One of Russian budget carrier Pobeda's Boeing 737-800s has suffered damage during a tail-strike following a service to Gyumri in Armenia. Armenia's Civil Aviation Committee states that the incident occurred at 21:04 on 19 August as the jet arrived from Moscow Vnukovo. The aircraft "hit the runway" at Shirak airport causing "tail damage", says the committee. None of the 173 passengers were injured, it adds. Russian federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia states that the aircraft, which also had six crew members, was operating flight DP855 and conducting a go-around at Gyumri when the suspected tail-strike occurred. Inspection of the aircraft after landing revealed tail-bumper damage, paintwork abrasion on the fuselage underside in the region of an aft drain nozzle. The aircraft (VQ-BTJ) was subsequently withdrawn from operations for further damage assessment.

Source: FlightGlobal

Ural Airlines has disclosed that the Airbus A321 which came down in a cornfield after a take-off incident at Moscow Zhukovsky will be cut up for scrap. The airline stresses that it does not plan to reuse "any part" of the twinjet which lost power, apparently after a bird-strike, and carried out a gear-up touchdown in the field. Ural Airlines says the jet has been "fully prepared" for removal, including dismantling of the engines. Fuel has been removed and other pressurised systems, including the hydraulics and oxygen units, have been discharged or taken out. In co-ordination with traffic police from the region the aircraft will be cut up and taken away from the scene for disposal from 23 August.

Source: FlightGlobal

Cathay Pacific has warned that its August revenue figures could take a hit, thanks to ongoing anti-government protests that culminated in two consecutive airport closures. Cathay’s newly-minted chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam notes that even though “recent events” did not “substantially impact” the business in July, the airline is bracing for the effects in the coming month. “However, we anticipate a much more significant impact to our revenue in August and onwards,” says Lam in a media release on the carrier’s July traffic figures. He adds that traffic into Hong Kong for the month has softened, and that the carrier has noticed that traffic out of the city, particularly to points in its short-haul network of China, Taiwan, South-east Asia and South Korea, is gradually weakening as well. On 12 and 13 August, Hong Kong International Airport was shut down completely, after protestors occupied large sections of the airport. All flights had to be cancelled, and Cathay, together with its subsidiaries Cathay Dragon and HK Express, bore the brunt of flight cancellations.

Source: FlightGlobal