Cathay Pacific chief executive Rupert Hogg has resigned, days after the airline was embroiled in controversy over crew members taking part in anti-government protests. In a stock-exchange disclosure, the airline states that Hogg resigned "to take responsibility" as Cathay's leader. No further reason was disclosed. Also stepping down is Cathay's chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo, who gave a similar reason for his resignation. Both Loo and Hogg also relinquish their roles as executive directors on the Cathay board. Taking over as the Oneworld carrier's chief will be Augustus Tang, who has been with Swire Group — Cathay's majority shareholder — since 1982. Tang was most recently chief executive of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), a post he held since November 2008. Tang was also an executive director on the Cathay board from 2007 to 2008. Meanwhile, HK Express chief Ronald Lam will replace Loo as Cathay's chief customer and commercial officer. Lam has been with Swire since 1996. He will continue to helm the low-cost carrier while the search for his successor is under way. The leadership changes take effect 19 August.


Source: FlightGlobal

Japanese investigators believe a Korean Air Boeing 737-900 suffered a tail-strike at Osaka's Kansai airport as it pitched up during a go-around, after the aircraft bounced on landing. The aircraft (HL7725) had conducted its approach to runway 06L in a tailwind and the captain, who was flying, opted to reduce thrust to idle earlier than usual in order to avoid a long touchdown. But as the aircraft entered the flare at 30ft, with 2° nose-up attitude, the first officer felt the rate of descent was excessive. He intervened – without making any call-out – by pulling the control column aft. The aircraft pitch increased to 3.5° as it touched down with an impact of 1.87g. Its main landing-gear weight-on-wheels switches activated and the spoilers began to deploy. The aircraft made runway contact a second time, with a 1.66g impact, and flight-data recorder information shows the aircraft's pitch then increased from about 7° to some 10° – above the 8.2° threshold for a tail-strike. "It is highly probable that the lower aft fuselage of the aircraft was damaged [by] contacting the runway because its pitch angle became too high," says the Japan Transport Safety Board, in its probe into the event on 9 April last year. None of the 99 occupants, which included eight crew members, was injured but the aircraft sustained cracks and scratch marks to its aft fuselage underside over a length of 2m, and its tail-skid was broken.

Source: FlightGlobal

Both engines on a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 failed before the aircraft conducted a forced landing in a field outside Moscow.
The Russian carrier says the aircraft lost power in both engines following a severe bird-strike as it departed Moscow Zhukovsky for Simferopol early on 15 August. It came to rest in a field about 5km from the far end of Zhukovsky's runway 12. "Several people sought medical attention," it says, but states that there were no fatalities. A formal commission is being convened to probe the accident. Ural Airlines is crediting the "professionalism" and "co-ordinated actions" of the crew in safely bringing down and evacuating the aircraft. It says the captain, who has been with the operator since about 2013, had logged more than 3,000h while the first officer, employed by the carrier only last year, had some 600h. The aircraft has suffered "significant" damage, it adds. Five cabin crew were on board, the airline indicates. It puts the total number of passengers on board at 224. Federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia says the aircraft struck a flock of gulls, and that the aircraft came down between inner and outer marker beacons for the airport's landing system. "The landing was carried out with the undercarriage retracted," it adds. "Before the landing, the crew shut down the engines." Slides were deployed from all eight exits of the A321.


Source: FlightGlobal