All Ops & safety articles
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News
Pilot errors caused 2023 Challenger 300 upset that killed one passenger: NTSB
Failure to remove a pitot probe cover and a cascade of resulting pilot missteps caused a 2023 inflight upset near Hartford that involved a Bombardier Challenger 300 business jet and killed one passenger.
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Pilot deliberately crashed Cessna 208 while returning from parachute drop
French investigators believe a Cessna 208 pilot, under psychological pressure, deliberately flew the aircraft into a mountain ridge while returning to Gap-Tallard airport after a parachute drop. The pilot, the only occupant, did not survive the October 2023 collision with the ridge, which rises to some 1,400m in the French ...
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Spanish IAG long-haul carrier Level secures air operator’s certificate
IAG’s Spanish long-haul carrier Level has secured its own air operator’s certificate, enabling it to embark on developing its network from Barcelona. It will fly under the designator code ‘LL’ and the callsign ‘Dali’ – a cultural reference to Catalonian artist Salvador Dali. Level states that granting of the AOC ...
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Inquiry flags on-demand flight risks as PA-46 hard-lands after multiple approaches
French investigators are seeking tighter regulations to ensure safety for passengers who pay for on-demand flights outside of commercial air transport operations. Investigation authority BEA is urging action from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency after a Piper PA-46 stalled and landed hard, badly damaging the aircraft, during a fourth ...
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PIA ban lifted after EASA satisfied by Pakistani regulator’s safety efforts
European safety regulators have lifted the suspension of Pakistan International Airlines’ third-country operator authorisation, enabling the carrier to resume flights to European Union destinations. PIA’s authorisation was rescinded by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in mid-2020, over concerns regarding its safety-management system. EASA’s suspension followed a fatal accident involving ...
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Rudder-jam ATR 72 freighter not fitted with corrosion-resistant bearings
UK investigators probing a rudder jam involving a West Atlantic ATR 72-200 freighter have found that degraded steel bearings had not been replaced by corrosion-resistant ones. The replacement had been recommended in a service bulleting published 30 years before the incident at Belfast International on 7 March 2023. As the ...
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EasyJet extends pilot-training capabilities to Amsterdam facility
UK budget carrier EasyJet is to extend pilot-training operations to Amsterdam, and increase its capabilities at London Gatwick and Milan in order to support fleet expansion. The carrier has 347 aircraft and expects this figure to reach just under 400 by the end of fiscal 2027-28. EasyJet is replacing its ...
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Azimuth Superjet ‘did not burn’ despite ignition of fuel spill from damaged tank
Russian carrier Azimuth Airlines has disclosed that the fire involving one of its Yakovlev Superjet 100s at Antalya resulted from fuel on the apron spilled from a damaged tank, but insists the aircraft itself did not burn. The twinjet, operating flight A45051 from Sochi on 24 November, had been stable ...
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Russian investigators join Turkish-led inquiry into Azimuth Superjet blaze
Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee is joining a Turkish-led investigation into the Yakovlev Superjet 100 fire at Antalya on 24 November. There were no fatalities among the 89 passengers and six crew members after the Azimuth Airlines jet (RA-89085) experienced a hard landing, according to the carrier. Images from the scene ...
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Polish flight-inspection King Air checks Vilnius navaids after 737 crash
Polish air navigation service PANSA appears to have undertaken checks of the navigation and guidance systems at Vilnius airport, following a fatal Boeing 737-400 accident during final approach. PANSA has a flight-inspection arm, the fleet of which includes a Beechcraft King Air 350 which has been conducting multiple flights over ...
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One crew fatality after inbound 737 freighter crashes north of Vilnius airport: police
Preliminary information from Lithuanian police indicate one crew fatality from the four occupants of a Swiftair Boeing 737 cargo aircraft which crashed north of Vilnius airport early on 25 November. Three other crew members were injured, the police state, after the jet came down near a main highway about 0.6nm ...
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Azimuth Superjet burns after ‘rough landing’ at Antalya
Passengers have been evacuated from a Yakovlev Superjet 100 operated by Russian carrier Azimuth, after it caught fire upon arrival at Antalya. Images from the scene circulating on social media show emergency services dealing with an intense blaze on the left side of the aircraft. Azimuth indicates that the incident ...
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Manufacturing issue prompts FAA to propose 787 stabiliser inspections
The Federal Aviation Administration intends to require airlines to inspect horizontal stabiliser hardware on Boeing 787s due to components possibly being assembled incorrectly by the company during manufacturing.
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Ryanair 737 Max crew pushed jet into steep descent after go-around altitude breach
Ryanair has introduced a ‘discontinued approach’ procedure after a serious incident at London Stansted during which a Boeing 737 Max 8-200 breached its go-around altitude, leading the crew to push the jet into a steep descent. The aircraft pitched to 17.7° nose-down in instrument conditions, reaching a descent rate of ...
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Investigators probe SAA A330’s pitch oscillation during cruise
Investigators are probing an in-flight oscillation at cruise altitude which affected a South African Airways Airbus A330-300 operating a domestic service. The aircraft – flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg on 27 October – had been cruising at 41,000ft when it started to oscillate in pitch, between nose-up and nose-down. ...
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Bleed-air switch lapse preceded TUI 737 cabin-altitude incident
Pilots of a Boeing 737-800 did not notice that the aircraft’s bleed-air system was not active before the jet took off from Manchester, triggering a cabin-altitude warning that remained active for over 40min. UK investigators found that the bleed-air switches had incorrectly been left off during air-conditioning pack maintenance, and ...
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GE and NASA hope CODEX tests will write new chapter on contrail formation
GE Aerospace is partnering with NASA to carry out a series of flight tests designed to improve the industry’s understanding of contrails.
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Unsecured cargo container shifted as 737-400 freighter descended towards Edinburgh
Investigators have been unable to determine precisely why a cargo container on board a Boeing 737-400 freighter was not secured, causing it to shift in flight during a service to Edinburgh. The West Atlantic aircraft (G-JMCZ) had been inbound from London Stansted on 26 April. It was transporting 8.9t of ...
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No wing-walkers present before Virgin 787’s pushback collision with BA A350
UK investigators have determined that a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 was being pushed back without assistance from dedicated wing-walkers when it collided with a British Airway Airbus A350-1000 at London Heathrow. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch points out that the airport’s operator “does not mandate” wing-walkers at the parking bay ...
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Wizz Air: New crew procedures helping to cut GPS interference impact
Central European budget carrier Wizz Air has recorded a decline in spurious terrain warnings since implementing defensive crew procedures against GPS spoofing and interference earlier this year. Wizz Air Hungary flight-data monitoring manager Akos Steigervald detailed the carrier’s experience during the annual European Union Aviation Safety Agency conference in Budapest ...