Flight Safety Information July 6, 2015 - No. 131 In This Issue Emergency Landing In Salina Delta Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Norfolk International Airport NASA crash tests aircraft to evaluate emergency locator transmitters Unmanned aircraft test at Griffiss 'went really well' Colorado crash of medical transport helicopter kills pilot DARPA's digital co-pilot will "transform" pilots Navy pilots, aircrews say wave danger all too common Southwest Airlines jet returns to Denver International Airport after blowing tire PROS 2015 TRAINING Eurofighter Needs Upgrades to Exploit 15-Year Gap to F-35 Jet Virgin, Qantas, United and the revival of alt jet fuels Female Pilots Form Their Own Version of Club Elite Airbus wins 382 aircraft orders in the first six months of the year Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Emergency Landing In Salina A flight headed from Las Vegas to Baltimore was forced to make an unplanned stop in Salina. About 140 passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight Thursday evening, flying from Las Vegas to Baltimore endured a long 24 hours after the plane had to divert to the Salina Regional Airport. Las Vegas TV Station KSNV reports that Southwest Flight 4649 left McCarran International at 7:31 p.m. Central Time Thursday, but had to land in Salina about 9:30 p.m when an indicator said there might be a fire in one of the wheel wells. There was no fire, but the plane, crew and passengers had to sit at the Salina Regional Airport until 2:45 a.m. when a Southwest plane was able to take the passengers to Dallas, landing about 4 a.m. ABC New reports that pizza was delivered to the passengers as they waited in Salina. A few passengers made other travel plans after arriving in Dallas, but Southwest did fly about half of them to Baltimore-Washington International on Friday, landing just before 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Some passengers complained on social media about how they were treated and that they had to stay on the Boeing 737 for about 5 hours before being flown to Dallas, far from their original destination. Southwest released the following statement on Friday evening: "The captain in command of flight 4649 operating between Las Vegas and Baltimore/Washington safely diverted the aircraft to Salina, Kan., Thursday night at approximately 9:30 p.m. CDT following an instrument indication of a possible fire in a wheel well. "Once on the ground, crews verified no evidence of a fire and stairs were positioned at the main passenger entry. With limited facilities and no security checkpoint at the SLN airport, our crew regularly advised customers that they had an opportunity to deplane the aircraft but that those who elected to do so would not be able to re-board. "As we worked to bring in another aircraft from Dallas to get these customers on their way, the lavatories remained open and functional and our crew served drinks and even ordered pizza delivered to the aircraft. "One customer and her husband deplaned for medical reasons; two other customers deplaned voluntarily; all remaining 135 customers elected to remain on-board and traveled aboard a substitute aircraft back to Dallas, departing Salina approximately 2:45 a.m. CDT and arriving Dallas just before 4am CDT. "We provided hotel accommodation and food vouchers for the unscheduled overnight stop in Dallas and operated an extra flight to BWI from Dallas early this afternoon with just more than half of the customers electing to travel. They ultimately arrived BWi just before 7 p.m. EDT. We'll now be working individually with the customers whose travel plans were severely impacted by the unscheduled stops along the way to offer what we can in the way of apologies and our sincere thanks for their patience during their delayed arrival this holiday weekend." http://www.ksal.com/southwest-flight-emergency-landing-in-salina/ Back to Top Delta Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Norfolk International Airport A Delta Airlines flight bound for JFK International in New York made landed at Norfolk International Airport after indicators alerted pilots to a possible engine problem July 5, 2015. NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- Delta Airlines took a plane out of service Sunday after it made an emergency landing at Norfolk International Airport (ORF). Flight 546 was heading to JFK International Airport in New York from the Dominican Republic when pilots received an indication of a possible mechanical failure in one of the plane's engines. The flight, which had 131 passengers and 6 crew members on board, landed safely at ORF around 3:10 p.m. A spokesman for Delta stressed that the airlines wasn't sure that the engine failed, but it decided to take the plane out of service out of an abundance of caution. Passengers were cleared through United States Customs Service. Delta Airlines brought in a plane from Atlanta to complete the flight to New York. The company spokesman told 13News Now that Delta also gave passengers the option of taking another flight to their destination if that worked better for them. http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news/local/2015/07/05/delta-flight-makes-emergency-landing-at-norfolk-international- airport/29749351/ Back to Top NASA crash tests aircraft to evaluate emergency locator transmitters NASA has completed a crash test to evaluate the performance of emergency locator transmitters (ELT) in aircraft. The test was carried out at the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, using a Cessna 172 aircraft. As part of the trial, researchers hauled the aircraft to 82ft to evaluate the four ELTs