Flight Safety Information January 19, 2018 - No. 015 In This Issue Incident: Eurowings A320 at Cologne on Jan 17th 2018, lightning strike Incident: Mesa CRJ9 near Dallas on Jan 17th 2018, smoke in cockpit EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Alaska B739 at Salt Lake City on Jan 17th 2018, bird strike Accident: American A319 at Phoenix on Jan 17th 2018, wake turbulence blew Cessna 172 on departure over Incident: Malaysia A333 near Derby on Jan 18th 2018, engine shut down in flight Accident: Fastjet E190 at Mwanza on Jan 17th 2018, person on runway killed by departing aircraft Delta flight with 131 passengers makes emergency landing at LAX The FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City soars when it comes to flight safety Some Pilots Still Using Unauthorized Special Instrument Procedures TV film crew arrested after TSA catches them intentionally bringing fake explosive to airport THE WORLD'S BIGGEST JET ENGINE IS ABOUT TO GET A BLAST OF ICE Challenges and research for an evolving aviation system A Decade Later, TSA Officially Drops LASP Norwegian Dreamliner flight breaks trans-Atlantic speed record thanks to ferocious jet stream Class-action: FAA May Face $841M Bill in New Drone Suit Chinese airlines allow inflight mobile phone use, wifi Zapata Ezfly: The jet-powered aerial Segway anyone can fly Global Aerospace Launches Innovative Aircraft Breakdown Assistance Program for Light Aircraft Airbus Handed A380 Lifeline With $16 Billion Emirates Order NASA has pulled Jeanette Epps just months before her first flight POSITION AVAILABLE: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PNG ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COMMISSION GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY ISASI Kapustin Memorial Scholarship Applications Due in April New HFACS workshops for 2018 Save the Date Call for Papers - ISASI 2018 Incident: Eurowings A320 at Cologne on Jan 17th 2018, lightning strike A Eurowings Airbus A320-200, registration D-AIQL performing flight EW-34 from Cologne to Hamburg (Germany), was climbing out of Cologne's runway 32R when the aircraft received a lightning strike prompting the crew to stop the climb at FL100 and return to Cologne for a safe landing on runway 32R about 20 minutes after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Cologne about 31 hours after landing. Metars: EDDK 171650Z 28021KT 9999 -SHRA FEW008 FEW024CB SCT070 03/01 Q1007 R14L/CLRD// BECMG 26012KT= EDDK 171620Z 27017KT 9999 VCSH FEW021TCU SCT040 04/00 Q1006 R14L/CLRD// BECMG 26012KT= EDDK 171550Z 27019KT 9999 VCSH SCT018TCU SCT060 04/01 Q1006 R14L/CLRD// BECMG 26012KT= EDDK 171520Z 27023KT 9999 -SHRA VCTS FEW011 SCT018CB BKN040 04/01 Q1005 RESHRA R14L/CLRD// BECMG 26015G25KT= EDDK 171450Z 26022G33KT 9999 -SHRA FEW011 SCT023CB BKN060 04/01 Q1004 R14L/190095 TEMPO 3500 SHRASN= EDDK 171420Z 26025KT 9999 -SHRA FEW013 SCT021CB BKN060 04/01 Q1004 R14L/290195 TEMPO 3500 SHRASN= EDDK 171350Z 27020G31KT 250V310 9999 -SHRA FEW013 BKN023TCU BKN060 04/01 Q1003 R14L/290195 TEMPO 3500 SHRASN= EDDK 171320Z 27023G34KT 9999 VCSH FEW013 BKN019 BKN060 04/01 Q1003 R14L/290195 TEMPO 3500 SHRASN= EDDK 171250Z 27016KT 9999 -SHRA FEW009 SCT013TCU BKN017 03/01 Q1003 R14L/290195 TEMPO 3500 SHRASN= EDDK 171220Z 26017KT 9999 -SHRA FEW007 BKN016 02/00 Q1002 R14L/290195 TEMPO SHRASN= EDDK 171150Z 26015KT 9999 -SHRASN FEW007 BKN016TCU 02/00 Q1002 R14L/290195 TEMPO SHRASN= http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3ceb7c&opt=256 Back to Top Incident: Mesa CRJ9 near Dallas on Jan 17th 2018, smoke in cockpit A Mesa Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N942LR performing flight AA-5957 from Phoenix,AZ to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), was descending towards Dallas when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit. The crew continued for a safe landing. The airline reported a mechanical problem stemming from a broken fan as cause. Passengers reported the crew advised of smoke in the cockpit, a smell of smoke could also be noticed in the cabin, and advised the passengers should take brace positions for the landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL5957/history/20180117/1555Z/KPHX/KDFW http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3ce718&opt=256 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Alaska B739 at Salt Lake City on Jan 17th 2018, bird strike An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N483AS performing flight AS-761 from Salt Lake City,UT to Seattle,WA (USA), departed Salt Lake City's runway 34R and was climbing out of Salt Lake City when the crew advised they had received a bird strike still over the departure runway. The crew continued the flight to Seattle, where the aircraft landed safely about 105 minutes later. The FAA reported the aircraft sustained unknown damage in the bird strike on departure from Salt Lake City. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Seattle about 26 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ASA761/history/20180117/1340Z/KSLC/KSEA http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3cd2a4&opt=256 Back to Top Accident: American A319 at Phoenix on Jan 17th 2018, wake turbulence blew Cessna 172 on departure over An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N819AW performing flight AA-1709 from Phoenix,AZ to San Jose,CA (USA), departed Phoenix's runway 07L and was climbing out of Phoenix. A Cessna 172 departed runway 07L as the next aircraft. The FAA reported however: "AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 1709, A319 ON DEPARTURE CAUSED WAKE TURBULENCE AND BLEW OVER C172, PHOENIX AZ". There were no injuries. Runway 07L needed to be closed because of the disabled Cessna on the runway. Metars: KPHX 171651Z 09014KT 10SM FEW250 15/M05 A3025 RMK AO2 SLP236 T01501050= KPHX 171551Z 09010KT 10SM FEW250 13/M04 A3023 RMK AO2 SLP230 T01281044= KPHX 171451Z 12006KT 10SM FEW250 11/M04 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP225 T01111039 53013= KPHX 171351Z 11006KT 10SM FEW250 12/M04 A3020 RMK AO2 SLP220 T01171044= KPHX 171251Z 13008KT 10SM FEW250 12/M04 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP212 T01221044= KPHX 171151Z 14006KT 10SM SCT200 12/M04 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP210 T01221039 10150 20122 53002= KPHX 171051Z 11007KT 10SM SCT200 13/M04 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP208 T01281039= http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3cdfe4&opt=256 Back to Top Incident: Malaysia A333 near Derby on Jan 18th 2018, engine shut down in flight A Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration 9M-MTM performing flight MH-122 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) with 224 passengers, was enroute at FL360 about 10nm northwest of Derby,WA (Australia) when the crew needed to shut the right