Super Jumbo makes Emergency landing in INDIA!!

The Emirates AIRBUS A380 aircraft EK385, with 481 people on board, including passengers and crew, touched down at 0345 hours at RGIA. A full contingent of fire tenders, ambulances and support staff was on standby to provide emergency assistance. The aircraft, which was flying over central India, was diverted and permitted to land in RGIA.

The aircraft initially approached the Chennai airport but did not get clearance for landing as the runway was busy. The pilot then contacted Air Traffic Control at Shamshabad, 20 kms from here and got the clearance to land.

“All the passengers, mostly foreign nationals, were got off from the aircraft immediately,” RGIA spokesperson said, adding that the reasons for the emergency landing are also being looked into. Responding to the emergency landing, the Airport Rescue Fire Fighters upgraded themselves from CAT-9 to CAT-10 category to ensure safe landing of the aircraft.

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COMAC C919 will place a new challenge for airbus & boeing-Willie Walsh

willie-walsh

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways parent IAG, has said China's indigenously developed 168-seat C919 jet represents a serious challenge for Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. Walsh said the Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) showed him blueprints for the aircraft on a visit to that country six weeks ago.

Comac plans to produce the jet by 2016.

''My view is you have a real competitor,'' Walsh told a meeting of Airbus engineers at Toulouse, France. ''The C919 looks

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ICBC orders 45 COMAC C919 Passenger Jets

A COMAC C919 modelkept  for display at an air show

ICBC Leasing on Wednesday signed a deal withCommercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) to buy 45 of the nation'shomegrown C919 large passenger planes.

The financial leasing arm of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country'slargest lender, signed the new order as it sought to expand its fleet size to cash in onthe country's rapidly growing demand for air services.

Neither side revealed the order's value.

ICBC Leasing currently has 70 passenger planes. In June, it ordered an additional 42 A320s from

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AIRBUS acquires METRON AVIATION

This acquisition bolsters Airbus' strategy to accelerate and support ATM programs that will dramatically improve global air transportation capacity, efficiency and environmental sustainability. Metron Aviation is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, and is now operating as a subsidiary of Airbus Americas, Inc.

"Metron Aviation has a proven track record of introducing new ATM capabilities that improve the efficiency and safety for the global aviation industry," said Eric Stefanello, CEO of Airbus ProSky.

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Arabs indigenous aircrafts by 2018!

The first aircraft in the Arab world will be manufactured in Abu Dhabi by 2018. Homaid El Shemmari, chief executive of Mubadala aerospace company, is working to make Abu Dhabi a global Aerospace center.

With his enthusiasm and drive, one can understand why Homaid El Shemmari was selected as one of the top 500 most influential personalities in the Arab world. Mr. El Shemmari points out that this move comes as a part of a more comprehensive and holistic vision. Mubadala Aerospace is one arm of the Mubadala Holding Group owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

Mubadala Holding Group was launched in 2008 as part of the “Abu Dhabi vision 2030” which aims to diversify its economy and lessen its dependence on oil revenues from 65% to 36%. The vision was first implemented by the Emirate’s founder Sheikh Zayed Ben Sultan Alnahyan.

Mubadala Aerospace aims to be a major partner in the commercial Aerospace industry and a global competitor in manufacturing private jets. 

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SUDAN airways Fokker 50 Crash landed!

Fokker -50 at crash site

A Sudan Airways plane carrying 45 passengers was forced to crash land at Khartoum airport on Sunday after its wheels jammed, a civil aviation spokesman said, without causing deaths or serious injury.

The Fokker 50 aircraft left the Sudanese capital bound for the southern town of Malakal but the young pilot was unable to deploy the wheels on arrival and returned directly to Khartoum, Abdelhafez.

Aviation authorities instructed the pilot to fly around the city for more than an hour, to burn up two tons of fuel still in the aircraft before the descent, and covered the runway with chemicals to facilitate the landing.

The Sudan Airways general manager blamed US sanctions for the technical problems that caused the near-fatal accident.

"American sanctions impact on the whole aviation industry in Sudan, because we face many difficulties in getting spare parts," Al-Obeid Mohammed told reporters.

It was the latest in a series of air crashes and accidents in Sudan, whose national carrier is on a list of airlines banned from the EU because they do not meet European safety standards.

At least 30 people burned to death when a Sudan Airways Airbus A310, carrying more than 200 people, burst into flames on landing in Khartoum in 2008.

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F-22 resumes operation from 4 month Grounding!

