Aviation News

Etihad Airways, flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has slashed its order for A350-1000s from 25 to 12. 

Europrop International has announced its plans to ramp-up production of the TP400-D6, the engine that will power the A400M, reducing the assembling and testing time for the A400M engine from 60 days to 30 days. 

An MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor crashed on 11 April 2012 in Agadir, Morocco. There were four Marines onboard, two were killed and two were seriously injured.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) grounded its entire fleet of ATR 72-500 turboprops on 18th March 2012 after hairline cracks were discovered around windows of one aircraft’ cockpit.

Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 777-200ER suffered significant damages on its tail section after the aircraft strike a runway at Haneda Airport, Tokyo, on 31 March 2012. There were 12 crewmembers and 296 passengers on board, and no one was injured during the accident.

The first two 787-8s for Japan Airlines' (JAL) departed Boeing's Everett facility in Washington facility on their way to Tokyo on 25th March 2012.  JAL took the delivery of the aircraft on 27th March.

While Airbus has been flight-testing its fuel-economic sharklet for service entry later this year, the aircraft manufacturer is on the verge of launching a retrofit plan for existing A320 aircraft, which is expected to get into service in 2014.

Aerosur, Bolivia's largest airline ceased all international and domestic operations on 31 March 2012 because of unpaid taxes. 

The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is currently appraising Sikorsky’s proposal to build four pre-production CH-53K Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters.

Qantas Airways has confirmed that there are severe “type two” cracks on the wings of two Airbus A380 aircraft the airline has inspected to date. The airline is now discussing the cost of repairing the cracks with Airbus, and is seeking compensation from the plane maker.

On 23rd March 2012, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopted a new airworthiness directive (AD) that requires operators of 954 Pratt & Whitney PW4000-series turbofan engines on US-registered wide body aircraft to retire the engines' first stage high pressure turbine (HPT) hubs prematurely. 

Airbus has embarked on final assembly of the first A350, the static airframe, at its assembly production line in Toulouse, France.

Airbus has ruled out extending its potential A330 improvements to new engines. However, the airframer is interested in broadening the twinjet's appeal and lengthening its production life ahead of A350 development.

The initial phase of design work for a quiet supersonic business jet is underway at a large Russian aeronautical research agency. The jet will be quiet enough to fly over populated areas.

Boeing will soon receive General Electric GEnx-1B engine-airframe certification for its 787. This achievement is likely to coincide with 330min extended operations (ETOPS) approval, according to Mike Sinnett, 787 chief project engineer of the 330min ETOPS requirements.

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-732 left a taxiway, descended an embankment, and sustained significant damage at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 5:00 a.m. EDT. There were no passengers on board. 

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) presented Boeing with two awards on 28 February 2012 for the 787's attempt to set a new record for the longest flight for an aircraft in its weight class, and for establishing a new record for an around-the-world speed.

Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing commercial unit, has announced the company is aiming to launch its conceptual 777X by the end of 2012.

Saudi Arabian investigators have reached the conclusion that the pilots of the Lufthansa Cargo Boeing MD-11F that crashed on landing at Riyadh on July 27th, 2010, failed to recognize the landing bounce that occurred before a sequence of hard touchdowns and the destruction of the aircraft.

Rolls-Royce has announced its new RB3025 engine concept for the 777X. This is in response to requests issued by Boeing to Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and GE for Boeing's conceptual wide body 777X.

Emirates is planning to claim compensation from Airbus for lost revenue after cracks were discovered in wing-rib feet on A380 aircraft.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has expressed his lack of confidence in Boeing's 737 Max. He described the re-engineered narrow body as a "dog's dinner of a design" that had been drawn "on the back of a fag packet as a response to the [Airbus] Neo".

India is in final negotiations with Dassault Aviation, a French aircraft manufacturer of military and business jets, for supply of 126 Rafale fighters.

Cessna 340A II is the last commercial flying Cessna in Germany, and now you can see a video about this aircraft. Go on a flight, relax and enjoy hearing the powerful TSIO-520-NB engines roar throughout the entire flight from Bayreuth (EDQD) to Osnabruck (EDDG).

Boeing delivered the first 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) on 28 February 2012. The aircraft flew from the company’s Everett, Washington facility, on its way to Vancouver, Canada.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed some changes on the overhead panel and wiring for Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines has revealed the design and specifications of its first Airbus A380-800 aircraft, which will be delivered in June 2012. The aircraft will have a new livery on its exterior.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued new safety recommendations for passenger service units (PSUs) and crew seats in the Next Generation Boeing 737 family aircraft.

Airbus has announced its decision to embark on a passenger-to-freighter conversion program for its A330 twinjet. Given the strong demand for freighters, this decision was long over-due.

The US Air Force (USAF) T-X program, focused on replacing the T-38C Talon fleet, has been deferred due to the US Department of Defence’s latest budget proposal.

During a tour of the Boeing's 787 final assembly line, US President Barack Obama announced that the US Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank will expand its services to help small businesses that support exports. In his speech, the US President instructed the Ex-Im Bank to offer financing conditions that match those of its overseas counterparts.

Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engine, which will power the Airbus A350 has successfully completed its first flight aboard Airbus' dedicated A380 “Flying-Test-Bed” aircraft.

Airbus has announced that it will offer a higher-weight version of the A380 to its customers early next year.

In February 2010, AirNav Systems announced its release of AirNav RadarBox 3D, a tri-dimensional worldwide flight tracking software.

AirNav Systems is the leading provider of ADS-B real-time global flight tracking solutions. The company owns the only existing global ADS-B flight tracking network. The company’s new release, AirNav RadarBox 3D, is the world's first tri-dimensional worldwide flight tracking software.

Alicante, Spain – November 10, 2011 - Airlines are responsible for verifying that passengers have the correct documentation before they travel. Failure to do so could result in formidable fines for each violation, easily wiping out the airline's profit from the entire flight.

Roland Ondrus, one of our aviation news editors talks us through a day in the life of a real airline pilot.  If you're a keen aviation enthusiast, you will enjoy this article and if you're a dedicated flight simmer, you may enjoy it even more!  He talks through a flight step by step, discussing each of the main points of the flight.

After the bankruptcy of the national carrier Air Slovakia on June 1. 2010, a brand new firm is ready to enter the market. Air Slovakia was formerly owned by an Indian businessman who transformed the airline into an exotic carrier that was not very much used by Slovak citizens. The airline consisted of one Boeing 737-200 (ex Southwest aircraft) and two Boeing 757-200 until it went bankrupt. The primary Hub was Bratislava International Airport (Letisko Milana Rastislava Stefanika).

Everyone has an opinion about airline food. And it’s rarely good.

Bryan Miller, a NY Times restaurant critic, once said, "The quality of food is in inverse proportion to a dining room's altitude, especially atop bank and hotel buildings. Airplanes are an extreme example.”

Why is there a huge hole in the side of the World Trade Center?

On the morning of Sept 11, 2001 I flipped on the Today Show morning news program in Los Angeles a few minutes before 6am. They were showing a video of a huge gaping hole in the side of one of the World Trade Center buildings, with a massive black cloud billowing out. One of the anchors, Katie Couric said, “As Matt just mentioned we have a breaking news story to tell you about. Apparently a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center here in New York City.”

As the airplane banked over the Swiss Alps, Kurt looked out his window. He could see them all in a little line: Samedan, St. Moritz, Silvaplana and Chamfér. He smiled to himself – he just ended the greatest skiing weekend of his life. He turned his head to the pillow to take a nap.