French BEA said signals emanating from the flight data and voice recorders onboard the Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 that crashed in the Indian Ocean were detected Sunday. The accident near the Comoros capital of Moroni killed 152 of the 153 people onboard (ATWOnline, July 3). Meanwhile, Yemenia said it is suspending its Comoros service indefinitely, according to press reports.

The lead investigator examining the May 31 Air France A330-200 accident said yesterday that malfunctioning pitot probes were "one of the factors but not the only one" that led to the aircraft's going down in the Atlantic Ocean and declined to cite a cause of the crash.

Boeing delivered 125 aircraft in the second quarter led by 99 737NGs, it reported yesterday. It also delivered 21 777s, three 767s and two 747s. In the first half of 2009 it delivered 246 aircraft led by 190 737NGs.

GoAir placed its eight new A320 into service late last week and added new frequencies from Bangalore to both Delhi and Mumbai.

The Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 carrying 153 passengers and crew on its way from Sanaa to Moroni in Comoros that crashed in the Indian Ocean late Monday night specifically was barred from operating to France owing to safety concerns, a senior French official said yesterday, but the airline was not on the EU's list of banned carriers and Yemeni officials insisted the plane was safe to operate.

Bombardier Aerospace announced the conversion of two options for Q400 NextGen turboprops held by Porter Airlines into firm orders, raising to 20 the number of commitments made by the Toronto-based carrier. The two firm orders are worth approximately $45 million, according to the manufacturer.

Lufthansa will phase out its last A300-600 on July 1 following a flight from Rome Fiumicino to Frankfurt as part of the company's effort to cut €300 million ($421.6 million) in costs this year. The type served as the backbone of LH's continental fleet for 22 years. It operated 26 A300s in addition to 24 A310-200s/300s. All the A300-600s have been offered for sale and some already have been purchased.

CASC/Airbus Customer Services training and support center in Beijing is looking to adjust its business model as more airlines acquire their own simulators, MD-Administration and Programs Michelle Pierre Petit told ATWOnline last week. The 18,800-sq.-m. facility, which opened in 1997, includes two A320 and one A330/A340 simulators. "More airlines buying their own simulators means we have to also focus on training the trainers," Petit said. The facility has about 20 airline customers, but there currently are 16 A320 FFSs in China with more to come.