South Africa's public enterprises minister has informed the country's parliament that South African Airways and SA Express are not going concerns, in a letter explaining delays in the carriers' annual report submission. Pravin Gordhan stated that he was responsible for tabling the 2018-19 annual statements and audit reports for both carriers six months after the end of their financial years. Both SAA's and SA Express's financial years ended on 31 March, and their boards are required to provide the information to the ministry within five months. But Gordhan says, in a 27 September letter to parliament, that the boards have "not been able to finalise and submit" the annual reports within the prescribed deadlines.

"Both airlines are experiencing serious financial challenges and are unable to meet going concerns," he adds.

SAA has told the minister that its newly-appointed interim chief executive and chief financial officers need more time to hand the information to the auditor general. It has also requested an extension to the window in which it needs to hold its annual general meeting – an extension which has been granted until the end of March 2020. SA Express has similarly been unable to finalise its annual statements "due to financial constraints", the letter says. "[The] government remains committed to find a sustainable solution to the challenges facing the airlines."

Source: FlightGlobal

A vintage World War II-era aircraft crashed at Bradley International airport Hartford, Connecticut on 2 October, killing five and injuring at least 14 others, local media report. The aircraft, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, apparently had difficulties after take-off and was returning to the field for an emergency landing. It burst into flames upon impact and video images showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the wreckage. Public safety officials said it had crashed into a building on the field. They added that 10 passengers and three crew had been on board. Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said at a press conference that the plane took off about 9:45 local time and five minutes later the crew reported a problem to the tower. Witnesses on the ground said they had heard one of the engines sputtering shortly before the crash. Bradley airport, the second-largest in the New England region, was closed following the accident and the FAA imposed a ground stop for arriving flights. One runway opened after 13:30 EST. The B-17 was a heavy bomber that played a key role in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II. The aircraft that crashed was one of 18 still registered to fly in the USA, said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont after the accident.

Source: FlightGlobal

Unexpected coffee spills that cause injury on an aircraft should be classified as accidents under the terms of the Montreal Convention, a European Court of Justice advocate general has formally opined. The advisory ruling from advocate general Henrik Saugmandsgaard Oe follows a case against the now-defunct Austrian budget airline Niki. It concerns a six-year old child who suffered second-degree burns from a hot coffee spill during a flight between Spain and Austria in August 2015. Her father, seated beside her, had received a cup of coffee – without a lid – from the cabin crew, and placed it on the folding table in front of him. The container slipped and its contents spilled, although it could not be established whether this resulted from a defective table or aircraft vibration. Niki filed for insolvency in 2017. The child, represented by her father, sought compensation of up to €8,500 from the airline's bankruptcy administrator, which denied liability by claiming that the event did not meet the definition of an accident under the Montreal Convention. While a regional court in Korneuburg, Austria, sided with the plaintiff in December 2015, a higher regional court in Vienna disagreed, arguing that the Montreal Convention only covered accidents caused by an inherent risk in air transport – and that the plaintiff could not prove this. But the case was subsequently heard by the supreme court which sought the European Court of Justice opinion as to whether the definition of 'accident' applies when a cup of coffee, placed on a table, spills for unknown reasons and burns a passenger. In his newly-published opinion the advocate general has ruled that the Montreal Convention's meaning of 'accident' must be interpreted as a sudden or unusual event on board, external to the passenger concerned, which causes injury – crucially "without it being necessary to ascertain whether the event is due to a risk inherent in air transport".

Source: FlightGlobal