Air Canada Landing Accident (Updated)

Authorities at Halifax's Stanfield International Airport reported early Sunday morning that about 20 people were injured when an Air Canada Airbus A320 landed hard and skidded off a snowy runway just after midnight. The injuries weren't believed to be life threatening. The flight had departed from Toronto with 133 passengers and five crew aboard, authorities said early Sunday morning.

Peter Spurway, a spokesman for the airport, reported that the aircraft "took a very hard landing and skidded off the runway," CBC News reported. At the time of the accident, heavy snow was reported, but the condition of the runway isn't known. The flight may have struck powerlines on the approach as power was briefly cut to the airport and terminal, but was restored during the rescue effort.

"Right now, we have some minor injuries. Nothing that is deemed to be life-threatening," Spurway told CBC. For the time being, authorities aren't considering the accident a crash because airplane was believed to be under control until it contacted the runway. There's no indication yet of whether the airplane simply skidded off a snowy runway or if the crew touched down too hard or too fast. Avweb will update the story as more information becomes available.






and the incident may have cut power to the airport. Various reports early Sunday suggest the aircraft, on a flight from Toronto "crashed on the runway" but there are apparently no serious injuries. It was reported to be snowing at the time. FlightAware has not shown the aircraft at the gate and Twitter is lighting up with reports of the incident. Several Tweets say there are 138 passengers, no serious injuries but rescue is hampered by powerlines on the runway. Full story in the morning.

Bombardier CEO suggests new CSeries delay possible

Bombardier’s new chief executive appeared to disclose a new delay for first delivery of the CS100 at a press conference in Montreal on 27 March, but a company spokeswoman says there has been no change.
In comments reported by the Bloomberg news service, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare says that first delivery is scheduled in 2016, while certification is scheduled for the “end” of this year.
That timeline conflicts with repeated previous Bombardier statements, including by Bellemare, that type certification and entry into service remain “on track” for the second half of 2015, a window that begins in July.
By using the term “delivery” in the press conference, Bellemare appeared to refer to a distinct milestone that often occurs quickly after type certification and weeks or months before entry into service. The delivery event is also significant for the manufacturer’s shareholders, as it represents a milestone usually tied to a customer payment.
Bombardier spokeswoman Isabelle Gauthier confirms that Bellemare made the remarks at the press conference, but maintains that the company’s internal schedule has not changed.
That means type certification and entry into service remain internally scheduled for the second half of 2015, she says. The entry into service milestone could be delayed to 2016 based on the customer’s readiness to operate the aircraft, she says, but that has not been confirmed.
Asked to clarify the internal schedule for the first delivery milestone based on Bellemare’s recent comments, Gauthier replied that Bombardier is only discussing the timeline for type certification and entry into service.
The first CS100 aircraft entered flight testing in September 2013. Four more CS100 test vehicles and the first CS300 test vehicle have since joined the certification campaign, accumulating more than 1,100h through the end of February.
The flight testing has continued after being disrupted for 100 days last year due to an engine malfunction that required a minor redesign of an oil system. Shortly after flight testing resumed last September, Bombardier activated the normal mode flight envelope protections in the fly-by-wire system for the first time.Bombardier has confirmed orders for 243 CSeries aircraft, with about three-fourths of the sales claimed by the larger CS300 variant. Lufthansa’s Swiss International Air Lines became the launch customer for the CS100 in 2008, but Bombardier has not identified which airline will become the first operator.

Would two-crew cockpit rule prevent another Germanwings tragedy?

