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FAA orders 787 grounding until battery problem fixed

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will ground all US-registered Boeing 787s until Boeing demonstrates the lithium-ion-polymer batteries on board are safe. The agency intends to issue an emergency airworthiness directive to "address a potential battery fire risk in the 787 and require operators to temporarily cease operations."
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Boeing responds to 787 grounding order

Responding to a grounding order imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney says the company will seek to return the 787 to service in the "coming days." McNerney also repeated Boeing's confidence about the aircraft despite the FAA's stated concerns about the risk of a fire caused by the 787's lithium-ion-polymer batteries. "We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity," McNerney says.
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LAN suspends Boeing 787 flights
hile-based LAN Airlines has become the first non-US carrier to announce it will comply with the US FAA recommendation and temporarily suspend its Boeing 787 operations. LAN said the grounding was being done in coordination with the Chilean Aeronautical Authority (DGAC). The carrier has three 787s.
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Crane-crash pilot requested to divert and land at the London Heliport
The pilot of the ill-fated AgustaWestland AW109 that crashed in London on 16 January had requested to divert and land at the London Heliport in Battersea because of bad weather. The light twin-engined helicopter was on a commercial flight from Redhill in Surrey to Elstree in Hertfordshire when it collided with a crane on top of a high-rise building at about 08:00 local time.
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Germany Wants Bigger Say In Airbus Future

Germany wants a bigger say in future Airbus projects, Germany's economy minister said on Wednesday, months after Berlin acquired a direct stake in Airbus's parent company for the first time. "It is the goal of the government that the German aviation industry can take on a leading role in future Airbus programs," Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said.
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Pratt & Whitney to deliver last F-22 Raptor engine

Pratt & Whitney will deliver the last of 507 F119 afterburning turbofans to the US Air Force on 17 January. Two such engines, which the company says have an output in the 35,000lbs (154kN) class each, power the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. Though the last Raptor was delivered to the USAF in May 2012, the service ordered additional engines to sustain the F-22 fleet into the future, says Bennett Croswell, president of Pratt and Whitney's military engines division. "When they saw the end of the production line coming, the air force ordered an additional 39 spare engines," he says. "So that's what we've been delivering over the last year."
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Other News

United Airlines said it would comply immediately with an order from the FAA grounding Boeing 787 Dreamliners pending safety checks of the plane's batteries. United, which had some 787 flights in-air when the order was issued, said it would put currently scheduled passengers for future flights on other aircraft.

India's airline regulator will decide on whether or not to ground national carrier Air India's Boeing 787 jets after the US company submits a report on the aircraft's safety, the regulator's head said on Wednesday. Boeing is expected to submit a report on the Dreamliner by the end of Wednesday, Arun Mishra, director general of Civil Aviation told reporters, after a series of incidents heightened safety concerns over the plane. The Indian regulator has formed a team to work with Boeing to judge the safety of the aircraft, Mishra added.

Pinnacle Airlines said its agreements on a plan for emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection have been approved by the bankruptcy court. Under the plan, it will operate a fleet of 81 two-class Bombardier CRJ900s for Delta Air Lines, removing its 140 CRJ200s from service over the next two to three years. “The agreements together provide a path for the company to emerge from bankruptcy with a competitive cost structure and a viable long-term business plan,” Pinnacle said in a statement. Pinnacle will receive Delta Connection's next 40 CRJ900s, with deliveries planned to begin in the fall and completed by 2014 year end.

Pratt & Whitney confirmed it will reduce its salaried workforce by 350 positions companywide. Of the 350 positions, approximately 200 will be eliminated from its Connecticut operations, effective immediately. The company employs approximately 36,000 worldwide and approximately 10,000 in Connecticut. “Pratt & Whitney continuously assesses staffing levels to ensure they are in line with current business and economic conditions,” a Pratt & Whitney spokesperson said, adding that the action has a global impact. “When necessary, we make staffing adjustments required to keep our cost structure competitive.” The spokesperson added, “Our long-term outlook is very bright.”

Finnair has denied reports that president and CEO Mika Vehviläinen is leaving the airline to take up a similar role at Cargotec, a cargo handling equipment maker. A report in Finland’s Talouselämä business magazine on Tuesday said Vehviläinen had been appointed to replace Mikael Mäkinen. Last October, Mäkinen was appointed as president of Cargotec’s marine business area to prepare for a separate listing of the marine business in Asia later this year. The search for his replacement has been ongoing since then. In a statement, Finnair said Vehviläinen “has not resigned from his position,” and said it “cannot confirm the rumors presented by Talouselämä magazine on its Internet pages.”

Korean Air said it will introduce nine additional next-generation aircraft to its fleet this year. The aircraft will comprise two Airbus A380s, one A330-200, two Boeing 777-300ERs, two 737-900ERs, one 747-8F and one 777F. Korean Air will take delivery of two A380s in July and October, bringing the number of aircraft to seven out of an order for 10 of the type. The A380s will be mostly used on long-haul flights, including New York and Los Angeles, Calif. This month, the airline has doubled the A380 frequency between Incheon and New York from seven to 14X a week. It has increased A380 service between Incheon and Los Angeles from seven to 12X weekly. On Feb. 1, the carrier will resume the A380 Incheon-Frankfurt service and will begin its A380 Incheon-Atlanta service in August. Korean Air introduced 30 aircraft during 2011 and 2012; 16 in 2011 and 14 last year. The carrier plans to take delivery of 53 aircraft—including five 747-8Is, 10 787-9s and10 Bombardier CS300s—by 2018. It has 148 aircraft in its fleet and plans to have 200 by 2019.

