Aviacsa Boeing 737-200 at McCarran Int'l Airport in Las Vegas
Due to reports of irregularities of Aviacsa’s airline maintenance, Mexico has demanded no more of their planes fly and have 60 days to fix any issues. The airline has a fleet of 26 planes, serving 17 cities, including Las Vegas.
The airline is defending themselves saying the problems were only “cosmetic — opaque logos, dull lights and scratches on the wings.”
The Transportation and Communications Department however stated that the issues found “put passengers at risk,” and it would be odd for a government to shut down an airline due to faded logos. The fact that 21 of their planes are Boeing 737-200’s and the others are Boeing 737-300 (as of Sept 2008), they are not new planes and could likely have other issues.
Source: AP Image: gTarded
Test Pilot Captain Keith Pattie, right, Air New Zealand's Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan, left, pose with the company's CEO , Rob Fyfe before their test of a Bio Fuel mixture in the left hand engine of Boeing 747 in Auckland, New Zealand
Back in late 2008 I talked about how Boeing was working with Continental Airlines on an algae-based bio fuel.
On Thursday Bill Blover, managing director of environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Planes stated the new fuel could be approved and in commercial flights as early as early 2010. He states the technology is ready, but there isn’t enough plant stock yet to create enough fuel.
The New York Times reportsthat Boeing has been working with four airlines on four different fuel mixtures, “Virgin Atlantic flight using a coconut- and babassu-derived biofuel blend; an Air New Zealand flight using a jatropha-derived biofuel blend; a Continental Airlines flight using a blend of algae- and jatropha-derived biofuel; and a Japan Airlines flight using an algae-, jatropha- and camelina-derived biofuel blend.”
Air New Zealand showed a 1% improvement in fuel efficiency which might not sound like a lot, but a large jet burning fuel on a 12 hour flight, equates to about a savings of 1.43 metric tons of fuel and 4.5 metric tons of reduced carbon dioxide. Multiply that by the amount of flights going on globally on any given day, and that ads up to a lot of savings.
Even though we might start seeing some new biofuel in some jets starting in early 2010, they will still have to fight production ability and being cost effective compared to jet fuel and if the economy is down, it is most likely airlines won’t be willing to pay a premium for green fuel.
Image: AP Photo/NZ Herald, Paul Estcourt
Vietnam Airlines Boeing 777-2Q8 (ER) VN-A149 is racing down runway 18W in front of the fire station.
Where more and more liveries are going to mostly being white and not being unique, Vietnam Airlines has a gorgeous metallic blue livery.
Image: Thomas Becker
Boeing 777 not looking so great
British Airways Flight 38 crashed in Heathrow Airport in London in January 2008. Luckily no one died and only 13 of the 136 aboard had minor injuries. The flight landed 1000 feet short of the runway due to lack of thrust to the engines, probably caused from ice in the fuel lines.
Upon landing, the landing gear collapsed and caused quite a mess.
Since then, the aircraft has been kept intact while investigating the accident. Even though the investigation is not completed, permission has been given for the airframe to be “broken up” and “sent for recycling.”
It is quite interesting to think what will happen to the airframe and in what future products it might end up in.
Source: Wikipedia & FlightGlobal Image: Wikipedia
CanJet Boeing 737 That was hijacked this Sunday
An 8 hour stand off with police and a hijacker is now over. A 20 year old Jamaican took over the CanJet plane after using force to get past security. He released all the passengers and two crew members, but held another six hostage.
It appears the young man had some mental issues (obviously) and was upset over a recently distraught relationship.
The CanJet Airlines flight 918 was a Boeing 737 enroute to Cuba.
Source: AP Image: AP