Flight Safety Information April 30, 2018 - No. 086 In This Issue Air India Airbus A321 returns to land at Delhi after hitting a weather balloon Incident: Vietnam A321 at Nha Trang on Apr 29th 2018, landed on runway under construction Incident: India A321 at Delhi on Apr 29th 2018, engine shut down in flight Incident: Germania B737 at Berlin on Apr 29th 2018, engine shut down in flight Accident: Lion B738 at Gorontalo on Apr 29th 2018, runway excursion on landing Incident: PSA CRJ7 at Washington on Apr 27th 2018, cracked windshield Incident: Horizon E175 at Portland on Apr 28th 2018, smell of smoke Incident: Envoy E140 near Raleigh Durham on Apr 27th 2018, smoke "declared" in cabin Airplane makes emergency landing in Halifax after smoke fills cockpit EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Saudia A333 near Doha on Apr 27th 2018, loss of cabin pressure Incident: TAROM B737 near Bucharest on Apr 26th 2018, cracked cabin window 29-APR-2018 - Libyan Arab Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules accident: 3 dead 'Flight Deck LIBIK - Lithium-Ion Battery Incident Kit BFU Germany issued three safety recommendations after NTSB issues preliminary info on fatal Cessna 525 accident (April 15) near Crozet, Virginia Singapore Airlines stops serving peanuts as snacks Aviation companies are plotting the return of supersonic flight Former RAF pilot becomes Managing Director of Baines Simmons Cool fuel for hypersonic aircraft Air India Airbus A321 returns to land at Delhi after hitting a weather balloon Date: 29-APR-2018 Time: ca 10:30 LT Type: Airbus A321-211 Owner/operator: Air India Registration: VT-PPN C/n / msn: 3955 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 188 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: near Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) - India Phase: Initial climb Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) Destination airport: Srinagar Airport (SXR/VISR) Narrative: Air India flight AI825, an Airbus A321-211, returned to land at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, India after one of the engines had to be shut down shortly after takeoff. The flight landed safely about 15 minutes after departure. According to the pilot the engine had ingested a weather balloon. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=210164 Back to Top Incident: Vietnam A321 at Nha Trang on Apr 29th 2018, landed on runway under construction A Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration VN-A613 performing flight VN-7344 from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang (Vietnam) with 203 passengers and 7 crew, was cleared to land on Nha Trang's civil airport's Cam Ranh International's runway 02 (future runway 02L) but touched down on the runway under construction to become runway 02R. The aircraft rolled out, the engines sucked a number of foreign objects from the runway surface in. Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority rated the occurrence a serious incident, suspended the flight crew, and opened an investigation into the occurrence. Metars: VVCR 290900Z 12006KT 9999 FEW015 30/25 Q1009 NOSIG= VVCR 290830Z 11008KT 9999 FEW015 30/26 Q1009 NOSIG= VVCR 290800Z 11007KT 070V150 9999 FEW015 31/26 Q1009 NOSIG= VVCR 290730Z 11006KT 9999 FEW015 32/26 Q1010 NOSIG= VVCR 290700Z 12008KT 9999 FEW015 32/26 Q1010 NOSIG= VVCR 290630Z 10009KT 9999 FEW015 32/25 Q1010 NOSIG= VVCR 290600Z 10009KT 9999 FEW015 33/25 Q1011 NOSIG= VVCR 290530Z 10010KT 9999 FEW015 33/25 Q1011 NOSIG= VVCR 290500Z 09009KT 9999 FEW015 33/25 Q1012 NOSIG= VVCR 290430Z 09007KT 9999 FEW015 33/24 Q1012 NOSIG= VVCR 290400Z 11011KT 9999 FEW015 32/24 Q1013 NOSIG= http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7f4d86&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: India A321 at Delhi on Apr 29th 2018, engine shut down in flight An Air India Airbus A321-200, registration VT-PPN performing flight AI-825 from Delhi to Srinagar (India) with 180 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Delhi when an engine (CFM56) failed prompting the crew to stop the climb at 3000 feet and return to Delhi for a safe landing on runway 10 about 20 minutes after departure. A replacement A321-200 registration VT-PPF reached Srinagar with a delay of 2 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7f3b4c&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Germania B737 at Berlin on Apr 29th 2018, engine shut down in flight A Germania Boeing 737-700, registration D-AGEQ performing flight ST-4926 from Berlin Tegel (Germany) to Las Palmas,CI (Spain) with 120 passengers and 5 crew, was climbing out of Tegel's runway 08R when the crew stopped the climb at about FL115 due to an engine (CFM56) problem, shut the engine down and returned the aircraft to Tegel for a safe landing on runway 08L about 25 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A319-100 registration D-ASTF is estimated to reach Gran Canaria with a delay of 7 hours. The airline made a German press release stating that due to so far unknown circumstances problems arose with one of the engines prompting the captain to shut the engine down and return to Tegel. There were no injuries. The airline wrote: "Obwohl es sich bei dem betroffenen Flugzeug um eine B737-700 und dem betroffenen Triebwerk um ein CFM56-7B handelt, kann nach bisherigem Stand der Erkenntnisse mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit ein Bezug zum tragischen Vorfall bei Southwest Airlines ausgeschlossen werden.", translated: "Although the affected aircraft is a B737-700 and the affected engine is a CFM56-7B it can be stated according to current standing of investigation with probability bordering to certainty that any link to the tragic accident of Southwest Airlines can be ruled out. The airline initiated an investigation. A passenger reported the aircraft was climbing through clouds when a loud bang occurred causing the aircraft to shudder. The captain subsequently announced that an engine had failed and they were returning to Tegel. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7f2209&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Lion B738 at Gorontalo on Apr 29th 2018, runway excursion on landing A Lion Air Boeing 737-800, registration PK-LOO performing flight JT-892 from Makassar to Gorontalo (Indonesia) with 174 passengers and 7 crew, landed on Gorontalo's runway 27 in rain at about 18:35L (10:35Z) but overran the end of the runway and came to a stop on soft ground with all gear struts dug in. There are no injuries being reported, the aircraft sustained substantial damage however. According to ADS-B data the aircraft came to a stop about 420 meters past the runway end near the aerodrome perimeter fence. The airline confirmed the aircraft overran the runway in rainy weather conditions. All occupantes evacuated the aircraft safely and were taken to the terminal. No Metars are available for WAMG (Gorontalo), the local weather station reported at 17:00L: light rain, winds from eastnortheast at 3 knots, visibility 6000 meters, QNH 1010 hPa, temperature 24 degrees C, dew point 24 degrees C, humidity 88%, at 20:00L the weather station reported: light rain, winds from eastsoutheast at 2 knots, visibility 6000 meters, QNH 1010hPa, temperature 24 degrees C, dew point 24 degrees C, humidity 97%. The aircraft past the runway end (Photo: Aviatren): http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7f2016&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: PSA CRJ7 at Washington on Apr 27th 2018, cracked windshield A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N526EA performing flight OH-5548/AA-5548 from Washington National,DC to Hartford,CT (USA), was climbing out of Washington's Ronald Reagan Airport when the crew stopped the climb at about 10,000 feet due to a cracked windshield and returned to Washington's National Airport for a safe landing about 15 minutes after departure. A replacement CRJ-700 registration N723PS reached Hartford with a delay of about 2.5 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7ea1c6&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Horizon E175 at Portland on Apr 28th 2018, smell of smoke A Horizon Air Embraer ERJ-175 on behalf of Alaska Airlines, registration N630QX performing flight QX-2794/AS-2794 from Portland,OR to Albuquerque,NM (USA), was climbing out of Portland when the crew stopped the climb at 15,000 feet after the smell of smoke was detected in the cabin. The aircraft returned to Portland for a safe landing about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement ERJ-175 registration N624QX is estimated to reach Albuquerque with a delay of 2:50 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7e9cd7&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Envoy E140 near Raleigh Durham on Apr 27th 2018, smoke "declared" in cabin An Envoy Embraer ERJ-140, registration N837AE performing flight MQ-3356 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to Raleigh/Durham,NC (USA) with 10 passengers and 3 crew, was descending towards Raleigh Durham, when the crew - according to the FAA - declared smoke in the cabin. The aircraft continued for a safe landing at Raleigh Durham and was evacuated after landing. The FAA stated: "AMERICAN AIRLINES EMBRAER E145 N837AE DECLARED SMOKE IN THE CABIN, RALEIGH NC" and reported the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The occurrence was rated an accident. The airline reported there was no smoke in the cabin, a flight attendant hat noticed a burning odour in the cabin prompting the evacuation onto the runway after landing. Passengers reported they did not see any smoke and did not smell anything abnormal, however, they were told a sensor malfunction had occurred. The occurrence aircraft positioned to New York La Guardia,NY (USA) after about 8.5 hours on the ground. The aircraft remained on the ground in New York for another about 8 hours, then returned to service. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ENY3356/history/20180426/0155Z/KDFW/KRDU http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7dff12&opt=0 Back to Top Airplane makes emergency landing in Halifax after smoke fills cockpit The flight left Halifax Sunday morning bound for Fredericton, but was forced to touch back down within a few minutes. An example of a Beech 1900D aircraft. This plane is similar to the Air Canada flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in Halifax on April 29 after the cockpit filled with smoke. HALIFAX-An aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Halifax on Sunday after the pilot noticed smoke in the cockpit. Air Canada Flight 7775 departed from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport (HIAA) at 11:55 a.m. on Sunday heading to Fredericton. However, immediately upon departure, the pilot noticed smoke coming from the cockpit of the Beech 1900D aircraft. "They declared an emergency, and we provided emergency response as the airport authority," Theresa Rath Spicer, airport authority spokesperson, said in an interview Sunday. As a result, Spicer said the aircraft returned to the Halifax airport and landed there at 12:07 p.m. There were 13 passengers on the flight, which was operated by EVAS Air. Spicer said there were no reported injuries or signs of fire. When asked about the cause of the smoke, Spicer said HIAA did not have that information. The aircraft landed at the intersection of the airport's two runways, which caused a 45-minute delay for inbound and outbound flights. Normal operations at the airport resumed at about 12:55 p.m. Sunday. https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2018/04/29/airplane-makes-emergency-landing-in-halifax-after-smoke-fills-cockpit.html Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Saudia A333 near Doha on Apr 27th 2018, loss of cabin pressure A Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration HZ-AQH performing flight SV-768 from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to Chennai (India), was enroute at FL330 about 65nm east of Doha (Qatar) and 140nm west of Dubai (United Arab Emirates) when a bleed air fault on the right hand engine (Trent 772) ultimately resulted in the loss of both air conditioning systems prompting the crew to initiate an emergency descent. The aircraft diverted to Dubai for a safe landing on runway 30L about 30 minutes after leaving FL330. A replacement A330-300 registration HZ-AQF continued the flight about 5 hours after landing of HZ-AQH and reached Chennai with a delay of about 5 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7e07fa&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: TAROM B737 near Bucharest on Apr 26th 2018, cracked cabin window A TAROM Boeing 737-700, registration YR-BGG performing flight RO-421 from Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) to Barcelona,SP (Spain) with 105 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 145nm west of Bucharest when the crew decided to return to Bucharest due to a cracked window in the passenger cabin. The aircraft descended to FL130 for the return and landed safely in Bucharest about 65 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A318-100 registration YR-ASC reached Barcelona with a delay of 4.5 hours. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Bucharest due to a crack in one of the cabin windows. http://avherald.com/h?article=4b7e0480&opt=0 Back to Top 29-APR-2018 - Libyan Arab Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules accident: 3 dead Status: Preliminary Date: Sunday 29 April 2018 Time: 12:25 Type: Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules Operator: Libyan Arab Air Force Registration: registration unknown C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 2 km (1.3 mls) from Sharara oil field ( Libya) Phase: Initial climb (ICL) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: ? Destination airport: ? Narrative: Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane was destroyed when it crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharara oil field, Libya. One of the four crew members survived the accident. The aircraft was chartered by Akakus Oil and had delivered 18 tonnes of catering and maintenance supplies. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20180429-1 Back to Top Back to Top BFU Germany issued three safety recommendations after two Boeing 747-400F cargo aircraft lost flap parts. On May 8, 2009 an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747-400F was on approach to Frankfurt International Airport, Germany. When the landing flaps were moved to the 30° position, the crew heard an impact sound and noticed vibrations. The aircraft landed normally. It appeared that part of the left wing flap (Inboard Fore Flap) with dimensions of about 4.5 x 1 m had broken away and impacted the fuselage. On October 8, 2014 a Korean Air Cargo Boeing 747-400F was on approach to Frankfurt International Airport, Germany. When the landing flaps were moved to the 30° position, the crew heard a noise and subsequently, the aircraft rolled 8° to the left. The captain switched off the autopilot and continued the approach manually. A safe landing was carried out. After landing it appeared that a 4,5×1 m part of the 'Inboard Fore Flap' of the left wing had broken away. It was concluded that in both cases the flap fitting broke due to pronounced oscillation/vibration fractures, originating in a corrosion cavity. As a result the BFU recommended Boeing to improve the corrosion resistance of the landing flap attachment fittings. The airlines were recommended to check and, if necessary, replace the landing flap attachment fittings installed on Boeing 747-400 type aircraft in accordance with the revised Manufacturer Service Bulletin (SB) 747-27-2366R3 and Service Letter 747-SL-57-085-C. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2018/04/29/germany-issues-safety-recommendations-after-two-boeing-747-400f-cargo-aircraft-lost-flap-parts-on-approach-to-frankfurt-airport/ Back to Top NTSB issues preliminary info on fatal Cessna 525 accident (April 15) near Crozet, Virginia, USA Status: Preliminary - official Date: Sunday 15 April 2018 Time: 20:54 Type: Cessna 525 CitationJet Operator: private Registration: N525P C/n / msn: 525-0165 First flight: 1996 Engines: 2 Williams International FJ44-1A Crew: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: NW of Crozet, VA ( United States of America) Phase: Unknown (UNK) Nature: Private Departure airport: Richmond-Chesterfield County Airport, VA (KFCI), United States of America Destination airport: Staunton-Shenandoah Valley Airport, VA (SHD/KSHD), United States of America Narrative: The Cessna 525, N525P, was destroyed after it impacted mountainous terrain in Albemarle County, northwest of Crozet, Virginia, USA. A fire ensued. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, died in the crash. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and there was no flight plan filed for the flight, which departed Richmond Chesterfield County Airport, Virginia, around 20:35. It reached a maximum altitude of about 11,500 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane began to descend, and at 20:44, the airplane leveled off around 4,300 ft and remained at that altitude until 20:53 when it began a descending left turn until radar contact was lost at 20:54. The airplane impacted three 40 ft trees about 15 ft prior to impacting terrain at an elevation of 1,520 ft msl. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20180415-1 Back to Top Singapore Airlines stops serving peanuts as snacks SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Monday (Apr 30) said it has stopped serving peanuts as snacks to customers in all cabin classes. In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a spokesperson for SIA said the move was implemented in April. "Cashews, macadamia nuts and walnuts continue to be served in Suites and First Class, while almonds and cashews continue to be served in Business Class and Premium Economy Class," SIA said. The spokesperson added that snack packs for Economy class now contain peas and crackers instead of peanuts. This move comes after a toddler suffered an allergic reaction towards peanuts on board an SIA flight last July. According to Australian media, the boy started vomiting and his eyes started swelling when passengers opened the snack packets of peanuts. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/peanuts-singapore-airlines-stops-serving-as-snacks-10189042 Back to Top Aviation companies are plotting the return of supersonic flight - and they think their jets will be better than the Concorde A rendering of Aerion's AS2 jet.Aerion • Since 2003, supersonic flight has been absent from the aviation industry. • Aviation companies are hoping to introduce a new generation of supersonic jets over the next decade. • They're touting new designs and materials they believe will improve performance. Since the Concorde was retired in 2003, supersonic flight has been absent from the aviation industry. Fifteen years later, three startups and a major defense contractor are plotting its return. The Concorde made its first commercial flight in 1973, and for nearly 30 years, it allowed customers to cut overseas trips in half. A flight from New York to London would take about three hours and thirty minutes on the Concorde, compared to about seven hours on a standard, subsonic flight. But the supersonic jet was expensive to operate, and the combination of a deadly accident in 2000 and an economic downturn after 9/11 led to its retirement in 2003. Boom Supersonic wants to make flights affordable Boom Supersonic thinks tickets on the XB-1 will cost around as much as today's business class fares. Boom The companies working on the Concorde's successors believe improved designs and materials will result in superior performance. But their aircraft will still be expensive to operate and, given current regulations, unable to fly over land in the US and many other countries due to the loud sonic boom they produce. Due to those constraints, the next generation of supersonic planes will focus primarily on business travelers and the kinds of wealthy clients who fly on private jets instead of commercial aircraft. But one startup, Boom Supersonic, thinks its customers will be able to buy tickets on its 55-seat, XB-1 aircraft for a price similar to today's business class fares. The company says it will be able to fly at Mach 2.2 (Mach 1 is the speed of sound), which would make it the fastest commercial aircraft in history. The XB-1 will be made from carbon composites and use design features the company says will improve its aerodynamic qualities. Boom has received over 75 pre-orders for the aircraft, which it plans to deliver in 2023, from customers including Japan Airlines and the Virgin Group. On Tuesday, Ctrip, China's leading online travel agency, announced its investment in the company. Spike Aerospace believes it has conquered the sonic boom Spike thinks the S-512's shape will help reduce its sonic boom. Spike Aerospace Boom's competitors will focus on business executives who can afford to pay a premium for reduced travel times. Like Boom, they're touting their designs and materials. Spike Aerospace CEO Vik Kachoria said the company's 18-seat, S-512 jet will reduce its sonic boom to a level that could be acceptable for flights over land due the jet's "cranked delta wing" shape, which resembles the Concorde with a lower portion of its wings removed. The company says the jet will be able to fly at Mach 1.6 and produce a perceived loudness level of less than 75 PLdB, lower than the Concorde's 105 PLdB. NASA has said 75 PLdB is the level at which supersonic aircraft could fly over land without creating a disruptive amount of noise. "Engineering tools that weren't available when the Concorde was designed now enable us to really look at the aircraft and optimize it in a number of ways that make it more fuel efficient, make it quieter when it's flying-reduce that sonic boom-and provide a better experience for the passengers," Kachoria said in an interview with Business Insider. The aircraft's main cabin replaces windows with wraparound screens that allow passengers to watch movies, display PowerPoint presentations, or watch footage captured by cameras on the jet's exterior. Spike plans to deliver the aircraft in 2023. Aerion Supersonic hopes to be first to market Aerion believes its AS2 jet will be the first to market.Aerion Spike will compete most directly with Aerion Supersonic, which is aiming to deliver its 12-seat AS2 jet, with a maximum speed of 1.4 Mach, in 2025. The company has received an order of 20 aircraft from the fractional-ownership company Flexjet, and executive chairman and CEO Brian Barents said the aircraft will be the first to hit the market. "We are on a clear path to bring this airplane to the market and be first to market," he said in an interview with Business Insider. Barents emphasized the importance of using carbon fiber to build the AS2, and said the sturdy and lightweight material is one of the most significant developments in supersonic technology since the Concorde went out of commission. He said carbon fiber allows the jet to achieve supersonic natural laminar flow, a proprietary technology the company says can reduce drag on the wings by as much as 20% compared to the Concorde. "Those design tools are not available to anyone else in the industry," Barents said. In December, Aerion announced a potential partnership with Lockheed Martin that could result in a collaboration on the AS2. At the time of the announcement, Lockheed said it would spend a year deciding whether it wanted to join the project. Lockheed-Martin is working with NASA A rendering of what Lockheed-Martin's experimental aircraft may look like. NASA David C. Richardson, the director of air vehicle technologies at Lockheed's Skunkworks, said other companies have approached it about potential collaborations on commercial supersonic aircraft over the past 15 years, but Lockheed turned down those proposals for various reasons, including insufficient funding, underdeveloped markets, and a reliance on regulatory changes. Richardson said Aerion's proposal stood out because of the engineering behind the AS2 and the way Aerion described its commercial potential. "It was the rigor of their technical work on the AS2 and their marketing and business story that led us to want to learn more and discover for ourselves what the potential could be of working together," he told Business Insider. Lockheed may also have the best chance of influencing the regulations that forbid supersonic flight over land. Earlier this month, NASA announced that Lockheed had won a $247.5 contract to build an experimental aircraft designed to fly at supersonic speeds without producing a disruptive sonic boom. Lockheed will deliver the aircraft to NASA in late 2021, at which point the agency will test it over US cities to evaluate the amount of noise it emits. Timelines for delivering aircraft may be optimistic Concorde Air France The Concorde went out of commission in 2003. AP It's easy to become excited listening to the next generation of supersonic aircraft builders describe their products' capabilities, but aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt said some of their claims should be taken with a grain of salt. Harteveldt, like Kachoria and Barents, doesn't think supersonic flight will be allowed over land in the next decade. In the near term, he said the aircraft companies like Aerion, Boom, and Spike are promoting can't be built with today's engine technology. "Right now, we still have not made enough progress with the aircraft engines," he told Business Insider. "These are virtual aircraft that exist only in very slick video presentations and PowerPoint presentations and CAD designs. These are nothing more than RV campers with wings right now that will go nowhere without the engines." While he believes the timelines set forth by Aerion, Boom, and Spike are optimistic (he expects supersonic flights to become available between 2027 and 2030), Harteveldt thinks that may be a good thing. Setting out ambitious, public objectives, could motivate them and ultimately improve their products. http://www.businessinsider.com/aviation-companies-are-plotting-the-return-of-supersonic-flight-2018-4 Back to Top Former RAF pilot becomes Managing Director of Baines Simmons Air Partner has appointed a former RAF pilot and first-rate safety specialist as Managing Director of its aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons. Ian Holder will help the firm navigate an aviation industry on the brink of huge change. Air Partner, an aviation services firm, has appointed a new Managing Director of its aviation safety consultancy Baines Simmons. Ian Holder has been promoted from his current role of Principal Consultant, a position he has held at the consultancy since joining in 2015. An experienced pilot boasting RAF and civilian airline experience, Holder is now a safety management specialist, having joined Flybe in 2009, occupying a number of senior positions during his spell at the regional airline. Departing in 2015, Holder joined Baines Simmons, and has since advised a broad range of global airlines on safety issues for the firm. He is a champion of the use of organisational safety cultures to improve business performance. As Managing Director Holder will be expected to apply his experience to fueling further company growth, continuing to work from the Baines Simmons office at Fairoaks airport, a general aviation facility in Surrey. Ian Holder, Managing Director - Baines Simmons Holder was promoted to the role after a deep external and internal talent search. His extensive industry experience and existing client relationships are what made him stand out, said Mark Briffa, the CEO of Air Partner to whom Holder will report directly. "I am delighted to welcome Ian to the role of Managing Director. He is the ideal person to build on what