United Airlines to launch nonstop flight between Singapore and San Francisco

United Airlines will introduce daily nonstop flights between Singapore’s Changi Airport and its San Francisco International Airport hub, it announced on Friday (Jan 29).

This will be the first nonstop service between Singapore and San Francisco and the only one to the US from Singapore. The Boeing 787-9 aircraft will be used for this nonstop service, it added.

Flying times will be approximately 15 hours, 30 minutes eastbound and 16 hours, 20 minutes westbound, saving customers up to four hours' journey time each way from previously available flights, the airline said.

Eastbound flights, which will start on Jun 3 subject to government approval, will depart Changi Airport at 8.45am daily, arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 9.15am the same day.

The westbound return flight will depart San Francisco at 11.25pm daily, arriving in Singapore at 6.45am two days later.

Vice President of Atlantic and Pacific Sales Marcel Fuchs said the new service will offer "unique benefits to customers travelling from Singapore not only to San Francisco but also to dozens of other cities across the Americas via our San Francisco hub".

The airline has timed the new flights to connect with destinations throughout the US, Canada and Latin America at San Francisco, providing a one-stop service between Singapore and more than 40 US cities. These 40 cities include more than 25 that do not currently have one-stop services from Singapore, it said.

With the launch of the nonstop Singapore-San Francisco service, United will terminate services between Singapore and Tokyo's Narita Airport from Jun 2. However, it will maintain its daily service between Singapore and Hong Kong.

SOURCE

Qatar Airways boss accuses Delta of flying 'crap' planes

The chief of Qatar Airways on Monday denied his company receives subsidies and accused rivals Delta Air Lines of flying "crap" older planes, escalating hostilities between Gulf and American carriers.

Speaking at an arts conference in Doha, Akbar al-Baker said any money his airline receives from the state is in the form of "legitimate" equity and added his company's fleet of aircraft were much cleaner for the environment in comparison to Delta.

"I think Mr Anderson (CEO of Delta, Richard Anderson) doesn't know the difference between equity and subsidy. We never receive any subsidy," Baker said.

He was responding to claims made earlier this month by three US airlines - Delta, American and United - that Qatar, along with carriers in the United Arab Emirates have received US$42 billion in unfair subsidies to wrest business away from competitors.

Baker also accused Delta of flying "crap airplanes that are 35 years old", when talking about pollution by the aviation industry.

In contrast, Baker said Qatar Airways had an "ultra-modern fleet" and was the lowest CO2 contributor in the aviation industry.

SOURCE

Etihad Airways to avoid Iraqi conflict airspace

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways announced on Saturday (Aug 9) that it will reroute flights over Iraq in the wake of US air strikes on Islamist State (IS) fighters there. "Etihad Airways has announced that it will reroute its flights to avoid conflict airspace in Iraq," a statement by the carrier said.

"The decision follows the deterioration of the security situation in parts of the country. The safety of Etihad Airways' passengers and staff is of paramount importance, and the airline will continue to monitor the security situation closely."

On Thursday, Etihad also said it was suspending flights to Iraqi Kurdistan's capital of Arbil because of fighting in northern Iraq. The first US air strikes on Friday struck IS positions and at least one convoy of vehicles carrying militants west of Arbil. However, "flights to Basra and Baghdad, which have a daily risk assessment, continue to operate as normal," Etihad said on Saturday.

Dubai's Emirates Airline also announced on Saturday that it has "immediately" suspended its flights to Arbil due to the "security situation there," in a statement carried by the UAE's official WAM news agency. Daily flights to Basra and four weekly flights to Baghdad will however continue, the airline said, adding that it is "closely following developments" in restive Iraq.

Emirates had already announced last month that it will no longer fly over Iraq.

The Federal Aviation Administration in Washington banned all US civilian flights over Iraq just hours after American warplanes on Friday bombed positions held by the jihadists, who have occupied swathes of northern Iraq.

British Airways has said it will no longer fly over Iraq, as have Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Swiss - joining Air France, Emirates, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, which quietly opted to do so over the past two weeks.

SOURCE

British Airways suspends flights over Iraq

British Airways (BA) suspended flights over Iraq on Friday (Aug 8) as the US launched air strikes against Islamic militants fighting in the north of the country.

A spokesman for Britain's flagship carrier said it was "temporarily suspending our flights over Iraq".

