Flight Safety Information September 13, 2017 - No. 183 In This Issue 2017 ISASI Jerome Lederer Award Winner - Mr. Chan, Wing Keong Incident: Korean A388 at Paris on Sep 11th 2017, flaps did not fully retract Incident: Lufthansa A388 enroute on Sep 11th 2017, engine problem Incident: Transat B738 at Montreal on Sep 6th 2017, engine shut down in flight Diamond DA42 Twin Star Go-Around Accident (Corsica) Civil Aviation Authority grounds Tauranga airline (New Zealand) NordStar Airlines passes IATA safety audit Air Peace passengers who raised safety concerns charged to court for unruly behaviour (Nigeria) Widow claims aircraft upgrades played a role in husband's death FAA fines two air cargo shippers for hazmat violations LeClairRyan Announces Major Expansion of Aviation Industry Practice NTSB Providing Behind Scenes Look with Podcast Series EDA awards aviation safety consultancy services contract to Baines Simmons Delta Airlines hiring new flight attendants Turkish Airlines profits in Africa, where others fear to fly Where can you find plane seats with amazing leg room? What the World's Emptiest International Airport Says About China's Influence Norwegian launches Irish recruitment drive for pilots Embraer Mulls China Return With Factory for Passenger Jets Researchers announce promising new feedstock for bio-jet fuel Retired But Still Flying, the F-117 Nighthawk May Soon Fade to Black US-Russian Crew Arrives Space Station After Quick 6-Hour Trip (Video) NTSB Forum: Runway Incursion Safety Issues, Prevention, and Mitigation 2017 ISASI Jerome Lederer Award Winner - Mr. Chan, Wing Keong At last week's very successful International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Seminar in San Diego, California where more than 360 delegates and companions participated in three days of technical presentations, heard pertinent key note addresses and visited local sites of interest. Four Kapustin Scholars presented essays and the gathering culminated with the annual awards dinner during which Mr. Chan, Wing Keong was recognized with the Jerome Lederer Award for his leadership and extraordinary efforts to enhance air safety investigation in Singapore and to encourage international air safety cooperation well beyond the Asian region. Mr Chan Wing Keong Advisor, Transport Safety Investigation Bureau Ministry of Transport, Singapore Mr Chan Wing Keong is currently Advisor to the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) of the Ministry of Transport. He retired in November 2016 from the TSIB as its Director. Mr Chan Wing Keong joined the Projects Division of CAAS (then Department of Civil Aviation) in 1980. He was involved in the construction projects of Changi Airport Passenger Terminal 1 and Cargo Agents Buildings as well as the initial planning of Changi Airport Terminal 2. He joined the CAAS Airworthiness and Flight Operations Division in 1982 and headed the Division from 1992 to 1998. His areas of responsibility included aircraft registration and airworthiness, air operator certification, aerospace organization approval, flight crew and maintenance personnel licensing, air safety regulations and accident investigation. He was in charge of the CAAS Air Cargo Division from 1999 to 2002 and was involved in the creation of the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore. Mr Chan Wing Keong was elected First Vice Chairman at the ICAO Accident Investigation Group (AIG) Divisional Meeting 2008. He is currently the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Accident Investigation Group (APAC-AIG) of the Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Team under the aegis of the ICAO Asia and Pacific Regional Office. Mr Chan Wing Keong has an aeronautical engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in France and master degrees from the National University of Singapore and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers. The award was created to honor Mr. Lederer, bestowed as the "Father of Aviation Safety" by Congress in 1997. Mr. Lederer was hired in 1926 to oversee aircraft maintenance by the U.S. Post Office and from 1929 to 1940 served as chief engineer for aviation insurance underwriters. In 1940 he accepted an appointment as director of the Civil Aeronautics Board's Safety Bureau, resigning to become director of the Airlines War Training Institute in 1942, training airmen and mechanics for the Air Transport Command and safety consultant to the 2nd Air Force. In 1947 he organized the Flight Safety Foundation and was director through 1967 when he was appointed director of the Office of Manned Space Flight Safety for the Apollo Program, becoming the Director for all of NASA in 1970. Prior Recipients of the ISASI Jerome F. Lederer Award have been: * 2016 - Eugene A. (Toby) Carroll * 2015 - Ladislav (Ladi) Mika * 2014 - David King * 2013 - Frank S. Del Gandio and Myron P. "Pappy" Papadakis * 2012 - Dr. Curt Lewis, PhD, FRAeS * 2011 - Paul-Louis Arslanian * 2010 - Michael Poole * 2009 - Capt. Richard B. Stone * 2009 - Australian Transport Safety Bureau * 2008 - Don Bateman * 2007 - Tom McCarthy * 2006 - Richard H. Wood * 2005 - John D. Rawson * 2004 - Ron Chippindale (deceased 2/12/08) * 2003 - Caj Frostell * 2002 - Ronald L. Schleede * 2001 - John Purvis and The Transportation Safety Board of Canada * 2000 - Nora Marshal * 1999 - Capt. James McIntyre (deceased 11/19/01) * 1998 - A. Frank Taylor * 1997 - Gus Economy * 1996 - Burt Chesterfield * 1995 - Dr. John K. Lauber * 1994 - U.K. Aircraft Accidents Investigation Branch * 1993 - Capt. Victor Hewes * 1992 - Paul R. Powers * 1991 - Eddie J. Trimble * 1990 - Olof Fritsch * 1989 - Aage A. Roed (deceased 1/25/03) * 1988 - H. Vincent LaChapelle * 1987 - Dr. Carol A. Roberts * 1986 - Geoffrey C. Wilkinson * 1985 - Dr. John Kenyon Mason * 1984 - George B. Parker * 1983 - C.O. Miller (deceased 10/20/03) * 1982 - C.H. Prater Houge * 1981 - Dr. S. Harry Robertson * 1980 - John Gilbert Boulding * 1979 - Gerard M. Bruggink * 1978 - Allen R. McMahan * 1977 - Samuel M. Phillips www.isasi.org Back to Top Incident: Korean A388 at Paris on Sep 11th 2017, flaps did not fully retract A Korean Air Airbus A380-800, registration HL7613 performing flight KE-902 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Seoul (South Korea) with 330 passengers, was climbing out of Paris' runway 27L when the crew stopped the climb at FL100 due to a problem with the flaps. The aircraft entered a hold to work the checklists and dump fuel. The aircraft landed safely on Charles de Gaulle's runway 27L at a rather normal speed. The flight was postponed to the next day, the passengers were taken to hotels. A replacement A380-800 registration HL7611 departed Paris the following morning as flight KE-902D and reached Seoul with a delay of 24 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 24 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae42270&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Lufthansa A388 enroute on Sep 11th 2017, engine problem A Lufthansa Airbus A380-800, registration D-AIML performing flight LH-440 from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Houston Intercontinental,TX (USA), was enroute at FL340 about 120nm northwest of Reykjavik (Iceland) when the crew decided to return to Frankfurt. The aircraft climbed to FL350 and landed safely back in Frankfurt about 3:15 hours after turning around and about 6.5 hours after departure. One passenger reported they were told that an engine (Trent 970) had been leaking oil but was now okay, maintenance had worked on the engine prior to the flight. Near Iceland the aircraft turned around, no reason was given. Another passenger reported they were returning to Frankfurt due to an engine oil leak. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae41c30&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Transat B738 at Montreal on Sep 6th 2017, engine shut down in flight An Air Transat Boeing 737-800, registration C-GTQB performing positioning flight TS-79 from Montreal,QC (Canada) to Samana (Dominican Republic) with 6 crew on board, was in the initial climb out of Montreal when the left hand engine (CFM56) failed prompting the crew to work the severe engine damage checklist and shut the engine down. The aircraft returned to Montreal for a safe landing on runway 24R and taxied to the apron following inspection by emergency services. The Canadian TSB reported that turbine metal was released by the engine and punctured the left hand horizontal stabilizer. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for 5 days, then returned to service. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/TSC79/history/20170906/1207Z/CYUL/MDCY http://avherald.com/h?article=4ae41882&opt=0 Back to Top Diamond DA42 Twin Star Go-Around Accident (Corsica) Date: 12-SEP-2017 Time: 14:30LT Type: Diamond DA42 Twin Star Owner/operator: Private / Aeroloc Registration: F-HFBS C/n / msn: 42.N220 Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Ghisonaccia Alzitone Airport (LFKG), Corsica - France Phase: En route Nature: Private Departure airport: Cannes - Mandelieu (LFMD) Destination airport: Ghisonaccia Alzitone Airport (LFKG) Narrative: A twin engine plane has crashed near Ghisonaccia airfield, Corsica. According to witnesses, the pilot performed a go-round du to high wind, and the plane stalled on subsequent initial climb. All four occupants, two men and two women, all french from Truchtersheim (Bas-Rhin), died in the crash. METAR. 121500Z AUTO 28013G29KT 240V330 CAVOK 27/05 Q1010 121430Z AUTO 28009G22KT 210V020 CAVOK 27/07 Q1010 121400Z AUTO 27011G26KT 170V340 9999 FEW080 27/08 Q1010 121330Z AUTO 27012KT 230V310 CAVOK 27/07 Q1009 121300Z AUTO 28013G25KT 240V320 CAVOK 28/07 Q1009 121230Z AUTO 28012G23KT 230V330 CAVOK 28/06 Q1009 121200Z AUTO 30015G30KT 240V350 CAVOK 28/06 Q1009 https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=199614 Back to Top Civil Aviation Authority grounds Tauranga airline (New Zealand) Tauranga-based airline Sunair Aviation has been suspended from flight operations by the Civil Aviation Authority. Tauranga-based airline Sunair Aviation has been grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority for the second time in nine months. The authority suspended Sunair's Air Operator Certificate, along with the Certificate of Airworthiness for the Sun Air fleet, on September 8. A spokeswoman for the authority said the action would ground the Sunair fleet and suspend all Sunair flight operations for an initial 10-day period. "An investigation into the company by the CAA is continuing," she said. When asked exactly what they were investigating, what concerns prompted the investigation and when it began, the spokeswoman said the authority could not comment on the investigation. On December 6 Sunair Aviation Ltd's Air Operator Certificate was suspended for 10 days, and reissued on December 16. Sunair chief executive Daniel Power said that the authority had "concerns with the company" and had suspended Sunair's Air Operator Certificate while it investigated the concerns. "We hope to have these matters dealt with quickly, allowing a speedy return to the safe operation Sunair has provided for the past 30 years." A Bay of Plenty man who said he was a regular Sunair customer said he got one day's notice that his flights had been cancelled. He asked around and heard the company had been grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority. "Obviously I'm pretty dissatisfied. I've flown with them before because it's a convenience but I'm seriously considering the larger operators because this is just inconvenient." In March this year, Sunair Aviation became the first regional non-jet operator in the North Island to be selected as a preferred air carrier on the All of Government panel. The airline tendered for the panel in 2016 and, after an exhaustive process, was advised that its application had succeeded. The new status became effective from the beginning of March 2017 to begin carrying government personnel. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11921291 Back to Top NordStar Airlines passes IATA safety audit The Russian airline NordStar Airlines passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The airline was founded as the Taimyr Air Company in 2008 and commenced operations in 2009 under the name NordStar Airlines. The fleet currently consists of five ATR 42-500, one Boeing 737-300, and nine Boeing 737-800 aircraft with an average fleet age of 13 years. The IOSA programme is an evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. IOSA uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner. It was created in 2003 by IATA. All IATA members are IOSA registered and must remain registered to maintain IATA membership. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2017/09/12/nordstar-airlines-passes-iata-safety-audit/ Back to Top Air Peace passengers who raised safety concerns charged to court for unruly behaviour (Nigeria) At least three passengers abroad an Air Peace 6:30 p.m. flight to Abuja from Lagos on Monday were arrested and charged to court for alleged unruly behaviour and for obstructing the operations of the airline. One of the arrested passengers, Oluwaseun Akinfolarin, told PREMIUM TIMES that trouble started after he pointed out to one of the hostesses on the flight during the routine safety drill that seats were blocking the aeroplane's emergency exits. "I told her that there was an obstruction on the emergency exits. Please explain why do we have seats there. She couldn't give us an answer. When her colleague came, she shoved her aside and told her she should not bother explaining anything to us. Then there was an uproar among the passengers." He explained that the air hostess went in to inform the pilot of the aeroplane that passengers were being unruly. Subsequently, the pilot announced he was no longer going to fly. Later the chairman of the airline, Allen Onyema arrived and insisted that the flight was cancelled and the passengers were ordered to disembark. Mr. Akinfolarin and two others were then arrested and taken to a police station in the Ikeja area of Lagos. They were later granted bail and told to report the next morning, Tuesday. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Akinfolarin, he said he and the two other passengers have been charged to court for unruly behaviour and stopping the operation of the airline. He explained he was driving in the company of a police officer to a court in the Ogba area of town. Though he promised to text further details of his ordeal, nothing has been heard from him since then. He could no longer be reached on his mobile phone, as it has been switched off. However, Air Peace in a statement signed by its corporate communication manager, Chris Iwara, said security officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN were invited after several appeals to the passengers fell on deaf ears. He further explained that the seating arrangement on the aircraft was approved by both FAAN and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. The airline's claim is, however, contentious as Part 8 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, which deals with aircraft operations stated that "no person may allow carry-on baggage or other items to block access to the emergency exits when the aircraft is moving on the surface, during take-off or landing, or while passengers remain on board on the ground." Mr. Iwara further claimed that the flight was delayed for three hours as a result of the uproar. "The passengers insisted that the aircraft was unsafe and would suffer the fate of one other domestic airline whose aircraft crashed some years ago. The unruly passengers prevented our crew from continuing with the safety briefing. Understandably, other passengers on board the flight became apprehensive and insisted on the unruly passengers being taken off the flight, "he said. "The pilot-in-command, therefore, had no choice than to request the unruly passengers to disembark. The passengers, however, refused to comply, leading to the captain of the flight calling for the intervention of FAAN security personnel. The passengers also refused to refrain from their disruptive conduct upon the intervention of FAAN security personnel. "After about three hours delay, two of the disruptive passengers eventually agreed to disembark, while the lady among them was adamant. She only agreed to disembark upon other passengers' intervention after delaying the flight for almost three hours in total. "The three passengers were eventually taken in for interrogation by FAAN security personnel, who later transferred them to the police for further investigation," the statement read. "While we will continue to treat all our valued guests with the greatest respect and courtesy, we will never allow a tiny minority of customers jeopardise the safety and comfort of our customers and the overall safe operation of our flights. The unfortunate incident of Monday is now being addressed by the nation's security agencies. We trust the security agencies to resolve the incident without bias," the airline added. When reached for comments about the incident and the approved seating arrangement on aircraft and whether it was right for seats to be placed in such a manner that they are obstructing emergency exits, the spokesperson of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, declined to comment explaining that since the matter had been charged to court, any statement by the agency may be cited for contempt. He, however, suggested that the aggrieved parties may have explored the agency's alternative dispute resolution opportunities. "The NCAA consumer rights protection is meant to resolve issues amicably without recourse to the court," he wrote in a text message. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/243082-air-peace-passengers-raised-safety- concerns-charged-court-unruly-behaviour.html Back to Top Widow claims aircraft upgrades played a role in husband's death The wreckage of a de Havilland Otter that crashed Sept. 15, 2015, near Iliamna. Three people died, including a man whose widow is now suing Rainbow King Lodge and companies that played a role in modifying the airplane. ANCHORAGE (KTUU) The widow of a Pennsylvania dentist has sued Rainbow King Lodge and the provider of popular aircraft modifications, claiming they are responsible for killing her husband in a 2015 plane crash. The wrongful death suit targets the Iliamna fishing lodge that operated a pre-dawn flight that killed three people. It also names three aviation companies that played a role in modifying the deHavilland Otter that crashed on takeoff. Survivors claim the upgrades "changed the center of gravity, making the center of gravity too far aft and contributing to or causing a stall and or loss of control." A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that a pilot working for the lodge had failed to weigh the cargo on board before leaving in the early morning darkness with nine passengers. The plane was carrying too much weight and stalled, investigators concluded. "When asked how he calculated the weight and balance for the accident airplane before departure, the pilot said he 'guesstimated' it." Jolyn Specter, whose husband James Specter was killed, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Anchorage federal court alongside injured passenger David W. Wood. They say there was more to the accident than human error. The lawsuit claims that modifications made to the plane in 2014, replacing the piston engine with a turbine engine and adding a so-called "Short Takeoff and Landing" (STOL) kit, also contributed to the crash. NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said that STOL kits are fairly common modifications to Otters, Cessna 185s and Super Cubs in Alaska. In his 20 years investigating accidents here, however, he could not immediately recall the modification proving to be a factor in a crash. The plaintiffs in the wrongful death suit cite a January 2016 "airworthiness directive" from Transport Canada followed the crash of a different Otter that had similar modifications. Wood was seriously injured in the Alaska crash. Specter, of Shavertown, Penn., was 79 when he died. Also killed were 70-year-old James P. Fletcher of Clovis, Calif., and 80-year-old Tony W. Degroot of Hanford, Calif. An attorney for Texas Turbine Conversions, which modified the plane in 2014, declined to comment today. The suit also names Recon Air, a third-party installation facility, and Stolairus Aviation, which created the STOL modification kit. A man who answered the phone today at Rainbow Creek Lodge said he was unaware of the federal lawsuit and had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration could not immediately say how many aircraft have received STOL modifications in Alaska. http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/In-wrongful-death-lawsuit-widow-blames-Alaska-lodge-aircraft- modifications--444065463.html Back to Top FAA fines two air cargo shippers for hazmat violations The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $54,000 fine against a French company and a $50,000 penalty against a North Carolina shipper for undeclared hazardous air shipments. The U.S. Transportation Department's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $54,000 civil penalty against Interscience of Saint-Nom-la-Breteche, France, for allegedly violating federal hazardous materials transport regulations. The FAA alleges that on Dec. 21, 2016, Interscience offered six plastic bottles of flammable liquid disinfectant spray to American Airlines for air cargo transport from Blagnac, France, to Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Workers at the American cargo facility at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport discovered the shipment, which was not properly marked or packaged. In addition, the FAA has proposed a $50,000 civil penalty against Charlotte, N.C.-based DebMed USA for allegedly violating the country's hazmat rules. The FAA alleges that on June 22, 2016, DebMed offered 142 lithium metal batteries to American for transport by air from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to San Francisco in the checked baggage of a DebMed employee. Lithium metal batteries are prohibited as air cargo on passenger planes and are also prohibited in checked baggage. Airline passengers may only carry uninstalled, spare lithium batteries in carry-on baggage when the batteries are for personal use in portable electronic devices, FAA said. http://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/faa-fines-two-air-cargo-shippers-for-hazmat-violat- 68973.aspx Back to Top LeClairRyan Announces Major Expansion of Aviation Industry Practice RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LeClairRyan today announced a major expansion of its Aviation Industry Practice with the addition of 17 attorneys and staff from Dentons. The expanded practice will be led by veteran aviation attorneys Mark A. Dombroff and Diane Westwood Wilson, both of whom have been named Shareholders in LeClairRyan. "We are delighted to bring this highly experienced team into our firm, led by two individuals who have gained recognition for their work on some of the world's most prominent aviation cases," said LeClairRyan CEO C. Erik Gustafson. "Mark, Diane and their team have a deep range of experience in all facets of aviation law, including litigation; NTSB investigations; regulatory, administrative and enforcement matters before the FAA, DOT, TSA, State, Justice, and other federal and state bodies; airport and aircraft security, employment issues, and the regulation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)." "The addition of Mark, Diane and their team significantly bolsters our already robust national litigation practice," said LeClairRyan Litigation Department Leader Elizabeth K. Acee. "The team's substantial regulatory and litigation talent, added to our full-service platform, will greatly enhance the depth and breadth of services we already provide to our clients." Dombroff, who will be based in the national law firm's Alexandria, Va. office, has over four decades experience in all aspects of representing the aviation industry, including insurance companies and brokers. He began his career in 1970 as a trial attorney in the FAA's Office of the General Counsel. He subsequently moved to the DOJ's Aviation Unit. During his last five years at DOJ, Dombroff was the Director of the Civil Division, responsible for 100 lawyers and all domestic and international aviation and admiralty matters. He moved into private practice in 1985, counseling airlines, other aviation sector companies, and non-aviation companies with corporate flight departments. Since that time, he has represented airlines on such prominent cases as the Arrow Air crash in Gander, Newfoundland; US Airways crashes in New York (Flight 405 and 1549, the "Miracle on the Hudson"), Charlotte (Flights 1016 and 5481), and Pittsburgh (Flight 427); and the