we have already achieved since acquiring Baines Simmons in 2015. "We are making good headway against our strategic objective to create a balanced business between Broking and Consulting & Training, and I have no doubt that Baines Simmons' growth trajectory will gain further traction under Ian's leadership," he added. Air Partner's Consulting & Training division comprises not only Baines Simmons but also Clockwork Research -a leading fatigue risk management consultancy -and SafeSkys -a supplier of air traffic control services. Baines Simmons is considered a world leader in aviation safety consulting and employs a specialist focus on the regulation, compliance and safety management fields. Before its acquisition by Air Partner in 2015, Baines Simmons had developed a first-class reputation within the aviation safety consulting field. Its reputation continues to grow and, in 2017, the consulting firm was selected by the European Defence Agency to help it implement new safety management protocols. Consulting firms are expected to play a major role as the global aviation industry braces itself for an era of ambitious change and disruptive new technologies. An additional 10,000 planes are set to join the saturated stratosphere from commercial airlines alone in the next ten years. Airlines and titans of the aerospace industry are also racing to develop game-changing flight technology that will minimise carbon footprints while maximising efficiency. A recent Roland Berger study concluded that the emergence of electrical propulsion as the dominant power source in commercial aviation was a matter of 'when, not if'. As airlines, OEMs and the aerospace industry jump on the electrification bandwagon, consultancies are certain to play a critical advisory role. https://www.consultancy.uk/news/16926/former-raf-pilot-becomes-managing-director-of-baines-simmons Back to Top Cool fuel for hypersonic aircraft Heat-absorbing reactions could enable a hydrocarbon propellant to double as a coolant The U.S. Air Force X-51A Waverider, an unmanned test vehicle shown here in an artist's rendering, briefly flew at Mach 5.1 (6,100-plus km/hour) in May 2013. Extreme aircraft heating caused by air friction during sustained flight at hypersonic speeds requires novel cooling methods, such as the use of endothermic fuels. Keep an eye on the seat-back display during the first 20 minutes or so after takeoff, and you'll see that as your flight climbs, the air temperature plummets. At altitudes near 10.5 km (roughly 35,000 feet), the outside temperature hovers near -50 °C. For a common commercial plane traveling around 920 km/hour, that bitter-cold air is enough to cool the exterior of an aircraft as it cuts through the sky. An ultrafast military jet traveling at more than three times that speed, however, creates such friction with the surrounding air that those frigid temperatures don't do enough to cool the aircraft and prevent possible damage to equipment. The solution? "Use the fuel as the primary coolant," says Christopher E. Bunker, a fuels specialist at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. "It sounds crazy, like putting gasoline in your radiator," he acknowledges. But running cold, yet flammable, jet fuel through heat exchangers-in much the same way coolants like ethylene glycol flow through a car radiator to carry heat away from a car engine-is old hat. That kind of "conventional" jet cooling worked for aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird, a now-retired U.S. Air Force reconnaissance jet that flew for 30-some years and reached top speeds of just over Mach 3 (more than 3,500 km/hour). Its fuel cooled the aircraft, then went on to burn, propelling the jet in the usual way once the fuel had heated up. But that cooling strategy still does not provide sufficient thermal protection for aircraft bulleting at hypersonic speeds, generally defined as greater than Mach 5 (more than 6,100 km/hour). Research vehicles operated by the U.S. Air Force have reached that velocity in speed tests for brief periods. For sustained flight at those speeds, which is a goal of the U.S. and other countries, a more advanced fuel is needed. Scientists believe that a hydrocarbon fuel that additionally sucks up heat via heat-absorbing, or endothermic, chemical reactions might do the trick. The basic idea is to use a heat exchanger to transfer heat from the parts that need to be cooled to a hydrocarbon fluid that starts out cold. As fuels engineer Matthew J. DeWitt of the University of Dayton Research Institute explains, when the fuel is used in this way, it grows hotter and eventually reaches a temperature that triggers endothermic chemical reactions such as dehydrogenation and cracking, in which hydrocarbons break into simpler units. At that point, the fuel continues functioning as a heat sink but does not continue to climb in temperature. Rather, the absorbed heat chemically converts the starting compound to other, simpler hydrocarbon products that can be used as fuel for propulsion. Analogously, transferring energy to liquid water causes the water temperature to rise until it reaches the boiling point. The water can continue absorbing energy at that temperature, but the energy input does not cause a further temperature rise; it instead drives evaporation. The concept of endothermic fuels isn't new. In fact, one of the most frequently cited papers in this field dates back to the 1960s (Ind. Eng. Chem. Prod. Res. Dev. 1966, DOI: 10.1021/i360017a018). But no one is flying a jet that's cooled this way today. Despite the long research track record, many scientists continue