Flight Safety Information April 12, 2016 - No. 071 In This Issue ARGUS PROS, and its sister company, PRISM, are excited to release the 2015 SMS Audit Results Report Six hurt as THAI flight hits turbulence over Singapore Iceland Calls For SuperJet Emergency Slide Changes WAIT 'TIL SUMMER..."TSA is our No. 1 problem right now" Paper-Pushing Flight Controllers See Future in Canada's System African states told to set up aviation safety commissions Malaysia's first Islamic-compliant airline suspended NTSB: Copter Not Certified to Fly in Conditions Before Crash Cops probe laser pointed at jet inbound to Logan Watch an Israeli air-force pilot land an F-15 with only one wing ANOTHER AIRPLANE DELAYED AS PILOT WASN'T AVAILABLE (India) Women pilots for Singapore Airlines planes a first for airline Flight MH370 Update: Debris Arrives In Malaysia For Testing Why Is the Search for MH370 Debris Being Left to Amateurs? Beirut Airport Employees Arrested on Terrorism Charges Boeing Meets With Iranian Airlines to Discuss Jets, Aircraft Services EAA Gets STC for ASTM'd Dynon EFIS in Certified Aircraft Japan Airlines chairman sees 'huge' potential with Toyota's arrival at D/FW Why Jet Engines Keep Getting Bigger Jet Aviation's New Macau Maintenance Base Set to Open Haneda to expand business jet slots to draw more visitors Horizon Air Places Largest Aircraft Order in its History, Adding 30 Embraer E175 Regional Jets Moon Express asks FAA to review its plans for Google Lunar X Prize landing in 2017 PhD Research Request Graduate Research Request Survey Invitation 1st Risk Culture Survey ARGUS PROS, and its sister company, PRISM, are excited to release the 2015 SMS Audit Results Report. It's a free download, click here. Each year, ARGUS PROS audits a significant number of private and commercial flight operations- varying in size, regulatory oversight, and operational complexity. All aspects of the flight operations are reviewed during each audit, including the organization's safety management system. The PRISM experts review, analyze, and compile these audit findings into a comprehensive, easy-to-read report that aims to: * Highlight recurring deficiencies and problem areas * Help aviation operators evaluate their own safety program * Identify where gaps exist * Formulate a plan to reduce risk exposure * Improve SMS implementation and execution efforts Here's the TOP 3 most frequent shortfalls uncovered through the 2015 audit results. To learn more about these top recommended areas, and uncover more areas challenging all flight departments, click here to download for free. PRISM is here to help you remedy any of these recommended deficiency areas. Is your operation subject to any of these problem areas? It's not too late to get back on track with PRISM's onsite, consultative approach to improving the effectiveness of your flight operation by: * Performing a comprehensive SMS Status Audit * Determining and reporting areas of improvement * Customizing recommendations specific to your needs * Formulating a constructive pathway to rectify your problem areas * Tracking your progress to ensure you're on track to success Contact our aviation experts at 513-852-5110 or click here to learn more about the PRISM features and functionalities to help you develop, implement, and manage your SMS. Click to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe ARGUS International, Inc. 4240 Airport Road, Suite 300 Cincinnati, Ohio 45226 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy. Six hurt as THAI flight hits turbulence over Singapore An inset shows the interior of the aircraft after air turbulence on Thai Airways. One passenger and five crew members were slightly injured when a Thai Airways International flight from Jakarta hit turbulence on Monday, an airline executive said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/931121/six-hurt-as-thai-flight-hits-turbulence-over- singapore. Back to Top Iceland Calls For SuperJet Emergency Slide Changes The Icelandic Transportation Safety Board (ITSB) is calling on Russian and European aircraft certification authorities to make changes to the emergency escape slide system of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, which was certified by Russia in 2011 and validated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2012. The recommendation is one of nine made by the ITSB in its recently published final report on a gear-up touchdown and runway excursion of a Superjet 100 undergoing certification expansion tests by Sukhoi at Keflavík International Airport in July 2013. During the incident flight test, the fourth of the day, the pilots were to evaluate performance of the aircraft's automatic flight control system in a go-around from an altitude of 2-3 ft. above the runway, with the right engine shutdown and a crosswind greater than 19.5 kt. Airframers favor Keflavik for a variety of certification tests for its strong steady crosswinds. Investigators mostly blamed severe fatigue for the pilot-in-command advancing the throttle of the inoperative engine during the go-around, allowing the aircraft to settle back onto the runway after the gear had been retracted. But there were multiple other errors discovered and attributed to the flight crew, airport, air navigation service provider and regulators. The Superjet 100 sustained extensive structural damage as it slid down the runway and into overrun area on its belly and engine nacelles. One of the five crewmembers received minor injuries. Two particular problems delayed the evacuation: The crew had failed to arm the emergency escape slides during the flight; and the forward right slide twisted and blew under the nose of the aircraft on deployment under sustained winds of 18-21 kt. ITSB in its final report noted that EASA certification rules require the slides to be able to handle 25-kt. winds "at the most critical angle." As such, the ITSB recommended that Russia's certification arm, the Interstate Aviation Committee, and EASA work with Sukhoi to make changes to the slides. http://awin.aviationweek.com Back to Top WAIT 'TIL SUMMER "TSA is our No. 1 problem right now": Long security lines are frustrating US airlines, too Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at La Guardia Airport in New York November 25, 2015. The lines are getting longer. The peak summer travel season in the US is months away, but the lines at airport security already are getting unbearable. The Chicago Tribune reports that 1,000 American Airlines passengers missed flights at O'Hare International Airport in March because of long security lines: Since it started monitoring TSA wait times in late February, American Airlines has seen typical waits of 30 minutes to 60 minutes - with a high of 90 minutes. Mornings tend to be worst, but long waits are seen throughout the day. "TSA is our No. 1 problem right now, and it's only going to get worse," an American Airlines spokeswoman told the Tribune. United Airlines has concerns, too. Spokesman Charles Hobart tells Quartz that the carrier has been working with the TSA to address "longer than normal wait times at some security checkpoints." The TSA has reduced its screening staff in recent years, from 47,630 workers in 2011 to an estimated 41,928 in 2016, according to US Department of Homeland Security budget documents. Meanwhile, an alternative screening option offered to passengers, known as TSA Precheck, has not been as popular as planned. The program costs $85 to enroll and gives approved passengers an expedited screening process. The TSA, for its part, says "the number one problem" right now for any airline is the threat of global terrorism. The agency says it has a "robust plan" to deal with the increasing level of travel "including more canine use, encouraging pre-check enrollment, overtime, accelerated hiring and more." If it's only April and the airlines already are worried about the lines at security, it's a bad omen for what's to come. As I pointed out in November, US airports are at their busiest during the summer months, which means the busiest travel days of 2016 are still ahead of us. http://qz.com/659461/tsa-is-our-no-1-problem-right-now-long-security-lines-are-frustrating-us-airlines- too/ Back to Top Paper-Pushing Flight Controllers See Future in Canada's System By: Alan Levin U.S. debate to privitize air-traffic control spotlights Canada NAV CANADA's software guides the skies over nine countries There's an unusual quiet in Canada's 41 air-traffic towers. There is none of the loud clacking of controllers stacking plastic containers holding paper strips -- a flight- tracking relic dating to the early days of aviation and still in use in the U.S. and elsewhere. Instead, computer screens glow silently. Air traffic controllers at the Nav Canada tower in Ottawa. Air traffic controllers at the Nav Canada tower in Ottawa. Photographer: Patrick Doyle/Bloomberg NAV CANADA, the country's flight-control operator, began 18 years ago to replace the paper strips with a computerized system that it now sells around the world. The seemingly simple innovation is not just quieter, but improves efficiency and safety, linking airports electronically in a seamless operation. "Nobody would go back to strips," Jean Beauregard, a supervisor at Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport's tower, said on a recent afternoon. Behind him a color display showed a lineup of pending flights, complete with safety notifications and restrictions for each one. In the 20 years since it became an independent nonprofit corporation, NAV CANADA has transformed itself from a public agency struggling with antiquated technology into a global leader in air-traffic systems. It generated C$135 million ($105 million) over the past five years exporting its products. Its success has members of Congress calling for the oft-criticized U.S. air traffic system to be spun off from the Federal Aviation Administration into a structure like Canada's. Eight Buyers Its technology is now in use in eight other countries, including Australia, the U.K. and Dubai. NAV CANADA has leaped ahead of the U.S. in using more efficient e-mail-like communications with pilots instead of radio voice calls. Canada's computer system for tracking planes over the oceans has been adopted by the U.K. And NAV CANADA is a majority partner in a company building a revolutionary space-based system of tracking planes that will for the first time work in the world's most remote oceans and polar regions. The new firm, U.S.