Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Paris, France (AHN) – Twenty Airbus A380s will have to undergo checks for cracks in their wings, the safety regulator has said. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said that 20 Airbus A380 planes would undergo a “visual inspection” for cracks. That represents a third of the current fleet. The first concern is to inspect planes that have carried out more than 1,800 flights. Authorities will inspect planes that have flown from 1,300 to 1,800 flights within six weeks. Inspections were prompted by the discovery of cracks on some A380 wings. Routine testing found cracks on a limited number of non-critical brackets inside the wings of some A380s. However, company officials [...] Continue Reading…
Airbus A380 wings to have checks for cracks
Merchant Marine midshipmen treated for carbon monoxide exposure
David Goodhue – AHN News Reporter
Kings Point, NY, United States (AHN) – More than 40 midshipmen from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, were taken to the hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. The students reported feeling sick at around 10 p.m. Sunday night. The Long Island college trains students to become Merchant Marine officers. Three of the students had high enough carbon monoxide levels that they had to be flown to a hospital with a hyperbaric chamber, according to the New York Post. Authorities said a water heater in the dormitory basement was the source of the leak.
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FAA to issue rules on pilot fatigue more than a year after deadline
Kris Alingod – AHN News Contributor
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The Federal Aviation Administration was expected on Wednesday to release new rules to prevent accidents in commercial airlines due to pilot fatigue. The announcement comes four months after a congressionally prescribed deadline and more than a year after lawmakers passed legislation strengthening air safety, including a requirement that the FAA reform decades-old flight-and-duty time regulations and set minimum rest requirements for pilots. The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act was enacted in August last year, largely in response to a crash near Buffalo, NY, in 2009 that killed 50 people. Under the measure, which passed by a unanimous House vote, commercial carriers [...] Continue Reading…
Boeing machinists accept 4 year contract extension
Windsor Genova – AHN News News Writer
Renton, WA, United States (AHN) – One-third of the 28,000-strong Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and Kansas voted Wednesday to accept a four-year extension of their job contract to build 737 MAX planes. Tom Wroblewski, Local 751 district president of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), praised the approval. “As a result of this vote, we have the strongest commitment to the future of aerospace jobs in Washington state that we’ve ever had. We’ve also preserved retiree medical and pensions for new hires. Those are things that very few working people in America have today,” he said in a message posted on iam751.org. The extension of the [...] Continue Reading…
Boeing’s $18 billion deal its biggest ever
Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Boeing has inked an $18 billion deal with Emirates Airlines to supply the airline with 50 aircraft, with the option to expand the deal even further. The agreement is the largest ever in Boeing’s history. The U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer has agreed to build 50 of its 770-300ER airliners for the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines. The agreement also contains options to supply an additional 20 aircraft, which could add $8 billion to the deal. Boeing has said that 2011 is a record year for the 777, with orders to date totaling 182 this year. That breaks the prior record of 154 orders in 2005. Emirates’ [...] Continue Reading…
Qantas airlines back in the air after unilateral grounding of fleet, crew
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Sydney, Australia (AHN) – Fair Work Australia (FWA) ordered Qantas on Monday to lift its unilateral grounding of its fleet and crew on Saturday, which disrupted the travel plans of 70,000 passengers. The grounding of planes happened at a particularly busy weekend for Australians as the Commonwealth Head of Governments meeting ended in Perth on Saturday and residents prepare to hold the yearly Melbourne Cup this week. The air carrier had lost $68 million over the past few weeks due to strikes held by unions representing baggage handlers, ground crew and catering staff, pilots, and aircraft engineers. The FWA order bans the unions from any form of industrial action for the next [...] Continue Reading…
TSA purchases new document scanners capable of checking IDs, boarding passes
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said on Monday that it will buy 30 new machines capable of checking documents such as identification cards, passports, driver’s licenses and boarding passes to improve security for air travelers. The agency said it plans to test the new machines, expected to cost $3.2 million each, at U.S. gateway checkpoints in early 2012. The machines are made by BAE Systems Information Solutions, Trans-Digital Technologies and NCR Government Systems. TSA will pay the three companies $79 million each for the machines, which will provide 10 each of the device for testing at American airports. An earlier version of the machine was pilot [...] Continue Reading…
TSA fires 28 bag screeners at Hawaii airport
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Honolulu, HI, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has fired 28 employees assigned at Hawaii’s Honolulu International Airport because of their failure to properly screen bags before allowing the luggage onto planes. The agency also suspended 15 other workers, who will be allowed to appeal the decision. The firing or suspension of the workers, considered one of the biggest in TSA’s history, was the result of a media report in March that TSA officers on the morning shift allowed the bags to be loaded onto flights on nine planes without screening for explosives. The failure appears to have been ongoing for up to four months and involved thousands of checked [...] Continue Reading…
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