A small plane carrying five people crashed on Interstate 75 near Naples, Fla., on Friday afternoon, exploding in flames and killing two people, according to officials. They said that three of those onboard were able to get out of the plane. The plane, a Bombardier Challenger 600 series jet, crashed on the highway around 3:15 p.m., the FAA said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether anyone on the ground was injured. Preliminary information showed that the plane’s pilot had radioed that the aircraft had had a dual engine failure as it approached Naples Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement on Friday. The agency said it would not comment on the cause of the crash during the early stages of its investigation. Photos and video footage from the scene showed the aircraft’s fuselage in flames and a large plume of smoke billowing above the crash site. The aircraft departed from the Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio, said Robin King, the director of communications for Naples Airport. “They were scheduled to land about 3:15 here in Naples, and about two or three minutes before that, our tower received word from the pilots that they have, quote, lost both engines,” King said. “We don’t know exactly what that means. We lost contact.” The plane crashed two to three miles from the airport, King said. Three of the five people on the airplane were able to get out of the airplane, she added. An Ohio State University spokesman said that the plane was not affiliated with the university.<br/>
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U.S. FAA chief Michael Whitaker will travel to Seattle early next week to meet with Boeing as the agency audit's the planemaker's 737 MAX production process following a mid-air emergency. Boeing, which makes the 737 MAX in the Seattle area, was hit by the latest in a series of problems on Jan. 5 when a panel flew off one of its 737 MAX 9 jets in mid-flight. Two sources said Whitaker is expected to visit the Renton Boeing factory, about nine miles from Seattle, where the 737 is produced. Last month, Whitaker, acting after a cabin panel blew out during flight on a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 took the unprecedented action of barring Boeing from expanding production of its 737 MAX until it addressed quality issues. "As part of the FAA’s continuous work to enhance safety, Administrator Mike Whitaker will visit the Seattle, Washington, area early next week to hear directly from FAA employees and visit FAA facilities in the area. He will also visit Boeing," the FAA said in a statement. The FAA has about 20 inspectors at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and six at Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab in Wichita, Kansas, and Whitaker said this week they are about halfway through a six-week audit.<br/>
There’s a rule of thumb when visiting Italy: The harder it is to get to a destination, the more beauty lies in store for you. That rule is about to get a little less hard and fast as the Amalfi Coast gets its “own” airport. Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport will “open” in July, 45 kilometers southeast of the city of Amalfi and 21 kilometers (13 miles) from the city of Salerno, the gateway to the famous coast. Technically it’s a reopening rather than a new airport built from scratch. First constructed in 1926, over the past 98 years, it has been used on and off as a military airport, flying school, firefighting hub and private airport. In 2007, it was developed to allow commercial flights, too. The runway was lengthened, and two gates and four check-in desks were built. Airlines using it included Air Dolomiti and VolaSalerno, a short-lived local startup with just one plane that folded in 2008. The airport then closed entirely in 2016. July 11 will see the start of its new life with the arrival of commercial flights by Volotea, a Spanish airline with a major presence in Italy. Permission to operate commercial flights was granted in January, and for its forthcoming opening, the runway has been extended to 2,000 meters. Aircraft stands and facilities have been added. Operations are starting slowly as the airport is still under development and not scheduled to be finished until 2026. This year, Volotea will serve four destinations, starting with Nantes in France and Cagliari in Sardinia in July, and Verona and Catania added in September. Other “important airlines” are in talks to serve the airport as well, according to a spokesperson for GESAC, which manages the airport.<br/>
