Aviation News

PASSENGERS who flew from Brisbane to Sydney on a recent Qantas flight may have been exposed to measles, NSW and Queensland health authorities say.

The warning comes after it was confirmed a passenger on Qantas flight 0545 that left Brisbane at 5.25pm (AEST) on Saturday had the highly contagious disease.

Dr Vicky Sheppeard, Director of Communicable Diseases at NSW Health, says people on that flight should watch out for symptoms such as fever, tiredness, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes. Symptoms could be expected to appear any time between August 30 and September 10.

So far this year eight measles-infected travellers have arrived in NSW, while measles cases linked to international travellers have also been reported in Melbourne and Brisbane.

In Victoria, 10 cases of measles were detected in just three weeks.

A Melbourne man has been linked to four cases in Victoria and one in Queensland after his diagnosis earlier this month prompted health alerts in both states.

Local public health units are contacting passengers who were seated near the infected passenger on the Qantas flight.

People who believe they have symptoms of measles, which can cause swelling of the brain, should seek medical advice.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/measles-warning-for-qantas-passengers/story-e6frfq80-1226705819989#ixzz2dGhcjhqo

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A first-class passenger who screamed profanities and disobeyed crew orders on a Detroit-to-Shanghai flight, causing the pilot to divert to Anchorage, Alaska, was charged on Tuesday with interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

The Sunday flight, operated by Delta Air Lines, stopped in Alaska’s biggest city, where officers arrested Stephanie Heizman Auerbach, a Shanghai-based designer and owner of an apparel and fashion company, according to court documents.

An affidavit filed in US District Court in Anchorage said Auerbach’s disruptive behavior began 60 to 90 minutes into the flight, when she began talking loudly, making gestures, walking up and down the aisle and climbing over seats.

She “screamed profanities” at flight attendants and five times refused to heed instructions to return to her assigned seat, according to the affidavit, filed by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Benjamin Hallowell.

Flight attendants had served her five glasses of white wine, and passengers said she took additional alcoholic beverages from the galley without the knowledge of flight crew members, according to the affidavit.

The plane’s captain “determined that it was not safe to continue the flight” with Auerbach aboard and diverted to Anchorage, the affidavit said.

Two children travelling with Auerbach were allowed to remain on the flight because they were being met in Shanghai by their father, according to the affidavit.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/disruptive-firstclass-passenger-forces-flight-down-20130823-2sfr9.html#ixzz2cnPlBjAu

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Two pilots died in a UPS jumbo cargo plane crash early Wednesday morning just outside a Birmingham, Ala., airport, officials said.

A UPS spokesman confirmed to MyFoxAL.com that the plane was a UPS A-300 Airbus, tail number N155UP, with two crew members aboard. The flight originated in Louisville, Ky., and crashed upon its approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told The Associated Press that the plane crashed before dawn. Debris was still smoldering and the nose of the plane was detached from the body.

The plane crashed in an isolated field outside the airport’s perimeter fence and a white plume of smoke was seen rising from the site. Teams of emergency crews responded to the crash.

It was not immediately known what the plane was carrying; UPS spokesman Jeff Wafford said only that the plane was carrying a variety of cargo.

Sharon Wilson, who lives near the airport, said she was in bed before dawn when she heard what sounded like engines sputtering as the plane went over her house.

“It sounded like an airplane had given out of fuel. We thought it was trying to make it to the airport. But a few minutes later we heard a loud `boom,”‘ she said.

Another resident, Jerome Sanders, lives directly across from the runway. He said he heard a plane just before dawn and could see flames seconds before it crashed.

“It was on fire before it hit,” Sanders said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was deploying a Go-Team from Washington, D.C., to investigate the crash. The scene is about a half-mile north of Runway 18 where weather conditions were rainy with low clouds.

“The plane is in several sections,” said Birmingham Mayor William Bell, who was briefed on the situation by the city’s fire chief. “There were two to three small explosions, but we think that was related to the aviation fuel.”

Previously, a UPS cargo plane crashed on Sept. 3, 2010, in the United Arab Emirates, just outside Dubai. Both pilots were killed. Authorities there blamed the crash on its load of between 80,000 to 90,000 lithium batteries, which are sensitive to temperature. Investigators found that a fire on board likely began in the cargo containing the batteries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/14/ups-cargo-plane-crashes-near-alabama-airport/#ixzz2bxdUVU5l

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This single sentence encapsulates the recent Channel 4 Dispatches documentary which explored how Ryanair’s pilots view the airline, famous for its dirt-cheap ticket prices.

Within the documentary, anonymous pilots spoke to the reporters about a number of safety concerns. Despite Ryanair’s 29-year safety record, pilots spoke about their fuel policy worries. The interviewees talked about competitions and league tables — posted every month — to rank pilots based on how little fuel they carried on flights. A case in Spain was cited where, following poor weather, three Ryanair flights in quick succession were forced to scream Mayday and land — lacking the fuel necessary to wait in line for a flight slot.

The show also mentioned the results of a survey conducted by the Ryanair Pilot Group, a group apparently consisting of anonymous pilots who are concerned about Ryanair’s cost-cutting — which may impact on the safety of passengers.

The survey of over 1,000 captains and first officers claiming to work for the airline found that 94 percent would like to see a formal inquiry into Ryanair’s policies and how they impact safety. In addition, 89 percent of the employees believed Ryanair lacked an “open and transparent” safety culture, and over 65 percent would not feel comfortable blowing the whistle on problems internally.

In response to the allegations, Ryanair said it plans to sue the media outlet. In addition, the carrier fiercely defends its safety record, stating in a press release that the Irish Aviation Authority found the airline’s policies to be “on a par with the safest airlines in Europe.”

Ryanair said:

“Ryanair rejected the false and defamatory claims made by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme which wrongly impugn and smear Ryanair’s outstanding 29 year safety record based on nothing more than anonymous hearsay claims made by individuals whose identity was concealed.

Channel 4 Dispatches have repeatedly refused Ryanair’s offer of an unedited interview with CEO Michael O’Leary, in which he offered to address any claims raised by Dispatches and rubbish the false claims made by these anonymous contributors.”

In addition, the company said that the “self styled” pilot group is nothing more than a PR front for EU competitors, including members from KLM, Aer Lingus, Air France and Southwest Airlines.

“These people have no insight, credibility or objectivity in commenting upon Ryanair’s safety,” Ryanair said. “This trade union group has no credibility, it lacks any impartiality, and its fabricated survey which claims to be based upon replies from less than one third of Ryanair’s over 3,000 serving pilots are a crude attempt to use baseless safety “concerns” as a cover for its failed trade union agenda.”

Via: The Huffington Post

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