installed on-board during drop and vibration tests of beacons, and strength and fire testing of cabling. The study has been supported by the Nasa Search and Rescue Mission Office at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Nasa Langley emergency locator transmitter survivability and reliability (ELTSAR) project manager Chad Stimson said: "Too often they fail to work as expected, in part, because of inadequate performance specifications in several areas, including vibration, fire survivability, automatic activation, crash safety, and system installation." An ELT is designed to transmit a signal to an orbiting satellite within 50 seconds of an aircraft crash. The signal is then reflected to the search and rescue (SAR) ground station. Data will help compute with a location, which will be sent to rescue personnel. "What we found was we needed to study ELTs at the component level first to better understand why the systems fail," Stimson added. During the first drop test, the Cessna aircraft simulated an emergency landing on a highway or runway. Cameras inside and out recorded the crash and the two test dummies fell at 72ft per second onto a concrete surface, the team said. The black and white speckled paint on the aircraft helped scientists with data collection as part of a full field photogrammetry technique, and a net was used to catch the aircraft before it could slide into a water basin. "Everything worked," Stimson added. "But the team will take some time to sort out why the ELTs performed the way they did." Data from this experiment will help researchers to prepare for the next drop test, which will be conducted later this year. http://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/newsnasa-crash-tests-aircraft-to-evaluate-emergency-locator-transmitters-4616016 Back to Top Unmanned aircraft test at Griffiss 'went really well' The successful first test of an unmanned large aircraft at Griffiss International Airport last month may help solidify the area's future in that field. The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance said Aurora Flight Sciences successfully flew multiple unmanned test flights of the company's Centaur optionally piloted aircraft from Griffiss International Airport. The successful test flights marked the first time a large scale, fixed-wing aircraft has flown at any of six FAA-designated unmanned aircraft test sites in the U.S. Aurora conducted its flights between June 12 and 15, 2015. The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance said Aurora Flight Sciences successfully flew multiple unmanned test flights of the company's Centaur optionally piloted aircraft from Griffiss International Airport. The successful test flights marked the first time a large scale, fixed-wing aircraft has flown at any of six FAA-designated unmanned aircraft test sites in the U.S. Aurora conducted its flights between June 12 and 15, 2015. The successful first test of an unmanned large aircraft at Griffiss International Airport last month may help solidify the area's future in that field. The twin engine general aviation-style aircraft recently was flown through the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), the federally designated testing entity based at the airport. "It went really well," NUAIR Executive Director Lawrence Brinker said. The Centaur, made by Aurora Flight Services, can carry four people and can be flown with a pilot or remotely; it was also the subject of a recent story on CNN. Company spokesman Chip Sheller said he was present at the three-day testing period, and called NUAIR and Griffiss "flawless." "They have the perfect combination of highly skilled aviation experts, along with the facilities, including hangars, the right air space, you name it," he said. Sheller said it is "more than likely" the company will be back "very soon," and that he had already told others in the industry his impressions. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if companies in the unmanned aircraft sector decide to open permanent facilities in Oneida County, given the resources and people available to make it successful there today," he said. Local officials have expressed a hope that the NUAIR test site could lead unmanned aircraft companies and researchers to locate nearby. The test site designation was awarded in December 2013, and since then, operations at Griffiss have grown slowly. The first craft tested were smaller in size, and many continue to be so. But more big ones may be in store. Lockheed Martin's K-Max unmanned helicopter was there for a week this spring testing some new technology for firefighting, which the company plans to demonstrate soon to the federal Department of the Interior, Brinker said. Additionally, all six testing sites are now working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The NASA testing may include work on Predator craft, and unmanned detect-and-avoid systems. "All of this is really quite an advance," he said. "By working with NASA and the FAA, all six expect that to open up opportunities to work with other federal agencies." A smaller private sector project to test a drone that checks high tension wires and gas pipelines is also ongoing, he said. http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150706/NEWS/150709744 Back to Top Colorado crash of medical transport helicopter kills pilot (Reuters) - A medical transport helicopter (AS350 B3e helicopter) crashed during a take-off on Friday in Colorado, killing the pilot and seriously injuring two others on board, authorities said. The Flight for Life Helicopter was taking off early afternoon from St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, about 