Kazakh carrier Air Astana has finalised the share offer price for its forthcoming stock market listings, giving an implied company valuation of $847m. Air Astana last month announced its intention for a long-planned IPO, detailing plans for listings on exchanges in London and Kazakhstan. It has now completed pricing for its initial offering, setting an offer price of KZ1,073.83 ($2.40) and of $9.50 per global depisotory receipts (GDR) – which represents four shares and conditional trading in which began today. Unconditional trading in Air Astana GDRs is expected to begin in London on 14 February and in Kazakhstan the day after. Air Astana Group chief executive Peter Foster says: ”We have received strong interest both domestically and internationally, and this has resulted in a highly successful IPO multiple times oversubscribed. The triple listing on the London Stock Exchange, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange has created the perfect platform to raise capital while allowing both local citizens and international investors to participate in our success story.” Air Astana expects the offering to generate gross proceeds of at least $350m and up to $370m if over-allotment options are fully exercised. Of this, $120m will be used by the company to support its growth strategy. Following the offering existing majority shareholder, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kaznya, will fall from 51% to a 41% holding, while BAE Systems shareholding will fall from 49% to 15.3% if the over-allotment offer is fully exercised.<br/>
Airline operators have hinted that they may be forced to review fares upward as the aviation fuel surged to above N1300. This was made known in a statement on Friday by the spokesman of local airlines, Obiora Okonkwo, who called for immediate government intervention to prevent the collapse of local airlines. The airlines said that the volatility in foreign exchange rates and the soaring cost of aviation fuel at N1,300 per litre had disrupted operational planning and stability within the aviation sector. The Central Bank of Nigeria on June 14, 2023, unified the different segments of the forex market, causing the naira to depreciate significantly at both the official and the autonomous markets. The local currency weakened to over 1,500/$ at the parallel on Wednesday and exchanged 1474.62/$ at the official market on Thursday. The country has been struggling with lingering dollar scarcity due to reduced oil production, which brings in over 90% of the country’s dollars. This has made it difficult for local carriers to raise enough foreign exchange to run checks and conduct comprehensive maintenance of their fleets overseas.<br/>
A shortage of ground crew to handle tasks from guiding passengers to aircraft cleaning and catering is hampering Japan's efforts to bring in more foreign tourists as the aviation industry continues to feel the impact of pandemic cutbacks. In late September, Narita Airport near Tokyo had requests for 152 more flights per week but could allow only 101 because of a shortage of ground handlers. Although the airport has been adjusting staffing levels, and the situation has improved somewhat, it is still in a tough position. "In many outlying areas, we fill only half our student quota," a representative from the Airport Ground Handling Association said. The group has been recruiting from vocational schools. But on one such visit recently, many students had never heard of the job -- a sign of declining interest in the aviation industry. The number of employees at 61 passenger-handling companies fell 14% between March 2019 and the autumn of 2023 to about 12,100, according to Japan's transport ministry. Ramp-handling workers, who are responsible for guiding planes and transporting baggage, declined by 5% to 11,600. Low compensation has exacerbated the shortage. Ground handlers earned an average of 3.57m yen ($23,900 at current rates) annually in fiscal 2022, ministry data shows. The ministry noted that the figure was lower than for similar industries like construction and trucking, although this is partly because half of workers in the field are in their 20s or younger. Many young people are also not keen on working at regional airports far from cities.<br/>
The construction of the third runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport will be completed in time for its use in July, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said Sunday. Once the new runway is in use, the airport capacity will be increased from 67 flights per hour to 94 flights per hour, Suriya added. The airport’s first runway is located on the west side of the airport and the second runway on the east side, separated by passenger terminal buildings and other facilities. The third runway is being built further away from the first runway near the east edge of the airport. Suriya said the third runway is being built in line with the government’s vision to make Thailand an aviation hub of the region. "During the past 20 years, Suvarnabhumi Airport used to be ranked seventh, but its ranking has fallen to 76 due to poor services,” Suriya said. “I have ordered the airport to rush to improve its services so that it will be among the top 20 best international airports in the world.”<br/>
After a year of steady recovery for Changi Airport in 2023, with passenger traffic reaching 91% of 2019 levels in December, there is optimism among aviation officials and the authorities here of a full recovery in 2024. Yet, with weak inbound travel demand and other headwinds, analysts have painted a more uncertain picture. Other major Asian airports are also fast closing in. Lim Ching Kiat, executive vice-president for air hub and cargo development at Changi Airport Group (CAG), was sanguine, noting that passenger traffic at the airport is climbing steadily. “People are travelling out. A lot of tourists are travelling in as well. Part of it is because of all the events that are happening here, such as Coldplay and Taylor Swift,” Lim said. He pointed to the start of a mutual 30-day visa-free scheme between China and Singapore on Feb 9, which he said is expected to bring in a good number of tourists. Independent analyst Brendan Sobie of Sobie Aviation, however, expects Changi Airport will handle about 65m passengers in 2024 – about 95% of the 68.3m travellers it handled in 2019. That said, there could be a complete recovery for some months, including February due to the leap year, he added.<br/>
