An interim report on the crash of an Emirates Boeing 777 in Dubai last year has been released on the first anniversary of the accident. The 777 hit the runway at Dubai International Airport while attempting a go-around after a flight from Thiruvananthapuram’s Trivandrum Airport in India. The aircraft touched down at 08:37 UTC, but the pilot initiated a go-around and attempted to become airborne again. The plane reached an altitude of 85 feet before sinking back onto the runway and catching fire. All three hundred people onboard, 282 passengers and 18 crew, evacuated the aircraft by emergency slides. Thirty people were injured, four cabin crew members seriously, and 26 sustained minor injuries. A firefighter died later after a central fuel tank exploded. The interim report, from the Air Accident Investigation Sector of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, said the investigation was looking at “human performance factors that influenced flight crew actions during the landing and attempted go-around.” The GCAA said it has made a detailed examination of the aircraft’s evacuation systems, including the operation of emergency escape slides, and tested many of the 777’s systems.<br/>
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An air carrier based in Alaska says it's filing a Chapter 11 reorganization plan. PenAir announced Monday it's closing its Denver hub pending approval from the US Department of Transportation. The move would end essential air service routes between Denver and Liberal and Dodge City in Kansas, and the Nebraska cities of North Platte, Kearney (CARN'-ee) and Scottsbluff. The company says a transition to a new carrier usually takes 30 to 90 days. PenAir had previously announced it was ending Portland, Oregon, regional routes. All but an essential air service route between Portland and Crescent City, California, are to be shut down after Monday. Operations in Alaska and Boston will not be affected. PenAir CEO Danny Seybert in the announcement says the reorganization will allow the company to emerge as a stronger airline.<br/>
New routes and increases in capacity helped Air Arabia grow its net profit to Dh261m in H1 this year, a 7% rise compared to the same period last year. The Sharjah-based low cost carrier said Monday it served over 4.1m passengers in the first six months of 2017, while the average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the same period stood at 79%. Turnover for the Middle East and North Africa’s largest low-cost carrier reached Dh1.716b, it said. “The first half of this year has seen Air Arabia continue its robust growth by launching new routes and increasing capacity across its operating hubs while remaining focused on driving operating cost margins lower by the day,” said Shaikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia. The airline received two new Airbus A320 aircraft in the first half of this year, and added 12 new routes from its major operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. Air Arabia currently serves a global destination network of 130 routes across the world. The airline launched three times a week flights to Sohar and five times a week to Trabzon, Turkey, last month.<br/>