Flight Safety Information February 15, 2017 - No. 034 Incident: UTAir B735 near Moscow on Feb 13th 2017, fuel leak prompts engine shut down in flight Incident: Spirit A319 at Fort Lauderdale on Feb 13th 2017, bird strike Online Insurance Portal Launched for Unmanned Aircraft Systems 15 FEB 2017 Harrison Ford overflies Boeing 737, lands on taxiway at Orange County Argentina Approves 135 New Airline Routes Thai Regulator Delays Issuing New AOCs Due Skills Shortage U.S. Helicopter Accident Numbers Continue to Decline CEB takes delivery of its 3rd ATR 72-600 aircraft Air traffic controllers facing challenges to maintain air safety (Australia) US Air Force: Removal of F-35 pilot weight restrictions eyed for April Lufthansa Seeks Deeper Ties With Jet Airways to Lure Indian Flyers Group offers scholarship to encourage female pilots Incident: UTAir B735 near Moscow on Feb 13th 2017, fuel leak prompts engine shut down in flight A UTAir Boeing 737-500, registration VQ-BJL performing flight UT-258 from Saint Petersburg to Moscow Vnukovo (Russia), was descending through about FL180 towards Vnukovo Airport when the crew detected a fuel leak prompting them to shut an engine (CFM56) down. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Vnukovo's runway 24 about 13 minutes later. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Moscow about 27 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a4ea2de&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Spirit A319 at Fort Lauderdale on Feb 13th 2017, bird strike A Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N526NK performing flight NK-153 from Fort Lauderdale,FL (USA) to San Salvador (El Salvador), departed Fort Lauderdale's runway 28L and was climbing through FL310 when the crew stopped the climb and decided to return to Fort Lauderdale advising no assistance was needed. The aircraft landed safely on Fort Lauderdale's runway 28R about 50 minutes after departure. A replacement A321-200 registration N671NK reached San Salvador with a delay of 3 hours. The FAA reported the aircraft sustained unknown damage when birds struck the aircraft on departure. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NKS153/history/20170213/1610Z/KFLL/MSLP Back to Top February 15, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Suzanne Keneally AVP, Group Head of Communications skeneally@global-aero.com 973-490-8588 Online Insurance Portal Launched for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Leading Aviation Insurance Provider Offers Easy Access to Drone Insurance Parsippany, New Jersey - Easy access to comprehensive, competitive drone insurance is critical today due to the rapid rise in commercial drone use. Global Aerospace, a leading international aviation and aerospace insurance provider, is embracing the digital revolution by utilizing portal technology to provide streamlined access to insurance products and services that put the customer first. The UAS online portal is designed to provide drone owners and operators the ability to quickly and efficiently purchase an annual policy online and pay securely via credit card. The portal is available via affiliated producers. "For a number of years, Global Aerospace has been developing portal technology to simplify access to our insurance products and help our customers transact business in a straightforward and efficient manner. Global has been at the forefront of insuring the UAS industry and the development of this portal is another example of our leadership and dedication to providing innovative tools to this rapidly expanding market," said Chris Proudlove, Global Aerospace's Senior Vice President and Manager of UAS Risks. Individuals interested in learning more about the UAS portal and insurance products can contact Chris Proudlove at (973) 490-8525, cproudlove@global-aero.com or Bryant Dunn at (973) 490-8606, bdunn@global-aero.com for more information. #### Global Aerospace is a leading provider of aerospace insurance with a worldwide portfolio of clients who are engaged in every aspect of the aviation and space industries. Headquartered in London, we have offices in Canada, Cologne, Paris, Zurich and throughout the United States. Across the world we employ over 300 people. With experience dating back to the 1920s, the company's underwriting is backed by a pool of high quality insurance companies representing some of the most respected names in the business. For additional information about Global Aerospace, please visit www.global-aero.com. To learn more about the company's SM4 safety program, please visit sm4.global-aero.com. Back to Top 15 FEB 2017 Harrison Ford overflies Boeing 737, lands on taxiway at Orange County Date: 13-FEB-2017 Time: 12:13 Type: Aviat A-1C-200 Husky Owner/operator: GBH Aviation Registration: N89HU C/n / msn: 3077 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: None Location: Orange County-John Wayne Airport, CA (KSNA) - United States of America Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Santa Monica Airport, CA (SMO/KSMO) Destination airport: Orange County-John Wayne Airport, CA (KSNA) Narrative: An Aviat A-1C Husky, flown by actor Harrison Ford, was involved in an incident during landing at Orange County-John Wayne Airport, California. The pilot had been cleared to land on runway 20L but touched down on the parallel taxiway C instead. On finals the aircraft passed over American Airlines flight AA1456 that was taxiing on taxiway L for takeoff on a flight to Dallas, Texas. Flight AA2506 was a Boeing 737-800, N959NN, with 110 passengers and a six crew members on board. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows a calibrated altitude of 125 feet as the aircraft overflew taxiway L. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=193603 Back to Top Argentina Approves 135 New Airline Routes Argentina's civil aviation authority approved on Monday 135 new routes for five airlines looking to operate in Latin America's No. 3 economy at more competitive prices. President Mauricio Macri's government estimates airlines such as Colombia's Avianca will invest $1.7 billion in Argentina in the next four years, giving Argentines more travel options, Reuters reported. The companies approved, pending a green light from the transportation ministry, are FB Lineas Aereas, Andes Lineas Aereas, American Jet, Alas del Sur and Avian Lineas Aereas, the local unit of Avianca Holdings SA. The companies have three months to prove their technical capacity before they can start flying the routes, according to documents from the aviation authority, Anac. The government's embrace of more competition in Argentine skies, particularly of budget airlines, has generated protests by airline employees who fear the competition will undercut benefits enjoyed by employees of state-run Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN Argentina, a unit of LATAM Airlines Group. Low cost airlines such as Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA are also expected to request routes in Argentina in the coming months. https://financialtribune.com/articles/people-travel/59576/argentina-approves-135-new-airline-routes Back to Top Thai Regulator Delays Issuing New AOCs Due Skills Shortage Nok Scoot is one of 24 carriers currently operating in Thailand. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has quietly put a cap on issuing new air operators certificates (AOCs) for start-up carriers as it trains more personnel to oversee regulation and enforcement of standards. CAAT has not publicly reported the moratorium on new AOCs, but an official with the agency, speaking to AIN on condition of anonymity, confirmed that no new certificates will be issued until the agency resolves a shortage of qualified inspectors and implements new procedures. "Ovecoming these issues will play an important part in paving the way for Thailand's civil aviation safety to be elevated to Category 1 again," the official said. In December 2015 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country's civil avaition safety to Category 2 due to safety concerns. This situation automatically bans Thai airlines from introducing new routes to the U.S. or increasing the frequency of existing ones. Currently no Thai carrier flies to the U.S. Flag carrier Thai Airways International (TAI) stopped operating the Bangkok-Los Angeles route in October 2015. U.S. airlines are also not allowed to code share with Thai carriers. Over the last several years, Thailand has struggled to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. In a 2015 audit on CAAT ICAO identified shortcomings in 69 of the 90 areas covered. Thailand is also one of the eight countries tagged with a red flag, indicating significant security concerns by ICAO. The official said that the market is already crowded with 24 carriers operating in Thailand, 10 of them offering scheduled services while the other 14 are freighters. Of the 10, five are Thai-owned: TAI, Bangkok Airways, Orient Thai Airlines, Nok Air and Thai Smile. The other five are joint ventures with Thai companies, namely Thai AirAsia, Nok Scoot, Thai Lion Air, Thai AirAsia X and Thai Vietjet Air. Nine of the 10 airlines account for 70 percent of all international flights out of Thailand. The official stressed that at the moment there is no place for another airline as it would mean disintegrating the market further. "At the moment one airline is on the verge of having its AOC revoked by CAAT due to operational problems and is cash-strapped," the official noted, declining to name the carrier. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2017-02-14/thai-regulator-delays-issuing-new- aocs-due-skills-shortage Back to Top U.S. Helicopter Accident Numbers Continue to Decline FAA and industry data show safety is improving. Helicopter accidents have declined for the third year in a row, according to the FAA. Helicopter safety statistics released this week by the FAA indicate that years' worth of hard work by the agency and a number of industry groups to improve operational safety are paying off. The agency reported that the raw accident rate, as well as the fatal accident rate in helicopters, recorded a downturn for the third year in a row. There were 106 helicopter accidents in 2016, including 17 that resulted in fatalities. Those numbers represented a 12 percent decline when compared to 2015 and a 27 percent decrease when compared to 2013. The overall accident rate fell to 3.19 per 100,000 flight hours in 2016, compared to 3.67 accidents in 2015. Although the fatal accident rate did not decline by as large a margin, falling to 0.51 accidents per 100,000 flight hours last year from 0.52 in 2015, the rate is showing a significant improvement when measured over time. In 2014, the fatal accident rate stood at 0.65; in 2013 the rate stood at 1.02. The FAA and the helicopter industry have worked together through groups like the International Helicopter Safety Team and the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team to prevent accidents using a number of proactive tactics including the promotion of a safety culture company by company, an agency policy that allows operators and manufacturers to install safety equipment through a streamlined and less expensive approval process, the use of cutting-edge safety technologies, collaborative rulemaking and the FAA-led three-day international rotorcraft safety conference. http://www.flyingmag.com/us-helicopter-accident-numbers-continue-to-decline Back to Top CEB takes delivery of its 3rd ATR 72-600 aircraft ATR 72-600 aircraft uses the world's lightest aircraft seat THE Philippines' largest carrier, Cebu Pacific Air, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cebgo, recently accepted delivery of its third ATR 72-600 High Capacity aircraft. This aircraft is the first ATR 72-600 delivered for this year, bringing the airline's total fleet to 58. The carrier also chose the lightest aircraft seats in the world, Expliseat, for all 16 aircraft, two of which are already being utilized by CEB. The Titanium Seat, which is a technological breakthrough registered under 16 patents, made of ultralight materials such as titanium and carbon composite resources, is expected to help decrease fuel burn while allowing the carriage of more guests and cargo on board. The brand-new ATR 72-600 will be utilized for the two new routes CEB will be launching today (Feb. 15) Manila to Masbate and Manila to Tablas. "We are glad to take delivery of another brand-new ATR 72-600, especially since this is the first to have the titanium seats from Expliseat installed. This aircraft therefore combines reduced seat costs while optimizing comfort for passengers," said Alexander Lao, President and CEO of Cebgo. Today, CEB operates one of the youngest and most modern aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 4.92 years. This new ATR 72-600 will be used to support CEB's expansion plans in the archipelago, now servicing to 37 domestic destinations flying out of six strategically-placed hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, Iloilo, Kalibo and Davao. CEB also offers flights to 29 international destinations, covering an extensive network that spans Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA. CEB now operates a 58-strong fleet comprised of four Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500, and three ATR 72-600 aircraft. Between 2017 and 2021, CEB expects delivery of one more brand-new Airbus A330, 32 Airbus A321neo, and 13 ATR 72-600 aircraft. http://saudigazette.com.sa/business/ceb-takes-delivery-3rd-atr-72-600-aircraft/ Back to Top Air traffic controllers facing challenges to maintain air safety (Australia) EXTREME measures are being taken by Air Traffic Controllers to compensate for extensive job cuts, including slowing down the arrival rate of aircraft to reduce pressure on workers. Airservices Australia has denied aviation safety is at risk from the 705 positions made redundant despite concerns expressed by Air Traffic Controllers. The denial came after emails leaked to the ABC highlighted concerns among senior executives about the "sheer lunacy" of job cuts which had pushed the organisation to "breaking point". Air traffic controllers at work in Brisbane. Picture: News Corp Australia Civil Air president Tom McRobert told News Corp in December they had concerns with how "rushed" the redundancy program had been to date, with people being released from positions before proper contingencies were in place. He confirmed measures had been taken to delay aircraft in some instances when an Air Traffic Controller had called in sick. "It's definitely the safe way to go. It doesn't help the airlines run the service they need but it shouldn't be an every day occurrence," Mr McRobert said. Civil Air executive secretary Peter McGuane yesterday confirmed the practice still happened "intermittently". "We are fortunate in that our Air Traffic Controllers are among the most highly trained, highly skilled and experienced controllers in the world," said Mr McGuane. "But Civil Air supports any additional examination of air traffic safety procedures by federal Parliament." Air traffic controllers are responsible for aviation safety at busy airfields. Picture: News Corp Australia He said the challenges faced by Air Traffic Controllers as airports got busier made it critical that Airservics Australia actively addressed the issue of fatigue. "Air Traffic Controllers must be properly resourced