F-22 Raptor in flight

The U.S. Air Force approved a resumption of flight operations by the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, ending a four-month stand down ordered after pilots experienced symptoms of hypoxia. The suspected source of the problem, the aircraft’s on board oxygen generation system (Obogs), remains under study.

Each of the 170 F-22s will undergo inspection of the aircraft’s life support systems before returning to flight, with follow-on daily inspections, the Air Force said. Before the standdown May 3, the fleet was already restricted to flying below 25,000 feet. Aircraft are now authorized to fly above 50,000 feet. Pilots will use additional protective equipment and undergo baseline physiological tests, the service said.


“We now have enough insight from recent studies and investigations that a return to flight is prudent and appropriate,” stated Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff. “We’re managing the risks with our aircrews, and we’re continuing to study the F-22’s oxygen systems and collect data to improve its performance.” The service said it will release a report later this year based on concurrent studies of a safety investigation board and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.

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Captain Gopinath bothers on quit of Kingfisher RED

kingfisher red ATR 

Kingfisher airlines chairman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday decided to ground his low-cost Kingfisher Red brand by January 31, 2012 as his cash-strapped airline firm hit turbulence due to huge debts and the high cost of aviation fuel.

"We believe there are more than enough guests who prefer to travel the full-service Kingfisher Class. And that shows through in our own performance where load factors in Kingfisher Class are more than in Kingfisher Red," he added.

Captain Gopinath, who pioneered the low-cost aviation business in India, says he is hurt by Vijay Mallya's decision to ground Kingfisher Red. Gopinath's Air Deccan was sold to Vijay Mallya in 2007 for Rs. 1,120 crore, which was rebranded Kingfisher Red.

Gopinath believes that it was a mistake to club the two airlines together and says Mr Mallya should have converted everything to Kingfisher Red rather than Kingfisher Class.

He also adds that it was a good idea to have all domestic routes under Red and international flight under Kingfisher First.

Rough estimates suggest that less than 10 per cent of India travels in airlines. Despite high fuel cost, if Gopinath has his way, that is where the business still is.

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AA 777 airplane landed in Nashville after pilot becomes ill

AA Boeing 777 

An American Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Chicago to Miami was diverted to Nashville because of an ill pilot.

Flight 2050 landed safely in Nashville at 12:32 p.m. The plane had 213 passengers on board, as well as two pilots and eight flight attendants. It was still on the ground at 2:30 p.m.

Ed Martelle, spokesman for American Airlines, said "We believe one of the pilots became ill, but we don't have a lot of information."

According to Kim Lawson, deputy chief with the Nashville Fire Department, a pilot became ill during the flight and was the cause of the emergency landing. The pilot is stable and has been taken to Summit Medical Center in Nashville.

The 777 isn't a plane typically used in regularly scheduled Nashville flights, said Emily Richard, spokeswoman for Nashville International Airport. "Our runways and terminal can accommodate them though," she said.

A female passenger also became ill on the flight and was transported to Summit in stable condition, Lawson said. The passenger's condition appeared unrelated to the pilot's condition

American Airlines is bringing another pilot from Dallas to Nashville to continue the flight to Miami. "He is en route now," said Martelle. "The plan is to get everyone back on board and hightail it to Miami."

He didn't have a definitive time for when the plane would reach Miami. The plane is being serviced, and once the pilot gets there, American will begin the departure process.

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AIRBUS A380 pylons at risk of overheat problems

The pylon structure of A380

The European Aviation Safety Agency said today in a proposed airworthiness directive which would require carriers to install ventilation holes in some of the panels covering the pylon structures of superjumbo AIRBUS A380,the equipment that connects the plane’s engines to its wings, safety regulators said, citing a risk of overheating that could cause a fire.

Test flights revealed a buildup of heat in the pylons of A380s equipped with Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc Trent 900 engines, 

“This condition could, in case of a heavy fuel leak, lead to an ignition of fuel vapors, possibly resulting in a fuel fire and consequent damage to the aeroplane and/or injury to its occupants,” EASA said in the directive, which is open for consultation until Oct. 28. If made mandatory, the modifications would have to be implemented within a 10-month period, it said.

Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN) grounded its A380s for 23 days last year after a Trent 900 failure prompted an emergency landing in Singapore on Nov. 4. Rolls-Royce has since carried out modifications to address issues with a faulty oil pipe, and the glitch disclosed today is unrelated, Airbus said.

The planned directive would affect the Trent-equipped -841 and -842 variants of the A380, all manufacturer serial numbers, except for planes that have already been modified, EASA said.

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