Aviation with Style

As the investigation on the  Kogalymavia Airbus crash  progress, the bomb hypothesis becomes more and more plausible. Even though Egyptian authorities had immediately linked the crash to a structural failure or a potential engine explosion, this option seems now ruled out. The analysis of the black boxes did not reveal any problem in the aircraft equipment but they rather end abruptly, suggesting a sudden blast that split the aircraft in two pieces, separating the head from the tail and that is typical of a bomb blast. Similar conditions were found in previous plane detonations such as Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988 and Uta flight 772 over the Tenerè desert in September 1989. The missile hypothesis has also been excluded because the  Airbus was flying at a cruising altitude of 9,000 meters and Isis terrorists do not have the required missiles and technology for such an operation. Russia and Egypt still have to formally announce the cause of the disast...

China Southern Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration B-9917 performing flight CZ-3601 from Guangzhou to Shenyang (China) with 113 passengers and 8 crew, was enroute near Wuhan when knocking sounds were heard from one of the cargo hold. Suspecting somebody might be trapped or something was loose in the cargo hold the crew decided to divert to Wuhan for a safe landing. The aircraft remained on the ground in Wuhan for about two hours, then continued the flight to Shenyang where the aircraft arrived with a delay of 2.5 hours. The airline did not report on what caused the knocking sounds.

  The Dubai Airshow took off Sunday to a slow start after three years of record aircraft orders as the planemakers are bracing for a slowdown in new commitments due to low oil prices and unrest in some parts of the Middle East. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, inaugurated the 2015 edition of biennial show that will run until Thursday. The first day of the show was quiet compared to previous edition in terms of commercial orders. The five-day show was expected to witness defence deals, but nothing significant announced. "It has been a very subdued start to the show and this reflects the reality of the market place," Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research, said. Analysts said that the tally of more than 400 orders w...