Flight Safety Information May 30, 2017 - No. 108 Incident: Smartwings B738 near Kosice on May 29th 2017, loss of cabin pressure Accident: Canada Rouge A319 enroute on May 24th 2017, turbulence injures flight attendant Dornier Do-328JET-310 Fatal Landing Accident (Somalia) Cessna 441 Fatal Accident (Australia) Three dead after light plane crashes near Renmark Aerodrome in the Riverland (Australia) Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing at KCI after smell of gas Botswana Prioritises Aviation Safety Govt may speed up new aircraft purchases (India) Airline cockpit safety American Will Reopen Miami Envoy Pilot Base: Does It Signal Change In Pilot Shortage Crisis? Ryanair Puts Expansion Ahead of Profit With Boeing Jet Binge Boeing puts 737 up against small business jets for $6.9B defense contract Safeskies 2017 Conference Do you want to prevent an aircraft accident? Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Nominations Invited Research Survey - 1 Research Survey - 2 Incident: Smartwings B738 near Kosice on May 29th 2017, loss of cabin pressure A Smartwings Boeing 737-800 on behalf of Israir, registration OK-TSF performing flight 6H-734 from Warsaw (Poland) to Tel Aviv (Israel), was enroute at FL390 about 120nm northeast of Kosice (Slovakia) when the crew initiated an emergency descent due to the loss of cabin pressure, the passenger oxygen masks were deployed. The aircraft levelled off at FL100 and diverted to Kosice for a safe landing on runway 01 about 45 minutes after leaving FL390. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration OK-TVO positioned to Kosice and is estimated to reach Tel Aviv with a delay of about 6 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a9a3951&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Canada Rouge A319 enroute on May 24th 2017, turbulence injures flight attendant Air Canada Rouge Airbus A319-100, registration C-FZUG performing flight RV-1760 from Toronto,ON (Canada) to Holguin (Cuba) with 136 people on board, was enroute when the aircraft encountered an area of turbulence causing a trolley to injure a flight attendant. Other cabin crew administered first aid, the injured flight attendant was removed from duties. Medical advice was sought via radio and the flight continued to Holguin for a safe landing. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ROU1760/history/20170524/1955Z/CYYZ/MUHG http://avherald.com/h?article=4a9a20cb&opt=0 Back to Top Dornier Do-328JET-310 Fatal Landing Accident (Somalia) Date: 30-MAY-2017 Time: Type: Dornier Do-328JET-310 Owner/operator: Heidi Aviation Registration: N330BG C/n / msn: 3184 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Mogadishu-Aden Adde International Airport - Somalia Phase: Landing Nature: Departure airport: Entebbe Destination airport: Mogadishu-Aden Adde International Airport Narrative: A Dornier Do-328JET-310 suffered a landing accident at Mogadishu-Aden Adde International Airport in Somalia. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=195775 Back to Top Cessna 441 Fatal Accident (Australia) Date: 30-MAY-2017 Time: 16:30 Type: Cessna 441 Owner/operator: Rossair Charter Pty Ltd Registration: VH-XMJ C/n / msn: 4410113 Fatalities: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Renmark, SA - Australia Phase: En route Nature: Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: YREN Destination airport: Narrative: The aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances after taking off from Renmark Aerodrome. All three occupants were fatally injured on impact. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=195777 Back to Top Three dead after light plane crashes near Renmark Aerodrome in the Riverland (Australia) THREE people have been killed when their light aircraft crashed near the Renmark Aerodrome in the Riverland. An SA Police search party found the plane wreckage around 4km west of the Renmark Aerodrome at 7.10pm last night. All three people on board the Rossair charter plane, which was on a check and training flight, were killed in the crash. Chief executive officer Warren Puvanendran said he had stepped off a plane and was seeking more information about the incident. The company will be issuing a statement shortly. It is believed there was a pilot, an overseer pilot and another person on board during training exercises. A line of inquiry may be whether the crew were undertaking exercises during the takeoff, which could have included a simulated engine failure. These exercises are banned on larger aircraft as too dangerous and because pilots can use simulators, but they are still done on smaller aircraft where the engine is retarded but not turned off. A rescue helicopter landing at Renmark Aeredrome on Tuesday night. Picture: Murray Pioneer The plane is believed to have taken off from Renmark Aerodrome just after 4pm and the alarm was raised when the plane activated its emergency beacon about 4.30pm. An SA Police spokesman said a report was received just after 4.30pm by AusSAR (Australian Search and Rescue) of an emergency beacon activation aboard a Cessna Conquest. Police said the 10-seater aircraft