hand engine (PW4170) down. The aircraft turned around, drifted down to FL240 and diverted to Alice Springs,NT (Australia) about 700nm southeast of Derby (distances Derby-Perth,WA 980nm, Derby-Darwin,NT 510nm), where the aircraft landed safely about 110 minutes after leaving FL360. Passengers reported there were banging and strange sounds from the right hand side. The crew subsequently announced they needed to shut down one engine. The crew instructed the passengers to brace for landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3cc2f4&opt=256 Back to Top Accident: Fastjet E190 at Mwanza on Jan 17th 2018, person on runway killed by departing aircraft A Fastjet Embraer ERJ-190, registration 5H-FJI performing flight FN-148 from Mwanza to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) with 83 people on board, was accelerating for takeoff at about 21:05L (18:05Z) when the crew noticed a person in the middle of the active runway, attempted some limited evasive maneouver and continued takeoff. Climbing out of the airport the crew informed ATC, who confirmed a seriously injured person on the runway. After safe landing in Dar es Salaam the crew received information that the person on the runway in Mwanza had succumbed to the injuries. The aircraft did not receive any damage. The airline confirmed the accident advising their passengers that an investigation has been opened into the accident, the aircraft remains unavailable due to the investigation forcing a number of flight cancellations on Jan 18th. Fastjet wrote: "Fastjet would like to extend its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the dead." Tanzania's Airport Authority reported a male, unknown identity, has died when he hit the departing aircraft on the runway. All security procedures had been followed. However, the long-term lack of a fence due to building and aerodrome enhancements works might have contributed to the person getting onto the runway. A safety investigation is underway. Metars: HTMW 172000Z 11009KT 9999 FEW020 SCT250 21/19 Q1014 NOSIG= HTMW 171900Z 12009KT 9999 FEW021 SCT090 22/19 Q1014 NOSIG= HTMW 171700Z 10008KT 9999 FEW021 SCT100 22/20 Q1013 NOSIG= HTMW 171600Z 00000KT 9999 FEW023 BKN260 23/20 Q1012 NOSIG= HTMW 171500Z 00000KT 9999 FEW023 FEW024CB BKN110 24/19 Q1012 NOSIG= http://avherald.com/h?article=4b3cb9b8&opt=256 Back to Top Delta flight with 131 passengers makes emergency landing at LAX Passengers aboard a Delta Airlines jet to Detroit exit the plane after it returned to LAX Thursday because of a mechanical problem. A Delta Airlines jet with 131 passengers aboard was forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport for an emergency landing Wednesday because of a mechanical problem, authorities said. The flight to Detroit took off about 1:40 p.m., but its pilot alerted LAX authorities the jet was returning to the airport about 2 p.m. The plane, having traveled as far east as Ontario, landed safely at 2:39 p.m. Stairs were wheeled over to the jet so passengers could deplane. They then boarded buses on the tarmac. A passenger, Shams Khan, posted a Tweet that said hydraulic fluid was leaking from the plane. https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2018/01/18/delta-flight-with-131-passengers-makes-emergency- landing-at-lax/ Back to Top The FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City soars when it comes to flight safety The FAA Logistics Center at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center oversees about $670 million in operating inventory and services for the management, maintenance, repair and overhaul of radars and other equipment used to keep the nation's airspace safe. [Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Archives] A monthly forum sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber took flight Wednesday as about 150 of its members and guests heard from representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. Roy Williams, the chamber's president and CEO, observed the Monroney Center is Oklahoma's fourth- largest single-site employer in the state. He said the center's annual economic impact on the Oklahoma City area is estimated at $1.65 billion annually. Attendees also heard from the center's director, as well as several of its key personnel. Michelle Coppedge, the Monroney center's director, said not a lot of people know of its mission outside of aviation circles. "We kind of like to think of ourselves as a best-kept secret. But the problem is, we really don't want to be known that way, because we make a huge impact on aviation across the world, and we have a pretty large economic impact as well, both here in the state and across this nation," Coppedge said. Coppedge said aviation now is safe, adding it didn't used to be that way. "If you went into an airport during the 1970s, one of the first things you could do is buy life insurance. It cost $5, and many passengers signed up to do it," she said. "What are people concerned about today? TSA (the Transportation Security Administration) - by the way, TSA is not part of the FAA," she added, getting a laugh. "You are concerned about whether or not you are going to get your bags on time, or whether or not your flight will arrive on time. "So we enjoy a time where we are the safest aerospace system in the world, and we are really the envy of many countries because of that. "A lot of that success is really a testament to a lot of things that happened at the aeronautical center right here in Oklahoma, and we are really very, very proud of that." Historical context The center is named after Sen. Mike Monroney, an Oklahoman who chaired the Senate Aviation Committee and co-authored legislation to create the center in 1958. Need for aviation safety was highlighted, Coppedge said, by the 1956 collision of two commercial passenger planes over the Grand Canyon that killed 128 people. The center and its work touches every aspect of the nation's airspace system, which, on any given day, has about 85,000 flights in the air carrying 2.5 million passengers going to almost 20,000 different airports, she said. The center trains aviation safety inspectors who clear aircraft to fly, develops air safety rules and trains flight crews on how to implement them, trains air and ground traffic controllers and trains inspectors, engineers, operators and technicians that work with flight-related navigational aids, radars and communications gear, she said. The center also certifies that pilots and aircrews are fit to fly, registers aircraft, and updates navigational charts used by pilots as they plan and execute their flights. "We impact all of it," she said. Coppedge and the others also discussed how the center supports more than 60 other federal agencies, helping them meet their needs when it comes to operating, maintaining and repairing radar and other surveillance equipment. She said she expects the center will continue to enhance that work, especially for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "It also is a very interesting time in aviation," she said. "It took over 100 years for us to get 320,000 registered aircraft. And now, within just a two-year time frame, there has been a million drones (870,000 registered to hobbyists) added to that. "It is changing right before our eyes, and it is changing very, very fast." Other speakers Forum attendees also heard Wednesday from Keith DeBerry, director of the FAA Academy (the educational arm of the center that trains U.S. air and ground traffic controllers, inspectors, engineers, technicians and operators who work with various types of aircraft systems and equipment). DeBerry said the center's staff of 300 full-time and 900 part-time instructors provide training for about 20,000 students a year at the center, adding many of those come from 172 other countries across the globe. "Think about the influence Oklahoma City projects, not only across the U.S., but across the world," he said, noting those students spend an estimated $70 million annually at area hotels and other businesses. Dr. Carla Hackworth, the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division Manager at the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, also addressed the group. "As you heard, air travel is reliant upon a number of systems," she said. "There is a technical aspect, the hardware and equipment part, then you have the organizational procedures, such as regulations, and then there is human involvement. "That's our focus, as humans are integral to every aspect of aviation. They also are the highest element of risk, and we are fully aware of that," Hackworth said as she discussed how the institute manages that risk through certifications and through educational and research programs. Randall Burke, director of FAA's logistics center, also talked about the role his operation plays in maintaining and repairing 200 different systems that impact every aspect of flight at airports across the nation. He said the logistics group works with a private contractor at the Monroney Center to troubleshoot problems or issues new technology or obsolescence might present, as well. "If we have an issue we have to deal with, we can plug in, experiment ... we have all the right people to solve issues almost real time," he said. http://newsok.com/the-faas-mike-monroney-aeronautical-center-in-oklahoma-city-soars-when-it-comes- to-flight-safety/article/5579927 Back to Top Some Pilots Still Using Unauthorized Special Instrument Procedures * There's more to special procedures than simply what's printed on the plate. The NBAA says operators have been flying the Cottonwood Special Departure Procedure from Eagle County Airport in Colorado without authorization. Eagle County Regional Airport/Twitter The point of last fall's Info17015 circular was to remind pilots that some instrument approach procedures demand specialized training before they're authorized to use them. A few of the airports that fall into this category are Aspen and Rifle Colorado and Lebanon Region New Hampshire. Despite the friendly reminder, the NBAA says, "a number of operators [have been] flying the Cottonwood Special Departure Procedure from Eagle County Airport (EGE), Colorado who are not authorized and have not received proper training or approval to utilize the procedure." The problem with flying these unauthorized procedures is that there's often more to it all than simply flying what's printed on a chart. The association's notice also said, "Some pilots without proper authorization and training have mistakenly flown this procedure's [Cottonwood] one-engine-inoperative (OEI) track, which encroaches into Aspen's airspace and may only be flown in response to an engine failure on takeoff." The goal to spread the word about the hazards was only a part of the NBAA's message. Another is that the penalties for flying an unauthorized procedure could include certificate action from the FAA. The NBAA said, "Flightcrews must not request nor accept an Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearance for a Special Instrument Procedure without specific FAA-Flight Standards authorization." Special Instrument Procedures might look like any other procedure and in an operator's navigational database, but they're not. https://www.flyingmag.com/some-pilots-still-using-unauthorized-special-instrument-procedures Back to Top TV film crew arrested after TSA catches them intentionally bringing fake explosive to airport Passengers repack luggage before it is screened at a new explosives detection system at the Newark Liberty International Airport A television film crew was arrested on Thursday after attempting to pass a suspicious item with "all of the makings of an improvised explosive device" through security at Newark Liberty International Airport. "At least seven individuals have been arrested by Port Authority Police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected a suspicious item in a carry-on bag," said TSA in a statement. A preliminary investigation revealed some members of the group intentionally carried the item through the security checkpoint while others in the group covertly filmed the encounter. Their goal was to see whether or not the TSA would detect the item, which was concealed in a rolling bag. TSA fails most tests in latest undercover operation at US airports Chris Christie rebuffed attempting to pass through a Newark airport gate access area he used as governor TSA officers did in fact detect it, and the film crew was arrested on multiple charges. The Star-Ledger reported that the crew was filming for cable network CNBC. The perpetrators face possible civil penalties by TSA, and can be charged over $13,000 per security violation. http://abcnews.go.com/US/tv-film-crew-arrested-tsa-intentionally-bringing-fake/story?id=52455551 Back to Top THE WORLD'S BIGGEST JET ENGINE IS ABOUT TO GET A BLAST OF ICE The tests aren't meant to simulate high-altitude conditions-the air 30,000 feet up is far colder than anything Canadians suffer-but rather the various kinds of clouds the engine will encounter during ascents and descents.GE AVIATION WHILE THE AMERICAN South hunkers down and waits for this week's blast of snow and icy temperatures to dissipate, a crew of aviation engineers up in central Canada is hoping for just the opposite. "We love subzero weather, and pray for it," says Eric Hegedus, an engine test engineer with GE Aviation. "It's the definition of insanity." Insanity that keeps your plane safe in the nastiest of weather. Hegedus and his colleagues are temporarily stationed at GE's Aircraft Engine Testing, Research, and Development Centre, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where winter temperatures average