-based Aireon LLC, is negotiating deals to sell this tracking data to other countries. NAV CANADA earned C$29 million, or 2 percent of its C$1.33 billion total revenue in 2015, from selling its technology, according to its annual report. Export Income "The pace of what they're doing, you can't compare it to what we're doing here," Paul Rinaldi, president of the U.S. National Air Traffic Controllers Association union. After multiple visits to Canada, Rinaldi earlier this year reversed the union's decades-long opposition to putting FAA's air-traffic division into a nonprofit corporation, endorsing the proposed split under consideration in Congress. "The Canadian system is very impressive." Australia installed NAV CANADA's tower software at four airports and last year signed a contract to add it at four more. "By transitioning away from a manual, paper based system, controllers are able to concentrate more on the visual surveillance of the airport and aircraft," Sarah Fulton, spokeswoman for Airservices Australia, a government corporation that oversees air traffic, said in an e-mail. Complex Software Air-traffic computer systems are among the world's most complex software programs, and difficult to develop. The FAA in the late 1990s abandoned what was known as the Advanced Automation System and declared more than $1 billion in losses. Other development projects since have been marred by cost overruns and busted schedules. NAV CANADA faced just such a mess after it took over in 1996. A computer system under development by a private contractor to help controllers guide traffic between airports was bogged down in delays and dysfunction, according to Kim Troutman, NAV CANADA's vice president for engineering. Four years later, when the system known as the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System or CAATS was finally delivered, NAV CANADA's senior engineers decided the model of using outside contractors was broken. The corporation decided to take the unprecedented step of upgrading the computer code themselves, according to Troutman and Sidney Koslow, vice president and chief technology officer. DIY Development Since then, they've added safety features including a midair collision warning and efficiency tools that allow controllers and pilots to send text messages to each other instead of relying on crowded radio channels, making it one of the leading such systems in the world. With automation, controllers no longer have to perform the time-consuming task of printing out and distributing the strips, what had been a full-time job in some facilities, Troutman said. It also transmits flight data instantly to the rest of the country, making the coordination of long-range flights across regions easier. And it enhances safety by such things as notifying controllers about construction on runways. Doing their own development has the added benefit of helping speed recovery should crashes occur, as happened in 2013 when CAATS briefly failed. "This is where building it yourself really, really pays off," Troutman said. The two technology chiefs attribute NAV CANADA's ability to adopt new technology to several factors. They have involved controllers throughout the process, which helps with design and testing. If an off-the-shelf product exists that meets their needs, they don't bother building it in-house. And they work on manageable, small improvements rather than the moon-shot projects that are typical for air-traffic providers. "We don't take too big a bite," Koslow said. "We do it incrementally." Shuster's Plan While both said they didn't want to become part of the debate over whether the U.S. FAA should spin off its air-traffic system, they believe that being outside government has helped. Instead of having to envision how a new system will work before writing contract specifications -- and then having to live with that for years -- NAV CANADA has more freedom to tinker with functionality during development, they said. Representative Bill Shuster, the Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has repeatedly cited NAV CANADA's technology successes as grounds to partially privatize FAA's air-traffic division. His legislation would model the U.S. after Canada. Opposition to the idea is one of the main reasons a reauthorization bill allowing the agency to operate was been held up. Shuster has vowed to keep pushing. "There are a lot of positives to be learned from the Canadian experience," said John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has advised the FAA on air-traffic issues. "They run a really good shop and they have been technically innovative." Canadian Model Of course, Canada's controllers handle less than one-fourth the flights of their U.S. counterparts. "They don't have the same challenges," Hansman said, questioning whether the U.S. would enjoy the same benefits with the switch to a Canadian-style nonprofit. The FAA believes its recent technology acquisitions are on track after adopting some similar practices to Canada, and the system is among the most modern in the world, Michael Whitaker, the deputy administrator, said in an interview. At the same time, the FAA believes that rhetoric surrounding the call to spin off its air-traffic division has unfairly tarnished its efforts to roll out new technology in a program called NextGen. "It's perhaps an inconvenient truth that the implementation of NextGen is working well and with the collaboration of industry," Whitaker said. At the Ottawa tower, NAV CANADA is showing off another new technology system, which allows controllers to log into work and receive pre-shift briefings on an iPad, replacing sign-in sheets and binder books. Known as iSign, the system was rolled out last year and the company hopes to sell it to airports and other aviation clients. With NAV CANADA Chief Information Officer Claudio Silvestri present, tower supervisor Jean Beauregard sees an opportunity to provide some of the feedback that the company says is so important to ensuring quality. The iPad system has been useful, but doesn't track employees on special assignments outside the tower, Beauregard says. Silvestri takes out a notebook and jots down Beauragard's suggestion. "That should be easy to do," he says. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-12/paper-pushing-flight-controllers-see-future-in- canada-s-system Back to Top African states told to set up aviation safety commissions Luanda - African states have been urged to establish national civil aviation safety commissions until 20120. The recommendation was made during the Conference on Africa Aeronautic Safety and Facilitation held on Thursday in Windhoek, Namibia. The event also recommended Africa to put in place appropriate authorities with clear roles and sustainable resources to perform civil aviation safety and facilitation duties in 50 percent of its states until 2017 and in all countries until 2020. The conference also recommended all member states to join the International Civil Aviation Organisation points of contact until 2017, and promote sub-regional cooperation in training and safety in civil aviation. The event also recommended the declaration of the ministers responsible for civil aviations, including the goals adopted at Windhoek's Thursday, to be submitted for approval from the African heads of State during their African Union summit of June 2016. Angola attended the event with a delegation led by the director general of the Civil Aviation Institute (Inavic), Rui Carreira, on behalf of the minister of Transports, Augusto da Silva Tomás. http://www.portalangop.co.ao/angola/en_us/noticias/economia/2016/3/14/African-states-told-set- aviation-safety-commissions,2a3dceed-6d3c-430f-89ed-cbe5fa21995e.html Back to Top Malaysia's first Islamic-compliant airline suspended: Official Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation has suspended the country's first Islamic-compliant airline. Malaysia's first Islamic-compliant airline Rayani Air began operations on Dec 20, 2015, with its maiden flight taking off from the capital to the resort island of Langkawi, local media reported. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's first Islamic-compliant airline has been suspended for three months after it failed to adhere to aviation regulations, a senior official said Monday (Apr 11), as the government announced a safety audit of the carrier. "Rayani Air has been suspended for three months," Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation, told AFP. "They contravened civil aviation regulations," he said, declining to elaborate. Muslim flight crew don the hijab while non-Muslim crew are forbidden from wearing revealing clothing on board the airline, which launched last December. In-flight meals are completely halal and alcohol consumption is strictly banned. In recent weeks, however, the carrier had drawn increasing criticism from passengers and the government due to last-minute delays and cancellations. Pilots of the carrier, which operates two Boeing 737-400s, had gone on strike, further damaging its image. "DCA will undertake a full administration and safety audit of Rayani Air's state of operations, to assess its compliance with the Air Operator Certificate (AOC)," said Mr Azharuddin. "In this regard, Rayani Air will be asked to present its case before DCA suspend or revoke its AOC. "Prior to this provisional suspension, the DCA has issued two warning letters to Rayani Air on the noncompliance and poor service levels. However, despite multiple warnings, Rayani Air has contravened conditions of their AOC." He added: "If an airline intends to cease operations, they must provide at least six months notice to the DCA. Under the regulation, only DCA is empowered to suspend airlines." Rayani Air said Monday in a Facebook post that it was working hard to "to solve our internal matters and get Rayani back on track". Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai tweeted on Saturday that the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) would conduct a safety audit before allowing the airline to fly again. "DCA will undertake a full administration and safety audit to determine if Rayani is 'fit' for AOC (aviation operating certificate) after serving provisional suspension," he wrote. Liow also expressed disappointment at Rayani's conduct despite previous warnings over "poor procedures and service level". The suspension comes two years after Malaysia faced twin aviation disasters. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in July 2014 over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in a missile strike, killing all 298 people on board. Australia is leading the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the remote Indian Ocean, where the Beijing-bound plane is believed to have diverted when it disappeared on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-s-first-islamic/2685768.html Back to Top NTSB: Copter Not Certified to Fly in Conditions Before Crash A medical helicopter was not certified for flying in the foggy, low-visibility conditions it encountered before crashing last month with a patient in southeast Alabama, killing all four aboard, federal investigators say in a newly released report. Fog and mist enveloped the landing zone in a farm field near the scene of a highway wreck when the helicopter arrived near midnight, the National Transportation Safety Board wrote in its preliminary report. The poor weather continued 23 minutes later, when the helicopter took off with a patient the morning of March 26, the NTSB report states. The helicopter managed to rise to 1,100 feet before crashing in a swampy area near Enterprise, Alabama, it states. The pilot, a flight nurse, a flight medic and the patient were killed. The chopper "was not certificated for flight" in such conditions, which require the use of instruments to maneuver through poor visibility, the NTSB report states. Helicopters must have the equipment necessary to fly with instruments when visibility is poor, said Gary C. Robb, a Kansas City-based aviation lawyer who wrote the book "Helicopter Crash Litigation." The NTSB doesn't specify exactly why it found the Alabama helicopter wasn't certified for flying in the poor weather. NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said "we've just documented what we know to be factual," in the preliminary report. "We haven't determined whether it should have been flying that night," Holloway added. "Part of our investigation is to look at everything, and whether or not the aircraft was certified to fly is part of that." It could take a year or longer for a final report that identifies a likely cause of the accident, federal authorities say. However, the preliminary report on this crash is thorough, giving more detail than many others at this stage of an investigation, Robb said. "In terms of what pieces of the puzzle do we have, right now it's a 500-piece puzzle and this preliminary report gives us 200 pieces of that puzzle ...," he said after reviewing it. The report details the condition of the aircraft and its parts at the wreckage scene, and notes that many components were working at the time of the crash. "They were able to confirm that there was no breach of the ability to control the main rotor or the tail rotor or the engine," Robb said. "The control system was intact. That's critical." He said there were clear signs the engine was operating and producing power at the time of the crash, making it unlikely that any in-flight mechanical malfunction was to blame. Shortly after the crash, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the weather conditions and visibility would be a focus of the investigation. Fog can lead to a phenomenon known as spatial disorientation. "It is defined as the pilot's losing his or her orientation to the ground, plain and simple," Robb said. "You don't know where you are in space." The helicopter had been sent to the wreck by Haynes Life Flight dispatchers from its base at Troy Regional Medical Center in Troy, Alabama, the NTSB said. Kirk Barrett, chief operations officer of Haynes, an Alabama ambulance service, said in an email to The Associated Press Monday that questions should be directed to Louisiana-based Metro Aviation Inc., which operated the helicopter. "Our deepest condolences are with all the families involved. At this time, the NTSB investigation is still ongoing and until that is complete, we are prevented from making additional comments," Kristen King Holmes, Metro Aviation's marketing director, said in a statement Monday. The crash comes as the Federal Aviation Administration continues its efforts to improve the safety of the aircraft known as air ambulances. It began that effort after a series of deadly crashes. The year 2008, for instance, "proved to be the deadliest year on record with five accidents that claimed 21 lives," the FAA wrote in a fact sheet about the initiatives to improve safety. On Feb. 20, 2014, the FAA issued new rules requiring air ambulances to have stricter flight rules and procedures, more training, and additional on-board safety equipment, according to the FAA document. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ntsb-fog-mist-hung-area-chopper-crashed-killing-38305007 Back to Top Cops probe laser pointed at jet inbound to Logan The cockpit of an Air Canada aircraft bound for Logan International Airport late last night was targeted by a laser pointer, state police said. State police Trooper Paul Sullivan said the incident was reported at about 10:47 p.m. yesterday, about 3 miles southwest of Beverly. The plane was able to land safely at Logan without incident, Sullivan said. No arrests have been made. Police said at least three or four cases of laser pointing at aircrafts have been reported this year alone in the state. http://www.bostonherald.com/ Back to Top Watch an Israeli air-force pilot land an F-15 with only one wing The F-15 is an amazing aircraft that was designed to go head-to-head with the Soviet's MiG-25 and was the top dog for years, most notably during Desert Storm where American and Saudi Eagles took it to the Iraqis in a big way. The F-15 has endured because its design was years ahead of its time, and a great data point behind that fact is the time Israeli pilot Zivi Nedivi landed his jet with only one wing. Nedivi had one of his wings sheared off in a midair collision with an A-4 Skyhawk during a training event. Nedivi's Eagle went into a rapid roll by the crash and he told his navigator to prepare the eject. Nedivi turned on his afterburners in an attempt to stabilize the jet. The move worked. After his aircraft stabilized, he decided to attempt to land at a base 10 miles away. Because of the fuel coming from the damaged fuselage, neither he nor his wingman knew that the F-15 was missing a wing. http://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-air-force-pilot-land-an-f-15-with-only-one-wing-2016-4 Back to Top ANOTHER AIRPLANE DELAYED AS PILOT WASN'T AVAILABLE (India) A Jet Airways flight to Bangalore was delayed after its pilot was reportedly unavailable. Passengers who were flying to Bangalore on Monday morning were told by the crew that the plane was delayed because there was no pilot and that there was air traffic congestion. Passenger Ranjit Kate Tweeted that the aircraft was ready for departure and the flight was delayed by fifty minutes because the pilot hadn't turned up. "This is shocking service," he said. Businessmen who had embarked on the Baroda-Mumbai-Bangalore flight said they were the worst hit as they had to brave a longer flight. This is the second time in two weeks that a plane has been delayed due to non-availability of a pilot. On April 8, Air India passengers took to social networking sites after the pilot of their flight to Bangalore exceeded his hours on duty and could not operate the flight. The ensuing delay irked passengers who managed to grab the attention of the Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahesh Sharma, after which a reserve pilot was found. A Jet Airways spokesperson said that the flight to Bangalore was delayed due to operational reasons. Airport officials said the delay was compounded because of air traffic congestion. Sudhakar Reddy, President of the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) said they had already written to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about how such instances of pilots causing delays were on the rise. "Airlines are expected to ensure that rosters are made in a way that the crew do not cause delays. This may be due to their on duty time restrictions or traffic that a crew might encounter on their way to the airport," a senior DGCA official said. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Another-airplane-delayed-as-pilot-wasnt- available/articleshow/51786389.cms Back to Top Women pilots for Singapore Airlines planes a first for airline Among Singapore carriers, women pilots make up less than 1 percent of the total pilot population, with Singapore Airlines currently at 0.1 percent. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has, for the first time, hired women to fly its planes. Two of them joined last August during the last intake of cadet pilots. Their training - in Singapore and Australia - will take between two and three years, after which they will be rostered for commercial flights. SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides confirmed the hiring but said no target has been set for the number of women pilots to be hired. The airline has about 2,000 pilots. "We will recruit whoever is the most qualified," he said. SIA is the last Singapore passenger carrier - and quite possibly major global airline - to hire women pilots. The group's regional arm SilkAir and long-haul budget unit Scoot already have women flying their planes. Low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia and Tigerair also have women at the cockpit controls. Among Singapore carriers, women pilots make up less than 1 per cent of the total pilot population, with SIA currently at 0.1 per cent. This is lower than the global figure of about 5 per cent of pilots, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. SIA did not provide any details of the two women cadets, nor say why it is hiring women only now. A pilot who did not wish to be identified, said: "SIA trains cadets from scratch at a cost of more than $200,000 for each trainee. It's a significant investment so you want to ensure that the pilots you train are always operationally ready. This is not possible when women are pregnant and have to be grounded, usually for a year or more." The decision to now hire women is a good move, said Captain Ng Thim Fook, president of the Air Line Pilots Association - Singapore . He added: "Times have changed. With flexible rostering and other tools in place, pilots can now have better work-life balance." Female pilots The Straits Times spoke to said that while the industry is still dominated by the men, mindsets have changed. First Officer Amandine Marie Aignan, 37, who has a two-year-old daughter and is now pregnant with her second child, said her employer, Jetstar Asia, has been very supportive. The airline allowed her to do ground duties when she was pregnant with her first child, said the French national who has been flying with Jetstar Asia for four years. She resumed flying after that. Grounded again now, she will take to the skies again after her maternity leave. But there are challenges, said her colleague, Captain Priya Doobaree, 37. "In my 16 years of flying I've found that as long as you are capable and meet all the criteria, you will gain the same respect as your other colleagues," she said. "But it is also true that as a woman, you are expected to perform the same or even better than the men." While women pilots are more accepted these days, there are not that many, added the 37-year-old, who is single. "Once, when I did a flight announcement, someone put it on Twitter." http://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2016/04/12/women-pilots-for-singapore-airlines-planes-a-first-for- airline.html Back to Top Flight MH370 Update: Debris Arrives In Malaysia For Testing Amid Calls For Search To Focus Near Africa Dato' Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of the Malaysian department of civil aviation, briefs the media on the latest updates regarding missing plane MH 370 in 2014. Three pieces of wreckage linked to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, nicknamed MH370, officially arrived in Malaysia this weekend for testing. A fourth was set to ship Monday, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told the New Straits Times Sunday. "The pieces will be analyzed here, and if necessary, it will be sent to Australia for further verification that they belong to the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370," he said, suggesting that the search for the missing plane shift to the African coastline. "We hope with all the support, we are able to recover more debris." It was not immediately clear which plane remains Liow was referring to - Australian authorities have already confirmed that two pieces of Mozambique debris, one found by an American lawyer in February and one by a South African teenager in December, were "highly likely to have come from MH370," the Guardian reported. MH370 disappeared in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. All 239 people on board are presumed dead, and the Boeing 777 itself is thought to have crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Officials have conclusively verified only one piece of debris from the plane: a flaperon wing part that washed up on Réunion Island off the coast of Madagascar last year. But another piece of wreckage was discovered March 31 on the nearby island of Mauritius. "For sure it looked like part of an aeroplane - it looks like it's from the inside part of it," William Auguste, the owner of the hotel whose guests found the items, told Reuters. "There was wallpaper inside of the plane. You can see this design, and part of it is still there." Voice2370, a group of relatives of the victims, told NBC News last month it wanted the search efforts to be refocused near Mozambique and Madagascar. "We urge states with assets in the East Coast of Africa to support such an effort," it wrote in a statement. "We also seek support from naval powers to supply search assets that allow searches closer to uninhabited or swampy portions of the coast be searched effectively." The search for the plane has swept more than 95,000 square kilometers of ocean floor without results. It will conclude if it reaches 120,000 square kilometers without finding further evidence, according to the Australian agency leading the search. http://www.ibtimes.com/flight-mh370-update-debris-arrives-malaysia-testing-amid-calls-search-focus- near-2351894 Back to Top Why Is the Search for MH370 Debris Being Left to Amateurs? By: Clive Irving The only bits of the missing airliner have been found by tourists and part-time sleuths on beaches. Meanwhile, the $180 million underwater search is running out of time. A little fragment of paradise named Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean has become part of an unfolding controversy about how vital clues to the fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have been discovered much sooner than they were-and whether many more are waiting to be found. Even on the largest and most detailed maps of the Indian Ocean, Rodrigues barely shows up. It is only 41.6 square miles in area-literally the tip of an extinct volcano, part of a ridge that extends for hundreds of miles, mostly underwater. Like many other volcanic islands, Rodrigues is encircled by a coral reef that works as a natural breakwater, creating broad and shallow lagoons between it and land, and protecting many golden beaches. Two weeks ago two guests at a budget hotel on the southeastern coast were enjoying one of those beaches when they spotted a piece of gray metal among some flotsam. When they examined it more closely they realized that they might have found a piece of debris from Flight 370. Although the coral reef would naturally inhibit flotsam reaching the island's inner coast, there is a gap in the reef close to the Mourouk Ebony Hotel where the guests were staying, resulting in a small channel allowing tidal movement to the beaches. That piece of debris is now on its way to Australia, where it will be examined by experts who have already confirmed that other pieces of debris found on beaches in the western Indian Ocean were from the Malaysian Boeing 777. If the debris from Rodrigues does turn out to be from Flight 370 the location of the island is particularly significant. It is part of the Republic of Mauritius but lies some 450 miles east of the main island of Mauritius-and around 550 miles east of the island of La Reunion, where the first piece of Flight 370 debris, a part of the wing called a flaperon, was discovered last July. Any debris from the airplane will have drifted on currents across the Indian Ocean from east to west, originating in the area some 1,700 miles west of the Australian coast where searchers are looking for main parts of the wreckage presumed to be laying at great depths. Rodrigues would therefore have been, in all probability, the first landmass to intercept any debris. Computer models run to estimate the time and course taken for wreckage to cross the Indian Ocean toward Africa have allowed 500 days as a rule-of-thumb number for the duration of the crossing. The flaperon was found 509 days from the date of Flight 370's disappearance, March 8, 2014. By that measure, debris could first have reached Rodrigues in markedly less than 500 days. Australian experts noted that wreckage found early this year in the Mozambique Channel (a broad sea passage between the Mozambique coast and Madagascar) was found 716 days after the disaster. But, they pointed out, "it had taken possibly much less time to get there." And it had "probably spent a significant length of time either weathering in the sun and, or, washing back and forth in the sand at this or some other