09 DEC 2009 _______________________________________ *O'Hare Airport Cancels 200 Flights Due To Weather *Testing of MD-80 fuel saving thrust reverser gets underway *United Splits 50-Jet Order Between Boeing, Airbus *Travis Barker settles suit over plane crash *$7M awarded to victim's family in Ky. plane crash **************************************** O'Hare Airport Cancels 200 Flights Due To Weather (Chicago) -- Officials at O'Hare International Airport canceled about 200 flights today due to the winter storm moving through the area. Department of Aviation officials say a combination of snow and poor visibility are the main reasons for the flight cancellations. Other flights were delayed over 90 minutes due to the weather. Officials adds travelers should check with their airline for flight updates before heading to the airport. More snow and strong winds are expected Wednesday. http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=121031 *************** Testing of MD-80 fuel saving thrust reverser gets underway Dugan Kinetics plans to test a modified Pratt & Whitney JT8D thrust reverser that could both reduce noise and cut fuel burn per flight 6%-12% on MD-80 aircraft. Testing is scheduled 9-12 December at the Tucson International Airport. Dugan has previously explained to ATI that a new stow position was developed for the thrust reverser where the reverser doors are used as an ejector during flight. The new position allows for an increase in thrust with no additional weight or fuel consumption. The EP-80 Ejector/TR surrounds the engine exhaust nozzle to suck the ambient air flow into its chamber causing the accelerated flow to mix with the engine's higher velocity exhaust flow. This mixing also reduces noise. Some testing has already been done on Boeing 727s and MD-80s. Included on the invited list of observers for the event are American Airlines, Delta and Allegiant. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** United Splits 50-Jet Order Between Boeing, Airbus The order for 787s and A350s gives Airbus first entry into United widebody fleet (Bloomberg) - United Airlines (UAUA) split an order for 50 long-range widebody jets valued at $10 billion between Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS as the U.S. carrier made its first aircraft purchase in 11 years. UAL Corp.'s United will buy 25 A350s and 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with deliveries scheduled from 2016 to 2019. The Chicago-based airline also holds future purchase rights for 50 of each jet. A shrinking U.S. airline industry gave United, the third-largest U.S. carrier, more power in negotiating discounts from the planemakers. The new aircraft will replace Boeing 767s and 747s with more fuel-efficient models that have greater range and fewer seats. "The order can be a major positive for United Airlines going forward for a variety of reasons," Helane Becker, an analyst at Jesup & Lamont Securities in New York, said in a note today. "The company gains flexibility at a minimal cost." Becker raised her rating on UAL to "buy" from "hold." Sharing the order gives Toulouse, France-based Airbus its first chance to sell widebody jets to United, which previously bought the largest, most-expensive aircraft from Boeing. Airbus, the biggest commercial-plane maker, also gets a boost as the global travel slump prompts other clients to defer purchases. Airbus 'Coup' "Clearly it's an important breakthrough," said Zafar Khan, an analyst at Societe Generale in London. "It's quite a coup strategically." He has a "sell" rating on Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. UAL fell 1 cent to $9.82 at 9:44 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, while Chicago-based Boeing slid 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $55.26 on the New York Stock Exchange. EADS dropped 22 cents, or 1.8 percent, to 12.24 euros in Paris. United has 111 Boeing widebody planes in its fleet, consisting of 52 777s, 24 747s, and 35 767s. The 747s and 767s will be retired as the airline takes delivery of the new jets. "We're highly confident we timed this right," United President John Tague said in an interview. United has been "very well rewarded" for not ordering during a peak in the airline industry. The carrier also has 96 Boeing 757s, a narrow-body plane, as well as 152 Airbus single-aisle planes, with a further 42 on order. United has said it will follow up today's order with one for single-aisle aircraft next year. A350, Dreamliner The A350 will be equipped with engines by Rolls-Royce Group Plc, the only engine supplier for that plane. United said its Boeing 787s will use engines built by General Electric Co. or Rolls-Royce. The Dreamliner is running more than two years late after five delays since October 2007. It is the first airliner being built with mostly composite plastics, rather than aluminum, to save on fuel consumption. Boeing aims to deliver the 787 to its first customer in the fourth quarter of 2010. The original goal was May 2008. Airbus plans to start sending its A350s to airlines in 2013. Production on the first prototype began last week. United is the third U.S. carrier to order the A350 after US Airways Group Inc. and Hawaiian Airlines Inc. United was part of Boeing until 1934, when the U.S. government forced the company to split off the airline operation. Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago from Seattle in 2001, partly to be closer to U.S. airline customers. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2009/db2009128_380715 .htm **************** Travis Barker settles suit over plane crash LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has settled his lawsuit against several companies over a plane crash in South Carolina last year that killed four people, attorneys said Tuesday. Barker was one of two survivors of the Sept. 19, 2008 crash that killed two pilots and two of his friends. Another survivor, celebrity disc jockey DJ AM, has since died of an accidental drug overdose. The terms of the settlement are confidential, said William L. Robinson, an attorney representing some of the companies sued by Barker, including Learjet, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the plane's owners and contractors. Barker's attorney Walter Lack confirmed the settlement but declined further comment. Barker sued a year ago claiming the companies improperly operated and maintained the Learjet that overshot the runway and burst into flames. The case was delayed while the National Transportation Safety Board completed its investigation into why the private plane failed to takeoff from an airport in Columbia, S.C. Investigators found the thrust reversers - devices on the back of jet engines that divert their thrust forward, helping to slow a plane or force it backward - were not in the right position to help slow down the plane. The pilots were trying to abort takeoff at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport when the accident happened. Changing the design of the thrust reversing system on the Learjet 60 to make its operation more intuitive could potentially help avert such deadly crashes, the NTSB wrote as one of its six recommendations. Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, suffered serious burns in the crash. Goldstein died in New York on Aug. 28. Medical examiners determined he died of a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and cocaine. His mother now controls his estate. A mediation conference is scheduled for Thursday, court filings show. Barker filed his lawsuit along with the mother of his bodyguard, Charles Monroe Still Jr., who was killed in the crash. Still's mother has also settled her case, court filings show. **************** $7M awarded to victim's family in Ky. plane crash LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A jury has awarded more than $7 million to the family of a passenger killed in the 2006 crash of a Comair regional jet in Kentucky. The suit filed by survivors of Bryan Keith Woodward is the only passenger lawsuit that has reached trial. Flight 5191 crashed after trying to take off from a runway at Lexington's airport that was too short for commercial jets. Forty-nine people were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board found the pilots' failed to notice clues they were on the wrong runway. The jury's award on Monday is the first phase of the lawsuit. Another jury will decide next year if the airline was negligent, making the family eligible for punitive damages. Comair says it hopes the trial provides the family with some healing. Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc. ****************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC