Flight Safety Information May 22, 2017 - No. 102 Incident: Cathay Pacific B773 near Lanzhou on May 21st 2017, cracked windshield Incident: Virgin Australia B738 near Rockhampton on May 21st 2017, fumes on board EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Accident: Aeromexico B738 at Los Angeles on May 20th 2017, ran service truck over Incident: Qatar B788 near Colombo on May 19th 2017, fire on board Boeing 737-8H6 (WL) Rejected Takeoff (Malaysia) Airbus A330-343 Birdstrike (India) Airbus A380-842 Inflight Engine Shutdown (LAX) Fighters Escort American Jet After Attempted Cockpit Breach Drone pilots don't have to register under FAA's controversial rule, court rules FAA: Manual Flying Skills Still Lacking Aviation Debate Heats Up as Carriers Pan 'Dysfunctional' FAA ATP Launches Improved Centricity Maintenance Data System L3's Display Simplifies Cockpit Upgrades Supersonic Aerion Selects GE Engine AsBAA, Bombardier to Hold Safety Seminar Delta looks to shed mean airline reputation under new CEO Close Calls: Managing Risk and Resilience in Airline Flight Safety - Book Review SaudiGulf to negotiate Boeing long-haul jet order China, Russia formalize Shanghai venture to build wide-body jet Under New CEO, Cathay Cuts Jobs in Biggest Revamp in 20 Years NASA Plans Emergency Spacewalk To Replace Key Computer On International Space Station Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Nominations Invited Research Survey - 1 Research Survey - 2 Graduate Research Survey - 3 Incident: Cathay Pacific B773 near Lanzhou on May 21st 2017, cracked windshield A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300, registration B-KPB performing flight CX-253 from Hong Kong (China) to London Heathrow,EN (UK) with 270 passengers, was enroute at 9800 meters (FL321) about 20nm east of Lanzhou (China) when the crew decided to return to Hong Kong due to a cracked windshield at the captain's side. The aircraft descended to 6900 meters (FL226) and landed safely back in Hong Kong about 5.5 hours after departure. A replacement Boeing 777-300 registration B-KPO is estimated to reach London with a delay of 10 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a94895e&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Virgin Australia B738 near Rockhampton on May 21st 2017, fumes on board A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800, registration VH-BZG performing flight VA-610 from Mackay,QL to Brisbane,QL (Australia), was enroute at FL350 about 70nm southsoutheast of Rockhampton,QL (Australia) when the crew reported fumes in the cockpit and cabin and decided to divert to Rockhampton. The aircraft landed safely on Rockhampton's runway 15 about 20 minutes later, where fire engines and ambulances were already awaiting the aircraft. Cabin crew were feeling unwell and were attended by paramedics, nobody needed to be taken to a hospital. Queensland ambulance services reported they were told about oil fumes in the cabin causing a number of cabin crew to feel unwell. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a947fee&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Accident: Aeromexico B738 at Los Angeles on May 20th 2017, ran service truck over An Aeromexico Boeing 737-800, registration XA-AML performing flight AM-642 from Mexico City (Mexico) to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 149 people on board, had landed on Los Angeles' runway 25L without incident and was taxiing towards the terminal when the right hand wing toppled a service truck over. The 8 occupants of the service truck received injuries, the occupants on board of the aircraft remained uninjured. The truck received substantial damage, the wing of the aircraft was damaged. LA Police reported six occupants of the truck received injuries, one of them critical injuries. The Airport reported eight occupants of the truck received injuries, all are in stable condition. The aircraft sustained minor damage and was able to continue taxi to the gate. Airport Fire Services reported 8 occupants of the truck received injuries. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a9401b6&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Qatar B788 near Colombo on May 19th 2017, fire on board A Qatar Airways Boeing 787-800, registration A7-BDB performing flight QR-841 from Phuket (Thailand) to Doha (Qatar) with 202 people on board, was enroute at FL340 about 200nm eastnortheast of Colombo (Sri Lanka) when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and decided to divert to Colombo. The aircraft landed safely on Colombo's runway 22 about 30 minutes later. Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority reported there had been a fire on board. The aircraft remained on the ground for 8.5 hours, then continued the journey and reached Doha with a delay of 8.5 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a93d0b6&opt=0 Back to Top Boeing 737-8H6 (WL) Rejected Takeoff (Malaysia) Date: 21-MAY-2017 Time: 12:00 UTC Type: Boeing 737-8H6 (WL) Owner/operator: Malaysia Airlines Registration: 9M-MXV C/n / msn: 40159/4964 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK) - Malaysia Phase: Take off Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK) Destination airport: Perth Airport, WA (PER/YPPH) Narrative: Malaysia Airlines flight MH127 rejected the takeoff at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, had commenced takeoff from runway 14L at 12:00 UTC when the flight crew rejected the takeoff due to a suspected tyre burst. The passengers were bussed to the terminal and the runway was closed as a result. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=195545 Back to Top Airbus A330-343 Birdstrike (India) Date: 20-MAY-2017 Time: ca 20:35 UTC Type: Airbus A330-343 Owner/operator: Cathay Pacific Registration: B-HLR C/n / msn: 421 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: near Hyderabad-Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD/VOHS) - India Phase: Initial climb Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Hyderabad-Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD/VOHS) Destination airport: Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKG/VHHH) Narrative: Cathay Pacific flight CX646 returned to land at Hyderabad-Rajiv Gandhi International Airport after sustaining a bird strike after takeoff. The aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, took off from runway 09R at 20:33 UTC. After the bird hit, the aircraft turned left and circled back for a landing on runway 09R at 20:53 UTC. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=195527 Back to Top Airbus A380-842 Inflight Engine Shutdown (LAX) Date: 20-MAY-2017 Time: ca 01:00 Type: Airbus A380-842 Owner/operator: Qantas Registration: VH OQG C/n / msn: 47 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Approx 2 hrs SW of LAX - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) Destination airport: Melbourne Airport (MEL/YMML) Narrative: Qantas flight QF94, an Airbus A380, returned to land at Los Angeles International Airport, California, USA. The flight departed at 22:42 hours LT, May 19, (05:42 UTC, May 20). While en route over the Pacific Ocean, the number 4 engine overheated. Passengers reported a loud noise and sparks coming from the engine. The flight crew shut down the engine and initiated a turn back about 07:35 UTC. A normal landing was carried out at 02:56 LT (09:56 UTC). https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=195521 Back to Top Fighters Escort American Jet After Attempted Cockpit Breach * Passenger placed laptop near door as DHS considers wider ban * F-22 fighters were scrambled to escort jetliner to Honolulu Fighter jets escorted an American Airlines plane to Honolulu after a passenger attempted to breach the hardened cockpit door. Based on initial reports, the man placed a laptop by the entrance and tried to get through the reinforced barrier required on airliners following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, said a person familiar with the matter. The Department of Homeland Security said it was prepared to help investigate the incident on Flight 31 from Los Angeles. The incident added to fears about flight safety as the Trump administration has warned of a heightened risk that terrorists could use laptops to conceal explosives. Homeland Security is considering banning electronic devices larger than mobile phones from airline cabins on flights from Europe to the U.S. A prohibition was adopted in March for flights from 10 Middle Eastern and North African airports. American's Airbus SE A321 jet landed safely at 11:35 a.m. local time, said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the carrier. Video posted to social media showed officers, including one with an FBI shirt, taking a handcuffed man off the plane. Feinstein, in a subsequent email to Bloomberg News, said the plane was cleared to resume commercial flights. Pacific Command During the flight, the pilots made a gradual descent from cruise altitude to lower levels out of precaution to limit the potential damage in the event there was an explosion, according to the official. While the severity of the threat was still unclear, U.S. Pacific Command scrambled two F-22 fighter jets to escort the airliner. The passenger drew the attention of authorities at Los Angeles International Airport before the flight left because he appeared to be intoxicated, the official said. He was eventually allowed to board the flight, according to the official. Airport police in Los Angeles said a 25-year-old man named Anil Uskanil went through a door from the Terminal 5 concourse that led to the airfield ramp. He was ticketed on American Airlines, the police said in a statement, without saying whether he was on Flight 31. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has been briefed on the incident, the agency said in a statement. There are no other reports of flight disruptions, it said, without confirming details of what happened. "The individual who disrupted the flight has been detained," the department said. "DHS is prepared to assist other federal and local law enforcement agencies as they investigate the incident." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-19/u-s-said-to-probe-attempted-cockpit-breach-on-american-air-jet Back to Top Drone pilots don't have to register under FAA's controversial rule, court rules A controversial registration requirement among drone users has been struck down The Federal Aviation Administration's requirement that hobby drone users register their devices was struck down in an appeals court Friday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of John Taylor, a drone hobbyist who had challenged the legality of the FAA's drone-registration program. The program, which was instituted in December 2015, required hobby drone owners to register through an FAA website for a $5 fee. Drone hobbyists were then issued a unique identification, which they were required to mark on their drones. Within the first month, nearly 300,000 drone owners had registered. The court struck down the FAA's registration rule, referencing the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama. That rule stated that the FAA "may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft." "The case is a victory for model aircraft enthusiasts and those who oppose government overregulation of hobby flying," said aviation attorney Loretta Alkalay. "Congress prohibited any rule regarding model aircraft and the Court of Appeals today ruled that the FAA's registration rule was expressly prohibited." But not all in the drone community are happy about the news. "A (drone) registration system is important to promote accountability and responsibility by users of the national airspace, and helps create a culture of safety that deters careless and reckless behavior," said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. "We plan to work with Congress on a legislative solution that will ensure continued accountability across the entire aviation community, both manned and unmanned." The decision applies to hobby users, but does not apply to commercial drone users who have to follow a separate set of standards which includes passing a test to get a license in order to fly. "We are carefully reviewing the U.S. Court of Appeals decision as it relates to drone registrations," according to a prepared statement from the FAA. "The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats. We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision." Many drone users had accepted that the drone-registration process was a means of educating users about safety. Some drone users suspect that it was in reaction to events such as a drone crash near the White House in January 2015, though the drone operator in that crash voluntarily came forward. "They want to be able to identify the drone operator if there's an accident or bad use of the drone," said Colin Snow, founder of drone research firm Skylogic Research. "But who is going to register their drone and then commit a nefarious act?" Drones have been spotted flying too close to airports as airplanes take off or over fires where crews need to clear the area. An 18-month-old boy's eye was cut after he was hit in the head by a crashing drone. And though registration may have educated drone users to avoid those types of circumstances, many felt it wasn't enough. "The entire registration process took an average of 7 minutes," John Taylor said in an interview with MarketWatch last week. "The FAA used that to show it wasn't very burdensome, but how much education can really go on in 7 minutes? It's all bogus." Taylor said that there should be some type of regulation around drone use, but requiring hobbyists to register is not the solution. "There needs to be enforcement and education," he said. "Perhaps drone manufacturers should make you take a test before you are able to unlock their app in order to fly the drone." "As of today, no American has been seriously injured by hobby drones," Taylor said. "They may get cuts or bruises, but look at ATVs and watercraft, where dozens are killed every year. It's all a reaction to new technology. People are afraid of drones because they're something new. I just don't see that the risk justifies the action that has been taken over the last 100 years around model aircraft." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/drone-pilots-dont-have-to-register-under-faas-controversial-rule-court-rules-2017-05-19 Back to Top FAA: Manual Flying Skills Still Lacking The agency says pilots should decide on the right time to practice flying by hand. The FAA believes pilots need more practice hand-flying aircraft if the industry is to be successful in reducing the number of loss- of-control accidents, still listed as the leading cause of industry fatalities. In an era of glass cockpits teeming with practical technology aimed at reducing pilot workload, it's often difficult to convince some aviators to turn off the automation, despite understanding that manual flight remains the basis of all flight operations. Crews of long-haul aircraft can find it particularly difficult to maintain currency at the controls when a 10-hour flight results in a single landing. Exacerbating the problem is that some commercial operators require the use of automation as much as possible to increase aircraft efficiency and to also improve the safety of flight operations. The FAA has released a safety alert for operators, SAFO 17007, that suggests a variety of maneuvers designed to allow pilots to practice their seldom-used manual flying skills. While primarily aimed at Part 121 flight training departments, the concepts the SAFO explores are applicable to Part 91 and Part 135 operations as well. They include slow flight under manual control, or following the loss of a reliable airspeed, hand-flying SIDs and STARS, upset recovery maneuvers, stall recognition and recovery from a bounced landing. Manual flying is defined as flight path management using pitch, yaw, roll and thrust, with the use of a flight director and autothrottles optional. The agency believes successful training in manual control demands foundational-level aerodynamic knowledge in pitch and power basics, energy management and high- versus low-altitude aircraft performance. For jet operators, the SAFO focuses on type specific factors such as the difference in handling qualities between swept-wing versus straight wing aircraft. Another area focuses on the differences between piston and turboprop operations, as well as trimmable elevators versus stabilizers. The guide points to the importance of training scenarios that include pilot reactions as automation levels are gradually reduced, rather than only when the automation is simply switched on or off. Additionally, the FAA says pilots should practice hand-flying recoveries from out of trim conditions, go-arounds from a variety of locations and altitudes on final approach and operations in a variety of automation options with the autopilot, flight director or autothrottles on and off. The agency highlighted the importance of allowing the PIC to decide when to attempt manual flying practice on a case-by-case basis considering the time of day, weather conditions, proficiency of the crewmembers and any psychological or physiological factors that might affect their performance, the FAA says. http://www.flyingmag.com/faa-manual-flying-skills-still-lacking Back to Top Aviation Debate Heats Up as Carriers Pan 'Dysfunctional' FAA by Alan Levin and John McCormick * Agency, airline group clash over gains in technology upgrade * House to hold hearing on future of flight-monitoring system The simmering debate over whether to put U.S. air-traffic control under a nonprofit corporation burst into the open as an airline trade group accused the government of being "hopelessly dysfunctional" in a letter to a senior senator. Airlines for America accused the Federal Aviation Administration of overstating its progress in modernizing the current flight- monitoring system and said the agency had repeatedly bungled technology programs. The lobbying organization represents carriers such as American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc., though not Delta Air Lines Inc. The system "is broken beyond repair within the constraints of government," said the Airlines for America's letter to Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who is chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The letter was obtained by Bloomberg News ahead of a congressional hearing Wednesday on the future of air-traffic control. The trade group's missive represented a significant escalation in the rhetoric over a controversial proposal endorsed by President Donald Trump to spin off the FAA's air-traffic operations into a nonprofit. At the Wednesday hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representative Bill Shuster, the Republican chairman, said the FAA has wasted a "shocking amount of taxpayer dollars" over the past three decades as it has tried to improve its technology and operations. 'Broken' Structure "No other single infrastructure reform has as much potential to improve travel for the average American flier," said Shuster, who has vowed to push legislation to separate air traffic from the FAA this year. "Although our aviation system is safe, the FAA structure and how air traffic is managed has been broken for decades." Air transportation was the top donating industry to Shuster in the 2015-16 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The industry and its employees gave his campaign $284,399 during the period. A coalition of most large airlines, former FAA air-traffic officials and conservative think tanks argues that moving the agency's nearly 15,000 controllers into a federally chartered nonprofit corporation would free it from budget uncertainties and allow it to adopt new technology more swiftly. Dozens of other nations, including Canada and the U.K., have made similar moves in the past 20 years. After years of opposition, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union has expressed openness to a spinoff -- assuming employment and other certain conditions are met -- because it could provide a more steady source of funding. 'At Risk' Paul Rinaldi, president of the controllers union, told committee members that the current system in the U.S. is the "gold standard," but "that status is at risk" if a more stable funding source isn't found. Representative Peter DeFazio, the highest ranking Democrat on the committee, defended the current system and said the proposed changes would hurt safety and result in airlines ignoring air-traffic control for small, rural airports. "They don't use them, they don't care," he said. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, who didn't testify at the hearing, wrote to Thune on Dec. 15 and said the agency had made significant progress in the modernization program known as NextGen. Huerta estimated the agency had already saved airlines, passengers and private pilots $2.7 billion in reduced delays, improved safety and fuel savings. "Today, using the measurements upon which we and the aviation community agreed, NextGen is delivering real benefits," Huerta said. The agency projects that benefits will total $161 billion by 2030, Huerta said. He acknowledged that some air-traffic technology programs had stumbled, but said the agency had in recent years done a much better job of fielding new systems, such as text- messaging between controllers and pilots. In its letter, the airline trade group said Huerta used overly optimistic estimates of benefits and understated actual costs. Trump's Budget Trump, who called the current air-traffic system "obsolete" shortly after taking office, endorsed the proposal in his budget plan earlier this year. White House officials have portrayed it as an element of the president's plan to channel $1 trillion toward rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. Groups including private-plane operators, Democratic lawmakers and some labor groups have opposed the measure. They argue that a nonprofit corporation wouldn't be responsive to smaller users of the system, such as rural airports, and say the current system