But BA said services that use the route, mainly to Doha and Dubai, would not be cancelled or disrupted because alternative routes would be found.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent group International Airlines Group, last week pledged to keep flying over Iraq despite mounting concerns over commercial flight paths in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.

The airline said then it did not believe the conflict in Iraq between government forces and jihadist group Islamic State (IS) posed the same threat to commercial airliners. But it took its decision to suspend flights after the Federal Aviation Administration banned all US civilian flights over Iraq on Friday (Aug 8), just hours after Washington ordered air strikes on fighters in Kurdistan.

The FAA cited "the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict" between IS militants and Iraqi security forces "and their allies" as the reason for the indefinite ban.

SOURCE

FAA bans US civilian flights over Iraq

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned all US civilian flights over Iraq on Friday (Aug 8), just hours after air strikes ordered by Washington on Islamist fighters.

In a Notice to Airmen, the FAA cited the "potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict" between Islamic State militants and Iraqi security forces and their allies as the reason for the indefinite ban. The ban extends to "all US air carriers and commercial operators," as well as US-licensed pilots unless they are flying aircraft registered in the United States for a foreign operator.

Northern and eastern Iraq lie on the flight path for several non-American long-haul carriers operating between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to online flight tracking services.

Concern about civilian flights over conflict zones soared after the July 17 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur above an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatist rebels.

Turkish Airlines, one of the key foreign carriers flying to Iraq, said it had halted flights to the main city of Iraq's Kurdish region for security reasons amid the Islamist offensive.

"Our flights to Arbil are being cancelled for security reasons until further notice," the airline said in a statement.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways on Thursday (Aug 7) also announced a suspension of flights to Arbil, while Britain has urged citizens living in parts of Kurdistan to leave.

US warplanes earlier bombed positions held by Islamic State insurgents who have advanced to take swathes of northern Iraq.

Last month, the FAA prohibited US airlines from overflying eastern Ukraine in the wake of the Malaysian Airlines tragedy. It also briefly barred them from Tel Aviv after a Hamas rocket fell near the Israeli city's Ben Gurion airport in the midst of the Gaza crisis.

SOURCE

Airbus tails Boeing thanks to "best" Farnborough orders

Airbus has enjoyed its best ever Farnborough show in terms of orders, the head of the European planemaker said on Thursday, helping it close the gap on US rival Boeing.

Airbus said it had won commitments and firm orders for 496 planes worth more than $75 billion (55 billion euros) at the key industry sales event that alternates annually with the Paris airshow.

Boeing said it had clinched deals for 201 aircraft worth more than $40 billion.

"This is the best Farnborough airshow in Airbus history and this is the third biggest if we include the Paris airshow," chief executive Fabrice Bregier told a press conference at the event near London, which opens its doors to the public over the weekend for flypasts.

The latest deals confirmed on Thursday saw leasing company Hong Kong Aviation Capital sign a firm order for 70 single-aisle A320neo passenger planes from Airbus.

The fuel-efficient jets are valued at $7.72 billion at list prices but customers tend to receive significant discounts on such purchases.

"The green credentials of the neo is one of the key factors for us to choose the aircraft," said HKAC chief executive Donal Boylan.

Transaero, Russia's second-biggest airline, meanwhile said it is committed to buy 20 A330 aircraft, including a dozen new fuel-efficient neos, worth $5.3 billion.

"The clear winner of the show was Airbus," noted Deutsche bank analyst Myles Walton.

Airbus had dominated the start of the week-long Farnborough event, securing a host of commitments for its new long-haul A330neo passenger plane -- from air leasing companies and the airline AirAsia X -- but no firm orders.

- Boeing orders top $40b -

Boeing's big moment at Farnborough came on Wednesday, when it concluded a deal with Qatar Airways for 50 of its revamped long-haul passenger jets along with a potential order for 50 more.

"Customers demonstrated their strong confidence in the family of Boeing commercial products, announcing orders and commitments for 201 Boeing airplanes valued at more than $40.2 billion at list prices," the group said in a statement on Thursday.

Ahead of the show, Airbus had lagged Boeing with 290 net plane orders versus 499 for the US group since the start of the year, when deliveries and cancellations were also taken into account.

The gap now stands at 648 versus 783 in favour of Boeing.

