NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV, September 2
Near-collisions down at NLV Airport

The number of planes nearly colliding with other aircraft or objects on runways at the oft-criticized North Las Vegas Airport continued to drop last fiscal year.

That's according to a new Federal Aviation Administration report.

In the 2003 fiscal year, North Las Vegas had two such incidents, called runway incursions by the FAA, down from seven the year before. But in 2003 the general aviation airport was also one of only two accidents last year in the nation involving aircraft colliding.

The FAA has found that nearly two-thirds of the near-collisions nationwide are caused by pilot error, or by the error of someone driving another vehicle on the runways.

Nationally there were 324 near collisions in 2003, down from 339 in 2002 and from 405 in 2000.

Air Safety Week’s David Evans Wins International Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award

(POTOMAC, MD, July 22, 2004) — David Evans, editor of Air Safety Week, this week won the Royal Aeronautical Society’s (RAeS) prestigious 2004 Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award in the maintenance category. He accepted the award at a gala dinner in London on July 19.

Evans’ May 26, 2003, Air Safety Week article, “Air Midwest Crash Exposes Systemic Shortcomings,” garnered top honors this year in the Maintenance Category -- one of 15 categories in the Awards program. This is Evans’
fourth RAeS award.

Former Swiss Aviation Official To Take Over Europe's JAA

Andre Auer Quit Switzerland's Civil Aviation Authority In Midst Of Safety Flap The man who quit as head of Switzerland's civil aviation authority amid accusations that he let safety standards slip to a dangerous level is now the head of Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities.

Andre Auer says he'll take the EU job beginning in November.
Auer is appealing the Swiss government's decision to terminate his contract and not pay a severance reportedly worth twice his annual salary.

The Swiss Federal Office Of Civil Aviation (FOCA) is in the midst of a major shake-up under the leadership of Auer's successor, Raymond Cron.
The web site Swissinfo.org reports there have been three fatal air accidents in Switzerland over the past four years, including a midair near Lake Constance in 2002.

A worker with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) adjusts parts of the 'Flight Guard' system, an Israeli developed system to safeguard aircraft against ground-to-air missiles, on an experimental airplane in Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 27 2004. The system, which uses computerized radar to help the pilot decide when to launch flares to divert heat-seeking missiles, has been installed in helicopters, cargo planes and VIP jets in Europe, Africa, the Far East and the Persian Gulf, the system's developer said Sunday. The 'Flight Guard' system was meant to prevent attacks like the one launched against an Israeli Arkia charter jet over Kenya in September 2002. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
AP - Jun 27 11:06 AM
A worker with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) walks next to an experimental airplane on which the 'Flight Guard' system, an Israeli developed system to safeguard aircraft against ground-to-air missiles, is installed, in Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 27 2004. The system, which uses computerized radar to help the pilot decide when to launch flares to divert heat-seeking missiles, has been installed in helicopters, cargo planes and VIP jets in Europe, Africa, the Far East and thePersian Gulf, the system's developer said Sunday. The 'Flight Guard' system was meant to prevent attacks like the one launched against an Israeli Arkia charter jet over Kenya in September 2002. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

NTSB Wants CO Detectors
Although the text of the recommendation seems vague to us, it appears the NTSB is asking the FAA to require carbon monoxide detectors on most single-engine aircraft. In a safety recommendation issued Wednesday, the NTSB asks the FAA to "require the installation of CO detectors ... in all single-engine reciprocating-powered airplanes with forward-mounted engines and enclosed cockpits that are already equipped with any airplane system needed for the operation of such a CO detector." That would appear to mean that if the detector needs electricity and your airplane has an electrical system, then the detector would be mandatory.

Two Flights Grounded, The World Looks For 747 Cracks

Tue, 08 Jun '04

Damage In Paint Shop May Be To Blame

It started when Qantas mechanics found alarming cracks that grounded two of its Boeing 747s. That prompted a warning to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia, which has so far received reports of similar cracks in the fuselages of more than 40 aircraft worldwide.

Experts tell Australian reporters this is the type of damage that can come during aircraft repainting when metal tools impact the exterior of the aircraft. In one case, Qantas inspectors found a 70 centimeter crack in a strap that ties one part of the fuselage from another. They said the crack grew from damage sustained when the aircraft was being painted by its former owner, Malaysian Airlines.

Such cracks, caused by metal tools impacting the sheet metal of the fuselage are called scribe lines. Mark that one down -- you'll doubtlessly be hearing a lot more about such cracks in the future.

