The incident occurred on June 17, 2024.

Flight VA 148 departed Queenstown Airport (ZQN) in New Zealand, for Melbourne Airport (MEL) at approximately 17:48 local time. 

Shortly after takeoff, flames were seen billowing out from one of the aircraft engines. 

Video footage taken of the flight by residents watching the fiery incident unfold were shared on social media, including X (formerly Twitter).

The plane, carrying 67 passengers and six crew members, was forced to perform an emergency landing at Invercargill Airport (IVC), more than 180 kilometers south of Queenstown Airport

A spokesperson for Virgin Australia told 精东影业 that the plane had landed safely at IVC Airport and the engine fire was due to a suspected bird strike.

The airline said that while emergency service personnel were on the ground at IVC Airport, it is currently not aware of any reported physical injuries to its guests or crew. 

Passengers were provided with overnight accommodation in Invercargill and bus transport services were arranged back to Queenstown Airport where passengers took an afternoon flight onward to Melbourne Airport on June 18, 2024.

鈥淲e wish to express our appreciation for the support of Invercargill Airport, Emergency Services, local Air New Zealand team members and our crew onboard in helping to support tonight精东影业 response effort,鈥� the airline said.

Southwest Airlines fired pilot who spoke in Spanish during engine fire incident

• Airlines

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-05-23

Flights from Melbourne commenced on June 6, 2024, and flights from Brisbane will begin on June 7, 2024.

Ayers Rock Airport is the gateway to Uluru, or Ayers Rock, the massive sandstone monolith formation known as the landmark destination in the Northern Territory state. 

Uluru is thought to have started its formation 550 million years ago and is considered a sacred site to Indigenous Australians.

The flights were launched in partnership with the Northern Territory Government and Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia (operators of Ayers Rock Resort, Uluru), and is believed to inject more than 62,000 seats per year, adding to Australia精东影业 AUD 6 billion ($3.99 billion) Indigenous tourism economy. 

According to Virgin Australia, the increased tourism will also benefit Indigenous employment and training at Ayers Rock Resort, where over 30% of the workforce identifies as Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.

The flights use Virgin Australia精东影业 Boeing 737 aircraft, with up to 182 seats per flight in a three-class configuration (Business Class, Economy X, and Economy).

鈥淯luru is an incredibly important destination for Virgin Australia as one of the most iconic cultural landmarks in this country and a much-loved place for holiday makers to visit from all over the world,鈥� Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO of Virgin Australia said in a statement. 鈥淲e are proud to be connecting Australians to Uluru as part of our ongoing mission to provide more value and choice to travelers.鈥�

Meanwhile, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia CEO Matt Cameron-Smith described Virgin Australia精东影业 flights to Uluru as a 鈥渓andmark moment鈥� that underscores the appeal of the Red Center. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to have even more visitors experience the wonders of Ulu峁焨, along with culturally-immersive experiences like Sunrise Journeys and Wintjiri Wi峁焨, through Virgin Australia’s extensive network,鈥� Cameron-Smith said.

Etihad Airways, China Eastern enter strategic partnership, sign joint venture

• Airlines

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-06-06

The video clip, which was uploaded to social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), shows the aircraft, which appears to be empty, angling to its right until it comes to a stop at a nearly 90 degree angle to its initial position at gate C21. 

The incident occurred in the early morning of May 28, 2024. According to weather reports, powerful wind gusts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reached over 70 miles per hour and were accompanied by thunder.聽

An American Airlines spokesperson told 精东影业: “Severe weather, including straight-line wind gusts up to 80 mph, at our Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) hub affected several parked unoccupied aircraft. There were no injuries. Our maintenance team is currently conducting thorough inspections and will make any needed repairs.”

DFW airport advised passengers with early morning flights to check their flight status due to delays. 

Air Canada B777 suffers hard landing due to strong winds at Toronto Pearson

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byJean Carmela Lim

2023-11-17

The east to west domestic service will be available five times per week, using the airline精东影业 B737 aircraft. 

The new Melbourne to Perth route will become Rex精东影业 11th domestic service, with its Boeing 737 fleet flying to Australian state capital cities including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and the Gold Coast.

According to Rex, the new service will add almost 90,000 seats to one of Australia精东影业 busiest routes.

Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer Lorie Argus said that the arrival of Rex精东影业 new route will increase competition and offer better options for customers.

“Having a third airline group flying between Perth and Melbourne will increase competition and allow more people to reconnect with family and friends or explore Victoria’s fantastic tourism offering,” Argus said in a statement.

鈥淲hen more airlines compete on a particular route, consumers benefit and our record in the

domestic markets speaks for itself 鈥� Rex delivers terrific value for money,鈥� Rex General Manager Network Strategy Warwick Lodge said.

鈥淩ex consistently outshines its domestic rivals in on-time performance and cancellation rates,

and when travelers are booking a route of this distance and duration, reliability is paramount,鈥� Lodge added.

According to Lodge, Rex精东影业 competitors canceled a total of 57 flights on the Melbourne-Perth route in the first four months of 2024, while their combined on-time arrival and departure performance was only around 72%.

Rex signs interline agreement with Etihad, 72 global destinations opened up聽聽聽聽

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-03-13

Flight SW 3695 was headed to William P Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston from Denver International Airport (DEN) on April 7, 2024 when the incident took place. The flight departed at 07:39 local time.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an engine cowling fell off and struck the wing flap during takeoff. The flight rose to about 3,140 meters (10,300 feet), before returning safely back to Denver Airport. 

Footage taken by passengers onboard and posted on X (formerly Twitter) showed what appeared to be part of the plane hanging off and flapping in the breeze, before eventually ripping off the aircraft.

The aircraft, carrying 135 passengers and five crew members, was then towed back to the gate.

In a statement sent to US media, Southwest said a crew member reported that the engine cowling fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap. 

“Southwest Airlines Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International airport around 08:15  local time on Sunday, April 7, 2024,鈥� the airline said, adding that the FAA will investigate the incident. 

The airline also said that passengers were rebooked on other flights, and maintenance teams are currently inspecting the aircraft.

鈥淲e apologize for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees,鈥� the statement continued.

Boeing 737 MAX production slows down as FAA step up factory audits: report

• Aircraft
• Aviation Manufacturing
• Aviation Safety

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-04-04

The Houston-based carrier精东影业 three new routes. one to a new city plus two direct services, will begin in May 2024 and operate on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft.

Starting May 10, 2024, Avelo will operate Albany International Airport (ALB) to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) flights twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays.

Another route, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), will begin on May 10, 2024, also operating twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. 

And on May 9, 2024, the airline will begin operating a direct route from Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP).

鈥淲e are excited to celebrate one year of base operations at RDU by adding three more popular routes to our East Coast network. Whether visiting friends and family or enjoying a leisurely vacation, Avelo offers time and money-saving convenience for our Customers,鈥� Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said in a press statement.

鈥淎nd with the extension of our booking schedule through Labor Day, Customers can now start planning their summer vacations and long-weekend getaways,鈥� Levy added.

Avelo Airlines has also celebrated the one year anniversary of its fifth base, Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) .

Since then, the airline has added a second aircraft and now employs approximately 90 RDU-based crew members, including airport customer service, flight Attendants, pilots, aircraft technical operations and maintenance, and supervisors, with more career opportunities still available.

Since taking flight at RDU, Avelo said it has served more than 230,000 customers and operated more than 1,700 flights.

Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines set to launch sixth US base

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2023-06-26

Flight AA 1632 departed from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at 17:07 local time. The two-hour, 40-minute flight was uneventful until the aircraft, with registration N991AN, landed at DFW Airport精东影业 Runway 17L at approximately 21:45 local time.

There were no injuries reported among the 99 passengers and six crew members on board. 

According to the , the B737-800 aircraft 鈥渆xperienced a braking malfunction鈥� and went into the Engineered Materials Arresting S ystem (EMAS) located at the end of the runway.聽聽

The EMAS is a bed of engineered materials built at the end of a runway to reduce the severity of a runway excursion. 

Engineered materials are defined in FAA Advisory Circular No 150/5220-22B as “high energy absorbing materials of selected strength, which will reliably and predictably crush under the weight of an aircraft鈥�, preventing runway overshoots. 