Launched at Farnborough on Monday, the Airbus A330neo airliner is a revamped version of the A330, sporting latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines to provide more economical long-haul travel.

Airbus said it had secured 121 commitments for the A330neo at Farnborough.

Bregier on Thursday said Airbus had no plans in the short term to upgrade the engines on the A380 superjumbo, on display at Farnborough but which won no new orders.

Boeing is meanwhile changing the engines on its long-haul 777 model, helping it to secure new sales as economic recovery picks up around the globe.

Production of the 777X is set to begin in 2017, with the first delivery targeted for 2020.

First deliveries of the Airbus 330neo are scheduled for the end of 2017.

Brazilian group Embraer, the world's third-largest commercial planemaker, also won orders worth billions of dollars for its regional jets at Farnborough, including its new single-aisle E195-E2 jet.

- Furtive F-35 -

Missing from the show however was a much-anticipated appearance of the F-35 fighter jet.

The US military said on Tuesday that it would not send the plane to Farnborough after an engine fire grounded the entire fleet, in another embarrassing setback for the Pentagon's most expensive programme ever.

SOURCE

SIA widens US coverage through expanded Asiana Airlines partnership

 Singapore Airlines (SIA) is providing access to Los Angeles, Seattle and Honolulu in the United States to its customers after announcing an expanded codeshare agreement with Asiana Airlines on Monday (June 2).

In a statement, the airline said it is now codesharing on Asiana-operated flights beyond Seoul's Incheon International Airport to the three US cities. Honululu is a new port of call, while SIA operates flights to Los Angeles and flies to Seattle through another partner airline, a company spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.

Both parties have been codesharing since September 2005 on flights between Singapore and Seoul-Incheon.

SOURCE

Nine new destinations for SIA under proposed codeshare with JetBlue

Passengers flying on Singapore Airlines to the United States could soon have access to nine new destinations there, under a proposed bilateral codeshare agreement with JetBlue Airways.

An application has been filed with the US Department of Transportation. If approved, it would give SIA passengers access to Jacksonville, Tampa and West Palm Beach in Florida, New Orleans in Lousiana, Portland in Maine, Austin in Texas, as well as Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse in New York.

JetBlue passengers would get access to five new cities in Europe and Asia, including Frankfurt, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

SIA says the partnership is testament to its continuous efforts to expand its network and provide passengers with more seamless travel options.

SOURCE

Teen survives five-hour flight in airplane wheel well

A 16-year-old boy was lucky to be alive on Monday after surviving a flight from California to Hawaii in the wheel well of an airplane, US media reported.

The young stowaway endured freezing temperatures and a lack of oxygen aboard the five-and-a-half hour Hawaiian Airlines flight, which reached an altitude of some 38,000 feet, an FBI official told the Los Angeles Times.

"How he survived, I don't know. It's a miracle," FBI spokesman Tom Simon told the daily following the teen's harrowing journey halfway across the Pacific Ocean.

Security video from the Mineta International Airport in San Jose showed the youth hopping a fence and making his way to Hawaiian Airlines Flight 45, where he climbed, undetected, into the wheel well of the aircraft.

With oxygen scarce and temperatures well below freezing, Simon said the boy appears to have been unconscious "for pretty much the entire" flight.

The aircraft landed on Sunday mid-morning at Maui's Kahului Airport, and the boy, who did not regain consciousness for another hour, woke up, and hopped down onto the tarmac.

Hawaiian Airlines personnel at that point noticed the youth on an airport ramp and notified security, the newspaper wrote.

Despite the security breach that allowed him to reach the plane, there was no indication that boy posed a threat to the airline, and he has not been charged with a crime, report said.

While it is not unheard of, it is extremely rare to survive a flight in the wheel well of an aircraft. Many who try end up freezing to death or succumbing from a lack of oxygen.

In one recent such case, the body of a 26-year-old stowaway was found crumpled on a suburban London street in 2012, after he apparently climbed aboard a British Airways plane in Angola and fell from the wheel well as the plane prepared to land at Heathrow Airport.

SOURCE

US allows Boeing to sell plane parts to Iran

The United States has issued a license allowing Boeing to do business with Iran for the first time since the US embargo of 1979, a company spokesman told AFP on Friday.

The license covers a "limited period of time" and allows Boeing only "to provide them spare parts that are for safety purposes."

