Flight Safety Information June 26, 2018 - No. 128 In This Issue Incident: Frontier A319 near Albuquerque on Jun 24th 2018, oil contaminant odour in cabin Accident: Lufthansa A321 at Cologne and Munich on Jun 21st 2018, fumes on board EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: PIA AT72 near Muscat on Jun 24th 2018, engine problem Incident: Avianca B788 near Santa Maria on Jun 23rd 2018, electrical problems Incident: American A320 at Tucson on Jun 24th 2018, loud bang on climb out Accident: JAL B773 near Sendai on Jun 24th 2018, turbulence injures one flight attendant Boeing 737-824(WL) Tire Burst on Landing (Tokyo - NRT) Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 Ground Collision While Towing (South Korea) Plane falls into ditch at Orlando Executive Airport In three days time, two DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft were shot at in Papua, Indonesia, injuring two pilots LIBIK Fire Suppression Kits for the Cabin and Flight Deck. FAA honors two Fairbanks pilots for decades of safe flying Air India probes alleged manipulations in preparing pilots' roster Stalls Aren't a Maneuver, They're an Emergency Guardian Flight names new safety director U.S. flight attendants show higher rates of some cancers, new study says NASA'S NOISE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY REDUCES AIRCRAFT NOISE BY MORE THAN 70 PERCENT Cessna to end production of Cessna Citation X Plus Boeing Gets a Jump on Air Show with $14.4 Billion in Jet Deals Greece's Aegean Airlines in $5.8 billion deal for new Airbus planes SUMMER MEETING OF ISASI's PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL CHAPTER (PNRC) 64th Air Safety Forum - Join Us! Human Factors in Accident Investigation from SCSI HIGH ALTITUDE FLYING: WHAT EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW - New Online Course - Fall 2018 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 1 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 2 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 3 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 4 Incident: Frontier A319 near Albuquerque on Jun 24th 2018, oil contaminant odour in cabin A Frontier Airbus A319-100, registration N938FR performing flight F9-195 from Austin,TX to Denver,CO (USA) with 149 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 100nm southeast of Albuquerque,NM (USA) when the crew decided to divert to Albuqueurque reporting smell of smoke on board. While descending towards Albuquerque the crew reported it was definitely no fire, the smoke appeared to be an oil contaminant. The aircraft landed safely on Albuquerque's runway 03 about 20 minutes later. A passenger reported the flight attendants complained about being dizzy. A replacement A319-100 registration N939FR positioned to Albuquerque and delivered the passengers to Denver with a delay of 5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Albuquerque about 19 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FFT195/history/20180625/0035Z/KAUS/KDEN https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba550e7&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Lufthansa A321 at Cologne and Munich on Jun 21st 2018, fumes on board A Lufthansa Airbus A321-200, registration D-AIRO performing flight LH-1989 from Cologne to Munich (Germany) with 200 passengers and 6 crew, was preparing for the flight. When the crew boarded the aircraft flight crew as well as cabin crew noticed an abnormal odour on board, which was described rancid to sourly, the odour however appeared to dissipate. Maintenance was called but did not notice the odour, the aircraft was dispatched. After departure the odour intensified and was now described chemical, passengers began to complain about the odour. The aircraft continued to Munich for a safe landing. The crew went to a hospital for check ups. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Munich for 42 hours before returning to service. According to information The Aviation Herald received at least one of the flight attendants was diagnosed with unusual lung vesicular sounds, a disturbance of lung diffusion with substantially decreased transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide and cognitive impairment. On Jun 25th 2018 Germany's BFU reported they have been informed about the occurrence and are collecting further information to decide about the classification of the occurrence. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba51a52&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: PIA AT72 near Muscat on Jun 24th 2018, engine problem A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, registration AP-BKX performing flight PK-194 from Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) to Turbat (Pakistan) with 60 people on board, was enroute near Muscat (Oman) when the crew decided to divert to Muscat due to a problem with the right hand engine (PW127). The aircraft landed safely in Muscat about one hour after departure. The passengers were rebooked onto flight PK-226 to Karachi and reached Karachi about 11 hours after scheduled arrival in Turbat. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba5552c&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Avianca B788 near Santa Maria on Jun 23rd 2018, electrical problems An Avianca Boeing 787-800, registration N782AV performing flight AV-47 from Madrid,SP (Spain) to Bogota (Colombia) with 250 people on board, was enroute at FL380 about 520nm westnorthwest of Santa Maria Azores Island (Portugal) when the crew decided to divert to Santa Maria reporting electrical problems. The aircraft dumped fuel and landed safely on Santa Maria's runway 36 about 2 hours later. The airline reported the crew received an indication for one of the aircraft's electrical systems and decided to divert as a precaution. The passengers were taken to hotels over night, a replacement aircraft took them to Bogota the following day. A replacement Boeing 787-800 registration N785AV positioned to Santa Maria from Madrid as flight AV-4950 the following day and delivered the passengers to Bogota as flight AV-47 with a delay of about 30 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Santa Maria for about 43 hours, then positioned to Bogota as flight AV-4951. