RIP, UT120…
UTair Aviation Flight 120 (UT120, UTA120)
Aircraft: ATR 72-201
MSN: 332
Registration: VP-BYZ (Bermudan registration)
Crew: 4
Pax: 39
Fatalities: 32
Survivors: 11
Flight origin-destination: Roschino International Airport (TJM/USTR)
– Surgut International Airport (SGC/USRR)
Status: Written off
With regards to the Bermudan registration of the Russian ATR-72, does that mean the Bermudan government is involved in any way with the ongoing aircraft investigation?
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner sets speed and distance world records
Article excerpt from The Australian
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner sets speed and distance world records
BOEING’S 787 Dreamliner is breaking a slew of records – even those that didn’t exist before.
The Dreamliner clocked-in world record distance and speed times for the airplane’s weight class (200,000kg – 250,000kg) – even though the speed “record” was one they created themselves.
The Boeing 787 overtook the Airbus A330 for the furthest an airliner of its class could travel without stopping for re-fuelling, clocking in at 19,835km on a flight from Seattle to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
It also established a new around-the-world speed record for its weight class flying eastbound. 42 hours and 27 minutes is the time to beat for future airliners seeking to top the new category.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA / KSEA) to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC / VGHS) – 12324 miles / 19835 kilometers (what an incredible achievement).
Further reading:
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/boeing/article/Boeing-787-sets-two-world-records-2389842.php
Air India goes for leaseback for Boeing Dreamliners
Article excerpt from IBNLive
Air India goes for leaseback for Boeing Dreamliners
A day after its lenders approved its debt restructuring plan, Air India on Tuesday decided to go in for sale-and-leaseback option for Boeing 787 Dreamliners instead of their outright purchase, as its Board reviewed the latest financial position of the cash-strapped company.
The Board, which reviewed Air India’s operations and the implementation of its turnaround programme and Financial Restructuring Plan, also decided to lease out excess capacity of two Boeing 747-400 planes and some 777-200 LR aircraft after the Dreamliners were inducted, a spokesperson said.
As per AI’s plans, the acquisition of 14 of the 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners that will join its fleet by 2014, is likely to be made through sale-and-leaseback.
Sale-and-leaseback or leaseback in short is a financial transaction where one sells an asset and leases it back for the long-term. Hence, one is able to use the asset continuously but does not own it.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ai-goes-for-leaseback-for-boeing-dreamliners/207082-7.html
Air India 787-837 Dreamliner, VT-ANA, MSN/LN 36273/25
Boeing 787 Lands Safely After Landing Gear Trouble
Article excerpt from ABC News
Boeing 787 Lands Safely After Landing Gear Trouble
Boeing’s new 787 plane, which just started carrying paying passengers, ran into its first technical glitch Sunday when the landing gear failed to deploy.
The pilots of Japan’s All Nippon Airways used “an alternate procedure that worked,” according to Lori Gunter, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based Boeing Co. The plane landed safely and there were no reported injuries.
“We are aware of this matter and are on-site in Japan with ANA offering whatever assistance they require,” Gunter said. “Maintenance was conducted and the airplane has returned to service.”
ANA is the first — and so far only — airline to fly the new jet. It started using the plane on short shuttle flights within Japan last week.
Further reading:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2016713099_787landinggear08.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/08/uk-boeing-dreamliner-glitch-idUSLNE7A603L20111108
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/11/boeing-787-dreamliner-problem.html
All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-881 Dreamliner, JA801A, MSN/LN 34497/24
Is Boeing’s 787 as safe as it seems?…
Article excerpt from the Daily Mail
Is Boeing’s 787 as safe as it seems? U.S. says inspectors ‘don’t know what to look for’ when plastic aircraft start to fail
With revolutionary plastic wings, it has been hailed as the most significant step in air passenger travel since Concorde.
But there are fears that for the long-term safety of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s plastic wings and fuselage.
U.S. inspectors said they do not know what to look for when the new composite starts to fail in a new report, the New Scientist revealed.
The report said it is unclear how the 787 will become damaged over time and it is not known what the damage to the composite will look like.
The aircraft has been trumpeted as the green fuel efficient future of aviation with its carbon-fibre reinforced wings which shave 15 per cent off its weight.
The revolutionary 264-seat Boeing Dreamliner flew passengers from Tokyo to Hong Kong on its first flight last week.
Article excerpt from the Chicago Sun-Times
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner an aviation game-changer
ABOARD THE BOEING 787 DREAMLINER — As far as airplane delays go, this one was a doozy: Chicago-based Boeing Co. was three years late in delivering its first 787 Dreamliner.
The long-awaited aircraft — hailed by many as an aviation industry game-changer — finally began regular service this week in Japan.
It’s the first mid-size commercial plane capable of flying long-range routes. That has a host of implications, including the potential to ease congestion at O’Hare.
It’s also the first passenger jet made primarily of carbon fiber — basically a type of strong, lightweight plastic — instead of traditional aluminum.
