Posts with the tag ‘aviation’


Will Passengers Weigh in on the Dreamliner?

May 13, 2013

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED AND REVISED  Does the decision of the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the Dreamliner to fly again need judicial review? An airline passenger rights organization thinks so. In a petition to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA, FlyersRights.org is asking that the Boeing 787 be restricted to routes that are no farther than 2 hours from the nearest diversion airport. Paul Hudson, the president of FlyersRights.org and the chief of the Airline Consumer Action Project says the issue is “urgent” since airlines around the globe are beginning to put the Dreamliners back into service as Boeing’s battery-in-a-box safety enhancements are… Read More…


Apology and Correction – Ethiopian IS Flying 787 Again

April 30, 2013

Readers, an apology is in order. Jon Ostrower of the Wall Street Journal informs me that Ethiopian Airlines is flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its Addis Ababa to Frankfurt route and my earlier post suggesting that the headline making Saturday re-inaugural flight of the troubled twin jet was a one-off is incorrect.  Earlier in the day I was told by Ethiopian reservations agent that the 787 was not flying which I took as an acknowledgement by the airline that before it put the plane and its brand new fire and smoke containing battery box back on the line, it would do a little more flight… Read More…


Is Ethiopian’s First Dreamliner Flight a Delusion?

April 29, 2013

Ethiopian’s 787 ET-AOP on April 27th Boeing photo THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED AND UPDATED HERE. Ethiopian Airlines loaded up Flight 801 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on Saturday and literally lifted the Dreamliner from its three month grounding, the first Boeing 787 customer to resume service on the troubled jet or so the stories say. But wait, announcing a resumption of service may be a tad premature. A more careful reading of the Ethiopian and Boeing press releases seems to indicate that despite the fuss, the flight was a one-off. Tewolde Gebremariam in Addis Ababa Sure there were passengers on board the plane, including Tewolde… Read More…


ETOPS Restrictions for the 787 – 2nd Biggest Nightmare

April 17, 2013

Presumptive much? In Tokyo on March 16, Boeing’s Mike Sinnett made some very bold statements when asked if the Dreamliner’s battery woes might result in the Federal Aviation Administration‘s restricting the airplane’s ETOPS overwater capabilities. Why should it? Mike Sinnett, suggested to a room full of journalists. “The certification plan is designed to lift the AD (airworthiness directive) to fully comply and there will be no additional limitations on the airplane following the lifting of the AD.” That’s not what I’m told, and replying to a question in a Senate hearing yesterday the Seattle Times Dominic Gates reports, FAA chief Michael Huerta made it clear the troubled jet’s… Read More…


A Crash Every Two Years, Who Is Worried About That?

April 12, 2013

When I’m hard at work, taking notes say, at a National Transportation Safety Board public forum, I will have my laptop open, my iTouch recording and (busted) be checking my email on my Samsung Galaxy Smartphone. All of these devices are powered by lithium ion batteries, and not just that, but cobalt oxide formulations, one of the more volatile chemistries. This was noted by none other that the NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman as she spoke with reporters at the end of day one of the forum focusing on these batteries. The day was filled with facts and included several experts concluding that the technology may be… Read More…


Air Ambulance Pilot Demonstrates How Deadly Distraction Can Be

April 10, 2013

The pilot of an emergency medical helicopter was text messaging before and during the flight that ended in disaster near an airport in Mosby, Missouri in 2011. His actions and his distraction were cited as contributing factors in the crash that killed four people on board an Air Methods helicopter in August 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. During a hearing into the cause of the crash, Bill Bramble, a human performance specialist with the NTSB said, “A lot of texting was going on.” And while the information that a stream of text messages were received and sent by the pilot during the… Read More…


Patty Wagstaff Sky High But Down to Earth Air Show Star

March 28, 2013

Patty Wagstaff provided photo  When she wows crowds on the air show circuit, pilot Patty Wagstaff often pulls her airplane nose high. But when it comes to her personal interactions, she is a down-to-earth, everywoman. The 61 year-old, air acrobat’s appearance at New York’s Wings Club was one of the more glamorous events held by this group of international aviation executives – even without the black tie and spangly dresses that are required for the annual gala in the fall. On Wednesday night, Wagstaff was dressed in low-key white button down blouse and (waaay less low-key) black leather pants to accept the Outstanding Aviator Award given by… Read More…


Señora’s No Shaky Reason For Aviation

March 22, 2013

Boston Logan knows how to display airliners One can’t be immersed in aviation without forming all sorts of opinions about its impact.  How one defines the reason for aviation can be roughly categorized. The Air Transport Action Group tallies it up in a report called Aviation Benefits Beyond the Borders, a study industry groups like International Air Transport Association will surely use to lobby governments to be more like partners and less like adversaries.   Fifteen hundred airlines worldwide, 24 thousand airplanes, $2.2 trillion (yep, with a T) in economic benefits; those are big numbers that sure get my attention, though it’s less certain if presenting facts to busybody lawmakers will convince… Read More…


787 Battery Box Has Boeing Confined

March 14, 2013

Battery from ANA Dreamliner. Photo courtesy JTSB The materials engineers at Boeing are probably already calculating the size and shape of the new box that will confine the Dreamliner’s lithium ion batteries. But it will take a magician to get Boeing out of the box it’s presently in. It has an airplane tied up to its wingnuts with a battery technology that may have to go and every way it turns, it finds another corner it cannot navigate. Lithium ion, you recall, was selected because of Boeing’s desire to get a lighter, more fuel efficient airplane. By using two sixtyish pound batteries to provide some of the airplane’s voracious… Read More…


Etihad Ad Shows Beautiful People Doing Beautiful Things

March 6, 2013

Emirates Training College in Dubai For a story I wrote for The New York Times in the summer of 2011, I spent a week training to be a flight attendant with Emirates. Every day I walked from my hotel in Dubai to the metro stop and boarded a train to the aviation academy near the airport. I was wearing my student uniform; black pants and a red polo shirt with Emirates emblazoned in gold thread on the chest.   Emirates’ students in a safety class In this attire, I was a magnet to people who wanted to talk about the airline. To a person they were enamored of Emirates. This was… Read More…


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