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba54a56&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American A320 at Tucson on Jun 24th 2018, loud bang on climb out An American Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N112US performing flight AA-2047 from Tucson,AZ to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), was climbing out of Tucson's runway 29R when the crew stopped the climb at 10,000 feet requesting to return to Tucson advising they had a loud bang just behind the cockpit that they wanted to be checked out. The aircraft returned to Tucson for a safe landing on runway 29R about 15 minutes after departure. The FAA reported the aircaft received a bird strike, the damage is being assessed. The aircraft is still on the ground in Tucson 25 hours after landing back. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL2047/history/20180624/1632Z/KTUS/KDFW https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba544ad&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: JAL B773 near Sendai on Jun 24th 2018, turbulence injures one flight attendant A JAL Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration JA8944 performing flight JL-514 from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda (Japan) with 503 passengers and 12 crew, was enroute at FL300 about 50nm north of Sendai (Japan) when the aircraft encountered turbulence causing one of the flight attendants to fall. The aircraft continued for a safe landing at Haneda Airport about 40 minutes later. Japan's TSB reported the flight attendant received serious injuries. The JTSB opened an investigation into the accident. JAL reported the flight attendant fractured her left ankle while collecting the cups (following drink service) from passengers. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ba522be&opt=0 Back to Top Boeing 737-824(WL) Tire Burst on Landing (Tokyo - NRT) Date: 26-JUN-2018 Time: 09:29 LT Type: Boeing 737-824(WL) Owner/operator: United Airlines Registration: N77295 C/n / msn: 34001/1779 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 175 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Tokyo/Narita International Airport (NRT/RJAA) - Japan Phase: Landing Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Guam/Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM/PGUM), USA Destination airport: Tokyo/Narita International Airport (NRT/RJAA), Japan Narrative: United Airlines' flight UAL/UA828 from Guam, USA to Tokyo/Narita, operated by a Boeing 737-824, was stuck on a taxiway at Narita due to tire issue. One of two tires of the right main landing gear burst during the landing on the runway 16L, and the other was also deflated while taxiing to the gate. The taxiway was closed for two hours. No personal injuries were reported. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=212634 Back to Top Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 Ground Collision While Towing (South Korea) Date: 26-JUN-2018 Time: 08:10 a.m. Type: Boeing 777 Owner/operator: Korean Air Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Gimpo airport - South Korea Phase: Pushback / towing Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Gimpo Destination airport: Osaka, Japan Narrative: While towing, the plane collided with a Asiana Airlines Airbus A330. The plane broke its tail and wing. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=212631 Back to Top Plane falls into ditch at Orlando Executive Airport A small plane fell into a ditch after not gaining enough air speed during take off Monday morning at the Orlando Executive Airport. An airplane fell into a ditch at Orlando Executive Airport on Monday morning, said Carolyn Fennell, a spokeswoman for the airport. Fennell said the plane failed to gain sufficient airspeed after takeoff. According to flightaware.com, the airplane was en route to Winston-Salem, N.C., for an 8 a.m. flight when it fell. Four people were on board the aircraft, but no one was injured, Fennell said. The Orlando Fire Department's hazmat team was called to contain a minor fuel leak shortly after 8 a.m., said Ashley Papagni, a spokesperson for the department. HazMat crews quickly contained a minor fuel leak preventing run off into the water, after this aircraft lost power and veered off the runway before take off. No injuries. Four passengers on board. The plane, built in 1979, is a Cessna 340A fixed-wing multi-engine craft owned by Little Dreams Aviation LLC, a company based in Michigan. Runway 7 at the Orlando Executive Airport was closed while crews cleared the area. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-plane-ditch-orlando-executive-airport-monday-20180625-story.html Back to Top In three days time, two DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft were shot at in Papua, Indonesia, injuring two pilots On June 22 the copilot of a DHC-6 Twin Otter was injured when she was hit by a bullet that had penetrated the fuselage after landing at Kenyam, Papua, Indonesia. Three days later, on June 25, another DHC-6 Twin Otter was hit by gunfire after landing at Kenyam, this time injuring the captain. The aircraft carried 18 personnel who were to be deployed to guard a local election to be held on June 27, 2018. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2018/06/25/in-three-days-time-two-dhc-6-twin-otter-aircraft-were-shot-at-in-papua-indonesia-injuring-two-pilots/ Back to Top Back to Top FAA honors two Fairbanks pilots for decades of safe flying FAIRBANKS - Norman Lee and Myles Thomas both received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during the annual Alaska Airmen Association picnic at the East Ramp of Fairbanks International Airport this week. They join an elite group of aviators, each honored with the prestigious award commemorating 50 years of safe flying. The award, presented by the Federal Aviation Administration, honors pilots who exhibit professionalism, skill and aviation expertise for at least 50 years while piloting aircraft as "Master Pilots." They each received a framed certificate and a special lapel pin. In addition, their wives also received a special lapel pin for their support throughout the years. Their names and photos will now be added to a display that hangs at the FAA Flight Standards Service office in Fairbanks, and they join the online "Roll of Honor" maintained by the FAA. An equivalent award, the Charles Taylor Award, is granted to mechanics when nominations are received. Nominations for both are accepted on a continuing basis through Lisa Asplin at Lisa.Asplin@faa.gov. Myles Thomas' wife, Martha, described these two pilots this way: "They are both very unassuming," she said. "Part of it is the mindset. They don't do it for the publicity. That plane becomes them. It's a very safe place to be." Their experiences during the past 50 years can't begin to be covered here, so I hope to share some of their flying exploits in a future story. Norman Lee's first flying experience took place when he was 10 years old when he and close friend Pete Haggland jumped off a garage roof while holding umbrellas. Haggland, a previous winner of this prestigious award, later described that as his first flight training. Lee's first official solo flight in an airplane happened in June 1965 with the Wainwright Flying Club after 6 hours, 15 minutes of flight training. He piloted planes that carried heavy equipment from Fairbanks to pipeline sites at Prudhoe Bay. Lee once landed a Herc at a fly-in at Metro Field, lowered the rear cargo ramp and watched as two new convertibles from Seekins Ford emerged, carrying Miss Alaska and Miss Fairbanks on board. He had a distinguished career flying more than 45 years for eight airlines and in 18 types of aircraft - cargo planes, passenger planes and medevac flights in Lear Jets. He is officially retired now but flies his Cessna 180 on floats to his remote cabin to spend time with friends. Myles Thomas earned his private pilot license in the ROTC program at Penn State in 1967, then joined the Army and flew helicopters. His military stint included a combat tour in Vietnam and an "overseas" tour at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He flew helicopters with the Army National Guard for the next 18 years. His exceptional skills enabled the rescue of four wounded soldiers from a crash site in a box canyon of the Chugach Mountains. President Gerald Ford presented him with the Valley Forge Cross for Heroism in Washington, D.C. in 1979. This is the National Guard's highest award. He went on to a distinguished career flying cargo planes and passenger planes. He now operates an air taxi business. "Retiring is easy," he said, "I've done it several times. I retired from the military, airlines, air taxi, Everts (air cargo)." He earned a degree in forestry, but flying, he said, is the only thing he knows how to do. http://www.newsminer.com/features/our_town/stories_of_our_town/faa-honors-two-fairbanks-pilots-for-decades-of-safe-flying/article_418ac9d4-78e7-11e8-95db-7f1e814f443f.html Back to Top Air India probes alleged manipulations in preparing pilots' roster At Air India, under certain rules, pilots are eligible to get paid for 70 hours of flying every month even if they have flown up to 40 hours. NEW DELHI: State-run carrier Air India is probing alleged manipulation in preparation of rosters for pilots, sources said. Some deputy general managers, who prepare rosters, and pilots as well as certain other administrative staff are also under the scanner, according to the airline sources. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson confirmed that a probe has been launched into the alleged manipulations in the rostering system. The investigation is centred around the flying duties of pilots and whether the rosters are being changed at the insistance of some pilots. Air India has nearly 1,300 pilots flying narrow-body as well as wide-body aircraft. One of the sources said that some pilots were making use of the flexibility in flying hours to garner additional allowances. At Air India, under certain rules, pilots are eligible to get paid for 70 hours of flying every month even if they have flown up to 40 hours. Sources said some pilots mutually decide among themselves on flight duties. One pilot would fly 40 hours and take the allowances for 70 hours while another pilot would be flying additional 30 hours along with his 70 hours of flying. It is alleged that such a practice is getting repeated often and has been happening for some years now, resulting in financial losses for the airline, they added. As per the sources, the airline ends up paying one pilot for just 40 hours of flying duty while the other pilot who flew the additional 30 hours would also get extra money. While the probe is underway, sources said such practices would not have continued for this long unless there is connivance between the pilots concerned and officials. Air India, which is estimated to be incurring a loss of around Rs 15 crore per day, is in the process of preparing a revival plan after the government's efforts of strategic disinvestment failed to find any bidders last month. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-probes-alleged-manipulations-in-preparing-pilots-roster/articleshow/64735973.cms Back to Top Stalls Aren't a Maneuver, They're an Emergency Here's why pilot training needs to change. Many takeoff stalls have more to do with performance planning or weight-and-balance mistakes than poor stick-and-rudder skills. Year after year, the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA nag pilots about accidents caused by "loss of control - in flight," which usually means a stall. The topic is well covered in training too. Dozens of questions on the subject appear on the knowledge test, and stalls are performed on the practical test and are part of any decent flight review. And yet while accidents caused by weather and controlled flight into terrain are declining, stalls remain one of the leading causes of fatal accidents in general aviation. Clearly, something is not working. The AOPA Air Safety Institute tried to remove the emotion from this subject last year by diving more deeply into the data about stall accidents. The result is a well-researched study that reaches some sensible conclusions. Most important, it is a reminder that there are no miracle cures for aviation safety. The study should serve as a polite but firm rebuttal to two common arguments in aviation: that safety problems can be solved by adding new avionics or by going back to "the way it used to be." Technology optimists, including the FAA, have suggested that angle-of-attack indicators are the solution, and some regulations have been adjusted to make them easier to install. On the other hand, the stick-and-rudder crowd loudly proclaims that a return to spin training (which hasn't been required for private pilots in more than 60 years) would help. While neither idea is necessarily bad, AOPA's report doesn't turn up much evidence that technology or spin training will reduce stall accidents. A pilot has to be looking at an AOA gauge for it to help, and in any case, few airplane owners are shelling out the money to install them. As far as spin or upset training, most fatal stall accidents happen below 500 feet, where no amount of training will lead to a successful outcome. Part of the problem is that "stall" doesn't describe the problem very well. Many takeoff stalls have more to do with performance planning or weight-and-balance mistakes than poor stick-and-rudder skills. If you're taking off over gross on a 95-degree day from a 2,000-foot strip, the ensuing stall is really just the final blow, not some random failure of airmanship. Likewise, a significant proportion of stalls in homebuilt airplanes are caused either by design issues (such as poor lateral stability) or basic proficiency issues (the pilot hasn't flown in months or years as the airplane was being built). A spin training session 10 years ago won't help in either case. Clearly, our current one-size-fits-all approach to stall training, one that is focused on rigid procedures and specific performance standards, is not doing a good job of preparing pilots for life outside the practice area. Far better to teach stalls the way many CFIs are now teaching weather flying - by building it into realistic scenarios. If a successful cross-country flight begins with a proper weather briefing, then a safe (and stall-free) takeoff begins with a good preflight plan. But how often do flight instructors talk about stalls in the context of runway performance? Typically during training, stalls are a box to check since they are maneuvers required for check rides. At 3,500 feet, with the wings level and the airspeed decreasing by 1 knot per second, a stall can seem like a normal, predictable event. The accident reports suggest this is terribly misleading. A surprising number of fatal stall accidents happen on takeoff or go-around - not the dreaded base-to-final turn - and are often accompanied by a sharp pull-up or a steep turn. Realistic stall training should include these same elements, including increasing angle of bank and perhaps even introducing some distraction. For departure stalls, the airplane should be slowed as much as practical to simulate a real takeoff and then perhaps be pulled back swiftly as if to make it over a looming obstacle. Autopilot usage is another key area to train on: Stalls can easily happen during climb with the auto-pilot engaged, or after leveling off from a descent without adding power. The surprise of hearing the auto-pilot kick off at a high angle of attack is usually the start of a bad scenario. Another bad training habit that needs to die is the "pull it on back and get it good and stalled" maneuver. Instructors who teach this might be doing more harm than good because the key lesson for pilots to learn is not what a deep stall feels like - it's how to immediately react to signs of stall by unloading the wing. A somewhat analogous procedure in helicopters involves low rotor rotations per minute, which can lead to rotor-blade stall. Instead of investigating the edges of the low rotor rpm envelope, helicopter pilots are taught to immediately lower the collective and increase engine power when they hear the warning horn. It has to become an instinct. The same idea works for fixed-wing pilots. If you hear the stall horn, you need to push as an automatic reaction. Only then can you take time to consider what the underlying issue is. Right now, some pilots might hear the horn and think they need to "pull it on back" because that's what they do on a flight lesson. More than anything, stall training can't be done in isolation. Preventing loss of control is so fundamental that it involves all parts of safe flying, requiring both the maintenance of good habits and the application of thoughtful safety margins. Repetitive maneuvers are only a small part of the solution. Aircraft mastery is the ultimate goal - being able to fly a precise airspeed at all times, using the automation if needed, and keeping the airplane going exactly where you want it. Both the FARs and personal minimums dictate hard limits to prevent fuel issues (my own is to always land with one hour of fuel in the tanks). The same can be done for stalls: Avoid low passes, avoid banks over 30 degrees in the pattern, do an honest weight-and-balance calculation, build in margins for takeoff performance, and fly Vref +10 and -0 on final. If you follow those reasonable rules, an inadvertent stall is exceedingly unlikely in