Boeing will still not be allowed to sell new planes to Iran, the spokesman said.

The license was granted by the US Treasury Department in the context of an interim deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program signed in November, the spokesman added.

At the end of February, another US company, General Electric, indicated it had requested permission to sell spare airliner parts to Iran, but so far it has not received a response.

The United States and European nations have imposed severe economic sanctions on Iran in recent years aiming to pressure Tehran to reduce permanently, or at least long term, the scope of its nuclear activities to make it extremely difficult for it ever to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran has always denied any such ambition.

The sanctions were partially lifted in January, after Iran agreed to freeze a part of its contested program.

The West and Tehran are currently negotiating a definitive agreement which would guarantee Iran's nuclear program would be peaceful, and would ultimately lead to all sanctions being lifted.

Washington severed diplomatic relations with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

SOURCE

US Airways plane blows tyre on takeoff, passengers evacuated

A US Airways plane blew a tyre during takeoff late Thursday from Philadelphia's airport, though officials reported no serious injuries.

The airline said the pilot of Flight 1702 aborted takeoff for Fort Lauderdale due to the tire problem.

"Passengers were safely evacuated & we are reaccommodating passengers on a new aircraft, scheduled to depart later this evening," US Airways said on its Twitter account.

CNN reported that one person aboard suffered minor injuries.

The flight had initially been scheduled to take off from Philadelphia at 5:50 pm (2150 GMT) and arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 8:42 pm (0042 GMT), according to the airline's website.

A witness sitting in an airport terminal reported on the online travel blog flyertalk.com seeing the place "bounce twice on takeoff."

"Front gear collapsed, sparks on the runway, it then skid out of my line of sight. Light white smoke visible for about 7-10 min afterwards," added the user, writing under the handle phlwookie.

Images posted on Twitter showed the plane's nose to the ground though the aircraft remained upright. The emergency slides were deployed.

"So my plane just crashed," passenger Hannah Udren wrote on the social media platform. "I almost just died."

A photo by Will Jager posted by Twitter user Charles Davis showed passengers on the ground taking pictures of the pitched plane and selfies with the aircraft in the background.

Philadelphia International Airport authorities, also using Twitter, said: "Nose gear of plane collapsed on runway. The incident is under investigation. All passengers safely evacuated. No reported injuries.

"A big KUDOS to our emergency response team who responded to the aircraft emergency tonight for getting all our passengers evacuated safely!" it added.

The airport said the incident caused delays of up to two hours for passengers of other flights.

SOURCE

Asiana crash: Rescuers failed to assist run-over teen

Video footage from the helmet of a rescuer on a plane crash in San Francisco last year appears to show emergency teams failing to assist a teenaged survivor, moments before she was accidentally run over by a fire truck.

Three passengers died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 clipped a seawall with its landing gear, skidded off the runway and burst into flames at the end of an otherwise routine flight from Seoul to San Francisco on July 6.

One of the victims, Ye Mengyuan, 16, had been pulled alive from the plane and placed near one wing.

But the Chinese teenager was later run over and killed by a fire truck, which did not spot her lying under a layer of fire retardant foam. US prosecutors decided in October not to bring charges against the firefighter driving the truck.

CBS on Thursday broadcast segments of the video, allegedly obtained by a person close to the family of the victim.

The footage shows that firefighters knew there was a person lying on the landing strip after the accident.

The video shows a truck with rescuers approaching. The man with a camera installed on his helmet sticks out his hand and asks the truck to stop.

"There's a body right there, right in front of you," he says.

Then, a group of rescuers are seen running past the girl's body without stopping to check her vital signs.

Another 182 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777 were injured, in the first fatal commercial airline crash in the United States since 2009.

The San Francisco Fire Department declined to comment on the video.

The department has already apologised to the girl's family.

Countering reports that the police had released the video, police official Gordon Shyy said "We would not release anything that relates to an investigation that is ongoing."

A lawyer for the Ye family, Justin Green, told CNN "the video is the best evidence of what happened. It shows at least five firefighters who saw her, who understood she was there and none of them did the basic steps to check if she was alive."

SOURCE

SIA Cargo to pay out US$62.8m settlement in class action case

Singapore Airlines' cargo unit has finalised a settlement with plaintiffs in a class action case in the US.

