Flight Safety Information September 12, 2017 - No. 182 In This Issue Incident: Sun Express Deutschland B738 near Toulouse on Sep 11th 2017, cargo smoke indication EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Saudia B772 at Madinah and Karachi on Sep 9th 2017, sauna in flight Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 at Munich on Sep 11th 2017, strange smell in cockpit Incident: Kabo B744 at Tehran on Sep 11th 2017, temporary runway excursion after landing Nepal working on independent aircraft accident investigation body Did the Military Crash a Mystery Plane in the Nevada Desert? Could be Time to Overhaul Air Safety System that Depends on a Strip of Paper Air India union opposes DGCA's mandatory alcohol test warning 'Pilot errors account for 80% of Nigeria's air accidents' FAA Proposes $231,350 Civil Penalty Against Burgess Aircraft Management, LLC Remaining MRJs cleared to resume flight tests FAA ADS-B Rebate Window Closing Star Navigation Systems Announces Order for STAR-A.D.S.® SYSTEMS Commercial Drone Pilots Can Now Get Customized Weather Forecasts Goyal says Etihad has no plans to exit Jet now Malaysia Airlines to sign $1.8 billion Boeing jets deal during Najib's U.S. trip China catching up on fighter and commercial jet engines Detecting damage in aircraft Nevada aerospace firm hiring 200 airplane mechanics for new Colorado Springs hangar 83-Year-Old Billionaire Wants to Put His Airline Back in the Black (Philippine Airlines) Sierra Nevada Takes Steps Toward Orbital Space Plane Flight NTSB Forum: Runway Incursion Safety Issues, Prevention, and Mitigation NTSB Highlights Fuel-management Issues in Accidents Incident: Sun Express Deutschland B738 near Toulouse on Sep 11th 2017, cargo smoke indication A Sun Express Deutschland Boeing 737-800, registration D-ASXB performing flight XG-2830 from Fuerteventura,CI (Spain) to Dusseldorf (Germany) with 192 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 50nm westsouthwest of Toulouse (France) when the crew reported an aft cargo smoke indication and decided to divert to Toulouse. Soon after the crew reported the cargo smoke indication had ceased, nonetheless, they continued diversion to Toulouse and would stop on the runway needing stairs at the runway to deplane the passengers. ATC advised other departing and arriving aircraft to expect a delay of 50 minutes or more due to the emergency, all departures and landings on both runways were stopped. During the descent towards Toulouse the smoke indication activated and ceased again, the crew requested stairs at the aircraft as well as ground power unit and a tow truck to pull the aircraft off the runway. The aircraft landed safely on Toulouse's runway 32L and stopped on the runway, the crew advised the left hand engine was kept running at idle power, emergency services advised that there was no smoke visible and the cargo doors were not hot, the captain instructed emergency services to not open the cargo doors before all passengers had left the aircraft. No stairs, no ground power unit and no tow truck were available about 45 minutes after landing, about 60 minutes after landing GPU and stairs arrived. The left engine was shut down, the passengers disembarked via the stairs onto the runway and were bussed to the terminal. Emergency services subsequently checked the aft cargo hold, then the forward cargo hold but found no trace of fire, heat or smoke. Runway 32R re-opened about 95 minutes after landing, http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae37fd6&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Saudia B772 at Madinah and Karachi on Sep 9th 2017, sauna in flight A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration HZ-AKV performing flight SV-706 from Madinah (Saudi Arabia) to Karachi (Pakistan) carrying pilgrims returning from the Hajj, departed Madinah with a delay of about 3 hours, climbed to FL370 enroute and landed in Karachi with a delay of about 2.5 hours. No medical assistance was needed in Karachi. Passengers reported they had boarded the flight already when the flight was delayed for about 3 hours with the air conditioning was not working. Flight attendants claimed the air conditioning would start working right after takeoff, however, the cabin didn't cool down after departure causing a number of passengers to feel unwell (one passenger claimed 6 fellow passengers fainted). Passenger videos posted on Facebook, see here and here, show passengers and cabin crew ventilating air onto passengers not feeling well using aircraft safety cards. The occurrence aircraft departed for the return flight SV-709 to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) after about 3 hours on the ground. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae37ab8&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 at Munich on Sep 11th 2017, strange smell in cockpit A Lufthansa Cityline Canadair CRJ-900, registration D-ACNJ performing flight LH-2316 from Munich (Germany) to Luxembourg (Luxembourg), was climbing out of Munich's runway 26R when the crew reported a strange smell in the cockpit, not the typical oil smell, they weren't able to identify the smell. The crew stopped the climb at FL080 and returned to Munich for a safe landing on runway 26L about 15 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae376dd&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Kabo B744 at Tehran on Sep 11th 2017, temporary runway excursion after landing A Kabo Air (Nigeria) Boeing 747-400 on behalf of Iran Air, registration 5N-MDK performing Hajj flight N9-1567/IR-1567 from Madinah (Saudi Arabia) to Tehran Imam Khomeini (Iran), landed on Tehran's runway 29R at about 02:57L (22:27Z Sep 10th) but temporarily veered left off the runway and returned to the center line of the runway. The aircraft taxied to the apron. Iranian Media report quoting officials that the aircraft was attempting to turn off the runway but went off the runway damaging the runway and blowing sand and rocks onto the runway with the engines operating at high power while returning onto the runway. The runway needed to be closed for repairs and cleaning of the runway. Radar data suggest the aircraft missed turn off E and turned about 100 meters past the taxiway exiting the runway edge. The aircraft returned onto the runway and subsequently taxied to the end of the runway, turned off and taxied back to the apron via runway 11R. Sources in Iran claim visibility of the taxiway may have been impaired due to sand and a structure about 100 meters past the taxiway may have looked like the taxiway. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Tehran about 23 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae36f7a&opt=0 Back to Top Nepal working on independent aircraft accident investigation body A committee formed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Nepal recently submitted a report suggesting appropriate organizational, financial and administrative modalities, necessary for setting up an independent aircraft accident investigation organisation. Currently, investigations into aircraft accidents in Nepal are carried out as per the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accident) Regulation 2014. The usual practice is to form an ad hoc investigation committee. ICAO Annex 13 however requires states to establish an independent organization to conduct investigations into aircraft accidents and incidents. After a 2016 audit under ICAO's Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP), it was established that Nepal's level of Effective Implementation of ICAO's accident investigation related Standards and Recommended Practices, associated procedures, guidance material, and best safety practices was 20,4%. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2017/09/09/nepal-working-independent-aircraft-accident- investigation-body/ Back to Top Did the Military Crash a Mystery Plane in the Nevada Desert? The U.S. Air Force has refused to reveal the aircraft involved in a crash last week that claimed the life of the pilot. The incident, which took place at a training facility in Nevada, has sparked speculation that some kind of previously unknown aircraft was involved. The incident took place on Tuesday, September 5. Unusually, the Air Force waited three days to make the crash public. Consider two other crashes the service reported last week, one involving two A-10 Thunderbolt fighters and the other an Iraqi Air Force officer flying a F-16. In both cases the incident was reported the next day. The more cryptic accident took place on the Nevada Test and Training Range, about 100 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base. The NTTR bills itself as the "the largest contiguous air and ground space available for peacetime military operations in the free world", with 2.9 million acres of land and 12,000 square miles of airspace to test equipment and train U.S. military forces. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Eric Schultz, 44, died from injuries sustained in the crash. Schultz, who had been denied entry into the pilot training program three times due to poor eyesight, went into academia, where he earned six degrees including a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Caltech and a MBA from Penn State. Later, he was a senior scientist and business development manager at engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, and a rotary wing test engineer at the Naval Air Warfare Center. After receiving corrective eye surgery, Schultz immediately joined the Air Force and became a fighter pilot. He had more than 2,000 flight hours in a variety of aircraft, including the F-15E Strike Eagle (which he flew on 50 close air support missions over Afghanistan) and Canadian CF-18 Hornet. Schultz was the 28th pilot to fly the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. His crash has led aviation watchers to ask: What aircraft was Schultz-a brilliant aerospace engineer and accomplished pilot-flying when his aircraft went down over Nevada? According to the Air Force, he was flying a training flight with an aircraft assigned to Air Force Material Command. According to Military.com, the Air Force has stated, "information about the type of aircraft involved is classified and not releasable." Asked this weekend about the crash, Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein said, "I can definitely say it was not an F-35." There are three prevailing theories. The first is that the plane was a F-117A stealth fighter. The F- 117A was retired in 2008, with aircraft placed in storage at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. In 2014, it emerged that some of the planes were still flying. The stealth fighters are thought to be used as flying test beds for new technologies that could make their way into future aircraft. We've been told, however, that the planes are flown only by Lockheed Martin pilots-a fact that, if true, rules out the F-117A. A second theory is that the crash involved a foreign aircraft, one of the many Soviet-made Sukhoi and MiG fighters the Air Force has accumulated over the years through trades, defections, and other typically under-the-table means. During the 1980s, the U.S. Air Force's 4477th Test & Evaluation Squadron was responsible for this top-secret stable of aircraft under a classified program known as Constant Peg. The program was finally acknowledged in 2006. The 4477th squadron was disbanded in 1990, but the Detachment 3 of the 53rd Test Evaluation Group is believed to carry on the mission of evaluating foreign aircraft. There have been repeated sightings of Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" fighters over Nevada, with the latest sighting in January. Although the Su-27 is an older airplane, it is still similar to its descendants the Shenyang J-11, Su- 30, and Su-35 "Flanker-E". It's also possible that the Air Force may have access to aircraft such as the Su-30, which was sold to countries such as including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, many of which are friendly to the U.S. The Air Force would love to get its hands on more modern Russian fighters, as the rise in air-to-air incidents between U.S. and Russian aircraft in the Baltics and over Syria makes learning about them a priority. The third theory is there is a new, previously undisclosed "black" jet out there flying over Nevada. Highly classified and developed and built in total secrecy, the aircraft fills some valuable niche in the taxonomy of warplanes. The SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft and the F-117A stealth fighter are two examples of such aircraft. Both flew for years before being declassified. A mysterious crash outside Bakersfield, California in 1986 stirred up widespread speculation in the existence of a top-secret stealth fighter, which was finally revealed by the Air Force in 1988. If the black jet exists, what is it? It could be one of the mysterious, triangle-shaped aircraft allegedly spotted over Texas in 2014. The aircraft, which appeared similar to the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber, were declared B-2As by the Pentagon. Still, there were enough apparent differences between the B- 2A and the Texas aircraft for many to doubt the official explanation. If it was a new plane, it could be a high-altitude precision strike aircraft. Air Force watchers were surprised by the F-117A's retirement in 2008, believing that the aircraft still had years left in them and that retiring them would leave a hole in the service's strike capability. That is, unless there was another, better plane waiting to take the F-117A's place. Could that be the aircraft spotted over Texas in 2014? Does any of this have to do with last week's crash in Nevada? For now it's all speculation. It could be a long time before we find out the classified details behind last week's crash and the actual truth of the matter could turn out to be more mundane than any of the three theories. All we know is that the crash occurred and that a brilliant pilot lost his life in secret service to his country, and that should be enough for some real reflection. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/did-military-crash-mystery-plane-185803443.html Back to Top Could be Time to Overhaul Air Safety System that Depends on a Strip of Paper Sept. 11--If you've ever sat in a plane on a runway wondering why it isn't flying, an 8-inch by 1-inch strip of paper could be partly to blame. The flight progress strip, which is handed from one controller to another to transfer responsibility for a flight, is just one example of outdated technology being used in the nation's air traffic control system, say the people who are trying to privatize that system. They say outdated technology is hindering progress at airports such as Gulfport-Biloxi International because it is causing a shortage of pilots at smaller airports. "Regional airlines are getting squeezed two ways, right now, and the squeeze is growing," said James H. Burnley IV, Transportation Secretary in the Reagan administration. "They're getting squeezed because the majors need more pilots just to fly the same number of flights, never mind growth, and the pipeline that supplies pilots is drying up because the training requirements are so great. So Gulfport, over time, what that means is you're likely to have fewer (smaller regional aircraft) coming in, not because the demand is not there but because the number of pilots is so restricted for the regional airline." The reason the big airlines need more pilots circles back to that narrow slip of paper and the outdated technology it represents, Burnley said. And that technology is slowing air traffic down. "We've got an incredibly safe air traffic control system but it is antiquated," he said. "The way we keep it incredibly safe is our system is slowing down. "If you look at the block times, the scheduled times by the airlines between any two cities of any consequence in this country, what you'll find is over the last 20 years, they have had to add 15 to 20 percent more time." An MIT study, he said, estimated that extra time added up to 33 million minutes over the last 10 years. And, because of limits on the amount of time each pilot can fly each month, that required big airlines to have 1,000 more pilots just to fly the same number of routes. "So where do the major airlines get those pilots?" he asked. From the regional airlines, who then struggle to replace them under the stricter training requirements passed three or four years ago. And how would privatization help? He said it would free air traffic control from procurement