AvTalk - Aviation Podcast

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the latest on the investigation into flydubai flight 1073. The NTSB releases its preliminary report on the 767 runway overrun in Miami last month. The Houthis warn airlines against using Saudi Arabian airspace. And airlines are still using decade-old software to avoid glitches in the 737. Keep up with the stories in this week’s epsiode * –02:12 Opening / Plans for Lufthansa’s final A340-600 flight * –05:00 Planes on a train * –11:11 flydubai incident update — investigation, captain’s recovery, and future aviation safety possibilities * –17:16 NTSB preliminary report on the 21 Air 767 runway overrun in Miami * –20:27 Biman Bangladesh is on a shopping spree * –23:01 Norse cuts its transatlantic network (even more) and shifts capacity to Thailand * –25:39 Houthi threats to Saudi airspace and disruption around Riyadh * –30:44 British Airways’ A380 set for the world’s largest business class cabin * –32:22 JetBlue gets Spirit’s LaGuardia slots with some conditions * –34:17 JetBlue’s disappearing-reappearing flights and the scramble to restore bookings * –35:21 airBaltic restructuring and proposed workforce cuts * –40:58 Boeing 737 MAX software problems, certification delays, and airline workarounds * –42:32 Widerøe extends its Dash 8 fleet’s life through 2035 * –43:59 KLM’s first A350 and the wait for business class seat approval * –47:37 Korean Air–Asiana merger scrutiny — Jeju needs more seats! * –49:10 A hot-air balloon lands behind a Delta flight in Albuquerque, internet camaraderie ensues * –52:16 Flightradar24’s new automated Heathrow live stream with BigJetTV   Click here for a transcript of this episode.

On this week’s AvTalk, we’re back from Dorkfest/SpotLAX with a busy week of news. We’re digging into the ATC failure that snarled traffic in the northeast US to start the week. And the preliminary technical report from NATS on the 8 September outage of the London Control Area says that one millisecond made all the difference between normal operation and the the cancellation of 2,000 flights. Plus Michael O’Leary gives his thoughts. And we have a new kind of show notes this week thanks to some feedback from long-time listeners. Once you click play on the podcast, you can click the time code to jump straight to that section. Links to supporting materials are in the section title.   –01:45 Opening / A380 episode-number discussion –05:38 Cranky Dorkfest and SpotLAX recap –09:38 FAA SMART system and machine learning vs AI –14:35 PHL TRACON outage — those cables aren’t buried that deep –19:10 NATS September 8 outage: preliminary technical report –23:26 Prestwick connectivity outage and airline reaction with a choice quote from Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary –26:52 GAO report on aviation communications security –29:19 Embraer E2 GPS problems — Azul, Porter, others? –33:09 KLM power-bank fire and inconsistent airline battery rules –35:04 Beijing airspace restrictions — A 600 km wide safety zone –38:20 Nice runway investigation yields proposed safety improvements –38:56 Turkish Airlines 737 MAX order –40:37 Istanbul adds another runway –42:35 Boeing 777 freighter emissions waiver –43:35 777X engine mid-seal durability and ETOPS certification –44:20 Boeing engineering union contract –45:11 Icelandair mechanics’ “indefinite” strike –48:17 JSX puts down a deposit on the Heart Aerospace ES-36 –49:20 A321XLR wing becoming standard across A321neo models –50:14 Qantas Project Sunrise New York announcement — finally –53:32 Picasso Pilot flight-path artwork   Click here for a transcript of this episode.

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the more we learn about last Sunday’s fatal runway overrun in Miami, the more confusing the circumstances become. We break down what we know from the ADS-B data and the limited flight data recorder information released by the NTSB thus far. A computer failure at NATS leads to the cancellation of 1500 flights over two days in the UK, while Anak Krakatau’s eruption halts flights in Jakarta. One of only two active DC-8s suffers a runway overrun and gear collapse in Kinshasa. We learn about Honeywell’s Mag Mav, Italian passengers and the danger of steep stairs, and the Swiss transport museum needs to figure out where its going to put a retired A340. And United’s planned 9/11 flypast in Denver is getting push back. (Ed. note: the flypast was canceled after recording of this episode) Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.