Flight Safety Information November 11, 2016 - No. 225 In This Issue Traffic Incident Causes Delays at Los Angeles International Airport Loaded pistol confiscated at Huntsville International Airport FAA releases National Airspace System Navigation Strategy Why gather flight safety data if not to tell, protect public? Airlines to Trump: Block rivals and privatize air traffic control Woman with dementia gets on flight to LAX without boarding pass You Can't Even See the Airplane Trying to Land Through This Impossibly Thick Fog AsiaSat wins patent for effective satellite broadband connectivity to aircraft The Boneyard: Where thousands of military aircraft go to rest Aviation safety: transport MEPs back draft EU rules on drones and emerging risks RwandAir gets safety certification for its ground operations Africa: Aviation Development, Safety - China Shares Best Practices With Africa NBAA Publishes Air Safety Policy Depleted by coup, Turkish air force seeks to lure back seasoned pilots Bombardier flagship business jet completes its first test flight BP takes $30 million stake in US bio-jet producer Woman-owned aviation firm recognized for excellence John Russack Named Director of Operations for Empire Airlines Traffic Incident Causes Delays at Los Angeles International Airport A traffic incident stalled a China Southern Airlines airplane that was being towed out for departure at Los Angeles International Airport, causing a handful of cancellations and delays. A spokesperson for the airport told ABC News that the incident took place at 1:32 a.m., when the towing vehicle and the jet collided at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, causing the plane to block the taxiway. The operator of the towing vehicle was treated for minor injuries. http://abcnews.go.com/US/traffic-incident-delays-los-angeles-international-airport/story?id=43461704 ****************** Date: 10-NOV-2016 Time: 23:12 Type: Airbus A380-841 Owner/operator: China Southern Airlines Registration: B-6139 C/n / msn: 088 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) - United States of America Phase: Taxi Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) Destination airport: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN/ZGGG) Narrative: China Southern Airlines flight CZ328 from Los Angeles, California, USA to Guangzhou, China, was cancelled after the aircraft, an Airbus A380, impacted a towing truck. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=191278 Back to Top Loaded pistol confiscated at Huntsville International Airport TSA confiscated a loaded weapon at Huntsville International Airport this morning. (Courtesy photo) A loaded Ruger .380-caliber pistol was discovered in a carry-on bag at the Huntsville International Airport checkpoint today by the Transportation Security Administration. TSA immediately alerted local law enforcement after finding the weapon around 10 a.m., according to a news release from Mark Howell, regional spokesman for TSA. Local police seized the weapon and escorted the passenger out of the checkpoint area, Howell said. This is the 13th firearm discovered at the security checkpoint by TSA officers at Huntsville's airport so far this year. In 2015, only two were discovered. Passengers may transport firearms in check baggage, as long as the weapons are unloaded, stored in proper case and the airline is notified. "Passengers are responsible for the contents of bags they bring to the checkpoint," Howell said. "Our advice is to look through bags thoroughly before coming to the airport to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items." Passengers who bring in unauthorized weapons may face criminal charges or civil repercussions from TSA. http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2016/11/loaded_pistol_confiscated_at_h.html Back to Top FAA releases National Airspace System Navigation Strategy The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released its Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) National Airspace System (NAS) Navigation Strategy 2016, the result of a concerted year-long effort by FAA and aviation industry stakeholders. It describes how the FAA intends to transition U.S. NAS operations over the near- (2016-2020), mid- (2021-2025) and far-term (2025-2030) from predominantly point-to-point navigation, reliant on hundreds of ground-based navigation aids, to PBN-centric operations relying on systems and services supporting Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP). Performance-based navigation specifies the aircraft area navigation performance in terms of accuracy, integrity, availability, continuity and functionality needed to conduct specific operations in a particular airspace. While promoting the PBN benefits of GNSS such as the GPS and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the PBN Strategy also recognizes the need to maintain resilient PBN capabilities that remain unaffected in the event of GNSS interference, and that can continue to support PBN operations or provide safe navigation alternatives. It is a well-constructed, valuable document that provides detail on the means by which many of the Operational Improvements (OIs) described in the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) implementation Plan (NGIP) will be achieved. The FAA began the introduction of PBN operations following the release of its Roadmap for Performance- Based Navigation in 2003, which promoted more efficient and higher capacity operations based on the capabilities of modern aircraft and emerging GNSS-supported PBN procedures. By 2010, many PBN procedures were in use across the NAS, and especially at the busiest airports and most complicated and congested airspace. Building on this experience, the 2016 PBN Strategy recognizes that the U.S. NAS is not a homogeneous entity; its needs vary based on both location and time. To best serve NAS users and to continue to provide the safest, highest capacity, most efficient airspace in the world, some of the key concepts of the strategy are to provide: the right procedure to meet the need; structure where beneficial and flexibility where possible; shifting to time- and speed-based air traffic management; and delivering and using resilient navigation services. To provide correct procedure and structure where needed, the PBN Strategy defines six Navigation Service Groups (NSG) and services potentially available at the airports within each group. NSG 1, now comprising about 15 airports, is reserved for the busiest large hubs that would benefit from common aircraft performance capabilities to maximize capacity. NSG 2 contains the remaining large-hub and all medium- hub airports. Small and non-hub airports comprise NSG 3. NSG 4 includes more than 500 airports, including national and regional general aviation (GA, or private plane) airports, and NSG 5 2,400 local and basic GA airports. NSG 6 consists of thousands of small airports