Asia og flytrafikken - Ikke hyggelig lesning

Crowded skies in Southeast Asia put pressure on pilots, air traffic control

(Reuters) - The sheer volume of flights in the skies over Southeast Asia is putting pressure on outdated air traffic control and on pilots to take risky unilateral action in crises such as that possibly faced by AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

Pilots who have flown the Indonesia to Singapore route say it's not unusual for delays to requests to increase altitude to avoid bad weather - and for requests to eventually be rejected due to the number of other planes in the area.

That leaves pilots flying in a region of volatile weather conditions facing a high-risk challenge: when to take matters into their own hands and declare an emergency, allowing them to take action without getting permission from air traffic control.

Most consider that step - which requires them to broadcast a wideband call to other aircraft in the area and which will later be closely scrutinized by regulators - a last resort.

"As a professional pilot, you are obligated to think quickly," a Qantas Airways pilot with 25 years experience in the region told Reuters. "If you've signed for the plane, as we put it, you've signed for potentially 300 passengers and millions of dollars worth of aircraft; that's a multibillion dollar liability. Part of the job is to balance the risk and make a snap decision."

Weighing those risks has become increasingly difficult in Southeast Asia, an area that has seen explosive growth in budget air travel in recent years.

The number of passengers carried annually across Asia-Pacific has jumped by two-thirds in the past five years to more than 1 billion, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Budget airlines, which only took to the skies around a dozen years ago, today make up about 60 percent of Southeast Asia's seat capacity. AirAsia and Indonesia's Lion Air have placed record orders with the main plane makers.

Boeing predicts the region's airlines will need about 13,000 new planes over the next two decades, and Airbus expects Asia-Pacific to drive demand over that period.

LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE

"There are certain flight corridors that are over-stressed due to traffic," said a former Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot with a decade's flying experience at the carrier. "One certainly would be the Indonesia/Singapore flights which are flown by many different companies and aircraft types at a variety of altitudes and speeds."

Pilots say that causes a logistical nightmare for the region's air traffic control (ATC), particularly outside high-tech hubs such as Singapore.

"As the airways become more crowded, it takes ATC longer to coordinate and give clearances such as higher altitudes and weather deviations," the former SIA pilot said.

This can be critical in a region where weather conditions can change very quickly, with strong winds and tropical thunderstorms posing time-critical challenges for pilots.

The circumstances around the AirAsia crash are not yet known, but investigators and the airline's chief Tony Fernandes have pointed to changeable weather being a significant factor.

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines said last month that while airlines were investing heavily in fuel-efficient planes to meet rising demand, there was growing concern about the need to also invest in related infrastructure, such as airport terminals, runways and air navigation services.

OUTDATED EQUIPMENT

To keep aircraft traveling in a flight corridor at a safe distance from each other, air traffic controllers in Indonesia employ procedural separation - where they use pilots' radio reports to calculate their position relative to other traffic.

That takes longer than the more sophisticated radar separation used in Singapore and elsewhere in the world, which allows a controller to more quickly take stock of radar returns from all aircraft in the area.

A lack of up-to-date equipment and volatile weather conditions were cited by pilots and aviation experts in the 2013 crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737, when the pilot reported the plane being "dragged down" by wind into the sea just short of the runway.

That was considered a classic example of wind shear - the sudden change in wind speed and direction. Airports in the region's popular island resorts, including Bali, Koh Samui, Langkawi and Cebu, don't have on-ground wind shear detection equipment to help pilots land and take off. [reut.rs/1D4SLcj]

Pilots said critical decisions often come down to experience.

"In my opinion, if I don't get permission (to change course) and there's weather ahead, I'll just deviate and deal with the authorities later," said another former SIA pilot who is now with a Gulf carrier.

Solar Impulse 2 getting ready

Incredibly cool solar-powered jet to fly around the world

Now this is an event to keep tabs on. Two men are determined to fly the first completely solar-powered jet around the world.

The duo, pilot Bertrand Piccard (no relation to Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame, as far as we can tell) and co-pilot/lead engineer André Borschberg, have built the Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered jet that requires no fuel. They've already taken it for a successful spin: a solo-piloted, 24-hour excursion over Europe, Africa and the United States. And now they want to conquer the world. They are planning a 12-leg, multi-week flight that is scheduled to take off in March.

The SI2 jet has a 236-foot wingspan, which is "longer than a Boeing 747's, but the craft weighs only about 5,000 pounds-a flyspeck compared to the jetliner's 500,000-pound bulk," according to Wired.

In addition to looking incredibly cool, the mission and inspiration behind the SI2 is fun and inspiring. We're hoping for a pit stop in Seattle to check out this amazing flying machine.

Construction of Solar Impulse 2, the Round-The-World Solar Airplane

Watch these videos: the first is about their mission, and the second is a collection of GoPro shots from the plane.

