Flight Safety Information January 10, 2018 - No. 008 In This Issue Incident: Delta A320 at Minneapolis on Jan 8th 2018, engine shut down in flight Accident: Ryanair B738 near Milan on Jan 8th 2018, turbulence injures two Incident: Aeroflot B738 near Moscow on Jan 9th 2018, video system acts as sparkler Accident: Eurowings A320 near Dusseldorf and London on Jan 5th 2018, fumes on board Incident: Jetblue A320 at Bridgetown on Jan 7th 2018, fire on board EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection AIRLINE PASSENGERS STRANDED IN BOSTON TOLD TO DELETE VIDEOS FROM PHONES OR FACE GETTING ARRESTED 2017 flight safety record impressive; took years to get it Airbus to increase production of A320 aircraft in China Call for Papers - ISASI 2018 Cabin Operations Safety Conference ASAP WITHOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEADACHE MITRE - SMS Course - March 2018 Incident: Delta A320 at Minneapolis on Jan 8th 2018, engine shut down in flight A Delta Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N362NW performing flight DL-2894 from Minneapolis,MN to Sioux Falls,SD (USA) with 125 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Minneapolis' runway 30L when the crew stopped the climb at about 7000 feet declaring emergency and reporting they had just lost the right hand engine (CFM56). The aircraft returned to Minneapolis for a safe landing on runway 30L about 20 minutes after departure. The crew requested emergency services to check the right hand side of the aircraft before taxiing to the apron. A replacement A320-200 registration N336NW reached Sioux Falls with a delay of 2.5 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL2894/history/20180109/0355Z/KMSP/KFSD http://avherald.com/h?article=4b36edf5&opt=256 Back to Top Accident: Ryanair B738 near Milan on Jan 8th 2018, turbulence injures two A Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-ENY performing flight FR-8928 from Liverpool,EN (UK) to Malta (Malta), was enroute at FL390 about 60nm south of Milan (Italy) when the aircraft encountered turbulence. The crew descended the aircraft to FL350 temporarily, then climbed back to FL370 and continued the flight to Malta, where the aircraft landed safely about 2 hours later. Five passengers were assessed at the airport by medics, two passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The airline reported the crew requested medical assistance ahead after encountering turbulence near Milan. Five passengers were assessed at Malta Airport. Infrared Satellite Image Jan 8th 2018 22:00Z (Graphics: AVH/Meteosat): http://avherald.com/h?article=4b36cf51&opt=256 Back to Top Incident: Aeroflot B738 near Moscow on Jan 9th 2018, video system acts as sparkler An Aeroflot Boeing 737-800, registration VQ-BWA performing flight SU-1415 (dep Jan 8th) from Ekaterinburg to Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) with 149 people on board, was descending towards Moscow when sparks and smoke were observed from the cabin ceiling near the cockpit door. Cabin crew discharegd fire extinguishers which stopped the sparks and smoke. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Sheremetyevo's runway 24R. Moscow's Transport Prosecution Office reported there was sparking and smoke pollution from the video surveillance equipment due to a wiring/insulation fault. Rosaviatsia reported smoke was detected coming from the cabin ceiling in the cabin just at the cockpit door. Cabin crew discharged a fire extinguisher. After some time the sparks and smoke re-occurred, another fire extinguisher was discharged which stopped the sparks and smoke. The aircraft continued to Sheremetyevo Airport and was removed from service. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Moscow about 18 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b36c104&opt=256 Back to Top Accident: Eurowings A320 near Dusseldorf and London on Jan 5th 2018, fumes on board A Eurowings Airbus A320-200, registration D-AEWK performing flight EW-9464 from Dusseldorf (Germany) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was climbing out of Dusseldorf when passengers in the aft cabin began to complain about feeling unwell, flight attendants working in the aft galley also felt unwell. The odour spread forward causing passengers and flight attendants in the forward cabin to feel unwell later into the flight, too. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Heathrow's runway 27L about 65 minutes after departure. The passengers disembarked. The crew ventilated the aircraft, the flight attendants recovered and the boarding for the return flight was started. During boarding the health condition of the flight attendants deteriorated again, the boarding was halted, the passengers disembarked. The flight attendants were taken to hospitals. Three flight attendants were able to return to duty after treatment, a fourth flight attendant is still on sick leave estimated for at least 14 days. The flight crew, who had remained unaffected, donned their oxygen masks for positioning the aircraft back to Germany without passengers and cabin crew departing London about 6.5 hours after landing and returned the aircraft to Cologne (already night curfew in Dusseldorf). The Aviation Herald learned that maintenance attributed the fumes to a malfunction of the #2 pack. The aircraft was returned to service. On Jan 9th 2018 Germany's BFU reported they have been informed about the occurrence and are collecting further data to establish the classification of the occurrence. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b36bb3c&opt=256 Back to Top Incident: Jetblue A320 at Bridgetown on Jan 7th 2018, fire on board A Jetblue Airbus A320-200, registration N633JB performing flight B6-25 from Boston,MA (USA) to Bridgetown (Barbados), was descending towards Bridgetown when the crew donned their oxygen masks and declared emergency reporting a fire on board advising they would stop on the runway on landing, the crew subsequently advised they had the situation under control and did not need further assistance, but would still stop on the runway. The aircraft landed safely on Bridgetown's runway 09 and stopped on the runway. Approach sent other arriving aircraft into holds advising the runway was closed due to an emergency aircraft, that was disabled on the runway. Emergency services checked the aircraft, gave their all clear and the aircraft taxied to the apron about 15 minutes after landing. The passengers disembarked normally. The airport had difficulties to get a runway inspection organized, the runway inspection commenced about 20 minutes after landing, the arrivals in the holds - already close to decide to divert - were vectored for landings at Bridgetown. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for 26 hours, then returned to service. Emergency services reported a small fire had occurred on board, passengers disembarked safely and normally. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU25/history/20180107/1300Z/KBOS/TBPB http://avherald.com/h?article=4b36b872&opt=256 Back to Top Back to Top AIRLINE PASSENGERS STRANDED IN BOSTON TOLD TO DELETE VIDEOS FROM PHONES OR FACE GETTING ARRESTED Passengers made to sit on the tarmac at Boston Logan International Airport for around two hours say they were forced to delete videos of the incident from their phones by an airline staff member, who also threatened to have them arrested if they didn't comply. After would-be passengers of the Toronto-bound Porter Airlines flight learned that their trip would be canceled due to a mechanical malfunction on the aircraft, they were ordered to leave the plane and wait in the terminal building. "There was a problem with the latch door to the luggage compartment and when it passed 10 o'clock apparently the crew couldn't fly anymore because...in their words, they would turn into pumpkins," Kira Wegler, a Toronto resident returning home from a Florida vacation with her family, told Canadian television network Global News. After being told that the gate's public address system was not working, passengers had to line up to get information individually from Porter staff. Things became heated, however, when frustrated passengers began to pull out their phones and video-record Porter staff delivering information. "At that point, the personnel came from behind the desk and started threatening us, to call the police if we don't delete the videos off of our phones and show evidence that it's gone from our trash bin," said Wegler. She said passengers were warned that if they failed to delete their video recordings they "were going to have us arrested." Wegler said many of her fellow passengers agreed to delete their videos. However, she decided to keep some on her phone, despite the airline staff's threats. Her videos appear to show a Porter representative explaining that video recording in the airport was not allowed under security rules. The Massachusetts Port Authority has said there is no such law or policy. "There is no law or policy that prohibits filming inside Logan Airport except in secure areas and of all security procedures," MPA spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan told Newsweek. Porter Airlines spokesperson Brad Cicero told Newsweek the company "apologizes to everyone who was affected by the flight delay and for the information provided about taking video." He said the delay was a result of the "bomb cyclone" that rocked much of the East Coast. "We do not have any policy that would prevent people from taking video at airports," he said. "Circumstances may differ on an aircraft if taking video has the potential to affect safety or the personal comfort of others on board." He continued, "There is an airport policy at Boston Logan Airport about not allowing filming in secure airport areas and at security screening. In this particular case, there was a misunderstanding by the team member involved that taking video beyond the security checkpoint was part of the secure area and was not permitted. He did not realize the distinction at the time, but we have advised the team members involved for future reference." Cicero said that while the request to stop filming and to delete footage was incorrect, "the intention was only to try and enforce what was believed to be an airport policy." He said that he has been advised that if policies apply, which was not the case in this instance, it is not uncommon for staff to ask that video and photos to be deleted. He also refuted passengers' claims, insisting that "while it was indicated at the time that police based at the airport could be called to address this situation, there was no direct statement that passengers would be arrested." Passengers ended up having to spend three extra days in Boston until they could be placed on a different Toronto-bound Porter flight on Monday. While Porter has provided hotel accommodations and covered the cost of some meals, it has refused to pay stranded passengers additional