AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*The US Postal Service dedicated 2 stamps Wednesday commemorating 2 historic events, one that occurred a half century ago, and the second that's making history now. The 50th anniversary of America's 1st manned spaceflight with Astronaut Alan Shepard and the unmanned MESSENGER Mission spacecraft currently charting planet Mercury, were commemorated on 2 44-cent First-Class Forever stamps.

*DELTA AIRLINES has announced more route cuts that will be effective on September 7. From Memphis, Delta is axing service to Golden Triangle Airport in Columbus, Mississippi; Lafayette, Louisiana; Lexington, Kentucky and the Quad Cities in Iowa. The carrier is also ending service from Cinncinatti/Northern Kentucky to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

*Canada's HARBOUR AIR announced that it is cancelling its daily flights between the Langley Regional Airport and Victoria,BC, effective May 20. In a statement, the carrier said: “It comes with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of this service. Our numerous attempts at generating a sustainable market for this route have proven to be unsuccessful. A decrease in passenger numbers over the years combined with an increase in fuel and operating costs have led to this difficult decision". The 4 year old service utilized a de Havilland Twin Otter on the route.

*Smokers who want to light up before they fly away from Belfast International Airport are being charged £1 to do so to pay for a "designated smoking area". The non-smoking Airport in Northern Ireland said it had responded to a need for a place where passengers could smoke after checking in but that the cost of the "specialist facility" would be covered by those who used it. Those looking for a calming nicotine fix will be able to slot a £1 coin into a machine which operates the doors of the smoking area.

*AER LINGUS has hinted that a further round of cost-cutting may be necessary in light of external economic pressures. Unveiling a widening of the Irish flag carrier's losses for the 1st quarter of 2011, the hief executive of the carrier said the company had had a challenging start to the year. This included a dispute by cabin crew and "difficult demand conditions, particularly on leisure routes from Ireland". The Irish economy has been badly battered by a banking crisis and consequent austerity measures, resulting in a fall in discretionary travel.

*BRITISH AIRWAYS has announced a contest for someone from the general public to help them design a special livery for the London 2012 Olympics. The winner will work with renowed Brit artist Tracy Emim to design the special livery that will be placed on 12 aircraft in February 2012. The contest is open until July 27, 1 year until the Olympics open. After shortlisted candidates are chosen and vetted, the winner will be announced on August 21.

*International Airlines Group has seen its losses narrow on rising revenues in the company's 1st results since the BRITISH AIRWAYS and IBERIA merger. The firm lost 47m euros ($68m) in the 1st quarter of the year, down from a 273m euro loss a year ago. The improved result came as the Airline's revenues rose 15.4% on the year as business volumes recovered, and despite a 31% jump in fuel costs. The 2 national flag carriers completed their merger in January.

*Flights out of Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, resumed late last night following a frantic day of cancellations and stranded passengers, due to contamination in the Airport’s aviation fuel supply. Last night, the Airport, pictured yesterday afternoon, began dipping into its fuel reserves, and tanker trucks were bringing in millions of liters in an attempt to alleviate the situation, which had left thousands of passengers without a way to leave the country. Most flights already enroute to Israel yesterday, were diverted to nearby Cyprus. Other flights to the country were canceled, although most departed today with only minor delays. Government officials, who ruled out terrorism, ordered an investigation into the incident. According to media reports, the fuel contamination was initially discovered a week and a half ago, but no action was taken. Airport officials insisted that there was no danger to passengers over the past week and a half.

*The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India has suspended commercial operations of PAWAN HANS. The operator of passenger helicopter flight has suffered a rash of recent accidents, including one on April 19 at Naharlagun, that killed 17. The DGCA suspension comes only days after another chopper crash off Se La Pass in Tawang district on Saturday, that killed the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, among others.

*The Italian ANSV has released their Preliminary Report into an incident involving a VOLGA-DNEPR Antonov AN124 at Torino, Italy, on September 9, 2010. On that date, the Antonov was on Cargo Service out of Torino, when the crew rejected takeoff from runway 36 at low speed after the aircraft accelerated through a flock of birds. Engines #1 and #4 flamed out, which is captured in photo above. The crew was able to slow and stop the aircraft on the runway. Emergency Services responded due to both engines smoking, however no one onboard was injured. The Antonov was later cleared to taxi to a nearby hanger. In their Preliminary Report, the ANSV said the flight recorders were read out and borescopic inspections of both engines conducted. Damage was found only in engine #4, while the flame out of engine #1 was the result of a compressor stall due to application of reverse thrust while the takeoff was rejected from low speed. The engine was sent to the engine manufacturer in the Ukraine where some type of structural damage was identified. The damaged parts were returned to the ANSV for further analysis to determine the exact sequence of events. The investigation continues.

*The Italian ANSV has released their Preliminary Report into an incident involving an INTERSKY Dash 8-300 at Elba, Italy, on July 10, 2010. On that date, Flight 281 departed Elba from the runway 16 for service to Munich, Germany. On takeoff, the jet blast from the aircraft's engines caused the windshield of a car riding on the road next to the runway to shatter, seroiusly injuring a passenger inside. In their Preliminary Report, the ANSV has collected evidence on the lack of signage on the perimeter road to warn drivers of the hazards associated with aircraft on the runway. The ANSV noted the distance between the road and the area where aircraft generally accelerate their engines when taking off from runway 16, is only about 30 meters, whereas Italian law requires a distance of 60 meters or more. Shorter distances, but not less than 30 meters, may be accepted for Airports with propeller propulsion only provided the operator of the Airport demonstrates that the most critical aircraft with regards to speed and temperature of the prop wash does not have negative impact on security of third parties. The investigation continues.

