BOMBARDIER GLOBAL 5000 CRASHES IN NOVA SCOTIA

ACCIDENT A Bombardier Global 5000 carrying two crew and eight passengers, including Ron Joyce, co-founder of the US restaurant chain Tim Hortons, crashed in strong winds on 11 November at Joyce's northern Nova Scotia golf resort. No-one was seriously injured. According to Canadian investigators, the super large business jet landed in a patch of gravel in front of the runway and hit the lip of the paved airstrip with such force that the undercarriage collapsed. The impact sent the aircraft spinning on its belly, coming to rest about 300m (980ft) along the private airstrip of the resort.

EMPENNAGE SUPPLIER SUES ECLIPSE

DISPUTE UK-based Hampson Aerospace has filed suit against Eclipse Aviation alleging that very light jet maker is refusing to make imminent payments, an assertion Eclipse is deflecting by saying the 22 February contract between the two companies is non-binding due to "fraud", according to the 12 November complaint filed by Hampson in New Mexico. Hampson is building the empennage assemblies for the Eclipse 500 twinjet, including component parts and large stretch-formed components at a satellite plant in Grand Prairie, Texas. Hampson also builds components for Airbus, Boeing, Hawker Beechcraft and HondaJet. The agreement requires Eclipse to purchase "a minimum number of shipsets" from Hampson for 2007 and to pay for the components by 30 November. According to the suit, Eclipse "partially performed its payment obligations" in March, but has stated it will not pay the remainder, and further, is asking Hampson to return the partial payment. There is no word from Eclipse on whether the disagreement will affect production schedules.

QANTAS SIGNS FOR UP TO 188 NARROWBODIES

ORDER Qantas will use the 188 Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies ordered last week to defend itself against new competitors in the hope that it can maintain a group domestic market share of at least 65%. The deals comprise firm orders for 99 aircraft along with 89 options. These include 31 additional Boeing 737-800s (plus 49 options) for mainline Qantas domestic services and 68 Airbus A320s and A321s (plus 40 options) for operation by subsidiary Jetstar. Some A320s will also be deployed to associate carriers in Asia such as Jetstar Asia in Singapore and Pacific Airlines in Vietnam.

SPECIAL OPERATIONS TO BUY MORE THAN 400 UAVS OFF-THE-SHELF

UNMANNED SYSTEMS US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has unveiled a proposal to buy up to four different types of maritime-based unmanned air systems (UAS), numbering perhaps 408 aircraft in total. SOCOM's acquisition strategy rules out development projects, with a plan to acquire the entire fleet within the next three years and with deliveries to begin within six months of contract award. The fleet would be broken up into four types, comprising up to 120 tactical 1-micro (T1-M) aircraft, 240 tactical 1-small (T1-S) aircraft, 24 tactical 2 (T-2) aircraft and 24 tactical 3 (T-3) aircraft. The T-3 is defined as carrying a 20-70kg (50-150lb) payload from 6-12h. T-2 is needed to carry a 2-9kg payload from 3-6h. T-1S would lift a 230g (8oz) to 1.5kg payload and the T-1M is defined as carrying 55-115g. All four types would be required to survive a water landing, and remain floating on the surface for minutes to hours until recovery, SOCOM says. The acquisition plan is contingent on funding levels and the availability of mature technology.

THREE-WAY FIGHT TO BUILD US NAVY EP-3 REPLACEMENT

SURVEILLANCE A US Navy has issued a first call for concepts and held an industry day briefing on plans for acquiring the EPX surveillance aircraft attracted representatives from Airbus, Boeing and Embraer as well as systems integrators, such as L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. The EPX is scheduled to start replacing the Lockheed EP-3E Aries II fleet after fiscal year 2017. Boeing has previously said that it would offer the 737-based EP-8, but there Airbus may be preparing to offer the A320 and Embraer may propose its 190 regional jet. All three manufacturers have been linked to recent acquisition programmes for USN surveillance aircraft. The USN originally planned to join the US Army to buy the Aerial Common Sensor aircraft, but dropped out after the sensor outgrew the army's selected platform - Embraer's ERJ-145 regional jet. The USN's withdrawal led to the requirement to launch the EPX programme.

GOVERNMENT CLOSE TO APPROVING $12.5BN FLEET PLAN FOR THAI

EXPANSION Thai Airways International expects to receive final government approval before the end of this month to proceed with a $12.5 billion fleet expansion and modernisation covering orders for 65 new aircraft by 2017. Executive vice-president commercial Pandit Chanapai said in Bangkok at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines' annual meeting that the figure excludes the more than a dozen aircraft already on order, such as six Airbus A380s due for delivery from October 2010 and additional Airbus A330-300s ordered earlier this year. Pandit says 45 of the 65 additional purchased aircraft are intended for replacement and the rest for growth. Its current fleet of more than 80 aircraft includes Airbus A300-600s, A330-300s, Airbus A340-500/600s, 737-400s, 747-400s and Boeing 777-200/200ER/300s. Pandit says the fleet will comprise 119 aircraft by 2017.




Source: Flight International