AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*Following its planned international debut at the Paris Air Show, Boeing's jumbo 747-8 freighter will visit launch customer CARGOLUX at its Luxembourg base of operations. RC522, the 3rd of 5 test aircraft, is set to arrive at Le Bourget on June 20, departing June 22, intending to visit Luxembourg's Findel Airport on June 23. The 1st delivery of the 747-8 freighter is expected in late summer.

*Airbus sold just 7 aircraft in May, but the airframer typically holds order disclosures in reserve in the weeks before the Paris Air Show. It listed 5 A330-200 sales to KOREAN AIR LINES and a pair of A320s to Japanese carrier STAR FLYER. There were no further cancellations, which left Airbus's net order total for the 1st 5 months of 2011 at 97 airframes, from a gross figure of 176. Airbus delivered 217 aircraft up thru May 31, including 8 A380s, 39 A330s and 170 A320-family twinjets. The total puts it ahead of 2010 when Airbus achieved 206 deliveries by the same point in the year.

*An unnamed Airline has placed a firm order for 3 CS100 aircraft and options on 3 more, according to a news release Tuesday from Bombardier Aerospace. Deliveries of the aircraft will start in 2014. Based on the list price for the CS100 aircraft, the firm order placed by the unidentified carrier is valued at $186 million US, which could increase to $385 million, should all 3 options be converted to firm orders. The transaction increases firm orders for the CSeries family of aircraft to 103 including 41 CS100 and 62 CS300 aircraft, and raises the number of CSeries aircraft customers to 5.

*Flights in South America are resuming today, after being disrupted by clouds of ash spewed by a volcano range in Chile. Argentina's main Airport in Buenos Aires has reopened, though some smaller Airports remain closed in the country. Chile's Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range, about 500 miles S of Santiago, began erupting on Friday. Earlier, flights to and from Buenos Aires were suspended, while in Chile, Santiago Airport, pictured, also saw cancellations. Flights from Santiago to various cities in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil were also suspended by Chilean carrier LAN and Brazil's TAM AIRLINES due to the ash cloud. Brazilian officials also reported several small Airports in the country had also been shut down.

*Boeing 787 Dreamliner launch operator ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS (ANA) and the airframer have completed Pilot training in Seattle for the first crews who will operate the new aircraft. 10 Pilots operated flights on the 1st 787 flight test aircraft ZA001 over Washington state, said Boeing. "These initial crews to go through training are ANA's senior training Pilots and check airmen and will conduct both simulator and airplane line training for ANA in Japan. They will be the 1st Pilots on 787 commercial flights for ANA," Boeing said in a statement. The Pilots are now fully qualified under Japanese regulations to operate the 787, said Boeing. Boeing plans to deliver the 1st 787 to ANA in either August or September, following a simulation of revenue operations with the 2nd flight test aircraft ZA002 in Japan in July.

*FRONTIER AIRLINES Flight 641, an A319 on service from Denver, Colorado, to Faribanks, Alaska, had to make an emergency return to Denver, on Monday, June 6. The crew leveled off at 20000 feet, reporting engine vibrations from a possible bird strike after takeoff. The crew kept the engine running and returned safely to Denver, about 40 minutes after their initial departure. The FAA reported that the right hand engine was damaged in the incident. The aircraft has been removed from service for repairs.

*AIR BALTIC Flight 462, a Dash 8-400, conducted an apparently normal flight from Warsaw, Poland, to Riga, Latvia, on Monday, June 6. Post flight inspection revealed numerous dents in the left hand propellor, with evidence of a bird strike also observed. The Dash was removed from service for 24 hours so that repairs could be completed. The carrier is investigating the incident.

*AIR GEORGIAN Flight 2800, a Beech 1900D on service for AIR CANADA, had to make an emergency landing in Ottawa, ON, Canada, on Sunday, June 5. While enroute from Toronto to Ottawa, and about 85 miles from Ottawa, the left hand engine emitted a loud bang, followed by flames. The crew eventually shut the engine down, after another loud bang. The crew declared an emergency and continued on to make a safe landing in Ottawa, about 20 minutes later. The Beech was removed from service for repairs. According to media reports, passengers reported a smell of smoke in the passenger cabin. They also reported that the lavatory smoke detector had activated during the incident.

*AMERICAN EAGLE Flight 4176, an ERJ145, suffered substantial damage upon landing at Chicago OHare, on Friday, June 3. The aircraft touched down on the runway 22R and was rolling out when the tower contacted the crew and asked whether they blew a tire upon touchdown. The crew vacated the runway and stopped on the holding pad to the runway 32R, where the Captain opened the right hand door to check on the tires. He reporting smoke from the right hand gear and leaking hydraulic fluid. The crew shut the engines down and the ERJ, which had arrived from Columbus, Ohio, was towed to the gate. The runway 22R was inspected and they recovered parts of the brake, which had separated from the aircraft. The NTSB reported that parts of the #3 brake had disintegrated and separated. The carrier replaced the brake system on the ERJ and returned the aircraft to service. Per an NTSB request, the brake and recovered parts where quarantined for an NTSB investigation.