The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) says new hardware, recurrent inspections and changes to engine monitoring “adequately address” its concerns about failures of high-pressure turbine nozzles in the Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofan engine for the Airbus A380. Investigators determined that higher-than-expected metal surface temperatures had caused the failure of high-pressure turbine (HPT) second-stage nozzle guide vanes in a GP7270 turbofan on an Emirates Airline A380 in November 2012. The resulting damage caused the engine to shut down in flight.

It appears that the Qantas Airways eavy maintenance facility at Avalon Airport—near Melbourne—could be the next casualty of the airline’s efforts to streamline its maintenance operations in Australia.

Modifying oil pressure sensor systems prevents misleading readings

Operators have 135 days to inspect some 3,800 Honeywell ELTs

The still-being-finalized partnership between AJ Walter Aviation and Aviation Technical Services (ATS) could have its first customers by the time the joint venture is formally launched later this month, ATS executives tell Aviation Week. The companies on Aug. 16 announced a memorandum of understanding that would combine complimentary services and offer them under a common umbrella. Even though the venture’s details are set in stone, customers are showing interest in the potential offering.

Fielding depends on implementation of new fleet-management concept

A radical conversion of an Avro RJ85 regional jet by firefighting company Conair Aviation has made its first flight. Canada-based Conair Aviation is one of four North American firefighting operators that have selected the British Aerospace BAe 146 and Avro RJ series of aircraft for the mission, but unlike the other three, the company has gone for a highly complex configuration attaching the water tank outside the pressure hull.

In-flight broadband provider Gogo has launched a hybrid network solution for the North American market capable of delivering more than 60 Mbps to an aircraft, 20 times the speed of Gogo’s initial air-to-ground (ATG) product, which was launched five years ago. Launch customer Virgin America expects to begin flying with the new technology in the second half of 2014. The new service, Gogo Ground to Orbit (GTO), is expected to increase speeds by more than six times the company’s current enhanced ATG product, says Gogo.