Already, CASA says similar markings have been found on 32 Boeing 737s, four 747s and seven 757s.

Stand by to receive the AD from the FAA.

Is there a doctor on the plane? No, they're too worried about being sued

Doctors are increasingly reluctant to give medical assistance on aircraft for fear of being sued if things go wrong, according to a new report.

Around 1,000 incidents requiring medical assistance occur on aircraft around the world each week, but doctors are growing wary of coming to the aid of sick passengers.

The British Medical Association is today calling for national and international action to safeguard the health of the world's two billion annual air travellers. It says there are no regulated standards of health care or medical advice, and no first-aid training requirements for air crews.

In a report, The Impact of Flying on Passenger Health, the BMA says airline data shows of a "steady fall in the percentage of occasions when a doctor or healthcare professional responds to a crew announcement seeking a volunteer".

In the UK the General Medical Council stipulates that doctors have an ethical duty to help in an emergency. The BMA report cites data from Medaire, a US company that provides emergency medical assistance and advice to 70 airlines, showing that the reluctance of doctors to help is a global phenomenon.

Many airlines provide insurance to cover doctors carrying out "Good Samaritan" acts, the report says. In the US, legislation covers Good Samaritan acts but there is no equivalent law in the UK.
link

May 29, 2004 - Modify Airbus Rudder Design, NTSB Urges; The manufacturer says it agrees. Rudder problems have led to 2 major accidents, one fatal, in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (USA) - Federal aviation officials should require Airbus to modify its A300-600 jets to limit rudder movements that could seriously damage an aircraft's vertical tail, the National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday.

In a letter, the NTSB urged the Federal Aviation Administration to require Airbus to alter the design of the control that limits the rudder's movement when the aircraft is changing speeds quickly. Too much back-and-forth motion can result in too much aerodynamic load, or air pressure, on the vertical tail, according to experts.

The recommendation arose from the NTSB's investigation of an accident on May 12, 1997, when American Airlines Flight 903 was upset at 16,000 feet near West Palm Beach, Fla. The jet banked steeply to the left and to the right, stalled several times, and fell more than 3,000 feet. One crew member was seriously injured, and the plane was slightly damaged.

Five years after the accident, the NTSB reexamined data from Flight 903's flight data recorder as part of its investigation into another accident involving an Airbus A300-600: the American Airlines Flight 587 crash into a Queens, N.Y., neighborhood on Nov. 12, 2001, which killed 265 people. In that accident, the tail broke off the plane.

As a result of the safety board's reexamination, the Flight 903 plane was inspected and the vertical tail was replaced.The NTSB said the safety issues in the earlier accident were not a factor in the Flight 587 tragedy, which did not involve a rapid increase in airspeed.

But Chuck Eastlake, an aerospace engineering professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., said the two accidents may differ, but not completely."You have to admit that 587 has sensitized everybody to the potential danger of overloading vertical tail," Eastlake said. "That was not viewed as a significant danger prior to the 587 accident."

The NTSB has not determined the probable cause of the Flight 587 accident but is expected to do so later this year.

American Airlines and Airbus have traded accusations about the cause of the accident. Airbus has said that American's faulty training and pilot error were at fault, and American blames design flaws in the rudder controls.

The NTSB also urged the FAA to look at other kinds of jets to determine whether similar design changes are needed to prevent too much stress on the vertical tail.

Airbus spokeswoman MaryAnne Greczyn said the company expected the recommendation and is "in complete agreement with the NTSB on it."

About 240 A300-600s are in the world's fleet.

Single voice to represent aviation industry (Australia)

A new umbrella group has been formed to represent the aviation industry.
The Australian Aviation Council hopes to provide a single voice for bodies including airlines, airport operators and the Royal Australian Air Force.

Federal Transport Minister John Anderson launched the organisation today in Canberra.
Mr Anderson has wished the council all the best but says it will be difficult to unite the disparate views of the aviation industry.

"Aviation is made up of a lot of sectors and a lot of people with very strong opinions with very strong views on what the number one priority for aviation is and there's a lot of energy there," he said.

"No-one would like to see it more effectively harnessed than me."
link

Australia pioneers satellite tracking for aircraft

Australia is set to become the first country in the world to introduce satellite technology for tracking planes.

Air traffic controllers currently rely on radar and radio reports from pilots to keep flight paths clear.

