Debris Found Off Mozambique Likely From 777, Says Official

Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai has effectively confirmed reports that a piece of debris that washed ashore in Mozambique this week likely belongs to a Boeing 777. “Based on early reports, [there is] a high possibility [that] debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777,” he wrote on his Twitter feed Wednesday. After noting that the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation was working with Australian authorities to retrieve the debris, found on a sand bar just off the coast, he warned against speculation that the piece belongs to the still missing 777 used for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in 2014.

“I urged everyone to avoid undue speculation as we are not able to conclude that the debris belongs to MH370 at this time,” he said, in response to reports of the finding by NBC News.

Contacted by AIN for comment, Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Center “possibly from an aircraft,” has been found in Mozambique. “We are working with officials in Mozambique and Malaysia to investigate,” a media spokesman confirmed.

The discovery comes almost exactly two years after MH370 vanished after diverting from its intended flight path between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

Last July an environmental worker found a flaperon from the ill-fated Boeing’s 777 on a beach in the town of Saint Andre on Reunion Island, not far from the site of this latest discovery. The conclusion that the flaperon came from MH370 supports the contention, based on radar and satellite data, that MH370 “turned back” from its flight path over the South China Sea and crossed the Malaysian peninsula on a westerly course. The loss of the aircraft led the International Aviation Safety Organization to require that airlines track their aircraft at regular intervals using available technology.

Malaysia has officially declared the disappearance of MH370 an accident and leads the investigation of its cause. Boeing, France’s BEA aviation accident investigation authority, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and theU.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation is due to be wrapped up in the middle of 2016 if no credible explanation for the 777's disappearance has been formulated by then.

Upgraded Il-76MD-M Airlifter Makes First Flight in Russia

Russian aircraft manufacturer Ilyushin conducted the first flight of an upgraded Il-76MD-M airlifter on February 28. Chief test pilot Nikolai Kuimov headed the design bureau’s crew for the flight, which was uneventful.

The Il-76MD-M is a mid-life upgrade of the four-engine Il-76MD airlifter. The flight-test aircraft, registered as RF-76746, was reworked at Ilyushin’s flight-test facility in Zhukovsky near Moscow. The design bureau plans to complete flight tests later this year and use RF-76746 as the prototype to upgrade 40 Il-76M/MDs now in service with the Russian air force.

Ilyushin is performing the work under contract to the Russian defense ministry. The latter also plans to fund a similar upgrade on a still undetermined number of Il-78M tankers.

The TAPO factory in Uzbekistan built nearly a thousand Il-76M/MDs and delivered the last airlifter in 1992. Forty will be upgraded to the MD-M standard over the next 12 years.

The MD-M upgrade targets the youngest part of the Il-76M/MD fleet—mainly those airframes with the longest remaining service life. The upgrade features a modern avionics suite, a new radio communications set and a self-protection system. The aircraft keeps its original Soloviev D-30KP2 engines. Its service life is extended by 10 years to 40 years.

Some of the MD-M onboard systems are replaced with systems developed for the new Il-76MD-90A transport, which is being produced by the Aviastar factory in Ulianovsk. As of late February, the Russian air force had accepted two of the 39 Il-76MD-90As it has ordered; a third was undergoing acceptance trials. Aviastar will deliver the -90A model through 2021.

Another Il-76MD upgrade solution that centered on replacing the D-30KP engines with Aviadvigatel PS-90A-76 turbofans has been scrapped due to cost. One aircraft, designated Il-76MD-90, underwent flight trials and later provided a testbed for the Il-76MD-90A project. “There will be no massive replacement of D-30KP engines by the newer PS-90A on in-service aircraft,” Ilyushin general designer Nikolai Talikov told AIN.

Construction Starts on A330 Completions Center in China

From left to right, Tianjin vice mayor Duan Chunhua, China’s National Development and Reform Commission vice chairman Lin Nianxiu, Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier and AVIC chairman Lin Zuoming pose in front of a rendering of the new A330 completion and delivery center in Tianjin, China. (Photo: Airbus)

Crews have begun construction on the new Airbus A330 completion and delivery center (C&DC) in Tianjin, China. Scheduled for opening in 2017, the facility will become Airbus’s first widebody completion center outside of Europe. The site of the A330 C&DC sits adjacent to the Airbus Tianjin A320 family final assembly line (FAL) and the Airbus Tianjin Delivery Center.