around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. They're here to bring the freeze to the world's largest jet engine, the GE9X. Developed primarily for the new Boeing 777X, this behemoth is wider than the fuselage of a 737 jet and can generate more than 100,000 pounds of thrust. It wields a 134-inch-wide fan, and is now in late-stage development for its new aircraft. Hegedus, who usually works at GE Aviation's Cincinnati headquarters, is in Winnipeg to see how well the engine handles when things get icy. Just to mount the ginormous thing, which just completed other tests (like being shot with bird carcasses and consuming buckets of foreign sand) at GE's Peebles, Ohio, facility, the team had to expand and rejigger its test stand, rigging up extra fans and nozzles, to simulate the amount of air and water the engine will guzzle at speed. Once they've installed and wired up the engine with a bevy of sensors, the engineers will sit and wait for the right temperature to arrive-somewhere between -6 and -10 degrees Fahrenheit. "We get the coldest weather here at night, of course, so we'll be on-call 24 hours a day," Hegedus says. "We might work from 6 pm to 8 in the morning, running the engine through the data points we need to evaluate." The tests aren't meant to simulate high-altitude conditions-the air 30,000 feet up is far colder than anything Canadians suffer-but rather the various kinds of clouds the engine will encounter during ascents and descents, where the air is moist and icing most frequently occurs. The team runs the engine at different speed levels, representing different stages of flight and shoots it with streams of vapor at a range of widths and densities, to simulate the kinds of clouds the airplane might encounter in cold weather. You might think the planet's biggest engine runs hot enough to vaporize any ice bold enough to get near it. In fact, apart from the core, most of the engine is cold, including the elements right behind the fan. Ice can accumulate on the spinner cone in front of the fan or on the GE9X's sixteen enormous blades. That extra weight can throw the engine off balance, or make the blades rub up against the fan case, abrading either. Ice can also form inside the bypass area-the interior wall of the duct surrounding the engine, through which air passes before it's accelerated out the rear-and on the outside of the core. Ice formation is inevitable in lots of flight conditions. These tests ensure the engine can tolerate it and continue to run smoothly long enough for the aircraft to pass through the conditions, or for the ice to simply slough off. (Pilots and the engine's computer can also make changes to the engine speed to mitigate the likelihood or impact of ice formation.) The GE9X went through engineering tests several years ago (aviation innovation is a lengthy process), so at this stage, the engineers don't expect much more than minor modifications to how the engine responds to certain conditions. "We've applied all the best practices about how to handle ice accretion based on our experience and previous testing, so we expect this to be a smooth process," Hegedus says. "It should pass on the first try." The testing window for the engine will run until about April (Manitoba stays cold late into the year). But if Hegedus and his team get lucky, maybe Old Man Winter will land on Winnipeg and let them knock out their work far sooner than that-so they can hop a safe flight back to the land of warmth. https://www.wired.com/story/testing-boeings-new-engine/ Back to Top Challenges and research for an evolving aviation system A comprehensive aviation safety system as envisioned by NASA would require integration of a wide range of systems and practices, including building an in-time aviation safety management system (IASMS) that could detect and mitigate high-priority safety issues as they emerge and before they become hazards, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. An IASMS could continuously monitor the national airspace system, assess the data that it has collected, and then either recommend or initiate safety assurance actions as necessary. "Commercial aviation in the United States and most other regions of the world is the safest mode of transportation," said Kenneth Hylander, past chairman of the Board of Governors at the Flight Safety Foundation, executive vice president of safety at Amtrak, and chair of the committee that conducted the study and wrote the report. "This high level of safety is the result of many factors, including decades of investments by industry and government and the dedication of researchers, engineers, pilots, air traffic controllers, and a great many other members of the aviation community. As the national airspace system is constantly changing, it is time to develop a new, real-time safety assurance system." The report envisions an IASMS that can collect data on the status of aircraft, air traffic management systems, airports, and weather, and then assess the data second by second, minute by minute, and hour by hour to detect or predict elevated risks quickly. Additionally, the IASMS would focus on risks that require safety assurance action in-flight or prior to flight, such as making a decision to postpone or cancel a flight until flight conditions change or equipment is repaired, for example. Safety assurance actions generated by an IASMS may take the form of recommendations that operators take action upon or, when urgent action is required, IASMS may be designated to initiate safety assurance actions autonomously. Successful development of an IASMS will require overcoming key technical and economic challenges, and the task of maintaining a high level of safety for commercial airlines is complicated by the dynamic nature of the national airspace system-the common network of U.S. airspace, airports or landing areas, aeronautical information, rules, regulations, and procedures, technical information, and manpower and material. As the national airspace system evolves to accommodate the increase in number of flights and numerous new entrants, such as increasingly autonomous systems, aviation safety programs must also evolve to ensure that changes to the national airspace system do not inadvertently introduce new risks. The report recommends 10 high-priority research projects for consideration by agencies and organizations in government, industry, and academia with an interest in developing an IASMS for the national airspace system. Of these 10 projects, developing a detailed concept of operation for an IASMS is judged by the committee to be of the highest priority and will involve considering multiple possible system architectures, evaluating key trade-offs, and identifying system requirements. For most of the research projects, meeting the needs of an IASMS will likely require a mix of new technologies, improvements to existing technologies, and/or the application of existing technologies developed for other applications. Each recommended project would rely on academia, industry, and government agencies to develop new technologies and products associated with the development of an IASMS. The committee specifically called on academia to participate in research at lower levels of technology readiness and on industry to focus on more advanced research and product development. Furthermore, government agencies should support research and development consistent with their own organization's mission objectives and the desired nature of the given organization's research portfolio in terms of risk, technical maturity, and economic potential, the report recommends. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is leading the NextGen program, some elements of which pertain directly to the development of an IASMS. NASA could contribute primarily by supporting basic and applied research for the advanced development of systems by industry and the FAA. The U.S. Department of Defense could monitor any changes to the air traffic management system that could impact the operation of military aircraft in civil airspace. In addition, each research project could be addressed by partnerships involving multiple organizations in the federal government, industry, academia, and other international government agencies. The report acknowledges that executing all of the high-priority research projects identified in the report would require significant resources although many of the research projects could achieve substantial advances using currently available resources, especially if program planning and executing takes maximum advantage of the synergies that exist among some of the research projects. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-evolving-aviation.html#jCp Back to Top A Decade Later, TSA Officially Drops LASP Gulfstream G650 The Transportation Security Administration has quietly withdrawn a rule that the business aviation community said would have imposed "new, onerous, and largely unworkable security regulations" on general aviation aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds. (Photo: Gulfstream) Nearly a decade after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) introduced the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and was met with an outpouring of opposition, the agency has quietly withdrawn the rule. NBAA noted its official withdrawal, saying that, as originally written, the rule would have imposed "new, onerous, and largely unworkable security regulations on general aviation." Instead, the association said, the business aviation community is continuing to work with the agency on risk-based initiatives. Designed for aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, LASP called for flight crew criminal history record checks, the cross-check of passenger names against no-fly and selectee lists, compliance with the prohibited items list for scheduled airlines, and security program audits, among other requirements. General aviation groups called the requirements unworkable and warned the TSA that the program would have "disastrous" consequences on the industry. Opposition increased so much that Congress got involved, pressuring the agency to revise it. The TSA agreed to rewrite the rule, and it had languished at the agency since. TSA leaders since had acknowledged the rule needed changing, including the previous administrator, Peter Neffenger, who had called the rule too prescriptive and said he wanted to open a dialog with the business aviation community and work more collaboratively. The more collaborative approach has been widely welcomed by business aviation leaders. "NBAA and its members remain fully committed to promoting appropriate, reasonable, risk-based security measures for general aviation, and in the 10 years since LASP was introduced, the industry has demonstrated a record of compliance with very sophisticated, voluntary, and mandatory security measures," said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. "We look forward to continuing our work with the TSA, Congress, and security experts on additional collaborative efforts." Working through an industry/government Aviation Security Advisory Committee, the business and general aviation community and the TSA have progressed on issues such as the revision of general aviation airport security guidelines, a review of flight-training security procedures, and more recently, possible updates to the Twelve-Five Standard Security and Private Charter Standard Security Programs. The move to drop the LASP was no surprise. Few, if any, industry leaders expected to see the program resurrected anytime in the near future, and most believed its fate was further sealed by the ongoing regulatory review required by the Trump administration. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-01-18/decade-later-tsa-officially-drops- lasp Back to Top Norwegian Dreamliner flight breaks trans-Atlantic speed record thanks to ferocious jet stream Norwegian Airlines A new record for the fastest transatlantic flight in a subsonic aircraft has been set after a Norwegian Dreamliner rode a strong jet stream from New York to London. Flight DY7014 from John F Kennedy International to Gatwick completed the 5542 km journey in just five hours and 13 minutes, shaving 30 minutes off the average duration and stealing three minutes off the previous record set by British Airways in January 2015. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by the low-cost carrier on Monday reached a top speed of 1249 km per hour as it surfed winds of up to 325 km per hour. It left New York at 11.44am local time and arrived in London at 9.57pm GMT. Captain Harold van Dam at the controls said that the flight might have been even shorter had turbulence not slowed the aircraft. Norwegian, which operates daily flights between London and New York on its new 787 Dreamliners, allocates six and half hours for the service, meaning passengers on Monday arrived over an hour early. A Norwegian flight the previous day took just five hours and 20 minutes reaching a top speed of 1254 km per hour. Anyone flying into the UK earlier this week would have felt the strength of the jet stream on the approach as the high winds caused turbulence in northern Europe. Pilots have long used jet streams - which flow across the globe from west to east - to cut journey times and save fuel. But at only 10 miles across and about 2000 feet deep it takes skill, planning and a bit of luck to ride one for an entire route. In 2015, British Airways (BA) operated a Boeing 777 that took just five hours and 16 minutes to cross the pond. In October 2016, Air India used tailwinds to fly a longer Pacific route from Delhi to San Francisco faster than the other way round. Despite