All Ops & safety articles – Page 39
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NewsUK airport operational issues are ‘primarily for industry to solve’: transport secretary
UK transport secretary Grant Shapps has unveiled a strategy aimed at tackling the operational problems at the country’s airports, but is resisting pressure to bring in European Union workers to fill staffing gaps. Shapps detailed a 22-point plan on 30 June, aimed at supporting recruitment, delivery of “realistic” schedules, and ...
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NewsAfrican airspace set to benefit from European satellite augmentation system
Vast regions of Africa and the Indian Ocean are set to benefit from satellite-based landing technology after the European Space Agency reached agreement with African air navigation service Asecna to deploy augmentation systems covering an area of 16.5 million km². Initial operational capabilities for the project – based on the ...
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NewsEurocontrol lays out spectrum-efficiency strategies in wake of ‘5G’ concerns
Pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol has outlined three strategies to improve efficient use of electromagnetic spectrum as it ponders whether increasing spectrum demand from the mobile connectivity sector could affect aviation safety. Eurocontrol has examined the situation following the conflict caused in the USA by roll-out of ‘5G’ technology, potential ...
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NewsAssistance snag preceded reduced-mobility passenger's fall from A350 stairs
Lack of capacity on a special-assistance vehicle during disembarkation preceded a reduced-mobility passenger’s fall from the staircase attached to an Air France Airbus A350-900 at Paris Charles de Gaulle, investigators have determined. The passenger was hospitalised with a broken arm and head injury after falling from the stairs on 29 ...
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NewsNo evidence Croatia Dash 8 damage caused by gunfire
Bosnian investigators have concluded that damage discovered on a Croatia Airlines De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, following a service to Sarajevo, was not caused by weapons fire. The aircraft, arriving from Zagreb on 22 June, sustained damage to its fuselage which the Bosnia and Herzegovina prosecutor’s office initially said “might ...
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NewsUS ICAO ambassador Sullenberger to leave post after less than six months: reports
Chesley Sullenberger, the US ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), will leave his post on 1 July, less than six months after he took on the role, several media report.
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NewsCommittee urges FAA to improve safety risk assessments
A US safety committee has recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration improve its process for evaluating safety risks associated with in-service aircraft types.
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NewsAirbus ‘hydrogen airport’ pact with Linde also features power-to-liquid analysis
Airbus is aiming to further its exploration of hydrogen infrastructure at airports through a co-operation agreement with energy and engineering firm Linde. The two sides will define and launch pilot projects at a number of airports from early next year, under a memorandum of understanding disclosed during the ILA air ...
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NewsDominican Red Air MD-80 crashes at Miami International airport
A McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 belonging to Dominican Republic carrier Red Air crashed when making an emergency landing at Miami International airport on 21 June.
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NewsCrew of 777 aborted take-off at high speed after seeing E190 stopping on runway
Canadian investigators have determined that a Boeing 777-300ER crew rejected take-off at high speed after seeing that a preceding aircraft, an Embraer 190, was still on the runway after conducting its own high-speed abort. False information about the air-ground status of both aircraft, each operated by Air Canada, along with ...
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NewsEasyJet consolidates flights to claw back operational reliability
UK budget carrier EasyJet is consolidating flights from various airports, cutting departures in order to counter operational problems caused by staffing and supply-chain issues during post-pandemic ramp-up. It says the industry is suffering personnel shortages, longer aircraft turnaround times, knock-on delays and cancellations. “A very tight labour market for the ...
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NewsSharp roll on rotation startled American A321 wing-strike crew
Use of the rudder is a focus for investigators probing the sharp roll on lift-off by an American Airlines Airbus A321 departing New York JFK, an incident which resulted in the aircraft’s striking a runway distance marker, and the ground, sustaining damage to its left wing-tip and leading edge. Flight-data ...
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NewsJolt from runway patch upset BA A319’s inertial reference system
UK investigators believe an uneven surface repair at Edinburgh airport caused jolting shock to the nose-gear of a departing British Airways Airbus A319, which subsequently suffered inertial reference system drift during its domestic flight to London Heathrow. The irregularity on runway 06 induced a sudden vertical load into the nose-gear, ...
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NewsParis airports operator enters joint venture to offer hydrogen transformation services
Paris airports operator Groupe ADP is to tie up with energy technology firm Air Liquide in a joint venture to support development of hydrogen infrastructure for air transport. The venture – which will be equally-owned by both companies – will provide airports in France and elsewhere with the engineering and ...
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NewsSwiss operations resume after crippling air traffic control failure
Operations within Switzerland have started to resume after the airspace was forced to close, following a technical problem which affected the country’s air navigation service provider Skyguide. Skyguide had stated that it suffered a “technical malfunction” during the early hours of 15 June and the airspace was closed for safety ...
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NewsAirbridge punctured E190 after tractor incident prompted re-attachment
Operators of an airbridge punctured the fuselage of an Embraer 190 at Copenhagen, ironically after re-attaching it to allow the crew to check there had been no damage from a pushback tractor encounter. The aircraft, operated by Finnair’s Nordic Regional Airlines, had arrived on stand A11 on 7 February this ...
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NewsChipmunk badly damaged in Danish formation-flight collision
Investigators have disclosed that the pilots of two De Havilland Chipmunks escaped injury after the aircraft – part of a formation flight – collided over Denmark. The Chipmunks were among four aircraft taking part in a formation training flight, in daylight and visual weather conditions, on 14 May. They had ...
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NewsWheel drops off departing Bangladeshi ATR 42 freighter
Investigators are examining the reasons for a wheel detachment from an ATR 42-300 freighter as it departed from Chittagong in Bangladesh. The aircraft involved was operated by local carrier Nxt Air under the Hello Air brand. It was conducting a domestic ferry flight from Chittagong’s Shah Amanat airport to Cox’s ...
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NewsWizz Air safety row with unions re-ignites after Varadi ‘fatigue’ remarks
Budget carrier Wizz Air is insisting that is not jeopardising safety, in response to a video recording of chief executive Jozsef Varadi apparently urging personnel to reduce disruption arising from calling in fatigued. While the European Cockpit Association, which has obtained the video recording, is claiming that Varadi was effectively ...
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NewsToronto airport using time-based approach sequencing to cut headwind delays
Toronto airport has become the first in North America to introduce a system intended to optimise spacing of aircraft on approach, based on time intervals, accounting for several factors including weather conditions. Air navigation service Nav Canada transitioned to the ‘Intelligent Approach’ system – initially introduced at London Heathrow – ...