AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*US media reports say that a still confidential report has revealed Pilots and engineers have linked electronic devices to 75 safety incidents onboard airliners over the past 6 years. In one instance, a KOREAN AIR LINES Boeing 747 suffered the loss of its autopilot at 4500 feet, while on its intial climb out of an unidentified US Airport. Flight Attendants went thru the passenger cabin and found 4 passengers using their electronic devices. Once they were all switched off, the autopilot returned to normal. The report also describes how a clock spun backwards and a GPS in cabin read incorrectly while 2 laptops were being used nearby. During another flight, the altitude control readings changed rapidly until a crew member asked passengers to turn off their electronic devices. There was no word on when the report may be made public, yet sources say that the US congress will probably call for an investigation.

*AIR CANADA is investigating an incident onboard an aircraft in which a dog apparently died after trying to chew its way out of a cage on a flight to Calgary. The incident occurred Wednesday on a commercial flight from Toronto when the dog, in the plane's belly cargo hold, tried frantically to free itself from its kennel. According to media reports, the dog lost its teeth in the effort, vomited, then died sometime during the 4 hour flight. Upon unloading the plane in Calgary, Air Canada cargo crew members discovered the dead canine, much to their horror, said a spokeswoman for the national carrier. "Everyone was completely heartbroken, our employees are animal lovers and owners and they always take the utmost care in transporting animals," said the spokeswoman. Air Canada has paid for an autopsy and said they are also in talks with the dogs owner.

*Dassault's Falcon 7X business jets, currently grounded because of a stabilizer trim fault, are expected to be airborne again shortly. Dassault said yesterday that it had developed and validated a modification, and depending on approvals from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and "modification kit logistics", it expects the 1st aircraft to have the changes completed "within about 10 days". This modification will feature additional automated protection beyond that already designed into the horizontal stabilizer trim circuitry, the airframer said. Dassault said it involves both software and hardware alterations, which have already been tested and validated on a test bench.

*The owner of Russian carrier RED WINGS has proposed transferring control of the company to the government in the hope of progressing the Tupolev TU204SM project. The carrier has published an open letter to prime minister Vladimir Putin, alerting him to the state of the nation's civil aircraft industry. They indicated that launching the TU204SM serial manufacture at Ulyanovsk-based airframer Aviastar is crucial for its survival as a high technology sector as well as for the survival of 67 associated domestic component suppliers. Red Wings is the only prospective customer for the TU204SM and is willing to take up to 44 of the type, production of which still hinges on as-yet-absent funding.

*According to media reports in Australia, QANTAS is evaluating its Sydney to Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas, route, due to concerns over fuel on the return leg. At least 1 of the return flights was forced to set down in Noumea, New Caledonia, for extra fuel about 2 hours short of the scheduled refuelling stop in Brisbane. The journey from DFW to Sydney is against prevailing westerly headwinds and requires a fuel stop in Brisbane. Another flight was forced to offload 2 luggage containers at DFW because of a late increase in the forecast headwind. Qantas launched the new 4x weekly Boeing 747 service on May 16, replacing its service to San Francisco. The service is being operated with a 4 class layout for just 307 passengers, compared with up to 412 passengers in 2 classes on other routes. On the return flight, capacity is restricted to 280 passengers to allow the service to operate the 13360km from DFW to Brisbane non-stop in the scheduled 16 hours. According to the reports, Qantas is confident "the early bugs are being ironed out". According to a passenger who was onboard the flight that had to stop in Noumea, the aircraft could not take on a full load of fuel in DFW due to the high temperature on the tarmac there.

*Investigators in New Zealand say that the AIR NEW ZEALAND Boeing 767 that had to make an emergency return to Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday, June 9, did not suffer a bird strike. While on its initial climb out of Auckland, the left hand engine emiited several loud bangs. Flames were also seen emitting from the engine. The crew shut the engine down and landed safely back in Auckland. ANZ had said immediately after the incident onboard Flight 175 that a bird strike could have caused the engine problem, but says now that investigations have since showed no evidence of this. There is no damage to the engine. "The unit responsible for the control of airflow through the engine has been removed and will be sent to the manufacturer for testing. We have replaced the unit and will now undertake engine tests in conjunction with the engine manufacturer GE," said a spokesman for ANZ.

*The British AAIB has released its Final Bulletin in regards to an incident involving a BMI ERJ135 at East Midlands, UK, on February 28, 2011. On that date, Flight 1234 was on International Service from Brussels, Belgium, to East Midlands. The ERJ was in the landing roll at East Midlands when the crew observed a cargo fire indication. They taxied clear of the runway and stopped on the taxiway. The crew declared PAN PAN PAN, requiring assistance by Emergency Services. They then worked the relevant checklists including discharging the fire extinguisher into the cargo hold, and asked the Flight Attendant to look into the hold through an inspection hole in the lavatory floor. The Flight Attendant reported the cargo hold looked cloudy prompting the commander to instruct the passengers to rapidly deplane onto the taxiway leaving their luggage behind. Emergency services found no trace of fire, heat or smoke. The AAIB said that the cloudiness in the cargo hold was thought to be the result of the fire extinguisher discharge. The operator believes the fire indication was the result of water ingress into one of the fire detectors. The full Bulletin can be found on the AAIB website.