70 miles west of Denver, when it crashed, according to Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue Public Information Officer Steve Lipsher. No patients were on board, and the helicopter was not on a medical mission at the time, he said. The pilot was killed, and a flight paramedic and flight nurse were seriously injured, according to Air Methods Corp , an Englewood, Colorado-based company that operated the helicopter. "We are deeply saddened by the news that our pilot was fatally injured, and our hearts go out to the pilot's family," the company said in a statement. Photos released on line by Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue showed mangled wreckage of the helicopter engulfed in flames. http://news.yahoo.com/pilot-killed-colorado-crash-medical-transport-helicopter-002046653.html Back to Top DARPA's digital co-pilot will "transform" pilots Up in the air, pilot Mark Ward is used to being at the controls, but now an experimental technology called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) is doing the flying for him, reports CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave. "In terms of the actual operation of the craft it's a completely different world," Ward said. ALIAS is an advanced form of autopilot that can adapt and respond to changing situations. Essentially it's a digital co-pilot. Helicopter maker Sikorsky's chief autonomy engineer Igor Cherepinsky said it won't put pilots out of business, but it will "transform" them. "Today's pilots spend a lot of their time making sure the aircraft is stable, it's going in the right direction, it's going the right speed, obeying the laws of the air if you will, so ALIAS copilot can take care of all of that and free the human being to supervise and make sure that the bigger mission is running its course," Cherepinsky said. That's different from drones, which essentially move pilots to the ground -- this technology keeps people in the air. Cherepinsky compared it to driverless cars, predicting that, one day, there might not be anyone sitting in the cockpit during flight. "The first step is to let the pilots get used to the technology, reduce the crew, and show that we can do it safely with one pilot and get the pilot community used to that fact. And then we'll go from there," he said. The technology is promising enough that the Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) is investing $57.5 million to make the digital co-pilot a reality for military and commercial aircraft within the next decade. During a demonstration, a chopper could be flown from a tablet on the ground, controlling the altitude and flight plan. Because ALIAS is being developed with the military, CBS News was not allowed to show everything on the handheld, but Van Cleave said it only required a finger to move the aircraft. Designers believe safeguards can be built into a digital co-pilot to stop a repeat of the Germanwings crash, where a lone pilot intentionally flew an airliner into the ground. "ALIAS can permit under the right circumstances, handing off the aircraft to an off-board controller. To let somebody else, another human, help take control of the aircraft in the event of the emergency," DARPA program manager Dan Patt said. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/darpa-digital-co-pilot-technology-alias-could-replace-pilot-save-lives/ Back to Top Navy pilots, aircrews say wave danger all too common Landing on a surface combatant's one-spot helicopter pad is hazardous duty, where rolls from side to side and waves are all too common. The Navy received at least 15 hazard reports on waves coming over the low-freeboard flight decks on frigates and destroyers from 1983 to 2014 and these are only a small portion of the close calls, according to current and former pilots and aircrewmen, who responded to a July 6 Navy Times special report on the issue. Some said they'd seen a wave crash over the flight deck after a hard turn - or knew someone else who had. "When the aircraft got hit with the wave, we were doing counter-drug ops somewhere in the Eastern Pacific," said retired Aviation Electrician's Mate (SW/AW) Jeff Apol on June 30. "I heard the rotor pitch change, and I felt the aircraft shudder, and I looked up and there was big wall of water running down the left side of the aircraft." That was an SH-60 Seahawk aboard the frigate McInerney in 2004, during a deployment while he was assigned to Helicopter Anti- Submarine Light Squadron 48. Waves and rolling, often caused by the maneuvering of the ship they're landing on, are frequent hazards that pilots must endure. In addition, some said that time pressures and a lack of training can lead to dysfunction and even danger for air crews, factors in the 2013 William P. Lawrence tragedy that took two pilots' lives. One pilot recalled an incident when his SH-60B was chocked and chained to a frigate that began a turn to get "on station soonest," causing the helo's landing gear to jump several inches off the deck. "This was not the first time in my career that the desire to meet a 'deadline' could have resulted in a tragedy," said the active-duty pilot, who asked for anonymity out of fear of career repercussions. "I have never been more frightened in an aircraft than on that day. I could do nothing to influence the situation." Afterward, the pilot said, he began training bridge watchstanders.coordinating with the junior officers of the deck to do helicopter and familiarization training, visually explaining to them what happens during the helo ops and what can go wrong. He also shared the terms that aviators use, so they would all be speaking the same language on the radio