Federal officials are investigating a Southwest Airlines jet that triggered a low-altitude alert as it prepared to land in Oklahoma City but was still nine miles from the airport. The FAA said Thursday that an air traffic controller notified the Southwest pilots after an automated warning sounded around 12:05 a.m. Wednesday morning. According to data from Flightradar24, the plane descended to about 525 feet above the ground as it passed over Oklahoma City suburbs on the way to Will Rogers World Airport. “Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You doing OK?” an air traffic controller asked the Southwest pilots. “Yeah, we’re going around, 4069,” one of the pilots responded, as captured by LiveATC.net. The air traffic controller told him to maintain 3000 feet. The Dallas-based airline said the plane, a Boeing 737, landed safely just after midnight. “Southwest is following its robust safety management system and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”<br/>
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Boeing’s top engineer insists the 25 May incident involving a Southwest Airlines 737 Max 8 which experienced ‘Dutch Roll’ was due to factors specific to the aircraft involved rather than the jet’s design or to its production system. Speaking during a 18 June Senate hearing, Boeing chief engineer Howard McKenzie also revealed more detail about an issue involving 787 fasteners. McKenzie says Boeing believes there is a “unique circumstance” around the Southwest narrowbody “that has nothing to do with design or manufacturing”, but cautioned that the National Transportation Safety Board still needs to complete its investigation. “We are pulling together the data that we have, and it does not indicate that there is anything that is of fleet concern here,” he adds. The NTSB is investigating the incident, saying the jet experienced an “oscillation event” and that a later inspection revealed structural damage. The Southwest pilots described the movements as a “Dutch roll”, which involves a combination of yawing and rolling. But much about the incident remains unknown. Senators pressed McKenzie during the hearing, called by the subcommittee to probe Boeing’s quality and safety issues. “The Dutch roll is an oscillation due to the rudder actuator responding to a particular circumstance that it is in,” McKenzie says. “Thus far… the data we have indicates that this airplane underwent some unique circumstance that is particular to this airplane”. “We are supporting the NTSB with our design resources,” he adds.<br/>
A strike notice from WestJet’s unionized mechanics has been rescinded as the union representing the workers and the airline are returning to the bargaining table. WestJet said late on Wednesday that it had appeared before the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to discuss the airline’s request for arbitration, in the negotiations with the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and Tech Ops employees. “The CIRB has advised it will require additional time and submissions from both parties before making a decision on whether or not collective bargaining for our first agreement should be resolved by way of arbitration,” the Calgary-based airline said. “In the meantime, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association has rescinded its strike notice, with both parties jointly agreeing to return to the bargaining table to continue work towards finding a resolution,” it added. On Monday, WestJet mechanics gave a 72-hour strike notice and said they were ready to walk off the job as early as Thursday night.<br/>
Aer Lingus will cancel up to one in five flights from next Wednesday in response to planned industrial action by its pilots. Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) plan a strict work to rule from June 26th in a move that could hit flights and passengers in their pursuit of a near 24% pay increase. The airline on Thursday said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of flights during the first five days of the action “to protect as many services as possible”. Donal Moriarty, its chief corporate affairs officer, confirmed that this would affect between 22 and 44 flights a-day and from 4,000 to 8,000 passengers. Aer Lingus has 220 flights daily, carrying 40,000 customers, at this time of year. The company will release details of the actual flights cancelled over the next two days. Most of them will be on routes connecting the Republic’s airports with Europe, but some transatlantic services may also be hit. “We want to emphasise that this is to protect as many of our services as possible,” Moriarty said.<br/>
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is hinting that Saudi Arabia’s state-run air carrier may face penalties for violating Korean law by planning to cancel flights between Seoul and Riyadh without obtaining prior approval from the government, according to the ministry, Thursday. The ministry's decision follows Saudia Airlines' announcement on June 13 that it will cancel flights between Incheon International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, starting this Sunday. The company’s notice read, “Dear guest, your flight no. XXX for reservation XXXXXXXXXX has been cancelled. We appreciate your understanding. For more information…” A ministry official said the cancellation of trips without notifying the authority goes against Korea's Aviation Business Act, adding that Saudia never gave official notification about the cancellation. “For a foreign airline company to stop operating or change any of its routes using Korean airports, it needs approval from the Korean government,” an official at the ministry's international air transport division said. “Saudia Airlines has halted the service even before fully indemnifying its customers and acquiring clearance from the ministry. We’re now closely looking into the matter but, depending on the outcome, it’s possible we can fine them up to 100m won ($72,000).”<br/>
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has opened investigations into a Batik Air Indonesia Boeing 737-800 which flew below minimum altitude. The aircraft (PK-LDK) was operating from Denpasar in Indonesia to Canberra as flight ID6015. The incident, which took place on 14 June, occurred about 10.3nm (19km) south of Canberra airport. While on an instrument landing system approach into Canberra, the flight held at waypoint MOMBI. However, investigators found that the aircraft was operating below the minimum holding altitude. It is unclear how many passengers and crew were on board the aircraft. The ATSB says it is now collecting evidence in relation to the incident – which it has classified as serious — and will release a final report by the end of the year. According to Cirium fleets data, the aircraft involved (MSN39875) was delivered to Batik Air’s Malaysia unit in 2015, before being transferred to Indonesia in 2020. It is powered by two CFM56-7B24E turbofans and is configured to seat 162 passengers. <br/>