Flight Safety Information July 5, 2016 - No. 130 In This Issue United Airlines Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Bird Strike EgyptAir crash: Human remains recovered at site, investigators say Egypt investigators say can extract info from crashed jet voice recorder El Al Flight Gets Swiss Fighter Jet Escort After Bomb Threat Lost Russian fire-fighting aircraft found in Irkutsk Il-76 crash inquiry starts analysing recorder data Deloitte Study: Global Commercial Aircraft Backlog Remains Strong Boutique Air CEO stands by airline's safety Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan remain on the EU Air Safety List MP BEMOANS CATEGORY 2 AVIATION SAFETY RATING (Barbados) Buyers sought for Russian Boeing 767 grounded at Hong Kong airport PPG Receives FAA Approval to Repair Airbus Cockpit Windows SITA OnAir to assist Rolls-Royce engine health monitoring Asiana Airlines to Launch Second Low-Cost Carrier Alaska's Mount Pavlof Volcano Expected to Erupt for the Third Time by the End of the Year NASA's Spacecraft Juno Begins Orbit Of Jupiter United Airlines Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Bird Strike A United Airlines plane bound for Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing after hitting a bird during flight, an airline official said. United Airlines flight 840 departed from Sydney, Australia but returned to the airport after colliding with the bird shortly after takeoff, a United spokesman said. No passengers or crew were injured but emergency crews attended the scene. "We were only in the flight maybe 30 minutes," passenger Anne Hankins told the Associated Press. "[The] pilot came on and said that people in the front had seen birds, and that the pilot had seen birds, a flock of birds flew into both engines, and so they were going to turn us around and come back but it would take about 45 minutes." She described the plane circling over the ocean burning fuel before flying back to Sydney. "People I mean were obviously nervous but very, very calm on the flight," Hankins told the AP. "They prepared everybody and said this is just a precaution and the plane landed smoothly." The plane was temporarily taken out of service for maintenance, though the extent of the damage was not immediately known, a United Airlines spokesman said. https://www.yahoo.com/gma/united-airlines-plane-makes-emergency-landing-bird-strike-085507588-- abc-news-topstories.html Back to Top EgyptAir crash: Human remains recovered at site, investigators say A search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government has recovered all the human remains that had been mapped at the crash site of an EgyptAir flight that went down in May, the Egyptian Accident Investigation Committee said Sunday. The John Lethbridge, which, according to Reuters, is owned by the Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, headed to Alexandria to deliver the remains to forensic doctors and prosecutors. DNA analysis will be performed in Cairo, the committee said in a statement. The vessel will return to the crash site to perform additional scans for any remains that have yet to be discovered. The flight from Paris to Cairo crashed into the Mediterranean on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The pilots made no distress call, and no militant group has claimed to have brought the aircraft down. On Saturday, investigators said they would be able to access the cockpit voice recordings of the flight despite damage to the black box. "None of the memory chips of the electronic board were damaged," the Egyptians participating in the examination of the device in France said in a statement, adding that only some connecting components had to be replaced. "Test results were satisfactory as (they) enabled the reading of the recorders of the CVR memory unit," they added. The Egyptians now plan to bring the recorder to Cairo for further analysis. The flight data recorder shows that there was smoke in the lavatory and onboard equipment, and investigators say they have found heat damage on parts of the wreckage recovered from the Mediterranean Sea floor last month. The bulk of the wreckage is believed to be at a depth of about 9,800 feet. French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry on Monday, but said there is no evidence so far to link the crash to terrorism. EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared from radar at about 2:45 a.m. local time between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast. Radar data showed the aircraft had been cruising normally in clear skies before it turned 90 degrees left, then spun 360 degrees to the right as it plummeted from 38,000 feet to 15,000 feet. It disappeared when it was at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/egyptair-crash-human-remains-recovered-at-site-investigators-say/ Back to Top Egypt investigators say can extract info from crashed jet voice recorder Egyptian investigators said on Saturday the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 was now in a condition to extract recordings. The investigative committee said in a statement that, after repairs, the CVR was in a condition to retrieve information that could help explain why the Airbus A320 jet plunged into the sea on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The committee said its members were planning to return to Cairo to continue reading and analyzing the flight data recorder and CVR at the central department for aircraft accidents at Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-egyptair-plane-idUSKCN0ZI0DV Back to Top El Al Flight Gets Swiss Fighter Jet Escort After Bomb Threat Two fighter jets were scrambled due to a bomb threat on a passenger plane bound for Israel, officials said Tuesday. Switzerland's air force confirmed that a "sonic boom" heard Tuesday morning was the result of a "hot mission" involving two of its FA-18s. It said in a statement the FA-18s escorted a foreign passenger plane through Swiss airspace, but did not provide details on why. El Al Airlines confirmed that an "anonymous message" was received about a bomb on board its flight from New York to Tel Aviv, adding that the flight was continuing on to Israel as planned. The incident - an apparent false alarm - comes amid heightened security at U.S. airports following the deadly attack on Istanbul's international airport. http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/el-al-flight-gets-swiss-fighter-jet-escort-after-bomb-n603716 Back to Top Lost Russian fire-fighting aircraft found in Irkutsk Russian authorities have located the wreckage of a plane that crashed last week in the country's Irkutsk region. The aircraft - with a crew of 10 - disappeared on Friday while on a mission to fight forest fires in the the Bayandayevsky district near Lake Baikal. Investigators say the black boxes have been located along with human remains. http://www.euronews.com/2016/07/03/lost-russian-fire-fighting-aircraft-found-in-irkutsk/ Back to Top Il-76 crash inquiry starts analysing recorder data Russian investigators have been able to access information from the flight recorders of the Ilyushin Il- 76TD which crashed during a firefighting operation in Siberia. The solid-state flight-data recorder is in "good condition", says the Interstate Aviation Committee, while it describes the cockpit-voice recorder - which uses magnetic tape - as "satisfactory". Information from both recorders has been accessed and downloaded, the inquiry adds. Preliminary assessment of the contents shows that the recorders captured data about the 1 July accident, which occurred as the aircraft was conducting operations against wildfires in the Irkutsk region. The Il-76 was being operated by a division of the Russian emergency situations ministry. None of the 10 crew members survived after it crashed into a hillside. Investigators have started interpreting and analysing the recorder data, and the Interstate Aviation Committee adds that it is carrying out survey work of the crash site, and gathering radar, weather and satellite information. www.flightglobal.com Back to Top Deloitte Study: Global Commercial Aircraft Backlog Remains Strong NEW YORK, July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new Deloitte study, "Aircraft Order Backlog Analysis," released today, there is minimal risk of erosion in aircraft production backlog due to a potential severe economic downturn. The study found that between 7.2 and 11.6 percent of the backlog value may be subject to deferral or cancellation in the event of a severe recession. By contrast, during the 2008 recession, there was only a 5.4 percent decrease in the backlog. If such an unlikely event were to recur, it could result in a backlog reduction to 8.4 years, a record level first achieved only in 2013. Furthermore, only 5.3 percent of the backlog has been ordered by airlines with a BB or lower credit rating, pointing to a more financially healthy customer base compared to previous years. The study also found that the "new normal" of commercial aircraft production backlog has increased from three to five years during the 1998-2008 period, to six to 10 years in the 2009-2015 period. The study also found the 5.7 percent rate of net additions to global aircraft seating capacity has generally matched global revenue passenger kilometer growth at 5.3 percent. "The analysis of the data illustrates that new aircraft are needed to service long-term growth in passenger travel demand as well as to replace obsolete equipment," said Tom Captain, Tom Captain, vice chairman, U.S. Aerospace and Defense leader at Deloitte LLP and Global Aerospace and Defense leader at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. "The industry does not appear to be overproducing aircraft, as supply and demand seem to be in balance, especially when considering increasing load factors and oversold flight occurrences." The study analyzed the credit ratings and other factors for 215 airline customers of the five major OEMs producing aircraft, representing $1.9 trillion backlog value and 13,500 aircraft units. About Deloitte's Aerospace and Defense Group Deloitte's aerospace and defense practice focuses on the top issues facing the industry. Deloitte practitioners have deep industry experience and are actively involved in various segments of the industry, including: M&A, advanced technology programs, airplane program launches, and acquisition reform and economic assistance packages. For more information about Deloitte's aerospace and defense practice, please visit: www.deloitte.com/us/aerospace. As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte- study-global-commercial-aircraft-backlog-remains-strong-300293774.html http://finance.yahoo.com/news/deloitte-study-global-commercial-aircraft-040100993.html Back to Top Boutique Air CEO stands by airline's safety Simpson touts single-engine Pilatus' safety record A Swiss Air Force Pilatus PC-12 lands in Gloucestershire, England, in 2006. Enlargephoto Courtesy photo Boutique Air CEO Shawn Simpson on Friday heralded the "extreme reliability" of the Pilatus PC-12 single- engine aircraft - the plane his company uses - to fly passengers to almost all of the 23 destinations Boutique serves. "It's a real runaway success airplane," Simpson said. "The PC-12 is reliable and efficient." The Cortez City Council in May endorsed San Francisco-based Boutique Air's Essential Air Service (EAS) bid to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which will award the bid. Boutique's proposal includes three Denver flights and one Phoenix flight, though the Department of Transportation could opt for another flight configuration, according to airport manager Russ Machen. Essential Air Service is a subsidized U.S. program that seeks to guarantee airline service to small towns. The city's endorsement of a bid that included the single-engine PC-12 drew concerns from local pilot Garth Greenlee, who spoke at the council's June 14 meeting. Greenlee told council members they were making a "terrible mistake" by endorsing Boutique Air because of its single-engine plane. He said he doubted the plane's ability to withstand frigid weather and harsh conditions while flying over 14,000-foot peaks en route to Denver. Simpson, though, refuted those concerns. The PC-12 is manufactured in Switzerland - a country covered with high mountains - and is built for all weather conditions, he said. Pilatus has built about 1,500 of the planes since the PC-12's debut in the mid-1990s, and the company continues to manufacture about 60 new PC-12s per year, according to Simpson. For the past three months, Boutique Air has been operating two routes that fly over the Continental Divide, according to Simpson. Two daily flights travel from Vernal, Utah to Denver and back, according to the airline's website. Boutique Air also offers twice-daily flights from Moab to Denver and back. The company, which was founded in 2007, has never experienced issues with the PC-12, Simpson said. "We've never had any accidents, injuries or fatalities in our history, and we certainly plan to keep it that way going forward," Simpson said. "Safety is very important to us." There has never been a PC-12 fatality due to engine issues or failure, Simpson said. Rather, fatalities have been due to human error, he added. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been 17 incidents or accidents involving the aircraft in the U.S. since 2002. Out of those, six resulted in a total of 29 fatal injuries to passengers or crew members, according to NTSB reports. In the deadliest incident, 13 passengers and a pilot died in a March 2009 crash near Butte, Montana. That crash was attributed to ice in the fuel system and the pilot's failure to control the left wing when landing, according to the NTSB. The pilot neglected to add an aircraft fuel-line antifreeze called Prist when fueling the plane before takeoff, according to a report from airfactsjournal.com. Additionally, the number of passengers on that flight exceeded the PC-12's capacity, the report states. "It's more the pilots and their training that are the biggest factor" in air travel safety, Simpson said. The company's EAS bid is still pending, Simpson said. The EAS contract with Great Lakes Airlines, which previously provided service to Cortez, expired June 30. If the U.S. Department of Transportation awards Boutique Air's bid, travelers could see ticket rates at the Cortez Airport for as low as $49, Simpson said. The company typically offers an introductory rate for three to six months upon starting service at a new location, he said. "We really want people to try our service," Simpson said. "We keep prices low, let people learn about our service and try it out." Under the Boutique Air model, ticket prices increase as they become more scarce, Simpson said. The first seat sold on a flight will be cheaper, whereas the last few seats remaining will be more expensive, he said. There is no time factor with regard to the company's pricing, he added. Cortez will be the 