not part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport System (NPIAS). Time- and speed-based navigation is essential to optimal utilization of airport capability and capacity for both arrival and approach and departure operations. The ability of aircraft to more precisely follow PBN procedures because of onboard navigation capability and space- and ground-based navigation services maintains safety, increases airspace and runway utilization, and - because of more efficient, precise routing - minimizes fuel burn and carbon footprint. The PBN Strategy also recognizes the need to maintain resilient PBN services and, while GNSS-provided PNT services are able to support both RNAV and RNP procedures, GNSS is vulnerable to both intentional and unintentional interference. To preclude loss of efficiency and capacity benefits in the event of GNSS interference, the FAA will maintain and improve the ground-based Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)/Tactical Navigation (TACAN) network to support DME-DME RNAV 2 in the enroute domain and RNAV 1 in the necessary terminal domains. Because of plans to fill gaps in coverage at high altitudes (FL 180 and above) and remove single DME facility criticality, aircraft without inertial reference units (IRUs) will be able to fly these procedures using DME-DME RNAV, although at the much lower altitudes associated with terminal operations, an IRU may still be required. For aircraft without DME-DME RNAV capability, for example General Aviation, the FAA will maintain a Minimum Operational Network (MON) of Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Ranges (VORs) to either support navigation out of a GNSS interference area or navigation to an airport where approach and landing is supported by either an Instrument Landing System (ILS) or VOR. Commentary PBN services depicted across Navigation Service Group airports represent the standard in the far term, 2026-2030. The FAA's plan to maintain resilience, while admirable, does have some issues. All of the VORs, DMEs and TACANs that provide resilient navigation services are extremely old, the vast majority designed in the 1970s and installed in the 1980s. There is no current plan to modernize or recapitalize them. As for researching and developing an Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing capability that would support resilient PBN capability for all of aviation, maintain the ability for aircraft to report their positions via Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), and support the rapid and vast emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAS) and benefits, the PBN Strategy states that "During the far term and moving out into the 2030 timeframe and beyond, the FAA will continue to research the best methods for Alternate Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT)." This delay is unfortunate, as further delay in implementing PNT resilience for all aspects of aviation, as well as for all critical infrastructure areas is, at best, imprudent, as recent agency attempts to develop and implement other resilient PNT capabilities - Enhanced DME (eDME) and Enhance Loran (eLoran) - have been suspended. The release of the 2016 PBN Strategy is a significant event. It will help guide the agency and the aviation community forward. It will help clarify policy, facilitate decisions, drive equipage, and provide for a safe, higher capacity and more efficient NAS. It is a good start, which could be improved by recognizing the significant investments needed in resilient PNT equipment, architecture and systems. http://gpsworld.com/faa-releases-national-airspace-system-navigation-strategy/ Back to Top Why gather flight safety data if not to tell, protect public? Allegiant Airlines is the only passenger carrier at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. A data analysis showed it had the worst in-flight mechanical failure record of the 11 largest airlines, with 12 failures per 10,000 flights. Zia Nizami znizami@bnd.com Allegiant Airlines is a heck of a deal, but we now learn that deal might come with the scare of a lifetime. The Tampa Bay Times recently reviewed 65,000 records from the Federal Aviation Administration on the nation's 11 largest airlines for 2015. The findings ranked Allegiant's as the most likely planes to experience an aircraft failure during flight, with half of their planes failing in mid-flight at least once in 2015. The average for all airlines was three in-flight failures for every 10,000 flights. Southwest was the best at one failure per 10,000. Allegiant was the worst at 12 failures per 10,000. Passengers told harrowing stories of thinking they were about to die. Experts discussed serious lack of federal oversight and a spotty maintenance program on planes averaging 22 years old. Allegiant said it is aware of the problems and working on improving its fleet and its maintenance. But the real problem here is that the public was not aware of the issues. The FAA makes the airlines collect the data, but it doesn't bother compiling the data or comparing airlines or tracking performance. It takes no enforcement action other than telling Allegiant to fix the breaks. Consumers deserve to know the safety records. Plus, what's the point of forcing a business to collect data if there is no public servce being done as a result of that data? You get what you pay for in a free marketplace, but when you are forced to pay taxes or higher prices of goods to support a government function, the government darned well better perform that function. http://www.bnd.com/opinion/editorials/article113398303.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Airlines to Trump: Block rivals and privatize air traffic control (Bloomberg)-Donald Trump, a hotelier and former airline executive, has said plenty about immigrants, borders, and free trade. But he hasn't said much about the multibillion-dollar aviation industry. This huge segment of the American economy has some priorities and complaints that have gone essentially nowhere during the Obama administration, due in part to political gridlock. With Republicans running both houses of Congress and the White House next year, airlines are now ready to push their case on several issues they hold dear. Most aviation experts say it's hard to gauge how Trump's administration might respond, given that it doesn't owe the industry any favors. "This is probably not the kind of pro-business Republican administration you might expect," said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at Airline Weekly, an industry journal, as Trump isn't tied firmly to a particular ideology and "doesn't really have any core beliefs. He's said certain things in the campaign that he had to, to bring himself in line with the Republican Party a little bit, but it's not like there's a history with anything." It's also not clear that the Trump administration would see regulating