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March 13, 2004

First Flight: Embraer 190 Flies in Sao Jose Dos Campos

Embraer is crowing about the maiden flight of the EMBRAER 190, the third member of a family of new-generation commercial jets specifically designed for the untapped 70- to 110-seat market. The first flight marked the beginning of the EMBRAER 190's flight test campaign, which will be conducted at Gaviao Peixoto, in the interior of Sao Paulo state. The EMBRAER 190, serial number 0001, took off Friday from the company's Sao Jose dos Campos facility at 10:30 am (local time). In its 2.45-hour mission, the new aircraft successfully performed a range of systems validation tests and started the expansion of its flight envelope.

Well, any landing you can walk away from, right? And then there are those you run away from. The two pilots aboard FedEx flight 1954 from Newark (NJ) ran alright, after eight tires on their Airbus A300's main gear blew out upon landing at Fort Lauderdale (FL) Thursday. Neither was hurt. Both will probably be telling the story for years, though.

Virgin USA says Frederick W. Reid will lead the formation of a Virgin branded future US domestic low fare airline, scheduled to launch first quarter 2005. In that role Reid will oversee all operational and executive facets of the airline, including its upcoming certification process. Reid joins from Delta Air Lines where he was President and Chief Operating Officer.