Flight Safety Information December 24, 2015 - No. 257 In This Issue Airbus A310 Ground Handling/Substantial Ground Damage (Istanbul) Passenger jet makes emergency landing in Mexico Jet hits plow in crash landing at closed Telluride airport (Colorado) Southwest jet makes emergency landing in Oakland Turkey:5 aircraft damaged in airport explosion American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Lubbock, TX Delta Air Lines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Texas Underwater Search for Flight MH370 to Be Completed by June 2016 PROS 2015 TRAINING MU-2 Renaissance...Owners investing in timeless turboprop twin...By Mike Collins Mitsubishi Delays Delivery of First Jet Pilots get wings back after being suspended over Miley Cyrus lyrics Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Airbus A310 Ground Handling/Substantial Ground Damage (Istanbul) Status: Preliminary Date: Thursday 24 December 2015 Type: Airbus A310-308 Operator: Mahan Air Registration: EP-MNP C/n / msn: 620 First flight: 1991-11-08 (24 years 2 months) Engines: 2 General Electric CF6-80C2A8 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Istanbul-Atatürk International Airport (IST) ( Turkey) Phase: Taxi (TXI) Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Tehran-Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA/OIIE), Iran Destination airport: Istanbul-Atatürk International Airport (IST/LTBA), Turkey Flightnumber: W5112 Narrative: An Airbus A310-308, operated by Mahan Air, sustained substantial damage when it rolled into a concrete wall and guard rail at Istanbul-Atatürk International Airport, Turkey. The nose landing gear folded back and the nose of the aircraft impacted an airport bus that was parked or driving along the wall. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20151224-0 Back to Top Passenger jet makes emergency landing in Mexico A Cancun-bound Aeromexico passenger plane made an emergency landing in the Mexican capital Wednesday after a portion of one of its engine covers came off, although no injuries were reported, officials said. "The cover of the plane's right engine became detached" after takeoff, Gabriel Mendicuti - the government secretary for the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, who was on board the aircraft - said on social media. That forced the pilot to return to the Mexico City International Airport and execute an emergency landing, "which involved a lot of turbulence," he said. The passengers on board Aeromexico Flight 3351 are "doing well, but are very frightened," Mendicuti said. "Fortunately, the maneuver was successful, although naturally some of the passengers' nerves were shaken. We're frightened, but fortunately safe and sound," he added. One passenger, Lucia Nadal, posted an image on Twitter showing the missing portion of the engine cover and sarcastically remarked that it was "always a pleasure to fly Aeromexico." EFE http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/12/23/passenger-jet-makes-emergency-landing-in-mexico/ ************** Date: 23-DEC-2015 Time: ca 08:00 Type: Embraer ERJ-190LR (ERJ-190-100 LR) Owner/operator: Aeroméxico Connect Registration: XA-ACC C/n / msn: 19000499 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Minor Location: Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX/MMMX) - Mexico Phase: Initial climb Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX/MMMX) Destination airport: Cancún Airport (CUN/MMUN) Narrative: Aeroméxico Connect flight AM3351 returned to land at Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport after the aircraft lost the cowlings of the no.2 engine on takeoff. The Embraer ERJ-190LR operated on a passenger service to Cancún and returned landed back at the Mexico City Airport after about 19 minutes. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=182683 Back to Top Jet hits plow in crash landing at closed Telluride airport (Colorado) The Hawker Beechjet was carrying five passengers and two crew Single plane crash at Telluride Airport. Authorities in San Miguel County say no one was injured when a small jet crashed into a snowplow Wednesday afternoon while trying to land at the Telluride Regional Airport. The county sheriff's office says the airport was closed at the time for snow removal and that the plane's pilot apparently did not radio operators before heading in. The crash happened at about 2 p.m. and pictures from the scene showed the plane resting on its belly in the snow. The plane, a Hawker Beechjet 400 registered in Mexico, was carrying five passengers and two crew. Officials say the flight was en route from El Paso, Texas, on a vacation trip. "An airport employee told sheriff's deputies he was driving the snowplow when it was struck from behind and said he never saw the plane coming," the sheriff's office said in a news release. The employee said he estimated the aircraft's speed to be about 100 mph at the time of impact. Officials say he too was uninjured. The county sheriff's office said there were broken snow showers at the time of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29304178/sheriff-jet-collides-plow-crash-at-telluride-regional ************** Status: Preliminary Date: Wednesday 23 December 2015 Time: 14:00 Type: Beechcraft Beechjet 400 Operator: private Registration: registration unknown C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7 Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: Telluride Airport, CO (TEX) ( United States of America) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Unknown Departure airport: El Paso International Airport, TX (ELP/KELP), United States of America Destination airport: Telluride Airport, CO (TEX/KTEX), United States of America Narrative: The aircraft, a Beechjet 400 of Mexican registry, sustained substantial damage upon impact with an airport snow removal vehicle during landing to a temporarily closed runway at Telluride Regional Airport (KTEX), Telluride, Colorado. The two crew and five passengers onboard the airplane were not injured. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20151223-0 Back to Top Southwest jet makes emergency landing in Oakland OAKLAND, California -- A Southwest Airlines plane experiencing gear issues has landed safely in Oakland. Southwest Airlines says Flight 2547 took off from Oakland International Airport Wednesday morning and was heading to Chicago Midland with 139 passengers on board. Southwest flight makes emergency landing in Oakland The captain decided to turn the plane around to check a maintenance item, but had to circle for more than an hour to burn fuel. The plane made its emergency landing just after noon local time. "The Captain in Command of Flight 2547 from Oakland to Chicago returned to Oakland due to a reported maintenance item on the aircraft. The flight landed Safely and our Oakland Employees are working to get our 139 Customers to their destinations. The aircraft will be taken out of service and inspected. With everything we do, safety is of paramount importance and we appreciate our Customers' patience while we work to get them to their destinations for the holidays," Southwest Airlines said. http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/2015/12/23/southwest-jet-with-gear-issues-circling-oakland- airport/77829120/ Back to Top Turkey:5 aircraft damaged in airport explosion Photo of a Turkish airlines flight taking off from the Istanbul airport. Turkey's transport minister said on Wednesday that five aircraft had been damaged in a blast at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, but it was too early to say what caused it. "There was damage to five airplanes in total due to the impact of shrapnel. Weakness in the airport's security is out of the question. All international security standards are being implemented," Binali Yildirim told reporters. The overnight explosion at Istanbul's second airport killed one person, Turkish media said, triggering a security alert as authorities sought to determine if a bomb was responsible. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Turkey-5-aircraft-damaged-in-airport- explosion-402955 Back to Top American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Lubbock, TX Passengers heading home for the holidays were held up in Texas after an American Airlines flight from Miami to Los Angeles was diverted due to a mechanical issue. American Airlines flight 295 landed in Lubbock, Texas, due to what the airline called a "mechanical issue." The FAA said the Airbus 321 landed "after declaring an emergency for engine oil warning light." The flight was carrying 186 passengers and a crew of six, according to the airline. The FAA said the plane landed "without incident." Passengers were loaded onto a replacement aircraft, which due to the short length of the runway in Lubbock, couldn't take on the amount of fuel necessary to make it to Los Angeles, the airline said. The aircraft will have to land briefly in Dallas to refuel before continuing to its final destination. The plane sat on the runway for hours with passengers on board, with the door left open for those who would rather try to catch a different flight in the morning, Curtis said. Their luggage was loaded and then removed for re-weighing, while passengers waited on board, according to Curtis. Flight 295 departed Miami at 9:43 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday and landed in Lubbock at 12:31 p.m. Central Time. American Airlines' current estimate has the plane touching down at LAX at 2:20 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, nearly 20 hours after it departed Miami. http://abcnews.go.com/US/american-airlines-flight-makes-emergency-landing- lubbock/story?id=35937229 Back to Top Delta Air Lines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Texas A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta from Mexico made an emergency landing at Corpus Christi International Airport in Texas after experiencing problems with its air conditioning. Airport spokeswoman Kim Bridger tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times ( http://bit.ly/1Sd5NxR ) that the problem Wednesday caused about six people to fall ill. The newspaper reports no passengers required medical attention. Bridger says the airport's public safety division, including peace officers, firefighters and emergency medical services, met the plane on the runway when it landed and helped bring affected passengers into air-conditioned spaces. She said the plane contained 71 passengers and four crew members, including a pilot. She says the crew was able to remedy the air conditioning problem and left the airport about two hours later. The flight had departed from Monterrey. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/delta-air-lines-flight-makes-emergency-landing-texas-35936384 Back to Top Underwater Search for Flight MH370 to Be Completed by June 2016 The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean will conclude in June 2016, according to a statement put out on Wednesday by the Australian Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC). More than 30,000 square miles of the sea floor have already been searched since the aircraft disappeared in March 2014, making it the largest and most expensive aviation investigation in history. "Consistent with the undertaking given by the Governments of Australia, Malaysia and the People's Republic of China earlier this year, 120,000 square kilometres will be thoroughly searched. It is anticipated this will be completed around June 2016," the JACC statement said. The search will continue through the Christmas and New Year period, the JACC said. The aircraft was headed to Beijing, China, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it went missing on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board. In August 2015, a plane part was found on a beach in the Indian Ocean that was determined to be part of the missing jet. http://abcnews.go.com/International/underwater-search-flight-mh370-completed-june- 2016/story?id=35936047 Back to Top Back to Top MU-2 Renaissance Owners investing in timeless turboprop twin By Mike Collins MU-2 Renaissance Mitsubishi's MU-2 twin-engine turboprop was ahead of its time when it was introduced more than five decades ago. Work on the high-wing, pressurized twin began in 1956. There are two basic varieties: a short body that typically seats seven, and a long-body model that can accommodate eight to 11 people. Both models carry 90 gallons of fuel in distinctive tanks on each wing tip, in addition to wing tanks. One of the biggest differences between the MU-2 and other turboprops is that for roll control, Mitsubishi used spoilers instead of ailerons. Why spoilers? Designers wanted an airplane that could cruise at 300 knots and operate from short strips, necessitating a very small wing (178 square feet in many models) and nearly full-span flaps. The spoilers are very effective, and roll rates at low airspeeds are almost the same as at high speed-unlike aircraft with traditional ailerons. The MU-2 first flew on September 14, 1963, and more than 700 were built before production ended in 1986. Nearly 300 remain in operation, with 226 aircraft listed on the FAA registry in November 2015. The model has a checkered past, with an accident rate in the early 1990s that was 6.62 per 100,000 flight hours-the highest of any turboprop twin. By 1981, it had attracted the NTSB's attention, and eventually the FAA conducted a special certification review of the MU-2. When that review found no flaws with the airframe or its design, the focus shifted to training. Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 108 was issued in January 2008 and took effect February 5, 2009. The rule requires training for new MU-2 pilots and annual recurrent training; pilots must use Mitsubishi's standardized cockpit checklist and the latest revision of the aircraft flight manual. Some pilots characterize the training as very similar to a type rating, albeit without the checkride. The rule made a big difference in the MU-2 safety record. Through 2009, the year that the SFAR became effective, the U.S.-registered MU-2 fleet had an accident rate of 3.79 per 100,000 flight hours, compared to a U.S. turboprop business fleet average of 2.04 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, said Bob Breiling of Robert E. Breiling Associates, who has been analyzing business turbine aircraft accident data since the 1960s. For the period 2010 through 2014, the MU-2 accident rate fell to 1.39 per 100,000 hours; the fleet average for that period was 1.17 per 100,000 hours. "Even with fewer accidents, the causes of them are less severe overall," he said. "One was a hard landing, another the pilot forgot to extend the gear. But they count as accidents." The MU-2 community has changed significantly since the SFAR's implementation, as well. Several MU-2 owners believe the airplane's efficiency and high performance, combined with affordable purchase prices, made it popular with "fringe operators" reluctant to spend money on type-specific training or service- center maintenance. The cost of mandatory annual training, they say, has pushed those operators into other aircraft. Filling that void is a new type of owner, attracted to the same efficiency, performance, and market pricing- from $300,000 for a clean, average airplane up to $1 million, depending on engine and propeller time and avioincs. (A fully refurbished MU-2, such as Air 1st's Platinum series, can reach $1.5 million.) However, these individuals are very willing to invest in the SFAR 108-mandated training-and almost every other aspect of their Mitsubishi turboprops. "The reason that our owners and operators are so cohesive is that it's a continuation of that attitude toward the airplane, even before the SFAR," said Pat Cannon, president of Turbine Aircraft Services Inc., which has a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. to help support the MU-2. "There was a group that was out there, they didn't want to bother-they didn't want to train, they didn't want to attend [safety events]. They were the ones having the accidents." When MU-2 product support transitioned to Beechcraft in 1986, FlightSafety continued to provide MU-2 training, but Cannon said it was not being recommended as it had been by Mitsubishi. "A lot of new training providers sprang up, and they were pretty much doing what they wanted. About 70 percent of those were not training in accordance with the flight manual." A major concern was the fact that flight in the aircraft was not required, which MU-2 pilots thought was key. This led to the SFAR's requirement for standardized training, including training in the aircraft. Some new owners are spending lavishly on their