*The British AAIB has released its Final Bulletin in regards to an incident involving an ASTRAEUS Boeing 757, near Nouakchott, Mauritania, on August 25, 2010. On that date, Flight 968 was on International Service from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to London Heathrow. The 757 was enroute near Nouakchott, when the crew needed to throttle the left hand hand engine back following a couple of engine surges and declared an emergency. The aircraft diverted to Nouakchott for a safe landing at 2:30am. The AAIB said that the engine manufacturer analysed that the low pressure shaft was source of vibrations from the engine. The aircraft was also operating in icing conditions, which contributed to the incident. The full Bulletin, which details the full investigation, can be found on the AAIB website. The agency made 3 safety recommendations.

*The British AAIB has released its Final Bulletin on an incident involving an OLYMPIC AIR Dash 8-100 in England on April 24, 2010. On that date, the Dash was on a Positioning Flight from Midlands to Exeter, UK, with 2 crew members onboard. While enroute at 10000ft, near Bristol, Uk, the right hand engine's oil pressure began to fluctuate. The First Officer went to the cabin and reported a substantial oil leak from the right hand engine with oil running down the right hand side of the fuselage. The crew feathered the engine and after the oil pressure fell below the limit shut the engine down. The crew declared PAN PAN PAN and requested direct vectors to Exeter. About 5 minutes later, the oil pressure for the left hand engine began to fluctuate. The First Officer again went to the cabin and observed an oil leak also from the left hand engine. The captain decided to divert to the nearest suitable airfield which was Bristol, about 25 miles ahead. ATC inquired whether the crew wanted to upgrade their emergency which the crew affirmed, however did not make ATC aware of the problem with the operating engine until after landing. The aircraft landed safely at Bristol. In their Final Bulletin, the AAIB confirmed that both engines were leaking oil. Both main gear legs were found coated with clear engine oil, pictured above, as were the both undersides of the engine nacelles and the gear doors. The right side of the fuselage was coated in oil streaks while the left side was clean. The AAIB found that the left hand engine had lost 3.5 liters and the right hand engine 5.5 liters of engine oil. The oil coolers were leak tested with no leak detected, the seals were replaced and the engines operated without further incident. The full Bulletin, along with details of events as they unfolded, along with the investigation notes, can be found on the AAIB website. The agency made 5 safety recommendations due to the incident.

*JETBLUE Flight 914, an ERJ190, had to reject takeoff at high speed at Chicago OHare, after a bird struck the aircraft's nose, yesterday, June 9. The crew was able to slow the aircraft on the runway and then taxi to the apron. The ERJ was removed from service for inspection and a replacement ERJ190 was dispatched to complete the flight to New York JFK.

*DELTA AIRLINES Flight 2195, a DC9, had to make an emergency landing in Melbourne, Florida, yesterday, June 9. The crew abandoned their 1st approach, due to a flaps problem. They then entered a holding pattern, before declaring an emergency. The DC9 made a safe landing on the runway 09R, about 30 minutes after abandoning their 1st approach. Emergency Services met the aircraft and cleared it to taxi to the gate. The aircraft was then removed from service for inspection. According to media reports, a full scale emergency was declared prior to the aircraft landing, with all hospitals in Brevard County notified of the potential for mass casualties.

*VENEZOLANA Flight 220, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Maracaibo, Venezuela, yesterday, June 9. While on their initial climb over Lake Maracaibo, the left hand engine emitted a loud bang. The crew shut the engine down and requested return. The 737, which was enroute to Caracas, Venezuela, landed safely back in Maracaibo and was then removed from service for inspection and repairs. A replacement aircraft was dispatched to continue the flight to Caracas.

*CONTACTAIR Flight 3320, a Fokker 100 on service for LUFTHANSA, had to make an emergency medical diversion to Paris, France, after a male passenger suffered a possible heart attack, yesterday, June 9. The aircraft, which was enroute from Dusseldorft, Germany, to Valencia, Spain, reached Valencia about 2 hours behind schedule.

*IBERIA Flight 3512, an A319, had to make an emergency return to Madrid, Spain, yesterday, June 9, due to an unruly passenger. According to media reports, the A319 had just reached 34000 feet, its cruising level for the flight to Frankfurt, Germany, when a male passenger was found undressed. The passenger then attacked the Flight Attendants when he was confronted. The crew requested return and the aircraft landed back in Madrid about 40 minutes later, where the passenger was taken into custody. No charges were filed and the man was later released without explanation. The Airbus reached Frankfurt about 4 hours behind schedule.

*NORDAVIA Flight 709, a Boeing 737, ingested a bird into an engine during its roll out after touching down in Astrakhan, Russia, on Wednesday, June 8. The crew was able to slow the aircraft, which had arrived from Moscow Sheremetyevo, without further incident. The 737 was inspected and returned to service about 9 hours later.

*AIR CANADA Flight 1157, an A320, had to make an emergency return to Toronto, ON, Canada, on Saturday, June 4. While climbing out of Toronto, the crew declared an emergency, reporting hot brakes. They leveled off at 7000 feet and landed safely back in Toronto, about 20 minutes after their initial departure. A replacement Airbus was dispatched to continue the flight to Edmonton, AB, Canada. According to the Canadian TSB, a faulty #1 brake sensor was replaced and the A320 was returned to service about 4 hours later.