functions well. A coalition of seven other FAA unions and employee groups issued a press release denouncing the proposal to split air-traffic operations from the agency. "FAA employees have decades of specialized experience maintaining the National Airspace System that cannot be replaced without great costs to American taxpayers and great risks to the flying public," said Ron Consalvo, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 200. The union represents employees at an FAA center for technical research in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shuster last year pushed legislation to split off the air-traffic system from the FAA. It failed after some powerful Republican lawmakers and most Democrats balked. He's planning to reintroduce the measure this year as part of legislation to set broad policy guidelines for the FAA, whose authorizing language expires in September. Under Shuster's plan, a board made up of airline and other aviation stakeholders would oversee a new air-traffic corporation. Instead of the current taxes on fuel and airline tickets, it would be funded by fees paid by aircraft operators. The FAA would continue to oversee safety and set aviation regulations. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-17/air-traffic-debate-heats-up-as-carriers-pan-dysfunctional-faa Back to Top ATP Launches Improved Centricity Maintenance Data System Aviation maintenance data provider ATP is debuting new functionality of its products at the EBACE show in Geneva this week. The California-based company has leveraged its December purchase of diagnostic software developer CaseBank Technologies to develop ATP Aviation Hub Aircraft Centricity, a fully-customizable, aircraft-specific data portal, which it will demonstrating. ATP is celebrating its 40th year as a aviation data clearinghouse, and it has seen the transition from providing information on paper, to microfiche, through the digital age. The concept of "aircraft centricity" is the latest evolution, according to CEO Charles Picasso. "That was the next logical step in our value proposition, because so far the mechanics or the engineers or the chief of maintenance had to access different libraries every time they were working on the aircraft," he told AIN. "Here, we are taking the further step to provide to them the right information at the right time and for the specific aircraft they are working on." Through the subscription-based portal, users can enter the specific tail number for an aircraft, and the system will immediately search publicly accessible regulatory databases such as the FAA or EASA. "They will have access to the maintenance publications or the manuals, the STCs, maintenance and complete tracking data, all the information that is specific to that aircraft," said Picasso, adding that regulatory compliance information is updated in real time. Through its numerous agreements with airframers and component manufacturers, ATP provides libraries of original maintenance documents and publications. The subscription price is determined by the complexity of the aircraft and the number of product document libraries involved. Individual aircraft profiles can easily be tailored via the registration number. The base configuration of the aircraft as found in the regulatory database is displayed, and the user can then select from among all the modifications available to create a precise description of that specific aircraft, which is then stored. When the aircraft requires maintenance, the owner can authorize access to a service provider who will then be able to view that aircraft's maintenance records. "The system will then restrict view to everything related to that aircraft, all the maintenance records, the wiring diagrams, the service bulletins, anything to do with information that's related to that aircraft is now going to be in the scope of the next few clicks that the technician will have," said Phillip d'Eon, ATP's senior vice president for strategy, and a CaseBank founder. "The aircraft-centric view of Aviation Hub, pulls all that information together. It just makes sure that you are able to see everything that is going on, and all the documentation is relevant to this particular tail number." Once the task is completed, the service provider can sign off in the system through the company's integrated maintenance application. Outside access to the aircraft's profile can be limited for a certain period of time, for example the duration of the maintenance event, or be available on an unlimited basis for favored and trusted maintenance providers. According to Picasso, the new product will boost technicians' confidence that they are getting only the right information related to that tail number, helping minimize errors. The recently launched ATP mobile application further enhances the usability of the system. "What was available through the web and through servers for laptops, is now available on any mobile device [so] the technician or the engineers have the right information anywhere at anytime, so [they can] perform the activities with the right information at their fingertips," noted Picasso. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-05-22/atp-launches-improved-centricity-maintenance-data- system Back to Top L3's Display Simplifies Cockpit Upgrades EFI-650 LCD cockpit display L3 Aviation Products has received FAA technical standard order (TSO) authorization as well as an approved model list supplemental type certificate (AML-STC) for its EFI-650 LCD cockpit display in a number of regional and legacy business aircraft. L3 has also submitted paperwork to EASA and Transport Canada for their approvals. The EFI-650 was developed as part of L3's alliance with Thomas Global Systems and incorporates the latter company's branded Adaptive Display Architecture processing technology. L3 Aviation Products is a division of L3Technologies (Booth Y60). Weighing half a pound, the EFI-650 is an LED-backlit LCD. That's about half as much weight as the cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays that it replaces. It is a form-fit-function replacement, meaning that the EFI-650 can quickly be swapped with old, worn- out CRTs that are too expensive to repair. When the old CRTs are removed, so, too, are their high-voltage power supplies, which are no longer needed. There is also no need for cooling fans as the new displays are passively cooled. Tens of thousands of business jets-Challengers, Citations, Falcons, Gulfstreams and Hawkers-and regional airliners still fly with CRT displays and are candidates for the EFI-650 upgrade, according to Larry Riddle, L3 Aviation Products v-p of marketing and sales for general aviation. "I think the potential is significant." Parts and repairs for CRTs are increasingly difficult to find, and the mean-time-between-failure for the EFI-650 is more than 25,000 hours. The new displays can be swapped individually or all at once, giving operators latitude in how much they want to spend as their CRTs wear out. Retail price of the EFI-650 is $34,500. "This solution is lighter, produces less heat and requires less power than aging CRTs," said L3 Aviation Products president Stuart Mullan, "and will extend the life of legacy aircraft by offering reliable active-matrix LCD technology for displaying critical flight data." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-05-22/l3s-display-simplifies-cockpit-upgrades Back to Top Supersonic Aerion Selects GE Engine Aerion has selected GE Aviation to study engine development for its supersonic business jet. Brad Mottier, VP of GE's business and general aviation, and integrated systems business enterprise units, said here Sunday that GE has signed a "definitive agreement" with Aerion for a joint study to define requirements for the three turbofan engines that will power the Mach 1.5 AS2 business jet. The agreement culminates two years of discussions. "These guys are visionaries," Mottier said, adding that he's excited to be with them on the program. "The world needs a supersonic business jet," he said. But, he said too that considerable work lies ahead. It's safe to say the engines will use or adapt many parts and technologies from existing GE commercial and military engines. Thrust requirements, noise limitations, specific fuel consumption, maintenance, technical support and cost are among the issues. "We can do this. We have a big tool box. We've been building engines for supersonic aircraft for decades," he said. Expect further details at NBAA. http://aviationweek.com/ebace-2017/supersonic-aerion-selects-ge-engine Back to Top AsBAA, Bombardier to Hold Safety Seminar Bombardier and the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) will hold a joint safety seminar at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore on June 16, 2017. The goal of the one-day event is to bring together industry experts to discuss the safety environment of airports in the region. The safety seminar will also promote a culture of safety in business and general aviation as well as provide a forum for sharing best practices. Addressing critical safety concerns and local issues will help enhance safety awareness, according to AsBAA. Ultimately, the target audience of this seminar is employees of AsBAA member companies. Front-line operational employees, managers and leaders, and influencers and key stakeholders are also encouraged to attend. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-05-22/asbaa-bombardier-hold-safety-seminar Back to Top Delta looks to shed mean airline reputation under new CEO The cruelty of U.S. airlines has become a sore point for travelers lately: Use strong-arm tactics on customers today, and an airline risks a swift explosion of online outrage. Within the industry, however, Delta Air Lines Inc. has spent the past year trying to shake a less-visible reputation as a bruising antagonist that fought with other airlines and bureaucrats alike. As Delta's Ed Bastian reaches his first anniversary as chief executive officer this month, aviation experts and former regulators say they see signs that the Atlanta-based airline is stepping away from an in-your-face posture that sometimes rankled competitors and annoyed bureaucrats under former boss Richard Anderson. The change in attitude can be traced to the personalities of the CEOs. "Richard was a litigator," said Mo Garfinkle, a longtime aviation consultant who now works with American Airlines Group Inc. on international matters. Anderson was a Texas prosecutor before resurrecting Delta following its bankruptcy in 2007. "That litigious, strong, 'I'm right' approach of Richard is not the same approach that Ed has." Take, for example, the time in 2014 when Atlanta business leaders were considering a state tax increase for roads and Anderson goaded them not to be "chicken" about supporting it. Or the February 2015 CNN interview in which Anderson brought up the Sept. 11 terror attacks while discussing U.S. carriers' long-standing policy disputes with Persian Gulf airlines, which prompted a public apology from Delta. And there was a parting shot during Anderson's final days as CEO last May. Delta withdrew future corporate funding for Atlanta's historic Fox Theatre because the venue hosted a party featuring a performance by Jennifer Lopez at which archrival Qatar Airways celebrated a new route. Delta proclaimed itself surprised and disappointed by the event. The theater, a local columnist wrote, had been "found in a car trunk, bound and gagged, a single shot to the back of the head." The spats ran the gamut - with the government about alliances and landing slots, with lobbyists about whether its interests were being served, even with its own allies in the airline industry. A once-close relationship with Alaska Air Group began unraveling in 2012 as Delta moved to build a hub in the smaller carrier's Seattle hometown. The partnership between Delta and Alaska was set to end May 1. Delta in recent years "viewed every issue as a bet-the-company kind of case, and they fought it tooth and nail," said Kathryn Thomson, a former general counsel at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She senses now, a year into Bastian's tenure as boss, that Delta may be becoming more like other airlines that tend to "pick and choose which issues are most important to them and fight for them.'' Bastian, 59, a CPA who earlier in his career worked with food companies, has been repairing a strained relationship with fellow SkyTeam alliance member Korean Air Lines. When the U.S. government insisted that Delta give up some flights to Mexico City to win approval for an alliance with Aeromexico, Bastian complied instead of taking the DOT to court, as Anderson did in a 2015 dispute. And when rival United Airlines inflamed the public's anger against the industry in April by dragging a passenger off a plane, Bastian raised the amount Delta may offer bumped fliers to almost $10,000--about two weeks before United took similar action. Delta's willingness to duke it out over every issue "did damage their credibility, because we'd say, 'Here goes Delta again,'" said Thomson, who now works at a technology company. The agency never let its frustration with the airline influence its decisions, she said. Under Bastian, she said, "I do think that they have taken that to heart." Many regulators saw Delta as the "smartest guys on the block" who ran the best airline, said Paul Gretch, a former head of the Transportation Department's Office of International Aviation. Yet that success exposed some "pretty sharp edges," he said, that could feel personal for officials working on Delta cases. According to Delta, which didn't make Bastian or Anderson available for an interview, its persistence has paid off. "Delta is a tenacious competitor - it is part of our DNA," said spokeswoman Elizabeth Wolf. "As a result, we've established Delta as the industry leader among customers, investors, and labor relations." The carrier's 18 percent operating-profit margin - earnings before interest and taxes in this case - last year topped those of American, at 13 percent, and United Continental Holdings Inc., at 12 percent. Its shares, which closed as low as $3.93 in 2009, have risen to about $48, and it enjoys more labor peace than most big rivals. Under both CEOs, Delta has found itself the odd one out on some significant government and industry decisions. Industry insiders debate whether the airline's hardball style has contributed to the disappointments. When Delta couldn't get the chief lobbying group for U.S. carriers, Airlines for America, to see its way on certain issues, it pulled its membership and $5 million in annual dues. When Anderson retired, Delta lost a seat on the board of the International Air Transport Association, as the selection committee passed over Bastian for a leader