NewsCommercial
UK authorities probe law enforcement drone failures
A spate of in-flight malfunctions involving the DJI Matrice quadcopter drone used by British police forces has prompted new safety investigations in the UK and a safety notice from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has released an investigative bulletin describing the crash in January of a DJI Matrice 210 that was being flown by police on the outskirts of Manchester to search for a missing person.
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ALPA questions US drone rule proposals
FAA’s regulation governing commercial drone operators does not require enough aeronautical experience, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says in comments on a rule change that would allow drone flights over people. Public comments were due April 15 to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that FAA released in February, containing amendments to its Part 107 regulation that would allow drone flights over people and at night—operations the agency now prohibits except by ...
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European experts suggest measures to ease ATC crisis
A panel of experts has proposed a set of measures it believes would help improve the efficiency of Europe’s air traffic control (ATC) system.
Europe has been trying to move away from ATC boundaries based on those of individual states and towards a smaller number of larger functional airspace blocks as part of the Single European Sky project. But progress has been slow.
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FAA panel adds MCAS review to 737 Max pilot training standards
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) panel has updated pilot training standards to ensure 737 Max pilots understand the aircraft’s manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS).
The updated standards are included in a revised report written by an FAA flight standardisation board – a body that determines pilot training requirements and ensures competency of cockpit crew members.
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Nordam emerges from bankruptcy with private equity partner
US aerospace company Nordam Group has emerged from bankruptcy court protection after reorganisation and a $140 million cash infusion from private equity company The Carlyle Group.
Court papers show that Carlyle, via affiliate Amelia Acquisition, purchased 45% of Nordam’s shares, injecting needed capital into a company that had struggled under a nacelle agreement with Pratt & Whitney.
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PICTURE: Textron Aviation rolls out 200th Latitude
Textron Aviation has rolled out the 200th Cessna Citation Latitude, less than four years after the midsize business jet entered service.
The milestone was marked at a ceremony at the airframer's Wichita, Kansas headquarters on 15 April. The aircraft will now undergo interior outfitting and painting before being handed over later this year to the largest Latitude customer, NetJets.
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Honda Aircraft delivers first Elite into Canada
Honda Aircraft has delivered the first HondaJet Elite to a Canadian customer, shortly after achieving approval from the nation's regulator for the upgraded variant.
The handover on 15 April to a private owner and first-time Honda Aircraft customer came five days after the light business jet received certification from Transport Canada.
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Gulfstream closes in on G600 type certification
Gulfstream's G600 is finally approaching US type certification, with the airframer confident of passing the milestone for its superwide-cabin, long-range business jet before the end of the second quarter.
By 15 April, the five aircraft in the flight-test fleet had accumulated more than 3,000h across 825 sorties, says Gulfstream. Function and reliability testing is now the "only significant" evaluation outstanding, it adds.
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China Flight Inspection Center orders eight Citation XLS+
Textron Aviation's Chinese joint venture, Cessna-AVIC Aircraft, has received an order from the China Flight Inspection Center (CFIC) for eight Citation XLS+ business jets, as part of the operator's fleet expansion plan.
Deliveries of the superlight twin are scheduled to begin this year, says Textron Aviation and will be used by the CFIC – a division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China – to inspect and validate the communication, navigation and radar equipment of the country's rapidly expanding airport network.
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Dominica has become ICAO’s 193rd Member State
Dominica has become the 193rd Member State of ICAO following its official adherence to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).
Dominica deposited its notification of adherence to the convention on the 14 March 2019, and its ICAO Member State status became effective 30 days after, on the 13 April 2019.
LinkAirlines
Icelandair fills Boeing MAX gaps with 767s, 757
Icelandair is wet-leasing Boeing 767s and acquiring a Boeing 757 on a temporary basis to compensate for its 737 MAX 8s affected by the global grounding.
The Icelandic carrier has four MAX 8s in its fleet, three more on order and orders for six MAX 9s, according to Aviation Week Fleet Discovery Network.
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Fuel, overcapacity blamed for Lufthansa 1Q loss
Lufthansa Group has reported a 2019 first quarter loss as it absorbed the impact of higher fuel costs and overcapacity in the European market.
