Aviation

Evacuation slide inflated as Air India hostess botched pilot’s order

Air India adds more flights to Dubai from Delhi and Mumbai

According to Indian News Paper Times of India reports An Air India commander took the unusual step of stopping a taxiing aircraft at Heathrow to return a cellphone to an engineer who had left it behind after readying the aircraft for departure.What transpired on the London-Ahmedabad flight last month was a series of incredible decisions.

“The commander informed the ground staff to ask the engineer to reach the aircraft and collect the phone,” said a source.

He instructed the cabin crew-in-charge to ‘recycle the door’, open it and throw the phone, which could be safely embedded in a pillow, conscripted from the passenger cabin for the mission.‘Recycle the door’ means to change the mode it is set in.

Aircraft doors are either set in automatic mode (‘armed’ in aviation parlance) or manual (‘unarmed’).

Before departure, the commander gives an ‘arm the doors’ or ‘doors to automatic’ instruction to the crew.

When she opened the door, the slide inflated and fell into position, ready for an evacuation. But instead of panicky passengers, the only person standing at the door was the rather shocked crew-in-charge, holding a pillow stuffed with suddenly not-so-precious cargo.

The flight’s departure had to be delayed. “The engineering team had to disconnect the slide, deflate it, and fold and pack it into the cargo compartment,” the source said. AI-176, which had started taxiing at 2pm, finally departed at 3.46pm.

Aviation

Boeing, Antonov to Collaborate on Defense Projects

– MOU represents Boeing’s commitment to work with Ukrainian industry

– Includes exploring opportunities for collaborating on in-country support of Unmanned Aerial Systems

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Boeing and Antonov Company to investigate potential collaboration on defense-related projects.

“We’re happy to keep collaborating with the Antonov Company to help Ukraine’s economic development and expansion,” stated Ted Colbert, CEO and president of Boeing Defence, Space, & Security.

Airbus and the Antonov An-225: The Best Partnership:Click here

“This agreement demonstrates our ongoing efforts to find more opportunities to work with Ukrainian industry, which was underscored by our signing of the Ukrainian Defence Industry Compact earlier this year.”

The areas of potential collaboration identified in the agreement consist of training, logistical support and overhaul services for tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems utilized by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which includes the ScanEagle. In addition, the companies will also explore opportunities for Antonov to provide engineering support to Boeing.

The six largest cargo aircraft ever built in the aviation industry:Click here

“A strong, innovative, and efficient defense industry is key to sustainable economic development and national security, and we are extremely excited to collaborate with Boeing,” said Ievhen Gavrylov, CEO of Antonov Company.

This agreement brings a whole new level of opportunity to implement the latest and most effective solutions – in addition to the possibility of future projects with Boeing in the aerospace and defense industry.”