AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*The US FAA has issued an update to its proposed sweeping Pilot, Flight Attendant and dispatcher training rules, that were 1st published in January of 2009. The 2 primary factors which led the agency to issue its 671-page updated proposed rule was legislation passed by the US Congress in August of last year mandating ground and flight training recognition in stall avoidance and recovery, and numerous comments that led FAA to conclude it needed to address several key issues not included in the original proposal. The legislation mandating upset recovery and stall avoidance training was a result of the investigation of the fatal crash of a Bombardier Dash 8-400, pictured, in Buffalo, New York on February 12, 2009. The crash of COLGAN AIR Flight 3407, on service from Newark, New Jersey for CONTINENTAL CONNECTION, killed 50. Full details on the rules can be found on the FAA website.

*Union members are meeting today consider an offer which could end the long-running dispute between BRITISH AIRWAYS and its cabin crew. The Unite union is expected to recommend the terms of a deal which has been negotiated during talks with BA. If those at the Heathrow meeting back the offer, a formal ballot of union members could be held within weeks. This dispute began in 2009 over cost cutting but became bogged down over the loss of travel perks to striking staff. Cabin crew staged 22 days of strikes last year, which resulted in travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers at a cost to BA of an estimated £150m.

*The latest safety report from the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) showed an improvement during the 1st 6 months of 2010 in the most serious  incidents involving commercial air transport aircraft, with no reported serious events concerning passenger Airlines in the highest risk categories. There was, however, a small overall increase in reported incidents between January-June 2010 compared to the same period the year before. There were a total of 79 incidents in the 1st half of 2010 involving commercial, military and general aviation aircraft, in contrast to 60 during January to June 2009. The report shows that the causes of incidents remain predominantly late sightings and non-sightings of aircraft by Pilots. The majority of these occur in Class G (uncontrolled) airspace where Pilots have the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft.

*The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has announced that they will conduct a special audit of MERPATI NUSANTARA AIRLINES  following Saturday's crash of Merpati Flight 8968 in Kaimana, Indonesia. The Xian MA60 turboprop plane crashed into the sea while on approach to Kaimana, killing all 25 passengers and crew onboard. The Ministry of Transportation said the special audit would investigate the conditon of aircraft maintenance; the management audit of safety standards according to Air Operation Certificate (AOC); and an audit of Defect Reports. Meanwhile, a Cabinet meeting led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today, discussed results of the investigation thus far. The President also endorsed a full investigation into the purchase of the Chinese made Xian's by Merpati, which some officials said was done without full government approval.

*QANTAS has reinstated flights that it planned to cancel during its morning peak tomorrow, after the licensed aircraft engineers union pulled its planned strike action. But the engineers still plan to take industrial action next Monday and Tuesday, including work stoppages and limitations on work. A Qantas spokesman said that it had been informed by the union shortly after midday that its 1600 engineers would now not be stopping work tomorrow morning. Earlier today Qantas announced that it would cancel 31 flights and delay another 46 services across the country tomorrow, blaming it on the planned hour-long stoppage by the engineers. The cancelled flights would have affected about 2500 passengers. The union’s federal secretary said in a statement issued this afternoon that the work stoppage planned for tomorrow had been called off due to "concerns about the growing number of technical faults that have emerged on Qantas aircraft in the last 48 hours". He cited an inflight engine fire and shutdown on a Singapore bound aircraft, a number of unscheduled engine replacements, fuel leaks from an engine in Japan and landing gear problems on a 737 aircraft. But Qantas rejected the union’s claims and accused it of using the ‘‘safety card’’ in the industrial dispute. Talks between the union and Qantas in front of Fair Work Australia will resume on Monday. The union said its major concern was Qantas management's decision to outsource maintenance work overseas. Qantas has accused the union of sabotaging talks and misrepresenting claims for increased wages and conditions. Last night, Qantas's long-haul Pilots also warned the carrier that they would seek approval to conduct a secret ballot to authorize protected industrial action. The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) said it had "drawn a line in the sand" because Qantas management was not negotiating seriously. It said if Qantas did not signal a change of intent by close of business on Thursday next week, the union would take the 1st steps towards protected industrial action.

