All Ops & safety articles – Page 66
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NewsHydraulics and locks scrutinised after 757 freight door opens during climb
German investigators are exploring two scenarios after a DHL Air Boeing 757-200 converted freighter’s main cargo door opened in flight, some 3min after take-off from Leipzig. Three occupants – the captain, first officer and a non-company jump-seat pilot – were on board the UK-registered aircraft (G-DHKZ) which was bound for ...
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NewsICAO to pursue fact-finding probe into Ryanair diversion over Belarus
ICAO’s Council is to carry out a fact-finding investigation into the diversion of a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 over Belarus, to understand whether any member state broke international aviation law. The Council, a governing body which comprises 36 member states, convened for an urgent session on 27 May, four days after ...
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NewsEASA advises carriers to avoid Belarusian airspace after Ryanair incident
Carriers are being advised by Europe’s air transport regulator to avoid operating through Belarusian airspace unless necessary for safety reasons. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has put forward the recommendation in an information bulletin, but stopped short of issuing a formal safety directive. Its decision follows the Belarusian authorities’ ...
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NewsAir traffic exchange shows Ryanair crew not ‘coerced’ into diversion: ministry
Belarus’s ministry of transport has detailed the circumstances of the Ryanair Boeing 737-800 diversion to Minsk, releasing a transcript of the air traffic control exchange, in a bid to demonstrate that the crew was not pressured into its decision to land at the airport. The ministry’s aviation division insists that ...
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NewsEuropean Council seeks Belarusian airline ban and economic sanctions
Members of the European Council have called on all European Union-based carriers to avoid overflights of Belarus in response to the forced diversion of a Ryanair Boeing 737 to Minsk. It is also seeking further “targeted” economic sanctions and relevant measures against persons and entities “as soon as possible”. The ...
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NewsBelarus diversion incident could ‘upend’ responses to security threats: pilots
Cockpit crew representatives are concerned that the forced Ryanair Boeing 737-800 diversion to Minsk has the potential to overturn the foundations on which responses to interception and security threats are based. International pilot federation IFALPA and the European Cockpit Association have jointly described the 23 May event – during which ...
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NewsLithuania seeks Belarus airspace closure as EASA advises airlines to consider risks
Europe’s safety regulator is ensuring airlines are aware of the Ryanair diversion to Minsk, in order that carriers can make appropriate operational risk assessments, as Lithuania’s government seeks a closure of Belarusian airspace. The Ryanair Boeing 737-800, bound for Vilnius, was forced to divert on 23 May over a perceived ...
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NewsBelarus diversion echoes prior Ukrainian incident involving Belavia 737
Ryanair’s incident involving the apparent forced diversion of a Boeing 737-800 to Minsk strongly parallels an event five years ago involving a Minsk-bound service operated by Belarusian flag-carrier Belavia. The Belavia aircraft, also a 737-800, had departed Kiev’s downtown Zhulhany airport for Minsk on 21 October 2016 with 142 occupants. ...
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NewsPolitical leaders outraged as Belarus ‘forces’ Ryanair 737 diversion to Minsk
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has described as “utterly unacceptable” an incident in which a Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk, apparently to enable Belarusian authorities to detain a political activist. The Boeing 737-800 – registered SP-RSM, from Ryanair’s Polish division Buzz – was operating flight ...
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NewsWestJet 737 overrun crew did not anticipate tailwind from runway change
Canadian investigators believe a WestJet Boeing 737-800 overran at Halifax after its crew failed to realise that a landing runway change would result in a tailwind, rather than a crosswind, during the approach. The tailwind component exceeded the operator’s limit of 10kt and required a lower approach speed, says Transportation ...
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In depthCirrus warned not to overshoot turn before Colorado collision
Investigators probing the mid-air collision involving a Fairchild Metroliner and a Cirrus SR22 over Colorado are trying to establish why the Cirrus apparently overshot its final approach path after each aircraft was cleared to land on separate – but closely-spaced – parallel runways. Separate tower controllers at Centennial airport appear ...
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NewsFAA dishing out hefty fines to combat surge in ‘unruly’ air passengers
The Federal Administration has been dishing out more and higher fines in recent weeks to combat a surge disturbances caused by “unruly” passengers, including incidents involving violence against flight crew.
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NewsAir Astana to shift some jets to Irish register under new regulatory pact
Some of the aircraft operated by Kazakh carrier Air Astana are set to be transferred to the Irish registry under a new regulatory services agreement between the two countries. Under ICAO standards such a formal arrangement enables aircraft operated in one country to be registered in another. The agreement between ...
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NewsCrosswind limit breach cited in Yak-40 excursion at St Petersburg
Russian investigators believe a serious runway excursion incident involving Yakovlev Yak-40 at St Petersburg resulted from a breach of crosswind limitations during landing. The Vologda Aviation Enterprise trijet had been arriving from Vologda on 9 April and touched down on Pulkovo airport’s runway 10R. Rain and crosswinds from the right ...
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NewsCooking oil-powered A350 flight flags French sustainability efforts
Air France has carried out an Airbus A350-900 service to Montreal powered by a biofuel sourced from waste cooking oil, part of a combined effort to produce sustainable aviation fuel in France. The fuel was created by project participant Total, without using virgin plant-based oil, at its La Mede biorefinery ...
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NewsSriwijaya 737-500 crash probe spurs order to check autothrottle computers
Investigations into the fatal Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 accident earlier this year have spurred an order to operators of older 737 variants to conduct autothrottle checks aimed at detecting possible flap synchronisation component failure. But the US FAA is stressing that latent failure of the synchronisation wire is “highly unlikely” ...
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NewsTwin ATR cabin fume events traced to corroded bleed air valves
Pratt & Whitney Canada has introduced an enhanced inspection regime for PW127 engines following a pair of cabin fume events when ATR twin-turboprops were brought back into service following storage.
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NewsHard landings within limits do not count as accidents: court ruling
European judges have ruled that a hard landing within permissible aircraft limits does not fall within the definition of ‘accident’, after a passenger lodged an injury claim following a firm touchdown in Switzerland. Austria’s supreme court had sought a preliminary verdict as to whether a hard landing, made within the ...
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NewsCDC relaxes mask mandate; face coverings still required for travel
While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted most mask-wearing requirements for vaccinated people in the USA, it stressed that wearing a face covering while travelling is still mandatory.
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NewsFAA approves Boeing fix for grounded 737 Max electrical issue
Boeing’s fix for the electrical issue that grounded 106 in-service 737 Max and paused delivery of new aircraft has been approved by the FAA.