All Ops & safety articles – Page 66
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NewsFAA issues emergency airworthiness directive for PW4000
The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring US operators to immediately conduct thermal-imaging inspections of fan blades on certain Pratt & Whitney engines after the recent PW4077 failure on a United Airlines flight.
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NewsNTSB says United engine failure caused by metal fatigue
After a preliminary onsite exam, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the engine failure on a United Airlines aircraft on 20 February was likely caused by metal fatigue.
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NewsUK bans operations with PW4000-powered 777s
UK regulators have imposed a ban on operating Boeing 777s fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 engines until protective action is carried out, following the powerplant failure on a United Airlines 777-200 over Denver. The UK Civil Aviation Authority says it is taking the “precautionary measure” until “appropriate safeguards” are ...
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NewsUrgent checks ordered on Bell 505 collectives after pre-flight fracture
Operators of Bell 505 helicopters are being ordered urgently to inspect collective sticks on the type for cracks, after an incident in which the assembly fractured on an aircraft during pre-flight checks. Collective sticks are mounted to the left of each pilot’s seat and control the pitch of the helicopter’s ...
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NewsDutch probe shedding of 747 freighter engine parts over Maastricht
Dutch investigators have opened an initial probe into an incident in which a Boeing 747-400 freighter apparently shed engine parts after departure from Maastricht. The aircraft had “engine problems” and lost several metal parts after it took off from Maastricht-Aachen airport on 20 February, before diverting to Liege, says the ...
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NewsUnited 777 suffers engine failure over Denver
A United Airlines Boeing 777-200 suffered an engine failure just minutes after taking off, strewing debris across a Denver neighbourhood.
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NewsUS airlines throw support behind voluntary Covid-19 contact tracing
US airlines are joining together to support a comprehensive contact-tracing programme to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
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NewsA320 veered off runway as late hydraulic failure 'surprised' pilots
Pilots of an Airbus A320 were caught out by a hydraulic failure as the aircraft landed at Burgas, their reaction leading the twinjet to veer off the runway and come to rest on rough ground. Operating for Smartwings, the Greek-registered Orange2Fly aircraft had suffered a leak in its green hydraulic ...
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NewsAirbus and Air France spearhead Paris bid to advance hydrogen-hub airports
Airbus and Air France-KLM are joining airports operator Groupe ADP and other French entities to explore the use of hydrogen at Parisian airports. They are seeking projects focused on storage and distribution of gaseous and liquid hydrogen within airports, options for hydrogen recycling, and diverse uses of hydrogen in aeronautics ...
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NewsATR gear door hit wing root after in-flight separation
French investigators have determined that a Hop ATR 42-500 sustained serious damage after a lost nut caused a main landing-gear door to separate during descent to Aurillac. The turboprop (F-GPYF) had departed Paris Orly on 25 March 2018, with 48 passengers and three crew members. As it descended through 18,000ft ...
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NewsSubtle thrust-lever shift may have caught out Sriwijaya 737 crash crew
Preliminary findings from the Sriwijaya Boeing 737-500 crash probe increasingly support an in-flight upset scenario in which the crew was suddenly caught out by the insidious development of an asymmetric thrust condition. No conclusions have been drawn over the 9 January accident. But the highly-unusual retardation of a single throttle ...
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NewsThrust lever asymmetry emerges in Sriwijaya 737 crash inquiry
Indonesian investigators will focus their attention on the autothrottle system of a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 that crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta, after revealing a thrust-lever asymmetry developed during the flight.
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NewsNo evidence Ukraine aware of threat before MH17 shot down: analysis
Independent analysis has found no evidence that Ukrainian authorities were aware of the threat to high-altitude traffic, and specifically civil aviation, before a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This is despite Ukrainian national security officials’ openly floating the possibility that high-powered weapons might have ...
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NewsAirbus intends ETOPS for BelugaXL to support transatlantic operations
Airbus is to seek extended twin-engined operations (ETOPS) approval for the BelugaXL outsize transporter, in order to support commercial services involving overwater flights. Three BelugaXLs, based on the A330, have been built, the most recent introduced in October 2020. Another three will be manufactured, the last two of which will ...
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NewsSriwijaya 737-500 'slowly' turned left before entering fatal descent
Components of the crashed Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 including the flight-control computer, autothrottle computer, and autothrottle actuator assembly are undergoing examination, a Indonesian parliamentary commission has heard. The commission held a session on 3 February during which various representatives involved in the inquiry provided preliminary information on the flight and ...
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NewsCollins’ dogfighting training system flies on US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet
The US Navy has completed the first in-flight test of Collins Aerospace’s Tactical Combat Training System II (TCTS II), a system that could become the brains behind future large-scale virtual dogfights.
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NewsRobin pilots warned over carbon monoxide risk from swapped heater ducts
Operators of Robin DR400 light aircraft are being warned that a possible misfitting of ducts on the type could lead to the pilot becoming intoxicated by carbon monoxide ingestion. One in-service occurrence has emerged of the cabin-heater and carburettor-heater ducts on a DR400/120 model having been wrongly installed on the ...
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NewsSummit amends Dornier 228 ice procedures after dual-engine flame-out
Canadian operator Summit Air Charters has modified icing procedures after an incident in which both engines on a Dornier 228 flamed out just after take-off on a service to Yellowknife. The turboprop had been departing the remote Cahcho Kue in the Northwest Territories on 19 January, according to a Transport ...
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NewsHow the appeal of vintage flight helped solve the Alps crash puzzle
With its unusual historic triple engine sound and vintage appearance, the Junkers Ju 52 would have been as anachronistic as it was distinctive and engaging to those capturing its passage through the Alps with high-resolution mobile-phone cameras. But the appeal of the pre-war aircraft to onlookers combined with a technological ...
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NewsNew Spanish facility of BAA Training to offer 737 Max simulators
Pilot-training organisation BAA Training is intending to introduce Boeing 737 Max simulation devices at its Spanish facility over the course of this year. The company says the Barcelona centre will be introducing a Max full-flight simulator in April, and complement this with a flight-training device in the fourth quarter. With ...