AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*VIRGIN GALACTIC's SpaceShipTwo made its 1st flight in "feathered" configuration, the planned standard configuration for the vehicle's atmospheric re-entry. SpaceShipTwo, pictured above inflight yesterday, landed safely at Mohave Airport in Nevada Wednesday morning after an 11 minute flight. Upon detaching from the carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, at approximately 51000ft, SpaceShipTwo rotated its tail section and wings by 65 degrees and descended rapidly to 33000 before reconfiguring to standard glider position. A Virgin Galactic press release said that all flight objectives were met. SpaceShipTwo's predecessor, SpaceShipOne, was the 1st vehicle to use the feathered configuration for atmospheric re-entry, which provides greater stability than traditional spacecraft during re-entry. SpaceShipTwo, larger than SpaceShip One, is configured in much the same way.

*The CEO of QATAR AIRWAYS said yesterday the carrier will press for daily flights to 4 cities in Canada in a bid to muscle in on national carrier AIR CANADA’s long-haul market. The CEO said: "I think Canada is currently underserved, a lot of passengers are going through the USA because there are not enough Airlines offering international flights out of Canada unless you want to go by Air Canada. We already have rights to fly to 4 cities in Canada but with only 3 frequencies a week, so quite normally we would like at least a daily frequency to all of these 4 destinations. The Doha-based Airline is already scheduled to launch its1st route to Montreal on June 29. Rival Gulf carriers EMIRATES and ETIHAD were denied fresh landing slots in November by Canada’s transport agency, sparking a widespread diplomatic row between the 2 countries.

*COMLUX took delivery of an Airbus A320 Prestige aircraft yesterday. The aircraft, interior pictured above, was completed at the aviation service provider's Comlux America completion centre in Indianapolis and flown to Malta on Tuesday, where it was registered 9H-AWK. The Prestige will join Comlux's growing Airbus Corporate Jetliner fleet that includes 3 A318 Elites and 2 ACJs. Another ACJ is scheduled for delivery at the end of the year.

*AUSTRIAN AIRLINES said it will re-evaluate its Vienna-Tehran services later this month after being the latest Airline to be caught up in an international diplomatic dispute. Austrian has cut its Vienna-Tehran services from 5x/wk to 3x/wk and now picks up fuel in Baku, Azerbaijan on the return flight, after being told by the Iranian authorities that its aircraft would no longer be able to refuel at Tehran. According to Iran's civil aviation authority, a block on fuel supplies to several foreign carriers was introduced as a response to United Nations sanctions against Tehran. The US stepped up its own sanctions against Iran last June as part of the western campaign of pressure on the country. These resulted in decisions by several Western European fuel providers not to renew contracts with IRAN AIR and privately-owned Iranian carrier MAHAN AIR for fear of falling foul of the US measures. In response, Iran's vice-president Mohammed Reza Rahimi was cited by the Iranian press last month as saying that Iran "decided immediately to strike back and banned supply of fuel to Western passenger planes landing in Iran". According to Austrian Airlines the fuel stop adds around 1 hour and 45 minutes to the return flight. Dutch flag carrier KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES said the Airline had been operating a similar flight pattern since the end of last year, flying direct from Amsterdam to Tehran but making a fuel stop at Athens on the return leg, although this can be omitted if several factors including load factor and weather conditions permitted a nonstop leg. BMI introduced a fuel stop at Yerevan, Armenia, in both directions, while ALITALIA's Tehran services now include a fuel stop in Ankara, Turkey.

*AIR INDIA services remained crippled for the 9th day today, even as the striking Pilots and Civil Aviation Ministry resumed talks to end the deadlock. An Air India spokesperson said the carrier managed to operate only 10% of its services today. The talks with the Pilots were reported to be inconclusive. Meanwhile, Air India will continue to operate chartered flights with help of private Airlines. Yesterday, the national carrier operated 18 chartered flights, 16 domestic and 2 international, using aircraft borrowed from KINGFISHER and AIR ARABIA.

*Police in Delhi, India, have arrested 2 more Pilots today in connection with the fake flying license scam. The carriers that employed the Pilots were not identified. A total of 17 people, including three Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials, have been arrested in Delhi and Jaipur since March 7 after the fake Pilot scam was unearthed by the DGCA.

