søndag 30. april 2017

Helicopter lost at sea - USN crew rescued - CNN

US Navy destroyer loses helicopter in mid-flight crash

By Zachary Cohen, CNN

Updated 0331 GMT (1131 HKT) April 28, 2017

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Story highlights

A medical team reported no apparent injuries
The incident occurred during "routine flight operations"

Washington (CNN)A US destroyer rescued two pilots and a crewman Wednesday after their Navy helicopter crashed in the waters near Guam, according to the service.

A medical team aboard the USS Dewey examined the helicopter crew and reported no apparent injuries.

The incident occurred as the MH-60R Sea Hawk was performing "routine flight operations," with the cause of the crash currently under investigation, the Navy said in a press release.

Cuba crash update - 8 killed in this military accident - The Guardian

A Cuban military plane crashed into a hillside on Saturday morning in the western province of Artemisa, killing eight troops on board, the government said.

In a written statement, the ministry of the revolutionary armed forces said the Soviet-made, twin-engined turboprop Antonov AN-26 took off from the Playa Baracoa airport outside Havana at 6.38am and crashed into a hillside outside the town of Candelaria about 40 miles away.

“The eight military personnel on board, including the crew, died,” the statement published by state-run media said. “A commission … is investigating the causes of the accident.”

Officials did not immediately release any further information.

The majority of planes flown in Cuba were produced in the Soviet Union. Antonov produced the AN-26 planes in Kiev between 1969 and 1986.

The last major plane crash in Cuba was an Aero Caribbean flight that went down in flames in 2010, killing all 68 people aboard. That plane was a European-manufactured ATR-72-212.

lørdag 29. april 2017

Cuba havariet - Online News

Passenger plane crashes in Cuba 'killing all 39 people on board'

Antonov An-26 aircraft came down near the western province of Pinar Del Rio
The crash reportedly killed all 39 people on board the AeroGaviota flight
Area 'difficult to access by land' meaning rescuers are struggling to reach scene

By Scott Campbell For Mailonline

Published: 20:02 BST, 29 April 2017 | Updated: 20:41 BST, 29 April 2017

A passenger plane has crashed in Cuba reportedly killing all 39 people on board.

The Antonov An-26 aircraft owned by Cuban airline AeroGaviota came down near the western province of Pinar Del Rio just 50 miles from the capital Havana.

The area where the plane came down is known as Las Lomas de San Cristóbal that is 'difficult to access by land'.

Local media reports suggest that everyone on board has died in the crash although officials are yet to confirm the number of fatalities.

The plane that crashed was an Antonov An-26 aircraft owned by Cuban airline AeroGaviota, similar to this one (stock photo)

The turboprop plane is thought to have taken off from the country's Baracoa Airport which regularly offers domestic flights.

A Cuban aviation source said: 'The area is difficult to access by land, and the preliminary report is that there are no survivors.

'Even though it's nothing official, members of a commission came to my house to let me know what happened.'

Runway excursion Keflavik - ASN twitter

‏Verifisert konto @AviationSafety

Serious incident: Boeing 737-800 runway excursion, Keflavik, Iceland https://news.aviation-safety.net/2017/04/29/serious-incident-boeing-737-800-runway-excursion-keflavik-iceland/ …

Fly forsvant over Cuba - Mer kommer

Passasjerfly forsvant fra radaren over Cuba

Et passasjerfly med 39 personer ombord har forsvunnet fra radaren over Cuba, skriver flere lokale medier.

Det dreier seg ifølge avisa El Horizonte om et fly av typen Antonov-26 fra det cubanske flyselskapet Aerograviota.

Helicopter - The EC225 accident in Norway one year ago today - Ground the type in Europe

I have read the one year Intermediate report from the Norwegian AIBN. It seems to me to be clear that EASA may have been misled by Airbus Helicopters. Ref. paras 2.5.7 and 2.5.8 in the report. EASA have seemingly been under some sort of pressure from AH to lift the grounding. They should read the report and reverse their decision to lift the grounding of the type. Put them on ground ASAP.

Up to this point, EASA has elected to downplay the role, capacity- and expertise of the Norwegian AIBN. They should have known better.

Head of Rotorcraft, Massimo Mazzoletti, referred the reporter to EASA`s Public Affairs Department. This clearly indicates that legal issues and the possibility of loss of face are in play. And that in the most prestigious and important aviation safety organisation in Europe.