during flight ops. It was successful, he said, because he worked with the ship's captain to create a close relationship with the air department, integrating the pilots and aircrew into the ship's operations as much as possible. "The aviators owe it to themselves, and their future shipmates, to actively assist the [surface warfare officers] during their initial aviation training, while they work on their surface warfare pin, as the aviation aspect of their training may be less emphasized than their shipboard requirements," he said. Culture wars In some situations, an us-versus-them culture clash can take hold on a ship. This is in part an outgrowth of the occasionally diverging responsibilities of a ship CO and the air detachment officer in charge. This OIC typically overseas a couple of helicopters, and the pilots and aircrew who maintain and fly them. Known as the "air boss," the OIC must ensure that the ship and pilots are operating safely and within rules of the Naval Air Training and Operating Procedure Standardization. Air boss has final say over if and when the helos can fly, but is typically junior to the ship's CO, which sets up a sometimes contentious relationship. Apol, the former aircrewman, said there was always a feeling that SWOs on the bridge had other priorities than the safety of the helicopter detachment. "For the most part, from the hangar to the flight deck is a very safe evolution," he said. "Everybody between the hangar and the flight deck knows what's going on, knows what needs to be done." "It's the people outside of that entity that typically have the most problems," he added. A friend of his from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 48, he added, was nearly washed off the back of the cruiser Philippine Sea in 2000. Crews knew that waves could be a problem, he said, but that wasn't the only result of hard maneuvering. There were a couple of times when the straps from the Recovery Assist Secure and Traverse system were the only things holding the helo on the flight deck. "We didn't have any chocks and chains on it at the time, they decided they needed to turn the ship, and it just started going over," he recalled. Apol said he didn't know whether any of these incidents resulted in a hazard report, and as an enlisted sailor, it wasn't his place to address it with the ship's company. Landing on a destroyer's small flight deck is an inherently Landing on a destroyer's small flight deck is an inherently hazardous task that can be complicated by its proximity to the waterline. Pilots and crews say waves breaking onto the flight deck are all too common. Here, an SH-60B with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 51 lands aboard the destroyer McCampbell in 2009. (Photo: MC2 Byron C. Linder/Navy) In many HAZREPs, obtained by Navy Times, air bosses and squadron COs called for educating ship handlers on the risks of flight deck wave strikes and urged for maneuvering restrictions while helos and crews were on these decks, precariously close to the ocean. A destroyer's flight deck is 13 feet over the water, and sinks lower in the water the faster the ship goes. There have been cases of outright clashes between air bosses and ship COs, who are used to getting their way. Three of the incidents reported in the July 6 Navy Times article occurred on the destroyer Winston S. Churchill within about 18 months of each other, two of which occurred during then-Cmdr. Holly Graf's tour as CO. Graf's relationship with her air boss on the Churchill was so toxic that she went for days without speaking to him. At one point the air boss resorted to having to slip the daily flight schedule under the door of Graf's cabin, because she refused to speak to him, according to the Navy's subsequent investigation. During one notorious tirade on the cruiser Cowpens, Graf unloaded after her air boss told her that the weather was too poor for flight operations. "I thought you flew a f---ing all-weather aircraft," said Captain Graf, according to the command report. "Now f--- me to tears." One former skipper said Graf's attitude was an outgrowth of the hard-driving ship captains who led the Navy when she joined in the 1980s. "That attitude didn't come out of nowhere," said an active-duty former destroyer skipper who spoke on background. "Holly Graf learned that somewhere along the way." Navy leaders have sought to set aside the grievances and community differences and focus on the new safety procedures that have have been implemented. Each ship has received Operator Polar Plots, a handy tool for watchstanders to assess the risk of flight deck wash-out based upon the ship's speed and the height and direction of waves. Deck wetness concerns are now being taught at all levels of training for surface warfare officers in Newport, Rhode Island. http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/05/navy-destroyer-frigate-cruiser-flight-deck-waves-helicopter-safety/29570677/ Back to Top Southwest Airlines jet returns to Denver International Airport after blowing tire DENVER - A Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Los Angeles had a problem on takeoff and had to return to Denver International Airport on Sunday. Airport spokesman Heath Montgomery confirmed that Southwest Flight 2869 had to turn around after takeoff and return to the airport. Passenger Paul Swatzel told 7NEWS the plane blew a tire on takeoff. Southwest Airlines told 7NEWS there are "indications" that there was a "performance issue with one of the tires." Swatzel said the pilot had to dump some fuel, then returned to the airport and made a rough landing. Photos showed passengers being unloaded from the plane away from the airport's gates. Montgomery told 7NEWS no injuries were reported. Southwest Airlines shows the flight was canceled. This was the second consecutive night that there was an incident with a Southwest flight at DIA. On Saturday night, a flight from Baltimore to Denver had stopped short of the gate and was taken to a remote spot on the airport's property when it landed. Passengers were escorted to a bus and shuttled to the concourse as Denver police, TSA and FBI were called out to investigate a possible security threat. The threat was later deemed not to be credible. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/southwest-airlines-jet-returns-to-denver-international-airport-after-blowing-tire Back to Top Back to Top Eurofighter Needs Upgrades to Exploit 15-Year Gap to F-35 Jet Eurofighter jet A Luftwaffe technician sits in the open cockpit of a Eurofighter Typhoon warplane at an airbase in Estonia. Photographer: Peter Kollanyi/Bloomberg The Eurofighter GmbH warplane will remain a key element of western defenses beyond 2030 only if governments commit to costly capability upgrades, according to a report sponsored by the pan-national manufacturer. The plane, made by an alliance of BAE Systems Plc, Airbus Group SE and Finmeccanica SpA, could be rendered obsolete once Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 becomes a mainstay of aerial defenses for the U.S. and its allies in 15 years, Royal United Services Institute researcher Justin Bronk said in the study. With the Eurofighter slow to get key electronic-warfare, communications and detection upgrades, the aging Tornado has remained a go-to jet for the U.K, Germany and Italy, performing bombing runs in Libya, where the French Dassault Aviation SA Rafale also showed its abilities, and flying missions against Islamic State. Tornado's exit from 2019 should let Eurofighter demonstrate its prowess before F-35s are widespread, RUSI said. "Relatively small" investments would give Eurofighter squadrons "the capability to fill the strike-role gap between the Tornado's drawdown and eventual F-35 full-operational capacity," Bronk said in the report published Monday. Without such funding, European nations risk losing essential functions when the Tornado is retired, as well as the ability to connect seamlessly with the incoming F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter or Lightning II, the study says. The Eurofighter has suffered from "substantially differing mission priorities" between countries that have muddled upgrade priorities, according to Bronk. The gap to the delayed F-35 and escalating tensions with Russia must now focus investment and prompt reviews of defense spending, he said. The model, which entered service in 2003, won a boost in November when Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain agreed a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) radar upgrade, following a July agreement to integrate Storm Shadow long-range attack warheads. Eurofighters could ultimately be deployed by European air forces as a larger fleet led by small numbers of F-35s as each comes off the production line through the 2020s, if able to connect with the stealthy U.S. fighter's technology suite. In later years the plane would be relegated to second-wave strikes. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-05/eurofighter-needs-upgrades-to-exploit-15-year-gap-to-f-35-jet Back to Top Virgin, Qantas, United and the revival of alt jet fuels Airlines are recalibrating their strategies on alternative fuels and carbon emissions. In the last five years or so, an entire genre of reporting on the aviation industry has emerged around the potential of sustainable fuel sources. Usually opening with something like, "watch out, oil companies," those stories have all pointed out that while there is no shortage of viable biofuel possibilities, a lack of new industry regulation and uncertainty about cost structures have kept those lofty aspirations firmly on the ground. More recently, however, there has been a glimmer of recognition from commercial airlines that more systemic shifts - like new rules from the Obama administration and a revival of talk about a global carbon tax in the run up to this December's U.N. Climate Conference - could mean that it's finally time to take a stab at more structural reforms. Qantas airlines carbon emissions reduction Qantas Several major airlines, including Australia's Qantas, are touting new emphasis on emissions reduction goals. In that vein, there has been a flurry of activity from major aviation brands like United Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic involving both biofuel implementation and more emphasis on curbing emissions growth. Still, turbulence remains a likely prospect en route to more sustainable flight. First and foremost, biofuel solutions themselves come in varying shades of green, meaning that which solution airlines opt for could dramatically alter their emissions reduction results. Beyond that, industry analysts still contend that risks to business models and solutions that are various shades of green - and connecting to bigger picture on carbon tax and decoupling emissions from growth. http://www.greenbiz.com/article/virgin-qantas-united-and-revival-alt-jet-fuels Back to Top Female Pilots Form Their Own Version of Club Elite Eva Maria Thien Scoot Pilot Eva Maria Thien. Photographer: Sam Kang Li/Bloomberg At last week's pilot training course for Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s Scoot carrier, Eva Maria Thien stood out among the participants because she was the only woman. She also was the instructor. She's a rarity in the male-dominated world of