Three separate bird strike incidents in the northeast USA in the past 24h have caused schedule delays or damage for three airlines.

At approximately 18:30EST on 10 March, a Continental Airlines B777-200 departing New York’s Newark airport for Hong Kong hit a flock of birds shortly after take off from Runway 22. Continental flight 99, with 301 passengers and crew, returned to the airport for a safe landing about 90min later after entering holding pattern at 14,000ft (4,267m) to the southwest of the airport to burn fuel.

A US FAA spokesman says the aircraft hit the birds as it climbed through 300ft. After landing, the crew taxied to the gate, where maintenance crews determined that the aircraft’s left engine had ingested birds. The aircraft returned to service on 11 March after required borescope inspections revealed no damage to the engine, says a Continental spokeswoman. The airline offered hotel accommodations to the passengers and crew overnight and completed the route with a different aircraft this morning.

Also on 10 March, a Chautauqua Airlines Embraer ERJ-135 hit a flock of birds after departing Runway 23 at the Norfolk airport en route to Washington National airport. According to the FAA, Chautauqua Flight 2034 continued its flight after the incident, safely landing in Washington with fire and rescue services awaiting the arrival. The FAA says damage was limited to “a couple of bent fan blades” in the left engine and minor damage to the left wing.

Early on 11 March, a US Airways A319 with 124 passengers and crew hit a flock of birds on departure from Runway 22 at the Greater Rochester International airport and immediately returned for landing. The pilots of flight 1101, en route to Charlotte, reported hitting “a whole flock” of birds after departure, telling controllers that the engines continued to perform normally, though the right engine was indicating high exhaust gas temperatures. The aircraft landed safely.

Indian charter operator Taj Air has added two new aircraft to its fleet – a Dassault Falcon 2000LX business jet and a Piaggio P180 Avanti II twin turboprop, for which it is the exclusive distributor for Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Taj, which showcased the two aircraft at Indian Aviation 2010 earlier this month in Hyderabad, says the new additions to its fleet will “enhance its offering of efficient and highly personalised travel experience”.

The charter operator is owned by hotel group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which is part of India’s Tata Group. It has operated to more than 150 airports in 56 countries, says the company.

Taj’s Avanti II is able to carry six passengers, and has a range of 2,720km (1,470nm). The Falcon 2000LX is equipped to fly up to nine passengers to any destination within a radius of nine flying hours without refuelling, says Taj.

Both aircraft are equipped with a satellite telephone system and fax system for its business passengers.

Taj also performs maintenance on its Falcon jets and Avanti II from its $2.5 million maintenance facility in Mumbai.

Airmen will teach the first Iraqi air force college pilot-training course beginning in March with Iraq’s new T-6A trainer.

“It has a very powerful engine for its size,” said Lt. Col. Charles Westbrook, the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron commander deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The first class will consist of more than 20 current Iraqi air force pilots, some who will continue in training to be the first group of instructors at the college.

The T-6 is the second “step” of an 18-month pilot training program. Aspiring pilots must first complete 20 training hours in a Cessna 172 Skymaster learning basic flight fundamentals.

“The difference, obviously, is in the United States they go from a T-6 into either a T-38 Talon or T-1 Jayhawk,” Colonel Westbrook said. “Iraqi students will spend their entire year in the T-6 and move on to operational platforms.”

The more than 20 Airmen in the 52nd EFTS — in careers ranging from maintenance to life support — are preparing the school for the incoming class.

The faculty is also coordinating operational requirements such as air-traffic procedures with the Army aviation unit at Contingency Operating Base Speicher to maintain airspace for T-6 training flights, as well as standing up maintenance and refueling operations to keep the aircraft in the air and train Iraqi ground crews.

NEWTOWN, Conn: Boeing announced plans to offer the KC-767 in the competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a new tanker under the long-delayed KC-X tanker program. The selection of the KC-767 for the job over a potential entry based on the larger Boeing 777 was expected after the Air Force released its final KC-X Request for Proposals on February 24, because the final RFP favors a smaller aircraft than the notional KC-777.

Boeing’s KC-767 offering is based on the Boeing 767 widebody airliner. The new tanker variant will feature a new digital flight deck taken directly from Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner and a new fly-by-wire boom system. Boeing also claims that its tanker program “will support substantially more jobs in the United States than an Airbus A330 tanker that is designed and largely manufactured in Europe.”

Boeing had initially selected Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines for its KC-X entrant, but has reportedly considered General Electric’s GEnx engine developed for the 787 and 747-8.

The company has built KC-767 tankers for Italy and Japan, but these aircraft do not feature the 787’s cockpit and use mission systems that are substantially different from those to be used in the KC-X aircraft, due to the U.S. Air Force’s different requirements.