aviation as a priority, said Bob Rivkin, a Chicago attorney who formerly worked for Delta Air Lines Inc. and at the U.S. Department of Transportation. "It becomes a question of priorities and capacity to push through Congress laws invalidating regulations when you've got a whole lot of other things going on," Rivkin said. "In transportation, there are number of things that could be affected, but I think they're going to be down the list of priorities." Also, there's the populist sentiment that may not mix well with favors to industry. "The people who voted for him seem to feel that they've gotten the raw end of the deal with big business," Kaplan said. Nevertheless, here are some of the legislative issues facing airlines: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL U.S. carriers, with the notable exception of Delta, are pressing for Congress to transfer air traffic control from the Federal Aviation Administration to a new not-for-profit entity similar to the model used in Canada to control airspace. Large carriers such as American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. argue that the FAA's structure and funding are unable to complete a long-delayed airspace modernization program and that the new organization would be more efficient and financially stable. Congress has declined to pursue the issue. But there could be a new movement from the House, especially since the airlines' leading champion in Congress, Representative Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), won reelection. Shuster is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has close personal ties to Airlines for America, the industry's trade group. INTERNATIONAL RIVALS The industry-including its labor unions-is seeking to curb further expansion in North America by a trio of Middle Eastern carriers, Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways Ltd. The U.S. industry has been pressing the current administration for two years to open talks with those airlines' governments over what they allege are tens of billions of dollars in unfair subsidies to the three airlines. Trump, 70, has vehemently attacked U.S. trade deals he says disadvantage Americans, and airlines are saying the same regarding these competitors. "We look forward to briefing President-elect Donald Trump and his new administration on the massive, unfair subsidies that the UAE and Qatar give to their state-owned Gulf carriers," said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the airline lobby group, Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, in a statement Wednesday. "Trump would be inclined to not allow subsidized state-owned foreign airlines to compete unfairly against market-driven public companies from the U.S.," Rivkin said. For now, the Obama administration has been at a "sort of impasse" over the Middle East controversy, said Brian Havel, director of the International Aviation Law Institute at DePaul University in Chicago. The same coalition of airlines and unions is also battling efforts by Norwegian Air Shuttle AS to expand internationally with more U.S. service. The airline has been seeking a permit for its Irish subsidiary to serve U.S. destinations. Norwegian's request to the Department of Transportation has been pending for almost three years. CUBA Airlines have begun flying there, but it's a tiny business and not one likely to be profitable in the near future. And while Trump may not reverse the Obama policy on more open relations with the Castro government, he could slow any further diplomatic relations, said Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, which lobbies on consumer travel issues. Efforts in Congress to quash the 54-year-old U.S. embargo of the island-and tourism ban-may falter. "We remain hopeful that Mr. Trump, who has previously supported engagement with Cuba as a businessman and a politician, will continue to normalize relations that will benefit both the American and Cuban people," Engage Cuba, a group of U.S. companies working to end the embargo, said in a statement. But the issue is also complicated because Trump has potential business interests in the island nation, with executives from his company traveling there in 2012 or 2013 to scout golf opportunities, Bloomberg Businessweek reported in July. PASSENGER RULES Lighter regulation from a billionaire businessman in the White House could mean a Transportation Department that is friendlier to airlines, with fewer rules and fees the carriers had criticized under Obama. Trump is also a former airline executive, having operated the Trump Shuttle (Eastern's former shuttle service) with flights from New York to Boston and Washington, D.C., for about two years before it shut down in 1992. One reason: Trump opted for a relatively lavish service on short flights, at a time of high fuel prices, and couldn't recover his costs. Whether his experience then will affect how carriers do business in the next four years is unclear. "I don't think aviation policy is going to soar to the top of his inbox," Havel said. "I think we'll see a sort of default continuity into what we've had with the Obama administration." http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20161110/NEWS10/161119995/airlines-to-trump-block-rivals- and-privatize-air-traffic-control Back to Top Woman with dementia gets on flight to LAX without boarding pass Mountain Brook, Ala. - A Mountain Brook woman wants airlines to change their polices for dealing with people with dementia. Diana Bygrave says her mother Helen, who has dementia, disappeared at Chicago's Midway airport before a planned flight to Birmingham. "We just felt so hopeless like where did she go?" Bygrave and her family did not know where Helen was for about seven hours. "My sister was bringing my mom here to Birmingham we share care because she has dementia...they had gone to the restroom and my sister and mom went into separate stalls and that's where they got separated." Bygrave says her sister couldn't find their mother. She got police at the airport involved and filed a missing persons report. She also asked Southwest Airlines employees at the gate to help look for her. "We thought potentially she got onto a plane but they insisted she couldn't possibly have gotten onto a plane but she literally disappeared," said Bygrave. It turns out Helen did get on a plane, to Los Angeles. "She was actually there with TSA because she had left the secured area and she was trying to come back in and they stopped her because she had no ID so they were detaining her there," says Bygrave. Bygrave says she doesn't know how her mother got on a flight to LAX without a boarding pass. Southwest Airlines tells us they are reviewing the situation. But Bygrave is most upset the airline wouldn't do more to look for her mother on other planes that had boarded near the gate where the flight to BHM was boarding. When she called the airline, "I told them we think