Among the many repercussions of the shocking revelation that Germanwings flight 9525 was deliberately crashed by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz while alone at the controls, the most immediate has been a move to require that there be two crew members in a cockpit at all times.
US regulations have long required this two-crew protocol. After the 24 March tragedy that claimed 150 lives in the French Alps, European low-cost carrier Norwegian moved quickly to change its procedures. "This means that if one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, one crew member must replace him/her during this time," Norwegian says. "Our passengers’ and crew’s safety always comes first, which is why we have decided to change our procedures, in line with US regulations."
Canadian transport authorities quickly followed the Lubitz revelations with an interim rule to ensure that two crew members are at the flight deck at all times, “to ensure the security of Canadian passengers". Early reports indicate that Air Canada and WestJet have implemented the new rule.
EASA followed suit on 27 March, with a temporary recommendation that airlines ensure at least two crew - including at least one qualified pilot - occupy the flight crew compartment at all times. Airlines, says EASA, "should re-assess the safety and security risks associated with a flight crew leaving the cockpit due to operational or physiological needs".
In Europe, national aviation safety authorities have no power to make a binding rule, which would have to come from EASA. As the UK’s CAA observes, though, individual airlines are free to modify their own operating procedures. Norwegian's adoption of a two-crew rule was followed by Germanwings parent, Lufthansa group.
The US requirement to have two crew members up front at all times was just one response to 9/11. After the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, regulations requiring that cockpit doors be sealed – and reinforced against breakage by weapons or battering devices like trolleys or fire extinguishers – were devised to prevent terrorists from taking control.
Those protocols, well-illustrated by this 2002 Airbus video, provide for an override to permit a crew member outside the cockpit to gain access should both pilots be incapacitated. However, the post-9/11 protocols also – understandably – permit the occupants of the cockpit to actively block that override. Alone in the cockpit of Germanwings 9525, Lubitz apparently employed that safeguard to keep the pilot out and ensure the success of his murderous scheme.

Gulfstream G280 earns Brazilian type certificate

Gulfstream G280 earns Brazilian type certificate

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today announced that the Gulfstream G280 has been certified by Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). This approval validates the airworthiness of the aircraft’s design and clears the way for in-country deliveries to begin.

“We have delivered more than 50 G280s since the aircraft first went into service in November 2012,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “It has proven to be popular with owners around the world, and we now have aircraft in the U.S., Canada, China, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Mexico and South America.

“Of all the South American countries, this aircraft is particularly well-suited for Brazil. Departing from São Paulo, the G280 can reach the entire continent without refueling and can fly to the U.S. and Europe with one stop.”

FL Technics Jets supports Grafair with Hawker base maintenance solutions

FL Technics Jets supports Grafair with Hawker base maintenance solutions

FL Technics Jets, a global provider of tailor-made maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business aviation, is delighted to announce that recently it has provided comprehensive Hawker aircraft base maintenance support to its latest customer Grafair, a Swedish business jet and FBO operator.

The agreement with the Swedish carrier was signed in the beginning of 2015. Since then, FL Technics Jets has already provided the first set of MRO works on the Grafair’s Hawker 800XP business jet. The agreed upon service package comprised such maintenance works as a 12 Months’ Check of engines, APUs and other aircraft systems as well as defect rectification and other. All services were provided in the FL Technics Jets own MRO centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. Following the successful completion of the aforementioned works, the Grafair’s aircraft has returned to its base at Stockholm-Bromma Airport in Sweden. Additional scheduled maintenance works on the aircraft are to be conducted later this year.

”It‘s a real pleasure to support Grafair, one of the most prominent business aviation players in Europe, with our services. The fact that the Swedish carrier has placed its trust in our company and has since expressed full satisfaction with our services explicitly speak for the quality and reliability of our business aviation MRO solutions,” comments Darius Saluga, the CEO of FL Technics Jets. “We are proud to add Grafair to the map of our customers worldwide, and look forward to expanding our cooperation in the future.”

Grafair is a Stockholm-based international aviation company engaged in business, air ambulance and air taxi charter flights as well as Fixed-Base Operations (FBO). The company operates Cessna and Hawker aircraft. In 2014 European Business Air News (EBAN) awarded the company as the best FBO in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.

Aircraft investment as an alternative to negative yield bonds

Aircraft investment as an alternative to negative yield bonds

In February, 2015 Germany and Finland auctioned off their government bonds with negative interest rates attracting a total of over USD 4.5 billion. The success of the placement was predetermined by the investors’ readiness to pay for the exceptionally safe sovereign bonds as a means of investment insurance against potential risks. However, in order to scrape some profit after all, investors also explore additional investment options to supplement their portfolios. One of the options could be aircraft-backed 4-6% yields bonds.