Solar Impulse 2 Airplane Exclusive Shots, Only Shot with GoPro

Flygende bil - Terrafugia har sertifiseringsproblemer

Terrafugia Seeks Exemptions For Weight, Stall Speed

Terrafugia has requested an exemption from the FAA to allow its Transition roadable aircraft to weigh up to 1,800 pounds and have a stall speed of 54 knots and still be classified as an LSA. The LSA rules set the maximum weight at 1,320 pounds and a maximum stall speed of 45 knots. "I think we make a very strong argument that these changes are in the public interest," Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich told AVweb on Tuesday. The added weight is necessary to meet national highway standards, Dietrich said, and those features add safety to the airplane, not only by making it more crashworthy, but also making it more likely that pilots will land in marginal weather and choose to drive instead of pushing forward to their destination. The higher stall speed, Dietrich said, is a function of the higher weight. He added that in practice, Transition pilots tend to fly the pattern at a speed fast enough to provide a comfortable margin above stall speed. The Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association has filed a letter (PDF) in support of the change. "We believe that granting Terrafugia's request for exemption would be a wise decision that is in line with the original intent behind the FAA's creation of LSA (see FAA-2001-11133) as helping to accommodate new concepts in light, sport aircraft," wrote LAMA President Dan Johnson. "Terrafugia's Transition certainly qualifies as a new advancement by virtue of both its road-going functionality and improved crashworthiness." Icon won a 250-pound weight exemption from the FAA last year for its amphibious LSA, to enable the company to incorporate spin-resistant features, and Terrafugia previously was OK'd for an additional 110 pounds, in 2010. "Our engineering team made its best effort to refine the design of the safety systems to fit within the allowed extra weight, but it was not sufficient to achieve the desired level of safety," Dietrich wrote in his petition (PDF) to the FAA. Dietrich told AVweb he wasn't aware of any previous examples of the FAA granting an exemption on the LSA stall speed. The FAA is accepting comments on the petition until Jan. 20

Air Asia - Straits Times

Det interessante her er at en passasjer er funnet med flytevest på. Videre at flyet ser ut til å ha vært helt da det traff vannet siden funn viser at vrakrester og annet er funnet nær hverandre. En oppløsning av flyet i luften ville ha spredd deler over et større område. Det reiser imidlertid et nytt spørsmål. Hvorfor ble det ikke sendt Mayday?

 

AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 missing

Indonesia's search agency has sonar image that may be plane's body, says report

More headlines

» Singapore offers two more navy vessels to help in search and recovery

» Sonar image of plane obtained; 4 more bodies found

» Indonesia search agency says one body was wearing life jacket

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/#sthash.Hiv9qmSr.dpuf

Helikopter - Ambulanse - Sao Paulo

Når slike ting skjer spør jeg meg: Kunne ulykken vært unngått med to sertifiserte flygere og en maskin med to motorer? Det er alt for mange ulykker med HEMS helikoptre i utlandet. Ulykken på Sollihøgda; kunne den vært unngått med to flygere? Vel, IFALPA Policy er to flygere og to motorer i all kommersiell luftfart, også HEMS.

Fatal Crash Mars Start of Brazil Summer Helicopter Season

A Helimarte Helibrás Esquilo crashed en route to a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, killing the pilot and all four passengers on board. The helicopter left São Paulo's central Campo de Marte airport on the morning of December 27, for the half-hour flight to the coastal resort of Guarujá to pick up a couple, their two-year-old daughter and the nanny, to take the child to a hospital in São Paulo. After the pickup at condominium heliport SDIX, the helicopter crashed 18 miles away in a swamp between a river and highway, catching fire after the crash. The pilot, Thiago Yamamoto, 33, had flown for charter firm Helimarte for seven years. Helimarte operates 14 aircraft, including helicopters and jets. This is the second fatal accident in its history. The single-turbine Esquilo HB-350B registration PT-HNC that crashed Saturday had up-to-date registration and inspections. Weather was fine at the time of the crash, and local residents said helicopter traffic was common on the route. About 80 Esquilos are registered in Brazil. The model is used by many police and fire departments. The wreckage was collected Sunday by Brazilian investigative agency, SERIPA Region IV. Helicopter charters are an increasingly popular option for families that want to summer at the shore, but avoid the massive traffic jams of the few highways that run between the coast and São Paulo.

Hva slag flygere kan vi forvente i Asia? Sjekk dette

Airlines cancel flights over untrained pilots and crew tantrums.. and blame it on Delhi fog (India)

Foggy weather in Delhi is not the only reason airlines are keeping passengers stranded at the city airports during the year-end.

In reality, incapable pilots, non-compliant aircraft, and tantrums by crew members have hampered nearly 70 per cent of the total flight operations in the Capital over the past six days.
On December 24, Jet Airways diverted Delhi-bound flight S2 4315 as the pilots were not trained to operate it under poor weather conditions.


Untrained pilots, planes unequipped with navigation system and tantrums from the crew are said to delay more flights than fog

Similarly, Air India diverted a flight on Christmas Day as the plane was not CATIIIB compliant.
Airlines are also giving bizarre reasons for cancellation of flights. On December 26 and 28, Lufthansa cancelled international flights LH 761 and LH 736 due to Christmas celebrations.
Strange reasons


"Due to last-minute cancellations, almost 500 passengers headed for Frankfurt and Munich suffered losses. The airline gave a strange reason for these cancellations - Christmas celebrations," a senior airport official told Mail Today.

Apart from incapable pilots and ill-equipped aircraft, passengers are also reportedly facing problems due to moods of the crew.

On December 26, Air India delayed flight AI 213 following late reporting by the crew.
According to the officials, passengers were stuck at terminal-3 for hours due to non-availability of crew members.

"Bad weather in Delhi is not the actual reason for almost 70 per cent of the delayed flights. Most of the time, flights are delayed, cancelled or diverted due to airlines' own reasons. But, airlines escape easily by blaming bad weather in Delhi," a senior airport official said.
According to Delhi airport's operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), 30 flights were delayed due to bad weather in Delhi on Sunday. Similarly, 73 flights were late due to dense fog on Saturday. However, according to data accessed by Mail Today, a total of 194 flights were behind schedule on Sunday and 241 were not on time on Saturday.