my mom might be on a plane because she literally just disappeared and the agent or person on the phone said we can't give you that information." "When a person you filed a missing person report for, a dementia or Alzheimer's patient y'all cooperate. Just look, ok just look. You have a responsibility to these people that are disabled," says Bygrave. Bygrave says she wants all airlines to now have better policies in place for handling situations like this. Southwest Airlines offered their apologies to Bygrave and her family. The Airline says they do have a policy for dealing with people with cognitive disabilities. You can read that here. There is no mention of what they do if someone is missing. Here is Southwest's full response: "Yes, we are aware of the situation and have been in contact with Helen's family throughout this process to try to answer their questions, accommodate their travel, and apologize for the concern this has caused their family. As soon as we were alerted that Helen was separated from her daughter, several of our Employees in Chicago assisted to locate Helen. When Helen was located in Los Angeles, our Employees assisted in making arrangements for her to travel back to Chicago on the next flight to reunite with her daughter on the same day. Our Employees met the flight upon arrival back in Chicago to ensure that we reunited Helen with her daughter. We have procedures in place to accommodate Customers with cognitive disabilities. However, they did not apply in this case as the family did not notify us that Helen has dementia as she was traveling with her daughter, and the family did not inform us that she would need additional assistance. Again, we have been in contact with the family throughout this situation to accommodate their needs and answer their questions. We refunded the cost of their tickets and accommodated their travel at their request a few days later at no charge to the family. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and the anxiety this situation caused Helen's family, and we have followed up internally with the appropriate Leaders to review the situation." http://abc3340.com/news/local/woman-with-dementia-gets-on-flight-to-lax-without-boarding-pass Back to Top You Can't Even See the Airplane Trying to Land Through This Impossibly Thick Fog What the hell. The fog at London's Gatwick Airport was basically eating up any airplane that was trying to land on the runway. Some of the planes essentially disappeared into the unknown, never to be seen again (they were probably sent around). Others were able to land when the fog cleared up a bit but man, that's a scary time to be in the air. http://sploid.gizmodo.com/you-cant-even-see-the-airplane-trying-to-land-through-t-1788469801 Back to Top AsiaSat wins patent for effective satellite broadband connectivity to aircraft Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited, Asia's leading satellite operator, has been granted a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, titled, 'Methods and Systems for Providing High-speed Connectivity to Aircraft.' (US Patent No. 9,425,888) The patent is about the methods and systems that enable effective aviation communication via satellite over a broad area at high altitude. Example methods include the use of a wide-beam antenna on a satellite to provide a wide flatten coverage by transmitting signals at a frequency higher than 10 GHz and at a relatively low satellite power (EIRP) to avoid interference with ground stations or adjacent satellites. At the same time, the satellite system is configured with a spot beam antenna to receive signals from a mobile antenna on the aircraft at a different frequency of at least 13.75 GHz to achieve better gain for higher data throughput rate of the connection. With the use of a low-power wide beam antenna, the described system enables communication coverage for aircraft with fewer beams, fewer antennas and receivers onboard a satellite thus reducing its payload, hardware and ground stations requirements, and results in a more reliable service that can be achieved with less switching and traffic handover issues. The same method and system can also be configured to provide connectivity to an unmanned aviation vehicle (UAV) for establishing immediate communication links in emergency situation due to natural disaster or warfare. The invention was developed by Dr. Roger Tong, Vice President, Engineering and Operations and Chief Technical Officer of AsiaSat and his team members, Fred Vong and Harry Leung. "Being in the satellite industry, where technologies and user needs are rapidly changing, we recognise there is no boundary to our imagination and we have to continue to innovate in order to provide the best services to our customers," said Dr. Tong. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ Back to Top The Boneyard: Where thousands of military aircraft go to rest They served in combat from Korea to Afghanistan. Dangerous missions all over the world. Dropping bombs and protecting soldiers on the ground. Now, they lay here in the Arizona desert. These veterans aren't people - they're planes. All kinds of military aircraft are lined up in precision formation as if ready to soar into conflict. But if you look closely, you can see why that's impossible. Many of the planes are missing engines, wing parts or cockpits. And that's why they call this place The Boneyard. 'If only these planes could talk' It's a sprawling field where planes are stripped down for parts for resale or are 'regenerated' to be sold to soar again to a country allied with the US. The desert, with its low humidity and limited rainfall, is the ideal retirement home of sorts for aircraft packed with metal that could rust or corrode. There are more than 3,000 aircraft here - the largest storage and preservation home of its kind in the world. The imagination roams as you walk under a hot sun looking up at the large planes parked here. It makes you wonder. Did this jet take incoming ground fire? Who was on the receiving end of bombs dropped out this bay? "If only these planes could talk ... What stories they could tell," retired Brigadier General Keith Connolly said, tapping the wing of an F4-C jet, the kind he flew in 176 missions in the Vietnam War. Connolly and several other US military veterans strolled the Boneyard with CNN. They may not see again the exact fighter jets or trainers they flew, but it was easy to feel the emotional pull of what the old planes - and those who flew them - meant to each other. Lieut. Col. Ron Prunce rode with Connolly on many of those Vietnam War missions. During dozens of combat flights, the men sat back to back, jammed in the F4C. They now both live the Tuscon area, which is not that far from the massive Davis Monthan Air Force base that contains the Boneyard. Prunce grew emotional as he described seeing planes landing. "Not a day goes by that I don't look up and wish I