Another Fine for Southwest Airlines.

American's behemoth budget air carrier Southwest Airlines is facing another fine from the Federal Aviation Administration because of safety issues; for the second time in twelve months. 

The first case warranted a penalty of $265,800 and revolved around an aircraft that lost cabin pressure operating a flight from Boston to St. Louis in May 2013. The FAA alleges that mechanics for the airline failed to do a mandatory inspection for damage and to ensure the depleted oxygen bottles were replaced after the flight landed. Despite this failure, the FAA claims Southwest operated the aircraft on a further 123 flights before completing the inspection on June 3.

“Additionally, the airline allegedly operated the aircraft on May 14 and 15 flights with two of the four portable oxygen units un-serviceable,” the FAA claims. “A minimum of three were required under the conditions of Southwest’s Minimum Equipment List (MEL).”

Special Measures For Thailand's Aviation Industry

Turmoil in Thailand’s aviation industry at the moment as “special measures” have been slapped upon it after issues were flagged up by ICAO - the International Civil Aviation Organization  earlier this month.

Airlines including Thai AirAsia X, NokScoot and Asia Atlantic Airline have been forced to cancel flights. Even national airline, Thai Airways, was affected, being forced to cancel a number of new charter flights in April.

Aircraft Escorted to Prestwick Airport

A cargo aircraft has landed safely in Scotland after suffering technical problems with its communications equipment.

A major emergency had been declared at the airport after the Italian C-27J aircraft lost communication. This raised security concerns and the as a precaution RAF Typhoon fighters were scrambled to intercept and escort the stricken aircraft to Prestwick Airport.

A number of other flights were held up while the events took place, however Scottish airspace was not closed at the time. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Typhoon aircraft were launched this evening from RAF Lossiemouth to intercept a civilian aircraft which was causing concern to air traffic control authorities. The aircraft was safely escorted to Prestwick airport and the local police now have the lead."

Down in the air just off the south coast of England another drama was taking place as two Russian military aircraft encroached into civil air corridors inside UK air space. Details of the RAF delayed response have not been disclosed and are under investigation.   

Bomb Threat Diverts Turkish 777

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 has been forced to make an emergency diversion to Morocco after a bomb threat, the airline has confirmed.

The 777-300ER plane was on a flight from Istanbul to Sao Paulo when it was forced to make a detour to Casablanca airport, earlier today. The aircraft landed safely at the Moroccan airport at 12.30pm GMT. 

According to some reports, a note with the word 'bomb' scrawled on it was found in the toilet of the aircraft. However this has been denied by by the airline who said "Turkish Airlines Istanbul – Sao Paulo flight TK15, carrying 256 passengers today has diverted to Casablanca Mohammed V international airport after bomb threat. The necessary investigation onboard has now terminated and it become clear that the threat in question was untrue. Our passengers will be retaken onboard and the flight will continue to Sao Paolo" 

Flying Spirit - You Need to Know More.

Ultra-low-cost airline Spirit will likely have the cheapest base fares on any route it flies, but the carrier's pre-flight and onboard penny-pinching may cut into those savings. Here's what to expect (and how to make sure you're getting the best prices for your route) when flying with Spirit.


Read more at USA Today.

The Most Complained About Airlines

Passengers are now more than 40 times more likely to complain about Thomas Cook Airlines than they were in 2009, analysis of recent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures has shown.

This was among the striking findings in a study of the past five years of statistics published by the CAA, the UK’s independent aviation regulator.

These include the unveiling of the most complained about airline to operate in Britain; the major airline whose complaint rates are so low they don’t appear in the published list; and statistics for Ryanair that may surprise some critics.

read more at The Telegraph

'Hard Landing' or Crash? Air Canada Threaten Legal Action

Leading air accident investigators say the say the 133 passengers on an Air Canada Airbus A320 had a very lucky escape when the plane crashed short of the runway at Halifax last week. 

The Airbus A320 was completely written off when it came down late on Saturday night after the impact sheared off its landing gear, an engine and its nose cone. 


More -

Pilots Warn Passengers of Safety Concerns at Allegiant

Safety Concerns trouble pilots at troubled Las Vegas based Allegiant Air.  The airline pilots union representing Allegiant Air's pilots have published a letter to the airlines customers warning them of safety concerns the pilots have with the airline. 

APA representatives Local 1224 purchased internet advertising directing prospective Allegiant customers to a letter telling them that passengers could be “flying an airline that is content with just barely meeting acceptable safety standards.” 

“This is not something we prefer to do,” said Daniel Wells, president of the union that represents pilots of 10 other airlines in addition to Allegiant. “We believe in a progressive approach, but this is a sign of how bad it’s gotten and how concerned we are.” 

The embattled airline called the letter “a scare tactic” and accuses the union of “heavy-handed bullying tactics.” 

Air Pegasus Launch Confirmed

Bangalore-based Air Pegasus will launch flights from 12th April this year after gaining its flying permit from aviation regulator DGCA. 

"We have received an Air Operators Permit from the DGCA, and plan to launch our ticketing system on April 4 and flight operations by April 12,"  said Air Pagesus Managing Director Shyson Thomas, this week. 

Air Pegasus' permit allows it to operate regional routes and will start its flying operations with two 66 passenger ATRs with plans to introduce a third within six months. 

