Flight Safety Information March 15, 2016 - No. 052 In This Issue Flight MH370 Update: Experts To Analyze 3 Suspected Plane Debris Items, Including New Wreckage FAA Approves ExpressJet's Surface 3 'Electronic Flight Bag' (EFB) Using Windows 10 FAA Releases Part 23 Rewrite Plan VEHICLE STRIKES PLANE AT PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Cessna 206 Accident...(Bolivia) Rans tailwheel airplane approved as light sport NASA probe should lead to quieter supersonic aircraft Avjet sells aircraft management, charter services business to Jet Aviation Allied Pilots Association Urges Adoption of Secondary Cockpit Barriers: "Never Again" New rules for depressed pilots urged Assessing pilots' mental health DOD to start test of F-35 helmet that won't kill lighter pilots on ejection Safran Open to Partnering With Rolls-Royce on Small Jet Engines Iran is planning to reset the clock on its civil aviation industry Euro space agency racing to be first to Mars ISASI Military Air Safety Workshop - 19-21APR (ISASI) Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Meeting/Dinner - 05MAY Aviation Research Request Aviation Safety Specialist Available Immediately Flight MH370 Update: Experts To Analyze 3 Suspected Plane Debris Items, Including New Wreckage On Réunion Island A total of three debris items have been found over the last two weeks in the southeast African nation of Mozambique and on France's Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Monday. Authorities will reportedly analyze the debris to determine its links to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Authorities will be sending the first piece of debris found two weeks ago on a sandbank in the Mozambique Channel - the ocean strait between Mozambique and Madagascar, to Australia, after the second debris item in custody of a South African family reaches Malaysia, Liow said in a statement. Malaysian authorities confirmed that they are aware of the second fragment of debris discovered in Mozambique by the South African family, which took the piece to their hometown of KwaZulu-Natal. "As the debris was taken back to South Africa by the family, DCA has been in contact with the South African authorities on this matter to arrange for the South African authorities to take custody of it," Liow said, in the statement. "A Malaysian team consisting of the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370, DCA and MAS will be dispatched in due course to take custody of the piece from the South African Civil Aviation Authority." A piece of debris found by a South African family off the Mozambique coast that authorities will examine to see if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, is pictured in this handout photo released to Reuters March 11, 2016. Liow said that Malaysia wants to be "transparent and accountable in our investigation as much as possible ... that is why we want (the parts) to be verified in Australia," according to Australia's SBS news, adding that a Malaysian team will scour the beaches in Mozambique for more possible debris. Liow also said in the statement that a third debris was found on Réunion Island, where a flaperon belonging to a Boeing 777-200 jet, the same type as the missing Flight MH370 was found last July. "A Malaysian team from DCA and the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 has inspected the piece. The debris will be transferred to France for verification by the French authorities, with the participation of the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370," Liow said in the statement. As authorities continued to work to determine the links of the debris to the missing Flight MH370, Liow urged "the public to avoid premature and unwarranted speculation." Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. A multimillion-dollar search operation in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean is underway, but it has not revealed any concrete clues about the plane's whereabouts. Search vessels have so far scoured 34,749 sq. miles of the total 46,332 sq. miles of designated search area, while authorities have said the search is due to be called off in June if no wreckage is found. "It is important to re-emphasize that at this juncture, it has not been confirmed whether any of the recovered debris came from MH370. It is therefore crucial for verification of all three pieces to be conducted by the respective teams of experts in Australia and France," Liow said. http://www.ibtimes.com/flight-mh370-update-experts-analyze-3-suspected-plane-debris- items-including-new-2335841 Back to Top FAA Approves ExpressJet's Surface 3 'Electronic Flight Bag' (EFB) Using Windows 10 Last year, Microsoft announced that Surface 3 has been pre-qualified for airlines to seek authorization from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for use as an EFB during all phases of flight. Through a rigorous evaluation process, Surface 3 has completed environmental and situational testing. Today, Microsoft announced via blog post that Surface 3 has got FAA's official approval. Nearly 4,000 ExpressJet pilots are now using the EFB solution on Windows 10 and can officially access up to 50 pounds worth of navigation charts at the tip of their fingers on their Surface 3 devices. Microsoft Surface running Windows and the latest Jeppesen software is dominating the electronic flight bag (EFB) market. Microsoft highlighted that customers like Delta have seen savings of approximately 1.2M gallons of fuel and 7,500 sheets of paper annually. Read more about it from the link below. http://mspoweruser.com/faa-approves-expressjets-surface-3-electronic-flight-bag-efb- using-windows-10/ Back to Top FAA Releases Part 23 Rewrite Plan FAA introduces proposal for new certification rules while FAA reauthorization bill includes certification reform. The FAA has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for new certification rules to replace the current Part 23 regulations. After years of what has appeared to be a lot of talk and little action, the FAA has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for new certification rules to replace the current Part 23 regulations. If adopted, the new rules would apply to aircraft with a max seating capacity of 19 passengers and a max takeoff weight below 19,000 lbs in the normal, utility, aerobatic and commuter category. The rules are intended to make the introduction of new safety technologies into light aircraft less arduous and costly by moving from the current "prescriptive" requirements of the current Part 23 rules to a new performance-based standard. The new rules would not reduce the safety requirements with respect to certification, the FAA said. The FAA started re-evaluating the way it sets standards for certification in 2008, and a congressional mandate for new regulations was set forth in the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013. A bipartisan group of representatives from the U.S. Senate has also introduced an FAA reauthorization bill this week that includes language that addresses aircraft certification reform. If passed, the proposal would reauthorize the FAA through September 30, 2017. "These reforms are ready to go and give the FAA strong legislative direction so that manufacturers will be better able to get innovative, safety-enhancing technologies into their customers' hands - improving safety in the nation's skies, bolstering general aviation jobs, and increasing the global competitiveness of the industry," said Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. "Additionally, this legislation seeks to make sure government and industry are on the same page when it comes to interpreting FAA regulations, reducing confusion and ensuring that disputes can be resolved quickly. Furthermore, the bill encourages the FAA to engage more fully with regulatory authorities around the world to allow manufacturers to bring their products to the global market more quickly." http://www.flyingmag.com/faa-releases-part-23-rewrite-plan Back to Top VEHICLE STRIKES PLANE AT PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Date: 14-MAR-2016 Time: 12:30 Type: Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional Jet CRJ-200LR Owner/operator: American Eagle, opb Air Wisconsin Registration: N442AW C/n / msn: 7778 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Philadelphia International Airport, PA (PHL/KPHL) - United States of America Phase: Standing Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Greenville/Spartanburg Int'l (KGSP) Destination airport: Philadelphia International Airport, PA (PHL/KPHL) Narrative: A CRJ-200LR was damaged after a pickup truck impacted the left hand rear side of the aircraft. The driver was injured. The incident happened at American Eagle's Gate F38 at Philadelphia International Airport around 12:30 p.m. The aircraft had arrived from Greenville-Spartanburg Airport as flight AA3813 at 11:54 hours local time. https://ui.constantcontact.com/rnavmap/emcf/email/create?copyUid=1124085771272 Back to Top Cessna 206 Accident (Bolivia) Date: 13-MAR-2016 Time: ca 12:00 Type: Cessna 206 Owner/operator: Registration: CP-2871 C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 3 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Santa Ana de Yacuma - Bolivia Phase: Unknown Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: An aircraft crashed into a market in Santa Ana de Yacuma, Bolivia, and burst into flames. All four occupants of the aircraft are reported dead, along with three persons on the ground. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=185367 Back to Top Rans tailwheel airplane approved as light sport Less expensive than most light sport aircraft, the Rans S-20LS Raven (for light sport) tailwheel aircraft with side-by-side seating for two that started life as a kitplane has FAA approval as a factory-built aircraft. Pilots who fly the $119,000 bush-capable airplane can do so with only a driver's license. It comes in a variety of horsepower, from 60 through 180, and offers a selection of avionics from traditional analog to Dynon and Garmin glass panels. The engines available to buyers are the Lycoming O-233; Titan O-340; and Rotax 912ULS, 912iS, 914, and when available, the 135-horsepower Rotax 915. Light Sport category aircraft are limited to two people and a top cruise speed of 120 knots true airspeed with a fixed-pitch propeller. FAA approval of the S-20LS as a light sport aircraft had been expected last year. The S-20LS first shipped from the factory in Hays, Kansas, 2.5 hours west of Wichita, as a kit aircraft. Rans currently offers seven designs as kits. There are four light sport models: the Raven, S-6LS Coyote II, the S-7LS Courier, and the S-19LS Venterra. The low-wing Venterra has been tricked out with leather seats and luxury interior. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/March/14/Rans-tailwheel-airplane- approved-as-Light-Sport Back to Top NASA probe should lead to quieter supersonic aircraft Sonic booms won't create such a ruckus thanks to data from this in-air instrument. There's a good reason why it still takes hours to fly cross-country: supersonic airplanes are still so noisy that it's utterly impractical to fly them over populated areas. That's why the Concorde was largely relegated to overseas flights, after all. However, NASA has a new sensor that could usher in an era of quieter supersonic aircraft. The Eagle Aero Probe (the device you see in the red housing above) measures air pressure changes right near where they occur during a sonic boom, giving a near-instantaneous sense of what's happening. Previously, the sensors were about 15 feet away in the radar dome -- not exactly helpful when you need real-time data to measure a shockwave. It'll be a long while before the probe enters full service. Right now, the focus is on testing aboard NASA's own F-15 Eagle aircraft. Provided it does make the grade, though, it could be extremely useful for studying the aerodynamics of new aircraft and reducing the loudness of their sonic booms. Eventually, you could see a wide range of supersonic aircraft that are relatively silent, including passenger jets -- your New York-to-LA flight wouldn't have to chew up a large part of the day. http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/13/nasa-sonic-boom-probe/ Back to Top Avjet sells aircraft management, charter services business to Jet Aviation Jet Aviation was founded in Switzerland in 1967 and is one of the leading business aviation services companies in the world. The company said Avjet's 37-years of experience in aircraft management and charter services and its fleet of 45 aircraft complement Jet Aviation's operations. "This acquisition will also provide excellent benefits for Avjet's management and charter customers by providing access to Jet Aviation's global network of service facilities," David Paddock, senior vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation's U.S. Aircraft Services, said in a statement. Avjet's current chairman and chief executive, Marc Foulkrod, will continue to own and operate the Avjet sales and brokerage division in partnership with the company's president of global sales, Andrew Bradley, under the name "Avjet Global." Foulkrod recruited Bradley in 1997 to spearhead the company's move into aircraft sales and acquisitions with specific emphasis on Gulfstream and Boeing product lines. During Bradley's tenure the company said it closed more than 450 transactions, valued at more than $8 billion. "I am very excited by the closing of this transaction as I believe that I have left the company, its employees, and its clients in excellent hands," Foulkrod said. "This acquisition meets our plan to continue to expand our global sales, acquisition, and brokerage services while allowing Jet Aviation to continue Avjet's tradition of excellence in aircraft management and charter services." The closing of the acquisition is subject to certain governmental approvals, including relevant airport authorities. http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2016/03/14/avjet-sells-aircraft- management-charter-services.html Back to Top Allied Pilots Association Urges Adoption of Secondary Cockpit Barriers: "Never Again" FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Allied Pilots Association, certified collective bargaining agent for the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, expressed strong support for legislation that would require secondary cockpit barriers for larger commercial airliners. "We want to express our appreciation to Representative Michael Fitzpatrick and Senator Robert Casey for sponsoring the bill and to Senator Edward Markey for offering the amendment in committee. We look forward to prompt approval of this important legislation" The bill - H.R.911 in the House and S.911 in the Senate - would mandate secondary cockpit barriers for Part 121 commercial aircraft equipped with more than 75 passenger seats with a maximum gross takeoff weight exceeding 75,000 pounds. "Secondary cockpit barriers would enhance aviation security, and we urge Congress to require their adoption," said APA President Capt. Keith Wilson. "After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, our nation's professional pilots vowed 'never again.' As the last line of defense against another such attack, we committed ourselves to doing all we could to strengthen security for crewmembers and passengers. This amendment represents another significant step in that ongoing process." The House and Senate versions of the bill are titled "The Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2015." United Airlines Capt. Victor Saracini was pilot-in-command of United Airlines Flight 175, which the terrorists commandeered and flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. H.R.911 is part of the pending House Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act, with efforts underway to include S.911 in the Senate Commerce Committee bill for FAA reauthorization. "We want to express our appreciation to Representative Michael Fitzpatrick and Senator Robert Casey for sponsoring the bill and to Senator Edward Markey for offering the amendment in committee. We look forward to prompt approval of this important legislation," Wilson said. Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association - the largest independent pilots union in the United States - is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union's website is www.alliedpilots.org. American Airlines is the world's largest passenger airline. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160314006413/en/Allied-Pilots-Association- Urges-Adoption-Secondary-Cockpit Back to Top New rules for depressed pilots urged Arnaud Desjardin, leader of the French investigation into the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, speaks during a news conference at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, on Sunday. LE BOURGET, France -- Seeking to ensure that suicidal pilots don't crash their jets, French authorities investigating last year's Germanwings crash are urging new reporting requirements for doctors treating pilots and new measures to keep pilots from hiding mental health issues. The recommendations are delicate. The investigators from France's BEA air accident agency acknowledged Sunday that it's not easy to balance patients' right to medical privacy and public safety and said they don't want to stigmatize people suffering from depression. But they argue that aviation authorities around the world need clearer rules, after Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit and slammed Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountainside March 24, 2015. All 150 people aboard were killed. Lubitz had suffered from depression in the past, but authorities and his airline later deemed him fit to fly. What they didn't know was that his mental health troubles had returned. Lubitz consulted dozens of doctors about perceived vision troubles and sleeplessness in the months leading up to the crash, according to the final crash report released by the BEA on Sunday. One doctor prescribed antidepressants, including one whose side effects can include suicidal tendencies. Another doctor referred Lubitz to a psychiatric clinic two weeks before the crash, suspecting a potential "psychotic episode," said Arnaud Desjardin, leader of the BEA's Germanwings investigation. Lubitz reported none of this to Germanwings or its parent Lufthansa. Neither did the doctors, citing Germany's strict medical confidentiality laws. The BEA says those rules need to change. Among a list of 10 safety recommendations to international, European and German aviation authorities, the BEA said they should draw up new rules requiring medical workers to warn authorities when a pilot's mental health could threaten public safety. It suggested more rules like those in the U.S. and some other countries, which allow use of some antidepressants under medical supervision, to encourage pilots to seek treatment and come forward about depression. Germany's confidentiality laws prevent sensitive personal information from being widely shared, though doctors are allowed to suspend patient privacy if they believe there is a concrete danger to the person's safety or that of others. Desjardin said German doctors fear losing their jobs or potential prison terms if they unnecessarily report a problem to authorities. The doctors who treated Lubitz for depression and mental illness also refused to speak with the BEA investigators, citing medical privacy, complicating the investigation. Johann Reuss of Germany's air accident investigation agency told The Associated Press that "there is no need to change the law." Reuss said "it might not be easy" to loosen the privacy rules and suggested that authorities instead focus on giving doctors checklists to prevent similar scenarios with pilots. The BEA safety recommendations also include special insurance options and peer support groups for aviation workers to ease concerns about losing a job that pilots with mental health issues face. Even though Germany's medical privacy laws are stricter than those in the U.S., it's hard to imagine a U.S. doctor reporting mental health concerns about a pilot to an airline or the FAA without the patient's permission, said John Gadzinski, an veteran U.S. airline pilot and safety consultant. The underlying problem is that society hasn't figured out how to deal with mental health in a way that protects both the patient and society, Gadzinski told the AP from his home in Virginia Beach, Va. "I think the Germanwings accident is more of a symptom than the major issue," he said. "The major issue is how do we deal with mental health." The BEA also recommended more frequent, deeper monitoring of pilots who had mental health issues in the past -- for example every three months instead of every year. Lubitz' relapse appeared to begin about four months before the crash. The agency said airplane cockpit security rules shouldn't be changed, saying hijacking remains a greater threat than pilot suicide. Current cockpits are equipped with a code system to prevent the kind of hijackings that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States, where planes full of passengers were turned into weapons. After the Germanwings crash, some airlines required that at least two people be in the cockpit. Lufthansa pledged to back the new safety recommendations. Since the crash, the airline has replaced its Germanwings brand with the name Eurowings. On the day of the flight, Lubitz rehearsed a similar crash a few hours earlier. Then a half hour after Flight 9525 took off from Barcelona, Capt. Patrick Sondenheimer handed the controls to Lubitz and went to the restroom. Lubitz quickly locked the cockpit and set the plane into an accelerated dive for a mountainside near the French village of Le Vernet, where a stone memorial to victims marks their memory. Traces of anti-depressive medications Citalopram and Mirtazapine were found in Lubitz's remains, as well as the sleeping medication Zopiclone, the BEA report says. The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes on its entry for Citalopram that children and young adults who take the drug can become suicidal. Lubitz was 27 when he crashed the plane. Information for this article was contributed by Joan Lowy and Alan Clendenning of The Associated Press. http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2016/mar/14/new-rules-for-depressed-pilots-urged- 20/?news-world Back to Top Assessing pilots' mental health Pilots must be fully able to concentrate and focus while in the cockpit. This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Germanwings plane crash that took the lives of all 150 passengers and crew members on board. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had suffered from depression for several years, locked the captain out of the cockpit on a routine flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and set the plane on a collision course with the French Alps below. Investigators recently announced Lubitz was referred to a psychiatric clinic two weeks prior to the crash by a doctor but did not take himself off duty in order to follow the recommendation. The health professional who treated him was not allowed to advise higher-ups of Lubitz's mental state and force him to take time off due to German confidentiality laws. At first, news coverage of the event only furthered the public's negative opinion of mental illness. Mentally ill people have been accused of being more prone to violent behaviors in the past, though these allegations have been proven false in a number of studies. Luckily, this new information has diverted attention away from mental illness itself and to the laws and practices surrounding what doctors should or shouldn't reveal to airport officials. Individuals suffering from depression pose absolutely no threat to society, but the disorder is known to impair judgment and alter a person's perception of the world. Simply put, a depressed person should not be given total autonomy over the decision to continue working in a job where hundreds of lives depend upon qualities like quick thinking and judgment, which their disorder can dramatically affect. This should be especially true if the person is taking behavior- or mood-altering medication. Lubitz's remains tested positive for traces of the antidepressant citalopram (otherwise known as Celexa) and the sleeping aid zopiclone. At the very least, all airport personnel around the world should stay updated on what medications a pilot takes and create flight regulations surrounding taking medications with unpredictable side effects. France's Bureau of Investigation and Analyses has also shed light on another issue that may have led to Lubitz's failure to take time off: Pilots are at risk of losing their jobs if they report having a mental illness. This takes away any incentive for pilots to take time off from their stressful line of work to seek treatment, which could lead to more fatal mistakes or decisions while flying. Current mental health professionals only break patient confidentiality if a patient is in immediate danger of hurting themselves or others. However, revising these laws to include taking greater precautions for those in professions where others' lives depend on their mental salience could prevent tragedies like this from happening again. http://www.thedaonline.com/opinion/article_a230aba6-ea59-11e5-bf51- 63958a7b394e.html Back to Top DOD to start test of F-35 helmet that won't kill lighter pilots on ejection Risk of neck damage on ejection has kept pilots under 136 lbs grounded. Rockwell Collins and Elbit Systems' joint-a helmet that can see through planes without making the pilot throw up-can also break their necks if they eject. Lockheed Martin The F-35 Joint Program Office is about to begin testing a prototype for a new helmet for pilots of the Joint Strike Fighter-a critical upgrade to the aircraft's control systems. The current Generation III helmet, which acts as a heads-up instrumentation and night vision display for the pilot, was discovered last year to be so heavy that it snapped the neck of smaller test dummies during ejection testing. The Gen III helmet, which is essential to the operation of the F-35 in all its variations, has pushed forward the art of augmented reality. Combined with optic and infrared sensors on the aircraft, it essentially allows the pilot to look through the plane-a feature much desired by the Marine Corps for precision vertical landing of the F-35B. It also allows pilots to track, designate, and fire weapons at targets by looking in their direction-without having to turn the aircraft toward them. But the helmet has encountered multiple growing pains, including problems with image "jitter" early on in testing that could cause pilots with the strongest of stomachs to get motion sickness. The mass of the approximately 5-pound, $400,000 Gen III helmet could push the pilot's head down during the acceleration of ejection and cause both neck and back injuries to pilots. When combined with the sudden forces exerted by the opening of the ejection seat's parachute, particularly when the seat pitches to the point where it is nearly upside- down when the parachute opens, it could be enough to break the neck of lighter pilots. As a result, pilots under 136 pounds have been barred since last fall from flying the F-35 Lightning II, and the JPO has acknowledged that pilots between 136 and 165 pounds face an "elevated level of risk" of neck injury. The new helmet being prepared for testing is 10-percent lighter. The F-35 JPO and Lockheed are also working on making modifications to the ejection system that slow the seat after ejection and a head support panel on the seat itself that prevents neck hyperextension. The goal is to remove size restrictions on pilots for the F-35 by November. Quite a bit of testing. From what I gather the problem did not show up in tests (with mannequins) with even a larger version of the helmet. I'd actually go back and double check the test methodology