Alaska Airlines crash near Los Angeles (Flight 261). In addition to Arrow, US Airways and Alaska Air, he has represented such carriers as Colgan Air, National Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Mesa Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Trans States Airlines, Virgin America, Spirit Airlines, and Empire Airlines, as well as Virgin Galactic. Westwood Wilson, who will be based in LeClairRyan's Manhattan office, has over 30 years of experience in complex and multijurisdictional matters, representing clients internationally and throughout the United States. She provides strategic counseling and representation to a wide variety of airlines, airports and manufacturers in the aerospace and other industries in state and federal courts, as well as assisting them in long-term strategic business decisions. Her prominent cases included representing EL AL Israel Airlines, Ltd. in the landmark United States Supreme Court multilateral treaty case that established the Montreal Convention as the exclusive cause of action, barring recovery under any other alternative theory of liability. She also represented the airline defendants in the Chan v. Korean Air and Olympic Airways v. Hussain, Supreme Court cases, and has been involved in numerous other petitions to the Supreme Court. Over the course of her career, Westwood Wilson has also represented Air Century, Air India Express, Continental Airlines, Tropic Air, Swissair, British Airways, American Eagle, Japan Air Lines, TWA and others on cases involving crashes, turbulence and other matters. "I have no doubt that LeClairRyan's agile and entrepreneurial spirit will be embraced by our clients," said Westwood Wilson. "On behalf of our entire Aviation Practice Team, including lawyers and support staff, we are very excited to be at LeClairRyan, a firm that is committed to supporting and growing an aviation practice," added Dombroff. "This move is a very positive development for our clients." About LeClairRyan As a trusted advisor, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and litigation. In this role, the firm applies its knowledge, insight and skill to help clients achieve their business objectives while managing and minimizing their legal risks, difficulties and expenses. With offices from coast to coast, the firm represents a wide variety of clients nationwide. For more information about LeClairRyan, visit www.leclairryan.com. For More Information Christina Llames (804) 783-7518 175594@email4pr.com Back to Top NTSB Providing Behind Scenes Look with Podcast Series The NTSB is providing an opportunity for the public to learn more about the Board and agency staff and the investigative process through a new podcast series, "Behind the Scene." Set to debut this fall, the series of podcasts will include interviews with Board members, modal office directors, investigators and other personnel. They will enable the NTSB officials to discuss their careers and roles at the agency, as well as their perspectives on transportation safety. In addition, they will provide background on the investigative process. The podcasts will be available on Google Play and iTunes. The podcasts are among a series of outreach initiatives the now 50-year-old agency has undertaken. Along with its consultative approach to investigation, open board meetings and targeted safety events, the Safety Board hosts seminars and classes at its NTSB Training Center. Established as the NTSB Academy in 2000, the center was designed to not only provide technical training for the agency's own employees but opened its expertise to the community. In addition, Safety Board members are frequent speakers at a host of industry events. With approximately 430 employees, the NTSB is led by a five-member board (currently only four are active, with one vacant seat). The Board has investigated more than 132,000 aviation accidents over the past 50 years and averages 280 safety recommendations a year. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-09-12/ntsb-providing-behind- scenes-look-podcast-series Back to Top EDA awards aviation safety consultancy services contract to Baines Simmons Aviation safety consultancy company Baines Simmons has been contracted to provide consultancy and training services to the European Defence Agency (EDA). Under the four-year EDA consultancy contract, the company will support development and deployment of the full suite of European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs). The agreement covers EMAR development and implementation advice, guidance and training to the EDA and its 27 participating Member States. Baines Simmons director Bob Simmons said: "As recognised by the EDA selection, we retain an extensive in-house team of technical specialists experienced in both civil and defence sectors to assist with EMAR implementation, alongside experienced regulatory authority staff. "The award of this long-term framework agreement will bring a level of stability, consistency and cohesion to the requirements, maximising the benefits to the participating Member States and European defence industries alike." The programme is focused on the continued evolution of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) baseline requirements, safety management system (SMS) implementation, and remotely piloted aircraft systems. "The award of this long-term framework agreement will bring a level of stability, consistency and cohesion to the requirements, maximising the benefits to the participating Member States and European defence industries alike." Since 2002, Baines Simmons supported the development and implementation of Defence Airworthiness Requirements in partnership with the UK Military Aviation Authority, Defence Forces, and partner organisations in the UK, Europe, and Australia. EDA Airworthiness project officer Henk Corporaal said: "The EDA has contracted Baines Simmons a couple of times for consultancy support in the last few years. "From our experience, we learned that the company is a very knowledgeable and capable partner to support the EDA and its participating Member States in the development of EMARs." Baines Simmons has supported the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia on their EMAR competence development. The company has also secured a contract to provide aviation safety consultancy services to the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO). http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newseda-awards-aviation-safety-consultancy-services- contract-to-baines-simmons-5918672 Back to Top Delta Airlines hiring new flight attendants ATLANTA, Georgia -- Delta Airlines is hoping to say "welcome aboard" to some new flight attendants. The application process is usually only open for a couple weeks and competition is steep. The publication Travel and Leisure found that Delta's been known to get more than 100,000 applications for the jobs. Training is no easy task, either. New hires need to go through an eight-week boot camp at Delta's hub in Atlanta. You can find more information about Delta's hiring here. http://www.10tv.com/article/delta-airlines-hiring-new-flight-attendants Back to Top Turkish Airlines profits in Africa, where others fear to fly NAIROBI (Reuters) - When Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS) opened a direct daily route to a war-ravaged African failed state plagued by Islamist militants, industry insiders were skeptical. Not anymore. "Somalia is one of our most profitable destinations worldwide," Mustafa Ozkahraman, Kenya country manager for Turkish Airlines, told Reuters in an interview. "Because we are the only (international airline). The first and the only one." The Istanbul-based carrier is replicating the move across Africa, expanding to destinations shunned by others. The move comes as political unrest at home last year pushed the airline into the red for the first time in 17 years. In 2011, Turkish Airlines flew to 14 African cities. By the end of this year, it will operate 52 routes from Istanbul across Africa, after launching a route to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. From January to June, just under a tenth of total passenger and cargo revenues came from Africa, according to results for the first half of 2017 that showed a net loss of $434 million. Rival Emirates has less than 30 routes. Last