Almost 164 flights in other cities had to be postponed for different reasons, including bad weather. According to a senior airport official, airlines are using small aircraft, forcing cancellations and deferments.
Untrained pilots and not-compliant aircraft are also primary reasons behind delays in winter.
The Dreamliner aircraft is not CAT IIIB compliant, and thus cannot land in dense fog, while other certified planes can.

Air India is Delhi-based, but their most famous aircraft - the Dreamliner - cannot operate in and out of the airline's hub in dense fog.
On the other hand, Air India is blaming the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not giving CAT IIIB certificate to Dreamliner aircraft.

A senior official said that DGCA had recently ordered all the airlines to deploy CAT IIIB compliant plane and crew trained to fly under low visibility conditions while operating in and out of the IGI airport during foggy hours.

The DGCA had also ordered the airlines to reschedule flights with non-CAT IIIB compliant aircraft in case visibility conditions are not favourable, but airlines are citing excuses of crew shortage, the official added.
According to a senior official, Delhi airport provides the best technology for safe landings during fog, but airlines are using weather as an excuse.

He added: "The Delhi airport is one of the finest airports, equipped with most advanced technology in the aviation industry. But, airlines are operating with untrained pilots and not CAT IIIB compliant aircraft."

Week starts with clearer skies but fog will return today
You could say Monday brought Delhi's vision back. After the blanket of fog that enveloped the Capital and NCR on Sunday night and almost entirely diminished visibility, the start of the week arrived with a clear sky and slight relief from the recent spell of biting cold.

From a season-low of 2.6 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature rose to 4.8°C on Monday, three degrees below normal for this time of the year.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 21.2°C, a notch above the season average.

According to Met department officials, visibility was as low as 50 metres at 5.30am, but rose gradually to 1,000 metres by 5pm.

"The fog was densest from 11.30pm on December 28 to 9.30am on December 29, covering almost 10 hours. But the runway visual range (RVR) was above 100 m, so flights quipped with CAT IIIB were able to operate, while the non-equipped ones were severely affected," said Dr R.K. Jenamani, Director of the India Meteorological Department office at IGI Airport.

"The Gurgaon side was heavily affected. Compared to 27-28 December, there was only a slight reduction in the density of fog. But afternoon had totally clear skies," he added.
As many as 98 trains were delayed due to the reduced visibility, with the schedule of nearly 30 flights disrupted.

According to a Northern Railways official, 10 trains, including the Mahabodhi Express, Brahmaputra Express and Swatantra Express, were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
The humidity level on Monday was recorded as high as 100 per cent, while it was 32 per cent on the lower side.

The Met department has predicted overcast conditions for Tuesday, with the possibility of moderate to dense fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 20 and 4 °C. -Mail Today in New Delhi

Voldsom økning i behovet for flygere i Asia

Arkivbilde

Rapid Industry Growth Brings Western Pilots to Asia

French Co-Pilot Among Thousands Drawn to Asia's Booming Commercial Aviation Industry

The proliferation of budget carriers, especially in Southeast Asia, has underpinned the growth of commercial aviation in the region. Above, an Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-200 passenger jet.

The French co-pilot of AirAsia Flight 8501 was among thousands of foreign commercial pilots hired by Asian airlines in recent years amid frenetic growth in the region's air-travel market, now the world's largest.

The Airbus A320 was under the command of Indonesian Capt. Iriyanto, assisted by Rémi- Emmanuel Plesel, a 45-year-old French national.

Search crews have yet to find any signs of Indonesian jet, which disappeared Sunday on a short flight to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city.

The supply of locally trained cockpit crews across Asia has fallen far short of the growth pace of fleets, which now stand at over 7,000 planes regionwide. The commercial airline industry's rapid expansion over the past decade has forced companies to hire foreign pilots-many from Western countries, where demand has plateaued-to fill the gap.

Airlines in Asia account for half of the 330-odd pilot recruitment postings on the careers website of Flightglobal, an industry publication. Demand is strong for positions of captain, as pilots need several years to accumulate experience needed for promotion.

"You can't train them so you have to buy them," said Mark Martin, chief executive at Martin Consulting LLC, an aviation consultancy, noting that the shortage isn't on a lack of pilots per se, but for those with experience. "We need senior pilots to impart their knowledge on younger pilots."

Asian carriers offer pay packages that are often superior to those in the West. Pilots are also given flexible work rosters, allowing them to take a few months off at a time.

Mr. Plesel, the French co-pilot on Flight 8501, left a "very successful career" as an engineer at Total SA in Paris to fulfill a childhood dream of being a pilot, said Lucien Plaisance, a pilot and friend of Mr. Plesel. After flight school in France, Mr. Plesel took a three-year contract in Jakarta with AirAsia.

Mr. Plesel had one goal in mind: "To fly as much as he could, to get the most hours he could, so he could eventually qualify for a job with a major European airline that required more experience," Mr. Plaisance said.

Underpinning the industry's rapid expansion in Asia is the proliferation of budget carriers, especially in Southeast Asia, which is home to a large number of first-time fliers. Fares often run as low as $30 for the 90-minute one-way flight between the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Surabaya.

Hundreds of population centers across Southeast Asia's archipelago are now connected by airline travel, forming the backbone of the region's mass transportation infrastructure. As a result, Asia's low-cost carriers now account for over 25% of the continent's total passenger traffic, compared with just 9% in 2006.