in both situations. These sorts of articles would benefit from a little background info like that. Not to give anyone a pass, but pilot ejection is a pretty intense event. The extensive mannequin testing is the place where this sort of thing is supposed to come to light. Numbers on paper only take you so far. It's a complicated thing, but worrisome that it showed up on an already lighter helmet. Here's one of the tests: Back to Top Safran Open to Partnering With Rolls-Royce on Small Jet Engines * Venture could produce turbines for business, regional planes * Existing CFM pact with GE is focused on single-aisle airliners Safran SA Chief Executive Officer Philippe Petitcolin said he is open to partnering with Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc to power a new generation of regional and business jets. Safran views the market as potentially lucrative but not one that can be addressed via its CFM International venture with General Electric Co., which specializes in bigger engines for single-aisle jetliners, Petitcolin said Monday. "We don't have an agreement with GE for this category of engines," he said in a briefing with reporters during Paris-based Safran's capital markets day in London. "If there are opportunities where we think that in terms of market it's good to share the risk, then we would look at it. We are totally open." A partnership on regional engines, requiring thrust below the 18,000 to 50,000 pound range of the turbines CFM makes mainly for the Airbus Group SE A320 and Boeing Co. 737, could take the form of a joint venture, or a looser accord of the kind Safran has on GE's GE90 and GE9X wide-body models. A new engine type would supersede the French company's existing Snecma Silvercrest turbine which powers Dassault Aviation SA corporate jets and produces between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds of thrust. While a new offering could potentially be based on a similar engine architecture, the Silvercrest option isn't capable of powering regional jets, Petitcolin said. Rolls Losses Rolls-Royce said in November that a slowdown in sales and maintenance revenues for corporate and regional jets would contribute 100 million pounds ($143 million) of an anticipated 650 million-pound hit against 2016 earnings. Reduced use of Rolls-powered regional planes is being driven by retirements in North America, while for business aircraft a slump in Russia, Brazil and China has been only partly offset by sales of the new Gulfstream 650ER. Petitcolin also said that Safran wouldn't be in a position to increase output of the new LEAP engine it's supplying to the upgraded 737 Max and A320Neo to make up for any shortfall at Pratt & Whitney, which is producing a competing powerplant on the Airbus plane. Pratt's geared-turbofan model has suffered cooling issues requiring operators to run the engine before startup in order modulate the temperature on some occasions, a glitch that has impacted customer handovers, with one buyer, Qatar Airways, saying it won't take the plane if an acceptable fix isn't found. Niche Model The CEO added that the Max and Neo could be the mainstay of short-haul operations until 2035, rather than 2025 as Boeing and Airbus have indicated, and that a new mid-market plane that the U.S. company is working on would probably fill a gap in the lineup rather than herald a new generation of jets. Boeing said March 3 it's still studying how best to tap the midrange market, where a void was created when the 757 ended production more than a decade ago. Officials have said that single- and twin-aisle models are being considered as they seek to fill the gap between the largest 737 Max and smallest 787. Shares of Safran closed down 6.3 percent, the biggest drop since 2011, after it said that earnings as a proportion of sales will be little changed from last year's 14 percent until 2020. Margins at the engine business will be "in the mid to high teens," it said, a forecast that Bank of America Merrill Lynch said was at the low end of estimates. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-14/safran-open-to-partnering-with- rolls-royce-on-small-jet-engines Back to Top Iran is planning to reset the clock on its civil aviation industry The lifting of sanctions against Iran has sent a wave of opportunities for the global aviation industry and companies are already lining up to make the most of one of the largest emerging markets since the fall of the Soviet Union. 24-25 May, Istanbul will see overseas suppliers, MROs and OEMs, meet, network and engage with Iranian airlines including Aseman Airlines, Atrak Air, Safiran Airlines, Kish Airlines, Iranian Naft Airlines and more in a historic, first of its kind event that will bridge the Iranian aviation sector to the international business community. The Post-Sanctions Iran Commercial Aviation Spare Parts & Maintenance Congress will hold up a magnifying glass to Iran's aviation sector, exposing the opportunities and limitations for suppliers and companies looking to work with Iranian airlines. After close consultation with directors and senior decision-makers across key stakeholders in Iran and the MRO and OEM space globally, the event breaks down the challenge and will put companies in touch with experts and leaders in Iran's aviation sector to offer them a competitive advantage in the market. This will be the first event since Implementation Day that answers the supplier industry's questions to help give companies a competitive advantage such as: What are Iranian airline requirements and what do they need? Export Control: What do the sanctions now mean and what is the best way