Wednesday, July 28, 2010

AIRBLUE

ALL 152 people died no injured are

Airblue A321 involved in fatal Pakistan crash identified

The aircraft involved in today's crash in Pakistan has been identified as an Airbus A321 operated by privately-owned Pakistani carrier Airblue.

Airbus says the A321 has local registration AP-BJB and manufacturer's serial number 1218. Flightglobal's ACAS database says that International Lease Finance (ILFC) is the aircraft's owner and that it is one of three A321s in Airblue's fleet. Airblue also operates one Airbus A320 and two Airbus A319s, says ACAS.

Airbus says the A321 involved in today's crash was built in the year 2000 and that Airblue started leasing it in January 2006.

The International Aero Engine (IAE) powered aircraft had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights, it adds.

Airblue's A321 crashed today at around 10:00hr local time on the outskirts of Islamabad. It had been on a scheduled flight from Karachi to Islamabad and reportedly had 146 passengers and six crew on board.

The aircraft crashed into Islamabad's densely forested Margalla Hills. There was rain and low lying cloud at the time of the crash.

Some rescuers have reached the crash site and started to recover the bodies. But some reports, quoting from the country's interior minister Rehman Malik, say rescuers have also found five survivors so far.

The last time that Pakistan had a fatal crash, involving a passenger commercial aircraft, was in 2006 when a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 crashed and killed 45 people.

Airblue A321 involved in fatal Pakistan crash identified

The aircraft involved in today's crash in Pakistan has been identified as an Airbus A321 operated by privately-owned Pakistani carrier Airblue.

Airbus says the A321 has local registration AP-BJB and manufacturer's serial number 1218. Flightglobal's ACAS database says that International Lease Finance (ILFC) is the aircraft's owner and that it is one of three A321s in Airblue's fleet. Airblue also operates one Airbus A320 and two Airbus A319s, says ACAS.

Airbus says the A321 involved in today's crash was built in the year 2000 and that Airblue started leasing it in January 2006.

The International Aero Engine (IAE) powered aircraft had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights, it adds.

Airblue's A321 crashed today at around 10:00hr local time on the outskirts of Islamabad. It had been on a scheduled flight from Karachi to Islamabad and reportedly had 146 passengers and six crew on board.

The aircraft crashed into Islamabad's densely forested Margalla Hills. There was rain and low lying cloud at the time of the crash.

Some rescuers have reached the crash site and started to recover the bodies. But some reports, quoting from the country's interior minister Rehman Malik, say rescuers have also found five survivors so far.

The last time that Pakistan had a fatal crash, involving a passenger commercial aircraft, was in 2006 when a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 crashed and killed 45 people.

Airblue passenger aircraft crashes in Pakistan

A Pakistani passenger aircraft has crashed in Pakistan with about 150 people on board.

There were 146 passengers and six crew on board the Airblue Airbus A320-family aircraft, say news reports in Pakistan quoting from local civil aviation officials.

The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Karachi to Islamabad when it crashed, at around 10:00hr local time today, into the Margalla Hills which are on the outskirts of Islamabad, say the reports.

Helicopters in the area have located the crash site but rescuers are having difficulty because of the mountainous terrain and lack of road access, add the reports.

Some reports quote the country's interior minister as saying 10 bodies and five survivors have been found so far.

Airblue officials were not immediately available for comment when contacted today

Sunday, July 18, 2010

updates from Farnborough airshow 2010





























































Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Arrive At Farnborough Airshow 2010

Big thanks to the PAF for sending these aircraft to Farnborough. Great looking military jets, this is the first time they have visited the Farnborough airshow 2010. The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace business which is held biennially in Hampshire, England. The airshow is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of British aerospace industry's body the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) to demonstrate both civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors. It (along with the Paris Air Show) is an important event for the aerospace industry particularly for the announcement of new developments and orders.






P180 Avanti

FARNBOROUGH: VIDEO & PICTURES - 787 touches down for UK debut


Boeing's 787 twin-jet has touched down at the Farnborough Air Show, marking the aircraft's first appearance in the UK.
It headed in over north Wales, tracking south towards Oxford, and circled at around 9,000ft to the west of Farnborough before descending to conduct a flypast from the east.
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered aircraft, ZA003, then made a second approach and touched down, coming to a rapid stop on the runway.

Boeing 787 arrives at Farnborough Air Show

Thursday, July 15, 2010

flight global



Rolls-Royce urges airframers to rethink A320, 737 re-engining

Airbus and Boeing say the market will drive their decision on whether to go ahead with single-aisle re-engining plans after Rolls-Royce urged them to concentrate on bringing all-new single-aisle replacements to the market more quickly.
The UK engine manufacturer is concerned that introducing interim "technology refreshes" of existing narrowbodies will have a net detrimental impact on the industry's ability to deliver step-change reductions in fuel-consumption and emissions, by delaying the introduction of new "highly integrated and optimised" aircraft.
"We have said for a while that we remain unconvinced that re-engining is the right answer for the industry - that it is going to give the net benefits that the industry needs," says R-R civil aerospace president Mark King.
"Whenever a product is made that is not as good as it could possibly be, we worry about whether that product can stand the test of time, and therefore about whether we are actually going to see the return on investment that we need to get.
"One of the concerns with re-engining is whether it causes a delay in a new aircraft. All the analysis we do says that the right answer here is a new aircraft, and we don't want to delay that new aircraft."

The engine maker is working on all-new two- and three-shaft civil engine families, known as "Advance2" and "Advance3" respectively which could be available from the second half of this decade.
Although Airbus is exploring technologies for a longer term all-new single-aisle replacement, it says that "airlines have made it clear that any fuel burn reductions available today would be welcome". As such it working towards a decision later this year on whether to launch the A320 "new engine option", which could equip the narrowbody family with CFM International Leap X or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan engines.
Airbus's programmes chief Tom Williams said earlier this year that the airframer did not consider R-R's offering "a solution that works for re-engining...from either a technical or commercial point of view".
Boeing is studying three alternatives in the single-aisle sector - re-engine the 737, continue with incremental improvements or launch an all-new replacement and will decide which path to take by the end of the year, says marketing vice-president Randy Tinseth.
"We're looking for our customers to lead us in that decision," he says. "Some airlines are saying a 15% improvement in fuel burn is a no-brainer, and at the other end of the scale are leasing companies who [want] nothing to change - ever."

Meet British Airways' hero pilot at our Farnborough chalet


All 152 passengers and crew on board British Airways flight BA038 survived when a Boeing 777 crashed at London Heathrow in 2008. The accident became the subject of one of the most complex inquiries undertaken in the UK, and investigators acknowledged the quick actions of the crew in preventing a disaster.
skysoft is offering the chance to meet the commander of the aircraft, Capt Peter Burkill, at the Farnborough Air Show. He will be at the skysoft chalet (A25-26) on the afternoon of Tuesday 20 July where he will be signing copies of Thirty Seconds to Impact, his newly published account of the accident.
BA038 had been on final approach after arriving from Beijing when both Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines on the 777 failed to respond to a demand for more power.
Unbeknown to Capt Burkill and co-pilot John Coward, a build-up of ice inside the fuel lines supplying the engines had been dislodged as the aircraft descended towards Heathrow. An avalanche of frozen slush blocked the fuel flow, choking off the aircraft's thrust when it was just 700ft above the ground and leaving the crew with moments to avoid a catastrophe.
Thirty Seconds to Impact is Capt Burkill's personal story of the crash of BA038, and the difficult aftermath of the accident. Copies will be available for purchase at the Skysoft chalet on the day, and Capt Burkill will be on hand to talk about his experience. Please do drop by, we'll look forward to seeing you.

UAE gets look at Fire Scout

The United Arab Emirates got a 10-day look at the MQ-8 Fire Scout as Northrop Grumman prepared the unmanned vertical takeoff and landing system for US Navy evaluation later this year.
In early July, a UAE-painted Fire Scout weathered extreme conditions during the demonstration, including takeoffs and landings in 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) heat and high, sand-filled winds. The four-bladed unmanned helicopter climbed to test altitudes of nearly 10,000ft and demonstrated its non-line-of-sight sensor operations capabilities, including its FLIR Systems electro-optical/infrared sensing capabilities used to locate and acquire targets.
A video montage of Fire Scout field trial sensor was presented 14 June to interested multi-national government agencies and media, showcasing the MQ-8's real-time imagery-transmission capability, Northrop says.


The US Navy's will conduct operational evaluation of the system late this year aboard the USS Halyburton
With more than 20 million flight hours, it is currently the Pentagon's only unmanned VTOL programme of record.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Oneworld carriers secure EU clearance for transatlantic tie-up

Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia have received clearance from the European Commission for their proposed transatlantic tie-up.
The decision follows commitments from the airlines offered in order to allay competition concerns over their planned joint venture.
In a statement the Commission says it has "made legally binding" the commitments from the carriers.
Among the concessions offered by the carriers were slots at London Heathrow to allow the entry or expansion of competitors on routes to the US cities of New York, Boston, Dallas and Miami.
"After a market test, the Commission concluded that the commitments offered were suitable to remedy the competition concerns and has closed its investigation," the Commission says.