from Hawaiian Airlines - with just 6 percent of Delta's annual revenue. Delta didn't directly respond to a reporter's question about its loss of the board seat. The U.S. Transportation Department granted Delta the right to collaborate with Grupo Aeromexico SAB on routes and fares without violating antitrust rules - but only after initially demanding that the duo give up so many rights to take off and land in Mexico City that Delta considered ditching the deal. Regardless, Delta said, the result was the largest transborder alliance between the U.S. and Mexico. Early last year, Delta lost a fight to keep the U.S. and Japan from expanding certain flights at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, which is closer to downtown than Delta's major hub at Narita International. While Delta has since cut several flights from Narita, the company points out that it ended up getting rights to fly two routes to Haneda, while other airlines picked up a single route. Delta considers both the Aeromexico and Tokyo situations examples of its "significant successes" in Washington, rather than setbacks. "Delta values our longstanding relationships with representatives at all levels of government as we advocate for policies that are in the best interest of our people and the communities where we live and work," the company said in a statement. Under Bastian, Delta has been reestablishing links with Korean Air, with which it had a longtime rift and little collaboration. The airlines just agreed to cooperate on routes across the Pacific, in a deal that would give Delta a much needed partner in Asia. "We've had our challenges over the years with Korean," Bastian told investors in December. "But I'm optimistic in 2017, we're going to continue to have breakthroughs in that relationship." Paula Reynolds observed Bastian's ascent while she served on the airline's board for a decade. She's been struck by his willingness to show humility in the year since he became CEO. She admired his tone in flight-safety videos talking about the honor he feels to be among Delta's 80,000 workers, as well as his public apologies after Delta canceled thousands of flights following Atlanta storms in April and an IT meltdown last summer. "He's got a graciousness about him - he's humble," said Reynolds, who left the board in 2015. As for consultant Garfinkle, he credits Delta for giving up some flights to Mexico City in the Aeromexico case rather than taking the DOT to court, as the company did in a 2015 dispute over a Seattle-to-Tokyo route. "The old Delta would have stiffened their backs and gone to court and fought the DOT," Garfinkle said. "The new Delta, while it didn't like the decision, accepted it and moved on, putting the practical over the principle." Michael Sasso, Bloomberg https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2017/05/22/delta-looks-mean-airline-reputation-new-ceo Back to Top Close Calls: Managing Risk and Resilience in Airline Flight Safety - Book Review * The book examines how crucial insights are garnered from experiences of near misses - or 'close calls', writes John Downer * Close Calls: Managing Risk and Resilience in Airline Flight Safety. Carl Macrae. Palgrave. 2014. Find this book: * ISBN-10: 0230220843 * ISBN-13: 978-0230220843 There were 51 fatal commercial airplane accidents in 1929, roughly one for every million miles flown. The same accident rate today would imply over 7,000 fatal crashes per year: almost twenty a day. Yet modern airlines are orders-of-magnitude safer than this. Each day a remarkable feat of choreography occurs, as tens of thousands of jetliners - each comprising millions of tightly integrated components - lift their passengers high above the clouds and return them safely to earth. In 2016, scheduled commercial airlines in the United States flew without a single fatality for the sixth year in succession. 'Safety is no accident', as it is written in granite outside the UK aviation regulator's headquarters. It is, rather, a long-term organisational achievement. The impressive safety of modern civil aviation reflects a vast number of incremental improvements, made both to the planes themselves and to the organisations that manage them. Underlying this process of refinement has been a fierce and longstanding commitment to institutional learning. The risks of commercial flight have fallen, decade on decade, as managers, operators and engineers have methodically deconstructed their errors and rendered them into lessons. Carl Macrae's Close Calls: Managing Risk and Resilience in Airline Flight Safety is an intimate account of this learning process, broadly framed in relation to the 'High Reliability Organisations' literature. Drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted in the UK and Australia across five large airlines and two air safety agencies, Macrae explores how flight safety investigators approach the challenge of distilling insights from non-catastrophic safety incidents (his 'close calls'). Civil aviation is an ideal context in which to examine this process. The industry's dedication to interrogating its own failures is unparalleled, as is reflected in the scale and sophistication of its investigatory infrastructures. And the fruits of this labour are plain to see. As noted above, few organisations can boast safety achievements to match those of modern airlines, where the potential for disaster is so at odds with its prevalence. The book's focus on close calls or near misses - 'incidents' rather than 'accidents' - is similarly welcome. The academic literature on operational safety has long mined disaster investigations for insights into organisational learning. Accidents inevitably become sparser as organisations become safer, however, and beyond a certain point organisations aiming to achieve extreme levels of performance must look elsewhere for their insights. Close calls - accidents avoided by chance more than by design - become a valuable resource in these circumstances, and airlines work hard to interrogate them. Yet this work has traditionally received less attention from scholars. The relative lack of academic scrutiny afforded to interrogating close calls is understandable but unfortunate. Understandable because such work is usually low profile. Unfortunate because it is vital, and because wringing useful insights from accidents that never happened means confronting unique and undertheorised challenges. As Macrae puts it, investigators of close calls are mining a 'less pure seam' than their disaster-investigating colleagues. The unique challenges posed by close calls become evident if we simply consider the difficulties inherent in their identification. When a 747 pilot misjudges their landing in the fog and clears a luxury hotel by a few feet, sending guests screaming into the streets (as occurred just outside of Heathrow in 1989), then the danger is self-evident. Many brushes with disaster are much less transparent, however, to the point where most can easily pass unnoticed amidst the normal fluctuations of operational practice. A flight controller who almost confuses one call sign for another, for instance, might barely skirt catastrophe without ever recognising the danger or leaving a trace. One of the book's many strengths is the uncommon sophistication with which it formulates these practical and epistemological challenges. Its opening chapters dwell at length on the complexities