News
02 SEP 2003
An American Airlines MD-80 (Flight 1048 DFW-EWR) diverted to New York-JFK for an emergency landing because the nose gear could not be lowered and locked. The MD-80 landed on runway 4L; there were no injuries reported and the 128 passengers and five crew members evactuated on the runway. (Newsday)
05 SEP 2003
`The Canadian Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident in which an Air Canada Airbus 319 and a Cessna 152-II almost collided during final approach to the Vernon airport on August 30. The board believes that smoke from the B.C. fires may have caused the Airbus pilot to loose visibility and direction and head for Vernon rather than Kelowna airport, where he was supposed to land.` (CBC)
05 SEP 2003
The NTSB issued 4 safety recommendations regarding maintenance manual inspection criteria for severe turbulence and extreme in-flight maneuvers to ensure that loads resulting from positive and negative vertical accelerations, as well as lateral accelerations, are adequately addressed. (NTSB)
Safety Recommendation A-03-41/-44
An Iranian Kish Air Tupolev 154 with 40 passengers and crew on board descended too low in fog and hit trees before landing in Minsk. The airplane was on a flight from Tehran to Copenhagen when the incident occurred. (Reuters) 09 SEP 2003
A new international air treaty affording accident victims potentially unlimited compensation will enter into force on 4 November, replacing a 75-year-old system limiting liability to a few thousand dollars per passenger, following its ratification by the United States. (UN)
UN News Centre article
10 SEP 2003 The FAA announced that Poland does not comply with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), thus giving the country a Category 2 rating following a reassessment of its civil aviation authority. (FAA)
Press release
10 SEP 2003 The FAA announced that Bulgaria does not comply with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), thus giving the country a Category 2 rating following a reassessment of its civil aviation authority. (FAA)
Press release
17 SEP 2003 The FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive, requiring inspection of Canadair Regional Jet series 700, 701 and 900 to prevent failure of the lower panel of the main landing gear door. An incident happened on Sept. 12 when an American Eagle Airlines CRJ700 lost an MLG door panel on approach to Oklahoma City. That panel damaged the trailing edge flap and punctured the fuselage below the engine pylon. (FAA)
Emergency AD 2003-19-51
19 SEP 2003 A jet-fuel nozzle may have put too much pressure on the fueling port of a Boeing 777 before breaking away, spewing fuel and killing a worker at Denver International Airport two years ago. A report recently issued by the NTSB offers fresh details on the accident, which has led airlines to alter fueling procedures. (Denver Post) 19 SEP 2003
Ryanair has temporarily grounded five of its oldest aircraft after discovering `scratches` on the outer aluminium skin prompting concerns about the previous maintenance of the aircraft. An investigation is under way with Boeing, the manufacturer of the more than 20-year-old 737-200s, to establish the source and seriousness of the scratches. (Financial Times) 20 SEP 2003
More than 929 aircraft had to go around at their initial attempt between January 2002 and June 2003, according to a report by the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation. More than 51 percent of the aborted landings were due to bad weather. However, members of the Construction and Transportation Committee of the National Assembly highlighted the devastating potential of such incidents as more than 28 percent or 266 cases were due to the pilots’ inadequate landing skills. (Korea Times) 24 SEP 2003
A Luxair Embraer ERJ.145 arriving from Vienna overran the runway on landing at Luxembourg-Findel Airport. The plane came to rest in a field; none of the 12 occupents of the flight were injured. (AP) 26 SEP 2003
Airline operators in the Pacific say they are no longer concerned by the closure of an emergency runway on the remote Johnston Atoll. The runway, to be closed by the US military on December 26, satisfied aviation regulations requiring twin-engine planes in the Pacific to be within range of an emergency airstrip at all times. Airlines say they have reached an agreement with the Government of Kiribati, under which a small airstrip on Christmas Island will be upgraded by next January. (ABC) 26 SEP 2003
Two attempts to set off blasts aboard Chinese passenger planes have been foiled this year, the China Daily reported today, citing the country`s police vice minister. (News.com.au) 27 SEP 2003
An Ariana Afghan Airbus A.300 reportedly went off the side of the runway at Kabul during an emergency landing following nose gear problems which developed during takeoff. (ASN) 29 SEP 2003
The captain of a China Airlines Airbus A.340 was barred from an Anchorage-to-New York flight after a breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of .087 per cent, which was twice the limit for pilots (.04 per cent). (AP) 29 SEP 2003
The International Air Transport Association began rolling out a new safety program this week that puts in place the first global audit process for airlines. For the first time, the IATA Operational Safety Audit program (IOSA) will enable airlines to review their safety processes using a world-wide standard. Qatar Airways is the first airline audited under the new program. (IATA)
press release