was still up there," he said. His voice broke as he reflected on his aviation past and connection to the base. "Mentally,I think I could get into the F4 and we can go fly," Connolly said, standing next to his old cockpit buddy. "I would have trouble remembering how to start it." Charles Gebhardt flew a much larger plane: the B-52 bomber. He quickly recalled details like the "108" bombs it hauled, as he stood under the towering aircraft. He said he appreciated being able to walk around the B-52, a type of plane still in use by the military. "This is not a museum," said retired Colonel Scott Hines, who flew a variety of aircraft here helping to train thousands of other pilots."It's a special place," he added, admiring the rows and rows of aircraft neatly parked in order. The Bonyard, according to Hines, also represents the US military air service that powered America to victory in faraway lands. This visit here was a real-life version of a famous scene from one of the best movies ever made about soldiers after war. "The Best Years of Our Lives" in 1946 featured down-on-his-luck vet Dana Andrews coming to terms with his life as he climbed into a bomber about to be chopped up for parts. These veterans, however, have lived full lives - with serving their country at its heart. A graveyard of new life The Boneyard is also still active helping the US military in current battles. The Marine Corps announced in June that it was going to resurrect 23 F/A 18 Hornets from the Boneyard to meet fleet requirements while a long-delayed F-35 fighter is eventually delivered. In a hangar, an F-16 was being "regenerated," preparing to roar through the skies as part of expanding drone surveillance operations. Timothy Gray, deputy director of the Boneyard, said air power has been the signature element that has defined America in combat. For 70 years, this desert facility has been a final resting home for that power and still a source for valuable pieces for planes that live on to showcase American strength in the skies. http://gantdaily.com/2016/11/11/the-boneyard-where-thousands-of-military-aircraft-go-to-rest/ Back to Top Aviation safety: transport MEPs back draft EU rules on drones and emerging risks - Committee on Transport and Tourism Click for full view Press release - Aviation safety: transport MEPs back draft EU rules on drones and emerging risks - Committee on Transport and Tourism Author: European Parliament. Plans to update EU civil aviation safety rules to address emerging risks were amended and approved by Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs on Thursday. The updated EU regulation will also introduce the EU-level requirements for drones, to ensure safety and privacy. "EU aviation safety standards are already high. Even so, the growing use of drones and threats from terrorism and cyber-lity and results. At the same time, without proper discipline, these could give rise to serious safety and security problems. Registration and identification are basic requirements. Unmanned aircraft with a take-off mass higher than 250 grammes and all certified ones should be registered", he added. Identify risks early The committee text includes provisions for safety management systems at EU and member state levels to identify potential safety risks earlier. A European Aviation Safety Programme should be drawn up and each EU member state should also establish its own national aviation safety programme and a plan setting out key safety risks for its civil aviation safety system and actions to mitigate them. "Socio-economic factors" (e.g. employment conditions) should be taken into account, when identifying risks to aviation safety and mitigaattacks require new rules to ensure aviation safety and security. At the same time, these rules should be performance and risk based - ultralight or business aviation should not have to meet the same requirements", said rapporteur Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, RO). "Unmanned aircraft have great potential for the future. Many applications are already providing various services, with better quating measures, MEPs, add. Drones to be registered The proposed update would also bring all unmanned aircraft, or drones, within the EU civil aviation framework for the first time, setting out design and operation requirements to ensure privacy and safety. Drones lighter than 150kg fall currently under national competence. The EU Commission would be tasked with defining detailed safety rules for drone design and drone flights, such as conditions in which additional equipment is required to limit altitude or access to critical zones (e.g. power plants or airports). The Commission should also set out conditions and procedures for mandatory registration, marking and identification of unmanned aircraft, say MEPs. All certified drones, plus those that are not certified and have a maximum take-off weight above 250 grammes, should be registered", they add. Flights over conflict zones and unlawful act risks The draft rules would also empower the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to issue directives and recommendations to address risks that might arise from unlawful acts or from flight paths that cross regions that are the scene of armed conflict. The EASA could take measures to remedy vulnerabilities in aircraft design too. Emissions and noise Aircraft and parts must be designed to minimise noise and emissions, in compliance with EU law and international standards, adds the text. Next steps The committee text constitutes Parliament's position for negotiations with the Council on the final wording of the regulation. The committee also approved a mandate to start these negotiations. https://www.neweurope.eu/press-release/press-release-aviation-safety-transport-meps-back-draft-eu- rules-on-drones-and-emerging-risks-committee-on-transport-and-tourism/ Back to Top RwandAir gets safety certification for its ground operations RwandAir has received yet another International Air Transport Association (IATA) certification confirming safety of its ground operations. IATA's Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) is a standard and structured audit programme for ground service providers and was modeled on the success of IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), according to John Mirenge, the chief executive of RwandAir. The certification, which the airline officials received on Wednesday, November 9, is valid for two years and will expire in July 2018, he added. Mirenge said the audit uses internationally recognised ground operational standards aimed at reducing risk and cost. "This is a key milestone towards enhancing safety standards and meeting customer expectations," he said. The certification follows an audit conducted on RwandAir ground operations in July by WAKE QA, an IATA- approved audit organisation. The airline is IATA operational safety audit certified, which makes it