most airplanes. Stalls aren't a maneuver at which to become proficient; they are a mistake to avoid, like flying VFR into IMC or running out of fuel (you'll notice we don't practice that during primary training). Better to learn how to recognize impending doom and avoid it than to be able to minimize altitude loss or maintain heading within 5 degrees after it happens. https://www.flyingmag.com/stalls-arent-maneuver-theyre-an-emergency Back to Top Guardian Flight names new safety director Guardian Flight Inc. has appointed Steve Kelly as director of safety for the air medical transport company. As a member of the executive management team, Kelly reports to Fred Buttrell, Guardian Flight's president and president and CEO of Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH), which is Guardian Flight's parent company. Based in the company's South Jordan, Utah, facility, Kelly is responsible for the safe operations of all of Guardian Flight's more than 50 bases serving 15 states including Alaska and Hawaii. Guardian Flight PhotoBased in the company's South Jordan, Utah, facility, Kelly is responsible for the safe operations of all of Guardian Flight's more than 50 bases serving 15 states including Alaska and Hawaii. Guardian Flight Photo "In our company our most important goal is to remain safe every minute of every day," said Buttrell. "To accomplish this, Steve is leading our safety culture and demonstrating through our actions that Guardian Flight embraces safety first." As director of safety, Kelly leads the company's Safety Advisory Board, which consists of executive and senior management representatives from the company's safety; aviation; fixed- and rotary-wing operations; maintenance and clinical operations; as well as human resources, education, and subject matter experts from throughout the organization. The board reviews all safety reports, evaluating root causes of incidents and situations reported, and then implements solutions and shares the results and accountability with all employees. This rigorous process helps create transparency throughout the organization and shapes a culture that promotes safety and safe operations in an environment that advocates continuous improvement. Kelly joined the air ambulance industry as an IFR line pilot for STAT MedEvac in the Greater Pittsburgh area. He holds an airline transport pilot (ATP) rating in helicopters and airframe and powerplant (A&P) ratings and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force in operations and maintenance. He holds a bachelor's degree in science as well as degrees in aviation technology and small business management. Kelly has worked in operations, training, and safety for Metro Aviation and STAT MedEvac. He has held positions as an incident review board member, safety officer, traveled as an aviation safety guest speaker and served as pilot base lead and instructor pilot. Additionally he has worked with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock IFR Helicopter Program where he collaborated with regional aviation management to promote operational standardization and safety through line oriented flight training for pilots and medical crewmembers. Guardian Flight is an Air Medical Group Holdings company. It operates a fleet of approximately 85 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft dedicated to air medical flights in the United States Upper Midwest, Mountain West, Southwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. Guardian Flight has more than 800 professional staff, including clinical providers, pilots, mechanics, trained communicators, and support staff. Guardian Flight companies include Eagle Air Med, serving parts of Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Colorado, and Utah; Hawaii Life Flight in Hawaii; and Guardian Flight in Alaska and Wyoming. Companies also include Gallup Med Flight and MedStar in New Mexico, and Valley Med Flight in North Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and Minnesota; Alaska Regional LifeFlight in Alaska; MoutainStar AirCare operating in Utah; North Central AirCare in northern Ohio; and AeroCare Medical Transport serving in Arizona and New Mexico. Guardian Flight's parent company, AMGH, is an industry leader in aviation safety, with standards that exceed FAA and other regulatory agency minimums for training and aircraft equipment. AMGH is the country's largest provider of emergency air medical services with more than 100,000 patient transports annually. Across the country, the company has more than 330 air base locations in 38 states with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft. Its team of more than 7,000 professionals is focused on safely transporting and caring for critically ill patients 24/7/365. https://www.verticalmag.com/press-releases/guardian-flight-names-new-safety-director/ Back to Top U.S. flight attendants show higher rates of some cancers, new study says U.S. flight attendants experience higher rates of several types of cancer compared with the general public, according to a new study that calls attention to the potential risks of their unique in-cabin working environment. The Harvard University study, described as one of the largest and most comprehensive on the subject to date, found flight attendants had a higher prevalence of each of the seven broad cancer types examined, particularly breast cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers among females. The findings, published Monday in the journal Environmental Health, are all the more striking because flight attendants typically show lower rates of obesity and smoking than the general public, the study's authors said. As of 2016, U.S. airlines employed about 116,600 flight attendants, according to federal data. "Work is such an important part of people's lives. At home you have more control over your environment for the most part. At work most of the things are decided for you," said Irina