Indonesia's Lion Air has grown into Asia's biggest budget carrier by fleet size, through shuttling passengers across the nation's many islands. It now serves over 30 domestic destinations, plus a handful of international routes, providing multiple daily connections between cities like Ambon and Fak Fak, mostly unfamiliar names to foreigners.

Meanwhile, rapid air travel growth in countries like China and India amid rising incomes is also fueling the industry's expansion in Asia, helping Asia-Pacific become the world's biggest air-travel market in 2011, with a 30% share of all global passengers.

The region's share rose further to 31% for 2014, based on preliminary figures from the International Civil Aviation Organization. By contrast, North America's share of global traffic fell to 25% from 29% in 2011.

The rapid pace of capacity growth in Asia is likely to continue. AirAsia and its main regional rival Lion Air together have another 1,000 planes on order, more than a third of which will be used to develop new routes-and that is on top of the hundreds of planes ordered by Chinese and Indian carriers.

Such growth in fleet size would ensure continued demand for foreign pilots, even as airlines are ramping up their training capabilities.

"Every week you hear [an airline[ announcing a new simulator or buying up a training school...but they can never really have enough pilots because you have so many aircraft coming in," said Greg Waldron, Flightglobal's Asia managing editor.

An airline needs to have four to five separate crews for each new single-aisle jetliner, "so you need a much larger number of trained pilots," he said.

However, intensifying competition among low-cost and legacy carriers in the region are hurting profit margins, and may help slow the breakneck pace of expansion in the near term, say analysts.

AirAsia is among a few Asian airlines that stayed profitable in 2014 despite the more crowded skies, but it has been forced to ease the pace of its growth by cutting back on aircraft deliveries

Avinor - Fenomenal økning i passasjertallet på 5 år

Avinor

Passerte 50 millioner passasjerer Avinor - 30-12-2014 17:15 CET Kjæresteparet Ingrid Heggdal (24) og Sondre Schmidt-Hanssen (25) ble passasjerer nummer 50 millioner på Avinors lufthavner i 2014. På Oslo Lufthavn ble de overrasket med et reisegavekort på 10 000 kroner fra konsernsjefen i Avinor. -Vi er på vei til Stavanger for å feire nyttår med venner. Der blir det pinnekjøtt og champagne. Ja, gjett om det blir champagne nå da, ler Ingrid Heggdal. Både hun og kjæresten er fra Drammen, men bor begge i Trondheim hvor de studerer. Til sammen reiser de med fly rundt 20 ganger i året, men hva slags reise de skal bruke gavekortet på, vil de tenke litt på. -Kanskje en skikkelig storbyweekend, smiler Sondre Schmidt-Hanssen. -Eller noe annet, kommer det raskt fra kjæresten. Glade og overrasket er de i hvert fall begge to.  Vekst på 10 millioner Siden 2009 har antallet passasjerer ved Avinors lufthavner vokst med 10 millioner. -Dette er et formidabelt tall, og forteller hvor viktig et godt utbygd flytilbud over hele landet er for næringslivet og befolkningen i Norge, sier konsernsjef i Avinor, Dag Falk-Petersen.

AirAsia involvert i landingsuhell - Fra Dagens Nyheter

Air Asia-plan i ny incident

Publicerad i dag 13:42

Foto: AP Air Asia-planet landade utanför landningsbanan.

Flygbolaget Air Asia har drabbats av ytterligare en olycka, bara tre dagar efter att flight QZ8501 störtade.

Flygbolaget Air Asia har drabbats av ytterligare en olycka, bara tre dagar efter att flight QZ8501 störtade.

På tisdagen missade ett Air Asia-plan landningsbanan i Kalibo i Filippinerna. Planet var på väg från Manila. Ingen av planets 161 passagerare ska vara skadad. Anledningen uppges vara hård vind

Bird strike i Kathmandu

Jet Airways Flight Makes Emergency Landing At Kathmandu Airport After Bird Hit

A member of the Nepalese army tries to shoot down an eagle before VVIP's arrival flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu ahead of the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu on Nov. 25, 2014. Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar

A Jet Airways flight from Mumbai, India, to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, made an emergency landing Monday after being hit by a bird and catching fire, according to reports. The Boeing 737 reportedly had 125 passengers and six crew members on board.

"Jet Airways flight 9W 268 Mumbai to Kathmandu B737 experienced a bird ingestion on approach and continued the flight with an uneventful and safe landing at Kathmandu," the airline said in a statement, according to the Press Trust of India.

According to the Hindustan Times, a local daily, the plane's rear section caught fire during landing, but the fire was put out and the passengers and crew were evacuated without harm.

Kinesisk airliner

China Certifies Comac ARJ21-700

Dec 30, 2014Bradley Perrrett | Aviation Daily

Foto: Wikipedia

China finally has an indigenously designed airliner, following the issue of a type certificate for theComac ARJ21-700 regional jet by the country’s civil aviation authority.

Certification of the aircraft follows more than 12 years of development, including six in flight testing, and comes four decades after China began its first attempt at producing a jet airliner.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the type certificate under Chapter 25 of the Chinese civil aviation regulations on Dec. 30. Comac, announcing the certification, says the CAAC is now examining the first aircraft intended for delivery to a customer. That customer will be Chengdu Airlines, which belongs to Comac and will help the manufacturer learn to support the type in service. Early this year, entry into service was due in April or May 2015.

Gardermoen stengt en time på grunn av underkjølt regn

Dette bidrar til å blåse liv i Wiborg-saken. Akkurat dette værfenomenet var inne i debatten før Gardermoen ble valgt fremfor Hurum. Tåke var også et moment og Hurdalsjøen ble pekt på som en "tåkegenerator". Vel, Gardermoen er nå engang der, og det må vi leve med.

