NAS Daily 26 OCT 20

airtrainer 25 Oct 20, 23:11

News

Accidents/Incidents

SWISS Boeing 777 Damaged By Air Stairs In São Paulo
An almost new SWISS Boeing 777 suffered wing damage in São Paulo on Tuesday after high winds allegedly shifted a mobile stair unit. However, while there were rain and storms at São Paulo Airport on Tuesday, recorded wind speeds do not appear to be high enough to have caused the stairs to shift on their own – unless someone forgot to apply the brakes.
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American Eagle ERJ145 Runs Off The Runway In The Bahamas
Today, at approximately 11:56 local time, an American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145LR operating flight AA4194 overran the runway shortly after landing in Freeport, Bahamas. Details are scarce, but it has been reported that all passengers and crew are safe.
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Delta Air Lines Passenger Ban List Over Masks Crosses 400
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines now has more than 400 people on its no-fly list for refusing to wear a face mask. Delta said wearing masks “is among the simplest and most effective actions we can take to reduce transmission.” According to American news, broadcaster NBC News America’s third-largest airline by fleet numbers has banned 460 mask-refusing customers.
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Multiple Hydraulic Failures Strike American Airlines Airbus A320
An American Airlines Airbus A320 was at the center of a potential drama yesterday after the flight crew reported multiple hydraulic failures. The flight from Syracuse to Charlotte spent 45 minutes in the air before returning to its departing airport and landing safely with emergency services standing by.
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Delta A330 Diverts After Wildfire Smoke Reportedly Ends Up In Cockpit
In the early hours this morning, a Delta plane operating a route from Atlanta to London was forced to perform an emergency landing in St John’s, Canada, after smoke entered the cockpit. The crew noticed the smoke and requested the emergency landing as a safety precaution, despite being told that around five other planes in the area had reported the same issue. Smoke from the wildfires in Colorado had entered the jet stream and was penetrating aircraft.
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Commercial

The Airbus A380 Competitors That Never Were
There was a massive buzz about the Airbus A380 project for nearly two decades before the plane’s introduction in 2007. The superjumbo would bring unprecedented capabilities to commercial passenger aviation with its size and specifications. The anticipation of the jet caused several other aircraft manufacturers to look into alternatives to compete with the behemoth. Here is a look at the potential rivals of the A380 that never came to be.
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Different Types Of Jet Fuel: Avgas Vs Jet A1 - What's The Difference ?
Have you ever wondered what the different types of aviation fuel are ? Just like vehicles, aircraft can use a variety of different fuels. Two, though, are the most common. Avgas is used for piston-engine aircraft, and Jet A1 (as you may see on tankers at airports) for jet engines. This article explores the difference.
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Airbus Is Preparing To Increase A320 Production Next Year
Airbus has informed suppliers to prepare for a ramp-up in A320 production next year, with the company set to increase its production rate from 40 to 47 jets a month. Airbus has told its supply-chain partners to be ready by July 2021 as it anticipates a strong recovery for the industry.
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The Frigate Freejet - Russia's Unusual New 300 Seat Passenger Plane
The Frigate Freejet project has gone through several incarnations and traces its roots back to nearly thirty years ago. The Russian program has transitioned over the decades as the commercial aviation market continues to adapt to industry changes. Primarily, in its current concept, the jet would carry 300 passengers. The economy of the aircraft is determined by the goal of using the advantages of a widebody jet at the cost of a narrowbody.
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Airlines