with the back-up and technical support they need to get the job done," Mr McGuane said. "Rostering practices and adequate staffing levels make all the difference when it comes to fatigue management." Airservices Australia said there had only been one further case of reducing (plane) arrivals rate since December. "(That was) due to a staff member being unavailable due to illness," said a spokesman. CEO Jason Harfield said any suggestion that Airservices Australia was compromising on safety was totally incorrect and refused. "There is no risk to the travelling public," said Mr Harfield. "Airservices is safely restructuring to deliver more effective services to our customers by focusing on our core air traffic control and aviation rescue fire fighting services." Statistics released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed on-time arrivals and departures at Australian airports in December were down on the same time in 2015, and lower than the long-term average. A flight is considered "on-time" if it lands or takes-off within 15 minutes of schedule. In December 17.3 per cent of arrivals were officially late, along with 15.8 per cent of departures. http://www.themercury.com.au/news/national/air-traffic-controllers-facing-challenges-to-maintain-air- safety/news-story/e9a05547f21324fdc625fee1241de33e Back to Top US Air Force: Removal of F-35 pilot weight restrictions eyed for April WASHINGTON - The Air Force could be ready to remove restrictions on lightweight F-35 pilots as early as April, following fixes to the aircraft's ejection seat and helmet. But Martin-Baker's US16E ejection seat is not completely in the clear yet. Even if the newly modified pilot- escape system meets requirements, the service may still press ahead with certifying a second ejection seat as a bulwark against potential risks in the future, said Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, who heads the Air Force's F-35 integration office. In 2015, the Air Force discovered that F-35 pilots who weigh less than 136 pounds were at high risk of severe or potentially fatal neck injuries upon being ejected from the aircraft. The service then restricted all pilots below that weight from flying the F-35 while Martin-Baker, which produces the US16E ejection seat found in all variants, and Rockwell Collins, which manufactures the helmet, adjusted their products. Now, testing of the modified escape system is mostly complete, and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has provided that data to the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, which functions as the service's airworthiness authority, Pleus told Defense News during a Feb. 10 interview. One last test remains, an "electro-environmental" demonstration scheduled for March that validates that the escape system fires only when triggered. After reviewing the data, Air Force engineers and airworthiness experts will produce a final report, he said. "Assuming that the seat meets the specification requirements and has the capability of providing safe ejection parameters for our 103 pound pilot to our 245 pound pilot, once the Air Force has certified that the seat is cleared for that range of operations, we will remove the weight restriction currently in place," Pleus said. "We anticipate that by April, we should have a response from our airworthiness authority," a role performed by Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center commander. "If that were to be the case, there would be a series of retrofits that would be required for the seats. That would probably take a few months, and at that point, we would have a capability of opening the pipeline to lightweight student pilots." Defense News F-35 Program Office Hopeful to Move Out on Ejection Seat Retrofit Plan This Fall Martin-Baker and Rockwell Collins have made three major changes to their products in order to make the escape system safe for lightweight pilots. A new switch in the US16E ejection seat alters the parachute loads to accommodate pilots of different weight ranges, and a head support panel helps protect the head and neck from stress upon ejection. The weight of the Rockwell Collins helmet has also dropped from 5.1 to 4.6 pounds. Some Air Force leaders have been skeptical of the fixes to the pilot escape system and have advocated looking into a second ejection seat. Last summer, Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, its top uniformed acquisition official, requested that the JPO study how qualifying United Technologies' ACES 5 model would affect the F-35 program's cost and schedule. That report is due in March and will help to inform the final decision on whether to lift weight restrictions, Pleus said. But even if restrictions are lifted, the service may decide to qualify ACES 5 nonetheless. Given the number of F-35s planned to be purchased by the Air Force - 1,763 in total - Pleus believes that there would be value to qualifying a second seat, in case further problems with the US16E surface later down the road. But service leaders will have to weigh that against the UT ejection seat's cost and capability, he added. "If at some point if an issue