But a successful trial of satellite technology in Bundaberg in the state of Queensland means the new system could be introduced by the end of next year.

Bernie Smith from Air Services Australia says 20 ground stations will be built across the country so traffic controllers will know exactly where aircraft are.

Mr Smith said: "It will give us much better separation standards so we'll be able to fit more aeroplanes into the same air space that will allow pilots to select altitudes more readily that give more passenger comfort."

A snockered stripper got past security in Scotland and climbed aboard a private jet to doze. The 22-year-old clambered over a barbed-wire fence and wandered along the runway in Aberdeen until finding the cozy cockpit and passing out for eight hours. The just-barely-clad missy told police upon her arrest that if they couldn't prevent her from boarding, they're not going to have much luck with terrorists...

May 2, 2004 - Deadly Airplane Crash Persuades Congressman To Push For Federal Review

WASHINGTON (USA) - The deadly crash of a commuter plane in Charlotte last year may lead to a review of the regional airlines.

Two congressmen from Minnesota and Oregon say they're concerned regional carriers are growing too fast.

They want a federal study of the commuter airlines.

21 people died when an Air Midwest commuter plane crashed about 30 seconds into its takeoff from Charlotte's airport.

Federal investigators blamed the crash on sloppy maintenance, poor federal oversight and excessive weight on the plane.

The congressmen have asked the General Accounting Office to review how well the FAA keeps track of smaller airlines.

Commercial Jets Must Have Defibrillators: FAA
7:20 am PST, 12 April 2004

Beginning Monday, every U.S. commercial jet must have a defibrillator aboard, as a way to immediately assist passengers in cardiac arrest.

The Federal Aviation Administration rule was four years' in the making. It requires an automated external defibrillator (AED) and more advanced medical kits on all big jets, USA Today reported, though commuter jets are exempt.

The AED is an easy to use piece of equipment that is applied to the chest and can deliver a perfectly timed countershock when someone is experiencing ventricular fibrillation. That's when the heart is not actually beating and circulating blood and oxygen, but rather is instead only quivering.

Defibrillators are designed to end ventricular fibrillation, which is a life-threatening condition, and help the heart recover to a normal beat.

The devices were ordered aboard commercial jets because in an emergency, it takes 20 minutes to land--far too long for a cardiac arrest patient to survive.

In 1996, American Airlines voluntarily added AEDs to its planes. In 1998, Mike Tighe of Boston became the first passenger to be saved in flight.

On a flight to Los Angeles, he collapsed while watching the in-flight movie. His wife, Dolores, a nurse, performed CPR until flight attendants arrived with a defibrillator, USA Today reported.

FAA Recommends Chip Detector Mod for PC-12s
Pilatus in February issued a mandatory Service Bulletin for the installation of a magnetic chip detector that provides warnings in all phases of flight for PC-12s S/N 101 through 230. The chip-detector warning system on these older PC-12s works only when the airplane is on the ground. The FAA has followed up with a special airworthiness information bulletin published on March 30 recommending its installation “as soon as possible.” However, the agency is not requiring installation, which falls short of an NTSB recommendation. The NTSB’s recommendation stems from its ongoing investigation into the forced landing after a PC-12’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engine failed on Oct. 16, 2002, over Trenton, N.J., and the Safety Board’s review of a February 2003 FAA special airworthiness information bulletin. The bulletin reported that up until February last year there had been 17 PT6-60-series engine failures in a variety of aircraft worldwide attributed to the failure of the number-one bearing because of electrical discharge damage.

MU-2 in Loss of Control Crash Did Not Break Up in Flight
An NTSB examination of the wreckage of MU-2 N201UV that crashed near Pittsfield, Mass., on March 25, and numerous witness reports of the airplane spinning, indicate that the twin turboprop did not break up during the rapid descent from its cruising altitude. The 33-year-old sole-occupant pilot was killed in the crash. VMC prevailed at the time of the accident, and an IFR flight plan had been filed for the trip, which originated at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland. The cargo flight was destined for Bangor International Airport, Maine. The last communication with the pilot was about nine minutes before the accident, when New York Center instructed him to contact Boston Center. The pilot acknowledged this transmission; however, he never contacted Boston Center. Preliminary radar data indicated the airplane was level at 17,000 feet msl. At 5:31 a.m. the airplane climbed about 300 feet in about one minute. Over the following 50 seconds the airplane descended from about 17,300 feet until the last radar return showed it at about 5,700 feet. The airplane hit a marshy field, upright, in a flat attitude. All major components of the airplane were attached, and 60 gallons of jet-A was drained out of the tanks. All de-ice and anti-icing switches were found in the off position.