took off about 4pm with three people on board, including the pilot. There was conflicting reports where the plane took off from, however it is believed it had landed in Renmark after travelling from Adelaide Airport and took to the sky again from Renmark on the training flight. Investigators from Major Crash were making their way to the scene to assist the Australian Transport Safely Bureau in the investigation into the crash. Around 20 SES members also aided in the search, and more volunteers were requested before the plane wreckage was discovered. The activity log of the plane it was reported to be, VH-XMJ, shows that it completed several flights earlier in the day. It first left Parafield Airport at 7.46am yesterday en route to Beverley uranium mine in the state's Far North. It then flew back from Beverley to Parafield at 9.13am. The plane then did another return trip from Parafield to Beverley, before making a five-minute flight from Parafield to Adelaide Airport. It left Adelaide Airport bound for Renmark at 3.24pm. The Renmark Aerodrome is unattended, without any air traffic controllers, and relies on pilots co-ordinating landing and takeoff between themselves. Premier Jay Weatherill said: "This is tragic news. I offer my heartfelt sympathies to the families of those who have died". South Australian Liberal Senator Anne Ruston, who was born in Renmark, tweeted her devastation at the news. "My warm, heartfelt feelings go out to the family and friends of those involved," he said. Air Services Australia which is responsible for Australia's airspace management including aviation communications is aware of the disaster. "We don't believe there was any contact with air traffic control," a spokeswoman said. "We are aware of the incident and at this stage local police and the Air Transport Safety Bureau are investigating." Adelaide-based Rossair, established in 1963, is Australia's second longest continually operating air charter company, after Qantas. Its fleet ranges from 10-seaters to 30-seat aircraft and it recently branched out into charter tourism services. In Adelaide, flights depart from a private flight lounge at Adelaide Airport where passengers walk straight to the tarmac. The company specialises in the oil, gas and mining industries. In November 2013, it merged with Air South, another South Australia based charter company. At that time Rossair's Belinda Lindh told The Advertiser a focus on safety, cost efficiency and the ability to deliver personnel to outback areas comfortably and efficiently had been the philosophy behind Rossair's success. "Rossair had always tended to focus on the 10 seater marker while Air South, with its larger 19 seat aircraft, had been more involved in regional fly in fly out operations with a larger number of personnel," she said at the time of the merger. "It made a lot of sense to bring the two businesses together formally to allow the group to be able to service both markets better." http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/plane-missing-in-riverland-after-activating-emergency-beacon-near- renmark-on-tuesday-afternoon/news-story/3497257d134465746943ca4632938103 Back to Top Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing at KCI after smell of gas KANSAS CITY, Mo. - More than 100 people are stuck at Kansas City International Airport after their flight made an emergency landing because of a smell of gas late Monday night. The Alaska Airlines flight was traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle when a gas odor was detected on board. The plane was grounded around 11 p.m. Monday. http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/alaska-airlines-flight-makes-emergency-landing-at-kci-after-smell-of-gas Back to Top Botswana Prioritises Aviation Safety Gaborone - Following aviation safety concerns raised by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Botswana rose to the occasion by developing a safe, secure, efficient and sustainable national air transport system through effective implementation of international safety and security standards. Speaking during the Fourth Africa-Indian Ocean (AFI) Aviation week, which attracted players in the aviation industry from across the globe, Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Kitso Mokaila said Botswana had made strides towards improving safety of its airlines and security. Mr Mokaila noted that in 2013, ICAO did an audit on Botswana under Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme and it had two significant safety concerns, which he said government hastened to implement in order to achieve ICAO safety standards and recommended practices. To achieve this, he said, government channelled financial resources during the last decade to invest in the expansion of the four international airports for construction of new terminal buildings, control towers and improvement of runways to accommodate larger aircraft. Other improvements, he said, included procurement and installation of the new navigational and communication equipment and capacitation of necessary human resource. The event, which was held under the