A plane carrying 17 passengers crashed on Sunday in the densely populated city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 27 people, including some on the ground, officials said. A lawmaker, Jean Paul Lumbulumbu, vice president of North Kivu’s Parliament, said more than two dozen bodies had been pulled from the rubble. Two people were rescued before the plane exploded, including one member of the crew, according to the National Border Health Program, which confirmed 25 dead in a statement later Sunday. The 19-seat plane, operated by the private carrier Busy Bee, was headed for the city of Beni, about 155 miles to the north, when it crashed shortly after takeoff into residential homes near Goma’s airport in North Kivu Province, according to the office of Gov. Nzanzu Kasivita Carly of North Kivu. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Heritier Said Mamadou, a Busy Bee airline staff member, told reporters, “There were 17 passengers onboard and two crew members.” He said the plane had taken off around 9:10 a.m. The aircraft crashed in the Mapendo District shortly after “missing” its takeoff, according to the provincial governor.<br/>
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After insisting for 15 years that the superjumbo is the future, Emirates airline has been forced by the demise of the A380 to embrace smaller wide-body jets, resulting in a flurry of maneuvers between planemakers at this week’s Dubai Airshow. The 555-seat A380 is near the end of production, setting off a series of interlocking deals as top buyer Emirates reviews its fleet against the backdrop of fragmenting travel demand. Delays in the 406-seat Boeing 777X also weighed in the shake-up. “We have to face the reality of the cancellation of the (A380) program and the effect it has on our network, which is why we conducted a root and branch (review),” Emirates President Tim Clark said. The double-decker A380 superjumbo and the big twin-engined Boeing 777, plus mid-sized 787s and A350s, were all spread out in front of VIP chalets - the queens, bishops and knights in a game of industry chess being played out across the globe. While reducing its remaining orders for A380s, Emirates placed an expanded order at the show for 50 Airbus A350s but shelved earlier plans to order the 330-seat A330neo, an upgrade of an earlier model. It substituted part of an order for delayed 777X jets for 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners - 10 fewer than originally planned in a tentative 2017 order - as part of a $25 billion order shake-up. Many airlines say they can fly almost as profitably as the larger models but with less risk to the bottom line. The downside? Planes fill more quickly and passengers can flee to other carriers. Airport congestion is also a concern.<br/>
The founder and CEO of one of Nigeria’s largest airlines, Air Peace, has been indicted by the US Department of Justice on charges of bank fraud and money laundering for the alleged illegal movement of more than $20m, the department said. Allen Onyema was accused of transferring the money from Nigeria through US bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes, the justice department said in a statement dated Nov. 22. The airline’s chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, has also been charged with bank fraud and identity theft in connection with the alleged scheme, the statement said. Both Onyema and Eghagha denied any wrongdoing in statements issued by their lawyers, adding that they would defend themselves against the allegations.<br/>
Tanzania summoned Canada’s envoy to protest after an aircraft set to be delivered to state-owned Air Tanzania was impounded in a land compensation dispute, the East African country’s government said Saturday. The case relates to a lawsuit filed by a retired Tanzanian farmer who has claimed compensation over what he says was the expropriation of his land several decades ago. Foreign affairs minister Palamagamba Kabudi said the new aircraft, a DHC Dash 8-400 turboprop, was impounded in Canada this week after an individual filed a claim in court against the Tanzanian government. “I summoned Canada’s high commissioner yesterday and told her unequivocally ... that the Tanzanian government has been disappointed and angered by the move,” Tanzania’s foreign affairs minister Palamagamba Kabudi said. The minister said Tanzania had hired lawyers in Canada to defend it against the action, noting it was from the same individual who filed a lawsuit in a South African court claiming he was owed compensation by the government.<br/>
Flames sparked intermittently from an engine on a Philippines-bound passenger jet as it took off from LAX Thursday morning, causing a few tense minutes for passengers until it landed safely back at the airport. Philippine Airlines Flight 113 safely landed after reporting a possible engine failure just after departure, the FAA said. Video from passengers and onlookers on the ground show sparks flashing from the Boeing 777's right engine for fractions of a second at a time shortly after takeoff. Passenger Adam Taylor was recording his toddler daughter's reaction to takeoff. He got that and more, training his camera outside the window and capturing the flashes when he heard bursts of noise outside. In a mayday call asking for an immediate landing, a pilot said the plane had "an engine surge on the right engine," audio captured on LiveATC.net shows. The plane, scheduled to head to Manila, instead landed back at the Los Angeles airport minutes later. Passengers disembarked, with many looking to rebook their flight. Details about what caused the sparks weren't immediately available.<br/>
A would-be Canadian discount airline sued aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman, saying he interfered with its ability to get financing by hiring away its CEO and bragging about it to an investment bank. Canada Jetlines hired Lukas Johnson, the former commercial chief of Allegiant airline, in June 2018 after an unidentified investment bank advised it to hire a well-known industry figure to help secure financing. Johnson left Jetlines about six weeks later for Neeleman’s own low-cost startup airline, tentatively called Moxy. Neeleman then called the investment bank “to gloat over having done so,” according to the complaint, filed Nov. 19 in federal court in Connecticut, where Neeleman lives and Moxy is based. “Neeleman’s call was, as he intended, the death knell for the Bank’s participation in Jetlines’ financing efforts,” the lawsuit said. Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue Airways., called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and said he has no interest in the Canadian market. The litigation comes less than a month after Vancouver-based Jetlines postponed a planned Dec. 17 launch date, having failed to meet conditions of other financing offers. The company cited the prospect of intense competition from existing Canadian carriers, such as WestJet’s ultra-low-cost unit Swoop.<br/>
Frontier Airlines passengers across the country received a rude surprise in their inboxes late Thursday ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel rush. The ominous subject line of the email: "There has been a change to your upcoming flight.'' The email did not say what the change was, or which part of the trip it affected if it was a round trip flight. But the wording suggested a flight cancellation because it directed travellers to call Frontier's "rebooking hotline" to speak with an agent about "reaccommodation options". Frontier Airlines passengers Thursday received an ominous email about changes to their flights around Thanksgiving. The company has not yet explained it. The customer service number, which is not toll-free at the discount airline, was immediately busy. Other travelers reported getting voicemail. The airline's customer service account on Twitter, @frontiercare, did not address multiple posts asking about the issue, nor did its main account, @flyfrontier for a couple of hours, frustrating travelers. At 10 p.m. EST, the airline acknowledged the problem in a tweet, saying it was a technical issue and that the email was sent in error. "You may confirm the details of your trip by entering your confirmation number on our website," it said. A Frontier spokesman said the airline is investigating what caused the email.<br/>