Flight Safety Information December 15, 2017 - No. 249 In This Issue Incident: Envoy E145 at Champaign on Dec 13th 2017, fumes in cockpit EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Delta B763 near Tokyo on Dec 14th 2017, suspected fuel leak Incident: Aeroflot A321 at Moscow and Stockholm on Dec 13th 2017, damage to landing light Incident: SAA A343 at Munich on Dec 13th 2017, rejected takeoff due to engine problem Three killed when Cessna Citation Mustang impacts wooded terrain near Friedrichshafen, Germany Aerospatiale AS 350B3 Ecureuil Fatal Accident (Canada) All 25 people on crashed Saskatchewan flight 'accounted for' but some require air ambulance, RCMP says Aviation experts defend safety record of type of plane used in Saskatchewan crash Fairbanks pilot charged in fatal 2014 Brooks Range crash...Pilot lied to NTSB NASA: Navy probe missed key factors in pilot oxygen system failures NTSB official comes to Vaughn College...Dennis Jones American rethinks procedures after confused A330 evacuation Sacramento Airport's new solar farm to produce 30% of it's electricity BAE SYSTEMS' TECH TO CHANGE FUTURE OF AIRCRAFT DESIGN Tata group, GE partner to make aircraft engine components in India XOJET Business Growth Fuels Investments in Industry-Leading Safety, Training, and Flight Standards Bitcoin: Making Private Jet Travel More Secure Than Ever Before Delta Favors Airbus Over Boeing for Order of 100 Jets Bombardier Aims to Swipe Gulfstream's Crown for Most-Coveted Jet Munich Re Increases its Shareholding in Global Aerospace Three-man crew returns from space station Artificial Intelligence and NASA Data Used to Discover Eighth Planet Circling Distant Star ESASI Annual Seminar - Jurmala / Riga 2018 Bow Tie Method of Safety Risk Management - Course Upcoming USC Courses Incident: Envoy E145 at Champaign on Dec 13th 2017, fumes in cockpit An Envoy Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N692AE performing flight MQ-3478/AA-3478 from Champaign,IL to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) with 18 people on board, was climbing through 16,000 feet out of Champaign when the crew reported fumes in the cockpit and decided to return to Champaign for a safe landing on runway 22 about 15 minutes after departure. The passengers were rebooked onto later flights. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for 18 hours before returning to service. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL3478/history/20171213/1609Z/KCMI/KORD http://avherald.com/h?article=4b253d96&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Delta B763 near Tokyo on Dec 14th 2017, suspected fuel leak A Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N1610D performing flight DL-588 from Shanghai (China) to Seattle,WA (USA) with 220 people on board, was enroute at FL310 about 250nm southwest of Tokyo (Japan) when the crew suspected a fuel leak and decided to divert to Tokyo's Narita Airport for a safe landing on runway 34L about 50 minutes later. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 3.5 hours, then was able to continue the journey and reached Seattle with a delay of 3.5 hours. Japan's Ministry of Transport reported the aircraft diverted to Tokyo on suspicion of a fuel leak. The airline reported the aircraft was examined, no anomaly was found. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b25379b&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Aeroflot A321 at Moscow and Stockholm on Dec 13th 2017, damage to landing light An Aeroflot Airbus A321-200, registration VP-BKI performing flight SU-2210 from Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) to Stockholm (Sweden), completed a seemingly uneventful flight with a safe landing in Stockholm and taxied to the apron. Ground personell found the right hand landing light had received damage to its glass cover and the light bulb without evidence of a foreign object damage. The lamp body itself was not damaged. The landing light was disabled and taped up with speed tape and the aircraft was released to return to Sheremetyevo. The aircraft departed for the return flight SU-2211 and reached Moscow with a delay of 30 minutes. After landing in Sheremetyevo the cover glass and the speed tape was missing. The runway in Sheremetyevo as well as the taxi route were searched without finding the missing materials. Rosaviatsia reported the aircraft's technical status is being assessed. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b25355f&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: SAA A343 at Munich on Dec 13th 2017, rejected takeoff due to engine problem A SAA South African Airways Airbus A340-300, registration ZS-SXA performing flight SA-265 from Munich (Germany) to Johannesburg (South Africa), was accelerating for takeoff from Munich's runway 26L when the crew received indication of an engine #3 (CFM56, inboard right) anomaly and rejected takeoff at low speed (about 50 knots over ground). The aircraft rolled down the runway to the next high speed turn off (taxiway B11) and returned to the apron. Following maintenance activity the aircraft was able to depart about 3 hours later and reached Johannesburg with a delay of 3:20 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b253ac2&opt=0 Back to Top Three killed when Cessna Citation Mustang impacts wooded terrain near Friedrichshafen, Germany Status: Preliminary Date: Thursday 14 December 2017 Time: ca 18:15 Type: Cessna 510 Citation Mustang Operator: Skytaxi Luftfahrt Registration: OE-FWD C/n / msn: 510-0049 First flight: 2007 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: Sieberatsreute, Waldburg ( Germany) Phase: Unknown (UNK) Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Egelsbach Airport (EDFE), Germany Destination airport: Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH/EDNY), Germany Narrative: A Cessna 510 Citation Mustang jet impacted wooded terrain at Sieberatsreute in Germany, killing three occupants. The aircraft was approaching Friedrichshafen Airport and came down about 16 km north-east of the airport. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20171214-0 Back to Top Aerospatiale AS 350B3 Ecureuil Fatal Accident (Canada) Date: 14-DEC-2017 Time: 07:00Z Type: Aerospatiale AS 350B3 Ecureuil Owner/operator: Hydro One Networks Registration: C-GOHS C/n / msn: 3240 Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Tweed, ON - Canada Phase: Unknown Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The helicopter crashed near Tweed, Ontario, killing four occupants. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=202964 Back to Top All 25 people on crashed Saskatchewan flight 'accounted for' but some require air ambulance, RCMP say * No fatalities reported as of late Wednesday night, but some seriously injured in Fond-du-Lac crash Fond-du-Lac resident Raymond Sanger took this photo of the crash site, located about one kilometre from the community's airstrip. All 25 people onboard the West Wind Aviation flight that crashed shortly after taking off from the Fond-du-Lac, Sask., airport Wednesday night "have been accounted for and removed from the scene of the crash," the RCMP said late Wednesday. There were no fatalities, RCMP added in a 10:30 p.m. CST news release. "There was no explosion or fire. A number of people have suffered injuries, some serious enough to require air ambulance services which are currently en route," the release said. The ATR-42 plane took off from the airport at around 6:15 p.m. headed to Stony Rapids. Onboard were 22 passengers and three crew members - two pilots and a flight attendant. Fond-du-Lac community and airstrip The airstrip is located at the northern end of the community of approximately 900 people. (Google Maps) Officers from Stony Rapids are helping at the scene alongside local emergency responders. "Additional emergency/rescue resources are on the way to the scene from Royal Canadian Air Force and Search and Rescue," an earlier RCMP release said. Rescuer's coat drenched in fuel Fond-du-Lac resident Raymond Sanger, 57, was at the community's bingo hall with his son when a friend got a call about the crash. The pair rushed out to the airport, following the screams of passengers to the crash site. "We heard some noises of people screaming," said Sanger. "There's some women's voices.... We followed that voice until we got to the area where that plane was." "They were all pinned inside between chairs and seats and all that," he said of the passengers. "We cut some metal and broke some metals so that we could get these people out." Fond-du-Lac Fond-du-Lac is a remote fly-in community in northern Saskatchewan. (CBC) Sanger's coat was drenched in airplane fuel by the time everyone was rescued