theme, Strengthening Aviation as a Driver for Economic and Social Development in Africa, dealt with a spectrum of issues ranging from enhancement of aviation safety in Africa-Indian Ocean region, which the minister said demonstrated the importance that ICAO attached to the continent. Further, Minister Mokaila said government was committed to the delivery of Yamoussoukro Decision, which aimed at transforming Intra-Africa Air connectivity to accrue benefits to the continent. He said Botswana had signed a declaration to establish a single air transport market for Africa by 2017. "We have witnessed a yield of positive results in that airlines are beginning to operate direct and transit flights to Botswana," he said. Chairperson of Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana, Captain Mark Sampson noted that the African continent had in the past few years recognised the need for collaboration in order to strengthen economic potential, thus aviation would play a significant role in driving economies. He said according to InterVistas research, aviation supported 6.9 million jobs and more than US$80 billion in gross domestic product across Africa and collaboration would create more opportunities for significant growth and economic development. Thus, he said it was the duty of all African aviation experts to work extra hard in expediting the implementation of Yamoussoukro Decision because the slow pace at which it was progressing, denied Africa and its people of a free market. "The benefits have not been realised, this lack of implementation has denied potential five-million passengers a year the chance to travel between these African markets because countries continue to impose restrictions on establishing air routes," he noted. http://allafrica.com/stories/201705290287.html Back to Top Govt may speed up new aircraft purchases (India) Gandhinagar: The state government's 10-year-old helicopter, carrying CM Vijay Rupani, had to make an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport on Saturday. Coming back to back of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's crash landing in Latur last week, Rupani's incident has alarmed the state government, and reportedly, though wary about political criticism, it is trying to expedite replacement of aged aircraft. "The present helicopter doesn't meet the new specifications required by the Union government," said civil aviation officials. When asked about the situation, Babubhai Bokhiria, state civil aviation minister, said, "It is true that the CM had to make an emergency landing. However, we are taking advice from the technical expert." "We have already taken in-principle decision to buy new aircraft and helicopter that meet all safety specifications. Primary budget allocation has also been made, and we may expedite the process after technical scrutiny," said Bokhiria. This is the second incident within four months when the state government's helicopter malfunctioned. On Republic Day, the helicopter had failed to take off from Anand forcing the CM and the governor to return to Gandhinagar by road. After that, the helicopter had remained unavailable for a month as repairs were being made. Government officials say the process of procuring new aircraft is a policy decision and it was being delayed until now to avoid political criticism in an election year. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/govt-may-speed-up-new-aircraft-purchases/articleshow/58901289.cms Back to Top Airline cockpit safety This is reference to the video of a Chinese female passenger entering cockpit of PIA B777 during flight PK853 flight from Toyko to Beijing after which PIA spokesman stated that the pilot has discretion to allow passengers into cockpit during flight. Why do such incidences of gross indiscipline not occur on private Pakistani registered airlines or on Emirates, Etihad etc? The answer is zero tolerance for indiscipline and following ICAO rules, airline policy and active oversight by local civil aviation regulatory body. Since January this year, three such incidences have occurred on PIA flights ranging from illegal criminal offence of carrying extra passengers on Karachi to Medina flight to an irresponsible captain choosing to leave the aircraft in control of under-check co-pilot while he slept in Business Class for over two and half hours. What if an emergency were to occur when the Captain was dozing off? This incidence where a lady passenger sat in the cockpit on an international flight just adds to the aforementioned. In all these incidences, the pilots involved have a history of indiscipline which has gone unchecked because of their political clout and nepotism in recruitment. PIA's has gone from its days of glory under Rafique Saigol and Nur Khan to its present dismal state since 2007. Since then semi-literate political cronies, with personal files full of gross irregularities that should have resulted in their sacking, have been appointed as MD and CEO with astronomical rise in losses and pilferage. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, FAA has imposed stringent restrictions on airlines making it mandatory to install expensive armoured doors in cockpits to prevent any intrusion and withstand small explosions. Individual airlines have a policy allowing off-duty crew, non-revenue staff, serving and retired licensed airline employees familiar with emergency procedures possessing security clearance, into the cockpit. Few airlines give captains the discretion to allow curious passengers to view cockpit on ground but never in the air. FAA and ICAO require cockpit door to be locked throughout flight with access to cabin crew who has to put a code on digital lock with a specific password on intercom after which pilot will allow entry. It is time for CAA to wake up and take note of PIA which faced sanctions for safety violations in 2007 and presently downgraded, by subjecting it to random inspections. ANEELA CHANDIO, Sukkur, May 10. http://nation.com.pk/letters/30-May-2017/airline-cockpit-safety Back to Top American Will Reopen Miami Envoy Pilot Base: Does It Signal Change In Pilot Shortage Crisis? American Eagle E-175American Airlines In a striking indication of changing economics for regional airlines and their pilots, American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air says it will re-open a Miami pilot crew base in September after closing it a year and a half earlier. The re-opening is being cheered by both American and by the Envoy chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association. "This is extremely good news for our pilots who live or have families in the Miami-Dade area and who have been community to other bases," said Ric Wilson, Envoy vice president for flight operations, in the notice, posted last week, that announced the re- opening. "Regaining Miami has been a high priority," wrote Sam Pool, Envoy's ALPA chairman, in a letter to members. "We never lost faith. For those of you who are finally going home, congratulations." In an interview, Pool added, "Miami never should have been closed in the first place. The company scared away pilots with downward economic pressure at exactly the same time that the industry found that enhancing pilot economics was the correct path." The Miami base closed early in 2015, soon after pilots signed a concessionary contract. In the aftermath, Pool said, Miami-based pilots scattered to Dallas, Chicago and New York LaGuardia. Then the LaGuardia base closed and its pilots also went to Dallas and Chicago. In 2016, Pool said, two rounds of negotiations led to higher pay for Envoy pilots and may have marked a turning point in the crisis involving the national pilot shortage. The shortage continues, but now a first-year Envoy pilot can earn $55,000 to $60,000 annually, more than double the previous first-year pay and enough to lure people into the pilot profession. The contract also provides a path to a job at the mainline carrier. Envoy is one of a half-dozen regional airlines flying for American. Three - Envoy, Piedmont and PSA - are owned by American. Before a 2013 merger between American and US Airways, Envoy was called American Eagle. After the merger, American took the name American Eagle as the brand for all its regional operators, both those it owns and those that fly under contract. In the same way, Delta regionals fly as Delta Connection and United regionals fly as United Express. When the Miami pilot base reopens, it will initially house 40 captains and 40 first officers, said Eagle spokeswoman Nancy Kalin. Eagle will simultaneously open a Miami flight attendant base, housing approximately 50 flight attendants, she said. Envoy also employs about 900 customer service and maintenance employees in Miami, where it operates about 30 daily departures. In Miami, "Beginning with the summer schedule, Envoy's daily flights will increase slightly to support the busy travel season," Kalin said. "The addition of a crew base in American's Miami hub will position us for growth, but American makes the decision on where - and with which operator - it places its regional flying." Envoy has about 2,000 pilots. Pool said the number declined from about 3,200 in 2013 to about 1,500, then began to rebound after the new contract was implemented. "People keep talking about a pilot shortage," Pool said. "Right now, this group is proving, it's not a pilot shortage. It's a pilot pay shortage." https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2017/05/25/american-will-reopen-miami-envoy-pilot-base-does-it-signal-change-in-pilot- shortage-crisis/#2e80659a6329 Back to Top Ryanair Puts Expansion Ahead of Profit With Boeing Jet Binge Growth will pivot away from the U.K. amid Brexit concerns 'There's a huge amount of opportunities' across Europe Ryanair's CFO Says Traffic Is Up Strongly Ryanair Holdings Plc plans to add even more planes to Europe's increasingly crowded skies as the budget carrier bets it can win a fare war with struggling rivals, even if that means slower profit growth. Europe's biggest budget airline plans to add at least 47 Boeing Co. 737 planes to its fleet by March 2018, a 12 percent expansion. That compares with the Dublin-based company's forecast for 8 percent growth in net income. Ryanair's plans were accelerated as it extended leases on 10 jets through 2019. The airline's also in talks with Boeing to add two or three more aircraft to its existing delivery schedule. "There's a huge amount of opportunities out there across Europe as we grow and one of the limiting factors continues to be deliveries of the aircraft," Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said in a phone interview. "We've said to Boeing, if they see gaps in their schedule and have additional aircraft, we'll take them." The focus is on growth in markets like Italy, Germany and Poland, where airlines including Air Berlin Plc and Alitalia SpA are restructuring amid steep losses. By adding to its network of long-haul partners, Ryanair is also seeking to take advantage as traditional competitors scramble to lower costs and maintain services, pressure that appeared to contribute to British Airways' meltdown over the weekend. Ryanair shares rose 1.2 percent to 17.97 euros at 10:30 a.m. in Dublin, taking its gain over the last 12 months to 28 percent. Brexit Pivot The expansion push comes despite doubts about whether the U.K. will remain in Europe's open skies agreement. That could cause "significant disruption" of flights between the two regions for months after Brexit takes effect in March 2019, the company said. "In the absence of such certainty, or direction, we will continue to pivot our growth away from the U.K.," Ryanair said. The no-frills airline is prepared to cut ticket prices to fill its expanded fleet, forecasting that fares will fall as much as 7 percent this fiscal year after dropping 13 percent in the 12 months through March. The slump, spurred by surplus capacity as European carriers looked to benefit from cheaper fuel costs, was expected to ease this year with the likes of EasyJet Plc and eastern European discounter Wizz Air Holdings Plc forecasting rosier pricing outlooks. Rising demand in the past year helped push Ryanair's fiscal 2017 net income up 6.5 percent to 1.32 billion euros ($1.47 billion) as passengers increased 13 percent to 120 million. The company is forecasting 2018 earnings to increase to between 1.4 billion euros and 1.45 billion euros. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-30/ryanair-earnings-gain-6-with-carrier-to-order-more-boeing-jets Back to Top Boeing puts 737 up against small business jets for $6.9B defense contract A conceptual rendering of the aircraft proposed by Lockheed Martin for the Pentagon's JSTARS aircraft, based on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet. (Lockheed Martin) Boeing is pitching to the Pentagon a 737-based replacement for the 17-aircraft fleet of JSTARS jets, used for surveillance of ground forces in a combat zone and to target enemy positions. The rivals are two high-end business jets. The contract may lead to further lucrative work. For a vital aircraft that will fly above distant battlefields, the Air Force will choose between Goliath and two Davids. One is a jet originally designed to carry around 135 passengers, the two others built to carry fewer than 20 people. With a $6.9 billion deal on the line, a militarized version of Boeing's Renton-built 737 jet is going up against the Gulfstream G550 and the Bombardier Global 6000 high-end business jets for a special-mission contract to be awarded as early as this fall. The 17 JSTARS jets at issue will be stuffed with high-tech military radar and computer-analysis equipment. The planes are heavily used in combat zones for surveillance of ground forces and to target enemy positions. The current JSTARS fleet is now active in strikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Boeing hopes a JSTARS win could incline the Air Force to choose the 737 to replace more than 100 different types of special- mission aircraft in its inventory - contracts that are lucrative far beyond the mere number of 737s involved. But the competition from Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream and Canada's Bombardier is formidable. For special missions, air forces around the world are increasingly selecting business jets that fly higher, faster and further than airliners. The U.S. Air Force initially chose the Gulfstream for a separate electronic-jamming plane code-named Compass Call, although Boeing this month formally challenged that process. Fred Smith, director of global sales and marketing at Boeing Military Aircraft, dismisses the business jets as "a great solution for countries with smaller air forces and navies." As for the U.S., he said, "for a bigger mission, you need a bigger airplane." In a conference room inside Boeing's former Space Center in Kent, now a hive of different defense programs, a reporter donned a virtual-reality visor to take a look at a virtual mock-up of the jet maker's 737 JSTARS contender. JSTARS stands for Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. It's a joint Air Force and Army system, revolving around a massive, long-range radar that monitors what's happening on the ground in a battle zone. The virtual mock-up shows the radar hidden in a canoe-shaped bump about 20 feet long under the jet's