ALERT Indian Civil Aviation is investigating two IndiGo planes involved in a breach of separation

 

Two IndiGo planes avert mid-air collision over Bengaluru airport.

Two IndiGo planes averted a mid-air collision over the Bengaluru airport just after their take-off on the morning of January 9, senior officials of aviation regulator DGCA said.

Officials of Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that two IndiGo planes (flight #6E455 from Bengaluru to Kolkata and flight #6E246 from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar) were involved in ‘breach of separation’ at Bengaluru airport.

Breach of separation happens when two aircraft cross the minimum mandatory vertical or horizontal distance in an airspace.

Both these aircraft departed from the Bengaluru airport within a span of approximately 5 minutes on the morning of January 9, the officials mentioned.

“Both aircraft after departure were on converging heading i.e. moving towards each other. Approach radar controller gave diverging heading and avoided mid-air collision,” one of the officials noted.

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day... 

war between Airbus and Qatar Airways: the planemaker cancels a giant 50 A321neo jets order

 

Airbus says cancelled A321 contract with Qatar Airways.

Airbus said on Thursday it had cancelled a contract with Qatar Airways for 50 A321neo jets, broadening a $600-million-plus dispute with the Gulf carrier over the larger A350.

“We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights,” a spokesman said.

Airbus accused Qatar Airways of instigating a local grounding of A350 jetliners in order to claim compensation over alleged surface defects, and terminating a separate order for its hard-to-get A321neos.

“There is no reasonable or rational basis” for Qatari regulators to have grounded 21 of the A350s operated by the state-owned carrier, according to documents prepared by Airbus for a London court.

The planemaker will contend that Qatar Airways “sought to engineer or has acquiesced” in the groundings because it’s in the airline’s economic interest to idle planes “given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic” on demand.

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day... 

BREAKING Air Mauritius A350s flights #MK15 and #MK42 avoided midair collision over Sudan

 

A collision in the sky between two A350s after TCAS triggered.

On January 6, 2022 at 23:04 UTC, automatic pilot of two Air Mauritius A350s suddenly changed their trajectories while flying over Sudan as the aircraft detected a risk of collision.

Flight #MK015 from Paris and flight #MK042 were flying at 39,000 ft when they passed 800 meters from each other.

Flight #MK042 from Mauritius asked permission from the ATC to gain altitude to climb from 38,000 at 40,000 ft. The Sudanese dispatcher granted this permission, while flight #MK015 (coming in the opposite direction) was at 39,000 ft.

The ATC error would have cost lives is the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) didn’t triggered. The co-pilots of the two planes were on duty during the incident.

In a press release, Air Mauritius confirmed the facts: “On the night of January 6, 2022, the minimum spacing required between two aircraft of the company was reduced over the airspace of Khartoum (Sudan). Two planes, Airbus A350-900s, respectively operating flights MK015 from Paris and MK042 to London. The control tower (ATC) gave its agreement to the crew of flight MK042 to change altitude and it is during the climb that the incident occurred. The aircraft being equipped with TCAS, the warning and avoidance systems worked. An investigation is underway to determine the origin and causes of this situation.”

The responsibility of the air traffic controller is clearly engaged.

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day... 

FedEx wants to equip some aircraft with military-style missile countermeasures

 

FedEx wants to equip some aircraft with military-style missile countermeasures, which could allow it to continue flying over contested areas that might otherwise be closed to air traffic, according to a filing posted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In a notice of this “special condition” posted Friday, the FAA dryly observed that its design standards for commercial cargo planes “did not envisage that a design feature could project infrared laser energy outside the airplane” and therefore it sought special approval for this “novel design feature.” The proposed infrared laser system is intended to fool missiles fired from the ground.

“In recent years, in several incidents abroad, civilian aircraft were fired upon by man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS),” FAA said in its filing. “The FedEx missile-defense system directs infrared laser energy toward an incoming missile, in an effort to interrupt the missile’s tracking of the aircraft’s heat.”

When tensions in contested regions rise, the FAA tends to restrict civilian air traffic around those areas, forcing them to fly less-direct routes that cost more in time and fuel burn.

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day... 

BREAKING Emirates suspends flights to nine U.S. destinations until further notice due to 5G deployment

 

Dubai’s Emirates suspends flights to several U.S. destinations on 5G concerns.

Emirates announced on Tuesday that it will suspend flights to several destinations in the United States as of Jan. 19 until further notice because of concerns over 5G mobile deployment.

The move is “due to operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the U.S.”, the company said.

The airline said the destinations include:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas Fort Worth
• Houston
• Miami
• Newark
• Orlando
• San Francisco
• Seattle

Emirates flights to New York’s JFK, Los Angeles International Airport and Washington DC’s Dulles International Airport will continue to operate as usual, the company added.

“We are working closely with aircraft manufacturers and the relevant authorities to alleviate operational concerns, and we hope to resume our US services as soon as possible,” the carrier said.

FAA has approved two radio altimeter models as AT&T and Verizon are set to launch new 5G service on Wednesday.

Singapore Airlines will resume the World’s second-longest flight between Singapore and Newark

 

Singapore Airlines will be resuming the World’s second-longest flights between Singapore and Newark starting in March.

Singapore Airlines will be operating three daily flights to New York City upon resumption. Singapore Airlines will deploy its Airbus A350-900ULR, configured with 67 business-class and 94 premium economy seats.

Alongside the World’s two longest flights, SQ22 and SQ21 between Singapore and Newark and SQ24 and SQ23 between Singapore and New York-JFK, Singapore Airlines will continue to operate the fifth-freedom flight between Singapore, Frankfurt, and New York-JFK.

Commenting on this move, a Singapore airlines spokesperson said:

“Singapore Airlines will be operating three daily flights between Singapore and New York from 27 March 2022. This will be the first time that SIA will operate three daily services to the city and is part of the Airline’s continued efforts to strengthen its connectivity between the United States and Singapore.”

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day... 

BREAKING An Emirates Boeing 777 attempted to takeoff without clearance while another jet was crossing the runway at Dubai

 

A second serious incident occurred in less than a month at Dubai International Airport on January 9, 2022.

An Emirates Boeing 777 accelerated for take off at Dubai – *without air traffic control clearance* – meanwhile another Emirates jet was crossing runway.

A Boeing 777-300 performing flight #EK524 to Hyderabad was lined up for departure from Dubai International Airport.

The aircraft started to speed up for departure without clearance from ATC while another plane was crossing the runway 30R.

The pilots were then instructed by ATC to reject takeoff due to the crossing aircraft ahead. Source claims the B777 was at over 120 knots.

The jet slowed, then vacated the runway but was later cleared to depart just 30 minutes with same crew.

The second Emirates Boeing 777-300 crossing the runway was taxiing for departure to Bangalore, performing flight #EK568.

JAMES G. WAWERU

Senior aviation Editor,

James is a navigator/FOM2 currently blogging at airbizafrica. 

He is an aviation ethusiast and has an eye for details that 

often helps him spot the best stories of the day...