Flight Safety Information June 8, 2015 - No. 111 In This Issue Two Southwest planes clip each other on runway at Los Angeles airport 2 flight attendants injured by turbulence on way to IND Frequency of general aviation accidents still troubling for NTSB Plane Skids Off Runway at Buffalo Niagara Airport Bee causes plane to make emergency landing! India's Growing Problem of Under-Qualified Yet Certified Pilots Honolulu-bound jet diverted to LAX after toilets malfunction PROS 2015 TRAINING British scientists invent aircraft wings that can fix themselves in mid-flight EU, US General Aviation Design Regulations Being Aligned UNITED NATIONS Position Announcement Solar Sail Spacecraft Back From the Dead Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Two Southwest planes clip each other on runway at Los Angeles airport Collision happened at Burbank Bop Hope airport on Saturday morning The Boeing 737s were parked at adjoining gates, said airport spokesman No one was injured and both planes were taken out of service for inspection Involved Flight 4721 to Sacramento and Flight 2183 to Phoenix 220 passengers had to be put on different flights following the accident Two Southwest planes clipped wings at a Los Angeles airport, forcing the airline to move more than 200 passengers on to different flights Saturday morning. Flight 4721 was pushing back from its gate in preparation for take-off to Sacramento when it clipped the wing of another Boeing 737 at Burbank Bob Hope Airport around 7.30am, airport officials said. Southwest said in a statement that no one was injured by the accident and both planes were taken out of service for an inspection. Two Southwest Airlines planes clipped wings at Burbank Bob Hope Airport around 7.30am Saturday The planes had been parked at adjoining gates. They were taken out of service for inspection after the accident The planes had been parked at adjoining gates, airport spokesman Victor Gill told the Los Angeles Times. Flight 4721 had 106 passengers and Flight 2183 to Phoenix had 114 passengers. One passenger told NBC Los Angeles that spirits were high on her plane despite the delay. Plane evacuated and searched at Philadelphia airport after... 'Everyone had a good feeling about it,' she said. 'Everyone was laughing.' She added that, although it was 'a bit of an inconvenience', she was glad the collision happened on the ground instead of mid-air. Another passenger said Southwest did a good job of keeping everyone 'nice and calm and cool'. An airport spokeswoman said no runways had to be closed immediately following the accident. More than 200 passengers had to be put on different flights after the Boeing 737s collided. Flight 4721 to Sacramento had 106 passengers http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3114431/Two-Southwest-planes-clip-Burbank- Airport.html#ixzz3cSRU8Swx Back to Top 2 flight attendants injured by turbulence on way to IND INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Two flight attendants were injured due to turbulence during a Delta Airlines flight headed to Indianapolis International Airport Sunday night, according to airport police. A female attendant was reportedly gathering trash in the aisle when turbulence knocked her down. She was taken to a local hospital with a minor leg injury. A male attendant was also injured. He was treated and released at the scene. The plane, which originated in Boston's Logan International Airport, landed in Indianapolis around 10:45 p.m. Storms slammed Central Indiana Sunday evening. Tornado warnings were issued in at least two counties in the region and much of the region experienced rain and strong winds. http://wishtv.com/2015/06/07/delta-flight-attendant-injured-by-turbulence-on-way-to- ind/ Back to Top Frequency of general aviation accidents still troubling for NTSB WASHINGTON - Transportation safety has been generally improving across the board except in one area: general aviation. "We're troubled that the general aviation safety trend has been flat for few years," NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart told WTOP. "When you break out the personal flying from the business flying, the business flying is improving which means the personal flying is getting worse which is troubling." Hart addressed the topic with attendees of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Homecoming Fly-in Saturday morning in Frederick, Va. "We are the accident investigators, so we are there when something goes wrong," Hart explained. "That's why we inform the process of improvement is because we see what actually went wrong as opposed to what might go wrong. We've seen it and been there up close and personal with what really did go wrong." The NTSB investigates about 1,500 general aviation accidents every year, whereas the agency can go years at a time without a commercial aviation accident. The biggest cause of death in general aviation crashes is from loss of control, generally some form of aerodynamic stall. "It basically comes down to the familiarity of the pilot with the machine, the situation, and being ready for the unexpected," noted Hart. The NTSB chairman also said there are other factors that pilots need to consider to understand their risk when they takeoff. "How current are you, how long has it been since you last flew, how good is your training, are you ready to go into that weather you are expecting to encounter, do you even know what the weather is you expect to encounter?" Hart said that pilots need to know the weather conditions, whether that is thunderstorms rumbling through in the summer or ice in the winter, to help reduce their risk of a crash. He also recommended shoulder belts for all on board rather than lap belts to reduce the chance of death just in case something does go wrong. http://wtop.com/local/2015/06/frequency-of-general-aviation-accidents-still-troubling- for-ntsb/ Back to Top Plane Skids Off Runway at Buffalo Niagara Airport A United Airlines plane from Washington, D.C. skidded off the runway at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport late Sunday night. CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y.-- A United Airlines plane from Washington, D.C. skidded off the runway at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport late Sunday night. United Express Flight 3796 attempted to land on a slick runway when the plane skidded about 300 feet off the pavement into the grass "safety area." The incident happened near the northwest part of the airport near Wehrle Drive and Cayuga Road. The pilot told the passengers that a strong gust of wind carried the plane off the runway. After emergency crews arrived, fire officials assured the 69 passengers that there were no mechanical issues with the aircraft and that they were not in any danger. Shuttles soon arrived to transport the passengers back to the terminal. There were no injuries reported. http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2015/06/08/plane-off-runway/28671539/ Back to Top Bee causes plane to make emergency landing! In a bizarre incident, a plane from Southampton to Dublin was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing due to the presence of an unwanted passenger -- a bee. A Flybe plane with a few dozen passengers travelling from Southampton to Dublin turned back after the pilot of flight BE384 decided to return to the airport following a "suspected technical issue". Engineers combing the plane on the ground for the source of the issue got a sting in the tail when they discovered the tiny yellow and black culprit, which did not survive the ordeal. "Flybe can confirm that flight BE384 travelling to Dublin returned from airborne to Southampton following a suspected technical issue. The aircraft landed without incident and all passengers disembarked as normal," a spokeswoman was quoted by The Independent as saying. "Upon inspection, Flybe engineers did discover that the cause of the issue was a bee that had become lodged in an item of instrumentation on the outside of the aircraft," she said. "The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline's number one priority and Flybe regrets any inconvenience experienced as a result of the delay to this flight," she added. While back on the ground, the passengers told how the pilot announced the bumblebee's remains were being removed from the instruments before they could take off again on Friday. The plane had been in the air for around ten minutes before returning to Southampton, media reports said. The flight was then delayed by two hours before it embarked for a second time. Passenger Noel Rooney said, "Well, that's never happened to me before. A bumblebee got stuck in the wind instrument on the Flybe flight BE384. Yes, Flybee." Insects can cause serious problems for planes. In 1996, wasps blocked a pitot tube -- which measures airspeed -- on a Boeing 757 flying from the Dominican Republic. The plane crashed killing all 189 people on board shortly after take-off. And in 1980, a Florida Commuter Airlines flight with wasps in its pitot tubes crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 34 people. http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/bee-causes-plane-to-make- emergency-landing-115060800279_1.html Back to Top India's Growing Problem of Under-Qualified Yet Certified Pilots Unmanaged growth and hyper-competition doesn't always make for the safest experience when you need to take the time to properly train the talent behind the controls. Airplanes on the tarmac at Chennai International Airport. Anupam Verma has a certificate that shows he has flown an aircraft for 360 hours. He says he got it after sitting in the co-pilot's seat for just 35 minutes. He's one of dozens of pilots in the country who obtained certificates showing inflated flying hours and ground training, according to court documents and interviews with pilots, regulators and industry analysts. The son of a poor farmer, Verma was given a 2.8 million-rupee ($44,000) subsidy by the Indian government to learn to fly a commercial jet. "What if I was flying and had an emergency? I wouldn't even know how or where to land," Verma, 25, said in an interview. "We'd kill not only the passengers, but we might crash in a village and kill even more people." The spotlight on aviation safety has swung from aircraft reliability to pilot reliability in the past few years after a series of disasters that were thought to be either deliberate acts of destruction, or the result of inadequate training. The latest, in March, killed 150 people when Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz appears to have locked his captain out of the cockpit and flown his jet into a mountain. Last year, a Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 on board mysteriously changed course en- route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur and headed off for thousands of kilometers into the Indian Ocean. The plane still hasn't been found and the cause of the disaster remains unknown. Concern about the quality of India's pilots has been building over the past decade as a proliferation of budget airlines created demand for hundreds of new pilots. In 2011, the government reviewed the licenses of all 4,000-plus airline pilots in the country, as police