an additional 1400 kilometres travelled, the journey time was cut by two hours thanks to a 138 km per hour tailwind. The fastest transatlantic crossing of course belongs to a supersonic aircraft, when on February 7 1996 a BA Concorde flew from New York to London in just two hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, hitting a top speed of 2173 km per hour. Passenger jets traditionally travel at about 80 per cent the speed of sound, which, at sea level, is 1234 km per hour. http://www.traveller.com.au/norwegian-dreamliner-flight-breaks-transatlantic-speed-record-thanks-to- ferocious-jet-stream-h0kqvo#ixzz54cp96mNX Back to Top Class-action: FAA May Face $841M Bill in New Drone Suit The aviation legal skies are swarming after an 800,000-plus-person lawsuit crashed into the FAA last week, alleging the federal agency wrongly collected personal data and money under drone regulations later declared illegal. Robert Taylor v. FAA is the second such class action suit filed against the FAA in as many years and has a fraternal connection with the first. In 2015, Taylor's brother, John, filed suit claiming that Part 48 of FAA drone registration rules applying to model aircraft was illegal. In May, a federal appeals court agreed, vacating the model-aircraft registration requirements. However, the December passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 effectively rescinded the ruling. On Jan. 5, Robert filed a four-count challenge, claiming the agency violated the previous Taylor decision by collecting money and personal information under Part 48. "[The FAA] did not delete the registry or refund the money," writes aviation attorney Jonathan Rupprecht in a recent blog post (Rupprecht is not involved in the case). He added that, if the court finds for Robert and the more-than 836,000 other plaintiffs, "each injured party is entitled to $1,000 in statutory damages." The suit also claims: "[The FAA] violated Plaintiff and the Class's Constitutional and privacy rights by unlawfully promulgating the Registration Rule and enforcing the Registration Rule without any statutory authority to do so. Further, once the D.C. Circuit vacated the Registration Rule, the Defendants did not delete the private and personal information of Model Aircraft owners and did not refund their registration fees. In addition, the Defendants unlawfully continued the registration process and unlawfully maintained Plaintiff and the Class's private and personal information even after the D.C. Circuit held that the Defendants were prohibited from doing so." Rupprecht points out that, if successful, the suit could result in an almost-$1 billion award. "The lawsuit is seeking $5 back for the class ($4,183,980), Privacy Act violation statutory damages of $1,000 EACH for the members of the class ($ 836,796,000). In sum, we're looking at almost 841 million plus attorneys fees." https://dronelife.com/2018/01/17/class-action-faa-may-face-840k-damages-new-drone-suit/ Back to Top Chinese airlines allow inflight mobile phone use, wifi Passengers use mobile phones with inflight wifi connections on board the flight HU7781 of Hainan Airlines, Jan. 18, 2018. On Thursday, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines began to allow passengers to use portable electronic devices (PED), such as smartphones and tablets, but phones still have to be switched to airplane mode. Inflight wifi is available on 74 of China Eastern Airlines' aircraft, covering all long-range international routes and 166 domestic routes. Hainan Airlines has enabled inflight wifi on 17 of its aircraft. Other Chinese airlines are also considering allowing mobile phone use. The permission comes after the Civil Aviation Administration of China asked that the ban be lifted earlier this week. (Xinhua) http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/19/c_136907569.htm Back to Top Zapata Ezfly: The jet-powered aerial Segway anyone can fly The Zapata Ezfly is a jet-powered flying Segway that it seems almost anyone can fly The Zapata Ezfly looks for all intents and purposes like a Segway of the sky. You stand on a small platform equipped with a series of jet thrusters, holding two handgrips that come up from the base, then rise up into the air and zoom around, steering with your bodyweight. The Zapata Ezfly is capable of reaching altitudes of up to 10,000 feet and speeds of... It builds on the platform of Franky Zapata's Flyboard Air, a green goblin-style flying platform with no Segway-style handgrips. The Flyboard Air, like the water-propelled Flyboard that started this whole venture for Zapata, straps you in at the boots, and requires an extraordinary amount of core strength and balance to operate - which its inventor most certainly has. Zapata has frequently been seen zooming around over waterways in Europe and the United States, testing and updating his invention, sometimes with the blessing of the authorities, sometimes without. The new Ezfly system is a dangerously disruptive idea, because it looks for all the world like it takes very little training to operate, so just about anyone could fly one. You don't strap your boots in, you just stand on the platform and hang onto the control sticks, pretty much like a three-dimensional Segway. In the above video, Zapata shows a testing session held last October somewhere in Texas, where no less than 10 pilots jumped aboard the Ezfly and took turns blasting about over the surface of a lake. Everyone seemed to be able to get the hang of it pretty quickly, and there were no incidents. Notably, a couple of the guys in the test team were wearing military gear, which would make sense, as it's no secret the US defence forces are highly interested in personal flight devices. In fact, the Ezfly looks like a vastly slimmed-down, much more powerful, jet propelled descendent of the Hiller Flying Platform, which was built in the 1950s and tested by the U.S. Army before eventually being abandoned. The fact that Zapata was willing to put a range of people on board suggests that the Ezfly has a bunch of built-in stability gear, as well as potentially an altitude/distance from base limiter. You could even feasibly have a drone-style remote control to bring back a wayward pilot in distress. We'd love to know more, but Zapata hasn't yet responded to our enquiries. One thing we can be fairly sure it doesn't have is an active safety system, because nothing of that nature really exists as yet. Ballistic parachute systems are well and good, but they don't have time to slow your fall if you're flying at altitudes of less than about 100 ft (30 m). By the time they've opened up, you're the shape and texture of a pizza. That's a problem everyone's dealing with in this new VTOL space, from the flying car guys to the Jetpack people - once you're way up in the air, ballistic chutes are handy to have, but between