Month: August 2007

A380 World Tour continues with major airports in Asia and the US

Airbus’ A380 will embark for a series of demonstration tours starting on 30th August. Key airports in South-East-Asia and the U.S. will be visited.

The Asia-A380-tour will be conducted with flight-test-aircraft MSN 007, powered by four Rolls Royce Trend 900 engines. The world’s largest and most innovative passenger jet flying today is equipped with a full passenger cabin, which can comfortably carry 520 passengers in an extra quiet and relaxing three-class cabin-environment.

Airbus A380 World Tour Schedule

The International Airports to be visited are:

  • Thailand, Bangkok / Chiang Mai — August 31 – September 2
  • Vietnam, Hanoi — September 2-3
  • China, Hongkong (Asian Aerospace) — September 3-5
  • Korea, Seoul — September 5-7

The US-tour will take the A380 flight-test-aircraft MSN 009, powered by four Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, to the United States. The visits are part of the ongoing route proving process for this aircraft/engine-combination. The aircraft, which has no passenger-cabin, is on static display at the following airports:

  • Connecticut, Bradley International Airport (BDL) — October 2-3
  • Kentucky, Cincinnati/N. Kentucky Airport (CVG) — October 3-4
  • California, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) — October 4-5

Updated destinations and dates at: Airbus A380 continues route proving tours

Both demonstration tours are part of the extensive campaign to prepare the A380 for a smooth entry into service. Operating under typical airline conditions, both aircraft will undergo airport compatibility checks, ground handling and maintenance procedures to confirm its readiness to enter service. The A380 has already visited more than 45 airports and by 2011, more than 70 airports will be ready for A380 operations.

Total orders and commitments for the A380 are 173 by 14 customers. The first customer A380 will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October. Subsequent aircraft, for delivery to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas, are also well on track.

The A380 will provide more comfort in every class and more open space for relaxation than any other aircraft. Passengers will enjoy a new way of flying while benefiting from the quietest cabin in the sky. The aircrafts‘ efficiency and advanced technologies will result in outstanding economics and higher operational flexibility as seat-mile costs are 20 percent lower and range 15 percent greater compared to today’s existing large aircrafts.

Being cleaner, greener, quieter and smarter, the A380 is already setting new standards for transport and the environment. Per passenger, the A380 is as fuel efficient as a small economical family car. Requiring shorter runways for take off and landing, the A380 also provides vital extra passenger capacity without increasing the number of flights. So the aircraft is an ideal solution to today’s congested airports.

Airbus will deliver first A380 to Singapore Airlines on 15th October

siaa380thumb.jpgIn line with the announced plan of delivering the first A380 to Singapore Airlines in October 2007, Airbus today confirms that the formal hand-over will take place on Monday 15th of that month.

After a dedicated delivery ceremony in Toulouse, the flagship of the 21st century will take-off for Singapore’s Changi International Airport within a couple of days. The new double-decker-aircraft will commence the world’s first A380 commercial airline-service between Singapore and Sydney on 25 October.

Being cleaner, greener, quieter and smarter, the A380 is already setting new standards for transport and the environment. Per passenger, the A380 has a fuel efficiency of 2.9 litres per 100 kilometres.

The A380 will provide more comfort in every class and more open space for relaxation. Passengers will enjoy a new way of flying while benefiting from the quietest cabin in the sky. The aircraft’s efficiency and advanced technologies will result in outstanding economics and higher operational flexibility. On the A380, seat-mile costs are 20 percent lower than any comparable aircraft and its range is also 15 percent greater.

