Malaysian Artist's Mixed Media View of Aviation

Masnoor in his studio in April 2014

One night in Spain, I took a walk down to the edge of the Mediterranean where a brilliant white moon seemed to turn the water into a sea of graphite. I had no camera and so I challenged myself to recreate the scene with words. In his 2012 trip across the Atlantic in a Pilatus PC 12, Malaysian painter Masnoor Ramli Mahmud was asked to do the opposite, tell the story of trans-oceanic flight in pictures.  The result is the one-man show, PATHFINDER#PC12, which will open in Kuala Lumpur on November 27th. 

MH 370 Lawyer Behavior Criticized Yet Again

A disciplinary commission in Chicago has upheld a censure decision against a lawyer who just last week came under its scrutiny for her behavior  related to Malaysia Flight 370.

Monica Ribbeck Kelly, who made worldwide headlines when she filed the first case against Boeing and Malaysia Airlines following the mysterious disappearance of the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March, has been battling the ethics board of the Illinois Supreme Court since 2011 when she mishandled her representation of the victim of another crash.

A Flying Club With Storied Past and an Uncertain Future

Everywhere you go there are Malaysian airliners, on the makeshift sympathy signs dotting the town, on a magnificent mosaic hidden in a highway underpass, on the back of (some) 20 ringgit notes. I've already written how the tragic mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has engaged the people who live here. Now that I've finished reading the history of the Royal Selangor Flying Club, I understand that a little better. The airline and the club grew up together and can even be considered products of the same parents. But as aviation soars, especially in this part of the world, the once formidable 85 year old club struggles to maintain a presence in a vastly different world.

Baffling Delay on JFK Airport Hotels

As if we were waiting in the passenger boarding area for news of a delayed flight, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is providing just the merest trickle of information about the airport hotel it has long promised to bring to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

It is astonishing to me that the 19th busiest airport in the world does not have even one hotel on premises. Not the new one promised, not the replacement for the old Ramada at JFK that closed in 2009.

Bike Tour of Calgary Airport, a Memorable First

The bike path approach to Bergamo's Orio de Serio Airport

I've written before about airports that are dear to me because I can get to them by bike. There were some notable omissions from that post; forgive me I didn't know about Calgary International Airport. Now I do and for that, I can thank Sid Barber, a reader of my blog who upon learning that I would be in Calgary for interviews and a tour of the scrappy upstart, WestJet, invited me to visit his airline, Canadian North. 

Southwest Nose Gear Accident Mirrors American Flight 1740

UPDATED WITH VIDEO FROM AA FLIGHT 1740


The latest airplane accident at New York's LaGuardia Airport shows once again how much progress has been made in making airplanes safe even when things go wrong. Just eight of the 150 passengers and crew members on board were reported injured.

Around dinnertime this evening, Southwest Airlines Flight 345 from Nashville to New York landed either without nose gear or with the pilots uncertain that they actually had nose gear locked into place. At this time, its not clear which.

In the Sea of Information from Asiana Crash, Pilots Not the Captains of the Ship

The Air Line Pilots Association is making a big deal over the National Transportation Safety Board’s release of information from the initial stages of the investigation into the crash of Asiana Flight 214. They’re right and they’re wrong.

The statements made over the past 4 days by board chairman Deborah Hersman, have unleashed a torrent of speculation and premature judgments.

Jaws Syndrome? That’s a Teething Problem

Boeing brings the 787 to Ethiopia in 2011

I have a double major in aviation and journalism - I bring it up to make this point: Several things are happening with the Dreamliner. Some are serious and some are ordinary, new-airplane glitches, dare-I-say, teething problems. 

The causes of the recent 787 flight cancellations in Japan may fall in the latter category but grand or minor, the Jaws syndrome means that each nip of the teeth will gnaw on the still-rehabilitating reputation of the Boeing 787.

South African Airways: Entertainment Before, During and After the Flight

Saturday afternoon I flew from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Cape Town on South African Airways Flight 347, to attend the International Air Transport Association Annual General Meeting. I was pretty sure it would be an on-time flight since Monwabisi Kalawa, the airline's new chief executive was on the plane. Of course he was in business class and I was back, way back in seat 27F.  

What I did not know was what a great vantage point that seat would give me for all the goings-on before, during and after we landed in Cape Town. Here are some of the highlights with photos to match: 

Pre Flight Walk Around Prompts List of Fave Airports

As much as I like to fly, the prospect of being on a 12 hour flight during the daytime (when I probably won't sleep much) makes me a little apprehensive. I have ants-in-the-pants-syndrome; it is very difficult for me to remain seated for extended periods of time. 

So Wednesday morning, before I boarded Ethiopian Flight 501 from Dulles International to Addis Ababa, I decided to tire myself out with a good, long strenuous power walk. I have the perfect playlist for this, assembled by my music-loving sister Lee.

Cars or Planes? Movie Might Instigate a Dogfight at My Home

Disney may not have intended to instigate domestic strife with the release of the trailer for its new animated feature, Planes, but I can tell that the sparks are going to fly around my house. 