Mitsubishis, investing in new panels, paint, and interiors. A new five-blade propeller available from Germany's MT Propeller also is popular; owners say it improves performance while helping to reduce the MU-2's noise-especially on the ground. "The community is saying that these airplanes will last another 30 years, and I think they will," Cannon said. "There's a renaissance in the ownership community." What kind of support is available for an airplane that's been out of production since 1986? Aviation International News has described the MU-2 as the "perennial favorite" in the turboprop rankings of its annual Product Support Survey, which uses reader input to rate the level of manufacturer support. Mitsubishi retained its first-place status again in 2015. In addition, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America presents free P.R.O.P. seminars-for Pilot's Review of Proficiency-every other year. These safety seminars are oriented to the MU-2, although all pilots are welcome to attend. The 2016 P.R.O.P. events will be held in Dallas, April 1 and 2; Tucson, Arizona, April 15 and 16; and Cincinnati, April 29 and 30. And the MU-2 community holds a fly-in during the years between P.R.O.P. seminars. Mike Laver and his Air 1st companies-he buys and sells MU-2s, operates a service center, and runs an FBO-hosted one in Aiken, South Carolina, October 9 through 11, 2015. Twenty-eight MU-2s flew in, from as far away as California and Reno, Nevada. "I was very pleased with that, and I think it was one of the larger fly-ins," Laver said, especially considering flooding in the region and forecasts for continued poor weather. This was the first time Laver hosted the event. "I bet it's been going 18 to 20 years," he said. Recent fly- ins have been held at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. "It was held in St. Croix four years ago. That was a lot of fun-it was just a relaxing good time on the beach. They've all been great and unique in their own way." The next fly-in will be held in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in 2017. Several pilots at the Aiken fly-in were making plans to fly their airplanes to Europe in the summer. Laver may have inspired some of them when he flew his personal airplane, a 1973 MU-2B-25 Solitaire, around the world and was in Nagoya, Japan-where the MU-2s were manufactured-on September 14, 2013, the fiftieth anniversary of the model's first flight (see "Around the World in 25 Days," December 2013 AOPA Pilot). He has been flying the distinctive turboprop almost 25 years and is bullish on the marque. "The MU- 2 is a great aeroplane. The structural integrity of the airplane is incredible," he said. "In my opinion there's nothing that will outperform it for the money you'll spend." The model entices the person who wants to be a little different, and wants a little intrigue, Laver said. "We've got a whole new ownership now," with pilots moving up, investing in upgrades and proper training. "A lot of people make a showpiece out of a vintage car-[MU-2 owners are] making a showpiece out of their airplane, and getting immense pleasure out of it," he said. "Here it is now, an airplane that's recognized as one of the safest airplanes. And it's so much airplane for the money." "When you buy this airplane, you're buying into the community as well," said North Carolina-based owner Craig Hili. "It's such a great group of people. Everybody is always available and everybody is trying to help. That's something you can't buy." "The unintended effects of SFAR 108 have been so positive for this community," said Ken Sutton of Barrington, Illinois. "What's left is a community of guys that truly love their airplanes, like I do." The safety records of other high-performance GA aircraft could benefit from following the MU-2 model, he added. Email mike.collins@aopa.org MU-2 Renaissance Craig Hili and son, Andrew (left), Ken Sutton (top right), Nat and Neil Hannwyk (bottom right). Craig Hili Craig Hili of Raleigh, North Carolina, has owned his MU-2 just over a year. He started flying in 1995 and has owned three Mooneys, a pressurized Baron, two Cheyennes, and an Aerostar. He averages better than 300 knots on 75 gallons per hour in his short-body 1979 Solitaire. "It's just an amazingly efficient machine, and it can be had for an amazingly reasonable cost. It's a great airplane." A typical trip for him is from Raleigh to Chicago, or Chicago to Denver. "It's a real good airplane for Chicago to Philly. It's extremely versatile." And it can go in and out of 2,000 feet of grass if you need to, he added. He has hangars at Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, North Carolina, and in Gary, Indiana, outside of Chicago. Hili looked at a couple of jets, but the economics didn't work. "Those jets fly very easily, but let's look at a trip from Raleigh to the Philly area. You can get there faster doing 300 knots in my little turboprop than you can in a jet. For a trip that's 300 miles, you don't save any time." Flying from Chicago to Raleigh in a jet, the cost has literally tripled, he said. "The MU-2 is so efficient. I would say anything 600 nm and shorter, if you're not getting there any quicker, you're taking no longer than 10 or 15 additional minutes in the turboprop." Hili owns Mercy Diagnostics, a clinical diagnostics business, and 95 percent of his flying is for the business. He trains every six months-only annual training is required by the SFAR-and he's only scrubbed one MU-2 trip so far because of weather. Hili had only 25 hours in the airplane at the time and would fly that trip