AN UNFORECASTED ANOMALY

Last month Finland raised approx. USD 1.06 billion in bonds with -0.017% yield thus becoming the first Eurozone country to sell its five-year sovereign bonds with negative yields. Days later, Germany’s Bundesbank also auctioned five-year bonds with an average -0.08% yield thus contributing additional USD3.5 billion to the overall USD2.35 trillion worth negative yield bond market (acc. to Bloomberg). At some point the expansion of the market is driven by such institutional investors as pension funds which are obliged to invest a part of their funds in low-risk sovereign bonds (e.g., Germany’s). Other investors choose negative yield government securities as an insurance against the potential risks common in the private sector.

As the interest rates of the safest-considered governmental bonds are close to zero (both, below and above wise), corporate bonds tend to follow the trend. “Using the opportunity in the European market which struggles with exceptionally slow inflation, the private sector is also driving the yields down in order to receive cheaper financing. The bonds of certain highest rated companies are traded at below 1% yields, with some of them even turning negative – an anomaly few could imagine a decade ago,” shares Tadas Goberis, the CEO of AviaAM Leasing.

“Financial markets are certainly not what they used to be in 2000s, and they keep changing. As a result, investment patterns and fund structuring have also become more complicated,” comments Tomas Sidlauskas, the Vice President at AviaAM Leasing. “In addition to traditional financing sources like commercial banks and export agencies the industry is more actively using alternative finance products as well. For instance, issuance of corporate bonds, Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs), aircraft ABS and other similar securities. This applies to all industry players – from manufacturers and leasing companies to operators.”

WHEN INVESTMENT ACTUALLY MEANS PROFIT

In 2014 Virgin Australia raised USD300 million in corporate bonds, Fly Leasing – USD400 million, Lufthansa – USD529 million, Airbus – USD1.38 billion. The Canadian manufacturer Bombardier is also planning to raise over USD2 billion in bonds with 120 and 42-month maturity later this year. 
While manufacturers turn to capital markets for the expansion of their production and the development of new products as well as general corporate purposes, airlines and leasing companies are raising funds mainly to finance new aircraft deliveries.

“An aircraft is a hard asset-backed investment which can generate up to 10-15% ROIs on equity (depending on an aircraft type and end user). It is also a relatively low risk asset since carriers keep raising their profits and passenger traffics worldwide thus spending more and more on fleet renewal and expansion. Moreover, even should the demand in a single region squeeze, the aircraft can be easily relocated to another region as truly has only one market – the world,” says Tomas Sidlauskas, the VP of AviaAM Leasing. “However, the aviation industry is a very specific and complicated market from both legal and financial points of view. Without a relevant background or an asset manager for their investment, investors from outside the industry might just end up with no profit or even suffer losses. For that reason, EETCs and other aircraft-backed securities (in contrast to direct investment) have become one of the main trends in the aircraft financing market over the last several years.”

According to Boeing, in 2014 bond funding of new aircraft deliveries might have reached USD30 billion, or over a quarter of all deliveries that year – up from approx. 15% in 2013. As the overall annual demand for new deliveries is expected to rise from USD110 billion to almost USD140 billion by 2018, the role of capital markets is anticipated to increase as well.

“From a leasing company’s perspective, an aircraft represents a stable and recurring monthly cash flow immune to short-term swings in market lease rates throughout the industry’s cycle. The stability is secured by fixed monthly lease payments which cover both aircraft acquisition and financing costs. This significantly lowers the risks for both the lessor and the holders of its securities,” comments Tadas Goberis, the CEO of AviaAM Leasing. “At the same time, the aircraft-backed bond market is still rather young and unfamiliar to many institutional investors. This explains why the issuers are ready to offer higher coupons which on average range from 4 to 7 per cent (i.e. the ones issued by ILFC, BBAM, etc). On the secondary market, the yields for aircraft leasing companies’ bonds are also relatively high – around 4-5%.”