Furthermore, it will be detrimental to flight safety in Norway if the new HOFO rules for offshore helicopter operations are to be implemeted here. These rules are generally based on UK CAA`s own, a country far inferiour to ours in helicopter flight safety, according to SINTEF statistics.

Norwegian - Kjent luftfartsbloggers erfaring - ATW

Flying long haul with Norwegian

Apr 19, 2017by Victoria Moores in Need I say Moores

RSS

Norwegian’s long-haul expansion has made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic, but is the product any good? The simple answer is yes, but.

After writing about the politics of the Norwegian long-haul debate, I finally got to experience their long-haul product first hand. The flight was booked as a normal fare-paying passenger; this wasn’t a press trip.

Norwegian wasn’t the only option for my London-New York trip, but they had the best fare at £334.30 ($422.92), which drew me in. By the time I got my payment card out, £100 in ancillaries had been added to the bill (one checked bag, allocated seating and an inflight meal on each leg).

I rarely buy add-ons and wouldn’t have chosen all these services, but they were cheaper bundled (£50 each way) and I wasn’t sure if my cabin bag would fit the weight restrictions. Frankly, I was impressed they’d got me to part with my money. The £434.30 fare was still more than competitive and the booking process was simple, clean and clear. I received text message updates throughout my trip.

The only downside of my outbound flight was the lack of an online check-in option. This may have been user error, but I travel a fair bit and it wasn’t obvious. At Gatwick, I used self-service check-in, which was quick and easy. The same wasn’t true for my return from JFK, where I used a kiosk and went to security, where I was told I needed a hand luggage approval stamp on my boarding card. If there is a process that needs to be followed, it helps if you tell the passenger in advance.

I returned to check in (at JFK) and joined a huge queue. When I got to the desk, I was told extremely bluntly that my cabin bag was too heavy and had to go in the hold. This was not at all unexpected (I'd anticipated it when I booked), but the abruptness was absolutely unnecessary. The check in experience definitely needs work.

Back to my outbound flight and, at Gatwick, the boarding process was smooth and tightly managed. Once onboard, Norwegian did something I’ve not experienced with any other airline; they promoted their aircraft. The main automated briefing explained the benefits of the 787 in simple, passenger-friendly terms – including its cabin altitude, the “sunglasses mode” dimmable windows and even where the toilets are located. Passengers are unlikely to know the benefits of a new aircraft unless you tell them. Nicely done.

They also ran through how the product works. When you change the script, people feel uncomfortable, so teaching them what to expect is helpful. Any onboard purchases – including paid blankets and headphones (see photo) - are made through the inflight entertainment (IFE) system. They encourage you to use the system as though you’re ordering cinema refreshments to be delivered to your seat. It’s very slick; passengers just swipe their payment card once to pay for any extras. This is clever marketing. If you have to physically pay every time, you will spend less.

Norwegian made a name for itself by being pretty much the only European low-cost carrier to offer free WiFi on its short-haul flights, so the lack of WiFi on long-haul was a bit surprising. I typically don’t use IFE, but I did on this flight (using my own headphones) and it worked well.

I pre-ordered food when I booked my flight and the experience was just like a regular long-haul flight, with a drinks trolley service and two meals delivered at the normal times. The crew were friendly and approachable.

I couldn’t fault the service I had up until this point, but the extremely high standard set by the outbound flight made the return very disappointing. Three days before my departure from New York, I was told that the return flight would be operated by an A330 from Spanish wet-lease operator Wamos Air. Wamos who? None of the ATW team had ever heard of this airline, although I knew their predecessor brand, Air Pullmantur.

To be fair on Norwegian, I was given fair warning and the option of free rebooking or a refund. “The inflight entertainment is limited,” they said, and I was sent a text message giving me a link to download some content. By limited, they meant none (pictured here on the left). Not only no seatback screens, but no central screens, airline-supplied portable devices, or anything at all, not even a headphone jack. I haven’t had that on a long-haul flight since the 1980s.

The Wamos flight was lacking in terms of basic inflight comfort too. It was an overnight flight, but there weren’t even blankets or pillows. Paid or unpaid, it wasn’t an option in economy. These absolute basics were only available for business passengers. Meanwhile, meals were served to everyone, whether you’d paid or not. Wamos Air is simply not equipped to replicate Norwegian’s buy onboard model.

