Bryan Pearce, Author at AIRLIVE https://airlive.net/author/bryan-pearce/ Aviation news network Fri, 08 Nov 2024 07:46:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://airlive.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-Logo-carre-32px-32x32.png Bryan Pearce, Author at AIRLIVE https://airlive.net/author/bryan-pearce/ 32 32 Chaotic Day at Sydney: computer system outage, grass fire and engine failure of Qantas flight https://airlive.net/news/2024/11/08/chaotic-day-at-sydney-computer-system-outage-grass-fire-and-engine-failure-of-qantas-flight/ Fri, 08 Nov 2024 07:46:44 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=111979 Friday 8 November has been an eventful day for Sydney Airport. Australian Border Force (ABF) has been suffering from a computer system outage. There has also been a grass fire at Sydney Airport and a Qantas domestic flight returned to Sydney after an engine failure. The ABF SmartGate outage lasted for 2 hours causing delays […]

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Friday 8 November has been an eventful day for Sydney Airport.

Australian Border Force (ABF) has been suffering from a computer system outage. There has also been a grass fire at Sydney Airport and a Qantas domestic flight returned to Sydney after an engine failure.

The ABF SmartGate outage lasted for 2 hours causing delays in arrivals and departures, with Sydney and Melbourne airports the worst affected. During the outage extra ABF officers were “surged” to manually process passengers between 10am and noon. The cause of the outage is still under investigation. ABF said no flights were impacted.

Local reports state that QF520, a flight from Sydney to Brisbane, was mid take off when passengers heard a loud bang. The plane ended up “circling” over Botany Bay before landing safely with 174 passengers on board.

Around the same time a grass fire started near Sydney’s 3rd runway. Both ARFF and Fire and Rescue New South Wales Fire (FRNSW) attended the fire. It’s not yet known whether the engine failure and fire are related. All flights in and out of Sydney were halted as a result of the fire.

Earlier today a Brisbane-bound flight made an emergency-return to Sydney Airport, landing safely just after 1pm This departure of aircraft coincided with a grass fire along the eastern side of the airport’s parallel runway, which was brought under control by teams from the Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service. It’s not clear at this stage if the two incidents are linked and investigations are continuing. With the safe arrival of the aircraft, Sydney Airport’s priority is to conduct a full inspection of its parallel runway and to return it to service as quickly as possible

Sydney Airport spokesperson

One of our flights to Brisbane experienced a suspected engine failure after take-off from Sydney Airport this afternoon. After circling for a short period of time, the aircraft landed safely at Sydney Airport. Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted. We understand this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we will be contacting all customers this afternoon to provide support. We will also be conducting an investigation into what caused the engine issue

Qantas Chief pilot Richard Tobiano

FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry told local media, “We’ve got a number of fire trucks on scene working to contain or extinguish a grass fire, a pretty large grass fire adjacent to the third runway. Fortunately due to the layout it is contained, it’s not going to go anywhere. But we do need to get this fire out so the airport can resume its operations again.”

A Sydney Airport spokesperson said “Sydney Airport’s main runway is operational, however, passengers should expect some delays and we thank everyone for their patience.”

In a further update, Qantas has confirmed the engine had an contained failure.

Qantas engineers have conducted a preliminary inspection of the engine and confirmed it was a contained engine failure. While customers would have heard a loud bang, there was not an explosion

Qantas spokesperson

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Unauthorised helicopter flight crashes into Australian hotel https://airlive.net/news/2024/08/12/unauthorised-helicopter-flight-crashes-into-australian-hotel/ Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:38:21 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=110315 The DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Cairns, Queensland has been evacuated after a helicopter crashed into the roof at 1:50am local time. The crash of the R44 helicopter resulted in a fire on top of the hotel and the ground.

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The DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Cairns, Queensland has been evacuated after a helicopter crashed into the roof at 1:50am local time.

The crash of the R44 helicopter resulted in a fire on top of the hotel and the ground. The pilot died in the crash. At the time of writing the pilot still hasn’t been publicly identified.

Nautilus Aviation, the owner of the helicopter said that the flight was “unauthorised.”

As a result of the crash the Queensland Police Service (QPS) triggered the Public Safety Preservation Act, with an exclusion zone set up encompassing the city’s Esplanade and Minnie, Aplin and Grafton streets.

