Airbus

European aerospace giant Airbus will build its first U.S. factory in a move aimed at making the company more competitive against archrival Boeing. The new plant in Mobile, Alabama – due to open in 2015 – will employ 1,000 people when it reaches full production capacity. Airbus said it hopes the factory will lower costs […]

A recent patent awarded to Airbus by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicates engineers at the industry giant have quite a unique design up their sleeves – a double fuselage airliner, to be exact. Design drawings associated with the patent, filed in 2008, show the fuselages connected by way of two forward-swept wings, with […]

An Airbus Industrie A320-211 operated by Air Canada and piloted by an airline transport pilot sustained minor damage at about 1045 Central time when the co-pilot’s window cracked during cruise at FL340.

A second wild ride of an Air France Airbus has gained the attention of safety investigators. French media reports emerged last week about an Air France flight that recently experienced some events similar to those of Flight 447 shortly before it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, reigniting debate over what caused the fatal crash that […]

Imagine yourself in an airliner 40 years from now. What does it look like? According to Airbus’ lofty prediction, which will likely cause more than a few retrospective chuckles down the road, passengers flying in 2050 should be able to play a game of virtual golf, breathe in antioxidant-enriched air and watch the sky take […]

What’s bigger than “jumbo?” An Australian news outlet has reported that Airbus is ready to pull the trigger on development of a stretched A380 — an airplane that is already the largest capacity airplane ever to fly. Not surprisingly, Airbus has yet to comment on the report, which one would classify either as a leak, […]

At about 0725 Central time, the airplane, operating as United Airlines Flight 497, exited the left side of a runway after returning due to automated warnings of smoke in an equipment bay. The airplanes nose wheel exited the side of the runway upon completing the landing roll and an emergency evacuation was conducted. The airplane, with 109 passengers and crew aboard, had departed about 20 minutes earlier. The passengers and crew exited the airplane via slides.

The catastrophic failure of one of its four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines caused damage to several systems on board a Qantas Airbus A380. A chain of failures had the pilots using all their available skills to bring the megaliner back to Singapore for a safe landing earlier this month. No one on board was injured, […]

A Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A330-342, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 777-60 engines, experienced a loss of thrust in both engines during approach. The airplane landed at 230 knots with its two engines producing about 20- and 70-percent power respectively. The pilots apparently had no control over engine power. The airplane was landed safely and no injuries were reported.

In 1944, his father, Wolfgang, wrote the definitive text on seat-of-pants flying, Stick & Rudder. Now, William Langewiesche has published a book examining details of the Miracle on the Hudson ditching. In his new book, Fly By Wire: The Geese, the Glide and the “Miracle” on the Hudson, the younger Langewiesche (who is an accomplished […]