and he got home. "I'm just shaking," he said. "My coat is just soaked with airplane fuel. Everybody's like that, everyone who was there." First responders lauded Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, tweeted about the rescue effort, lauding the first responders. "I would like to convey our thoughts and hearts for those affected by this accident, and our appreciation for the efforts of local first responders," Transport Minister Marc Garneau echoed. "We will cooperate fully with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's investigation into this accident. Transport Canada is appointing a minister's observer who will keep me informed of the investigation's progress." Investigators from the TSB are due in Fond-du-Lac Thursday morning. Cause unknown RCMP members found the plane less than a kilometre from the airstrip. Fond-du-Lac is a remote fly-in community of about 900 people in the northern part of the province. "At this time the cause of the accident is unknown and the Transportation Safety Board has been advised," Rick Philipenko, the chief financial officer of Saskatoon-based West Wind Aviation, said in a news release late Wednesday. "The care of passengers and crew remain the priority." Environment Canada's forecast for Fond-du-Lac Wednesday night called for cloudy conditions with a 30 per cent chance of flurries and a low of -19 C. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/plane-carrying-25-people-crash-northern-sask- 1.4447787 Back to Top Aviation experts defend safety record of type of plane used in Saskatchewan crash * No one among the 25 people on board was killed in the Fond-du-Lac crash ATR 42-300 Twenty-two passengers and three crew members were aboard the aircraft when it crashed shortly after takeoff on Wednesday from the Fond-du-Lac, Sask., airport. For some, the ATR aircraft may immediately be linked to the high-profile and deadly 1991 crash of American Eagle Flight 4184 near Roselawn, Ind., which killed all 68 people on board. And while investigators try to determine what caused the crash of an ATR 42 airplane in northern Saskatchewan Wednesday night, some aviation experts say the plane doesn't have a systemic history of safety issues. "We've had great success with it. It does a good job," said Aaron Speer, vice-president of flight operations for the northern Canadian airline First Air. "It's a quite capable aircraft.... It doesn't have any particular nasty habits, it's not an unusually difficult aircraft to fly." The West Wind Aviation turboprop crashed shortly after takeoff around 6:15 p.m. CST near the remote community of Fond-du-Lac in the boreal forest area of northern Saskatchewan. No one among the 25 people on board was killed in the crash. However, at least five people were seriously injured and needed to be airlifted to hospital. Speer said he has more than 5,000 flying hours in this type of aircraft, and his airline has more than a dozen of these planes in the fleet. They've been operating the aircraft for around 16 years and he estimated there are about four dozen of them operating in Canada. "It's a proven and tested and heavily operated aircraft," he said. ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Italian company Leonardo, is the world's largest maker of regional turboprop planes. It manufactures two sizes of turboprop aircraft, the 70-seat ATR 72 and the 50-seat ATR 42. The twin-engine ATR 42 most typically seats 42, along with two crew, and is designed for short-haul flights. "In North America, it's less popular in part because Bombardier is in our backyard, and the high- profile [1991] accident didn't do them any good PR-wise," Speer said. West Wind Aviation operates a fleet of five ATR 42s, ranging in age from 23 to 27 years old, said Harro Ranter, CEO of the Aviation Safety Network. The plane involved in Wednesday's accident was nearly 27 years old and first purchased by the now-defunct Mexican-based Noroeste airline in 1991. It has been subsequently owned by airlines in Kenya and South Africa before it was sold to West Wind in 2012, according to Airfleets.net. These types of aircraft are used almost everywhere in the world, Ranter said. Years ago, when it first entered the market, the plane did have issues with the accumulation of ice on the fuselage and wings, he said. "A few aircraft crashed in the early days because of the loss of lift of the wings caused by the accumulation of icing," he said. Icing was considered a contributing factor in the 1991 crash. That accident also involved the ATR 72, which is bigger than the ATR 42. "The reality is if you look at the accident, there was a bunch of changes that came out following that accident both to pilot procedure and aircraft systems," Speer said. "The airplane today is not that same airplane they had," said Speer. However, there have been some deadly crashes in the last two years. Last December, an ATR 42 crashed in Pakistan after the crew reported engine problems. All 47 people on board were killed. Another ATR 42 crashed in August 2015 in Indonesia, killing all 49 passengers and five crew members on board. But this accident may have had nothing to do with the aircraft. It crashed in mountainous terrain at about 2,600 metres above sea level during a period of reduced visibility due to rain and fog, according to the website Airsafe.com. Both crashes are still under investigation. Indonesia confirms no survivors as Trigana plane 'totally destroyed' Still, Ranter said its safety record overall is "pretty fine." Some of the ATRs are combi aircraft, meaning cargo is usually loaded in the front part of the cabin, with the seats removed, and passengers are in the back. But Ranter said he was "not aware of any safety issues or previous accidents related to combi configurations on ATR aircraft." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/plane-crash-saskatchewan-1.4449354 *************** Status: Preliminary Date: Wednesday 13 December 2017 Time: ca 18:15 Type: ATR 42-300 Operator: West Wind Aviation Registration: registration unknown C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 22 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 25 Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: near Fond-du-Lac Airport, SK (ZFD) ( Canada) Phase: Initial climb (ICL) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Fond-du-Lac Airport, SK (ZFD/CZFD), Canada Destination airport: Stony Rapids Airport, SK (YSF/CYSF), Canada Flightnumber: 280 Narrative: A West Wind Aviation ATR 42-300 impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Fond-du-Lac Airport (CZFD) in Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and there are reports of "multiple injuries " among the twenty-two passengers and three crew onboard the airplane. Environment Canada's forecast for Fond-du-Lac Wednesday the night of the accident called for cloudy conditions with a 30 per cent chance of flurries and a low of -19°C. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20171213-0 Back to Top Fairbanks pilot charged in fatal 2014 Brooks Range crash * Pilot lied to NTSB View of Left Side of Main Wreckage. Pilot Forest Kirst was likely to blame for the airplane crash at Atigun Pass in August of 2014, according to the NTSB report. Photo Courtesy of FAA FAIRBANKS-An Anchorage federal grand jury Wednesday indicted a Fairbanks pilot on two counts of obstructing a National Transportation Safety Board investigation and flying without a valid airman's license. Forest M. Kirst, 60, was piloting a single-engine, four-seat Ryan Navion A plane with three passengers on board when he crashed on a hillside approximately 400 feet from the summit of the Brooks Range near Atigun Pass Aug. 24, 2014. Kirst and his passengers were seriously injured, and one of the passengers died 35 days after the crash. The plane was operated by Fairbanks-based Kirst Aviation, an on-demand commercial sightseeing business. The NTSB investigated and issued a final report in March of this year saying the probable cause of the accident was Kirst's "improper inflight planning and improper decision to deliberately operate the airplane at low altitude in close proximity to obstructions and rising terrain." The report also found Kirst had a "history of accidents, incidents, re-examination and check-ride failures" and that the Federal Aviation Administration erred in granting him a commercial air transport certificate "despite the pilot's history and concerns voiced by numerous FAA personnel during the certification process." According to a news release issued Thursday by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska, the indictment alleges Kirst "mislead the NTSB about the altitude of his plane prior to the crash" and