4 Aviation Incidents in 4 Months Involve Boeing

Still images from an airport surveillance video showing the left engine and left pylon separation from the left wing. Credit image: UPS 

Just because I don't regularly report on Boeing's "troubles" does not mean that their tribulations are over!

I am not implying anything but all four aviation incidents in these four months which are detailed in this post involve Boeing planes. Talk about coincidence!

On November 04, 2025, United Parcel Service (UPS) flight 2976 – a Boeing MD-11F plane – was destroyed after it impacted the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 17R at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, a major cargo facility in the US. 

All three crew members on board the aircraft and another eleven on the ground were killed. Twenty-three people suffered injuries, of which two were described as "serious" and 21 "minor". 

CCTV surveillance footage from the moments of the crash show the left engine of the aircraft "detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll", Todd Inman with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. 

He said the plane was able to lift off the ground and cleared a fence at the end of the runway before it hit multiple businesses surrounding the airport. 

The crash caused a fire that spanned about a half a mile, Inman said. The massive blaze was due to the amount of fuel – reportedly 38,000 gallons (144,000 litres) – onboard the aircraft, which was beginning a journey of around 4,300 miles (6,920km) to Hawaii. 

The crash was the deadliest in UPS Airlines history.

On October 20, a Boeing 747, flown by Türkiye-based ACT Airlines for Emirates SkyCargo and coming in from Dubai, UAE skidded after landing at Hong Kong's International Airport, collided with a stationary security patrol car and sending both vehicles into the sea. Two workers in the car were killed. The four crew members on the plane were unhurt.

The Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau wrote in a Facebook post that existing evidence showed the flight and conditions such as weather, runway and air traffic control were all normal before the plane veered off. The preliminary report from the Air Accident Investigation Authority said the plane’s Number 4 engine accelerated after landing. 

On September 11, a Turkish Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operating flight TK112/THY4ML from New York John F Kennedy International Airport to Istanbul Airport, returned to JFK after the crew reported an issue with the landing gear. 

The aircraft, registered TC-LLK, performed a fuel dump to reduce landing weight before completing a safe ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach and landing on Runway 31L. 

And on August 26, an Air China flight from London, UK to Beijing resumed their journey after an unscheduled 13-hour landing in Siberia, Russia's state aviation watchdog reported. 

Earlier, Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, explained that the crew of the Air China Boeing 777-300 opted to land at an alternate airfield in the Russian city of Nizhnevartovsk. 

The preliminary reason for the diversion was said to be a malfunction in one of the aircraft's engines.

Despite all these issues, it is noteworthy to mention that Boeing's order book keeps growing! 😮😮😮

Four Families Sue Boeing, Honeywell Over June Air India Crash

The families of four passengers killed in the June 12 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 said in a lawsuit that the accident resulted from allegedly faulty fuel switches, which the US Federal Aviation Administration have said do not appear to have caused the accident that killed 260 people. 

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the US at Delaware Superior Court blames Boeing and Honeywell, which made the switches, for the crash seconds after Flight 171 took off for London, UK from the Indian city of Ahmedabad. [My June 14, 2025 post "Dreamliner Crashes Soon After Takeoff" refers]. 

The plaintiffs point to a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, inspect the fuel cutoff switches‘ locking mechanism to ensure it could not be accidentally moved. 

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary investigation report into the crash stated that Air India had not conducted the suggested inspections, and that maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.  The report had noted “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied with on the aircraft as well as engines”. 

Boeing declined to comment, and Honeywell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A cockpit recording of dialogue between the jet’s two pilots suggests that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines. The lawsuit maintains that the switches are in a place in the cockpit where they were more likely to be inadvertently pushed, which “effectively guaranteed that normal cockpit activity could result in inadvertent fuel cutoff”. 

However, aviation safety experts told the news agency Reuters that they could not be accidentally flipped based on their location and design. 

The lawsuit appears to be the first in the United States over the crash.