fuselage. Inside the virtual airplane, operators seated at 10 stations toward the rear of the aircraft monitored large computer screens, analyzing the radar data and communicating with U.S. forces. Aft of the stations, large metal cabinets housed the computer servers and other equipment. Forward of them was a robust printer and a "mission table," with a tabletop computer display screen of the battle zone. At the front of the cabin, immediately behind the flight deck, was a crew rest area for long-endurance missions and extra seats. Then Smith showed off a Boeing marketing trick, designed to impress upon the Air Force why size matters. With a click of a button, an arc of light sliced through the virtual cabin, superimposing upon Boeing's mock-up another cabin wall that cut off half the computer stations. "That's the G550 fuselage," Smith said. Highflying G550 The Gulfstream jet is proposed by a team led by defense firm Northrop Grumman and L3 Technologies, a leading integrator of military electronics. L3 is the lead system integrator role on the Compass Call contract and is set to choose the aircraft for that program - Boeing's protest of the contracting process centers on L3's close collaboration with Gulfstream. L3 integrated the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission systems on G550s sold to Australia, Israel and Singapore and for other special-mission models sold to Japan and Germany. Northrop is the prime contractor on the current JSTARS fleet. First deployed in combat during the first Iraq war in 1991, those jets are all converted 707 airliners - now with an average age of 48 years and ripe for replacement with something more efficient. Alan Metzger, Northrop's vice president for surveillance and targeting systems, said in an interview that though the Air Force needed a 707-sized jet to house all the equipment when the original JSTARS contract was awarded in 1985, a smaller business jet is appropriate today because the technology has all been miniaturized. "I don't understand why you need a 135-passenger aircraft to carry around 10 Air Force operators," Metzger said. Northrop bought a G550 and outfitted it with the current JSTARS mission equipment to demonstrate not only that the jet was big enough and met all requirements but that it had sufficient margin for any anticipated future growth. The key advantage of the business-jet solution is performance, he said. The G550 will fly hundreds of miles farther than a 737 and burn less fuel. It's so much lighter it can take off from a shorter runway, giving it access to almost twice as many bases around the world, Metzger said. And the G550's standard flight ceiling is 51,000 feet, compared with 41,000 feet for the 737. That matters when you are beaming radar down into a mountainous region such as, say, Afghanistan. At lower altitudes, a mountain peak up ahead may be in the way. As the plane flies higher, it has a direct line of sight into more of the landscape below. "You'll see less if you have to look through rock, instead of over it," Metzger said. Global 6000 foreign sales The third JSTARS contender, offering the Bombardier business jet as the platform, is a team led by defense giant Lockheed Martin, partnered with electronics and mission-systems integrator Raytheon. Raytheon is separately bidding against Northrop to provide the high-tech radar equipment on the JSTARS plane and all three contenders are ready to offer whichever radar system wins. The Bombardier Global 6000 is larger than the G550, both longer and with a wider cabin, yet still about half the weight of the smallest 737. The U.S. Air Force uses a Global 6000 for its E-11 special-mission jet, which is an airborne node for relaying battlefield communications. And the Bombardier jet too has won a series of foreign military orders, said Stephane Villeneuve, Bombardier's vice president of specialized aircraft. It's the platform for the U.K.'s Sentinel reconnaissance fleet, AWACS aircraft for the United Arab Emirates, intelligence-gathering aircraft for India and maritime-patrol aircraft for Israel. "In the international market, people are going to a business jet for all the missions we are describing here," Villeneuve said. 737 cost effectiveness That trend threatens Boeing's hope of extending its line of modified commercial jets for the military by replacing all the U.S. Air Force special-mission aircraft with 737-based models. Most of the existing planes are aging 707-based platforms, with a variety of missions and each with its own strangely opaque code name, including: * Cobra Ball, a fleet of three aircraft that collect data on ballistic-missile launches. * Rivet Joint, a 17-strong fleet of aircraft that gather and analyze military-electronic signals. * Constant Phoenix, a two-aircraft fleet that collects atmospheric data from nuclear tests. The Gulfstream and Bombardier jets each cost just over $60 million at list prices, some $20 million cheaper than the Boeing 737 model on offer. And they do burn a lot less fuel than the big jet. Nevertheless, one of Boeing's major arguments is that the Air Force will save money on a fleet