Category: Aviation News

UPS 747F Down in Dubai

On Friday evening a UPS Boeing 747-44AF (N571UP) crashed shortly after takeoff from Dubai Airport (DXB), UAE. Both crew members have been killed in this accident.
Flight UPS6 was bound from Dubai to Köln/Bonn-Konrad Adenauer Airport (CGN / Cologne) Germany. Eye witnesses have reported they saw that the plane was on fire before it crashed.

Video by Reuters

The aircraft was just three years old, entering UPS service off the Boeing production line in September 2007. The airframe had flown 9977 hours, completing 1764 takeoffs and landings. It was up to date on all maintenance, having just completed a major inspection in June 2010.

Photos at: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/emergencies/cargo-plane-crashes-in-dubai-1.677268

Source:
UPS

Boeing 787 First Delivery – New Date

Boeing today announced that it now expects delivery of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the middle of the first quarter 2011.

The delivery date revision follows an assessment of the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test this fall.

While Boeing works closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability, flight testing across the test fleet continues as planned.

Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011. The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner In Flight

Source & photo: Boeing

Qantas Temporarily Removes Q400 From Service

Qantas today announced that five Bombardier Q400 ( Dash 8 ) aircraft operated by its regional airline QantasLink had been temporarily removed from service following an inspection by the airline of a main landing gear component.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce, said the inspections, and subsequent action, were initiated by Qantas following incidents experienced by another Q400 operator overseas and after discussions with the manufacturer.

Does this remind you of anything? … The never-ending story of the Q400 gear problems …

AIRES Boeing 737 Crashed in Colombia

An AIRES Colombia Boeing 737-73V (HK-4682) crashed on landing today at San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (ADZ), Colombia. One passenger died, more than 100 were injured.
Flight 8250 was bound from Bogotá to San Andres Island. According to early reports the airplane may have been hit be a lightning bolt during landing on runway 06. The engines separated from the plane, it crashed on the runway and broke into three sections.
Boeing is sending a team to provide technical support to the Colombia DJAC to assist in the agency’s investigation of the accident, at the invitation of the Colombian authorities.

Video by CNN

Video by elespectador

Lockheed Martin HC-130J Takes First Flight

The new Lockheed Martin HC-130J personnel recovery aircraft took off for the first time on July 29. Due for delivery to the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command in September 2010, the HC-130J is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in 2012. An Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130J variant of this aircraft will fly in early 2011.

Lockheed Martin HC-130J First FlightCompared to a classic C-130 a new propulsion system, featuring four powerful Allison AE2100D3 engines, generates more thrust while increasing fuel efficiency. An all-composite six-blade Dowty Aerospace R391 propeller system is lighter in weight and has fewer moving parts. Advanced avionics includes LCD instrument readouts for aircraft flight control, operating systems, and navigation. Besides two head-up displays, it has four multi-functional head-down LCD displays which are night vision goggles compatible. Two mission computers and two backup bus interface units provide dual redundancy. In the baseline (airlifter) version the avionics upgrades result in reduction of crew to 2 pilots and 1 loadmaster – no flight engineer, navigator or radio operator is needed in the cockpit anymore.
The extensive modifications also feature a belly-mounted 360-degree surface search radar, Direction Finder system, nose-mounted electro-optical/infrared radar, FLIR, an airborne Automatic Identification System and new communication systems.
The HC-130J furthermore offers external fuel tanks, flare/smoke float launch tubes and the USAF-standard liquid oxygen system has been converted to gaseous O2.

Source: Lockheed Martin
Photo: Lockheed Martin

USAF C-17 Globemaster III Crashed in Alaska

Today a USAF McDonnell Douglas C-17A Globemaster III, assigned to the 3rd Wing at Anchorage-Elmendorf Air Force Base crashed near the AFB. At the time of the accident, the C-17 was on a training mission for the upcoming Arctic Thunder air show.

All four crew members have been killed. Three of the crew were members of the Alaska Air National Guard and the other was active-duty Air Force from Elmendorf.

Source: USAF

Airblue Airbus A321 Crashed in Pakistan

Today an Airblue Airbus A321-231 (AP-BJB) crashed into a mountains near Islamabad-Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Pakistan. Flight ED202 was bound from Karachi to Islamabad.
All 6 crew members and 146 passengers on board were killed.

The plane AP-BJB, MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 1218, was initially delivered from the production line in 2000. The aircraft was formerly operated by Aero Lloyd (D-ALAN) and Aero Flight (D-ARFA) and was leased to airblue in January 2006. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 34,000 flight hours in some 13,500 flights. It was powered by IAE V2533 engines.

Video

Source: Airbus

Lufthansa Cargo MD11 Crashed in Riyadh

Today a Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (D-ALCQ) crashed during landing at Riyadh-King Khaled International Airport (RUH), Saudi Arabia. Flight LH8460 was bound from Frankfurt to Hong Kong with stopovers in Riyadh and Sharjah.
Both crew members were able to leave the aircraft down the emergency slide and have been treated in hospital.

The aircraft was delivered in 1993 and taken over by Lufthansa Cargo in 2004. The freighter completed its last comprehensive maintenance check (C-Check) on 22 June 2009, an A-Check was carried out prior to the flight to Riyadh.

Photos: http://www.alriyadh.com/2010/07/27/article547329.html

Video:

Source: Lufthansa Cargo

Lufthansa A380 – First Commercial Flight

On Sunday 6 June, Lufthansa operated its first commercial Airbus A380 flight. Lufthansa flew the German national soccer team to the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg aboard its new flagship Airbus A380. The A380 (D-AIMA / MSN038) operating the Frankfurt-Johannesburg route under flight number LH2010 left Frankfurt Airport at 20:30 and arrived at Johannesburg at 8:15 local time.

Video

All the passengers on the special flight were presented with an exclusive Lufthansa World Cup fan kit full of items the supporters will need to cheer their team on.

Captain Jürgen Raps, Member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board and Chief Pilot, was pilot in command of the special flight. The cabin crew comprised two pursers and 19 flight attendants.

After returning to Germany, Lufthansa’s Airbus A380 will be on display at ILA Berlin Air Show – one of the world’s largest and most important aerospace exhibitions.

The A380 will be used on regular service between Frankfurt and Johannesburg, Beijing and Tokyo.

Source: Lufthansa

Swiss with Special San Francisco Livery

To celebrate its new non-stop route between Zurich and San Francisco, Swiss International Air Lines has come up with a colourful “flower power” San Francisco livery on one of its Airbus A340-313X (HB-JMJ).

The final design was chosen from a selection of three by the readers of the 20 Minuten daily paper. Around 30000 readers voted, and their choice will remain on the aircraft for more than a year.

Swiss San Francisco Flower Power Peace Livery

Swiss also launched a special website for this event. At http://www.singfrancisco.com you can find wallpaper, ringtone and screensaver downloads as well as further information and a singing contest.

Customers aboard the “San Francisco” aircraft can expect a further highlight inside. HB-JMJ is the first of SWISS’s A340s to be equipped with the new SWISS Business cabin, with its unique seating arrangement and the generous space it provides and seats that feature an innovative air cushion whose firmness can be swiftly and flexibly adjusted to individual wishes, to name just two of the new cabin’s many benefits. Under current plans, a second A340 should have the new SWISS Business cabin installed by mid-July, enabling the new Business Class product to be offered to travellers on all Zurich-San Francisco flights.

Image / Source: Swiss