A Pakistani aircraft carrying 47 people issued a Mayday call before losing radar contact and crashing into a mountain, killing everyone on board, authorities said, as they began collecting DNA Thursday to identify victims. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight smashed into a hillside in the country's north after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from the city of Chitral to the capital Islamabad. It burst into flames upon impact and parts of the wreckage were found hundreds of metres away from the main crash site in Abbottabad district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The pilot of the ATR-42 turboprop aircraft contacted ground authorities after one engine failed and issued a Mayday call at 4:14 pm (1114 GMT), Azam Saigol, the airline's chairman, told a news conference Wednesday in Islamabad. It began descending a minute later before disappearing from radar at 4:16 pm. "This plane was technically sound and was checked in October," he said, adding the captain had flown more than 12,000 hours and the aircraft was nine years old. "Our focus now is to retrieve all the dead bodies," he added, vowing a full investigation. PIA spokesman Danyal Gilani said the aircraft's black box has been recovered but "it will take time to ascertain a reason of the crash". An earlier death toll of 48 has been revised down to 47. Senior aviation officials on Thursday pushed back against allegations that a maintenance lapse had caused the accident. "One engine of the plane failed after its takeoff from Chitral and the pilot informed us about that in his call to the control. The plane, however, was cleared for flight and that's why it flew. Had it not been cleared, it would not fly," said Muhammad Irfan Elahi, a top aviation official. <br/>
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Demand for plane tickets at Southwest has climbed since Election Day, the carrier’s CE said, adding that he’s encouraged by President-elect Donald Trump’s stated plans to unwind regulations, cut corporate taxes and build infrastructure. “There’s definitely a lift in spirit,” Gary Kelly said Thursday, citing the stock market’s rally in the last month. “I don’t know that we can explain it, but we’ve seen a lift in our booking activity since the election.” The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 4.8% from Election Day through Wednesday, when Southwest closed at a record. The average portion of seats sold per plane, known as load factor, reached 85.1% last month on the carrier, up from 83.3% a year earlier “We had a record load factor for November,” he said. “It’s not that it was remarkably better, but it was better and we had a really strong month. And bookings for December look a little better. Does that translate into anything different? Not necessarily, except I think we are all feeling a little bit more spring in our step.” Trump’s statements about investing in infrastructure are especially welcome to an industry grappling with a “grossly inefficient” air-traffic-control system, with elements that date to the 1950s, said Kelly, 61. The CEO also is eager to be relieved of regulations that levy burdens on carriers for infrequent problems such as lengthy tarmac delays. He expressed concern, however, about the president-elect’s trade and immigration rhetoric. “Our route system is very well suited to Mexico. Our customers want to go there, and it’s all lined up very well,” he said, calling the country Southwest’s “biggest opportunity” for international growth. We need to grow, but to grow our economy we need to grow our jobs,” he said. “To grow our jobs, we are going to need to grow the population.”<br/>
The EU has added Iran's Aseman Airlines to its blacklist of companies banned from European skies due to safety concerns. The Tehran-based Aseman flies domestic and international routes, but none directly to EU member countries. Thursday's move is a blow to Iran as it looks to rebuild its aviation industry following the lifting of sanctions imposed over its nuclear ambitions. The EU's Executive Commission also said it had removed all airlines certified in Kazakhstan from the blacklist, given recent improvements in aviation security in the country. The move means that a total of 193 airlines are still banned in Europe. Not all banned airlines fly to Europe, but blacklisting has been a strong incentive for companies to improve their standards and for countries to boost aviation safety.<br/>
Philippine Airlines has finalised a firm order for five Bombardier Q400s and purchase rights for another seven, launching the two-class, 86-seat variant. The deal dates back to a letter of intent that was originally announced Oct. 14, 2016. The five firm aircraft are valued at $165m at list prices, or $401m if purchase rights are firmed, and are scheduled for delivery in 2017. “The extra-capacity, two-class Q400 aircraft will offer Philippine Airlines significant opportunities to differentiate itself competitively,” Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer said. Philippine Airlines will use the aircraft to develop its domestic operations from secondary hubs and increase intra-island connectivity. The airline serves 30 destinations in the Philippines and over 43 destinations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Oceania, North America and Europe.<br/>