FAA Denies Boeing Permission To Move Forward In Certifying 777X Due To Serious Flight Test Incident
"If it's not one Boeing jet malfunctioning, it's another.
With Boeing facing an uphill climb in restoring the public's confidence in its crash-prone 737MAX, the aerospace giant is facing fresh troubles, this time involving the updated version of the long-haul 777X jet which is facing additional testing because of what U.S. regulators called a serious test-flight incident and multiple other issues with software and inadequate data"
Citing a serious flight test incident and lack of design maturity, FAA slows Boeing 777X certification | The Seattle Times
A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
^ Boeing haven't managed to explain why the 777X had an "Uncommanded pitch event"...yikes!
Boeing 737 cargo plane makes emergency water landing off Hawaii
July 2 (Reuters) - A decades-old Boeing Co (BA.N) 737-200 cargo airplane with two people on board made an emergency nighttime landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, early on Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA said both crew members were rescued, citing preliminary information.
"The pilots had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the aircraft in the water," the FAA said in a statement.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate.
Transair Flight 810 departed Honolulu at 1:33 a.m. local time bound for Maui's Kahului airport but quickly turned back toward Honolulu, according to aviation data from FlightAware.com.
Shortly after, the Coast Guard responded to reports of the downed plane south of the island of Oahu with two people on board. Around 2:30 a.m., a Coast Guard helicopter located the debris field and found one of the crew members clinging to the plane's tail. That person was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital.
The other survivor was spotted on top of some floating packages and was picked up by a Honolulu Fire Department rescue boat for transport to shore, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Both were being evaluated by medical personnel and their current condition was unknown.
The crew knew they were in trouble.
"We've lost number one engine," one of the pilots told Honolulu air traffic control in a recording posted on LiveATC, an audio streaming site that broadcasts air traffic control communications.
"We are going to need the fire department ... We're going to lose the other engine, too. It's running very hot."
Boeing said it was closely monitoring the situation and was in contact with the NTSB. The airplane was built by Boeing in 1975, according to FAA records. The plane was first delivered to Pacific Western Airlines and joined Transair's fleet in 2014, according to Flightradar24.com.
The plane was equipped with Pratt & Whitney (RTX.N) engines. Pratt & Whitney said it was supporting the NTSB's investigation.
Rhoades Aviation Inc does business as Transair, which is one of Hawaii’s largest air cargo carriers and has been in business since 1982. It has a fleet of five Boeing 737s that fly daily to all major Hawaiian island destinations, according to its website.
Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC.N), the insurance broker for Boeing, declined to comment.
Shares of Boeing were trading slightly lower on Friday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
Boeing 737 cargo plane makes emergency water landing off Hawaii | Reuters
N810TA - Boeing 737-275C(A) - Rhoades Aviation - Flightradar24
This might cheer some up.
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TWENTY-EIGHT people on board a passenger plane have been killed after it crashed into a coastal cliff while it was preparing to land in Russia's Far East in poor visibility.
The An-26 plane with 22 passengers and six crew members, flying from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the town of Palana on the Okhotsk Sea coast, missed a scheduled communication and disappeared from radar as it was on approach for landing.
Emergency officials first said they had located the An-26 crash site in the Sea of Okhotsk.
But it has now has emerged it crashed into a cliff.
Sources in Kamchakta said they did not expect to find survivors in the An-26 wreckage.
Russia plane crash - Passenger plane crashes into cliff killing all 28 on board while landing in '''poor conditions'''
Wrong thread, deleted.
Last edited by Takeovers; 07-07-2021 at 06:29 PM.
That must have been some shit is all I can say.
A British Airways flight was forced to turn around because of a "smelly poo".
The plane was heading from Heathrow to Dubai on Thursday - a seven-hour flight.
Abhishek Sachdev, who was on board tweeted: "Insane. Our BA flight to Dubai returned back to Heathrow because of a smelly poo in the toilet."
He told a newspaper: "The pilot made an announcement requesting senior cabin crew, and we knew something was a bit odd.
"About 10 minutes later he said 'you may have noticed there's a quite pungent smell coming from one of the toilets'.
"He said it was liquid faecal excrement. Those are the words he used."
The plane had been airborne for just 30 minutes when it turned round.
The next available flight was 15 hours later, so passengers had to be put up in a hotel overnight.
Speaking to Radio 1's Greg James, Sarah, who works for the airline said: "When you're up at that altitude the cabin has to be pressurised so the problem is that anything like that is actually a health and safety problem because only 50 percent of the air is being recycled and cleaned."
In a statement, BA said: "A decision was taken to return for the safety and comfort of our customers on board.