the ground and 100 feet, a system failure could be absolutely catastrophic. The Zapata Ezfly is capable of reaching altitudes of up to 10,000 feet and speeds of... Devices like the Ezfly and Jetpack Aviation's JB-series jetpacks are capable of flying up to 10,000 ft in the air, but they're realistically going to spend 90 percent of their time in the death zone between 15-100 ft (4.5-30m), particularly if they become available to the public as recreational machines. So we wouldn't expect to see this come out as a commercial product, or move into military service, until that detail has been thoroughly dealt with. And it will be dealt with. Our feeling is that it's only a matter of time before devices like the Ezfly become the new jet skis of the sky - unbelievably fun, massively noisy, amazing but slightly obnoxious extreme leisure machines. Bring it on. https://newatlas.com/zapata-ezfly-flying-segway/53044/ Back to Top Global Aerospace Launches Innovative Aircraft Breakdown Assistance Program for Light Aircraft PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Aerospace, a leading provider of aerospace insurance, is pleased to announce the launch of a new Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program available to its U.S. light aircraft policyholders at no additional cost. Savvy Aviation, a professional maintenance management, consulting and breakdown assistance company for owner-flown general aviation airplanes, supports the program for Global Aerospace. Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program fueled by Savvy Aviation A mechanical problem with an aircraft while away from home can be an owner's worst nightmare. The Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program provides Global policyholders with 24/7 access to a dedicated toll- free assistance hotline and experienced Savvy Airframe and Powerplant and Inspection Authorization (A&P/IA) technicians. Savvy technicians will troubleshoot mechanical problems and help owners determine whether an aircraft is safe to fly home. If repairs are needed, they will help find a local, trustworthy maintenance provider and work with them to get pilots safely, and quickly, back in the air. Rick Underwood, senior vice president and Aeroinsure manager at Global Aerospace comments, "As a worldwide industry leader, Global Aerospace is proud to join with Savvy Aviation to bring this exciting product to the light aircraft community. For the very first time, light aircraft owners can link their insurance protection with the peace of mind of breakdown assistance. This combination adds tremendous value, at no additional cost, for our light aircraft policyholders." Mike Busch, founder and CEO at Savvy Aviation adds, "Savvy's extraordinary team of veteran A&P/IAs have been coming to the rescue of stranded GA owner-pilots for decades, and we pretty much have it down to a science. Our unique 'owner first, airplane second' approach gives priority to helping to solve the pilot's immediate predicament -- usually getting home or continuing a travel itinerary with minimum delay -- rather than fixating solely on repairing the airplane as most mechanics do. We genuinely enjoy helping pilots in distress, and find their gratitude heartwarming. We're thrilled to be able to extend this valuable service to Global Aerospace policyholders." As a specialist aviation underwriting business, Global Aerospace is continuously developing customized, exclusive solutions to deliver products and services to benefit our clients and their brokers. The Aircraft Breakdown Assistance program is available at no additional cost to Global Aerospace, Inc. policyholders if their policy begins or renews on or after January 1, 2018. To activate your exclusive Aircraft Breakdown Assistance membership today, please visit savvyaviation.com/global. For further information and full program details, please visit global-aero.com/programs/savvy or contact Rick Underwood at (888) 228-0001, runderwood@global-aero.com. About Global Aerospace 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. To learn more about the company's SM4 safety program, please visit sm4.global-aero.com. About Savvy Aviation For more than a decade, Savvy Aviation's extraordinary team of veteran maintenance experts has been serving as a trusted maintenance advisor to more than 10,000 owners of general aviation aircraft. Savvy provides a broad palette of maintenance-related services that includes comprehensive maintenance management, maintenance consulting, a national prebuy program, analysis of engine monitor data, and 24/7 fast-response breakdown assistance. Savvy was founded in 2008 by Mike Busch, arguably the best- known A&P/IA in general aviation, honored by the FAA as 2008 National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year. Contact: Suzanne Keneally AVP, Group Head of Communications skeneally@global-aero.com 973-490-8588 http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Global-Aerospace-Launches-Innovative-Aircraft- Breakdown-Assistance-Program-for-Light-Aircraft-1013216693 Back to Top Airbus Handed A380 Lifeline With $16 Billion Emirates Order * Gulf giant agrees to buy as many 36 superjumbo aircraft * Deal set to extend program for at least another decade Airbus Secures Emirates A380s Order Worth $16 Billion Airbus SE pulled its flagship A380 superjumbo back from the brink with a follow-up order from Emirates, giving the giant jet a new lease of life days after the planemaker floated the possibility of killing it off amid slack demand. The Dubai-based carrier, already the biggest A380 customer, signed an outline agreement for 20 of the double-deckers with an option to buy 16 more, worth a potential $16 billion at list prices, it said Thursday, handing Airbus the first orders for the model in more than two years. The purchase will extend A380 production until 2029 if Emirates takes all of the planes, according to Airbus, which as recently as Monday had acknowledged that the program could be terminated without a new sale soon. The carrier had scuttled a deal for the same number of aircraft toward the end of last year amid doubts about the manufacturer's dedication to improving the plane. "This new order underscores Airbus's commitment to produce the A380 at least for another 10 years," John Leahy, the Toulouse, France-based company's outgoing sales chief, said in a statement. "I'm personally convinced more orders will follow Emirates's example." The new aircraft will be delivered from 2020, with engine options still under evaluation. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc is supplying turbines as part of Emirates's most recent order for 50 A380s, while the Engine Alliance of General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney powered the previous 90. If Emirates signs off on the full deal it will have committed to a total of 178 A380s, or more than half of all orders for the plane worldwide. The carrier currently has 101 superjumbos in its fleet, and many older aircraft will have been phased out before the new batch arrives. Airbus's failure to land the order in November at the Dubai Air Show left the manufacturer red faced, with Emirates pulling out just minutes before an announcement was due as dignitaries were gathering for the event. Salvaging the deal will be especially important to Leahy, allowing him to deliver a final coup before standing down as sales supremo next week. The planemaker and airline have developed an almost symbiotic relationship around the A380. Emirates has given the superjumbo a public profile it would otherwise have struggled to attain, while the 550-seat jet has enabled the carrier divert a significant proportion of global traffic via what's a natural global crossroads but which was for so long an aviation backwater. For Airbus the deal will avoid an early shutdown of its most prominent program, the oldest examples from which are barely 10 years old. The company is also keen to keep the A380 going in anticipation of the global travel market favoring bigger planes in years to come as the number of people flying climbs and runways become more and more crowded. For a recap of the high-tension earlier talks with Emirates, click here Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who signed the deal with Leahy in Dubai, said is company will now work with Airbus "to further enhance the aircraft and onboard product." The option component of the order may give Emirates leverage to press for enhancements possibly up to a re-engined version of the plane, Jefferies International Ltd. analyst Sandy Morris said in a note. The Gulf carrier previously dangled the possibility of as many as 200 orders if Airbus agreed to develop the new engine option or Neo, only for the manufacturer and Rolls-Royce to push back against the proposal. A spokesman for London-based Rolls said it welcomes the opportunity to "be selected again by Emirates," while declining to comment further. As of the end of last year, Airbus had a total of 95 unfilled A380 orders, though only 48 of those, the vast bulk from Emirates, can be regarded as credible, according to Morris. Orders from carriers including Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and sat on the books undelivered for years. Airbus shares rose as much as 3.1 percent and traded 2.6 percent higher as of 12:55 p.m. in Paris. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-18/emirates-orders-20-a380s-worth-9-billion-in-vital- program- boost?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=bd&utm_campaign=headline&cmpId=yhoo.headline&yptr=yahoo Back to Top NASA has pulled Jeanette Epps just months before her first flight * Epps would have been the first African-American crew member on board the ISS. Jeanette Epps, left, served as a back-up crew member to Expedition 54 to the space station. NASA issued a short news release on Thursday evening stating that Jeanette Epps will not be a part of the International Space Station crew set to launch in June. (That flight would launch from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket.) The release gave no reason why Epps was pulled from the flight. In a response to a request for more information, Johnson Space Center spokeswoman Brandi Dean told Ars, "A number of factors are considered when making flight assignments. However, these decisions are personnel matters for which NASA doesn't provide information." According to NASA, Epps had returned to the active Astronaut Corps at the space center to assume duties in the astronaut office. She will be considered for assignment to future missions. Had she flown this year, Epps would have become the first African-American astronaut to live as a crew member aboard the International Space Station. Only three other African American women have flown into space. Epps' assignment in January 2017 garnered a fair amount of favorable publicity for the space agency. Epps was a member of NASA's 20th class of astronauts, a group of nine known as the "Chumps" who were selected in June 2009. Seven of the nine astronauts from that class have already flown into space. Epps will be replaced by the other rookie from the 2009 class, Serena Auñón-Chancellor, who was serving as Epps' backup for this mission. Crew members have been pulled from their flights much later than thisIn 1970, Ken Mattingly was pulled from his assignment as command module pilot of the Apollo 13 just a week before launch. (Gary Sinise played him in the 1995 film.) That was because the primary crew was exposed to rubella, and Mattingly was not immune from the disease. NASA does not usually say why crews are reassigned unless there is a medical reason. In that case, NASA will sometimes provide limited information. https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/01/nasa-has-pulled-jeanette-epps-just-months-before-her-first- flight/ Back to Top Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY I am a student with City University in London doing my MSc in Air Transport Management and conducting a survey for academic research on the Importance of Pilot Mental Health and Peer Support Group and would be grateful if you could complete the survey below: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/B3HGHVV Thank you in advance! Bilal Farid Back to Top ISASI Kapustin Memorial Scholarship Applications Due in April Applications for the 2018 ISASI Rudolph Kapustin Memorial Scholarship must be submitted on or before April 15, 2018, says ISASI Secretary Chad Balentine, who serves as Scholarship Committee Chairman. Balentine noted that this worthy program is designed to encourage and assist college-level students interested in the field of aviation safety and aircraft occurrence investigation. ISASI funds the Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship through donations and will provide an annual allocation of funds for the scholarship if funds are available. Applicants must be enrolled as full time students in an ISASI recognized education program, which includes courses in aircraft engineering and/or operations, aviation psychology, aviation safety and/or aircraft occurrence investigation, etc. Applicants must have major or minor subjects that focus on aviation safety/investigation. A student who has received the annual ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship will not be eligible to apply for it again. Students who wish to apply should go to http://isasi.org/Documents/Forms/ISASI%20Rudolf%20Kapustin%20Memorial%20Scholarship%20Form%20Jan%2010%202018%200923.pdf for guidelines and the application form. Chad Balentine ISASI International Secretary Kapustin Scholarship Selection Committee Chairman email: chad.balentine@isasi.org Phone: 703.689.4225 Curt Lewis