All articles by David Kaminski-Morrow – Page 45
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NewsITA prepares exit from SkyTeam and expects Star membership in 2026
Italian carrier ITA Airways is to leave the SkyTeam alliance in favour of rival Star Alliance, as it begins integration with strategic partner Lufthansa Group. ITA Airways says it expects to complete the process of joining Star by early 2026. Lufthansa Group has taken a minority stake in the airline, ...
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NewsAllied 737 carried out dozens of ‘flap 15’ landings in weeks before gear-collapse excursion
Nigerian investigators have disclosed that an Allied Air Boeing 737-400 freighter carried out 85% of its landings with a ‘flaps 15’ setting in the six weeks before a gear-collapse and runway excursion at Abuja. The inquiry into the 11 December accident is recommending that the carrier inspects its fleet for ...
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NewsFire-damaged Air Busan A321 inspected after decision not to remove fuel
Korean investigators probing the Air Busan Airbus A321 fire at Gimhae airport have started an on-site inspection of the aircraft, having opted against removing the fuel beforehand. The aircraft, which was preparing for departure to Hong Kong on 28 January, suffered extensive damage to its fuselage. It had been docked ...
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NewsCrashed ambulance Learjet’s cockpit recorder found 8ft beneath impact point
Preliminary flightpath analysis indicates the ambulance Learjet 55 which crashed in Philadelphia had climbed to about 1,500ft before steeply descending and striking the ground. Its high-energy impact spread pieces of wreckage over a wide area of a suburb about 2.5nm from the departure end of Northeast Philadelphia airport’s runway 24, ...
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NewsTajikistan’s Somon Air signs for a pair of 737 Max jets
Tajik carrier Somon Air has signed for a pair of Boeing 737 Max 8s, which the airline intends to lease from Dubai-based DAE Capital. Somon Air, based in Dushanbe, uses a fleet of Boeing 737-800s and -900s. It states that the Max 8s will be introduced to the carrier in ...
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NewsInvestigators analysing CRJ and Black Hawk crews’ situational awareness prior to fatal collision
Investigators probing the mid-air collision over Washington between a regional jet and a military helicopter have provided greater clarity on the circumstances of the accident, but are still trying to understand each crew’s level of situational awareness. The PSA Airlines CRJ700 had been inbound to Washington National on 29 January ...
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NewsCollision inquiry still ascertaining altitude of impact between CRJ and Black Hawk
US investigators are still trying to determine precisely the altitude at which the Washington mid-air collision occurred, although early indications put the PSA Airlines CRJ700 at 325ft at the time it was struck by a Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter. This figure, drawn from the aircraft’s flight-data recorder, has yet to ...
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NewsAmbulance Learjet came down 2.5nm from Northeast Philadelphia departure runway
Communications with the ambulance Learjet 55 which came down in Philadelphia indicate that the accident occurred just after take-off, as the aircraft was transferred to departure control. The flight to Springfield, Missouri, had been cleared to take off from runway 24 at Northeast Philadelphia airport – a regional facility some ...
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NewsAngolan flag-carrier TAAG starts widebody modernisation with first 787
Angolan flag-carrier TAAG has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787, one of four set to be introduced to the airline’s fleet. The initial twinjet, a 787-9, carries a new livery for the Luanda-based operator. Powered by GE Aerospace GEnx engines, the aircraft (D2-TEQ) was flown from Seattle to Luanda ...
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NewsExtent of helicopter crew’s visual contact with CRJ central to collision probe
Central to the Washington mid-air collision inquiry is whether the military helicopter crew correctly identified the inbound PSA Airlines regional jet, having apparently been informed of its position and intention some 2min before the accident.
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NewsPSA’s ironic connection to the advancement of collision avoidance
PSA Airlines, the carrier involved in the mid-air accident over Washington, ironically preserves the name of another airline whose involvement in two mid-air collisions – one of which remains the worst in US history – contributed to airspace safety reforms, and helped spur the advancement of collision-avoidance systems. Among the ...
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NewsCRJ700 hit by helicopter as it aligned with approach to shorter National runway
Investigators are working to understand how a military helicopter collided with a MHIRJ CRJ700 while the regional jet was following a routine sequencing clearance to an alternative runway at Washington National. Pilots of the PSA Airlines aircraft accepted an air traffic control offer to land on the shorter runway 33 ...
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NewsLufthansa Group to take minority stake in partner carrier Air Baltic
Lufthansa Group has agreed to take a 10% convertible shareholding in Air Baltic, ahead of the Latvian carrier’s upcoming initial public offering. The agreement – valued at €14 million ($14.6 million) – involves Lufthansa’s acquiring convertible shares which would be changed to ordinary shares once the offering takes place. Lufthansa ...
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NewsFatal South Sudan Beech 1900D crash leaves sole survivor
South Sudanese officials indicate that the crash of a chartered aircraft departing an oil field has resulted in 20 fatalities, with a single survivor. Ruweng Administrative Area information minister Simon Chol Mialith says the aircraft – which appears to be a Beech 1900D – had been chartered by Greater Pioneer ...
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NewsNigeria’s Max Air suspends domestic flights for three months after 737 incident
Nigerian carrier Max Air is suspending domestic operations for three months, following the landing incident at Kano involving a Boeing 737-400. The carrier states that the 90-day suspension – from 31 January – is a “pro-active step” which will enable it to conduct an “internal operational evaluation”. “We deeply regret ...
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NewsArriving Max Air 737 comes to rest on its nose after landing-gear problem at Kano
One of Nigerian carrier Max Air’s Boeing 737s has been involved in a landing incident at Kano during which the jet came to rest on its forward fuselage. The 737-400 experienced a “nose-wheel landing-gear collapse” while landing at 22:50 on 28 January, says Nigerian federal airports authority FAAN. It identifies ...
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NewsNo immediate evidence of dangerous items on board fire-damaged Air Busan A321
Preliminary investigation into the Air Busan Airbus A321 fire at Gimhae has not found evidence of dangerous items brought on board the twinjet, and no immediate indication that the blaze was terrorism-related. But the Korean transport ministry, which carried out an initial joint anti-terrorism probe with relevant agencies on 29 ...
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NewsUruguayan start-up SUA to lease A220 fleet from Air Baltic
Latvia’s Air Baltic is to provide the initial fleet for a Uruguayan start-up carrier branded SUA Lineas Aereas, which aims to commence operations later this year. Air Baltic is to supply up to five Airbus A220-300s via a wet-lease agreement from October. The carrier states that it will also provide ...
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NewsBoom’s XB-1 achieves supersonic flight over Mojave desert
US aerospace firm Boom Supersonic’s experimental XB-1 aircraft has achieved a speed in excess of Mach 1 for the first time. The aircraft reached supersonic speeds of around M1.1 during a test flight on 28 January, flown by chief test pilot Tristan Brandenburg, and broadcast live by the company. It ...
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NewsAll occupants escape Air Busan A321 after fire breaks out at Gimhae
Korean authorities state that all 176 occupants of an Air Busan Airbus A321 have escaped after a fire broke out on the twinjet. The aircraft had been scheduled to depart from Gimhae airport for Hong Kong on 28 January. According to the Korean transport ministry, a fire broke out in ...