Under the terms of the settlement, Singapore Airlines Cargo said it will pay out US$62.8 million, but it will not admit to any wrongdoing or liability with regard to any of the claims made in the air cargo class action in the US.

SIA said in a statement that it will also make a corresponding financial provision of about S$78.5 million in the financial statements of Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd.

The airline said the proposed class actions were commenced in 2006 against numerous airlines, including SIA Cargo in the US, on competitive aspects of air cargo services.

The agreed settlement is subject to the approval of the US District Court.

SOURCE

Firefighters caused death of Asiana crash victim: coroner

One of the victims of this month's Asiana Airlines jet crash in San Francisco survived impact but was killed on the tarmac when she was run over by an emergency vehicle, officials said on Friday.

Results of the autopsy on 16-year-old Chinese student Ye Mengyuan, one of three people killed in the July 6 disaster, had been keenly awaited after firefighters admitted a tarmac accident was possible.

The girl, who was "alive at the time," died due to "multiple blunt injuries that are consistent with being run over by a motor vehicle," San Mateo county coroner Robert Foucrault told reporters.

San Francisco fire chief Joanne Hayes-White offered her "condolences and apologies to the family... in light of the coroner's findings in this tragic accident."

"Obviously this is very difficult news for us -- we're heartbroken," Hayes-White said. "We're in the business of saving lives."

The city fire chief said the entire emergency operation was still under review.

"I continue to be very proud of all the men and women of our department. Many of our members risked their lives to save passengers and crews that day," she said, lamenting the "tragic accident."

A police inquiry found that Ye was hidden under a layer of white foam, used by firefighters as a flame retardant in the wake of the crash upon landing of Asiana Flight 214.

Hayes-White said the vehicle involved was likely "one of the specialized rigs at the airport," adding: "There were many surrounding the aircraft."

She said fire department personnel were cooperating with both a police probe and the one led by the US National Transportation Safety Board.

The two other people killed in the crash were also female Chinese youths.

More than 180 others injured in the crash of the Boeing 777, which had left Shanghai and made a stop in Seoul before heading to San Francisco.

Two of them were still in critical condition on Friday, with "spinal cord injury, abdominal injuries, internal bleeding, road rash and fractures," San Francisco General Hospital said in an update.

The passenger jet had 307 people on board, including 16 crew members. More than 120 people escaped unharmed.

The crash was the carrier's first passenger jet crash in 20 years.

According to preliminary findings from the NTSB, the plane crashed because it was flying too low and too slowly as it approached the runway.

The tail of the aircraft broke off as the plane clipped a seawall short of the runway, skidding out of control and quickly catching fire.

It has also emerged that the otherwise experienced pilot was undergoing his first major training on the Boeing 777, and it was his co-pilot's first time working as instructor.

Asiana has argued the pair were "competent" veterans with around 10,000 flying hours including dozens of flights to San Francisco.

Officials in South Korea have said that Asiana, the country's number two airline, will be subject to a weeks-long government investigation.

SOURCE

Not a nice thing to know when your motto is to save lives yet you caused the death of a young life. The white foam didn't help matters and in the chaotic scene after the crash, such an incident is unfortunate, my condolences to the girl's family.

Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo returns to Boston

A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 that left Boston for Tokyo on Thursday returned to Boston due to a possible pump problem, the company said, dismissing concerns of a new crisis for the planes.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has faced several problems with the new-generation Dreamliner plane since it resumed flying after four months of being grounded for serious battery problems.

The plane left from Boston at 12:57pm (1657 GMT) but returned to its airport of departure at around 6:00 pm.

"As a standard precautionary measure due to a maintenance message (fuel pump) indicator, JL007 bound for Tokyo-Narita decided to return to Boston Logan for check and landed safely," Carol Anderson, a US-based JAL spokeswoman, told AFP in an email.

Boston Logan International Airport said on its Twitter site that the 787 made "a precautionary return".

"Flight has landed and is taxiing to gate," it said.

JAL officials in Tokyo also confirmed the maintenance message but dismissed concerns that the return might signal a new problem for the plane.

"We decided to return for precaution... as a message showing a malfunction of a fuel pump at the right engine appeared in the cockpit," said a JAL spokesman.

Even if the pump was faulty, there was no safety risk as the engine has the function to suck fuel as a back-up option, he said.

"There's no emergency at all in this case. We just wanted to be on the safe side," the official said, adding "this has nothing to do with the battery system".

