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

Brussels Airlines has already stepped up to maintain Star Alliance links to the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, following the collapse of Adria Airways. The Belgian carrier says it will open a six-times-weekly service from Brussels from 4 November, using Airbus A319s configured with 141 seats. Brussels Airlines has not specifically mentioned the demise of Star partner Adria but its decision to launch the new route comes just 24h after the Slovenian airline revealed it would file for bankruptcy. Ljubljana airport operator Fraport Slovenija's managing director, Zmago Skobir, has welcomed the quick response from the Belgian airline. "I'm convinced that a carrier with an attractive network of flights, including onwards from Brussels, will attract many business and tourist travellers," he says. "We hope that this will be reflected in the occupancy of the aircraft from the initial flight period." Adria's failure has taken place just as work has started on an expanded passenger terminal for the airport, intended to relieve bottlenecks during peak periods in summer. The €17.3 million project will be carried out over the next two years. Fraport Slovenija's full-year pre-tax profit increased to €14.2 million, from €11.6 million, over the course of 2018. Operating revenues rose to €46.5 million. Domestic carriers, however, accounted for more than 50% of the airport's passenger numbers. "The capacities of airlines already flying to Ljubljana airport are already increasing, while our activities are focused on establishing connections with new airlines as soon as possible," says Skobir. "Visibility of Slovenia in foreign markets is increasing, and as a result the interest in travelling to Slovenia is increasing."

Source: FlightGlobal