Donald Trump Wants EU to Punish China and India

Tried as he may, Donald Trump couldn't fulfill his pledge to end the war in Ukraine on "day one" of becoming US president. 

(But then, he was just being disingenuous and always hyperbolic; he was never genuinely serious about wanting peace).

Now, he has called on the European Union to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100% to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to cease and desist in Ukraine. 

(Another BS! Why won't the US cease and desist supplying weapons to Ukraine? That'll end the war soon enough!)

Trump made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials on Tuesday discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia, a source familiar with the discussions has told the BBC. 

However, as per my understanding, the EU treat tariffs in a different way to sanctions and only impose them after an investigation typically lasting months to establish a legally sound justification. 

The bloc have so far only imposed tariffs in the context of the Ukraine war on Russian and Belarusian fertilisers and farm products. The justification for the measures was to prevent creating a dependency that could be exploited and to avoid harm to EU fertiliser producers. 

"So far, there is no discussion on possible tariffs neither on India...nor with China", one EU diplomat said. 

It has been said such tariffs are risky and could be too broad; it is easier to sanction specific entities and open the door to delist them if they end their business with Russia.  

I guess Trump should know better. He may love tariffs but the Europeans are only enamoured with sanctions! 🤣🤣🤣

Chinese-made aircraft are set to spread their wings further in Southeast Asia after Air Cambodia announced an order for ten C909 passenger jets, with an option to purchase ten more from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) on Tuesday. 

And Capital A, the investment holding company of AirAsia, on Wednesday, claimed to be in active discussions to buy the C919.

In fact, in July, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke disclosed that AirAsia and the soon-to-launch Air Borneo had both expressed interest in the Chinese jet, aligning with Kuala Lumpur’s ambition to diversify fleet sourcing and strengthen strategic links with Beijing. 

Even Irish low-cost giant Ryanair are flirting with the idea of adding the Chinese narrowbody twinjet to their fleet, which is currently dominated by aircraft from the Boeing 737 Next Generation (737NG) and 737 MAX families. 

Most notably, Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary said in March that "if it was cheap enough, 10 or 20% cheaper than an Airbus aircraft, then we’d order it".

Australia's 1st Attempt at an Orbital Rocket Crashes 14 Seconds After Liftoff

The United States, Russia and China aside, there are many other countries which have significant space ambitions. Like India, Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. 

These countries have strong space programs and are actively pursuing ambitious goals in space exploration and technology. 

But I must admit that I didn't know Australia is harboring a similar ambition too. 

Anyway, I read that on Tuesday local time, Eris-1, the first rocket fully built by an Australian company, crashed back to Earth 14 seconds after taking off from a spaceport in Queensland. It was the country's first orbital launch attempt since 1971.

Developed by Gilmour Space Technologies, the Eris rocket was designed to carry small satellites into orbit, marking a significant step for the nation's burgeoning space industry. 

A video of the launch shows that the rocket initially took off as expected, with all four of its engines firing properly. But after clearing the launch pad its ascent quickly stalled, and it began to slide sideways before dropping back to the ground and disappearing in a cloud of smoke, likely landing on its side. There was no apparent explosion, but the rocket quickly burst into flames.

Embarrassing leh! 

Interestingly, the Australian aerospace company had even declared that they would consider the launch a success if the rocket left the ground!

My post "Boeing 737 MAX 8 Incidents In Just Two Days" published July 29 refers. I have somehow missed news of another Boeing incident just four days later – and which I only learned today. 😞😞😞

A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco, USA made a dramatic turnaround back to UK's London Heathrow after “fumes” filled up the plane’s galley. [Note the galley is the area in which cabin crew prepare food and store trolleys, and is where the toilets are typically found]. 

Flight UA949 took off from London Heathrow at 12:45 PM on July 30 for an 11-hour flight to the Californian city. The Boeing 777 managed only 27 minutes in the air before unexpectedly returning to its departure base. The plane reached as far as Milton Keynes, then ditched its flight path and looped back to London, flight tracking data shows. 