location." In saying this, the Australians explained what seemed to be an anomaly: the metal surface of the debris from Mozambique was scrubbed clean (clean enough to read the words "NO STEP" on its edge) whereas the much larger flaperon found on La Reunion was encrusted with barnacles, gathered during its passage. This seems to confirm that the flaperon was discovered within days of washing ashore, before it could be subjected to weathering and scrubbing on a beach. Even if the wreckage found on Rodrigues proves not to be from Flight 370 the random nature of the confirmed discoveries and the fact that many miles of shoreline in the western Indian Ocean are unpopulated suggests, as one expert told The Daily Beast: "Useful pieces of wreckage for analysis could very well be laying somewhere on a beach, undiscovered and untouched." David Griffin of the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization, CSIRO, based in Australia, who worked on the computer modeling of debris drift patterns, told The Daily Beast, somewhat cryptically: "One way to think of it is this: If there were just three pieces to have landed on beaches, it's pretty amazing that all three have been found." In fact, the total found so far could be five: the flaperon, two pieces in the Mozambique Channel, all confirmed as being from the Boeing 777, a fragment of a Rolls Royce engine casing found on a South African beach and the piece found on Rodrigues, both of these awaiting expert inspection in Australia. The Daily Beast asked a spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Board, ATSB, which leads both the underwater search and the inspection of debris, whether in view of the value of even the smallest piece of debris once that it is established that it is from Flight MH370, it is not time for a more systematic search to be made of the coastlines where the highest likelihood exists of finding debris. He declined to reply and recommended that the question should be put to the Malaysian authorities in charge of the investigation in Kula Lumpur. This was done, but following a familiar pattern, the Malaysians did not respond to several requests for a reply. After the discovery of the flaperon on La Reunion there was a short and perfunctory search by airplanes and helicopters of surrounding coastlines but it turned up nothing. All of the debris has so far been found by a combination of amateur sleuthing, beachcombers and observation by people on vacation. The ATSB has told the Daily Beast that the current undersea search will have cost as much as $180 million at its conclusion. Australia committed $60 million, China committed $20 million in assets and finance and the balance, in both assets and finance, came from Malaysia. Experts I have spoken to argue that if only a small fraction of the money and resources devoted to the undersea search were devoted to a more systematic search of the coastlines where more debris almost certainly remains undiscovered it would surely be justified. That said, finding the main body of the wreckage, and particularly the flight data recorders, remains by far the most important part of the search, and the only hope of ever really explaining what happened to create the greatest mystery in modern aviation history. Of the 48, 263 square miles of the total undersea search area, 9,600 square miles remains to be searched-that is an area more or less exactly the size of Vermont. In February the ATSB said that they anticipated that the search will be completed by June. "In the absence of credible new information leading to a specific location of the aircraft there will be no further expansion of the search area," they said. If-heaven forbid-the search is unsuccessful it will be a tough moment of reckoning and there will doubtless be pressure to reexamine the premise on which the search area was based. That would also leave the floating debris as the only surviving evidence. And that, at the very least, does prove that the airplane crashed into the Indian Ocean, and did not-as some conspiracy theories proposed- get snatched by some unseen hand to be diverted to a hidden location on land. Each piece of floating debris, no matter how small, has its own story to tell when investigators examine it. The more pieces that are discovered, the more that can be understood about, for example, how different parts of the airplane were torn away on impact with the water and, possibly, in what sequence. And, based on what has been found, there is no evidence of fire or an explosion playing a role. It is not enough, but in the absence of anything else it is better than knowing nothing. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/12/why-is-the-search-for-mh370-debris-being-left-to- amateurs.html Back to Top Beirut Airport Employees Arrested on Terrorism Charges A traffic controller observes at the Rafiq Hariri International Airport during a strike in Beirut Lebanese authorities arrested two Beirut airport employees on suspicion of aiding and abetting "terrorist parties," security sources confirmed to Reuters on Sunday. The Lebanese news media reported that the car of one of the detainees was loaded with explosives. The pan-Arab Asharq Al-Aswat daily cited an "official Lebanese source" saying the airport employees work for a private contractor that provides ground services for civil airplanes. The source told the newspaper that the two were allegedly in contact with a terrorist group, but the source did not name the group. Al-Arabia cited a source stating of the suspects, "One of the two was in possession of a handgun, while traces of explosives were discovered in the car of the other." Lebanon's Labor Minister Wael Zeeyter was quoted saying that the arrest is a testament to Beirut Airport's top-notch security arrangements. "There is room for improvement, but unlike what has been said recently, things are under control," he said. However, Reuters also quoted Lebanese Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk as saying safety procedures at the airport are inadequate. He compared his own country's airport to that of Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport, where a Russian airplane took off with a bomb on board that killed 224 people in October. Two weeks ago, Abu al-Ayna al-Ansari, a top jihadi operative in the Gaza Strip, claimed to Breitbart Jerusalem that the Islamic State has recruited agents among airport personnel. In an interview broadcast days earlier on "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio," Ansari said that Wilayat Sinai will be at the forefront of IS's battle against Israel, and that the days until the group carries out attacks on the south of Israel are numbered. In the same interview, Ansari claimed IS has agents working in Western airports, metro stations, and "very sensitive facilities in the world." Ansari is a well-known Gaza Salafist jihadi allied with Islamic State ideology. During his most recent interviews, Ansari seemed to be speaking as an actual IS member, repeatedly using the pronoun "we" when referring to IS and seeming to make declarations on behalf of IS. IS has been reluctant to officially declare its presence in Gaza for fear of a Hamas crackdown, but the group is known to be active in the coastal enclave and Ansari is a suspected IS leader. IS-aligned militants have taken responsibility for recent rocket fire from Gaza aimed at Israel. http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2016/04/11/beirut-airport-employees-arrested-connection-terrorism/ Back to Top Boeing Meets With Iranian Airlines to Discuss Jets, Aircraft Services Plane maker holds preliminary talks with select carriers in Tehran Work is done on a 787 Dreamliner for Air India at Boeing's North Charleston, S.C., plant in December 2013. Boeing Co. has opened talks to sell airliners to Iran in what would be one of the highest-profile deals between a U.S. company and Tehran since the West lifted nuclear sanctions on the country in January. Iran-eager to re-establish ties with Western companies after the deal to limit its nuclear program-quickly signed several landmark agreements with European companies to signal it had re-entered the international market. Agreements with U.S. companies have been slower to materialize, though, increasing the importance of a possible deal with a company like Boeing that is a flagship of U.S. technology and manufacturing around the globe. Boeing said Monday it had begun preliminary discussions in Tehran with Iranian airlines about the potential sale of its planes and aircraft services. Its representatives "discussed the capabilities of its commercial passenger airplanes and aftermarket services with Iranian airlines approved by the U.S. government," said a Boeing spokesman, who added that no formal deals on aircraft or services were made during the meetings. A deal for Boeing planes could become the biggest signal yet that the U.S. and Iran are moving toward normalized trade relations. The U.S. government has allowed Boeing to enter talks with select Iranian carriers, but delivering the planes still would require further clearance. Completing any plane purchase would require Iran to regain the ability to tap global dollar markets, a challenge in the face of reluctance by most big Western banks to provide loans to Iran over concern of running afoul of U.S. currency restrictions. Iran has long sought to re-establish a business relationship with U.S. aircraft makers, particularly Boeing, due to Tehran's dependence on aircraft equipment going back to the rule of the Shah in the 1960s and 1970s. Years of sanctions, some imposed in the wake of its revolution in 1979 rather than over the