All Ops & safety articles – Page 1159
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Crash pilot on manslaughter charge
The captain of an Ansett New Zealand Bombardier Dash 8, which crashed in June 1995, killing five people, is facing a manslaughter charge based partly on the use of cockpit voice recordings. The aircraft hit a ridge in poor weather on a non-precision approach to Palmerston North, New Zealand, ...
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Software fault caused Sea Launch failure
Sea Launch believes there is "strong evidence" suggesting that the failure of its third launch vehicle, resulting in the loss of the first ICO Global Communications satellite on 12 March, was due to a ground software logic error. The error seems to have resulted in the failure to command ...
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Freighter crash report criticises cargo safety
UK cargo operator Channel Express has been criticised for inadequate crew training and cargo loading supervision which led to a fatal crash on 12 January, 1999. The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch's (AAIB) report on the Fokker F27 freighter crash in Guernsey, Channel Islands, relates it to two similar ...
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NFTC expansion boosts Hawks
Bombardier's NATO Flight Training in Canada (NFTC) programme will add up to three BAE Systems Hawk 115 advanced and lead-in-fighter trainers (LIFT) to its fleet. The move is designed to keep pace with the increase in student pilot numbers as a result of Singapore joining the scheme and the expected ...
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Two begin battle to direct Latin American navigation
Guy Norris/SANTIAGO Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's new Synchronetics company have begun what promises to be a fiercely competitive battle to provide Latin America with satellite-based en route navigation and precision approach capabilities (Flight International, 28 March-3 April). Both companies stress the low-cost appeal of the solution to the airlines, ...
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Karat expands fleet as it aims for bigger network and longer range
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW Western Russian regional carrier Karat Airlines is expanding its fleet and network. The Moscow Vnukovo-based airline recently added seven aircraft to its fleet of six Yakovlev Yak-42s and one Antonov An-24 - two Tupolev Tu-134s, a Tu-154, two Yakovlev Yak-40s and two An-24s. The Tupolevs will ...
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M-309 launch marks composite first
Guy Norris/MOJAVE An all-composite, six- seat twin developed in secret by Colorado-based Adam Aircraft Industries and Scaled Composites, was unveiled on 5 April at the Californian manufacturer's Mojave site. The aircraft represents a breakthrough in manufacturing techniques, according to Scaled Composites president Bert Rutan. Incorporating several design and manufacturing ...
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Simulator lease
BAE Systems has signed a memorandum to lease a A320 full-flight simulator to Flight Training Systems Chile, a joint venture between Lufthansa Flight Training and LanChile Airlines. The simulator is due for delivery next April and will join a 737-200 device at the centre. Source: Flight International
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NTSB looks to Europe
Runway incursion incidents and collisions happen less often in Europe than in the USA, US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Jim Hall has told the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee. Source: Flight International
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Delta signs massive CRJ deal
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Delta Air Lines has signed a $10 billion, 500-aircraft, regional jet deal with Bombardier which will provide Delta Connection carriers with 40-, 44- and 50-seat versions of the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 200, and 70-seat CRJ700s. The yet-to-be launched 90-seat CRJ900 is not included. Delta ...
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Students crash in new JAA exams
David Learmount/LONDON Failure is rife among European student pilots taking the new Joint Aviation Authorities written examinations for their commercial pilot licences. A European pilot training school says it normally expects 75-78% of its students to pass all the exams first time, but fewer than 50% have succeeded, even ...
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'Classic' winglet flight tests set
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) is to start flight tests of a winglet-equipped Boeing 747-200F in mid-May and flight tests of a similarly equipped 737-200 by July. The joint venture aims to offer blended winglets for retrofits to "Classic" 737 and 747 fleets. The leased 747 will be ...
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Overload 'caused Mars failures'
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Flaws in NASA's "faster, better, cheaper" approach overloaded programme management at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and contributed directly to the failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander, says the report by the Mars programme independent assessment team (MPIAT). The US space agency ...
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FAA looks at LAAS to replace Cat I WAAS
US Federal Aviation Administration officials are considering whether alternatives such as the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) would be a better and cheaper way of achieving Category I approach capability than the troubled Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). WAAS acceptance testing was halted in January because of excessive false ...
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Europe proceeds with hushkit ban
Julian Moxon/PARIS The European Union (EU) is on a collision course with the USA over noise regulations after the European Parliament voted on 30 March for a proposed ban to go ahead on limiting the operation of hushkitted aircraft. Last-minute talks between senior European and US officials failed to ...
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Bombardier aims to retain diversity in business boom
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCBombardier is looking to shore up its non-aviation businesses in an effort to remain diversified in the face of the continued growth of its aerospace sector. Aerospace accounted for almost 60% of the Canadian company's revenues of C$13.6 billion ($9.3 billion) for the year ended 31 January, up ...
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El Al faces bleak future as plans to privatise slip down Israel's agenda
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIVIsrael has effectively suspended preparation for the privatisation of El Al, causing the flag carrier's president Joel Feldschu to warn that its entire future may be under threat. Feldschu says that while it remains under state control, El Al - which is banned from flying on the Jewish ...
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Aeroflot and Volga-Dnepr plot new courses
Alexander Velovich and Paul Duffy/MOSCOW Aeroflot Russian International Airlines has launched a new corporate strategy with the introduction of its summer timetable. It incorporates the results of a 600-page report produced after a four-month study by US analysts McKinsey. The Russian carrier's new timetable features 450 scheduled weekly flights ...
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UPS primes 90 aircraft for ADS-B implementation
Guy Norris/SALEM United Parcel Service (UPS) Airlines aims to have 90 aircraft provisioned for automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) by the end of 2000. It plans to equip all its 230 aircraft with operational systems by the end of 2002 - the deadline for installing collision avoidance systems in US heavy ...
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Boeing to detail 717X options
Boeing plans to meet airlines and "partners" in Rome next week to present options for potential future 717X regional jet derivatives as the market continues to push for smaller, rather than larger, family members. Although doubtful of achieving sufficiently low operating costs with the smaller derivatives, Boeing says it ...