gave varying explanations of how the crash occurred. Kirst's airman pilot certificate was revoked by the FAA, but Kirst was later seen flying his aircraft, according to the news release. If convicted, Kirst faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The sentence will be based on the seriousness of the offenses and any prior criminal history Kirst may have. http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-pilot-charged-in-fatal-brooks-range- crash/article_0673dd2a-e13b-11e7-af64-a34859817bf4.html Back to Top NASA: Navy probe missed key factors in pilot oxygen system failures Four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet aircraft fly over mountains in Afghanistan on Nov. 25, 2010. According to a report Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, a team of NASA investigators recently reported that the Navy missed a series of key factors in its investigation into the causes behind a rash of midair, oxygen-related failures in F/A-18s. WASHINGTON - The Navy missed a series of key factors in its investigation into the causes behind a rash of midair, oxygen-related failures in F/A-18s, which led to the deaths of at least four pilots, a NASA team concluded in a recently released report. The 258-page report, which is slated to be the focus of an upcoming House Armed Services Committee subpanel hearing, signals the Navy has plenty of work to do to create safer flying conditions for its pilots. The findings raised an alarm for at least one key lawmaker Thursday. "I know that hundreds of dedicated people in the Navy are working very hard to address this problem but the report points out that we have a long way to go and that in some areas we can do much better," said Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., who helped spearhead the push for the study. "I am hopeful that the Navy will carefully examine the findings of this report and act on them as quickly as possible." Tsongas is the ranking Democrat for the House Armed Services subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, which plans to hold a hearing on the matter in January. The chairman of the panel, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, agreed that much work remains after reading the report, which was delivered to his committee last week. "There is no doubt this remains a complex problem to solve that requires a well-coordinated 'systems approach' to include all factors such as the aircraft, the pilot, and the environment," Turner said. "These incidents have a direct effect on overall readiness. These episodes affect the confidence of our pilots and their ability to perform, because it is not just these events occurring, it is also the anxiety of these events occurring in succession." In an April hearing, Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, said the Navy had already made plenty of ground on addressing fixes. "We've improved training" for pilots and others, Richardson testified. "And we're making sure that we are listening and they all feel like they can be talking to leadership so we understand where their anxieties and concerns are." The NASA report is the result of a provision in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act directing an independent review be conducted of recurring "physiological episodes" for Navy pilots. In turn, the Navy asked NASA's assistance, which began investigating the problem in March. A physiological episode, which entails pilot impairment as the result of a lack of oxygen or other contributing factors, can involve decompression sickness, disorientation, hypoxia, cognitive impairment, inability to read or interpret data and instrumentation, numbness and pain, among other factors, the report states. The episodes, also known as PEs, can have deadly consequences, with incidents of some pilots passing out mid-flight, leading to a fatal crash. In June, the Navy said in a review that four pilot deaths were tied to oxygen system failures in the cockpits of F/A-18 Hornets. The review had said reports of oxygen failures in the Hornets had increased from 57 in 2012 to 125 in 2016. By June 2017, the figure had already reached 52. "While the Navy has introduced a number of corrective actions to address what was believed to be the primary causes of these events, PEs are still occurring," according to the report from the NASA's Engineering and Safety Center. The Navy focused on aircraft fixes, instead of its pilots and crew, missing critical factors in its probe, the NASA team found. The physiological episodes "do not happen to planes, they happen to people," the NASA team said in the report. "For a long time the Navy made the assumption that the (physiological episode) resulted from a defect in one or more components of the aircraft" and the aircraft would be taken out of service, the report states. "No serious attention was paid to the interface of the human and the machine, or how they function during flight." The Navy fixes included changes to the aircraft, such as relocating the cabin pressure gauge to make it more visible when pilots wear night-vision goggles, updated maintenance and operating procedures, and improved cabin pressure diagnostic testing equipment. By 2012, a new system was introduced to track aircrafts with a history of oxygen problems. Still, the NASA team also discovered lingering concerns regarding the design and specifications of the F/A-18 aircraft related to aircrew life support, Tsongas said. "It places particular attention on the aircraft's oxygen generation and cabin pressure systems, raising significant questions regarding both," she said. The NASA team also found the Navy's medical community hasn't been involved enough in the probe, Tsongas added. "The report examines internal Navy organizational challenges that may be making it much harder to address the PE issue," she said. "The report focuses attention on the need for the Navy's medical community to be more tied into the Navy's ongoing lines of effort." The report also raised concerns about a breakdown in leadership trust among pilots, which the report contends is critical in light of pilots being asked to take on risky tasks. In April, more than 100 Navy pilot instructors for the T-45, which has also seen oxygen failures, refused to fly in protest of the slow pace of Navy fixes on oxygen failures. "There has been a breakdown of trust in leadership within the pilot community," the report stated. "This has been precipitated by the failure to find a definitive cause for the PEs, the implementation of 'fixes' that do not appear to work ... and the belief that Navy leadership is not doing enough to resolve the issue." https://www.stripes.com/news/nasa-navy-probe-missed-key-factors-in-pilot-oxygen-system- failures-1.502459 Back to Top NTSB official comes to Vaughn College * Dennis Jones gives detailed discussion of Kenya Airways Flight 507 crash National Transportation Safety Board Managing Director Dennis Jones spoke to students at Vaughn College in East Elmhurst last Friday, giving them a detailed talk about the tragic Kenya Airways Flight 507 crash that he worked on in 2007. Not long after Kenya Airways Flight 507 went missing in 2007, National Transportation Safety Board Acting Managing Director Dennis Jones got a phone call. He was in Washington, DC. "I got notified by the Kenyan authorities," he told Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology students at the school's campus in East Elmhurst last Friday. "They called me up and said, 'Dennis, we've got an airplane that's missing and we don't know where it is.'" A 30-year veteran of the agency, Jones had a talk for "Leadership in Transportation Safety," part of a fall 2017 guest speaker series, where he discussed plane crashes he investigated in foreign countries. KA Flight 507 was a devastating one. One hundred and fourteen people were killed by the six- month-old Kenya-bound aircraft's crash. It fell in the poor central African country of Cameroon shortly after takeoff. Along with an animated rendering of the plane's flight just before the crash, Jones showed the students helicopter footage of the wreckage. It crashed in a swamp; most of the aircraft was underwater in a hole, with scraps of metal surrounding it. The NTSB official explained the "probable cause" of the tragedy in the order of the pilots' errors. Jones said they thought that they put the aircraft on autopilot after taking off, but they really hadn't. The airplane tilted to the right. An alert went off after it reached a certain point. "Instead of turning to the left, [the pilot] turned further to the right, which is why the airplane wound up on its back," Jones explained. With the KA Flight 507 crash, the flight data