AIRLINES FACE EUROPEAN BAN
BLACKLIST European air safety authorities have banned all Indonesian carriers, as well as Angolan flag carrier TAAG, from operating to the European Union as part of a revision to the air transport blacklist. The updated list also bars Ukrainian carrier Volare Aviation Enterprise while restrictions imposed on Pakistan International Airlines are to be modified. In the last update European regulators banned all PIA aircraft except its Boeing 777s. While full details have yet to be disclosed, the European Commission says that the blacklist revision follows a unanimous opinion from its Air Safety Committee. It adds that 10 carriers from Russia, six from Bulgaria and eight from Moldova will halt operations to the European Union as part of measures taken by the national authorities of those states.
ESA PLACES FUTURE ROCKET CONTRACT
LAUNCHER The Astrium, Finmeccanica joint venture NGL Prime has received two contracts from the European Space Agency for its Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP) two years after the company's conception. The two FLPP contracts, with a combined worth of �20.5 million ($27.5 million), cover activities during the programme's step one of its second period, for the definition of launcher system concepts and development of ESA's planned re-entry demonstrator, the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. The joint venture is owned 70% by Astrium and 30% by Finmeccanica, it will act as a prime contractor and manage the contracts' work share between its 43 industrial teams and research institutions across 11 European countries.
INDIAN SU-30MKI FIGHTERS ARRIVE IN THE UK
EXERCISE Six Indian air force Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters arrived at the UK Royal Air Force's Waddington airbase in Lincolnshire on 28 June ahead of their participation in the bilateral exercise Indra Dhanush '07. Accompanied by two Ilyushin Il-78 tankers on their journey from India, the aircraft are to participate in manoeuvres with Panavia Tornado F3 fighters from the RAF's 25 Sqn, and will also appear at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, from 14-15 July.
FAA WANTS ANTI-FLAMEOUT SOFTWARE UPGRADE FOR CF6 MODELS
DIRECTIVE The US Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a new airworthiness directive that will require engine electronic control unit software upgrades for 81 GE CF6-80C2A5F engines powering Airbus A300s in the US fleet. The FAA says the -80C2 is "susceptible to flameouts caused by ice accretion and shedding into the engine" during flight. It adds that there have been a total of 34 flameout events in total, "including reports of multi-engine events where all engines on the aircraft simultaneously experienced a flameout".
EC145 ACHIEVES NIGHT-VISION FIRST
GOGGLES The European Aviation Safety Agency has certificated the Eurocopter EC145 helicopter for night vision goggle operations. Eurocopter claims it is the first helicopter manufacturer to offer such a capability to its civil customers. The system will be offered for installation in new aircraft and as a retrofit, and will next be certificated for the EC135, says Eurocopter.
FLIGHT SCOOPS MORE PRIZES
AWARDS Flight Daily News and Flight International's Max Kingsley-Jones and Guy Norris were among the winners in the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards held at the Paris air show last month. Flight's air show daily has collected the prize in each of the three years that it has been awarded. Kingsley-Jones and Norris won the best breaking news category for their story on opportunities for Boeing in the wake of the A380 production delay.
Source: Flight International