After landing, three fire engines met the plane on the taxiway. 

There were 272 passengers onboard at the time, along with 13 crew members. And after the diversion back to the airport, the flight was ultimately cancelled.

Boeing 737 MAX 8 Incidents In Just Two Days

Oh no, not again!

Passengers on board an American Airlines flight at Denver International Airport in the USA on Saturday afternoon were evacuated due to the Boeing 737 MAX 8's landing gear catching fire during takeoff, officials confirmed. 

The Denver Fire Department said the problem occurred on board American Airlines Flight 3023 from Denver, Colorado to Miami International Airport in Florida while the plane was still on the runway. The airline reported that all 173 passengers and six crew members on board were safely evacuated from the aircraft. One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the airline said. 

Video posted to Instagram by passenger Mark Tsurkis showed passengers evacuating the aircraft using emergency slides as smoke and flames billowed from below the rear of the plane. 

The displaced passengers departed for Miami on a replacement aircraft later that day. FlightAware showed at least 306 flights at Denver International Airport had been delayed as of Saturday night. The airport said a ground stop was in place from 02:00 PM until shortly after 03:00 PM for all incoming flights that had not left their departure airports yet. Operations at the airport have since returned to normal. 

A day earlier, a Munich, Germany-bound United Airlines flight was forced to return to Washington Dulles Airport shortly after take-off. Flight UA108, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, experienced a mid-air scare when its left engine failed shortly after taking off.

And due to the engine malfunction, the plane couldn't move on its own and had to be towed off the runway after landing safely. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported during the incident.

The episode bears an eerie similarity  to the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad, India, where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner experienced a severe engine malfunction soon after take-off. 

I don't understand why won't these airlines ground all their Boeing "flying coffins"?. Don't wait for a real tragedy to happen!

Passengers Write Farewell Notes as Boeing Plane Plunges 8,000M in 10 Minutes

You should know that incidents involving Boeing planes are actually pretty common. 

One such dreaded occasion saw panic quickly descending on a Japanese flight when a sudden cabin pressure failure sent the plane plunging over 8,000 meters in just 10 minutes. 

Flight JL8696 was flying from Shanghai, China to Tokyo on June 30 when its pressurization system malfunctioned. 

The Boeing 737-800, operated by Spring Airlines Japan and carrying 191 passengers and crew, dropped from 11,700 meters to 3,000 meters in a rapid emergency descent, Kyodo News reported. 

Japan Airlines, the parent company, declared the following day that no one was hurt, but admitted people were screaming as oxygen masks dropped. 

One passenger recalled, "My soul almost left my body. My legs were shaking. Facing death, everything else felt meaningless".

Another said they heard a loud noise before masks deployed and flight attendants shouted at everyone to put them on. 

Some passengers were so terrified they wrote farewell notes, sharing insurance details and bank PINs with family. 

The plane made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan where passengers remained onboard for over an hour. Each was reportedly compensated ¥15,000 ($104) and given hotel accommodation, according to South China Morning Post. 

On Tuesday, the low-cost carrier promptly cancelled a number of Shanghai–Tokyo flights for safety inspections. And Japan Airlines confirm they're investigating the cause.

Dreamliner's Long History of Safety Concerns

The Air India Flight 171 disaster – read my Saturday post "Dreamliner Crashes Soon After Takeoff" – is said to be a rare blemish to the Boeing 787's safety record. 

Boeing have proudly shared that the Dreamliner has been in service since 2011 without a fatal crash. More than 1,100 Dreamliners are in use worldwide, carrying more than 875 million passengers over the last decade. 

That may be so but at the same time, the aircraft has seen numerous complaints, concerns, and whistleblower reports over the safety of the widebody jet. And all of them are getting a second look today. 

