All Ops & safety articles – Page 70
-
NewsActivists spray-paint parked Air France 777 to protest climate bill
Environmental activities have managed to gain access to a stored Air France Boeing 777-200ER and spray it with green colouring as part of a protest against the French government air transport policies. The aircraft – registered F-GSPB, a 1998 airframe fitted with General Electric GE90 engines – was parked at ...
-
NewsBell 505 single-pilot operations restricted as inspection regime tightens
Canadian safety authorities have temporarily banned right-hand single-pilot operations of Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters, after further investigations into the potential fracture of collective sticks on the type. Transport Canada is tightening inspection requirements for the helicopter following an incident in which the collective stick on one aircraft failed ...
-
NewsRedesign to cure acoustic engine phenomenon linked to A220 failures
Pratt & Whitney is aiming to introduce redesigned bleed-valve ducts for Airbus A220 engines by the fourth quarter of this year, to eliminate a resonance phenomenon linked to a series of powerplant failures. Four instances of PW1500G low-pressure compressor stage-one rotor separation, affecting A220-300s operated by Swiss and Air Baltic, ...
-
NewsWest Atlantic ATP veered off runway as crew botched crosswind landing
Swedish freighter operator West Atlantic has reinforced crosswind training after investigators attributed a significant British Aerospace ATP excursion at Birmingham airport to inexperience and incorrect technique. Although the ATP, arriving from Guernsey on 22 May last year, carried out an initial crabbed approach to runway 33 in windy conditions, the ...
-
NewsSouth Sudan leader grounds Supreme Airlines after L-410 crash
South Sudan’s leader has ordered the suspension of local operator South Sudan Supreme Airlines after the fatal crash of a Let L-410 turboprop. President Salva Kiir Mayardit says he is directing the ministry of transport and the civil aviation authority to “suspend” the carrier’s operations. “This measure is necessary for ...
-
NewsSaudi regulator latest to approve 737 Max services
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation regulator has become the latest to approve operations with the Boeing 737 Max, although none of the kingdom’s airlines yet operates the type. Flag-carrier Saudia’s budget airline Flyadeal had been in line to acquire the 737 Max, through a provisional $5.9 billion agreement for 30 Max ...
-
NewsColombian landing accident appears to involve DC-3 from previous mishaps
Colombian investigators are probing an accident with a Douglas DC-3 carrying the same registration as aircraft involved in at least two previous landing mishaps. The aircraft, identified by civil aviation regulator Aerocivil as HK-2006, was being operated by local carrier Aerolineas Andinas Aliansa. It had been conducting a service from ...
-
NewsChina's CAAC yet to approve test flights for 737 Max return-to-service
China’s civil aviation regulator is discussing with Boeing a restoration plan for 737 Max services, but is yet to be satisfied to the extent necessary to advance the type’s return to operation. The Civil Aviation Administration of China’s deputy director, Dong Zhiyi, disclosed the state of progress during a State ...
-
NewsSIA Cargo 747-400F suffers puncture damage near undercarriage
A Singapore Airlines freighter has completed repairs in Brussels after punctures were discovered near the aircraft’s undercarriage.
-
NewsCrew alarmed by speed decay before American 757 abruptly pitched down
Investigators probing an abrupt manoeuvre by an American Airlines Boeing 757-200 have indicated that the crew suddenly pitched the aircraft nose-down after realising the airspeed had unexpectedly bled away. The aircraft had been approaching New York JFK on 6 September 2018, following a service from Edinburgh. As the aircraft neared ...
-
NewsA320 landed off-runway at Rio after drifting far from centreline
Pilots of an Avianca Brasil Airbus A320 did not execute a go-around despite the aircraft’s drifting off the runway axis during approach to Rio de Janeiro, and subsequently landing far to the right and travelling onto rough ground. Although the crew – arriving from Salvador on 3 March 2019 – ...
-
NewsLAM 737-700 involved in Mozambique landing excursion
One of African carrier Linhas Aereas de Mocambique’s Boeing 737-700s has suffered a runway excursion during landing at Quelimane airport. LAM says the aircraft was operating the domestic flight TM1134 from Maputo on 26 February. The aircraft involved (C9-BAR) came to rest on rough grassy ground after arriving from the ...
-
NewsPrior United 777 blade-out might give clues to UA328 engine structure loss
While US investigators disagree with the immediate impression that the recent United Airlines Boeing 777-200 engine incident was one of uncontained failure, the extent of the damage to the powerplant was nonetheless catastrophic. Uncontained failure is defined as the inability of the engine casing to prevent high-energy rotating parts, such ...
-
NewsThree landing jets ‘narrowly’ missed stepladder left on Birmingham runway
UK investigators have disclosed that three aircraft landing at Birmingham airport in darkness narrowly missed a large ladder which had fallen from a maintenance vehicle in the touchdown zone of runway 33. The A-frame ladder, about 2.2m in length, had fallen from a pick-up truck, probably during a sudden acceleration, ...
-
NewsA321XLR's rear fuel tank demands special fire-protection conditions
Airbus’s A321XLR will be subject to special conditions proposed for the aircraft’s integrated rear centre tank, intended to ensure adequate protection from fire. The large 12,900-litre centre tank, located in the aft hold of the twinjet, will contain the fuel necessary for the aircraft to achieve its extended range. Airbus ...
-
NewsIncorrectly-set radio preceded serious Q400 runway incursion
Regional operator QantasLink has reviewed procedures at non-controlled airports to improve communication, after a Bombardier Q400 entered and taxied along an active runway, forcing a landing light aircraft to execute a go-around. Investigators found the Q400 crew had been under time and workload pressure before the departure from Gladstone airport ...
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 ...
-
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 ...