and personnel red tape, get it out of "the annual budget frolics" and allow it to go straight to the bond market and do long-range capital planning for projects such as the technology upgrade. Now, Burnley said, the plan to eliminate the paper strips would take 10 years. He thinks a nonprofit corporation running air traffic control would be more nimble. Canada adopted a similar system in 1997. It uses GPS and other state-of-the-art technology, not World War II era radar and paper strips. And it has reduced charges to airlines. There is a bill in Congress that would add the U.S. to a growing list of countries that have privatized air traffic control. Sounds like a dream Republican plan: Flipping a government agency to the private sector and freeing it into the wilds of the free market. Except. Even though it has President Donald Trump behind it, none of Mississippi's three Republican representatives has committed to voting for the bill next week. So, Burnley and GOP operative/lobbyist Austin Barbour made a whirlwind tour of Mississippi media Friday to try to exert some pressure. They haven't been able to meet 4th Congressional District Rep. Steven Palazzo in person and his staff told them he's still studying the proposal. He hasn't responded to an email from the Sun Herald either. They don't have commitments from Gregg Harper, R-3, and Trent Kelly, R-1. They haven't even tried Democrat Bennie Thompson of the 2nd District. There has been opposition all along. The Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Thad Cochran, R-Miss., rejected the proposal earlier this year. That could be overcome when the House and Senate hammer out differences in spending bills. Then there is Hurricane Irma, which could shake up the House calendar and delay the vote anyway. "I hope your Congressman Palazzo will look at the facts and what the status quo will mean over time," Burnley said. "The air traffic controllers union supports it, the biggest pilots and flight attendants unions support it because they know what's at stake." http://www.aviationpros.com/news/12366745/could-be-time-to-overhaul-air-safety-system-that- depends-on-a-strip-of-paper Back to Top Air India union opposes DGCA's mandatory alcohol test warning Why the aviation regulator has not conducted any audit for the past two years, asks Indian Commercial Pilots' Association. An Air India pilot union has expressed apprehension over the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s reported warning to pilots for not complying with post-flight breath analysis test on international flights. "We have come to know that DGCA is contemplating suspending licences of 132 pilots and 400 cabin crew...Kindly enlighten us as to why DGCA official in charge of Air Safety did not conduct any audit for the past two years," Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) General Secretary Captain T. Praveen Keerthi said in a letter to DGCA chief B.S.Bhullar on Monday. The DGCA had taken post-flight breath analysis data on two flight sectors - Kuwait-Goa-Chennai and Dubai-Goa-Bengaluru. The regulator found that pilots and cabin crew failed to undergo post-flight breath analysis test at Goa - the first arrival point in India. However, the post-flight breath analysis test conducted at the final destination, in this case Chennai and Bengaluru airport, showed that pilots were fully compliant. Air India said in a statement last week that it was fully complying with all directives issue by the DGCA and the management had misinterpreted the DGCA rules. "DGCA rules indicated that all schedule flights originating from destinations outside India, post flight breath analysis examination of each flight and cabin crew is to be carried out on reaching India," an Air India spokesperson said. 'Rules misinterpreted' "This has been interpreted by the airline management as requirement to carry out post-flight medical after completion of their flight which gets over at the final destination," he added. ICPA said that Air India management didn't provide medical facility at transit stations as the DGCA rules was misinterpreted "putting the onus between the management of Air India and DGCA and not on the pilots or crew members." The pilot union also questioned why flight data for two sectors was inspected from the entire network of Air India, "that too recent past three months and not from the CAR effective date of 4th August 2015." http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/air-india-union-opposes-dgcas-mandatory-alcohol-test- warning/article19670071.ece Back to Top 'Pilot errors account for 80% of Nigeria's air accidents' Pilot errors account for about 80 per cent of all aviation accidents in Nigeria, experts in the industry have said. Some of them, who spoke on Monday at the 13th Akwaaba African Travel Market, a tourism fair held in Lagos, however, stated that stakeholders had also intensified efforts on human capital development. The President, Sabre Network, Mr. Gbenga Olowo, stated that about 1,312 lives had been lost in 10 accidents over 48 years in the country and that pilot errors accounted for 80 per cent of the incidents, while maintenance and weather accounted for the remainder. Olowo, who is also the President, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, said the situation had improved in the last one year, because there had been implementation of safety management system and more funds had been set aside for maintenance with dedicated accounts. According to him, the country has not recorded any accident in commercial aviation since 2016 because airlines have become more responsible for safety and human capital development. He explained, "In the past five years, the International Air Transport Association, through its Operational Safety Audit, has made its members to be principally responsible for safety and not necessarily the regulators. "Member airlines strive for safety and also go the extra mile for audit by other jurisdictions outside their own registration; for example, the European Aviation Safety Agency certification in addition to that of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority. "Operators are also successfully moving to newer and younger fleets with lower operational and maintenance costs, and making available funds at low costs through financial institutions." Olowo added that there had also been more economic lease and lesser purchase conditions from aircraft suppliers, as well as continuous advocacy for improved aviation infrastructure, acceleration of the International Civil Aviation Organisation safety related standards and recommended practices. The Country Manager, British Airways, Mr. Kola Olayinka, who congratulated Nigeria for an accident- free 2016, said airlines should maintain the record by applying the rules and investing more in staff training. The Head, Public Relations, Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, said the NCAA had been an effective regulator. "Airlines have a tendency to cut corners but it is the responsibility of the NCAA to ensure that proper checks are carried out on the airlines, especially on aircraft maintenance and pilot certification," he said. According to him, reports from the AIB have also reduced accidents and influenced safety decision implementation on the part of airlines, regulators and other service providers. http://punchng.com/pilot-errors-account-for-80-of-nigerias-air-accidents/ Back to Top FAA Proposes $231,350 Civil Penalty Against Burgess Aircraft Management, LLC WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $231,350 civil penalty against Burgess Aircraft Management, LLC, of Springfield, Missouri, for allegedly conducting more than 200 revenue flights with pilots who had not received complete instrument proficiency checks. Burgess is a charter operator. The company's airman training program requires its pilots to undergo recurrent checks to show they are proficient at flying in instrument conditions. The FAA alleges the company failed to administer complete proficiency checks to five pilots. Between November 2, 2014 and August 5, 2015, the company conducted 251 revenue flights under instrument flight rules using pilots who had received incomplete proficiency checks, the agency alleges. Burgess has been in communication with the FAA about the case. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12366999/faa-proposes-231350-civil-penalty-against- burgess-aircraft-management-llc Back to Top Remaining MRJs cleared to resume flight tests Mitsubishi Aircraft's remaining three MRJ regional jet test aircraft have received regulatory approval to resume flight testing. The manufacturer has been flying aircraft FTA-4 since 6 September, however FTA's -1,-2 and -3 required approval from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau for them to return to the air. Mitsubishi tells FlightGlobal that approval for those three aircraft was received on 11 September, and on the same day FTA-3 conducted a three-hour flight which was completed "without any incident." The full fleet is expected to be scheduled to resume flight testing on 12 September. Mitsubishi suspended the flight test programme for the MRJ on August 21 following an uncommanded shutdown of the left Pratt & Whitney PW1200G engine on FTA-2 during a flight. That forced it to make an unscheduled landing at Portland International airport. Following an engine change, the aircraft was ferried a week later back to its base at Moses Lake on 28 August. The manufacturer is still in the final investigation of what caused the shutdown, but says that "current analysis tells us that the incident from August on FTA-2 is isolated and the rest of the MRJ flight test aircraft were inspected and cleared as they were not affected." www.flightglobal.com Back to Top FAA ADS-B Rebate Window Closing When the FAA set aside ten million dollars to help general aviation pilots comply with the ADS-B Out 2020 mandate, few predicted that pilots would leave more than half that money on the table, but on September 18th it'll be official. Starting on September 19 of last year, the FAA offered aircraft owners $500 to equip their airplanes with the ADS-B Out equipment required to permit those airplanes to fly in what is now Mode C airspace after January 1, 2020. Owners were given one year to sign up, and that year is now coming to a close. The FAA hasn't released exact figures on the number of owners participating so far, but of the 20,000 rebates available, only 5,000 reservations had been made by early-April. At that time, the FAA projected that only around 7,000 aircraft in total would take advantage of the program. Any aircraft owners kicking themselves for missing the window should know there's still time. Geoff Hill, Director of Communications for the Aircraft Electronics Association told AVweb, "the last day to make a reservation is September 18, but owners still have 150 days to complete the installation, pass the validation flight, and claim the rebate provided they complete the reservation step by the September 18 deadline." To make a reservation, owners need to provide a valid tail number, the make and model of ADS-B equipment expected to be installed, and a scheduled installation date. https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAA-ADS-B-Rebate-Window-Closing-229613-1.html Back to Top Star Navigation Systems Announces Order for STAR-A.D.S.® SYSTEMS TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (CSE:SNA) (CSE:SNA.CN) ("Star" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that Big Data Avionics Corp ("BDA") has placed an order for 10 Star-Airborne Data Service ("STAR-A.D.S. ®") systems. This is the 2nd STAR-A.D.S. ® System order for Star and will be the largest ever so far. BDA, a Sales Agency of Star, has put down an initial non-refundable deposit of USD $50,000.00 for this order, with the remaining balance due upon delivery of each of the units. Delivery is anticipated in approximately 3 months' time. The STAR-A.D.S. ® System and associated services will be for the North American market, which was BDA"s immediate target segment. The order, at list price, is valued at USD $600,000, not including annual airtime and services costs. Star is advised that BDA is currently in discussions with several airlines who are aware of the immediate benefits of the STAR-A.D.S. ® System and who had previously shown interest in the features of this real-time tracking and monitoring system. Prabhjeet Singh, CEO of BDA said: "This is simply the start of our sales efforts. We want to accelerate the introduction of this technology globally to all aviation markets. STAR-A.D.S. ® enhances safety and peace of mind for operators, crew and passengers, as well as offering benefits in terms of maintenance and operations for all aircraft, which translates into rapid return on Investment." Jean Louis Larmor, COO of Star said: "These are exciting times for Star. We appreciate Big Data Avionics pro-active approach and look forward to further business with them. We are just starting to field the latest generation of the STAR-A.D.S. ® System, the SSU-G 3, and are benefitting from feedback from our Mid-Eastern VVIP customer. We are glad to see that interest in our solution now accelerating." The STAR-A.D.S. ® System is a comprehensive end-to-end real time aircraft monitoring service, which provides aircraft operational performance data with pro-active analysis and diagnostics via a secure web based dashboard. (Read More Here: http://www.star-navigation.com/service/StarADS). About Star Navigation: Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. owns the exclusive worldwide license to its proprietary, patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System, STAR-ISMS®, the heart of the STAR-A.D.S. ® System. Its real- time capability of tracking performance trends and predicting incident-occurrence enhances aviation safety and improves fleet management while reducing costs for the operator. Star's MMI Division designs and manufactures high performance, mission critical, flight deck flat panel displays for defence and commercial aviation industries worldwide. http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Star-Navigation-Systems-Announces-Order-for- STAR-A-D-S-SYSTEMS-1002359668 Back to Top Commercial Drone Pilots Can Now Get Customized Weather Forecasts Earth Networks is launching a hyperlocal, low-altitude weather service called the Sferic DroneFlight system to keep drone missions safer and more efficient - and with as many as 1.6 million commercial drones in the air by 2021, it's certainly needed. DRONE WEATHER SERVICE Drones have become central to various industries, including agriculture, construction, insurance, gas and oil, public safety, and more. They are essential for tasks such as inspection, crop spraying, and filming. However, it's currently impossible for drone operators to get the same type of detailed weather information that airplane pilots receive because of the much lower-flying altitudes of drones. A company named Earth Networks is about to change that with its Sferic DroneFlight program, a predictive hyperlocal, low-altitude weather service for drone operators. Image Credit: Earth Networks Drone pilots using the service will enjoy detailed regional forecasts for anywhere in the world, between 10 to 400 feet of altitude, in 10 foot increments. These will include hourly wind direction and speed forecasts for up to six days in advance. The system spans 90 countries and boasts 10,000 weather sensors and 1,500 lightning sensors. COMMERCIAL BENEFITS According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the number of drones in the U.S. will increase dramatically over the next five years. The commercial drone fleet reached about 42,000 by the end of 2016; the FAA estimates that it will grow to at least 442,000 by 2021, and there could be up to 1.6 million commercial drones taking to the air by 2021. Image Credit: Earth Networks Engadget reports that drone-makers are working to develop planning and preventive features which may be able to work with transmitted data on winds and other weather sent directly to pre-flight apps or drones. This kind of synergy would make it possible for drone systems to calculate trajectory, range, and other flight parameters more effectively. Both pilots and researchers will be able to use the data more efficiently to conduct post-mortems after drone accidents and better identify disruptive conditions. The company will test the new network via the unmanned aircraft systems test site at the University of Maryland to ensure optimum accuracy. Once running at full tilt, they believe