Of the 300-400 hotel guests evacuated, 2 were taken to Cairns hospital. They were a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s. They have since been discharged.

One of the rotor blades landed on the Esplanade and another landed at the bottom of the hotel pool.

In a statement nautilus Aviation said. “Nautilus Aviation are working closely with Queensland Police, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other authorities as they investigate the unauthorised use of one of our helicopters in the early hours of this morning. As we continue to fully support the ongoing investigation, we will not be making further comments at this time.”

Hilton Cairns and DoubleTree by Hilton Cairns cluster general manager Scott Wilson said, “We can confirm that all guests and team members have been safely evacuated from the premises, and we are actively arranging alternative accommodations for these guests for this evening – 12th August.”

It is unknown whether the pilot had a licence and if the crash was accidental or deliberate. The area of the crash has a permanent low flying exclusion zone. The emergency helicopter is exempt from the exclusion zone.

QPS says there is no ongoing threat to the public, while Cairns Airport said there was no breach of security. Both QPS and the Australian Transport Safety Board are investigating the incident. A report is being prepared for the coroner.

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Australia’s 3rd largest airline grounds 737 fleet and enters administration https://airlive.net/news/2024/07/30/australias-3rd-largest-airline-grounds-737-fleet-and-enters-administration/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:02:05 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=110132 Australia's 3rd largest airline, Rex, has entered into voluntary administration. As a result Rex's entire 737 fleet has been grounded.

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Australia’s 3rd largest airline, Rex, has entered into voluntary administration. As a result Rex’s entire 737 fleet has been grounded.

The airline used 737’s to fly between Australia’s capital cities, while using Saab340 aircraft for regional operations. Rex has entered into an agreement for Virgin Australia to honour Rex’s cancelled prepaid tickets at no additional cost. The administrators are also looking at the possibility of Virgin selling Rex’s regional services through codeshare or interline agreement.

Speculation had been swirling around the airline after it entered a trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange. This followed reports on the weekend that the company was looking at bringing in a turn around team from Deloitte. Earlier today reports were circulating that the airline would enter administration with EY being appointed as the administrators.

Some media reports indicated that some Rex staff were locked out of their hotels and staff Uber accounts due to unpaid bills.

Regional Express began in 2002 in the aftermath of Ansett’s collapse. Former Ansett subsidiaries Hazelton and Kendall were bought and merged to create Regional Express. Regional Express was later rebranded as Rex. The company only operated regional flights before they entered the inter-capital city market in 2021.

Earlier in the day Australia’s Transport Minister, Catherine King said the department had been having discussions with the airline. The minister told local media,

We’ll wait for Rex to make an announcement … but can I say very, very clearly, the government is in no doubt about the importance of regional aviation and Rex to regional aviation. We will work with Rex, we want to make sure that they have a future as part of aviation in this country, and we’re very determined to make sure that happens. We obviously don’t want to do that at any cost, we want to be involved very closely in what that future might look like.

There has been tension inside the board of the airline with former Executive Chair Lim Kim Hai being forced out in June. Lim is the airline’s biggest shareholder and has been pushing for his replacement, former Transport Minister John Sharp and three other directors to be removed from the board with a planned special shareholders meeting.

Rex holds a 5% share of Australia’s airline market. The administration comes after Bonza collapsed earlier this year.

Full information from rex can be found on it’s website: rex.com.au/AboutRex/OurCompany/DomesticFlightUpdates.aspx

Virgin itself entered administration in 2020, was sold and is now profitable.

Statement from Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka
This is a difficult moment for Australian aviation with Rex entering voluntary administration and announcing the immediate suspension of its 737 jet operations. It is also a reminder of the challenging nature of our industry.

Our team is now moving quickly to support Rex’s customers and people.

Impacted Rex customers will be supported with rebooking on an equivalent Virgin Australia service free of charge. Customers will need to contact Virgin Australia before 14 August 2024 to take up this offer.

Rex customers with imminent travel in the next 48 hours should contact the Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89. Those travelling outside 48 hours should visit the Virgin Australia website to complete a rebooking form.

Virgin Australia is also offering support to Rex employees who may be impacted by today’s announcement. People whose employment has been affected should visit the expression of interest form on our website to apply for open positions.