AirAsia - Uttalelse fra FSF

New FSF Statement on QZ8501 Alexandria, VA, December 30, 2014 - The Flight Safety Foundation released the following statement today from President and CEO Jon Beatty: "With the discovery of confirmed wreckage from AirAsia Indonesia 8501, our deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew. It's now time for a thorough investigation to begin. We are confident that answers will be found so that a tragedy like this won't happen again. As the investigation is conducted, however, FSF calls for the speculation into the cause to end. This speculation does not advance our understanding of this tragedy and can cause needless pain for the families. FSF will continue to monitor the situation and trust that as the data is recovered, answers will be found quickly."

Fly som forsvinner - Det enkleste er kanskje det beste

Emergency Locator Transmitter
Dersom alle fly og helikoptre i kommersiell virksomhet fikk krav om å montere en Emergency Locator Transmitter, så ville det bli, i de fleste tilfeller, enkelt å finne savnede fly på havet og på bakken. ELT sitter utenpå flykroppen og spretter av når flyet overstiger en viss G-belastning, som ved et havari. Jeg har ikke fått forklart hvorfor dette ikke ble et krav etter AF447 ulykken i 2009. Nå diskuteres det alle mulige og umulige finurlige tekniske løsning så det enkle er kanskje det beste. Altså, ELT Catagory 1 med GPS posisjon som starter å sende av seg slev er en enkel løsning.,

AirAsia - Kl 0900 - Oppdater kl 1200

– 40 døde funnet

Indonesisk media siterer kilder blant letemannskapene på at man også har sett omrisset av det som kan være et fly i havet i leteområdet.
– Klokken 12.50 i dag (lokal tid, journ.anm.) fant et militært Hercules-fly et objekt på bunnen av havet, beskrevet som en skygge som ligner et fly, sa lederen for indonesiske luftfartsmyndigheter Bambang Soliestyo på dagens pressekonferanse.
Al Jazeera og indonesiske medier meldte tidligere tirsdag at det var funnet seks lik som kan stamme fra AirAsia-flyet. Disse er funnet rundt halvannen time med fly fra Surabaya. Like før klokken halv elleve melder AFP at totalt 40 døde kropper er funnnet i forbindelse med letingen etter AirAsia-flyet.
– Det har kommet meldinger på marinens radio om at krigsskipet Bung Tomo har funnet 40 døde kropper, og tallet er stigende. De er veldig travle nå, sier Manahan Simorangkir, talsmann for den indonesiske marinen.

De må få ut en sonarbøye som kan lytte på riktig frekvens.

Et av objektene sies å være en dør til nødutgang, et annet et menneske, men flere objekter er åpenbart i det samme området og ikke spredt. Fartøy er på vei.

Debris is 'from AirAsia plane', says Indonesian civil aviation chief - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/#sthash.ZKpuwUEs.dpuf

BBC: AirAsia QZ8501: Possible debris found

38 minutes ago

Indonesian officials say search teams have spotted debris at sea in the hunt for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

Several objects were seen floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane.

Alice Budisatrijo reports.

Virgin B747 landet trygt, men står på banen - Video

Ser ut til å gå fint dette. Men, Gatwick har kun en runway, så det jobbes vel hysterisk for å flyet av banen.
Sjekk video her: http://tinyurl.com/ot83kjv
U.S.-bound jet makes safe emergency landing in U.K.

Virgin Atlantic emergency landing

A U.S.-bound Virgin Atlantic jet that developed a stuck landing gear made a safe, "non-standard" landing Monday on the three remaining gears after returning to London's Gatwick Airport.

Television images showed the Boeing 747 on the runway as fire trucks waited nearby.

Flight 43, which left Gatwick at 11:45 a.m. with 447 passengers and a crew of 15, was en route to Las Vegas.

The problem affected part of the jet's right main landing gear, forcing the pilot to land on only three of its four main landing gears, the BBC reports.

The pilot initially tried to "shake" the stuck gear free by thrusting the plane forward rapidly while flying at low altitude, but then chose to return to abort the flight and return to Gatwick.

The pilot dumped some of the jet's fuel offshore then circled off the coast of southwest England and over the London area for almost four hours before landing.

A U.S.-bound Virgin Atlantic flight that developed landing gear problems made a safe, "non-standard" landing Monday after returning to London's Gatwick Airport. VPC

Passenger Mike Kaufman said the crew remained calm and professional throughout the crisis. There were no injuries during the evacuation.

"Everybody gave the crew a big round of applause when we landed," he told Sky News from the plane. "I can't wait to get into the terminal and have a gin and tonic now."

Gatwick airport confirmed the emergency on Twitter, saying that emergency procedures were activated "purely as a precaution."

Virgin Atlantic med gear problemer akkurat nå

Flightradar24.com har lagt til 2 nye bilder.

