Week in Review: Highlights this Week

Welcome to another series of Week in Review! Let’s look at the major aviation news this week!

British Airways A380 on a 5 hour ‘flight to nowhere’ 

A British Airways A380 aircraft bound for London-Heathrow from Singapore landed back at Singapore Changi Airport after 5 hours after a technical issue required the flight to turn back. The aircraft had to dump its fuel onboard to reach the maximum landing weight, before being able to land. The flight, BA12, was originally delayed by 4 hours due to an issue with the aircraft’s weather radar and returned to the stand for repairs. After the issue was resolved on the ground, the plane took off, bound for London-Heathrow again. However, the issue recurred mid-flight, resulting in the aircraft having to dump fuel before returning back to Singapore Changi Airport. This ordeal resulted in passengers being on a 5 hour ‘flight to nowhere’, landing back at Singapore Changi Airport. 

Royal Malaysian Navy Helicopter mid-air collision 

Ten people were killed after a collision between two Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) Helicopters over Lumut Naval Base, Perak. The crash was between an a Eurocopter Fennec Military Chopper from 502 Squadron and a Augusta Westland AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter from 503 Squadron. Both helicopters were part of an aerial display rehearsal to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the TLDM, and were reportedly in a combined rehearsal for the first time. The AW139 crashed into the stairs of the TLDM Stadium, while the Fennec crashed into a swimming pool in the Naval Base, injuring one personnel. In light of this disaster, the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry announced measures to fund the higher education of the children of the victims, including RM1000 (USD $208), which will be credited into their National Education Savings Schemes account. Investigations on the crash are still ongoing, 

Indigo places an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 wide body aircraft. 

Indigo, an Indian carrier, has placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900, becoming the latest airline to be ordering the widebody jet. This comes after Indigo placed a largest single aircraft order by an airline for 500 aircraft in June 2023 so as to ensure that it meets its ambitious expansion plans. Currently, the only widebody aircraft operated by Indigo airlines are the two Boeing 777s which are leased from Turkish Airlines. The exact configuration of the aircraft are still being decided, with the aircrafts scheduled to begin deliveries in 2027. 

Emergency Exit falls off Boeing 767

A Delta Airlines flight, en route to Los Angeles from New York, was forced to make an emergency landing after an emergency slide detached from the right wing emergency exit mid-flight. Originally reported by pilots as an alert on the plane’s overwing emergency exit, together with an unusual sound near the wing, the Boeing 767 aircraft made an emergency landing back at John F Kennedy Airport in New York and landed safely. Upon landing, a closer observation showed that the overwing emergency raft had been detached from the aircraft. The Boeing 767 in question has been taken out of service by Delta Airlines and would be ‘thoroughly evaluated’. The cause for the separation between the slide and aircraft is still unknown, and investigations to find the cause are still ongoing.