Recognising the importance for regional Australians to have access to a comprehensive domestic and international network, Virgin Australia also intends to partner with Rex’s regional business to enable seamless access to Virgin Australia’s domestic and international destinations through potential codeshare or interline arrangements in the future.

The team at Virgin Australia are thinking about everyone at Rex today, an airline with a proud and important role in Australian aviation, particularly for regional Australia.

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Adelaide Airport evacuated due to security breach https://airlive.net/news/2024/07/30/adelaide-airport-evacuated-due-to-security-breach/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 22:26:13 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=110108 Adelaide Airport’s terminal was evacuated this morning due to a security breach. The airport said the breach was due to human error. Adelaide Airport is currently investigating a security breach in the main terminal, which occurred this morning (29 July, 2024) at approximately 11am. The breach is understood to be the result of passengers arriving […]

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Adelaide Airport’s terminal was evacuated this morning due to a security breach. The airport said the breach was due to human error.

Adelaide Airport is currently investigating a security breach in the main terminal, which occurred this morning (29 July, 2024) at approximately 11am. The breach is understood to be the result of passengers arriving on a regional flight entering the terminal without being adequately screened. An orderly evacuation of the terminal has been undertaken and re-screening of passengers will commence shortly. There are likely to be some flight delays as a result, and passengers are asked to check with their carrier for the latest flight information. We apologise to our customers impacted this morning and appreciate their patience and understanding.

Adelaide Airport Facebook page

ABC News Australia reports the regional flight originated from Kingscote on Kangaroo Island. Airport spokesperson Dermott O’Niell also told the public broadcaster, “Passengers that arrive into Adelaide from regional airports that are unscreened … are required to be screened before they enter the main area of Adelaide Airport. We take the security outcomes of Adelaide Airport very seriously.”

Mr O’Neill also said about 15 flights and 1500 passengers were delayed by up to 2 hours.

A similar breach occurred in October 2022 due to a faulty screening machine. A “minor” security breach also occurred 16 June this year with “a single customer passing through without adequate screening, that occurred around 6.30pm.”

The airport conducted an evacuation exercise on 24 July.

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Man arrested after allegedly running through Virgin Australia plane naked https://airlive.net/news/2024/05/28/man-arrested-after-allegedly-running-through-virgin-australia-plane-naked/ Tue, 28 May 2024 09:45:15 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=109183 The Australian Federal Police have arrested a male passenger after Virgin Australia flight VA696 returned to Perth last night. The passenger allegedly ran naked through the cabin and knocked over a flight attendant. The flight landed back at Perth about half an hour after it’s 19:20 departure to Melbourne. In a statement Virgin told local […]

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The Australian Federal Police have arrested a male passenger after Virgin Australia flight VA696 returned to Perth last night.

The passenger allegedly ran naked through the cabin and knocked over a flight attendant. The flight landed back at Perth about half an hour after it’s 19:20 departure to Melbourne.

In a statement Virgin told local media:

We can confirm on Monday 27 May, VA696 Perth to Melbourne, returned to Perth. On arrival in Perth, the aircraft was met by the Australian Federal Police and the disruptive guest was offloaded. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and we sincerely apologise to guests impacted.

Virgin Australia spokesperson

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement:

The AFP responded to a request for assistance from airline staff. Officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor.

AFP spokesperson

One passenger told Guardian Australia that a male passenger in business class got up to intervene and then 2 others helped tackle the passenger to the floor restrain him. Another passenger told Melbourne radio station 3AW that the passenger was also banging on the cockpit door and 2 air marshals restrained and handcuffed the passenger.

The AFP took the passenger to hospital after his arrest. Local media report that he is still in hospital. The AFP are finalising charges and he is expected to be summonsed to appear before Perth Magistrates Court on 14 June.

The AFP have law enforcement jurisdiction at Australian airports and crimes related to aviation.

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Bonza suspended all flight operations https://airlive.net/news/2024/04/30/bonza-suspended-all-flight-operations/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:25:00 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=108781 Bonza suddenly suspended operations on Tuesday, stranding customers. After the suspension Bonza CEO, Tim Jordan, said that services were temporarily suspended “Discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business. We apologise to customers who are impacted by this and we’re working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures […]

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Bonza suddenly suspended operations on Tuesday, stranding customers.

