Photo of the fuel being dumped mid-flight from United flight 139. Photo by Chris Seewald.
A United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner (Flight 139) from Denver to Narita, Tokyo made an emergency landing today at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) at about 4:15pm PST. The aircraft was met by fire crew, was inspected and allowed to park at the A-concourse. Fire crews determined the aircraft was safe and mechanics are in the process of repairing the aircraft after there was a reported issue with the oil filter.
“United flight 139 from Denver to Tokyo-Narita diverted to Seattle due to an indication of a problem with an oil filter,” stated an airline spokesperson via email. “The aircraft landed normally and without incident and we are working to reaccommodate customers.”
A photo taken from one of the passengers on the flight, Chris Seewald, was able to capture the Dreamliner dumping fuel before landing, which is standard procedure. Multiple reports from the ground show that United will be bringing in a replacement aircraft tonight and passengers will continue their flight to Japan tomorrow morning.
Although this is a minor issue and airline diversions are made all the time, unfortunately, the world is currently watching the 787 Dreamliner closely. It seems that this incident shows more of the power of social media and sharing experiences almost in a live fashion than it does about safety/mechanical concerns of the 787 Dreamliner.
The United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner (N26906) involved in the emergency landing taken in November 2012. Photo by Andrew W. Sieber / Flickr CC.
An overview shot of the Paris Air Show. Photo by Jason Rabinowitz / Airchive.com.
As expected, the Paris Air Show 2013 started off with announcements from aircraft manufacturers and airlines. Here’s just some of what happened on Monday & Tuesday:
- Embraer officially launched their next-generation E-Jets, to be called E-Jets E2, with two significant orders. US Regional SkyWest Airlines ordered 100 of the 80-seat E-175 E2 jets, and have purchase rights for another 100 planes. Mega-leasing company International Leasing Finance Company (ILFC) signed a Letter of Intent to purchase 25 each of the E-190 E2 and E-195 E2 jets. They have options to double the order. SkyWest is the launch airline, and will get their new E-175 E2s in 2020. The E-190 E2 will be delivered much earlier, starting in 2018.
- Bombardier Aerospace announced that a previously-confirmed order for 10 CS100s is held by Odyssey Airlines, which plans to operate from the 4,900 ft runway at London City Centre Airport. (LCY).
Airbus flag waving from the flight deck of the A350. Photo by Chris Sloan.
An excerpt from Chris Sloan’s story on Airchive.com:
The first half of 2013 and has certainly been a busy year in the annals of commercial aviation. In January the worldwide fleet of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded; not taking to the skies again until May. On Valentine’s Day, American Airlines and USAirways announced a blockbuster merger creating the world’s largest airline and effectively ending the legacy airlines consolidation game in the United States. In early March, Bombardier rolled-out the CSeries CS100, the first in a line of airliners that could not only be a game changing regional jet, but possibly challenge the Airbus A320 / Boeing 737 duopoly.
These headlines alone would make any year exceptional, but only midway through the year another major event loomed large. On June 14th Airbus embarked on flying for the first time what’s likely the last ’œtotally clean sheet’ large airliner for the rest of this decade ’“ the A350 XWB. Even with roughly 2 days notice, there was absolutely no way I was going to miss this historic event. I, along with many had suspected June 13th or 14th would be ’œD-Day’ for the A350 so I had my bags packed and reservations on hold just in case.
As we would learn later, Airbus had this week as a target for the last 9 months. Much has been already written about the A350 over the last 7 years and its maiden flight, I want this piece to take you with me on what it was like moment by moment to be there and witness aviation history. First, let’s go back to the future for a little A350 XWB refresher.
Learn more about the Airbus A350 and see photos of the first flight at Airchive.com
The Boeing 787-10 seen in Dreamliner livery. Composite image from Boeing.
At the Paris Air Show today, Boeing officially launched the longer version of the Boeing Dreamliner: the 787-10. According to Boeing, “Customer launch commitments for the 787-10 include Air Lease Corporation, with 30 airplanes; GE Capital Aviation Services, with 10; International Airlines Group / British Airways, with 12 subject to shareholder approval; Singapore Airlines, with 30 and United Airlines, with 20 airplanes.”
BONUS: Video animation of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
The 787-10 becomes the largest of the Dreamliner family with an additional 20 foot stretch over the 787-9, seating for 300-330 passengers and the ability to fly up to 7,000 nautical miles. The new model is slated to complete final assembly and test flights in 2017 with first delivery in 2018.
Delta Sky Club at JFK.
When Delta opened their new T4 at New York’s JFK Airport on the 24th of May they also opened their new flagship Sky Club. The newest and largest Sky Club in the Delta network is a revolution to both AvGeeks and the traveling public.
Located just past gate B30 in Terminal 4, this 24,000 square foot facility is the new home to those with Sky Club access. Delta has created a number of new technologies based on traveler’s wishes and turned this into one amazing lounge. The entrance to the club has the same nondescript doorway that you might find at other lounges what is found inside is quite unique.