The Coalition will move to force the Albanese government to bring in an airline passenger compensation scheme that would make carriers pay delayed customers, in a bill dubbed “pay on delay”. On Friday, opposition transport spokesperson and Nationals senator, Bridget McKenzie, and Liberal senator Dean Smith gave notice of their intention to move “a bill for an Act to require the transport minister to make rules prescribing carriers’ obligations, and for related purposes” when parliament returns later this month. “Australians deserve an aviation industry where planes take off and arrive on time, and their bags arrive with them,” McKenzie and Smith said in a statement. “The Pay on Delay Bill is designed to clean up Australia’s airline industry through ensuring concrete protections for passengers to, from and within Australia and its territories in the event of flight delays, cancellations, or denials of boarding.” The move seeks to address soaring levels of dissatisfaction with airlines over increasing delays and cancellations. In November 45% of flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were cancelled or delayed. The Coalition also appears to be responding to Qantas’ recent claim, made in its defence against legal action from the consumer watchdog, that it doesn’t sell tickets to any particular flight, but rather a “bundle of rights” that includes alternative options in the event of cancellations. “The Bill will clarify a passenger’s ticket is on a particular flight, to a particular destination, at a particular time,” McKenzie and Smith said.<br/>
In October, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was asked how fast Boeing could raise output of its best-selling 737 MAX after a spate of quality snags. He was upbeat: Boeing would get back to 38 jets a month and was "anxious to build from there as fast as we can." As he sought to reassure investors about the recovery of Boeing's cash cow after another quarterly loss, one of the narrow-bodied jets was waiting at Boeing Field in Seattle for final tests and delivery to Alaska Airlines just six days later. Four critical bolts were missing. How a modern jetliner left Boeing's nearby Renton factory with a loose door panel, setting the clock ticking on a terrifying mid-air blowout on Jan. 5, has triggered soul-searching about quality controls and plunged Boeing into its second safety crisis in five years. Regulators have suspended Boeing's plans to ramp up 737 output and Calhoun now says it's time to "go slow to go fast", casting doubt on the shape of its recovery from back-to-back crises - first over two MAX crashes that killed 346 people and then the pandemic - which left it $38b in debt. Interviews with a dozen current and former industry executives suggest it was the pressure to produce coupled with an exodus of experienced workers that contributed to a slow-rolling industrial train wreck, ending with 171 passengers staring out of a gaping hole at 16,000 feet. "It looks like Boeing has been more focused on investing in ramping up into higher production rates than taking its quality system to the next level," said manufacturing expert Kevin Michaels, managing director of aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory in Michigan. Story has more.<br/>
Boeing executives extended an olive branch to the company's strained supply chain this week to help them deal with the fallout of the latest 737 MAX crisis, but those firms are taking a wait-and-see attitude after years of dealing with the planemaker's hard-line approach. The aerospace giant's shift in tone was underlined by a speech on Wednesday by Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's vice president of supply chain and fabrication, at an aerospace conference outside Seattle. "We build the airplane together. There's no you and us. It's just us," he said. Mounir's remarks - and those of Boeing's head of supplier quality on Tuesday - were the first public addresses by Boeing to its base of more than 1,100 suppliers in the Pacific Northwest region after a Jan. 5 mid-air blowout on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that has rocked the aerospace industry. Multiple suppliers who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity said Mounir's comments marked a shift in tone from Boeing's previous strategy for driving supply-chain efficiency and cost-reduction, exemplified by the company's notorious "Partnering for Success" initiative in the 2010s. The initiative, which cut supply-chain costs by 15%, was unpopular with suppliers who said Boeing had profited on the backs of a squeezed industrial base. The planemaker has said in the past that the program was necessary to assure the company's long-term competitive advantage. One supplier said this week that they were "cautiously optimistic," but added that Boeing must demonstrate its willingness to give under-pressure suppliers enough time to ensure products are properly manufactured and inspected.<br/>
