AvTalk Episode 233: Ural in a field (again)

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we recap all the fun we had at Dorkfest and Spot LAX, including our meeting with one incredible young avgeek. Plus, another Ural Airlines flight ends up in a field, Pratt and Whitney delivers more bad news about the A320neo engines, Mexico makes it back to Category 1, and one new airline has an even newer name.

Dorkfest + SpotLAX wrap up

An incredible weekend of aviation revelry and merriment. If you joined us this year, thank you! If you didn’t, stay tuned for the 2024 date and book your tickets to Los Angeles early.

Ural in a field (again)

For the second time in four years, a Ural Airlines aircraft has landed in a field, but this time there are no birds to blame. An A320 traveling from Sochi to Omsk suffered a hydraulic failure and attempted to divert to Novosibirsk to take advantage of the longer runway there. Unfortunately, they ran out of fuel along the way.

Pratt and Whitney says more engines need to come off the wing

Pratt and Whitney announced this week that more engines will need to be taken off A320neos for inspections and possible part replacements as the search for parts affected by contaminated metal powder expands.

Alaska trunnion pin fracture led to gear collapse

The NTSB’s preliminary report points to a fractured trunnion pin as the cause of the gear collapse on an Alaska Airlines 737-800. Here’s the report with lots of photos.

UA328 final report released

The NTSB released its final report on the failure of the right PW4077 engine on the United flight 328 in February 2021. The report finds that design issues led to the failure, but also a lack of proper maintenance procedures.

A321XLR goes route proving

The Airbus A321XLR is embarking on a route proving campaign, which will see the aircraft left powered on for 10 days and 15 flights. We’ll have more from on board one of these flights on next week’s episode. You can track the flights with A321XLR F-WWAB.

Mexico returns to FAA Category 1

After two years of negotiations, the FAA has returned Mexico to safety category 1, which opens up the US market to new flights to and from Mexico.

Michael Whitaker tapped to head FAA

Michael Whitaker is the new nominee for FAA Administrator. Whitaker is currently at Hyundai subsidiary Supernal working on an eVTOL. He previously served as a Deputy Administrator during the Obama administration.

Orders big and small

Aurora Airlines has ordered 10 MC-21s for delivery in the late 2020s. SMBC Aviation and Vietnam Airlines are both acquiring the 737-8 MAX.

NEW Pacific Airlines

Not wanting to fight a trademark lawsuit, Northern Pacific Airways is rebranding as New Pacific Airlines.

Thank you for listening!

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Please click here for a transcript of this episode.