After the suspension Bonza CEO, Tim Jordan, said that services were temporarily suspended “Discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business. We apologise to customers who are impacted by this and we’re working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market.”

After the suspension virgin Australia tweeted, “We are aware of the temporary suspension of Bonza flights. We will immediately support any passengers stranded mid-journey by offering complimentary seats on Virgin Australia-operated flights to the airport nearest to their final planned Bonza destination.” Qantas and Jetstar also made the same offer to stranded passengers where Bonza and the Qantas Group have overlapping routes.

Later in the day Bonza announced that it had entered voluntary administration and all flights would be suspended until Friday. In Australia “Voluntary administration is an option for a company that’s in financial trouble and can’t repay its debts. It basically means a qualified manager from outside the business — usually involving a few experts from a consulting firm — is brought in to sort things out.” The Administrators may decide to enter a deed of arrangement to keep the company going, or send the company into liquidation, or return it to the directors (source ABC News Australia).

Guardian Australia said sources told them that the fleet of four 737 Max 8’s had been repossessed this morning. Later in the day an internal note seen by Guardian shows that the aircraft were repossessed by AIP, the effective lessor of the aircraft and that “This was a surprise to both ourselves and 777 Partners. We are currently assessing all options and will provide an update here just as soon as we have more information available to share.” Bonza is owned by 777 Partners.

Just last week Bonza denied it was seeking financial advice from consultants KordaMentha.

Bonza has said that all customers will receive refunds.

Bonza is a low cost point to point leisure carrier that started in January 2023 with it’s base on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. It later opened a second base in Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

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Jetstar A320 and Airport vehicle collide at Sydney https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/23/jetstar-a320-and-airport-vehicle-collide-at-sydney/ Tue, 23 Jan 2024 14:22:40 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=106719 Jetstar Australia had to cancel some flights yesterday (22 January 2024) after one of their A320s and a ute collided at Sydney Airport. Ute is short for Utility vehicle and is most similar to a Pickup Truck. The A320, registration VH-VGJ, was being towed to gate 4 when the two collided at 0530 local time. […]

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Jetstar Australia had to cancel some flights yesterday (22 January 2024) after one of their A320s and a ute collided at Sydney Airport. Ute is short for Utility vehicle and is most similar to a Pickup Truck.

The A320, registration VH-VGJ, was being towed to gate 4 when the two collided at 0530 local time. The Ute was being driven by a Certis Security contractor. The empty plane was set to be the 0640 JQ760 flight from Sydney to Adelaide. The driver’s side of the ute hit and became wedged under the number 2 engine. The security contractor was taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick to be checked over.

The collision resulted in six flights being cancelled including flights to Adelaide, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Three other Jetstar planes were stuck behind the incident aircraft. Jetstar told local media “A Sydney Airport utility vehicle made contact with one of our aircraft, which was being towed to the gate without passengers. We’re working with Sydney Airport to fully investigate what happened.”

Sydney Airport said, “There were no injuries and the aircraft is currently undergoing precautionary engineering checks.”

Certis told 9 News yesterday, “Certis is working with Sydney Airport to investigate an incident that occurred early this morning at the airport involving one of its employees. A vehicle operated by a staff member made contact with a Jetstar aircraft whilst the aircraft was being towed. While no significant injuries occurred as a result of the incident, the affected team member was taken to hospital for observation. The health, safety and well-being of travellers, our team members and fellow workers at Sydney Airport will continue to be our highest priority, even as we look into preventing similar incidents from occurring.”

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Air Vanuatu apologises after only international aircraft grounded https://airlive.net/news/2023/09/25/air-vanuatu-apologises-after-only-international-aircraft-grounded/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 09:52:23 +0000 https://airlive.net/?p=104951 Air Vanuatu has apologised for stranding hundreds of customers. The airline only has 1 international aircraft – a 737-800. The aircraft has been grounded for mechanical issues, It’s the second time the aircraft has been grounded in the last 12 months. The aircraft has been at Brisbane Airport awaiting a mechanical part since 18 September. […]

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Air Vanuatu has apologised for stranding hundreds of customers.

