Time Running Out for AF Flight 447 Investigators
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is probing two recent incidents involving Airbus A330 commercial transports that appear to have suffered similar failures reported on Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, claiming 228 victims. The probe into the... [read more]
FAA Fast Tracks Safety Action Plan for Regionals
Major carrier safety audits of regional partners and a new flight and duty time rule by September 1 are part of the marching orders sent out last week by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearings into the fatal Colgan Flight 3407...
Flying Blind: Airline Dereg Victimizes Travelers, Workers & Aviation Safety
Thirty years of airline deregulation has sent the industry into a steep nosedive, reducing consumer options and services, increasing delays, wiping out thousands of jobs, undercutting workers' wages and benefits, bankrupting countless companies, and causing a downward spiral in safety oversight, according to...
Safety Issues Regarding Small Air Cargo Carriers Identified
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the air cargo industry contributed over $37 billion to the U.S. economy in 2008 and provides government, businesses, and individuals with quick delivery of goods. Although part of an aviation system with an extraordinary safety record, there have been over 400...
No Cabin Safety Changes Despite Spread of H1N1 Virus
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has turned a deaf ear on a flight attendant union's demand that the U.S. aviation agency order U.S. air carriers to provide flight attendants with non-latex gloves and masks and allow cabin attendants with flu-like symptoms to call in sick but not have the absence...
Oxygen to Go
A new Department of Transportation (DOT) regulation, which went into effect May 16, requires all U.S. and foreign airlines serving the United States to accept portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) on aircraft. While new federal rules often times add increased costs to air carriers, this new regulation...
MPs to Debate Airlines 'Grossly Unfair Tax' on Disabled
A campaign led by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (UK) and the British Lung Foundation to end the restrictions and charges that airlines place on people with a lung condition in the UK, which has already gained the support of 218 MPs and the backing of the Equality & Human Rights Commission, will...
Group Formed to Develop UAV Sense-and-Avoid
The European Defence Agency's (EDA) member states, with Sweden as lead nation, signed a Project Arrangement on the MID-air Collision Avoidance System (MIDCAS) at the Paris Air Show to develop the sense and avoid technologies needed by unmanned air systems (UAS) to operate in airspace alongside piloted...
Southwest Workers Blast Maintenance Outsourcing
Dispatchers at Southwest Airlines have raised safety concerns about airline plans to send aircraft to El Salvador for major maintenance work. Dallas-based Southwest planned a year ago to send planes to El Salvador for maintenance work. It postponed the move, however, after getting hit with $7.5 million in...
ATC Tracking Methods Can Reduce Medical Errors
New research shows a method used by air traffic controllers may be more effective in tracking patient data and lead to fewer errors compared with current methods used in similar medical settings, primarily in military trauma. At present, the most prevalent method to track patients in these settings is with...
High-flying Kites Could Light Up New York
In the future, will wind power tapped by high-flying kites light up New York? A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and California State University identifies New York as a prime location for exploiting high-altitude winds, which globally contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times...
Note to Air Safety Week Subscribers:
In recognition of the Independence Day federal holiday, Air Safety Week will not...
Safety & Technology Trends
Talking Tough Newly anointed FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt talked recently about his priorities as head of the U.S. aviation agency. "A word about my number one priority. Safety. Colgan and Air France are reminders that we've got to be vigilant. The [call to action]...is an indication that we've got...
Security Shortlines
Clear Registered Traveler Shuts Down The registered traveler company CLEAR, launched by entrepreneur Steve Brill, has shut down because of cash problems. Parent company Verified Identity Pass said it was "unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations." Clear was...
Safety Rules & Regs
Notice of RTCA Program Management Committee meeting. SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of the RTCA Program Management Committee. DATES: The meeting will be held July 1, 2009 starting at 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at RTCA, Inc., 1828 L...
Accidents & Incidents
Date Aircraft Type Narrative Death/Injury Remarks May 01, 2009 Guayaquil, Ecuador BOEING 757-236 HC-CHC AEROGAL a/c powered by Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engines experienced compressor stall after takeoff from Simon Bolivar International, Guayaquil Ecuador. unavail While climbing through 700 feet, pilot heard...
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