Norwegian has had the Wamos Air A330 on wet lease since March 31, covering London-New York for a 787 which is undergoing repairs and won’t be back in service until April 24. A Norwegian spokesperson said the airline wanted to offer passengers an option to fly, rather than cancelling the service outright. The airline apologised for the change and accepted that it may not meet customer expectations.

I was very satisfied with my booking experience, the outbound flight in its entirety and the level of communication from Norwegian. The return was disappointing – and would have been worse on a non-night flight – but this wasn’t Norwegian’s normal product.

I would fly with Norwegian on long-haul again without hesitation and would even re-route to use them, within reason. They’ve set the bar high for their more expensive rivals, who are right to be worried about this relative newcomer’s expansion. Forget about politics, let the market decide.

Helikoptre - Nye typer

Mange fagforbund kikker på nye helikoptertyper for offshore transport som supplement til S-92A. Valgmulighetene er der, men vi snakker da om mindre helikoptertyper enn EC225. Bell 525 er ikke sertifisert enda. En maskin er lite omtalt, nemlig AW101. Den er sivilt sertifisert i Japan, men må igjennom EASA for å få den sertifisert her. Kostnadene for denne prosessen må bæres av oljeindustrien. Dette er et åpenbart riktig valg, men ingen snakker om den. Jeg var på Farnborough i 1992 og ble imponert. Nå står Heliliner på RAF museet i i Hendon, London. Her er den, sivilt sertifisert av CAA:

Foto: Per Gram

To personer i cockpit - Lufthansa og Swiss går tilbake til en -. AW&ST

SWISS, Austrian and Lufthansa abolish two-persons-in-the-cockpit rule

Apr 28, 2017Kurt Hofmann

SWISS Bombardier CS100 cockpit

Kurt Hofmann

Lufthansa Group subsidiaries Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa will abolish a rule requiring two people in the cockpit, effective May 1.

The carriers will revert to previous cockpit access provisions, plus a number of additional safety and security measures. Austrian Airlines spokesperson Peter Thier told ATW that Austrian will “revert to the previous cockpit access provisions on our Airbus, Boeing and Embraer fleet. The only exclusion is our [Bombardier] Dash 8 Q400 fleet,” he said.

The Lufthansa Group introduced the two-persons-in-the-cockpit rule as a precautionary measure after a Germanwings Airbus A320—en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf—was deliberately flown into the French Alps March 24, 2015, killing all 150 people aboard. Investigations revealed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, alone on the flight deck, switched the selected altitude from 38,000 ft. to 100 ft.—the minimum value possible on an Airbus A320—and increased the speed of the aircraft, setting in motion an intentional fatal descent into the French Alps.

In March 2015, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a temporary recommendation, proposing that two crew members, including at least one qualified pilot, should occupy the cockpit during flight. This was not a requirement.

EASA revised its recommendation in summer 2016, offering airlines the option of abolishing this “two-persons-in-the-cockpit” rule, provided they met the relevant further criteria.

According to SWISS, the action to abolish the rule follows an extensive safety and security review, which concluded the rule does not enhance flight safety, and actually introduces additional risks to daily operations. The decision has been coordinated with similar risk assessments by its Lufthansa Group airlines partner.

SWISS, Austrian and Lufthansa said they meet all the requirements required by EASA of any airline seeking to abolish the rule, which include:

Ensuring suitable selection criteria and procedures to assess the psychological and safety-relevant demands made on pilots;
Ensuring stable employment terms and conditions for cockpit personnel;
Giving pilots (easy) access to any psychological or other support programs they may need; and
Demonstrating an ability as a company to minimize the psychological and social risks to which pilots are exposed, such as loss of license.

SWISS said its decision to abolish the two-persons-in-the-cockpit rule is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation.

fredag 28. april 2017

Helikopterulykken ved Turøy - Oppdatert foreløpig rapport

Nyhetsvarsling fra Statens havarikommisjon for transport:

Et år siden helikopterulykken ved Turøy: Ny foreløpig rapport

Det har gått et år siden helikopterulykken ved Turøy 29. april 2016. Havarikommisjonen publiserer nå en ny foreløpig rapport.
Les hele artikkelen

Den foreløpige rapporten ligger på siden for den pågående undersøkelsen.

Norwegian i Dagens Næringsliv i dag

For en HR-direktør må Bjørn Kjos være konsernsjefen fra helvete. Foto: Gunnar Blöndal

I vanlige selskaper skal HR-sjefen sørge for at de ansatte blir. I Norwegian er det HR-sjefen som går – etter bare åtte måneder!