And All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the first on a long list of customers to get the Dreamliner, which I had the chance to check out during a 90-minute flight last Friday out of Tokyo.
More than 200 of us — mostly Japanese men and women in dark suits — filed into the softly lit cabin, designed to raise the bar in passenger comfort. Anyone who’s flown lately knows that bar desperately needs raising.
Poland Celebrates Hero Pilot
Article excerpt from the Wall Street Journal
Poland Celebrates Hero Pilot
WARSAW—The captain of a Polish jetliner who managed to safely belly-land his plane after its landing gear failed was lauded as a hero Wednesday, helping redeem the reputation of Polish aviators in the wake of last year’s crash that killed the country’s president and other leaders.
Veteran 54-year-old flier Tadeusz Wrona gently brought his Boeing 767 down, sliding its fuselage along a flame-retardant-coated runway on Tuesday after its hydraulics malfunctioned on a flight from Newark. None of the 231 people on board was injured.
“When the plane stopped, I wasn’t sure if everyone was safe. There was smoke,” Mr. Wrona said at a news conference on Wednesday. “I felt huge relief when the purser reported, a minute and a half after we stopped, that the cabin was empty.”
The pilot—who has logged about 15,000 hours in the air for Poland’s flag carrier, LOT—said he had a hard time falling asleep Tuesday night and kept replaying the landing in his head. He insisted he shouldn’t be viewed as a hero. “Each of us at LOT would have done it the same way,” he said.
Further reading:
Unassuming Polish hero just wants to fly again
Polish pilot rejects hero label for Boeing landing
‘Superhero’ pilot: Landing might’ve been better
LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-35DER, SP-LPC, MSN/LN 28656/659
LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO016 / LOT016
Flight Origin: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR/KEWR)
Destination: Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW/EPWA)
Crew: 11
Pax: 230
Survivors: 231 (all survived)
Further reading:
LOT Polish Airlines 767 Makes Emergency Landing in Warsaw
Newark flight makes emergency landing in Poland
Boeing 767 with 231 on board lands on belly in Warsaw after gear fails; no one injuredl
UPDATE 4 – Dreamliner carries its first passengers and Boeing’s hopes
Article excerpt from Reuters
UPDATE 4 – Dreamliner carries its first passengers and Boeing’s hopes
TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) – The Boeing Co Dreamliner, the world’s first carbon-composite airliner, flew to Hong Kong from Tokyo carrying its first paying passengers on Wednesday in a flight that could set a new benchmark in air travel.
Its takeoff into clear blue skies after a salute and shower by an airport fire truck came exactly 53 years after Boeing’s first ever jetliner, the 707, began commercial services in the Pan Am colors.
The Dreamliner does not fly any faster than that first aircraft, but it is not supposed to. Instead, it is designed to make the hours aloft more pleasant for passengers and cheaper to fly for owners battling for profit amid the rise of low cost carriers.
The Dreamliner that flew Wednesday with 240 passengers is owned by All Nippon Airways Co and a jubilant Shinichiro Ito, the airline’s president and CEO, described his brand new plane as a “game changer.”
He acknowledged, however, that production hiccups that delayed delivery for three years had put his carrier “through hard times”.
With its mostly carbon-composite body, Boeing’s technological flagship offers a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and a 30 percent reduction in maintenance costs.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/dreamliner-idUSL3E7LQ1J120111026
Article excerpt from Seattle Pi
GAO: Questions remain about safety of composite jets, such as Boeing 787
U.S. and European regulators followed procedures in certifying Boeing’s mostly composite 787 Dreamliner aircraft and took steps to address potential safety concerns, but it’s too soon to say whether these steps are enough, Congressional auditors reported Thursday (pdf).
“It is too early to fully assess the adequacy of FAA and industry efforts to address safety-related concerns and to build sufficient capacity to handle and oversee composite maintenance and repair, given that composite airframe structures in currently in-service airplanes are mostly limited to the secondary structures,” Gerald Dillingham, directors of Physical Infrastructure Issues at the Government Accountability Office, wrote in a report requested by the top Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, that committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and the Aviation Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Boeing’s 787 and the competing Airbus A350 XWB are about half composites, up significantly from other airliners, which use aluminum for the fuselage skin and wings.
While composites are lighter and stronger than most metals, the GAO wrote: “Some industry observers have raised concerns about the state of the science underpinning the expanded use of composite materials in commercial transport category airplanes and FAA’s preparedness for this transition.”
Premium Aerotec Puts Together First Airbus A350 XWB Forward Fuselage
Article excerpt from Airlines and Destinations
Premium Aerotec Puts Together First Airbus A350 XWB Forward Fuselage
Airbus aerostructures partner Premium Aerotec has successfully put together the first forward fuselage for the A350 XWB at Nordenham in Germany.
The all-composite fuselage for the first Airbus A350 XWB is 13 meters (42 feet 7.8 inches) long and comprises four panels and the floor grid.