In addition, as the market price for a 5-10 years’ old narrow body aircraft reaches USD20-30 million (left alone new aircraft), investing into aircraft-backed assets allows to deploy significantly larger funds with fixed returns over the bond maturity period (usually, 5 or 10 years).

“At the same time, in most cases bond (equity) investors are not the only participants in the deal. Depending on the finance structure, they are usually either senior or junior debt providers with the remaining funds coming from commercial banks, export agencies and/or the issuer itself. But even if we consider a junior loan to finance approx. 30% of a mid-life Boeing 737-800 cost, the owners of 5-year bonds are likely to enjoy USD 0.5-0.6 million interest per year. In other words, aircraft-backed securities are most likely to receive more and more attention over the following several years, particularly from those equity investors aiming to actually earn from their investment rather than just freeze their funds,” concludes Tomas Sidlauskas, the VP at AviaAM Leasing.

First images from Germanwings A320 crash in French Alps

First images from Germanwings A320 crash in French Alps

An Airbus A320 with 142 passengers and six crew members has crashed in Digne region, southern France, media reports say. The jet, which belonged to Germanwings low-cost airline, was flying from Barcelona to Düsseldorf.

(Updated 14:45 GMT) Council official Gilbert Sauvan tells Les Echos newspaper, "The plane is disintegrated". He added that "the largest debris is the size of a car". French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says a helicopter has managed to land near where the plane crashed in the Alps, but found no survivors.

(Updated 14:28 GMT) According to Thomas Winkelmann, chief executive Germanwings, plane went into eight-minute descent before crashing. 67 Germans believed to have been on board, according to Germanwings.

(Updated 14:24 GMT) "We are uncertain as to whether a distress call was issued at all. We have no clear indication was to why the descent was initiated." - Germanwings spokesman reports at the press-conference.

(Updated 14:08 GMT) Germanwings CEO: FO had 10 years of experience, last regular aircraft check conducted yesterday. Contrary to earlier reports, the authorities in France now say that no distress call was made by pilots.

(Updated 13:21 GMT)  Alain Vidalies, the French transport minister: no rescue workers have yet reached the scene on foot; scattered bodies seen from helicopters.

(Updated 13:09 GMT) During the flight the Airbus was in contact with air control at Marseilles. The message was “mayday, mayday,mayday” and the pilot requested an emergency descent meaning ATC had to clear all air space below the route of the aircraft.

(Updated 13:03 GMT) The first photo shows the crash area, giving an idea of how inaccessible it is. Pierre-Henry Brandet, spokesperson for the interior ministry told the aircraft debris has been localised. The rescuers are being taken in by helicopter.

(Updated 12:51 GMT) Germanwings has confirmed on Facebook that there were 150 people on board, 144 passengers and six crew members. French President Francois Hollande: according to preliminary information, there were no French sitizens aboard Flight. 

(Updated 12:38 GMT) No adverse weather conditions were reported that could explain the crash, according to French media. The area is accessible only by helicopters. Germanwings, which began operating in 2002 has 15 active aircraft, according to the Planespotters website. The average age of its fleet, including other models, is 13.8 years.

(Updated 12:27 GMT) Germanwings has changed the colour of its logo on its Twitter and Facebook sites from red and yellow to grey and black. Barcelona airport has set up a room in Terminal 2 for family members, according to officials in Catalonia.

(Updated 12:20 GMT) The flight was on its flight path just under a half its route distance and at cruising speed. French transport ministry says there was an alarm call at 10:48 at 5000 feet. According to the French weather channel La Chaine Meteo, the weather was very calm at the moment of the crash. Spain’s airport operator, AENA, confirmed that there were 42 Spanish nationals on board.

(Updated 12:10 GMT) French authorities have said there were 42 Spaniards on board. Germanwings is due to hold a news conference at 14:00 GMT at Cologne-Bonn airport, French satellite channel BFMTV says.

The plane crash in the French Alps was confirmed by General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The jet crashed in the Upper Bléone Valley, Le Provence wrote. Emergency services are currently heading to the disaster zone. France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has confirmed the plane crash and is headed to the scene.

Germanwings opens a crisis line for people worried about loved ones on the flight: +49 30 5000 3000