Flight Safety Information January 5, 2016 - No. 003 In This Issue FAA Sued In Federal Court Over Drone Registration Rules Putting air turbulence into perspective Plane lands in desert patch just short of Henderson Airport Student Pilot Accused of Shining Laser at Jet at Daytona Beach Airport PROS 2016 TRAINING Time to get professional, Air India pilots! Bunking is going to cost you dearly Group: Pilot in Alaska Crash Took Plane Without Permission 2 PLANES COLLIDE WITH 2 TRUCKS IN 2 DAYS AT O'HARE Feds tout 'year of safety' in aviation OSHA Further Enlists the Help of the FAA in its Enforcement of Air Safety Whistleblower Provision Irish Aviation Authority may open up skies to commercial drone delivery ISAQ Aviation UK to launch Egyptian branch to train pilots Mitsubishi Regional Jet delivery delayed one year China's Comac delivers first homegrown ARJ-21 jet to Chengdu Airlines Qantas the World's Safest Airline New NASA-developed technologies could cut jet emissions by 75 percent Japan's 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Make Maiden Flight in Early 2016 Pentagon shutters African drone base, moves aircraft to other hotspots Upcoming Events Jobs Available FAA Sued In Federal Court Over Drone Registration Rules In a move that may give hope to many model aircraft flyers, the validity of the FAA's new drone registry is under challenge in federal court. The hope for these hobby flyers is that if the challenge is successful, they - including children as young as 13 - won't have to file their names and home addresses in a public database. Many hobby flyers have held off on registering their drones, concerned about the public availability of their information. The lawsuit challenging the FAA registry was filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on December 24 by a model aircraft enthusiast concerned that the registration rules were illegal. That individual is John A. Taylor, a multi-rotor builder and flyer living in Silver Spring, Maryland. An insurance attorney, Mr. Taylor is representing himself. He started flying model aircraft approximately one year ago and has become passionate about the hobby. He expected other hobby groups or drone manufacturers to file suit against the registration rules but when they didn't, he decided to step up himself. Although he plainly admits that he has no aviation or administrative law experience, as a long-time litigator, he says he's up to the challenge. Mr. Taylor is requesting that the court "issue an order declaring that the [FAA's registration rule] is void" and prohibited by Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. He alleges that that section specifically prohibits the FAA from promulgating any new rules or regulations regarding model aircraft if they're flown for hobby or recreational purposes. Somewhat surprisingly, the legal challenge does not come - as many hobbyists expected - from the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The AMA - which represents over 180,000 model aircraft enthusiasts -has asked its members to hold off on registering their drones until the legal deadline of February 19 for drones owned before December 21, 2015. (Those bought on or after that date must be registered before operation.) The registration requirement applies to drones weighing .5 to 55 pounds. The AMA has stated that it believes the FAA's new registration rule violates Section 336. Mr. Taylor requested an emergency stay of the FAA's registration requirement while the case winds its way through the legal process. That request was denied by the Court of Appeals on December 24, stating that Mr. Taylor " has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review." The case will now proceed according to a schedule issued by the Court, with the next filing deadline January 27. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The AMA declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit but it's executive director, Dave Mathewson, said in an emailed response: "AMA has been clear about our disappointment with the new rule for UAS registration. From the beginning of this process, we have argued that registration makes sense at some threshold and for those operating outside of a community-based organization or for commercial purposes. But for our members who have been flying safely for decades and who already register with AMA, we strongly believe that the new interim rule is unnecessary. That is why our Executive Council unanimously voted to look at all legal and political remedies to relieve and protect our members from regulatory burdens. On a parallel track, we are also discussing with the FAA ways to potentially streamline the registration process for our members." The drone registration requirement was precipitated by the FAA's concern that a surge in drone buying at Christmas would increase the number of pilot reports of drones flying too close to manned aircraft. The FAA determined that registration was necessary to "increase accountability and education" of drone operators. (The data used by the FAA has been debunked by a number of people, including most recently the Academy of Model Aeronautics.) ************* By: John Goglia CONTRIBUTOR I write about the airline industry and aviation safety. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. John Goglia is an independent aviation safety consultant and Adjunct Professor at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology and regular monthly columnist for four aviation trade publications. I was a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board and airline mechanic for more than 30 years and was also the first and only aviation mechanic to ever serve as a Board Member. I co-authored two text books (Safety Management Systems in Aviation, Ashgate Publishing 2009 and Implementation of Safety Management Systems in Aviation, Ashgate Publishing 2011). http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2016/01/04/faa-sued-in-federal-court-over- drone-registration-rules/ Back to Top Putting air turbulence into perspective IT MUST have been a harrowing experience being on board the Air Canada plane flying between Shanghai and Toronto on New Year's Eve. The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing after it hit some terrifying air turbulence over Alaska. Twenty-one passengers were taken to hospital, some after being thrown around the cabin like rag dolls. One passenger spoke of a sleeping girl "flying up" into the ceiling. It would only be human if, for those few minutes, a good number aboard the flight started to make their peace with God. But should air turbulence put the wind up flyers? According to Lauren Reid, aviation-business development manager at the Met Office in Britain, there are three main types of naturally occurring air turbulence that affect planes flying at altitude. The first, convective turbulence, is caused by localised thunderstorms. This is relatively easy for planes to avoid because the weather