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Commercial

Bombardier CEO suggests new CSeries delay possible
Bombardier’s new chief executive appeared to disclose a new delay for first delivery of the CS100 at a press conference in Montreal on 27 March, but a company spokeswoman says there has been no change. In comments reported by the Bloomberg news service, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare says that first delivery is scheduled in 2016, while certification is scheduled for the “end” of this year. That timeline conflicts with repeated previous Bombardier statements, including by Bellemare, that type certification and entry into service remain “on track” for the second half of 2015, a window that begins in July.
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Airlines

Delta, Virgin Atlantic add flights to partnership
Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways have added six new daily routes to their transatlantic partnership. The airline will launch their summer schedule this weekend. It includes up to 39 daily flights between the U.K. and destinations in North America.
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Delta to restart service from JFK to Athens
Delta Air Lines will boost travel options for customers between Greece and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport from March 30, 2015, by restarting services to the Big Apple from Athens International Airport. Customers with onward connections will benefit from smoother transfers to a number of U.S. destinations via the newly extended Terminal 4 at Delta’s JFK hub. Following the $175 million extension of Delta’s Terminal 4 at New York-JFK, which opened in January this year, customers flying to destinations including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Boston will benefit from same-terminal transfers, increasing convenience and improving connection times.
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Germanwings crash pilot concealed illness: prosecutor
German prosecutors in Dusseldorf have disclosed the contents of documentation indicating that the first officer on the crashed Germanwings Airbus A320 had been concealing an illness from his company. The prosecution office, in a statement, says that a search of the pilot’s apartment did not reveal a suicide note or confession, or any evidence of a political or religious connection to the 24 March crash in the French Alps.
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Torn-up Sick Notes Show Lubitz Should Have Been Grounded
German authorities on Friday said they had found torn-up sick notes showing that Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy. French prosecutors believe Lubitz locked himself alone in the cockpit of the Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday and deliberately steered it into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board. "Documents with medical contents were confiscated that point towards an existing illness and corresponding treatment by doctors," said the prosecutors' office in Düsseldorf, where the co-pilot lived and where the doomed flight from Barcelona was heading.
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JetBlue Sued By Ex-Pilot Who Had Midair Meltdown
A former JetBlue Airways pilot whose midair meltdown forced an emergency landing of a 2012 flight has sued the carrier for USD$14.9 million, saying it should have grounded him because it knew he was incapable of flying. Clayton Osbon, 52, filed his lawsuit in Manhattan federal court three days after the crash of a Germanwings plane in the French Alps, which killed 150 passengers and crew. Authorities believe that plane's co-pilot deliberately caused the crash.
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Lufthansa Backs Down On Two-Crew Cockpit Rule
Lufthansa will introduce new rules requiring two crew members in cockpits at all times, a swift reversal after its chief executive said such a change was not needed despite the crash at its Germanwings subsidiary. The European Union said it would now advise all EU airlines to require two crew members on the flight deck, effectively ensuring that a rule which is already mandatory in the United States will now become the standard in Europe as well.
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Airports

O'Hare prepares for banked flights by American
As American Airlines moves to join United Airlines in banking flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, vendors and other groups at the airport are also adjusting their schedules to accommodate peak times. "If somebody gets a cup of coffee in 'X' minutes today, we don't want them to wait any longer," said Franco Tedeschi, an American Airlines vice president.
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Mich. airport contributes $3.1B to economy
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., contributes $3.1 billion in annual economic output to the region and supports 40,311 jobs across West Michigan, according to a study.
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Highlighting 110 years of aviation at Ore. area airports
The first airport in the Portland, Ore., area opened in 1905; Pearson Field in nearby Vancouver, Wash., is the oldest airport in the Pacific Northwest. Swan Island Airport was the first modern airport to open in Portland in 1926 with a three-story permanent terminal and on-site hangars.
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Saudi Arabia Resumes Flights At Southern Airports
Saudi Arabia gradually resumed flights at its southern airports one day after suspending all traffic as it launched air strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen. International and domestic flights to and from five airports in the south including Jizan and Wadi al-Dawaser had resumed at dawn on Friday, the official Saudi press agency said quoting a statement by the General Authority of Civil Aviation.
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Military

Netherlands moves closer to CH-47F acquistion
The US State Department has approved a request from the Netherlands covering the acquisition of 17 Boeing CH-47F Chinooks. Worth an estimated cost of $1.05 billion, the potential deal also includes 46 Honeywell T55 engines, spare parts, training and logistical support.
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RAF C-130J deployed to South Sudan
The Royal Air Force says that its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules strategic transport has been deployed to northeastern Africa to deliver supplies to a remote region under the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) humanitarian relief effort. The C-130J was due to depart RAF Brize Norton on 26 March, the Ministry of Defence says, and will deliver “vital supplies” to the remote city of Malakal – the first deployment of the aircraft for the UN in Africa.
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Regulatory

EU Safety Agency May Advise Two Person Cockpit Rule
European Union air safety regulator EASA may advise airlines to ensure that two crew members are in the cockpit of passenger planes at all times, in the wake of the suspected suicide crash of Germanwings flight 9525. "It is one option currently being evaluated. If it happens it won't be a compulsory rule, but a recommendation," a person familiar with the matter said.
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Corporate

HondaJet gains provisional type certificate, deliveries near
A newly-awarded provisional type certificate for the HA-420 HondaJet moves the North Carolina-based manufacturer a major stiep closer in its 12-year-long quest of entering the light business jet market. Honda Aircraft chief executive Michimasa Fujino calls the award of the PTC by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a “tremendous milestone” for the program.
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Aviation Quote

Someday I would like to stand on the Moon, look down through a quarter of a million miles of space and say, "There certainly is a beautiful earth out tonight."