today. "I just don't put myself in situations where I don't feel comfortable," he said. Ken Sutton Ken Sutton of Barrington, Illinois-an airline pilot for 27 years who retired at age 50 to take over his family's intellectual property business-bought his MU-2 in 2013. He had owned a Bonanza V35, and then a Cessna 310 for 10 years. When his daughter went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, "I realized trying to fly back and forth across Lake Michigan that the 310 was not the right machine." He searched across the wide spectrum of aviation. "On paper the airplane that always rose to the top was the MU-2." He had a hard time getting past its reputation until he got to fly one, and began studying the NTSB accident reports. He also noticed that the accidents dropped off when SFAR 108 became effective. "I thought, geez, that sounds like a type rating. It's exactly the same maneuvers and exactly the same standards for every type rating I have on my ticket." Sutton doesn't miss the airlines. "The MU-2 fulfills my desire to fly-it's a perfect airplane for that. It's like a mini-airliner." And that's how he uses the airplane, flying employees around. "We're trying to reduce the billable costs of our attorneys, and the MU-2 is perfect for moving them around quickly." He integrates family visits with business trips when he can. When Sutton bought his MU-2, he upgraded everything at once, and then trained in the airplane with the new panel. His efforts earned him a Queen of the Fleet award, voted by his fellow MU-2 owners, at the recent Aiken fly-in (Wayne Haub of Missouri also was recognized in the competition's first-ever tie). "For that group of guys to acknowledge my airplane is a moment I'll never forget," Sutton said, especially considering the number of owners investing in airplane upgrades. "They're making them better than they've ever been before." Neil and Nat Hannewyk Neil Hannewyk and his son Nat operate an MU-2 for their industrial coatings business in southwestern Michigan. The company bought a new Piper Cheyenne II XL, and then flew a Piper Seneca for almost nine years before buying the MU-2 in 1993. Since purchasing the airplane, they've painted it, put in a new interior, and updated the avionics. "We've flown as high as maybe 250 hours a year, and as low as 50," Neil Hannewyk said. "It's basically a business tool. In the industrial coatings industry, a lot of our customers are not near major airports." They can load it up with tech reps, salespeople, and samples. "We can get anywhere east of the Mississippi on a moment's notice." Their purchase was well before SFAR 108, when the airplane had a checkered reputation. Neil said he talked to a lot of people and learned it came down to training. At that time, simulator training taught aircraft systems. "They said if you want to learn how to fly the airplane, go to Reece Howell." He purchased the airplane and trained at Howell's Howell Enterprises in Smyrna, Tennessee. Nat transitioned to the MU-2 from the Seneca, and credited good instruction for his smooth transition. "A lot of guys move up into these faster planes and start playing with all the toys. [My instructor] reminds me to fly the airplane first." The Mitsubishi is much better at topping and avoiding weather, he added, and it's great to be able to climb on one engine. "I've always liked landing the MU-2. It's a little different than flying a Seneca or something with a little more wing on it." Most of the Hannewyks' trips are nonstop, averaging 400 nm and less than two hours; typically with four people. "We go to the Carolinas; Georgia; out to Springfield, Illinois. It's very nice to have this aircraft to go across Lake Michigan," Neil said. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/January/Pilot/t_mu2 Back to Top Mitsubishi Delays Delivery of First Jet Mitsubishi Heavy to push back jetliner's delivery by about a year, until 2018 NAGOYA, Japan- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday that it would delay delivery of Japan's first commercial jetliner by about a year, until 2018, in the latest of a series of setbacks for the project. The company said in a statement that it had identified "several issues" requiring further attention during test flights for the airliner, which began in November. The company didn't immediately elaborate on the nature of the problems. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a 70- to 90-seat aircraft that is expected to compete with jets from Embraer SA of Brazil and Bombardier Inc. of Canada, was previously expected to join the fleet of All Nippon Airways Co. in 2017. When Mitsubishi Heavy began development in 2008, it envisioned the plane's entry into commercial service occurring as early as 2013. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy that is developing the jet, has more than 400 orders and options for the jet, mostly from U.S. and Japanese carriers. http://www.wsj.com/articles/mitsubishi-delays-delivery-of-first-jet-1450942965 Back to Top Pilots get wings back after being suspended over Miley Cyrus lyrics The Air Force has restored to flight status three instructor pilots who were reprimanded and grounded over text messages they sent containing lyrics referencing drug use. The pilots' careers were nearly ended after investigators found references to "Molly" - also known as the illegal drug "ecstasy" - in text messages on their personal cell phones. The pilots, who are at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, said they were referencing songs that mentioned drugs, such as Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop." Lawmakers Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., took up the cause of the pilots and told Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh in a Sept. 15 letter that their pop culture references had been "painfully misunderstood by investigators." Welsh promised to look into the case. In a Wednesday release, the Air Force said Air Education and Training Commander Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson decided the alleged drug use misconduct "was not sufficiently substantiated by the evidence." Roberson ordered corrective actions be taken regarding those allegations, and the pilots' wings have been returned. However, Roberson believed there was enough evidence to prove misconduct involving "unprofessional relationships, obstruction of justice, and conduct unbecoming an officer," the release said. Two of those three pilots, who have not yet been publicly identified, had also been accused of not informing superiors of sexual unprofessional relationships they knew about. "It is critical that we maintain standards of professional behavior in a training environment," Roberson said. "Notwithstanding the determinations regarding drug use, the reviews made clear that acceptable standards of conduct were not always maintained. We demand all airmen serve with integrity and professionalism and hold airmen whose actions fall short of Air Force standards fully accountable." In a release, Hunter and Kinzinger applauded the Air Force's decision to restore the pilots' flight status. "While it's our belief that the initial action taken against the pilots by the Air Force was unjust, we have been impressed with the seriousness and speed by which these cases have been corrected," Hunter and Kinzinger said. "Overall, we are content with the outcome and commend the Air Force for doing the right thing." Hunter and Kinzinger also commended Welsh for paying attention to the case. But, they said, they are concerned that the military justice system seems to allow "the unjustified seizure and misrepresentation of personal text messages." They also promised to address that issue. http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/12/23/pilots-get-wings-back-after-being-suspended- over-miley-cyrus-lyrics/77838712/ Back to Top Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship The Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship was established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to shape the next generation of researchers in aviation weather, honoring the late Najeeb Elias Halaby, an eminent aviator and administrator, for his vision and more than five decades of extraordinary contributions to aviation (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/halabyfellowship.pdf). The Fellowship The recipient of a Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship will spend three months (in 2016 or early 2017) in residence with NCAR's Aviation Weather Research Program, which Mr. Halaby was instrumental in establishing in the 1980s. As the nation's leader in addressing aviation weather research, NCAR plays a unique role in meeting user needs by transferring research results to operations through its Research Application Laboratory (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/). The Fellow will conduct research broadly aimed at improving the integration of weather into decision support tools for improved weather avoidance and air traffic management. The Fellowship will provide: * a monthly stipend for three months, including temporary living expenses * round-trip travel expenses to and from Boulder, CO * travel to a conference to present results * page charges for one publication of key results Eligibility and Application The Halaby Fellowship targets graduate students (late Masters or early PhD level) enrolled in an aviation- relevant department or program of a domestic or international university. Interested candidates should have advanced research skills, far-reaching vision, and dedication to get things accomplished. Consideration for this Fellowship will be given to candidates based on the following submitted material: * Curriculum vitae * Proposal (maximum five pages) presenting the research to be conducted at NCAR, the anticipated outcome of that, and how the proposed effort ties into the candidate's ongoing graduate research project(s) * Contact information for three references (one of which should be the student's primary advisor) NCAR will accept applications for the Halaby Fellowship each year. Email Applications by February 28, 2016 to halabyfellowship@ucar.edu Back to Top Upcoming Events: 2016 DTI SMS/QA Symposium January 3, 4, & 5 2016 Disney World, FL 1-866-870-5490 www.dtiatlanta.com 6th European Business Aviation Safety Conference 2016 February 23-24, 2016 Frankfurt, Germany www.ebascon.eu 2016 Air Charter Safety Symposium | Safety: A Small Investment for a Rich Future March 8-9, 2016 | NTSB Training Center | Ashburn, VA http://www.acsf.aero/events/acsf-symposium/ CHC Safety & Quality Summit | Back to Basics: Prioritizing Safety in a Challenging Economy April 4-6, 2016 Vancouver, BC www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com BARS Auditor Training Washington, DC Tuesday-Thursday 5-7 April http://flightsafety.org/bars/auditor-training Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Manager Flight Operation FedEx Express https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=1186411 Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International https://www.rotor.org/AboutHAI/Employment.aspx Curt Lewis