Virigin Atlantic flight ‪#‎VS43‬ is having some problems with one landing gear. Flight has been holding and done 2 low passes over Gatwick.
Follow live: http://www.flightradar24.com/VIR43E/526ac78
Pcture: https://twitter.com/WILLIE747HUNT/status/549574699370708992

UAV - F..n skjære - Sjekk video

Volume 21, Number 53a UAS Test Flight Flops It was a big enough day for Nevada that the governor and a couple of congressmen were there to mark the occasion of the first flight of an unmanned aerial system at the state's new test range and of course the digital cameras were rolling. Unfortunately the technology wasn't quite up to the auspiciousness of the occasion and within about two seconds of being hand launched the Magpie fixed-wing aircraft was digging a trench in the desert. There was a collective groan (sprinkled with some giggles) from the small group of safety-vested spectators as the four-foot-long aircraft failed to gain altitude and slumped to the dusty desert floor near Boulder, Nevada. The device wasn't damaged but its demonstrators thought better of trying to fly it again. Fortunately, it had already flown a 15-minute test flight that day and had already been awarded the first Special Airworthiness Certificate and registration N106MP handed out by the Nevada test facility. The flight that ended with the belly flop was just for show. Despite the made-for-TV faux pas, the politicians did their best to put a positive spin on the incident. 13 Action News, a local television station news program, quoted Governor Brian Sandoval as saying the botched demo was a "perfect example" of why test sites like the Boulder facility are needed. The test site is one of six in the U.S. and is run by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, a state-sponsored non-profit agency. In addition to offering test facilities for UAS companies, it will offer certification and personnel training programs. It's also able to issue the SACs on behalf of the FAA for operations within the test center. view on YouTube

UAV - Fire Scout - Video

Foto: USN

Sjekk video her: http://tinyurl.com/k2d6jgq  Denne videoen går rett over i en live sending om søket etter AirAsia flyet.

Hybrid fly - Mer om maskinen jeg har presentert tidligere

From Hybrid Cars To Hybrid Airplanes? 'Green' Aircraft Successfully Tested In The UK   Planes go hybrid-electric After hybrid cars, has the time come for hybrid aircrafts? It's still to early to tell, but researchers of Cambridge University, working in association with Boeing BA +0.3%, have just announced a first important step in this direction. On Tuesday, in Sywell Aerodrome, near Northampton, they ran a series of test flights using an aircraft powered by a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system. The aircraft, a modified, commercially-available, lightweight single-seater, uses a combination of a 4-stroke piston engine and an electric motor, which could also turn into a power generator. The hybrid power system is based on a Honda engine; the batteries, a set of 16 large lithium-polymer cells, are located in special compartments built into the wings. The petrol engine and the electric motor combined fuel the plane during take-off and climb, when maximum power is required. Then, once cruising height is reached, the electric motor can be switched into generator mode to recharge the batteries while in flight, or used in motor assist mode to minimise consumption. Nothing new, to be sure: this same principle is at work in hybrid cars. What has been holding back its implementation in aircrafts until now, is battery technology. "Until recently, they have been too heavy and didn't have enough energy capacity. But with the advent of improved lithium-polymer batteries, similar to what you'd find in a laptop computer, hybrid aircraft - albeit at a small scale - are now starting to become viable," Dr Paul Robertson of Cambridge's Department of Engineering, said in a statement. The demonstrator aircraft uses up to 30% less fuel than a comparable plane with a petrol-only engine and, in Northampton, after making a series of test hops along the runway, flew for several minutes at a height of over 1,500 feet. But don't dream of boarding a "greener" commercial jetliner anytime soon; as researchers made clear, there's still a lot of work to do before this becomes possible - and much more battery capacity is needed. For now, if all the engines and all the fuel in a standard airliner were to be replaced by batteries, it would have a total flying time of around ten minutes. "We're looking decades away before an electric airliner will be a viable possibility," Robertson said. As things stand, the demonstrator will be used by reseachers used mainly as a test-bed, to gather data and experiment with different configurations. In the future, perhaps, hybrid technology could be initially applied to small, personal aircrafts, a means of transportation that could become increasingly common, as roads become too congested and commuters try to find easier ways to reach their destinations. More research will be needed, however, to address the complex issue of aviation emissions, which right now ammount to roughly 2% of man-made carbon emissions. The situation is getting worse, and the faster a solution is provided, the better. According to ICAO's (International Civil Aviation Organization) estimates, by 2020, global international aviation emissions are projected to be around 70% higher than in 2005. By 2050 they could triple, if unchecked.

India for n`te gang

AI exec's daughter violated safety norms (India) In an alleged violation of aviation safety norms, daughter of a senior Air India executive travelled in the bunk meant exclusively for flight crew members, during a flight to Newark recently. Air India aircrafts are seen parked on the tarmac of the international airport in Mumbai. (Sattish Bate/HT Photo) The complaint was lodged by KVJ Rao, a union leader and former Air India cabin crew, with the secretary of civil aviation ministry, V Somasundaran. Rao alleged that the daughter of a senior Air India pilot was first allowed to sit on the jump seat - meant for non-operating staff - and then to rest in the bunk meant only for the resting of pilots. The alleged incident happened aboard a 14-hour long flight from Mumbai to Newark on December 13. "For take off, rest and landing she was illegally allowed to sit in the cabin crew horizontal rest area (bunk) by the commander. Immediately after the flight took off, the First Officer of the flight was asked to relax in the vertical seat (jump seat) and denied his horizontal rest in the bunk beds. When the second set of cockpit crew went to rest she was then moved to the cabin crew rest area," Rao said in his complaint. In his complaint, Rao also alleged that a first class passenger was forced to sit in the executive class during a flight from Frankfurt to Delhi so as to accommodate a senior bureaucrat in November. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson refused to comment on the issue, while Somasundaran said denied having any knowledge of such a complaint.

