Category Archives: Air transport

Boeing 737 Max will be grounded until August, says airline trade body

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Plane taken out of service after Ethiopian Airlines crash may not fly before peak season

The Boeing 737 Max aircraft will not return to the skies before August, according to the boss of aviation’s main trade body.

The 737 Max was grounded by regulators in the wake of two crashes, and although manufacturer Boeing has been working on a fix to allay safety concerns, the timetable is now likely to see it out of service for another 10 to 12 weeks, into peak season for many airlines.

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‘It would destroy it’: new international airport for Machu Picchu sparks outrage

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Peruvian archaeologists decry new airport that would carry tourists directly to already fragile Inca citadel

Among the Inca archeological sites that abound in Peru, none draw nearly as many tourists as the famed citadel of Machu Picchu. There were more than 1.5 million visitors in 2017, almost double the limit recommended by Unesco, putting a huge strain on the fragile ruins and local ecology.

Now, in a move that has drawn a mixture of horror and outrage from archaeologists, historians and locals, work has begun on clearing ground for a multibillion-dollar international airport, intended to jet tourists much closer to Machu Picchu .

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Passenger aircraft lands in Myanmar without front wheels – video

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A plane in Myanmar with 89 people onboard landed on the runway without its front wheels. The pilot has been praised for saving the day after the landing gear failed to launch. The touchdown – in which no one was hurt – was the second instance of a malfunctioning flight in the country in less than a week

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Smoke fills Myanmar plane after emergency landing without front wheel – video

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Smoke rises from under the seats of a Myanmar National Airlines plane shortly after it lands without the use of its front wheel. The plane landed safely on Sunday at Mandalay airport despite the landing gear problems. Passengers scrambled to evacuate as instructions were given over the speaker system. The airline said in a statement that flight UB103 came from Yangon and the pilot flew around the air traffic control tower twice in order for staff to check if the landing gear had been activated before the decision was made to make an emergency landing. The statement also said the pilot followed emergency procedures and dumped extra fuel before attempting to land.


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Myanmar plane with 89 on board lands without front wheels

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Pilot praised after touching down successfully at Mandalay despite failure of landing gear

A Myanmar pilot saved the day after his aircraft’s landing gear failed, safely putting the jet on the runway with no front wheels on Sunday, an official said.

The touchdown – in which no one was hurt – was the second instance of a malfunctioning flight in Myanmar in less than a week.

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‘Climate emergency’ edict in UK to shape decision on Heathrow expansion review

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Britain’s net zero by 2050 goal may have impact on whether existing policies are reassessed

Britain’s move to “net zero” carbon and the declaration of a climate emergency in parliament will be “given careful consideration” in deciding whether to grant a review of Heathrow airport’s expansion, the government has said.

The new approach falls well short of any commitment to review Heathrow’s expansion, but means the decision on whether to grant campaigners’ request for a review will include the net zero target and the climate emergency among its criteria.

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Passenger thrown off Air New Zealand plane for refusing to read safety instructions card

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Police called after flight delayed following refusal of woman to watch safety video and read card in exit row seat

A woman who refused to watch the regulation air safety video or read the safety instructions card handed to her by flight attendants has reportedly been removed from an Air New Zealand flight in Wellington.

The woman, described by other passengers as “wealthy-looking”, was sitting in the exit row but ignored attendants’ attempts to get her to listen to the safety instructions for flight NZ424 to Auckland on Tuesday.

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Moscow airport plane fire: more than 40 die in Aeroflot emergency landing

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The Russian Sukhoi Superjet with 78 passengers on board bounced along tarmac before bursting in to flames

A Russian passenger jet burst into flames on Sunday while attempting an emergency landing at a Moscow airport, leaving as many as 41 passengers dead and more injured.

Video from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport shows the plane bouncing along the tarmac before it suddenly burst into flames. The tail section of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 became engulfed by fire, discharging thick, black smoke as crew members evacuated passengers using emergency slides. Fire engines sped toward the blaze while some passengers were seen fleeing across the tarmac in tears. Some were carrying luggage.

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Passengers escape after plane skids off runway into river in Jacksonville

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Boeing 737 was landing at a naval airport when it ended up in the St Johns river but 143 passengers and crew survive

All 143 passengers and crew have escaped after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a “terrifying” attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air international plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guántanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

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Bombardier puts Belfast wing-making plant up for sale

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Four thousand skilled jobs at risk in Northern Ireland as Canadian firm unveils sell-off

The Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier is to sell its wing-making operation, which employs 4,000 people in Northern Ireland, sparking concern among trade unions and MPs about the impact on highly skilled jobs.

A spokesman for the prime minister said the government did not expect jobs to be affected but the trade union Unite said it was seeking stronger assurances from the government and the company.