Structural assembly work will continue over the coming weeks before the forward-fuselage assembly is transported by boat to Airbus’ Hamburg site for systems installation.
Article excerpt from Airlines and Destinations
Airbus Receives First A350 XWB Nose Section for Mating to Forward Fuselage
The first Airbus A350 XWB nose section has been transported to Airbus in St Nazaire by the manufacturer’s Beluga transport aircraft from Airbus partner Aerolia’s site in Méaulte.
Airbus released the photograph to the media on the same day that the first Boeing 787 for Dreamliner launch customer All Nippon Airways took off on its delivery flight from Everett, Washington to Tokyo Haneda Airport.
The Airbus A350 XWB nose section comprises three main sub-assemblies: the cockpit plus upper and lower forward-fuselage parts, which incorporate door one and the nose landing gear bay.
First Boeing Dreamliner arrives in fortress Japan
Article excerpt from Reuters
First Boeing Dreamliner arrives in fortress Japan
All Nippon (9202.T) Airways’ first Boeing (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner touched down in Tokyo early on Wednesday with hundreds of aviation fans welcoming the carbon-composite plane that its American maker is fielding, albeit three years late, to keep rival Airbus out of its best market.
The U.S. aircraft giant has had to cede ground to its European foe nearly everywhere else, including at home. Airbus has outpaced it globally in deliveries for the past nine years and in orders since 2008. Airbus has even had some success selling its A380 super jumbo to new carriers in Japan.
Japan remains, however, a fortress for Boeing, which it dominates with a 90 percent market share. Flag-carrier Japan Airlines has never bought a European jet, while the Dreamliner’s new owner, ANA, has already phased out some of its ageing single aisle Airbus A320s.
Some 500 spectators flocked to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to catch a glimpse of the first twin-engine, lightweight jetliner, which cruised in under a clear autumn sky before smoothly landing at around 9:04 a.m. (0004 GMT).
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/uk-boeing-idUSLNE78N00120110928
Air France KLM to Order and Option 60 A350 XWBs, 50 Boeing 787s
Article excerpt from Airlines and Destinations
Air France KLM to Order and Option 60 A350 XWBs, 50 Boeing 787s
Air France KLM’s board of directors has approved orders by the group for 25 Airbus A350-900s and 25 Boeing 787-9s, along with options on 35 more A350 XWBs and 25 more 787s.
The group says its commitment for up to 110 long-haul aircraft (50 on firm order and 60 optioned) is still subject to finalization of discussions with the manufacturers.
However, having received approval for the orders from its board, Air France KLM says it will now sign memoranda of understanding with Airbus, Boeing and Rolls Royce and it expects to finalize purchase contracts for its A350-900s and 787-9s before the end of the year.
In the medium term, this first joint long-haul order by Air France and KLM will replace 200-to-350-seat aircraft in the two carriers’ fleets. The order will also support the two airlines’ service growth, according to Air France KLM.
Air India Has No Money To Buy Boeing 787, Says Aviation Minister
Article excerpt from Aviation Week
Air India Has No Money To Buy Boeing 787, Says Aviation Minister
Debt-ridden national carrier Air India does not have the funds to pay for the 27 Boeing 787s it has ordered, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said Sept. 9, a day after the country’s nodal public auditing agency flayed the state-run airline’s hasty expansion plans.
“The decision to acquire a large number of aircraft was risky and has contributed predominantly to the airline’s massive debt liability,” the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) said in a report sent to parliament on Sept. 8. The fleet acquisition process also took an “unduly long time,” the CAG said (Aviation Daily, Sept. 9).
Ravi, in reacting to this report, says that the delivery of the 27 aircraft had been delayed by Boeing for three years. He did not specify whether the order would be confirmed or canceled, but made clear that if these aircraft were delivered, there is no money to pay for them.
Air India Boeing 787-837 – A Flying Dream That Won’t Come True
ROLE HLDG ADR : Rolls-Royce Trent XWB passes test milestones
Article excerpt from 4-Traders
ROLE HLDG ADR : Rolls-Royce Trent XWB passes test milestones
The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine has passed a significant milestone on the journey to support the first flight and entry into service of the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft.
The engine has completed a 150-hour endurance type test at INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial) in Madrid, Spain. Based on the internal condition of the engine, speeds and temperatures were increased from the original target during the test.
The engine has now been sent back to Rolls-Royce in Derby for a complete strip down and analysis to confirm durability and component performance predictions following the test. The engine will also be available for examination by existing and potential customer airlines.
Chris Young, Rolls-Royce Chief Engineer – Trent XWB said: “This is a challenging test, the successful completion of which builds confidence in the maturity and reliability that we have designed into the engine right from the start of the Trent XWB programme. The turbine entry temperatures we were able to demonstrate during the testing deliver substantial margin at the full 84,000lb rating for the A350-900, providing further confidence in the on-wing life of the engine. It’s a great result.”
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