US investigators have disclosed that a United Airlines Boeing 767-300ER sustained substantial upper fuselage damage while landing in Houston, after its nose-wheel bounced heavily on the runway. The twinjet’s fuselage crown was wrinkled as a result of the 29 July accident, as the aircraft arrived from Newark. Preliminary inquiries reveal that the 767 – with the first officer as flying pilot – was following the DOOBI2 arrival pattern for an ILS approach to runway 26L. The aircraft had executed a stable approach, with normal touchdown on the main landing-gear, according to the crew, says the US NTSB. Flight-data recorder information found that both main gear initially touched down, but the right-hand gear lifted off as the aircraft rolled to the left. According to the first officer, he had kept aft pressure on the yoke in order to prevent the nose-wheel from hitting the runway, but that it made runway contact with “abnormal” force. Flight data shows the nose-gear impact was 1.4g, and the nose-wheel bounced. The first officer reacted by pulling the yoke aft, in a bid to stop the nose-wheel hitting the runway again. But the aircraft’s speedbrakes deployed and its auto-brakes engaged, and the nose-wheel bounced for a second time, with a 1.6g impact. As the first officer commanded reverse thrust, the 767’s right-hand reverser activated and the nose-wheel made runway contact again – this time with a 1.6g impact – and then the left-hand reverser deployed. “The captain assumed control of the airplane and the remainder of the landing roll-out was normal with no risk of runway overrun or excursion,” says the inquiry. None of the 202 occupants of the aircraft, including 193 passengers, was injured. But examination of the 32-year old 767 revealed that its upper fuselage had sustained substantial wrinkling damage just forward of its Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. Investigation have yet to draw conclusions about the accident, which occurred in daylight and good visibility with 5kt wind from the southwest. The aircraft has been in service with United since it was delivered new to the carrier in 1991.<br/>
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LOT Polish Airlines carried 1,041,427 passengers. This is the highest number of passengers carried in a single month in the 94-year history of LOT Polish Airlines activity. The seat factor for flights performed in July 2023 was 83.5% and increased more than 4 pp compared to the same period in 2019. “A very successful first half of the summer is behind us. Our summer results allow us to look into the future with great optimism. I stand by my earlier forecast that LOT will carry 10m passengers this year,” says Michał Fijoł, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines. The July 2023 passenger numbers are proof that not only has the airline industry recovered from months of pandemic-related restrictions but also that demand for air services is higher than in the same period in 2019.<br/>
Demand for semiconductors and e-commerce products, among other goods, will likely be key to the success of Japanese airlines' cargo business as All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines introduce freighters to shore it up. Both of Japan's major airlines expect the air cargo market to grow in the long term despite current shrinkage from the pandemic period. ANA is scheduled to acquire Japan-based Nippon Cargo Airlines on Oct. 1, while rival JAL will possess its own freighters for the first time in 13 years. ANA signed an agreement with NCA on the share exchange in July, a necessary procedure for implementing the previously announced plan of making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. NCA possesses eight large freighters, excluding those on lease, and has an extensive route network in Europe and the United States. JAL is converting three of its medium-size passenger aircraft to freighters, scheduled to become operational next April. These moves come at a challenging time -- both airlines posted a year-on-year revenue decline for their cargo business in the April-June period. ANA's cargo and mail revenue dropped 56% to 45.3b yen ($310m), while JAL's dropped 47% to 34.3b yen due to declining demand and airfreight rates. They also expect year-on-year declines in cargo and mail revenue for fiscal 2023, ending next March, to 253b yen for ANA and 172b yen for JAL. Demand for global air cargo surged in 2021, partly because of high e-commerce sales and the disruption of marine logistics, offsetting airlines' significant drop in passenger revenues. ANA's cargo and mail revenue in fiscal 2021 was 361.7b yen, 2.25 times higher than in pre-pandemic fiscal 2018.<br/>