“The ground breaking ceremony for the A330 C&DC in Tianjin marks a new milestone for Airbus’ international footprint and underlines the strong cooperation with our Chinese partners,” said Airbus president and CEOFabrice Brégier. “Airbus’ long-standing cooperation with China spans single aisle and now also widebody aircraft and we will continue to look for further opportunities in the future.”

Airbus, Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TJFTZ) and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) signed a framework agreement in the summer of 2014 calling for the establishment of an A330 C&DC in Tianjin. Plans call for the facility to engage in cabin installation, aircraft painting and flight test, as well as aircraft delivery and customer flight acceptance. Airbus will assemble the A330s completed at the Tianjin center in Toulouse.

Airbus’s bullish forecast for growth in passenger air traffic in China supports its cooperation with Chinese partners, the European company asserts. Its forecast calls for 6.9 percent average annual growth for the domestic air traffic market in China over the next 20 years and 6.8 percent for the Chinese international market over the same period. According to Airbus, a positive long-term economic outlook, a growing middle class and expansion in outbound tourism rank as the top underlying factors in its China forecast. 

According to Airbus’ 2015-2034 global market forecast (GMF), new deliveries of passenger aircraft carrying more than 100 seats and freighters weighing more than 10 metric tons for China will total about 5,400, including 3,630 single aisle aircraft and 1,770 twin-aisle and very large aircraft such as the A380. The figure amounts to about 17 percent of the world total demand for some 32,600 new aircraft over the same period. Airbus places the total market value of the new aircraft bound for delivery to China over the period at $840 billion.

Today, more than 170 A330s operate in China and Airbus collected orders for some 75 last year alone. Another 1,000 A320s operate in China, where one of four assembly sites for the narrowbodies resides.

Debris Found Off Mozambique Likely From 777, Says Official

Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai has effectively confirmed reports that a piece of debris that washed ashore in Mozambique this week likely belongs to a Boeing 777. “Based on early reports, [there is] a high possibility [that] debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777,” he wrote on his Twitter feed Wednesday. After noting that the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation was working with Australian authorities to retrieve the debris, found on a sand bar just off the coast, he warned against speculation that the piece belongs to the still missing 777 used for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in 2014.

“I urged everyone to avoid undue speculation as we are not able to conclude that the debris belongs to MH370 at this time,” he said, in response to reports of the finding by NBC News.

Contacted by AIN for comment, Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Center “possibly from an aircraft,” has been found in Mozambique. “We are working with officials in Mozambique and Malaysia to investigate,” a media spokesman confirmed.

The discovery comes almost exactly two years after MH370 vanished after diverting from its intended flight path between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

Last July an environmental worker found a flaperon from the ill-fated Boeing’s 777 on a beach in the town of Saint Andre on Reunion Island, not far from the site of this latest discovery. The conclusion that the flaperon came from MH370 supports the contention, based on radar and satellite data, that MH370 “turned back” from its flight path over the South China Sea and crossed the Malaysian peninsula on a westerly course. The loss of the aircraft led the International Aviation Safety Organization to require that airlines track their aircraft at regular intervals using available technology.

Malaysia has officially declared the disappearance of MH370 an accident and leads the investigation of its cause. Boeing, France’s BEA aviation accident investigation authority, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and theU.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation is due to be wrapped up in the middle of 2016 if no credible explanation for the 777's disappearance has been formulated by then.

Pratt & Whitney offers new engine rebate with Blackhawk XP upgrades

Through May 31, 2016, aircraft owners who purchase a Blackhawk XP New Engine Upgrade for the Beech-craft King Air 200 or 90 series, Cessna Caravan, Cessna Conquest I, or Piper Cheyenne series aircraft will receive up to a $65,000 rebate from Pratt & Whitney Canada.

The installation of the new engines can be delayed through the end of July, which allows more time to schedule the upgrade along with other maintenance items to reduce downtime, according to company officials.

Details of the New Engine Rebate program and specific amounts by engine model can be found here.

Another advantage of the rebate program is a relaxed core engine exchange condition, company officials noted. There are no extra charges for corrosion, sulphidation, expired life limited parts, non-genuine P&WC parts, FOD or missing logs.

Any core engine will be accepted as long as it was not removed for unscheduled reasons, officials noted.