Monday, February 08, 2016

Gazprom Neft subsidiary demands $78 million from Transaero airline

MOSCOW, February 8 (RAPSI) – Gazpromneft-Aero, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft oil company, has filed with the Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region a lawsuit seeking 6 billion rubles ($78 million) from troubled airline Transaero in the air carrier’s bankruptcy proceedings, RAPSI learnt in the court on Monday.

The court will review validity of the claim on May 4.

Transaero found itself unable to pay its debts estimating 250 billion rubles ($3.2 billion). Government-approved plan of transferring 75% of company’s shares to Aeroflot failed. Its problems resulted in a large number of flight cancels and delays.

In October, Sberbank and Alfa Bank filed bankruptcy petitions against the troubled airline. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region initiated a bankruptcy procedure against Transaero on December 16.

Gazpromneft-Aero, one of the leading jet fuel suppliers in Russia, was founded in 2008. Gazpromneft-is a strategic partner of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in supplying aviation fuel.

Source: http://www.rapsinews.com

Incident occurred February 06, 2016 in Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

February 7, 2016 3:20pm
The Cairns Post

A quick-thinking pilot averted possible tragedy when a hot-air balloon carrying 18 passengers clipped 22,000V powerlines.

The balloon, owned by Mareeba-based company Hot Air, had been trying to land on a vacant block on Burnes Rd west of the Tablelands town yesterday about 7.20am when the pilot failed to see the high-voltage lines.

The basket was left with scorch marks, but the pilot was able to power up the balloon and rise again, before landing it safely about 100m away.

Cairns police district duty officer Sen-Sgt Tony Law said it was lucky no one on board was hurt.

“It could have been tragic,” he said.

“It could have been a very serious incident.

“It’s just fortunate the pilot has acted so quickly and ­landed safely with no injuries.”

This is not the first time the ballooning company has been involved in this type of incident, with similar events in 2012, 2008 and 2004.

In 2012, Ergon Energy reported that powerline strikes by hot-air balloons were occurring on average once a year on the Tablelands.

There have been no fatalities or major injuries during this time, though.

This latest incident left almost 500 homes without power after the lines were bought down in a mango ­plantation.

An Ergon Energy spokesman said the impact of the balloon had caused the power lines to clash and arc, which left the burn marks on the side of the basket.

He said crews attended soon after the incident and power was restored to most homes quickly, with a further 30 back online later in the day.

Mareeba police Sgt Chris Harris said the balloon was undamaged apart from the burn marks.

The basket has been temporarily taken out of service.

“An inspector will inspect the balloon and basket,’’ he said. “It has been decommissioned until a full safety investigation is carried out.”

He said it was likely the passengers would have been unaware of what happened until after they landed.

The incident has been referred to both the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Workplace Health and Safety.

An ATSB spokesman said they were aware of the matter.

“We are gathering further information,” he said.

“We will get a full report from the pilot, but that will come over the next 24 hours or so.”

Calls to Hot Air by The Cairns Post were not returned yesterday.

Source:  http://www.cairnspost.com.au

Insurance companies demand €10 mln from Vnukovo in Total CEO plane crash lawsuit: Dassault Falcon 50EX, Unijet, F-GLSA, fatal accident occurred October 21, 2014 at Moskva-Vnukovo Airport, Russia



MOSCOW, February 8 (RAPSI) – Five foreign insurance companies filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Commercial Court against Vnukovo airport demanding losses resulted from plane crash of Total CEO Cristophe de Maergerie’s aircraft in 2014, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Monday.

Plaintiffs in the case are Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance ltd, Tokio Marine Kiln Insuranse ltd, Mapfre Global Risks Compania, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company и Great Lakes Reinsurance. Insurance companies demand € 10 million from defendants in the case: “Vnukovo airport”, “Vnukovo international airport” and “State ATM Сorporation”.

The companies have already paid €1 million euro to suffering parties as a compensation for life insurance of the aircraft’s crew and passengers as well as €9 million for Falcon 50 EX airplane.

During the preliminary hearings Vnukovo’s representative asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit because of lack of credentials provided by the plaintiffs. The court ruled to set the hearings for March 2 and proposed the plaintiffs to prepare the documents requested by the defendants. Additionally Sogaz company was invited to the case at the request of “State ATM Corporation”.

Christophe de Margerie died in a plane crash at Vnukovo airport on October 21, 2014, when his plane’s wing hit a snow plow. Among the victims were three crew members, all French citizens.

Lead airfield service engineer Vladimir Ledenev, snow plow driver Vladimir Martynenko, air traffic controller Alexander Kruglov, airport flight manager Roman Dunayev, and dispatcher Natalya Arkhipova stand charged in the case.

Source: http://rapsinews.com