New Fault Interrupter Could Prevent Dangerous Electrical Arcing

Air Safety Week:

An electrical system fault interrupter in development promises not only to forestall dangerous arcing events but also could provide diagnostic data of declining component reliability. With such warning of degraded performance, the high cost of unscheduled maintenance might be reduced significantly.

The device, known as a universal fault interrupter (UFI), could provide a greater enhancement to aircraft wiring and electrical system safety than arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) technology now in development. AFCIs are envisioned as replacements for thermally tripped circuit breakers (CBs) now commonly installed in cockpits. AFCI technology now in development is seen as the great hope for wiring system safety, as it acts more quickly than standard CBs to prevent dangerous arcing events (see ASW, Sept. 16, 2002). However, one of the great challenges in adapting AFCI technology to aircraft is shrinking the device sufficiently to fit in current CB panels, a necessity to provide a one-for-one replacement...For the full story go to: http://www.aviationtoday.com/VIPASW/asw/previous/asw0322.htm#A3

US Aviation Deaths Up In 2003

March 22, 2004

Nearly 700 people were killed last year in US civil aviation accidents, as crashes and fatalities increased over the year before, government figures showed on Monday.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported that total civil aviation accidents, the vast majority of which involved privately owned small planes, rose to 1,864 in 2003 from 1,820 in 2002. Overall fatal crashes were up by six, to 351, but deaths jumped by 79 to 695.

Board officials did not provide an analysis to explain the increases.

The lone airline crash of 2003 killed 21 people in January. That involved a US Airways commuter plane operated by Air Midwest in Charlotte, North Carolina. Maintenance shortfalls were cited in the accident.

There were 77 accidents involving air taxis -- small passenger planes that make short flights where no airline service is available -- compared with 59 in 2002. Total fatalities in those crashes rose by 10 to 45.

JAL passenger warned in tough new crackdown on smoking

Police have warned a Japanese passenger who violated a tough new smoking-ban under the revised Aviation Law that bans harassing acts on planes.

The Japanese man in his 40s, whose name is being withheld, repeatedly smoked in a toilet and switched his mobile phone on despite receiving several warnings from attendants on a flight for Zurich jointly operated by Japan Airlines (JAL) and Swissair on March 9.

The Aviation Law was revised in January to ban any acts causing trouble to passengers and consequently JAL decided to file a report against the man with police at Narita airport, the first time any airliner has done so in Japan.

After the man returned to Japan on March 12, officers questioned him, but he escaped any punishment. (Wire reports, Japan, March 20, 2004)

Honeywell Studies Automated Cockpit To Prevent Crashes
Honeywell is testing a new type of automated cockpit concept that can take control of airplanes to keep them from flying into the ground or buildings. Called assisted recovery, the system uses the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) and autopilot to steer an airplane away from terrain or obstacles if the pilot has not attempted to do so within five seconds of an EGPWS warning. On fly-by-wire aircraft the system could be further developed to override the input of a pilot who unknowingly flies toward a mountain–or, just as serious, a hijacker intent on crashing into buildings.

The idea has been on the back burner at Honeywell for some time, but it’s getting extra attention in the aftermath of 9/11. Honeywell has tested the assisted recovery system in its King Air from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., and is in discussions with Airbus and Boeing about bringing it to airliners. Pilot groups so far have been skeptical, saying they oppose any flight-control system that cannot be overridden by the crew. In response, the avionics manufacturer said it would be possible to provide pilots with special passwords or other means to regain control from the flight computers. A Honeywell spokesman said the company sees a potentially large market for assisted recovery in business aviation as a way of preventing CFIT crashes, as well as accidental excursions into prohibited airspace, such as temporary flight restrictions (TFR) around nuclear powerplants and other sensitive sites.

Swiss Arrest Man Over Murder Of Air Controller

February 26, 2004

Swiss police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a Zurich air traffic controller who had been on duty on the night of a mid-air collision in which dozens of Russian children died, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Police, who say revenge for the disaster in 2002 may have been a motive, gave no further details but said the man had been held in relation to the death of the 36-year-old Dane, who was stabbed on his doorstep on Tuesday.

Police have said the knife man was a burly man in his early 50s who spoke "broken German" and may have been Russian.