the system will win the praise of the public and agencies like the FAA. "Until now, drone operators have had to plan missions by relying on surface-level weather information or high-altitude measurements provided to commercial airlines, neither of which provides the needed intelligence to optimize missions," Earth Networks Chief Marketing Officer Anuj Agrawal said in a Business Wire release. "As the drone market and regulatory environment continue to evolve, weather intelligence will be a key technology to enable longer and beyond line of sight missions." https://futurism.com/commercial-drone-pilots-can-now-get-customized-weather-forecasts/ Back to Top Goyal says Etihad has no plans to exit Jet now The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad had in April 2013 invested Rs 2,069 crore in Jet for a 24 per cent equity but of late there have been plenty of rumours about both the partners not seeing eye-to-eye and looking for other options. Naresh Goyal today scotched rumours about Gulf carrier Etihad Airways exiting its over three year- old equity with Jet Airways and also said he is not looking for another partner. "We have no plans to sell stake to another investor. Also, our partner Etihad has no intention to exit their investment in Jet Airways," Goyal, the chairman of the country's largest international airline told reporters on the sidelines of the AGM here. The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad had in April 2013 invested Rs 2,069 crore in Jet for a 24 per cent equity but of late there have been plenty of rumours about both the partners not seeing eye-to-eye and looking for other options. In recent months there have also been reports about Jet courting American carrier Delta after the two entered into a extensive code share agreement. Rumour mills were also active about other Gulf carriers looking at a stake in Jet. The speculation became active after government liberalised foreign ownership norms for the aviation sector wherein 100 per cent FDI is allowed in the sector provided the foreign investor is not an airline operator and 49 per cent if the investor is an overseas airline. http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/goyal-says-etihad-has-no-plans-to-exit-jet-now- 2384911.html Back to Top Malaysia Airlines to sign $1.8 billion Boeing jets deal during Najib's U.S. trip SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines will announce a deal to buy eight widebody Boeing 787 jets during the visit of Prime Minister Najib Razak to the United States, two industry sources said on Tuesday. The deal, worth more than $1.8 billion at list prices, is expected to be one of the announcements that will be made after Najib meets with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the sources said. The United States was Malaysia's third-largest trading partner in 2016. The meeting with Trump is critical for Najib, who is looking to raise his standing globally, and in Malaysia, where he is expected to call general elections in the coming months. An international graft probe by the United States and several other nations into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has hurt Najib's popularity. With the U.S. visit, Najib is hoping to put the 1MDB scandal behind him. Najib is scheduled to witness a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Malaysia Airlines and Boeing, according to a schedule of the Prime Minister's events in Washington reported by Malaysian media outlets. The two sources said Malaysia Airlines considered buying Airbus A330neos before settling on the 787 order. Aircraft manufacturers typically give discounts to list prices. Malaysia Airlines said it would not comment on reports that are speculative in nature. Boeing and Airbus declined to comment. The sources did not want to be named because the discussions were private. Brendan Sobie, chief analyst at independent aviation research firm CAPA Centre for Aviation, said the timing of the order alongside Najib's visit raised concerns of potential political influence over the purchase. "This has happened before with Malaysia Airlines - and other airlines in this region for that matter - where the government has decided to buy an airplane that wasn't really required," Singapore-based Sobie said. "I think in this case the 787 is required anyway. But now that it is a political thing there are questions." Malaysia Airlines has been transforming its operations under two consecutive non-Malaysian bosses as it recovers from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The carrier is targeting a return to profit next year. Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Peter Bellew said in June the carrier was in early negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of 35-40 new long-range jets. CAPA analyst Sobie said the airline needed widebodies for growth, as well as to replace ageing A330 aircraft over the next several years, making eight aircraft a smaller than expected order. In the eight months ended August 31, Boeing announced 426 net orders compared to 215 at Airbus. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/malaysia-airlines-announce-deal-buy-8-boeing-787- 071514544--finance.html Back to Top China catching up on fighter and commercial jet engines There is a new online picture which shows that China has made progress on its domestically built engine for its J-20 stealth fighter. The engines are distinguished by their serrated afterburner nozzles and interior flaps for manipulating the exhaust flow. Once these new J-20s enter service, China will have comprehensively mastered the major parts of fighter technology, including radars, stealthy fuselage, missiles, computers, and engines. The WS-10X (possibly officially designated WS-10G or WS-10IPE) has sawtoothed serrations on the edges of its afterburning nozzles, like the F-35's F119 engine. The sawtooth edges provide a gain in stealthiness, as they redirect radar waves away from the nozzles. The straight edges on non-stealthy engines like the current Russian supplied AL-31 engines are major contributors to the radar cross section of a fighter. China's new engine compared to Europe and American fighter jet engine The WS-10X is believed to provide about 14-15 tons of thrust. This may be enough power to allow the J-20 to engage in low supersonic supercruise at Mach 1-1.2 speeds. The Eurofighter Typhoon has a similar low supercruise capability, which means it can hit supersonic speeds without using fuel- thirsty afterburners. The current F135 engines generates 28,000 lbs of thrust normally, but produces over 43,000 lbs of thrust with the afterburner engaged. Although no service has issued a requirement for an upgraded engine, Pratt and Whitney is cooperating with the US Navy on a two-block improvement plan for the F135 engine. The goals of Block 1 are a 7-10% increase in thrust and a 5-7% lower fuel burn. Technology to better cool turbine blades is included in the plans, which would increase the longevity of the engine and substantially reduce maintenance costs. The goal of Block 2 is to work with the US Air Force's Adaptive Engine Transition Program, with the intention of introducing technology for an engine rated at 45,000 lb of thrust, to be used in a sixth-generation fighter. China's gains in engine connect to broader news in materials. The Chengdu Aerospace Superalloy Technology Company, a privately held corporation, made a major breakthrough in superalloy research. CASTC, according to the Global Times and People's Daily, is producing world class single crystal turbine blades from rhenium-nickel superalloys; adding rhenium to nickel increases the superalloy's melting point, allowing for a hotter and more efficient engine. High rhenium content superalloys are used in light weight, high thrust engines like the F-22 Raptor's F109 turbofan. Previously, the development of Chinese engines like the WS-10 were delayed as they suffered from quality control issues regarding single crystal turbine blades. https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/09/china-catching-up-on-fighter-and-commercial-jet- engines.html Back to Top Detecting damage in aircraft hape memory alloys could revolutionize how engineers detect fractures in airplane parts Detecting Damage in Aircraft Graphic by Alexandr Sein During