country's nuclear program, have left Iran with one of the world's oldest aircraft fleets, which it is eager to modernize. Most U.S. sanctions remain in place on Iran. But the Obama administration has been seeking to promote outside investment in Iran as a means to bolster the nuclear deal. Iranian leaders have complained in recent months that Tehran hasn't received the sanctions relief envisaged under the deal because of remaining U.S. financial penalties. U.S. officials on Monday said they have seen an uptick in American companies seeking to enter the Iranian market in the sectors allowed under U.S. law, which include automotive parts and medical services. General Electric Co., for instance, has been exploring business opportunities in Iran. Lorenzo Simonelli, chief executive of GE's oil-and-gas business, visited Tehran earlier this year, he said in early March. In the airline sector, Iranian officials have said they expect to buy 400 or more new airplanes in the coming years to satisfy their demand to replace existing planes, many of which are more than 25 years old, and to spur growth. Iran signaled in January how lucrative for Western business its market could be, when it announced a deal to buy 118 airliners from Boeing's principal rival, Airbus Group SE, valued at $27 billion at list price. The deal, which hasn't been finalized yet, includes everything from Airbus single-aisle planes to 12 of its flagship A380 superjumbos, which carry a list price of $432.6 million, though buyers typically get discounts. With a population of more than 80 million and pent-up demand for travel after years of isolation, the country represents one of the few large remaining untapped markets for new planes. In a sign Iran still retains a special status reflecting Western concerns about the country's weapons programs, plane discussions so far have focused on buying them, rather than transferring technology to help locally produce parts which have become the hallmark of other mega-airliner deals around the world. Boeing was granted a license by the U.S. in February to discuss the needs of Iran's airlines. Neither Boeing nor Iran would identify what specific airplane models are under discussion, though an Iranian official said the country was eager to buy 737 single-aisle jets from the Chicago-based plane maker, as well as 777 long-range planes. The recent meetings between Boeing and the Iranians were limited to discussing technical aspects, such as range, cabin configurations and fuel economy, but such conversations are the foundations for any future deal. Fewer than 10 Boeing employees made the trip to Tehran for meetings with several Iranian carriers, including Iran Air, the country's biggest airline, according to a person familiar with the meetings. Members of Boeing's Middle East sales team, which also sells to carriers like Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways, were part of the delegation. The company's top Middle East salesman, Marty Bentrott, wasn't present for the meetings in Tehran, the person said. Iran Air said the meeting "was fruitful and informative for both sides after a long time" without providing details of what was discussed. Boeing has taken a cautious approach to its dealings with Iran, concerned about overstepping the authority granted under the Iran nuclear agreement, which formally took effect in January. The company had previously received limited approval to provide some parts and documentation to Iranian carriers. "Should any agreements be reached at some future point, they would be contingent on the approval of the U.S. Government," Boeing said in a statement. Republican officials on Monday sharply criticized the Boeing move, arguing it will strengthen Iran's military capabilities and further weaken international sanctions on Tehran. A spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Cruz, a presidential candidate, said Monday the lawmaker would write the Obama administration to formally oppose any Boeing sales to Iran. Other hurdles remain. Any equipment sales to Iran would need financing. The U.S. Export-Import Bank can't make financial guarantees for any sales of exports to Iran so long as the country is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department. "We're not stepping into Iran," said Fred Hochberg, the Ex-Im Bank chairman, in an interview on Bloomberg Television last month. That stance differs from that in Europe. An official for Britain's export-credit agency in January said the organization was "open for business" in Iran, echoing a sentiment at other European government lending institutions. Some Iranian airlines also remain under U.S. sanctions over their alleged link to terrorist activities. Last month, Treasury issued new sanctions against companies in the U.K. and United Arab Emirates for allegedly serving as business fronts for Iran's Mahan Air. The U.S. sanctioned Mahan in 2011 for allegedly smuggling arms for Iran's elite military unit, the Revolutionary Guard Corps. http://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-meets-with-iranian-airlines-to-discuss-jets-aircraft-services- 1460406482 Back to Top EAA Gets STC for ASTM'd Dynon EFIS in Certified Aircraft Dynon's EFIS-D10A, which sells for less than $2,300, now has an STC for installation in certified aircraft as a replacement for the primary attitude indicator, marking the first time a non-TSO'd avionics product has been so authorized. The Experimental Aircraft Association, FAA and Dynon Avionics announced a "breakthrough" that will improve flight safety and reduce avionics upgrade costs for owners of certain type-certified aircraft. In making the announcement today during Sun 'n' Fun 2016 in Lakeland, Fla., EAA, FAA and Dynon officials said they have established an STC process for installing the Dynon EFIS-D10A (typically priced at less than $2,300) as a replacement for the primary attitude indicator in specific Cessna (150, 152 and 172) and Piper (PA28 and PA38) models, with more to come. "Everybody involved from EAA, Dynon and the FAA was dedicated to the success of this inaugural project, made possible by EAA's strong working relationship with the FAA's Small Airplane Directorate," said EAA chairman and CEO Jack Pelton. "This STC process will allow aircraft owners to have the latest proven safety technology available in the cockpit at lower cost. I also want to emphasize that this is not an exclusive agreement; EAA and FAA are ready and eager to work with other companies to develop similar STCs for their products and expand the approved model list for additional type-certified aircraft." EAA worked with the FAA to allow the Dynon EFIS-D10A to be installed without the traditional technical standard order (TSO) or parts manufacturer approval (PMA) requirement. Dynon's product is also verified against the recently developed ASTM 3153-15, the standard specification for verification of avionics systems. The Dynon unit was flight tested in Oshkosh, Wis., earlier this year in EAA's Cessna 172M with FAA observation. Cost and the application process for the STC will be finalized in the coming weeks. Dynon's website said the cost of the STC, available through EAA, will be "nominal." Dynon's product will be available through its established distributor network and factory direct. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2016-04-06/eaa-gets-stc-astmd-dynon-efis- certified-aircraft Back to Top Japan Airlines chairman sees 'huge' potential with Toyota's arrival at D/FW A Japan Airlines flight departs from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Jan. 15, 2016. (Credit: Terry Maxon) After upping the frequency of its recently launched service to include daily flights to Tokyo from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Japan Airlines is looking for more ways to tap the "huge" potential of the North Texas market, the company's chairman and director Masaru Onishi said. Shifting demographics and the arrival of Toyota's North American headquarters in Plano will help stoke demand for access to Japan and beyond, Onishi predicted. And while the company isn't looking at adding more flights to Texas at this point, a shift to a larger plane with first-class seating on its existing D/FW to Tokyo route could be in the offing, Onishi told The Dallas Morning News. In Dallas last week for the World Travel and Tourism Council's global summit, Onishi sat down with the Morning News to discuss his company's return to North Texas after a 14-year absence, plans for growth at D/FW and the company's continued partnership with American Airlines. On the potential of the D/FW market: Japan Airlines' return to North Texas came as the company was exploring ways to expand its service to new U.S. markets, Onishi said. With more people migrating from the coasts to the middle of the country and the relocation of 3,000 or more Toyota employees to its new North American headquarters in Plano, reinstating service from D/FW to Tokyo's Narita Airport was a logical choice. "We found there was an open window at the end of last year to start the operation," he said. "We reached the conclusion that this is the time." So far, the route has been a success, but there's still room to grow, he said. "Right now our [Boeing] 787 doesn't have first-class seats. But maybe many of the VIPs of Japanese companies or U.S. companies will use our direct flight," he said. "Our thinking is to put a larger aircraft with first class seats [on the route]. That's the first issue for us." On the company's partnership with American Airlines: Onishi said Japan Airlines' joint venture with American Airlines, where the two companies share revenues on Tokyo-bound