Hey Guys,

Happy New Year! I have a question regarding the An-148 and An-158. As per Cubana De Aviacion management theirs are grounded due to a series of mechanical failures and flight problems, as well as issues related to structural flaws. The aircraft were repeatedly grounded due to maintenance and lack of spare parts.https://newsroom.aviator.aero/cubana-ordered-to-ground-its-an-158-fleet/

It looks really serious and I don't see any chance for these birds to take a sky any time soon.

Now I know Air Koryo haven't flown for a while now but their An-148 don't seems to be as much affected as the Cuban An-158. Is there a reason?

The new Ukrainian Nathional Airlines and the current Air Ocean Airlines, also from Ukraine, are planning or are currently operating An-148. Is it a safe aircarft to fly?

Thanks for your feedback!

Cheers,

Alan

Hello, I was led to believe that the 'harsh' humid, tropical climate, took a serious toll on those airframes. Also, CU was operating them in what appeared to be a near-normal schedule in terms of flight hours.
Air Koryo on the other hand put only a handful of flight hours per week (or month!) into those birds, with supposedly much better care as well. I would also venture to say that Air Koryo might have stocked up on a number of items at the time of purchase..
While I know the An-148/58 have had 'some issues', I would not consider the jet 'per se' as unsafe. I would be simply concerned about maintenance standards and access to repair parts...

Throw into the mix the political situation between Russia & Ukraine, this has not helped Cubana with the planned MX and reactivation on the 158s. Sanctions have probably played a part in the saga.

Don't expect Air Ocean in Ukraine to be flying An-148/158 aircraft any time soon. They announced a suspension of all flying by the airline for 2 months with less than 24 hours notice. Excuse was a lack of aircraft but I'm not sure I believe that's the true reason

davidjohnson6 wrote:

Don't expect Air Ocean in Ukraine to be flying An-148/158 aircraft any time soon. They announced a suspension of all flying by the airline for 2 months with less than 24 hours notice. Excuse was a lack of aircraft but I'm not sure I believe that's the true reason

Very strange indeed. They did not even bother to paint the planes, which are still with the basic Angara Airlines livery. Here's a link to the story.

https://www.avianews.com/ukraine/2022/0 ... l_flights/

SR380 wrote:

Hey Guys,

Happy New Year! I have a question regarding the An-148 and An-158. As per Cubana De Aviacion management theirs are grounded due to a series of mechanical failures and flight problems, as well as issues related to structural flaws. The aircraft were repeatedly grounded due to maintenance and lack of spare parts.https://newsroom.aviator.aero/cubana-ordered-to-ground-its-an-158-fleet/

It looks really serious and I don't see any chance for these birds to take a sky any time soon.

Now I know Air Koryo haven't flown for a while now but their An-148 don't seems to be as much affected as the Cuban An-158. Is there a reason?

The new Ukrainian Nathional Airlines and the current Air Ocean Airlines, also from Ukraine, are planning or are currently operating An-148. Is it a safe aircarft to fly?

Thanks for your feedback!

Cheers,

Alan

I don't believe the Aircraft has structural issues, certainly haven't heard of any. An A148 crashed a few years back because the Pilots forgot to switch on the heater for the Pitot Tubes. Soon they got false Airspeeds etc which eventually led to a stall for memory. You could argue this is a design fault as it would surely be safer if the heater just comes on when you start the Motor.

The Russian Airforce is operating them, not sure if any still active in the Ukraine.

Rossiya did also operate the AN148, this article says all:

In the three months to September, including aircrew training flights, the company's five An-148 aircraft flew 1,725h with Rossiya. In that time, 235 problems occurred, requiring over 2,000 man-hours of repair work.

In one 92-day period, one aircraft was unfit to fly for 89 days, Rossiya says.

Rossiya says incidence of technical failure in its fleet occurred once every 344h in the An-148, every 5,355h in its Airbuses, and 2,824h in its Boeing 737s.

source: https://www.flightglobal.com/rossiya-sl ... 12.article

debonair wrote:

Rossiya did also operate the AN148, this article says all:

In the three months to September, including aircrew training flights, the company's five An-148 aircraft flew 1,725h with Rossiya. In that time, 235 problems occurred, requiring over 2,000 man-hours of repair work.

In one 92-day period, one aircraft was unfit to fly for 89 days, Rossiya says.

Rossiya says incidence of technical failure in its fleet occurred once every 344h in the An-148, every 5,355h in its Airbuses, and 2,824h in its Boeing 737s.

source: https://www.flightglobal.com/rossiya-sl ... 12.article

LOL, is a 3 percent mission capable rate good?

Thanks for all your feedback. As per the article posted by debonair it seems the aircraft isn't really reliable. Maybe Air Koryo can manage it as their flight schedule is really light. I am still wondering if Cubana is still paying their lease to IFC for these Antonov. They have bee flying for only 4 years!

I can't be the only 'old fogey' on here who saw this thread title and immediately started humming the 1971 Chicago single "Questions 67 and 68"...

SR380 wrote:

Thanks for all your feedback. As per the article posted by debonair it seems the aircraft isn't really reliable. Maybe Air Koryo can manage it as their flight schedule is really light. I am still wondering if Cubana is still paying their lease to IFC for these Antonov. They have bee flying for only 4 years!

You bet they are not. Cuba is the biggest deadbeat debtor when it comes to honoring its commitments. Although in this case it seems totally justified.

mga707 wrote:

I can't be the only 'old fogey' on here who saw this thread title and immediately started humming the 1971 Chicago single "Questions 67 and 68"...

Perhaps the version by the fantastic Russian Chicago tribute band Leonid & Friends is the perfect blend of these two concepts.