Flysikkerhet i Indonesia - Særdeles tvilsom statistikk

Analyst: 'Indonesia has a poor air safety record'

AirAsia had a flawless safety record before its Flight 8501 went missing. But aviation expert Chris Yates tells DW the same cannot be said about many other Indonesian carriers that are plagued by safety issues.
Two Indonesian air hostess stand next to a Boeing 737-900 plane of the new Indonesian airline Batik Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air is parked at the Soekarno-Hatta airport during the launching ceremony in Tangerang in the outskirt of Jakarta on April 25, 2013

AirAsia's Flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control on early Sunday, December 28, just after the pilots requested a change in course to avoid bad weather. On board the Airbus A320-200, traveling from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore, were 162 people - 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain, plus a French pilot.
Regarded as one of the pioneers of discount air travel in Asia, the Indonesian airline had had no fatal accident since it started flying in 2002. But the same doesn't apply to many other Indonesia-based airlines.

The Aviation Safety Network, an independent initiative which covers accidents and safety issues with regard to airliners, military transport planes and corporate jets, lists more than 50 safety incidents over the past ten years involving carriers in Indonesia, some of which ended fatally.

With the exception of Garuda Airlines, Mandala Airlines (not currently operating), Airfast and Ekspres Transportasi Antarbenua (operating as PremiAir) and Air Asia, all other Indonesian passenger airlines are currently banned from flying in the European Union because of safety concerns.

The US State Department encourages US citizens traveling to and from Indonesia "to fly directly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards for the oversight of their air carrier operations under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program."

UK-based independent aviation expert Chris Yates says in a DW interview that Indonesian airlines have had nine safety incidents in 2014 alone. He adds that although the disappearance of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 is probably linked to bad weather conditions, the incident will certainly put the country's air safety issues back in the spotlight.

DW: What can you tell us about AirAsia's safety record?
Chris Yates: Since its inception in 2001, AirAsia has had a clean bill of health. The airline has had what some would say a meteoric rise to dominance within the markets it serves and entirely without incident until yesterday. Previously, the airline operated a mixed fleet, including the Boeing 737, but nowadays operates only the Airbus A320 series aircraft. It does so because of the economic benefits standardization on a type brings with it.

Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla (L) monitors progress in the search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 during a visit to the National Search and Rescue Agency in Jakarta December 28, 2014 in this picture supplied by Antara Foto



Yates: ' There have been nine incidents this year alone, though fortunately with no casualties'
Would you agree with those who argue that the recent disappearance of the AirAsia jet is only the latest in a series of air incidents for Indonesia?

It's true to say that Indonesia has a very poor safety record. There have been nine incidents this year alone, though fortunately with no casualties. Perhaps the most serious incident of recent times occured in 2007, when an AdamAir Boeing 737 crashed 85 kilometers (53.1 miles) West off Pambauang, claiming the lives of everyone aboard. Some 102 passengers and crew lost their lives.
With the birth of Indonesian AirAsia, it had been hoped that the country had turned a corner in terms of its air safety record, but the recent loss of this Airbus A320 has brought the old questions flooding back.
Do you see any link between the recent AirAsia jet disappearance and the Indonesia's air safety record?
At the moment there is nothing to suggest that these factors are connected in any way. From the abundance of information already in the public domain, it would seem that the loss of the AirAsia airliner may well be down to the weather.

The region within which it was flying is equatorial and therefore subject to dramatic weather conditions. At the time of this incident, cumulus mimbus cloud was measured up to 50,000 feet altitude within which storm formations were throwing out severe gales and torrential rain. The pilot had requested a deviation from his planned track and a climb to higher altitude, although permission was not given due to conflicting traffic. He was presumably attempting to discover smoother air in which to continue the flight to Singapore.

It is my view that weather conditions alone brought this aircraft out of the sky.
Why do Indonesian airlines have such problems with safety?
Issues with safety have many causes including poor maintenance, pilot training, mechanical, and air traffic control among other things. It is human nature to demand answers when a tragedy occurs, but they can only be given once an investigation has taken place.

In the case of Flight QZ8501 we need to find the wreckage, recover the twin black box recorders and throughly analyze them, before we can get to a definitive answer. At the moment we simply cannot rule anything out, but in the end the answer may well lay with the weather.
Do Indonesian airlines face restrictions because of air safety incidents?
Indonesian carriers have faced international restrictions in the past. A no-fly ban was placed on Indonesia by the European Union in 2007 but this was subsequently lifted in 2010 for several airliners since an audit of safety records found significant improvement.

What more can the aviation industry do to improve safety?
An AirAsia Airbus A320 passenger jet lands at Sukarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta in this January 30, 2013 file picture
(Photo: REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni/Files)

Yates: 'It is my view that weather conditions alone brought this aircraft out of the sky'
The loss of Malaysia Airlines MH370 earlier this year threw up a whole bunch of questions related to tracking of aircraft and finally exposed the ACARS communications system relied upon carriers around the world as no longer being fit for purpose. The goal now is to find an alternative solution capable of sending voice and data directly to ground in the event of an airborne emergency.
How can this be achieved?

Numerous companies are working on this task. One such is Wisscom Aerospace Ltd, based in Oxford, England. Its SMARTTRACK & CLOUDBOX products are software solutions which may go someway to filling this void in the communications infrastructure supporting civil aviation. However, any new technology requires a hard-nosed civil aviation sector to buy in.

The tragic loss of the AirAsia flight may well provide the catalyst for some soul searching amongst airline management, and products such as these will find their way into aircraft cabins before too long.

Chris Yates is an independent aviation safety consultant based in the United Kingdom.

Har Asia spesielt farlige flygere?