Mordukhovich, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the study's corresponding author. "[Flight attendants] have a pretty unique mix of potential carcinogens they're exposed to. It's not widely known and it's not regulated the way it could be." Those carcinogens most notably include higher doses of cosmic radiation that flight crews are exposed to by virtue of their long hours spent working at altitude, a situation that can be exacerbated on flights at high latitudes or over the Earth's magnetic poles and is of particular concern for pregnant women. Air crews have the largest average annual effective dose of all radiation-exposed workers in the U.S., according to 2009 findings by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. While European regulators require monitoring of aircrews' radiation exposure and changes to their work schedules if it exceeds certain thresholds, no such rules exist in the U.S. Other potential risk factors include sleep-cycle disruption brought on by overnight flights and crossing time-zones, past exposure to secondhand smoke in the cabin and ongoing exposures to chemicals such as pesticides, which are used to sterilize cabins on some international flights. Unions for flight attendants at Southwest and American airlines identified crew fatigue as a top health issue that needs to be addressed, something the pending FAA reauthorization bill could do with required minimum rest times. Sara Nelson, president of the country's largest flight attendants union, said the study's findings emphasize the need for more education and more preventative action. "Neither OSHA nor the FAA require airlines to educate flight attendants about onboard radiation exposure or offer protections during pregnancy, cabin air can be contaminated, and cabin crew fatigue is prevalent," Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said in a statement. "That is unacceptable and we won't stop working to fix it." Flight attendants say they regularly face groping, lewd comments from passengers The new study looked at past occurrence of cancers in flight attendants rather than their risk of developing cancer and its authors cautioned against drawing any conclusions about specific causes. It's part of a broader Harvard research effort dating back to 2007 that's exploring numerous aspects of flight attendants' physical and mental health and well-being. Researchers conducted a survey of 5,366 U.S. flight attendants in 2014 and 2015 that asked them to self-report on health outcomes, including past cancer diagnoses, work experience, employment history and personal characteristics. The sample group was more than 80 percent female and had an average tenure of 20 years, with 91 percent actively employed. The group included some flight attendants who were part of the original 2007 study, as well as new participants recruited at five large U.S. airports, from airline unions and using social media. The flight attendants were then compared with a sample population pulled from an annual survey of about 5,000 U.S. residents conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings build on a limited body of research that "overall point[s] toward associations" between in-flight exposure as a flight attendant and increased rates of certain types of cancers. "More studies are needed," said Mordukhovich, one of the study's authors. "We're hoping it adds to the discussion of what can be done and how can we think of things in a way that will benefit people." https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2018/06/25/us-flight-attendants-show-higher-rates-cancer-new-study-says Back to Top NASA'S NOISE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY REDUCES AIRCRAFT NOISE BY MORE THAN 70 PERCENT NASA applied two concepts, including a series of chevrons placed near the front of the cavity. Aiming to reduce aircraft noise for communities that live near airports, NASA has successfully tested new noise reduction technologies on a series of Acoustic Research Measurement (ARM) flight, and managed to cut airframe noise during landing by more than 70 percent.Representational image NASA aircraft. NASA Representational image NASA aircraft. NASA The ARM flights, which concluded in May, at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, tested technology to address airframe noise, or noise that is produced by non-propulsive parts of the aircraft, during landing.NASA successfully combined several technologies including Landing Gear Noise Reduction, landing gear cavity treatments, and the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge flexible wing flap, on various airframe components of a Gulfstream III research aircraft to achieve a greater than 70 percent reduction in airframe noise. "This airframe noise reduction produced by NASA technology is definitely momentous, and the best part is that it directly benefits the public," ARM Project Manager Kevin Weinert, said in a statement."We are very confident that with the tested technologies we can substantially reduce total aircraft noise, and that could really make a lot of flights much quieter," added Mehdi Khorrami, an aerospace scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.The Gulfstream III research aircraft flew at an altitude of 350 feet, over an 185-sensor microphone array deployed on the Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California.The Landing Gear Noise Reduction technology element addressed airframe noise caused by airflow moving past the landing gear on approach.Another area of focus was landing gear cavities, also a known cause of airframe noise. These are the regions where the landing gear deploys from the main body of an aircraft, typically leaving a large cavity where airflow can get pulled in, creating noise.NASA applied two concepts to these sections, including a series of chevrons placed near the front of the cavity with a sound-absorbing foam at the trailing wall, as well as a net that stretched