testing, with a further 10 Trent 1000s scheduled to support the flight-test phase, which the manufacturer says will begin "shortly" using a 747 testbed. Derby-based R-R expects to begin delivering production-standard engines to Boeing in the first quarter of next year following certification by the end of 2007. Simulated altitude testing has been completed at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
Unidentified customers boost Boeing tally
ORDER A single unidentified customer has placed an order for 62 Boeing 737-900ERs, the manufacturer's online order database reveals. Orders for the 737s were first highlighted when Boeing confirmed it added 88 new aircraft orders in the week ended 29 May, including 62 737s and 11 777s attributed to unidentified customers. US Airways, which is poised to place an order for 60 narrowbodies, has not yet disclosed its decision the carrier has also reviewed a proposal from Airbus for A320 family aircraft. The same week Boeing also secured a 15-strong order for 787s with Russia's S7.
US investigators probe Citation Bravo crash
ACCIDENT Investigations are continuing into the fatal crash on 4 June of a Cessna Citation Bravo light business jet. The aircraft, carrying a six-member organ transplant team and a cargo of donor organs, crashed into Lake Michigan about 10km (5.4nm) north-east of Milwaukee shortly after the pilot signalled an emergency. The US Federal Aviation Administration says the Citation took off from General Mitchell International airport in Milwaukee at 16:00 local time and was bound for Willow Run airport near Detroit - a 42min flight. "Within 5min of its departure the pilot declared an emergency and requested a return to Mitchell, but at that time the plane was no longer on our radar screens," the US Federal Aviation Administration says. The aircraft was owned by Southfield, Michigan-based Toy Air.
Source: Flight International
