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NO SURVIVORS IN AIRBLUE PAKISTAN PLANE CRASH

 Airblue's doomed Airbus A321-231 AP-BJB

A Pakistani Airbus A321-231 passenger plane registration AP-BJB crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad on Wednesday, killing at least 90 people and officials said it was unlikely that there would be any survivors among the 152 people on board. The Airbus A321, belonging to private airline Airblue, crashed into a heavily wooded and hard-to-access hillside while flying from the southern port city of Karachi. Rescue workers were scouring the site for bodies, officials said. "Most of the bodies are charred. We're sending body-bags via helicopters. It's a very difficult operation because of the rain," said Aamir Ali Ahmed, a senior city government official. "We can pray and hope but what experts are saying is that there's no chance of any survivors," he added.

Earlier reports that five survivors had been pulled from the wreckage of flight ED202 from Karachi to Islamabad were wrong, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the state-run Capital Development Authority, a city municipal body. "It would be a miracle but we're not expecting any survivors," said another official, who declined to be named. Rescuers said they had to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, with fire and thick smoke hampering their work. The fire has since been extinguished, but access to the hillside remained limited to pedestrians and helicopters. "You find very few intact bodies. Basically, we are collecting bodies parts and putting them in bags," Bin Yameen, senior officer in the Islamabad police, said from the scene of the crash. "I don't know the exact death toll but one can imagine not many could survive in such a bad situation.

The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 4:43 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members. The crash site is on the Margalla Hills facing Islamabad, about 300 metres up the side of the hills. Smoke could be seen from some districts of the city after the crash. "It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office," witness Khadim Hussain said. Heavy monsoon rains have lashed the area for the past few days. The military said it had sent three helicopters to the site and troops had also been moved there. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was surveying rescue operations from the air and the government declared Thursday a day of mourning for the victims.

Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, according to its website. It flies primarily domestic routes as well as to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Manchester in Britain. Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline and that an investigation was being launched. "It's too early to speculate," he said about the cause of the crash. "The civil aviation authorities will also be involved." Airbus confirmed one of its planes was involved in the Airblue crash. "We regret to confirm there has been an accident with an Airbus aircraft and we will provide more information when we have more confirmed data available," said Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath.

At Islamabad's international airport, passengers in the departure lounge scanned the television screens for news. "I'm not surprised something like this has happened," said Ahmed Fairuz, a passenger awaiting departure. "The weather is just too bad for flying." Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corporation. Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details.

The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994. Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006. Including the 2006 incident, PIA has had 11 crashes since 1957.   

Compiled by Bob Bell, Kate Yooser, Garry Luxton, Leisha Distefano, Eden Burghe, Mike Road, Robert Lopaka, David Hancock

* A Lufthansa cargo plane crashed at the Saudi capital's Riyadh airport on Tuesday but there were no casualties, the airline and the kingdom's civil aviation authority said. "Two crew members were taken to hospital to undergo treatment for minor injuries. The firefighters have contained the fire," said a spokesman for the General Authority of Civil Aviation. The two pilots exited the plane using emergency escape slides, Lufthansa Cargo said in a statement. There were no other crew members on board the aircraft. The MD-11 freighter carrying an 80-tonne load crashed at 1138 local time as it was arriving in Riyadh, Lufthansa Cargo said. The aircraft, which has been heavily damaged, was on its way from Frankfurt to Hong Kong via Riyadh and Sharjah. Europe's biggest cargo carrier said it was sending a team of experts to Riyadh to help investigate the cause of the crash. An airport official said the plane veered off a runway on landing: "It did not stop until the Royal Terminal runway. Soon after smoke started to emerge, followed by a fire." Security cordoned off the crash site

* Air Berlin expects to start flying as part of the Oneworld alliance of airlines in early 2012 in a move analysts said would bolster its position against German flagship carrier Lufthansa. In a first step, Air Berlin has entered code-sharing agreements with Oneworld members American Airlines and Finnair. Bilateral agreements with British Airways and Iberia will follow, Air Berlin said on Tuesday.Joining the Oneworld alliance would allow Air Berlin to share pricing, scheduling and other information within the alliance

