Flight Safety Information January 9, 2017 - No. 007 In This Issue Russian Experts Draft Egypt Air Safety Report After Cairo Inspections Sustained safety effort pulled Kazakhstan off EU black China Becomes Third Country to Test Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft American Airlines: The $7.6 Billion Company With The $12 Compensation Plan U.S. Air Force issues RFP for aircraft laser weapons Boeing bolstered by late surge in aircraft orders Vanilla Aircraft claims record with 56-hour unmanned flight Call for Abstracts of Technical Papers...ISASI 2017, San Diego CA ESASI SEMINAR 2017 - LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA RESEARCH STUDY SURVEY Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship Russian Experts Draft Egypt Air Safety Report After Cairo Inspections Russian aviation experts are drafting a security report in Egyptian airports after returning from inspections conducted in Cairo, the Russian Transport Ministry said Monday. © AP PHOTO/ THOMAS HARTWELL Egypt's Tourism Industry Hopes for Resumption of Air Links With Russia in 2017 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian experts inspected security measures at Cairo International Airport's second terminal in a three-day visit late last month. "Russian experts have returned from Cairo. A report is currently being prepared on the results of the inspection," a ministry spokesperson told RIA Novosti. Russia suspended flights to and from Egypt after a St. Petersburg-bound Airbus A321 crashed in the Sinai Peninsula soon after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh on October 31, 2015, killing all 224 people aboard. https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701091049388277-report-russia-egypt-safety/ Back to Top Sustained safety effort pulled Kazakhstan off EU blacklist Kazakhstan's removal from European Commission blacklisting has followed a sustained effort to modernise and revamp its air safety oversight. All Kazakh carriers were blacklisted under a blanket ban in 2009, with the sole exception of Air Astana, which was permitted to continue operating to Europe albeit with restrictions. But the European air safety authorities have praised the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee for being "willing to engage" with the Commission and "transparent" in recognising the need to continue developing oversight obligations and resolve safety issues. An ICAO-backed validation mission to Kazakhstan in April showed that the effective implementation of international standards had risen to 74%, and ICAO subsequently lifted a serious safety concern centre on certification of airlines. The European Aviation Safety Agency and members of the Commission, among others, carried out an on-site visit in the second half of September. Documentation accompanying the Commission's revised blacklist states that the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee has demonstrated "considerable progress", with a focus on ICAO standards and recent implementation of contemporary aviation safety-management techniques. The Kazakh committee has audit and surveillance plans in place for the country's carriers, and it performs ramp inspections. "It also made efforts to recruit and train additional inspectors for the oversight of the aviation industry in Kazakhstan," says the European evaluation, adding that the committee's executives have a "high level" of experience and personnel within the committee are "overall, knowledgeable". Two airlines - both on the banned list - were examined as part of the European assessment visit, to verify their compliance with international standards. "The main conclusion of the visits to these air carriers is that there was no lack of willingness nor a lack of ability to address safety deficiencies," says the documentation. Civil Aviation Committee representatives also presented an update of its measures to the European air safety committee on 23 November - including amendments to civil aviation legislation, training management, and development of a safety oversight programme and implementation of a mechanism for resolving safety concerns. The Kazakh authority has introduced a voluntary incident reporting system and updated procedures and checklists, while putting in place an electronic database to support surveillance. Its measures also include qualifying more inspectors for examination of dangerous goods shipments. Kazakh operator SCAT also had an opportunity to present to the European committee in November, providing "specific" details on its safety-management system, as well as its maintenance and training regime, and audits undertaken, says the documentation. The air safety committee found SCAT's information to be "satisfactory". In its conclusion the air safety committee says there is "sufficient evidence of compliance" with international standards by Kazakh airlines and the Civil Aviation Committee, adding that the authority has "committed to fully engage in a continuing safety dialogue" with the European Commission. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sustained-safety-effort-pulled-kazakhstan-off- eu-bla-432336/ Back to Top China Becomes Third Country to Test Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft © Photo: Youtube/ AVweb China became the third country in the world to successfully test an aircraft powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, local media reported on Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) - According to the ST Daily newspaper, the aircraft was developed by scientists from the northeast Liaoning province on the basis of RX1E two-seat electric aircraft. The test flight was held in Shenyang, with the plane reaching an altitude of 320 meters (some 1050 feet) above the ground. The aircraft is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell capable of producing 20 kilowatt of energy, necessary for the operation of the on- board systems, electric motor and battery charging. So far, apart from China only the United States and Germany tested aircraft with a hydrogen fuel cell. https://sputniknews.com/science/201701091049385757-china-hydrogen-aircraft/ Back to Top American Airlines: The $7.6 Billion Company With The $12 Compensation Plan Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. When you fly 200,000 miles a year you're bound to face travel challenges (Photo by Karl Brauer) As an automotive journalist and analyst I tend to fly. A lot. In 2016 I flew over 200,000 miles. And trust me when I say, this isn't a boast or brag. The only people who think business travel is glamorous are the ones who haven't done it. It's simply a necessary part of life for many professionals, and we flyers can only hope for the best while occasionally experiencing the worst in our travels. But our need to fly doesn't mean we have to put up with horrendous service if an airline screws up without any accountability. For me, just 7 days into 2017, I can state with confidence I've taken my last flight on American Airlines. Ironically, I made this same "no fly" commitment to United Airlines almost exactly 10 years ago. Cancer took my mom in late February 2007, at which point I had to fly my family from Los Angeles to Denver to attend the funeral. United was my primary airline at the time because Denver is a major United hub and I grew up in Golden. When I called to book my flights I let United know I was going to Denver to attend my mother's funeral. They said I could have the bereavement fare, which I appreciated. Of course I had to provide the name of the funeral home and a copy of the death certificate to ensure I wasn't just an integrity-averse traveler looking to cut costs. This is a verification policy I understand and fully support. I booked my trip at the bereavement rate, which if memory serves was about $80 each for four tickets, and subsequently complied with all the requirements regarding evidence of my mother's death after the funeral. All was well (at least as well as can be expected in the weeks after your mom dies) until I received my Visa bill and saw a $900 charge from United Airlines. When I called to inquire about the charge I was told, "You have to provide 10 days notice to get the bereavement fee." This was something I was never told throughout the process of booking and, honestly, something that seems pretty idiotic to say the least. I told the United rep, "Okay, I'll make sure my dad knows I need 10 days notice if he ever plans on dying" before hanging up and immediately canceling my United Visa card. A couple months later I scheduled a family trip from Los Angeles to New York. Four tickets at 25,000 miles a piece used up 100,000 of my remaining 100,800 United miles. I have done everything in my power to not fly United Airlines ever since, and in the last 10 years and 500-plus flights I've wavered on that goal maybe 4 times when I had no other option. As they say, the best way to hurt a business is in the pocketbook. I've done my best to keep a fair chunk of money out of United Airlines' pocketbook. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kbrauer/2017/01/09/american-airlines-7-6-billion-compnay- 12-compensation-plan/#245775fa7c7f Back to Top U.S. Air Force issues RFP for aircraft laser weapons The LANCE program aims to develop laser weapons for protecting pilots against airborne threats. Pictured: Concept artwork for Northrop Grumman's laser weapon system. Photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has issued a request for proposal to develop laser protection systems for its fleet of tactical fighter aircraft. The competitive request aims to solicit research for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments project, or LANCE. Under the program, researchers will investigate laser-based solutions for defending pilots from a variety of anti-aircraft threats. "The objective of LANCE is to perform research and development activities necessary to design, fabricate and deliver a reliable, ruggedized high-power laser (with excellent beam quality and compact design) for integration within an aerodynamic integrating structure for use during flight testing on tactical aircraft for self-defense research during Phase II of the Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHIELD) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD)," the request says. The Air Force expects to award only one new contract for the project, but did not disclose an official number. The total estimated cost for the award is $35 million. Several top U.S.