year, the Dubai-based airline cut one African flight and reduced the frequency of several others. It cited weak economic conditions in Africa, where many countries dependent on revenues from commodities exports have seen economic growth fall below population growth. But Turkish Airlines, which is 49 percent state-owned, is bullish on Africa, a continent of 1 billion people. The logo of Turkish Airlines (THY) is pictured on the wing of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft after it took off from Ataturk International airport in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Ozkahraman denied the growing ties between Ankara and many African states drove the airline's strategy. "A lot of people would think our flights to Somalia were not business-related," he said. "(But) we do the feasibility and we have to believe the route will be profitable, either now or imminently." He declined to give a specific breakdown on profits for African flights, but said routes like the daily flight on a wide-body jet from the Nigerian city of Lagos were critical to the airline's bottom line. Despite challenges like poor security or electricity cuts at some airports, such flights feed passengers into Turkish Airline's hub, making routes like Istanbul to London profitable. "You have to have those destinations to make your hub busy and your profitable destinations more profitable," he said. Last year the company posted a net loss for the first time since 2000, after a demand slump caused by political turmoil and militant attacks at home. Ozkahraman said some of the shortfall was also due to new planes - 210 have been ordered, he said. Load factors - a measure of how full planes are - are over 70 percent on many African routes, just below the airline's global average of 80 percent, he added. The wide network means that, unlike Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish does not partner with smaller African carriers notorious for poor service. It opened a business class lounge in Nairobi's airport in July 2016, its second international lounge after Moscow. British Airlines and Emirates began renting the Nairobi lounge for their business class travelers earlier this year, Ozkahraman said. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkishairlines-africa/turkish-airlines-profits-in-africa-where- others-fear-to-fly-idUSKCN1BN1CZ Back to Top Where can you find plane seats with amazing leg room? Sitting in the Fort Worth factory that makes them Manufacturer Recaro Aircraft Seating showed off its latest design at its Fort Worth facility on Tuesday, unveiling a new luxury seat for Alaska Airlines that packs all the modern amenities into a roomy, well-cushioned package. The gray leather and cloth seat, officially dubbed the CL4710, features sculpted cushions that draw style inspiration from sports cars, while aspiring to the levels of comfort you'd find in your living room couch. But to fly in one, you'll have to pay up or travel enough with Alaska to score an upgrade, as the seats will be found exclusively in first class. "When you have a guest in your flight for four to five hours, that seat is everything. We want to make sure they're comfortable and have enough personal space," said Sangita Woerner, vice president of marketing at Alaska Airlines. "For an airline it's a big deal. It's like a bed for a hotel." Recaro Aircraft Seating Americas unveiled new seats for Alaska Airlines on Tuesday, Sept. 12, in Fort Worth. Recaro Aircraft Seating is a globally active supplier of premium aircraft seats for leading airlines around the world. The company has about 400 employees in Fort Worth. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) The new seat was unveiled Tuesday after a two-year design process to a crowd of Recaro employees at its Fort Worth plant near Alliance Airport, where some 30,000 seats are manufactured each year. Attendees included a delegation from Recaro's German headquarters, including the company's CEO and shareholder Mark Hiller. Designing a seat involves hundreds of individual decisions and revisions about everything from the seat recline to the arm rests to the padding, Recaro executives said. The seats also have to pass flammability and crash tests, among other safety measures. "It's the optimum. It's a very comfortable seat with a lot of different features, but it's also a lightweight seat, which is also important," Hiller said of Alaska's seat, which weighs about 120 pounds. "Seating is not just about light weight or just about comfort or just about design. It's really bringing those different things together." For the Alaska Airlines seats, the features include large center console cup holders, fold-out footrests and easily accessible power and USB charging ports. Woerner, the Alaska vice president, said lots of pocket space was a commonly requested feature from customers, and the new seat delivers with multiple pouches on the side of and in front of the seat. Physically, the seat is roomier than anything you'll find in coach, with a width of 20 to 21 inches of space for passengers, compared to the 17 to 18 inches found in the economy seats. When they're installed on Alaska's aircraft starting in late 2018, the seats will be laid out in a two-by-two configuration, with five extra inches of legroom compared to Alaska's current layout, bringing the total to nearly a foot of extra room compared to coach seats. The new first-class seat continues a partnership between the two companies that has seen Recaro seats installed on more than 80 percent of Alaska's fleet. The seats will be manufactured at Recaro's Fort Worth facility, where more than 400 people work in design, production, logistics and customer service. The company opened the facility in 1998 and has since expanded to 250,000 feet of space. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2017/09/13/see-fort-worth-factory-alaska-airlines- new-first-class-seats-made Back to Top What the World's Emptiest International Airport Says About China's Influence The four-lane highway leading out of the Sri Lankan town of Hambantota gets so little traffic that it sometimes attracts more wild elephants than automobiles. The pachyderms are intelligent - they seem to use the road as a jungle shortcut - but not intelligent enough, alas, to appreciate the pun their course embodies: It links together a series of white elephants, i.e. boondoggles, built and financed by the Chinese. Beyond the lonely highway itself, there is a 35,000-seat cricket stadium, an almost vacant $1.5 billion deepwater port and, 16 miles inland, a $209 million jewel known as "the world's emptiest international airport." Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, the second-largest in Sri Lanka, is designed to handle a million passengers per year. It currently receives about a dozen passengers per day. Business is so slow that the airport has made more money from renting out the unused cargo terminals for rice storage than from flight-related activities. In one burst of activity last year, 350 security personnel armed with firecrackers were deployed to scare off wild animals, the airport's most common visitors. Projects like Mattala are not driven by local economic needs but by remote stratagems. When Sri Lanka's 27-year civil war ended in 2009, the president at the time, Mahinda Rajapaksa, fixated on the idea of turning his poor home district into a world-class business and tourism hub to help its moribund economy. China, with a dream of its own, was happy to oblige. Hambantota sits in a very strategic location, just a few miles north of the vital Indian Ocean shipping lane over which more than 80 percent of China's imported oil travels. A port added luster to the "string of pearls" that China was starting to assemble all along the so-called Maritime Silk Road. Sadly, no travelers came, only the bills. The Mattala airport has annual revenues of roughly $300,000, but now it must repay China $23.6 million a year for the next eight years, according to Sri Lanka's Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry. Over all, around 90 percent of the country's revenues goes to servicing debt. Even a new president who took office in 2015 on a promise to curb Chinese influence succumbed to financial reality. To relieve its debt crisis, Sri Lanka has put its white elephants up for sale. In late July, the