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A team of US aeroplane accident investigators and technical experts could head to China as soon as this week to help unravel the mysterious crash of a Boeing 737 jet earlier this month, the NTSB said Tuesday. The Chinese government has issued visas to NTSB investigators, along with technical advisers for the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, the NTSB said on Twitter. Engine maker CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric and France's Safran, will support the probe but isn't planning to travel. A Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines went down in the southern region of Guangxi on March 21 while flying from Kunming to Guangzhou, China's fifth largest city. All 132 passengers and crew on board perished in the tragedy, the nation's first commercial jetliner crash in more than a decade. The US team has been supporting the CAAC, which is leading the investigation. Under a United Nations treaty, the country where a crash occurs leads the investigation, while representatives from nations in which the plane and its components were manufactured have a right to participate. The plane plummeted from its cruise altitude of 29,000ft (8,840m), levelled off once and then appeared to fall straight down. Chinese state media have said the crash left a crater 20m deep in a muddy hillside. Chinese authorities have recovered the jet's black boxes, containing cockpit voice and flight data recorders and about 36,000 fragments of wreckage, so far. Some parts of the data recorder, which was recovered on Sunday, were severely damaged, according to China's regulators. That could complicate the task of retrieving and deciphering any information inside.<br/>

A group of 21 states, as well as groups of pilots and flight attendants, are asking federal courts to permanently end the Biden administration's federal transportation mask mandate, less than three weeks before it is set to expire. The latest lawsuit, led by Florida and joined by 20 other states, asks a federal court in Florida to "issue permanent injunctive relief enjoining Defendants from enforcing the mask mandate." The states' claims include that the policy is an abuse of federal emergency powers. The US CDC did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. The TSA declined to comment. The lawsuit marks another push by governors around the country to throw out President Joe Biden's federal public health order, which requires travelers to wear masks on airplanes, buses, trains and boats, as well as in airports and other transportation hubs. Last month, Texas filed a separate lawsuit in a longshot bid to scrap the President's Covid-19 health measure. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that "it is well past time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life." The states joining Florida in the effort include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Separately, groups of airline employees have also sued the administration this month seeking to block the mask requirement from ever being re-imposed.<br/>

A Boeing 747-8 freighter that BOC Aviation leased to Russia's AirBridgeCargo has flown from Hong Kong to California, according to FlightRadar24, after a US judge signed an order allowing the lessor to repossess the plane. The order was unsealed and made public on Tuesday, according to court documents. The aircraft arrived in the United States on March 25, the flight tracking service shows. BOC Aviation declined to comment and its lawyers did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Singapore-based BOC Aviation is one of many global aircraft lessors that had planes on lease to Russian airlines before sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine forced the cancellation of leases and insurance policies. More than 400 leased planes worth almost $10b remain in Russia despite a Monday deadline for contract cancellations, though Interfax news agency last week reported 78 were seized abroad. read more BOC Aviation on March 10 said its 18 planes leased to Russian airlines had a book value of $935m and could be affected by insurance policy cancellations after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In court documents filed on March 14, the lessor sought orders for one of three 747-8 freighters on lease to AirBridgeCargo that was in Hong Kong to be repossessed and flown to the United States for storage. BOC Aviation said that the plane was worth $148 million and that AirBridgeCargo had breached leases for two other 747-8s when it flew the planes, which were in mainland China, back to Russia despite the lessor's explicit instructions to ground them on March 5 after insurance coverage was cancelled. One of the planes returned to Russia even after its airworthiness certificate was suspended by Bermuda, the location of registry, BOC Aviation said. Those two freighters remain in Russia, according to FlightRadar24 data.<br/>

Russian airlines could be frozen out of the aircraft leasing market well beyond the Ukraine conflict, one of the industry's biggest players warned on Tuesday, blaming what executives have described as a default involving hundreds of Western jets. Global leasing companies had until Monday to sever ties with Russian carriers under Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but executives say only a fraction of the more than 400 jets directly involved have been returned. Domhnal Slattery, CE of Dublin-based Avolon, the world's second-largest leasing firm, told Reuters its own risk is limited, with a net exposure of below $200m on 10 jets still blocked in Russia after it recovered four aircraft. But the mainly Ireland-based leasing sector, which accounts for about half of the world's airline fleet, will be in no hurry to reset relations with Russian airlines even if sanctions against Moscow are lifted, he predicted. "From an Avolon perspective it is not material; from a sector perspective it is a problem, unquestionably," Slattery added. "In terms of future appetite in a post-war scenario for further business in Russia, I think all players in our sector will think long and hard about the risks of that jurisdiction and the appetite for going back in," he said.<br/>

Haitian demonstrators protesting against crime in the city of Les Cayes on Tuesday burned a plane belonging to U.S. missionary group Agape Flights, according to local media reports and an Agape spokeswoman. The protesters entered the local airport in Les Cayes even though police fired tear gas at the group, according to a video of the incident filmed by online media group Cayes Infos. The video shows dozens of people approaching the plane and pushing it down the tarmac. The plane is later seen on a street, apparently near the airport, where it was set on fire. "Our team on the ground is safe, we're making preparations to get them back safely," said the spokeswoman for Agape Flights, a Venice, Florida based missionary group that flies mail and humanitarian supplies to Caribbean countries. The organization is still gathering information about the incident, the spokeswoman added. PM Ariel Henry via Twitter condemned the incident as "subversive" and called for the perpetrators to be investigated. "I strongly condemn the violence by demonstrators which resulted in the burning of a plane at Les Cayes airport," he wrote. It was not immediately evident why the protesters had targeted the plane.<br/>

