Chinese investigators credit Airbus’s envelope protection system in averting the crash of a Sichuan Airlines Airbus A319 when the crew tried to land during a September 2010 thunderstorm at Sunan Shuofang International Airport in Wuxi. According a recently published report by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the automatic protection system, which commands full nose-down elevator control for high angle-of-attack (AOA) conditions, “saved the plane from the stall condition.”
The owner of a new airline to be based in eastern China will order 30 Bombardier Q400s with the aim of setting up a regional network for the province of Jiangsu. The carrier, Sutong Airlines, will begin operations in 2015 with an all-Q400 fleet, says Bombardier, announcing the signature of a letter of intent for the order. No options are mentioned.
The transfer of 34 slots at LaGuardia Airport in New York from American Airlines to Southwest Airlines and Virgin America will further diversify one of the more competitive U.S. large hubs, government data suggest. U.S. Department of Transportation data show that the top five carriers by market share for the 12 months ended Aug. 31 controlled about 59% of the market—one of the lowest figures among U.S. large hubs.
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The FAA is allowing early adoption of its newly revised airworthiness approval tag, clearing up confusion among field offices that were prohibiting the new form’s use until the mandated retiring of the current form in early 2014. The agency earlier this year finalized changes to the 8130-3 form, which—depending on the circumstance—is required for domestic airworthiness approval, export approval or return-to-service approval of engines and aircraft parts.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of December 4, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
The current battle over East China Sea airspace shows the need for even greater cooperation between U.S. and Chinese military forces and officials, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says. “I would focus on one particular area . . . that is developing a stronger military-to-military relationship between the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] and the United States,” Hagel said Dec. 5. “We have been working at that—both sides.”
House lawmakers continue to move quickly to ensure that the FAA conducts a formal rulemaking if it plans to require sleep apnea testing and treatment for pilots and controllers. The full House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Dec. 4 approved a bill by voice vote calling for such a rulemaking. The bill, H.R.3578, was cleared by the committee less than two weeks after it was introduced by House aviation subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.).
Qantas Airways has announced plans for drastic cost-cutting—including 1,000 job losses—in a move that significantly raises the stakes in the carrier’s quest for government assistance.
Lufthansa says an oil overfill of a newly replaced engine on one of its Airbus A380s is the likely cause of a serious cabin fume event on Nov. 29. “We believe that surplus oil got into the cabin through the bleed air system,” Chief Pilot Werner Knorr says in an internal memorandum obtained by Aviation Week. The incident happened on Flight LH592 from Frankfurt Airport to O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and involved the aircraft with registration D-AIME.
JetBlue Airways’ Caribbean footprint has grown with the addition of Haiti to the airline’s network. The carrier now serves Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au Prince daily from its base at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and twice daily from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. “We see great opportunities with our new service to Port-au-Prince,” says President and CEO Dave Barger of the airline’s 24th international destination.
Air Canada’s first Boeing 787 scheduled service will be introduced in July on a nonstop service between the carrier’s Toronto Pearson International Airport hub and Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The airline says it will take delivery of all 15 787-8s on order in the spring and will operate the first three on domestic and international preview flights before inaugurating scheduled service.
SR Technics, beefing up its presence in an expanding region, has teamed up with Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF) to create a component support facility in Jakarta. The five-year deal calls for the shop to serve as part of the SR Technics Integrated Component Services (ICS) network, handling about 150 part numbers.
As expected, Boeing launched the long-range 777X family in grand style at the recent Dubai air show. But behind the scenes, the company says engineering work to ready the new derivative for launch has gone better than ever, proving that the Airplane Development organization created in last year’s radical shake-up, is working.
Drag-reduction technology that has been under research for decades is moving toward reality as commercial aircraft developers search for ever-higher fuel efficiency. Aircraft vertical tails are the first target because of the payoff if their size and drag can be reduced, but the techniques being developed could find their way onto other aircraft surfaces.