The dead controller, who has not been named, was in charge of traffic over Lake Constance late on July 1, 2002 when a holiday charter carrying dozens of Russian children collided in the darkness with a cargo jet above the town of Ueberlingen.

In all, 71 people were killed.

-------------------------------------------------------
Swiss Air Mid-Air Crash Controller Stabbed To Death
-------------------------------------------------------
February 25, 2004
An assailant stabbed to death the air traffic controller who was on duty when two planes collided over southern Germany in July 2002, killing 71 people, Swiss police said on Tuesday.
Details: http://news.airwise.com/stories/2004/02/1077659102.html

02.12.2004 1:51 P.M.
Weather blamed for causing fatal 2002 airplane crash near Taos
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - An airplane crash near Taos that killed the two people aboard was caused by severe turbulence over nearby mountains, federal investigators say.

Dallas Whitman, 34, and Theodore R. Hiser, 48, of Mechanicville, N.Y., died Nov. 8, 2002, when the 1983 Westwind 1124A twin-turbojet airplane crashed on U.S. 64 about 18 miles northwest of Taos.

Whitman was the pilot of the transport plane manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries, state police said.

The airplane, operated by Richmor Aviation of Hudson, N.Y., was en route from Las Vegas, Nev., to Taos to pick up a passenger when it crashed while approaching Taos Regional Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Skies were overcast and there was severe turbulence at the time of the crash, the NTSB said in its final report on the accident.

"Examination of the airframe and engines did not disclose any structural or mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation," the NTSB said.

The probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's inadvertent flight" into waves of turbulence, "resulting in loss of aircraft control," the agency said.

full NTSB Report Narrative

White House to Propose $471 Million Cut in FAA Budget

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration plans to propose a 16% cut in spending

on air-traffic-control equipment and facilities, saving nearly half a

billion dollars a year but postponing or scaling back projects aimed at

making air travel more efficient, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

The proposed $471 million cut in the Federal Aviation Administration's

facilities and equipment budget, currently at a level of $2.9 billion, comes

partly in response to government audits critical of the agency's spending

habits, according to people familiar with the matter. Just like the industry

it regulates, the FAA is under pressure to rein in spending, which has

expanded 70% since 1996 to $14 billion this year. The increase has been

fueled partly by the agency's "lack of basic contract oversight," the

Department of Transportation's inspector general told Congress in October.

With the Congressional Budget Office projecting a $477 billion federal

budget deficit this year, the planned cuts at the FAA signal the kind of

belt- tightening expected throughout the government. Mr. Bush's overall

proposal, to be released Monday, is likely to call for cuts in several

domestic programs to allow the president to keep a lid on proposed spending

while increasing spending for defense and homeland security.

It isn't clear which FAA programs would be targeted under Mr. Bush's

proposed reductions http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJon

Civil aircraft incidents in Russia down 9.5% in 2003 to 932

Print news

MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Prime-Tass) -- The number of incidents involving civil aircraft in Russia fell 9.5% on the year to 932 cases in 2003, an official with Russia's State Civil Aviation Authority told Prime-Tass Friday.

Of the total, 73 incidents involving aircraft damage took place on the ground when maneuvering on the airfield or runways or due to the negligence of airport staff.

In 2002, this figure stood at 71, the official said.

In 2003, there were nine civil aircraft crashes, including two that claimed 29 lives.

These accidents involved an An-12 aircraft owned by the Zapolyarye Air Company, an An-3 plane belonging to Polyarnie Airlines, an An-2 plane of the Mirninsky company, and a Voronezhavia Tu-134.

Serious helicopter accidents included crashes of an Mi-8 owned by the Khalaktyrka company, and of a Ka-32 owned by NPK PANKH. The other helicopter accidents involved a Primair's Mi-2, a ChukotAvia's Mi-8 and a Gazpromavia's MI-2.

In 2002, there were seven civil aircraft crashes that claimed 131 lives.

January 23, 2003 - Plane Has Emergency Landing At Ellsworth Air Force Base

RAPID CITY, South Dakota (USA) - An American Airlines jet made an emergency landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base after the pilot reported possible electrical problems.

Flight 1321 was traveling from Seattle to Chicago when it landed without incident Wednesday around 6:10 p.m. CST.

''The captain had indication of a possible emergency with the electrical power supply and elected to land at Ellsworth,'' Sgt. Brian Jones, a public information specialist at the base, said Wednesday evening.

There were 57 passengers on board the MD-80 airplane.