Last week, another 787 used by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at London's Heathrow airport.

JAL and another Japanese airline ANA, which has the biggest fleet of the craft, have experienced around a dozen minor complaints with the 787 since it was allowed to resume flying after being grounded between January and April.

After months of investigations, US authorities in April formally approved Boeing's battery fix and Japanese regulators followed suit.

The battery supplier, Japan's GS Yuasa, has voiced confidence that the system will never cause similar problems again.

SOURCE

Fuel pump not working, plane returning as a precautionary measure, nothing to worry about. Maintenance issues will have to be ironed out. Every small little part of this plane is giving the airlines headaches.

Philippines expects to be lifted from US air blacklist

The Philippines expects to be removed from a US air safety blacklist this year, opening a lucrative market for its carriers, an aviation regulator said Thursday.

John Andrews, deputy director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said he was very confident the upgrade would occur following a similar decision by the European Union last week.

"We're going to make it. (It's) as simple as that," Andrews told AFP in an interview.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said in 2008 that the Philippines was failing to comply with international safety standards, and banned its airlines from expanding services to the United States.

The European Union banned all Philippine carriers from flying to Europe in 2010 for similar reasons.

Reforms put in place since then, including a law creating a new aviation regulator, the CAAP, allowed the Philippines to satisfy the concerns of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in February.

This led to the EU's decision last week to allow Philippine Airlines to begin flying into its airspace. The EU said it was reviewing the case of other Filipino carriers.

Andrews said he expected US aviation regulators to make similar findings when it carried out an audit before the end of the year.

He said Filipino regulators had addressed safety concerns by physically tracking down every aircraft registered in the Philippines and getting their owners to submit documentation.

This was to make sure the CAAP stopped the illegal practice of cannibalising old aircraft to supply parts for planes of the same make that were still flying, he said.

He said the CAAP also had to update records on the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft serving Philippine airspace.

Andrews said the law that created the CAAP, also in 2008, allowed it to offer higher salaries than other government agencies to its air safety inspectors.

This was important so the inspectors, now being paid more than triple their 2008 salaries, could resist bribes to certify all aircraft as air-worthy.

Andrews said that apart from Philippine Airlines, other local carriers such as Cebu Pacific wanted to fly to the United States.

"They will all compete because it's a rich market," he said.

SOURCE

After the EU, PAL is hoping the US will also clear it to fly into their airspace when the audit is being carried out later this year. The next step for them is probably to purchase more aircraft to meet this surge in demand.

Asiana drops lawsuit against TV station

Asiana said Wednesday it had decided not to file a lawsuit against a US television station which aired false and offensive names for the pilots involved in a fatal crash.

The South Korean airline had earlier said it was planning a defamation lawsuit against Fox network affiliate KTVU news Channel 2 in Oakland over its coverage of the crash in San Francisco earlier this month.

The TV station identified the pilots of the Asiana Boeing 777 as "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow."

KTVU cited the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its source, but quickly realized the mistake and apologised.

Asiana also said it would sue the NTSB but on Monday backtracked, and on Wednesday it withdrew the same threat against KTVU.

"Asiana decided not to proceed with the suit," the airline said, citing an apology by the station.

Three people died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Shanghai via Seoul crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 6 and more than 180 were injured.

The jet clipped a sea wall with its tail as it came in to land at the US airport and skidded out of control before catching fire.

Two teenage Chinese girls died at the scene and another girl, also Chinese, died from her injuries.

Four pilots have been quizzed by US aviation officials over the deadly crash.

SOURCE

Sigh of relief for the TV station. One less thing to be preoccupied about for the airline. This is an honest mistake.

Asiana passengers file lawsuit against Boeing

A group of 83 passengers aboard an Asiana Airlines flight which crash-landed in San Francisco has filed a lawsuit seeking millions from the aircraft's manufacturer Boeing, their lawyers said Tuesday.

While a final determination of what caused the deadly crash of the Boeing 777 is years away,Chicago-based Ribbeck Law said initial reports indicate it could have been caused by a mechanical malfunction of the auto-throttle.

Boeing could also have been at fault for the design of sliding ramps which deployed inside the plane, "further injuring passengers and blocking their exit to safety," Ribbeck said in a press release.