investigated at least 18 people suspected of using forged documents to win promotions or certification. The findings of the review were not made public. "The fudging of log books is rampant both in airlines and in flying clubs," said Mohan Ranganathan, a former commercial pilot and aviation safety consultant based in Chennai. He said the 2011 audit found violations in most flying clubs in the country. "Hours were logged with aircraft not even in airworthy condition. One aircraft had no engines but several hundred hours were logged." Read MoreAir India to Reduce Losses As it is Poised to Enter the Star Alliance Asked about the continued use of fake certificates, India's Director General of Civil Aviation, M. Sathiyavathy, said on April 24 the directorate would be conducting a new audit that would require the "recertification of all the flying schools." Fake Flying Over logging has been common practice in India since the 1960s, according to a retired commander who has flown in India for over 40 years and asked not to be named because the information was confidential. With the increase in budget airlines the typical number of faked hours rose from about 20 hours to a peak of as much as 150, he said. He said airlines can soon tell if a pilot has faked certificates because they don't have basic skills, but the carrier can't fire them because they have DGCA licenses. To bring them up to scratch, airlines have to do expensive corrective training, he said. Of India's seven major airlines, Tata SIA Airlines Ltd.'s Vistara said it is aware of over logging, but tests all new pilots and provides its own training. SpiceJet Ltd. said it only hires from prestigious air schools and tests and trains all new pilots. IndiGo, Air India Ltd., Jet Airways India Ltd. and AirAsia India Ltd. didn't respond to e-mails and phone calls about the issue. Go Airlines India Pvt. Ltd. declined to comment. The rise of budget carriers not only increased demand for pilots, it also sparked a price war that wiped out the industry's profit. India's carriers have lost $10 billion in the past seven years as they offered base fares as low as 1 rupee (2 cents). That works out as a loss of about $22 for each passenger that stepped on board during the period, according to the Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation. Yet, for people like Verma, the award of a government grant to learn to fly is a chance to escape poverty. His father supports his family of seven by selling vegetables grown on a plot of land half the size of a football field. Most of his siblings only work part-time to supplement the income. Yash Air Verma enrolled in December 2009 at Yash Air, a flying school in the city of Indore, halfway between Mumbai and Delhi. On his first day, he said he was taken on a 35- minute "air- experience" flight to give him a feel of what it was like to be in a plane. Moments after the aircraft landed, he was handed a certificate of flying for 360 hours, he said in an interview on June 1. He said he was told he will do the actual flying later during the course, but that he eventually flew for just 3 hours at the school. When Verma and other trainee pilots realized they weren't going to gain the necessary flying experience, they complained to the school and Verma sued for return of the money he paid. The Allahabad High Court ordered that his fees be returned, according to a court order in February this year. "Several discrepancies have been noticed with regard to over logging of flight details, flight authorization, maintenance of various log books and fuel consumption registers," according to a DGCA enquiry into the complaints about Yash Air, dated June 6, 2014, a copy of which was given to Bloomberg News. On May 19, 2010, a qualified pilot from Yash Air took a trainee pilot on a "joy ride" in a Cessna-152 and hit a power line, according to the DGCA's final report into the accident. The two-seater, single-engined trainer crashed into a dry river bed, splitting into five pieces and killing the men. They were both about 20 years old, according to the report, dated Dec. 17, 2010. The owner and chief trainer at the school, Yash Raj Tongia, was appointed as the DGCA's director of flying and training in 2011, even though his flying skills were "below standard," the June 2014 DGCA report said. Court Ruling Yash Air changed its name to Centaur Aviation Academy Pvt. Ltd. after the allegations were made in 2010, according to the Allahabad High Court. Yash Air issued certificates to its students without conducting ground classes and flying training, the court said in December 2014. Attempts to get the flying school or Tongia to comment on Verma's claims were unsuccessful. Calls to Tongia's mobile phone number listed in the court documents were unanswered. Kshemendra Shukla, one of the lawyers who represents Yash Air, said he doesn't have any contact number for Tongia. He didn't respond to questions concerning Yash Air. Telephone numbers for Yash Air and Centaur Aviation were no longer in service. The DGCA said Centaur Aviation's approval remains suspended. Even with the minimum 200 hours mandated by the Indian government, pilots would be unlikely to have experienced all of the weather and other conditions they're likely to meet flying a commercial jet, said Neil Hansford, an aviation consultant, who has worked in the industry in Asia, Europe and his home country, Australia since 1984. Airlines should hire pilots with at least 1,000 hours of flying time and preferably match the 1,500 hours mandated by Qantas Airways Ltd., he said. Pilots in countries like Australia often gain years of experience in general