The Discovery Channel’s Curiosity Show ran an episode last week titled “Plane Crash” that gave viewers a look inside one of the most spectacular safety experiments ever conducted into the survivability of aircraft crashes.
AINsafety
October 8, 2012 - 1:55pm
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published its proposal to amend the current EU rules on flight and duty time limitations, as well as rest requirements for commercial air transport operations. The proposed rules, issued on October 1, contain more than 30 safety improvements compared with current requirements and introduce new limitations to the way crews can be scheduled.
October 8, 2012 - 1:50pm
The Australian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) has asked the Australian government to begin treating business aircraft with the same sort of priority as airliners by allowing them to take part in the airport slot system currently in place at Sydney. The current airline slot system restricting both domestic and international business aviation is expected to take effect soon at both Brisbane and Perth.
October 8, 2012 - 1:46pm
Japanese electronics maker Hitachi announced a prototype bomb-detection device it guarantees will make passing through any airport checkpoint less time consuming for anyone traveling by air. The new boarding gate blows a quick puff of air on a passenger’s hand as he scans his boarding pass. The system then quickly analyzes the same sample for non-metallic bomb fragments or residue. Hitachi says the new system is not yet ready to be rolled out for commercial operations.
October 8, 2012 - 1:44pm
A story in this week’s Loveland, Colo. Reporter Herald says that Allegiant Airlines’ suspension of service from Loveland in August was due to airline CEO Maurice Gallagher’s concern about safety based on too much local air traffic and the airport’s lack of a control tower. Local city officials, as well as representatives of the Transport Workers Union representing Allegiant flight attendants want to know why, if flight safety is the reason for the pullout, the airline plans to continue operating service to Las Vegas through the end of October.
October 8, 2012 - 1:41pm
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s symposium on performance-based navigation (PBN) runs from October 16 to October 19 at ICAO headquarters in Montreal. The event will include speakers and attendees from every PBN stakeholder group, including pilots, air traffic controllers, airlines, system manufacturers, regulators and air navigation service providers.
October 8, 2012 - 1:38pm
Two Las Vegas Police Department flight officers, both flight instructors, sustained minor injuries on September 24, when their MD 369 helicopter landed hard during a VFR practice autorotation during a training mission at the North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT). The senior officer flying said the helicopter entered a high vertical sink rate before he could stop it. The helicopter was destroyed when it rolled on its right side after striking terrain. The tailboom quickly separated.
October 1, 2012 - 3:42pm
A new turbulence-detection and -avoidance system now operating at Juneau International Airport (JNU) in Alaska is expected to be adapted for additional U.S. airports beginning with those most often affected by dangerously unstable air. Juneau often closes during bouts of significant turbulence to avoid risk to people, cargo and aircraft.
October 1, 2012 - 3:40pm
The NTSB has opened the public docket of another high-profile close call at a major airport, this one at Chicago’s O’Hare International (ORD) Airport. Just before noon on Aug.
October 1, 2012 - 3:38pm
An FAA suspected unapproved parts (SUP) investigation has found that National Precision Bearing, a division of Mechatronics and a distributor for Schatz Bearing Corporation products, publicly sold Boeing-designed bearings made by Schatz as suitable for installation on a type-certified aircraft.