Malaysian AirAsia secures $72 million loan
AirAsia Group, a Malaysia-based investment holding company, secured a $72 million loan from Sabah Development Bank Berhad and disbursed it to the group’s units.
On October 23, 2020, AirAsia Group released a filing in which it reported completing a payout of a $72 million worth loan to its subsidiaries “as a part of the group’s fundraising efforts”.
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Southwest Is Taking Advantage Of Its Aircraft Surplus Position
In Southwest Airlines’ third-quarter earnings call, the airline’s executives presented the current crisis as an opportunity. After over a year in an aircraft-deficit position, the airline now finds itself in an aircraft surplus position and has plans to take advantage of it.
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American Airlines Planning Customer Tours Before First MAX Flights
American Airlines is planning to conduct tours of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. This move comes as the grounded jet is edging closer to its reintroduction at the end of this year.
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What Happened To Air France's Boeing 747s ?
Air France prematurely retired its remaining Airbus A380 aircraft earlier this year. This was a result of the sharp drop in passenger demand levels caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, this is not the only large airliner that it has retired in recent years. Indeed, 2016 saw the departure of the airline’s remaining Boeing 747 fleet. But what was the reason for this withdrawal ?
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ANA Looks To Cut 3,500 Jobs Over The Next Three Years
ANA is looking to cut 3,500 jobs in the next three years as a part of a broader restructuring for the airline. The Tokyo-based carrier reported a $1bn loss for the first fiscal quarter as international flight traffic plummets. ANA will also announce further cost-cutting measures on Tuesday as the downturn stretches on.
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Which US Airlines Are Offering COVID-19 Testing For Passengers ?
As airlines look for more ways to lure back passengers and gain the trust of the general public and governments, some have begun offering COVID-19 testing for passengers. By offering rapid tests, several US carriers are hoping that confidence can be restored, and the recovery of the industry can be expedited. Here are the US airlines offering COVID-19 testing for passengers.
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How Qantas Paints A 63 Metre Long Airbus A330
Aircraft maintenance and upkeep are a significant part of airline operations, but not something we hear a lot about. Qantas gave us a bit of an insight into this with a post on how they prepare and repaint an aircraft, as this article explores.
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KLM Will Retire Its Final Boeing 747s On Sunday
KLM is set to retire its last two Boeing 747s on Sunday. The airline had initially planned to put the aircraft into retirement earlier this year. However, they were brought back into service to act as makeshift freighters.
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Turkish Airlines Takes Delivery Of Its First Airbus A350-900
After months of delays, Turkish Airlines has finally taken delivery of its first A350-900 from Airbus. The aircraft, registered TC-LGA, touched down in Istanbul at around 02:30 this morning. It’s the first of up to 30 A350s expected to arrive at the carrier and will be deployed on high traffic routes such as London and Dubai.
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Airports

Stray kitten at airport named Boeing, adopted by safety officer
Workers at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport were surprised to find a kitten wandering alone last week.
Fortunately, this “tail” has a happy ending. Someone who works at the airport offered to adopt the young cat and bring him home.
Airport operations staff discovered the stray kitten on the terminal ramp on the night of Oct. 11, WDRB reported.
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Everything You Need To Know About Runways
For some, they signify moments of excitement. For others, they are simply a necessary means to an end. No matter which category of traveler you fall under, there is no denying that flying as we know it would not be possible without the humble runway. Let’s take a closer look at aviation’s unsung hero.
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Dominica outlines plans for first international airport
The island nation of Dominica, geographically part of the Windward Islands chain in the Caribbean Sea, is making progress on plans to build a new international airport, according to Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit.
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Military

Clues Reveal Who's Likely Building the Air Force's Secret New Fighter Jet
Lockheed Martin’s Chief Financial Officer has dropped hints that the aerospace giant is working on a new aircraft program—and clues suggest it just might be the Air Force’s secret new fighter jet.
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The Inside Story of Flying Against the Air Force's Secret Soviet Fighter Jets
The race for military supremacy during the Cold War took many unusual twists and turns, and one of the strangest was America's clandestine effort to acquire Soviet fighter jets.
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Airbus A400M achieves first airlift of Griffon armored vehicle
Validating yet another tactical capability, the Airbus A400M Atlas was able to carry, for the first time, a VBMR Griffon, the brand new armored vehicle of the French Army.
The 24.5-ton Griffon was loaded on the Air Base 188 Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. “For the loading of the vehicle in terms of height, everything was played out a few centimeters,” explains the captain of the airlifter.
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