is visible, says Ms Reid. The most common is clear-air turbulence (CAT). This is caused by wind shear-streams of air travelling at different speeds or in different directions. This can jostle planes from side to side as well as up and down. The last, mountain-wave turbulence, is similar to wind shear, and occurs downstream from a mountain range. The terrain can sometimes cause the wind to oscillate, resulting mostly in up-down movement of the plane. As meteorologists have become better at predicting the likely location of bad turbulence, so relatively fewer passengers now experience it. The Met Office, which is one of two global centres providing forecast information for long-haul flights, says that over the past ten years its models, backed by greater computing power, have improved markedly. But, while planes have access to better information in order to avoid potential turbulence, the phenomena themselves may be becoming more common. Although there is no consensus amongst academics-"scientific papers go either way" says Ms Reid-some believe that global warming is making matters worse. A warming planet potentially means that jet streams are becoming more intense, increasing the likelihood of CAT. This is not a particular problem for the planes themselves. Aircraft are well-engineered and robust pieces of machinery. Even in the bumpiest conditions, wings do not shear off and fuselages do not get flipped upside down. Indeed those sudden, sickening drops, when you are sure you have plunged hundreds of feet, are mere pebbles in the road. The most severe turbulence usually buffets planes by no more than 100 feet (30 metres) or so. In fact the main reason pilots try to avoid such weather pockets is because it upsets passengers. In an informative (and hugely comforting) piece on his Ask the Pilot blog, Patrick Smith writes: Altitude, bank, and pitch will change only slightly during turbulence-in the cockpit we see just a twitch on the altimeter. [...] I remember one night, headed to Europe, hitting some unusually rough air about halfway across the Atlantic. It was the kind of turbulence people tell their friends about. It came out of nowhere and lasted several minutes, and was bad enough to knock over carts in the galleys. During the worst of it, to the sound of crashing plates, I recalled an email. A reader had asked me about the displacement of altitude during times like this. How many feet is the plane actually moving up or down, and side to side? I kept a close watch on the altimeter. Fewer than forty feet, either way, is what I saw. Ten or twenty feet, if that, most of the time. Any change in heading-that is, the direction our nose was pointed-was all but undetectable. I imagine some passengers saw it differently, overestimating the roughness by orders of magnitude. 'We dropped like 3,000 feet in two seconds!' If you imagine the crew at such moments, with leather gloves tightly clenched around their yokes, struggling manfully to wrest back control of the aircraft, you could not be more wrong. One of the worst things a pilot can do, says Mr Smith, is to fight turbulence. Instead they are taught to ride it out by cutting their speed and making fewer manoeuvres. In any case, some pockets of turbulence are so localised, a diversion of just a few thousand feet can often be enough to pull the aircraft into calmer skies. Turbulence around the world is classified as light, moderate and severe. Moderate turbulence is enough to spill your drink, with the plane deviating by perhaps 40 feet. Even severe turbulence does not put the aircraft in jeopardy. According to Steve Allright, a British Airways pilot writing in the Daily Telegraph: Severe turbulence is extremely rare. In a flying career of over 10,000 hours, I have experienced severe turbulence for about five minutes in total. It is extremely uncomfortable but not dangerous. The aircraft may be deviating in altitude by up to 100 feet (30 metres) or so, up as well as down, but nothing like the thousands of feet you hear some people talking about when it comes to turbulence. The biggest danger of turbulence, as borne out by the Air Canada incident, is passengers not wearing their seatbelts, even when they are instructed to by the pilot. Mr Smith makes an excellent point: American carriers, in part driven by that country's litigious culture, are quicker to illuminate the "fasten seatbelt" sign, and tend to leave it on for longer. But one unintended consequence of such over-zealousness is that flyers have become so desensitised that they end up ignoring it. Presumably you only have to experience a horror show like the Air Canada flight once before you decide to change your ways. http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2016/01/things-go-bump-flight Back to Top Plane lands in desert patch just short of Henderson Airport An unidentified man who was on board the Beechcraft Bonanza single engine plane makes a call on his mobile phone after it landed hard in the desert short of the Henderson Executive Airport Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, in Henderson. The plane which was headed to Nashville, Tenn. when it was to divert to Henderson Airport due to inclement weather. Two people were on-board but were not injured. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal A small plane bound for Nashville, Tennessee landed just short of the Henderson Executive Airport on Monday afternoon. Neither of the two people on board was injured, said Chris Jones, McCarran International Airport spokesman. The plane was on its way from Porterville, California, a small city just west of Sequoia National Forest, when Jones said it diverted to Henderson "because of the bad weather." Jones said investigators on the scene "believe the aircraft lost power on its way down to the runway." Henderson Fire responded and located the plane, which was on a desert patch near St. Rose Parkway and Alper Center Drive - near Seven Hills Drive - around 5:20 p.m. Because there were no injuries and no fire, aviation officials weren't quick to call it a crash, but Jones said it was "obviously not a normal landing." Federal Aviation Administration records show the six-seater, single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza plane is registered to Jonathan Richey, 36, a practicing dermatologist out of Prosper, Texas, but aviation officials were unable to confirm Monday whether he was on board for the Nashville trip. http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/plane-lands-desert-patch-just-short- henderson-airport ***************** Date: 04-JAN-2016 Time: 17:18 Type: Beech 35-C33 Debonair Owner/operator: Private Registration: N20XY C/n / msn: CD-1083 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Near Henderson Executive Airport (KHND), Las Vegas, NV - United States of America Phase: Landing Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Porterville Muni (KPTV) Destination airport: Henderson Exec (KHND) Narrative: The aircraft landed short of the intended runway at Henderson Executive Airport (KHND), Las Vegas, Nevada. The airplane sustained unreported damage and the two occupants onboard were not injured. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=183100 Back to Top Student Pilot Accused of Shining Laser at Jet at Daytona Beach Airport A 23-year-old man who claims to be studying to be a pilot is facing felony charges after reportedly shining a laser light into the cockpit of a commercial jet as it approached Daytona Beach airport on Sunday. Gerardo Sanchez was arrested near the airport. He's also accused of shining the laser light at the control tower. According to NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando, air traffic controllers called police around 10 p.m. to report being hit in the eyes with a green laser. The crew of an inbound American Airlines flight made similar complaints, with the pilot telling police the light was right in his eyes. Police found Sanchez, who claimed he was enrolled at a local flight school studying to be a pilot, and that he had been playing with the laser. Sanchez was arrested and charged with pointing a laser light at a pilot and ordered held on $1,500 bond by a Volusia County judge. http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Student-Pilot-Accused-of-Shining-Laser-at-Jet-at- Daytona-Beach-Airport-364129721.html Back to Top Back to Top Time to get professional, Air India pilots! Bunking is going to cost you dearly In a bid to crack a whip on pilots who report sick just two hours before flight time, Air India has come up with penalising provision. Under the new provision, any pilot who will call in sick two hours before the flight will face deductions in total flying hours. This will not only reduce flight delays but will also teach some professionalism to pilots. Not only this, pilots who will bunk won't be eligible for flying allowance based on 72 hours if they do not fly for a minimum 45 hours a month. "It is very difficult to find a replacement if a pilot reports sick four hours before the departure of a flight. A two hours deadline will surely discourage pilots from skipping work and will improve our fleet and pilot utilisation," a senior Air India official, who preferred anonymity, told ET. Although Air India has improved slightly in performance, but less number of flights still haunts the national carrier. http://www.businessinsider.in/Time-to-get-professional-Air-India-pilots-Bunking-is-going- to-cost-you-dearly/articleshow/50450641.cms Back to Top Group: Pilot in Alaska Crash Took Plane Without Permission A pilot who crashed a small Civil Air Patrol plane into office buildings in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, was using the search-and-rescue aircraft without permission, the organization said Monday. Civil Air Patrol national spokeswoman Julie DeBardelaben said pilot Doug Demarest did not make a request to fly, as required. Demarest was the only person killed on Dec. 29 when the Cessna 172 clipped several buildings, including one housing the law firm where his wife works, before most area businesses had opened for the day. There were no injuries on the ground. Family spokeswoman Jahna Lindemuth has said the death was a suicide. Lindemuth, a managing partner at the law firm, Dorsey & Whitney, has declined to say how the family knew it was suicide and she asked that their privacy be respected. The FBI is leading the investigation and has released little information. The 42-year-old Demarest , who joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2010, crashed the plane after taking it from a hangar at Merrill Field on the edge of downtown. "The pilot involved in the AK incident did not obtain a flight authorization," DeBardelaben said in an email to The Associated Press. The organization is a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that helps with search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security across the nation. Merrill Field's tower is staffed between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the winter, airfield manager Paul Bowers said. The crash occurred at 6:18 a.m., but Bowers said no one at the airfield was aware of the plane taking off. Towers at many smaller airports in the nation are similarly staffed. Bowers has said Civil Air Patrol officials were alerted after maintenance crews found the hangar door open. There was no sign of forced entry. Dorsey & Whitney reopened its offices on Monday, almost a week after the crash. Demarest's wife, Katherine Demarest, was recently named a partner at the firm. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pilot-alaska-crash-plane-permission-36088285 Back to Top 2 PLANES COLLIDE WITH 2 TRUCKS IN 2 DAYS AT O'HARE A GoJet Airlines flight and a fuel truck collided at O'Hare International Airport late Sunday night. On Saturday, a plane crashed into an airport truck. CHICAGO (WLS) -- A plane and truck collided at O'Hare International Airport late Sunday night. There were two crashes involving airplanes and trucks at O'Hare in the last two days. Two people were hurt in the most recent collision. Around 11 p.m. Sunday, a fuel truck smashed into a Go Jet Airlines flight. An airline spokesperson said GoJet Flight 3693, operating as United Express, was standing still just before takeoff when a fuel truck crashed into the plane's wing. A plane and truck crashed at O'Hare International Airport Sunday night. Chicago police said the truck driver was taken to Presence Resurrection Medical Center in good condition. A flight attendant was "slightly hurt" and also taken to Resurrection, police said. The flight was headed to Omaha, Nebraska. There were 65 passengers and 4 crew members on board. No one on the plane was injured. A plane and truck crashed at O'Hare International Airport Sunday night. National Transportation Safety Board investigators are looking into what caused the crash. On Saturday, a plane that had just landed from Canada slammed into an airport truck. No one was hurt in that collision. http://abc7chicago.com/news/plane-fuel-truck-crash-at-ohare-airport/1145131/ ***************** Status: Preliminary Date: Sunday 3 January 2016 Time: ca 23:00 Type: Canadair CL-600-2C10 Regional Jet CRJ-702 Operating for: United Express Leased from: GoJet Airlines Registration: N164GJ C/n / msn: 10256 First flight: 2006 Engines: 2 General Electric CF34-8C5B1 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 65 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 69 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD) ( United States of America) Phase: Standing (STD) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD), United States of America Destination airport: Omaha-Eppley Airfield, NE (OMA/KOMA), United States of America Flightnumber: GJS3693 Narrative: A CRJ-700 passenger jet, operated by GoJet Airlines, was struck by an airport vehicle while parked in the non-movement area at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD). The driver of the vehicle and a flight attendant suffered minor injuries. The vehicle, which impacted the right hand wing tip, sustained substantial damage. http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20160103-0 Back to Top Feds tout 'year of safety' in aviation The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) touted 2015 as a "year of safety and continued modernization" on Monday as lawmakers are expected to resume consideration of a new funding bill for the agency. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a blog post on the transportation department's website that "the dedicated professionals at the Federal Aviation Administration made significant progress this year as we continued to modernize and streamline the nation's air traffic system while also preparing the way for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to safely play a growing role in aviation." He cited the agency's efforts to require drone users to register their devices with the federal government and the completion of an airplane navigation system known as En Route Automation Modernization as examples of improvements that were made to the nation's aviation system in 2015. "In April, we completed the program to replace the aging computer system that had been the core technology in our network of high-altitude air traffic control centers," Huerta wrote. "The new system, En Route Automation Modernization, or ERAM, is now the backbone for our NextGen Air Transportation System, driving the display screens used by controllers to safely manage and separate aircraft. "On the recreational front, our most high-profile accomplishment was launching a streamlined and user-friendly web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small UAS weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) including payloads such as on-board cameras," Huerta continued. "The registration requirement, which went into effect on December 21, is a key opportunity to educate a new generation of airspace users about the rules and regulations they must follow," he concluded. "Registration is free for the first 30 days with a rebate, then $5 after that." The comments come as Congress is expected to work quickly in the new year on crafting an FAA bill, which is currently set to expire on March 31. The measure, which authorizes funding for air traffic controllers, is expected to contain a controversial proposal from Republicans to privatize some functions of the nation's flight navigation system. Huerta did not address the air traffic control privatization plan on Monday, but he promised to keep working to modernize the nation's aviation system in 2016 while lawmakers are debating a new round of funding for his agency. "We're working on a rule that will allow for routine commercial operations of small UAS, and we expect to have that rule finalized in the late spring of 2016," he wrote. "In the meantime, we have been authorizing commercial operations on a case-by-case basis, with more than 2,700 authorized to date," Huerta continued. "We'll continue working with our partners to identify new outreach opportunities to instill the same priority on safety that has been the hallmark of aviation since Wilbur and Orville Wright took to the skies 112 years ago." The FAA has been at the center of budget battles in Washington before. The agency's last funding measure, in 2012, was passed following a string of more than 20 temporary extensions that resulted in a partial shutdown of the agency in 2011. The FAA's funding was also cut in the 2013 sequester, resulting in air traffic controller furloughs and flight delays, before Congress passed a quick fix to restore the spending. Aviation groups are hoping to avoid a repeat of those earlier standoffs in the upcoming FAA funding battle. http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/264711-feds-tout-year-of-safety-in-aviation Back to Top OSHA Further Enlists the Help of the FAA in its Enforcement of Air Safety Whistleblower Provision The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have once again teamed up to coordinate efforts in enforcing a federal air carrier safety law. These agencies recently released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the purpose of which "is to facilitate coordination and cooperation concerning the protection of employees who provide air safety information under . . . 49 U.S.C. § 42121," the whistleblower protection provision of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21). This agreement replaces a previous MOU between the agencies dated March 22, 2002, but the agencies' other previous MOU, from August 26, 2014, remains intact. The whistleblower protection provision at issue, 49 U.S.C. § 42121, prohibits air carriers and their contractors or subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee for: (a) disclosing information to their employer or the federal government relating to a violation or alleged violation of any federal regulation or law relating to air carrier safety; (b) filing a proceeding related to the violation of any such laws or regulations; (c) testifying in such a proceeding; or (d) assisting or participating in such a proceeding. The FAA and OSHA already have various responsibilities related to this provision. OSHA is responsible for investigating employee complaints of discrimination, and it may order violators to abate the violation, reinstate the complainant (with back pay), or pay compensatory damages (including attorney fees). The FAA is responsible for investigating complaints related to air carrier safety, and it has the authority, pursuant to the FAA's statute, to enforce air safety regulations and issue sanctions to airmen and air carriers for noncompliance with such regulations. Other permissible enforcement actions by the FAA include imposing civil fines and suspending or revoking air carrier or airman certificates. In the new MOU, which went into effect in December, OSHA and the FAA agreed "to cooperate with each other to the fullest extent possible in every case of alleged discrimination involving an employee of an air carrier or air carrier contractor or subcontractor." More specifically, OSHA has agreed to: (a) "promptly notify" the FAA of any discrimination complaints it receives under § 42121; (b) "promptly provide" the FAA with a copy of the complaint, including the complainant's contact information; (c) provide the FAA all investigative findings, preliminary orders, investigation reports, and orders associated with any hearings or administrative appeals related to the complaint; and (d) keep the FAA informed of the status of any administrative or judicial proceedings seeking review of Department of Labor orders issued under § 42121. On the other hand, when an individual directly notifies the FAA of alleged discrimination involving air carrier safety, the FAA has agreed to promptly provide OSHA with a copy of the complaint, including the