Aviation

Southwest Sends $5,000 Cheques To Passengers On Accident Flight

WASHINGTON: Southwest Airlines Co confirmed Friday it has sent $5,000 cheques to passengers aboard a flight that made an emergency landing this week after an engine failed, killing a passenger.

The airline confirmed news reports from passengers it had sent the cheques along with $1,000 travel vouchers. “We can confirm the communication and gesture are authentic and heartfelt,” the company said in a brief statement on Friday.

The CFM56 jet engine on Southwest flight 1380 blew apart over Pennsylvania on Tuesday, about 20 minutes after the Dallas-bound flight left New York’s LaGuardia Airport with 149 people on board. The engine debris shattered a window on the Boeing 737 plane, killing a passenger – the first death in a US airline accident since 2009. The plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

The Federal Aviation Administration said late on Wednesday it was working to quickly finalise an airworthiness directive within the next two weeks that had been proposed in August 2017 after a similar engine failure in a Southwest plane in 2016, which it said would apply to 220 engines.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators on the scene were expected to wrap up their work in Philadelphia on Saturday, the agency said on Friday.

Southwest said after the incident that it was accelerating its existing engine inspection programme “out of an abundance of caution” and expected to complete it over the next 30 days.

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.

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“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.

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“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.”