May 30 2012

EVA Air 747F and American Eagle ERJ135 Incident at ORD

A Boeing 747 cargo aircraft clipped the tail of an American Eagle regional jet at Chicago O’Hare on the afternoon of May 30th, 2012. The incident involved an EVA Air Cargo 747 freighter aircraft and an American Eagle Embraer ERJ-135 regional jet.

EVA Air 747 American Eagle ERJ135 ORD

The EVA Air aircraft was identified as being 747-45EF registration B-16481 and the American Eagle aircraft was ERJ-135KL, MSN  145631, registered as N834AE.

No injuries to the 18 passengers and three crew members on the American Eagle flight or the three crew members on the EVA Air Cargo 747 were reported.

The accident occurred around 1 p.m. CT, when EVA Air Cargo Flight 661 clipped the tail of American Eagle Flight 4265. The regional jet had arrived from Springfield, Mo., and was taxiing toward a gate at Terminal 3,

EVA Air 747 American Eagle ERJ135 ORD

The incident occurred as the American Eagle jet was pulling into Gate G20. Damage to the two aircraft appeared to be minor and both were expected to return to service after repair.

A video of the two aircraft post-incident can be found here.

May 22 2012

Mitsubishi MRJ100X delivery set for 2017-2018 timeframe

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation announced on May 22, 2012 that the MRJ100X aircraft would be aiming for an in-service date of between 2017 to 2018.

Earlier this year, the service date of the 90-seat Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) was pushed into the third quarter of 2015.

MRJ100X

The 70-seat version of the MRJ is expected to be in service during 2016. Mitsubishi had not released their protected date for the MRJ100X until today.

As of this date, the first two variants of the MRJ have not been finding many airlines placing orders. All Nippon Airways ordered 15 MRJs with 10 options, Trans States Holdings agreed to buy 50 MRJs with 50 options, and ANI Group Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding for five MRJs.

Mitsubishi plans to sign new deals by the end of the year with the goal of raising orders and options to at least 200.

May 16 2012

Republic Airways to operate ex-Pinnacle Q400s

Republic Airways LogoRepublic Airways announced that is has reached an agreement with  United Airlines to operate 28 Bombardier DHC-8Q-400s, previously operated by Pinnacle Airlines.

The aircraft are currently operated by Pinnacle from their mini-hubs in Newark, Houston and Washington under the United Express banner and color scheme. This agreement would increase Republic fleet of the type to 32 aircraft. It appears that the agreement would come into force during the third quarter of 2012. There are some obstacles to be overcome however as some of the aircraft lessors have not agreed as yet to the proposal. Pinnacle currently plans to end all Q400 flying by November 2012.

Republic Airways is a holding company who’s portfolio includes 32 Shuttle America Embraer 170s and 13 Chautauqua Airlines ERJ-145s. The company plans to add the Q400s on its own Republic Airlines certificate. In addition to the Pinnacle Q400s, four Q400s previously operated by Republic’s Lynx subsidiary will transfer to the Republic Airlines certificate and be re-branded as United Express.

May 10 2012

Wreckage of Sukoi Superjet found

Authorities announced this morning that the wreckage of the Sukoi Superjet lost in Indonesia has been found. A rescue team found no survivors at the crash site.

A helicopter spotted debris on the side of the dormant Mount Salak volcano. Photographs from the site seem to indicate that the aircraft impacted the top of an almost vertical wall of rock.

The Superjet 100, with a capacity of 68-103 passengers, is already in service with Russia’s Aeroflot and Armenian carrier Armavia. The aircraft was in the middle of a six-nation Asian sales tour when it was lost.