*The Italian ANSV has released their Preliminary Report into an incident involving a BH BALKAN HOLIDAYS AIR A320 at Verona, Italy, on September 1, 2009. On that date, Flight 5379 was on service from Hurghada, Egypt, to Rome, Italy, with a stop in Verona, on behalf of AIR VALLEE, when it suffered a tail strike on takeoff from Verona. The crew was able to make a safe emergency return without injury to those onboard. In their Preliminary Report, the ANSV said that upon departure from Hurghada, the aircraft carried 77 passengers destined for Verona and 87 passengers for Rome. The passengers to Verona were mainly seated in the forward and central cabin, the passengers to Rome mainly in the central to aft cabin. The luggage for Verona had been stowed in the forward cargo compartment and the luggage for Rome in the aft cargo compartment. After arrival in Verona the passengers for Verona disembarked and their luggage was unloaded, the passengers to Rome kept their seats and their luggage was not re-distributed. A load and trim sheet was produced at Verona that showed the remaining passengers to Rome in different seat allocation than on the leg Hurghada-Verona. This was not detected by the crew nor did the crew consider to re-distribute the passengers, which caused the center of gravity to outside the operational envelope limit for takeoff. Post incident inspections revealed substantial structural damage, pictured above, to the lower part of the tail fuselage compromising the pressurized compartment. The investigation continues.

*Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) has released their Final Report into an incident involving a WINGS AIR MD82 at Surabaya, Indonesia, on October 20, 2008 On that date, Flight 8978 was on finals into Surabaya, and just seconds from touchdown, when one of the left main gear wheels departed the aircraft and spun out on the runway. The MD82 touched down safely and the crew was able to slow and stop the aircraft on the runway. None of the 162 passengers and 5 crew members onboard were injured and the MD82 suffered only minor damage. In their Final Report, the NTSC said the Probable Cause of the incident was: "The worn inner threads of the axle No.2 (the left inboard main landing gear) caused the detachment of the axle nut and the separation of wheel No.2". A subsequent examination of all other MD-aircraft operated by Wings Air found no other worn axle threads. The NTSC analysed that the threads were worn already prior to installation of the wheels on the aircraft, registration PK-LMS and pictured above, at the last servicing. The agency said the nut and wheel should not have been fitted to the aircraft and  the axle should have been replaced. 3 safety recommendations were released as result of the investigation. The full Report is due to be posted on the NTSC website.

*Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) has released their Final Report into an incident involving a GARUDA INDONESIA Boeing 737 at Palembang, Indonesia, on October 2, 2008. On that date, Flight 110 was cleared to land on the runway 29, but instead llanded on the parallel taxiway at Palembang. The crew recognized barriers on the taxiway ahead and applied manual heavy braking stopping the aircraft about 2300 feet past touch down and just before the barriers. None of the 46 passengers and 6 crew members onboard were injured and the 737 suffered no damage. According to the NTSC Final Report, the Probable Cause of the incident was related to a combination of Pilot and Controller Error. The full Report is due to be posted on the NTSC website.

*AIR CANADA Flight 861, a Boeing 767, had to make an emergency medical diversion to Shannon, Ireland, today, May 6. While enroute from London Heathrow to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and near Shannon, the crew requested diversion due to a passenger suffering a probable heart attack. The 767 landed safely on the runway 24 about 25 minutes later, pictured above. The passenger was transported to hospital and the 767 departed for Halifax about 1.5 hours later.

*TAM Flight 9364, an A320, had to make an emergency diversion to Goiana, Brazil, yesterday, May 5, due to hydraulics problems and possible braking problems. The airliner landed safely and was then removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES Flight 688, a Boeing 737, had to divert to Kolkata, India, yesterday, May 5. The aircraft had departed Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, early yesterday morning, and had arrived in Delhi, India, without incident. It then departed Delhi at 9:50am for Hangzhou, China. As the aircraft was enroute over Kolkata airspace, and nearing Yangon, Burma, officials in Burma refused permission for the flight to fly over the country. The crew then requested permission to divert to Kolkata, where they landed without incident. According to media reports, Burmese officials refused permission for the aircraft to fly over the country due to a lack of "paperwork". The carrier and the governement of Burma were reported to be working to resolve the problem.

*SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Flight 31, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency diversion to El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, May 4. While enroute from Houston, Texas, to Phoenix, Arizona, at 36000 feet and near El Paso, the crew declared an emergency, reporting an electrical odor in the cockpit and passenger cabin. The O2 masks in the passenger cabin were deployed, as pictured above. The aircraft landed safely in El Paso about 18 minutes later and vacated the runway. Passengers were offloaded at the gate and the aircraft was removed from service. According to Southwest, the 737 was ferried to Dallas Love Field for a full inspection.

*CONDOR Flight 6225, an A320, reported problems with the runway lights, prior to landing in Paderborn, Germany, on Saturday, April 30. According to media reports, the A320 was on final approach into Paderborn at 11:35pm, local time, but the crew could not see the runway lights or runway, so they had to go-around. The crew then entered into a holding pattern for about 10 minutes, before making a 2nd approach and then landed without incident. According to a statement from the Airport, the runway lights are not kept on continously during the night and there had been a miscommunication between the tower and the flight crew, which resulted in the lights not being turned on.