of 737s because maintenance and operational costs are so much lower. There are more than 9,000 of its 737s in service around the world, Boeing argues, with spare parts available anywhere in the world within 24 hours and with a tremendous reliability record that minimizes downtime. Smith compares the Air Force's options to someone looking to repair a Ford truck rather than a fancy sports car. "There's a maintenance shop on every corner," he said. "It's extremely cost competitive." He cited U.S. Defense Department data showing that when maintenance costs are included, the total operational cost of a 737 used to ferry around top military brass is about half that of a G550-based Air Force jet used for the same purpose. Rod Meranda, Boeing's sales and marketing lead for the JSTARS program, contends that the Air Force also takes on less risk if it goes with Boeing. For example, he said, neither the G550 nor the Global 6000 has ever been fitted with an in-flight refueling capability - a JSTARS requirement. "There's a lot of risk taking a small airplane, cutting a hole in it and putting in in-flight refueling," said Meranda. "How much will it take to test that, something that's never been done before?" Boeing by contrast has already installed in-flight refueling on its 737-based fleet of P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine jets. The Air Force plans to weigh the cost, risk and performance of the three proposals on offer and choose the JSTARS replacement by year end. If Boeing were to win, the necessary military modifications to the airframe would likely be done during final assembly on the Renton production line - perhaps even on the same dedicated military line now churning out the P-8s. Where Boeing would then install the mission equipment, the radar and all the computers, is unclear. Still, for Renton, a Boeing JSTARS win would be significant and worth more than just 17 airplanes. It would indicate a high likelihood of further special-mission aircraft contracts later. First though, Goliath has to beat the Davids. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-puts-737-up-against-small-business-jets-for-69b-defense- contract/ Back to Top Safeskies 2017 Conference The thirteenth biennial Safeskies aviation safety conference, Safeskies 2017, will be held from October 3 to 5, at the National Convention Centre, Canberra, Australia. Visit www.SafeskiesAustralia.org for details of program and registration. Back to Top Do you want to prevent an aircraft accident? There is a mobile app for everything these days, so why not for preventing an aircraft accident? The Erring Human® presents PFRAT - The Mobile App to Prevent Aircraft Accidents An analysis of most human error accidents shows that they were avoidable if only the risks involved had been adequately evaluated. Most humans understand individual risks, but very few are able to understand the cumulative effect when several risk factors are present simultaneously. While there are several Risk Assessment tools available, they are all based on MS Excel or similar applications and require a computer to complete them. However, there are very few pilots and aviation sector workers, who can use their computers in the field, on airport platforms or heliports, especially in general aviation, airport operations and helicopter operations. Even if they have a laptop, they are often limited by space, Internet connectivity or other such limitations. The Erring Human® now presents an innovative solution: This application, called PFRAT (Personal Flight Risk Assessment Tool) will allow any aviation worker to carry out a risk assessment (RA), without an internet connection, on their mobile phone, in less than 10 minutes, and receive an evaluation of how the cumulative effect of risk factors is likely to impact the flight. The RA will be saved locally and emailed to the registered user when the device connects to a Wi-Fi network or other mobile network. The fixed wing risk assessment used in this application is as recommended by the FAA in AC 120-92 and InFO 07015. For helicopters, RA is as recommended by the Helicopter Association International (HAI). Each RA has 34 questions in 5 categories. The application has additional features to publish the RA in the social network, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google Plus and also send a copy by email to other company officials, such as Director of Operations, etc. This is a fully user customizable app. The users have the option to hide any, or all, of the pre-loaded questions and to replace them with their own questions specific to their type of operation or company hazard/risk register. Even the trigger values at which the users are displayed a Green, Amber or Red light, and the messages associated with it, can be user customized. After all, ICAO defines safety as '... a continuous process of Hazard Identification and Risk Mitigation'. I hope that you will try this app and also leave us a review and rating on the Play/App store. Best Regards, Captain Samir (Sam) Kohli CEO The Erring Human® 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 Curt Lewis