AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*A new study conducted in Australia reports that price wars between domestic carriers led to cheaper flights but it may also be resulting in flight cancellations. About 14 flights a day, or more than 5300 a year, never make it off the ground, according to figures compiled by the government about the country's 7 biggest airlines. VIRGIN BLUE was the worst offender, cancelling almost 6 flights every day last year, followed by QANTAS, its regional carrier QANTASLINK and its budget carrier, JETSTAR. The Sydney to Melbourne route, the busiest in Australia and the 4th busiest in the world, is affected by more cancellations than any other destination. Although the carriers say the cancellations are due to a range of reasons, including maintenance issues and bad weather, industry watchdogs say that carriers often cancel flights if the yield on that flight is not profitable for them.

*Russian airframer Aviakor is set to resume serial production of the Antonov AN140 twin-turboprop due to a contract received from the nation's military. Russia's defence ministry has placed an order for up to 9 AN140s in a cargo configuration, with Aviakor having committed to supplying the entire batch over the next 3 years. The 1st deliveries are scheduled for late this year. The military opted for the AN140 rather than the wait for the Ilyushin Il112 light transport, which is still on the drawing board.

*JETBLUE Flight 757, an A320, had to make an emergency return to New York JFK, yesterday, May 14, after suffering a bird strike on takeoff. While on their initial climb, the crew reported a "positive impact" with a bird. They leveled off at 5000 feet to determine status and shortly thereafter declared an emergency and requested return. The crew said the bird had struck the right hand engine, but they expected no problems with landing. The Airbus, which was enroute to Aruba, landed safely about 30 minutes later, with Emergency Services in attendance. The aircraft was then removed from service for a full damage assessment. According to media reports, a live ATC channel, that monitors communication between flights and controllers, the crew of Flight 757 reported the bird was ingested into the engine and said "we can smell burning chicken in here".

*GAZPROMAVIA Flight 902, a Yak 42 on a Ferry Flight from Gelendzik to Moscow Vnukovo Airport, overran the runway 01 by about 100 meters upon landing at Vnukovo, yesterday, May 14. None of the crew members onboard was injured and the Yakovlev was reportedly not damaged. According to media reports, ground witnesses reported that the aircraft appeared to hydroplane on the latter part of its roll out. Russian aviation officials are investigating.