Japanese airline lands test flight of new plane
HONOLULU — All Nippon Airways completed a test flight of a new wide-body aircraft with its arrival in Hawaii.
The Japanese airline completed the first of two tests when the Airbus A380 “Flying Honu” touched down Wednesday at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, according to news reports.
The four-engine jet arrived from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport about 7:45 a.m., followed by a blessing ceremony for the double-decker aircraft that was painted to look like a giant turtle. It can seat about 520 passengers.
The test flight carried two pilots, three airline employees and three passengers from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, an equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The test was another step toward All Nippon Airways’ 2020 goal of doubling the number of seats on flights connecting Honolulu and Tokyo.
Honu was chosen for the aircraft’s name to symbolize “good fortune and prosperity” and the company’s support of Hawaii conservation efforts, the airline said.
Governor visits Maui jail following riot and escape
WAILUKU, Maui — Gov. David Ige visited a corrections facility on Maui, where a riot and an escape recently took place, according to news reports.
Ige toured the Maui Community Correctional Center on Tuesday with state Department of Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda and Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino.
The visit came about a month after a riot caused millions in damage and two days after 2 pretrial detainees escaped through a back door and over a fence before later surrendering to police.
The officials toured the grounds and surveyed about $51,000 in repairs, including wired security glass in control rooms, new glass in cell windows and doors, and paint used to cover burn marks resulting from the March 11 riot, when more than 200 inmates breached their cells in two modules.