AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*GULF AIR Flight 154, on International A330 Service from Bahrain to Manila, The Philippines, completed its flight without incident, yesterday, September 12. After the passengers and flight crew departed from the aircraft, Airport cleaners boarded the A330 to clean for its next flight. In one of the lavatories, cleaners found a live baby boy covered in tissues and blood. The baby was silent, but alert. Before being rushed to an area hospital, Airport medical staff examined the newborn and reported that he appeared to be in good condition. He was fed some milk and cried for the first time. "The good news is that the baby is healthy and weighs around 6lb 6oz," said Dr Maria Teresa Agores, who was on duty in Terminal 1 when the baby was brought to her. Gulf Air staff contributed to buy clothes and other essentials for the baby boy. Officials at the Airport said they have named the child George Francis, based on Gulf Air's airline code, GF, as efforts began to find the mother. "As soon as Gulf Air Flight 154 landed she hurried from the aircraft and left the terminal building," said an official. Authorities said they were baffled as to how the woman had managed to conceal the in-flight birth from other passengers and return to her seat without drawing attention to herself. The baby remains in a Manila hospital in good condition and is shown above with his nurses.

*CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES Flight 6469, on Domestic MD90 Service from Taiyuan to Xian, China, suffered problems upon landing in Xian, yesterday, September 12. Upon landing in Xian, smoke could be seen coming from the landing gear during the rollout. Emergency Services responded and cooled down the brakes. Passengers were then offloaded without incident. According to officials at the Xian Airport, a hydraulics leak dripped fluid onto the brakes causing the smoke. The MD90 was repaired and returned to service 8 hours later.

*US AIRWAYS Flight 399, on Domestic A319 Service from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Phoenix, Arizona, with 115 passengers and 5 crew members onboard, had to make an emergency return, on Saturday, September 11. Shortly after departure, the crew reported that they needed to level off due to a maintenance issue. The crew then leveled off at 10000 feet. About 5 minutes later the crew declared an emergency and reported they "need to run" and "land right now". The A319 landed back at Las Vegas 10 minutes later and taxied to the apron. According to a statement from US Airways, Flight 399 returned to Las Vegas as a precaution due to an unspecifed mechanical problem. Unrelated to the mechanical problems, the TSA reported that while on taxi after returning, a passenger made an "inappropriate remark," which led to police meeting the aircraft and removing the passenger. No charges have been filed and no other information has been released. The A319 itself was removed from service for repairs.

*ALLEGIANT AIR Flight 4105, on Domestic MD82 Service from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Columbia, Missouri, with 137 passengers and crew onboard, suffered minor damage on takeoff from Lake Charles, on Friday, September 10. The MD82 clipped a runway light with its outer left hand main gear tire causing the tire to burst while taking off from runway 15. The crew elected to continue the flight and were climbing thru 23000 feet when they were notified of the debris on the runway and decided to divert to Tunica, Mississippi, as a precaution. The MD82 landed without incident and was removed from service for repairs.

*AMERICAN AIRLINES Flight 199, on International Boeing 767 Service from Milan, Italy, to New York JFK, had to make an emergency diversion, on Friday, September 10. While enroute at 34000 feet, near Cork, Ireland, and just before beginning its Atlantic crossing, the crew requested diversion, reporting smoke in the passenger cabin and that a smoke detector was going off. The 767 was diverted to Shannon, Ireland, and landed there without incident. Emergency Services met the aircraft, see in photo above, and boarded the aircraft to search for the source of the smoke. According to a statement from Shannon Police, the smoke was traced to a passenger cell phone. The passenger had plugged in his phone to charge and it overheated and melted down. The passenger was reportedly unaware that his phone was the cause of the smoke and was allowed to reboard the aircraft. The 767 was later released and arrived at JFK without incident.