NASA-funded study says it could aid use of advanced short-runway airliners, large commercial tiltrotors

Boeing flew its second 787 to California, the first time the aircraft has left Washington state

FAA revised its forecast to reflect slower demand recovery than previously expected

One issue being looked at is whether to use the reengining opportunity to introduce other changes

Delta is joining JetBlue in asking the U.S. DOT to waive the three-hour tarmac delay rule at New York Kennedy

U.S. Army Major Gen. Robert A. Harding (ret.), is an intelligence specialist with more than 30 years experience

Las Vegas-based carrier's fleet currently consists of MD-80s it paid for in cash

06 MAR 2010
Russian commercial pilots flying for Iranian airlines have to leave the country within two months, according Fars News Agency. "Upon an order from President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad], the Road and Transport Ministry has set a two-month deadline, after which all Russian pilots must leave the country," the Iranian Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani said. The order was issued by the Iranian President after the accident involving an Ilyushin Il-62 in July 2009. The airplane, flown by a Russian captain, suffered a runway excursion accident after landing at high speed at Mashhad Airport. Sixteen were killed in the accident. (FARS)

Strategy could terminate the carrier's scheduled operations, revive as wet-lease operator for Caribbean Airlines

Rule will allow passengers to leave aircraft after three-hour ground delay; JetBlue cites temporary runway closure

Europeans trying to devise more uniform standard on sharing passenger name record data

05 MAR 2010
On December 25, 2009 a passenger on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 attempted to detonate a small explosive device as the Airbus A330 was descending towards Detroit. The man was subdued and arrested after a safe landing. What damage would have been caused had the bomb exploded? A BBC Two documentary (“How safe are our Skies? Detroit Flight 253“) wanted to answer that question. A controlled experiment was carried out using the same amount of the explosive pentaerythritol (or PETN) allegedly carried by the passenger. All conditions were replicated using a decommissioned Boeing 747 at Kemble, Gloucestershire, England. A video shows the explosion did not rupture the skin of the airplane. Two experts concluded that the quantity of explosive used was nowhere near enough needed to rupture the skin of a passenger plane. The airplane used in the test was probably a 26-year old Boeing 747-267B(SF) registered N2868R. The airplane had been parked at Kemble as of August 2009 after 25 years of service for Cathay Pacific Airlines as VR-HIH and B-HIH. (BBC)

United says federal grants for small community air service could be used to subsidize low-fare competition

Aircraft completed a two-hour flight in a test-flight campaign expected to last 75 hours

04 MAR 2010
The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) released the final report 5X003-0/08 of their investigation into a serious incident involving an Airbus A320 at Hamburg Airport in March 2008. The left wing of the A320 had made contact with the ground during an attempted cross-wind landing. Because of the weather associated with hurricane Emma, on 1 March 2008 Lufthansa Airbus A320 registered D-AIQP left Munich Airport (MUC) on a scheduled flight to Hamburg (HAM) at 12:31 about two hours behind schedule, with a crew of five and 132 passengers. Given the ATIS weather report including wind of 280°/23 kt with gusts of up to 37 kt, during the cruise phase of the flight the crew decided on an approach to Runway 23, the runway then also in use by other traffic. During the approach to land, the aerodrome controller gave several updates on the wind. Immediately prior to touchdown, the wind was reported as 300°/33 kt, gusting up to 47 kt. At the time of the decrab-procedure there was no significant gust. The initial descent was flown by autopilot and the co-pilot assumed manual control from 940 ft above ground. After the aircraft left main landing gear had touched down, the aircraft lifted off again and immediately adopted a left wing down attitude, whereupon the left wingtip touched the ground. The crew initiated a go-around procedure. The aircraft continued to climb under radar guidance to the downwind leg of runway 33, where it landed at 1352 hrs. No aircraft occupants were injured. The aircraft left wingtip suffered damage from contact with the runway. This serious landing incident took place in the presence of a significant crosswind and immediate causes are as follows: * The sudden left wing down attitude was not expected by the crew during the landing and resulted in contact between the wingtip and the ground. * During the final approach to land the tower reported the wind as gusting up to 47 knots, and the aircraft continued the approach. In view of the maximum crosswind demonstrated for landing, a go-around would have been reasonable. The following systematic causes led to this serious incident: * The terminology maximum crosswind demonstrated for landing was not defined in the Operating Manual (OM/A) and in the Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM), Vol. 3, and the description given was misleading. * The recommended crosswind landing technique was not clearly described in the aircraft standard documentation. * The limited effect of lateral control was unknown. (BFU)

Air France-KLM is planning to leave summer capacity unchanged, with an overall ASK reduction of 0.3%

At lessor request, first A380s not due for handover until 2014, a year later than expected a few months ago

03 MAR 2010
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced that two employees at John F. Kennedy Airport Tower are on administrative leave following an incident last month when a child was permitted to talk with pilots on an air traffic control frequency. The two JFK Tower employees, a supervisor and an air traffic controller, are on administrative leave pending the outcome of an official FAA investigation into the incident which is already underway. In addition, all unofficial visits to FAA air traffic control operational areas, such as towers and radar rooms, will be suspended during the investigation. The FAA Administrator has directed a team to conduct a full-scale review of air traffic control policies and procedures related to facility visitors. (FAA)

03 MAR 2010
A Swedish pilot has been arrested by Dutch police at Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS/EHAM) for flying commercial aircraft for 13 years with a fake licence. The 41-year-old pilot was about to fly a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 from Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Ankara-Esenboga Airport (ESB/LTAC), Turkey with 101 passengers on board when he was arrested. Dutch police were notified about the pilot by Swedish authorities. Flight CAI202 was scheduled to leave Amsterdam at 23:30 on March 2 and departed 01:20 the same night after a relief pilot took over. The airplane involved was Boeing 737-4Q8 TC-TJC. The pilot confessed he had been flying for 13 years on a false licence, accumulating at least 10,000 hours flying hours. The man did have a pilot's licence, but it was no longer valid for passenger aircraft, so he had falsified it. He had worked for airlines in Belgium, Great Britain and Italy. A lawyer for Corendon Airlines commented that the pilot had worked for the airline for the last two years and had "expertly misled the company with his false papers". (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

U.S. carriers say Delta is "greedy" and is "stifling competition" in its application for slots at Tokyo Haneda