* Airbus expects to receive an order for 20 to 30 new aircraft in the coming days, the plane maker's chief executive Tom Enders told German newspaper Bild. "This time it will be an order from America," he told the mass-circulation daily in an interview published on Monday, without saying who would be ordering the aircraft or for what type of planes the order would be. He said it clearly looks like the aviation industry is recovering now after its worst downturn in decades. Airbus last week pronounced the recession over after unveiling net new orders for 130 planes worth over USD$13 billion at the Farnborough Airshow

* Japan Airlines has proposed pay reductions to its unions as part of its rehabilitation, the Nikkei business daily has reported. The plan includes a 30 percent cut in the average salary of pilots from fiscal 2009 levels, bringing their annual pay to about JPY¥12 million (USD$137,000), the paper said. The proposed salary is about JPY¥7.8 million less than pilots at their rival carrier All Nippon Airways received last fiscal year, the paper said. However, the offer, which excludes foreign contract pilots, is higher than the JPY¥8.03 million salary for pilots at newcomer carrier Skymark Airlines, the Nikkei said. The airline aims to show its main lenders that it is willing to cut pay in addition to shedding 16,000 jobs, or a third of its group-wide workforce, the paper said. JAL has also called for a 25 percent cut in pay to about JPY¥4.2 million for flight attendants, and a 20 percent cut in the ground crew's pay to roughly JPY¥5 million, the paper said. The airline's unions have indicated that they have no choice but to accept the pay proposals if they are necessary for the firm to get back on its feet, Nikkei went on to say

* A grandfather found out the hard way that an innocent game of slingshot with your grandson is illegal. The grandfather was playing with his 10-year-old grandson in scrubland near Darwin Airport in the Northern Territory, Australia, when he was arrested by four Australian Federal Police officers and placed in the back of a caged wagon. An AFP spokeswoman said officers were patrolling the fenced perimeter on June 13 when they allegedly saw the man firing a slingshot at a Commonwealth Land sign. "The male was arrested as responding officers formed a view that he was becoming violent and posed a threat to them," she said. According to a friend of the man, he and his grandson were confronted by two AFP officers shouting at him to drop the weapon. When the grandfather protested his innocence the AFP officers called for back-up. Two more officers arrived and he was placed in a caged wagon. The AFP spokeswoman said after questioning, the man was released without charge and was later issued with a caution. The slingshot was also confiscated. Under the Aviation Transport Security Art 2004 it is an offence to carry weapons in an air-side area if you are not an on-duty police officer or member of the Defence Force. The maximum penalty is seven years in prison

* A nine-year-old boy was forgotten in a Chicago airport waiting room Saturday for nearly eight hours after an airline employee failed to put him on a connecting flight, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper has reported. Julien Reid was headed home to Ottawa on a United flight after visiting his dad in San Francisco, a trip he makes about six times a year. He left San Francisco at 6 a.m. and arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport at 11 a.m. He was supposed to catch a connecting flight from Chicago to Ottawa at 1:50 p.m., which would have put him in Ottawa at about 4:45 p.m. His mother, Genevieve Harte, checked online and saw that Julien's flight was delayed until 5:35 p.m. When she arrived at the airport to pick him up, she noticed other passengers had by that time already disembarked, but that her son was nowhere to be found. Then she got a call from Julien, using his own pre-paid cell phone. He said he was still at the Chicago airport in a "tiny, little room cramped with kids," where they played the same video on a loop all day, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The only food he'd been given was McDonald's, but Julian is a vegetarian. He said the other children were yelled at to "stop being kids." Harte, 36, asked Julien to put her on the phone with the United attendant who was watching the children. That's when the attendant let it slip that no one had come to fetch Julien to put him on his connecting flight, she told the Ottawa Citizen. Harte suspects her son may have been intentionally bumped from an overcrowded flight. "It's a lot easier to have a kid that's not going to say anything than an adult who has a business meeting that's going to scream at you in front of everybody," his mother told the Ottawa Citizen. Julien was finally put on a flight that left Chicago at 7 p.m. after spending nearly eight hours in the waiting room. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy told the Ottawa Citizen that the airline apologized for the inconvenience and planned to offer Harte a refund for the child care fee and an undisclosed goodwill gesture. Julien had his own message for the airline. "I'll tell them to get me a better flight next time," he said