The problems began in early 2013, when fires broke out aboard two Dreamliners owned by Japanese airlines. One plane had just landed at Boston’s Logan Airport, the other was just leaving Japan and had to turn around and land. Both blazes were traced to overheating of the planes’ lithium-ion batteries that power the electrical system. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) quickly stepped in, grounding the worldwide fleet of Dreamliners and temporarily halting the delivery of new ones to airlines that had placed orders for them. In April of 2013, the FAA accepted Boeing’s fixes, which involved better insulation for the batteries and a stainless steel box that would house the batteries and prevent smoke or flames from escaping into the plane if a fire did start. The Dreamliners were cleared to fly and the company was cleared to resume deliveries within weeks of the FAA’s decision. 

The next incident occurred in 2019 when, as The New York Times reported in an exposé at the time, John Barnett, a former quality manager who retired in 2017, revealed that he had filed a whistleblower complaint, alleging sloppy work around the wires that connect the planes’ flight control systems, with metal shavings being left behind when bolts were fastened. The risk existed that the shavings would penetrate the wires’ insulation, leading to consequences that Barnett called “catastrophic”. 

Barnett also alleged that damaged or substandard parts were being installed in 787s, including a dented hydraulic tube that a senior manager retrieved from a bin of what was supposed to contain scrap. The FAA inspected several 787s that were said to be free of the shavings Barnett reported and found that they were indeed there, reported the Times. The FAA then ordered that Boeing correct the problems before the planes were delivered to customers. 

In retirement, Barnett sued Boeing, alleging that the company had denigrated his character and blocked his career advancement during his employment – charges Boeing deny. In March of 2024, he was in North Charleston, South Carolina, the site of the US plant where he was employed, working on his case, when he was found dead in his truck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

“Boeing may not have pulled the trigger”, Barnett’s family said in a wrongful death lawsuit it filed, “but Boeing’s conduct was the clear cause”. 

The company sidestepped the charge: “We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and send our condolences to his family”, Boeing said in a statement. 

Last year turned out to be a bad one for Boeing and the Dreamliner for reasons other than Barnett’s death. In January another whistleblower, engineer Sam Salehpour, came forward, reporting that sections of the fuselage of the Dreamliner were improperly connected, with gaps that could cause the plane to break apart during flight. When the sections wouldn’t fit, Salehpour claimed, workers would resort to brute force. 

“I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align”, Salehpour said in Capitol Hill testimony. “By jumping up and down, you’re deforming parts so that the holes align temporarily. I called it the Tarzan effect”. 

In a statement on its website, Boeing defended the integrity of the Dreamliner: “For the in-service fleet, based on comprehensive analysis no safety issues have been identified related to composite gap management and our engineers are completing exhaustive analysis to determine any long-term inspection and maintenance required, with oversight from the FAA”. 

Nonetheless, in May, the FAA acted again, announcing that Boeing had been ordered to reinspect “all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet”. That was not the first time the government had taken action on the problem of unacceptable gaps in the Dreamliner’s fuselage. From May 2021 to August 2022, the FAA halted the delivery of new Dreamliners to airline customers while the problem was addressed. Deliveries did resume but, as Salehpour testified, so did the shoddy work on the factory floor. 

In March 2024, meantime, a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland suddenly plunged 400 ft. when the pilot’s seat in the 787 lurched forward unexpectedly. The captain recovered but 10 passengers and three members of the cabin crew were injured. 

For now, the 1,100 Dreamliners criss-crossing the skies are still flying. That could change pending the results of the Air India investigation. Even a temporary loss of the plane – which is a workhorse for long-haul flights – could be a hardship for both the airlines and the flying public. But as the grieving families of the passengers aboard the Air India flight could attest, loss of life is much worse.

Don't expect the Dreamliner's woes to end any time soon. 

On Sunday, a Chennai-bound British Airways Boeing Dreamliner returned to London due to a technical snag. The flight landed safely with crew and passengers disembarking as they normally would, British Airways said in a statement.

Already, on Monday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane from Hong Kong to New Delhi returned to Hong Kong as a precautionary measure, after a technical issue was suspected mid-air. The plane involved landed safely and airport operations were not affected.  

Dreamliner Crashes Soon After Takeoff

Boeing made the news again!

