Flight Safety Information February 2, 2017 - No. 025 In This Issue Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport closed after Garuda jet skids off runway U.S. F-16 jets involved in deadly training accident in New Mexico USCG reminds pilots and passengers of the importance of safety gear FAA Certifies 17,000 Drone Pilots with a 91% Pass Rate Two Russian pilots, Congolese officer die in helicopter crashes Trump's Somewhat Less-Than-Alarming Attack on Air Safety Incident: Swiss B773 near Iqaluit on Feb 1st 2017, engine automatically shut down in flight Incident: Indigo A320 at Delhi on Feb 1st 2017, runway incursion NASA research flight around the world pauses in Anchorage Europe lifts ban on Iraqi Airways entering airspace American Airlines says Chinese government blocking new LAX-Beijing flights Heathrow's third runway will mean 'more domestic airport links' Nepal Airlines receives second China-made aircraft Amazon plans to invest $1.4B to move its cargo jet fleet hub Wary of homemade fighter jet, Indian navy looks abroad 'SMALL DRONE' RESEARCH University Research Study Call for Abstracts of Technical Papers...ISASI 2017, San Diego CA ESASI SEMINAR 2017 - LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA RESEARCH STUDY SURVEY Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport closed after Garuda jet skids off runway Fire service and airport officials examine a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800 airliner after it skidded off the runway while landing at Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta Indonesian authorities said Yogyakarta's Adisutjipto International Airport will remain closed until Thursday afternoon after a Garuda aircraft with 130 people on board skidded off the runway while landing late on Wednesday. According to a statement on the website of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 737-800NG en route from Jakarta "went off the runway, as a result of heavy rain that made the runway slippery". Yogyakarta is the gateway to the cultural centre of Indonesia's main island of Java. Garuda spokesman Benny Butarbutar said there were no injuries and all 123 passengers and seven crew members had been evacuated safely. The statement made no mention of an investigation. Indonesia's transport ministry said in a statement the airport would remain closed until 3pm (8am GMT) on Thursday. Airport authorities were working to remove the aircraft from the runway area, an airport spokesman said, but needed to bring in salvage equipment from Jakarta and Surabaya through the nearby city of Solo. "We'll use whichever comes fastest to help with the evacuation process," the spokesman said. PT Angkasa Pura 1, the company that manages Adisutjipto International Airport, proposed temporarily rerouting all Yogyakarta-bound flights through Solo. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/02/indonesias-yogyakarta-airport-closed-garuda-jet-skids- runway/ ***************** Date: 01-FEB-2017 Time: 19:50 LT Type: Boeing 737-8U3 (WL) Owner/operator: Garuda Indonesia Registration: PK-GNK C/n / msn: 41798/5049 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 124 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Yogyakarta-Adisutjipto Airport (JOG/WAHH) - Indonesia Phase: Landing Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) Destination airport: Yogyakarta-Adisutjipto Airport (JOG/WAHH) Narrative: Garuda Indonesia flight GA258, a Boeing 737-800, suffered a runway excursion on landing at Yogyakarta- Adisutjipto Airport in Indonesia. The aircraft took off from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 18:42. At 19:24 UTC, the aircraft entered a holding pattern just west of Yogyakarta. The approach was commenced at 19:46 UTC. About 19:50 UTC the aircraft landed on runway 09. It ran off the runway, coming to rest bogged down on a soft soil grassy area. Local news reports indicated that it was raining heavily at the time of the incident. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=193220 Back to Top U.S. F-16 jets involved in deadly training accident in New Mexico, officials say A United States Air Force F-16 fighter jet ALAMOGORDO, N.M. -- A civilian contractor was killed and an Air Force service member injured in a training accident on a military range in southern New Mexico, Holloman Air Force Base officials said Wednesday. The Tuesday night accident involved members of a ground-control party struck as two F-16 jets used unspecified air-to-ground munitions at a range that's part of the White Sands Missile Range complex near Holloman, base officials said in a statement. Members of a ground-control party are controllers who provide guidance to military aircraft, including fighters attacking ground targets. The statement said the injured service member was released from a hospital after treatment for unspecified injuries. The identities of those involved were not immediately released, and officials say the incident is under investigation. It was not immediately known what type of munitions was involved. The F-16 first became operational in the late 1970s and is a multi-role fighter that can drop bombs, fire missiles and shoot cannon shells in missions that can include aerial combat and attacking ground targets. There are one- and two-seat versions. The statement says the aircraft are based at Holloman but belong to a unit, the 54th Fighter Group, that is part of the 56th Fighter Wing headquartered at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-f16-jets-deadly-training-accident-new-mexico-officials/ Back to Top USCG reminds pilots and passengers of the importance of safety gear Three survivors take a photo with the Coast Guard crew who rescued them. Photo courtesy by USCG. ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - The U.S. Coast Guard is reminding pilots and passengers of the importance of safety gear, after the agency rescued three passengers Monday afternoon, after a plane crash. According to the USCG, they were alerted to a possible location of the plane, and they were able to hone in on the plane's emergency locator transmitter, over a 12-15 megahertz radio. Once the MH 60 Jayhawk helicopter was close, the pilot from the downed aircraft shot off a flare. "They were nearby the plane, so the pilot signaled the Coast Guard aircrew with the flare, and then they hung out near the aircraft, which aided our ability to see them in a more efficient manner," said Bill Colclough, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard. Culclough says it's a good reminder, to anybody on an aircraft, of the importance of carrying safety and survival gear. In addition to flares, radio and emergency locator transmitters, Culclough recommends carrying a personal locator beacon, first aid kit, cold weather clothing like boots, hats and gloves, fire- starting equipment, flashlights and whistles. "It's really critical to have that safety equipment, because you cannot take anything for granted here in Alaska," said Culclough. "The conditions are extremely remote and dangerous. [You] can't take any chances." http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/USCG-reminds-pilots-and-passengers-of-the-importance-of-safety- gear-412356143.html Back to Top FAA Certifies 17,000 Drone Pilots with a 91% Pass Rate Gowdy Brothers Aerospace, LLC who closely tracks and monitors the FAA Remote Pilot knowledge test numbers, estimate that 17,000 UAS Drone operators will have passed the FAA Remote Pilot knowledge test by the first week in February 2017. According to the FAA UAS Integration Office, over 16,700 UAS Drone Operators have already passed the Part 107 Remote Pilot Knowledge test with a UAS rating this January with a 91% passing rate. Stephen Gowdy, Chief Pilot of Gowdy Brothers Aerospace, LLC believes the high passing rates are largely due to many of the existing non-current part 61 pilots taking the Part 107 test. Gowdy states, "The high passing rates are a little misleading. Due to the number of existing certified private pilots, the passing rates appear skewed a little higher. We have not seen anyone without studying and without previous private pilot experience pass the test." The Remote Pilot test is comprised of 5 broad topics and 60 randomly selected questions from a bank of 536 test questions: With 1.2 million drones given at Christmas and more than 2.8 million purchased in 2016, it is now widely estimated somewhere between 22% to 30% will be used for commercial purposes. The results: 750,000 new UAS operators will need to get a Remote Pilot Certificate this year. UAS operators will need to get started studying now and get their Part 107 Remote Pilot testing completed now before the rush on the limited testing FAA centers. Some FAA testing centers are so busy they are scheduling tests out 45 to 60 days out. Gowdy Brothers Aerospace, a Part 107 Education company has developed both an online self-study learning center and a live online interactive workshop where students can attend a traditional class taught by an experienced and certified instructors via a webinar. This Gowdy Brother's interactive workshop is especially successful since students can ask questions as they go. Upon successful completion of the workshop guarantees the student will pass on their first attempt. http://communitynewspapers.com/pinecrest/faa-certifies-17000-drone-pilots-91-pass-rate/ Back to Top Two Russian pilots, Congolese officer die in helicopter crashes Russian-manufactured MI-24 helicopters, similar to the one pictured, crashed during a reconnaissance mission in the Congo on Friday, killing two Russian pilots and a Congolese officer. Photo by Igor Dvurekov/Wikimedia Commons Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Two helicopters crashed while on a reconnaissance mission against rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing two Russian pilots and a Congolese officer, the military said. The Russian-built MI-24 copters crashed in "bad weather" in mountainous terrain Friday east of the country near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, Gen. Leon Mushale, the Congo's operational commander in North Kivu Province, told reporters in Goma. Two officers with Congo's armed forces and three Russian passengers were also injured. Lambert Mende, a government spokesperson, said that it hasn't been determined what brought down the helicopters near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. In 2013, Congo forces defeated the M23 rebel group and several hundred fighters fled the country. But Rwanda's Defense Ministry said about 30 unarmed people claiming to be M23 members crossed the border last weekend into Congo. Earlier this month, Uganda's government said more than 100 former M23 rebels trying to return to Congo from camps in Uganda were detained. The MI-24 helicopters, which can carry two to three crew members and eight troops, have been in operation since 1973 and about 2,300 were built. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/01/31/Two-Russian-pilots-Congolese-officer-die-in- helicopter-crashes/6461485884209/ Back to Top Trump's Somewhat Less-Than-Alarming Attack on Air Safety By Christine Negroni The Washington Post tagged a story on Donald Trump's first days as U.S. President with the alarming proclamation that he was "blocking regulations, including one to prevent plane crashes." Without wading into the morass that is federal politics in America these days, let's just be clear about what Trump actually did. Shortly after taking office Friday, Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, ordered a number of government agencies to withdraw proposed rules from publication in the federal register, the last stop before the "proposed" comes off and the rule becomes law. From the Department of Housing to the Interior Department, senior lawyers must have worked through the weekend, because come Monday (Monday, Monday, Can't trust that day) the director of the office of the Federal Register was the recipient of letters from all of them. Of particular concern to the flying public, according to the Post, was the letter from Jonathan Moss from the Department of Transportation. "Please withdraw from publication", it read, a rule scheduled to be published the following day. Like the leak in your basement that just keeps seeping back no matter what you do, Boeing has been working for decades to deal with cracking on older models of the world's most popular airliner, the Boeing 737. Since 1988, when an Aloha Airlines 737 lost a chunk of its roof on a flight to Honolulu and a flight attendant was tossed to her death, the airliner has shown a propensity to metal fatigue and cracking. A number of fixes have been ordered since that time. The one sidetracked by the Trump administration got its start in 2005. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a new rule that year which was modified in 2011. Had Trump not intervened, it would have been boosted again with an airworthiness directive expanding the areas on the fuselage that should be examined. "We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the fuselage skin panels, which could cause rapid decompression of the airplane," the rule reads. All of which does sound alarming if the traveling public believes they are at risk of stepping onto one of these airliners. That's unlikely to be the case. The rule applies to just nine planes in service in the USA, the very old 737-100, 200 and 200c series. Southwest is the largest operator of the 737. I'm waiting to hear whether any of these antiques are in its fleet. Southwest has up-close-and-personal experience with fatigue and the rapid decompression that can sometimes result. No doubt its learned its lesson to inspect very, very carefully regardless of the latest iteration of the rule from the FAA. The Trump-imposed delay in inspections probably doesn't amount to much. Trump's four year term in office has just begun. He will have plenty of opportunities to interfere with flight safety, but contrary to the Post headline writers his first action in office, doesn't appear to be one of them. The post Trump's Somewhat Less-Than-Alarming Attack on Air Safety appeared first on Christine Negroni. http://blog.seattlepi.com/flyinglessons/2017/01/26/trumps-somewhat-less-than-alarming-attack-on-air- safety/ Back to Top Incident: Swiss B773 near Iqaluit on Feb 1st 2017, engine automatically shut down in flight A Swiss Global Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration HB-JND performing flight LX-40 from Zurich (Switzerland) to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was enroute at FL320 about 290nm north of Iqaluit,NU (Canada), when the left hand engine (GE90) showed a fault and shut down automatically. The flight crew drifted the aircraft down and diverted to Iqaluit for a safe landing about 100 minutes later. The airline confirmed an indication of a fault of the left hand engine caused an automatic shutdown of the engine, as had been technically designed. The flight crew decided to divert to Iqaluit where the aircraft landed safely. The airline is currently working to take the passengers to Los Angeles. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWR40/history/20170201/1210Z/LSZH/KLAX http://avherald.com/h?article=4a453674&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Indigo A320 at Delhi on Feb 1st 2017, runway incursion An Indigo Airbus A320-200, registration VT-IEM performing flight 6E-719 from Delhi to Vishakhapatnam (India), was taxiing for departure and had been cleared to taxi to holding point runway 28 via taxiway C, hold short runway 28. The aircraft however crossed the runway and stopped at the hold short line of the opposite taxiway W, where another aircraft was already waiting. The runway needed to be closed for more than one hour. The aircraft was being pushed back opening the runway again and was subsequently able to depart with a delay of 90 minutes. Airport sources reported the aircraft was cleared to taxi to runway 28 via taxiway C hold short runway 28, the aircraft however went past the hold short line and across the runway onto taxiway W. The airline reported that low visibility caused the crew to miss the runway until they found themselves in a position on taxiway W unable to turn. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a452f9b&opt=0 Back to Top NASA research flight around the world pauses in Anchorage Air pollution can be obvious when it is concentrated around cities and industrial centers. But what about the big parts of the atmosphere that are far from freeways or factories? Finding the answer to that question is the purpose of a NASA project that is sending an equipment-laden and scientist-packed DC-8 passenger jet around the world, over the middle of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with brief stops in Anchorage and other locations. The Atmospheric Tomography Mission - ATom for short - is taking samples from deep in the Southern Hemisphere to the Arctic to gather more information about what gases and particles exist in the air far from most human habitation - and how the pollution got there. The focus is on short-lived greenhouse gases like ozone and methane and aerosols like black carbon, all of which contribute to climate change. In all, about 200 types of gases and particles are being measured. A key goal is to understand how the chemistry of the remote atmosphere changes, sometimes in a matter of seconds, said Michael Prather of the University of California at Irvine, the project's deputy principal investigator. The air above the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which are the "bulk processors" of the atmosphere, is considered to be some of the cleanest in the world, and that is why it is being examined for chemical patterns and pollutants emitted from faraway sources, Prather said Tuesday during a tour of the research plane as it was parked in the FedEx hangar in Anchorage. NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory is parked inside the FedEx hangar as scientists and mission personnel tend to instruments during a stop in Anchorage on Tuesday while on a 28-day round-the-world Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission. (Bill Roth / Alaska Dispatch News) "It's affected, but distantly. We do find out how it's distantly affected, which is the hard part," Prather said. "We're trying to get a typical sample of how spotty it is, how much schmutz you see at times, how clean it is. ... We don't really have good statistics on how much pollution reaches this area." The ATom project started in July and sampled atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere's winter and the Northern Hemisphere's summer. This tour, the second in a series that is expected to be conducted over a three-year span, is taking samples in opposite seasons; the goal is to get a variety of seasonal samples. Each tour takes about 3 1/2 weeks to complete, and the tours are staggered over a period expected to stretch three years. There are brief stops, for periods ranging from one day to four. Anchorage is a two- day stop; the team arrived Sunday night and is scheduled to leave Wednesday morning. The longest break is a four-day stopover at Christchurch, New Zealand, where the National Science Foundation has a station and where much of the resupply work can be done. When it is not being used for ATom, the DC-8 aircraft has other uses for NASA. It is reconfigured and re- equipped for other missions, notably Operation IceBridge, a six-year program that is surveying Earth's polar ice. Passenger accommodations are spare. There is very limited space for personal luggage - creating a packing challenge for scientists who are veering from tropical sites like Fiji to Greenland and back again - and the galley area holds not much more than a microwave oven and some coffee supplies. Travel conditions are also taxing. Flights last up to 11 hours and scientists generally have to come aboard three hours ahead of departure to prepare their equipment, then stay for an hour afterward to shut things down and debrief. Scientists said they spend much of their flight time watching the screens and monitors of their instruments, not the scenery out the window. But sometimes that scenery is striking, said team member Chelsea Thompson of the University of Colorado. Amid her work measuring nitrogen oxides and ozone, she was able to photograph and video an unusual sight in January in the Arctic Ocean waters off Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) - lots of open water amid thin and fractured pack ice. "It was broken and frizzled. It's not thick. It was mostly open water," she said. That was a big contrast from the scene in 2009, when she was in the area working on her Ph.D. and people could drive trucks on the sea ice, she said. Bigger expanses of open water in the Arctic that used to have more sea ice are known to be emitting more water vapor into the atmosphere. But the trend is not something that can be detected in a single flight, said Glenn Diskin of NASA's Langley Research Center, who is using laser beams to measure water vapor. Knowledge about water vapor in the atmosphere is important for understanding climate, Diskin said. "Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas. But it's not something that we control directly," he said. Rather, human-sourced carbon, like carbon dioxide from combustion, creates warming conditions that put more water vapor into the atmosphere, feeding into a warming cycle, he said. Another sight out the window in the previous tour left a deep impression. When flying off Africa, they saw a big "pale, ugly sort of brown" cloud of combined sand from Sahara dust storms and soot from biomass burning - all sources that