complainant's contact information. The FAA will also inform OSHA of investigative results, including whether any violations of air carrier safety regulations occurred. Perhaps most importantly, the FAA will inform the relevant individual that: (a) personal remedies for the alleged discrimination are available only through the Department of Labor; (b) the individual should personally contact the Department of Labor; and (c) complaints must be filed with OSHA within ninety days of the alleged discrimination. Admittedly, this new MOU does nothing to alter AIR-21, and employers' obligations under § 42121 remain unchanged. However, employers should be aware of this new coordination of efforts, as these agencies seek to more efficiently and effectively enforce air carrier safety regulations and protect whistleblowers. In terms of discrimination defense, the most drastic impact of this MOU will come from the FAA pointing each whistleblower claiming discrimination in the direction of the Department of Labor, encouraging these individuals to contact OSHA and informing them of the ninety-day deadline. With the FAA aiding OSHA's efforts in this way, employers will likely see fewer and fewer potential complainants missing their filing window. http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5574cef4-b9c0-408f-b625-4caf7d31d4d7 Back to Top Irish Aviation Authority may open up skies to commercial drone delivery The Irish Aviation Authority has said it has been informally approached about drone- testing, which could open up the way for the future use of commercial drone delivery operations. Prior to Christmas the IAA rolled out the world's first online drone registration module with the IAA ASSET System, in support of the authority's new drone regulations. That requires the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more with the IAA, and came into force on December 21. The IAA said it had received a "small number" of reports relating to minor airspace infringements involving drones although, unlike in other countries where near misses with aircraft have been documented, nothing of that magnitude has happened here. A spokesman for the IAA said: "To date, drone activity has not posed a significant hazard to civil aviation safety in Ireland. The new legislation is intended to ensure that the highest levels of safety are maintained in light of this growing area of aviation." There had been speculation about tests on the geo-fencing of drone flight paths for possible future commercial deliveries by companies such as Amazon Air. Alan Singleton, the chairman of the Irish Air Traffic Controllers Association, said there had been indications testing could take place early in 2016, which could open the way for the courier-style drone service to begin operating here. But, in a statement, an IAA spokesman said: "Although the IAA has been informally approached, no formal application has been made to the IAA to set up a drone test area in any part of Ireland. If an application is made to the IAA, it will be assessed by the IAA on its merits." There was no indication as to who had made the informal approach. A geo-fence is a virtual barrier, allowing certain areas or features to be tagged and inputted so that any drone will take routes to avoid them. Airports are one obvious feature that must be avoided by drones, particularly larger commercial versions. Mr Singleton, who is on Ireland's Air Traffic Controller National Executive Committee, said while there were issues regarding the use of drones - not least safety in terms of a possible crash, and also privacy - there had been no incidents involving any interaction with aircraft or airports of which he was aware. Irish Air Traffic Controllers Association general secretary Helen Sheridan said, to her knowledge, there had only been one incident involving an airport involving a drone, and that turned out to be a false alarm. She said commercial operators have acted responsibly and give notification of any journeys. "The problems are the people who are hobbyists," she said. "They go out and go off with this expensive toy." One retail giant looking at the use of drones is Amazon, which is currently developing its Amazon Prime Air service, which would allow packages to be delivered to customers in as little as 30 minutes using drones and regional depots. According to Amazon: "Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realise our vision." The IAA said: "While provision for the designation of airspace for drone activity is contained within legislation, no applications have been made to date for commercial delivery testing." http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-aviation-authority-may-open-up-skies-to- commercial-drone-delivery-374387.html Back to Top ISAQ Aviation UK to launch Egyptian branch to train pilots: ISAQ Chairman 500 flight hours are provided per person to qualify them to work for international aviation companies Twinning project aims to look into the difference of legislations between Egypt and the EU and try to reduce the gap ISAQ Aviation UK intends to open a branch in Egypt for flight training, according to ISAQ Aviation Egypt Chairperson Ali Baiyoumi. The branch aims to train approximately 200 people annually through seven aviation companies in Europe and Asia contracting with ISAQ UK. According to Baiyoumi, the flight training costs $55,000 for each pilot and will range between eight months to two years and will cover accommodation and transportation outside Egypt. ISAQ provides 500 flight hours per person to enable them to work for international aviation companies since the flight time requirements for pilots is at least 500 to 1000 flight hours. The company vows to provide jobs for its trainees at international aviation companies contracting with them. "The company is obliged to provide these jobs and in case it failed to meet this condition, it will refund the cost of training," Baiyoumi said. ISAQ technical consultant Pilot Hani Bishay said the cost of flight training at ISAQ is lower than other flight trainings in Egypt. This increases the competitiveness of the company to attract new trainees and introduce them to the labour market in the Middle East, which has been witnessing significant growth in expansion rates of planes during the last period. Baiyoumi said ISAQ UK will not only launch the Egyptian branch for training but also will establish Charter Air under the title "Wings of Egypt" to service tourism inside and outside Egypt. The company will need investments not less than $50m and will have two helicopters. All approval requests of the aviation company were submitted to the associated parties in Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Investment. All the details of the new company will be announced very soon, he said and that the shareholders of the new company are Egyptian. http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/01/04/isaq-aviation-uk-to-launch-egyptian- branch-to-train-pilots-isaq-chairman/ Back to Top Mitsubishi Regional Jet delivery delayed one year Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. will push delivery of the single-aisle, composites-intensive Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) from second quarter 2017 to second quarter 2018 so that it can address development issues. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. (Nagoya, Japan) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI, Tokyo, Japan) announced on Dec. 24 that the companies will change the first delivery schedule of the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), their next-generation regional jet, from the second quarter of 2017 to approximately one year later. The companies said, in a statement, "The first flight and the subsequent flight tests have confirmed the basic characteristics to be satisfactory. However, we also have recognized several issues as we attempt to accelerate our development. In order to tackle these issues and address the perspectives below, we have reviewed and revised our overall schedule." Specifically, in the progress of their engineering work together with experts in the United States, the companies have made additions to and revisions of test items in order to complete a better-integrated aircraft. These have been reflected in the new delivery schedule. In addition, they companies have undertaken an overall review with their partners, and reflected this in their development schedule. The companies also said, "Looking ahead, we will be managing our milestones, and increasing the precision of our schedule as we progress. We will also carry out flight test campaign in North America as soon as feasible and assign the roles and responsibilities of the three engineering bases (Mitsubishi Aircraft Headquarters, Seattle Engineering Center and Moses Lake Test Center) for prompt execution in all fields. With all these measures, we aim to propel the development of the MRJ." The MRJ is a single-aisle aircraft that offers configurations for 70- or 90-passenger seating, and features some composite structures and parts. http://www.compositesworld.com/news/mitsubishi-regional-jet-delivery-delayed-one-year Back to Top China's Comac delivers first homegrown ARJ-21 jet to Chengdu Airlines Aircraft has domestic approval but lacks international certification The ARJ-21 was cleared to fly in China at the end of 2014 China has been one of the biggest buyers of Airbus and Boeing aircraft for many years but, just like in the auto or smartphone industries, the priority is always to develop a homegrown product that can compete internationally. So it was another milestone last month when state-owned aircraft-maker the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) delivered the first ARJ-21, a homegrown jet, to domestic low-cost carrier Chengdu Airlines. It's a major advance for China's domestic jet industry which the government is keen to expand to ultimately rival Boeing and Airbus, and the 80-seater is seen longer term as competing with Brazil's Embraer, Japan's Mitsubishi and Canada's Bombardier. China is also developing a narrow-body jet, the C-919, to compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing. After years of delay because of technical issues, the ARJ-21 was cleared to fly in the domestic market by civil aviation regulators Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) at the end of 2014, but it has not been given a certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which will limit its access to overseas markets as only a few markets recognise the CAAC certification. Comac has received 350 orders for the ARJ-21, mostly from domestic airlines and leasing companies. In September, Comac said it had signed a preliminary deal with ICBC Leasing to supply 10 ARJ-21 jets and 10 of its C-919 models to Thai airline City Airways. There are also possible ramifications for Europe as the certification issue could force Comac to eventually ask the European Aviation Safety Agency to certify the jet rather than wait for the US Federal Aviation Administration. http://www.irishtimes.com/business/manufacturing/china-s-comac-delivers-first- homegrown-arj-21-jet-to-chengdu-airlines-1.2484566 Back to Top Qantas the World's Safest Airline PERTH, Australia, Jan. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --AirlineRatings.com ( www.AirlineRatings.com ) the world's only safety and product rating website has announced its top 20 safest airlines for 2016 from the 407 it monitors. http://www.airlineratings.com/news/630/who-is-the-worlds-safest-airline-for-2016 Top of the list for the third year running is Australia's Qantas, which has a fatality free record in the jet era. Making up the top 20 in alphabetical order are: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. AirlineRatings.com does not numerically rank its safest airlines as they are so close in operational safety but selects one overall standout airline. Responding to public interest, the AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their top ten safest low cost airlines. These are in alphabetical order: Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and Westjet. AirlineRatings.com's rating system takes into account a variety of factors related to audits from aviation's governing bodies and lead associations as well as government audits and the airline's crash record. AirlineRating.com's editorial team, one of the world's most awarded and experienced, also examined each airline's operational history, incident records and operational excellence to arrive at its top 20 safest airlines. According to AirlineRatings.com editor, Geoffrey Thomas, "our top safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of new more advanced aircraft." "These airlines are always at the forefront for excellence in the safety space," he added. "However there is no question amongst the editors that Qantas remains a standout in safety enhancements and best practice," said Mr Thomas. Over its 95-year history Qantas has amassed an extraordinary record of firsts in safety and operations and is now accepted as the world's most experienced airline. "It is extraordinary that Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years," said Mr Thomas. Of the 407 airlines surveyed 148 have the top seven-star safety ranking, but almost 50 have just three stars or less. There are 10 airlines with only one star and these airlines are from Indonesia, Nepal and Surinam. SOURCE AirlineRatings.com http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qantas-the-worlds-safest-airline- 300198480.html Back to Top New NASA-developed technologies could cut jet emissions by 75 percent New designs, materials could also deliver huge cost savings for airlines Airlines could cut costs and air pollution by adopting some of NASA's latest green aviation technologies. The nation's airlines could realize more than $250 billion dollars in savings in the near future thanks to