Flight Safety Information February 27, 2017 - No. 042 Incident: Fedex MD11 at Honolulu on Feb 24th 2017, rejected takeoff Incident: Berlin A332 near Daytona Beach on Feb 25th 2017 Incident: Canada A320 at Toronto on Feb 25th 2017, runway excursion on landing Latest Reports Prove FAA Should Just Stop Tracking Pilot Drone Sightings FAA extends security warnings for Kenya and Mali airspaces Two air hostesses 'molested' on-board Jet Airways Mumbai-Nagpur flight PK-661 plane crash: Remaining parts of aircraft to be dispatched abroad Nigeria: Govt Sacks All Directors in Civil Aviation Authority Kenya granted IASA Category 1 status Dr. Steve Sparks named Director of Safety at HAI Cleveland airport worker sues over whistleblower retaliation Controversial Flame Retardant Retains Aircraft Approval JAL's novice pilots grounded by 2010 bankruptcy finally take wing NASA starts wind tunnel tests for its quiet supersonic jet Worldwide Helicopter Safety Teams Will Release Accident Data at Heli-Expo 2017 Bangkok Airways recertified to international standards by CAA Thailand, supported by the UK CAA Incident: Avianca Brasil A320 near Sao Paulo on Feb 23rd 2017, smoke in cockpit Incident: Fedex MD11 at Honolulu on Feb 24th 2017, rejected takeoff A Fedex Federal Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11, registration N584FE performing flight FX-1814 from Honolulu,HI to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Honolulu's runway 08R when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed. The aircraft slowed safely, the crew advised that they blew a tyre, they were able to vacate the runway but the runway needed to be inspected for tyre debris. The aircraft returned to the apron. A runway inspection found debris on the runway. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a577a93&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Berlin A332 near Daytona Beach on Feb 25th 2017, smoke in cockpit An Air Berlin Airbus A330-200, registration D-ALPC performing flight AB-7416 from Dusseldorf (Germany) to Cancun (Mexico), was enroute at FL360 about 120nm northeast of Daytona Beach,FL (USA) when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and diverted the aircraft to Daytona Beach. The aircraft landed safely on Daytona Beach's runway 25R, vacated the runway, the pilots were talking without oxygen masks once on the ground and taxied the aircraft to a near by stand, where emergency services checked the aircraft. A passenger reported that the aircraft diverted to Daytona Beach due to smoke in the cockpit, smell of smoke was apparent in the passenger cabin. The airline reported the captain decided to divert the aircraft to Daytona Beach for safety reasons. The passengers disembarked via stairs. Due to the spring break no hotel accomodation was available in Daytona Beach, the passengers were given accomodation at Daytona Beach Terminal, were provided with meals and access to Internet. The cause of the diversion is being investigated. A replacement aircraft has been dispatched to Daytona Beach, the luggage will be taken to Cancun at a later stage however and taken to the passengers' hotels directly. An American Airlines Airbus A330-300 registration N271AY was dispatched from Philadelphia to Daytona Beach as flight AA-9462, arrived on Feb 26th 12:08L (17:08Z) and is estimated to depart for the continuation at 13:30L. According to local information Daytona Beach Airport has no tools available needed to unload an A332, therefore the luggage can not be transferred from the occurrence aircraft to the replacement aircraft. In addition, this weekend is the Daytona 500 race, therefore no accomodation is available in the area. Passengers were told that the occurrence aircraft is going to be repaired, then is going to carry the luggage to Cancun. The luggage can not be transferred to the replacement aircraft due to lack of needed ground support. Initially the passengers were told their entry to the USA was denied and they therefore could not be taken to hotels. A replacement aircraft would arrive in the course of the night at about 01:00L, however, the flight (AA- 9460) was delayed. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a56b597&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Canada A320 at Toronto on Feb 25th 2017, runway excursion on landing An Air Canada Airbus A320-200, registration C-FDRP performing flight AC-623 (dep FEb 24th) from Halifax,NS to Toronto,ON (Canada) with 112 passengers and 6 crew, landed on Toronto's runway 15R at 00:02L (05:02Z) in low visibility but veered right off the runway and came to a stop disabled on the runway. The crew announced "stopping on the runway" prompting tower to instruct the next two arrivals to go around. The crew subsequently advised they had veered right off the runway and needed the trucks (emergency services). Emergency services and busses responded, the passengers disembarked onto the runway and were bussed to the terminal. The runway is still closed about 13.5 hours after the runway excursion. The Canadian TSB have dispatched a team of investigators on site. The airline reported the aircraft temporarily left the paved surface of the runway before returning onto the runway. The airport reported the aircraft has been moved off the runway by now, repairs and runway inspection are underway, the TSB investigation is ongoing. On Feb 26th 2017 the TSB reported the aircraft performed an ILS approach to runway 15R. During the landing sequence the aircraft travelled through the grass on the western (right hand) side of the runway and came to a stop on the runway center line. There were no injuries, the aircraft received minor damage, 5 runway edge lights were damaged, too. Back to Top Latest Reports Prove FAA Should Just Stop Tracking Pilot Drone Sightings John Goglia , CONTRIBUTOR I write about the airline industry and aviation safety. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. It never made much sense for the FAA to call on pilots to report seeing a drone from the air. After all, it's very difficult to distinguish small objects from a moving plane or to distinguish a drone from a bird or a balloon. This is particularly true of the small consumer drones that most hobbyists fly. The FAA was so concerned about these small drones that it set up a whole new bureaucratic registration system just over a year ago for those weighing just over half a pound (.55 pounds, to be exact.) But these small drones have proven to have a remarkable safety record over the last few years of their exponential growth. As an unvetted "database", the reports were bound to be a waste of time and money and only lead to sensational headlines about the number of pilot "near misses" with drones. Nonetheless, the FAA has continued to collect these reports and Thursday released its latest database which covers the period from February through September 2016. In total there were 1,274 drone sightings reported to the FAA during this time. I reviewed a sampling of those reports: the 59 reported drone sightings from September 1 to 15 of last year. Based on my review of the other reports, this sampling is fairly representative of what the rest of the sightings show. Which in brief is: not much. Of these 59 reported sightings, 52 were by pilots: 15 airline, 27 general aviation, 9 helicopter and 1 US military. The remaining 7 reports were by 4 individuals, 2 police officers and one air traffic controller. (The FAA does not categorize the reports as airline or general aviation, I made this distinction based on the type of aircraft the FAA identified.) Of the reports that listed the drone's altitude, 22 reported the drone was at an altitude over 1,000 feet but less than 5,000 feet and 14 reported an altitude higher than 5,000 feet, with four reporting drones at over 10,000 feet. One was reported by an airline pilot at 15,000 feet. One pilot reported seeing a drone two miles away from him. Seventeen reports were below 1,000 feet and six had no altitude listed. Some reports are of drones over a city without specifying how that particular operation was hazardous or contrary to the regulations. In 50 of the 52 pilot reports, no evasive action was taken or reported by the crew. In two cases, pilots reported taking evasive action. One involved a medevac helicopter who saw the drone and turned to avoid it. The closest reported distance was a tenth of a mile. The other was a Cessna 172 that reported turning to avoid "a very small" drone at 5,500 feet. The drone was reported to be black with one rotor flying about 200-300 feet above and to the left of the aircraft. It's impossible to know in the vast majority of these sightings whether the pilots saw a drone or something else. At altitudes of 5,000 feet and higher, it's hard to imagine that these are the small consumer drones that the FAA was so concerned about. In fact, in several of the reports, the pilots themselves state they are unsure if what they saw was a balloon or a drone. Reporting drone sightings that cannot be verified and appear to have no safety impact doesn't make much sense. At a minimum these reports should be screened to eliminate those sightings that are too speculative to reach conclusions about and focus on the handful that appear to have potential safety impacts. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2017/02/26/latest-reports-prove-faa-should- just-stop-tracking-pilot-drone-sightings/#1945ea7e1708 Back to Top FAA extends security warnings for Kenya and Mali airspaces 26 February 2017 The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued two new Notams, extending the security warnings for the Kenya and Mali airspaces by another year. Share this: Back to Top Two air hostesses 'molested' on-board Jet Airways Mumbai-Nagpur flight The incident reportedly took place when the air hostesses were serving him his in-flight meal. Jet airways, airhostess molested, news, jet airways news, india news, indian express news, latest news, top news The incident took place on-board a Mumbai-Nagpur flight. Two air hostess of a Mumbai-Nagpur Jet Airways flight were allegedly molested on Saturday. A written complaint was submitted to the flight captain against the accused - a 23-year-old hardware trader. According to The Times of India, the accused - Akash Gupta - was handed over to the CISF on landing, and he has been charged with section 354 - outraging the modesty of a woman. WATCH | 2 Air Hostesses Allegedly Molested On Board Jet Airways Mumbai-Nagpur Flight The incident reportedly took place when the air hostesses were serving him his in-flight meal. He reportedly grabbed their hands forcing them to seek help from the cabin crew members. The report claimed Gupta, who was retuning from a vacation in Goa, was apparently inebriated. While the air hostesses informed other crew members who tried to stop Gupta, he ended up picking an argument with them too. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/two-air-hostesses-molested-on-board-jet-airways- mumbai-nagpur-flight/ Back to Top PK-661 plane crash: Remaining parts of aircraft to be dispatched abroad It has been decided that the remaining parts of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-661 plane ATR-42, will be sent abroad for investigation. The parts will be dispatched to Canada and France in two days. Furthermore, parts of ATR-42 are also being examined by the maker of this aircraft. The investigation report will be presented to Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif afterwards. It is pertinent here to mention that flight PK-661 was en route to Islamabad from Chitral on December 7 last year when it lost communication with air traffic control and crashed some ten kilometres of Havelian, killing all the passengers and crew members onboard. http://nation.com.pk/national/27-Feb-2017/pk-661-plane-crash-remaining-parts-of- aircraft-to-be-dispatched-abroad Back to Top Nigeria: Govt Sacks All Directors in Civil Aviation Authority Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority The Federal Government on Friday announced the sack of all the directors in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nation newspaper is reporting. The removal of the officials is with immediate effect, the paper said. The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, announced the development, and directed the affected officials to immediately hand over to those next in command in their various directorates, the report said. The Nation quoted the General Manager, Public Affairs, of the agency, Sam Adurogboye, as confirming the removal of the directors. "It is true that all the directors have been disengaged, but I don't have details of their disengagement," Mr. Adurogboye was quoted as saying. The affected directors are Salawu Ozigi (Director of Finance and Accounts), Joyce Nkemakolam (Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards), Aba Ejembi (Director of Administration), Emmanuel Ogunbami (Director of Licensing), and Benedict Adeyileka (Director of Airworthiness). Others are Justus Wariya (Director of Air Transport Regulation), Adamu Abdullahi (Director of Consumer Protection), Ayodele Sasegbon (Director of General Aviation) and Austin-Amadi Ifeanyi (Director of Human Resources). The reasons for the removal are not immediately known. http://allafrica.com/stories/201702250065.html Back to Top Kenya granted IASA Category 1 status Kenya Airways Boeing 777-300ER Kenya Airways Boeing 777-300ER © Kenya Airways Kenya has secured a Category 1 rating under the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, which means the East African state complies with international safety standards as laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). A Kenyan Ministry of Transportation press release issued last week states the conferment took place following an audit late last year. "Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) will immediately apply for approval to codeshare with US airlines while concurrently pursuing approval for direct flights," Reuters quoted Minister James Macharia as telling a news conference. Kenya Airways' fellow Skyteam member, Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson), has already expressed an interest in serving Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and is considered a strong candidate for the launch of direct US-Kenya flights. For its part, before it can begin regular service to the United States, Kenya Airways must first apply for and secure a Foreign Air Carrier Permit from the US Department of Transportation (DOT). Thereafter, it must also apply for and secure safety authority (commonly referred to as Part 129 Operations Specifications) from the FAA. About Kenya Airways Type Scheduled Carrier Base Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Aircraft 37 Destinations 53 Routes 80 Daily Flights 142 http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/53744-kenya-granted-iasa-category-1-status Back to Top Dr. Steve Sparks named Director of Safety at HAI SteveSparks ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Helicopter Association International (HAI) has appointed Dr. Steve Sparks, formerly of East Liverpool, as Director of Safety. Prior to joining HAI, Sparks was an Aviation Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the General Aviation and Commercial Division in Michigan. As Director of Safety, Sparks is responsible for managing the association's existing aviation safety programs, and developing new safety initiatives to benefit HAI's membership and the international helicopter