Tag Archives: Federal Aviation Administration

Expect to use some portable electronic devices during the entire flight very soon

by Devesh Agarwal The United States’ aviation regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has today allowed airlines to relax rules regarding the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on-board flights below 10,000 feet. In a release the FAA said Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, …

Read More »

FAA significantly enhances pilot qualification standards

by Devesh Agarwal The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it is increasing the qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines. The rule requires first officers – also known as co-pilots – to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, requiring 1,500 hours total time as a pilot. Previously, first officers were required …

Read More »

Boeing to begin modifying 787s for return to service

Boeing image Today’s approval of battery system improvements for the 787 Dreamliner by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clears the way for Boeing and its customers to install the approved modifications and will lead to a return to service and resumption of new production deliveries. The FAA’s action will permit the return to service of 787s in the United …

Read More »

FAA Approves Boeing 787 Battery System Design Changes

The long grounded Boeing 787 fleet across the world are expected to soon return to the skies, as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today took the next step in returning the Boeing 787 to flight by approving Boeing’s design for modifications to the 787 battery system. The changes are designed to address risks at the battery cell level, the …

Read More »

United States NTSB identifies origin of Japan Airlines’ Boeing 787 battery fire – Update 1

by Devesh Agarwal Updated Feb 8, 2013, 0100 GMT, 0630 IST At a news conference today, NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman identified the origin of the Jan. 7 battery fire that occurred on a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston Logan Airport, and said that a focus of the investigation will be on the design and certification requirements of the …

Read More »

Update 1: Air India grounds its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, after FAA emergency directive

by Devesh Agarwal The fleet of six Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners of state-owned national carrier Air India has been grounded by the country’s aviation regulator the DGCA, which took this decision following the issue of an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the regulator in the country of manufacture, and also the certifying body of the …

Read More »

FAA grounds the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier today, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all flights of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the United States due to the recent issues with the Lithium-Ion batteries on-board several different 787s, which are attributed as the cause for the recent fire of the engine of a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston as well as several …

Read More »

Air India stands by its Boeing 787 Dreamliners as Japan grounds almost 50% of the global fleet

by Devesh Agarwal National carrier Air India has stood by the six Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, even as safety concerns grounded the 787 fleet at the first two operators of the aircraft, both from Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). Between the two of them, ANA and JAL operate almost 50% of the global 787 …

Read More »

US FAA and EASA issue Emergency Airworthiness Directive on Airbus A320 family aircraft

DATE: December 17, 2012AD #: 2012-26-51 Emergency airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-26-51 is sent to owners and operators ofAirbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. BackgroundThe European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has issued EASA Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2012-0264-E, dated December 17, 2012 (referred to after this …

Read More »

IndiGo responds to DGCA’s charges on “unsafe airlines”

The on-going spat between India’s aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the airlines has been raging for the last few days, which has seen some pretty serious charges come forth from the regulator. IndiGo, which is believed to be India’s only profitable airline at present, has responded to the charges of the DGCA in a statement. IndiGo …

Read More »

India and USA to enter into a bilateral aviation safety agreement

The Governments of India and the United States are in the process of entering into bilateral aviation safety agreement. As the aviation vendor base of both Boeing and Airbus increase in India, the eventual goal is for this agreement to lead to an agreement allowing for the mutual acceptance of aeronautical products and parts developed in either country. A six …

Read More »

India passes FAA IASA audit; hopes for Jet Airways United Airlines codeshare improve

A herculean effort mounted by Secretary Civil Aviation Nambiar and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Nasim Zaidi helped India pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program audit of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). During its 2006 audits, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had found several violations of 300 guidelines. Shortage of skilled manpower was the …

Read More »

EASA proposes Airworthiness Directive on Airbus A330/A340 Thales pitot probes

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released a Proposal for an Airworthiness Directive (PAD) requiring all Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft currently equipped with Thales pitot probes should be equipped with Goodrich pitot probes on position 1 (Captain) and 3 (Standby) instead, while pitot probe 2 (first officer) should be upgraded to the enhanced Thales pitot probe type BA …

Read More »

Video: How to fight laptop computer lithium ion battery fires

In recent years, we have heard about a number fires and subsequent safety recalls on cell phone and laptop batteries most notably of Dell and Apple, but also of Toshiba, Hewlett Packard. Sony, Lenovo/IBM, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Sharp, and Nokia. On February 7, 2006, about 23:59 eastern standard time (06:59Z), a United Parcel ServiceCompany (UPS) McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71F, registration N748UP, performing …

Read More »

Airlines in India face higher penalties for violations as India ratifies ICAO Montreal Convention 1999

Airlines flouting rules relating to safety and passenger comfort will now have to pay higher penalties with new laws coming into effect. The penalties will be imposed on an airlines if it violates safety aspects like airworthiness of the aircraft, security and issues relating to passenger comfort. The rules raise the penalty limit from Rs 1,000 to up to Rs …

Read More »

World’s largest Boeing 777 operator confident in Rolls Royce Trent 800 engine

Follow Bangalore Aviation on Twitter On March 12th, I had written about the “urgent” safety recommendations by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the Rolls Royce Trent 800 RB211 engines which are used by many Boeing 777 operators. It is estimated that there are currently about 220 Boeing 777s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines in operation with …

Read More »

India risks downgrade by US FAA under IASA program

An audit team of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is meeting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in Delhi today. The team will check if India is following the international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Program. During its 2006 audits, ICAO had found several violations …

Read More »

NTSB issues urgent safety recommendation on Rolls Royce RB211 Trent 800 Boeing 777s

Following two engine thrust rollback events on Boeing 777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce engines, the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an urgent safety recommendation today calling for the redesign of a Rolls- Royce engine component. The Safety Board also recommended that, after the redesign is completed, the new system be installed on all affected Boeing 777 airplanes …

Read More »

FAA issues airworthiness directive mandating third A330 A340 inertial navigation fault fix

The United States Federal Aviation Administration today issued a final airworthiness directive (AD) instructing operators of most Airbus A330 and A340 models to power down suspect air data inertial reference units (ADIRU) using one specific rotary dial on the panel. The mandate follows EASA Emergency AD 2008-0225-E of December 18, 2008, which superseded EASA Emergency AD 2008-0203-E of November 19, …

Read More »

FAA safety alert for cockpit – please turn off your cell phones

“Please switch of all wireless equipment as these interfere with our navigation and safety systems”. All of us have this mantra down pat. But incredulous or hilarious as this may sound, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was forced to issue a Safety Alert For Operators (SAFO) 9003, to remind flight crew to have their mobile phones turned off while …

Read More »
+OK