Inexpensive real-time FDR system developed by California firm

June 14, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Egyptair Flight MS804 disappeared from radar May 19 and there is very little known about the last minutes of the flight at this writing. A French ship two weeks ago reported hearing… Read More

Pontifications: ICAO continues to drag feet on real-time data transmission

May 23, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Malaysia Airlines MH370. Air Asia 8501. Egyptair 804. Three passenger flights lost over the oceans. One, MH370, remains undiscovered to this day. Air Asia took a couple of weeks to locate. Egyptair… Read More

Odds and Ends: KC-390 first flight; A400M; AirAsia 8501; Bombardier credibility

KC-390 first flight: Embraer’s largest airplane ever built, the KC-390 tanker/transport, made its first flight today. We profiled the airplane last October following our visit to Brazil. The airplane fulfills needs for Brazil’s vast geography to supply its… Read More

Odds and Ends: AirAsia 8501; SkyMark Airlines bankruptcy; One year for MH370; Billy Bishop Airport; PNAA conference

Jan. 29, 2015: AirAsia 8501: The first report by the Indonesian government has been issued, per international rules, but the public portion is pretty uninformative if press reports are to be believed. At the same time, leaks indicate… Read More

Odds and Ends: AirAsia; Philippine Air, Russia defers

AirAsia: Group CEO Tony Fernandes made appearances on international news programs, providing his first interviews away from the direct events surrounding Flight 8501’s crash. Here is a transcript of his interview on Bloomberg News. The interviews come as… Read More

Odds and Ends: BBD management; AirAsia 8501; MH370 update; Holy cow

BBD management: Bombardier’s management gets a scathing review following last week’s announcement that it will “pause” the LearJet 85 program and it will miss free cash flow guidance. This follows the unexpected resignation of Ray Jones, the head… Read More

Customer Quality counts as much as orders, says Boeing

Subscription Required Introduction Jan. 14, 2015: Customer quality counts as much as the raw number of orders, a top Boeing official said yesterday during a bit of counter-programming on the day Airbus held its annual press conference recapping… Read More

AirAsia 8501: two weeks later, still looking for the voice recorder

Jan. 11, 2015: It’s now been two weeks and two days (local time) since AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea. It took nearly two weeks just to locate the tail section of the airplane, which was… Read More

AirAsia update: debris from flight confirmed; airline was implementing real-time tracking

Dec. 30, 2014: Debris and bodies have been found and confirmed coming from AirAsia Flight QZ8501, bringing closure for the families and friends of the flight that disappeared on Sunday local time. Reports of shadows that could be… Read More

AirAsia A320 disappears en route in bad weather, but weather won’t be only area of investigative focus

Dec. 28, 2014: Weather will be a prime area of focus by investigators of the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501. The flight, an Airbus A320-200 manufactured in 2008 and powered by CFM 56 engines, deviated from its intended… Read More