community. "HAI is thrilled with the addition of Steve to our team," said Ed DiCampli, chief operating officer for HAI. "I have worked with Steve on the USHST for a number of years and found his passion for safety is boundless. We are pleased that Steve will continue to strive for a zero accident vision and I am confident that his extensive background, training, and experience will be a huge asset in achieving that goal." Sparks said "I'm looking forward to helping HAI continue its leadership in providing strategies for strengthening the safety of the helicopter industry. I am honored to be part of such a fascinating industry that's full of dedicated professionals always wanting to take safety to the next level." In addition to his position with HAI, Sparks also serves as a coordinator with the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) specializing in flight training, pilot development and helicopter operations. He also chairs the USHST Human Factors "Staying Alive" Working Group, which focuses on mitigating helicopter accidents resulting from human error. Sparks' experience includes flight training education, corporate aviation marketing, professional pilot development along and experience in customer relations and Part 142 Training Center operations. He is qualified on both airplanes and helicopters, couple with an MBA in Corporate Finance and an earned Doctorate in Applied Aviation and Space Education. http://www.reviewonline.com/news/business/2017/01/el-native-named-director-of- safety-at-hai/ Back to Top Cleveland airport worker sues over whistleblower retaliation CLEVELAND - A Cleveland airport employee who federal authorities suspect was demoted in retaliation for raising concerns about runway snowplowing problems is seeking reinstatement and unspecified damages in a lawsuit against the city. Cleveland.com reports (http://bit.ly/2lNsi3g ) Abdul-Malik Ali filed suit after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that he was demoted for alerting federal authorities. The complaint states that Ali was demoted from manager of field maintenance in February 2015 after he informed an FAA inspector that his crews had been understaffed during a recent snowstorm. Ali's attorney says his client's constitutional rights were violated and the city broke Ohio criminal and civil laws barring intimidation. A spokesman for Mayor Frank Jackson says he won't address pending litigation. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/cleveland-airport-worker-sues-over-whistleblower- retaliation/414849710 Back to Top Controversial Flame Retardant Retains Aircraft Approval Used in jet materials employed across commercial aviation industry. Aerospace manufacturers have won a 10-year exemption from new EU rules restricting the use of a toxic flame retardant. The brominated flame retardant decaBDE is used in many plastics, rubbers and foams and is known as a persistent organic pollutant. As an endocrine disruptor, decaBDE can interfere with the normal functioning of human hormones, potentially affecting the reproductive and nervous systems, states the European Environmental Bureau, a non-government organization. The European Commission has now regulated to limit decaBDE concentrations to less than 0.1% by weight from 2 March, 2019. A 2013 study found that concentrations of the chemical in aircraft dust samples were "orders of magnitude" higher than in samples taken from offices and homes. Nonetheless, the European Commission has given civil and military aircraft manufacturers an extra 10 years to comply with its new decaBDE regulation. There is also an exemption for automotive spare parts. The EEB thinks both exemptions are unnecessary, arguing that alternative flame retardants exist and aircraft manufactures could easily deploy them. "Given that Boeing has accepted that decaBDE could be completely phased out by next year, it seems like a missed opportunity to have drawn a line under this dangerous substance once and for all," said Tatiana Santos, EEB senior policy officer, chemicals and nanotechnology. However, in a 2012 submission the US Environmental Protection Agency, Boeing said: "Although decaBDE is used in a number of parts and components in aerospace manufacturing, the volumes are generally low." http://www.mro-network.com/manufacturing-distribution/controversial-flame-retardant- retains-aircraft-approval Back to Top Short Courses in Aviation Law, Safety, Accident Investigation, UAS and More Offered by Embry-Riddle Professional Programs Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University recently hosted the 2016 U.S. Aviation Law Seminar at the Daytona Beach, Florida Campus. This short-course was part of the new Aviation Law Diploma, a collaborative program between Embry-Riddle and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and featured leading authorities from academia and industry with subject matter expertise in airline passenger protection laws, aviation safety, crew resource management (CRM), cybersecurity and the FAA enforcement processes. The next available course in this series is Aviation Regulation, from March 7-9 at the Daytona Beach Campus. "The law seminar was a successful