compensation, citing the weather as the cause of its flight delay rather than mechanical reasons. It is common policy for airlines to be exempt from having to pay compensation for flights delayed by weather-related problems. "The conditions were such that, after arriving, one of the aircraft doors froze," Cicero said. "It could not be fixed prior to the crew exhausting their regulated duty day limits, preventing the flight from departing." He continued, "Because the root causes of the cancellation were weather related, we assisted with finding hotels in the area for those who needed accommodation. Porter does not typically pay for these costs when flights are affected by weather, but we do our best to help find reduced rates." He added, "We understand that this is frustrating for anyone who has a flight delayed for multiple days. It isn't our intention to put people in this situation, but the severe nature of the storm resulted in significant effects." The extreme cold and snow from Winter Storm Grayson last week caused chaos at airports nationwide, leading to more than 3,300 flights getting canceled. Terminals in major airports such as JFK Airport in New York City were nearly brought to a standstill over the weekend due to mounting delays, freezing cold and equipment problems. http://www.newsweek.com/airline-passengers-stranded-boston-told-delete-videos-phones-or-face-arrest-775299 Back to Top 2017 flight safety record impressive; took years to get it Everyone gripes about air travel. The complaints are universal: bare-it-all security checks; shoving matches over cabin bin space; economy seats increasingly reminiscent of a miniature medieval torture cell maliciously called the "little ease." Oh, for those glamorous jet-set days of yesteryear, when fliers were treated like royalty starting at airport curbside. Can modern air travel really be called an improvement? Yes, in the starkest and most critical terms: You'll get there in one piece. Year's-end reports show 2017 was the safest year for commercial travel in aviation history. Studies by two separate safety organizations - a team of Dutch aviation consultants and the U.S.-based Aviation Safety Network - reported last week that, out of a record 37 million flights, there were no passenger jet crashes in the world last year. The handful of fatal commercial accidents that did occur were limited to either cargo planes or regional carriers operating small aircraft. This is no small achievement. Harrowing, high-fatality plane crashes, if not routine, were for decades events that took place every few years. If you have lived in this region long enough, you may recall the crash of a Delta jumbo jet at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1985 during a summer thunderstorm. The disaster claimed 137 lives. Experts say technology and training have steadily reduced the incidence of these tragedies over the years. The D/FW crash, in fact, led directly to new standards in windshear-detection ability in both onboard and ground-based systems. At the same time, new safety measures in aircraft construction mean that even in the event of a crash, passengers are more likely to survive. That's due, among other factors, to better fire suppression and evacuation procedures. "Cabin safety has improved by leaps and bounds since the 1970s and '80s," said Adrian Young, a senior consultant who participated in one of the studies released recently, in an interview with The Washington Post. Experts caution that there remain safety challenges in commercial aviation, and that there is no room for complacency in the operation of our nation's - and our planet's - complex air transit system. Ongoing challenges include risks posed by human fatigue and the fire danger posed by batteries used in consumer electronics. But when poker-faced aviation officials assure you that the gravest modern danger to commercial air travel is the drive to the airport, they have the statistics to back it up. Passenger flights operated by major carriers are far and away the safest means of popular transportation. What about that recent presidential Twitter claim, during which the commander-in-chief took credit for last year's air safety record? "It's not a one-year phenomenon," was the tactful response to The Post from retired pilot and airline safety consultant John Cox. "It was the work of thousands of people over decades." http://www.qcsunonline.com/story/2018/01/10/opinion/2017-flight-safety-record-impressive-took-years-to-get-it/18796.html Back to Top Airbus to increase production of A320 aircraft in China TIANJIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- European aviation giant Airbus signed a framework agreement with its Chinese partners on Tuesday to increase the number of planes it makes at its Tianjin assembly plant. According to a statement released by Airbus China, Airbus aims to produce five aircraft a month by early 2019 before reaching a monthly total of six jets by early 2020 at the Tianjin final assembly line for the A320-family of jets. Currently, it produces four A320 aircraft a month at the facility. From the time it was established in 2008 until the end of 2017, the Tianjin plant assembled and delivered a total of 354 A320s. Also on Tuesday, Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Development and Reform Commission of China. Both sides promised to strengthen industrial cooperation in Tianjin with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/10/c_136885049.htm Curt Lewis