"We're very sorry for the discomfort to our customers.
"We provided them with hotel accommodation and rescheduled the flight to depart the next day."
BA flight forced to land early because of smelly poo - BBC News
SAS is 75 years old today.
Hasn't been cheap for part owners like Lom and I.
Happy birthday
UAE lifts ban on transit flights from India, Pakistan, other countries
DUBAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates will lift a ban on transit passenger traffic from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries from Aug. 5, the National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) said on Tuesday.
The UAE, a major international travel hub, has banned passengers from many South Asian and African countries for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NCEMA said on Twitter that passengers travelling from countries where flights had been suspended would be able to transit through its airports from Thursday as long as they present negative PCR tests taken 72 hours prior to departure.
Final destination approval would also have to be provided, the authority said, adding that UAE departure airports would arrange separate lounges for transiting passengers.
The transit ban had also included Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.
NCEMA said that a ban on entry to the UAE for passengers from these countries would also be lifted for those with valid residencies and who are certified by Emirati authorities as fully vaccinated.
However, they would need to apply for online entry permits prior to travelling and would need to present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure.
Those working in the medical, educational or government sectors in the Gulf Arab state as well as those studying or completing medical treatment in the UAE would be exempt from the vaccination requirement as would humanitarian cases.
UAE lifts ban on transit flights from India, Pakistan, other countries | Reuters
Well they already have Delta, so horse, stable door, etc.
If they're selling that building in Chiang Mai's old city, that is a shame. Mind you I've never seen more than a quarter of the desks manned at any time anyway, so it is far more space than they need.
What chance a new office in Central Airport?
Thai Airways selling assets to raise cashThai Airways International (THAI) is selling 10 properties and buildings around the country in a bid to raise funds to rehabilitate its ailing business, according to an airline source.
The source said the carrier is looking to offload its largest batch yet of assets to boost cash flow as the company is seeking to restructure 245 billion baht of debt through payment extensions, interest waivers and debt-to-equity conversions.
The airline has also introduced leave-without-pay schemes and pay cuts for staff.
The 10 properties and buildings slated for sale are scattered in Bangkok and the provinces including Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Phitsanulok.
Buildings to be put on the market are those that served as airline offices.
They include a 4-storey building on Silom Road, an eight-storey office building with six-floor car park building on Lan Luang Road, and a two-storey building called "Rak Khun Thao Fa" on land at Don Mueang airport.
Il-112 Iljushin new cargo turboprop plane in deadly crash.
3 Dead After Russian Military Transport Plane Prototype Crashes Near Moscow - The Moscow Times
I think they're testing new fighters as well
Seems it is not only spaceflight that is in a downward spiral.
One of the problems is they don't get top talent for access to coffee and bananas and top schools for their children any more. Top talent has alternatives. It's not that there is no more top talent in Russia any more. Though much of it came from Ukraine.
"don't attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by incompetence"
C919 launch rings alarm bells for Airbus, Boeing
The C919 will offer space for 158 to 168 passengers, depending on business class and economy class configurationsThe major elements of the C919 such as the nose, fuselage, outer wing, vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer and movable surfaces have been independently designed by COMAC.
Dave Makichuk August 29, 2021
"China’s wide-body C919 aircraft will soon be flying above the clouds — safe, inexpensive, comfortable and environmentally friendly — a clear message to powerful western aircraft manufacturers.
In the remaining four months of this year, an aircraft could be approved that could one day pose a threat to Airbus and Boeing.
And that comes as no surprise to Tobias Grosche, a professor at the University of Worms and an expert in flight planning and passenger demand forecasts.
“The fact that the first ‘COMAC’ aircraft is about to receive national approval is only the logical step in the efforts of the Chinese government, also in the aviation sector, towards the wester to unlock countries, ” Grosche told the Business Insider in a special report.
COMAC is the abbreviation for an amalgamation of Chinese companies that is likely to be viewed critically in Hamburg, Toulouse and Seattle.
It stands for Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and brings together design and research centers, universities, and aluminum and steel manufacturers.
The C919 will offer space for 158 to 168 passengers, depending on how many business class and how many economy class seats the airlines want to install.
For comparison: the Airbus A320 flies for Lufthansa with space for up to 168 passengers, the Boeing 737 has space for around 150 passengers, i.e. similar sizes. The two types of aircraft are also similar in terms of range, the report said.
Depending on the version, the Airbus A320 can travel up to 5,700 kilometers, the Chinese counterpart C919 promises a range of up to 5,555 kilometers.
This means that the Chinese aircraft could, for example, reach all national destinations from Shanghai in eastern China — and get even further.