Total orders and commitments for the A380 are today at 173 by 14 customers. The subsequent aircraft for delivery to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas

Accident Digest Boeing 737-800 China Airlines Exploded

Status: Preliminary
Date: 20 AUG 2007
Time: 10:35
Type: Boeing 737-809
Operator: China Airlines
Registration: B-18616
C/n / msn: 30175/1182
First flight: 2002
Engines: 2 CFMI CFM56-7B26
Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8
Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 157
Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 165
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: Okinawa-Naha Airport (OKA) (Japan)
Phase: Landing
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE/RCTP), Taiwan
Destination airport: Okinawa-Naha Airport (OKA/ROAH), Japan
Flightnumber: 120
Narrative:
China Airlines flight 120 departed Taipei at 08:14. It landed at Naha Airport (OKA) at 10:27 and taxied to the apron. Reaching the stand, ground engineers saw fuel gushing from an area near the nr.2 engine pylon. The pilot shut off the fuel supply to the engines after he was alerted by the ground engineer about the leak. Fuel from the leak flowed beneath the aircraft towards the nr.1 engine. It remains unclear yet what ignited the fuel. The fire engulfed the airplane.
When all occupants had evacuated, a large explosion occurred in the centre of the airplane. The airplane burned out completely.

Videos:

Accident Digest by Aviation Safety Network

Having a little break

Flightstory.net Logo“Flightstory.net” is having a little break for the next 2 weeks!
For the “Flightstory – Aviation Blog” this means that no new aviation articles will be posted during this time. Newly made comments won’t be get approved until then. However commentating is still possible. New comments will be saved in system queue and approved at later date.
At the “Flightstory.net – Aviation Story Database” (main site) newly submitted flight stories, crew hotels and comments will also not be get approved. But submitting is still possible as well. All submissions will be saved properly!

Flightstory.net is not dead so don’t remove the feeds from your feed reader! It will be back with new hot aviation articles. If some important news may happen it will be added later. Some new features are planned for the not so distinct future as well.

In the meantime please vote on these 2 polls to help improving flightstory.net. 🙂 Thanks for taking part!

Hong Kong Airport of the Year 2007

skytrax awardsInternational travellers have voted Hong Kong Best Airport in the World … the final results being the most closely contested in the history of the Skytrax global survey!

Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport has been named best airport in the world, in the worldwide passenger survey results released today by Skytrax.

For the first time in the history of this World Airport Survey, second place was tied and is awarded jointly to Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi airports.

“We congratulate the Award winning airports, whose standards of customer service have received a very clear vote of passenger confidence and satisfaction” said Skytrax CEO, Mr Edward Plaisted.

“This year’s study proved to be the closest fought traveller survey we have ever conducted. When the interviews closed and data analysis was run, we thought we had a tie for first place amongst the top 3 airports. With the scale of survey interviews for this year, such a result seemed almost impossible. After an extended period of result checks, Hong Kong emerged as overall winner, with 2nd position shared jointly by Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi” added Plaisted.

“Hong Kong has been a frequent, former winner of the Best Airport title, and their return to the top this year is testament to the quality of service being delivered across their front-line staff areas, together with the more functional aspects of an airport that depend upon delivering efficiency and consistency” said Plaisted.

“This year in particular, our heartfelt congratulations go to Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi who share 2nd place. It was very much a case of a ‘photo finish’ to determine the top 3 airports, and that is why Seoul and Singapore should be proud of their global achievement in the 2007 results.”

Top of passenger priorities in this survey were general ease of airport usage and waiting times. “Travellers expect security processing to incur some delays” said Plaisted, “but are disappointed – often annoyed – if the security facilities are inadequate. Waiting in line for 30 minutes to find only half available security scanners open was a frequently stated complaint.” The negative impact of these service aspects were a marked complaint that resulted in London Heathrow Airport position falling from 45th (2006) to 103rd in the 2007 results. Frankfurt was another marked faller, down to 94th from 48th (2006).

Passengers are spending more time in the airport environment nowadays, and many airports have reacted well to satisfying their needs. Whilst business travellers’ look for speed and maximum time utilisation in the airport, it is leisure passengers that tend to make more use of, and enjoy an airport’s facilities. “These are the people who notice how clean the washrooms are, how much seating is available, what prices are charged at food and beverage outlets, and how helpful the airport staff are.”

In Europe, Munich remains the passengers’ favourite airport, taking Best Airport Europe title and ranked 4th in the world. Zurich was another upward mover, 2nd in Europe and 5th globally (2006-8th, 2005-15th).

Vancouver is named Best Airport North America, and in 9th place worldwide, is the only N American airport to feature in the top 10.

The air traveller survey is conducted annually by aviation research organisation, Skytrax, and culminates in the announcement of the World Airport Awards.