globally- recognised as one of the safest airlines, according to international civil aviation standards, qualifying it to fly to any destination across the world. "With this achievement, RwandAir will provide its customer airlines and private jets operating at Kigali International Airport enhanced ground-handling services with high safety standards while maximising productivity," Mirenge said He added that both the ISAGO and IOSA certification confirms the airline's commitment to industry's best practices in operational safety to a world class level. The airline announced this week that it will start flights to the UK and the US next year. In September, the airline acquired its first A330-200 Airbus aircraft to boost its fleet and capacity to compete globally. It is waiting delivery of another wide-body A330-300 Airbus plane. RwandAir flies to 19 destinations in Africa and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2016-11-11/205241/ Back to Top Africa: Aviation Development, Safety - China Shares Best Practices With Africa The 2016 Forum of China-Africa Regional Aviation Cooperation held in Zhuhai recently within the sidelines of the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. Civil aviation experts in the People's Republic of China have hinted that for the industry to blossom and yield required dividends, security must be guaranteed. They hold that the much-needed aviation safety passes through the state of aircraft, infrastructure and security in airports. In the face of what they underlined is the shaky industry in Africa owing to under investment in the sector as well as insufficient fiscal and human resources, there is need for win-win partnership especially with companies and countries that have moved steps forward. In effect, it was against this backdrop that aviation experts from Africa and China converged on Zhuhai, Guangdong Province of China on November 2, 2016 to share best practices on how to boost the industry in Africa and improve the economic performances of the countries. And the 2016 Forum of China-Africa Regional Aviation Cooperation, as the meeting was christened, held within the sidelines of the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. A rare moment to showcase China's advancements in the aviation industry! Through the forum, China and Africa formulated new concepts on the future civil aviation transport in Africa and participants hoped such a move would enhance the aviation cooperation between China and Africa and promote the implementation of China-Africa regional cooperation plan. The forum was a follow up of that of 2015 year in Beijing. Strides, they held, have been recorded thus far. "Several direct flight courses between China and African countries have been set up, trainings and customer service centres have been established by AVIC Intl in Africa and more than 200 aviation officers and technicians have already been trained for African countries... ," a final press release reads. Among the participants of the Zhuhai 2016 Forum of China-Africa Regional Aviation Cooperation were officials from giant financiers notably Export/Import Bank of China, China Development Bank, China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, China-Africa Development Fund, ICBC Leasing et al who provided diverse financial packages that could bail Africa's aviation industry out of the current economic limbo. http://allafrica.com/stories/201611110766.html Back to Top NBAA Publishes Air Safety Policy Association explains its commitment to the safety committee's efforts. NBAA Alone in the Cockpit YouTube/NBAAvideo A video created by NBAA highlights the significant risks to pilots operating high-performance aircraft when they are the only aviator aboard. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) released a statement outlining its safety policy designed to cement the extensive efforts of the association's safety committee with those of the real world of business aviation. The new policy recognizes safety as the cornerstone value of business aviation and its critical importance to the association's mission and purpose. NBAA said topics such as "fitness for duty, safety leadership, risk management, professionalism and technical excellence are foundational elements of safety and it hopes all business aviation professionals share the responsibility for ensuring a positive safety culture and positive safety outcomes." Over the years, NBAA's safety committee has collaborated with both industry and government teams, such as the GA Joint Steering Committee, to identify the significant business aviation risks by using data to analyze situations and create recommendations to help deal with the risks the teams identify, as well as monitor the progress of those recommendations to be sure they're successful at improving business aviation safety. The safety committee recently conducted a deep dive into procedural non-compliance that highlighted just how often professional flight crews fail to conduct pre-takeoff flight control checks. In another, the committee's single-pilot working group created and produced a video - Alone in the Cockpit, which can be watched below - highlighting the significant risks to pilots operating high-performance aircraft, especially turbine-powered, when they are the only aviator aboard. http://www.flyingmag.com/nbaa-publishes-air-safety-policy Back to Top Depleted by coup, Turkish air force seeks to lure back seasoned pilots A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter flies over a minaret after it took off from Incirlik air base in Adana, Turkey, August 12, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo Turkey's air force in September made a public appeal to hundreds of former pilots to return to its depleted ranks to replace more than 350 airmen purged after July's failed coup. The call has largely gone unanswered, according to military officials and former pilots, as the deep divisions exposed by the coup attempt in Turkey's military and other institutions remain unhealed. Six pilots who left the air force over the past decade and would be eligible to return spoke to Reuters. Only one said he would re-register to help replace dismissed colleagues whom the government blames for being part of a network that planned the failed July 15 coup. Air force pilots played a major role in the abortive putsch, commandeering jets and helicopters that bombed parliament and threatened the aircraft of President Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish media have reported that only a tiny proportion of the several hundred pilots who left the force between 2010 and 2015 and would be eligible to return have actually re-registered. The numbers are "below expectations," said a military source who is not authorized to speak publicly. The depletion in air-force resources comes at a delicate time for Turkey, the second-most militarized member of NATO. Ankara is pursuing