Another US Airways Airbus struck a flock of Canada geese yesterday, shortly after takeoff from Greater Rochester, N.Y. for Charlotte, N.C. This time however the crew of the Airbus A319 lost the use of only one engine and was able to return and land at its departure airfield without further damage to the aircraft and with its 124 passengers unharmed.

Attention anyone conducting retail business on GAAP or other Commonwealth-owned airports. Airport tenant Bema Gold (Australia) Pty Ltd yesterday was before the Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT) seeking relief against forfeiture of its premises at Moorabbin Airport. It sought a declaration that the premises are retail premises within the meaning in the Retail Leases Act 2003. And they had a win.

Sydney Airport has again come fifth in the Australian Consumer Competition’s (ACCC) annual assessment of airport performance, despite a consultant’s customer survey earlier this week that revealed it was marginally increasing its popularity with passengers.

Airbus Industrie will increase its single-aisle A320 Family monthly production rate from the current rate of 34 to 36, starting in December. Airbus says its decision to raise its single-aisle production rate is driven by the continuing demand and a record order backlog in excess of some 2,300 A320 Family aircraft.

The US National Transportation Safety Board has adopted a study concluding that single engine aircraft with glass cockpits had no better overall safety record than aircraft with conventional instrumentation.

The warning comes as nearly all newly manufactured piston-powered light aircraft are equipped with digital primary flight displays.  And the number of older aircraft being retrofitted with these systems continues to grow.

Helicopter pilot training professionals contacting AviationAdvertiser say they were appalled to hear that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was not investigating the training helicopter crash on Mount Barney near Kyogle on January 28.

The United Kingdom’s main air traffic service provider NATS (formerly National Air Traffic Services Ltd) is now using wide area multilateration (WAM) in the North Sea off the Scottish coast for helicopter flight following. The system’s us is now also spreading in Australia

John Holland Aviation Services (JHAS) today signed a five year contract to provide comprehensive fleet management services to Menzies Aviation’s fleet of ground support equipment (GSE). Under the agreement, JHAS will service, maintain and support over 1200 units of GSE at airports throughout Australia and New Zealand.

EADS and the defence ministers of its customer nations have reached what the aerospace giant describes as “a principle agreement” to amend the contract covering its troubled A400M military transport aircraft. The intention is to amend the original contract in the coming weeks, says EADS. The statement has set out the four commitments now offered by customer nations.

Qantas’ low-cost carrier Jetstar has changed its operating procedures following a mishandled missed approach during an attempted instrument landing system (ILS) approach at Melbourne on July 21, 2007. A report released today by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that the go-around didn’t work as intended for two primary reasons

The Japanese Ground Self Defense Force has chosen Enstrom Helicopter Corporation to supply the next generation of training helicopters for the JGSDF Pilot Training Program. The program calls for the first evaluation helicopter to be delivered in 2010, with a total of 30 aircraft to joipn the program by 2014.

Dutch police have arrested a pilot at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for flying a Turkish airliner with a dodgy licence. The Swedish pilot was preparing a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 for a flight to Ankara, Turkey, with 101 passengers aboard when arrest was prompted by a tipoff from Swedish authorities.

LAN Airlines has restored services between Sydney and Santiago, Chile, following last weekend’s devastating earthquake in Chile. Flight LA 801, the first flight since Sunday February 28, will arrive tomorrow morning, Saturday 06 March at approximately 7.30am.

Boeing will offer its “NewGen” Tanker in the KC-X competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft that will meet all the Service’s mission requirements for the next several decades.  Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said Boeing’s tanker will satisfy all mandatory Air Force requirements and offer an American-made tanker that will be capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.

Boeing has confirmed it will close its Milperra aerospace engineering site at Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west. The company said today that it would consolidate its Australian aerospace component manufacturing on its Fishermans Bend plant in Melbourne, closing the Bankstown factory in 2012.

With the Sunshine Coast’s high aviator population, the region’s aviation fraternity is determined not to lose their airport without a fight.  They’ll be showing their strength at an upcoming public meeting, and we’re urging that as many aviation people as possible take part.  For that purpose here’s the full text of a letter that’s been circulated to interested parties. READ MORE

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation will be providing sixteen 480B advanced turbine training helicopters for the Royal Thai Army. The 480B was selected in a competitive bidding process that included aircraft from seven different major manufacturers. The deal follows a visit last October to Enstrom of a Thai Army officials led by Major General Pittaya Krachangwong, who inspected Enstrom’s manufacturing facilities and flew the different models of Enstrom helicopters.

This year’s Heli-Expo 2010 at Houston has been good news for American Eurocopter, with significant major orders from the law enforcement and emergency services sector.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has entered into the first option year on the Light Enforcement Helicopter (LEH) contract, placing an order for a further six AS350B3s. This is the second order on the LEH contract that was awarded to American Eurocopter by the Department of Homeland Security in July 2008.