*The United Kingdom's Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has released their Bulletin in regards to an incident involving a FLYBE Dash 8-400 at Paris, France, on November 25, 2010. On that date, Flight 3123 was on International Service from Manchester, England, to Paris, France, with 60 passengers and 4 crew members onboard. On approach to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, the crew lowered the gear but did not receive a lock and down indication for the right hand main landing gear. The crew went around and entered a holding pattern to work their checklists. The crew declared an emergency when they were unable to get a down and locked indication for the right main gear, despite manual gear extension. A visual inspection showed the gear appeared fully extended in its down and locked position, and there were no obvious defects to the gear strut. The cabin crew prepared the passenger cabin for a possible gear collapse landing. The Pilots then shut the right hand engine down on short final ,according to the relevant emergency checklist and performed a safe landing. As a precaution, the aircraft was evacuated after the left hand engine was shut down. No one onboard was injured in the incident. In their bulletin, the AAIB said that maintenance subsequently determined that the right main gear mechanism had indeed not fully engaged and had not been fully locked. The full Bulletin, which describes in full what caused the incident, can be found on the AAIB website.

*YAKUTIA AIRLINES Flight 464, an Antonov AN24, had to make an emergency landing in Yakutsk, Russia, today, May 12. About 20 minutes prior to its scheduled landing, and while on its initial approach, a propeller went into autofeather. The crew shut the engine down and continued for a safe landing. The Antonov, inbound from Suntar, Russia, had just been overhauled prior to this incident, and had only accumluated 5 hours of flight. It has been removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*COLGAN AIR Flight 3872, a Saab 340B on service for UNITED AIRLINES, reported a problem passenger, while on approach to Binghamton, Maine, yesterday, May 11. According to media reports, a 24 year old female passenger had fallen asleep, while enroute from Washington Dulles. She woke up as the Saab neared Binghamton, and after finding her makeup smeared, she went into a lavatory to repair her makeup.  She told police she lit a match and heated up her eyeliner pencil and then blew out the flame, ash she does at home. The cabin crew noted the burning smell and notified the flight crew, who notified officials at Greater Binghamton Airport. Emergency procedures were followed and police arrived at the Airport to meet the flight. The woman was escorted off the aircraft and detained and questioned. She was later released without charge.

*EASYJET Flight 6940, an A319, reported a violent and unruly passenger onboard, yesterday, May 11. The aircraft was enroute from Krakow, Poland, to Edinburgh, Scotland, and was about 90 miles E of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, at 38000 feet, when a male passenger attempted to open one of the foward cabin doors. The man was subdued by cabin crew and other passengers. The aircraft was then diverted to Amsterdam, where it landed 20 minutes later and was met by law enforcement, who took the man into custody. According to Dutch media reports, the incident was described by passengers onboard as "heavy" and threatening" and the man was "very agressive". Dutch media said the man was not intoxicated.

*ALITALIA Flight 812, an A320, had a loss of communication while on approach to Tel Aviv, Israel, yesterday, May 11. The Airbus, inbound from Rome, Italy, was about 180 miles from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, when radio contact was lost with the flight. Israeli fighter aircraft were dispatched, which intercepted and escorted the aircraft into Tel Aviv. Shortly before landing, radio contact was re-established and the aircraft went on to make a safe landing. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection of the communications equipment.

*AIR CANADA Flight 301, an ERJ175, suffered a flaps failure on approach to Toronto, ON, Canada, on Saturday, May 7. The crew aborted their approach for landing on the runway 24R, with the crew reporting a flaps failure. After working their checklists, the crew declared PAN PAN PAN, and telling controllers they expected hot brakes on landing. The ERJ, inbound from Washington Reagan, made a safe flapless landing at a higher than normal speed. According to the Canadian TSB, both slot harnesses on the right wing were replaced and the aircraft was returned to service.

*COMAIR Flight 6427, a CRJ700 on service for DELTA AIRLINES, encountered severe turbulence while on approach to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, April 17. The incident was just made public yesterday. The CRJ was descending from 4000 to 3000 feet, on approach to the runway 28L, when it encountered the turbulence. The aircraft, which was inbound from Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota, landed safely. In reporting the incident yesterday, the FAA said a Flight Attendant suffered serious injuries in the incident, which is under investigation.