NewsAir Asia QZ8501
Indonesia optimistic it has located main site of QZ8501
Indonesia is optimistic that it has located large sections of an Indonesia Airbus A320 aircraft that crashed on the Surabaya-Singapore route last on Sunday 28 December while operating flight QZ8501. The objects, identified by sonar, lie on the floor of the Java Sea to the west of Borneo, says Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in a series of statements. Rough seas have prevented divers from descending for a close inspection of the objects, which lie at the relatively shallow depth of 30m, but the agency believes conditions could improve on Sunday 4 January. Basarnas has made no mention of hearing transmissions from homing beacons attached to the down aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
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More AirAsia Wreckage Found, Weather Frustrates
The multinational team searching for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 found another large underwater object believed to be part of the plane, but persistent bad weather hampered efforts on Sunday to locate its data recorders and recover bodies. Indonesian officials say five pieces of wreckage have now been pinpointed on the sea floor off Borneo, where the Airbus A320 crashed a week ago with 162 people on board. Divers were sent to investigate the debris early on Sunday, but diving had since been suspended due to bad weather, the head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, said.
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Indonesia AirAsia's Singapore-Surabaya route under scrutiny
A conflicting picture has emerged about the frequency of Indonesia AirAsia’s Surabaya-Singapore schedule following the crash of flight QZ8501 on 28 December 2015. In a Facebook post, Indonesia’s ministry of transport says that the budget carrier violated the route permit by operating on a Sunday, but the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG) issued a joint-statement to clarify that Indonesia AirAsia had their approval for the route seven days a week. This comes after Indonesia’s transport ministry suspended the budget carrier’s Surabaya-Singapore service on 2 January until the results of the investigation have been finalized. Indonesia’s ministry of transport says that based on an earlier letter dated 24 October 2014 from Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Indonesia AirAsia was only permitted to operate the Surabaya-Singapore route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during the Northern Winter 2014/15 period.
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French Investigators On Way To AirAsia Crash Scene
France's crash investigation agency said its specialist flight data recorder search team and equipment would arrive early Friday at the search area for AirAsia flight QZ8501. France’s BEA crash investigation agency assists in the investigation of any air crash involving an Airbus aircraft because the company is France-based. Heavy seas stopped divers reaching the possible wreck of the Indonesia AirAsia jet off Borneo on Thursday and an aviation official said it could be a week before the flight recorders are found.
LinkCommercial
Unidentified customer signs for 24 CRJ900s
An unidentified customer has signed a firm order for 24 Bombarder CRJ900s, valued at $1.14 billion at list prices. "Bombardier sets the benchmark for aircraft in this category. With its demonstrated reliability and low fuel consumption, the CRJ900 NextGen regional is recognized as the most cost-efficient jet aircraft in its class," says Bombardier senior vice-president, sales, marketing and asset management Ray Jones.
LinkAirlines
Air Berlin Upgrades Seats In Turnaround Push
Air Berlin will invest hundreds of millions of euros in new seats as part of a turnaround, a magazine reported citing an executive at the carrier. The new slimline seats - to be made by German aircraft seating maker Recaro - will be installed on short and medium-haul planes from early this year. They will give passengers up to 3 cm more leg room, plus a USB slot for mobile devices, sales chief Goetz Ahmelmann told travel trade publication fvw.
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American offers flexible rebooking, employee incentives in Dallas
American Airlines offered extra pay to employees willing to come into work on Jan. 1. in Dallas due to severe winter weather. "We're offering incentives for more employees to work the holiday, and we're increasing the flexibility for customers to change their travel plans to, from or through DFW," said Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines.
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Cyprus Airways To Be Delisted On January 13
Shares of Cyprus Airways will be delisted from the Cyprus Stock Exchange on January 13, in a fresh blow to the ailing carrier that is under EU scrutiny over concerns that it received illegal state aid. Cyprus Airways, which is majority owned by the state, had failed to submit financial reports and results in 2012, 2013 and for the first half of 2014, a stock exchange statement said. Significant obligations of the company had not been observed, placing investors at risk, the statement added.
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Delta Air Lines reaches ground-breaking agreement with pilots
Delta Air Lines has issued a ground-breaking promise to its pilots, assuring them that its international operations will always be larger than those of partner Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. The deal also assures pilots that Delta will not outsource flights to Virgin.
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JAL 777 struck tail during late go-around: inquiry
Japanese investigators believe that a Boeing 777-200 struck its tail after the captain ordered a go-around despite the first officer’s having already initiated reverse thrust. The captain of the Japan Airlines aircraft believed the aircraft had bounced and was floating after the touchdown at Tokyo Haneda on 31 March 2012. Japan Transport Safety Board indicates that this perception arose from fluctuations in vertical acceleration as the 777 settled, having landed initially on its right main gear. While the first officer, who was flying, had activated the speedbrakes and raised the reverse-thrust levers after touchdown, the inquiry says this was probably unnoticed by the captain because he was looking out of the cockpit window to confirm the aircraft’s attitude.