The airline only has 1 international aircraft – a 737-800. The aircraft has been grounded for mechanical issues, It’s the second time the aircraft has been grounded in the last 12 months.

The aircraft has been at Brisbane Airport awaiting a mechanical part since 18 September. More than 20 flights between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji have been cancelled since Friday. The airline is “deeply sorry” and aims to resume it’s international schedule by the end of the week.

In a statement on Facebook Air Vanuatu said they had engaged “Nauru airlines to operate a number of limited services between Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland and Nadi to and from Port Vila.”

The previous grounding happened days before Christmas last year. Solomon Airlines stepped in last time to help the stranded passengers. Air Vanuatu has codeshare agreements with Qantas, Fiji Airways, Air Calin, Air Nuigini and Solomon Airlines.

The latest statement from Air Vanuatu can be found here

The updated flight schedule can be found here

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Fatal mid-air collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast, Queensland https://airlive.net/emergency/2023/01/02/incident-fatal-mid-air-collision-between-two-helicopters-on-the-gold-coast-queensland/ Mon, 02 Jan 2023 10:42:39 +0000 https://www.airlive.net/?p=100550 There has been a mid-air collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast in the Australian state of Queensland. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed it was a fatal incident. Queensland Police Service (QPS) has confirmed 4 people have died and 3 are in critical condition on hospital. A new footage obtained by 7NEWS […]

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There has been a mid-air collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed it was a fatal incident. Queensland Police Service (QPS) has confirmed 4 people have died and 3 are in critical condition on hospital.

A new footage obtained by 7NEWS shows seconds before the mid-air crash of two. One of the Passengers is seen warning the pilot of another helicopter in the proximity.

The incident occurred at approximately 13:59 local time, at Main Beach near the Sea World theme park.

  • UPDATE A pilot, two British visitors and a Sydney woman were identified as the four people killed in a collision.

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) said they were assessing 13 people on scene. In a later update QAS said 9 people had been transported to hospital, 8 to Gold Coast University Hospital and 1 to Queensland Children’s Hospital.

One of the helicopters managed to land on the beach without the windscreen. The other crashed upside down on a sandbar. QPS says police and members of the public assisted in pulling people out of the upside down airframe.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted that the incident “was an unthinkable tragedy.” Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese tweeted that the country was “shocked” by news of the incident and his thoughts are with all those affected. There are reports some family members were waving one of the helicopters off seconds before the incident.

A witness told The Guardian Australia that one tail rotor sheared the rear rotor off the other aircraft. QPS says that initial inquiries suggest that one aircraft was coming into land as one was taking off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ott28SkDq0I

It is peak tourist season for Gold Coast theme parks due to the summer school holidays in Australia.

A Sea World Helicopters spokesperson told media, ““We and the entire flying community are devastated by what has happened and our sincere condolences go to all those involved and especially the loved ones and family of the deceased. We are cooperating with all the authorities including the ATSB and the Queensland police. As it is now a police investigation we cannot provide any further information at this stage.”

Local media are reporting one of those that died in the crash was the Chief Pilot of Sea World Helicopters.

The ATSB Chief Commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said in a statement:
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has commenced a transport safety investigation into the fatal mid-air collision involving two helicopters near Seaworld on the Gold Coast, Queensland on Monday afternoon.

“Transport safety investigators with experience in helicopter operations, maintenance and survivability engineering are deploying from the ATSB’s Brisbane and Canberra offices and are expected to begin arriving at the accident site from Monday afternoon.

“During the evidence gathering phase of the investigation, ATSB investigators will examine the wreckage and map the accident site. Investigators will also recover any relevant components for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra, gather any available recorded data for analysis, and interview witnesses and other involved parties.

“The ATSB asks anyone who may have seen the collision, or who witnessed the helicopters in any phase of their flights, or who may have footage of any kind, to make contact via witness@atsb.gov.au at their earliest opportunity.

“The ATSB anticipates publishing a preliminary report detailing basic information gathered during the investigation’s evidence collection phase in approximately 6-8 weeks.

“A final report will be published at the conclusion of the investigation, however, should any critical safety issues be identified at any stage during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate safety action can be taken.”