*TIGER AIRWAYS is unable to put its newest jet into service due to unresolved questions over why Australia's aviation safety watchdog asked it to "show cause" why its licence should not be revoked. The Senate inquiry into aviation safety has bought itself more time to grill the aviation safety watchdog over its enforcement action against Tiger Airways Australia. The inquiry committee was due to table its final report into Airline safety and Pilot training standards yesterday after months of hearings and scores of submissions, but in a 2 paragraph "interim report" yesterday advised it will now not report until June 15. The committee will use the extra time to probe the concerns the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) holds over the budget carrier, after it slapped the Airline with a notice on March 23 to show cause why it should not have its licence to fly revoked. CASA's senior management is expected to be recalled on May 16 to explain their actions, including the grounds for concern that led to the "show cause" notice and about keeping their concerns secret from the flying public. Tiger Airways Australia management are also expected to be recalled to answer questions before the inquiry. According to media reports today, CASA's concerns relate to the supervision and control of maintenance practices, rather than problems with specific maintenance items. While Tiger has responded to CASA's notice, the safety regulator is still considering the Airline's responses and the Airline remains under notice which has had other consequences for the carrier. Tiger's local operation has taken delivery of its 11th airliner, an Airbus A320-200, registered VH-FJR and pictured above, but can't put the jet into service while the "show cause" notice remains active.

*AIRTRAN Flight 311, A Boeing 717, had to make an emergency diversion to Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, yesterday, May 4. While climbing out of Charlotte, North Carolina, the crew reported they were shutting down the left hand engine due to compressor stalls. They then levelled off at 22000 feet, before making a safe diversion to Greenville/Spartanburg, about 20 minutes later. The aircraft was removed from service for repairs.

*REGIONAL COMPAGNIE AERIENNE EUROPEENE Flight 3223, an ERJ170 on service for AIR FRANCE, had to make an emergency return to Gothenburg, Sweden, yesterday, May 4, due to an unspecified problem with its flaps. The ERJ made a safe return and was removed from service for inspection.

*MORNINGSTAR Flight 7050, a Cargo Boeing 757 on service for FED EX, had to reject takeoff at high speed from Winnipeg, MB, Canada, on Tuesday, May 3, after the fire bell activated. The crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway. Emergency Services responded and could find no trace of heat, smoke or fire. According to the crew, they had no fire indications, however the fire bell could not be canceled. The 757 was powered down and then repowerd up, at which time the fire bell ceased. The aircraft departed shortly thereafter for Calgary, AB, Canada,

*CANADIAN NORTH Flight 438, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Yellowknife, NT, Canada, on Monday, May 2, after the crew could not retract the landing gear. The crew circled to burn off fuel before making a safe return. Once on the ground, maintenance removed the nose gear safety pin and the 737 departed for Rankin Inlet, NU, Canada, about 30 minutes later.

*ICELANDAIR Flight 602, a Boeing 757, had to make an emergency return to Toronto, ON, Canada, on Friday, April 29. While climbing out of Toronto, the crew noted heavy vibrations from below the aft galley floor. They leveled off at 35000 feet and requested return to Toronto, where they made a safe overweight landing on the runway 23. In a brief statement, the Canadian TSB said the maintenance detected a faulty pressure switch which caused the water tank compressor to run continously. The 757 was repaired and returned to service.

*UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES Flight 4433, a Boeing 737, had to reject takeoff from Odessa, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 31, after the left hand engine oil pressure dropped. The crew was able to slow the aircraft, registration UR-GAV and pictured above, on the runway and taxi to the apron without incident. The incident was just disclosed yesterday by Ukraine's Civil Aviation Authority. In their bulletin, the agency said contamination was found in the main oil filter, metal shavings were found in the oil pressure lines and chip detector. Internal damage was also found in the constant speed drive that caused metallic fragments to become stuck in the oil pressure line, disrupting oil flow to the engine. The CAA said their investigation into the incident continues.

*AEROSVIT Flight 202, a Boeing 737, suffered a bird strike upon landing in Kiev, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 31. The crew was able to roll out safely. The incident was just disclosed yesterday the Ukraine's Civil Aviation Authority, which said the 737 suffered damage to the leading edge of the right hand stabilizer.