government agreed to give China control of the deepwater port - a 70 percent equity stake over 99 years - in exchange for writing off $1.1 billion of the island's debt. (China has promised to invest another $600 million to make the port commercially viable.) When the preliminary deal was first floated in January, protests erupted in response to the perceived sell-off of national sovereignty, a reminder of Sri Lanka's colonial past under British rule. "We always thought China's investments would help our economy," says Amantha Perera, a Sri Lankan journalist and university researcher. "But now there's a sense that we've been maneuvered into selling some of the family jewels." As the United States beats a haphazard retreat from the world - nixing trade agreements, eschewing diplomacy, antagonizing allies - China marches on with its unabashedly ambitious global-expansion program known as One Belt, One Road. The branding is awkward: "Belt" refers to the land-bound trading route through Central Asia and Europe, while "Road," confusingly, stands for the maritime route stretching from Southeast Asia across the Indian Ocean to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Still, the intentions are clear: With a lending and acquisitions blitz extending to 68 countries (and counting), OBOR seeks to create the ports, roads and rail and telecommunications links for a modern-day Silk Road - with all paths leading to China. This is China's long game. It's not about immediate profits; infrastructure projects are a bad way to make money. So why is President Xi Jinping fast-tracking OBOR projects amid an economic slowdown at home and a crackdown on other overseas acquisitions? Economics is a big part: China wants to secure access to key resources, export its idle industrial capacity, even tilt the world order in its favor. But there is also a far greater cultural ambition. For centuries, Western liberalism has ruled the world. The Chinese believe their time has come. "China sees itself as a great civilization that needs to regain its status as leader of the world," says Kadira Pethiyagoda, a fellow at the Brookings Institution Doha Center. "And America's retreat gives China the space to do that." It's tempting to see OBOR as a muscled-up Marshall Plan, the American-led program that helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II. OBOR, too, is designed to build vital infrastructure, spread prosperity and drive global development. Yet little of what China offers is aid or even low- interest lending. Much OBOR financing comes in the form of market-rate loans that weaker countries are eager to receive - but may struggle to repay. Even when the projects are well suited for the local economy, the result can look a bit like a shell game: Things are built, money goes to Chinese companies and the country is saddled with more debt. What happens when, as is often the case, infrastructure projects are driven more by geopolitical ambition or the need to give China's state- owned companies something to do? Well, Sri Lanka has an empty airport for sale. Sri Lanka may be a harbinger for debt crises to come. Many other OBOR countries have taken on huge Chinese loans that could prove difficult to repay. For example, Chinese banks, according to The Financial Times, recently lent Pakistan $1.2 billion to stave off a currency crisis - even as they pledged $57 billion more to develop the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. "The projects China proposes are so big and appealing and revolutionary that many small countries can't resist," says Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research. "They take on loans like it's a drug addiction and then get trapped in debt servitude. It's clearly part of China's geostrategic vision." This charge conjures the specter of colonialism, when the British and Dutch weaponized debt to take control of nations' strategic assets. China insists it is nothing like a colonial power. Its appeal to developing countries, after all, is often based on a shared negative experience of colonialism - and the desire to have cooperative "win-win" trade and investment relationships. Unlike Western countries and institutions that try to influence how developing countries govern themselves, China says it espouses the principle of noninterference. If local partners benefit from a new road or port, the Chinese suggest, shouldn't they be able to "win," too - by securing its main trade routes, building loyal partnerships and enhancing its global prestige? The last time China was a global power, back in the early 1400s, it also sought to amplify its glory and might along the Maritime Silk Road, through the epic voyages of Zheng He. A towering Ming dynasty eunuch - in some accounts he stands seven feet tall - Zheng He commanded seven expeditions from Asia to the Middle East and Africa. When he came ashore on Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) around 1406, his fleet commanded shock and awe: It was a floating city of more than 300 ships and some 30,000 sailors. Besides seeking tributes and trade - the ships were laden with silk, gold and porcelain - his mission was to enhance China's status as the greatest civilization on earth. After Zheng He's death at sea in 1433, China turned inward for the next six centuries. Now, as the country has become a global power once again, Communist Party leaders have revived the legend of Zheng He to show China's peaceful intentions and its historical connections to the region. His goal, they say, was not to conquer - unlike Western empires - but to establish friendly trade and diplomatic relations. In Sri Lanka today, Chinese tour groups often traipse through a Colombo museum to see the trilingual stone tablet the admiral brought here - proof, it seems, that China respected all peoples and religions. No mention is made of a less savory aspect of Zheng He's dealings in Ceylon. On a later expedition, around 1411, his troops became embroiled in a war. Zheng He prevailed and took the local king back to China as a prisoner. The unsanitized version of Zheng He's story may contain a lesson for present-day China about unintended consequences. Pushing countries deeper into debt, even inadvertently, may give China leverage in the short run, but it risks losing the good will essential to OBOR's long-term success. For all the big projects China is engaged in around the world - high-speed rail in Laos, a military base in Djibouti, highways in Kenya - arguably its most perilous step so far may be taking control of the foundering Hambantota port. "It's folly to take equity stakes," says Joshua Eisenman, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "China will have to become further entwined in local politics. And what happens if the country decides to deny a permit or throw them out. Do they retreat? Do they protect?" China promotes itself as a new, gentler kind of power, but it's worth remembering that dredging deepwater ports and laying down railroad ties to secure new trade routes - and then having to defend them from angry locals - was precisely how Britain started down the slippery slope to empire. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/magazine/what-the-worlds-emptiest-international-airport- says-about-chinas-influence.html Back to Top Norwegian launches Irish recruitment drive for pilots Norwegian Air International CEO Tore Jenssen says the airline will study sales to match aircraft to routes1 Scandinavian airline Norwegian has confirmed it's to open a new pilot base in Dublin later this year to support its growing international operations - and is holding its first recruitment roadshow today. The base will initially include about 40 pilots, but Norwegian is also exploring options for further pilot and cabin crew positions at the base next summer. Norwegian's Ireland-based unit - Norwegian Air International (NAI) - already has a head office at Dublin Airport, headed by Tore Jenssen, which employs more than 80 people. Norwegian said that it has already started recruiting for Boeing 737 pilots. It's holding the first of a number of pilot road shows at the Clayton Hotel at Dublin Airport this afternoon. Norwegian launched flights between Ireland and the United States during the summer. It serves secondary airports in the United States, flying from Dublin and Shannon to Stewart International Airport in upstate New York, and to Providence's TF Green Airport to serve Boston and the surrounding region. Norwegian also flies from Cork to Providence. "With a number of transatlantic routes recently launched from Ireland and Belfast, and plans for continued expansion in future, opening a new base at Dublin Airport is an important step to support our growing international operations," said Bjorn Erik Barman-Jenssen, the CEO of Norwegian Air Resources. He said that there has been "lots of interest" from pilots in joining the airline, and that the Dublin base will offer "exciting opportunities". Norwegian launched its services from Ireland to the United States with Boeing 737-800 jets, but started taking delivery during the summer of 737 Max aircraft. Two senior Irish pilots - a former Ryanair and an ex-Aer Lingus pilot - flew the first Ireland-registered Norwegian Max jet delivered from Seattle in June. Norwegian Air Shuttle chief executive Bjorn Kjos said the Max jet would "pave the way for a totally new concept" in air travel. Norwegian will have 144 aircraft in its fleet by the end of this year, including 21 Dreamliners. It has 110 Max aircraft on order. For its Dublin base, Norwegian is looking for pilots who hold a Boeing 737 operational certificate to serve flights from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast. Tore Jenssen told the Irish Independent in June that Norwegian will see how ticket sales on its Dublin-US routes perform before making any alterations to the aircraft type it uses on the route. He said the carrier could look at using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the services if there was sufficient demand. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/norwegian-launches-irish-recruitment-drive-for-pilots- 36125836.html Back to Top Embraer Mulls China Return With Factory for Passenger Jets * CEO sees 20-year market for 1,000 jets of size Embraer makes * Brazilian company closed Chinese private-jet factory in 2016 Embraer SA is likely to consider building a commercial-aircraft factory in China in two years, Chief Executive Officer Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva said, marking a potential shift in strategy after the company shut down its private-jet plant in the Asian country in 2016. The Brazilian planemaker will wait for its first E195-E2 aircraft to enter service in 2019 before it starts deliberating on the China plan, Silva said in an interview Friday in Singapore. The plant would be the company's first overseas factory for a full-size jetliner. "We may consider it if we have the right partner and enough interest for our jets," he said. "We see potential for a little bit over 1,000 aircraft of the size that Embraer manufacturers for the next 20 years in China. We have 80 percent of that market." Embraer, which spent last year battling a corruption scandal and falling private-jet deliveries, is looking to an aviation market that is expected to surpass the U.S. as the world's biggest in less than a decade. In the market for commercial planes, Embraer will face stiff competition from the smallest single-aisle jets made by Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, as well as a locally-built regional jet ARJ21 from state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd. China Market In providing its 20-year demand forecasts, Boeing said this week that China will need 7,240 planes valued at almost $1.1 trillion. Seventy-five percent of that will be for narrow-body aircraft as full- service and discount carriers expand routes for both leisure and business travel. Embraer is pitching lower operating costs with its E195-E2, saying the plane -- with 132 seats in a single-class configuration -- will have demand in China and Southeast Asia. Around 330 Embraer aircraft are flown by customers in 17 Asia-Pacific countries at present, the planemaker said in an email. The last time Embraer set up a factory in China -- to make executive jets -- it didn't end well. Blaming lack of government incentives for dwindling demand, the company and its joint-venture partners said in June 2016 that they would phase out the plant in Harbin, which produced ERJ 145 regional jets and Legacy 650 business aircraft. Demand is poised to rebound in the next three to five years as more airports are built to facilitate these aircraft, Silva said. China has about 450 private jets, while Brazil has 750 and Mexico more than 800, he said. Embraer, based in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, expects demand in Asia for its new KC-390 military transport and tanker, which was designed to replace Lockheed Martin Corp.'s C-130 Hercules, Silva said. The manufacturer is currently in talks with Portugal and expects an order this year, he said. It's also in talks with New Zealand and five other countries in Europe and Latin America, he said without elaborating, adding some in Asia have shown interest for the aircraft. "Step by step, Embraer will also be more present in Asia market for defense," Silva said. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-10/embraer-mulls-china-return-with-first- passenger-jet-plant-abroad Back to Top Researchers announce promising new feedstock for bio-jet fuel PETROSS researchers Deepak Kumar (left) and Vijay Singh. University of Illinois A Boeing 747 burns one gallon of jet fuel each second. A recent analysis from researchers at the University of Illinois estimate that this aircraft could fly for 10 hours on bio-jet fuel produced on 54 acres of specially engineered sugarcane. Plants Engineered to Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS), funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), has developed sugarcane that produces oil, called lipidcane, that can be converted into biodiesel or jet fuel in place of sugar that is currently used for ethanol production. With 20 percent oil-the theoretical limit-all the sugar in the plant would be replaced by oil. "Oil-to-Jet is one of the direct and efficient routes to convert bio-based feedstocks to jet fuel," said Vijay Singh, director of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at U of I. "Reducing the feedstock cost is critical to improving process economics of producing bio-jet fuel. Lipidcane allows us to reduce feedstock cost." This research analyzed the economic viability of crops with different levels of oil. Lipidcane with 5 percent oil produces four times more jet fuel (1,577 liters, or 416 gallons) per hectare than soybeans. Sugarcane with 20 percent oil produces more than 15 times more jet fuel (6,307 liters, or 1,666 gallons) per hectare than soybeans. "PETROSS sugarcane is also being engineered to be more cold tolerant, potentially enabling it to be grown on an estimated 23 million acres of marginal land in the Southeastern U.S.," said PETROSS Director Stephen Long, Gutgsell Endowed Professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at U of I. "If all of this acreage was used to produce renewable jet fuel from lipid-cane, it could replace about 65 percent of national jet fuel consumption." "We estimate that this biofuel would cost the airline industry $5.31 per gallon, which is less than most of the reported prices of renewable jet fuel produced from other oil crops or algae," said Deepak Kumar, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at U of I and lead analyst on the study. This crop also produces profitable co-products: A hydrocarbon fuel is produced along with bio-jet fuel or biodiesel that can be used to produce various bioproducts. The remaining sugar (for plants with less than 20 percent oil) could be sold or used to produce ethanol. In addition, biorefineries could use lipidcane bagasse to produce steam and electricity to become self-sustainable for their energy needs and provide surplus electricity, providing environmental benefits by displacing electricity produced with fossil fuels. The paper "Biorefinery for combined production of jet fuel and ethanol from lipid-producing sugarcane: a techno-economic evaluation" is published by Global Change Biology Bioenergy (10.1111/gcbb.12478). PETROSS is a research project transforming sugarcane and sweet sorghum to naturally produce large amounts of oil, a sustainable source of biofuel. PETROSS is supported by the ARPA-E, which funds initial research for high-impact energy technologies