trying to design endothermic fuels that will work as envisioned. Those scientists include several at AFRL whose work is supported by the U.S. Air Force, as well as many working for air forces in other countries. Some of them, including DeWitt, were on hand at last month's ACS national meeting in New Orleans, where they presented their latest investigations of hydrocarbon fuels for hypersonic flight. These researchers are studying jet fuels and simpler model compounds to determine how much energy they absorb by undergoing cracking or dehydrogenation reactions under intense conditions encountered in jet fuel lines. They are also examining the fuel worthiness of the products and searching for catalysts that can guide reactants along preferred chemical routes. To design better endothermic fuels, DeWitt and coworkers specifically want to know whether the shapes of molecular fuel components affect performance. So they compared a commercial mixture of normal alkanes in the C10-C15 range with a commercial mixture of highly branched alkanes in the same molecular weight range. These mixtures serve as surrogates that are simpler than but similar in molecular weight to those found in Jet Propellant 7 (JP-7), which fueled the SR-71 Blackbird and other military aircraft. To evaluate the fuels, the researchers fed them through pressurized reactors as they ramped the temperature up to roughly 700 °C to mimic jet fuel-line conditions. They monitored the fluids' flow rates, temperature rises, energy uptake, and other parameters. Then they used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to analyze the products formed by thermal decomposition in the absence of a catalyst. Researchers are studying endothermic reactions such as dehydrogenation (example shown, top) and cracking (bottom) as ways of enabling hydrocarbon fuels to double as coolants. Catalysts can alter the cracking temperature and complex mix of products (some examples shown). Among other observations, the Dayton researchers found that at temperatures exceeding approximately 500 °C, both mixtures do, indeed, function as endothermic fuels. The group determined that in addition to providing conventional cooling, which causes their temperatures to rise, the mixtures each provided additional cooling-an endothermic heat-sink bonus-of more than 30%, with the straight-chain mixture slightly edging out the branched one. The researchers also probed the accumulation of a layer of carbonaceous material known as coke. This film, which often forms as a result of endothermic hydrocarbon reactions, has a bad reputation because it gunks up surfaces. In a working fuel system, for example, it could block flow through fuel lines, plug fuel injectors, and possibly lead to engine failure. The analysis showed that neither fuel sample produces much coke at relatively low temperatures. But as the temperature climbs and starts activating chemical reactions, coke starts to build up. The study also showed that the compounds differ in their tendencies to form coke as temperatures rise. For normal, straight-chained alkanes, the onset comes earlier and builds gradually. In contrast, branched alkanes delay awhile, then start making copious quantities of the unwanted stuff, likely through reactions of alkenes and aromatics that form polycyclic aromatic coke precursors. The results confirm that the components of JP-7 can undergo heat-absorbing reactions but underscore the complexity of this cooling strategy: A class of compounds that is a little better at cooling may be more troublesome when it comes to forming coke. And the tendency to form coke can change quickly with increasing temperature. Figuring out, as the Dayton group did, what happens to fuels when they get hot enough to undergo cracking in the absence of a catalyst is key to designing a viable endothermic fuel system. But with the right catalyst in hand, engineers may be able to steer the cracking process along a reaction path that increases cooling and generates better fuel products or ones less prone to coking. Utah graduate students Ashley Cass and Timothy Gorey use high-vacuum deposition and spectroscopy equipment to prepare metal clusters and probe their interactions with hydrocarbons in studies that model catalytic reactions of endothermic fuels. That's what motivated University of Virginia catalysis specialist Robert J. Davis and coworkers to study zeolite Y and its effect on the pyrolysis of JP-10. Zeolite Y is a porous aluminosilicate catalyst used commercially for petroleum cracking. JP-10, exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene, is a high-energy, nearly single-component hydrocarbon fuel used in specialty jet-propulsion applications. Because of its compositional simplicity, JP-10 is often used in combustion research. The Virginia group studied JP-10's cracking chemistry with and without a zeolite Y catalyst under a wide range of intense reaction conditions. In the absence of the catalyst, thermal cracking converted JP-10 to numerous products, the predominant ones being cyclopentadiene and cyclopentene. In the presence of the catalyst, however, the fuel reacted to form naphthalene and substituted indenes. The catalyst also slightly decreased JP-10's endothermic cooling capacity and lowered the cracking temperature by 210 °C (AIAA J. 2017, DOI: 10.2514/1.J056432). In effect, the catalyst protects the fuel by preventing it from reaching the temperature at which hard-to-control thermal reactions take off. A large fraction of the research on endothermic fuels published nowadays in chemistry journals comes from scientists in China. Guozhu