All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 272
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NewsIndian government seeks expressions of interest in Air India sale
India’s government is seeking expressions of interest from investors following its approval, in principle, for the divestment of flag-carrier Air India – with the entire share capital on offer, along with the whole of Air India Express and 50% of its handling joint venture AISATS. Financial services specialist EY has ...
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NewsGerman Airways looks to hire 'dozens' of Embraer pilots
German Airways is to bring in another three Embraer 190s this year as part of its transition to an all-jet fleet. The carrier has emerged from parent Zeitfracht Group’s combination of regional operators LGW and WDL. LGW has 15 Bombardier Q400s while WDL has four E190s in service. German Airways ...
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NewsWizz stays with P&W for another 166 Airbus jets
Central European budget carrier Wizz Air is staying with Pratt & Whitney for another 166 Airbus A320neo-family jets. The agreement to take the PW1100G engine covers 90 aircraft from a 2016 deal plus a further 56 A320neos. It also covers the 20 A321XLRs recently ordered by the carrier – although ...
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NewsCaspian MD-83 blocks highway after landing overrun at Mahshahr
Iranian authorities have dispatched a team of investigators to the scene of a Caspian Airlines Boeing MD-83 accident in which the aircraft suffered a runway overrun. The twinjet came to rest on a highway apparently off the southern end of the 2,400m runway 13 at Mahshahr airport, located near the ...
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NewsFastjet Group still trying to finalise sale of Zimbabwe operation
African budget carrier operator Fastjet Group believes it has sufficient resources to meet operational needs until the end of March, as it scrambles to finalise a deal to sell its Zimbabwe airline to investors. The company had previously warned, last November, that it faced a February deadline to secure additional ...
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NewsEASA warns over misleading visual perception during conflicts
Europe’s safety regulator is concerned that crews are not being given full information on use of collision-avoidance systems to maintain safe separation, to the point where pilots might disregard their instructions. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency says some aircraft flight manuals and operating manuals “do not provide adequate information” ...
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NewsWing-tip fold marks end of 777X's maiden flight
With the folding of its characteristic wing-tips while still rolling out on Boeing Field’s runway 14R, the first 777X completed a maiden 3h 51min test flight. The aircraft – which had departed Paine Field at 10:09 on 25 January – spent much of the first sortie operating at around 15,000ft ...
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NewsUnexplained Trent 1000 surges spur de-pair order to 787 operators
Rolls-Royce is investigating further operational issues with Trent 1000 engines, after instances of surges involving certain powerplants – a situation which has triggered a de-pairing order from European regulators. Trent 1000s, which are fitted to Boeing 787s, have already been the subject of several regulatory interventions, particularly as a result ...
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NewsSACAA was still conducting smoke probe before Citation crash
Investigators were still conducting an investigation into two smoke incidents involving the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s Cessna Citation II flight-inspection jet before its fatal loss near George. There is no immediate evidence of a connection between the incidents – on 7 and 8 November last year – and the ...
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NewsNo survivors from South African CAA calibration Citation crash
None of the three crew members of a South African Civil Aviation Authority flight-inspection aircraft survived after the aircraft came down shortly after take-off from George airport. The aircraft, a Cessna Citation II, came down in mountainous terrain after departing George at 10:40 on 23 January. It was due to ...
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NewsTransavia 737 inquiry highlights unpredictability of turbulence
French investigators have reiterated that the only strategy to limit injury risk from turbulence is for passengers to keep seat-belts fastened while seated. Investigation authority BEA states that turbulence forecasting is not precise – able to provide only probabilities – and detection of clear-air turbulence is “not possible” with current ...
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NewsAvianca crew hospitalised after A319 diversion
Four occupants of an Avianca Airbus A319 have been hospitalised after an apparent turbulence incident and a diversion to Panama City. The aircraft had been operating the AV693 service from San Jose to Bogota on 23 January, says the carrier. Diversion of the flight, which had been operating at 35,000ft, ...
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NewsEASA considers alternatives to US order on 727 fuel tanks
European regulators are looking into alternative measures to mitigate an apparent safety risk relating to Boeing 727 auxiliary fuel tanks, after opting not to adopt a US FAA directive on the matter. The directive, to which Boeing had objected, argues that the fuel-quantity indicating system presents a potential electrical ignition ...
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NewsTrent-powered A380s to be checked for rotor shaft cracks
Operators of Rolls-Royce-powered Airbus A380s are set to be ordered to inspect the type’s engines for cracking of spacers between intermediate-pressure compressor discs. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency says examination of a Trent 900 rotor shaft revealed a crack in an interstage spacer between the stage two and stage ...
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NewsSouth African CAA calibration aircraft involved in accident near George
South Africa’s civil aviation regulator is investigating an accident involving its flight inspection and calibration aircraft, which occurred shortly after it took off from George airport. The South African Civil Aviation Authority says the aircraft went missing shortly after departing the airport, on the south coast, at 10:40 on 23 ...
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News737 Max engine software revised to address icing thrust loss
Boeing 737 Max operators are to be instructed to update engine-control software to address a loss of thrust issue, attributed to icing, on the type’s CFM International Leap-1B powerplants. At least two occurrences have been investigated which Leap-1Bs suffered temporary loss of thrust control as a result of icing in ...
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NewsSAA should be retained and restructured: ruling party
South Africa’s ruling political party insists that embattled South African Airways should be restructured and retained as the country’s flag-carrier. The African National Congress made the declaration following strategy meetings of its national executive council over 17-20 January. It states that SAA should be “retained as a national airline” but ...
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NewsFuel indicator flaw led to A319’s single-engine landing
French investigators have disclosed that an Air France Airbus A319 was forced to make a single-engine landing at Paris Charles de Gaulle after an undetected indicator fault resulted in partial fuel exhaustion. Investigation authority BEA – which analysed the 12 March 2014 event – says pilots operating a series of ...
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NewsBritish Airways checks newest A350-1000 after Tel Aviv hard landing
British Airways is expecting to put a four-week old Airbus A350-1000 back into service on 23 January, after precautionary checks following a hard landing at Tel Aviv. The aircraft (G-XWBD) had registered the abnormal landing as the aircraft touched down on runway 12 at about 05:30 on 20 January, following ...
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NewsBek Air defends operations after regulator’s safety accusations
Grounded Kazakh operator Bek Air is continuing to defend its operations and practices after being slated by the country’s regulator in the aftermath of the fatal Fokker 100 accident at Almaty. Bek Air is accusing Kazakhstan’s aviation administration of proving “strained and biased” remarks about the airline’s procedures and safety ...