military incursions against Islamic State in Syria and battling Kurdish PKK militants in Turkey and northern Iraq. Yet the former air force pilots contacted by Reuters said they felt betrayed by a military which had failed to protect them from followers within the ranks of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric Turkey blames for the attempted coup and whose supporters have been jailed en masse since. COMMERCIAL AVIATION Working in commercial aviation is also more remunerative than air force salaries of less than 10,000 lira ($3,200) a month. "Flying an F-16 was an honor for me and I have been unfairly deprived of that. I feel betrayed. Why should I come back?" said a former major who only gave his first name, Mehmet, for fear of being seen as disloyal. Mehmet - who graduated at the top of his pilot training course and has a post-graduate diploma from an international military school - said he was grounded in 2008 by military doctors who said he had a heart condition. He left the air force and built a career as a commercial pilot after other doctors gave him a clean bill of health, he said. Reuters could not independently confirm his medical status. The military doctors who grounded him are now in jail, accused by the government of being members of the Gulen network. Government officials deny that the coup and its aftermath have damaged Turkey's military capabilities. They acknowledge staff shortages but say that a more loyal and focused military will ultimately emerge. The defense ministry and military command both declined to comment for this story. The military source said the air force was considering a reserve system to allow commercial pilots to take temporary contracts, a move that could help lure back experienced fliers because it would allow them to maintain their lucrative commercial contracts at the same time. The defense ministry also plans to start enrolling students from private universities to the Air Force Academy, widening its pool of candidates by dropping a condition that they must have attended military school. "In two years time, you will see, our air force will be stronger than before," Abidin Unal, the top air force commander, told Turkey's Vatan newspaper two weeks ago. INFILTRATORS The Turkish government blames Gulen and his sympathizers for infiltrating state institutions over decades and ultimately masterminding the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan's critics, particularly Turkish secularists, say he and the Islamist-rooted AK party he founded allowed Gulen's followers to rise through the ranks to help control the military. Turkey's military institutions have long seen themselves as the guardians of the country's secular order and have ousted four governments since 1960 for posing what they saw as an Islamist threat. The Gulenists' impact was particularly acute in the air force, former military officials say. Several former pilots said military doctors struck off colleagues on what the pilots said were minor medical grounds as they tried to remove non-Gulenists from senior positions. "I can count dozens of people like this ... It seemed that some people were getting rid of others who didn't necessarily think like them. But we could never be sure, so we didn't speak up enough," the second former air force pilot said. Air force pilots were prominent in the coup attempt on July 15, commandeering fighter jets and helicopters in part of the bid to seize power. Fighter jets flown by pilots involved in the attempted coup harassed Erdogan's aircraft while he tried to return to Istanbul as the events unfolded. More than 350 pilots and 40 technicians have been dismissed, detained, or are being sought. NERVE CENTER Among those detained were the former head of the air force and several commanders of air bases including Incirlik, a hub for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Three squadrons were taken off duty at the Akinci air base near Ankara, nerve center of the failed coup and home to some of the force's top pilots. ALSO IN POLITICS SPECIAL REPORTS How Hillary Clinton's white voters melted away Hate speech seeps into U.S. mainstream amid bitter campaign "Those who were dismissed mostly consisted of either experienced pilots or junior ones who were in the process of receiving weapons and tactics training," said Arda Mevlutoglu, a defense industry consultant. "It can safely be said that Turkey's air force had lost a huge portion of experience and know-how because of this coup attempt," he added. Turkey does not disclose the total number of its combat pilots, but its Defence and Aerospace magazine quoted the head of the air force in March 2015 as saying overall pilot numbers were expected to rise to 1,300 that year. Turkish media have reported that the ratio of jets to combat pilots has dropped to below the 1:1.5 considered a healthy standard internationally, although there is no NATO rule on what the ratio should be. The air force has 240 F-16 jets and 49 F-4s for combat use, according to its website. One NATO diplomat said that while there was concern about the purge of the Turkish air force, it had not yet resulted in any change to Turkey's commitments to NATO operations. Faced with the shortfall, the force appealed in September for pilots with combat experience to rejoin, a call launched on its website and announced by the defense minister and widely publicized in the Turkish media. Ersoy Cil, 40, a former F-4 pilot who left the military in 2015 after nearly two decades, is now returning. "I never would have had the opportunity of a university education if it wasn't for the force," he said. Cil's parents would not have been able to afford a private university education but he was able to go through state-funded higher education after graduating from military school. "This is me trying to pay back my huge debt." But the others contacted by Reuters all shared a sense of betrayal for what had happened in the past. "If there was an emergency situation, I'd go running," said a pilot who left the force in 2013 after more than a decade patrolling Turkey's borders and fighting the PKK. "But apart from that, the moment has gone, I've set up a new life." http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-airforce-idUSKBN1350ID Back to Top Bombardier flagship business jet completes its first test flight Nov 4 Bombardier Inc's Global 7000 completed its first test flight over Toronto on Friday, the company said, a milestone for the long-range business jet considered critical to the growth of its corporate plane division. The test aircraft took off from a Bombardier facility in Canada's largest city on Friday morning and flew for about 2 hours and 27 minutes, the company said in a statement. "The systems and aircraft performed as expected," it said. Because of previous delays, some investors and analysts had been skeptical that the first flight would take place in 2016, suggesting