A strike by workers at Heathrow Airport could disrupt plans for the upcoming Easter holidays after they voted for three days of industrial action. If it goes ahead, baggage maintenance engineers intend to walk out between 8 and 10 April in a row over pay. Employees of Vanderlande Industries manage the airport's entire luggage handling system. The strike would affect all airlines operating out of Heathrow, including British Airways, Air France and KLM. According to the Unite union, which represents the employees, more than 160 workers voted in favour of striking after being told their pay would be frozen despite Vanderlande Industries reporting a growth in revenue for 2021.<br/>

Kazakhstan’s government is proposing to increase competition in the air transport sector by selling shares in airlines which are part of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign fund. The country’s Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition points out that airlines with state participation – including Air Astana, its budget operation FlyArystan and Qazaq Air – account for 80% of domestic air transportation. It is putting forward a proposal to separate FlyArystan and establish it as a separate legal entity, followed by the sale of 51% of its shares. The agency is also looking to sell shares in Qazaq Air. FlyArystan operates budget services with a fleet of Airbus A320s and A320neos, while Qazaq Air uses De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops. Under the competition agency’s proposal, FlyArystan would become a separate entity. The agency says the share sale proposal is intended to “create an independent player” in the low-cost sector and “increase competition between airlines”. It states that operator SCAT carries on much of the remaining share of domestic air transport, while three other airlines – Southern Sky, Zhezkazgan Air and Zhetysu – have less than 1% of the market. The airline measures set out are part of a broader framework to “demonopolise” sectors including oil, gas, electricity and rail, the agency says.<br/>

While Asia-Pacific carriers are reporting a significant year-on-year uptick in passenger traffic in February, meaningful recovery is still far off, says the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Plans by governments in the region to reopen borders have so far not given a meaningful boost for the region’s carriers, the association, which has 40 member airlines, adds. Data from AAPA shows that the region’s carriers flew around 2.5m international passengers. While this was more than double the number of passengers compared to 2021, the industry association says it was only 8.4% of pre-pandemic 2019. Against February 2021, traffic more than doubled, while capacity grew by nearly 60%. The AAPA notes, however, that it was still weak against 2019. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, traffic and capacity for February were down 90% and 81% respectively. Cargo, meanwhile, held strong during the month, as a result of strong demand and maritime supply chain challenges. International cargo volumes were up 0.2% year on year, and more than 9% higher than pre-pandemic 2019, according to AAPA data. AAPA director-general Subhas Menon notes that the ongoing Ukraine crisis has created “mounting challenges” for the region’s carriers. “Elevated fuel prices, airspace closures, as well as an overall increase in inflationary pressures will weigh heavily on both passenger and cargo business segments,” says Menon. Still, he notes that the “increasing momentum” towards border reopening was welcome relief for member airlines. <br/>

When Mike Pellitteri started flying his private plane in 2013, it was easy to find a spot to park it. But over the past decade, hangar space has become sparse, so Pellitteri, a general contractor, has joined an increasing number of developers who have never worked in aviation before: He’s building hangars himself. Private air travel skyrocketed in the pandemic as more travelers, eager to avoid sitting next to a potentially sick passenger or spending a long flight wearing a mask, have made the switch from commercial to charter. Business jet takeoffs and landings were up as much as 40% in 2021 from the year before, according to some estimates, and the business aviation tracker WingX reported that 2021 was the busiest year on record for global business jet activity. But as more private planes have filled the sky, the crunch — which was apparent in 2019 — has created gridlock over parking on the ground. Pellitteri, a resident of Seattle, said he had entered the hangar business after being frustrated by the inability to find a spot to park his plane when he shuttled to his second home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. By the end of 2023, he plans to have completed four new hangars at Pappy Boyington Field in Coeur d’Alene: two for smaller jets and two for midsize aircraft like the Gulfstream 280. He plans to sell the smaller ones for around $1.5 million, but said the price could increase because rising costs of steel and labor have already pushed him well over budget. It’s not just Coeur d’Alene, Pellitteri said; there are no hangars available at Paine Field near Seattle, either. “Every year it’s gotten busier,” he said. “You go to Paine Field now, there’s more airplanes than there’s places to park.”<br/>

The Learjet brand has stepped into the sunset, with the famed business jet manufacturer delivering its final aircraft on 28 March. The Wichita airframer, a division of Bombardier, delivered the last jet – an eight-passenger Learjet 75 – to US customer Northern Jet Management, bringing some 60 years of production to a close. During those decades, Learjet produced more than 3,000 aircraft, of which more than 2,000 remain in service, Bombardier says. The move follows Bombardier’s decision, disclosed in February 2021, to shutter Learjet and focus all its attention on producing larger, more-profitable business jets. Launched by innovator Bill Lear in the early 1960s, Learjet quickly became a cultural icon – a symbol of luxury associated with customers like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. Learjet’s first model – the six-passenger Learjet 23 – took to the skies on its maiden flight on 7 October 1963. The airframer went on to produce six- and eight-passenger models like Learjet 24s, 25s, 31s and 35s. Change came in 1990 with Learjet’s acquisition by Bombardier, which backed the airframer’s development of types like Learjet 40s, 45s, 60s, and, more recently, the 70/75 pairing, which entered service last decade. But the company fumbled last decade with its Learjet 85, a composite-skinned aircraft that was to propel Learjet into the era of advanced materials. Amid delays and production problems, Bombardier cancelled the 85 programme in 2015.<br/>