For en HR-sjef må Norwegian være selskapet fra helvete. La oss innse det, selskapet er en familiebedrift og Bjørn Kjos er patriarken.

Vueling starter opp over Atlanteren - Vueling

Du kan fly for litt over kr. 2 000,- fra Bergen og Oslo via Barcelona til LAX og SFO. For litt mer til Buenos Aires.

A Low Cost Carrier trying to stop another - Norwegian - AVweb

Southwest Pilots Push Flag of Convenience Law

By Geoff Rapoport

Four members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have introduced a bill to prevent foreign air carriers who are operating under a flag of convenience from receiving a Foreign Carrier Permit to operate in the United States. The bill has strong backing from the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA): “We look forward to competing in the international marketplace but will not stand by and watch foreign competitors decimate our industry through flags of convenience schemes or unfair government subsidies.” Representatives Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) are the bill’s initial sponsors.
Flags of convenience is a legal technique that relies on registration of a business or asset in a country with a more favorable tax or regulatory climate than some other more “true” home country of the business. Flags of convenience have become a major issue for U.S. airlines and their pilots’ unions since Norwegian Air International (NAI) established a subsidiary in the Ireland to take advantage of that country’s tax and labor laws while flying trans-Atlantic routes to the United States. NAI has received much support from airport authorities and local governments who hope to benefit from increased travel to their airports and communities. Under current law, the Department of Transportation found they had no authority to deny NAI’s request for a Foreign Carrier Permit. The Department of Transportation in its final ruling on NAI’s application said, “Regardless of our appreciation of the public policy arguments raised by opponents, we have been advised that the law and our bilateral obligations leave us no avenue to reject this application.” SWAPA hopes this bill will change that.
Photo: Creative Commons Attribution, Steve Bates

Flash Gordon without legislation - Uber - AW&ST

Uber Plans 2020 VTOL Air Taxi Launch In Dallas And Dubai

Apr 25, 2017Graham Warwick | Aviation Daily

Aurora Flight Sciences

Ride-hailing giant Uber planes to launch in-demand electric vertical-takeoffand-landing (e-VTOL) air-taxi service in Dallas and Dubai in 2020, and has selected partners for development of the technology and infrastructure.

Uber has partnered with Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Helicopter, Embraer, Mooney and Slovenia’s Pipistrel Aircraft. The companies are working in concepts and technologies for electric VTOL aircraft, Jeff Holden, Uber’s chief product officer, said.

Aurora has already flown a quarter-scale model of its concept, using elements of the electric propulsion system flown in the subscale demonstrator for DARPA’s XV-24A LightningStrike high-speed VTOL aircraft.

The concept developed for Uber is a two-seat multirotor aircraft weighing around 1,500 lb., CEO John Langford said. The winged vehicle has eight rotors for VTOL, and a pusher propeller for forward flight up to 200 kph (124 mph). The aircraft uses autonomous flight guidance technology from Aurora’s Centaur optionally piloted aircraft, and the perception and collision avoidance system developed under the U.S. Office Of Naval Research’s AACUS program.

Holden said UberAIR operations will begin with piloted aircraft, but move over time to optionally piloted and eventually fully autonomous flights. Uber’s initial goal is for flying in its e-VTOL aircraft to be twice as safe as driving a car, he said.

Bell is designing a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft initially, and teased a concept with multiple tilting ducted fans April 25 at the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas. Embraer will bring experience supporting large aircraft fleets, Holden said. The Brazilian manufacturer is interested in designing, operating and maintaining e-VTOL aircraft, and also in air traffic control, said CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva. The initial project will be conducted by Embraer’s new Business Innovation Center in Melbourne, Florida

Pipistrel, already a leading manufacturer of electric fixed-wing light aircraft, will develop e-VTOL vehicles to be used in a flight demonstration in 2020, said CEO Ivo Biscarol. Mooney has experience with rapid prototyping of composite light aircraft.

Uber has also teamed with the cities of Dallas and Dubai to launch its UberAIR service. In Dallas, the company has partnered with property developer Hillwood, led by Ross Perot Jr., to develop vertiports. An initial four sites have been selected, said Holden, including the new Frisco Station development in north Dallas.

Frisco Station is adjacent to the new Dallas Cowboys team headquarters, and this is expected to provide the initial customer base, Perot said. A 21-mi. UberAIR flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Frisco Station will take 6 min. versus 1 hr. 10 min. for the UberX private-car service, at a similar price of about $1.32 per passenger-mile, Holden said.