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INCIDENT Qantas A380 #QF1 to London Heathrow makes emergency landing in Azerbaijan https://airlive.net/emergency/2022/12/23/incident-qantas-a380-qf1-to-london-heathrow-makes-emergency-landing-in-azerbaijan/ Fri, 23 Dec 2022 07:54:44 +0000 https://www.airlive.net/?p=100442 Qantas flight QF1 was 10 hours into its flight on the leg from Singapore to London when an alarm went off in the cockpit indicating a fire in the cargo hold. The flight did a 180 degree turn near Tbilisi, squawked 7700 and landed safely at Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku, where it was met […]

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Qantas flight QF1 was 10 hours into its flight on the leg from Singapore to London when an alarm went off in the cockpit indicating a fire in the cargo hold.

The flight did a 180 degree turn near Tbilisi, squawked 7700 and landed safely at Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku, where it was met by emergency services.

“The aircraft intermittently alerted the pilots to the potential of smoke in the cargo hold. Although it was considered likely to be a sensor fault, the aircraft diverted to Baku as a safety precaution. Initial investigations have found no evidence of smoke in the cargo hold,” the spokeswoman said. “We thank customers for their patience and we are working to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”

Engineers will inspect the aircraft prior to continuing its journey,” the spokesperson said.

Baku airport released a statement via social media stating that the emergency landing request was due to smoke generated in the cargo compartment. The statement said there were no injuries and that the plane landed at 7:08am local time. There were 356 passengers onboard, the statement said.

Baku airport’s statement noted that this was not the first time an A380 had made an emergency landing at the airport, because it had sufficiently long runways to accommodate and service the superjumbo.

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The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends Boeing make changes to 737-800 wing flap inspection program https://airlive.net/news/2022/12/20/the-australian-transport-safety-bureau-recommends-boeing-make-changes-to-737-800-wing-flap-inspection-program/ Tue, 20 Dec 2022 06:38:13 +0000 https://www.airlive.net/?p=100367 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has recommended Boeing “take safety action to increase the detection of fatigue cracks in the roller cartridges of 737‑800 prior to failure.” The move comes after an investigation into an incident with a Virgin Australia 737-800, registration VH-YFZ. The incident flight was the first flight of the day for both […]

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The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has recommended Boeing “take safety action to increase the detection of fatigue cracks in the roller cartridges of 737‑800 prior to failure.” The move comes after an investigation into an incident with a Virgin Australia 737-800, registration VH-YFZ.

The incident flight was the first flight of the day for both the aircraft and crew. Immediately after take off from the Gold Coast Airport on 27 April 2022, the pilot noticed the aircraft tended to roll to the right. The crew trimmed the rudder to counteract the roll.

As the aircraft was going through 10 000 feet, the cabin manager told the flight crew that a “muffled rumble” could be heard on the left side of the aircraft, while the captain believed they heard more of a “whine”. The crew initially put the sound down to slight damage to one of the fan blades that had already been noted and logged for maintenance.

Upon retraction of the flaps trim was no longer required, but the rolling issue returned when the flaps were extended for landing. There were no warnings in the cockpit regarding the flap symmetry.

After landing at Sydney, a walk around inspection found the left outbound aft flap hadn’t fully retracted. the ATSB investigated the incident and determined “a pre-existing fatigue crack progressed through the aft flap’s inboard programming roller cartridge resulting in component failure. This cartridge held a roller that guided the aft flap during extension and retraction. The failed cartridge affected aft flap performance when flaps were deployed and resulted in the aircraft’s tendency to roll to the right.” It’s believed the failure occurred between touch down of the previous flight but before take off of the incident flight.

Boeing specifies “a general visual inspection of the left outboard flap” when an aircraft has reached 6000 flight cycles or 36 months. The incident aircraft had flown 6377 flight cycles since it had been manufactured, with the required inspection carried out in October 2020 with no defects detected. A more thorough examination, including the programming rollers is recommended by Boeing every 12000 cycles. The ATSB notes the incident aircraft hadn’t reached that many cycles.