The survey is based on more than 7.8 million detailed passenger surveys, covering over 170 airports, and conducted over an 11 month period throughout the world.

Final passenger judging covers over 40 categories of product and service quality – items such as terminal cleanliness, staff efficiency and courtesy, terminal signage and walking distances, as well as features like shopping, dining options, internet services. Security processing and immigration waiting times were also a constituent factor of the survey.

I’m glad to see my favorite airport in my favorite city winning this title again. Hong Kong really deserves it! 😀 This airport is just amazing and gives you the best airport experience worldwide. If you have transit time in Hong Kong, just take a flight that gives you a few hours time to discover this airport!
I personally dislike a little bit Singapore Airport because of its in some parts moldy smelling and antiquated looking carpeting. However, its new Terminal 3 is great.

Links:
Top 10 Airports in the world for 2007 – full results
Regional Results
Category Winners

Flight attendant recalls a flight from hell

MSNBC published an unbelievable story about the ultimate flight from hell experienced by a flight attendant.

“Trips from hell — everyone has a horror story about a bad flight on an airplane. I’ve been a flight attendant for 18 years and I’ve had some really bad flights, believe me — everything from truly terrifying weather to sickness and deaths on board. But one flight stands out in my memory for sheer misery. Here it is:
We arrived at the gate about 5 p.m. for our 11-hour flight back to the United States, only to discover that we had a half-hour mechanical delay. The other flight attendants and I immediately became suspicious, because in the world of air travel, the words “half hour” and “delay” seldom occur in the same sentence.
Still, we were asked to board the airplane and perform our preflight checks. We would be told later when passenger boarding would commence. Exactly half an hour late” … Continue at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20053546/

NOTE: If you experience a similar story, please post it on www.flightstory.net – The Aviation Story Database.

TAM 3054 A320 – Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript

The Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript of the TAM Airlines Airbus A320 crashed at Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport last month has been published. It indicates that the spoilers did not activate and that the crew were unable to decelerate the aircraft after landing. The transcript confirms the pilots were aware of the non-functioning thrust-reverser and the strong possibility of a slippery runway. But however there is no evidence of a go-around attempt.

Transcript of a Honewell 30-minute solid state cockpit voice recorder, installed on TAM Airlines Airbus A320, which crashed during landing in Congonhas, Sao Paulo, Brazil on 7/17/07

LEGEND

CAM – Cockpit area microphone voice or sound source
HOT – Flight crew audio panel voice or sound source (1)
PA – Airplane Public Address system voice or sound source
FWC – Automated callout from the Flight Warming Computer
RDO – Radio transmissions from TAM flight 3054
APP – Radio transmission from Approach Control
TWR – Radio transmission from the Congonhas Control Tower
CH2 – sound heard on CVR channel 2

-1 – Voice identified as the captain/PIC
-2 – Voice identified as the first Officer/SIC
-3 – Voice identified as a Flight Attendant
-? – Voice unidentified
* – Unintelligible word
# – Expletive
@ – Non-pertinent word
( ) – Questionable insertion
[ ] – Editorial insertion

Note 1: Times are expressed Local time – reflecting a synchronization to the Flight Data Recorder using the A/P disconnect parameter from the DFDR and the tone heard on the CVR.
Note 2: Generally, only radio transmissions to and from the accident aircraft were transcribed.
Note 3: Words shown with excess vowels, letters, or drawn out syllables are a phonetic representation of the words.