Perot said vertiports are then planned at the American Airlines Center arena in Dallas, the existing heliport at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, and another in downtown Fort Worth. Hillwood also owns Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which Perot said could be a manufacturing and training center to support UberAIR.

Uber has also partnered with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority to jointly study pricing models, VTOL routes, network optimization and identify vertiport locations, with the goal of launching demonstration flights in conjunction with the World Expo in 2020. Perot said. Hillwood operates in Dubai and is looking at developing vertiports there.

Another partner announced by Uber is Chargepoint, which operates the largest electric-vehicle charging network. Holden said Chargepoint will develop a special charger that will enable rapid turnaround of the e-VTOL aircraft, and utilization needed to meet the long-term goal of costs per passenger-mile lower that car ownership.

Norwegians underskudd bekymrer - NRK

Publisert i går, kl. 15:48

Det er det største underskuddet selskapet har hatt i et kvartal.

LES OGSÅ: Norwegian fikk et underskudd på 1,5 milliarder

Professor og flyanalytiker Frode Steen ved Norges Handelshøyskole, NHH, peker på at første kvartal normalt er svakt for alle flyselskap.

Tjener ikke veldig mye nå

– Det hadde allerede kommet antydninger om at resultatet ikke kom til å bli like bra som man har håpet. Men det er viktig å se framover, sier Steen.
Norwegian bygger opp mange nye ruter, og da må flyselskapet ha likviditet.
– Nye ruter koster til å begynne med, og etter hvert skal man begynne å tjene penger. Da er det viktig at man har likviditet til å bære kostnaden. Og det er bekymringen, at Norwegian ikke ser ut til å tjene veldig mye penger akkurat nå, sier Steen til NRK.

Deler bekymringen

Professor i internasjonal ledelse ved Handelshøyskolen BI, Eli Moen, deler bekymringen, spesielt i lys av at selskapet taper penger selv når det er betydelig vekst i antall passasjerer.

Professoren trekker fram at det i luftfarten lenge har vært en idé om at lavprismodellen ikke egner seg på langdistanse. Det endelige svaret på om det faktisk lar seg gjøre å tjene penger på langdistanse, har ennå ikke kommet.
– Jeg har lagt merke til at veldig mange aksjemeglere den siste tiden har vendt tommelen ned for Norwegian-aksjen. Det er bekymringsfulle signaler, sier Moen.

Solid passasjervekst

Selskapet kan i første kvartal vise til en solid passasjervekst på 14 prosent til 6,7 millioner.
Men populariteten er altså ikke er nok til å tjene penger. Tøff konkurranse fører til at både Norwegian og SAS taper penger fordi de må tilby billige billetter.

LES OGSÅ: Flere reiser med SAS – men underskuddet ble fordoblet

Norwegians kommunikasjonssjef Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen forklarer underskuddet med høyere drivstoffkostnader og en sterkere krone. I tillegg påvirkes tallene av at påsken ikke var i første kvartal, slik den var i fjor.
– Det er viktig å understreke at kontantbeholdningen vår øker og både gjeld og enhetskostnader reduseres, sier Sandaker-Nielsen.
Norwegian skal altså vokse kraftig i år. I løpet av året skal de ha fått inn 32 nye fly, øke antall ruter og ansatte 2.000 til utover de rundt 5.000 som er ansatt per i dag.
Toppledelsen i selskapet har selv påpekt at denne voldsomme veksten vil gjøre det vanskelig å få ned kostnadene ytterligere, fordi opptrening av mannskap og veksten koster penger.

– Norwegian har kontroll

Analytiker Hans-Erik Jacobsen i Swedbank er enig i at selve resultatet ikke er godt nok. Men han er ikke bekymret for om Norwegian har råd til de nye flyene.