There were also possibly problems with the seatbelts given that police officers "had to pass knives to crew members inside the burning wreckage" so they could cut passengers free," Ribbeck said.

The class action lawsuit was filed in Chicago, Boeing's corporate headquarters.

It will be expanded in coming days to include Asiana and several component part manufacturers "who may be responsible for this disaster," Ribbeck said.

The Asiana jet from Shanghai via Seoul clipped a sea wall with its tail as it came in to land at the US airport on July 6 and skidded out of control before catching fire, leaving three dead and more than 180 injured.

Zhang Yuan, who suffered severe spinal injuries and a broken leg, said it was important that victims protect their rights "immediately."

"It is terrible that the sliding ramps deployed inside the plane blocking our way to the exit door, trapping us inside the burning plane," she said in the statement.

"My husband, my daughter, other passengers and I would not have suffered such terrible injuries if the sliding ramps and the seat belts would not have trapped us in the burning wreckage."

Ribbeck filed a motion Monday seeking to require Boeing to provide details about the jet's design and maintenance and will seek access to all of the evidence discovered in the course of the investigation.

Swift legal action is "vital" for the victims and their families because international treaties prohibit US safety regulators from making determinations of liability or fault.

"Just compensation to these families cannot be provided under the law, until liability of all parties is established first," Kelly said.

"Ribbeck Law's independent experts will monitor the official investigation and will conduct our own investigation for our clients to assign fault to each of the responsible parties for this tragedy."

SOURCE

Now they start pointing fingers to the auto-throttle? Malfunctioning sliding ramps and seatbelts are now among the equipments hindering with rescue efforts? Boeing is in serious hot soup now. With the B787 still giving problems, this incident is one which they had hoped never occurred. In fact, we all do hope so.

Asiana Pilots Fear Criminal Charges in San Francisco Crash

Pilots of the Asiana Airlines Inc. jet that crashed nine days ago fear they will face criminal prosecution in the carrier's home country of South Korea, said people familiar with their thinking, a prospect that alarms U.S. pilot-union leaders and air-safety experts.

The Korean pilots of the Boeing 777, which hit a sea wall after making a dangerously low and slow approach to San Francisco International Airport in good weather, returned to Seoul on Friday. Before leaving, the pilots told associates they are concerned that their government intends to hit them with criminal charges for lapses in the cockpit.

Unlike in the U.S., South Korean law and precedent make that a possibility. South Korean law allows prison sentences of up to three years in the event of pilot negligence.

The captain of a Korean Air DC-10 that crashed in 1989 in Libya went to prison, according to news accounts at the time.

The Asiana pilots told these associates that they didn't expect to face jail time immediately upon arriving home, but they received no such assurances for the long term, according to a person familiar with the details.

Efforts to reach the pilots directly were unsuccessful. The union that represents them, the Air Line Pilots Association of Korea, has criticized the scrutiny of the crew's actions before the crash, saying information released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has focused only on pilot error while neglecting possible contributing factors.

The South Korean transportation ministry on Wednesday is slated to kick off a four-week probe of the crash, said a senior official with the ministry. The agency plans to delve into pilot training, whether the pilots followed proper approach procedures and their prior experience landing in San Francisco.

The official said there were no current plans to charge the pilots criminally, though the final decision hinges on the probe.

The crash left three dead and dozens injured. It all but destroyed the jet, which had an estimated market value of $63.9 million, according to aviation-consulting firm Avitas.

In a meeting with Korean government officials Monday, Asiana said it would enhance its pilot training, update its data on airports with difficult approaches and move to ensure better cockpit communication with pilots.

The plan was presented as part of a session on risk management attended by eight Korean carriers, and an Asiana spokeswoman declined to elaborate. The airline previously said it planned to beef up certain kinds of training, though Asiana has repeatedly said the pilots on Flight 214 were highly experienced and their training met all domestic and international standards.

Many air-safety experts argue that making pilots criminally liable threatens to chill their voluntary reporting of hazards and prevent airlines from benefiting from other confidential safety information needed to eliminate budding dangers. And when prosecutors pursue prison terms after a crash, critics contend, it makes it harder to determine precisely what happened.

U.S. pilot-union officials and safety advocates have launched a behind-the-scenes effort to head off any criminal action, seeking support from U.S. government and airline officials.

