AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*China plans to build a commercial Airport at an altitude of 4436m (14,544ft) in Tibet, making it the world's highest Airport. Construction at Nagqu prefecture in northern Tibet is due to commence in 2011 and be completed in 3 years, according to local government and Civil Aviation Administration of China officials. Nagqu is about 300km from the Tibetan capital Lhasa, which has an Airport at 3600m. The record holder is Tibet's Bamda Airport, in Bangda Qamdo, which is at 4334m. China is building transport links to Tibet in an effort to connect Tibet more closely to other parts of the vast country.

*Shares in the troubled carrier JAPAN AIRLINES, aka JAL, have continued their steep fall on mounting speculation that it will file for bankruptcy next week. JAL shares tumbled by the daily limit of 30 yen for the 2nd day in a row, falling 81% to a new record low of just 7 yen (7.7 cents). The Airline's market value has fallen by about $1.8bn in 2 days to $200m. Reports say JAL is set to receive government funds worth about 300bn yen under a restructuring package. The package would see it file for bankruptcy.

*The NTSB has released its Factual Report into an incident involving an AIR CANADA A320 near Denver, Colorado, on November 5, 2009. On that date, AC Flight 795 was inflight and initiated contact with Denver ATC. Shortly thereafter, all contact with the aircraft was lost. Despite repeated attempts, including attempted contact by other airliners in the area, contact between Flight 795 and ATC was lost for a total of 37 minutes. Contact was finally re-established, and it appears that due to static, the crew had turned down the volume on the radio frequencey and did not hear the contact attempts. The Factual Report details events from when contact was lost until it was re-established. The full report can be found on the NTSB website.

*A MALEV HUNGARIAN AIRLINES Dash 8-400 had to make an emergency return, yesterday, January 12. Flight 566 was on International Service from Budapest, Hungary, to Zurich, Switzerland, with 62 passengers and 4 crew members onboard. While climbing out of Budapest, the crew reported problems with the passenger cabin pressurization system, and requested return. The Dash landed back at Budapest without incident, about 80 minutes later. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repair.

*A male passenger was arrested when a WESTJET Boeing 737 landed in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on Monday, January 11. Flight 505, on Domestic Service from Montreal to Vancouver, requested law enforcment meet the flight upon arrival in Vancouver. According to media reports, a male passenger had been caught smoking in the lavatory, twice, despite being warned after the 1st incident. Police had declined to first file charges due to a lack of evidence, however the passenger had an outstanding warrant. A physical search after his arrest revealed cannibis. The man faces multiple charges.

*A CONDOR Boeing 767 had to make an emergency landing in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Monday, January 11. Flight 7235 was on International Service from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Santo Domingo, when the left aileron became stuck in the up position shortly after takeoff from San Jose. The crew continued to Santo Domingo at low speed to keep the outboard ailerons working and the 767 landed without incident.

*An EASYJET A319 had to divert while enroute, on Monday, January 11. Flight 3455 was on International Service from London Stansted to Tallin, Estonia, and was inflight at 39000 feet overhead Denmark, when the crew requested to divert. The A319 landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, without incident, about 30 minutes later. In a brief statement, Easyjet said that the aircraft diverted over a technical fault. Media reported that some passengers complained of being dizzy while inflight, which could signify a problem with cabin pressure. The aircraft is out of service undergoing an inspection.

*An AIR CANADA JAZZ CRJ200 had to make an emergency return to Victoria, BC, Canada, on Sunday, January 10. Flight 8558, on Domestic Service to Calgary, with 42 passengers and crew onboard, was climbing out of Victoria, when the crew reported that the passenger cabin was not pressurizing. The CRJ landed back at Victoria without incident, about 11 minutes after their initial departure. In a brief statement, the Canadian TSB said that a mechanical fault, since repaired, was the cause of the incident.