flight, airplanes experience significant loads and stresses, and over time these loads can lead to cracks forming in high-stress areas of planes. In the past, these cracks were easy to detect because people smoked on planes - nicotine from the cigarettes got lodged in the cracks, allowing engineers to easily locate them. However, once smoking on planes was banned, the cracks became more elusive. Darren Hartl, aerospace engineering professor, alongside his graduate student Brent Bielefeldt and a fellow mechanical engineering professor, Ibrahim Karaman, has been developing a new way to detect these cracks. Hartl's method aims to improve on the current system for checking for fractures, which is tedious and time-consuming. "You walk into an American Airlines plane during a heavy check, it's just green aluminum," Hartl said. "And they're down there, the mechanics, they're crawling around with mirrors and flashlights and looking for cracks at critical places where they know that they will form." According to Hartl, this is not only terribly inefficient, but also very dangerous. Since the mechanics can't scan every part of the plane, they have to focus on high-risk areas, and that means that if a crack forms somewhere else, it could go unnoticed until the next inspection, which could be years later. Hartl's plan was to make detection a much easier process by adding special particles to the aluminum alloy that the aircraft is usually made of. "What we wanted to use, a particle that shows both acoustic change or magnetic change," Karaman said. "These particle materials are called magnetic shape memory alloys." According to Karaman, the molecules in a regular shape memory alloy change shape when a stress is applied to them - for example, a stress fracture in an airplane wing. By adding elements like cobalt and tin to a base of manganese and nickel, Karaman could elicit a unique magnetic signature from these particles whenever they came under stress. Bielefeldt said the practical demonstration of this concept fell on him. "If you consider you have an array of particles, and you know the response of each of them, you can plug that into a computer program and actually determine the location of the crackdown to within a couple of millimeters," Bielefeldt said. Bielefeldt's work proved that the computer simulations of these particles were true to their actual behavior, and that if a crack was deliberately created in a particle-laden material, it could be detected and mapped very accurately. Currently, though, these particles have limitations. According to Hartl, they need to be embedded in a homogenous metal or alloy to work properly. That means that any parts made with materials like carbon fibre cannot be outfitted with these particles. "The forces inside the material are much more complicated in a composite," Hartl said. "All the load is carried by the fibres. You never want to do anything to damage them, so you couldn't put particles in the fibres." According to Hartl, there is still much work to be done, and, alongside Karaman, he is continuing to develop these particles for practical use by NASA, the military, and private contractors. Karaman has also been looking into shape memory alloys and their applications outside of detecting damage in aircraft. "People have shown that with mechanical stimulus, you can increase cell growth," Karaman said. "If you take a piece of cartilage and you put mechanical stimulus on it constantly, it grows much faster." According to Karaman, it is possible to put collections of these shape memory alloy particles inside a human body to promote cell division in certain areas. And with these alloys being employed across many engineering fields, it would seem that Hartl's research, which started out as a simple "what if" question, is far from over. http://www.thebatt.com/science-technology/detecting-damage-in-aircraft/article_c2ccb0e6-9749- 11e7-8232-ffeb051d5dc3.html Back to Top Nevada aerospace firm hiring 200 airplane mechanics for new Colorado Springs hangar Sierra Nevada, one of the several businesses located at the Colorado Springs airport. Nevada-based aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) said Monday it will hire 200 mechanics by year's end to modify a variety of military aircraft in an $11 million hangar the company just opened at the Colorado Springs Airport. The 60,000-square-foot hangar on the airport's westside allows SNC to complete modifications to larger aircraft than it could at the company's 2-year-old hangar at the airport and other facilities at the company's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit in Centennial, said Taco Gilbert, senior vice president for programs at the unit. The company completes modifications on structural, avionics, sensors and other components under several Department of Defense contracts to support the Global War on Terror, he said. "This hangar is fully subscribed for the next four years," Gilbert said after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the hangar that is just west of Fountain Boulevard and Aviation Way. "We will continue to expand as we have seen with the addition of this facility, reflecting the growth of our business." SNC already employs 80 at a 30,000-square-foot hangar it built in 2015 and an adjacent former air freight terminal. While the 200 new jobs have not yet been posted, Gilbert said the company is accepting applications from potential employees on its human resources website, www.sncorp.com/careers/. The new hangar, built by Elizabeth-based Western LLC for Cutter Aviation and leased to SNC, can house up to three Lockheed C-130 aircraft or two Boeing business jets simultaneously. The project also included extension of a taxi lane and construction of a 250,000-gallon water tank and pump house for a regional fire suppression system. SNC first approached the airport last summer about building the hangar and began construction early this year. Jon Burgoyne, who leads the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit, convinced the company to expand into Colorado about 10 years ago with five other employees to recruit and retain the state's abundant engineering and technician talent, crediting the state's higher-education system, Gilbert said. Burgoyne continued that expansion into Colorado Springs to take advantage of the long runways and ability to build large hangars at the Colorado Springs Airport with support from political, community and higher education leaders, Gilbert said. That support included tax breaks adopted in 2014 by the city, El Paso County, the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and the state to encourage economic development in an 1,825-acre commercial aeronautical zone at and near the airport. The city and county agreed to either exempt from or give credits for sales and use tax on equipment, supplies and parts used in maintaining, retrofitting and upgrading aircraft. The transportation authority excluded airport land from its boundaries so businesses at the airport don't have to pay the authority's 1 percent sales tax. Since the breaks were adopted, three new hangars have been completed for SNC and Rampart Aviation, the COS Owners Association built an addition to its hangar complex for aircraft storage, Cutter built a new general aviation terminal for non-airline aircraft and Global Supertanker Services LLC leased a hangar for its headquarters and based its Boeing 747-400 firefighting jet at the airport. Income from those projects has helped to double the income the airport receives from sources other than airlines, allowing it to cut fees and rent paid by airlines. The lower costs helped to convince Denver-based Frontier Airlines to resume and later expand service to Colorado Springs with nonstop flights to 10 cities. Within 15 months of resuming service in April 2016, Frontier has become the airport's largest carrier and helped boost passenger traffic 26.5 percent from a year ago to 443,717 in the first seven months of the year. http://gazette.com/nevada-aerospace-firm-hiring-200-airplane-mechanics-for-new-colorado-springs- hangar/article/1610951 Back to Top 83-Year-Old Billionaire Wants to Put His Airline Back in the Black (Philippine Airlines) Carrier's parent has reported losses for past two quarters Airline had said it would bring in investor by