Despite 11 Deaths, Andrew Hill Wants Back in the Game

The aviator whose airshow accident led to 11 deaths at a 2015 air show, has applied to the UK Civil Aviation Authority in the hopes of getting his license reinstated. The incident left a bad taste in many a British mouth, when Andrew Hill's Hawker Hunter jet crashed into a nearby highway during a failed loop maneuver. The impact destroyed 8 cars, with 11 victims spread across the travelers and audience. Those injured tallied up to 16. Hill survived the crash without ejecting, allowing him to be charged with negligent manslaughter at a criminal trial in 2019. He defended himself blaming it on the G-force affecting his brain.

Loose Rudder Bolt Sends Maintainers on Hunt for Issues in Assembly

Targeted inspections for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft's rudder control system are the order of the day, searching for loose or missing parts. Boeing issued a Multi-Operator Message urging operators of newer MAX aircraft to inspect specific tie rods and control rudder movement for possible loose hardware. The problem was investigated when a foreign MAX operator encountered a bolt with a missing nut during a routine maintenance inspection. Looking into the matter and giving some aircraft a once-over to see if similar cases happened elsewhere, Boeing found an "additional undelivered aircraft with a nut that was not properly tightened."

Targets 75 Aircraft per Month by 2026

Airbus rolled out the very first A321neo aircraft completed entirely at its new A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. The A321neo will head to its new home with Pegasus Airlines, "the leading low-cost carrier" in its home market of Turkey. It makes for an important milestone for the Toulouse line, having been built in the remains of the former A380 roost named after Jean-Luc Lagardère. Airbus says that the new aircraft marks "the start of the ramp-up of the new Toulouse FAL, which presages increased output at similar A320 lines in Hamburg Germany, Mobile, Alabama, and Tianjin China. Eventually, the firm plans to pump out 75 A320 family aircraft every month in 2026 and beyond.

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