to navigate the Iranian market? How will be the terms and conditions of contracts be in Iran and how will that affect my business? What can and can't we do in Iran? At this sanctions compliant event, attendees will scope of opportunity and meet with Managing Directors of leading Iranian Airlines for capitalising in Iran's aviation sector and uncover the optimal routes to market. London Business Conferences Group Ltd. (LBCG) has ten years of experience organising engineering and construction conferences across automotive, rail, oil and gas, manufacturing, innovative materials and construction. Since July 2015, where the P5+1 members and Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCOPA), LBCG has been at the forefront of exposing the opportunities in the Iranian market after the lifting of sanctions. In December 2015, the Post-Sanctions Iran International Business Conference in London was the first conference since Adoption Day to bring together overseas businesses looking to expand into the Iranian market. Delivering expert insight and due diligence preparation, the event spearheaded business preparation for over global 110 companies and laid the framework for doing business in Iran. http://www.eturbonews.com/69420/iran-planning-reset-clock-its-civil-aviation-industry Back to Top Euro space agency racing to be first to Mars While countries in Europe have been slashing budgets, one area has not just escaped the ax but chalked up a stellar jump: space exploration. The European Space Agency, which on Monday launched its $1.45 billion ExoMars mission to outrace the United Statese in the search for evidence of life on the Red Planet, has seen its budget expand 75 percent since 2008, unscathed by the region's sovereign debt crisis. The project, which draws contributions from individual member nations, has become a rare force of unity in a region that's struggling with an unprecedented refugee crisis, a potential British exit from the European Union and an unresolved conflict between Ukraine and Russia. "There is a political meaning and purpose to this mission: working together beyond national borders, beyond crises on Earth," Jan Woerner, the head of ESA and a German engineer who formerly headed his country's space agency, said in an interview. "We use a Russian launcher, with American contribution and it's a European mission. We're over earthly crises with this space mission." From the space center of Baikonur in Kazakhstan, ESA is sending into deep space an orbiter tasked with gathering critical scientific data. Attached is a spacecraft that will head to the rocky and cold Martian surface to test the ability of Europeans to safely land on the planet. Monday's liftoff is the first of two launches that will see a rover on Mars by 2020, joining its NASA counterpart Curiosity, which is already there. The orbiter has several scientific tasks: one is to sniff out any trace of methane, the gas that could be a signpost of life; another is to map out precisely when the rover can try to land, starting in 2018. While an earlier spacecraft launched during ESA's mission in 2003 called Mars Express is still mapping, photographing and making useful scientific measurements, the lander sent with it was never able to transmit data to ESA and has been written off as lost. The budget of ESA, a space agency backed by 22 European nations, has risen 75 percent since 2008 to $5.8 billion. The unstinting support from contributors, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France, shows that Europe wants to be a key actor in an arena dominated by historical players such as the United States, Russia and Japan, and one that's drawing newcomers like China and India. "We know that the Americans know how to do it; what we want in Europe is to be capable of doing it too," Jorge Vago, ESA's project scientist told Geneva-based newspaper Le Temps. "To ride the future of space conquest, we need certain capabilities. If not, we'll always be left painting the rocket rather than providing the engine." While NASA's Curiosity can dig just 7 centimeters on Mars's surface, the European mission's robot will be able to reach depths of two meters, Vago said. "That's an enormous difference for science," he said. "When we talk about subterranean exploration, Europe will have an advantage." ESA's 2016 budget is less than a third of NASA's $19 billion. The U.S. agency has struggled to secure new funding, with Congress or the White House challenging the agency's projects. NASA's budget has risen 8.1 percent since 2008, according to Bloomberg calculations. ESA has made space exploration missions like the ExoMars more palatable by providing returns on investment. For each member, 1 euro invested in ESA generates between 5 euros and 7 euros in collateral investments in industry and jobs, the agency says. That's partly because its policy stipulates that each contributor get a "fair return" and that "ESA procurement increase the competitiveness of European industry on the international market," the agency says. Italy, the biggest contributor to ExoMars with 442 million euros invested in the project, or 34 percent of the total, is playing the key role of leading the test-lander project dubbed Schiaparelli. Being able to successfully land something on Mars or any other planet is critical for the agency to gain independence. Thales Alenia Space Italia is in charge of the lander. Space exploration is risky business - ESA has no insurance for its Mars mission - and being on time is key. Earth and Mars are in the right alignment allowing a journey only for a few weeks every 26 months. Any technical uncertainty could