end of 2017 Billionaire Lucio Tan said he plans to return his group's Philippine Airlines Inc. to profit before selling a stake, two weeks after the carrier's president said talks with a strategic investor were likely to produce a deal by the end of this year. PAL Holdings Inc., the carrier's parent, booked a net loss of 501 million pesos ($9.8 million) in the second quarter after reporting a 1.13 billion peso deficit in the previous quarter as higher fuel costs and aircraft lease charges boosted expenses. Tan, chairman of the LT Group Inc. conglomerate, spoke in an interview in Manila on Sept. 7, and didn't elaborate on the airline's plans to return to profit. "I will not sell unless it earns money," said Tan, 83. "Airlines are a very competitive business." Tan, the Philippine's second-richest person, is vowing to revive profit at the carrier amid an increase in tourist arrivals in the country. Philippine Airlines has been acquiring new planes and expanding destinations and flight frequencies as rising income among Filipinos boosts travel. "While PAL needs to get back to profitability, one thing that makes it attractive for investors is Philippine tourism is picking up, giving the airlines an earnings growth driver," said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc. Tourism Surge Tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose 13 percent in the first half of the year to 3.36 million, according to Tourism Department data. The LT Group chairman is seeking a strategic partner for the airline after buying San Miguel Corp.'s stake in 2014, taking control of the venture. PAL Holdings President Jaime Bautista said on Aug. 30. the airline has been in talks with a strategic foreign investor and wants to close the deal by the year's end. Tan, who also controls the biggest cigarette-maker in the Philippines, had a net worth of $5.9 billion as of Sept. 8, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth gained about 13 percent, or $651 million this year, boosted by a 39 percent advance in LT Group shares. The listed flagship is the holding company for his airline, banking, liquor, brewery, property and tobacco businesses. 'Easy Life' The LT Group chairman is also preparing to hand over the reins to the conglomerate, saying he has a succession plan in place. He declined to say who would take the helm or when they would take over. Michael Tan, his son and LT Group president, is among the likely successors, along with Lucio "Bong" Tan Jr., the son who heads the group's liquor-maker Tanduay Distillers Inc. and builder Eton Properties Philippines Inc. Son-in-law Joseph Tan Chua is president of MacroAsia Corp., an aviation-support provider and a partner of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "Tan is still relatively hands on compared with the other tycoons of his generation," said Paul Michael Angelo, analyst at Regina Capital in Manila. "But we shouldn't see a major disruption on operations arising from succession, as Tan has put in place key executives and delegated key management functions." Tan said he still gets up at 4 a.m. to play golf before a minimum eight-hour day running his conglomerate. "I am old," said Tan. "My wish now is for an easy, easy life." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-11/tycoon-tan-says-philippine-air-profit-comes- before-stake-sale Back to Top Sierra Nevada Takes Steps Toward Orbital Space Plane Flight For flight controllers working the Dream Chaser flight test last week, the moment of truth came as the 30-foot-long (9 meters) spacecraft descended to 200 feet (60 m) over Rogers Dry Lake bed in California. The spacecraft's landing gear deployed and locked into position exactly as planned. The captive-carry test - in which the spacecraft was suspended under a Columbia 234-UT helicopter by a 200-foot (61-meter) long cable for the entire flight - was a far cry from the last time Dream Chaser had taken to the skies over Edwards Air Force Base nearly four years earlier. On Oct. 26, 2013, during an automated approach-and-landing test designed to simulate the last few minutes of a return from orbit, the uncrewed vehicle's left landing gear failed to deploy. The plane suffered damage as it skidded off into the desert scrub brush. That was a serious blow to the Sierra Nevada Corp., which was locked in a fierce battle with Boeing and SpaceX in the third round of competition to obtain a contract for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Eleven months after the crash, Dream Chaser was eliminated from the program, as the space agency awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX worth $4.2 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively, to carry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). (The first crew flights are scheduled for 2019.) [Photos of Dream Chaser, America's New Space Plane] Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane is scheduled to begin flying cargo to the International Space Station in 2020. Sierra Nevada appealed the decision with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, but lost. Although it appeared that Dream Chaser might never make it to orbit, NASA breathed new life into the program when the agency awarded Sierra Nevada a contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, along with SpaceX and Orbital ATK, as part of the second round of Commercial Resupply Services (CRS2) contracts awarded to commercial companies by NASA. Last week's test allowed engineers to test an updated set of electronics used by the spacecraft that are specifically designed for orbital flights, said Steve Lindsey, Sierra Nevada vice president of Space Exploration Systems, speaking to a group of reporters following the captive-carry test. The avionics were different from the ones used on the approach-and-landing and three captive-carry tests conducted four years ago, he added. "All the avionics worked exactly as expected," Lindsey said. "We obviously have to look at the data. We have reams and reams of data we've got to go look at. But, [based on] what we saw [in] real time, everything was working exactly as expected." "We may need to make some software tweaks and look at our hardware and make sure all of our hardware operated," he added. "It looks like it operated great, but [we] still need to go through all of the data and make any final updates." If the data look good, Sierra Nevada will conduct a second captive-carry test from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center around the end of September, Lindsey said. An approach-and-landing test would follow later in the fall. "We will fly when we're ready. We will not fly before that time, no matter what," he added. "So, we make sure the team is not under schedule pressure. We obviously are motivated to get this done as soon as we can. On the other hand, we're not going to do it until everything's right." With one approach-and-landing test already completed, marred only by a landing-gear failure, engineers are hoping to complete the glide phase of testing with just one more free flight, Lindsey added. The approach-and-landing test is a funded milestone under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) contract that Sierra Nevada has with NASA. Even though Sierra Nevada ultimately lost the commercial crew contract to Boeing and SpaceX, the company will still receive $8 million from the space agency once the flight tests are completed. The CCiCap contract has been extended through 2022, and Sierra Nevada is continuing to work with NASA to qualifying Dream Chaser for human spaceflight. The agreement, which lists a series of eight milestones, is currently unfunded, which means the space agency is not paying Sierra Nevada for further work. [Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser Space Plane (Infographic)] Sierra Nevada's space station cargo resupply contract with NASA stipulates a minimum of six Dream Chaser flights between 2019 and 2024. NASA has not formally ordered any flights yet, but company officials said they are expecting Dream Chaser to fly its first mission to the station in 2020. The Dream Chaser cargo vehicle consists of two elements: The main vehicle is a lifting-body spacecraft capable of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and gliding to a landing on a runway in the same