pilots. Just 3 percent of pilots worldwide are female, and in Singapore, where Thien is based, the figure is about 1 percent. By comparison, women make up about 23 percent of the leadership ranks at technology companies like Facebook Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. Thien broke through with a blend of determination, skill and love for flying. She was willing to bide her time and work her way up in Europe until she was promoted, before moving to Asia. She wants to see other women follow in her path and break down the cockpit door. "When things get tough you really, really need to work hard," said Thien, 50. Women in aviation tend to be confined to the back of the plane, serving snacks and sodas. They represented 80 percent of flight attendants in the U.S. in 2013, little changed since figures were first available in 2005. About 5 percent of members of the Airline Pilots Association are women, in line with the level of female pilots at carriers including British Airways Plc and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Among Singapore-based carriers, Thien is the sole woman who flies widebody planes. Gender Equality "Asian society is still behind in gender equality," said Shukor Yusof, founder of Endau Analytics, an aviation consultant in Singapore. "It is beneficial for airlines to be seen as promoting more women to join the industry not just as cabin crew." Scoot said in an e-mail that it welcomes all qualified pilots, regardless of gender. Thien showed signs as a toddler in Graz, Austria, that she would take to the skies. "I was told from very, very little I walked around and told everyone" that "I will fly aircraft," she said. The turning point came at age 22 when she asked a pilot friend to take her on a Cessna, her first time in an airplane. 'Very Natural' "It was absolutely fantastic," Thien said. "It felt very natural." She signed up for a cadet flying program with Austrian Airlines AG and was rejected at a time when it was "quite unusual" for women to apply. Thien then obtained a degree in English literature and physical education and became a teacher, before joining Lauda Air as a flight attendant while taking private flying lessons. She started her pilot career at Italy's Air One SpA, followed by a seven-year stint with low-cost carrier Volare Airlines, where she rose to become a captain. "It was a challenging time in many ways because it was a company where there were many, many military pilots," Thien said, referring to Volare. "I learned a lot from the bad things and I learned a lot from the good things. I just had the whole spectrum of reactions and it made me work really hard." Slow Promotion Thien said she was overtaken by colleagues who were promoted to captain more quickly. Undeterred, she worked even harder to show the bosses her ability. "It was very frustrating then, of course, but in hindsight it was good," she said. "I breezed through the command course simply because I had a lot of time to see others do their command course, so it worked out very well." A chance sighting of a Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. hiring ad took Thien to Singapore. She joined Tiger in 2005 and stayed for almost seven years before moving to Scoot. Thien joined Scoot's second batch of pilots in February 2012, becoming its head of training in April 2014. "If you know your stuff, if you are prepared, there's nothing to challenge," said Thien, whose masters degree project at City University London was on Southeast Asia's female pilots and cracking the glass ceiling. "I don't take shortcuts, I work doubly hard." Thien still enjoys flying, even though office-related work for her current role means she spends less time in the sky. Last September, she was invited to talk to a group of grade-school girls under a program challenging gender stereotypes in fields such as science and technology. She wants to keep sharing with kids how much she enjoys flying and how they -- both boys and girls -- can too. She says the aviation industry is overlooking some of the best talent by not hiring more women as pilots. "I realized a lot of these girls had never thought that being a pilot was a possibility," Thien said. "Sometimes you hear very strange comments, like 'girls don't want to be pilots.' Nonsense." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-05/cockpits-have-glass-ceilings-and-she-broke-through-from-the-back Back to Top Airbus wins 382 aircraft orders in the first six months of the year PARIS: European planemaker Airbus said in a statement it won orders for 382 aircraft in the first six months of the year and delivered 304 planes to customers. After cancellations, net orders totalled 348 aircraft, Airbus said. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47957450.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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 EAA AirVenture Schedule July 19-26, 2015 Oshkosh, WI http://www.eaa.org/en/airventure/eaa-airventure-schedule-of-events Infrastructure and Safety Summit Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service July 20-24, 2015 McAllen, Texas http://TEEX.org/itsi 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 Regulatory Affairs Training Course September 15 & 16 Fort Worth, TX http://jdasolutions.aero/services/regulatory-affairs.php Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUPS) Training Course September 15 & 16 Fort Worth, TX http://jdasolutions.aero/ Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Internal Evaluations Program Auditor Allegiant Airlines http://www.allegiantair.com/careers Air Safety Investigator Textron Systems http://www.textron.com/careers/ Curt Lewis