Start Of Transcript

18:18:24.5 (all times are local time)
[start of recording]
18:18:24.5
PA-1 [captain makes speech to passengers]
18:18:53.4
CAM – ? [sound of whistling]
18:20:25.0
CAM [sound of flight attendant door open request]
18:20:28.1
CAM – 1 is ok?
18:20:29.7
CAM – 3 [flight attendant says that everything in the cabin is OK, and then asked where will they be landing]
18:20:33.3
CAM -1 I have just informed.
18:20:34.7
CAM – 3 I didn’t hear – sorry -her talking.
18:20:37.7
CAM -1 but she heard, Congonhas.
18:20:39.3
CAM – 3 is it Congonhas? its great so. she might have heard. thank you.
18:43:04.3
HOT -1 remember, we only have one reverse.
18:43:06.9
HOT-2 yes… only the left.
18:43:24.0
HOT-1 glideslope… LOC blue. LOC star. [LOC star means a an asterisk is displayed on the FMA, which means the loc capture]
18:43:26.6
HOT-2 checked.
18:43:27.1
HOT-1 autopilot one plus two.
18:43:29.4
HOT-1 flaps one.
18:43:30.7
HOT-2 speed checked.
18:43:36.7
HOT-1 clear status.
18:43:41.8
HOT-2 clear status.
18:43:43.8
HOT-2 clear.
18:43:48.2
RDO-2 going to intercept the localizer, TAM three zero five four.
18:43:52.2
APP TAM three zero five four, reduce speed for the approach… and call the tower on frequency one two seven point one five, good afternoon.
18:44:00.0
RDO-2 one two seven one five, over.
18:44:01.7
HOT-1 good afternoon.
18:44:06.4
HOT-1 flaps two.
18:44:08.01
CAM-2 speed checked.
18:44:20.0
HOT-2 flaps at two.
18:44:22.3
RDO-2 Sao Paulo tower, this is TAM three zero five four.
18:44:26.01
TWR TAM three zero five four, reduce minimum speed for approach, the wind is north with zero six. I will report when clear three five left.
18:44:33.4
RDO-2 good evening, reducing to the minimum possible [speed].
18:44:36.3
HOT-1 landing gear down.
18:44:37.7
HOT-2 landing gear down.
18:44:53.9
HOT-1 flaps three.
18:44:55.1
HOT-2 speed checked.
18:44:57.4
HOT-2 flaps three.
18:45:03.9
HOT-1 flap full.
18:45:05.7
CAM-2 speed checked, flaps full.
18:45:10.6
HOT-1 standby final checklist
18:45:12.0
HOT-2 standing by.
18:45:12.9
CAM-1 glide star, set missed approach altitude.
18:45:15.0
CAM-2 ALT**.
18:45:21.0
CAM-2 six thousand feet.
18:45:44.0
CAM [sound of windshield wipers operating]
18:45:52.1
CH2 [sound of outer marker beacon heard on channel 2]
18:46:03.2
HOT-1 final checklist.
18:46:04.6
HOT-2 final checklist, passing DIADEMA [name of the outer marker beacon]
18:46:10.4
PA-2 cabin crew, clear to land. [prepare for landing]
18:46: 14.0
CAM- 2 cabin crew
18:46:15.2
CAM – 1 advised.
18:46:16.00
CAM – 2 auto thrust.
18:46:18. 8
CAM 1 – speed.
18:46:20.0
CAM 2 – **-
18:46:21.1
CAM 1 – landing no blue.
18:46:22.6
CAM 1 – ECAM MEMO (Eletronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor – check memo status)
18:46:23.8
HOT-1 landing, no blue
18:46:24.9
HOT-2 landing no blue.
18:46:26.1
HOT-1 okay?
18:46: 26.7
HOT-2 okay..what?
18:46:28.6
HOT-2 okay.
18:46:30.8
HOT-? *-
18:46:30.8
HOT-2 final checklist complete.
18:46:33.8
CAM-1 runway in sight, landing.
18:46:41.7
CAM-1 ask him [the tower] about the rain condition, the runway condition, and if the runway is slippery.
18:46: 57.0
RDO-2 TAM on final approach, two miles away. could you confirm conditions?
18:47:01.7
TWR it’s wet, and it is slippery. I will report three five left clear, three zero five four.
18:47:06.1
RDO-2 already on final.
18:47:07.5
TWR the aircraft is starting the departure.
18:47:10.7
HOT-1 wet and slippery!
18:47:22.0
HOT-2 The aircraft is starting the takeoff run.
18:47: 34.3
TWR TAM three zero five four, three five left, clear to land, the runway is wet, and is slippery and the wind is three three zero at eight. knots.
18:47:40.6
HOT-2 three three zero at eight, is the wind.
18:47:42.9
HOT-1 checked.
18:47:43.9
TWR three zero five four?
18:47:45.3
RDO-2 three zero five four, roger.
18:47:46.4
FWC four hundred.
18:47:49.8
HOT-1 is the landing clear?
18:47:50.7
HOT-2 clear to land.
18:47:52.3
HOT-1 land green, manual flight.
18:47:53.7
CAM [sound of autopilot disconnect tone]
18:47:54.1
HOT-2 checked.
18:47:54.8
HOT-1 inhibit the glide [GPWS aural warning] for me please.
18:47:55.7
CAM [sound of triple click indicating reversion from CAT II or III to CAT I approach mode (manual flight approach)]
18:47:56.9
HOT-2 what?
18:47:58.8
FWC three hundred.
18:47:59.3
HOT-1 inhibit the glide for me.
18:48:00.6
HOT-2 okay.
18:48:03.0
HOT-2 inhibit.
18:48:05.8
HOT-2 middle.
18:48:11.6
FWC two hundred.
18:48:14.9
HOT-2 one dot now. okay.
18:48: 16.8
HOT-1 okay.
18:48:21.0
FWC twenty.
18:48:21.6
FWC retard.
18:48:23.0
FWC retard.
18:48:24.5
CAM [sound of trust lever movement]
18:48:24.9
CAM [sound of increase engine noise]
18:48:25:5
GPWS retard.
18:48:26:3
CAM [sound similar to touchdown]
18:48:26:7
HOT-2 reverse number one only.
18:48:29:5
HOT-2 spoliers nothing.
18:48:30:8
HOT-1 aaiii [sigh]
18:48:33:3
HOT-1 look this.
18:48:34:4
HOT-2 decelerate, decelerate.
18:48:35:9
HOT-1 it can’t, it can’t.
18:48:40:0
HOT-1 oh my god….. oh my god.
18:48:42:7
HOT-1 go, go, go, turn turn turn turn.
18:48:44:6
HOT-2 turn turn to…no, turn turn.
18:48:45:5
CAM [sound of crushing noises].
18:48:49:7
CAM-? (oh no) [male voice]
18:48:50:0
CAM [pause in crushing noises]
18:48:50:6
CAM-? [sound of scream, female voice]
18:48:50:8
CAM-? [sound of crushing noise]
[end of recording]
18:48:51:4

