The A380 superjumbo that flew almost empty. I thought the days of chancing a half-empty international flight were grounded for good once computers replaced humans in making sure aeroplane seats were filled. But the gods who look after economy passengers smiled down on us on Wednesday last week when Qantas flight QF93 developed a bit of tummy trouble, putting its 9.30am departure from Melbour...
A helicopter that crashed in Norway, killing 13 people including a Briton, had to return to base twice in the days before the incident owing to a warning light. The Super Puma had to turn back to Bergen airport, Flesland, last Tuesday when the pilot spotted the indication light, the operator CHC Helicopter confirmed on Sunday. An aircraft part was replaced and a test flight was conducted the...
Two men who died when their plane crashed into a remote field were thought to be RAF pilots. The pilot and his passenger were killed as the light aircraft crash-landed in a field off Mains Lane, between Castle Howard and the A64, in North Yorkshire, at about 10.40am on Saturday. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators continue to examine the cause of the crash. Police have no...
The Textron subsidiary Able Aerospace Services has achieved certification from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) as an approved maintenance organisation (AMO). The JCAB-AMO certification, which is issued by Japan’s minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, allows the service centre to perform repair or alteration of aircraft components including rotors, transmissions, mec...
Lufthansa Technik might have lost out in the Cabin Systems category at the Crystal Cabin Awards this year in Hamburg, but there’s no lack of passenger experience innovation coming from the company best known for its global MRO operations. “Original equipment innovation is one of the seven product divisions within Lufthansa Technik,” Andrew Muirhead, vice president of that prod...
Piasecki Aircraft chief executive John Piasecki sees an enduring place for the company’s winged compound helicopters within the US Army’s Future Vertical Lift strategy despite the robust competition that has emerged between compound coaxial and tiltrotor types currently engaged in a Joint MultiRole technology demonstration effort. The advanced aircraft design company – which h...
Bombardier Inc’s founding family is rejecting demands by Canada’s government to loosen its control of the company in exchange for financial assistance. “It’s not our intention to change anything in this regard,” Chairman Pierre Beaudoin said Friday in Montreal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is said to be pushing for corporate governance change...
A QANTAS plane bound for Perth was grounded in Melbourne on Saturday night for hours after a terror threat email was apparently sent to passengers. Up to 50 passengers disembarked after the security scare. Flight QF481 was due to take off at 6.50pm, but a middle-aged Perth woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was delayed after a few passengers received an email threat about the flig...
Two Hungarian Air Force JAS-39C Gripens were scrambled when a British Airways flight from Dubai failed to contact Hungary’s civil air traffic control before entering the airspace. The highest level alert was ordered, the defence ministry said. The Gripens took off at 12.55pm to intercept and identify the aircraft upon entering Hungary’s airspace and secure its safe pa...
Air France-KLM's board is to appoint Jean-Marc Janaillac as the Franco-Dutch airline group's next chief executive on Tuesday to replace Alexandre de Juniac, a source close to the matter said on Saturday. Frederic Gagey would remain as head of Air France, the source said. Sixty-three year old Janaillac, CEO of multi-modal transport company Transdev since 2012, first occupied a s...
Radom (Poland), Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and Airbus Helicopters are hosting a two-day workshop in Radom on the 28 – 29 April to identify potential areas of cooperation around the Tiger HAD project, in the frame of the Kruk attack helicopter project. The event included the global network of Tiger HAD suppliers who took part in the discussions with a number of Polish companies. T...
Donauwörth, With successful technical acceptance, Airbus Helicopters has handed over the first two of five lightweight military multi-role H145M helicopters to the Royal Thai Navy. This marks an important milestone in the H145M programme on its way to the final acceptance and entry into service in Thailand at the end of 2016. A delegation from the Royal Thai Navy and Airbus Helicopters G...