Beijing has made no secret of its desire to break the western giants’ duopoly, helping smooth the C919’s development with up to US$72 billion in state-related support, according to estimates from US think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
According to Simple Flying, the Shanghai Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center of CAAC (SAACC) signed and issued the first Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the C919 program.
This means that the plane has officially entered into “authority certification” flight testing.
However, natural icing trials, which were set to take place in March 2021, have had to be postponed until fall.
While the aircraft is expected to be approved and will start scheduled service with OTT Airlines, a subsidiary of the largest airline in Asia, China Eastern Airlines, it is doubtful that this first-generation C919 will challenge the world’s aircraft manufacturers, Business Insider reported.
Not yet, anyway.
Says Grosche: “A second or third generation could be dangerous for Airbus and Boeing.
“Ultimately, it’s an economic question. If a Chinese model is efficient and safe, I see no reason why western airlines should not also operate these aircraft.”
After all, Lufthansa, for example, not only has Airbus and Boeing aircraft in its fleet, but also models from its subsidiary Cityline the former Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and the Brazilian Embraer.
Furthermore, Grosche is certain that COMAC will one day be able to offer the C919 for sale at comparatively cheap prices.
Even Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive, has acknowledged COMAC’s rise, telling an industry event “we will probably go from a duopoly to a triopoly, at least on the single aisle, by the end of the decade.”
Overall, a total of 815 orders have been placed by 28 customers. China Eastern’s Big Three counterparts – China Southern and Air China will also deploy the C919, along with other powerhouses such as Joy Air and Hainan Airlines.
There has also been some international interest.
The head of the low-cost airline Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, announced ten years ago that he wanted to support alternatives to Boeing and Airbus and signed a non-binding letter of intent with COMAC, the report said.
And while Boeing and Airbus have the advantage of having been on the road around the world for decades, China, which historically plays the long game, is looking much further into the future.
The type CR929 is supposed to compete with long-haul airliners like the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 787.
And the type CR929-600 could have a range of up to 12,000 kilometers and space for up to 280 passengers.
What are Boeing and and Airbus up against? The C919 will be state-of-the-art, both inside and out, along with some refreshing updates.
While the major elements of the airplane such as the nose, fuselage, outer wing, vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer and movable surfaces have been independently designed by COMAC, the company has enlisted Western expertise, notably that of French high-tech industrial group and aero-engine manufacturer Safran, which is producing the aircraft’s cabin and nacelles, CNN Travel reported.
The C919’s LEAP-1C engines are being produced by CFM, a joint venture between US engine-maker GE Aviation and Safran. Subsidiary Safran Cabin says it will supply the lavatories, galleys and cockpit doors for the C919.
The company told CNN that “the lavatories are larger than what is now commonly seen on competing aircraft.”
That will be welcome news for passengers forced to do contortions in modern airplane toilet compartments.
More spacious lavatories would mean it would be possible to move around with less contact with surfaces, and it could also make cleaning and maintenance a less onerous task for the crew that scramble on board between flights to disinfect the toilets — a boon in the Covid era.
The back of the aircraft will feature a full-sized galley with ample space for the flight crew to work.
Safran says it “recognizes that many of its airline partners based in China will fly these aircraft on short routes within China, which makes meal service a challenge.”
To address the compressed flight times on domestic routes, Safran says its cabin designers have come up with an “ergonomic galley design, with large work surfaces, equipped with easy-to-maneuver “Hybrite S trolleys,” which help the crew get meals, snacks and drinks out to passengers quickly.
Spacious galleys are also likely to be a selling point worldwide as airlines work towards complying with new inflight catering guidelines set out by the Airline Catering Association.
As for environmental concerns, Safran says it “has made advancements in its composite structures which enable interiors to be both lightweight and durable, helping to reduce carbon footprint while withstanding the rigors of short-haul service.”
The aircraft’s engines are also claimed to be more efficient.
The CFM LEAP-1C engine, which was selected by COMAC as the sole Western engine option for the C919, offers “a 15% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions versus current engines, and up to a 50% margin on NOx emissions,” says Safran.
The engines will also mitigate noise in and around the airports where the C919 operates.
The C919’s cockpit is being developed by the Chinese Aeronautical Radio Electronics Research Institute (CARERI), and will feature integrated 15.4-inch avionic Display Head Assembly units coming from Barco Display Systems of Atlanta, Ga."
C919 launch rings alarm bells for Airbus, Boeing - Asia Times
I suspect the first few years of production will go to Chinese airlines. To iron out any tendencies to nosedive into the ground.
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