All Ops & safety articles – Page 36
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NewsA321XLR tank must ensure no serious fuel-fire risk in survivable accidents
Airbus’s rear centre tank for the A321XLR must be designed such that no fuel is released near the fuselage or engines in quantities sufficient to start a serious fire, in the event of a survivable crash, the European safety regulator has proposed. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency says current ...
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NewsTransair 737 ditching inquiry reveals pilots’ uncertainty over failed engine
Investigation details from the Transair Boeing 737-200 freighter ditching off Honolulu last year indicates uncertainty from the pilots over which of the aircraft’s engines had initially failed shortly after the jet took off. Flight-data recorder information released by the National Transportation Safety Board, released in a docket on 19 December, ...
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NewsUS spending bill set to include critical exemptions for Boeing Max 7 and Max 10
Boeing may be close to securing critical regulatory exemptions for its 737 Max 7 and 10 thanks to provisions slipped into a US government spending bill now working its way through Congress.
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NewsEASA outlines helicopter VRS study plan, as it awards research contract to ONERA and DGA
European regulators are hopeful that newly commissioned research into vortex ring state (VRS) will deliver a significant safety boost for helicopter operators, and potentially lead to change in certification and pilot training requirements.
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NewsAirbus and Qatari regulator set for crucial meeting over A350 grounding
Airbus and Qatar Airways are set to participate in a crucial meeting with civil aviation regulators next month, at a crucial session intended to explore issues relating to the controversial grounding of the carrier’s A350s. The meeting, scheduled for 11 January in Doha, is likely to be a focal point ...
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NewsAirbus convinces judge to split trial in Qatar A350 dispute
Airbus has secured a split trial in its legal clash with Qatar Airways over the skin-paint deterioration issue with the airline’s A350 fleet. The two sides met in court on 16 December for the latest case-management conference. Airbus had previously warned that the trial – set for June next year ...
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NewsVirgin 787 to carry out pioneering net-zero transatlantic flight
Virgin Atlantic is to conduct a transatlantic flight next year using a Boeing 787 powered solely by sustainable fuel, under a UK government-funded initiative. The aircraft will operate from London Heathrow to New York JFK, a service which the government is billing as the world’s first net-zero transatlantic flight. Virgin’s ...
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NewsWater leak that affected 787 electronics prompts FAA call for inspections
The US Federal Aviation Administration intends to require that airlines inspect Boeing 787s for water leaks after several such incidents, including one involving water leaking into a jet’s electronics bay.
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NewsFrench air traffic centres start rolling out 4D en route navigation system
French air traffic control centres have started introducing a new-generation air navigation system developed by Thales. Reims area centre, the first deployment site, inaugurated its system – known as 4-Flight – on 8 December, following implementation in mid-June. A second pilot centre, Marseilles, formally implemented 4-Flight on 6 December. French ...
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NewsUS FAA requires A321XLR fire resistance in vicinity of rear fuel tank
US regulators have laid out formal requirements for the Airbus A321XLR’s lower fuselage, in the vicinity of the rear centre fuel tank, to be resistant to fire penetration.
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NewsImproperly installed bypass valve port behind UPS 747-8F engine fire
Hong Kong investigators have identified an improperly-installed bypass valve port as the cause of a fuel leak that led to an engine fire on a UPS Boeing 747-8 Freighter.
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NewsWrongly-refitted trim switch left pilots fighting to keep E175’s nose down
US investigators have determined that an Embraer 175 pitch-trim switch, inadvertently fitted upside-down, resulted in the crew’s experienced a serious flight-control incident on departure from Atlanta. The captain had already flown the American Eagle jet from Detroit to New York LaGuardia earlier in the day, but the crew noted a ...
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NewsNTSB urges Bell 407 tail boom inspections amid concern about boom ‘separation’
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has urged US and Canadian aviation regulators to require Bell 407 operators to complete immediate inspections of those helicopters’ tail boom attachment components.
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In depthXwing seeks to build safety case for autonomous flight in trials with FAA
Autonomous aviation company Xwing is gearing up for a series of trials with US regulators that could represent a significant step forward for pilotless cargo operations.
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NewsGetJet granted air operator’s certificate in Latvia
Lithuanian wet-lease carrier GetJet has been granted an air operator’s certificate for a division based in neighbouring Latvia. GetJet Airlines Latvia obtained the AOC on 30 November from the Baltic state’s ministry of transport. Both operators will conduct flights using single-aisle Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 twinjets, with the Latvian ...
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NewsViva A320neo low-fuel emergency inquiry details rapidly-changing weather situation
Preliminary analysis by Colombian investigators has detailed how rapidly-changing weather conditions at diversion airports preceded the low-fuel emergency involving a Viva Air Airbus A320neo. The aircraft had departed Cali on 17 October, bound for Riohacha – a service expected to take 1h 46min – with 6,800kg of fuel on board. ...
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NewsString of fatal air tour crashes in Alaska prompts call for special FAA regulations
In response to a series of fatal aircraft crashes in Ketchikan, Alaska, US safety investigators are calling for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to create special rules to address flight safety hazards for air tour operators in the region.
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NewsMore oversight progress needed to lift Armenia blacklisting: Commission
European regulators believe Armenian authorities have made “limited progress” with improving safety oversight, but stress that more effort is needed to lift a blanket blacklisting of the country’s airlines. Newly-established carrier Fly Arna – a joint venture between Air Arabia and the Armenian National Interests Fund – commenced operations in ...
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NewsFAA faces heat for letting Republic and SkyWest dispatchers work remote
Some US lawmakers are scrutinising the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to let two regional airlines continue a Covid-19-era practice of allowing dispatchers to work remotely.
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NewsEU to check whether regulatory revision can lift Nepalese blacklisting
European regulators are to carry out an on-site assessment of Nepalese air safety in order to determine whether revised oversight structures are sufficient to lift the Asian state off the European Commission blacklist. All Nepalese operators have been blacklisted for nearly a decade, following a series of fatal commuter turboprop ...