The company that certified a UK supplier accused of faking documentation on thousands of jet-engine components has exited the business. Transonic Aviation Consultants informed the US FAA on Jan. 29 that it would no longer participate in an agency program for industry oversight of aircraft parts distributors, the FAA said. The company was one of four organizations considered acceptable by the FAA to audit sellers of spare aircraft components to ensure suppliers follow best practices laid out in agency guidance. “Transonic advised the FAA they would no longer maintain their accreditation in the voluntary program,” the agency said in a statement to Bloomberg. Florida-based Transonic’s President, Robert Pina, told Bloomberg last year that in 2021 it had reviewed and accredited AOG Technics Ltd., a little-known distributor that is alleged to have supplied aircraft engine parts with bogus documentation. Transonic has told customers that it was shutting its doors and will no longer provide new certifications or renewals, according to an email sent to one of its clients that was shared with Bloomberg News. Bloomberg was unable to independently authenticate the email. Pina didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. Transonic’s move highlights how one of the biggest scandals in the civil aviation market continues to ripple through the industry more than five months after Bloomberg first reported on AOG’s practices. <br/>
Airbus has begun notifying airlines of a new bout of delivery delays, pushing back some deliveries previously scheduled for late 2024 and parts of 2025 by several months amid ongoing supply problems, industry sources said on Friday. An Airbus spokesperson declined to comment on delivery planning, but said: "We are in continuous dialogue with our customers. We are still operating in a complex environment." Airbus began the year with a 50% rise in January deliveries compared to the same month of last year, which had been depressed by parts shortages and industrial bottlenecks. But supplies of engines and other components remain relatively tight and shortages of aircraft that are needed to meet a recovery in demand could last for years, according to speakers at last week's Airline Economics conference in Dublin. Air Lease Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told the conference that many Airbus and Boeing single-aisle aircraft were already running "a year late, nine months late, eight months late. That's more the norm today". Airbus exceeded its delivery target last year with 735 aircraft handed over to airlines and leasing companies. Jefferies analysts expect the European group to target around 800 deliveries for 2024 when it issues results on Feb 15.<br/>
A review of China’s first turbofan commercial engine for the home-grown C919 passenger jet is set to be given priority by the Chinese aviation regulator this year as the world’s second-largest economy strives to become self-reliant in aviation amid rising advanced technology export restrictions from the United States. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has outlined its key tasks to promote “Made in China” this year, including the certification of the narrowbody C919 in Europe this year, as well as prioritising the review of CJ-1000 engine. The CJ-1000 is a high-bypass turbofan jet engine being developed by the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) at its base in Shanghai, which is also home to the C919. The CJ abbreviation comes from Chang Jiang, the Chinese name for the Yangtze River. The engine has been designed to replace the imported Leap engine produced by CFM International – a joint venture between American firm GE Aerospace and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines – which currently powers the C919. The C919, China’s first domestically developed narrowbody passenger jet, has been in commercial service since May 2023 after 15 years in development.<br/>
The Comac C919 narrowbody will make its international debut at the Singapore air show, as part of what could be a strong Chinese presence at the event. The participation of the C919 in the show’s flying display was confirmed in an update from show organiser Experia. While this is the first international show for the C919, the aircraft appeared at the last Airshow China event, which was held in Zhuhai in November 2022. After a long development process, the C919 entered service with China Eastern Airlines in May 2023. Cirium fleets data suggests that since the initial aircraft entered service only three more examples have been delivered to China Eastern. Chinese airlines and lessors have firm orders for 759 C919s. The aircraft relies heavily on Western systems and is powered by two CFM International Leap-1C turbofans. Industry talk suggests a significant Chinese aircraft presence at this year’s show, potentially including the ARJ21 regional jet as well as a Chinese military aircraft. Based on the Singapore air show website, the only other commercial aircraft that will perform in the flying display this year is the Airbus A350-1000. Military display teams from India, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore will also participate. <br/>