Irish investigators have indicated that an undercarriage fire was behind the aborted take-off by a Boeing 767-300 at Shannon. The incident, involving an Omni Air International aircraft, occurred at about 06:15 and closed the main runway 06/24. Shannon tower transmissions reveal that a controller asked the crew whether the aircraft was emitting smoke. "Is that the brakes, is it?" he queried, referring to the left-hand undercarriage of the jet. The crew responded by stating that the aircraft was stopping on the runway, and requesting firefighting vehicles and a tug. Controllers subsequently added that a fire was starting on the left-hand main bogie, to which the crew replied that they would evacuate the aircraft from the right side. The radio communications were archived by LiveATC. Although the tower controller had originally expected only a few minutes' delay while the aircraft was towed off the runway, the airport operator subsequently kept the runway shut until the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit permitted the jet's removal.

Source: FlightGlobal

Investigators in Cote d'Ivoire have concluded that an Antonov An-26 crew continued an approach below minima without making visual contact with the runway before the twin-engined aircraft crashed into the sea off Abidjan. Analysis of the accident indicates that the terrain-warning system had been silenced to avoid nuisance alarms. The approach was conducted "without adequate monitoring" of the aircraft's descent flightpath and, under standard operating procedures, the crew should have executed a go-around, says the inquiry into the 14 October 2017 crash. Three crew members and one of the seven passengers were killed in the accident involving the Moldovan-registered aircraft (ER-AVB), operated by cargo charter carrier Valan. It had been arriving at Abidjan following a service from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The flight, operating under the identity 'Kondor 26', was being conducted on behalf of French armed forces. Although the crew briefed for an ILS approach to runway 21, this was subsequently changed to a VOR Z approach to runway 03, which requires flying in from the south over the sea. Investigators state that the crew discussed an absence of VOR signal on board, so the captain decided – without informing air traffic control – to use area navigation and GPS for the non-precision approach. The crew was given the weather conditions – reduced visibility and light rain – but the cockpit-voice recorder did not capture evidence of an announcement updating minima. Some 3min after the tower gave landing clearance to the crew, radar contact was lost. Wreckage was subsequently located offshore, the aircraft having crashed into the sea short of the threshold.

Source: FlightGlobal

Southwest Airlines ordered another three Boeing 737 Max simulators from flight training company CAE in the second quarter of 2019, doubling its Max simulator orders ahead of the expected lifting of the Max's global grounding. Simulator company CAE disclosed Southwest's three-unit order on 14 August. The airline has already received, and is now setting up, one 737 Max full-flight simulator, the carrier's vice-president of flight operations Alan Kasher told FlightGlobal last week. Southwest expects that unit will be operational in October. It anticipates having another two Max simulators online early in the first quarter of 2020, followed by the final three in 2021, Kasher said. Other airlines are also acquiring Max simulators following two crashes that prompted the grounding. American Airlines has "one simulator that is in the process of being installed", and United Airlines anticipates receiving its first simulator in the first quarter of 2020, those carriers say. Neither American nor United have said how many additional Max simulators they have on order.

Source: FlightGlobal