of learning and sense-making in an environment where signals are weak, interpretations flexible and causes contested. Eschewing easy simplifications, it lucidly summarises the issues involved, while outlining their prior treatments in the literature. Having unpacked and theorised the challenges posed by close calls, the book then turns to the question of how flight safety investigators confront those challenges. Herein lies the heart of the narrative: an intimate ethnographical examination of the cognitive work involved in identifying, interpreting and operationalising ambiguous risks in a high-stakes environment. The complexity of the undertaking being explored here is reflected in the scope of this discussion. There are few easy answers on offer, only a wide-ranging exploration of practical theories and situated practices, each with its own ambiguities and limitations. This is as it should be. Nuanced organisational practices are not easily distilled into fridge magnets. The book is no less fascinating for this. Reading Macrae's lively account, it is difficult not to be impressed by the intricate conceptual frameworks, procedural tools and organisational structures that his investigators have developed to mine their 'impure seam' for its invaluable lessons. From rules that facilitate error-reporting in an arena that is sensitive to misconduct, to heuristics that help investigators interpret fleeting moments of deviance, he elegantly and eloquently illuminates the invisible infrastructures that experts use to capture moments of organisational risk and transform them into sources of resilience. Collectively, Macrae's collated insights constitute an important window into what it means to be working at the frontiers of organisational safety. And, as he makes clear, many have bearing far beyond the aviation sphere. From operating theatres to reactor control rooms, there are many safety-critical operational environments where close calls and near misses might be leveraged more effectively to similar ends. Through his work, safety scholars and risk managers of all types stand to learn from aviation's battle-hardened practices. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2017/05/21/close-calls-managing-risk-and-resilience-in-airline-flight-safety-book-review/ Back to Top SaudiGulf to negotiate Boeing long-haul jet order Middle Eastern carrier SaudiGulf Airlines is to enter talks with Boeing to acquire up to 16 long-haul aircraft. The Saudi Arabian airline currently operates a small all-Airbus A320 fleet. It also has orders for up to 26 Bombardier CSeries jets. But Boeing says it will "negotiate the sale" of up to 16 twin-aisle aircraft with the Dammam-based airline. Any deal with SaudiGulf is likely to include Boeing 787s or 777s, but Boeing has not specified any details on the composition of potential order. The airframer adds that the talks are part of a batch of commercial and defence agreements unveiled during US president Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, which began on 20 May. Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg says the agreements will "create or sustain thousands of jobs in our two countries". SaudiGulf has yet to comment publicly on the talks or detail its long-haul network strategy. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/saudigulf-to-negotiate-boeing-long-haul-jet-order-437447/ Back to Top China, Russia formalize Shanghai venture to build wide-body jet A model of a jet is pictured at the launching ceremony of China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation Limited (CRAIC), a joint venture between Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Russia's United Aircraft Corp (UAC), in Shanghai, China May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer China and Russia on Monday completed the formal registration of a joint venture to build a proposed wide-body jet, kickstarting the full-scale development of a program that aims to compete with market leaders Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA). State planemakers Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] and Russia's United Aircraft Corp (UAC) said at a ceremony in Shanghai the joint venture would aim to build a "competitive long range wide-body commercial aircraft". COMAC, which is increasingly looking to break the hold Boeing and Airbus have over the global commercial jet market, successfully completed the maiden flight of its home-grown C919 narrow-body passenger jet earlier this month. "The long-haul, wide-body passenger jet is a strategic project for China and Russia, followed closely by the two governments," said Guo Bozhi, general manager of COMAC's wide-body department. COMAC and UAC first announced the twin-aisle jet program in 2014 but the project has so far been slow to materialize. In November, the firms said they had set up a joint venture in Shanghai and unveiled a mock-up of the wide-body jet, based around a basic version that would seat 280 and have a range of up to 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles). UAC president Yuri Slyusar said the firms were aiming to complete the wide-body jet's maiden flight and first delivery between 2025-2028. He added the plane would look to take 10 percent of the market from the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350. Previously, the firms had been aiming for a maiden flight of the jet in 2022 and delivery from 2025 or later. While the target is tough, it is more realistic than recent aircraft programs that have sought results in 5-7 years and then come in late, industry analysts said. COMAC's first homegrown jet, the ARJ-21, obtained permission to enter domestic service more than 10 years behind its original schedule. Last July, Boeing forecast the world's airlines would need 9,100 wide-body planes over 20 years to 2035, with a wave of replacement demand to come between 2021-2028. China has plowed billions of dollars over the past decade into a domestic jet development program as it looks to raise its profile in the global aviation market and boost high-tech manufacturing at home. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-comac-russia-idUSKBN18I0KZ Back to Top Under New CEO, Cathay Cuts Jobs in Biggest Revamp in 20 Years * Carrier to eliminate 600 positions, including 190 managers * First step in the transformation of business, CEO Hogg says Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Asia's biggest international airline, will eliminate 600 jobs in Hong Kong as part of the biggest revamp in two decades following its first loss in eight years. The majority of affected employees will be informed Monday and over the next month, with most of the restructuring completed by the end of 2017, Cathay said in a statement Monday. No frontline employees, pilots or cabin crew will be affected, it said. Cathay, its affiliate airlines and businesses employed about 33,000 people as of June 2016. Despite booming demand for air travel in Asia, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines Ltd. are among premium carriers in the region reeling under intense competition from low-cost carriers, Chinese mainland rivals and Middle-Eastern operators such as Emirates. Singapore Air last week reported a surprise loss and announced a "wide-ranging review" of its business as well. "Everyone is becoming more and more cost conscious," said Andrew Lee, an analyst at Jefferies in