Liu and coworkers at Tianjin University also studied the effect of zeolites on JP-10 cracking. Rather than studying zeolite Y, the Tianjin researchers focused on an acidic aluminosilicate catalyst called HZSM-5 and sought to control the cracking process by fine-tuning the structure and composition of the zeolite. Zeolite ZSM-5 is a neutral aluminosilicate known for cracking organic molecules. Converting conventional bulk forms with high and low aluminum content (top left and bottom left, respectively) to the corresponding nanosheet form (right) boosts the materials' catalytic activity. The team used a customized synthesis procedure to grow nanosheets of HZSM-5 with Si/Al values of 25 and 50 (dubbed ZNS-25 and ZNS-50, respectively). In reactor tests, the researchers compared the nanosheet zeolites with conventional bulk zeolites with the same composition. Under comparable reaction conditions, the nanosheets were more active at converting JP-10 than their bulk counterparts, as were the zeolites with the higher aluminum content-making ZNS-25 the best of the bunch. Boosting fuel conversion means driving more endothermic reactions, which in principle should provide more endothermic cooling (Energy Fuels 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02397). The explanation is that nanostructuring shortens the length of the zeolite channels and exposes more surface area for cracking. Shortening the channels enhances diffusion of reactants and products, especially ones the size of JP-10. And boosting the aluminum content increases the number of catalytically active acidic sites, which in the case of the nanosheets reside on the surface where they are exposed and accessible to reactants. Others have gone a step further in studying HZSM-5 as a potential catalyst for endothermic fuels. Yu-Hao Yeh, Raymond J. Gorte, and coworkers at the University of Pennsylvania designed a reactor to measure heat flows as n-hexane reacted under intense conditions found in ultrafast aircraft on the surface of HZSM-5 and its zinc-enriched counterpart. The zinc-doped form is known to catalyze aromatizations. The results tell a cautionary tale. The researchers found that when the reactor is operated in a way that converts only a small fraction of hexane, the reactions on HZSM-5 are only mildly endothermic. At conversions above 50%, the situation is even worse: Not only is there no cooling benefit, but the reactions are actually exothermic, releasing heat. Using fuel as the primary coolant "sounds crazy, like putting gasoline in your radiator." Christopher E. Bunker, fuels specialist, Air Force Research Laboratory Like a helpful crossing guard at a confusing multiway intersection, Zn-HZSM-5 does a better job than the zinc-less form at guiding the reaction down an endothermic path. The zinc-driven reactions are endothermic for conversions of less than 70%. At higher conversion rates, the reactions become exothermic (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b01006). The Penn team's analysis shows that the endothermicity observed with Zn-HZSM-5 at low hexane conversions is likely due to formation of benzene, toluene, and xylene. High conversion conditions probably lead to higher-molecular-weight species, which alter the heat flow. Clearly n-hexane isn't the right fuel for endothermic cooling, but its chemistry spells for catalyst designers the main take-home message: Pay attention to product distribution, not just fuel conversion. The bulk of research in endothermic fuels focuses on cracking chemistry typically mediated by zeolites. But there are other promising options. Dehydrogenations, for example, can also soak up a lot of heat, and platinum catalysts drive those reactions enthusiastically. The problem is, platinum's activity tends to fall quickly as coke accumulates and blocks the catalysts' active sites. To understand why that happens and how to prevent it, Scott L. Anderson of the University of Utah and Anastassia N. Alexandrova of the University of California, Los Angeles, decided to focus on a model system: ethylene dehydrogenation on size-selected platinum clusters containing just a few atoms. The researchers chose that system because it could be analyzed in great detail computationally and they had experience making and probing the clusters experimentally. At the University of Pennsylvania, Cong Wang (left) and Yichen Ji use a custom-built reactor to probe hydrocarbon thermodynamics in the search for endothermic coolants for hypersonic aircraft. The team knew from earlier work that Pt7 clusters are more active in this reaction than clusters with four or eight platinum atoms but that Pt7 deactivates more quickly than the others via coke buildup. So the researchers experimented by modifying the clusters with boron or tin. These tweaks weakened the clusters' affinity for ethylene and reduced the catalyst's propensity to become fouled with coke. It follows then that a well-designed catalyst could dehydrogenate an alkane fuel and release the alkene product before it undergoes subsequent coke-forming dehydrogenations (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b05894). For more than half a century, researchers have searched for ways to cleverly exploit the thermodynamic properties of a hydrocarbon fuel so that it can double as a coolant for hypersonic aircraft. The idea that an onboard fuel could mitigate the extreme heat buildup associated with ultrafast aviation is tantalizing. The concept is simple. Taming the complex chemistry is another story entirely. https://cen.acs.org/energy/fossilFuels/Cool-fuel-hypersonic-aircraft/96/i18 Curt Lewis