All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow
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NewsFlight recorders found after Libyan army chief’s Falcon 50 crashes in Turkey
Recovery personnel have retrieved flight recorders from a Dassault Falcon 50 executive jet which crashed some 40min after departing Ankara on 23 December. The Maltese-registered aircraft was transporting figures including Libyan army chief of staff general Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad. Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya states that the aircraft departed ...
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NewsHawker 900XP spun and crashed during stall test after ice contaminated wings
US investigators believe the pilots of a Hawker 900XP were insufficiently prepared for a post-maintenance stall test, during which the aircraft encountered icing and entered a fatal spin.
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NewsCoulson unveils plans to develop firefighting tanker based on 767
Aerial services specialist Coulson Aviation is embarking on development of a firefighting aircraft based on the Boeing 767. The company’s US division states that the retirement of older widebody models threatens a reduction in firefighting capacity. This has been underlined by the grounding of Boeing MD-11 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s ...
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NewsArif Habib consortium emerges as successful bidder in long-running PIA privatisation
Diverse Pakistani investment firm Arif Habib Group has emerged as the successful bidder for flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines. Its bid of Rs135 billion ($480 million) for a 75% share of the carrier follows a drawn-out privatisation programme. Pakistan’s ministry of privatisation confirms Arif Habib and its partners – which were ...
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NewsRyanair vows to appeal Italian regulator’s $300m fine over travel agency ‘obstruction’
Budget carrier Ryanair has vowed to appeal after Italian competition regulators imposed a fine of €256 million ($302 million) on the airline, accusing it of exploiting a dominant market position. The regulator, AGCM, states that the carrier implemented an “abusive strategy” to hamper travel agencies relying on Ryanair flights. It ...
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NewsCivil aviation design needed rethink from Soviet-era military influence: Putin
Russian president Vladimir Putin says building a modern civil aircraft industry has required a strategic rethink from the Soviet era, when civil aircraft design was largely influenced by military considerations. Speaking during a year-end review on 19 December, in response to questions over the future of the 50-year old Aviastar ...
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NewsInvestigators strive to understand crashed Citation’s low approach to Statesville
US investigators are still trying to understand why a Cessna 550 Citation II was flying at a low height as it attempted to return to Statesville regional airport, before the jet collided with lighting and trees. It had departed the airport about 10min beforehand and the inquiry has yet to ...
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NewsMunicipal government entity to take 20% of Shenzhen Airlines under equity financing plan
China’s Shenzhen Airlines is to receive an initial capital injection for a proposed equity financing, following the selection of a candidate investor identified as Shenzhen Kunhang Investment Partnership. Kunhang Investment is a Chinese enterprise controlled by the state-owned assets supervision commission of the Shenzhen municipal government. Air China already holds ...
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NewsA319 aborted low approach to Paris Orly after ILS signal ‘not switched on’: inquiry
French investigators have indicated that an absent ILS signal for a Paris Orly runway preceded a Volotea Airbus A319’s aborting its approach after triggering a low-altitude warning. The aircraft had been operating a domestic service from Rodez to Orly on 4 December. Provisional findings from investigation authority BEA state that, ...
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NewsLufthansa Group to upgrade A320-family jets with 4D trajectory-based navigation capability
Lufthansa Group is committing to upgrading over 130 Airbus A320-family jets with the advanced navigation system already being delivered on new-build A320neos in its fleet. The company opted last year to take the FANS-C technology on new aircraft, which is intended to support trajectory-based operations through a version of ADS-C ...
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NewsSJ-100’s PD-8 engine passes blade-out containment tests
Blade-failure tests have been carried out on the Aviadvigatel PD-8 engine for Russia’s import-substituted Yakovlev SJ-100. United Engine says the PD-8 passed the test “successfully” on a rig at its Saturn facility in Rybinsk. This brings the engine for the twinjet closer to certification, it adds. The test involves fitting ...
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NewsBoeing seeks to bridge gap to 777-8F by selling 777Fs beyond FAA deadline
Boeing is seeking US authorisation to continue selling its 777F cargo twinjet beyond the end of 2027, because its 777-8F will not be available in time to replace it. Under FAA regulations aircraft which exceed certain fuel-efficiency limits will no longer be eligible for airworthiness certificates after 31 December 2027. ...
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NewsFedEx expects to resume MD-11F service in spring 2026 as it outlines grounding impact
US express cargo operator FedEx is working on the expectation that the grounded Boeing MD-11 freighter fleet will return to service in spring next year. Operators of the MD-11F were forced to suspend operations with the type after the fatal accident involving a UPS aircraft at Louisville in November. Speaking ...
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NewsCrashed Citation II struck lights and trees far short of Statesville runway: inquiry
US investigators have disclosed that the Cessna 550 Citation II which crashed while attempting to land at Statesville airport struck approach lights and trees far short of the runway. Seven occupants were on board the aircraft (N257BW), says the National Transportation Safety Board, none of whom survived the 18 December ...
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NewsSpanish airports manager Aena expands UK interest with Leeds and Newcastle stakes
Spanish airports operator Aena is reinforcing its UK presence by taking a majority share in a holding company that has large stakes in Leeds Bradford and Newcastle airports. Aena is purchasing a 51% share of the holding company with the remaining 49% held by InfraBridge. The holding company wholly owns ...
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NewsUS investigators open probe as Citation II crashes after turnback
Sixteen investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board have been sent to the scene of a Cessna 550 Citation II business jet crash in North Carolina. The aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Statesville regional airport on 18 December, from where it had departed some 10min beforehand. It ...
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NewsUzbekistan’s Qanot Sharq takes first A321XLR through long-term lease
Privately-owned Uzbek carrier Qanot Sharq has received an Airbus A321XLR, one of a batch to be delivered to the airline. The carrier had reached an agreement with US lessor Air Lease earlier this year to take five A321neos – comprising two LR and three XLR models. But the lessor states ...
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NewsNew-build Tu-214 emerges from Kazan production site
United Aircraft has shown off a newly-built Tupolev Tu-214, the twinjet type which is part of the strategy to address Russian airline capacity demand. The company says the aircraft “recently took off for the first time” from its manufacturing site in Kazan. United Aircraft says the Tu-214 was built “entirely ...
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NewsAirbus confirms expanded A350-1000 agreement with China Airlines
Airbus has confirmed an expanded order for A350-1000s, comprising five additional jets, from Taiwanese carrier China Airlines. China Airlines had recently disclosed approval for a plan to take 16 more widebody aircraft, comprising five A350-1000s and five Boeing 777-9s along with four 777-8Fs and two 777Fs. Airbus says the A350-1000 ...
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NewsHydraulic sequencing and ice left 757 freight door unsecured before it opened in flight
German investigators have determined that a complex interaction of hydraulic, mechanical and icing problems resulted in a DHL Air Boeing 757-200 freighter’s cargo door opening as it climbed out of Leipzig. Several separate illuminated status lights on the door control panel normally extinguish in turn as the door is closed, ...