Flight Safety Information June 15, 2015 - No. 116 In This Issue European Air-Safety Chief Spreads Wings FAA: Cockpit electronics can't be tamper-proof U.S. FAA proposes $735,000 fine against Mexico's Volaris Air-traffic control spinoff from FAA sought by key US lawmaker SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOT SPOTS DRONE FLYING NEAR OAKLAND AIRPORT PIA tries to cover up air safety violation Cell phones distracting pilots as well as drivers New Israeli device enables jet to take over if pilot passes out Alitalia jet evacuated after bomb threat PROS 2015 TRAINING Mitsubishi Regional Jet Looks for Love in Paris United Technologies Announces Exit From Helicopter Business Planemakers' order books bulge on Asia, Middle East demand Airbus increases 20-year jet demand forecast Why the 747 Is So Revered by Pilots -..."A Place, Not a Conveyance" Harvard University Pilot Health Study Graduate Research - Pilot Survey Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) European Air-Safety Chief Spreads Wings Since becoming executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency 19 months ago, Patrick Ky has revitalized an outfit that suffered from inertia. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES By ANDY PASZTOR Europe's chief air-safety regulator is seeking to transform his agency by shaking up the bureaucracy, clashing with some airline officials and expanding into areas such as security, once considered strictly off- limits for the organization he heads. Since becoming executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency 19 months ago, Patrick Ky has revitalized an outfit that suffered from inertia and at least in some quarters, faced skepticism about its independence or willingness to stand up to industry. EASA was formed in 2003 to assume responsibility for many of the functions previously scattered among a hodgepodge of national regulatory authorities. During the initial years, managers scrambled to meet the challenges of recruiting competent employees, issuing routine regulations and safeguarding their authority against resistance from some countries. But today, EASA's leader has more ambitious goals. Despite continuing debates among European politicians about his purview, Mr. Ky says the focus is simple: ensuring that EASA has the dominant voice in anything that affects passenger safety. European Air-Safety Body Calls for Improved Information Sharing "My job is to increase the safety level in Europe," he said last week in an interview, by consolidating national and regional efforts, and particularly focusing on "the consistency, coherence of the system." Increasingly, Mr. Ky added, "security is linked to safety, and vice versa." Such aims still may be reined in by national authorities or the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, which controls much of his budget and could be worried about ceding control. "I don't think EASA should limit itself just to safety," according to Margus Rahuoja, director of aviation and international transport at the European Commission. "We are willing to give them greater authority, but they have to be ready in terms of resources and maturity." As part of a sweeping reorganization, Mr. Ky last year replaced most of his top-level managers. Already, he has called for additional protections for airliners flying over combat zones, and sought to insert himself into debates over airport security. He also has proposed creating a pan-European cadre of airline inspectors to fill national gaps. At the same time, EASA is moving to oversee unmanned aircraft in a dramatically different way from traditional proscriptive regulations. By laying out his positions in such a public manner, according to industry officials and associates, Mr. Ky is trying to shift EASA closer to the sometimes more-aggressive regulatory stance adopted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. During a meeting with FAA counterparts shortly after taking over, one participant recalls, Mr. Ky bluntly asked: "How can you help us?" U.S. officials never heard such a request from his predecessor, Patrick Goudou, a low-key engineer who was less comfortable dealing with politicians and the media. Discussions about EASA are expected to crop up this week during the air show outside Paris, the annual industry confab that this year has attracted FAA administrator Michael Huerta and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Following the FAA's lead, EASA is moving to set up a database of incident reports covering a range of issues, including pilot mistakes and confusion, air-traffic-control slip-ups, and onboard malfunctions. The information also will have voluntary statements by pilots and others explaining what led to the incidents. The upshot, according to agency officials, will be a comprehensive plan to combat budding safety problems before they result in accidents. Mr. Ky's team will likely start with a small group of about five states. A full- blown data-sharing system, intended to be compatible with those in the U.S., should be operational within two years. Budget and legal questions about who will receive and analyze the European data still need to be resolved. The agency's critics, however, wonder whether the organization is up to the task. "I see too many databases" but "we don't know yet what to do with the data," Michiel Van Dorst, executive vice president for flight operations at the KLM unit of Air France-KLM SA, said during a safety conference in Brussels last week. Officials "don't fully understand how to use it" or protect it from potential hackers, he added. Mr. Ky's previous job, running Europe's initiative to modernize air-traffic control, was a fitting testing ground. Mr. Ky had limited authority to get things done, but rather had to cajole EU officials, industry leaders and others to cooperate. The effort generally got good marks from politicians as well as companies. On the other side of the Atlantic, some see Europe gradually overtaking the U.S. when it comes to air- traffic-control upgrades. "EASA is starting to become the gold standard" in that arena, Rep. Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, said during a recent committee hearing. EASA's newfound assertiveness was exemplified during a flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian hostilities last July, when the agency issued a strong recommendation for airlines to avoid landing at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport. The bulletin prompted an angry response from the British Airways unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, which believed it was safe to continue operations there despite rockets fired in the vicinity. The carrier complained Mr. Ky flagrantly overstepped his traditional safety responsibilities, but the agency didn't retreat. More recently, other airline officials have fretted about Mr. Ky's drive to oversee airport ground handling. He also is pushing to get authority over security matters now handled by inspectors working directly for the European Commission. http://www.wsj.com/articles/european-air-safety-chief-spreads-wings-1434317533 Back to Top FAA: Cockpit electronics can't be tamper-proof In case of fire, pilots need to shut power, NTSB told By ALAN LEVIN BLOOMBERG NEWS More than a year after the Malaysia Air disappearance raised questions about onboard sabotage, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confided to investigators that it has found no legal or technologically feasible way to make cockpit electronics impervious to tampering. The finding came in a written response to a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation to redesign black box recorders and other critical electronics so they can't be switched off during flight. The main impediment is that pilots sometimes need the ability to cut power in the event of overheating or fire, the FAA said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg News. "There appears to be no safe way to ensure recorders cannot be intentionally disabled while keeping the airplane safe from electrical failure that could become hazardous," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta wrote in the April letter. The FAA also rejected the safety board's calls for adding video recorders in cockpits, saying there is "no compelling evidence" it would help investigations. The FAA's positions add new complexity to the issues underlying attempts to prevent another disappearance of a plane like Malaysia Air Flight 370 and to combat intentional acts such as the pilot who this year, investigators say, crashed a Deutsche Lufthansa AG Germanwings plane into the French Alps. The FAA declined to comment beyond the letter, spokesman Les Dorr said in an email. The agency has been taking steps to address the risk of pilot tampering. Last month, it formed an advisory panel to examine how it can better screen pilots for mental illness, and it's also part of a United Nations group studying broader flight-tracking suggestions. The safety board has been seeking ways to make flight-data recorders tamper-resistant since 2000. Its original recommendation was prompted by the 1997 crash of a SilkAir plane in Indonesia that killed 104 people. The safety board concluded that the captain, who had growing debts and was in trouble at work, cut power to the recorders and dove the plane into a river. The issue was raised again last year when a Malaysian Airline System plane with 239 people aboard vanished without a trace on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. A months-long search of the Indian Ocean was complicated because it appears the Boeing 777 was deliberately turned off course and its radios and tracking equipment were switched off, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Because of that case and pilot suicides that preceded this year's Germanwings crash, the safety board in January issued nine recommendations calling for better aircraft tracking, improved flight recorders and systems that couldn't be disabled by pilots. The FAA's response to the safety board laid out reasons why such changes weren't feasible. Huerta cited aviation regulations that require aircraft designers to give pilots the ability to switch off electrical power from components in the event they overheat and threaten to cause a fire. One example occurred in 1998 when pilots of a Swissair flight detected smoke in the cockpit but were unable to cut power to the in-flight entertainment system to diagnose and contain the problem, the FAA said. A fire spread, and the plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near Nova Scotia, killing all 229 aboard. "The FAA does not want to introduce design requirements that could expose the airplane to system risks that can lead to cascading failure and fires," the FAA's letter said. Pilot groups, such as the Air Line Pilots Association union, have also opposed measures that limit their ability to shut off power to aircraft components as a result of the Swissair accident and other fires. While some manufacturers have moved circuit breakers for some electrical components out of the cockpit, it's still possible to disconnect them by cutting power to broader circuits, according to the agency. "With such designs, a determined, malicious, technically competent crew member could still manipulate flight deck accessible circuit breakers to disable data recorders," the FAA said. The UN's International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets international standards for airlines, endorsed steps to improve flight tracking at a session Feb. 3. An organization statement didn't specify whether it would back a standard for making flight recorders and other cockpit equipment tamper-resistant. http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/jun/15/faa-cockpit-electronics-can-t-be-tamper/?latest Back to Top U.S. FAA proposes $735,000 fine against Mexico's Volaris The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $735,000 civil fine against Mexico's Volaris, saying the airline flew 121 passenger flights on a plane that was not in compliance with U.S. regulations. The FAA said it told Volaris in March 2013 that required safety inspections for a U.S.-registered Airbus A319 had not been performed, the agency said in a statement released Friday. The inspections involved an emergency slide and weight and balance calculations. Volaris flew the plane on 121 passenger flights before bringing it into compliance, the FAA said. "The traveling public relies on airlines to ensure that airplanes are properly maintained, which includes paying close attention to all maintenance requirements," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in the statement. The company has 30 days to respond to the FAA letter. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/12/faa-volaris-fine-idUSL1N0YY10Q20150612 Back to Top Air-traffic control spinoff from FAA sought by key US lawmaker [WASHINGTON] A key lawmaker will propose spinning off the government-run US air-traffic-control system into a nonprofit corporation, in what would be the most far-reaching change since the current structure was created in the 1950s. The shift is needed to insulate the Federal Aviation Administration from political interference and budget uncertainty, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster said in an interview. "It's one of our leading industries in this country and if we don't do something transformational, we'll start to lose that leadership in the world," Mr Shuster said. "We need to do something different." Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican, plans to unveil the idea today in a speech in Washington. The more than US$10 billion operation within the FAA that oversees flight routes and purchases computers, radars and other technology would become part of a federally chartered, independent, nonprofit corporation, according to a summary of the legislation. The corporation would be governed by a board representing users of the aviation system including airlines, private-plane owners and unions, according to the committee. The FAA would continue to set standards and oversee safety of the system. The plan calls for funding air-traffic control with user fees instead of the current patchwork of taxes, fees and general tax revenue. The structure would insulate the new corporation from the federal budget process. The legislation would promise to protect current FAA employees who would no longer be working for the government. If successful - and the concept is opposed by some powerful aviation interests - it could create uncertainty for companies such as Harris Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co that are building portions of the US$42 billion air- traffic upgrade known as NextGen. The plan reflects what most industrialized nations have done with their air-traffic agencies in recent decades. One advantage to that structure is it separates air-traffic control from the safety regulator, Mr Shuster said. A similar proposal by President Bill Clinton was derailed in 1995 by fierce objections from FAA unions and others. The current political and budgetary climate may give enough cover to advance legislation, Mr Shuster said. Mr Shuster says he will include the plan in a bill to renew the FAA's authorization, which expires at the end of September. Lawmakers haven't finished writing the bill, which Mr Shuster said he wants filed by the end of the month. House leaders plan to consider it on the floor in July, he said, before Congress leaves for its monthlong August recess. After recent years of fights over spending, including a partial FAA shutdown in 2011 and more furloughs in 2013, Mr Shuster said some previous opponents have been willing to revisit the idea in exchange for promises of stability and certainty. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, which had previously opposed any move to take air- traffic outside of the FAA, is now open to the idea if it guarantees steady funding, President Paul Rinaldi has said in recent public forums. The National Business Aviation Association, which represents corporate aviation operators, opposes any plan that adds new fees for flying and takes away congressional oversight, President Ed Bolen has said. Nations such as Canada, Germany, England and Australia have created various private and semi-private operators to oversee their air-traffic systems, according to a report this year by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. The private systems have generally improved their efficiency and operators say it has been easier to install new equipment, according to the CRS report. There have been no indications that the new non- governmental operators have been less safe, according to CRS. Mr Shuster's bill will also include provisions to streamline the way aircraft are certified, a reaction to industry concerns that it takes the FAA too long. Mr Shuster said the time is ripe to alter the FAA because of the success of those other countries and fights over the federal budget. "I feel pretty good, but you know I've been around this place for a lot of years," Mr Shuster said. "You take nothing for granted." http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/air-traffic-control-spinoff-from-faa-sought-by-key-us-lawmaker Back to Top SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOT SPOTS DRONE FLYING NEAR OAKLAND AIRPORT Southwest pilot spots drone flying near Oakland airport OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A Southwest Airlines pilot landing at Oakland International Airport Saturday evening spotted a drone flying near the airport. The crew of the Southwest flight into Oakland spotted the drone just before they landed. "Fairly good sized drone between 2,000 and 3,000 feet and it did have a red beacon on top. We were passing 4,500 to 4,600 feet on a right turn it was off our right side," Southwest Airlines pilot said. FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor released a statement saying: "It a was pretty big drone. The pilot of a 737 reported seeing an unmanned aircraft about five feet long at 2000 feet altitude." "It may not have been too close to the aircraft, but it was certainly too close to the airport. i think that's the bigger issue. the new rules now say you can't fly a drone within five mile radius of an airport," Mike McCarron said. That flight landed safely within minutes of the call and there's no indication that the passengers even knew what was happening. Most amateur drones are pretty small, but they can still cause a lot of damage if a plane hits them in flight. "Could break out a window. If it gets ingested in the engine, the engine could fail and that could be catastrophic," McCarran said. These sightings by airline pilots are happening more and more often, an average of twice a day across the country. The FAA and Drone Operator Associations recently launched a website with important drone flight information such as including maintaining a five mile radius from any airport, not flying above 400 feet and staying away from other aircraft. According to the FAA, the Oakland control tower staff called local police. We know Alameda officers were called to a nearby beach, but no drone was ever found. http://abc7news.com/travel/southwest-pilot-spots-drone-flying-near-oakland-airport/784955/ Back to Top PIA tries to cover up air safety violation KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has, after many weeks and repeated requests, finally responded to a serious air safety violation committed by a senior pilot. However, rather than addressing the issues raised in media reports on the subject, they have issued a sweeping statement stating that no violation was ever committed by the pilot and safety of the flight was not compromised. PIA documents, however, suggest otherwise. Pilot Qasim Hayat had operated a Lahore-Toronto flight on April 7, 2015 without taking the mandatory 24 