* United Airlines parent UAL won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Tuesday for its USD$3.17 billion purchase of Continental Airlines. UAL, which unveiled the deal in May, had said the combined company would fly to 370 destinations and have 10 hubs worldwide, helping it attract more business travellers. The global downturn has hit the airline industry already under pressure from volatile fuel prices, low-cost competition and overcapacity. The European Commission, the European Union's competition watchdog, said in a statement that the deal would only result in an incremental increase in market shares for the carriers

* The Federal Government has appointed Australia's first independent aviation ombudsman. Residents under flight paths who are sick and tired of no action being taken about aircraft noise will no longer be ignored. Ron Brent's job will be to monitor and review complaints and inquiries made to Air Services Australia about noise levels and make recommendations for improvement. The 
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says it is about providing more accountability to the community. "What the aircraft noise ombudsman will do is ensure that that confidence is there from the community that when its determined by Air Services to fully examine new flight paths that the aircraft noise ombudsman will be there to make sure that there's improved consultation with communities," he said. Mr Brent has extensive experience, having served as the deputy Commonwealth ombudsman since 2003. He will start in his new position in September

* The union representing British Airways cabin crew said on Monday it would take legal action against the airline over the removal of travel concessions from striking workers. BA rejected the claim, saying it could withdraw travel perks at its discretion. The Unite union has been embroiled in a long running dispute with the airline, which has resulted in a series of strikes costing BA GBP£150 million (USD$231.7 million). A key sticking point in resolving the dispute, which originally centred around cuts to pay and staffing levels, has been BA's decision to remove travel perks from cabin crew who took part in the strikes. "Unite believes that BA's management's action breaches European human rights legislation," the union said in a statement. "It also believes that this sanction... was taken without proper disciplinary procedures being followed." BA said cabin crew were warned that if they took part in strike action they would lose their travel perks

* Airbus expects to receive an order for 20 to 30 new aircraft in the coming days, the plane maker's chief executive Tom Enders told German newspaper Bild. "This time it will be an order from America," he told the mass-circulation daily in an interview published on Monday, without saying who would be ordering the aircraft or for what type of planes the order would be. He said it clearly looks like the aviation industry is recovering now after its worst downturn in decades. Airbus last week pronounced the recession over after unveiling net new orders for 130 planes worth over USD$13 billion at the Farnborough Airshow

* A work to rule protest by Greek air traffic controllers over austerity-driven reforms in their sector has disrupted hundreds of flights in and out of Cyprus. Cyprus national carrier Cyprus Airways said more than a dozen flights were cancelled on Monday and airport operators said over 300 flights had been delayed since Sunday. Greek air space is the only avenue available to Cypriot carriers flying to Europe since Turkish air space lying directly to the island's north is closed to Cypriot commercial traffic. Greek controllers cancelled a planned 24-hour strike on Sunday but instead launched work to rule with avoidance of overtime and strict adherence to air space capacity guidelines. They said their action was trimming the numbers of flights they handle by about 10 percent daily. Their union would decide later on Monday if it would continue the action. "Our only way out to Europe is over the Aegean. We cannot avoid Greek air space," said Cyprus Airways spokesman Kyriakos Kyriakou. He said Turkish air space has been closed to Cypriot carriers since 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus's north after a short Greek-inspired coup on the eastern Mediterranean island. Delays experienced by Cyprus Airways were compounded by regulations stipulating 12 hour shifts for airline crews. The delays were consuming shift times, and depleting available staff levels, the airline said. In Greece, airport officials said over 40 flights had been delayed by up to 30 minutes since midnight on Sunday. The air traffic controllers are demanding more jobs and payment for overtime, against a reform plan meant to reorganise the civil aviation sector to make it more competitive