to show proof of concept before private-sector investment. http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/14667/researchers-announce-promising-new-feedstock-for- bio-jet-fuel Back to Top Retired But Still Flying, the F-117 Nighthawk May Soon Fade to Black The 49th Maintenance Squadron, fabrication flight, performs maintenance on the F-117 Nighthawk at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., March 13, 2014. The F-117 has been on static display in Holloman's Heritage Park since its retirement in 2008. Even though retired, the F-117 remains in "flyable storage" status, used for training purposes in Nevada. The Air Force in 2017 will begin removing four F-117s every year to fully divest them -- a process known as demilitarizing aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Leah Ferrante/Released) The F-117 Nighthawk has been spotted over the Nevada desert occasionally in recent years, raising questions why a "retired" plane has made its way onto a flightline. Technically categorized as "flyable storage," the remaining single-seat, twin-engine aircraft in the Air Force inventory are tucked away at test and training ranges in Tonopah, Nevada. But in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, passed Dec. 23, the Air Force will remove four F-117s every year to fully divest them - a process known as demilitarizing aircraft, a service official told Military.com on Monday. "Flyable storage" aircraft are not considered classified, said the official, who requested anonymity to free discuss the program. This is why aviation enthusiasts may have spotted the stealth aircraft flying in 2014 and again in 2016 and again as they were taken out for training flights. "We had to keep all the F-117s in flyable storage until the fiscal '17 NDAA gave us permission to dispose of them," the official said. "Once we have it, [Congress] doesn't let us to get rid of anything, but do it in phases, like keep it in backup inventory, primary aircraft assigned, or flyable storage." Congress gave authority in 2007 and 2008 to retire a total of 52 F-117s from the inventory, but wanted them maintained so they could be recalled into future service in case they were needed for a high-end war, the official said. But in coming years, the stealth attack plane - capable of attacking high value targets without being detected by enemy radar - may permanently fade to black. "We're supposed to dispose of one [Nighthawk] in 2017 and approximately four every year thereafter," the official said. One is scheduled to be divested this year. The transition to "demilitarize" and decrease the inventory of the aircraft is defined in the Defense Department's 41-60.21, "Defense Materiel Disposition Manual." Depending on what the aircraft does or what DoD plans to do with it - such as put it in a museum, for example - the manual dictates how to dispose by eliminating the functional capabilities of the plane. "Sometimes the boneyard does that, sometimes they don't," the official said, referring to Davis- Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where retired planes call home after they've been deactivated. Furthermore, once the aircraft is declared as "excess after deactivation," sometimes the aircraft can be sold off to other federal agencies in need, if it applies. The F-117 first saw combat during Operation Just Cause on Dec. 19, 1989, according to the Air Force, but remained under the radar for years. The F-117 flew as an unacknowledged program for almost nine years before it was considered in active service in the 1980s. The service even crashed a few during trials. Questions surged over the Nighthawk's role recently after a pilot was killed in a "classified" plane crash last week at the Nevada Test and Training Range. Lt. Col. Eric Schultz, 44, died from injuries sustained when his aircraft crashed last Tuesday at the range, located about 100 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein on Saturday quashed speculation that the aircraft involved in the incident was an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which would have marked the first crash for the service's newest and most technically advanced aircraft. "I can definitely say it was not an F-35," he told a Military.com reporter accompanying him on a trip to the National Guard Association of the United States in Louisville, Ky. The aircraft involved in the crash has not been identified. https://www.defensetech.org/2017/09/11/retired-still-flying-f-117-nighthawk-may-soon-fade-black/ Back to Top US-Russian Crew Arrives Space Station After Quick 6-Hour Trip (Video) Two NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut successfully launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday (Sept. 12). NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin blasted off atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:17 p.m. EDT (2127 GMT). Packed tightly inside their Soyuz MS-06 space capsule, the trio began their 6-hour trip to the ISS after a flawless launch sequence. "Everything is nominal on board [and] the crew is doing fine," a translator for Russia's Mission Control Center in Moscow repeatedly announced during a live webcast as the Soyuz MS-06 soared into the sky. The Soyuz arrived at the space station's Poisk module a couple minutes early on Tuesday, at 10:55 p.m. EDT, 5 hours and 38 minutes after the launch (0257 GMT on Sept. 13). "A series of burns over the next several hours will gradually raise their orbit as they chase down the space station," NASA TV commentator Rob Navias said during the launch. At the station, they will meet up with the other half of Expedition 53, three crewmembers who arrived at the ISS in July: NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli. Before they open the hatch, the crew will spend about an hour and a half performing a series of tests and checks on the Soyuz. The hatch is scheduled to open early Wednesday morning (Sept. 13) at about 12:40 a.m. EDT (0440 GMT), and a welcoming ceremony will follow. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 53 Mission Crew in Orbit] Expedition 53 flight engineers Mark Vande Hei (top) and Joe Acaba, and Soyuz Cmdr. Alexander Misurkin (bottom) wave farewell before boarding their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (Sept. 13) Vande Hei, Acaba and Misurkin will spend about five months aboard the orbiting laboratory, where they will work on "hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science," NASA officials said in a statement. They will serve as members of both Expeditions 53 and 54 during their stay. While Acaba and Misurkin have been to space before, this is Vande Hei's first time in space. Vande Hei, who was selected for NASA's astronaut corps in 2006, has served as an aquanaut aboard NASA's Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 18 mission. Both Acaba and Misurkin have flown to the ISS before; Misurkin served as a flight engineer during Expedition 35/36 in 2013, and Acaba was a flight engineer for Expedition 31/32 in 2012. Acaba also flew on the space shuttle Discovery for mission STS-119 in 2009, and has logged a total of 138 days in space between the two missions. In total flight time, Misurkin is the most experienced, with 166 days spent in space so far. Originally, NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos planned to launch only Misurkin and Vande Hei on this particular Soyuz trip. Though the Soyuz has three seats, Roscosmos decided to cut one cosmonaut post in 2016 pending the construction of a new module. To maintain a crew of six people aboard the space station, NASA extended astronaut Peggy Whitson's stay by three months. In February, NASA signed a contract with Boeing that would allow the space agency to fill two seats on Russia's crewed Soyuz flights, including today's launch and the Expedition 55/56 launch scheduled for March 2018. Boeing had obtained the seats as part of an unrelated settlement with Energia, the Russian company that builds the Soyuz spacecraft, and sold them to NASA for $373.5 million, or about $74.7 million per seat, NASA officials said in a statement. Under its regular contract with Roscosmos, NASA spends about $81.7 million per seat on a Soyuz. https://www.space.com/38134-space-station-expedition53-crew-launch-success.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 Curt Lewis