An Air India flight bound for London, UK crashed into a medical college dormitory just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing 241 people on board. One passenger miraculously survived. 

The total death toll including victims on the ground, brought the number of confirmed fatalities to at least 290, according to the Ahmedabad Police. 

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted in a fireball as it smashed into the BJ Medical College hostel building, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. 

Air India operate 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo have one, according to data from Flightradar24. These planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday told Reuters the Indian government were considering that as an option. 

In the meantime, the aviation regulator had on the same day ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on their Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks. 

Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported. 

The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild their reputation and revamp their fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022.

Kaamatan & Gawai Harvest Festivals 2025

Here's wishing all Sabahans and Sarawakians, “Selamat Pesta Kaamatan, Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan” and “Selamat Hari Gawai, Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai”. 

These celebrations mirror the rich cultural tapestry that is Malaysia.

China's domestically produced C919 aircraft, a rival designed to compete with the best-selling narrow-body models of dominant plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, marked its second anniversary of operation on Wednesday. 

According to the Xinhua News Agency, eighteen C919 aircraft have been delivered to China Eastern Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines, serving twenty-four routes across sixteen cities and carrying more than 2 million passengers to date. 

As far as I'm concerned, the C919 has demonstrated a strong safety performance and shows steady improvement in metrics like daily utilization, proving its comprehensive operational reliability.

Beijing 6-year-olds to Learn AI

Beijing, China has launched a new initiative to train young students in Artificial Intelligence, as part of its long-term strategy to strengthen the country’s technological leadership.

Starting this September 01, primary and secondary schools in the city will conduct at least eight hours of AI classes annually. Students as young as six will learn to use chatbots, understand basic AI concepts, and explore AI ethics, a report published in Fortune stated.

As per the Fortune report, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced that schools can incorporate AI education into existing subjects like science and information technology or offer it as a standalone course. The commission also revealed plans to establish a multi-year AI curriculum, build a general AI education system, provide support structures, and promote AI learning across schools. 

This groundbreaking move aims to prepare the next generation for the rapidly evolving tech landscape and equip them with the skills needed for the future. This initiative reflects China's commitment to becoming a global leader in AI innovation, ensuring that students have the knowledge to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

China has told its airlines to stop taking deliveries of jets from American aviation giant Boeing, a Bloomberg News report said Tuesday, as a trade war between Beijing and the United States deepens.

Boeing are particularly vulnerable to the current trade disputes between America and its trading partners. Unlike many multinational companies, Boeing build all of their planes at US factories before sending nearly two-thirds of the commercial planes they build to customers outside the country. 

Even with their recent problems, Boeing remain a major part of the US economy. The company estimate their annual contribution to America’s economy is $79 billion, supporting 1.6 million jobs directly and indirectly. They have 150,000 US employees. Boeing have racked up $51 billion in operating losses since 2018, the last year they reported an annual profit. 

China is the world’s largest market for aircraft purchases. Boeing’s own analysis in August estimated that Chinese airlines are expected to purchase 8,830 new planes over the next 20 years. However, Boeing have been largely shut out of the Chinese market since 2019. 

Part of that was due to the the trade tensions between China and the United States that started during the first Trump administration. Boeing took orders for 122 planes from Chinese customers in 2017 and 2018. In the six years since then, Boeing have only received orders for 28 planes, and that was mostly for freighters or from Chinese leasing companies, which could be buying them on behalf of airlines outside China. They have not reported a single order for a passenger jet from a Chinese airline.

But it wasn’t all trade tensions. Some of the dropoff was due to problems at Boeing itself, including the grounding of their best-selling 737 Max following two fatal crashes in late 2018 and early 2019. Deliveries to China came to a near halt after the second crash. That’s because aviation authorities in China grounded jets in the wake of the disasters and did not immediately allow for them to return to service even when countries cleared the plane to carry passengers in late 2020. Deliveries only started to rebound last year. 

