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FAA lifts ban on Tel Aviv operations
US airlines have been cleared to restart services to the main Israeli airport, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, after the FAA lifted a restriction on operating to the gateway. Security concerns, notably a rocket strike near the airport, had led the FAA to impose the ban on 22 July.
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Australia reaffirms commitment to MH370 search
Australia says that the bathymetric survey of ocean floor where the lost Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 is suspected to have crashed is well underway. Two vessels are conducting the work, the Fugro Equator and Chinese survey ship Zhu, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau assesses tenders related to an upcoming underwater search for the Boeing 777-200ER. “The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on 8 March on a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, continues uninterrupted,” the country’s minister for infrastructure and regional development, Warren Truss, says in a statement.“We remain fully committed to conducting a thorough undersea search of the likely impact zone in the Indian Ocean.”
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Taiwan struck by typhoon before TransAsia crash
Circumstances of the TransAsia ATR crash in Magong have yet to become clear but the area has been battered by typhoon activity. There is no meteorological information for Magong's airport for the scheduled time of the flight, reported to be GE222 from Kaohsiung. But a weather station at Taichung airport, on the Taiwanese mainland, recorded gusting winds, some in excess of 40kt, as well as thunderstorms on 23 July.
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Fatalities reported after TransAsia ATR crash in Taiwan
Taiwanese emergency services are reportedly attending the scene of a crash involving a TransAsia Airways ATR 72 turboprop at Magong. The aircraft had been operating flight GE222 from Kaohsiung to an airport at Magong, situated off the Taiwanese west coast, according to the state central news agency CNA. Fifty-four passengers and four crew members are said to have been on board the aircraft, and the news agency is reporting several casualties.
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Discussion
Bombardier To Cut 1,800 Jobs, Aerospace Head Retires
Struggling with long delays in its CSeries airliner, Bombardier has announced it will change its business structure and cut 1,800 jobs, with the head of its aerospace division to retire. The Montreal-based company is splitting its aerospace unit into three segments focused on business aircraft, commercial aircraft and aerostructures and engineering services. The three units, along with Bombardier's rail-industry focused transportation unit, will all have separate heads reporting directly to chief executive Pierre Beaudoin. As part of the moves, Bombardier Aerospace President and Chief Operating Officer Guy Hachey will retire.
LinkMH17 News
Dutch authority takes over as lead investigator
Dutch investigators are to assume the lead role in the inquiry into the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. Under normal protocols the state of incident would normally head the investigation. MH17 came down in eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border. But Ukraine’s accident investigation authority, the NBAAI, says it has prepared an agreement to “transfer” the inquiry to its counterpart in the Netherlands, the Dutch Safety Board. Ukrainian representatives will have the right to participate, it adds. The Dutch Safety Board confirms the handover of the investigation. Most of the 298 occupants of the Malaysian Boeing 777-200 were Dutch nationals.
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Dutch Mourn As First MH17 Bodies Arrive In Netherlands
The bodies of the first victims from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 downed over Ukraine last week arrived on Wednesday at a military base in the Netherlands. Bells pealed and flags flew at half mast in memory of the 298 people killed when MH17 came down in an area of eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists, in the first national day of mourning since wartime Queen Wilhelmina died in 1962. King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte joined dignitaries on the tarmac as two military aircraft carrying 40 plain wooden coffins landed at Eindhoven in the southern Netherlands. A military guard of honor stood to attention as a trumpeter played The Last Post, the military funeral call for people killed in war.
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ICAO Says MH17 Voice Recorder In Good Condition
The cockpit voice recorder of the Malaysian airliner downed over Ukraine is in good condition, the UN's ICAO said, adding that it was holding talks with airlines and states on how to assess the danger posed by conflicts. "The cockpit voice recorder is in good condition... the digital flight data recorder is still under review," ICAO said in a statement. The Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the international inquiry into the crash, said earlier in the day there was no evidence the voice recorder had been tampered with. Britain said on Wednesday it had taken delivery of the two recorders, a day after a senior rebel leader in Ukraine handed them over to Malaysia.
LinkAirlines
Air Algerie reportedly loses contact with Ouagadougou flight
Air Algerie has reportedly initiated an emergency plan after losing contact with a service connecting the Burkina Faso city of Ouagadougou with its Algiers base. The Algerian carrier lost contact with flight AH5017 about 50min after departure, according to sources cited by the Algeria Press Service.
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ANA to be first commercial operator of 787-9
All Nippon Airways will become the first carrier in the world to operate the Boeing 787-9 aircraft. After taking delivery at Boeing’s Everett factory on 27 July, the aircraft will be flown to Tokyo, arriving in 29 July, says ANA in a statement. The aircraft will initially be deployed on domestic routes, although the carrier did not provide details of specific destinations.
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Analysts project strong Q2 results from JetBlue
Some analysts say the long-term outlook for JetBlue's stock remains strong and project the carrier will outperform expectations. JetBlue releases earnings on Thursday.
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Fleet update may fuel strong Southwest earnings
With the addition of higher-capacity Boeing 737-800s and lower fuel costs, Southwest Airlines may be poised to release robust second-quarter earnings, say some analysts. In addition, the airline saw a 2.4% annual rise in second-quarter traffic and higher unit revenues. Southwest releases earnings on Thursday.
