AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*DELTA AIRLINES has requested that the US DOT allow it to delay the resumption of service from Detroit, Michigan, to Tokyo Haneda, until June 2012. The carrier had temporarily ceased the service after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It had planned to resume the service on June 16, however Delta said this week that although they are eager to restart the service, weak market conditions were contributing to demand far below expected levels. Thus the carrier requested permission to keep the route, but not restart service until June 1, 2012. According to US regulations, a carrier is allowed to cease service on a particular route for up to 90 days, without penalty or loss of that route. It rarely grants extensions and aviation analysts expect the request to be turned down.

*AMERICAN AIRLINES has announced that it will cease service between Chicago OHare and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and Charlotte, West Virgina. The change is effective August 23. With this change, AA will no longer serve Lehigh Valley, however it still will offer service to Charlotte, WV, from New York La Guardia.

*Mexico's VOLARIS has filed an application with the US DOT to begin passenger flights between Morelia, Mexico, and Chicago Midway. No start-up date or frequency was noted in the application.

*A 1936 de Havilland Hornet Moth biplane suffered minor damage in a landing accident yesterday on the Island of Unst in Shetland, Scotland. The plane was taking part in celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of commercial flights between Aberdeen, Inverness and Shetland. The Hornet had departed Sumburgh Airport for the flight to Unst, however upon landing, one of the wheels buckled and came off. The 2 Pilots suffered only minor injuries and the aircraft, pictured above prior to the accident, suffered minor damage that can be repaired.

*Airbus is cancelling its A320 freighter conversion program, and said it has started to dissolve its partnership with Russian aerospace firms United Aircraft and Irkut. The airframer cites "more demand" for passenger twinjets in the sector and not enough for the cargo version.

*AIR INDIA Pilots have sent a letter to India's DGCA saying that they should not be held responsible for accidents caused by stress in the cockpit. The letter was sent after the Pilots were denied performance-related incentives, which account for 90% of their salaries. The Pilots were paid only 10% of their salaries for March and April, and their entire pay for the month of May is still pending. The letter requests that the DGCA intervene in the matter.

*Airservices Australia has announced that effective immediately, passenger aircraft flying into Hobart and Launceston Airports in Tasmania, will be supervised by air traffic controllers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Officials said that after about 10:00pm, when the day's final services are scheduled to land, all local air traffic would then be monitored from radar screens in Melbourne, until the next morning. Previously, after 10:00pm, Pilots were forced to radio their positions to each other to maintain separation.An April 2008 incident, in which a VIRGIN BLUE and JETSTAR aircraft got too close for comfort on a foggy night over Launceston, triggered investigations, which ultimately led to this change.

*FRONTIER AIRLINES Flight 482, an A319, was evacuated upon arrival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, yesterday, June 3. According to media reports, the aircraft was on service from Phoenix, Arizona, to Milwaukee. During a pre-arrival check of the cabin, a Flight Attendant found white powder in the lavatory. She then covered the powder with a paper towel, locked the lavatory and then notified the flight crew. The aircraft landed at about 2:30pm and was met by Hazmat teams. Passengers and crew were offloaded while the team investigated the unknown substance. Although officials suspect the substance was diaper powder, samples were sent to a lab for indentification.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 45, a Boeing 767, had to make an emergency medical diversion to Shannon, Ireland, yesterday, June 3. While enroute from Paris, France, to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, and about 90 minutes into the Atlantic crossing, a female passenger began to suffer from symptoms of a possible heart attack. The crew turned around and diverted to Shannon, where they safely landed, pictured above. The passenger was transported to hospital, no further information was released on her condition. After about 5 hours on the ground, the 767 departed Shannon and arrived later in the day in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, without futher incident.

*IBERIA AIRLINES Flight 3721, an A319, welcomed a new arrival, while enroute from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Madrid, Spain, yesterday, June 3. While enroute overhead Niger, a 36 weeks pregnant woman went into labor. With the assistance of 2 doctors and a mid-wife, the woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy about 15 minutes after labor started. The doctors recommended that the aircraft continue on to Madrid, where 4 hours later, the Airbus landed and was met by an ambulance, who took Mother and baby to hospital. Both are in good condition. Airlines usually ban women from flying so late in pregnancy, but in a statement, Iberia said it made an exception in this case as the woman was flying home from the funeral of her father.

*TURKMENISTAN AIRLINES Flight 732, a Boeing 737, rejected takeoff from Saint Petersburg, Russia, yesterday, June 3, when the left hand engine did not perform as expected during engine acceleration. The crew was able to slow the aircraft on the runway and taxi to the apron. According to media reports, the 737 most likely ingested a bird or another type of foreign object into the engine. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and a replacement aircraft was dispatched for the flight to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

*AIR ZIMBABWE Flight 231, a Xian MA60, had to make an emergency return to Harare, Zimbabwe, yesterday, June 3, due to a mechanical fault. According to media reports, a Pilot who did not want to be identified, said there was a "major" problem with the window heating system on the Xian. The aircraft, which was bound for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, landed safely back in Harare, about 20 minutes after its initial departure. The aircraft was then removed from service for repairs.

*GO AIR Flight 341, an A320, was ordered to go-around, just prior to landing in Patna, India, yesterday, June 3. According to media reports, the flight crew on the Airbus, inbound from Delhi, India, aborted the landing and went full throttle to ascend from a height of 500ft following an emergency command from the air traffic control. Airport sources told local media that the aircraft was positioned on a flawed approach path and it would have overshot the runway and crashed had it landed. The aircraft landed without incident on its 2nd approach. India's DGCA is investigating

*QANTAS Flight 52, a Boeing 747, had to make an emergency return to Singapore, yesterday, June 3, after the crew could not fully retract the landing gear. The 747, bound for Brisbane, Australia, landed safely back in Singapore, about 50 minutes after its initial departure. The aircraft was repaired and departed for Brisbane, early this morning, about 14 hours behind schedule. The carrier is investigating as the incident aircraft, registration VH-OJI, had just returned to service after spending 4 weeks in Hong Kong for required major maintenance.

*SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Flight 2353, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, June 2, due to a bird strike. While climbing out of Nashville, the crew reported that a large bird had struck the aircraft just above the cockpit windshield, as they climbed thru 1600 feet. The crew leveled off at 7000 feet, before landing safely back in Nashville, about 20 minutes after their initial depature. The aircraft suffered minor damage in the incident, however it was cleared to resume service, thus it departed once again for Cleveland, Ohio, after about 90 minutes on the ground.

*WESTJET Flight 422, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency landing in Edmonton, AB, Canada, on Wednesday, June 1. While enroute from Kelowna, BC, at 41000 feet, and about 170 miles from Edmonton, the bleed trip off light illuminated, followed shortly thereafter by a 2nd bleed trip off light. The cabin pressure began to climb at 1000 feet/minute, prompting the crew to don their O2 masks, declare and emergency, and then perform an emergency descent down to 12000 feet. During the descent down, the passenger O2 masks were also released. The 737 went on to make a safe landing in Edmonton, about 35 minutes later. The aircraft was removed from service and an investigation has been launched by the TSB.

*MORNINGSTAR Flight 7050, a Boeing 757 on Cargo Service from Toronto, ON, to Winnipeg, MB, Canada, had to make an emergency return to Toronto, on Wednesday, June 1, when the aircraft suffered a hydraulics leak while enroute. The 757 landed safely back in Toronto and was inspected. The flexible hydraulic lines to the center reservoir were found chafed and failed. The lines were replaced and the aircraft was returned to service. According to the Canadian TSB, the carrier inspected all of the flexible hydraulic lines in its Boeing 757 airliners.