On the 16th of October 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice and the collaboration of American Airlines and US Airways officially reached an agreement regarding the airlines’ proposed merger.

The Department of Justice had originally blocked the merger of the two airlines due to the potentially anticompetitive implications resulting from the merged airlines’ slot allocation at a number of U.S. airports. As a result, American Airlines and US Airways agreed to relinquish 52 pairs of takeoff and landing slots at Ronald Reagan-Washington National Airport and 17 pairs of slots at LaGuardia Airport.

The Department of Justice will subsequently be tasked with distributing the slots, which will likely be distributed among a number of U.S.-based Low-Cost Airlines. The merger is now expected to be finalised in December 2013.

A Bearskin Airlines Metro III regional aircraft was on approach to Red Lake Airport, with seven occupants on board, when the aircraft reportedly severed power lines and impacted the ground shortly after. Both of the flight crew and three passengers perished in the accident.

A passenger sitting in the rear of the aircraft survived and was able to drag a second passenger form the aircraft before the wreckage was engulfed by flames.

The latest reports indicate that the two surviving passengers are in a stable condition. The cause of the accident is not yet known and will likely not be determined until the accident investigation has been completed.

A Tatarstan Airlines Boing 737-500 aircraft had initiated a second go-around procedure at Kazan airport when the aircraft suddenly lost height and consequently impacted the ground.

The aircraft disintegrated upon impact. All 44 passengers and 6 crew perished in the accident.

The Russian-based airline was operating a flight on behalf of fellow Russian airline, Ak Bars Aero.

The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) has been recovered, with preliminary analysis indicating that there were no aircraft system failures. As a result, there is no initial indication on what may have caused the accident.

The Interstate Aviation Committee (often referred to by its Russian translation of ‘MAK’), which is responsible for the investigation of aviation incidents and accidents within the Commonwealth of Independent States, has commenced an investigation into the accident.