16th community where Boutique Air will provide service, Simpson said. "We're really excited to be coming to Cortez," he said. "We're confident it will be an improvement over the service that has been there for quite some time." http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20160701/News05/160709994/Boutique-Air-CEO-stands-by- airline%E2%80%99s-safety Back to Top Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan remain on the EU Air Safety List BISHKEK (TCA) - The European Commission in June updated the EU Air Safety List (so-called EU blacklist) in which 13 Kyrgyz and 19 Kazakh airlines are listed among 216 airlines certified in 19 states. These airlines do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. http://www.timesca.com/index.php/news/16836-kyrgyzstan-and-kazakhstan-remain-on-the-eu-air-safety- list Back to Top MP BEMOANS CATEGORY 2 AVIATION SAFETY RATING (Barbados) Opposition MP for St. Michael North Ronald Toppin is questioning government's inaction in addressing the negative aviation safety rating given to the island in 2010. Making his presentation as Parliament debated the Civil Aviation Bill on Tuesday, he chastised government for not putting mechanisms in place for corrective action to qualify for removal from the Category Two status implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Pointing out that six years have passed since the Category Two status - "the lowest possible categorization that you can have" - had been set, the former Minister of International Transport cried shame that the aviation standard was no better in Barbados "today than it was eight years ago in terms of compliance with safety oversight standards as prescribed by the world International Civil Aviation Organization." "In seven or eight critical areas in July 2010, Barbados has failed and even if today, as a result of regulations laid last week, we say we satisfy the second requirement in terms of regulations, we are still falling short in respect of six and therefore are not any better today, some six years after an FAA audit was done. That is unsatisfactory," he argued. Admitting that it was not easy for any country to attain category one status, Toppin nevertheless pointed out that it has been achieved by Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. He therefore took to task the emphasis Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy was placing on building the civil aviation industry, instead of attaining the Category One status. "To think that you would have a prosperous civil aviation industry that is separate and apart from a categorization that you have in terms of your compliance with safety oversight standards as prescribed by the world body is to fundamentally misunderstand what the civil aviation industry is all about," he said. (JMB) http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/mp-bemoans-category-2-aviation-safety-rating Back to Top Buyers sought for Russian Boeing 767 grounded at Hong Kong airport Hong Kong airport is seeking to recover parking charges from now defunct Transaero Airlines. Transaero Boeing 737, Kiev A Transaero Airline Boeing 737 aircraft at the Kiev International airport in Ukraine.Reuters The Hong Kong Airport Authority is looking to sell a Boeing 767 that has been grounded on its tarmac for the past eight months. The now defunct Transaero Airlines jet was held at the airport in December 2015 after the airline failed to pay outstanding parking charges. Under Airport Authority Ordinance, the city's aviation department can sell the aircraft to recover the amounts owed. A spokeswoman for the Airport authority told the South China Morning Post that the aircraft was still currently parked at the airport. She did not give any details on the pending sales arrangements. The newspaper said that the proposed sell-off would be the first time the ordinance would be invoked against a commercial airline. The newspaper said that Transaero Airlines, Russia's once largest private airline ceased operations in October 2015 under heavy debts. The aircraft took off from Moscow Domodedovo airport and arrived in Hong Kong on 26 October 2016 after the airline's air operating licence was revoked. Flight UN965 was the airlines' last flight. The Boeing 767 has been left grounded awaiting progress on the winding up of its parent company, the newspaper said. On 30 June, the Hong Kong Airport Authority made an application seeking the High Court's approval to sell the plane. Proceeds from the sale would be used to pay off the outstanding parking charges. Any left over amounts would go towards settling any other claimants. So far Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot has announced plans to take over the leases of 16 Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A321 single-aisle aircraft, as well as operate 19 Boeing 747 and 777 wide-bodies which were in service with Transaero. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ Back to Top PPG Receives FAA Approval to Repair Airbus Cockpit Windows PPG Industries PPG has secured approval from the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") to repair sliding and aft fixed cockpit windows for Airbus Group's EADSY Airbus A320 Family jetliners. This allows PPG Industries to repair glass window assemblies produced by all manufacturers of Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 airplanes, along with the recently launched New Engine Option Family. The procedure approved by the FAA includes replacing old glass panels with PPG Industries' window panels and reusing frame retainers from either PPG or other suppliers. In addition to the FAA-approved repair service, PPG offers replacement for window assemblies and window panels. Prior to the approval of this service, unserviceable window assemblies were discarded and new windows were purchased to replace these. PPG Industries' service will now reduce costs as well as wastage. PPG Industries' Huntsville, AL-based facility, operating under a FAA-licensed repair station, currently makes the original parts as well as replacements, and will now begin the repair service. Made of PPG's high performance Herculite II glass, the repaired windows provide operators with a wider choice for window maintenance. The cockpit side windows are designed with panels and retainers from distinct components assembled together, enabling replacement and reuse of airworthy retainers. PPG Industries' expertise in transparency repair services also makes it an ideal choice for operators. Additionally, the company will be showcasing its latest cockpit side window and windshield design for the A320 Family at the Farnborough International Airshow from Jul 11?17. The benefits of the repair service for airplanes will also be explained at the booth. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ppg-receives-faa-approval-repair-114611458.html Back to Top SITA OnAir to assist Rolls-Royce engine health monitoring Rolls-Royce has chosen SITA OnAir technology to collate and distribute engine health monitoring data. The communications specialist says its AIRCOM FlightMessenger system will be used by Rolls-Royce as part of efforts "to anticipate any maintenance needs and maximise the operational life of its engines". Data collected by Rolls-Royce powerplants during flights is transmitted to the manufacturer in order to support TotalCare aftermarket services, it says. It adds: "Across the engine fleet this data amounts to thousands of messages per day. Rolls-Royce wanted a single system to receive and distribute these messages to its analytics and operations teams. FlightMessenger from SITA OnAir was selected to meet this demand." www.flightglobal.com Back to Top Asiana Airlines to Launch Second Low-Cost Carrier Company already owns 46% stake in Air Busan Passengers aboard an Asiana Airlines flight bound for Taipei in May. SEOUL-South Korea's Asiana Airlines Inc. obtained government approval to launch its second low-cost airline. The company, which owns a 46% stake in low-cost carrier Air Busan, got approval to launch Air Seoul from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation, the ministry said Tuesday. The new airline will be based at Incheon International Airport, near the capital. A spokeswoman for Air Seoul said it will first operate on domestic routes, beginning Monday, and will branch out to international routes in October, serving China, Japan and Malaysia. Asiana is the latest major carrier to set up a low-cost subsidiary to better compete against an influx of budget airlines in international markets. Low-cost travel now accounts for more than a quarter of the region's traffic, and Asiana Chief Executive Kim Soo-cheon has said that "a growing challenge from low- cost carriers is a stark reality facing almost all full-service airlines around the world." Asiana's launch of a second low cost carrier comes as it is quickly losing ground on its short-haul routes to budget carriers. Last year, it swung to a loss of 82 billion won ($71 million) from a year-earlier profit. In addition to transferring some local flights to Air Seoul, Asiana has said it will cut other overseas routes as part of a restructuring plan. The company has closed some branch offices, implemented voluntary retirement programs and outsourced certain services to cut costs. http://www.wsj.com/articles/asiana-airlines-to-launch-second-low-cost-carrier-1467696032 Back to Top Alaska's Mount Pavlof Volcano Expected to Erupt for the Third Time by the End of the Year Mount Pavlof in Alaska is still showing signs of seismic activity and steam emissions indicating a possible eruption by the end of the year. Increasing seismic activity and steam emissions from the Mount Pavlof in Alaska suggests that the volcano may erupt once again for the third time this year by the end of 2016, according to the calculations of Alaska Volcano Observatory or AVO. Pavlof Volcano is a snow- and ice-covered stratovolcano located on the southwestern end of the Alaska Peninsula about 953 km (592 