Deliveries are crucial to Boeing, since that’s when they gets paid. The company build the plane first and get most of their payment after delivering the finished product. Choking off these deliveries is a particularly big blow for Boeing, which had a total of 55 planes in inventory at the end of 2024 that they have not been able to deliver to customers, primarily those in China and India, according to the company.

Boeing were dealing with a drop in sales for years in China, even before the introduction of tariffs. In response to 145% tariffs put in place on Chinese goods by the Trump administration, China has put tariffs of 125% on all imports from the United States, which would make Boeing’s jets unaffordable to any Chinese customers, even without any new limits on deliveries.

Boeing Get US Contract to Build Most Lethal Fighter Jet

US President Donald Trump, on February 19, 2025, expressed his unhappiness with Boeing over a contract to build two new Air Force One planes that is running way behind schedule. 

The two updated versions of the presidential plane based on the more modern Boeing 747-8 were negotiated during his first term in office – and they were set for delivery in 2024 but the plane maker pushed the delivery back to 2027 or 2028.

Already, last year was absolutely dreadful for Boeing. The aerospace giant lost $11.8 billion across the whole of 2024, their worst result since 2020, when the aviation industry was grounded by the Covid pandemic.

And yet, Trump, on Friday, awarded them a multi-billion dollar contract to build the US Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet yet. Boeing shares rose 5% after they beat out Lockheed Martin, with the latter's shares falling nearly 7%, as reported by Reuters today. For Boeing, the win marks a reversal of fortune for a company which have struggled with sluggish commercial and military sales, as well as high-profile safety issues. 

The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones. The 47th president who named the new jet, the F-47, described the high-speed sixth-generation stealth aircraft, the "most lethal aircraft ever built", and added that a version has been secretly flying for the last five years. 

Critics have questioned the cost and the necessity of the program as the Pentagon are still struggling to fully produce their current most advanced jet, the F-35, which is expected to cost taxpayers more than $1.7 trillion over its lifespan.

In the meantime, the loss is another blow to Lockheed after they were eliminated from the competition to build the Navy's next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter, and amid growing discontent from the Pentagon over delays in upgrading their F-35 fighter jet.

I reckon we can expect the F-47 to be very expensive and not too reliable either. Just like the F-35.

A Boeing 737-800 Crashes in South Korea

A Boeing 737-800 plane crashed in South Korea on December 29, 2024 as it was landing at Muan International Airport – in Muan County, South Jeolla Province – veering off the runway and smashing into a concrete embankment before bursting into a fireball. 

 

Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which was returning from Bangkok, Thailand, had 181 people on board, with 179 reported dead and two crew members who were seated at the rear of the plane survived.

 

The crash is South Korea’s deadliest plane disaster since a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 plane crashed in Guam in 1997, killing 228 people. 

 

Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae (right) on Tuesday announced that the airline will reduce their air traffic this winter by 10-15% to carry out more maintenance work on the planes. But he emphasized that this was not an admission that the company were running too many planes. 

 

He maintained that the company's pilots are trained to regulation standards. Moreover, they have increased their number of maintenance workers from 12 per aeroplane in 2019 to the current 12.9. 

 

Intriguingly, there was the admission that over the past 5 years, Jeju Air had paid the most fines and faced the most administrative action of any Korean airline. However, Kim insisted that Jeju Air were consistently improving their safety record.

 

According to Chosun Biz yesterday, Kim even highlighted: "While Jeju Air had shortcomings in the past, we have not received significant administrative sanctions from last year to this year" and noting, "Compared to other airlines, we have clearly improved, and we have focused our efforts on safety".

 

Investigations are ongoing and we will know soon enough who's to blame – whether it's the Boeing 737-800 or pilots’ error or a bird strike?!

 

And did you know that Jeju Air flight 7C101, from Seoul to Jeju Island, experienced a mechanical issue with its landing gear on Monday morning local time? The aircraft, another Boeing 737-800, was able to resolve the matter but returned to Gimpo Airport as a precautionary measure to switch aircraft.

