CommercialKazan crash captured on airport cameras The final moments of the ill-fated Tatarstan Air Boeing 737-500 appear to have been captured on Kazan airport's security cameras. According to Kazan airport authorities, the Tatarstan Air Boeing 737-500 crashed during a go-around manoeuvre following an attempted night approach to runway 29. As they initiated the go-around, the crew told air traffic control they were abandoning the approach because it was "unstabilised", a generic term meaning that the aircraft's speed or the descent profile, or both, were not within acceptable parameters to assure a safe landing. A few moments later security video cameras caught the last two seconds of the aircraft's flight before impact with the surface. It was in an almost vertical descent, and although the night-time view was poor quality, it appears to be in a nose-down dive. There also appear to be one or two small flashes from the aircraft's wing just before impact, when there is a huge explosion and fireball.
LinkLinkDiscussionRoyal approval for Brunei's 787s Royal Brunei Airlines’ new Boeing 787-8s have been very well received by passengers on its regional network, so much so that it may revise its plans only to use them on long-haul services. “The feedback on our regional routes is very strong,” says deputy chairman Dermot Mannion, speaking from the Dubai air show where one of its two 787s is on static display. “We didn’t have a plan to operate 787s regionally when we started out, but there is the beginnings of a case to look at operating the 787 on sector lengths of 5-6 hours.”
LinkBombardier CSeries Order Drought ContinuesBombardier has failed to announce any sales for its CSeries jet in the opening days of the Dubai Airshow, extending a five-month drought in demand for the new model. Bombardier has struggled to win orders for its CSeries narrow-body against models from Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier instead announced on Monday two conditional deals for up to 12 of its Q400 short-haul turboprops, worth a total of USD$423 million at list prices. "I don't know that there was a high amount of expectation going into this particular show," Stonecap Securities analyst Scott Rattee said. "In terms of the CSeries, I don't know that this was going to be a headline-grabbing show for them."
LinkQatar Air To Launch Saudi Domestic ServicesQatar Airways will launch domestic operations in Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2014, the airline's chief executive said on Monday. Akbar Al Baker said the Saudi domestic services carrier will be called Al Maha Airways and will start with the main cities of the kingdom including Riyadh and Jeddah, and then move to the second-tier cities. "We have chosen the name of the Saudi carrier... Al Maha Airways. We hope to start operations in the first half of next year," Al Baker told Reuters news agency at the Dubai Airshow.
LinkBoeing plans first 777X flight in 2019 Boeing has outlined the development schedule for its 777X program, which is aimed for a service-entry in 2020. Part production for the large twinjet is to begin in 2017, with the first flight scheduled to take place in 2019. After the programme was officially launched at this year’s Dubai air show, top level design for the future 777 derivative is to be finalised by the end of next year.This will be followed by firming up the aircraft’s configuration in 2015 and detailed design due to take place in 2016.
LinkATR still waiting to launch 90-seater turbopropATR is still awaiting shareholder approval to launch a 90-seat turboprop, which is planned to enter service towards the end of the decade. The airframer’s head of global sales John Moore tells Flightglobal Pro in an interview during the Dubai air show that the company has conducted a number of market and engineering studies for a 90-seater, but it is now up to its shareholders – EADS and Alenia Aermacchi – to decide when the aircraft will launch. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at this market, we’ve got a lot of feedback from our customers and airlines who believe that there is a need for this product,” he says.
LinkJet Aviation picks Rockwell's Venue for A340CJJet Aviation Basel has picked Rockwell Collins' Venue cabin management and entertainment system and its Airshow 3D moving map system for an Airbus A340CJ VVIP business jet. “This is a significant milestone as this is the largest aircraft Venue will be installed on to date,” says Greg Irmen, vice president and general manager, cabin systems for Rockwell Collins.
LinkReagan slots proved key for AA-US Airways settlementThe settlement of the antitrust lawsuit between the Department of Justice, American Airlines and US Airways primarily hinged on 104 takeoff and landing slots at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. "In antitrust there is no lawsuit that can’t be settled and there is significant risk on both sides that you might lose everything," said Herb Hovenkamp, an antitrust law professor at the University of Iowa. "Once you got movement on Reagan, the rest of it fell into place."
LinkAA-US Airways selects new ticker symbolThe merged American Airlines-US Airways carrier will be traded under ticker symbol AAL on the NASDAQ, the airlines said. American's former ticker symbol, AMR, and US Airways' former ticker symbol, LCC, will both be canceled. "The combined airline will have a strong financial foundation and is poised to deliver significant value to shareholders as a result of its robust global network," CEO Doug Parker said in an announcement last week. "We are excited about what's ahead for the new American and what we will be able to deliver for our investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders."
LinkDelta CEO receives award from aviation societyRichard Anderson, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, received an award from the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society. "The bottom line is, this is an airline which is unsurpassed in America and the world today," said Will Michaels, the co-chairman of the Jannus group. Anderson received his trophy at a ceremony in Tampa, Fla.
LinkReps. Meehan, DeFazio introduce bill to block CBP facility at AUHLegislation introduced in Congress would stop the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency from opening a customs preclearance hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the measure on Nov. 14. Airlines for America said the Department of Homeland Security should "use its resources to focus on addressing lengthy wait times at several U.S. gateway airports, which inconvenience U.S. citizens and discourage travel to the United States."
LinkColumn: Other agencies should follow FAA model of relaxing unnecessary regulationsTyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University, said the Federal Aviation Administration took a step in the right direction by relaxing restrictions on personal electronic devices. He also says government agencies have a habit of over-regulating life in the U.S. "One possible step forward would be to require agencies to submit plans for retiring some fraction of their regulations over the next few years, and to reward these agencies for seeing this process through," he writes.
LinkRepublicans question DOJ involvement in AA-US Airways caseRep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said the Department of Justice was "overcompensating for past omissions" in its antitrust lawsuit against the merger between US Airways and American Airlines. Bachus was speaking at a hearing of the House Judiciary Antitrust Law subcommittee.
LinkTransport Canada lax on guidance for tech usage during takeoffs, landingsTransport Canada has yet to distribute any rules on the use of mobile devices during takeoffs and landings, which has discouraged most operators from testing the effects of such usage. "Transport Canada will not provide approved guidance. Therefore there is no guarantee that any of the costly and comprehensive testing we would conduct would be accepted," said Brie Ogle, a spokeswoman for WestJet.
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