aviation - delivering mail to remote areas, ferrying mine workers or in the Royal Flying Doctor Service - before flying jetliners. That will test a pilot in a variety of conditions, so "when the chips are down, they still remember the basics of stick-and-rudder flying," Hansford said. "The wrong time to be challenged is when you have 300 people behind you." Asian Carriers For budget airlines in Asia, that's often not an option. Singapore's Tiger Airways Holding Ltd. said it hires holders of multi-crew or commercial pilot licenses with about 200 flying hours and then gives them further training. Full-service carrier Asiana Airlines Inc., based in Seoul, looks for at least 300 hours, said spokesman Daewoong Im. "Realistically, it's difficult to get a non-military person with more than 300 flying hours," he said. Carriers also use simulators and other ground training to improve pilots' experience. In India, many private Indian flying schools began as clubs that trained pilots without formal regulations. While schools in the U.S. use a Hobbs Meter, which automatically logs flight times and other data for training aircraft, some Indian schools still enter flight times by hand, making it easier to falsify data. Indian flying academies that falsify data run cars on aviation fuel to avoid a mismatch between flight times and fuel consumption, said three people who have worked directly with flying schools in the country. India's government has made successive efforts to stamp out false documentation and improve safety in the industry. After the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded India's safety rating in 2014 on concerns over insufficient manpower, India hired more safety inspectors and carried out a fresh audit of its airlines. The FAA restored India to its top safety tier in April. Fewer Accidents Since 2000, the number of fatal aviation accidents in India has declined, data from Aviation Safety Network show. The last major airline disaster was in 2010, when an Air India Express plane overshot the runway in the city of Mangalore and burst into flames, killing 158 people. India is putting in "a lot of effort" to ensure safety of airline passengers and student pilots, civil aviation chief Sathiyavathy told reporters on April 24. The DGCA didn't respond to phone calls and text messages asking for comment on the issue of fake certificates. That hasn't stopped under-trained pilots applying for jobs with the nation's biggest airlines. One qualified pilot, who asked not to be named because it may harm his career, said he completed fewer than 120 of the 200 hours his certificates say he has done. He said he is in the process of applying to fly for IndiGo, the nation's biggest carrier. Another pilot, who said his certificates showed an inflated number of hours for solo flights, applied to Air India. Neither of the two pilots has been hired by the airlines. As for Verma, he said he passed the entrance exam to the government-owned Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi in Uttar Pradesh. He's looking forward to finally learning to fly this year. http://skift.com/2015/06/07/indias-growing-problem-of-under-qualified-yet-certified- pilots/ Back to Top Honolulu-bound jet diverted to LAX after toilets malfunction A Honolulu-bound jetliner had to divert to Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday after three of the six toilets onboard malfunctioned, authorities said. American Airlines Flight 005, a Boeing 767-300 with 212 passengers and 10 crew members, landed at LAX at about noon, said airline spokeswoman Alexis Aran Coello. The wide-body jet took off from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at 10:38 a.m. local time on a scheduled 81/2 hour nonstop flight to Hawaii. Toilet clog? I guess it's true that Texans always do things in a big way including taking a dump. The plane landed at LAX with about five hours of fuel remaining, prompting the control tower to call in fire crews to be on hand in case of an emergency. The plane landed without incident and taxied safely, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. Maintenance crews were trying to fix the lavatories and there was no estimated time of departure from Los Angeles, Aran Coello said. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lax-divert-20150607-story.html Back to Top Back to Top British scientists invent aircraft wings that can fix themselves in mid-flight in breakthrough for 'self-healing technology' Aircraft wings invented which can fix themselves mid-flight after bird strike Team of British scientists at University of Bristol made the breakthrough They created an agent which leaks into carbon fibre cracks and hardens Self-healing nail varnish, golf clubs, fishing rods & tennis racquets all now possible It's a futuristic concept bordering on science fiction but scientists believe they have created aircraft wings that can fix themselves in mid-flight - and they say it heralds a breakthrough in self-healing technology. This week the team of British scientists will unveil their major technological advancement - billed as a crucial step in the emerging scientific field - at a Royal Society meeting in London. It means self-healing nail polish, golf clubs, tennis racquets, fishing rods, bike helmets and the end of cracked mobile phone screens could all now be just around the corner. Breakthrough: A team of scientists at the University of Bristol have developed technology which allows damaged aircraft wings to repair themselves mid-flight The research, which a team of University of Bristol scientists have spent the past three years working on, would allow