The group made an adjusted loss before interest and tax of €336 million ($380 million) for the first three months of 2019, down from earnings of €52 million in the same period a year earlier.
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Lessor repossesses bankrupt Avianca Brazil’s A320s
Avianca Brazil has been forced to make more flight cancellations after lessor Aircastle reclaimed all 10 of its Airbus A320-200s on lease to the carrier, cutting the insolvent operator's fleet by 30%. Aircastle confirmed April 16 that it has repossessed the 10 A320s and will place them with another operator. "We are pleased to have reached an important milestone in the transition of these aircraft to a new global operator," Aircastle CEO Mike Inglese said.
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United takes MAX 9s out of schedule through early July
United Airlines, joining its US counterparts with grounded Boeing 737 MAXs, has pulled its MAXs from its schedule through well into the summer peak season. The Chicago-based carrier has pulled its 14 MAX 9s through early July, the carrier confirmed April 15. The aircraft were operating about 40 daily flights when they were banned from operating in the US by FAA on March 13—a move that completed a global grounding that remains in place.
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SIA and Garuda expand codeshare network
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Indonesia’s Garuda announced an expanded codeshare agreement that will cover flights between Singapore and Jakarta.
The carriers have a codeshare agreement for Singapore-Bali Denpasar, which was expanded in 2014 to include flights between Singapore and Surabaya.
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United to launch Newark-Cape Town service
United Airlines announced April 15 that it plans to begin nonstop service between New York Newark and Cape Town, South Africa starting December 15.
United plans to operate the flights 3X-weekly with 252-seat Boeing 787-9s.
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Emirates completes 777-200LR fleet refit
Emirates Airline has reconfigured its 10 ultra-long-range Boeing 777-200LRs while retiring the last two 777-300s from its fleet.
Emirates spent $150 million to change 777-200LRs from three- to two-class cabins featuring wider business class seats in a 2-2-2 format versus 2-3-2. The economy-class cabin was also refurbished.
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Hong Kong Airlines again asked to clarify financial plans
Hong Kong’s airline licensing authority has again called for Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) to clarify how it will improve its financial situation, while the airline insists that its financial issues will not affect its services during upcoming peak travel periods.
Hong Kong's Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) has sought additional clarification from the airline on its plans, one month after asking it to “submit a concrete plan with a view of improving its financial situation”.
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Jet Airways extends international suspension
Jet Airways has extended its suspension of international services to 18 April, as uncertainty around an interim debt facility and potential bidders for a controlling stake in the ailing airline swirls.
Jet confirmed that the suspension, originally scheduled to end on 15 April, has been extended but provided no further updates on the status of a R15 billion ($215 million) interim loan facility that it had announced on 25 March.
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PICTURE: Air Arabia goes long-range with first A321neo
Middle Eastern budget carrier Air Arabia has received its first Airbus A321neo, a long-range version of the twinjet.
The A321LR (MSN8714) has been flown to the airline’s Sharjah base from the airframer’s assembly plant at Hamburg Finkenwerder.
LinkAirports
Queensland Airports Limited recognised as a ‘great place to work’
Queensland Airports Limited is the first airport operator in Australia to achieve this recognition as ‘a great place to work’.
Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) has officially been recognised as a great place to work – with outstanding results confirming the organisation’s positive culture and progressive leadership approach.
LinkMilitary
AVX, L3 unveil coxial helicopter design for FARA
AVX Aircraft and L3 Technologies have unveiled their joint coaxial helicopter design for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competitive prototype programme.
The single-engined helicopter comes with a wing and two ducted pusher propellers on its aft fuselage. During high-speed flight the wing provides up to 50% of the rotorcraft’s lift.
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Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor reaches 300kt
Bell pushed its V-280 Valor tiltrotor to 300kt (556km/h) in a March test flight, surpassing its previous top speed for which it is named, 280kt.
Believing that it has sufficiently proven the rotorcraft’s high-speed performance, the aircraft manufacturer will spend the coming months testing its low-speed manoeuvrability.
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Aviation Quote
As you pass from sunlight into darkness and back again every hour and a half, you become startlingly aware how artificial are thousands of boundaries we've created to separate and define. And for the first time in your life you feel in your gut the precious unity of the Earth and all the living things it supports.
- Russell 'Rusty' Schweikart, returning from Apollo 9
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