The main unions representing Alitalia cabin crew and pilots have called a four-hour strike today to protest management’s failure to provide details on its strategy to avoid bankruptcy, and are threatening to stage another three work stoppages if the airline fails to develop a credible restructuring plan.
In late December 2011, a U.S. Marine Corps mechanic conducting a routine phase inspection of a UH-1Y Huey discovered that the helicopter’s transmission pylon beam and the main beam joint were disintegrating. Left unchecked, the problem would have resulted in disaster. The mechanic’s finding led to a Corps-wide inspection and, ultimately, the release of an engineering advisory report.
An article in the Oct. 28 issue of Aviation Daily on an FAA directive ordering checks of Boeing 747-8 power control actuators (PCAs) for missing bushings should have stated that only one instance of missing PCA bushings has been reported.
French investigators say faulty maintenance, combined with a lack of “clear and detailed” instructions by Airbus led to the runway excursion of an Air Contractors Airbus A300—operating as a DHL freighter—at Bratislava Airport in Slovakia on Nov. 16, 2012. After landing on Runway 22 in good weather after a flight from Leipzig, the pilots noted “strong vibrations” six seconds after the nose gear touched down.
The FAA on Oct. 25 ordered Boeing 747-8 operators to check elevator power control actuators (PCA) for missing bushings after two reports of missing bushings on in-service aircraft. The directive, effective Nov. 12, was adopted without prior public comment due to the risk presented. It requires operators to follow the recommended detailed inspection procedure and timeline detailed in a Boeing Alert Service Bulletin issued Aug. 23. The order does not provide additional compliance details.
18th Annual Regional & Business Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference Montelucia, Paradise Valley (Scottsdale), AZ November 6-8, 2013 Preliminary Program Available at www.speednews.com Who should attend?
In a letter to the general secretariat of the Council of EU, which was obtained by Aviation Week, Cyprus admits it mistakenly voted against the European Union’s proposal at the International Civil Aviation Organization assembly in Montreal on a framework for national and regional market-based measures to reduce aviation-related carbon emissions, and instead supported a counter-proposal drawn up by a group of countries led by Russia.
Boeing, which has struggled to cash in on the massive aftermarket support market its aircraft generate, is designing the 737 MAX and soon-to-be-launched 777X with an eye on grabbing a greater share of the maintenance work the models will need, the company’s top executive says. “We are mindful of the lifecycle costs and revenues associated with decisions we make on these programs,” Boeing President and CEO James McNerney said last week during an earnings call. “We are thinking harder about that issue, and leaning forward more than perhaps we did on the 787.”
Among the innovations hidden beneath the skin of Dassault’s Falcon 5X is a Thales-developed unit that will both electrically start the aircraft’s Snecma Silvercrest engines and generate power from them to supply aircraft systems. Believed to be the first time such devices have featured on a general aviation aircraft, the Thales TopStar suite on the new Falcon will include two starter-generators for the main engines, one for the auxiliary power unit (APU), three electronic regulators, three transformer rectifiers and a single electronic starter converter.
Air India has issued a fresh global tender for the lease of 19 new Airbus A320 aircraft, after the financially troubled airline’s first bid in August failed to attract any lessors. “As part of its effort to reduce costs and optimize revenue, Air India intends to procure new A320s with Sharklet fuel-saving wing-tip devices, powered by CFM56-5B4/3 PIP engines, on dry lease for a lease period of maximum up to 12 years, up from the six-year lease period it planned in August,” an airline spokesman tells Aviation Week. The airline will accept bids until Nov. 19.
Miami International Airport will be the third U.S. airport to begin using the FAA’s revised wake turbulence separation criteria, already in place in Memphis International Airport in Tennessee and Louisville International Airport in Kentucky. Beginning Dec. 1, controllers at Miami will allow most aircraft to fly closer together on arrivals and departures without eroding safety margins for wake-induced upsets.
GE Honda Aero Engines expects to achieve its long-awaited FAA certification for the HF120 turbofan by year-end, paving the way for the start of initial production in coming months.
Harris Corp. has agreements in place with five major carriers, including United Airlines, to equip more than 1,500 aircraft over the next six years with digital communications gear that will accelerate ground operations at 57 airports by mid-2019 and remove most voice communications with air traffic control in the en route environment beyond 2019.
Saab Sensis, best known for its radar-based runway safety tools, is broadening its portfolio to include system-level safety tools. “It’s a future growth area for us,” says Douglas Sweet, director of Saab Sensis advanced development. Highlighting the evolution in the company’s role is a system verification and validation task with NASA’s Langley Research Center, as well as a three-year flight-critical systems research task order contract, also with Langley.
China Southern Airlines plans to launch its first route to the U.S. East Coast next year, as the carrier continues to ramp up its international operations.
Oct. 29-31—MRO Asia, Singapore. Nov. 13-14—Aerospace & Defense Programs, Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Ariz. Jan. 21-22, 2014—MRO Latin America, Rio de Janerio, Brazil Feb. 4-6—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE March 4-5—Defense Technology & Affordability Requirements, Washington, D.C. March 6—57th Annual Laureates Awards, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. April 8-10—MRO Americas 2014, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Ariz.
Piaggio says it has a fully approved path to put P.180 Avantis grounded by the collapse of Avantair back into the sky, and that the first recertified aircraft already has been returned to its owner.
Click here to view the pdf Arab Air Carrier Organization Monthly Traffic: August 2013 Arab Air Carrier Organization Monthly Traffic: August 2013 RPK % Chg. ASK % Chg. Load Factor
India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has allowed Singapore Airlines (SIA) to establish a full-service airline in the country in partnership with the Tata Group, but the joint venture airline will need several other regulatory approvals before it can start operations. “The Tata-SIA proposal has been cleared,” said Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram after a meeting of the FIPB, a panel of bureaucrats who examine various aspects of foreign investments. The government has not set any preconditions for the joint venture, Mayaram added.
