Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Big day for Boeing: The B787 Dreamliner flies!
Today, December 15, 2009, was historic. I don't know about you, but I spent hours watching TV and live webcasts earlier today as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner took off for the very first time. While the world watched, the Dreamliner began its takeoff roll at Paine Field in Everett, WA. I have to admit that I got a bit choked up as Boeing's newest commercial aircraft rotated and lifted off the runway for the first time. The time was 10:27 AM local time.
The weather was not the best -- drizzly and overcast -- but the graceful looking aircraft climbed out as if it were a sunny day, carried out its long-anticipated maiden flight, and returned to earth for a picture perfect landing at Seattle's Boeing Field at 13:33 local time.
From the Boeing press release about the event:
787 Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Capt. Randy Neville tested some of the airplane's systems and structures, as on-board equipment recorded and transmitted real-time data to a flight-test team at Boeing Field.According to Boeing, the first Boeing 787, which is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, will be joined in the flight test program in the coming weeks and months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.
After takeoff from Everett, the airplane followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Capts. Carriker and Neville took the airplane to an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) and an air speed of 180 knots, or about 207 miles (333 kilometers) per hour, customary on a first flight.
Congratulations to Boeing and all those involved with the 787 Dreamliner program on the successful first flight of this beautiful new airplane.
In case you missed the live event, here is a video of the Boeing 787's first takeoff from Paine Field (video provided by AirlineReporter):
If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.
And then, here is the Dreamliner's first-ever landing, at Boeing Field. Note that the pilot flying greased it, and rolled out right down the center line. (Bravo!):
If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Northwest Flight 188 incident: Pilots' appeal documents
Are you ready for another update on the Northwest Flight 188 incident? Readers will recall that shortly after the incident (in which the pilots of the Airbus A320 were out of radio contact with air traffic control for an extended period of time and overflew their destination while working on their laptop computers) the FAA revoked the licenses of both pilots. The pilots have since filed appeals seeking to have the license revocations rescinded.Today a reader forwarded to me an email pass-around that included facsimile copies of the appeal documents as an attachment. Given that I have not seen the original documents, and considering that I received the copies via an email pass-around, I cannot guarantee that the copies are authentic, however they appear to be credible. I have uploaded them to my Web site, and anyone who is interested in having a look at them can access them there: NW Flight 188 Pilot Appeals (13-page 'pdf' file)
Highlights: The pilots deny that they "intentionally or willfully" violated any federal aviation regulations.
They appear to assign blame for the incident to air traffic control, stating:
The air traffic controller(s) did not comply with the requirements of the air traffic control manual and other relevant orders, rules, procedures, policies and practices with respect to Northwest Flight 188, nor coordinate effectively with Northwest dispatch, and such failure was a causal or contributing factor in the incident referenced in the Administrator's Complaint. Respondent asserts that he had a right to rely, and did rely, that the controllers would comply with all relevant orders, rules, procedures, policies and practices. Such reliance justifies a reduction, mitigation, or waiver of sanction.The appeal goes on to claim that the sanction against them is "not in compliance with Board precedent and policy."
The pilots also claim that there were "mitigating facts and circumstances that caused or contributed to the incident, including but not limited to aircraft systems design and human factors, justifying a reduction, mitigation, or waiver of sanction."
Presumably both pilots will be able to present their case(s) in person at a hearing before the NTSB in the near future.
She said she was absolutely gutted about what had happened and they didn't even know if the hotel they were based in had been paid for 