recorder was missing for about two months, he added. Though contractors in other parts of the world offered to find it, the Cameroon government didn't have the money they wanted. "So, we had to get creative," Jones said. Eventually, one of the natives who was helping the investigators found the device. And he was only being paid $5 a day, much less than the contractors hoping to get hired for the search wanted. "He became a local hero in that area," said the NTSB official, who also briefly discussed the Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 in 2005 in Nigeria. That crash killed more than a hundred people. Jones, who started at the agency as an intern, worked on the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crash in 2014. After a student asked about the most challenging part of his job, Jones pointed to the emotional tax of dealing with mass-casualty crashes. "Dealing with some of the tragic things, that was very difficult," he explained. "I had never been exposed to some of those things before." When the Chronicle asked Jones for an update on the NTSB's investigation of the September bus crash in Flushing, he declined to comment, saying that updates would be posted on the agency's website. The board has not posted any news about the crash online since the preliminary report that it issued on Oct. 18. http://www.qchron.com/editions/western/ntsb-official-comes-to-vaughn-college/article_3a495622- 6723-5f37-a7bc-28be609e3887.html Back to Top American rethinks procedures after confused A330 evacuation American Airlines has revised its procedures after a communications breakdown led an Airbus A330-300 captain to attempt to halt an evacuation, which had been initiated by cabin crew unable to contact the cockpit. Cabin crew ordered the evacuation after the aircraft quickly filled with smoke, while parked at London Heathrow's stand 307, as flight AA731 prepared for departure to Charlotte on 26 June last year. While the Air Accidents Investigation Branch traced the smoke emission to an issue with the auxiliary power unit, the inquiry has focused primarily on the evacuation. Several cabin crew members attempted to call the cockpit, but used the normal interphone call function. The pilots - who were dealing with an unrelated system defect along with other personnel in the cockpit - did not notice the interphone call, possibly because alarms had started sounding. Investigators suggest that an emergency call to the cockpit "may have been more noticeable" than the normal call. The inquiry points out that interphone handsets differ between aircraft types. "This lack of standardisation may have been a factor in the [flight attendants'] being unable to initiate an emergency call," it says. After realising that the smoke was unrelated to the technical issue under discussion in the cockpit, the captain reacted by shutting off the APU bleed. He believed he had isolated the source of the smoke. But the cabin crew had already commenced an evacuation - in line with procedures when the cockpit could not be contacted - and the captain, rather than making an emergency call to the cabin crew for co-ordination, intervened by using the public-address system in an attempt to halt the evacuation. Investigators says this led to "some confusion" among the 277 passengers. Around 25 passengers left the aircraft via slides from the rearmost exits. Two other exit doors were also opened, one without a slide activation, but most of the passengers left the aircraft via the airbridge which was still connected. "Exits at the front of the aircraft were not used, indicating that the [cabin crew] in this part of the aircraft were trying to achieve an 'emergency deplaning' via the [airbridge], even though an evacuation was commanded," says the inquiry. "This might have been the most appropriate procedure in this situation but it was not a drill familiar to the [crew] and better crew communication was required before using it." American Airlines established a task force in the aftermath of the event, and implemented several safety measures. The task force informed pilots that the captain should only halt an evacuation if there is "clear information" that allowing it to continue would cause greater injury. Analysis of the interphone system confirmed a need to refine communications processes on particular aircraft types. Enhanced training procedures have also been introduced, including development of a type-specific emergency deplaning drill which relates to aircraft parked at a gate using an airbridge or steps. American Airlines has stressed that it "prioritises safety in every aspect" of its operation and "intends to benefit from the lessons drawn from this event". "We are proud of our pilots, flight attendants and our Heathrow-based colleagues who responded quickly, to ensure all customers and crew disembarked flight 731 safely," the carrier says. American adds that it "constantly evaluates and updates" its training and procedures in order to strengthen its own safety culture and that of the broader air transport industry. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/american-rethinks-procedures-after-confused-a330- eva-444171/ Back to Top Sacramento Airport's new solar farm to produce 30% of it's electricity * SMF projects $850,000 savings each year Sacramento airport unveils solar power panels SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) - Sacramento International Airport has flipped the switch to the largest solar farm of any airport in the state. The 20,000-acre facility is replacing an overflow parking lot outside Terminal A. With more than 23,000 panels, it will produce 30 percent of the airport's electricity -- more than any other airport in the U.S., according to spokesperson Laurie Slothower. The airport projects it will result in an average $850,000 savings each year over 25 years. The airport had no costs for construction. The capital investment was provided by NRG, which financed construction by Borrego Solar, according to Slothower. NRG owns and operates the facility and will sell electricity to Sacramento International Airport at a reduced rate under a power purchase agreement. SMF is in the process of paying off a 30-year, $1 billion debt it incurred with renovation, including building Terminal B. "It's a balancing act," State Senator Richard Pan said. "Because when we put more money in, sometimes it makes the fees for airlines go up." Sacramento was once home to the most expensive airport in the country for airlines, making it difficult to expand with new destinations and flights. "We still have a good amount of debt, but it's manageable," Sacramento County Airport Director John Wheat said. "We're no longer the most expensive. Right now, we are competitive with California airports, but still high compared to the United States." The airport topped out at a cost of $18 per passenger. Over the past recent years, it has been able to reduce the cost to airlines to $13.55 per passenger, according to Wheat. SMF reports 2017 will set a new record in passenger travel for the airport. "A lot of things we have been doing are now paying off to the community," Wheat said. "And the community is responding very appropriately with filling up those seats." The airport's success has implications beyond the environment. At a time when Sacramento is billing itself as a destination city for big businesses -- like Amazon and a Major League Soccer franchise -- a main factor in decision making comes down to the city's airport. "When we are trying to recruit businesses from across the world to Sacramento, many of them are coming to Sacramento for the first time through this airport," Pan explained. "So that's why it is so important that when people come to Sacramento, they get to recognize what a special place Sacramento is, and that's why they want to move their businesses here. That's why they want to grow jobs here." The solar farm's contract with NRG is for 25 years, but the facility will be able to generate power for the next 35 to 45 years. http://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-airports-new-solar-farm-to-produce-30-of-its- electricity/14437974 Back to Top BAE SYSTEMS' TECH TO CHANGE FUTURE OF AIRCRAFT DESIGN Unique blown-air system developed with University of Manchester paves way for stealthier aircraft The MAGMA UAV BAE Systems and the University of Manchester have successfully completed the first phase of flight trials with MAGMA, which could change the future of aircraft design. The small-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which will use a unique blown-air system to manoeuvre the aircraft, paves the way for stealthier designs. The new concept for aircraft control