were about 600 miles away, said ATom team member Jim Elkins, a Boulder, Colorado-based scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It's kind of like when the astronauts go up to look at the Earth, they're struck by how fragile it is," Elkins said. "My perspective was, it really hits home that air quality and particles in the atmosphere are really devastating to the quality of our atmosphere, which we all breathe." https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/science/2017/02/01/nasa-project-examines-remote-atmosphere-for- pollution-and-greenhouse-gases/ Back to Top Europe lifts ban on Iraqi Airways entering airspace AirExplore charter aircraft, operating Iraqi Airways Flight IA264 to Erbil is pictured during take off at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch The European Aviation Safety Agency has lifted a ban on Iraqi Airways entering European airspace, Iraq's transport minister Kadhim al-Hamami told state television on Thursday. The national carrier was banned from flying to Europe in 2015 because it did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization safety standards. "Iraqi Airways were removed from the black list and put under monitoring by the European Aviation Safety Agency, Hamami said. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-aviation-idUSKBN15H0RR Back to Top American Airlines says Chinese government blocking new LAX-Beijing flights American Airlines is crying foul over what it calls the Chinese government's refusal to grant it takeoff and landing slots at the Beijing airport, two months after the U.S. government signed off on the route. American filed an objection with the U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday seeking to block renewal of Air China's authorization to fly between Beijing and Houston. The filing was first reported by FlightGlobal. In the filing, American said its objection is based on "the failure of the Civil Aviation Administration of China to make commercially viable slots at Chinese airports available to American and other U.S. carriers on a reciprocal basis." American was awarded the rights to operate a daily flight from Los Angeles to Beijing Capital International Airport by the DOT in November, beating out rival Delta Air Lines for the coveted slots. Under the current bilateral aviation agreement, U.S. carriers are limited to a total of 154 weekly flights to China. American operates 35 weekly flights from the U.S. to China. That includes daily services from D-FW and Chicago to both Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a daily flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai. "Even though American was recently awarded the U.S.-China frequencies and necessary exemption authority from the (DOT) to inaugurate Los Angeles-Beijing service, American cannot serve this route without slots in Beijing," American wrote. "To date, the (Civil Aviation Administration of China) has refused to provide any slots to allow American to exercise its bilaterally conferred rights." American said the Chinese government did not even offer landing and takeoff slots during the midnight and sunrise hours, a commercially unfavorable window that has been offered to U.S. carriers in the past. Air China operates three daily flights between Los Angeles and Beijing, the only current nonstop service between the destinations. By denying American slots at the Beijing airport, the Fort Worth-based carrier said the Chinese government "has acted to preserve Air China's nonstop monopoly on this route, to the detriment of the U.S. traveling public, U.S. carriers, and the U.S. government." American said the recent denial falls into a pattern of the Chinese aviation administration obstructing U.S. carriers' access to its airports. American listed three other instances, including an ongoing refusal to award United Airlines space at the Shanghai airport. In its filing, American said it plans to continue to object to any requests to serve U.S. routes by Chinese carriers until it is granted commercially viable takeoff and landing times at the Beijing airport. http://www.dallasnews.com/business/american-airlines/2017/01/30/american-airlines-says-chinese- government-blocking-new-lax-beijing-flights Back to Top Heathrow's third runway will mean 'more domestic airport links' More UK airports will be served by Heathrow if proposals for a third runway are approved, the Department of Transport is due to promise. Six airports - Belfast, Liverpool, Newquay, Humberside, Prestwick and Durham Tees Valley - could be added to Heathrow's network by 2030. Currently, eight UK airports have links with Heathrow but ministers want to expand domestic connections. Details about a proposed expansion of Heathrow are due out later. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is to launch a 16-week consultation and set out planning and infrastructure proposals, and future links with regional airports. Last October, after years of delay, the government said building a third runway at Heathrow was its preferred option for expanding airport capacity. The government will make a final decision after the public consultation. However, the government says Heathrow's expansion is vital for economy and will create about 70,000 jobs. An additional 260,000 take-offs or landings would be permitted each year from the expanded airport, on top of the current cap of 480,000. "By backing the north-west runway at Heathrow airport and publishing our proposals, we are sending a clear signal that when we leave the EU, we are open for business," Mr Grayling will say, according to advance extracts of his speech. Media captionChris Grayling tells Radio 4 Today a new Heathrow runway will create "essential economic links" With the government about to set out its strategy for withdrawal from the EU in a White Paper, Mr Grayling will say that a third runway at Heathrow will enhance the UK's global links. "Leaving the EU is a new chapter for Britain and provides us with a great opportunity to forge a new role in the world. "We are determined to seize that opportunity and having the right infrastructure in place will allow us to build a more global Britain." 'Steamroller' The 16-week public consultation will be scrutinised by the Commons Transport Select Committee, and there will be information events held near Heathrow and across the UK. However, there is expected to be continued opposition to Heathrow's expansion. Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, Sarah Olney, accused the government of being "so desperate" to reassure businesses about its Brexit plans that it is "willing to steamroller over those communities opposed to Heathrow expansion". And John Stewart, chairman of anti-Heathrow expansion group Hacan, said it was important that the government assessed the consultation "in an even-handed way" and rejected the plan if the expected impact on issues such as noise was found to be "too great". The runway, if approved, is not expected to be operational until around 2025. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38837704 Back to Top Nepal Airlines receives second China-made aircraft Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) received its second Y-12e aircraft as part of a six-aircraft deal between Nepal and China, a media report said. The 17-seater plane named 'Gauthali' was flown in by two Dutch pilots working for an American company. The plane was flown in from Kunming in China via Myanmar and Kolkata and landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport around 4.30 p.m on Wednesday, Kathmandu Post reported. With the new addition, the Nepal Airlines now has six aircraft --two Canadian Twin Otter and four Chinese- made aircraft --in its fleet for operating on domestic air routes. In November 2013, the cabinet gave the go-ahead to the government to sign loan and grant agreements with China to procure six aircraft to enhance the domestic fleet of the national flag carrier. China has provided one MA60 and one Y-12e worth Rs 2.94 billion as gifts. The other aircraft are being bought with a soft loan of Rs 3.72 billion provided by China's EXIM Bank. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/nepal-airlines-receives-second-china-made-aircraft- 117020200480_1.html Back to Top Amazon plans to invest $1.4B to move its cargo jet fleet hub Amazon.com Inc. is investing $1.39 billion to move its Prime Air cargo hub to another airport. Amazon's fleet of 16 leased Boeing 767 cargo jets is stationed at Wilmington Air Park in Ohio, which was looking to expand operations by reopening a second runway. Amazon leases a fleet of Boeing 767 cargo jets from Air Transport Services Group and... more But Amazon will move the freighter jets to a new 2,700-employee hub on nearly 900 acres at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), according to the Business Journal in Cincinnati. That Hebron, Kentucky airport is home to one of three superhubs for German cargo shipper DHL. Amazon's plans call for 11 buildings that would be significantly larger than DHL's operations there, said Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp. CEO Dan Tobergte. Kentucky officials approved $40 million in tax incentives for the Amazon project Tuesday. Amazon's aircraft will have more than 200 daily takeoffs and landings. When Amazon begins flying from CVG in the spring, it will use global shipping giant DHL's facilities while it plans and builds: "As we considered places for the long-term home for our air hub operations, Hebron quickly rose to the top of the list with a large, skilled workforce, centralized location with great connectivity to our nearby fulfillment locations, and an excellent quality of living for employees. We feel strongly that with these qualities as a place to do business, our investments will support Amazon and customers well into the future," Amazon Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations Dave Clark said in a news release. Amazon said it would offer jobs at other sites to package sorting employees at the Ohio airport. Seattle-based Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) leases the Boeing 767 wide-body freighters for package delivery through air cargo partners Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ATSG) and Air Transport Services Group (Nasdaq: ATSG). Amazon bought a 10 percent stake in Wilmington-based ATSG in March. The first of the fleet, Amazon One, debuted at Seattle's 2016 Seafair Air Show. About a dozen of the aircraft were in operation at the time. Amazon's jet leases call for 40 aircraft in service by 2018. The first Amazon cargo jet will arrive at the new hub in April. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/01/31/amazon-prime-air-cargo-delivery-hub-cvg- kentucky.html Back to Top Wary of homemade fighter jet, Indian navy looks abroad NEW DELHI - The Indian navy has issued a global request for information to procure 57 multirole fighters for its aircraft carriers at an estimated price tag of $15 billion. The industry solicitation was floated by the sea service in mid-January, as the indigenously developed naval version of the Light Combat Aircraft, designed and developed by state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation, does not meet requirements. The Indian navy wants new fighters for its lone aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, and another carrier currently under construction, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, or IAC-1. Notably, the request for information does not specify if the navy wants single- or twin-engine fighters for its aircraft carriers. The bidding companies are asked to respond to the RFI by May 24. The naval prototypes of India's own LCA jet have multiple design deficiencies making them unsuitable for the intended aircraft-carrier role, a senior Indian navy official said. Those include endurance and weapons- carrying capability, according to the official. "It will continue to be DRDO program but funding from Indian Navy will stop and DRDO will have to fund this program now by itself to bring improvements," the official added. The Indian government will award formal clearance for the new fighter-jet purchase in the middle of next year, after which the navy would be able to issue a global tender, a senior Indian Ministry of Defense official said. "The selection of new aircraft will not be finalized by 2025 and the entire program will cost around $15 billion including platforms, setting up of infrastructure and weaponry," a second Indian navy official added. The service wants the new fighters to be day- and night-capable in all weather conditions. Its envisioned roles include air defense, air-to-surface battles, refueling, reconnaissance and electronic-warfare missions. "Since the RFI is quite open-ended as far as the type of aircraft the [Indian] Navy is looking for, the field is open to all major vendors, including state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)," which makes the indigenous LCA aircraft, said Anil Jai Singh, retired Indian Navy commodore and defense analyst. Despite publication of the RFI to buy new fighter aircraft, a senior HAL executive said the company will still go ahead with a naval LCA. "I don't think that the naval LCA program can be terminated - a lot of effort and investment has gone into it but it will have to be adapted to the navy's contemporary technological requirements. The RFI appears to be an effort to assess what all is available in the global market and may not necessarily translate into a program," Singh said. http://www.defensenews.com/articles/wary-of-homemade-fighter-jet-indian-navy-looks-abroad Back to Top 'SMALL DRONE' RESEARCH I'm conducting a research project on small Visual Line-of-Sight (VLOS) remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA)/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations. I have a background as an aeroplane, helicopter and small RPA pilot. The project is investigating cue utilization in operating a small (up to 2kg gross weight) VLOS rotary-wing or multi-rotor drone. If you are 18 years or over and have any experience operating a small drone for recreational or professional purposes, you are invited to participate in the study. If you would like to participate, you will be asked to complete an on-line protocol which involves a consent form, demographic questionnaire and the small VLOS drone version of EXPERTise 2.0, a situational judgement test. The study takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. You will need to complete the study using a desktop computer or laptop/notebook with at least a 17 inch monitor or screen. The preferred internet browser for completing the study is Google Chrome. Firefox and Safari are also suitable. To access the study, please go the following website: https://expertise.mq.edu.au/Participant/Account/Login The access details for the study are: Organisation code: Small Drone 2 Project: Small drone Study 2b 2017 Participants who complete the study will go into a draw to win an iPad mini 4. If you have any questions, please contact me at renshawp@hotmail.com or Prof Mark Wiggins at mark.wiggins@mq.edu.au Thank you for your interest. Peter Renshaw Macquarie University Sydney, Australia Back to Top RESEARCH STUDY Dear Participants, You are being requested to participate in a research study on the use of controlled rest in position. This study is expected to take approximately 5 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must be at least a student pilot and at least 18 years old. Participation in this study is voluntary, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. The study is looking for consumers, student pilots, and airline pilots complete this short questionnaire. We appreciate your consideration and time to complete our study. Please click on or copy and paste the URL below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2n9UeQunUJMvYPuTegn- t9mjxmxLMGLAX0qblfZmi2apQ8w/viewform For more information, please contact: Dr. Scott Winter swinter@fit.edu We appreciate your interest and participation! Dr. Scott R. Winter, Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of Technology Dr. Stephen Rice, Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 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 Curt Lewis