-based defense contractors have already been involved with assisting the country's armed forces in developing airborne laser technologies. In November 2016, Northrop Grumman received a contract to aid the branch with using direct energy systems to protect current and future aircraft. The company is tasked with producing the weapon's beam control portion as part of the Self-Project High Energy Laser Demonstrator program, or SHIELD. Once completed, the weapon will be housed on a pod attached to fighter aircraft. In October 2015, Lockheed Martin developed a turret-based laser weapon that can be fired in any direction. Tests on the weapon, known as the Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam Control, were conducted using a business jet as a platform. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2017/01/06/US-Air-Force-issues- RFP-for-aircraft-laser-weapons/6751483733730/ Back to Top Boeing bolstered by late surge in aircraft orders Group nears sales target after almost 200 jets ordered at end of December A last-minute surge in orders for Boeing's latest single-aisle aircraft from unidentified customers meant the US manufacturer fell just short of its 2016 target to replace every passenger jet delivery with a new sale. Boeing finalised net sales of almost 200 aircraft in the last 11 days of December - mostly for its 737 Max narrow-body model - and reported orders for 668 jets during 2016 after cancellations. Boeing had net orders for just 470 aircraft at December 20. The strong showing for the new generation single-aisle jet will boost morale at Boeing, which has been losing market share to European rival Airbus's popular A320 family of narrow-body aircraft in recent years. Many executives have argued that the 737 Max lagged behind mainly because it was launched later than Airbus's re-engined A320neo. Analysts estimate that the 737 programme represents more than 50 per cent of future revenue at Boeing's commercial aircraft division. At the end of 2016, Boeing had secured orders for 550 of its 737s, while by November 30 Airbus had announced orders for 346 of its A320s, said Nick Cunningham, analyst at Agency Partners. Airbus's figures will be updated next week, when it outlines its orders and deliveries for 2016. Airbus remains substantially ahead of Boeing in terms of total orders for single-aisle aircraft. Boeing said on Friday it had supplied 748 aircraft to customers in 2016, resulting in a so- called book-to-bill ratio of 0.9 - calculated by dividing the company's orders by its deliveries. Boeing had set a book to bill target of about one. The company's jet order backlog stood at 5,715 aircraft at the end of last year. IranAir's recently announced order for 80 Boeing aircraft is not included in the net total for 2016. Rob Stallard, analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said Boeing's book-to-bill shortfall should not have come as a surprise. Investors' interest would now focus on whether the aircraft makers "expect orders to continue to decline in 2017 at the same time that they are raising production, making that book-to-bill ratio look worse", he added. Aircraft sales have slowed significantly after a six-year boom, but both manufacturers are banking on their record order backlogs to carry them through any downturn. Airbus will also have worked overtime to finalise some orders in the final days of last year. The company also set a book-to-bill target of one for 2016, plus a goal of delivering 670 aircraft. But it has struggled to overcome supplier problems that have held back deliveries of both its A320neo jet and the A350 widebody aircraft. However, people close to the company expressed confidence Airbus would reach - or come close to meeting - its target of delivering 50 A350s during 2016. https://www.ft.com/content/29a0e77c-d433-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0 Back to Top Vanilla Aircraft claims record with 56-hour unmanned flight The Vanilla Aircraft VA001, a small diesel-powered airplane under development through DARPA (left), flew for 56 hours recently over Las Cruces, New Mexico (right), setting a new world record for flight duration for its weight class. The airplane is designed to ultimately carry a 30-pound payload at 15,000 feet for up to 10 days without refueling. (Images: DARPA) The Vanilla Aircraft VA001 flew for 56 hours recently over Las Cruces, New Mexico (right), setting a new world record for flight duration for its weight class. The airplane is designed to ultimately carry a 30-pound payload at 15,000 feet for up to 10 days without refueling. (Images: DARPA) On Dec. 2, Vanilla Aircraft's VA001 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) completed a world record non-stop, unrefueled 56-hour flight. The flight was supported by the technology innovation investments of the U.S. Department of Defense's Rapid Reaction Technology Office (RRTO) and DARPA-funded efforts through Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR 4.11 - Patuxent River). The VA001 10-day Endurance UAS. The VA001 10-day Endurance UAS. The flight, planned as a 120-hour mission, was