AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*November was the 2nd month in a row that largest Airlines in the US reported no flights with tarmac delays of more than 3 hours, while the carriers reported only a slight increase in the rate of canceled flights during the month, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This past October and November were the only months with no tarmac delays of more than 3 hours by the reporting carriers since the Department began collecting more comprehensive tarmac delay data in October 2008.

*Boeing is awaiting approval by the FAA before releasing the company's revised schedule for the 787 prompted by an electric fire on board a flight test aircraft 2 months ago. The announcement of Boeing's new certification schedule for the 787 has been anticipated for several weeks. The 787 fleet resumed certification tests on December 23 following electrical fire on ZA002 on November 9.

*Indonesia's MANDALA AIRLINES, which suspended operations today to undergo financial restructuring, is seeking new investors to help it get back on track. The carrier plans to apply to Indonesia's Commercial Court for a 45-day window period where it will be temporarily suspended from debt obligations as it works out a business restructuring plan. Mandala operates 5 Airbus A320 family aircraft but reports say the carrier will return these to its lessors these week.

*As part of their release yesterday of their Report into the crash of the POLISH AIR FORCE Tupolev Tu154M in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10, 2010, the Russian MAK released a photo of the runway and approach lights in Smolensk. The photo was taken on April 14, 2010, 4 days after the crash that killed all onboard, including the President of Poland. The Tupolev approached Smolensk in heavy fog and continued their approach without having visual confirmation of the runway.

*ALASKA AIRLINES Flight 363, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Sacramento, California, yesterday, January 12, after ingesting a bird into an engine on takeoff. It is not known if the engine was damaged in the bird strike.

*COPA AIRLINES Flight 463, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency landing in Cordoba, Argentina, yesterday, January 12, due to an overclocking of 1 engine. The crew shut the engine down and landed without incident.

*LUFTHANSA Flight 3100, a Boeing 737, had to return to Hamburg, Germany, yesterday, January 12, after the left hand main gear would not fully retract.

*TAP AIR PORTUGAL Flight 570, an A319, had to return to Lisbon, Portugal, yesterday, January 12, due to an unspecified technical problem.

*WINDJET Flight 583, an A320, reported an auto-brake problem while on approach to Catania, Italy, yesterday, January 12. The crew performed a go-around and landed on the 2nd approach, with the crew applying the brakes manually. Smoke was reported from the right hand main landing gear during roll out, thus the crew stopped the A320 on the taxiway and Emergency Services cooled the brakes down. The A320 was inspected and repaired and returned to service 8 hours later.

*SUNWING Flight 716, a Boeing 737, had to make an emergency return to Toronto, ON, Canada, on Wednesday, January 5. After reaching 39000 feet after takeoff from Toronto, the crew received a left hand bleed trip light. The crew reset the switch and left hand bleed air was restored and the light extinguished. A short time later, as the aircraft was about 190 miles S of Toronto, the left hand bleed trip light illuminated again, thus the crew requested return and began a descent to 34000 feet. Shortly after starting the descent, the right hand bleed trip light illiminated and the passenger cabin began to climb at 2000 feet per minute. The crew performed the pressurization drill and the passenger O2 masks were deployed. The crew declared an emergency and descended to 9000 feet. The 737 landed safely back at Toronto about 45 minutes later and was removed from service for a full inspection.