flights, represents a broader shift toward alliance-based competition in the airline industry. "From the aspect of operational efficiency and economics, it is very difficult for one airline to expand globally to cover a worldwide network," he said. "But the customers' desire is to use one product. If we have a world network, maybe the customer will be satisfied. But it is very difficult for us [to do alone] so we must shake hands with partners." One thing Onishi said he'd like to see was a more standardized level of service across the various partner airlines that make up the Oneworld alliance. "Oneworld alliance airlines are focusing on the customer experience. Still we have some difference of service levels, maybe based on the culture. We'd like to make some coordination on the level of services," he said. On the airline's plans for growth: With Japan's population shrinking, Onishi said much of his airline's opportunity will come in foreign markets, including the U.S., Europe and especially other parts of Asia. But he said antitrust concerns have limited Japan Airlines ability to make inroads in other Asian markets. "Those areas are emerging markets so we must attack them," he said. "It is very difficult to penetrate the market. The Asian side must be more like the European Union, with a free economic area." Tourism to Japan has grown dramatically over the past decade and Onishi said he expects that to continue with an emerging Asian middle class. Japan Airlines hopes to capture some of that growth by emphasizing its unique service and company culture, he said. However, Japan will need to figure out ways to improve its tourism infrastructure, specifically hotels and transportation, to accommodate the increased tourism, he said. "Right now, we're focusing on the appeal of the treasure of Japan. Japan has over 2,000 years of history, and we can find potential treasures," he said. "I'd like to dig it up and we'd like to appeal to the world." http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2016/04/japan-airlines-chairman-sees-huge-potential-with-toyotas- arrival-in-dfw.html/ Back to Top Why Jet Engines Keep Getting Bigger Ever since the advent of the jet, engines have been getting bigger and bigger. It's not just to support large and larger aircraft, or because of some unfounded idea that bigger is better. When it comes to jet engines, bigger actually is better. At least up until a point. This fantastically concise video by the incomparable MinutePhysics explains the cold, hard math of the matter which essentially boils down to one core point. The bigger a jet engine is, the more efficient it is, because it will waste less energy in the process of adding to a plane's momentum. At least until drag starts to be a factor. According to some napkin math (which looks positively terrifying when MinutePhysics writes it out on screen), the optimal size for a jet engine is somewhere around 13 feet in diameter, a little bit bigger than the biggest jet engines we have right now. Of course there will always be other innovations that can make jet engines more efficient-like cleverly engineered gearboxes-and small-but-powerful engines will always make sense for fighter jets. But at some point the limiting factors are as simple as the laws of physics. Source: MinutePhysics http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a20354/why-jet-engines-keep-getting-bigger/ Back to Top Jet Aviation's New Macau Maintenance Base Set to Open International business aviation services group Jet Aviation is putting the final touches on its new maintenance facility in at Macau International Airport, which is expected to open in August. The exact date is subject to approval by the Macau government. Services at Jet Aviation Macau will include aircraft maintenance, cleaning and parking. Jet Aviation has leased some 4,000 sq m (43,170 sq ft) of hangar space and an additional 1,000 sq m (11,58 sq ft) of back shop space, including a wheel shop and a battery servicing facility. Jet Aviation Macau will add the company's Gulfstream and Dassault Falcon authorized service center credentials, and also work under its previously attained U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Part 145 and European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 approvals. Similar certification from Macau's Civil Aviation Authority is expected soon. In particular, Jet Aviation Macau will help relieve some of the choking congestion at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), where Jet Aviation also has a facility but finds the restrictions challenging. Nigel Parker, managing director at the HKIA maintenance facility, said, "Jet Aviation Macau will help relieve some of the congestion experienced in the region by providing quality MRO services from a proximate location." Jet Aviation's aircraft management and charter operation at HKIA received the 2015 Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) award for "best management company." The management arm of the Swiss- based company now counts 331 aircraft among its fleet in the Asia Pacific region. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2016-04-11/jet-aviations-new-macau- maintenance-base-set-open Back to Top Haneda to expand business jet slots to draw more visitors Shopping street of departure terminal at Haneda International airport in Tokyo, Japan, on March 4, 2016. The transport ministry will allow Tokyo's Haneda Airport to accommodate more foreign business jets, doubling the number of takeoffs and landings to up to 16 per day by the end of this month, it has been learned. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry aims to attract more small aircraft, which are mainly used for business purposes as well as by affluent individuals overseas, so the measure can help increase the number of foreign visitors to this country. Small planes are particularly useful for businesspeople in the United States and Europe, who like to use them to conduct negotiations while traveling. Haneda Airport handled a total of 2,017 takeoffs and landings by foreign business jets in 2015, up 33.1 percent from the previous year, according to a preliminary ministry report. Haneda, which is close to central Tokyo, handled about three times more foreign traffic than Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture. Haneda has a limited number of slots for foreign business jets. The airport allocates 15 takeoffs and landings each per day to charter flights, airplanes for official purposes and other uses - of which only a maximum of eight are reserved for business jets. Haneda also has a limit of four business jet landings a day, in a bid to avoid affecting scheduled flights. But Haneda is planning to allocate unused slots for charter and other flights to business jets when it has only a handful of such flights, while also eliminating the cap for business jet landings. The airport will expand its parking apron and aim to boost its operation rates by cutting the parking period to five days from the current 10 days, according to officials. Narita Airport completed a new parking apron in March, which is open for both scheduled flights and business jets. The airport already maintains a longer parking period than Haneda and will likely increase the number of parking aircraft, meaning greater convenience for foreign businesspeople visiting the Tokyo metropolitan area. The government has been striving to host international conferences and attract affluent visitors like foreign investors, as part of its efforts to increase the annual number of foreign visitors to 40 million in 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the end of March, Narita Airport started offering exclusive lanes at immigration for VIPs. Haneda is considering following suit. http://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2016/04/12/haneda-to-expand-business-jet-slots-to-draw-more- visitors.html Back to Top Horizon Air Places Largest Aircraft Order in its History, Adding 30 Embraer E175 Regional Jets to Fleet Inflight amenities include Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment Portland, Oregon - Horizon Air today announced it will grow its fleet with the purchase of 30 new three- class Embraer E175 jets, which will fly exclusively for Alaska Airlines. The order, which also includes 33 options, will be delivered over three years starting next year, and is valued at $2.8 billion at Embraer's current list price and represents the largest order since the airline was founded in 1981. The jets will supplement the Portland-based carrier's fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprops. Embraer's E175 will allow the carrier to fly 'long, thin routes' - destinations that are too distant for a turboprop, but currently don't have enough customer demand to fill a mainline jet. The E175 offers a comfortable cabin that boasts large overhead bins, ample cargo capacity and a forward and rear lavatory. "The E175s position Horizon for growth beyond our current West Coast destinations while providing better customer utility in the growing Alaska Airlines network," said Horizon Air President David Campbell. "The spacious E175 offers a passenger experience, that's on par with much larger jets. This aircraft opens up tremendous new opportunities to fly to new places that would not have been feasible with our existing aircraft." Horizon plans to begin flying the jets exclusively for Alaska Airlines under a capacity purchase agreement (CPA) beginning in Spring 2017 on select longer routes originating from the Pacific Northwest. Over time, the jets will replace 15 of the airline's leased Q400s, due for return in 2018. Horizon Air