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Crashed Superjet was coded as fighter: investigators
Indonesian air traffic control was unaware that the crashed Sukhoi Superjet 100 was an airliner because it had been coded as a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. Flight-data personnel at Jakarta, having received a flight plan for the Superjet's demonstration, coded the aircraft as an Su-30 because the database being used did not include the twinjet. Investigators probing the fatal Superjet crash on 9 May indicate that this misleading entry influenced a crucial decision to permit the airliner to descend to low altitude in a mountainous region, shortly before it struck terrain.
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Air Canada Picks 'Rouge' As Name Of LCC
Air Canada will begin flying to European and Caribbean leisure destinations next year under the 'Rouge' name, the airline said on Tuesday, disclosing details about the new low-cost carrier it hopes will provide a springboard for sustained profitability. Air Canada is launching Rouge at a time when Canadians have a growing number of options for leisure travel. It will compete with Transat, WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Travel.
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Ireland Opposed To Ryanair Bid For Aer Lingus
The Irish government has decided to oppose Ryanair's bid to take over Aer Lingus after studying details of the plan, the country's transport minister said on Tuesday in a blow to the budget airline's ambitions. The European Commission, which is probing the EUR€694 million (USD$917 million) bid on competition grounds and will have the ultimate say early next year, sent Ryanair a list of objections to the tie-up last month.
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Pegasus Airlines Orders 75 Airbus A320/A321s
Turkey's Pegasus Airlines ordered 75 Airbus A320-family planes on Tuesday worth around USD$7.5 billion, Airbus said, marking the country's largest single aircraft order. The Istanbul-based budget carrier placed a firm order for 58 fuel-saving A320neo aircraft and 17 A321neo jets. The aircraft have a combined list price of USD$7.5 billion.
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Pegasus Airbus Order Is Upset For Boeing
Budget carrier Pegasus Airlines turned its back on Boeing and placed its first order for Airbus airliners on Tuesday in a USD$7.5 billion deal hailed as Turkey's largest single plane order. The order for at least 75 A320neo aircraft represents a breakthrough for the European jet maker. Pegasus currently operates aircraft built by Boeing, but it switched allegiance after what industry sources described as a bitterly fought price contest between the plane makers.
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United Confirms Electrical Problem On Second 787
United Airlines and Boeing confirmed that a second aircraft in United's fleet of 787 Dreamliners had suffered electrical problems, notching up to three the tally of 787s that have developed electrical issues this month. The growing number focused further attention on issues with the plane, which has been rolled out to customers over the past year. Spokeswomen for United and Boeing said the problems on United's planes occurred in an electrical distribution panel, not a generator, as had been previously believed.
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Regional-jet deal will pay off in 3 years, Delta execs say
A deal to return 60 of its 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets and acquire 40 76-seat CRJ900s "pays for itself within three years, basically," said Delta Air Lines President Ed Bastian during a presentation with CEO Richard Anderson.
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AA CEO did not reject possible merger during union talks
A memo from an American Airlines executive to the airline's pilots stated that CEO Tom Horton kept his comments on a possible merger "impartial" during talks with leaders of the Allied Pilots Association. Instead, the memo says, Horton reviewed the airline's restructuring progress and discussed new opportunities for pilots.
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Pinnacle gets more negotiation time from Delta
Pinnacle Airlines has extended its debtor-in-possession agreement with Delta Air Lines to Jan. 17 in order to continue negotiations with Air Line Pilots Association International, the union representing its pilots. The agreement's terms specifying the amount and time frame of payback did not change.
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Alenia Aermacchi receives first Australian C-27J fuselage
The fuselage of Australia's first Alenia Aermacchi C-27J tactical transport has arrived at the company's Turin factory for final assembly. The fuselage was delivered by truck and sea after being produced at Alenia's Capodichino Naples site, says Alenia. In May 2012, Australia placed an order for ten C-27Js through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will receive its first example in early 2015.
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Other News

Skymark Airlines selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine to power six Airbus A380s it has on order. The order is worth $1 billion at list prices and includes TotalCare service support; the Japanese airline had signed a letter of intent for the engines in September 2011. Skymark has also signed a letter of intent for Trent 700 engines to power up to 10 leased Airbus A330s, making it the first carrier in Japan to select both Trent engine types. Both aircraft types are slated to enter service for the airline in 2014.

Indonesian authorities have confirmed that human error caused the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) crash in May during a demonstration flight near Jakarta. All 45 people, including four crew members, died in the crash. Authorities concluded the aircraft’s terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) sent several alerts to the pilot 38 seconds before the crash, warning of the dangerous approach to terrain. However, the pilot switched off the TAWS, apparently deciding the alerts were due to mistakes in its database. According to the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee report, the pilot was distracted by a conversation with a potential customer who was in the cockpit. After the crash, Sukhoi suspended Indonesian sales of the aircraft pending a crash investigation. Last month, the SSJ100 was granted a type certificate in Indonesia. The first of 12 SSJ100s will be delivered to Indonesian Sky Aviation before the end of the year.

ST Engineering subsidiary VT Aerospace has struck a deal to acquire cabin interiors specialist Volant Aerospace for $13.1 million. Volant, which was established in 1988, provides new and refurbished cabin interior parts and support. Its range includes passenger service units, space panels, ceiling panels, sidewall panels, overhead bins, lavatories and galleys. ST Engineering is expecting the deal to close by year end. Volant will then become a wholly owned subsidiary of VT Aerospace and will work closely with the group’s in-house engineering and development center.