postpone the mission. Getting ready for the 2018 part of the ExoMars mission will be critical. In the second part, ESA will send a rover, partly built by Airbus Defense and Space, that will drill two meters beneath the surface to search for traces of water and life. At that depth, it may find elements protected from solar and other space radiations that bombard Mars. Currently, NASA's Mars plans are the biggest. It landed its Curiosity rover in a crater there in 2012 and has been delivering major discoveries, including possible traces of water on the planet. The U.S. will send a new module to the planet in 2018 called InSight that will measure seismic movements, and also the Mars 2020 projects, with a new super-equipped rover. Woerner plays down the race, even saying "being second is also ok.""The time of power games is over -- our globe deserves cooperation beyond national vanity and beauty contests," he said. That's particularly true for manned missions to Mars. Analysts estimate that the tab could run anywhere from $100 billion to $1 trillion or more. For ESA's chief, the best way to get humans on Mars will be to use the Moon as a base. A settlement could be built, partly with 3D printers, to help humans adapt and as a warehouse. Woerner is reaching out to his partners in countries from China to the U.S. to discuss the project. "Our missions are fundamental research, but it's not at loss," he said. "The return on investment for industries, for people's inspiration, is greater than people know." http://www.sltrib.com/home/3661957-155/euro-space-agency-racing-to-be Back to Top Back to Top The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Cordially invites you to attendour spring 2016 Dinner/Meeting Location: Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel Herndon, Virginia, 20170. Date/Time: Thursday, May 5, 2016, 6:00 - 9:30 pm Guest Speaker Honorable T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, Vice Chair, National Transportation Safety Board To: ISASI Members, Associates, and Guests: Please plan to attend this important annual event. We anticipate a large turnout for this event because our distinguished guest speaker. Please make your reservations early; as space will be limited and I must confirm the dinner numbers with the hotel by Thursday, April 21st. Don't forget that companions and other guests are most welcome. From: Ron Schleede President, MARC; Vice President, ISASI (H) 1-703-455-3766; (Cell) 571-212-4255; Email: RonSchleede@aol.com Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Times: 6:00 pm-Reception with cash bar 7:00 to 8:00 pm-Full buffet dinner ********************************************************** RESERVATION FORM The International Society of Air Safety Investigators Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Spring 2016 Dinner/Meeting Thursday, May 5, 2016, 6:00 pm Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel There will be a "networking" cash bar beginning at 6:00 pm, followed by a full buffet dinner beginning at 7:00 pm. The program will begin about 8:00 pm. Adjournment anticipated about 9:30 pm. Yes, I will be attending: Name__________________________ Telephone___________________ Email Yes, I will be bringing a guest (s): Name__________________________Telephone____________________ Email Name__________________________Telephone____________________ Email Payment Method: Check, or Credit Card. Badge Name Company Name______________________________________ If paying by check, please make checks payable to ISASI-MARC, in the amount of $50.00 per person, if paid before April 21, 2016. The cost after April 21, 2016, will be $55.00, if space is available. This includes dinner, taxes, gratuity, and routine function expenses. Please mail checks to: Ms. Ann Schull, ISASI International Office, 107 E. Holly Avenue, Suite 11, Sterling, VA, 20164. (Telephone: 703-430-9668; FAX: 703-430-4970) If paying by credit card, please provide your reservation information, along with the following credit card information directly to Ms. Ann Schull by telephone, FAX, email, or regular mail. Back to Top Aviation Research Request I am Mohamed Hassan Elmugamer Taha, having many years of experience in aviation safety. I would like to request your participation in my Survey Questionnaire (Linke Attached) regarding the imposing of ban on re-registration of aging aircraft for commercial/ public transport category as part of my degree in: MSc Aviation Safety BY Emirates Aviation University Dubai UAE. Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L5SCDF6 Once again thank you for your kind assistance. Mohamed Hassan Elmagamer Taha Msc Aviation Safety Emirates Aviation University Back to Top Aviation Safety Specialist Available Immediately - Captain Samir (Sam) Kohli Over 30 years of senior management experience in the aviation industry. Extensive exposure to airport and airline management. In-depth operational experience: · 21 years of military service as a pilot; · Aviation safety manager; and · Air accident investigator. Upper Management Experience bestows an ability to · Focus on core issues · Take correct decisions balancing the needs to safety and continuity of operations with the financial aspects of aviation businesses, delivering high value to investors and shareholders safely. Experience in various business cultures, including: · Asia, · Middle East, · Africa, · Europe and · South America. Proven ability to negotiate with unions and politicians make him the ideal executive to manage a high-value and high-risk operation. Available immediately. Please click here to view detailed CV: http://1drv.ms/1USoisM Curt Lewis