will fly both the E175 and the Q400 for the foreseeable future. The Embraer jet is not new for Alaska customers, who may have flown on the regional aircraft in 16 markets operated by CPA partner SkyWest Airlines. "To be chosen by Horizon to expand their fleet with the E175, is a great honor for Embraer. It recognizes the great economics that this aircraft offers," said Paulo Cesar Silva, Embraer Commercial Aviation president and CEO. "The Alaska Airlines brand is known for its high-standards of service, having received many awards for their superior customer services, which brings us even greater responsibility to deliver a state-of-the-art product, with the best cabin for passengers in the 76-seat jet segment." The 76-seat E175 jet will feature 12 seats in first class, 16 in premium class and 48 in the main cabin. Onboard amenities include Wi-Fi Internet access, and Alaska Beyond Entertainment, which includes free and premium entertainment direct to customer devices and power outlets throughout the cabin. Depending on length of flight, food and beverage will include fresh meals for purchase in addition to locally-sourced craft beers and premium wines. Embraer E175 Facts: * Seat pitch will be 31 inches in the main cabin, 34 inches in premium class and between 36 and 38 inches in first class. * All customers flying on the E175 will enjoy a window or aisle seat. * The regional jet is equipped with large overhead bins. * Maximum cruising altitude: 41,000 feet * Typical cruising speed: 494 mph. Horizon Air is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, Inc. and flies to 39 cities across the United States and Canada. Back to Top Moon Express asks FAA to review its plans for Google Lunar X Prize landing in 2017 Moon Express MX-1 lander An artist's conception shows the Moon Express MX-1 spacecraft orbiting the moon in preparation for landing. Moon Express, the lunar exploration venture backed by Seattle tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain, says it's asking the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a payload review of its spacecraft and plans for a mission to the moon in 2017. The request is aimed at heading off regulatory uncertainty about the mission, which is aimed at winning the Google Lunar X Prize. Moon Express ranks among the front-runners in the $30 million competition, which calls for teams to send landers to the moon, travel along the surface and send back real-time video by the end of next year. Such a feat would represent a first for commercial space ventures, but because it's unprecedented, it's not fully clear what kind of regulatory go-ahead would be required for a U.S.-based company. So far, only governmental space programs have sent probes beyond Earth orbit. Moon Express' plan calls for the launch to be provided by Rocket Lab, which is structured as a U.S. corporation with a New Zealand subsidiary. The launch would take off from a pad on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula that's been under construction. Last month, Rocket Lab qualified its Rutherford rocket engine for flight, but it hasn't yet started testing its Electron launch vehicle. Even though liftoff would take place in New Zealand, using a New Zealand-built rocket, the launch would have to be licensed by the FAA, Moon Express CEO Bob Richards said in a tweet. In a news release, Moon Express said its representatives have consulted with U.S. government officials to fashion an interim "Mission Approval" process, aimed at making sure the 2017 mission doesn't run afoul of regulatory requirements or international treaty obligations. Today's submission of an "enhanced payload review application" to the FAA initiated the process, Richards said. The arrangement combines existing launch approval procedures with voluntary disclosures aimed at assuring the U.S. government that Moon Express won't interfere with existing lunar operations or with heritage sites on the moon's surface. Moon Express also will declare its intent to respect international conventions on planetary protection that call for avoiding harmful contamination of the moon. Regulatory uncertainty could become the greatest risk for non-traditional space activities. In a statement, U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., hailed the interim arrangement. "Regulatory uncertainty could become the greatest risk for non-traditional space activities," Bridenstine said. "The mission approval framework created by Moon Express is an elegant solution to increase regulatory certainty and comply with treaty obligations. I look forward to building off this proposal in the American Space Renaissance Act, comprehensive space legislation I will be introducing soon." Last year, Congress passed a law supporting the rights of commercial space ventures to extract, use and sell resources from the moon, asteroids and other celestial bodies, consistent with international obligations. In addition to Moon Express, Israeli-based Team SpaceIL has struck a deal for a Google Lunar X Prize launch in 2017 with an assist from SpaceX and Seattle's Spaceflight Inc. U.S.-based Astrobotic is working on launch arrangements as well. http://www.geekwire.com/2016/moon-express-asks-faa-review-payload-lunar-landing-2017/ Back to Top PhD Research Request Fellow Helicopter Crewmember, This is a request for you to participate in a research study for my doctoral degree. The purpose is to study the relationship between safety management systems, incidents and accidents, and company performance for small helicopter companies with less than 5 aircraft and in the last 10 years. The survey asks several questions to determine if you can continue. There are series of questions on safety management systems, incidents and accidents, and company performance. To participate, you must be between age 21 to 60, had aircrew experience in a small civil helicopter organization with less than 5 aircraft and in the United States in last 10 years. You may currently be a helicopter student pilot. Please follow the link below and fill out pre-survey questions to confirm your eligibility. The survey does not include any identifiable data about the crewmember or places of employment. It will take about 12 minutes to complete. The survey will remain active through the end of April 2016. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5VPCZZ5 Thank you very much for your participation! Principal Investigator Scott Burgess Doctoral student at Northcentral University S.Burgess4793@email.ncu.edu Back to Top Graduate Research Request Research Survey Invitation Are you or have you been a pilot, UAS-pilot or air traffic controller? Do you have an interest in how UAS are integrated into the National Airspace? If so, please consider taking my survey which forms part of a masters research project to see if there are differences in the attitudes of pilots, UAS-pilots, and air traffic controllers when it comes to the integration of UAS into national airspace. The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete and can be saved at any stage. Responses are anonymous. SURVEY LINK: https://coventry.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/unmanned-air-systems-integration Back to Top Survey Invitation Hello: You are invited to participate in a research study that is designed to examine the relationship between pilot attitudes and the execution of flight safety checklists. Your participation is of great value because of your unique perspective as a pilot that will help in understanding why pilots choose to execute flight safety checklists or not. The survey will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. A status bar is provided at the top that tracks your progress as you complete the survey. Please note this survey is part of a doctoral dissertation study being conducted at Northcentral University. Before clicking on the link below, it is important for you to know the following: 1. Your responses will be confidential and will be accessible only to my professor and me. 2. Your responses will remain completely anonymous and no identifying information will be collected. 3. No reference will be made in oral or written reports that could connect you in any way to this study. 4. Your participation is completely voluntarily and you are not required to participate in the study. 5. If you begin completing the survey and opt not to continue, you may simply close your browser's window to close your session. This action will eliminate you as a participant. 6. By clicking on the link below you are indicating that you are a licensed pilot and are at least 18 years old and have agreed to voluntarily participate in this study. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Barry Hyde at B.Hyde0394@email.ncu.edu. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bhyde_ncuresearchstudy Back to Top 1st Risk Culture Survey "1st Risk Culture Survey in Commercial Air Transport Industry was launched on the 1st of April. More information about the concept and the link complete a short questionnaire can be found @ www.riskculture.org The study is part of an academic research and it aims to explore what and how operational risk decisions are made by frontline operators such as pilots, engineers/technicians and their managers. It does not apportion blame to anyone and it aims to identify factors encouraging professionals to accept certain risks. Also there is an opportunity to go into a Ł1500 bursary draw to attend a course at Cranfield University in United Kingdom. This first survey of its kind will remain open until the end of June 2016 and it will be repeated every year to study emerging risks in the industry." Curt Lewis