mi) southwest of Anchorage. The volcano is about 7 km (4.4 mi) in diameter and has active vents on the north and east sides close to the summit. "Pavlof is one of those volcanoes that can erupt without very much in the way of precursory activities," said geophysicist David Schneider in a report from Christian Science Monitor. It's very easy for the magma to arise in the volcano and make it out. So even subtle signs of unrest we think it is prudent to increase our alert level." The continued activities in the Mount Pavlof lead the AVO to raise the Aviation Color Code to Yellow and the Alert Level to Advisory. The volcano first erupted this year in March, followed by another one in mid- May. During the March eruption of Mount Pavlof, ashes were sent out about 37,000 feet above sea level and were carried by wind more than 400 miles east into Alaska. On the other hand, the May eruption has recorded a significant amount of ash-fall in the ground for the first time in 20 years. According to the report from AVO, Mount Pavlof has over 40 historic eruptions. Ash plumes from the volcano during an eruption can reach as high as 49,000 feet above sea level posing high risk to passenger jets. Jet engines have enough heat to melt volcanic ash that enters into hard glass. This can cause clogging, which can potentially destroy the machinery of the aircraft. http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/24674/20160704/alaskas-mount-pavlof-volcano-expected- erupt-third-time-end-year.htm Back to Top NASA's Spacecraft Juno Begins Orbit Of Jupiter Five years and hundreds of millions of miles later, Juno is in orbit. CREDIT: NASA NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016. UPDATE: 11:54 p.m. ET - "Welcome to Jupiter!" After a tense, 35-minute engine burn, NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully began its orbit of Jupiter late Monday evening, the pivotal moment of the space agency's five-year long venture to reach the planet. Hundreds of millions of miles away, the $1.1 billion mission all hung on a single 35-minute engine burn - a maneuver that slowed the spacecraft during its final approach and allowed the craft to sink into orbit around the solar system's largest planet. "Jupiter is spectacular from afar and will be absolutely breathtaking from close up," Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a statement ahead of Monday night's events. The solar-powered spacecraft entered the gas giant's dangerous orbit Monday, just seconds behind schedule, to raucous applause from those gathered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA reported less than an hour later that Juno had turned its solar panels towards the sun for power, the last crucial move undertaken during the initial phase of the orbit. Follow NASA's Juno Mission ? @NASAJuno Engine burn complete and orbit obtained. I'm ready to unlock all your secrets, #Jupiter. Deal with it. 10:54 PM - 4 Jul 2016 10,873 10,873 Retweets 11,826 11,826 likes The 35-minute engine burn, which began at 11:18 p.m. EST, slowed Juno by 1,212 mph, enough so it could be captured by the planet's gravitational pull. Still, Juno was traveling some 130,000 mph before it reached Jupiter. "We've only got one shot," Guy Beutelschies, director of space exploration systems at Lockheed Martin, the company that built and operates Juno, told NPR. "If we miss this flyby, we're assuming the mission's over." But the Fourth of July arrival proved successful. Now, Juno will continue a lengthy dance with Jupiter, circling the giant planet 37 times over a 20-month period and swinging as close as 2,600 miles of the planet's cloud tops, NASA said. It will mark the first time a spacecraft has orbited Jupiter's poles, NASA added, "providing new answers to ongoing mysteries about the planet's core, composition and magnetic fields." The mission is also expected to provide scientists with a better understanding of our solar system as a whole. "It just so happens, deep inside this body are the secrets we're after," a voice-over says in the NASA video below. "Secrets about our early solar system." The heavily armored spacecraft has been built to withstand the planet's extreme, radiation-rich environment. But the costly mission is full of unknowns. "When you sail into terra incognita, that is always going to make you sit on the edge of your seat, because you don't really know for sure what you're facing," Heidi Becker of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told National Geographic. Juno is expected to begin scientific observations following a final engine burn on Oct. 19, after a lengthy phase in which the spacecraft will be captured in the planet's orbit and all scientific instruments will be turned on. The spacecraft is set to meet a fiery death when it burns up in Jupiter's atmosphere in February 2018. For more information about the Juno mission, visit its NASA page. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nasa-spacecraft-juno-arrival- jupiter_us_577909d6e4b041646410480e Curt Lewis