AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*LUFTHANSA took the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus 380, on a whistle-stop tour of the Nordic capitals on Wednesday to show off the jet and test whether the region's Airports were capable of accommodating the plane. "Of course this is good marketing for Lufthansa, but today they are also checking the airfield's potential for emergency cases, if the plane would have to make an unscheduled landing," The Helsinki Airport director said. The Airbus 380 stopped in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Oslo before returning to Frankfurt. These Airports have to have longer and stronger runways, large plane parking areas and extended passenger bridges in order to accommodate the A380.

*Russian Helicopters has completed delivery of 40 Mil Mi-171s from its Ulan-Ude Aviation plant to commercial operator UTAIR, 3 years after the order was placed. The multi-role aircraft, which have been built in the Mi-8AMT variant solely for the Russian market, will be based at UTair's Tumen base. UTair is one of the largest helicopter operators in the world by fleet number, with 250 types in service.

*A Philippine woman has acknowledged giving birth to a baby on a GULF AIR flight from the Middle East and then leaving him in the trash on the plane. The woman said she was raped by her employer. As reported earlier this week, the baby was found by the cleaning crew at Manila's Airport last Sunday in a trash bag unloaded from a Gulf Air A330 that had just arrived from Bahrain. The woman told authorities she went into labor while the aircraft was inflight and that she gave birth as the aircraft approached Manila. She reportedly abandoned the baby because she was afraid of what her family would say. Authorities said that she may face charges, however their investigation is continuing. The baby boy is in stable condition in a Manila hospital and Gulf Air is providing the child with baby food, medicine, diapers and vitamins. About 20 couples have asked about adopting the boy, however officials said that the mother has requested to be reunited with her child. No decision is expected on the matter until the investigation is completed.

*Boeing's 1st 787 test aircraft, ZA001, experienced an engine surge on 1 of its 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines last Friday, September 10, during testing in Roswell, New Mexico, grounding the aircraft and prompting a swap of the power plant. Boeing said the replacement engine is already in New Mexico and is being installed. They declined to offer a timelime for ZA001's return to flying, though sources said the aircraft could return to flying as early as today. Boeing is determining whether or not this event will have any further impact on the 787's already delayed entry into service.

*FREIGHT RUNNERS EXPRESS Flight 2456, on Domestic Beech 1900C Cargo Service, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Dayton, Ohio, with 1 crew member onboard, suffered substantial damage in an emergency return to Milwaukee, yesterday, September 16. The Beech abandoned its approach into Dayton due to an unsafe gear indication. The Pilot then decided to return to Milwaukee and as the Beech neared Milwaukee, the aircraft entered into a holding pattern over Lake Michigan while the Pilot attempted to troubleshoot the problem. After the Pilot reported that he thought that the gear was down, which he was, he brought the Beech in for a landing. Upon touchdown on runway 25L, the nose gear collapsed. The Pilot was not injured in the incident, however the Beech suffered substantial damages. The incident is under investigation by the NTSB.

*COMAIR Flight 6288, on Domestic CRJ100 Service on behalf of DELTA AIRLINES, from Columbus, Ohio, to Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota, with 50 passengers and crew onboard, had to divert while enroute, yesterday, September 16. The CRJ diverted to Dayton, Ohio, due to an abnormal engine indication shortly after departure. The aircraft landed in Dayton without incident and was removed from service for inspection.

*AMERICAN AIRLINES Flight 199, on International Boeing 767 Service from Milan, Italy, to New York JFK, with 199 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, had to make an emergency diversion, yesterday, September 16. While inflight at 32000 feet, near Halifax, NS, Canada, the crew declared an emergency, reporting smoke in the cockpit. The 767 was diverted to Halifax and landed there 15 minutes later. In a brief statement, AA said that the smell of smoke was coming from a cooling fan in the electronics bay, however the aircraft could still complete its flight to JFK as there are redundant fans. The 767 was allowed to depart for JFK later in the day and arrived at JFK without incident.

*CONVIASA Flight 2043, on International Boeing 737 Service from Barcelona, Spain, to Caracas, Venezuela, had to make an emergency landing, yesterday, September 16. While on approach to Caracas, the crew reported that they had shut down the right hand engine for unspecified reasons. The 737 landed without incident and was sent for inspection. A government spokesman said later that the indication which led to the engine shutdown was false and the aircraft was returned to service.

*S7 SIBIR AIRLINES Flight 168, on Domestic A319 Service from Omsk to Moscow, Russia, with 122 passengers and crew onboard, had to reject takeoff, yesterday, September 16. The crew rejected takeoff at high speed after it encountered a flock of birds, many of whom were ingested into both engines. The crew was able to stop the A319 on the runway. Both engines were damaged, thus the aircraft was removed from service for repairs.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 1270, on Domestic MD88 Service from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, with 130 passengers and crew onboard, had to divert while enroute, on Wednesday, September 15. While inflight at 32000 feet, overhead North Carolina, the crew reported that they had shut down the left hand engine for unspecified reasons. The MD88 was diverted to Greensboro, North Carolina, where it landed without incident, about 15 minutes later. The aircraft was removed from service for repairs.

*AURELA Flight 129, on International Boeing 757 on behalf of THOMAS COOK, from Corfu, Greece, to London Gatwick, with 207 passengers and crew onboard, had to make an emergency return, on Tuesday, September 14. Shortly after departure, the crew reported a galley electrical fire that had been extinguished by the cabin crew. The 757 landed back at Corfu without incident, about an hour after their initial departure. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service less than a day later.

*AIR BALTIC Flight 361, on International Fokker 50 Service from Riga, Latvia, to Tallinn, Estonia, had to make an emergency landing, on Saturday, September 11. While on approach to Tallinn, the crew had to shut down the right hand engine due to a loss of oil pressure. The F50 landed without incident and was removed from service for repairs.