instead that it would fly in 2017. Bombardier had said the Global 7000 would fly in 2016. Reuters reported last month that the Global 7000 was scheduled to make its first flight in November. The new jet is scheduled to enter service during the second half of 2018 after being delayed for two years. Competitors in the long-range jet sector include the 650ER produced by General Dynamics Corp's Gulfstream unit, and Dassault Aviation SA's flagship Falcon 8x. Business jets have been crucial for Bombardier earnings in recent years. Its commercial aircraft business lost money as the company spent heavily to develop its CSeries jet, which entered service this summer after years of delays. But because of a slowdown in global demand for corporate planes, Bombardier said in September that it would halt completion work for its Global 5000 and 6000 business jets during certain periods in 2017. {nL1N1BD0TV] The furloughs at Bombardier's global completions center in Montreal follow a decision in 2015 by the Canadian plane and train maker to cut production of Global 5000 and 6000 jets, citing weak demand from China, Latin America and Russia. By contrast, the Global 7000 has a "strong order book," Bombardier Chief Executive Alain Bellemare said in a recent interview, although he would not disclose specific sales figures. He said the jet is "critical" to the future growth of Bombardier's business jet division. According to Bombardier, the Global 7000 has a range capability of 13,705 kilometers (8516 miles) at Mach 0.85 with eight passengers. It can fly from London to Singapore or New York City to Dubai non-stop. http://www.reuters.com/article/bombardier-airplane-idUSL1N1D511B Back to Top BP takes $30 million stake in US bio-jet producer UK-based oil company BP is taking a stake in a California manufacturer of low-carbon jet fuel. Two BP divisions-aviation fuel provider Air BP and investment arm BP Ventures-will create what they describe as a strategic partnership with Fulcrum Bio-Energy, which produces sustainable bio-jet from municipal solid waste. As an equity investor of $30 million, BP will have a 10-year offtake agreement with Pleasanton-based Fulcrum for 50 million US gallons a year from Fulcrum's planned plants across North America. Additionally, Air BP will distribute and supply bio-jet for aircraft at several hubs in North America. "We have a deep understanding of our customers' challenges to achieve their lower carbon goals, Air BP CEO Jon Platt said. "This agreement gives Air BP guaranteed access to product that will help meet these challenges." Welcoming the investment, Fulcrum president and CEO James Macias said it would "accelerate Fulcrum's ability to produce and deliver low-carbon, low-cost jet fuel from Fulcrum plants located across North America to our commercial and military aviation customers." Fulcrum said it has secured long-term access to large quantities of municipal solid waste feedstock and plans to create a chain of waste-to-fuel plants across the continent. "With support from two of Air BP's strategic customers, Cathay Pacific Airways and United Airlines, Fulcrum is well advanced in its goal to produce and supply scalable bio-jet," the CEO of BP's downstream segment, Tufan Erginbilgic added. Air BP currently supplies more than seven billion gallons of jet kerosene and aviation gasoline annually. http://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/bp-takes-30-million-stake-us-bio-jet-producer Back to Top Woman-owned aviation firm recognized for excellence Faith Drewry_ pilot and co-owner of the Florida Aviation Center. For the fourth consecutive year, the Florida Aviation Center has been recognized for its high standard of accomplishment in flight training by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the world's largest aviation association. Based at the Tallahassee International Airport, the flight school has been awarded a spot on the 2016 Flight Training Excellence Awards Honor Roll, a title given to high scoring flight schools from AOPA's annual flight training poll. This year, out of a field of 789 flight schools that were evaluated, less than 10 percent earned this recognition. Faith Drewry is a co-owner.s Lacey Smith, pilot with the Florida Aviation Center. (Photo: Florida Aviation Center Web Site.) AOPA's Flight Training Excellence Awards were created to highlight the best flight training the industry has to offer. "This year's winners are great examples of high quality and effective flight training. The recognition is well deserved," said Chris Moser, AOPA's senior manager of flight training initiatives. "The Flight Training Excellence Awards were created to recognize best practices in flight training-excellent customer service, quality education, community development, and sharing knowledge. We are excited to spotlight their excellent work." The 2016 awards were drawn from flight students and pilots who voluntarily reviewed their flight training experience last summer through an AOPA online poll. The process yielded an evaluation of 789 different flight schools and 1,515 individual flight instructors. http://www.tallahassee.com/story/money/2016/11/10/woman-owned-aviation-firm-recognized- excellence/93593980/ Back to Top John Russack Named Director of Operations for Empire Airlines Hayden, Idaho, November 4, 2016. Empire Airlines, Inc. (www.empireairlines.com) announced that John "Jake" Russack has assumed the duties as Director of Operations, as defined by the FAA regulations under Part 119, effective October 25, 2016. Jake has been an integral part of Empire's Parts 121 & 135 Flight Operations since joining Empire in August of 2015. He comes to Empire with 14 years of experience in both the regional and mainline sectors at Garuda Indonesia Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, and Air Mekong. During his tenure at Empire, Jake has led the effort in completing an important Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) project as well as working with a vendor to provide full service navigation chart service. He also has provided invaluable guidance in initiating pilot hiring partnership agreements with carriers such as Frontier Airlines. He has and will continue providing company leadership and supervisory guidance for our flight and cabin crews and dispatchers. Jake received his Bachelor of Arts degree in German and Political Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson and is also enrolled in graduate studies in Human Factors in Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. Jake reports to Randy Lanfell, Empire's Vice President of Operations. In addition to being a cargo carrier, Empire Airlines maintains a fleet of ATR 42, 72, and Cessna Caravan aircraft and as Empire Aerospace provides maintenance services to other airlines. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12278337/john-russack-announced-as-director-of-operations- for-empire-airlines Curt Lewis