Air Berlin is expanding codesharing activities with Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi to Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai, as well to Tokyo Narita and Nagoya. It will launch daily Berlin service to Sofia and Bucharest Otopeni Jan 28.

Finnair will operate 3X-weekly Helsinki-Xi’an service June 14-Oct. 26.

Loganair will operate weekly Norwich-Guernsey service April 28-Sept. 29.

Singapore Airlines will increase Singapore service to Fukuoka (5X-weekly to daily), Osaka (11X-weekly to 2X-daily), Chengdu (7X-weekly to 9X-weekly), Wuhan (4X-weekly to 7X-weekly), Coimbatore (3X-weekly to 4X-weekly), Manado (4X-weekly to 5X-weekly), Danang (5X-weekly to 6X-weekly), Siem Reap (9X-weekly to 10X-weekly), Yangon (9X-weekly to 11X-weekly), Langkawi (4X-weekly to 5X-weekly), Penang (28X-weekly to 35X-weekly), Chiang Mai (4X-weekly to 5X-weekly) and Phuket (30X-weekly to 35X-weekly) March 31-Oct. 26; and increase 5X-weekly Singapore-Moscow-Houston to daily May 20-Aug. 11. It will also increase Singapore service to Adelaide (10X-weekly to 12X-weekly) and Melbourne (3X-daily to 4X-daily) July 1 and cease Singapore service to Los Angeles (Oct. 20) and Newark (Nov. 23).

Aviation Quote

One peek is worth a thousand instrument cross-checks.

Anonymous

On This Date

---In 1906... The second Zeppelin (LZ-2) built makes its first successful flight over Lake Constance, Germany, achieving a speed of 25 mph.

---In 1938…William H Pickering, astronomer (predicted Pluto), died at age 79.

---In 1948…BOAC begins to replace its Boeing 314 flying boat with the Lockheed Constellation on the Baltimore (USA)--Bermuda route.

---In 1962…A NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 40,690 m.

---In 1968…Soyuz 4 and 5 completed 1st docking of 2 manned spacecraft.

---In 1970…Sukhoi T-6-2IG (prototype of Sukhoi Su-24 'Fencer').

---In 1976…Hermes rocket launched by European Space Agency.

---In 1979…Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer, discovered Pluto in 1930, died at age 90.

---In 1980…NASA launches Fltsatcom-3.

---In 1986…Voyager 2 - USA Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune Flyby (Launched August 20, 1977) flew by Uranus[/link. Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter on July 9, 1979, Saturn on August 26, 1981, Uranus on January 24, 1986, and Neptune on August 24, 1989.

---In 2008… British Airways Flight 38, a Boeing 777-200ER G-YMMM, flying from Beijing to London, crash-landed approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of London Heathrow Airport's runway 27L, and slid onto the runway's threshold. This resulted in damage to the landing gear, the wing roots, and the engines, resulting in the first hull loss of a Boeing 777. There were 136 passengers and 16 crew on board. 1 serious and 12 minor injuries were sustained. The initial report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch stated that the engines repeatedly failed to respond to commands for more thrust from both the autothrottle system and from manual intervention, beginning when the aircraft was at an altitude of 600 feet (180 m) and 2 miles (3.2 km) from touchdown. In September 2008, it was revealed that ice in the fuel might have caused the crash. In early 2009, Boeing sent an update to aircraft operators, identifying the problem as specific to the Rolls-Royce engine oil-fuel flow heat exchangers.

Daily Video

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Humor

ATC

A United Airlines 747 captain tries to make light banter with Sydney, Australia, Approach Control ...

Captain: "Good morning, Sydney, this is United XXX, we're 50 miles out and have your island in sight ..."

Approach: "Roger, United ... you're cleared to circle the island twice, then it's okay to land."

Trivia

General Trivia

1. What is a deceleron?

2.When air traffic control advises pilots of other traffic, many pilots advise the controller that the traffic is not in sight using the colloquial and unofficial phrase "no joy." From where does this expression originate?

3. The Waco CG-4A glider was used during World War II (especially during the Normandy invasion) as a cargo and troop carrier. Why was it referred to as a "flying coffin"?

4. Almost all general aviation piston engines have a wet sump, a built-in oil reservoir, instead of an external or separate oil tank. How can you determine by looking at the oil dipstick of a wet-sump engine the minimum oil quantity with which the engine can be operated safely?

5. True or False, James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle was the first solo pilot to perform a blind takeoff and landing using only cockpit instruments and radio aids.

6. True or False, Two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses took off from Hilo, Hawaii, on August 6, 1946, without anyone on board. Both landed safely at Muroc Dry Lake, California.

3. The Waco CG-4A glider was used during World War II (especially during the Normandy invasion) as a cargo and troop carrier. Why was it referred to as a "flying coffin"?

6. True or False, Two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses took off from Hilo, Hawaii, on August 6, 1946, without anyone on board. Both landed safely at Muroc Dry Lake, California.