All Ops & safety articles – Page 1219
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News
Airline chiefs to be told likely causes of next accident
David Learmount/LONDON The UK's airline bosses are to be told by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) what is the most likely cause of their companies' next fatal accident. The unprecedented safety warning - to come at a meeting scheduled for 19 March - is aimed at ensuring the airlines ...
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Lufthansa eyes new 767 options
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Lufthansa is studying a possible new version of the Boeing 767 being evaluated as a potential spin-off development of the new -400 entering production. The German flag carrier could be interested in a longer-range version of the 767-300ER and an extended-range variant of the -400ER, which ...
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737 wiring checks
Compulsory inspections for chafed fuel float switch wiring in the centre fuel tank of US-registered Boeing 737-100s through to -500s have been ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA says that wire chafing caused by vibration could provide an ignition source inside the fuel tank. Source: Flight ...
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FAA rules out 737 rudder malfunction crash link
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Recent Boeing 737 rudder malfunctions are not being linked to rudder control unit failures suspected of causing fatal 737 crashes in 1991 and 1994, senior US Federal Aviation Administration officials say (Flight International, 3-9 March, P13). Preliminary rulings refer to a MetroJet Boeing 737-200 incident on ...
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Y2K live test set for US airspace systems
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The first live test of changes made to the US national airspace system to overcome year 2000 (Y2K) computer problems has been scheduled for the early hours of 10 April, centred on Denver, Colorado. The Federal Aviation Administration says it is on course to complete ...
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On the offensive
Guy Norris/LONG BEACH Boeing's campaign to secure the future of the 717 is going into overdrive Boeing's efforts to establish the 717-200 in the marketplace were boosted on 24 February with the first flight of the premier production example, P-1, at its Long Beach division in California. Even ...
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Marketplace
· FedEx has revised its wet-lease contract with Atlas Air covering the lease of two Boeing 747-400 freighters and one -200F. This has resulted in the latter being returned to Atlas and it is now placed with Ladeco. · Mesa Air Group has sold 16 of its ...
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Martian gliders
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA hopes to deploy a fleet of small gliders to explore parts of Mars that other spacecraft cannot reachSwooping through Mars' own grand canyon, the Valles Marineris, would be the ultimate hang-gliding trip. The first aircraft to make that tantalising journey could be the $40 million Mars ...
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South Pacific Forum pushes for unified flight information region
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The 16-nation South Pacific Forum is working on a concept study aimed at establishing a single flight information region (FIR) - and hopes to present a final report to aviation ministers in June. The decision to complete the study was taken at a meeting of member ...
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SAA chief receives death threat following corruption clean-up
Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN Dave Birch/LONDON Efforts by South African Airways' recently appointed chief executive Coleman Andrews to wipe out corruption in the airline could lead to a violent backlash. Meanwhile, SAA has dismissed concerns that corruption within its maintenance division is affecting safety. Andrews and his cargo manager ...
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News in Brief
Allied A340 deal AlliedSignal's 331-600 auxiliary power unit (APU) has been selected by Airbus for the A340-500 and -600 growth versions in a deal worth more than $1 billion over the expected life of the programme. The new APU is based on the 331-500 developed for the Boeing 777 ...
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Strike prompts Finns to eye private ATC
The Finnish Government is looking to privatise its air traffic control (ATC) system in response to a five-week strike that has crippled the service. Finland is examining other privatised - or corporatised - ATC systems. It may subcontract some services as an interim measure. Senior managers have been ...
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Alleged rule bending stymies BA plans to start Italian airline
Chris Jasper/LONDON Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Secret British Airways plans to establish a franchised airline in Italy have been hit by allegations that Australian regional carrier National Jet Systems (NJS), which had aimed to launch the service, has been trying to circumvent European regulations to gain an air operators certificate ...
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Rotary's Roton test vehicle aims for orbital flights late next year
Guy Norris/MOJAVE Rotary Rocket plans to begin test flights of the Roton atmospheric test vehicle (ATV) by the end of next month, with first orbital flights scheduled for the final quarter of 2000. Details of the test schedule were revealed at the roll-out of the Roton ATV from the ...
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USA votes against Concorde in hushkit conflict
The US House of Representatives has voted to ban Aerospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde operations into the USA. The decision is a reaction against European Union (EU) plans to restrict hushkitted aircraft in Western Europe. The USA is concerned that the EU's action would harm the exclusively US hushkit industry by ...
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Pilot error still main cause of US accidents
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Judgement failures by pilots remain the leading cause of US general aviation (GA) accidents, says the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation (ASF). A just-completed examination of US accidents in 1997 involving fixed-wing GA aircraft under 5,670kg (12,500lb) gross weight shows that 74% ...
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Iberia examines 747 replacements
Max Kingsley-Jones/MADRID Iberia is finalising the last element of its fleet renewal programme to enable it to begin phasing out its Boeing 747-200s in three-four years' time. Last year, the Spanish flag carrier signed deals with Airbus Industrie covering orders for up to 76 Airbus A320 family aircraft ...
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PW4000 operators face surge inspection
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Operators of more than 560 Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered Airbus A300/ A310s, Boeing 747s, 767s and MD-11s are starting inspections for potential surge problems. The problems are restricted only to 2.37m (94in)-diameter fan versions of the PW4000. The move follows a suspected double surge event ...
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Boeing delays 767-400ERX service entry to 2003
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing is pushing back the projected entry into service date of the 767-400ERX to 2003, as American Airlines' interest in the proposed extended range development cools in the face of softening traffic and yields. Initial delivery of the 767-400ERX had tentatively been targeted for March ...
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IATA outlines Y2K plans
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE David Learmount/LONDON Fear of year 2000 (Y2K) "bugs" in air traffic services (ATS) computers is almost certain to cause flight delays and cancellations to varying degrees, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has calculated. Plans revealed for Asia-Pacific assume the need to reduce the capacity of ...