AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*The US Navy has launched an investigation after video showing 2 Pilots dunking a pair of $33million MH-60 Romeo helicopters into a lake was posted on YouTube. The video, taken by a tourist at Lake Tahoe, shows the 2 helicopters skimming the surface of the water. 1 appears to lose control, spinning and crashing into the water in a near-disaster. But the Pilot quickly regains control, pulling the aircraft from the water back into the air. They were forced to land at a nearby Airport to be repaired. The damage to the Navy's newest helicopter is estimated at between $50,000 and $500,000. The Navy has confirmed that the footage is genuine. The helicopters were from North Island's Helicopter Maritime Strike 41 squadron. A Navy spokesman said that though the footage only captures 1 helicopter crashing, both actually hit the water as they did not have enough hovering power to hold their position.

*Pilots at Zimbabwe's state-owned Airline, AIR ZIMBABWE, have agreed to end a 2 week strike. The staff at Air Zimbabwe had been threatened with disciplinary action after walking out in a dispute over cuts in their allowances. But the Transport Minister said that all outstanding allowances would now be paid and no action would be taken against Pilots. The strike led to the national carrier cancelling all its flights. The dispute began when Pilots walked off 2 aircraft while still on the runway at Harare International Airport. Air Zimbabwe's 60 pilots and cabin crew were demanding payment of allowances that were cut off in February. Loss-making Air Zimbabwe has seen its passenger numbers fall more than 30% since 2000 due to a decline in tourist visitors and an economic crisis blamed on President Mugabe.

*The FAA is alleging that cargo carrier EVERGREEN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES used improperly trained Pilots on hundreds of revenue flights and wants to levy a $4.85 million fine against the carrier. The FAA said that between February 19 and July 9, 2009 Evergreen operated 232 revenue flights with a new flight management system (FMS) that differed from the prior system, and required a specific form of training for Pilots flying the aircraft. Evergreen line Pilots received ground training and a check ride on the new FMS, but were not provided required familiarization flights supervised by the company's check Pilots, the agency says. The carrier also failed to distribute copies of required system manuals to crews using the new system. Subsequent to the hundreds of improperly conducted flights, Evergreen ensured its Pilots are trained in accordance with FAA regulations. Even though the carrier is now in compliance, the FAA said the penalty was appropriate "because requiring operators to complete required, approved training is the only way to make sure crews are fully qualified to operate the equipment and systems to manage flights safely". Evergreen plans to challenge the penalty.

*Although Boeing's lead 787 Dreamliner returned to flight service last week after suffering an engine surge, uncertainity continues to reportedly surround the investigation into the August 2 uncontained failure in ground testing of a Package A Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine. Boeing said the ongoing investigation by itself, Rolls-Royce and regulators into the incident that destroyed a production engine and damaged the engine maker's Bed 58 test facility in Derby, UK "includes a review of safety and continued airworthiness as prescribed by EASA and FAA requirements". "When the investigation is complete," said Boeing, "and we have more information about causes and solutions, we will work with the regulatory agencies to comply with the applicable processes." The cause of the failure remains unclear, although the failure was preliminarily traced to the intermediate pressure turbine due to an oil fire following excessive build up of oil that weakened the shaft. However, other media reports say that Rolls Royce said an improper test procedure may have been involved. The 1st delivery of the Dreamliner is scheduled for February 2011 to ANA.

*AMERICAN AIRLINES Flight 806, on Domestic MD82 Service from Phoenix, Arizona, to Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas, with 147 passengers and 5 crew members onboard, rejected takeoff from Phoenix, yesterday, September 24. The crew rejected takeoff following an engine failure, which left debris all along the runway. The crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway and taxi to the apron. The MD82 was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 2124, on Domestic MD88 Service from Atlanta, Georgia, to Baltimore, Maryland, with 112 passengers and crew onboard, had to return to Atlanta after the nose gear would not retract, yesterday, September 24. The MD88 landed back at Atlanta without incident and was then removed from service for repairs.

*TRIP LINHAS AEREAS Flight 5603, on Domestic ATR72 Service from Manaus to Parintins, Brazil, with 38 passengers and 4 crew members onboard, had to return to Manaus, yesterday, September 24. The crew requested return shortly after departure, reporting that they were unable to fully retract the landing gear. The aircraft then entered a holding pattern for 90 minutes while the crew attempted to troubleshoot the problem. Once the gear was fully extended, the ATR landed back at Manaus without incident. In a brief statement, TRIP said that a faulty gear sensor had caused an indication problem.

*LUFTHANSA Flight 420, on International A340 Service from Frankfurt, Germany, to Boston, Massachusetts, had to make an emergency return to Frankfurt, yesterday, September 24. While inflight at 34000 feet, near Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the crew reported they had shut down engine No.1 for unspecified reasons. The crew then descended to 29000 feet and returned to Frankfurt, where they landed 1.5 hours later without incident. The A340 was removed from service for inspection and repairs.

*PINNACLE AIRLINES Flight 3653, on Domestic CRJ 200 Service on behalf of DELTA AIRLINES, from New York JFK to Norfolk, Virginia, suffered a bird strike to a wing while on approach to Norfolk, on Wednesday, September 23. The CRJ landed without incident and was then removed from service due to unspecified damage to the wing.