NewsUS Wants Tighter Airport Security Amid Bomb ConcernsThe Obama administration is pushing for increased security precautions at European airports because of concerns that al Qaeda operatives in Syria and Yemen have teamed up to develop bombs that can be smuggled onto planes. The US government is in discussions with European authorities on measures that could include extra scrutiny of US-bound passengers' electronics and footwear, and installation of additional bomb-detection machines, according to law-enforcement and security officials. An announcement is expected within days. Bomb makers from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are believed to be working together to try to develop explosives that could avoid detection by current airport screening systems, US national security sources said.
LinkItaly, Unions Aim For Alitalia Job Cut Deal Next WeekItaly's government and unions aim to reach an agreement over jobs at Alitalia by the end of next week, transport minister Maurizio Lupi said. Etihad has demanded cuts to Alitalia's staff of some 14,000 as a condition for a planned investment to return the Italian flag carrier to profit after it received a EUR€500 million (USD$682.7 million) bailout last year.
LinkNTSB Will Not Reopen TWA Flight 800 Crash ProbeThe NTSB will not reconsider its finding that the 1996 crash of TWA flight 800 was caused by a fuel tank explosion. Former NTSB investigator Henry Hughes has said he believes a bomb or a missile caused the Boeing 747 to crash into the Atlantic Ocean off New York's Long Island, killing all 230 people on board. The NTSB concluded in 2000 that the jet broke apart and crashed because of an explosion in the center fuel tank, likely caused by faulty wiring. "After a thorough review of all the information provided by the petitioners, the NTSB denied the petition in its entirety because the evidence and analysis presented did not show the original findings were incorrect," the agency said.
LinkState Fund Khazanah To Take Malaysia Air PrivateMalaysian state investor Khazanah plans to take Malaysia Airlines (MAS) private as the first step in a major restructuring of the loss-making airline following the disappearance of flight MH370. A de-listing would pave the way for Khazanah to revive the ailing carrier, possibly by selling off its profitable engineering, airport services or budget airline units, trimming its bloated payroll and installing a new management team. The restructuring and potential sale of MAS is politically fraught due to heavy opposition to job losses from its powerful union, which has hampered previous revival plans and its status as Malaysia's national flag-carrier.
LinkCargo Plane Crashes In Nairobi, Four DeadA cargo plane crashed into a commercial building in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, shortly after taking off from the city's main airport on Wednesday. The four crew members on board the aircraft were feared dead, the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) said. Television footage showed the tail and wings of a white plane ripped in half outside a smoldering two-story building left mangled by the force of the impact.
LinkCertification issues delay TaxiBot trial at LufthansaLufthansa’s planned operational trial of the pilot-controlled TaxiBot tow tractor has been delayed by a year due to an unexpected volume of certification tests for the semi-robotic vehicle. The German carrier had aimed to start a six-month operational trial of the TaxiBot for scheduled Boeing 737 flights at Frankfurt in August 2013. But it has thus far only conducted tests with a decommissioned training aircraft, mainly at night-time – when the airport was closed for regular flights – as the tug has not yet been certificated. Approval by Israel’s civil aviation authority is due this month – TaxiBot having been developed by Israel Aerospace Industries – with the equivalent European certification likely to follow about two months later, says Gerhard Baumgarten, sales and marketing director at the airline’s ground handling arm, Lufthansa Engineering and Operational Services (LEOS). Baumgarten is also programme director for the airline’s TaxiBot introduction.
Link737 Damaged By Ramp BricksThe engineer who signed off on the construction of the ramp at Pakistan's Sialkot International Airport likely has some explaining to do after a Shaheen Air International Boeing 737-400 rearranged it some during a routine engine test. Engineers did a high power run-up of the No. 1 engine on June 19 and turned the parking area into a maelstrom of FOD. It appears the hard surface was made from the interlocking concrete paving stones that are commonly used for patios and garden walkways. They are set in a sand bed and interlock with each other, which is more than adequate for foot traffic and the occasional bicycle but not really up to 20,000 pounds of high bypass turbofan thrust from a CFM56 engine.
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