aircraft wings to repair themselves mid-flight following a bird strike. Speaking to The Independent on Sunday about developing the technology, the team's leader Professor Duncan Wass said he expected consumers to be able to purchase self- healing products in the 'very near future'. The researchers worked with aerospace engineers at the university to look at ways to prevent tiny cracks forming in an aircraft's wings and fuselage. The solution they came up with involves adding tiny, hollow 'microspheres' to the carbon fibre composite materials used widely in the manufacture of commercial aircraft wings. These break on impact, releasing a liquid healing agent which seeps into the cracks left by the damage. It then comes into contact with a catalyst which triggers a rapid chemical reaction that causes the agent to harden. The material was found to be just as strong after it was 'healed'. Professor Duncan Wass (pictured) is the leader of the team. The solution the scientists came up with involves fixing carbon fibre composite materials used widely in the manufacture of commercial aircraft wings Professor Wass said: 'We took inspiration from the human body. 'We've not evolved to withstand any damage - if we were like that we'd have a skin as thick as a rhinoceros - but if we do get damaged, we bleed, and it scabs and heals. 'We just put that same sort of function into a synthetic material: let's have something that can heal itself.' Airline safety checks could also be made far cheaper with the help of the technology. A dye could be added to the healing agent causing any damage to an aircraft to show up like a bruise. Engineers would therefore be able to identify damaged areas quickly when examining the plane - but a tweak would be made to cater for nervous fliers. Professor Wass said the dye used would be invisible to the naked eye and only show up when an ultraviolet light was put on it. We're definitely getting to the stage where in the next five or 10 years we're going to see things like mobile phone screens that can heal themselves if they crack Professor Duncan Wass The healing material, Professor Wass also said, can take anywhere between a couple of hours and a day to recover - with warmer temperatures accelerating it and colder destinations such as a runway in Reykjavik, Iceland during winter taking longer. When the research is presented this week at the conference titled Catalysis Improving Society it will be one of the first events at which the team's achievements have been detailed in public. The advances could apply to all kinds of carbon fibre composite materials - including golf clubs and tennis racquets. And using the same general principle, but slightly different technology, self-healing nail varnish could also be a possibility. The cosmetics firm L'Oréal has contacted the scientists to register its interest. Professor Wass added: 'We're definitely getting to the stage where in the next five or 10 years we're going to see things like mobile phone screens that can heal themselves if they crack.' Self-healing technology first emerged in 2001, when researchers at the University of Illinois in the US created a plastic capable of repairing itself when it cracked. The same team followed that up in 2014 by creating a polymer, inspired by the human blood-clotting system, which patched holes up to 3cm wide. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3114435/British-scientists-invent-aircraft- wings-fix-mid-flight-breakthrough-self-healing-technology.html#ixzz3cSPojKb9 Back to Top EU, US General Aviation Design Regulations Being Aligned FAA's revised Part 23 regulation will be a performance-based approach to airworthiness standards. It is a top priority for the agency. The European Aviation Safety Agency plans to reorganize its rules to follow the FAA's approach in a revised Part 23, the regulation that sets design standards for general aviation aircraft, FAA announced June 5. FAA's revised regulation will be a performance- based approach to airworthiness standards, and it is a top priority for the agency, which has set a goal to reduce the general aviation fatal accident rate by 10 percent over a 10- year period (2009-2018). FAA established an Aviation Rulemaking Committee in August 2011 to revitalize general aviation safety worldwide, with members from industry and government on the committee and observers from FAA's international counterparts participating. The committee presented its recommendations to FAA in June 2013; the agency reported that the Part 23 rewrite "will set a standard that improves safety, enables innovation, streamlines the certification process and reduces costs by using international consensus standards to implement the regulations." "The FAA and our global aviation partners are committed to streamlining the certification process for general aviation airplanes while enhancing safety throughout the world," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "The FAA is working on completing our proposal as quickly as possible." http://ohsonline.com/articles/2015/06/08/eu-us-general-aviation.aspx Back to Top UNITED NATIONS Position Announcement Ref. No.: TJO/2015/014 TEMPORARY JOB OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT P-2 Associate Aviation Safety Officer TJO Grade Level1 Functional Title Aviation Safety Unit Department/Office/Division/ Service/Section Management & Operations Support / Logistics Deadline June 15, 2015 Duty Station: El Fasher (Sudan) Estimated Start Date: 1 July 2015 Duration of need: 6 months Open to External Candidates? YES DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Aviation Safety Unit is responsible