arises with the Martin-Baker seat, or from a cost effectiveness or safety standpoint, we would make a decision over which was the better seat," he said. "Right now, we have no data about the ACES 5 seat. Is it safer? It might not be. Is it more expensive or cheaper? I don't know that." Retrofitting the Pilot Escape System Once flight restrictions on lightweight pilots are lifted, Martin-Baker engineers will begin retrofitting US16E ejection seats in the Air Force's F-35A fleet, starting with aircraft at the training bases, JPO and company officials told Defense News last year. If the Air Force gives the green light to lift F-35 weight restrictions this spring, the service anticipates that the first retrofits would wrap up as early as this fall. The JPO had hoped that the service would be able to remove flight restrictions on lightweight pilots by the end of last year, but it took longer than anticipated for the companies and program office to synthesize test data. In September, officials said the program office and Lockheed Martin had already put together a preliminary retrofit strategy and had ordered the parts needed to begin modifying the seats. It will take about two years for all of the F-35s to move through the pipeline, JPO officials said then. http://www.defensenews.com/articles/air-force-removal-of-f-35-flight-restrictions-could-occur-as-early- as-april Back to Top Lufthansa Seeks Deeper Ties With Jet Airways to Lure Indian Flyers Deutsche Lufthansa AG, competing with the Middle East's biggest carriers to carry Indian international traffic, said it will seek to expand ties with Jet Airways (India) Ltd., which will help its customers get access to more connecting flights in the South Asian country. Lufthansa, which is deepening its partnership with Etihad Airways PJSC, connects Germany with five Indian cities and customers will then be able to fly Jet Airways for their onward journey to other places within the country, Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr told reporters in New Delhi. Etihad owns 24 percent of Mumbai-based Jet Airways. "We have connecting flights from Jet on arrival in five key cities we serve ourselves," he said. "So there's room for improving that." Lufthansa, seeking a bigger slice of the Indian passenger traffic, wants to lure more flyers to and from the nation's second-tier cities with convenient connecting services offered by Jet Airways. The Cologne, Germany-based airline sees growth coming from beyond the five major Indian cities it flies to, Wolfgang Will, Lufthansa's senior director for South Asia told reporters separately. Long-time adversaries Lufthansa and Etihad said earlier this month that they are targeting deeper tie-ups in cargo, procurement, information technology and new code-share routes, and could form a full joint venture. The German carrier said it's also open to cooperation with Alitalia SpA, in which Etihad has a 49 percent stake. "Etihad Group is an investor in Jet Airways," Spohr said. "So when we look to intensify our cooperation with Etihad, we are also looking to intensify our bilateral relations between Jet Airways and Lufthansa." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-15/lufthansa-seeks-deeper-ties-with-jet-to-lure- more-indian-flyers Back to Top Group offers scholarship to encourage female pilots A $500 SCHOLARSHIP is being made available to women interested in becoming a pilot by the members of the Northwoods Chapter of the Ninety-Nines Inc. Members of the Northwoods Chapter, shown here from left, include Lynn Sykes, Terri Wolski, Pam Trask, Dee Dreger and Leslie Putnam. Not pictured are Sheryl Rains, Jeff Dohrenwend, and Cindy Brew. IRON MOUNTAIN - The women pilots from the Northwoods Chapter of the Ninety-Nines announce a new $500 scholarship for any female, age 15 and older, who would like to become a pilot. There are four requirements for any applicant: she must read, write and speak English; be in the process of working towards a pilot's license; have passed the class III flight medical; and submit a letter of recommendation. For more details or to apply, contact local chapter president Dee Dreger at deedreger@hotmail.com or 715-612-3336. The Ninety-Nines is an international organization of women pilots from 35 countries that promotes advancement of aviation through education, scholarships and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight. The organization has more than 4,800 members worldwide, including general aviation, military, airlines, corporate/commercial pilots. Established in 1929 by 99 women pilots with Amelia Earhart as the first president, members of The Ninety- Nines Inc. are represented in all areas of aviation today. By offering this scholarship to women in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern Wisconsin and southern Canada, the Northwoods Ninety-Nines hope to encourage the growth of women in aviation. Application deadline is May 1. Contact Dee Dreger at 715-612-3336 or deedreger@hotmail.com for further details. http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/news/local-news/2017/02/group-offers-scholarship-to-encourage- female-pilots/ Curt Lewis