"We already have two ATR-72 aircraft in our fleet that is sufficient to operate the three sectors we plan to start flights with," Thomas said.

787 For Perth

Asia's biggest airline China Southern to use Boeing 787's on Perth route. 

China Southern Airlines has been flying from from Guangzhou to Perth since 2011, operating three flights a week. In an announcement this week the airline says it will....

4U9525 Final Moments Video

Breaking news reports from various news agencies are mixed about a report from the French Alps that a mobile phone had been found that contains a video of the final moments of the doomed Germanwings flight. 

According to most reports, the video was shot from the back of the plane, and ties in with official accounts of the cockpit recording that prompted investigators to conclude co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and then intentionally crashed the aircraft into the side of a mountain. 

European newspapers - Bild from Germany and Paris Match, fropm France are reporting they have seen the video and claim it was leaked by in informant close to the head of the investigation team. 

Lufthansa Knew Pilots Depression in 2009.

The Lufthansa co-pilot at the controls of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps last week informed his bosses in 2009 that he had suffered from severe depression, says the airline this week.

Lufthansa advised on Tuesday that a search of their records found an email showing that first officer Andreas Lubitz, had informed the company of his condition as he was seeking to rejoin its training program after an absence of several months. 

According to the airline groups statement, Lubitz had sent its flight training school the email that had included medical documents describing a “previous episode of severe depression.” 

BA Exec Club Hacked

Unknown hackers have gained access to British Airways frequent flier accounts, the airline comnfrirmed today. "British Airways has become aware of some unauthorised activity in relation to a small number of frequent flyer executive club accounts. This appears to have been the result of a third party using information obtained elsewhere on the internet," an airline's message read. The British Airways apologized to its customers and said the hackers did not get access to passengers' names, bank details, flight history and other personal information. The airline said it had frozen the accounts untill it solves the issue.

Air Canada Plane Hits Power Lines

An Air Canada Airbus A320 came off the runway during its landing early on Sunday at an airport in the eastern city of Halifax in Canada. The aircratf was damaged during the landing excursion and it is believed that the aircraft hit electricity pylons.

Air Canada have Confirmed flight AC624, from Toronto YYZ to Halifax exited runway upon landing at Halifax. The flight had 133 passengers and 5 crew on board and all are reported to have exited the aircraft, with only minor injuries reported. Heavy snow was reported at the time of the landing, yet at this stage it remains unclear if that had played a role in the accident. Air Canada said it would cooperate fully with authorities' investigation into what happened. The airport also lost its electricity supply for part of the night.

Suicide or mass murder? Germanwings Flight 9525

Suicide or mass murder?   Germanwings Flight 9525

 

It now appears beyond all reasonable doubt that first officer Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew the Airbus A320 into the side of a mountain in the French Alps killing all 149 other souls on board.

 Marseille Prosecutor Brice Robin, in charge of the investigation, confirmed reports that the captain left the cabin minutes before the crash and was unable to get back in, during a special press conference yesterday.

Robin told the assembled journalists that pounding could be heard on the door during the final minutes of the flight as alarms sounded to signal that the aircraft was too close to land.

The black box recording showed that the captain and co-pilot talked normally and "courteously" for the first 20 minutes of the flight after it took off from Barcelona. Already that morning that had flown the aircraft together, with no incidents reported or mentioned.

"Then we hear the pilot ask the co-pilot to take the controls and a seat being pulled back and a door closing. We can assume he left to answer nature's call," said Robin. "The co-pilot is left alone at the controls. We hear several calls from the pilot asking for entry into the cockpit. There is no response from the co-pilot."

“The co-pilot did not say a word once the captain left the cockpit and his breathing was normal throughout the final minutes of the flight.” Robin said. Hauntingly he confirmed that screams of passengers could be heard in the last final moments of the recording before the aircraft hit the ground.

More focus is now being spent on the mental state of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who lived with his parents in the small western German town of Montabour. He had qualified as a pilot at the Lufthansa training centre in Bremen, he then started flying for low-cost subsidiary, Germanwings, shortly after completing the course in 2013.  At the time of this final flight, Lubitz had accumulated just over 630 hours of flight experience, according to a Lufthansa spokeswoman.

Lubitz was an avid runner who often took part in local races and was a member of a private flying club in Montabour, where he was described as upbeat - "He was happy he had the job with Germanwings and he was doing well. He was very happy. He gave off a good feeling.”

German investigators have confirmed that evidence retrieved from Lubitz’s Dusseldorf flat indicate the young pilot was suffering from an unspecified mental illness. Lubitz. German media is reporting that the pilot took a six-month break from flight training in 2009 due to ‘burnout-syndrome’ and that he had continued to have “specific and regular medical treatment” ever since that bout of depression.

Carsten Spohr, CEO of Germanwings’ parent company Lufthansa, had already told the media that Lubitz took a "several-month gap" six years ago. However, he said: "I am not able to state the reasons why he took the break." Lubitz later resumed training and passed all his tests, including psychological and medical exams, Spohr said, adding that the co-pilot was deemed “100 percent fit to fly without any restrictions”.

“We can only speculate what might have been the motivation of the co-pilot," Spohr added. "In our worst nightmares we could not have imagined that this kind of tragedy could happen to us".

According to German media reports, the Germen investigators have found a torn up ‘sick note’ excusing Lubitz from work on the day of the crash.