Loss of control risk behind proposed 737 wiring change

Three reports of pilots failing to manually activate air data sensor heating systems on Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft have prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to propose a fix to more than 1,000 aircraft in the US-registered fleet. Air data sensors include pitot tubes, which if partially or fully blocked by ice, provide erroneous airspeed information to the flight deck. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

First A380s with line-fit wing-fix to be delivered in 2014

Airbus is expecting one-off charges to implement a retrofit solution to the A380 wing-rib cracking problem to reach €260 million ($330 million) over 2012. The airframer's parent, EADS, revealed in its first-quarter results that it had already taken a €158 million charge relating to fixing 71 in-service A380s - a fix which, it says, is "more complex" than originally anticipated in March this year. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

ANA and JAL extend grounding of 787s

Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) have extended the grounding of its Boeing 787 fleet, following reports that official investigations into the 787 incidents could still be far from over. ANA will be grounding its 787s until 31 January at least, and is using older Boeing 767s and 777s on some services originally scheduled to be operated by the problematic aircraft type. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

A380 wing-cracks to require eight-week repair downtime

Airbus A380 operators face a 30,000 man-hour repair programme to address wing-crack issues that have dogged the airliner which will require an eight-week downtime if implemented in one instalment. The European airframer confirms that if airlines choose to undertake the repair "nose-to-tail" it will require around eight weeks to implement. However Airbus says that it expects most operators would opt to adopt the phased approach spread out over three two-year heavy checks which is less… (www.flightglobal.com) More...

Elon Musk: Boeing 787 battery fundamentally unsafe

The lithium ion batteries installed on the Boeing 787 are inherently unsafe, says Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and owner of electric car maker Tesla. "Unfortunately, the pack architecture supplied to Boeing is inherently unsafe," writes Musk in an email to Flightglobal. "Large cells without enough space between them to isolate against the cell-to-cell thermal domino effect means it is simply a matter of time before there are more incidents of this nature," he adds. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

MAS ponders longer-range A330 proposal as 777 replacement

Malaysia Airlines is evaluating whether to standardise on the Airbus A330 for its widebody operations, and could order a longer-range version if Airbus decides to develop one. "We want to rationalise the fleet - I hate running an airline with too many aircraft types," says Malaysia Airlines group chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

One year later, no issues for Boeing 787 battery redesign

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says today that it expects to release at the end of this year a probable cause for the Boeing 787 battery malfunctions that grounded the fleet for four months in 2013. The investigative work by the NTSB should be complete by late March. The investigation team will then begin preparing a final report, which will be presented to the board at a public meeting in Washington DC in the fourth quarter, the NTSB says. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

Airbus and Boeing post new orders and output high

Airbus and Boeing delivered a record number of airliners last year as both manufacturers broke the 14-year-old benchmark of 620 aircraft set by the US manufacturer in 1999. The two companies also reached a new high for annual sales, securing 2,858 net orders between them. Airbus confirmed today that that it delivered 626 aircraft last year, almost 7% more than it did in 2012. Although this is a new record for Airbus, it was 12 aircraft short of the 648 shipments Boeing completed, which is a new… (www.flightglobal.com) More...

Ryanair said to seal deal for 200 737s

Irish budget carrier Ryanair is not commenting on a report that it is set to announce a long-awaited order for up to 200 Boeing 737s on 17 March. The report, carried by the Irish Independent, does not cite sources. But it suggests the order will be confirmed by US president Barack Obama and prime minister Enda Kenny at the White House on St Patrick's Day. A spokeswoman for the airline says it does not comment on rumour or speculation. (www.flightglobal.com) More...

American ‘evaluating’ proposed long-range A321neo

American Airlines is “evaluating” Airbus’ proposed long-range A321neo, says vice-president of fleet planning Peter Warlick. “We will be evaluating the economics and the range and performance capabilities of the long-range version of the A321neo,” he says in an employee newsletter on 30 October that was first reported by Bloomberg. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier would likely use a long-range A321neo, which is being design specifically with transatlantic routes in mind, to replace… (www.flightglobal.com) More...