FlyBe - gone into administration

[whole diary]

[TonyN]

Just been to the local retail park.
There are a few people on the roads as well who have forgotten how their car works and how to drive it.

[Thatcham Crossing]

Newquay airport reporting a new operator will resume flights to Heathrow under the public service obligation in September, only once a day; but in the interim BA^» (British Airways - about) flights to Heathrow will resume in July with it's limited service.
Eastern Airways will commence three flights a week to Teeside.
Logan Air? will commence it's Scottish flights, plus those to Newcastle, Norwich, Leeds.

The update on Newquay Airport's website in terms of what they are expecting to operate over the Summer can be seen here:
https://www.cornwallairportnewquay.com/campaigns/flight-start-dates

Nothing from Loganair now, although Eastern will operate from Leeds and Teeside.
Nothing from Manchester, which was a popular route in Flybe times.

The Airport Chairman has confirmed that flying to London under the PSO will have resumed by the beginning of September, and it will be to Heathrow once-a-day. An operator has not been named, as far as I can see, but bearing in mind that BA are due to operate their Summer (commercial, non-PSO) service starting on 18th July, running until early September, one would suspect that it will be them.

[southwest]

I wonder if it was being towed, taxying under its own power, or someone didn't check the parking brake.

Was being taxied apparently, after a few months parked-up.

Chat on aviation fora from people who know the Q400 is that this was probably a brake pressure accumulator issue. There is apparently a manual way to pump to create the pressure (a handle in one of the landing gear wells) but speculation is that this wasn't done.

I'm sure Loganair, who are starting to ramp up operations at the moment, could've well done without this.

It was parked up preparing for engine start. Chocks all removed and presumably the accumulator lost pressure. Although why nobody tried to use the tiller or rudder pedals is beyond me.

[TonyK]

It was parked up preparing for engine start. Chocks all removed and presumably the accumulator lost pressure. Although why nobody tried to use the tiller or rudder pedals is beyond me.

When it sort-of-nearly happened to me, it was because I had my head down with the checklist, going through the controls and dials, blissfully unaware that I was trundling majestically towards an expensive police helicopter until the instructor in the right-hand seat said "You might want to look out of the window...". Nosewheel steering on a Q400 is hydraulically powered, so maybe the horn wasn't working.

[southwest]

It was parked up preparing for engine start. Chocks all removed and presumably the accumulator lost pressure. Although why nobody tried to use the tiller or rudder pedals is beyond me.

When it sort-of-nearly happened to me, it was because I had my head down with the checklist, going through the controls and dials, blissfully unaware that I was trundling majestically towards an expensive police helicopter until the instructor in the right-hand seat said "You might want to look out of the window...". Nosewheel steering on a Q400 is hydraulically powered, so maybe the horn wasn't working.

It's hydraulically powered but can still work, basically like a car when power steering goes.

[TonyK]

It's hydraulically powered but can still work, basically like a car when power steering goes.

The AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch) report is going to be interesting.

[GBM]

https://www.flybe.com/en
On 28 January 2023, the High Court appointed David Pike and Mike Pink as Joint Administrators of Flybe Limited (“Flybe”).

Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

If you are a passenger affected by this event, please read the advice below.

(Continues)

[TonyK]

https://www.flybe.com/en
On 28 January 2023, the High Court appointed David Pike and Mike Pink as Joint Administrators of Flybe Limited (“Flybe”).

Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

If you are a passenger affected by this event, please read the advice below.

(Continues)

Sad, but it had a feel of inevitability. I'm sure it will be back one day, maybe for a little longer.

It's hydraulically powered but can still work, basically like a car when power steering goes.

The AAIB^▸ (Air Accident Investigation Branch) report is going to be interesting.

I had forgotten all about that. It wasn't that exciting as it happens. The summary says:

Summary:
G-JECK was to be flown from Aberdeen Airport to Weeze Airport, Germany. The aircraft had been in storage at Aberdeen since March 2020 and was parked on a self-manoeuvring stand which had a 1° slope. During the pre-departure checks, the chocks were removed from both the mainwheels and the nosewheels. The hydraulic pressure in the park brake system subsequently reduced to the point where the brakes could no longer prevent G JECK from moving, and the aircraft rolled across a taxiway before colliding with G-SAJS, which was parked on an adjacent stand. There were no injuries

The full AAIB report includes a photo of the outcome on page 48, and others of the incident later.