All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 221
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NewsSine Draco seeks FAA approval for A321 freighter conversion
Airbus A321 freighter conversion developer Sine Draco is formally seeking US FAA approval for the modification, and has recruited Sierra Nevada Corporation support arm 3S to assist with the regulatory compliance process. Sine Draco will be the owner of the supplemental type certificate for the converted aircraft, designated the A321-200SDF. ...
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NewsAirbus separates A321XLR aft-fuselage work to avoid disrupting assembly line
Airbus is establishing a separate production line at its Hamburg Finkenwerder plant which will be dedicated to assembling the aft fuselage of the long-range A321XLR. This fuselage section is heavily modified from the regular A321neo, featuring a newly-designed integrated large rear centre tank and fuel-mangement system which will be specific ...
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NewsPractical thinking behind striking new livery on DC-10 firefighter
Even aerial firefighting aircraft are worth a make-over, but the revamped livery on the distinctive McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 of US operator 10 Tanker serves a practical purpose. The company has shown off a more dynamic colour scheme on aircraft N612AX – a 34-year old airframe originally delivered to Thai Airways International ...
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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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NewsRyanair summer fleet plans rest on 737-8200 certification
Ryanair is hoping that, following restoration of the Boeing 737 Max in Europe, certification of the specific high-density 737-8200 variant will shortly follow, allowing it to build a fleet of the jets ahead of summer. The US FAA’s flight standardisation board conducted an analysis of changes introduced for the -8200 ...
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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 ...
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NewsCrashed Ju 52 was poorly-maintained and not airworthy: inquiry
Swiss investigators have determined that a Junkers Ju 52 was not fit to fly, having been poorly maintained, before it spiralled into the ground after stalling during a sightseeing flight in the Alps. But the inquiry believes that – despite being “not airworthy in a physical or formal sense” – ...
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NewsJu 52 fatal crash probe uncovers atrocious catalogue of safety violations
Swiss investigators have concluded, in a damning inquiry, that a Junkers Ju 52 on a pleasure flight stalled after the crew flew it into a narrow valley at low altitude, at a dangerously low airspeed and with its centre-of-gravity out of limits. The crew intended to exit the valley via ...
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NewsControlling out-of-trim 737 Max will not require ‘exceptional’ strength
Critical to pilots’ acceptance of the Boeing 737 Max’s re-entry into service is the assurance that a serious out-of-trim situation can be easily resolved without the risk of manual controls becoming impossible to manipulate owing to aerodynamic forces. Not only will aircraft need to be modified but Max simulators will ...
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NewsWizz Air optimistic that 2021 will be ‘transition’ year
Central European budget carrier Wizz Air is expecting travel limitations to continue impacting capacity levels over much of the its fiscal fourth quarter – the three months from January to March – but adds that 2021 will be a “year of transition” as restrictions ease. Wizz Air gave the outlook ...
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NewsUkraine seeks to ban overflights by Pobeda and other Russian carriers
Ukraine’s government has approved a proposal to sanction 13 Russian companies, including several airlines which will face a three-year ban on overflying Ukrainian territory. The measure is continuing evidence of the political tensions between the two countries whose relationship deteriorated after the Russian annexation of Crimea nearly seven years ago. ...
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NewsUK regulator clears 737 Max for flight
UK regulators have, as expected, approved the Boeing 737 Max for return to service, publishing a separate airworthiness directive to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. This separate publication follows the UK’s exit from EASA membership as it completed its withdrawal from the European Union on 1 January. But the ...
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NewsBoeing 737-10 processes to undergo revision after EASA’s Max scrutiny
One crucial consequence of the Boeing 737 Max scrutiny is that development and certification work for the 737-10 will differ substantially from that of the earlier Max variants. Extensive analysis by the US FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency following the Max grounding two years ago has led not ...
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NewsEASA yet to approve 737 Max for certain precision approaches
Operators of the Boeing 737 Max in Europe will be prohibited from conducting certain precision approaches until regulators are satisfied that the aircraft can maintain the necessary performance under specific failure conditions. While the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has cleared the 737 Max to return to service, it has ...
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NewsEASA formally clears 737 Max to resume operations
Europe’s air safety authority has formally cleared the Boeing 737 Max to return to service with the publishing of a finalised airworthiness directive. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency published the document on 27 January, following a consultation period which closed on 22 December last year. EASA executive director Patrick ...
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NewsHaste appears pivotal to E-11A crash pilots’ engine misidentification
Military investigators have signalled that haste was a contributing element to a Bombardier E-11A crew’s incorrectly identifying a failed engine and, in response, mistakenly shutting down the functioning one. The E-11A, a US Air Force (USAF) version of the Global 6000 executive jet, crashed some 21nm (39km) short of the ...
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NewsEl Al remains in limbo as Israeli government curbs air travel
Israeli flag-carrier El Al has prolonged the furlough of close to 5,000 personnel at least until the end of February, as the government imposes restrictions on air services. El Al says it has “decided to extend” the unpaid leave of employees until 28 February, putting the figure at 4,864 staff. ...
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NewsRolls-Royce more pessimistic over long-haul recovery in 2021
Rolls-Royce is assuming engine flying hours on twin-aisle long-haul aircraft will reach just 55% of pre-crisis levels during 2021, down from a previous base case of 70%. The outlook reflects the uncertainty over air traffic recovery for the widebody sector and the engine manufacturer expects, on this basis, free cash ...