hours rest, violating not only the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules, but also violating his schedule prepared by PIA. Though scheduled to travel from Islamabad to Lahore on April 5, he instead left for Lahore on the night of April 6 and then operated the Toronto-bound flight early morning on April 7, taking a break of less than 10 hours. PIA spokesperson Aamir Memon in his response said, "Capt Qasim Hayat has not committed any violation and did not compromise any safety issue by performing PIA flight PK789 (Lahore-Toronto). The pilot initially scheduled for the flight suffered from personal grief due to a sudden death in the family therefore, Capt Qasim was requested to take the flight to avoid inconvenience to the passengers. He was medically fit, rested and acclimatised. "The matter was thoroughly looked into both by the PIA and CAA and decided on merit and only they have the authority to do so and nobody else. Besides, the flight (Lahore-Toronto-Lahore) departed and arrived back safely without any safety issue," adds the PIA response. PIA documents, however, tell a different story. A PIA document captioned 'Details for Crew Route 789 on Sun, 5 Apr 2015' for Qasim Hayat (ID 38790) says that: "Qasim Hayat will travel through flight PK657 from Islamabad to Lahore on Sunday and take a 39 hour rest at a Lahore hotel (name and telephone number of which are also provided) and then operate flight PK789 from Lahore to Toronto (on aircraft number AP-BGY) on April 7. He was scheduled to take a 73 hours and 46 minutes rest at Delta Chelsea Hotel in Canada. He had to operate the return flight PK782 (Toronto- Karachi) on Friday April 10 and then go to Islamabad on April 11." This was the scheduled journey of Qasim Hayat, but he did not follow the first leg of the trip (Islamabad- Lahore) as had been scheduled, which delayed his arrival at Lahore cutting short the 39 hour rest, as planned, to less than 10 hours - well short of the mandatory 24-hour rest. Another PIA document captioned 'Virtual Coupon Record' for Capt Qasim Hayat says that he took flight PK655 on April 6, 2015 from Lahore to Islamabad. The status of the ticket is "used". The document confirms that Qasim Hayat had travelled from Islamabad to Lahore on April 6. This reporter had asked Mr Memon many simple and specific questions weeks back but he has not bothered to respond to them. The questions were: when did Capt Qasim Hayat travel from Islamabad to Lahore; when did he operate the flight from Lahore to Canada in the first week of April 2015; mention all the times and dates; departure from Islamabad for Lahore; arrival at Lahore; departure from Lahore to Canada. Rather than responding to these questions, Mr Memon issued a sweeping statement, which is not in conformity with the PIA documents mentioned above. If the initially-scheduled pilot could not operate the flight owing to personal reasons, any other pilot, who had taken at least 24 hour mandatory rest at Lahore, could have been deputed to operate the flight. Even pilot Qasim Hayat was acceptable if he had followed the schedule given by PIA which provided more than the mandatory rest in Lahore. As far as the safe return of PIA's flight operated by Qasim Hayat is concerned it was sheer luck that the 300-plus passengers on board arrived safely otherwise the airline was taking a huge and unnecessary risk by sending a less-rested pilot on a long-haul flight. In aviation circles it is said that sending a fatigued crew on flight duty is an invitation to disaster. Equally irresponsible is the attitude of CAA spokesperson Pervez George as this reporter had asked him for the CAA's version on the issue many times in the past many weeks and if any inquiry had been initiated about this serious air safety violation. Despite repeated phone calls and emails he has not yet responded showing how serious the CAA takes its role as the aviation regulator in the country. It is high time that the federal government initiate a high-level enquiry in to this violation headed by experts who will function independently of PIA and CAA. http://www.pakistanherald.com/article/6336/15-june-2015/pia-tries-to-cover-up-air-safety-violation Back to Top Cell phones distracting pilots as well as drivers NTSB Warns Pilots Device Distraction Could Lead To Mid-Air Collisions Distractions aren't just for drivers. The National Transportation Safety Board issued a warning to pilots last week that said the presence of technology, such as cell phones and tablets, in the cockpit could lead to mid- air collisions. "The presence of technology has introduced challenges to the see-and-avoid concept," the independent federal agency wrote in a safety alert. "Aviation applications on portable electronic devices ... while useful, can lead to more head-down time, limiting a pilot's ability to see other aircraft." When pilots operate under visual flight rules, their primary means of avoiding other aircraft is by maintaining a visual lookout and scanning surrounding airspace. Even when on-board traffic advisory systems are available, they're not a substitute for simply looking outside, the NTSB said. The number of general-aviation accidents declined from 1,539 in 2012 to 1,297 in 2013, according to the latest available figures. But the agency is nonetheless concerned about the growing influence in the cockpit. No specific statistics are kept on the number of accidents caused by technological distractions like cell phones, but this type of accident first received attention last May, when a pilot crashed in Watkins, CO. Amritpal Singh likely lost control of the plane while taking selfies with his cell phone, the NTSB ruled. Of course, such problems are already known on the nation's highways. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 3,154 motorists were killed in vehicle crashes caused by distracted driving in 2013 and that 424,000 were injured. Distracted-driving deaths are likely underestimated, says the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In a study of teen drivers, the organization found that distractions were a factor in 58 percent of teen driving accidents, while federal data showed distractions only contributed to 14 percent of teen accidents. The study "provides indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized," said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the Foundation for Traffic Safety. At any given daylight moment, approximately 660,000 American drivers are using their cell phones or electronic devices while driving a car, a number that has held steady over the past five years, according to NHTSA. For pilots, the distraction issue is not a simple one. Information relevant to the flight, such as approach plates, charts for navigation, and maps are now available on tablets and other electronic devices. They have a practical use in the cockpit. But as the Colorado accident showed, when left to excess, the distractions caused by technology in the cockpit can be just as deadly as they are on the road. http://www.autoblog.com/2015/06/14/cell-phones-pilots-distraction/ Back to Top New Israeli device enables jet to take over if pilot passes out Elbit's Canary has been developed in conjunction with the Defense Ministry, and uses sensors made by the Israeli start-up LifeBEAM. Elbit's Canary system Elbit Systems announced on Monday a new physiological monitoring device for air force pilots, which enables the jet's on-board computer to switch to autopilot if the human pilot suffers hypoxia (lack of oxygen) or loss of consciousness. The new system, called Canary, monitors the pilot's vital signs and physiological functions, and issues real- time alerts on the pilot's Helmet Mounted Display, or through the plane mission computer, if it detects the onset of problems. In extreme, life threatening cases, when the pilot can no longer control the aircraft, Canary will "facilitate recovery of the pilot and the aircraft by engaging the auto pilot," Elbit said. Canary has been developed in conjunction with the Defense Ministry, and uses sensors made by the Israeli start-up LifeBEAM, Elbit added. It "will be integrated into Elbit Systems helmet and HMD systems and does not require any pilot interference or action," the Haifa-based defense company said. "Pilots may be exposed to life-threatening medical conditions during flight due to low levels of oxygen (known as hypoxia). Modern aircraft may cause G-induced Loss of Consciousness (GLOC) and other physiological conditions (extreme fatigue, dehydration)," said Elbit Systems Aerospace Division's General Manager, Yoram Shmuely. These form common causes for accidents with no reliable warning or recovery solution available, he added. "We believe that our new system will solve these problems and save pilots' lives," Shmuely stated. Sources at Elbit added that potential clients have shown interest in the new system, which should complete the development stage in around a year. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-device-enables-jet-to-take-over-if-pilot-passes-out-406069 Back to Top Alitalia jet evacuated after bomb threat An Alitalia jet landed safely in New York on Sunday after the airline received a bomb threat. Alitalia had been informed of the threat aboard the flight from Milan's Malpensa by the US's Transport Security Administration (TSA), the company said in a statement. The jet landed safely at New York's JFK airport at 4.08pm local time, and "all passengers disembarked without any problem," the company said. The passengers were taken off the plane without their luggage while police carried out a search, and waited on buses at a landing strip before being able to re-board while the plane taxied to the arrival gate. http://www.thelocal.it/20150615/alitalia-jet-evacuated-after-bomb-threat Back to Top Back to Top Mitsubishi Regional Jet Looks for Love in Paris The Mitsubishi Regional Jet at its roll out ceremony at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' aerospace plant in Toyoyama, Japan, last October. Reuters LE BOURGET, Paris-The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is looking for love in Paris. Japan's first commercial aircraft in more than 50 years has secured orders mostly in the U.S. and some in Asia, but has so far found little affection elsewhere despite the boom in global aircraft demand that is swelling the order books of more established rivals. The MRJ is trying to break into a regional-jet business that is dominated by Brazil's Embraer and Bombardier of Canada. "The next important area is Europe, Middle East and Africa," said Yugo Fukuhara, Vice President and General Manager, Sales and Marketing, at Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. "We are discussing very seriously with customers," Fukuhara said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show. The Japanese group reckons the plane's main selling point is its 20% greater fuel efficiency saving compared with existing regional jets. Getting more orders from outside of the U.S. is particularly important given the snag the Japanese manufacturer has encountered with its push into the world's biggest aircraft market. Pilots wouldn't today be able to fly the larger version of the MRJ90 that U.S. carriers have ordered. Trans States and Skywest , two of the main MRJ customers, fly passengers for United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines whose contracts with labor unions stipulate that pilots can fly regional jets only with a maximum 76 seats and a take-off weight of 86,000 pounds. The MRJ 90 has a slightly higher maximum take-off weight and 90 seats. Fukuhara is hoping pilot unions and the big U.S. carriers hash out new contracts before the MRJ begins delivery in 2017. If not, Trans and Skywest will have to consider downsizing their orders to the smaller 70- seater MRJ 70, he said. Overall, the Japanese group forecasts total sales of more than 1,000 jets over the next 20 years. The 90- seater MRJ has a list price of $46.8 million and the 70-seater of $45.8 million. The MRJ is scheduled to make its first flight test in the third quarter of this year after years of delays. Launched in 2008, the jet was originally due for delivery to its first customer Japan's Air Nippon Airlines in 2013. Fukuhara said Mitsubishi was currently also considering whether to stretch the Japanese jet further and create a 100-seater jet called the MRJ 100X. "After that we will consider next program to succeed MRJ," he said. "We are committed to this industry for the long term." MRJ Customers to Date: ANA: 15 firm orders (10 options) Trans States: 50 (50) Skywest: 100 (100) Air Mandalay: 6 (4) Eastern: 20 (20) Japan Airlines: 32 (0) http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2015/06/15/mitsubishi-regional-jet-looks-for-love-in-paris/ Back to Top United Technologies Announces Exit From Helicopter Business HARTFORD, Conn. - United Technologies Corp. has announced it will separate its Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft business as it exits the helicopter business. The Hartford conglomerate says it will focus on high-technology systems and services to the aerospace and building industries. It says a decision on selling or spinning off Sikorsky will be made by the end of the third quarter. United Technologies has previously said Sikorsky didn't fit with plans for long-term growth. Excluding Sikorsky, United Technologies expects 2015 earnings per share of $6.35 to $6.55 on sales of $58 billion to $59 billion. With Sikorsky, earnings per share are expected at $6.55 to $6.85, from $6.85 to $7.05. United Technologies expects 10 cents to 20 cents per share of separation costs and a 10-cent per share decline in Sikorsky operations due to oil and gas market weakness. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/united-technologies-announces-exit-helicopter-business-31768117 Back to Top Planemakers' order books bulge on Asia, Middle East demand PARIS - An Airbus A380, the world's largest jetliner, is seen on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport one day before the opening of the 51st Paris Air Show, June 14, 2015. Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) opened the Paris air show with a flurry of multi-billion-dollar plane deals on Monday as demand from Middle Eastern and Asian airlines swelled their already bulging order books. Airbus signed up Saudi Arabian Airlines to be the launch customer of its new A330-300 Regional aircraft, with the carrier taking 20 of the planes as well as 30 A320neo jets in a deal worth about $8.2 billion at list prices. The European planemaker also said Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) had signed a letter of intent to buy 30 A350 XWB jets, potentially worth around $9 billion. The same airline, meanwhile, committed to buy up to 30 of Boeing's (BA.N) 787-9 Dreamliners and 30 737 MAX 8 jets in a deal that could be worth about $10.9 billion. Despite the flurry of activity, analysts expect this year's gathering of the aerospace industry to produce fewer blockbuster orders, with the focus turning to the challenge of producing the $1.8 trillion of jets already sold. Nonetheless, demand remains robust, particularly from fast-growing Middle Eastern and Asian airlines. Airbus on Monday raised its 20-year forecast for jet demand by nearly 4 percent to 32,600, driven by growth from these regions. That broadly echoed Boeing's assessment of the market last week. The U.S. group also said on the eve of the air show that it was exploring a potential market of more than 1,000 jets in a niche between its single-aisle 737 and wide-body 787, but had not decided whether to invest in a new plane. Many in the industry, however, are increasingly wary about an order backlog stretching out over almost a decade. GE Aviation (GE.N) said on Monday it wanted to secure a record increase in production of engines for Airbus and Boeing single-aisle aircraft before deciding whether it could guarantee going even higher. Heading into the air show, Airbus had a lead over Boeing in plane orders this year, with 247 versus Boeing's 175. However, the U.S. group won the annual order race last year. Adding to Monday's flurry of deals, GE's aviation leasing and financing arm, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), announced an order for 60 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft worth around $6.4 billion based on list prices. At 6.05 a.m. EDT, Airbus shares were down 0.2 percent at 60.33 euros in a European blue-chip index .FTEU3 off 0.9 percent. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/15/us-airshow-france-idUSKBN0OV15C20150615 Back to Top Airbus increases 20-year jet demand forecast People are silhouetted past a logo of the Airbus Group during the Airbus annual news conference in Colomiers, near Toulouse January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Airbus (AIR.PA) increased its 20-year forecast for jet demand by nearly 4 percent on Monday and was upbeat about prospects for superjumbos such as its troubled A380 plane, driven by growth in emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region and China. Airbus sees demand for 32,585 new planes worth $4.9 trillion, up from a previous forecast in September for 31,358 planes worth $4.6 trillion, it said at the Paris Airshow. The European firm trimmed its forecast for global passenger growth, predicting an annual average rate of 4.6 percent over the next 20 years, compared with last year's forecast for 4.7 percent. The growth of the middle class in developing countries would drive traffic growth, sales chief John Leahy said at a briefing. "When people have disposable income they use it to fly," he said. Last week, U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N) similarly raised its long-term forecast for aircraft demand while trimming its prediction for traffic growth. Airbus increased its forecast for single-aisle jets to nearly 22,927, compared with a previous figure for 22,071, and said it expected demand for 9,658 new wide-body planes and freighters. Breaking down the figures for the wide-body category, Leahy said Airbus saw demand for 1,550 very large aircraft, an increase of 49 aircraft on its last forecast made in September. Last week, Boeing cut its forecast for very large aircraft -- planes with four-engines and including Airbus' A380 superjumbo, which is struggling for sales -- to 540 from 620 a year ago. "Very large aircraft are required over next 20 years, we can't just increase efficiency," Leahy said, pointing to airport congestion as a reason to use larger planes. Airbus planemaking chief Fabrice Bregier said on Friday that Boeing's decision to cut its forecast implied it was giving up on its 747-8, which has also been suffering slow sales. But Boeing officials at the air show said there was good demand for 747-8 freighters due to a pick-up in the cargo market. The focus at this year's Paris show, which runs from June 15-21 is on the supply chain and how the industry can cope with ramping up aircraft production to meet record backlogs. Airbus plans to increase production of its best-selling A320 single-aisle planes to 50 a month from the first quarter of 2017 and confirmed on Monday it was studying an increase beyond that. Leahy said he expected a decision to increase production to be made by the end of the year. Boeing is planning to move to a rate of 52 a month for its 737 jet in 2018. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/15/us-airshow-france-airbus-group-idUSKBN0OV0T120150615 Back to Top Why the 747 Is So Revered by Pilots - "A Place, Not a Conveyance" The design, power, and cockpit foot heaters that make the 747 feel like home to pilots. By Mark Vanhoenacker Mark Vanhoenacker in the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400. Occasionally one airplane catches the imagination of pilots and cabin crew, or even of the general public. More than a few colleagues told me they decided to learn to fly only because they wished to fly the 747. I am never surprised when a colleague's email address contains some version of those famous numbers. I occasionally go to an exercise class near the hotel I stay at in Vancouver-exercise is sometimes the best antidote to long-haul air travel, whether because it resets the body's clock or only tires you out into sleeping better, I do not know-and the instructor will often sing out, at the start of a pose in which we are lying on our stomachs but lifting all our limbs: "Lift your arms, lift your shoulders, like a 747 taking off." It's often assumed that an airline pilot can fly any kind of airliner. Pilots typically take a set of exams, both in classrooms and in the air in small planes, to obtain a series of licenses that culminate in a general air transport license. Then we obtain a type rating, a separate license to fly one specific kind of aircraft. When we switch to a new aircraft, the new type rating replaces the old one, and usually we are no longer permit- ted to fly the previous type. Some pilots fly a dozen types or more in their career. I may fly only three-the smaller, short-haul Airbus A320 series airliner I started on, the Boeing 747-400, and probably one new type, between the 747's retirement and my own. A pilot's relationship to his or her aircraft is like how people respond to a prized car they have owned for a decade or two. The bond between a pilot and his or her current type of airplane is hard to pin down. Language is perhaps the best analogy. Indeed each aircraft type or family has its language, or at least its own dialect, and analogous devices and procedures often have different names on different aircraft. Acquiring these words and their correct usage is a significant part of the work we put into a new type rating. In a phenomenon called type reversion, a pilot inadvertently refers to a term or procedure from a previous aircraft type. There is a friendly rivalry between the pilots of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, which in addition to everything else are two competing realms of language. On the Airbus, the fully stowed position of the flaps is called flaps zero. On the 747, the same position is called flaps up. Once, soon after I switched from Airbus to Boeing, flying with a senior captain, I mistakenly asked him to select flaps zero. Before moving the flaps, he turned to me, with a clearing of the throat and a smile-from over the glasses resting halfway down his nose-that said, What are these youngsters coming to? We spend much of each day, or night, inside our aircraft type; when we sit down, it will feel like a second home. Our connection to it will even color our experience of travel as a passenger. When I fly as a passenger on the Airbus, it has the familiarity that alienates, like walking past a restaurant where you broke up with someone long ago. In contrast, when I fly on a 747 as a passenger I feel a peculiar comfort or satisfaction that is something more than knowing what the various noises mean. Emotionally, a pilot's relationship to his or her type is perhaps similar to how some people respond to a prized car they have owned for a decade or two. But different cars are not as different to drive as different airliners are to fly, nor do they exclude other cars from your driving life. Pilots tend to like powerful planes. I've often heard complaints about one long-retired aircraft type that pilots felt was underpowered; the joke was that it only ever got airborne because the Earth eventually curved away beneath it. In contrast, every pilot I've talked to who has flown the Boeing 757 has mentioned, unprompted, how powerful its engines are. But equally often I hear wide-eyed pilots marvel at the efficiency of a new airplane, after they contrast the amount of fuel burned between an older and a newer, more efficient aircraft on the same route. The differences in the cruising speeds of airliners are small. Still, some airplanes and their pilots spend their hours in the sky habitually overtaking others. It feels good-how could it not?-when you are pulling ahead of other aircraft even while maintaining your most efficient speed. Other differences between aircraft are so small in the context of such Earth-crossing, mile-vanquishing vessels that it feels ungrateful to dwell on them. Airbus cockpits are beloved for their foldout tables, an enormous enhancement to the pilot's quality of life when completing paperwork or a meal; I also found the cup holders and sun visors were more intuitively located on the Airbus. Some planes have windows that open, a blessed feature when you're dining in the cockpit between flights and wish to feel the breeze on your face, especially if you have flown from somewhere cold to somewhere warm and have only three- quarters of an hour until you must fly home to winter. Some airplanes have a bathroom inside the cockpit; for this reason the 747 is often called the ensuite fleet. (When I started to fly 747s, the cockpit lavatory, a standard airplane fitting, contained a most unlikely feature: a baby changing table that was only later removed to save weight.) Many long-haul planes have pilot bunks. On some airplanes you have to pass through the passenger cabin to reach the bunks or lavatories; on others, like the 747, you need never leave the cockpit area and can move freely between the bunk and the bathroom in your pajamas. The best proof that the temperature outside is really as polar as the cockpit gauges indicate is the floor of the cockpit. It can be like ice. Some aircraft have foot heaters, and some do not. When I flew Airbus jets that were not equipped with them-my understanding is that they are an optional extra, like those a car salesman might offer to throw in during the last minutes of negotiations-I would sometimes wear heavy socks for unusually long flights. I would be in a hotel in Bucharest, Romania, in the baking height of a continental summer, thinking of the sphere of cold above even the warmest times and places as I pulled ski socks onto my feet. The 747 has foot heaters. The frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean looks better- everything looks better-when your feet are warm. Aside from foot heaters, new technology plays a perhaps unexpected role in the preferences of pilots. When I worked in management consulting, I had the sense that everyone wanted the most advanced tools- laptops, projectors, phones. Planes, like computers and smartphones, differ in the level of technology they incorporate. Some pilots are early adopters, gravitating to the newest equipment. But it's quite common for pilots to strongly prefer older aircraft. One reason