Latest / Aviator Daily Briefing / Aviator Daily Briefing — Sunday, October 25th, 2026
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- Aviator Daily Briefing — Sunday, October 25th, 2026 [Breaking News Headlines] • Asia One Air Caravan Veers Off Runway at Bilorai, 2 Hurt [In Other News] • ATC Halts Air Canada Express Jet, Prevents St. Louis Runway Incursion • PK-LTF Accident Record Updated After Indonesia Runway Excursion • Riyadh Airport Reopens Terminals 1 and 2 as Some Airlines Stay Grounded • Firefighters' Videos Reveal New Details in Fatal Yosemite Super Puma Crash Asia One Air Caravan Veers Off Runway at Bilorai, 2 Hurt BILORAI, Indonesia — Oct. 24, 2026 — Two Indonesian Army personnel were injured Saturday after an Asia One Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, registration PK-LTF, suffered a left main landing gear collapse on touchdown at Bilorai Airport in Intan Jaya, Central Papua, Indonesia. All 10 occupants aboard survived. According to Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the aircraft was operating a scheduled flight from Timika to Sugapa with two crew members and eight passengers on board. The aircraft touched down on Runway 09 before the left main gear collapsed, causing the Caravan to slide down the runway, veer left, and strike an embankment. Local police identified the two injured passengers as Chief Sergeant Matheus, who sustained a waist injury, and First Corporal Johar, who suffered a head injury. Both injuries were described as moderate. The remaining six passengers — including one police officer and four civilians — along with both crew members were reported uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the main landing gear and fuselage. Indonesian news agency ANTARA reported that the gear failure produced a severe jolt during the landing sequence. Some local reports, including from Suara Surabaya, cited unconfirmed accounts that a tire may have detached prior to or during touchdown; however, investigators have not confirmed that detail. Indonesian police and civil aviation authorities are investigating the cause of the excursion. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed the gear failure as the initiating event, but the precise mechanical cause — whether structural failure, tire separation, or another factor — has not yet been determined. Bilorai Airport serves the remote Intan Jaya regency and is a critical air link for communities in Central Papua's highland interior. Source: Aviation Safety Network (ASN Wikibase ) ATC Halts Air Canada Express Jet, Prevents St. Louis Runway Incursion Air traffic controllers prevented a runway incursion at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (KSTL) on Oct. 20, 2026, after issuing urgent stop instructions to an Air Canada Express regional jet that had been cleared for departure on Runway 12R while a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 was already on final approach. The incident occurred at approximately 9:10 a.m. local time. The Air Canada Express flight — a CRJ900 operated by Jazz Aviation and bound for Toronto — had received a departure clearance when controllers recognized that the inbound Southwest flight, arriving from Minneapolis, had already been cleared to land on the same runway. Tower controllers immediately reversed the departure clearance, transmitting urgent "stop, stop" instructions to the regional jet. The aircraft halted before crossing the hold-short line, maintaining the required separation. Radio recordings indicate the Southwest crew queried whether their landing clearance remained valid; the tower confirmed it, and the 737-800 landed without further incident. No injuries were reported. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the Air Canada Express aircraft did not enter the protected runway area, meaning the event may not meet the formal regulatory threshold for a runway incursion classification, despite the clear operational risk. The FAA has not announced enforcement actions. The quick response by KSTL controllers drew attention to the critical role of tower awareness in preventing surface conflicts, and the incident is under standard safety review. PK-LTF Accident Record Updated After Indonesia Runway Excursion The Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation updated the official PK-LTF accident record Oct. 25, 2026, providing specific details about a runway excursion that occurred the previous day. The regulatory update confirms the aircraft veered off the runway during touchdown at Bilorai Airport in Central Papua. According to the regulator, the PK-LTF aircraft record involves an Asia One Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that departed Timika at approximately 7:40 a.m. local time Oct. 24. Upon landing on Runway 09, the aircraft drifted left after touchdown and came to rest in the grass, sustaining damage to the main landing gear. All 10 occupants — eight passengers and two crew members — survived the incident. Two individuals sustained moderate injuries. Local police and aviation authorities are investigating whether the excursion was caused by a landing gear mechanical failure or other factors. Riyadh Airport Reopens Terminals 1 and 2 as Some Airlines Stay Grounded King Khalid International Airport resumed limited operations at Terminals 1 and 2 on Oct. 25, 2026, following a two-week closure triggered by security disruptions and reported missile strikes on Oct. 10 and 11. The reopening is phased: Terminal 1 is designated for domestic flights, while Terminal 2 will handle international services operated by Saudi national carriers. Despite the King Khalid International Airport announcement, full operational normalization has not been achieved. Many foreign carriers continue to review their schedules, and airport authorities have urged passengers to verify flight status directly with their airlines before arriving. Air India and Air India Express have extended their service suspensions, with flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam paused through Nov. 7 and services involving Jeddah suspended through Oct. 31 — underscoring the gap between the terminal reopening and individual airline operational decisions. The closure followed reported attacks on the airport complex that caused casualties and facility damage. Saudi aviation authorities kept the airport closed to conduct safety inspections and assess operational readiness. The disruption comes as Riyadh presses ahead with a broader aviation expansion under the King Salman International Airport development program, making the swift, if partial, resumption of services a significant milestone for regional connectivity. Firefighters' Videos Reveal New Details in Fatal Yosemite Super Puma Crash Investigators are using ground-based and cellphone video to reconstruct the final moments of an Airbus AS332 L1 Super Puma that crashed near Ostrander Lake in Yosemite National Park. The aircraft, operated by Precision Helicopters/Valiair under contract for wildfire suppression, was conducting water-bucket drops on the Dome Fire when it went down, killing both pilots — Ryan Cutter and Greg King. The National Transportation Safety Board reviewed footage, reported by ABC30, showing the helicopter completed two additional water drops before the fatal accident. The imagery revealed the bucket remained above the tree canopy during the first drop; in the final sequence, however, investigators observed the bucket descending vertically while water was still flowing from its base before the aircraft struck the ground. The visual evidence gives investigators a clearer picture of the helicopter's flight path and bucket behavior in the moments before impact. The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration are working to reconcile the video record with flight data and wreckage analysis. Officials have not yet established a probable cause for the crash. The investigation remains focused on the operational hazards of low-level aerial firefighting in rugged wilderness terrain — conditions that place crews under significant time and environmental pressure during active fire suppression operations. You can get the latest aviation news at https://aviatordb.com