ended early because of forecasts of severe icing and range restrictions. However, the airplane landed with enough JP-8 fuel on board for an additional 90 hours of flying, or enough for a total of six days of flight. The flight was certified as a world-duration record for combustion-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the 50-500 kilogram subclass (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Class U-1.c Group 1). A representative from the National Aeronautic Association was present to witness the record. Moreover, the flight was the fourth-longest for any unmanned airplane and the 11th-longest for an airplane of any type (manned or unmanned, solar or fuel-powered). Originating and ending at Las Cruces International Airport, the flight was conducted under the authority of the New Mexico State University UAS test site designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "This effort represents tremendous and unprecedented coordination among civil, defense, academic, and private industry to bring a heretofore only imagined capability to reality," said Vanilla Aircraft CEO Rear Adm. Timothy Heely (ret.). Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are an increasingly important means for military forces - especially small dismounted units - to bring extra communications or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to the field. Current designs, however, offer relatively limited range and flight endurance; additionally, their need for frequent refueling, specialized launch and recovery equipment, and regular maintenance often limit them to flying from fixed bases close to the front lines. "This record-breaking flight demonstrated the feasibility of designing a low-cost UAV able to take off from one side of a continent, fly to the other, perform its duties for a week, and come back - all on the same tank of fuel," said Jean-Charles Ledé, DARPA program manager. "This capability would help extend the footprint of small units by providing scalable, persistent UAV-based communications and ISR coverage without forward basing, thereby reducing personnel and operating costs. We're very pleased with what the Vanilla team has accomplished." The airplane carried 20 pounds of actual and simulated payload, flying at 6,500 to 7,500 feet above mean sea level (MSL), and was a further step for the VA001 towards demonstrating the system's objective performance of carrying a 30-pound payload for 10 days at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The payload included a NAVAIR-provided relay and operated continuously throughout the flight to demonstrate functionality out to the maximum range. The airplane also carried a NASA-provided multispectral imaging payload as a demonstration of Earth science and agricultural remote sensing. "The VA001 has transformational potential, providing a scalable aerial system solution without increasing personnel or operating costs," said co-founder and chief engineer Neil Boertlein. "The ability of a low-cost platform to provide persistent surveillance, battlefield pattern of life, or aerial mesh network relay, in a responsive and robust manner, and without forward basing, does not currently exist." Vanilla Aircraft is also planning a groundbreaking role for the VA001 in commercial applications, especially in agriculture. Vanilla is exploring strategic partnerships and equity financing to expand into this market. "The VA001 would be a cost-effective option for widespread and regular low-level surveying," said co-founder and program manager Jeremy Novara. "We could fill a wide cost and payload-capability market gap between small electric and large military unmanned aircraft, which is perfect for many commercial applications." http://gpsworld.com/vanilla-aircraft-claims-record-with-56-hour-unmanned-flight/ Back to Top Call for Abstracts of Technical Papers ISASI 2017, San Diego CA August 22 - 24. 2017 The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) will hold their 48th annual seminar at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina from August 22 - 24, 2017. This year's theme is: "Investigations - Do They Really Make a Difference?" Abstracts of Technical papers are invited to address the theme in conjunction with other contemporary matters on aviation safety investigation, including recent case studies, new investigation methods and aviation safety trends or developments. For those interested in presenting a paper, submissions of abstracts are due by March 15, 2017. Abstracts should include a title and up to 300-word summary of the main points of the proposed paper. Please also include your name(s), affiliation, position, and a brief resume. Submissions, or any inquiries regarding submissions, are to be sent to: isasi2017abstracts@gmail.com The panel reviewing the submitted abstracts will consider criteria such as the quality of the paper for relevance to the seminar theme and air safety investigation. They will also endeavour to ensure that a broad range of topics are covered during the seminar. Decisions on the selected abstracts will be made by the April 15, 2017 and details on the required format of the final presentations will be issued at that time. Presenters