Hong Kong. "To be able to survive, they need to control costs. I think it is a start," he said, referring to Cathay. Cathay will also restructure its cargo department by removing the role of cargo director. Shares of the Hong Kong-based carrier rose 2.3 percent to HK$11.58 on Monday. The stock has gained 14 percent this year, compared with a 13 percent advance in the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index. Cathay is in the midst of a three-year reorganization program after reporting its first annual loss in eight years for 2016, in part from a fuel-hedging bet gone wrong. "We've had to make tough but necessary decisions for the future of our business and our customers," Rupert Hogg, who became chief executive officer on May 1, said in the statement. "We will have a new structure that will make us leaner, faster and more responsive to our customers' needs. It is the first step in the transformation of our business." The job cuts will involve 190 managerial positions, representing 25 percent of management, Cathay said. It will eliminate an additional 200 jobs, mostly from junior ranks, the South China Morning Post reported Monday separately. "Job cuts is obviously the most effective measure in the short term but Cathay's problem is not coming from within, it's growing competition from outside, from full-service peers in the mainland and Middle-East to budget carriers," Yu Zhanfu, a Beijing-based principal at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "Cathay has been suffering decline in both yield and load factor. That's what Cathay needs to urgently address by sharpening their competitiveness externally." Cathay has said it is targeting savings of about 30 percent from staff cost cuts at its headquarters. An official at Air China Ltd., which owns 30 percent of Cathay, said in March that the carrier will reduce more than HK$4 billion ($514 million) in costs over three years. All employees whose roles will become redundant in the new structure will receive a severance package including up to 12 months' salary, extended medical benefits including counseling and support, and additional and extended travel benefits, Cathay said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-22/cathay-pacific-to-fire-600-workers-as-part-of-business-revamp Back to Top NASA Plans Emergency Spacewalk To Replace Key Computer On International Space Station The computer is one of two that control major U.S. systems aboard the orbiting outpost. A pair of astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station on Tuesday for an emergency spacewalk to replace a failed computer, one of two that control major U.S. systems aboard the orbiting outpost, NASA said on Sunday. The primary device failed on Saturday, leaving the $100 billion orbiting laboratory to depend on a backup system to route commands to its solar power system, radiators, cooling loops and other equipment. The station's current five-member crew from the United States, Russia and France were never in any danger, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement. The Expedition 51 crew was informed of the apparent failure of a data relay box and is not in any danger. https://go.nasa.gov/2qCV74m Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Jack Fischer, both with NASA, will partner for the spacewalk, which is expected to last two hours, the U.S. space agency said. Earlier on Sunday, Whitson assembled and tested a spare electronics box to replace the failed device, which had been installed during a spacewalk on March 30, said NASA spokesman Dan Huot. Station managers are go for Tuesday spacewalk with @AstroPeggy & @Astro2fish to change out failed data relay box. https://go.nasa.gov/2qaafD1 NASA's last emergency spacewalk took place in December 2015 when two U.S. astronauts left the station to release the brakes on a robot arm's mobile transporter. The ISS, which is staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts, serves as a research laboratory for biology, life science, materials science and physics experiments, as well as astronomical observations and Earth remote sensing. The station, owned and operated by 15 nations, flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth and orbits the planet about every 90 minutes. It has been continuously staffed since 2000. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/iss-computer-failure- spacewalk_us_5922759ce4b03b485cb27a80?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009 Back to Top Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Nominations Invited The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) are accepting nominations for the 2017 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. Presented since 1956, the honor recognizes notable achievement in method, design, invention, study or other improvement in aviation safety. The award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." www.ltbaward.com Nominations, which should include a one- to two-page narrative, can be submitted via the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation website. Nominations will be accepted through June 14. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-05-11/laura-taber-barbour-air-safety-award-nominations- invited Back to Top Research Survey - 1 Dear Participants, You are being requested to participate in a research study of your opinions on the implementation of controlled rest in position to combat fatigue. This study is expected to take approximately 8 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must be at least 18 years old and currently employed as a professional pilot. Participation in this study is voluntary, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. If you choose to opt out, your data will be destroyed. 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/1FAIpQLSdJLP5j2hu6WNBxMnrsWEFvJwc2Aqp1EHZXduM1dPwS5IezXQ/viewform?usp=sf_link For more information, please contact: Dr. Scott R. Winter scott.winter@mac.com We appreciate your interest and participation! Back to Top Research Survey - 2 Dear Participants, You are being requested to participate in a research study on risk. This study is expected to take approximately 5 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must be at least 18 years old and a pilot. Participation in this study is voluntary, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. If you choose to opt out before study completion, your data will be destroyed immediately. 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/1FAIpQLSeYQv1wQ7ti8p8uE6rjWsAsoTvRe23hvVCR4LSvJheUNMt72Q/viewform?usp=sf_link For more information, please contact: Dr. Stephen Rice Stephen.rice2@erau.edu We appreciate your interest and participation! Dr. Stephen Rice, Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Back to Top Graduate Research Survey - 3 I am a pilot who is working on my master's degree at Embry-Riddle. To complete it I need to finish my research project. If you are a FAA Part 121 air carrier pilot will you please take five minutes to complete this survey. It only has six questions and you will be helping a fellow pilot. The survey asks four very basic questions about fatigue and sleep. This survey has no relationship with any airline or with this group. I will not know who took it, it is completely anonymous. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FXRXFZ7 Thank You Kevin Kilpatrick Curt Lewis