"I am concerned about the issue," said Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, the largest pilot union in North America, which assisted the Asiana pilots during the crash investigation. Criminalization, he said, can end up "crippling the ability to learn from accidents so they can be prevented."

U.S. laws and tradition essentially preclude criminal charges even against pilots who cause fatal accidents, except when their actions are intentional, egregiously reckless or result from drugs or alcohol.

But from Asia to Europe to Latin America, judges and prosecutors over the years have filed criminal cases, typically over the strong objections of labor, independent air-safety groups and the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations.

France, Spain, Brazil and Indonesia are among countries where air crashes have spurred criminal probes. The moves prompted ICAO to set up a special task force that recently submitted recommendations, which remain confidential, to prevent criminalization of accidents.

Kenneth Quinn, the task force's vice chairman and a partner in the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, said criminal action shouldn't follow a crash "unless there is evidence of willful misconduct or gross negligence." Mr. Quinn is general counsel of the nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation, which fights air-accident criminalization.

Some say moves to file criminal charges sometimes can be understandable. In countries where crash victims or their families "don't have a viable way to get meaningful compensation" through civil procedures, "it's natural for people look toward criminal prosecution," said James Kreindler, a plaintiffs' attorney with the New York law firm Kreindler & Kreindler LLP.

Meantime, there has been criticism over the NTSB's extensive, early disclosures of preliminary data from its investigation. Some of the pilots' backers feel the focus on apparent pilot error may provide ammunition for those inclined to pursue a criminal case.

Last week, ALPA criticized the safety board for "prematurely releasing" information from recorders aboard Asiana 214, before investigators fully interviewed the pilots. The union also complained that without providing the full context behind data that was made public, such disclosure "represents a potential detriment to flight safety."

An NTSB spokeswoman said "we routinely provide the public with factual information" about accidents. "For the public to have confidence in the investigative process," she said, "transparency and accuracy are critical."

SOURCE

This is sad isn't it? Errors of a pilot that is not being committed willfully being subjected to criminal charges in the country. From having one of the best jobs in the world, you ended up in a small prison cell for not doing your job fitting to expectations.

Asiana airlines faces government investigation

South Korea's Asiana airlines will be subject of a three-week government investigation after one of its passenger jets crash landed in San Francisco, officials said Monday.

The transport ministry also ordered all South Korean airlines to step up safety measures and provide additional training for their pilots and crew.

"South Korean airlines are required to strengthen safety measures in all areas, from flight operation, maintenance and their operation manuals to facilities," vice transportation minister Yeo Hyung-Koo said in a statement released by his office.

The order came Monday at talks between transportation ministry officials and executives from the country's eight carriers.

The probe into Asiana will investigate whether it violated any rules in its operation and training, the ministry said.

Four pilots from the Boeing 777 that crashed on July 6 will be questioned from Wednesday. The pilots returned home on Saturday after being quizzed by US aviation officials.

The Asiana jet from Shanghai via Seoul clipped a sea wall with its tail as it came in to land at the US airport and skidded out of control before catching fire, leaving three dead and more than 180 injured.

Two teenage Chinese girls died immediately after the accident and another girl, also Chinese, died from her injuries on Friday.

Asiana said Monday it would file a defamation suit against Fox network affiliate KTVU news Channel 2 in Oakland for mistakenly confirming and airing false and offensive names for the pilots.

It cited the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its source, but quickly realised the mistake and apologised. The NTSB blamed the mistake on an intern.

"The KTVU broadcast has seriously undermined the honour of our company," the carrier said in a statement.

The ministry said it had received a message of regret from the NTSB over the report.

Two of the four Asiana pilots onboard were in the cockpit at the time of the crash.

Questions have been raised about whether their perceived lack of experience in flying the B777 played a role in the accident -- the carrier's first passenger jet crash in 20 years.

Lee Kang-Kuk, a pilot for 10 years, was at the controls and in the middle of training to fly the B777, which he had flown for around 40 hours previously.

Lee Jung-Min, acting as co-pilot and trainer, had received his teaching license for the aircraft a month before the accident and had flown the B777 for 3,200 hours before.

Asiana has argued the pair were "competent" veterans with around 10,000 flying hours including dozens of flights to San Francisco.

SOURCE

Even the government is concerned about the safety in training and now want some answers on how did the accident allow itself to happen. This must have all the airlines based in South Korea scrambling for details/procedures to provide for the ministry to vet through.