for providing recommendations to the Mission's management on all aviation safety related matters, promoting aviation safety awareness and implementing the mission aviation safety programs. The Aviation Safety Unit is also responsible for identification of aviation hazards and participation in the risk evaluation and risk mitigation processes. The Unit is also responsible for processing occurrence and hazard reports, and identification of trends. It may participate in the investigation of incidents and accidents. The Aviation Safety Unit also coordinates and provides aviation safety related training/exercises such as hazard identification and awareness, aviation emergency response plan exercises and drills, and prepares and distributes aviation safety awareness materials. Under the direct supervision of the Mission's Chief Aviation Safety Officer (CASO), the Associate Aviation Safety Officer will be responsible for the following duties: * As directed, assists in the implementation of the mission's Aviation Safety Programme, which includes but is not limited to promoting safety and safety awareness in the Mission. * Identifies aviation safety hazards and provides guidance on Aviation Risk Management activities. * Carries out safety inspections, assessments and surveys. * Identifies safety trends and conducts site inspections. * Compiles aviation safety statistics, maintains and processes aircraft occurrence reports. * Distributes safety literature, newsletters and consolidated reports to appropriate areas. * Organizes safety briefings and training. * Performing other duties as required. Apply to: habil@un.org https://careers.un.org/lbw/Home.aspx Back to Top Solar Sail Spacecraft Back From the Dead Artist rendering of Planetary Society's experimental LightSail spacecraft. Ground control teams hope to get confirmation early Monday that an experimental spacecraft successfully deployed its solar sail, a key milestone to prepare for an operational mission next year. Engineers working on the privately funded LightSail project wrestled with a computer software glitch and a troubled battery before the tiny spacecraft's motor began unfurling an extremely thin 340-square-foot sail on Sunday afternoon. The Planetary Society, a California-based non-profit space advocacy group, is keen to demonstrate an alternative space propulsion system known as solar sailing. The technology uses the pressure of photons of sunlight bouncing off a very thin film sail to generate forward motion, similar to how a boat's sail can harness the wind. LightSail-A hitched a ride into orbit on May 20 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket that carried the military's X-37B miniature robotic shuttle. Two days after launch, LightSail, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, fell silent, the victim of a computer software glitch. After more than a week, a stray cosmic ray hit rebooted LightSail's computer and engineers proceeded with deployment of the spaceraft's solar panel. Then another problem, believed to be with the battery, halted operations on Wednesday, before engineers could deploy the spacecraft's sails, the primary goal of the mission. After three days of silence, LightSail transmitted data on Saturday showing its batteries were changing for the first time since solar panel deployment. "LightSail is back in business," Planetary Society wrote on its website. With battery levels appearing to continue to increase, project managers proceeded with the sail deployment at 3:47 p.m. EDT Sunday as the spacecraft flew off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. "All indications are that the solar sail deployment was proceeding nominally," mission manager David Spencer wrote in the status report on the project's website. The first pictures of the unfurled sail are expected on Monday. "We've learned a lot about perseverance on this test mission," Planetary Society chief executive Bill Nye said in a statement. "LightSail has had me on a rollercoaster." http://news.discovery.com/space/solar-sail-spacecraft-back-from-the-dead-150607.htm Back to Top Upcoming Events: IS-BAO Auditing June 10, 2015 Toluca, Mexico https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1710550 Fundamentals of IS-BAO June 15, 2015 CBAA 2015: St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659064 IS-BAO Auditing June 16, 2015 CBAA 2015: St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659075 Fundamentals of IS-BAH June 15, 2015 St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659069 IS-BAH Auditing June 16, 2015 St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659079 6th Pan American Aviation Safety Summit June 22-26th Medellin, Colombia http://www.alta.aero/safety/2015/home.php Safety Management Systems Training & Workshop Course offered by ATC Vantage Inc. Tampa, FL August 6-7, 2015 www.atcvantage.com/training Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection & Investigation Course 9-11 Sept. 2015 Hotel Ibis Nanterre La Defense (near Paris) France http://blazetech.com/resources/pro_services/FireCourse-France_2015.pdf Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Director of Safety Haverfield Aviation Submit Resume to: hr@haverfield.com NTSB Aviation Accident Investigator (Air Carrier Operations) NTSB https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/392318400 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/398022200 Manager Flight Safety JetBlue APPLY HERE Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International APPLY HERE Manager Safety & Compliance Maintenance and Continued Airworthiness Air Astana APPLY HERE Curt Lewis