AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*A senior Captain with SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS faces dismissal after using a racist remark while dealing with a ground technician. The Pilot was sitting in the cockpit of the aircraft when he used the k-word over the interphone system with the ground, which, unknown to him, was live. The ground technician, who was in communication with the flight deck, heard the remark.  SAA's head of corporate communications confirmed yesterday that the incident had occurred in June and that a hearing had been held, with a decision expected in the next few days. The Pilots union objects to the Captain being fired, saying that the incident occurred while the aircraft was delayed in Accra due to technical problems. The union said that in his frustration, the Captain, who has been with the Airline for 23 years, made the remark. He immediately apologized to the engineer and later went to the management offices where he admitted the remark. Despite this, the hearing officer has recommended that the Captain be fired.

*Boeing has announced a contract worth $3.7bn  to sell 50 of its 737 planes to state-owned Russian Technologies. The aircraft will be used by Russian Airline AEROFLOT, which signed a partnership agreement with Russian Technologies earlier this year. The company has also reserved the right to order 35

*TURKISH AIRLINES Flight 20, on International A330 Service from Istanbul, Turkey, to Beijing, China, with 241 passengers and crew onboard, had to divert over safety concerns, yesterday, September 18. While enroute, the cabin crew found a portable playstation and could not identify the owner. Despite repeated announcements requesting the owner step forward, no one did. As per policy, the item then was classifed as suspicious and the Captain decided to divert to Astana, Kazakhstan, as a precaution. The aircraft was searched no explosives of any kind were found, thus the A330 was allowed to depart for Beijing about  6 hours later. The incident is under investigation.

*CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES Flight 568, on International A300 Service from Singapore to Shanghai, China, with 229 passengers and crew onboard, had to make an emergency return, on Friday, September 17. While on their initial climb out of Singapore, 1 of the engines emitted 3 loud bangs, followed by streaks of flames. A burning smell also developed in the passenger cabin. The crew shut the engine down and returned to Singapore without incident. The A300 was removed from service for inspection and repairs.