— Lieutenant Colonel William H. Rankin, The Man Who Rode the Thunder.

On This Date

--- In 1928... The Federal Aeronautique Internationale (FAI)–ratified world speed record is pushed through 300 mph for the first time. Flying a specially adapted Macchi M-52bis seaplane, Italian Maj. Mario de Bernardi achieves a speed of 512.69 km/h (318.64 mph). This is an increase of 20.81 mph over his previous record.

---In 1928... A resident of Zehden, Germany, Samuel Schwartz, asks German airline Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH) for rent for the airspace above his house, citing law that says his rights extend to the “space above and the ground beneath” his property.

---In 1929... Imperial Airways inaugurates a weekly passenger service from England to India, part of which would have to be taken by rail. For £130 single fare, the trip ends in Karachi seven days after leaving England.

---In 1937…The CAC Wirraway, the Australian version of the North American NA-16, makes its maiden flight.

---In 1939... Piloted by Flugkapitän Hans Dieterle, the Heinkel He 100 V8/R (serial no. D-IDGH) seizes the absolute world air speed record from Hermann Wurster, who has flown his Bf 109 to 379 mph. The pilot achieves four legs of a course at Oranienburg to record an average speed of 463.92 mph, adding 70 mph to the previous record.

---In 1961… NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 m).

---In 1963…An Itavia Douglas DC-3 (I-TAVI) crashes into a mountain in Sora, Italy while trying to navigate through poor weather. Low ceilings force the aircraft to descend to maintain visual contact, which then becomes lost. All 11 occupants on the aircraft are killed.

---In 1964…Former Astronaut John Glenn bows out of the Ohio senate race after a concussion received while hitting his head in the bathtub leaves him unable to campaign.

---In 1967…Delta Airlines Flight 9877, a training flight for pilots on a Douglas DC-8-51 N802E, crashes in New Orleans, Louisiana after simulating a dual engine failure landing. The aircraft strikes power lines half a mile from the airport and crashes into a residential area. In addition to the 6 on the aircraft, 13 are killed on the ground. The fatalities include 8 girls who burned to death after their motel became engulfed with flames from jet fuel after they huddled in the shower and turned the water on to try to protect themselves.

---In 1982… 3rd space shuttle mission-Columbia 3 lands at White Sands, NM.

---In 1992…An Aeroflot Antonov An-26 (CCCP-26154) crashes in Swarupnagar, India due to fuel exhaustion. Making their way to their destination of Calcutta, the pilots advise ATC of their minimum fuel situation, which controllers do not offer proper guidance nor assistance for. The aircraft strays away from its flight path, becomes lost and is forced to land nearly 30 miles from their destination. There are only 7 crew on the aircraft, and all are able to survive, though the aircraft is written off.

---In 1992…An Aviaco Douglas DC-9-32 (EC-BYH) crashes on landing at Granada Airport in Spain. With an 11-knot tailwind, the aircraft lands hard, bouncing back into the air and landing almost 1,200ft further down the runway. All of the tires burst and the fuselage breaks into two pieces. There are no fatalities among the 99 aboard.

---In 2000…An Avialinii ARR Antonov An-26 (UR-79170) chartered by the Sri Lankan Air Force carrying soldiers injured during fighting with Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels crashes in Sir Lanka. Reports indicate the aircraft may have reported engine troubles shortly before the crash. All 40 on the aircraft are killed.

---In 2007…Sudan Airways Flight 111, an Airbus A300 flying from Tripoli, Libya to Khartoum, Sudan, is hijacked by a man demanding to go to South Africa. He enters the cockpit an hour and a half into the flight while holding a knife and is convinced to allow the plane to land in Khartoum anyway for fuel. After several hours of negotiations, he surrenders, and all 284 on the aircraft leave safely.

---In 2008…Ten days after filing for bankruptcy protection, Aloha Airlines announces that the next day will be their final day of operations.

---In 2008…Thomas Cook Airlines (Kestrel) is founded at Manchester Airport, UK.

Daily Video

Editor’s Choice

Trivia

Identify the airplanes

Hint: Think NATO!

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vikkyvik wrote:Unfortunately, I have no idea what airplanes each of the reporting names refers to.

Queso wrote:<Daily Video>

Ah, if only I were younger and a multi-millionaire. A Cessna T-37 (A-37) would be MY ultimate business jet!