will be required to submit their papers by July 15, 2017. Up to date information on ISASI 2017 can be found at www.isasi.org Back to Top ESASI SEMINAR 2017 - LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA The European Society of Air Safety Investigators (ESASI) will hold their annual seminar in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on the 19 and 20 April 2017. Further details, and previous seminar programmes, can be found at www.esasi.eu . ESASI would welcome proposals for presentations to be given during the 2017 seminar, which should last a maximum of 25 minutes with a further 5 minutes for questions. Presentations should address issues relating to air safety investigations; particular areas of interest are: * challenges faced by air safety investigators, * the environment, and culture, that air safety investigators operate in, * practical experience of applying investigation techniques, * new techniques to aid the investigation, * topical case studies. Details of proposed presentations should be sent to Brian McDermid, by 31 January 2017, at presentations@esasi.eu. The ESASI committee will select the presentations in early February 2017. Back to Top RESEARCH STUDY SURVEY Hello, I'm Dr. Tim Holt and I'm currently the Program Chair for Aeronautics and an Associate Professor with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ. In this position I'm responsible for faculty, curriculum, course updates, course alignment, etc... Furthermore, I teach undergraduate courses in aeronautics, safety, unmanned systems, and airport management for the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics program. To this day, there are no reported statistics of general aviation pilots that have survived hypoxia during normal flight operations. More often than not there are tales of pilots getting themselves into a hypoxic situation and not surviving; rarely do people hear of those that survive. This leaves the aviation community unsure of the common circumstances that these pilots find themselves that create a hypoxic state, as well as whether or not that reported the occurrence to the proper establishments. The data collected from this survey issued to general aviation pilots, will hopefully give insight as to how best to prevent these occurrences from happening, as well as promote a healthy safety culture to report these events. It is with this in mind that we decided to embark on this research study. This survey is completely anonymous and individual responses will not be recorded. It should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. The link to the survey will provide you the Informed Consent and contact information of the researchers involved in the study. Thank you in advance, it's truly appreciated. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GAHYPOXIA Back to Top Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship The Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship was established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to shape the next generation of aviation researchers, honoring the late Najeeb Elias Halaby, an eminent aviator and administrator, for his vision and more than five decades of extraordinary contributions to aviation (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/halabyfellowship.pdf). The Fellowship The recipient of a Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship will spend three months (in 2017 or early 2018) in residence with NCAR's Aviation Weather Research Program, which Mr. Halaby was instrumental in establishing in the 1980s. As the nation's leader in addressing aviation weather research, NCAR plays a unique role in meeting user needs by transferring research results to operations through its Research Application Laboratory (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/). The Fellow will conduct research broadly aimed at improving the integration of weather into decision support tools for enhanced mitigation of weather sensitivities (e.g., weather impact avoidance) and management of air traffic. The Fellowship will provide: * a monthly stipend for three months, including temporary living expenses * round-trip travel expenses to and from Boulder, CO * travel to a conference to present results * page charges for one publication of key results Eligibility and Application The Halaby Fellowship targets graduate students (late Masters or early PhD level) enrolled in an aviation-relevant department or program of a domestic or international university. Interested candidates should have advanced research skills, far-reaching vision, and dedication to get things accomplished. Consideration for this Fellowship will be given to candidates based on the following submitted material: * Curriculum vitae * Proposal (maximum five pages) presenting the research to be conducted at NCAR, the anticipated outcome of that, and how the proposed effort ties into the candidate's ongoing graduate research project(s) * Contact information for three references (one of which should be the student's primary advisor) NCAR will accept applications for the Halaby Fellowship each year. Email Applications by February 28, 2017 to halabyfellowship@ucar.edu Curt Lewis