*UK regional carrier EASTERN AIRWAYS is planning to acquire local operator AIR SOUTHWEST from its parent, Sutton Harbour Holdings. Sutton Harbour stated earlier this year that it was putting Air Southwest on the market after the economic climate weighed on the company's transport division. Eastern Airways said the acquisition "makes perfect sense" and that it has reached an agreement in principle on the deal, completion of which it expects next month. Terms have not been disclosed. It will retain the Air Southwest brand for services in the southwest UK, including routes from Plymouth, Newquay and Bristol. Eastern said the takeover demonstrates a "commitment to provide a continuation" of the Air Southwest operations. Air Southwest has a fleet of 5 Bombardier Q300 turboprops while Eastern Airways primarily uses British Aerospace Jetstream 41s, Saab 2000s and Embraer ERJ-135s. Eastern Airways is based in Humberside in the north of the country, and operates a network of domestic destinations as well as routes to Ireland, Norway and France.
*Some passengers that were onboard a QANTAS flight from Singapore to Perth, Australia, in 2008, that twice plunged hundreds of meters, injuring more than 100 people, will sue Airbus in the US over a computer malfunction that caused the mishap. The Airbus A330 had to make an emergency landing in Learmonth, Australia, after the crew declared a MAYDAY. Many passengers and crew members onboard suffered trauma and physical injury in the incident. A lawyer in the US, who is representing 76 people in the compensation claim against Airbus and other companies that make the computer system that malfunctioned, said it was a mechanical defect caused by the manufacturer. He said he was confident that the compensation claim would be successful. In a separate claim, a lawsuit for about 20 people is being filed in Australia against Qantas. The Australian lawyer has been working with the US lawyers and has already finalized some passenger claims with Qantas. He said Qantas had a primary liability to the passengers under federal law. But, the US lawyer said Qantas was not responsible and praised the Pilots for their efforts. He claimed passengers who settled with Qantas were agreeing to a fraction of the compensation they were entitled to. "The compensation cases in the US for those on this flight who experienced such terror will potentially be for much greater amounts than what the carrier wants people to accept under Australian law" he said.
*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 1199, on Domestic MD88 Service from Atlanta, Georgia, To St Louis, Missouri, with 132 passengers and 5 crew members onboard, had to make an emergency diversion, yesterday, September 19. While inflight at 34000 feet, and near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the crew declared an emergency reporting smoke in the cockpit, followed by the crew reporting smoke in the passenger cabin. The MD88 was diverted to Cape Cirardeau, where it landed 15 minutes later and was met by Emergency Services. The smoke had dissipated by the time the MD88 landed, thus the Captain did not order an evacuation. The aircraft was removed from service for a full inspection.
*EGYPTAIR Flight 703, on International A321 Service from Cairo, Egypt, to Milan, Italy, had to return to Cairo, yesterday, September 19. The A321 blew the right hand main gear tire on takeoff from Cairo. After deciding to return, the crew circled to burn off fuel and landed back at Cairo without incident, about 3 hours after their original departure. The aircraft was removed from service for repairs.
*SATENA Flight 8695, on Domestic Dornier DO328 Service from Pereira to Medellin, Colombia, with 22 passengers and crew onboard, veered off the runway on takeoff, on Saturday, September 18. For unspecified reasons, the crew rejected takeoff from runway 26, however the aircraft veered to the right. The Dornier went off the runway and came to a stop about 1500 feet from the runway threshold, with the nose and right hand main gear on soft ground. No one onboard was injured and the aircraft suffered no serious damage. According to the Pereira Airport, the Dornier experience a technical problem with the gear. The aircraft was removed from service following the incident.
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