* Singapore Airlines posted a better-than-expected first quarter profit as a recovery in air travel and cargo volume gathered pace. Singapore's flag carrier posted an April-June net profit of SGD$253 million (USD$184.7 million), compared with a SGD$307 million loss a year ago when the airline recorded its first quarterly loss in six years. It was Singapore Airlines' highest quarterly profit since October-December 2009, when the firm posted a net profit of SGD$404 million. The airline said: "Advance bookings indicate that the year-on-year recovery in passenger carriage and yields evident in the quarter to June will hold up for the rest of 2010

* The USA have given final approval on Tuesday to a bid by American Airlines and British Airways to broaden their transatlantic alliance. The US Transportation Department said in a statement that it granted a waiver from antitrust law for the carriers in the oneworld Alliance to coordinate scheduling, pricing, and other services. Other oneworld members covered by the change include Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian. Transport planners found that the alliance was pro-competitive but required the airlines to make a limited number of landing slots at London's Heathrow airport available to competitors. The carriers won European Union antitrust clearance for their deal on July 14. US officials initially cleared the deal in February, but gave the parties additional time to review the terms. The final order contained no substantive changes

* Chile's dominant airline LAN said on Tuesday it has ordered 50 Airbus A320s with a list price of around USD$4.15 billion as the carrier seeks to expand its operations in Latin America. LAN plans to double its fleet with an investment of about USD$7.7 billion by 2018. The 50 short-haul planes would be incorporated in its fleet between 2012 and 2016 and used in regional and domestic routes in Latin America, LAN said. LAN has placed orders for 95 A320 planes that it would get between 2010 and 2016, and might sell 15 A318 planes, a company spokeswoman said. "My particular view is that they exaggerated a little bit. Fifty aircraft is a lot of capacity. I'm a little bit concerned, but it's not a major concern, because demand is doing well," said Caio Pereira Dias, an analyst with Santander Investment in Brazil. "The main message is that the company is very confident in their domestic operations." LAN was one of the Latin American companies that made large commercial plane orders at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday. The Chilean carrier, one of the region's profitable airlines, has gained passenger traffic, rising 15.5 percent in June from a year earlier after growing 13.9 percent in May

* 18-19th September 2010 RAAF Base Williamtown See the region’s biggest and most exciting air and ground displays ever by the Australian Defence Force and visiting allied aircraft. The event features the latest in technology demonstrating the range of stimulating and different careers on offer in the ADF. "It’s a family day with something for all ages". Watch this website for updates on the road traffic arrangements, flying and ground programs and information on the participating aircraft

NEED TO CONTACT US?   Bob Bell (AirSeaRailRoad.com) 0403 785947    HelicopterUtes@optusnet.co

UPCOMING AVIATION EVENTS with JAMIE CAMPBELL    www.aeroclub.com.au

Jul 30-Aug 8 Darwin, NT, Northern Territory 2010 Safari
Aug 1-7 Bankstown to Lake Eyre, NSW, Schoies Lake Eyre Safari
Aug 4 Jindabyne, NSW, Casa Safety Briefing
Aug 7 Luskintyre, NSW, LAFM Lunch with the Tiger Moths **CANCELLED**
Aug 7 Temora, NSW, Aircraft Showcase - World War II
Aug 7 North Adelaide, SA, Dine with the Aviators Dinner
Aug 14-15 Luskintyre, NSW, LAFM Amateur Radio Remembrance Day Contest
Aug 15 Yarrawonga, VIC, BBQ at Tocumwal
Aug 15 Yarrawonga, VIC, BBQ at Tocumwal
Aug 20-30 Bangor, Oth, CANADIAN MARITIMES RALLY
Aug 21 Temora, NSW, Aircraft Showcase - Vietnam
Aug 21 Dalby, QLD, Dalby Wings & Wheels Spectacular
Aug 21 Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, QLD, Straddie Breakfast Fly-In
Aug 21-22 Watts Bridge, QLD, AAC QLD MINI COMP, Practice in the Box
Aug 28 Betoota, QLD, Betoota Races
Aug 28-29 Watts Bridge Airfield, near Toogoolawah, QLD, Festival of Flight
Aug 28-Sep 10 PNG, QLD, International Comanche Society PNG Safari
Aug 29 Tumut, NSW, Tumut Valley Fly-in