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Global grounding of Boeing 737 Max will cost company more than $1bn

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Boeing says it’s abandoned its 2019 financial outlook and halted share buybacks in mid-March as it deals with the crisis

The global grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max jets will cost the company more than $1bn, the company said on Wednesday.

The jets were grounded after two fatal crashes that killed 346 people and have triggered investigations into the accidents across the world and left Boeing with one of the biggest crises in its history.

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Baby dies in arms of passenger on AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth

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Perth woman flight says two-month-old girl with her Saudi parents had been restless from take-off

A two-month-old baby has died in the arms of a fellow passenger following a medical emergency onboard an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth.

The child had been on the AirAsia flight D7236 with her Saudi parents, according to another passenger, Perth woman Nadia Parenzee, who said the baby had died in her arms.

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Plane with world’s longest wingspan takes off and successfully lands – video

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A manned giant six-engine aircraft with the world’s longest wingspan – surpassing Howard Hughes’s infamous Spruce Goose – took off from California on its first flight on Saturday. The twin-fuselage Stratolaunch jet lifted off from Mojave air and space port and climbed into the desert sky 70 miles north of Los Angeles. It successfully landed two hours later. The aircraft is designed to carry as many as three satellite-laden rockets under the centre of its enormous wing, which stretches 385ft, or 117 metres

Airplane with world's longest wingspan takes flight, beating Spruce Goose record

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Airplane with world’s longest wingspan takes flight, beating Spruce Goose record

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Stratolaunch jet, brainchild of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, may be used to launch small satellites into space

A giant six-engine aircraft with the world’s longest wingspan – surpassing Howard Hughes’ infamous Spruce Goose – took off from California on its first flight on Saturday.

The behemoth, twin-fuselage Stratolaunch jet lifted off from Mojave Air and Space Port and climbed into the desert sky 70 miles north of Los Angeles. It landed two hours later.

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Turkish Airlines is switching to a new Istanbul airport – all in 45 hours

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In Erdoğan’s latest high-stakes megaproject, 10,000 pieces of equipment will be relocated in a single weekend

“This is not just an airport. It’s a monument to victory,” is how posters around the terminal describe Istanbul’s colossal new airport.

That remains to be seen. After starting on Friday, Turkish Airlines will have a 45-hour window to complete one of the most complex logistical projects in history, as it switches its entire operation to the new Istanbul airport from its existing hub at Atatürk international airport.

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Boeing report: pilots followed guidance but could not control Ethiopian plane

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Investigators say pilots were unable to prevent plane’s nose from pointing down

The pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max that crashed last month killing 157 people correctly followed Boeing’s emergency instructions but were still unable to stop the plane’s nose repeatedly pointing down, investigators said.

In the final seconds before the crash, pilots tried desperately to right the plane by switching its anti-stall software on and off but to no avail. The jet hit an airspeed of 500 knots (575mph), well above its operational limits, before cockpit data recordings stopped.

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Lion Air pilots were looking at handbook when plane crashed

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Sources say flight crew of Indonesian jet tried to find procedure to halt dive

The pilots of the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max that crashed in Indonesia were searching a flight manual to try to find why the plane kept lurching downwards against their commands, according to reports of the cockpit voice recording.

The investigation into the crash, which killed all 189 people on board last October, has become even more significant for Boeing and airlines due to its suspected links with the Ethiopian Airlines disaster, where 157 died on the same model of plane.

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Mass funeral service held for Ethiopian crash victims – video

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Thousands of people have mourned victims of the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crash, as 17 empty caskets draped in the national flag were accompanied through the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, amid emotional scenes. Relatives, friends, and colleagues of the 157 people killed when the plane crashed on 10 March lit candles and held prayers during the service. The identification of some remains of crash victims could take weeks or months, according to experts

• Ethiopian Airlines crash: thousands turn out for funeral service

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After two deadly disasters in five months, can Boeing survive?

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The global grounding of its bestselling model after 346 deaths has created a genuine crisis for the company and its clients

Within three minutes of takeoff, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 had accelerated to unusually high speeds. Captain Yared Getachew knew something was wrong as the aircraft, a Boeing 737 Max 8, erratically dipped and climbed by hundreds of feet. He radioed air traffic control, requesting a return to Addis Ababa airport.

He was cleared to return and the aircraft began to turn right, climbing even higher. A minute later, flight 302 disappeared from the radar.

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Ethiopian air crash investigators begin black box analysis

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Black box arrives in France amid reports suggesting similarities with Lion Air crash

Air crash investigators have begun analysing the black box data recorder from Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, amid reports that the plane wreckage suggested similarities with a previous disaster involving the Boeing 737 Max jet.

Accounts have also emerged of communications between the plane and air traffic control, in which the pilot is said to have asked in panicked tones to turn back three minutes into the flight, as the 737 Max dipped and climbed.

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