 

Given two similar incidents with two Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft in as many days, South Korean authorities aren't taking any chances and have decided to inspect every single 737-800 in use by the country's airlines. That will amount to the review of 101 737-800 aircraft, 39 of which are operated by Jeju Air.

The Gifts of Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gift of love. The gift of peace. The gift of happiness. May all these be yours at Christmas! 

 

Merry Christmas, everybody!

 

China’s first home-grown passenger jet, the C919 already operates on 15 routes and serves 10 major cities across the country as domestic airlines move swiftly to deploy the new aircraft. 

 

The aircraft, seen as a symbol of China’s achievements in tech and advanced manufacturing, also hit a new milestone on Thursday, carrying a total of 1 million passengers since its maiden commercial flight in May 2023. 

 

The rapid roll-out will be a key test for the C919 as it strives to prove itself a reliable alternative to Boeing and Airbus’ single-aisle models, with more frequent flights posing challenges from deployment to maintenance. 

 

“More flights between more cities mean real tests for the jet, but it can also raise its profile”, said Li Hanming, an aviation consultant. 

 

COMAC hope the C919’s rapidly increasing network coverage and visibility will help their bid to be certified by Western regulators. 

 

“The more carriers buy it and the more people fly on it, the more foreign regulators will be convinced of its reliability”, said a manager at COMAC, who declined to be named citing company policy. 

 

The C919 is currently being evaluated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for a critical certification that COMAC will need to obtain if they are to start pitching the jet to overseas buyers.

Boeing Workers Accept Deal And End Strike

Striking workers at embattled plane maker Boeing voted on Monday to finally accept the company’s most recent offer, ending the costliest strike in the United States in more than 25 years. 

 

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) said rank-and-file members voted by 59% to approve the deal. IAM members had voted almost unanimously against Boeing’s first offer on the eve of the start of the strike, and then 64% voted against the second offer less than two weeks ago, extending the strike. 

 

The 33,000 union members, who have been on strike since September 13, will start returning to work Wednesday. 

 

The deal calls for an immediate raise of 13% and raises of 9% for each of the next two years, and then another 7% in the fourth and final year of the contract. Taken together, members will receive a pay raise that exceeds 43%. 

 

Workers also get a ratification bonus of $12,000, part of which they can contribute to 401(k)* retirement accounts. But the deal did not restore the traditional pension plan they lost in 2014 from their previous labor deal.

 

[*A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that comes with tax benefits. Basically, you put money into the 401(k) where it can be invested and potentially grow tax free over time. In most cases, you choose how much money you want to contribute to your 401(k) based on a percentage of your income]. 

 

Workers’ continued anger at the loss of that pension plan was seen as a major factor in the rejection of Boeing’s previous two offers and had raised uncertainty about the outcome of Monday’s vote. Jon Holden, president of the largest IAM local at Boeing and the union’s chief negotiator acknowledged the pension was likely a major issue for many of the 41% who voted against the deal. 

 

The strikers have lost more than $600 million in combined wages but the cost to Boeing has been significantly greater, according to estimates from Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan, US-based research firm, which put Boeing’s losses through the end of last week at $6.5 billion. Overall, the cost to the US economy has topped $11.5 billion. 

 

When Kim Pan Gon was Malaysia's national football coach, he was highly regarded before he suddenly quit his job and went back to South Korea. 

 

His stock must have fallen on Tuesday after his team, Ulsan HD, were outplayed 3-0 by Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) in an Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) Group A match at Iskandar Puteri's Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor, Malaysia. 

 

He's bound to be disappointed because his team, though winning the K-League title, faltered in the ACLE. Ulsan have gone winless and goalless in four matches!

Boeing Charged US Military 7943% Markup on Soap Dispensers

The US military have accused Boeing of some fiscal funny business involving cleaning supplies. 

 

An audit released by the Department of Defense on Tuesday found that the company were overcharging the government for spare soap dispensers on C-17 cargo planes. 

 

About 220 Boeing Globemaster C-17s are used by the Air Force, Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve Command. 