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Cartoon Network comes to Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is making flights a little friendlier to families with the addition of Cartoon Network to its inflight-entertainment lineup. In a deal struck with Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System, the airline will include the Cartoon Network in its free programming, available to passengers with Wi-Fi-equipped devices.
LinkAirports
Albany airport lands grant for $4M runway renovation
Albany International Airport will receive almost $4 million to upgrade its main runway. Pavement on the runway is nearing the end of its useful life, said airport spokesman Doug Myers. "You get about 10 years out of them," he said. "You start to get cracking. You start to get water infiltration." Myers said the pavement can then break up.
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Detroit, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale: Fastest airport Wi-Fi
Detroit Metropolitan Airport boasts the fastest wireless speeds among U.S. airports, followed by the airports at Denver and Ft. Lauderdale, a new Wefi report found. Detroit has Wi-Fi speeds of 4.63 megabits per second, a product in part of upgrades undertaken since last fall.
LinkMilitary
Airbus pushes for UK maritime patrol contest
One of the potential bidders for a future UK maritime patrol aircraft requirement is calling on the Ministry of Defence to hold a competition, rather than “rush in” to a sole-source deal to buy Boeing’s 737-based P-8 Poseidon. Airbus Defence & Space has been touting its multirole C295 as an affordable means of reinstating a lapsed maritime patrol capability for the Royal Air Force, proposing an acquisition of around 12 aircraft. A Portuguese air force example was on display at the Farnborough air show as part of the airframer’s promotional activity around the type.
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Boeing reports KC-46A loss, rejects wider concerns
Boeing blames a wiring redesign on the KC-46A programme for a $272 million forward loss announced on 24 July in a second quarter earnings filing, but dismisses a government estimate predicting more delays and up to another $515 in cost overruns. Although the KC-46A is based on the 35-year-old airframe of the 767, Boeing was forced to redesign the wiring system late in the development phase, says Greg Smith, Boeing’s chief financial officer. That change required Boeing to increase spending to keep the programme on track to deliver 18 operational aircraft to the US Air Force by August 2017, as required by the fixed-price contract with a $4.9 billion ceiling, Smith says.
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Gripen will not compete in Danish fighter competition
The Swedish government has announced that it will not contend Denmark’s fighter replacement competition with its domestically-built Saab Gripen NG. After “careful analysis”, the Swedish Defence and Security Export Agency (FXM) announced on 21 July that it would not put forward the aircraft for the Royal Danish Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-16 replacement program.
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India finalizes follow-on C-130J buy
Lockheed Martin has received a contract worth almost $565 million to produce an additional six C-130J-30 tactical transports for the Indian air force. “The total cumulative face value of the contract is $2.06 billion,” says the US Department of Defense of the Foreign Military Sales deal. India’s Defence Acquisition Council had cleared the acquisition in September 2013.
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Aviation Quote
I enjoyed my service flying very much. That is where I learned the discipline of flying In order to have the freedom of flight you must have the discipline. Discipline prevents crashes.
— Captain John Cook, British Airways Concorde Training Captain.
On This Date
---In 1898... Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean and one of the world’s most famous aviators, is born in Atchinson, Kansas.
---In 1917... Congress approves the expenditure of $640 million on military aviation. It is the largest single appropriation approved by Congress.
---In 1943... The Royal Air Force (RAF) use “Window,” metal foil dropped to confuse enemy radar, for the first time.
---In 1946... Bernard Lynch becomes the first person to be “shot” out of an airplane. Lynch was involved in the first airborne test of a British “ejection seat.”
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
The Navy Invented Sex
A Marine and a sailor were sitting in a bar one day arguing over which was the superior service.
After a swig of beer the Marine says, 'Well, we had Iwo Jima.'
Arching his eyebrows, the sailor replies, 'We had the Battle of Midway.
'Not entirely true', responded the Marine. 'Some of those pilots were Marines, in fact, Henderson Field on Guadalcanal was named after a Marine pilot killed at the Battle of Midway.'
The sailor responds, 'Point taken.'
The Marine then says, 'We Marines were born at Tunn Tavern!'
The sailor, nodding agreement, says, 'But we had John Paul Jones.'
The argument continued until the sailor comes up with what he thinks will end the discussion. With a flourish of finality he says...... 'The Navy invented sex!'
The Marine replies, 'That is true, but it was the Marines who introduced it to women.'
Trivia
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The Blackbird was constructed mainly of what material?
The temperature of the skin at Mach 3 was in excess of what temperature?
How many SR-71s were built? How many were lost in accidents?
The first flight of the SR-71 was on? What year did it become operational?
What engines did the SR-71 use? How much thrust did they produce?
At high Mach number cruise, what part of the engine produced the most thrust? (Inlet, compressor, exhaust, etc)
If the shockwave in the inlet was not properly adjusted, what was the term given to what would happen next?
What limited the SR-71’s speed (Altitude, barometric pressure, etc)? And what was that limit.
What was used to cool the leading edges and electrical components?
What color were the tires?
What feature was used on the skin panels to allow for contraction and expansion?
Before GPS was around, what type of navigation was best suited to the SR-71, and what was the name of the system?
What type of fuel did the SR-71 use?
What was used to start the J-58s?
What color temporarily flashed as the J-58 ignited?
What was the destination of the final SR-71 flight?
