Briefings ^BETA

China Airlines CI840 Boeing 737 Stuck in Taxiway Pavement Hole at Bangkok：China Airlines flight CI840 was scheduled to depart Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (KHH) for Kaohsiung at 18:35 on October 28, operated by a Boeing 737-800 registered B-18665. While the aircraft was taxiing for departure, it encountered a large hole in the taxiway pavement; its wheels became trapped in the depression and the jet could not move, so the flight never departed. Video and photos posted by passengers on Threads show the aircraft stopped on the apron at night, with broken pavement and scattered debris beneath the fuselage near the landing gear as ground crew in high-visibility vests worked around it. China Airlines CI840 Boeing 737

File photo · Dltl2010 · CC0

Taiwan grounds Army AH-64E Apaches after US gearbox alert; Super Cobras and Kiowas to fill roles：The U.S. Army ordered the grounding of hundreds of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in October because of a potential gearbox issue linked to part design and material concerns. Taiwan grounds Army AH-64E Apaches

Boeing admits it will miss 500-jet 737 MAX delivery target as wing output lags：Boeing has confirmed it will miss its target of delivering about 500 737 MAX aircraft in 2026, because wing production cannot keep pace. The company delivered 367 737s in the first nine months of 2026, leaving 133 deliveries needed in the fourth quarter to reach the target, while the third-quarter average was just above 41 per month, below the roughly 44 per month required in the final quarter. Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said on the company's earnings call that wing production remains the main constraint on 737 MAX output, noting that all 737 MAX wings are built at Renton and are among the first major parts assembled, so any slowdown there limits the whole production plan. Boeing admits it will miss 500-jet

File photo · Sg1959 · CC BY-SA 4.0

US Air Force puts Lockheed Martin's troubled hypersonic ARRW into production：The US Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract to produce and field the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Department of the Air Force announced on October 26, 2026. The contract had been awarded on September 29, 2026, under the Department of War's Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract. Citing operational security, the department did not disclose how many weapons were ordered or when deliveries would begin. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink described ARRW as a turning point and as a high-speed weapon able to penetrate advanced air defenses. US Air Force puts Lockheed Martin s

Source image · U.S. Air Force／Christopher Okula · Public domain (U.S. Government)

Airbus and Air France Finalise Joint Venture Alpha Component Solutions for A350 Support：Airbus and Air France have finalized the establishment of a 50-50 joint venture named Alpha Component Solutions, dedicated to supporting Airbus A350 operators worldwide. The new entity is operated jointly between Airbus and Air France-KLM to manage a global shared-access pool, providing aircraft component assets, maintenance services, supply chain management, and repair capabilities for A350 customers. Airbus and Air France Finalise Joint

File photo · 4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0

Airbus A350F's public-designed parcel livery takes to the skies on first test aircraft：Airbus's first A350F freighter now flies in a livery designed by the public, wrapping the fuselage in a parcel motif that reflects the cargo the aircraft carries. The design came from graphic designer John Feehan of Dublin and brothers Quinnten and Ellisten Iversen of Calgary, winners of an open competition that drew more than 4,000 entries. Their two submissions were merged by Airbus's corporate design team into a single livery, unveiled with the winners at the Paris Air Show in June 2023, and the winners' names are painted on the fuselage of the first A350F. Airbus A350F s public-designed

Discover Airlines retires its last Airbus A330‑200, the aircraft that flew its first commercial flight：Lufthansa’s Discover Airlines confirmed on 28 October 2026 the retirement of its last Airbus A330‑200 (registration D‑AXGE). The aircraft operated the final commercial flight 4Y51 from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), landing at 06:36 local time after an almost seven‑hour overnight sector. Discover Airlines retires its last

File photo · Richard Toft

FAA Awards $5.3 Million to JetZero for Engine Flight Testing on Jet1 Demonstrator：JetZero announced on October 28, 2026, that it has been selected to receive $5.3 million under Phase IV of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program. The funding will support engine and nacelle instrumentation on Jet1, the full-scale blended-wing-body demonstrator aircraft currently under construction in Long Beach, California, ahead of its scheduled first flight in the fourth quarter of 2027. FAA Awards 5.3 Million to JetZero

File photo · Markus Eigenheer from Genève, Schweiz · CC BY-SA 2.0