Taiwan Pilots Couldn't See Runway 21 Seconds Before Crash

Rescue workers and firefighters search through the wreckage where Transasia Airways... Read More
Pilots of a fatal July 23 TransAsia Airways Corp. (6702) flight couldn't find the runway seconds before their aircraft crashed on Taiwan's outlying Penghu islands, killing 48 people, according to an accident report published today.

"Have you seen the runway?" the captain of flight GE222 asked his first officer in Mandarin as their aircraft approached Magong Airport. "No," the first officer responded clearly after nine seconds. The cockpit voice recording ended 12 seconds later, a transcript of the tape shows.

AirAsia - Oppdatering kl 1345 - Søk over land startes

Drivgods funnet og identifisert. Ikke fra det savnede flyet.
Det er veldig rart at det ikke lokaliseres vrakrester. Håper at FDR kan lokaliseres med lytteutstyr.

CNN Video: http://tinyurl.com/mpl9c67

BBC video: http://tinyurl.com/pvqcovh

JAKARTA -  The AirAsia Indonesia plane which went missing en route to Singapore is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief said on Monday, as reports surfaced that the pilot had requested to fly at a higher altitude because of bad weather but was turned down as there was another plane flying at that height.

Monday, Dec 29, 2014Monday, Dec 29, 2014

AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 missing

Search operation to expand to land: Indonesia authorities

UAV - Noe for Posten

French Post Tests Drone Deliveries

The French post office has launched a programme to use drones to deliver parcels in all weathers up to 12 miles away.La Poste, as France’s public postal service is called, said a series of test flights over the past three months by its subsidiary, Express Internationale GeoPost, has been a success.

The tests, conducted in collaboration with the company Atechsys at La Poste’s special test site in the Var, southern France, used a six-propeller drone able to carry loads of up to 16 inches by 12 inches by eight inches in size and weighing up to nine pounds in all weathers and terrains within a 12-mile radius.

The idea is to be able to fly the drones in remote areas or places difficult to reach by car – up very steep roads, down hillsides and areas with few roads and over water.

“We now know that we can reach isolated zones very rapidly,” said GeoPost. “It’s very interesting, notably for urgent medical needs or blood deliveries,” it said.

“The take-off phases of flight, landing and return were all automated … This test validates the approach and opens new perspectives that we could develop in the future,” the company said.

“Even if it suffers engine or electrical failure, this drone is still able to keep going whatever the weather and return to its point of departure,” Moustafa Kasbari, from Atechys told Le Parisien.

So far, successful autonomous test flights have only been conducted using a five-pound package at a range of 1,300 yards, with the drone returning to base.

These are carried out in Pourrières, Europe’s biggest civilian drone test flight site spanning more than 160 acres and catering for drones weighing up to 330 pounds.

La Poste is not the only group interested in using drones to transport goods. In September, DHL, the logistics company owned by Deutsche Poste delivered medical supplies via a “parcelcopter” to the island of Juist, 7.5 miles off Germany’s northern coast. DHL said this was the first time an unmanned aircraft had been authorised to deliver goods in Europe. It plans to run a regular service.

Amazon, Google and Facebook have all shown an interest in developing services using drones, but have come up against America’s stringent air traffic rules.

In France, drones are banned from being flown over built up areas unless the pilot is less than 100m from the device and the drone is visible. However, there is more leeway for such deliveries in remote, unpopulated areas.

The French were appalled last month when unidentified individuals flew drones over a string of nuclear power plants without being caught.

For now, La Poste said its drone project was still in an “exploratory”, if promising phase.

Norwegian - ABC Nyheter

Dersom kritikken går inn på deg, så gjør en jo noe med det. Det gjør ikke Kjos. Det bør han ta inn over seg. Les innlegg på bloggen den 25.12. hvor en amerikansk flyger beskriver forholdene i selskapet. En annen lærdom fra andre, er at en aldri bestiller A-utgaven av et nytt fly, altså den første versjonen av B787. Maskinen må gå seg til noen år og vent helst på B-utgaven.

ENGASJERER: – Jeg blir stadig vekk stoppet av folk, ofte gir de råd og deler gode erfaringer. Jeg har omtrent til gode å få kjeft. Det synes jeg er artig, det viser at det vi driver med betyr noe for folk, sier Bjørn Kjos. 

– 2014 har vært helt annerledes enn vi så for oss

Året har vært mer turbulent for Norwegian enn Bjørn Kjos hadde håpet. – Kritikken går inn på deg, sier toppsjefen som fortsatt snakker varmt om problemflyet Dreamliner.

Tekst: 

• Leni Aurora Brækhus / ABC Nyheter

Søndag 28.12.2014, kl. 18:33

Skriv ut10

– 2014 har vært helt annerledes enn vi så for oss ved inngangen av året, sier Bjørn Kjos.

Det er under en helt spesiell Norwegian-flyvning,tur/retur Bangui i Den sentralafrikanske republikk, for å levere livsviktig nødhjelp, ABC Nyheter ber Kjos se tilbake på året som nærmer seg slutten.

Godt tilbakelent i vindusetet på første rad, i en av selskapets Boeing 737-800, forteller mannen som leder verdens syvende største lavprisflyselskap om et år fylt av både oppturer og nedturer for Norwegian. Og dermed også for ham personlig.

– Vi har hatt flere tekniske problemer med Dreamlinerne våre enn vi kunne forutsett, og innleie av fly har kostet oss enormt. Konkurrenter og fagforeninger har motarbeidet USA-planene våre. Så det er mange ting som helt uforutsett, har dukket opp som hindre på veien i 2014, fortsetter Kjos.