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Crashed TransAsia ATR crew called for go around at 72ft
An investigation into the fatal crash of an ATR 72-500 that was trying to land at Taiwan’s Magong island in stormy conditions shows that the crew called for a go around at just 72ft (21m). The disclosure appears in a detailed report by Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council (ASC) into the 23 July 2014 crash of the aircraft operated by TransAsia Airways. Examination of information retrieved from the aircraft’s flight data recorder (FDR) shows that at 1905:51 local time, GE222 overflew the missed approach point at 176ft, where the minimum descent attitude is 330ft. It then leveled off for ten seconds and continued descending toward runway 20, as the crew conducted a VOR approach.
LinkAirports
17 million is lucky number for JFK traveler
JFKIAT, a terminal operator at John F. Kennedy International Airport, celebrated serving 17 million passengers in one year by showering a lucky traveler with gifts. Jared Gerber received a gift card for airport shopping and tickets to a Broadway show for being the 17 millionth customer. Gerber, who was traveling to Madrid with his wife for their anniversary, also received a gift basket and upgrades from Delta Air Lines.
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Passengers calmed by comfort zone at Oakland, Calif., airport
California's Oakland International Airport features an Experience Zone at its Terminal 2 security checkpoint, an area where travelers can relax in a living room-like setting. The amenity is sponsored by Marriott's SpringHill Suites.
LinkMilitary
Iraqi pilots begin F-16 training in USA
Iraqi air force pilots have started training on the service’s first two Lockheed Martin F-16Ds, following a US government decision to transfer the jets to an Air National Guard facility at Tucson International airport in Arizona. The aircraft relocated to Tuscon on 16 December included Iraq’s first example, aircraft 1601, which made its debut flight from Lockheed’s Fort Worth production site in Texas in May 2014. It was accompanied to its temporary training home by two-seat aircraft 1602 (below). Both F-16Ds had been formally delivered to Iraqi ownership early last June.
LinkCorporate
Gulfstream delivers first new-build G650ER
Gulfstream delivered its first all-new ultra-long-range G650ER business jet to a private owner on 19 December. Up to this point, Gulfstream had only completed a $2 million ER retrofit of a baseline G650. The G650ER was launched in May 2014, securing US approval five months later. The $66.5 million aircraft is the longest-legged in production business jets, boasting a range of 7,500nm (13,900km) at Mach 0.85 – 500nm more than the standard G650, which entered service two years ago.
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Aviation Quote
The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods. More than any other thing that pertains to the body it partakes of the nature of the divine.
— Plato
On This Date
---In 1610…Galileo Galilei points his newly developed telescope at the sky and observes craters and mountains on the Moon, moving spots on the Sun, four moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the almost innumerable stars of the Milky Way. Jan 4 thru 15, 1601 are called by some the most important days in the history of astronomy.
---In 1952…Pan Am commences trans-Atlantic freight services.
---In 1959... The Fairey Rotodyne, piloted by W. P. Gellatly and J. P. Morton, sets a world speed record for convertiplanes of 190.9 mph over a 62-mile circuit.
---In 1964…First flight of the Shorts Belfast XR362 G-ASKE.
---In 1967…A-12 (928) was lost near Callente Nevada. The aircraft ran out of fuel (due to a faulty fuel gauge) and crashed while on approach to Groom Dry Lake. CIA pilot Walt Ray ejected but did not survive due to a failure in his seat. He was found still strapped into the seat.
---In 1969…Venera 5, USSR’s first probe to make a successful planet landing, is launched. It would later enter Venus’ atmosphere on May 16.
---In 1972…NASA Space Shuttle funding is announced by President Richard Nixon at a cost of $5.5 billion.
---In 1995… Benjamin Robert Rich passes away. He became known as the “Father of Stealth,” after succeeding Kelly Johnson at the famed Lockheed “SkunkWorks.”
---In 2006…Independence Air ceases operations.
---In 2009…C-GEAJ, an Antarctic Logistic Center International Basler BT-67, crashes on landing at Tony Camp, Antarctica. All four occupants survive but the aircraft is damaged beyond repair.
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Air Berlin Upgrades Seats In Turnaround Push
Air Berlin will invest hundreds of millions of euros in new seats as part of a turnaround, a magazine reported citing an executive at the carrier. The new slimline seats - to be made by German aircraft seating maker Recaro - will be installed on short and medium-haul planes from early this year. They will give passengers up to 3 cm more leg room, plus a USB slot for mobile devices, sales chief Goetz Ahmelmann told travel trade publication fvw.