start to the U.S. Aviation Law Diploma," said Associate Professor Daniel Friedenzohn, who helped design the program. "We are pleased to offer aviation industry professionals an opportunity to enhance their understanding of the legal landscape affecting aviation." Additional short-course seminars this spring at the Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus include: Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety Course Series OSHA & Aviation Ground Safety - April 17-21 Aviation Safety Program Management - April 24-28 Aircraft Accident Investigation - May 1-5 Stand Alone Short Courses Lean Six Sigma in Aviation - March 29-30 Unmanned Aircraft Systems - May 9-11 System Safety & Certification - May 16-18 Avionics - May 15-19 Embry-Riddle offers ongoing seminars and short-courses year round, and is able to create customized programs for organizations and offerthem on campus or onsite. Find out more at our website: http://daytonabeach.erau.edu/degrees/professional-programs/index.html Professional Programs Contact: Sarah Ochs, Director, Daytona Beach Campus Professional Programs, dbproed@erau.edu, (386) 226 6928. Embry-Riddle Media Contact: James Roddey, Director of Communications, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.; (386) 226-6198; james.roddey@erau.edu. https://www.suasnews.com/2017/02/short-courses-aviation-law-safety-accident- investigation-uas-offered-embry-riddle-professional-programs/ Back to Top JAL's novice pilots grounded by 2010 bankruptcy finally take wing Tatsuhiko Senzaki (right) gets ready for his first JAL flight as a copilot at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Monday. | KYODO Around 100 people who joined Japan Airlines Co. as pilot candidates but never had a chance to work in the air due to the airline's 2010 bankruptcy are finally making their debuts on domestic flights. The bankruptcy led JAL to substantially cut its flight routes and freeze pilot recruitment and training. Of its employees who joined JAL as pilot candidates, some left the airline to become pilots at other companies and others who stayed at JAL worked on the ground, such as in the section on mileage management and the regional office administration department. After the airline rehabilitated itself with taxpayers' money, it resumed pilot training in October 2012 and started hiring pilot candidates again in April 2015. The roughly 100 employees who are making or soon to make their debuts as domestic flight copilots are those who had seen their training frozen for the longest period of time among other JAL pilot candidates. "Now I feel that I have finally reached this stage," said Tatsuhiko Senzaki, 34, who on Monday became the first of the 100 to fly as a copilot. "I intend to perform as I usually do (in training), but I'm a bit nervous," he said before the flight from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Tokushima. Another soon-to-be-copilot, Yohei Suzuki, 31, expressed thanks for the support he received to become a pilot after working at a JAL subsidiary in charge of ticket sales and other travel services. "I will do my best to offer safe and comfortable flights, while remembering my appreciation for those who supported me," he said. The new JAL copilots are scheduled to fly Boeing 737s, mainly on relatively short domestic flights. The aircraft, with 165 passenger seats, was selected as it offers more flight opportunities than larger aircraft like Boeing 777s and 787s. Their debuts come after JAL introduced a new training method for copilots in April 2014, which cut the duration by more than half a year by focusing on flight training with pilots in command and utilizing more simulators. Previously, pilot candidates were required to practice alone in a small aircraft for a longer period of time. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/02/27/business/corporate-business/jals-novice- pilots-grounded-2010-bankruptcy-finally-take-wing/#.WLQfD28rKUk Back to Top Egypt produces jet biofuel from jatropha Research team produces aviation fuel from jatropha plants grown in desert with sewage water Aim is to cut aviation emissions, but high cost remains a challenge for use by the end of 2017 Semi-industrial experiments kicked off to develop a production method that may cut the cost [CAIRO] Researchers at Egypt's National Research Centre have produced a biofuel suitable for aeroplanes after successful semi-industrial experiments conducted last December. The centre was officially commissioned by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation to find a local biofuel to power aircrafts. This was to support the implementation of the International Air Transport Association plan, aiming to halve carbon dioxide emissions caused by aviation companies by 2050. Commercial aviation contributes about 2 per cent of global carbon emissions annually. Gizine El Diwani, professor at the centre's chemical engineering and semi-industrial experiments department, says it all started with the production of a biofuel for cars. The researchers made biodiesel from the seeds of the jatropha tree - the seeds' oil content is between 20-25 per cent. The oil can be easily extracted using