 

“The Air Force did not always pay reasonable prices for C‑17 spare parts, in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, such as the lavatory soap dispenser, which was a 7,943‑percent markup or more than 80 times the commercially available cost”, the report says. 

 

Auditors were looking into the soap dispensers as part of a C-17 maintenance contract that was valued at $35.6 billion between its original and add-on terms beginning in 2011 and extended through 2031. Under the contract, the Department of Defense would reimburse Boeing for spare parts. 

 

The audit specifically looked at reimbursement rates for 46 different spare parts. It found that: The government paid a “fair and reasonable” $20 million for 9 of them The government couldn’t figure out whether it paid a “fair and reasonable” $22 million for 25 of them The government paid a not-fair-and-reasonable $4.3 million for 9 of them.

 

“Fair and reasonable”, in this case was a 25% markup. Regarding the soap dispenser specifically, the government didn’t say how many of them they bought but did say that they overpaid $150,000 for them compared to market prices. 

 

Boeing say they are reviewing the report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam suffered a left eye injury – thankfully, it was not too serious – in the fifth set of the China Squash Open semi-final before losing 11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 8-11, 9-11 to Egypt's world No. 15 Farida Mohamed in a gruelling 64 minutes match. 

 

The score was 9-9 in the fifth set when the ball hit Sivasangari's eye. After receiving treatment, the Asian champion resumed the match but lost her focus. National chief coach Ajaz Azmat said: "She was bleeding and received treatment for 20 minutes before the match resumed. But the injury affected her vision and focus". 

 

[Incidentally, Sivasangari suffered a foot injury during the Silicon Valley Open Squash championships semi-final match against US player Olivia Weaver last month].

Boeing-built IS-33e Satellite Breaks Up in Geostationary Orbit

Boeing's troubles ain't over, not by a long shot! 

 

According to the US Space Force, the Boeing-built IS-33e high throughput communications satellite has broke up in geostationary orbit. The satellite that was launched in August 2016, entered service in January 2017 at a point over 60 degrees East. This was about three months behind schedule due to a main engine failure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In August 2017, Intelsat SA, the satellite services provider reported that the satellite used more fuel than it should while holding its position. Calculations showed that this anomaly, in addition to main engine failure, would reduce IS-33e’s estimated 15-year service life by 3.5 years. And the company filed a claim for a $78 million insurance indemnity. 

 

As a result, IS-33e didn’t even operate for ten years. On October 19, the US Space Force announced the loss of the satellite. According to tracking data, it collapsed with the formation of at least 20 debris.

 

Intelsat SA recognized the loss of communication with IS-33e and said they were working with Boeing to fix the “anomaly” but believed it was unlikely the satellite could be recovered. The company’s customers in Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific are currently being switched to other Intelsat fleet satellites or spacecraft operated by third parties. It is also reported that IS-33e was not insured at the time of the problem. As of now, it is not known what exactly caused the satellite to crash. 

 

But it’s worth noting that the first satellite in the EpicNG Intelsat-29e series, which Boeing also built, was recognized as a total loss in 2019 after just three years in orbit. The cause of the failure was then attributed to a fuel leak caused by either a meteorite impact or a wiring defect that led to an electrostatic discharge during a solar storm.

 

Boeing are screwed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a solid 3-0 win over Motherwell on Sunday.

The latter actually threatened first when they hit the woodwork twice in the opening stages before Luke McCowan opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a brilliant low drive into the net from 18 yards. The second goal came only in the 56th minute when Alex Valle's cross was met by Alistair Johnston and the full-back guided his header in.

 

The strength of Celtic's bench was notable and it was two subs who combined for the third. Adam Idah, swept in a Nicolas Kuhn cutback and the game was duly sealed in the eighty-eighth minute.

 

Overall, it's a stroll in Lanarkshire for the Scottish champions, after some early scares from the Steelmen. The Celts’ busy fixture schedule continues, with a home match on Wednesday against Dundee next.