removes the conventional need for complex, mechanical moving parts used to move flaps to control the aircraft during flight. This could give greater control as well as reduce weight and maintenance costs, allowing for lighter, stealthier, faster and more efficient military and civil aircraft in the future. Clyde Warsop (pictured above), engineering fellow at BAE Systems, said: "The technologies we are developing with The University of Manchester will make it possible to design cheaper, higher performance, next generation aircraft. "Our investment in research and development drives continued technological improvements in our advanced military aircraft, helping to ensure UK aerospace remains at the forefront of the industry and that we retain the right skills to design and build the aircraft of the future." The two technologies to be trialled first using MAGMA are Wing Circulation Control, which takes air from the aircraft engine and blows it supersonically through the trailing edge of the wing to provide control for the aircraft; and Fluidic Thrust Vectoring, which uses blown air to deflect the exhaust, allowing for the direction of the aircraft to be changed. Bill Crowther, a senior academic and leader of the MAGMA project at The University of Manchester, added: "These trials are an important step forward in our efforts to explore adaptable airframes. What we are seeking to do through this programme is truly ground-breaking." The flight trials are part of an ongoing project between the two organisations and wider long-term collaboration between industry, academia and government to explore and develop innovative flight control technology. Further flight trials are planned for the coming months to demonstrate the novel flight control technologies with the ultimate aim of flying the aircraft without any moving control surfaces or fins. If successful, the tests will demonstrate the first ever use of such circulation control in flight on a gas turbine aircraft and from a single engine. Additional technologies to improve the performance of the UAV are being explored in collaboration with the University of Arizona and NATO Science and Technology Organisation. http://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/bae-systems-tech-to-change-future-of-aircraft-design Back to Top Tata group, GE partner to make aircraft engine components in India Tata group and General Electric (GE) have signed an agreement to build a new factory in Hyderabad to make engine parts for passenger jets The components made in India will go into the LEAP engine used in the new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX planes. Photo: Bloomberg New Delhi: Tata group and General Electric Co. (GE) have signed an agreement to build a new factory in Hyderabad to make engine parts for passenger jets. The components made here will go into the LEAP engine used in the new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX planes. Under the strategic partnership, GE Aviation and Tata Sons' subsidiary, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), will manufacture, assemble, integrate and test aircraft component, said a Tata Sons statement after a meeting of the chiefs of the two groups in Mumbai on Thursday. "We look forward to working with GE to build more expertise and strengthen India's defence manufacturing capabilities," said N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons. "Tata group's partnership with GE will help drive synergies in defence manufacturing and focus on innovation to support our armed forces." At its aerospace hub in Hyderabad, Tata group already builds aerostructures for Sikorsky helicopters, Pilatus trainers and the Lockheed Martin C-130 tail. Aircraft maker Boeing Co. is in the process of shifting its Apache attack helicopter manufacturing to TASL from its current supplier Korean Aerospace in South Korea. "Tata group is a leader in the Indian defence and aerospace sector, and we look forward to working together to meet the growing demand for LEAP engines. Our collaboration in building innovative technologies will support the 'Make in India' vision of the Indian government," John L. Flannery, chairman and CEO of GE said in the same statement. The two companies also announced their "intention to jointly pursue military engine and aircraft system opportunities for the India market". GE currently provides the jet engines and marine gas turbines for Indian military applications including the Air Force Light Combat Aircraft-Tejas Mk 1, Indian Navy P-8I aircraft, and P-17 Shivalik class frigates among others. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/q6kzRTvbM1bp5mhzBfZjeM/Tata-group-GE-partner-to-make- aircraft-engine-components-in.html Back to Top XOJET Business Growth Fuels Investments in Industry-Leading Safety, Training, and Flight Standards Programs SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- XOJET, the leader in on-demand private jet travel, has responded to a 2017 business surge with heightened investments in safety, flight standards and training. The company recently announced the appointment of talented aviation industry veteran, Daniel Ramirez, formerly at Embraer Aircraft Corporation, as its new director of safety. Further, driven by a 13% increase in new membership programs under the newly-minted XOJET Access Solutions™, which launched earlier this year, the company has doubled the size and reach of its Flight Standards Department and executed the on-demand private aviation industry's first Line Operations Safety Assessment (LOSA). XOJET is the first Part 135 operator to conduct this rigorous program, which strengthens the company's already robust set of safety protocols. "We continue to invest in the areas that matter to our clients," said Austin Schell, president of XOJET fleet operations. "The latest investments in safety expertise and capabilities, including the industry-first LOSA milestone, reflect that commitment." Over a period of seven months, to execute the Line Operations Safety Assessment (LOSA), specially-trained XOJET pilots observed 132 flights, or line observations. At the completion of the observation period, the aggregate results were used to reinforce flight standards and training. XOJET's expanded Flight Standards Department, launched in tandem with LOSA, now numbers 30 standards captains and eight FAA designated check pilots. The combination of LOSA and the company's expanded training capabilities together act as a quality assurance feedback loop, further bolstering XOJET's capabilities as the premier, on-demand private aviation solutions platform. "We find that our pilots appreciate the ability to participate in advanced training, and they want to be part of an enterprise that adheres to high standards," noted Schell. As director of safety, Daniel Ramirez oversees the execution and coordination of the Safety Management System. Previously holding the positions of flight safety manager at Embraer Executive Jets, operational safety officer of North America for Embraer Commercial Jets and corporate air safety officer at Embraer Defense and Security, Ramirez brings to XOJET more than 15 years of aviation experience in flight training and safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management. His outstanding credentials also include advisory positions to the NBAA safety committee, the Flight Safety Foundation Business Aviation Council, FAA's GA-Joint Steering Committee and the ICAO Regional Aviation Safety Group. "It's an honor to be a part of a company dedicated to the evolution of its own high standard," said Daniel Ramirez, XOJET director of safety. "By employing LOSA into its safety protocols, and creating the Flight Standards Department, XOJET raises the bar. I look forward to working with this team to expand our capabilities as the premier private-aviation solutions provider." About XOJET Founded in 2006, XOJET is the largest on-demand private aviation services platform in North America, blending the expertise of a fleet owner-operator with the client-centric approach of a leading brokerage. Built upon the foundation of trusted advice and personalized service, the company now serves over 7,000 businesses and individual clients. XOJET owns and operates the largest on-demand fleet of Bombardier Challenger 300 and Cessna Citation X super mid-size private jets. The company also offers a suite of industry-leading membership programs, providing XOJET clients with preferential fleet access and pricing, a broad range of value-added travel services, and access to a portfolio of world- class and distinguished brands. XOJET's commitment to safety has earned the industry's highest ratings, including ARGUS Platinum, Wyvern Wingman and