All Ops & safety articles – Page 1332
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Tupolev prepares Tu-144LL for next round of flight testing
THE TUPOLEV Tu-144LL supersonic flying laboratory is being prepared for the next portion of its flight-test programme, now that an initial series of eight flights, three of them supersonic, has been completed. The tests are part of a joint US-Russian programme being undertaken from Zhukovsky, near Moscow. In ...
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An-24 'engine failure' kills 44 in Cuba
Engine-failure during take-off is the most likely cause of t he 11 July crash of a Cubana Cuban Airlines Antonov An-24, in which all 39 passengers and five crew are believed to have died, says the Cuban aviation authority. The aircraft crashed into the sea, at night in ...
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Sempati F27 crashes in Java
An Indonesian Fokker F27-600 turboprop (PK-YPM) on wet-lease to Sempati Air Transport has crashed in Java. A daylight emergency landing was being attempted about 10min after take-off from Bandung Airport, after a reported engine problem. According to Sempati, the 27-year-old aircraft crashed on 17 July 200m (655ft) short ...
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Europe's JAA places Trent-powered A330 on ETOPS trial
The Airbus A330-300, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 700s, will have to have several months of reliability exhibited before the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) restores 180min extended-range twin-engined operations (ETOPS) clearance for the aircraft. The Trent-powered variant became the last of the three A330ss to be cleared by ...
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Operators shrug off FAA's 727 payload restrictions
OPERATORS ARE playing down the impact of payload restrictions to be imposed on Boeing 727 freighter conversions under four airworthiness directives (ADs) proposed on 14 July. The ADs, which cover over 300 727s converted from passenger to freighter configuration by third-party modification companies, will require operators to fit strengthened floor ...
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FAA accelerates 747 fuse-pin inspections
The US Federal Aviation Administration has re-issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) reducing the time allowed for replacing the engine/ pylon fuse pins on General Electric- and Pratt & Whitney- powered Boeing 747s. The action follows the discovery of a fractured forward fuse pin on an unidentified aircraft. ...
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DC-8 training faulted
Flight-simulator fidelity in reproducing aircraft stall characteristics may have to be improved, if the US Federal Aviation Administration accepts National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations emerging from its investigation of December 1996 fatal crash on an Airborne Express McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63 in Virginia. The aircraft crashed when the ...
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MD-95 landing gear is joined to structure
The first McDonnell Douglas MD-95 T-1 test aircraft's primary structure rests on its landing gear for the first time at Douglas Aircraft's plant in Long Beach, California. Israel Aircraft Industries built the gear for the aircraft, which is due to be completed by the end of this year, with the ...
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FAA approves use of PC-based training after push by AOPA
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC AN ADVISORYCIRCULAR (AC) approving the use of personal-computer-based aviation training devices (PC-ATDs) has been issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, and is expected to simulate development of equipment costing substantially less than general-aviation flight-training devices now available. The US National Air Transportation ...
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War in the air
IT IS A TRUTH THAT the people who start wars are very rarely the people who end up winning them. That should be remembered by the European Union (EU) politicians and officials who seem determined to start a trade war with the USA over the proposed merger of Boeing and ...
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US AOPA unveils upgraded Arrow
A 1978 PIPER Arrow piston single, reconditioned by the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) as a showcase for avionics and other upgrades, will be displayed at the US Experimental Aircraft Association's Oshkosh, Wisconsin, fly-in, beginning on 28 July. The "Ultimate Arrow" has an Arnav Systems MFD ...
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Pegasus is on track for Saudi Arabian debut
Flight tests of Honeywell's Pegasus advanced flight- management system (FMS) on a McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-90 are "-progressing well and are on schedule" for first delivery to Saudi Arabian Airlines in November, says Honeywell. US Federal Aviation Administration certification of the FMS is expected in October, representing the ...
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US schools near trainer choices
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC TWO MAJOR US universities are in the final stages of selecting manufacturers to replace their fleets of training aircraft. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University wants to replace the 103 aircraft at its Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, campuses over five years, while the University of North ...
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Collision conclusion
The mid-air collision near Delhi, India, on 12 November, 1996, which killed 349 people, happened because the Chimkentavia Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 freighter was 1,000ft (300m) lower than its cleared altitude, according to Indian press reports leaked from the final accident investigation report. The Il-76 collided with an outbound Saudi Arabian ...
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NASA plans mission to investigate Sun's corona
A spacecraft could fly within 2.72 million kilometres (1.7 million miles) of the Sun in July 2007 as part of a series of new interplanetary space missions being studied by NASA. The Solar Probe, protected against high temperatures by a large umbrella-like heatshield, would be used to explore ...
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FAA orders flight data-recorder upgrades
COMMERCIAL passenger aircraft being operated in the USA must be retrofitted with enhanced flight-data recorders (FDRs) within four years, according to a new ruling from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA rule change, which was finalised this month, was urged by the US National Transportation Safety Board ...
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Engine failure marks the end for Orient
Orient Avia, the independent Russian airline, has ceased operations following an engine failure on its last serviceable Ilyushin Il-62 on 10 July. The airline primarily operated services from Moscow to Vladivostok and Petroparlovsk in Kamchatka. At its peak, Orient operated three Il-62s, an Ilyushin Il-86 and a Tupolev ...
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TAM Fokker 100 survives blast
An explosion in the cabin is believed to have caused this breach in the fuselage of TAM Airlines Fokker100 PT-MRK on 9 July. The aircraft was on a regional flight from Sao Jose dos Campos to Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 60 people on board. One passenger is known to have ...
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AI(R) closes in on agreement for Chinese ATR 72 assembly
Paul Lewis/BANGKOK Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) is aiming to finalise a comprehensive joint-venture agreement with Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) within eight months, covering not just local assembly of the ATR 72 turboprop, but also marketing and after-sales support for the aircraft. The European consortium plans ...
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FAA wants restrictions on 727 conversions
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC RULEMAKING which could severely restrict the payloads of Boeing 727 freighter conversions was expected to be proposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration on 15 July. The much-awaited notice of proposed rulemaking, according to sources, will outline a series of airworthiness directives (ADs) ...