American Airlines, which does not serve Rapid City, sent another plane to pick up the passengers, Jones said. It is unusual for a commercial airliner to land at the Air Force base, Jones said. He did not know why the pilot chose Ellsworth rather than the Rapid City Regional Airport.

Jerome Mitchell, interim airport manager at Rapid City Regional, said all airports accept landing requests from pilots in trouble.'' They must have chosen the base, for reasons I don't know,'' he said. ''It does have a longer runway, quite a bit longer. You can't deny them if they declare an emergency.''

January 23, 2003 - Passenger Jet In Emergency Landing After Blaze Scare

NEWCASTLE, England -- A passenger jet has been forced to make an emergency landing after the cockpit filled with smoke.

The plane carrying 51 passengers and six crew touched down safely at Newcastle airport yestreday morning.

The flight was on its way from Copenhagen to Manchester when air traffic control at Newcastle received a mayday call.

Checks confirmed there was no fire on board and an investigation is under way by a site engineering team to discover what caused the problem.

The passengers were taken to the airport terminal and given tea and coffee while coaches were laid on to take them to Manchester.

Canada Suspends Air Operator's License After Crash

January 22, 2004

Canada's transport watchdog, which is probing last week's deadly crash of a small aircraft into frozen Lake Erie, suspended the operator's license on Thursday, severely restricting travel options for residents of an island community.

The single-engine Cessna 208B Caravan crashed into the lake soon after taking off from Pelee Island on Saturday on a regular flight to Windsor, Ontario, killing all 10 people aboard.

Transport Canada said it suspended the air operator certificate of the plane's owner, Georgian Express, from Thursday while it assessed the accident.

"The company will be required to demonstrate that they meet all applicable rules and regulations before its Air Operator Certificate will be reissued," it said in a statement.

Georgian Express was not immediately available for comment. A worker at Windsor Airport said a Thursday afternoon flight to the island had left as scheduled.

Pelee Island's 220 residents depend on air travel to get on and off the island during winter when ferry service is suspended because the lake is frozen, and a local guesthouse owner said Georgian Express was the only airline running scheduled flights.

Mary Hamel said charter planes are available from the Ontario airports of Chatham or Windsor, or from Sandusky, Ohio, but they are more expensive.

"Everybody has to use that plane. I don't know what we'll do for tomorrow. You do feel very isolated over there in the winter," Hamel said from the mainland.

"We've been trying to get a Hovercraft over there for years. It would be ideal, especially in the winter time. They're safe, they're reliable. If they quit, they don't sink."

Uzbekistan Grounds Soviet Yak-40s

January 20, 2004

Uzbekistan has grounded its fleet of six remaining Soviet-built Yak-40 passenger jets ahead of the results of an official investigation into a crash last week that killed 37 people.

"We received an order to suspend flights of all Yak-40s until further notice, and at least until the government commission (on the crash) publishes its findings," a spokesman for national carrier Uzbekistan Airways said on Tuesday.

A Yak-40, arriving on a domestic flight from Termez at the Afghan border, crashed in thick fog at Tashkent Airport last Tuesday, killing all 32 passengers and five crew on board.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said the order to ground the remaining planes had come into effect on Sunday.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has ordered the government commission to report its preliminary findings by January 25.

The Uzbekistan Airways spokesman said that while the Yak-40s are grounded, domestic flights would be served by six Soviet-era turbo-prop An-24s, two Anglo-French RJ-85s and one recently commissioned Il-114-100 built by the Tashkent aviation factory.

January 19, 2004

Concerned Swiss travelers can email the government to ask whether a foreign carrier is banned from landing in Switzerland after a barred plane crashed earlier this month in Egypt killing all 148 people on board.

Swiss authorities barred Egyptian charter carrier Flash Airlines from entering its airspace more than a year before one of its Boeing 737 crashed into the Red Sea. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.

"Passengers and travel agencies can contact the Federal Office for Civil Aviation to inquire about whether an aircraft of a foreign airline has been banned from landing in Switzerland," the office said in a statement on Monday.

Interested parties can email, mail or fax their queries to the office, indicating the departing airport, destination, the name of the airline and the flight date.

Previously the information was confidential. But under pressure from passengers and consumer groups, the Office for Civil Aviation last week disclosed the names of seven airlines, some of whose planes are banned from Switzerland after checks revealed deficiencies.

It has stopped short of disclosing the owners of another 14 banned aircraft, citing data protection issues.