NTSB faults Continental captain in 2008 Denver excursion

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the captain of a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 that ran off the left side of Runway 34R at the Denver International airport in clear weather the night of 20 December 2008 did not properly control the aircraft for the extreme, unexpected crosswind conditions during the takeoff run.
According to investigators, Flight 1404 experienced crosswind gusts from the left side of as much as 45kt (83km/h) during the takeoff run, exceeding Boeing's 40kt recommended maximum crosswind component for the aircraft and Continental Airlines' 33kt maximum.
But the pilots were not aware of the intensity of the wind before takeoff. Reported wind by air traffic controllers at the time of the pilots received takeoff clearance indicated a crosswind component of 26kt with no gust factor. Data available to controllers but not typically given to pilots showed winds gusting to higher levels.
"This accident started back at the threshold," says NTSB chairman Debbie Hersman. "If [the captain] had had that kind of information he probably would not have initiated the takeoff".
Despite the intensity of the crosswind, investigators determined that probable cause for the excursion and subsequent accident was the captain's "cessation of right rudder" needed to counteract the weathervane effect of the wind and keep the aircraft centred on the runway.
The NTSB says the rudder control would have been adequate to maintain directional control in the winds had the pilot continued to input right rudder pressure after he had made two large corrections for gusts earlier in the takeoff run.
The 737-500 departed the left side of the runway at 119kt speed when the pilot lost directional control, coming to rest in a drainage basin and catching fire. Forty-one of the 115 passengers and crew on board were injured.
The NTSB says pilots will on average experience one takeoff in 15,000 with direct crosswinds (perpendicular to the takeoff direction) as high as 30kt.
"The pilot likely had not seen that high of a crosswind in his experience," the investigators noted.

NTSB also cites as a contributing factor air traffic control's inability to deliver the most relevant wind information available to the pilots, which would have revealed gusts to 36kt.
Also contributing was that Continental's training programme did not include strong and gusting crosswinds in simulator sessions, putting the pilot in a situation where the wind conditions "exceeded his training and experience", says the NTSB.
Investigators say Continental turns off the wind gust effects below 50ft (15m) in its simulators, using only a steady winds at ground level, a factor that eases pilot workload.
Continental, in written input to the NTSB's investigation notes that while the gust model is turned off in the 737-500 simulator below 50ft, it is turned on in the company's four 737-800 simulators at ground level.
"Because all Continental 737 pilots operate all of the 737 models Continental has in line operations, each pilot receives training in all available 737 fleet variant training devices," notes the airline. "Thus, the pilots are exposed to crosswind training in gusty winds during takeoff in the 737-800 FFS and therefore, the 737-500 [full-flight simulator] is not the sole means for crosswind training."
In its 14 recommendations to the FAA, the NTSB asks that surface winds at a variety of airports be used to develop gusty wind profiles that can be used in simulator sessions for airlines, air taxi and fractional operation pilots. In addition, the NTSB is asking that airframers develop type-specific maximum crosswind limits, values which today are recommendations only.
Other recommendations include conducting new research into mountain wave wind phenomena, which was the driving force behind the gusty winds at Denver that night; requiring air traffic controllers to provide pilots with the maximum wind speed information available, including gusts, and requiring the installation of 16g seats for pilots, an upgrade that may have prevented back injuries to both pilots in the Denver accident.

Monday, July 12, 2010

BA selects Thales IFE for A380s, 787s and 777-300ERs

British Airways is to fit its Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft with Thales in-flight entertainment systems, which will also be installed on its new Boeing 777-300ERs.
The French manufacturer will supply its TopSeries system to the flag-carrier's expanded fleet. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Thales says the British Airways installation will include 15.4in, 12.1in, 10.6in and 8.9in screens in the airline's first-class, business-class, premium-economy and economy cabins respectively.
The system's library will give passengers access to over 100 films, 300 programmes and 400 CDs as well as radio entertainment and podcasts.
Each seat throughout the cabin will have jack ports for personal electronic device connection and charging, and power sockets for laptop computers.

"It is an 'everything on demand' system that lets passengers do what they want, when they want," says BA general manager for product management Jamie Cassidy.
BA is acquiring 12 A380s and 24 787s, as well as six interim 777-300ERs for long-haul fleet modernisation.

British Airways takes delivery of four-class 777-300ER

British Airways is to operate its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a four-class interior, comprising 297 seats, when it puts the twin-jet into service later this year.
It has taken delivery of its first example (G-STBA), one of six, becoming the first UK carrier to introduce the type.
BA is taking three 777-300ERs this year and the other three by early 2012.
The airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, says the aircraft's cabin has been completely modernised.
"It is the aircraft first to be fitted-out with our new 'World Traveller' and 'World Traveller Plus' cabins," he says. The twin-jet also features BA's 'First' and 'Club World' interiors.
Walsh adds that the upgraded in-flight entertainment system will provide customers with 50% more choice on movies and increased television and music programmes.
European companies using the 777-300ER include Air France-KLM and Turkish Airlines. The aircraft are exclusively powered by General Electric GE90 engines.

Saturday, July 10, 2010




Friday, July 9, 2010

Firefighters tackling cargo blaze at Heathrow

Firefighters are attending a serious blaze in the cargo area at London Heathrow Airport.
Twenty fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling the fire in a warehouse, located on the southern perimeter of the airport, west of Terminal 4.
A spokeswoman for Heathrow says that the fire is located in a Servisair building but is "not affecting operations".
The London Fire Brigade states that it was alerted at 13:16, and that crews from both the airport and surrounding fire stations are attending.
"The cause of the fire is not known at this stage," it adds.

737-200 retirement lower pas

The ORIGINAL censored

Amazing landing

Take-off and Landng at Lukla, Nepal

SCHON AIR( PAKISTAN)C150 CRASH and C172 also


champions of PIA

Wednesday, July 7, 2010


© Gilles Brion