The ATSB notes that Boeing has received 10 reports of similar instances between 2017 and 2022. The ATSB also noted, “Boeing performed a safety analysis of this condition to determine whether the event presented a potential safety issue to the affected 737 fleet. …. Boeing found that the aircraft remained well within the bounds of controllability by pilots, and the issue was evaluated to result in a slight increase in workload for the pilot in the worst possible case. Based on prior occurrences, Boeing determined that fleet experience aligned with that severity study, and that the rate of occurrence was less than that required by the United States Federal Aviation Administration for the level of hazard presented.”

As a result of the investigation the ATSB issued a safety bulletin stating the ATSB “recommends that The Boeing Company takes safety action to increase the detection of fatigue cracks in the roller cartridges of 737‑800 aircraft prior to failure.”

In the Safety Issue bulletin the ATSB included Boeing’s response dated 15 November 2022: “Boeing does not concur that this event represents a safety issue, when analyzed within our FAA‑approved risk management program. A review of prior failures shows that airplane-level effects were correctly mitigated by flight crews and the affected aircraft landed without further incident. Boeing’s review indicates that the event does not represent a significant reduction in airplane safety margins, and that the current inspection program is adequate.”

The ATSB comment in response to Boeing: “The ATSB acknowledges that, based on consideration of the consequence of the component failure, Boeing’s risk management program does not classify this as a safety issue. However, the ATSB also believes that the reduction in safety margins involving a passenger‑carrying aeroplane and the frequency of occurrence—particularly in the past 5 years— warrants safety improvement in the detection of fatigue cracking prior to failure.

“The ATSB also notes that a detailed inspection of the flap actuation system already exists, and while it includes the aft flap rollers, it does not include the cartridges that house them. Inclusion of the cartridges in the detailed inspection would provide the greatest opportunity for fatigue cracks to be identified prior to failure.”

The full ATSB report can be found here.

The full ATSB Safety Issue bulletin can be found here.

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Australia’s Aviation Firefighters to strike https://airlive.net/news/2022/11/30/australias-aviation-firefighters-to-strike/ Wed, 30 Nov 2022 12:15:36 +0000 https://www.airlive.net/?p=100146 Australian ARFF crews have voted to strike. The protected industrial action will take place between 6am and 10am Friday 9 December at all 27 airports with aviation firefighters. The head of the aviation section of the United Firefighters Union, Wes Garrett, told media, “Protecting the safety of Australia’s air travellers is the No.1 priority of […]

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Australian ARFF crews have voted to strike. The protected industrial action will take place between 6am and 10am Friday 9 December at all 27 airports with aviation firefighters.

The head of the aviation section of the United Firefighters Union, Wes Garrett, told media, “Protecting the safety of Australia’s air travellers is the No.1 priority of every aviation firefighter. That’s why we are undertaking such significant industrial action. We understand that this will be extremely disruptive for Australia’s air travellers and aviation firefighters sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. This industrial action is about getting the aviation firefighters we need to keep air travellers safe and we hope the travelling public will understand.” He also believes there will be no aircraft moving during those 4 hours.

Earlier this month 93% of Aviation firefighters voted to strike for periods of between 2 and 12 hours. They also passed a vote of no confidence in Airservices Australia

Airservices Australia spokesperson, Dominque Lamb, told ABC News Australia that they expect flights to continue and the government-owned body will do everything they can to minimise risk. Airservices Australia employs all ARFF crews and ATC personnel in Australia, and is responsible for the safety of 11% of the world’s airspace.

ABC understands that it will be up to individual airlines if they choose to fly during the strike.

Virgin Australia told ABC, “The safety of our guests and crew is our first priority. We will continue to liaise with Airservices and other relevant agencies to ensure Virgin Australia flights can operate safely, and with minimal disruption, during the planned strike action.” Qantas declined to comment to ABC. Sydney Airport is urging the Firefighters Union and Airservices Australia to resolve the despute.

The strike will be a day before the start of the Summer/Christmas school holidays in the state of Queensland.

ARFF crews are striking after they claimed Airservices Australian cut the ARFF workforce by 100 in October last year, leading to understaffing putting travellers at risk. Airservices Australia counted that those losses were voluntary redundancies, and some of those will be replaced by new recruits coming through and are confident they are operating safely. Airservices Australia also claim the strike is clearly about pay, with pay negotiations going on for 18 months. The Union is requesting a 15.5% rise over 3 years with Airservices Australia offering 11.5%.

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