Download PDF: File1 File2

Airbus A380 approved to operate on 45m runways

Airbus’ A380 has received approval from both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be operated on runways with a width of 45 metres (150 feet) or more. Most of the world airports have 45m runways as standard width.

“This aircraft has been shown to be safely controllable and to be compliant with applicable airworthiness requirements when operating on runways with a width of 45 meters (150 feet) or more”, stated James J. Ballough, FAA Director Flight Standards Service in an official correspondence to Airbus, dated July 19, 2007.

This approval is yet another great achievement for the A380 Programme and the result of a unique operational evaluation including airport compatibility checks, route proving campaigns and dedicated flight-testing together with the Authorities.

“Full Airport compatibility has always been a key design driver for this new flagship of the 21 century”, says Mario Heinen, Airbus Executive Vice President, A380 Programme. “Since the very beginning of the A3XX concept phase in 1996 Airbus has established a sustainable dialogue with regulators, airports, airlines, ground handlers and pilots as well as trade-associations, with the objective to make it fully compliant with the average airport environments. We are pleased to see once more that this approach is bearing fruits.”

The A380 has already visited more than 45 airports. By 2011, more than 70 airports will be ready for A380 operations.

In parallel, Airbus is progressing well with the first customer A380s. The first A380 for Singapore Airlines arrived in Toulouse in mid-July after completion of the cabin installation. It is now submitted to thorough final checks, prior to delivery to the customer in October. The subsequent aircraft, for delivery to Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas, are also well on track.

Being cleaner, greener, quieter and smarter, the A380 is already setting new standards for transport and the environment. Per passenger, the A380 is as fuel efficient as a small economical family car. The combination of extra passenger capacity without increasing the number of flights, excellent environmental performance and lower operating costs is an ideal solution for both increasingly congested airports and the airlines that serve them.