The FAA said that to date there have been 21 incidents where EMAS s ystems have safely stopped 21 overrunning aircraft, with a combined total of 430 crew and passengers aboard those flights. 聽

Airbus A320 blocks runway for 12 hours after brakes jam while landing in Irkutsk

• Civil Aviation

byValius Venckunas

2022-11-03

Flight UA 1627 was operating from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) on January 28, 2024 when the incident took place. 

Not long after takeoff, the flight made a sharp turn and headed to Denver International Airport (DEN) to land.

, the flight diverted due to a 鈥渃racked windshield鈥�. The aircraft landed safely at 13:10 local time. There were 166 people on board the flight, and no injuries were reported.

A United Airlines spokesperson told The New York Post that upon reaching Denver, passengers deplaned normally and a change of aircraft occurred.聽

The new aircraft, a B737-900, took the passengers to IAD airport, where they arrived at 20:14 local time, four hours and 38 minutes behind schedule.聽

FAA to probe Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 mid-flight windshield crack

• Airlines

byGabriele Petrauskaite

2022-04-03

The aircraft, with assigned 9M-MVA, was welcomed with a grand water salute after flying from Seattle, United States. 

In a Facebook post Boeing revealed the aircraft is the first B737-8 to be delivered to Malaysia Airlines, and said that this is the first B737-8 to be delivered to Malaysia Airlines, and that the livery features a songket motif that pays tribute to the country’s cultural heritage.

The airline also announced the full restoration of its in-flight service offerings after almost two months of having no in-flight catering contract.

On September 1, 2023, Malaysia Airlines ended its 26-year contract with Brahim精东影业 Food Services (BFS), without having lined up a new caterer. For months, the airline was plagued with questions and criticisms as some flights fell short when it came to the onboard dining service, a far cry from the years when it won best signature dish awards.

The airline said it resumed full in-flight meal service on November 1, 2023, following the delivery of 10 hi-lifts which commenced operations at the end of October 2023. 

Malaysia Airlines said that as part of its catering business continuity plan, it established a temporary distribution center 鈥� the MAG Catering Operations (MCAT) – to manage the assembly of F&B items and the uplifting of meals onboard via hi-lift trucks. 

The airline is now self-handling an average of 18,000 meals daily, collaborating with its catering partners to maintain the highest standards of quality and service.

鈥淎s a global airline, Malaysia Airlines sets high standards for our product offerings and services onboard 鈥� being the embassy on wings for the country and the champion for Malaysian Hospitality. We underwent this much needed transition in our onboard catering to improve our offerings and service delivery whilst growing our capabilities, with customers maintaining as our centre of gravity,鈥� Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) said in a press statement.

Ismail added: 鈥淚n addition, we have received positive feedback from customers on our meal offerings, with some crowd favorites even being uplifted on more of our flights. We remain steadfast to innovation, safety, and the highest standards of customer satisfaction. We will continue to strengthen our core proposition as a premium airline, with a commitment to elevate the onboard dining experience by providing more options, curated offerings and variety for all our guests.鈥�

Malaysia Airlines faces in-flight meal criticisms while searching for new caterer

• Airlines
• Civil Aviation

byJean Carmela Lim

2023-09-07

On August 7, 2023, the Boeing 737-800 with registration PK-GNM was operating domestic flight GA 532 from Jakarta精东影业 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (JKT) to Banjamarsin精东影业 Syamsudin Noor International Airport (BDJ) with 145 passengers and seven crew.

According to the the flight crew performed an Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) approach to Banjarmasin airport精东影业 runway.

The pilots then noticed that the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System alerts were sounding faster than normal and, according to the report, 鈥渁ssisted holding the yoke back with the left hand and the right hand on the thrust levers鈥�. 

The aircraft then 鈥渂ounced with a high pitch鈥� as it touched down, and the flight crew called for a go-around. 

As the aircraft rotated to perform the go-around, a tailstrike occurred and, according to NTSC reports, air traffic controllers at BDJ airport saw 鈥渟parks on the runway鈥� and called for an inspection after the aircraft took off. 

The aircraft then commenced a second approach for a landing without further incident. There were no reported injuries.

On November 2, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Committee released its preliminary report, stating that the aircraft sustained substantial damage including structural damage by deformed stringers, clips and frame. 

The incident was rated an accident and is currently being investigated.

Qatar Airways Airbus A350 damaged during tailstrike incident in Pakistan

• Aviation Safety

byRytis Beresnevicius

2023-04-17