way the space shuttle did. This portion of the spacecraft would carry pressurized cargo back to Earth. The other component is a disposable payload module for unpressurized cargo that will separate from the main vehicle before re-entry and burnup in the atmosphere. Dream Chaser will be able to deliver up to 5,500 kilograms (12,125 lbs.) of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft will be capable of returning up to 1,750 kg (3,850 lbs.) of cargo to Earth. The expendable cargo module will be able to dispose of up to 3,250 kg (7,165 lbs.) of trash from the space station. During return trips to Earth, the Dream Chaser will expose sensitive scientific payloads (and, perhaps one day, astronauts) to a maximum of only 1.5 times the force of gravity (1.5 g's), Sierra Nevada officials have said. This is far less than the 4 to 8 g's that astronauts experience when they make a ballistic return to Earth on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, which lands under a parachute. SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner vehicles are also ballistic spacecraft that will land by parachute. For its first two CRS2 flights, the Dream Chaser craft will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Lindsay said. Upon returning from space, the Dream Chaser vehicles will glide to landings at the former Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft's runway landings will also give scientists rapid access to experiments and samples that are returning from the station (unlike with some cargo vehicles that fall into the ocean, or the Soyuz spacecraft, which lands in a remote part of Kazakhstan). Sierra Nevada has been working with Ellington Airport in Houston and Huntsville International Airport in Alabama to secure alternative landing sites for scientists in those locations who fly experiments to the station, Lindsay said. Landings in those locations would also expose members of the public to Dream Chaser, he said. Lindsey said the company plans to put the Dream Chaser vehicle it is now testing in California in "flyable storage" after the approach-and-landing flight is completed later this year. That will preserve the option of upgrading the vehicle for human spaceflight in the future, he said. "The structure was rated for people from the very beginning, and so we want to keep that as an option. ... Our intent, someday, is to go back to crew as well," Lindsey said. "How and when is TBD [to be determined]." https://www.space.com/38072-sierra-nevada-dream-chaser-orbital-space-plane-flight.html Back to Top NTSB Forum : Runway Incursion Safety Issues, Prevention, and Mitigation NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center 9/19/2017 9:00 AM Runway incursions will be the topic of discussion during an NTSB forum scheduled for September 19 and 20, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT), at the NTSB's headquarters in Washington, DC. The forum, titled "Runway Incursion Safety Issues, Prevention, and Mitigation," will focus attention on and raise awareness of runway incursion safety issues, promote and facilitate dialogue among government and industry officials to better define the issues, and determine how to effectively address these issues to improve safety. "The worst accident in aviation history was a runway incursion and collision at Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, on March 27, 1977," said Member Christopher Hart, who will preside over the forum. "After declining for several years, the most severe incursions have been on the rise since 2011, despite several interventions. Our challenge is to understand the problem better and get the numbers moving down again." The 2-day forum will be structured as a series of panels in which invited experts from federal agencies, airlines, and industry associations will make presentations on relevant topics. After each presentation, a question-and-answer period between the NTSB and the panelists will further explore the information discussed. The topics for the panel discussions will be runway incursion statistics and trends, air traffic control, operations, and airports. In addition, the NTSB will host a roundtable discussion at the end of the second day. All panelists will be invited to participate in the roundtable discussion. Members of the audience will have an opportunity to submit questions to the participants, and those watching the roundtable discussion remotely will be able to submit questions via a dedicated e-mail address. Representatives from the aviation industry are invited to display current and planned technologies and research to aid in the prevention and/or mitigation of runway incursions. Display space will be limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Organizations interested in display space during the forum should make their requests via this link no later than September 5, 2017. Comments/questions may be addressed to RIForum@ntsb.gov The NTSB will hold the forum in its Boardroom and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. The forum will be open to the public. The forum will also be accessible via live webcast at http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/. Date: September 19 and 20, 2017 Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m (EDT) Location: NTSB Boardroom and Conference Center 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. Webcast: The forum will also be accessible via live webcast at http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/. Webcast NTSB public events are also streamed live via webcast. Webcasts are archived for a period of three months from the time of the meeting. Webcast archives are generally available by the end of the event day for public Meetings, and by the end of the next day for Technical conferences. If you wish to obtain a copy of NTSB meetings, please contact the NTSB Records Management Division at (202) 314-6551 or 800-877-6799. You may also request this information from the NTSB web site or write the following: National Transportation Safety Board, Records Management Division (CIO-40), 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW,Washington, DC 20594. View archived video of meetings (Webcasts are archived for a period of three months from the time of the meeting.) https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/2017-ri-FRM.aspx Back to Top NTSB Highlights Fuel-management Issues in Accidents Noting that improved fuel management could prevent an average of 50 general aviation accidents a year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today issued a new safety alert, "Flying on Empty," to highlight issues surrounding fuel-related accidents. "Running out of fuel in a car is an inconvenience," the Safety Board said. "Running out of fuel in an aircraft is unthinkable, and yet it causes more accidents than anyone might imagine." Fuel management is the sixth leading cause of general aviation accidents in the U.S., the NTSB noted. Fuel exhaustion, when an aircraft runs out of fuel, was involved in 56 percent of the fuel management-related accidents. Fuel starvation, when fuel is present but doesn't reach the engine, accounted for another 35 percent. Pilot error was a contributing factor in 95 percent of those accidents; equipment issues contributed to just 5 percent. Most of the fuel-management accidents occurred when the destination airport differed from the departure airport, and 80 percent occurred during day visual meteorological conditions, the NTSB noted. Nearly half of the fuel management-related accidents involve pilots holding commercial or air transport pilot certificates. Only 2 percent involve student pilots. In Safety Alert 067, the NTSB highlights basic steps pilots can take to better manage fuel, including knowing how much is on board at all times and confirming fuel quantity during preflight inspection. Ensuring fuel needs and fuel reserves before flight and knowing engine burn rate were also among the preventive measures cited by the NTSB. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association also recently raised concerns about fuel management in its release of the Air Safety Institute's most recent Joseph T. Nall report. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-08-29/ntsb-highlights-fuel- management-issues-accidents Curt Lewis