XL Airways Germany temporarily suspended operations for the winter season from Dec. 14. Three Boeing 737-800s have been wet-leased to North America’s charter CanJet Airlines for the winter season until May 2013; two 737-800s will be stored at Cologne Bonn Airport. Hamburg Airways will take over the remaining charter contracts for XL Airways Germany.

CAE has booked orders from China’s Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Russia’s New Information Technologies in Aviation (NITA). The orders are for four level D full-flight simulators (FFS) including the first two FFSs for the COMAC C919. Along with the two FFSs, which will feature CAE’s third-generation CAE Tropos-6000 visual system, COMAC ordered associated training devices and the CAE augmented engineering environment for the C919. CAE will also provide two Level 5 flight and maintenance training devices. The two C919 CAE 7000 series FFFs will be ready for use in 2015 at Shanghai Aircraft Customer Services Co.

EasyJet will increase 12X-weekly Belfast-Birmingham service to 13X-weekly March 31. It will launch 3X-weekly London Southend-Newquay service June 20.

Darwin Airline will launch service to Pristina from Zurich (daily) and Geneva (2X-weekly), Dec. 14. The carrier will use Belle Air Europe Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 aircraft on the routes.

US Airways will launch daily Charlotte, N.C.-Sao Paulo Boeing 767-200 service May 5.

Monarch Airlines will launch 2X-weekly Manchester-Almeria service May 4.

Aviation Quote

There is just no way that I can understand in God's green earth that an airline could undertake with its normal procedures the operation of the Space Shuttle. . . . You don't put parachutes on airliners because the margin of safety is built into the machine. The 727 airplanes we fly are proven vehicles with levels of safety and redundancy built in. The shuttle is a hand-made piece of experimental gear.

— Frank Borman, former Apollo astronaut and president of Eastern Airlines, quoted in Bell & Esch, The Fatal Flaw in Flight 51-l, 1987.

On This Date

---In 1908... The world’s first aerodrome, Port-Aviation, is opened 12 miles outside of Paris.

---In 1968... The Boeing Company receives its first order, from Israeli airline El Al, for a long-range version of the 747 Jumbo Jet, production of which was announced just under a month ago.

---In 1978... The first solar-powered aircraft, Solar One, makes a successful flight in England.

---In 1980… New York Air began airline operations.

---In 1990… Northwest Airlines buys a 25% share in Hawaiian Airlines.

---In 2005… Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 loses a wing and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Miami, killing twenty people. This crash spells the end for Chalk's Ocean Airways, operating since 1917.

Daily Video

Editor’s Choice

Humor

Politically Correct Nelson At Trafalgar

Nelson: "Order the signal, Hardy."

Hardy: "Aye, aye sir."

Nelson: "Hold on, that's not what I dictated to Flags. What's the meaning of this?"

Hardy: "Sorry sir?"

Nelson (reading aloud): "' England expects every person to do his or her duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability.' - What gobbledegook is this?"

Hardy: "Admiralty policy, I'm afraid, sir. We're an equal opportunities employer now. We had the devil's own job getting ' England ' past the censors, lest it be considered racist."

Nelson: "Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco."

Hardy: "Sorry sir. All naval vessels have now been designated smoke-free working environments."

Nelson: "In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the mainbrace to steel the men before battle."

Hardy: "The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the Government's policy on binge drinking."

Nelson: "Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we'd better get on with it ........... full speed ahead."

Hardy: "I think you'll find that there's a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water."

Nelson: "Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow's nest please."

Hardy: "That won't be possible, sir."

Nelson: "What?"

Hardy: "Health and Safety have closed the crow's nest, sir. No harness; and they said that rope ladders don't meet regulations. They won't let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected."

Nelson: "Then get me the ship's carpenter without delay, Hardy."

Hardy: "He's busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the foredeck Admiral."

Nelson: "Wheelchair access? I've never heard anything so absurd."

Hardy: "Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently abled."

Nelson: "Differently abled? I've only one arm and one eye and I refuse even to hear mention of the word. I didn't rise to the rank of admiral by playing the disability card."

Hardy: "Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency."

Nelson: "Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons."

Hardy: "A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won't let the crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don't want anyone breathing in too much salt - haven't you seen the adverts?"

Nelson: "I've never heard such infamy. Break out the cannon and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy."

Hardy: "The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral."

Nelson: "What? This is mutiny!"

Hardy: "It's not that, sir. It's just that they're afraid of being charged with murder if they actually kill anyone. There's a couple of legal-aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks."

Nelson: "Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?"

Hardy: "Actually, sir, we're not."

Nelson: "We're not?"

Hardy: "No, sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn't even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation."

Nelson: "But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."

Hardy: "I wouldn't let the ship's diversity co-ordinator hear you saying that sir. You'll be up on disciplinary report."

Nelson: "You must consider every man an enemy, who speaks ill of your King."

Hardy: "Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age. Now put on your Kevlar vest; it's the rules. It could save your life"

Nelson: "Don't tell me - health and safety. Whatever happened to rum,
sodomy and the lash?"

Hardy: As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu! And there's a ban on corporal punishment."

Nelson: "What about sodomy?"

Hardy: "I believe that is now legal, sir."

Nelson: "In that case........................ kiss me, Hardy."

Trivia

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