There they are, all those pretty little airplanes, soaring in time with the swelling chords of the music while cars and trucks with their anthropomorphized windshield-framed eyes remain solidly earth-bound.

Will Passengers Weigh in on the Dreamliner?

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED AND REVISED 

Does the decision of the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the Dreamliner to fly again need judicial review? An airline passenger rights organization thinks so. In a petition to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA, FlyersRights.org is asking that the Boeing 787 be restricted to routes that are no farther than 2 hours from the nearest diversion airport.

Paul Hudson, the president of FlyersRights.org and the chief of the Airline Consumer Action Project says the issue is "urgent" since airlines around the globe are beginning to put the Dreamliners back into service as Boeing's battery-in-a-box safety enhancements are completed.  Hudson is using the Administrative Procedure Act, a process that can subject government policies to the review of a court.

Apology and Correction - Ethiopian IS Flying 787 Again

Readers, an apology is in order. Jon Ostrower of the Wall Street Journal informs me that Ethiopian Airlines is flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its Addis Ababa to Frankfurt route and my earlier post suggesting that the headline making Saturday re-inaugural flight of the troubled twin jet was a one-off is incorrect. 

Earlier in the day I was told by Ethiopian reservations agent that the 787 was not flying which I took as an acknowledgement by the airline that before it put the plane and its brand new fire and smoke containing battery box back on the line, it would do a little more flight testing.

That's what All Nippon Airways is doing. But it would seem that Ethiopian feels more confident in Boeing's assurances that all is well with the lithium ion batteries now that the insulation has been beefed up, the charging toned down and the box installed.

My thanks to Jon, an extraordinary aviation reporter and my apologies once again to my readers for leading you astray on this matter. 

Ethiopian's ET-AOP prepares for its post-grounding flight on April 27th
photo courtesy Boeing

Is Ethiopian's First Dreamliner Flight a Delusion?

Ethiopian's 787 ET-AOP on April 27th Boeing photo

THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED AND UPDATED HERE.

Ethiopian Airlines loaded up Flight 801 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on Saturday and literally lifted the Dreamliner from its three month grounding, the first Boeing 787 customer to resume service on the troubled jet or so the stories say. But wait, announcing a resumption of service may be a tad premature. A more careful reading of the Ethiopian and Boeing press releases seems to indicate that despite the fuss, the flight was a one-off.

ETOPS Restrictions for the 787 - 2nd Biggest Nightmare

Presumptive much? In Tokyo on March 16, Boeing's Mike Sinnett made some very bold statements when asked if the Dreamliner's battery woes might result in the Federal Aviation Administration's restricting the airplane's ETOPS overwater capabilities.

Why should it? Mike Sinnett, suggested to a room full of journalists. "The certification plan is designed to lift the AD (airworthiness directive) to fully comply and there will be no additional limitations on the airplane following the lifting of the AD." 

That's not what I'm told, and replying to a question in a Senate hearing yesterday the Seattle Times Dominic Gates reports, FAA chief Michael Huerta made it clear the troubled jet's three-hour ETOPs is absolutely under review. 

A Crash Every Two Years, Who Is Worried About That?

When I'm hard at work, taking notes say, at a National Transportation Safety Board public forum, I will have my laptop open, my iTouch recording and (busted) be checking my email on my Samsung Galaxy Smartphone. All of these devices are powered by lithium ion batteries, and not just that, but cobalt oxide formulations, one of the more volatile chemistries.

Air Ambulance Pilot Demonstrates How Deadly Distraction Can Be

The pilot of an emergency medical helicopter was text messaging before and during the flight that ended in disaster near an airport in Mosby, Missouri in 2011. His actions and his distraction were cited as contributing factors in the crash that killed four people on board an Air Methods helicopter in August 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. 

Patty Wagstaff Sky High But Down to Earth Air Show Star

Patty Wagstaff provided photo 

When she wows crowds on the air show circuit, pilot Patty Wagstaff often pulls her airplane nose high. But when it comes to her personal interactions, she is a down-to-earth, everywoman. The 61 year-old, air acrobat's appearance at New York's Wings Club was one of the more glamorous events held by this group of international aviation executives - even without the black tie and spangly dresses that are required for the annual gala in the fall.

Señora's No Shaky Reason For Aviation

Boston Logan knows how to display airliners

One can't be immersed in aviation without forming all sorts of opinions about its impact.  How one defines the reason for aviation can be roughly categorized.

The Air Transport Action Group tallies it up in a report called Aviation Benefits Beyond the Borders, a study industry groups like International Air Transport Association will surely use to lobby governments to be more like partners and less like adversaries.  

787 Battery Box Has Boeing Confined

Battery from ANA Dreamliner. Photo courtesy JTSB

The materials engineers at Boeing are probably already calculating the size and shape of the new box that will confine the Dreamliner's lithium ion batteries. But it will take a magician to get Boeing out of the box it's presently in. It has an airplane tied up to its wingnuts with a battery technology that may have to go and every way it turns, it finds another corner it cannot navigate.