Details are still emerging from the Convair freighter crash outside Toledo Express airport but the impact site appears to be about 1,000m from the threshold of runway 25. The aircraft – provisionally identified, but yet to be confirmed, as a Convair 440 registered N24DR – came down apparently after a flight from Millington, just north of Memphis. Images from the scene indicate the aircraft has been completely destroyed, but there is no confirmed information on the crew. The aircraft was reportedly transporting automotive parts and came down in a diesel vehicle repair facility, which is situated some 1,000m ahead of runway 25, and is said to have struck at least two large trucks before being consumed by fire. Weather conditions at the time of the accident, which occurred in darkness at around 03:00, indicate winds from 230-240°, which would suggest approaches would have been conducted to runway 25.

Source: FlightGlobal

More than 1,100 flights have been delayed or cancelled at San Francisco International airport since the airport closed its busiest and second-longest runway, 28L, to construct a new base layer below the runway surface. The closure, which began on 7 September and is due to last until 27 September, has frustrated thousands of travelers and caused chaos at one of the busiest airports on the West Coast. In a statement, the airport says airlines have tried to alleviate some of the pain in advance by implementing voluntary schedule adjustments. This resulted in total flights being reduced by 13% during the 20 days of the Runway 28L closure.
Airlines have also re-timed certain flights to reduce demand during peak times. Still, thousands of passengers have suffered through the disruption as construction crews reconstruct the runway which had been repaved just two years ago. During the project at that time, engineers discovered “the base layer was showing signs of fatigue cracking due to a large amount of aircraft activity in this area”, the airport says in a statement. They were not able to address the issue at that time, so further repairs had to wait until this month.

Source: FlightGlobal

French budget airline Aigle Azur's court administrator has received 14 expressions of interest about acquiring all or part of the ailing carrier. Aigle Azur was placed into receivership earlier this month after running out of enough liquidity to continue operations. It had started cancelling routes but subsequently admitted that its financial situation and operational problems were too great, and it suspended all flights on 7 September. Most of the proposals for Agile Azur concern purchasing "isolated assets", the administrator says, although it has received bids for more comprehensive recovery projects too. However, the administrator does not believe any of these proposals are currently viable: "Their industrial seriousness and their financing will have to be confirmed within the given deadlines." Air France-KLM said that it plans to bid for the airline in order to take control of its landing slots at Paris Orly airport. EasyJet has also expressed interest in purchasing Agile Azur's Orly operations. The administrator will now asses the offers and create a transfer plan. A further hearing of the Evry Commercial Court will take place on 16 September.

Source: FlightGlobal