is that in such aircraft, in which fewer tasks are automated or computerized, many pilots feel closer to the simplest mechanics of flying and an older ideal of their profession. Each new generation of aircraft lays down another stratum of technological sediment between the modern pilot and the Wright brothers, and the pace of technology is such that some pilots may fear that once they leave a more traditional aircraft type, they will never again have a chance to exercise a certain set of skills in the same way. Some pilots joke that the appearance of their plane does not matter to them, because they are looking out from the inside of it. Still, the aesthetic qualities of airplanes are a regular topic of contemplation and conversation. Pilots might say that one airliner looks right, or that another looks-vaguely, but definitely- wrong. Or that one plane looks as though the engineers kept sticking bits on, seeking a frustratingly elusive aerodynamic solution, each design amendment then requiring another; whereas other planes look good from the start. Pilots will often remark on a new plane when they see it for the first time, puzzling over whether it looks awkward only because it's new, or because its appearance is genuinely unfortunate. We may ask an older colleague how an old and much-beloved plane looked to them when it first landed decades ago. Recently I was taxiing a 747 past a portion of the tarmac at San Francisco that was closed off for reconstruction. More than a dozen airport workers, though presumably already accustomed to the sight of airplanes at close range, nevertheless put down their tools to photograph us. On one summer evening when I was flying near sunset over the Netherlands, a different aircraft type passed over us, and the other pilot let out an aerial catcall to our 747, a low whistle over the radio, then: "I hope you have a lovely day on that lovely aircraft." Partisans often say that the 747 jet "just looks right." I agree, but this isn't necessarily what you'd think of a plane with such an unnatural bump (a design that moved the cockpit upward and back, to permit an up- swinging cargo door to be fitted to the nose). The lines of the 747 may be so satisfying not despite this nosebump but because of it. Perhaps it recalls a natural relationship-that of the head of a bird, a swan perhaps, to a long body and wide wings. Joseph Sutter, the 747's lead designer, was drawn to birds as a child-eagles, hawks, ospreys. He might be pleased to know that his achievement has come full circle, that a writer on the wildlife of Virginia has described the great blue heron as the "747 of the swamp." When visitors clutching the latest smartphones come into the cockpit of the 747, they are often so shocked by its relative antiquity that they can't help but comment on it. Many pilots take such a reaction as a compliment, and joke that "it's a classic" or "it's steam-driven but we like it that way," while resting their fingers affectionately on the four stilled thrust levers. * * * If the now-familiar form of an airplane still holds the modern eye, it's perhaps because it holds opposites. The routineness of air travel today, the sometimes weary casualness with which many passengers fly, contradicts the physical grace of airliners. Yet in science fiction movies, when the music rises and we glimpse a craft that is more poetry than machine, a shimmering vessel perhaps without an obvious means of propulsion, it is the cultural and visual lines of airplanes that filmmakers call upon, rather than actual spacecraft, most of which have no need to be aerodynamic and are therefore unattractive. There is also the size of an airliner, set against its breathtaking reserve of speed. A large airliner, the consummate elider of place, itself possesses the scale of a structure or enclosure we might work in or inhabit. Sutter, the 747 designer, remarked that his airplane was "a place, not a conveyance," one that an architectural magazine would describe as the most interesting edifice of the 1960s and that the architect Norman Foster would name the 20th-century building he admired most. Yet this building, this place, moves nearly as fast as sound itself. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/06/why_pilots_love_flying_747_jets.single.html Back to Top Harvard University Pilot Health Study Researchers at Harvard University, are conducting the largest anonymous airline pilot health study to date.(www.pilothealthstudy.org) This study is open to current, retired, and airline and corporate pilots. It will be used to research the environmental effects of the unique cockpit environment. Including fatigue, air quality, radiation, noise, and additional areas. To date, the study has pilots from over 23 countries participating. We would like you to participate and pass it on to your fellow pilots. Safety is enhanced through knowledge! Back to Top Graduate Research - Pilot Survey Dear pilot This survey is part of a research for master degree in safety engineering. In this survey we would like to have your opinion on parameters regarding workload during the following flight phases: approach, landing and missed approach. It is important for us to get your perspective on these parameters according to your own professional experience. This survey is appointed to Air Carrier "GLASS COCKPIT" trained pilots. However, Air Carrier Non "GLASS COCKPIT" pilots are welcome to answer this survey as well. Please note that this survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Kind regards Jack Limor https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E24NQIZrPQM7tFOCAFz0y4uQvell44TZ2d0ZfSc4Skw/viewform?c=0&w=1 Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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 Fundamentals of IS-BAO July 7, 2015 Alexandria, VA USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659131 IS-BAO Auditing July 8, 2015 Alexandria, VA USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659136 Fundamentals of IS-BAO July 21, 2015 Orlando, FL USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659145 IS-BAO Auditing July 22, 2015 Orlando, FL USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659149 Fundamentals of IS-BAO August 19, 2015 Madrid, Spain https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659089 IS-BAO Auditing August 20, 2015 Madrid, Spain https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659096 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: Head of Quality & Safety AJA (Al Jaber Aviation) Send your CV with a covering letter to aja.hr@ajaprivatejets.com 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 Curt Lewis