– Flyene kan finansieres ved å selge gamle fly, ved å ta opp lån og ved å bruke pengene som vi forventer Norwegian vil tjene. Vår vurdering er at det er uproblematisk, sier Swedbank-analytikeren.
– Men det er veldig krevende å vokse så mye som Norwegian gjør nå i 2017 og 2018. På den andre siden har selskapet holdt på med dette i mange år og Norwegian har god kontroll, sier Jacobsen

torsdag 27. april 2017

Norwegian ønsker å gå nye veier for å kunne fly over Russland - DN

SAS-kaptein Per-Arne Svanström (til venstre) og styrmann Ebbe Winter flyr jevnlig med selskapets Airbus A340 fra København til Kina. Enn så lenge har SAS enerett til å fly fra Norge over Sibir mot Asia, og selskapet advarer mot en hard linje mot Russland. Foto: Per Ståle Bugjerde les mer

SAS advarer Kjos mot luftfarts-«brexit»

Norwegian-sjef Bjørn Kjos krever at regjeringen bryter en skandinavisk flyavtale med Russland, og lager en norsk avtale. SAS mener Kjos risikerer å sette all trafikk til Asia på spill.

Helicopter service from Manhattan to JFK - Not exactly a new idea - Remember PanAM - AIN

Delta Teams with Blade on Manhattan-JFK Helo Flights

Delta Air Lines and Blade, the on-demand and scheduled helicopter taxi service, announced a newly coordinated “Bounce” service this morning. It will create seamless passenger transfers between New York City’s three commercial heliports in Manhattan to Delta flights departing from JFK International Airport. Upon the helicopter's touchdown at JFK after the five-minute flight, a member of Delta’s Elite Services team will welcome the customer, collect baggage and personally escort them via ground transportation to the departure terminal, expediting security clearance as they head to their departing aircraft.

When it’s time for the airline flight, customers are escorted to their seats. “We’re proud to be the only airline facilitating an on-demand helicopter transfer that is curated specifically for Delta customers,” said Delta senior vice president Tim Mapes.

Blade’s “Bounce” on-demand service to JFK starts at $695 for the whole helicopter (typically an AStar) and $195 for per-seat scheduled service. Per-seat passengers are allowed one small carry-on bag weighing no more than 25 pounds. Larger luggage, including golf clubs, is allowed on whole aircraft charter flights, however. Blade Bounce also serves La Guardia, Teterboro and Newark Airports.

Helicopters - Airbus update - AIN

Deliveries, Orders Surge at Airbus Helicopters

Deliveries and new orders surged at Airbus Helicopters during the first quarter, but the OEM still managed to post a loss for the quarter, according to financial reports released today by parent company Airbus. Revenues at the helicopter division were up 11 percent, to €1.291 billion ($1.41 billion) from €1.158 billion ($1.26 billion) in the year-ago period.

However, comparable earnings dropped from €33 million ($36 million) in first-quarter 2016 to a €2 million ($2.18 million) loss in the first three months of this year. Airbus attributed the helicopter unit’s earnings slide to “an unfavorable mix and lower commercial flight hours in services, as well as impacts associated with the partial H225 grounding.”

Overall first-quarter helicopter orders at the company climbed 41 percent year-over-year, to €1.417 billion ($1.55 billion), while the overall order book for helicopters rose a modest 1 percent from the end of last year, to €11.392 billion ($12.43 billion)

Civil helicopter deliveries increased to 78 in the quarter, up from 56 in the same period last year. While net helicopter orders increased by nine aircraft year-over-year, to 60, book-to-bill was still below 1:1 in the quarter. Orders in the first quarter included 10 for members of the Super Puma family and 14 for H145 twins.

Swiss` en-motors landing i Iqaluit med en B777-300ER midtvinters - Historien - AW&ST bilder

How Swiss Repaired A Boeing 777-300ER In Arctic Conditions

Apr 27, 2017

Jens Flottau | Aviation Week & Space Technology

COMMENTS 2

Next

Prev
- Share Image
- fullscreen
1 of 8

Grounded in Iqaluit, Canada, after the failure of the No. 1 engine, a General Electric GE90-115, a Swiss Boeing 777-300ER diverted to the alternate airport on Feb. 1 en route from Zurich to Los Angeles. Passengers and crew were picked up by a Swiss Airbus A330-300 (background).

Photo:

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines built up a fleet of eight Boeing 777-300ERs in 2016 to operate its densest long-haul routes. While the introduction has generally been smooth, Flight LX40 on Feb. 1, 2017, turned out to be a true test for crisis management. The aircraft was en route from Zurich to Los Angeles when one of the engines automatically shut down. Not knowing the root cause, the crew decided to divert to the nearest airport—in Iqaluit on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada—triggering an immense logistical effort to fly out passengers and crew in a replacement aircraft and repair the 777 on-site in harsh conditions.

Read more about this operation disruption: Swiss 777 Repair In Iqaluit Shows Plans Are Important, But So Is Luck