ISBAO Stage III. XOJET is principally owned by Mubadala Investment Company and TPG, two of the most successful private capital investment firms globally. For more information, please visit www.xojet.com. http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/XOJET-Business-Growth-Fuels-Investments-in- Industry-Leading-Safety-Training-and-Flight-Standards-Programs-1011417460 Back to Top Bitcoin: Making Private Jet Travel More Secure Than Ever Before About the author: Charles Denault III is the founder and CEO of SimpleCharters.com, the leading platform for booking private charter flights. Charles is an accomplished software engineer, specializing in e-commerce and distributed systems with high-frequency data processing. With over 12,000 charter aircraft available in the United States, and thousands more around the world, the private aviation market is incredibly diverse. Over 150,000 flights occur every month, with prices ranging from $250 to $10,000+ per hour, making private aviation one of the most versatile transportation methods available. Private Jet Clientele Private charter clients are not just the rich and famous- it's quite the opposite. The vast majority of the clientele is made up of business executives spanning a variety of industries- from government and construction to finance and law. Tight schedules, opportunity costs, and the necessity for face- to-face meetings let private aviation do what the airlines can't. When clients book flights through SimpleCharters, or any other service provider, one of the most significant hurdles is payments. The tried and true method of the charter world is Wire Transfers. The speed and simplicity of transferring large sums of money make it a natural candidate. However, wire transfers have significant drawbacks- most notably they're dependent on humans and business hours. Trying to book a flight last minute if the banks aren't open? Too bad. You'll have to use a credit card. Credit cards pose their limitations as well. Not only are there delayed payout schedules (which average between 3-5 days), funds have to be checked by the processor for fraud. Not only that, processing credit cards is expensive. Remarkably expensive. Credit card processing (even with a moderate transaction volume) is often more than 2.5% of the total, which is a significant sum of money to absorb with several thousand dollar transactions. Charter companies typically pass this expense on to the client. At SimpleCharters, we've earned our reputation by providing a fast, secure, and transparent booking experience for our clients. That has led us to explore and challenge every facet of the private aviation experience- payments being at the top of the list. We wanted to provide our clients with the flexibility to book and pay for their flight at their convenience, without having to consider business hours, bank holidays (especially if flying internationally), or complicated clearinghouse processes. Enter Bitcoin. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are genuinely disruptive to the financial market. What started as a fringe way for microtransactions to occur online has evolved into one of the most efficient ways to transfer money online. The speed and security of booking a private jet with Bitcoin starts to emerge with the confirmation time. Even as bitcoin popularity surges and transaction volume increases, a 30 minute blockchain confirmation time is minuscule compared to multi-day waits with financial institutions. Combined with using a payment processor such as Stripe to accept Bitcoin online, the entire experience becomes seamless for the customer. This rapid transaction time, coupled with the digital nature of Bitcoin makes it ideal for international flights. Instead of paying vendors and service providers in their local currency, whether by card, check, or wire, Bitcoin payouts can dramatically improve the efficiency of the trip. Intelligent Risk Management Lastly, the risk of fraud is all but eliminated from the transaction. Once the private jet has taken flight, the trip is typically non-refundable. An unscrupulous customer could, theoretically, convince the credit card company to issue a chargeback (although, in fairness, most credit card companies have aviation-specific policies against this) or an ACH transfer could be declined up to 5 days later for insufficient funds. Wire transfers are typically non-refundable, but Bitcoin takes this one step further. One the transaction is solidified in the blockchain, the funds are securely in place for the provider, dramatically cutting risks. While Bitcoin continues to see record growth and reach record highs, it remains secondary to our traditional payment methods in the eyes of our clients. We're bullish on the future of Bitcoin as an international currency, and we view private aviation as an industry with sufficient volume and transaction size to help widen appeal and adoption. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-making-private-jet-travel-secure-ever/ Back to Top Delta Favors Airbus Over Boeing for Order of 100 Jets * Value of deal, before discounts, could be about $13 billion * Delta plans to use Pratt & Whitney engines in the new planes Delta Air Lines Inc. is leaning toward Airbus SE over Boeing Co. for an order of about 100 single- aisle jets that will be announced after its board makes a decision Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. The negotiations include Airbus's longest narrow-body, the A321neo, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. A deal, which could be valued at about $13 billion at list prices, would mark a victory for the European planemaker over Boeing's newest 737, the Max 10. Delta and Boeing are on opposite sides of a trade dispute after the Chicago-based manufacturer persuaded the U.S. Commerce Department to slap 300 percent duties on a new Canadian plane made by Bombardier Inc. Boeing contends the C Series jetliner was sold to the Atlanta-based carrier at well below cost. The new Airbus jets will replace Delta's 1990s-vintage McDonnell Douglas MD-90 jets, as well as aging Boeing 757 and Airbus A320 aircraft. Delta is expected to use them mainly for domestic flights and on shorter international routes. It has the oldest fleet among the biggest three U.S. carriers, with an average age of 17 years among its 847 mainline planes. That compares with slightly more than 10 years at American Airlines Group Inc. and 14 years at United Continental Holdings Inc. Airbus, Boeing and Delta declined to comment on the order requirement. Shares of the European manufacturer traded down 0.7 percent at 85.67 euros as of 9:18 a.m. in Paris amid mounting speculation that Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders plans to leave when his current term expires. Pratt Engines Delta plans to use Pratt & Whitney engines to power the new planes, according to one of the people. Buyers of A320neo family aircraft can choose between the geared turbofan engine, made by United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt, or the Leap, a new powerplant built by the CFM International joint venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA. A spokesman for Pratt declined to comment. The new order continues Airbus's success with Delta, which in the past has favored Boeing planes. The carrier's biggest order in recent years was for 50 Airbus wide-body jets in late 2014, with a value of $14 billion at list prices. Since then, it has purchased more than 70 of Airbus's less expensive A321 narrow-body aircraft in three separate transactions. Delta's last major Boeing order was for 100 737-900ER jets in 2011, although it has placed add-on orders for more 737s since then. The carrier's decision to go with Airbus will reinforce doubts about its willingness to purchase from Boeing going forward. Boeing's trade case could delay delivery of 75 Bombardier CS100 jets to Delta or even scuttle the deal altogether. Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said in mid- October that the spat wouldn't affect its decision on the narrow-body jet order and that Boeing "has every opportunity" to win. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/delta-is-said-to-favor-airbus-over-boeing- for-order-of-100-jets Back to Top Bombardier Aims to Swipe Gulfstream's Crown for Most-Coveted Jet * Battle of luxury planes takes shape as Global 7000 nears debut * Canadian company banks on newest offering to fuel turnaround The Gulfstream G650 business jet. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg A clash of titans is shaping up in the luxury-jet set: Bombardier Inc. is seeking to use its new Global 7000 to wrestle away the Gulfstream G650's crown as the most coveted private aircraft. Bragging rights aren't all that's at stake. Canada's largest aerospace company is banking on the Global 7000 to drive sales in the coming years after ceding control of its marquee commercial jet to Airbus SE. Bombardier is playing catch-up to Gulfstream, a unit of General Dynamics Corp., which set the standard for speed and comfort with the first delivery of its G650 five years ago. A crucial test is shaping up as Bombardier aims to get its new private plane to customers by the end of 2018. A wing redesign delayed its debut by two years. Brisk sales of the Global 7000, with a list price of $73 million, would boost Bombardier's turnaround -- and justify an investment of several billion dollars in a plane that can whiz passengers from Hong Kong to New York with the comfort of a bedroom and shower. The aircraft "is the entire ball game for Bombardier," Chris Murray, an AltaCorp Capital Corp. analyst in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. "One of the things that is super critical to the entire recovery plan is that the 7000 hits entry into service flawlessly." Smooth Ride The Global 7000's flexible wings, spanning 104 feet, will give passengers a smoother ride than competing aircraft, according to Bombardier. A top speed just under supersonic matches the fastest aircraft in the industry. The key selling point: a spacious cabin with four separate areas to hold meetings or take a nap. The Bombardier Global 7000 business jet.Photographer: Tom Black/Bloomberg "We already have people asking about the 7000," said Pat Gallagher, sales chief for NetJets Inc., Warren Buffett's private jet company, which has ordered an undisclosed number of the planes. "It's bigger than anything else that's out there. It will be the new flagship for Bombardier, for NetJets and for the industry in general." The success of the Global 7000 may depend in part on how Gulfstream reacts to its first competitor in the ultra-long-range market that it created with the G650. The planemaker isn't likely to give up its premier spot without a fight. Holding Tight "I certainly wouldn't want to relinquish any control of the market that I believe we built," Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. President Mark Burns said in an interview during the largest gathering of private-jet makers in Las Vegas in October. "That's something we have to be mindful of." Gulfstream bet early that the wealthy were willing to pay for the kind of features offered by the G650. The wager has paid off with more than 260 deliveries of the $69 million plane since its December 2012 debut. The G650 continues to set speed records, clocking a Tokyo-New York trip in less than 11 hours. The combination of speed and distance sells, said Burns, who calls his plane "unmatched." The extended-range version of the G650 can fly 7,500 nautical miles, edging out the Global 7000 by 100 nautical miles. Gulfstream delivers about 60 G650s a year, accounting for about half of segment sales, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimates. The model has helped make Gulfstream the most profitable private jet maker, with operating profit margins of 21 percent. Keeping Promises Bombardier's business aircraft unit, with profit margins of 8.5 percent, has a long way to go to catch Gulfstream. Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare will rely on the Global 7000 to help keep his promise to boost annual revenue to more than $20 billion by 2020. The planemaker said it has invested $1 billion this year alone in developing and producing the aircraft, with total cost of the project amounting to "a few billion dollars," Bellemare said in an interview Thursday in New York. Of the expected $3.5 billion increase in annual revenue at Bombardier's Business Aircraft unit by 2020, the Global 7000 alone will probably contribute about $3 billion, Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert said Thursday in the same interview. "This is going to be a very solid return program,'' Di Bert said of the Global 7000. "It's going to create significant value for shareholders. It's going to be around for a long time." Attracting Fans Bombardier's plan to ramp up production of the Global 7000 to as many as 45 planes a year after it enters service could pose a threat to G650's production levels and profit margin, JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman said in a Dec. 12 note. The 7000 is already building a fan base. NetJets, which operates a fleet of 725 private jets, is attracted to the Global 7000's more efficient General Electric Co. engines, which promise to keep operating costs at the same level or better than Bombardier's smaller plane, the Global 6000. Bombardier is expected to begin flights of its fifth 7000 test plane within weeks, complete with a fully furnished interior, said Gallagher, the NetJet sales chief, who has toured the aircraft's assembly line. VistaJet customers who fly long distances are eager for the aircraft to begin service, said Ron Silverman, U.S. president for the Malta-based private jet charter company. VistaJet's founder Thomas Flohr has "multiple" Global 7000s on order and VistaJet has an option to incorporate those planes in its fleet, Silverman said. "As the routes become longer, people are looking for more comfort in the cabin," Silverman said. "The Global 7000 brings that level of comfort." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-15/bombardier-aims-to-swipe-gulfstream-s- crown-for-most-coveted-jet Back to Top Munich Re Increases its Shareholding in Global Aerospace London - Global Aerospace, a leading provider of aerospace insurance, announced today that Munich Re has agreed to purchase an additional 11% of the shares in Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers Limited ("Global"). Global is the company that manages the Global Aerospace Pool. Following the acquisition, Munich Re will own 51% and a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will continue to own 49%. Munich Re's share of the Pool will increase by 5% from 1st January, 2019. Nick Brown, Global's Group Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are fortunate in having the backing of two such strong and committed shareholders. Munich Re has long had a strategic interest in increasing its investment in Global, and this deal achieves that, while ensuring that Berkshire Hathaway continues to have a very significant interest. For our customers, pool-members and employees it is business as usual." ### Global Aerospace is a leading provider of aerospace insurance with a worldwide portfolio of clients who are engaged in every aspect of the aviation and space industries. Headquartered in London, we have offices in Canada, Bonn, Paris, Zurich and throughout the United States. Across the world, we employ over 300 people. With experience dating back to the 1920s, the company's underwriting is backed by a pool of high quality insurance companies representing some of the most respected names in the business. For additional information about Global Aerospace, please visit www.global-aero.com. Back to Top Three-man crew returns from space station (Reuters) - A capsule carrying U.S., Russian and Italian astronauts from the International Space Station landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after a five-month mission, a NASA TV live broadcast showed. The spacecraft brought back Randy Bresnik from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sergey Ryazanskiy from Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Italy's Paolo Nespoli with the European Space Agency. The capsule landed in the windswept and snow-covered steppe in Kazakhstan's central Karaganda region at 2.37 p.m. (0837 GMT). Smiling Ryazanskiy was the first to emerge from the capsule's hatch, assisted by rescue workers. The trio's departure has reduced to just three the crew of the ISS, a $100 billion lab that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. On Dec. 17, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Norishege Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will blast off from the Baikonur cosmodrome, also in Kazakhstan, to join the ISS crew. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-landing/three-man-crew-returns-from-space-station- nasa-tv-idUSKBN1E80Y2 Back to Top Artificial Intelligence and NASA Data Used to Discover Eighth Planet Circling Distant Star Our solar system is not alone atop the planet-harboring heap anymore. Scientists have discovered another world orbiting the star Kepler-90, bringing that system's tally of confirmed planets to eight - the same number as in Earth's solar system (at least according to the International Astronomical Union, which stripped Pluto of its "ninth planet" status back in 2006). That's one more than the previous extrasolar record, which had been held jointly by Kepler-90 and the TRAPPIST-1 system. [Images: Discovery of 8th Planet in Kepler-90 System with Google AI] The research team found the new planet, known as Kepler-90i - as well as another world in a different system - after analyzing archival data from NASA's Kepler mission using Google machine- learning techniques. "Just as we expected, there are exciting discoveries lurking in our archived Kepler data, waiting for the right tool or technology to unearth them," Paul Hertz, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "This finding shows that our data will be a treasure trove available to innovative researchers for years to come." The Kepler space telescope launched in March 2009. During its four-year original mission, the spacecraft scanned 150,000 stars continuously, searching for the tiny brightness dips caused by planets crossing the stars' faces. In 2014, Kepler shifted to a second mission known as K2, during which it hunts for exoplanets on a more limited basis but also makes a variety of other observations. This planet-hunting work has been incredibly successful. To date, Kepler has discovered more than 2,500 confirmed alien worlds - about two-thirds of all known planets beyond our solar system - as well as more than 2,000 "candidates" that await confirmation by follow-up observations or analysis. (The vast majority of these finds have come from the original-mission observations; the K2 confirmed-planet tally stands at 184.) But the two new discoveries suggest that many more alien worlds may lurk undiscovered in Kepler's data sets. Researchers Christopher Shallue and Andrew Vanderburg - a senior software engineer with Google AI and an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin, respectively - trained a computer to recognize weak, as-yet-unnoticed exoplanet signals in Kepler data. The duo used a machine- learning approach, basing it on the networks of neurons that populate the human brain. "In my spare time, I started googling for 'finding exoplanets with large data sets' and found out about the Kepler mission and the huge data set available," Shallue said in the same statement. "Machine learning really shines in situations where there is so much data that humans can't search it for themselves." The scientists tested their software on 15,000 previously vetted Kepler signals, including both confirmed detections and false positives. Shallue and Vanderburg found that the artificial neural network identified such signals correctly 96 percent of the time. [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets] So the researchers directed the network to search for additional weak signals in 670 star systems already known to host multiple planets, reasoning that such systems had a good chance of hosting additional, undiscovered worlds. The eight known exoplanets of the Kepler-90 star system mirrors the arrangement of our own solar system, with smaller planets closer to the parent star and larger worlds further away. NASA unveiled the discovery of the eighth known planet in the system, Kepler-90i, on Dec. 14, 2017. The eight known exoplanets of the Kepler-90 star system mirrors the arrangement of our own solar system, with smaller planets closer to the parent star and larger worlds further away. NASA unveiled the discovery of the eighth known planet in the system, Kepler-90i, on Dec. 14, 2017. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel And they found two such planets, including Kepler-90i, which lies about 2,545 light-years from Earth. Kepler-90i is probably rocky, like Earth, and it's the third world out from its star, which is a bit hotter than our sun. But the similarities with our home planet probably end there: Kepler-90i completes one orbit every 14.4 Earth days and is therefore probably much too hot to host life. Indeed, average surface temperatures on the planet probably hover around 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius), Vanderburg said. And the Kepler-90 system is far from an exact simulacrum of our own. Though its inner planets are rocky and outer ones are gaseous, this system is much more compact than our solar system - all eight Kepler-90 worlds are closer to their star than Earth is to the sun, the researchers said. These planets may have migrated inward, toward their host star, over time, they added. But the current configuration, strange as it may seem to us, appears to be relatively stable, Vanderburg said. The star may host even more planets, he added. "There's a lot of unexplored real estate in the Kepler-90 system, and it would almost be surprising to me if there weren't any more planets around this star," Vanderburg said during a news conference today (Dec. 14). The other newfound world, known as Kepler-80g, is the sixth planet known in its system, which is centered around a dwarf star that lies about 1,160 light-years from the sun. Again, this extrasolar system is quite compact; Kepler-80g also takes about two Earth weeks to complete one orbit. Such work is probably just the beginning for machine-learning exoplanet discovery; Shallue and Vanderburg intend to apply their techniques to Keplerf's entire data set. "These results demonstrate the enduring value of Kepler's mission," Kepler project scientist Jessie Dotson, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, said in the same statement. "New ways of looking at the data - such as this early-stage research to apply machine learning algorithms - promises to continue to yield significant advances in our understanding of planetary systems around other stars," Dotson added. "I'm sure there are more firsts in the data waiting for people to find them." VIDEO https://www.space.com/39099-alien-solar-system-with-eight-exoplanets-discovery.html Back to Top The European Society of Air Safety Investigators (ESASI) is pleased to announce that REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the next ESASI seminar which will be held in Riga, Latvia on the 23rd and 24th May 2018. Further details regarding the 2018 seminar and previous seminars, can be found at - www.ESASI.eu ESASI still welcomes proposals for presentations to be given during the 2018 seminar. The presentations should last a maximum of 20 minutes with a further 5 minutes for questions. Presentations should address issues relating to air safety investigations; particular areas of interest are: * challenges faced by air safety investigators; * the environment, and culture, that air safety investigators operate in; * practical experience of applying investigation techniques; * new techniques to aid the investigation, and * topical case studies. Details of proposed presentations should be sent to Brian McDermid, by the 6th February 2018, at presentations@esasi.eu. The ESASI committee will select the presentations in late February 2018. Steve - ESASI Secretary Steve Hull IEng FRAeS FISASI Aviation Director & Head of Training Annapolis, MD USA || San Francisco, CA USA || London, UK || Panama City, Panama RTI 34 Lime Street London EC3M 7AT Tel: +44 (0) 20 7481 2150 Mobile: +44 (0) 07800 608933 Steve.hull@rtiforensics.com www.rtiforensics.com Back to Top Back to Top This ad will run 11/6, 11/8, 11/10, 11/13, 11/15, and 11/17 Upcoming USC Courses Safety Management for Aviation Maintenance Maintenance Safety Principles and Guidelines for Developing Effective Maintenance Safety Programs January 8-12, 2018 4.5 Days Safety Program Administration Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FEMA) Process Prediction, Communication, and Influencing Management Safety Program Organization Safety Climates/Management Styles Reporting Systems Accident Response Planning Tuition: $2500 Data for Aviation Safety Management Creating a Data-Based Safety Case for All Aviation Operations January 8-12, 2018 4.5 Days Evolution of Flight Data Analysis Flight Data Recorders, types, capabilities, and history International Regulatory Standards Relationship to SMS FOQA, ASAP, and ASRS Video and Audio Analysis Commercial Safety Data Services Animation of Flight Data ADS-B Practical Exercise Tuition: $2500 Threat and Error Management Integrating Threat and Error Management into a Safety Management System January 17-19, 2018 2.5 Days Introduction to Threats and Errors Performance and Loss of Situation Awareness Threat Recognition and Error Avoidance Building Barriers to Error Distraction and Interruption Management SOPs role in Threat and Error Management Tuition: $1250 For further details, please visit our website or use the contact information below. Email: aviation@usc.edu Telephone: +1 (310) 342-1345 Curt Lewis