Aviation

North Korea requests opening of new international air routes

United Nations aviation agency directors will visit North Korea next week to discuss Pyongyang’s request to establish air routes to South Korea.

Officials from the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will conduct a ‘joint mission’ to consider the proposal, the UN agency said on Friday.

“ICAO’s Asia and Pacific Regional Director, Mr. Arun Mishra, will be conducting a joint mission with ICAO’s Director of Air Navigation Bureau, Mr. Stephen Creamer, to the DPRK next week, where this request will be further discussed among other air navigation and safety matters,” Anthony Philbin, ICAO’s chief of communications, said in an emailed statement to Sputnik.

The initial request was sent to the ICAO’s Asia and Pacific Regional Office by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of North Korea in February, asking for a new air route between the two countries. The request has been supported by the air authorities of the South, according to the ICAO’s statement.

Currently, there’s no direct air transportation between North and South Korea. There have been some charter flights between Seoul and Pyongyang in the mid-2000s, but they ceased to operate due to strained relations between the two countries.

The charter flights in question were used by tourists and separated Korean families to meet relatives across the border. Such services were halted with the end of the so-called Sunshine Policy by South Korea in 2008.

The relations between the two Koreas have been improving rapidly since the beginning of this year, as the North and the South engaged in direct negotiations. The leaders of the two countries held a landmark summit on April 27, agreeing to work together to end the Korean War, which has been continuing de jure since 1950s.

Apart from national reconciliation, South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un agreed to seek denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Aviation

Lost Tool Found in Qantas A380 After 34 Flights

An Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation recently revealed that a Qantas A380 operated 34 flights with a 1.25-meter nylon tool lodged in one of its engines.

This turning tool, used during borescope inspections to rotate the intermediate-pressure compressor, was left behind during scheduled maintenance at Los Angeles on December 6, 2023. It remained inside the engine until it was discovered by maintenance staff during a subsequent check at Los Angeles on January 1, 2024.

China Takes the Lead in Sixth-Generation Fighters with White Emperor B

The ATSB report highlights two critical lapses. First, maintenance engineers failed to notice the tool during final checks for foreign objects after the borescope inspection. Second, the lost tool procedure was not activated when the tool was identified as missing.

The certifying engineer ultimately cleared the aircraft for service without accounting for the misplaced tool. During the time qantas films the tool was inside, the A380 completed 34 flight cycles, accumulating nearly 294 hours without any noticeable effect on engine performance.

Although the tool was deformed by high-energy airflow within the engine, there was no reported damage to the engine itself. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell commented.

India’s C-295 to Gain Advanced Weapons for Maritime Surveillance

“This incident underscores the importance of following established maintenance protocols. Engineers missed the tool during foreign object checks, and the required lost tool procedure wasn’t started after realizing the tool was missing.”

Following the investigation, the airline issued a safety directive, urging all engineering and tool storage teams to adhere strictly to these protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

A qantas spokesperson stated, “While the tool didn’t impact engine performance, we take this incident very seriously. It is critical to follow the correct lost tool procedures.”