organic solvents such as hexane, according to El Diwani. "Globally, the lowest price of biofuel is 90 per cent higher than that of the average fuel; this is due to the high cost of the materials needed for the manufacture of biofuel." Khaled Fouad, Zagazig University in Egypt Because the properties of jatropha oil differ from those of traditional engine oil - in terms of viscosity, density and degree of combustion - it has to go through a number of fairly simple chemical processes to be adapted for use in running engines. At this stage, the fuel is suitable for car engines. To be suitable for jet engines, it should be able to resist freezing until at least minus 45 degrees Celsius. The research team sought to resolve this at a later stage in the fuel's development. El Diwani explains: "We managed to improve the freezing point of Jatropha biofuel through a thermal cracking process, using thermal stimuli at a high temperature and pressure to bring the oil [temperature down] to minus 40 degrees [Celsius] without [it] freezing. Then, we were able to reach minus 45 degrees by introducing some [chemical] additives." El Diwani adds that Egypt has successfully cultivated vast land areas with the jatropha tree, in an area of the Upper Egypt desert estimated at around 1000 acres. The success of biofuel production experiments is expected to encourage the research team to increase the area reserved for growing the tree. Khaled Fouad, a researcher in the field of aeronautical engineering at Zagazig University in Egypt, sees a fundamental advantage in the production of biofuels from jatropha seed oil. "It is a non-edible tree for humans and animals, which grows in sandy desert soil and gets irrigated by sewage water - making it a unique source of biofuels." However, Fouad pointed to a serious challenge in the high cost of production, which he attributes to the use of additives to lower the freezing point. "Globally, the lowest price of biofuel is 90 per cent higher than that of the average fuel; this is due to the high cost of the materials needed for the manufacture of biofuel," he said. You might also like Biofuel production 'needs ethical policies' Harvesting biofuel from solar panels Scientists find 'biofuel-making' fungus India approves biofuel rise Crop biofuels 'create carbon debt' The researchers are currently working to address this, according to Salwa Hawash, a member of the research team. "We will try to eliminate the materials [currently] used to lower the freezing point by adding hydrogen to the thermal cracking process, and we expect positive results that will cut the cost." Another semi-industrial experiment on the biofuel will be conducted after introducing this type of cracking. The team hopes to complete all industrial experiments and begin to use locally-manufactured biofuel in aeroplanes by the end of 2017, according to El Diwani. http://www.scidev.net/global/biofuels/news/egypt-produces-jet-biofuel-jatropha.html Back to Top NASA starts wind tunnel tests for its quiet supersonic jet The Lockheed Martin-designed aircraft is one step closer to reality. NASA's plans for a quiet supersonic jet, the QueSST, just became tangible: the agency and Lockheed Martin have started wind tunnel tests for the future X-plane. It's a scale model at this stage, but it will be subjected to winds as high as Mach 1.6 (950MPH) to gauge both its aerodynamic performance as well as parts of its propulsion system. The tests should run until the middle of 2017. Whether or not QueSST moves beyond these tests will depend on funding approval. If it does get the go ahead, though, the next step is making an honest-to-goodness aircraft poised to fly in 2020. That goal is still a long way off, but it now seems more achievable than it did a year ago. https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/26/nasa-starts-wind-tunnel-tests-for-quiet- supersonic-jet/ Back to Top Worldwide Helicopter Safety Teams Will Release Accident Data at Heli-Expo 2017 Safety Experts Gathering from North America, Europe, India, Brazil and Elsewhere The International Helicopter Safety Team (www.IHST.org) will gather its worldwide partners in a safety briefing and discussion in Dallas at Heli-Expo 2017. International teams representing 50 countries will present and summarize 2016 accident data, discuss industry strengths and weaknesses, and highlight actions being taken to improve safety and reduce accidents. WHAT: Media briefing to release 2016 accident data and discuss safety actions. WHO: Helicopter safety officials from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, India, Japan and New Zealand. WHEN: Wednesday, March 8th, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. in Room D-162 WHERE: Heli-Expo 2017 Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, TX BACKGROUND: The IHST was formed in 2005 to lead a government and industry cooperative effort to promote helicopter safety and work to reduce accidents and fatalities. More information about the IHST, its reports, safety tools, Reel Safety audio/video presentations and YouTube safety videos can be obtained at its web site at www.IHST.org and on the IHST Facebook page. www.ihst.org Curt Lewis