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Weekly UpdatesJul 19, 2009
European Commission air safety regulators have extended the blanket ban on air carriers to Kazakhstan and Zambia, but have eased restrictions on certain airlines in Indonesia and Angola. Only Air Astana remains exempt from the European blacklisting of Kazakhstan. In a statement on the updating of its blacklist, the Commission says Air Astana's operations into the European Union are "frozen under strict restrictions". Jul 14, 2009
The European Union is set to partially lift a ban on Indonesian airlines on 15 July on the recommendation of its air safety committee. "They will issue the regulation about the lifting of the ban" on 15 July and it will come into effect that same day, says Diding Sunardi, the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) deputy director of standards for airworthiness and air operation. The EU imposed a blanket ban on all Indonesian airlines in June 2007 after a series of fatal airline accidents in the country. The DGCA has recommended that the ban be lifted against Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines, Airfast Indonesia and Premiair. Jul 13, 2009
Air France, Airbus
Initial details of the handover of Air France flight AF447 from Brazil to Senegal have opened a rift between the two states, as investigators attempt to establish how long the Airbus A330 was out of contact before a formal emergency alert was declared. Preliminary findings into the loss of AF447 indicate that, after the jet failed to respond to radio calls shortly before leaving Brazilian airspace, several hours elapsed while controllers in 10 different flight information regions tried to determine the aircraft's position. Circumstances of the loss - close to the Brazil-Senegal oceanic airspace boundary where responsibility for the flight is handed over - have made the transfer issue a sensitive matter. Jul 13, 2009
Airbus
European safety regulators have ordered Airbus A310 operators to check the type after at least three carriers suffered in-flight loss of wing fences. All three reported wing-fence detachment from A310-300 aircraft, says the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Inspection of other examples of the twin-jet has uncovered cracked internal ribs within the wing-tip structure. Jul 16, 2009
British Airways, Boeing, Rolls-Royce
European regulators have mandated that airlines operating Rolls-Royce-powered Boeing 777s fit a redesigned component in an attempt to avoid accidents like the loss of a British Airways aircraft at Heathrow Airport last year. Rolls-Royce has redesigned the fuel-oil heat-exchanger (FOHE) on the Trent 800 engine which powers the 777. Jul 15, 2009
British Airways, Boeing, Rolls-Royce
European regulators have today mandated that airlines operating Rolls-Royce-powered Boeing 777s fit a redesigned component in an attempt to avoid accidents like the loss of a British Airways (BA) aircraft at Heathrow Airport last year. Rolls-Royce has redesigned the fuel-oil heat-exchanger (FOHE) on the Trent 800 engine which powers the 777. The FOHE is intended simultaneously to warm fuel and to cool oil by transferring heat from the latter to the former but it is believed that on the flight in question, and possibly others, it was overwhelmed by ice in the fuel which allowed ice to collect on the front face of the FOHE and restrict the fuel flow. The result was that both engines suffered serious power reductions and the aircraft landed heavily, inside the airport perimeter but short of the runway, and was subsequently written off. Jul 13, 2009
Caspian Airlines, Tupolev
Two flight data recorders were recovered but reportedly were badly damaged at the site of the Caspian Airlines Tu-154M crash Wednesday morning that killed all 168 onboard. A third recorder has not been located. A spokesperson from Armenia's General Dept. of Civil Aviation told RIA Novosti that the aircraft underwent a full maintenance check last month and was cleared to fly until year end. Jul 16, 2009
Madrid-Barajas Airport
The recent deployment of 65 Defibtech Lifeline automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at the Madrid-Barajas Airport, which serves 130,000 passengers a day, adds to the companyOs outstanding track record of transportation-related deployments. Jul 14, 2009
Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines, Mahan Air
Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines and Iran's Mahan Air were added to the EU's list of banned airlines, while Garuda Indonesia, Airfast Indonesia, Mandala Airlines and Premiair were removed from the "blacklist." The latest update, issued yesterday, did not include Yemenia Yemen Airways despite recent controversy following the June 29 A310-300 crash that killed 152 passengers and crew. All airlines from Zambia and Kazakhstan were added to the list with the exception of Air Astana, which will be allowed limited access to EU nations. Jul 15, 2009
Yemenia, Airbus
ICAO President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez last week rejected European Commission VP-Transport Antonio Tajani's call for a global "blacklist" banning airlines for safety reasons, Reuters reported. Tajnai outlined plans for a global list that would be similar to the EU's list of banned carriers following the Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 crash. "I don't think [a blacklist] is the solution at the global level," Gonzalez said. "Discouraging passengers from going on particular aircraft or particular airlines on certain routes will not necessarily reduce accidents. At present, I cannot be in favor of a world blacklist because I don't have a mandate from the states of ICAO to do this, but I fully agree with Commissioner Tajani we have to work together" to improve safety. Jul 13, 2009
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