The appearance of two all new attack and defend aircraft have raised issues of substance for the Joint Strike Fighter program, and indicate that the US and its allies should carefully review their plans to maintain air superiority, reports Ben Sandilands.
Aviation safety
aviation industry 
Truth and consequences for Rolls-Royce
Although statements by Rolls-Royce on its Trent 900 issues have yet to amount to more than a single page, a number of firm conclusions can be drawn from the documents tended in court in Australia and the last ATSB update on engine inspections. Ben Sandilands explains.
How close did Qantas and Virgin Blue get to a collision?
The vertical separation of the Virgin Blue 737 and a Qantas 767 during Sunday afternoon’s near miss while climbing away from Melbourne Airport was as little as 28 metres. The incident is now under investigation by the ATSB, explains Ben Sandilands.
What the ATSB, CASA and Qantas failed to tell the Senate Inquiry
Those familiar with basic aviation law are stunned by the continued evasion by the ATSB, CASA and the Qantas Group of full disclosure of a critical issue in the botched Jetstar go-around at Melbourne Airport on July 21, 2007. Ben Sandilands explains.
Catch 22 for Jetstar over sacked pilot’s safety concerns
Jetstar has been struggling all morning to reconcile its claims that pilots are encouraged to raise safety issues after sacking a first officer, Joe Eakins, who did just that, in an opinion piece published by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in October.
Jetstar pilot fired for raising safety concerns
The pilot union says it will fight the Qantas Group all the way up to the High Court over its dismissal of a Jetstar first officer, Joe Eakins for writing an article critical of the Jetstar’s cost cutting culture in terms of safety implications, reports Ben Sandilands.
Rolls-Royce under fire over A380 engines
Airbus is seeking compensation from Rolls-Royce for the additional costs it is incurring because of the serious issues that have emerged with the Trent 900 engine used by Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa on their A380 fleets, reports Ben Sandilands.
A flying RAT means more strife for the flying ‘roo
Another serious problem has beset the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which is supposed to be the key to Qantas retiring its aging Boeing 767s, one of which was forced to turn back to Perth on Friday with an engine problem.
Pilots protest over Qantas skimping on fuel
Qantas pilots are having a tussle with the company over what they claim is pressure on junior captains to load less “discretionary” fuel above what it sees as “normal” fuel for whatever route they are about to fly.
leaked Dick Smith attacks ATSB over inaction on near miss of two jets
Dick Smith has made a politically sensitive attack on the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for avoiding its responsibilities in its inquiry into a close encounter between a Virgin Blue 737 and a Jetstar A320 over a fog-bound Launceston Airport two years ago.
Knit one, purl one … beating the News terror beat-up
It seems that we are going along with sensible and nonsensical security measures at airports, and, apart from a murder and the odd bullet, sword, or tube of toothpaste, behaving ourselves.
A potentially disastrous near-miss in Tamworth’s skies
A Qantas 767 and Tiger A320 carrying a total of about 432 seats came within 3.8 nautical miles of each other while flying in opposite directions through controlled airspace over Tamworth last week. So why aren’t authorities alarmed?
Is the 787 dodging a critical safety test?
In 2005 Boeing received some very bad news about the dangers of a plastic 787 in what would be a ‘survivable’ crash landing in a metal alloy jet like its 777, explains Ben Sandilands.
Crikey Clarifier: The danger of aviation in Africa
What happened to the Sundance Resources miners while flying over West Africa? Ben Sandilands looks at the shreds of evidence in reports, and the context of Africa’s dangerous aviation game.
Light plane crash focus misplaced by the media
There has been more ATSB media about the light aircraft crash in suburban Sydney than incidents involving much larger scheduled airliners. Why? What will be done to make general aviation airports safer?
QantasLink near miss — air safety reports need transparency
The ATSB released a damning report into an astonishingly unsafe approach to Sydney Airport by a QantasLink turbo-prop. There is no effective accountability in air safety reporting in this country.
A tragic tale on the risks of training flights
In March two AirNorth pilots engaged in flight re-training crashed and died in a Embraer 120ER Brasilia twin-engined turboprop. The preliminary report by the ATSB makes for very sad, but important reading, writes Ben Sandilands.
Meet the man who shut down the skies
When the UK airspace was full of Icelandic volcano ash, Andrew Haines, head of the Civil Aviation Authority was the one declaring the planes couldn’t fly. But who is he?
Singapore goes Spanish: just don’t mention the 154 dead people
Singapore Airlines has announced code share arrangements with Star Alliance Spanish carrier Spanair. Yet no mention of safety standards following the 2008 Spanair crash that killed 154 people due to crew mistakes? asks Ben Sandilands.
Flying soon? Don’t look at these photos …
Photos of the damage done to a Qantas A380 at Sydney Airport on March 31 have fallen into Crikey’s hands. They show what happens to the world’s largest passenger jet when the anti-skid braking system fails.
Speculating on the Cathay Pacific near-disaster
Ben Sandilands offers his expert eye on Tuesday’s very hard landing of a Cathay Pacific A330-300 at Hong Kong’s airport and its similarities to a British Airways incident in 2008.
Boeing’s freeze over cold soak tests
Airliners must pass a test in which they are left unpowered and unheated for prolonged periods at -40C to prove the integrity of their components in polar conditions. So why aren’t Boeings new planes doing the tests? asks Ben Sandilands.
The photo that Airbus doesn’t want you to see
The aviation world is aflutter with photos of a Swiss Air Force FA18 Hornet flying the Swiss Alps extremely closely with an Airbus A380. Are the photos showing Airbus breaking safety rules? asks Ben Sandilands.
Dead tired in the cockpit
Why haven’t Australian carriers, and the safety regulator CASA, yet applied the significant Australia research into pilot fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation in this country? asks Ben Sandilands.
Oz aviation keeps rolling the dice on air safety
The US Federal Aviation Administration audit of airline safety oversight in Australia hasn’t gone smoothly, and could see this country downgraded to the same untrustworthy category as parts of the third world.