green-related technologies developed and refined by NASA's aeronautics researchers during the past six years. "If these technologies start finding their way into the airline fleet, our computer models show the economic impact could amount to $255 billion in operational savings between 2025 and 2050," said Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research. The new technologies fall into three categories - airframe technology, propulsion technology and vehicle systems integration. Among other things, NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation project includes a new process for stitching together large sections of lightweight composite materials to create damage-tolerant structures that could be used in building uniquely shaped future aircraft that weighed as much as 20 percent less than a similar all-metal aircraft. Altogether, adoption of the technologies could could cut airline fuel use in half, pollution by 75 percent and noise to nearly one-eighth of today's levels. By the time the project officially concluded its six-year run, NASA had invested more than $400 million, with another $250 million in-kind resources invested by industry partners who were involved in ERA from the start. "It was challenging because we had a fixed window, a fixed budget, and all eight demonstrations needed to finish at the same time," said Fayette Collier, ERA project manager. "We then had to synthesize all the results and complete our analysis so we could tell the world what the impact would be. We really did quite well." A brief summary of the integrated technology demonstrations completed by the ERA researchers: Tiny embedded nozzles blowing air over the surface of an airplane's vertical tail fin showed that future aircraft could safely be designed with smaller tails, reducing weight and drag. This technology was tested using Boeing's ecoDemonstrator 757 flying laboratory. Also flown was a test of surface coatings designed to minimize drag caused by bug residue building up on the wing's leading edge. NASA developed a new process for stitching together large sections of lightweight composite materials to create damage-tolerant structures that could be used in building uniquely shaped future aircraft that weighed as much as 20 percent less than a similar all- metal aircraft. Teaming with the Air Force Research Laboratory and FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, NASA successfully tested a radical new morphing wing technology that allows an aircraft to seamlessly extend its flaps, leaving no drag-inducing, noise-enhancing gaps for air to flow through. FlexSys and Aviation Partners of Seattle already have announced plans to commercialize this technology. NASA worked with General Electric to refine the design of the compressor stage of a turbine engine to improve its aerodynamic efficiency and, after testing, realized that future engines employing this technology could save 2.5 percent in fuel burn. The agency worked with Pratt & Whitney on the company's geared turbofan jet engine to mature an advanced fan design to improve propulsion efficiency and reduce noise. If introduced on the next-generation engine, the technology could reduce fuel burn by 15 percent and significantly reduce noise. NASA also worked with Pratt & Whitney on an improved design for a jet engine combustor, the chamber in which fuel is burned, in an attempt to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides produced. While the goal was to reduce generated pollution by 75 percent, tests of the new design showed reductions closer to 80 percent. New design tools were developed to aid engineers in reducing noise from deployed wing flaps and landing gear during takeoffs and landings. Information from a successful wind- tunnel campaign, combined with baseline flight tests, were joined together for the first time to create computer-based simulations that could help mature future designs. Significant studies were performed on a hybrid wing body concept in which the wings join the fuselage in a continuous, seamless line and the jet engines are mounted on top of the airplane in the rear. Research included wind-tunnel runs to test how well the aircraft would operate at low speeds and to find the optimal engine placement, while also minimizing fuel burn and reducing noise. http://summitcountyvoice.com/2016/01/04/new-nasa-developed-technologies-could-cut- jet-emissions-by-75-percent/ Back to Top Japan's 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Make Maiden Flight in Early 2016 According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the maiden flight will be preceded by taxiing and ground trials. Japan's Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) announced that a prototype of Tokyo's first indigenously-designed fifth-generation air superiority fighter, the Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin, will make its maiden flight in February 2016, according to Japanese media reports. Prior to its first test-flight, the aircraft will undergo extensive taxiing and ground trials at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries testing center located in Aichi Prefecture on Japan's main island of Honshu. From there the fighter prototype is expected to fly to Gifu Air Field, an airbase of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, situated in the neighboring prefecture of Gifu sometime in February. The principal objective of the ATD-X Shinshin program is to develop a research prototype aircraft an-"advanced technology demonstration unit" to test the capacity of Japan's defense industry to develop, among other things, a powerful fighter engine and various other indigenous stealth fighter aircraft technologies. The program is meant to eventually produce Japan's first indigenously-designed fifth- generation air superiority fighter, designated F-3, with serial production slated to begin in 2027, although various delays in the development of the ATD-X Shinshin prototype - scheduled to be fully developed by 2018- make a later date more likely. The reason behind the development of the F-3 is the refusal of the United States to sell to Japan the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor stealth air superiority fighter in the 2000s. According to some media reports, Lockheed-Martin is playing an undetermined role in the development of the ATD-X prototype. Among other things, the aircraft will feature 3D thrust vectoring capability. According to a The Diplomat contributor, other design characteristics include: If completed, the F-3 is supposed to incorporate some cutting-edge technology. The aircraft will be fitted with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The radar will have capabilities for electronic countermeasures, communications functions, and possibly even microwave weapon functions. The Shinshin is planned to have a flight-by- optics flight control system. Data is transmitted by optical fibers rather than wires. In this way data is transmitted faster and is immune to electromagnetic disturbance. Furthermore, the new Japanese aircraft will have a so-called self repairing flight control capability. It will allow the aircraft to detect failures or damage in its flight control surfaces. So far, one full-scale ATD-X prototype has been constructed. Back in 2011, Japan decided to procure 42 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, the first of which are scheduled to arrive at the end of 2016. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter procurement is an interim solution until Tokyo can field its own indigenous fifth generation fighter. http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/japans-5th-generation-stealth-fighter-to-make-maiden- flight-in-early-2016/ Back to Top Pentagon shutters African drone base, moves aircraft to other hotspots A MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan in this December 27, 2009 photo. (Efren Lopez/U.S. Air Force via Reuters) The Pentagon has closed a drone base in Africa and moved the unmanned aircraft to other locations as it strains to cope with a surge in demand for drones from military commanders fighting the Islamic State and other militant groups. The U.S. military has stopped flying unarmed Reaper drones from an airfield in Ethiopia that had served as a key hub since 2011 for collecting surveillance on al-Shabab, an al- Qaeda affiliate in neighboring Somalia, U.S. officials said. U.S. troops and contractors packed up the Reaper drones and dismantled their small base of operations in the southern city of Arba Minch in September. But the move was kept quiet until last weekend, when U.S. diplomats confirmed it in a report by an Ethiopian news website. U.S. officials were vague about why they decided to end the drone flights. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Falvo, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, said the United States and Ethiopia "reached a mutual decision that our presence in Arba Minch is not required at this time." Katherine Diop, a spokeswoman at the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital, added in an email that "it is important to know that our presence in Arba Minch was never meant to be permanent." A spokesman for the Ethiopian embassy in Washington did not return a phone call seeking comment. The shutdown was unexpected. Just three months earlier, the U.S. Air Force signed a $6.7 million, three-year contract with an Ethiopian tourist lodge to provide housing and office space for about 130 personnel who ran the drone operations, documents show. U.S. military officials declined to say where, exactly, the drones have redeployed. But the move comes as the Obama administration faces pressure to intensify counterterrorism operations in numerous countries, from Afghanistan to Cameroon. Those operations have been constrained in part by a severe shortage of military drone pilots and a tight supply of drone aircraft. Drone pilots are in such high demand that the Air Force recently announced that it would award bonuses of up to $125,000 to entice them to stay in the military. The Air Force is also being forced to contract out more of its drone surveillance flights overseas to private companies. The shutdown in Ethiopia is part of a broader global realignment of drone operations, a critical component of the Obama administration's counterterrorism strategy. In October, President Obama said he would send 300 U.S. troops to another African country, Cameroon, to set up a new drone base and help local forces counter Boko Haram, a network of Islamic extremists that has destabilized much of West Africa. It doesn't appear that the U.S. drones from Ethiopia were simply redeployed to Cameroon. U.S. military officials have said they are flying from Cameroon unarmed Predator drones, an older model than the Reapers that operated in Ethiopia. Meantime, demand is escalating for more drone flights elsewhere. The Pentagon has set up drone operations in another West African country, Niger, to conduct surveillance on Islamic fighters across a huge stretch of desert from Mali to southern Libya. Several thousand miles to the east, U.S. commanders have been forced to keep more drones than expected in Afghanistan to deal with a resurgence of the Taliban as well as the re-emergence of al-Qaeda loyalists in parts of the country. On top of that, the air war against the Islamic State continues to expand in Iraq and Syria, with drones playing a central role both in conducting surveillance and carrying out airstrikes. For that campaign, the Pentagon has bulked up its drone fleet at several bases in the region, including in Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. As it struggles to meet the increased demand, the Pentagon has been compensating by curtailing drone operations in Somalia and Yemen. Although al-Shabab still represents a serious regional threat, U.S. officials and security analysts say that Somalia has gradually become more stable since the U.S. drone base in Ethiopia opened in 2011. African peacekeeping troops, financed largely by Washington, have taken control of Mogadishu, the capital, and chased Shabab fighters into rural areas. Meanwhile, several Shabab leaders have been killed in U.S. airstrikes. The Pentagon continues to fly drones over Somalia from another regional base, in Djibouti, making the loss of the Ethiopian base easier to take, said J. Peter Pham, an Africa analyst at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. "There's less of a strategic reason to have a base there, so it makes sense to pack up and move to where there's more of a need," he said. "There's been a great deal of progress [against al-Shabab], or at least as much progress as one can get from a drone program." A few weeks after it ended its operations in Ethiopia, the U.S. Air Force also deactivated a Predator drone squadron based in Djibouti. The unit, the 60th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, was originally set up to fly missions over Yemen and Somalia. During its last year in existence, however, the squadron was reassigned to focus on faraway targets in Iraq and Syria as part of the campaign against the Islamic State, according to a detailed report published last month by TomDispatch, a blog affiliated with the Nation Institute. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/04/pentagon-shutters- african-drone-base-moves-aircraft-to-other-hotspots/ Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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 IATA OPS Conference April 18-20, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.iata.org/events/Pages/ops-conference.aspx ICAEA Workshop: Aviation English Training for Operational Personnel April 29-30, 2016 Santa Maria Island, The Azores, Portugal www.icaea.aero Back to Top Jobs Available: Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International https://www.rotor.org/AboutHAI/Employment.aspx Curt Lewis