across the opening of the main landing gear cavity.This altered the airflow and reduced the noise resulting from the interactions between the air, the cavity walls, and its edges, the report said.To reduce wing flap noise, NASA used an experimental, flexible flap, which investigated the potential for flexible, seamless flaps to increase aerodynamic efficiency."While there are obvious potential economic gains for the industry, this benefits the people who live near major airports, and have to deal with the noise of aircraft coming in to land. This could greatly reduce the noise impact on these communities," Weinert said. https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/nasas-noise-reduction-technology-reduces-aircraft-noise-by-more-than-70-percent-4598701.html Back to Top Cessna to end production of Cessna Citation X Plus Textron Aviation will end production of its iconic Cessna Citation X Plus, which for two decades was the Wichita plane manufacturer's biggest and fastest business jet. The Wichita-based plane manufacturer confirmed the decision in a statement to the Eagle on Monday morning, adding that it eliminates some crossover with Textron Aviation's newest jet that's awaiting type certification. "The Citation X platform has a storied heritage within the Citation brand and has become a beloved aircraft by operators and passengers alike as the fastest civilian aircraft in the world," the statement said. "With the upcoming entry into service of the Citation Longitude, we are taking the opportunity to minimize overlap within this customer segment and discontinuing production of the Citation X+." A Textron Aviation spokesperson said in an e-mail that employees won't be affected by the decision. Workers on the Citation X will move to other production lines and programs. Besides the Longitude, Textron Aviation has other new airplane programs in development, including the Cessna Denali and SkyCourier, Scorpion jet and Citation Hemisphere. Announced in the early 1990s, the first Citation X - then priced at $15 million - was delivered to golf legend Arnold Palmer in 1996. A year later the jet and its Cessna design team won the prestigious Robert Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association for bringing advances in speed and altitude performance - it can fly up to 51,000 feet - to general aviation. Through the first quarter of 2018, Textron Aviation has delivered 338 of the mid-size jets, according to shipment data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. The Citation X can seat up to 12 people, though it is typically configured for eight to nine passengers. Its Rolls-Royce engines power it to a top speed of Mach 0.935, flirting with the speed of sound. Rolland Vincent, a business aviation forecaster, said the Citation X had "a good run" but its size and $23.4 million price was too close to the $26.9 million Longitude - which has longer range and a wider cabin than the Citation X. "(Textron Aviation) needed to make some room for the new birds," Vincent said. "And the price point for the X was always running up against the Longitude. "They needed to do what they're doing." http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article213789419.html Back to Top Boeing Gets a Jump on Air Show with $14.4 Billion in Jet Deals • Latest agreement brings Jet Airways' order total to 225 Max • Vietnam's Bamboo places downpayment for 20 Dreamliners Boeing Co. isn't waiting for next month's Farnborough International Airshow to unveil blockbuster aircraft deals -- or start booking cash. The Chicago-based planemaker is poised to bolster its backlog with orders valued at $14.4 billion thanks to two transactions announced Monday. That's a break from an industry practice of stockpiling sales for the biggest annual trade expo, which alternates between Paris and Farnborough, outside London. Bamboo Airways, a Vietnamese startup, signed a commitment for 20 of Boeing's twin-aisle 787-9 Dreamliners, the companies said in a statement. That's a deal of about $5.6 billion before customary discounts. Earlier in the day, Jet Airways India Ltd. announced it was purchasing 75 of Boeing's 737 Max single-aisle planes, a transaction valued at $8.8 billion based on list prices. The two deals underscore the tilt of the aerospace market to Asia, where airlines are stocking up on aircraft to serve a rapidly expanding middle class. The orders also show that Boeing has access to a wider market in the region beyond China, where it could become an easy target if trade tensions with the U.S. escalate. Premier Li Keqiang said Monday that the Asian giant is willing to step up cooperation with Airbus SE. "While China is a big and important market, there are other markets in Asia that are in demand," said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia. "Southeast Asia is a gold mine." Bamboo Airways made a deposit in mid-June to reserve the carbon-composite Dreamliners, which are tentatively scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2021. The carrier plans to begin commercial service next year from its base in Hanoi, Vietnam, flying first within the country before expanding to markets such as China, South Korea and Japan. The latest purchase brings Jet's backlog for the narrow-body plane to 225, the company said in a statement. The Mumbai-based airline had already placed two 75-plane orders, the most recent in April, with the first 737 Max delivery arriving last week. Jet and its Indian rivals are expanding fleets as demand for domestic flights surges. Rival SpiceJet Ltd. has ordered more than 200 single-aisle aircraft from Boeing, while market leader IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the biggest customer for Airbus SE's competing A320neo plane. New sales are also important contributors to Boeing's cash flow. Customers typically make small advance deposits, followed by large "progress" payments about 18 to 24 months ahead of an aircraft's delivery as Boeing starts ordering equipment and cutting metal. Such prepayments will generate about $5 billion in cash for the Chicago-based planemaker this year, up from $4.5 billion in 2017, David Strauss, an analyst with Barclays Capital Inc., said in a research note. That would account for more than one-third of the $14 billion in free cash that Boeing is expected to produce this year. Boeing had netted 306 commercial aircraft orders as of May 31, according to its website. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-25/with-14-4-billion-in-jet-deals-boeing-gets-a-jump-on-air-show Back to Top Greece's Aegean Airlines in $5.8 billion deal for new Airbus planes ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's dominant Aegean Airlines says it has signed a 5 billion-euro ($5.8 billion) deal with Airbus to buy up to 42 new A320 neo passenger aircraft. Aegean chairman Eftychios Vassilakis said the company will be buying 30-42 planes in an investment necessary to expand competitiveness and serve more and longer destinations. He said Friday that Aegean will also invest 30 million euros to build a new training center at Athens airport, in cooperation with Airbus. Aegean was founded 19 years ago and serves 150 destinations in 44 countries. The A320neo planes are designed to provide 15 percent fuel savings and have reduced emission and noise levels. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/06/25/aegean-airlines-airbus-320-neo-deal/729894002/ Back to Top SUMMER MEETING OF ISASI's PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL CHAPTER (PNRC) WHEN: Wednesday, June 27th, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. WHERE: The Museum of Flight - Lockwood Boardroom, 2nd Floor Use elevator behind Admission Desk LUNCH: Purchase lunch at Museum's Cafe and bring it to the Lockwood Boardroom Museum admission is not required to access the Lobby, Cafe or Boardroom We have an outstanding program planned featuring Mr. Richard Anderson, Boeing's Senior Accident Investigator, with 20+ years of experience in accident investigation and industry involvement in accident prevention, probable cause and advanced investigative techniques. Richard is particularly well versed on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 on 8 March 2014. Hear about the latest theories and ask questions of Boeing's lead investigator on the case. Richard will also provide an interesting 'year in review' as it involves incidents / accidents throughout the world. The program will also include: PNRC Secretary-Treasurer's report on the state of our Chapter - and an opportunity to solicit interest in filling the President's position going forward. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 27th for an excellent program! If you are not presently a MOF member, free admission can be arranged, allowing time to visit the Museum after the meeting. Please RSVP on your being able to attend. John W. Purvis Acting President ISASI Pacific Northwest Regional Chapter jwpurvis@earthlink.net Back to Top 64th Air Safety Forum - Join Us! safetyforum.alpa.org July 30 - August 2, 2018 | Washington, DC CONFIRMED KEYNOTES INCLUDE • Senator Tammy Duckworth • Capt. Tim Canoll - President, Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l • The Honorable Dan Elwell - Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration • The Honorable Howard "Skip" Elliott - Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) • Mr. Paul Rinaldi - President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association PANELS INCLUDE(visit safetyforum.alpa.org for panel descriptions) • Fire In The Hold: Anticipating/Preventing Fires from Passenger Checked Baggage • Meet the Doctors • Pilot Peer Support: The Next Phase In ALPA's Approach to Pilot Wellness • Disruptive Passengers: Keeping Problems Off the Airplane • Data Mining for Safer Skies • Flight Deck Access in the Post 9/11 Age • Pilots & Controllers -- Managing Change in an Evolving NAS AGENDA AT A GLANCE (visit safetyforum.alpa.org for agenda details) MONDAY, JULY 30 (all Monday sessions are invite only) 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. General Session (Open only to ALPA Members) 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. ASO Workshops, Council Meetings, Trainings, Jumpseat Forum & Aviation Security Forum TUESDAY, JULY 31 (all Tuesday sessions are invite only) 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. - ASO Workshops, Council Meetings, Trainings, Jumpseat Forum & Aviation Security Forum WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - Jumpseat Council Meeting (ALPA members only) 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Ask Your ASO (ALPA members only) 12:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - Air Safety Forum (open to the public) THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 (open to the public) 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Air Safety Forum 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - ALPA Air Safety Forum Awards Reception 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. - ALPA Air Safety Forum Awards Banquet THANK YOU SPONSORS & EXHIBITORS! Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities available. Email airsafetyforum@alpa.org for more information. Back to Top Back to Top This course was created in collaboration with Curt Lewis's Flight Safety Information. Learn more from Beyond Risk Management Producer, Captain Elaine Parker, at https://vimeo.com/273989821 Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 1 I am a student of Air Safety Management in City University of London and I am passionate about Human Factors and Psychology in Aviation. I designed a questionnaire which measures the level of self-control in pilots and cabin crew. The questionnaire is part of my research for Final Project titled: "The Role of Self-Control in Aircrew Performance Managing emotional responses to enhance rational decision-making". The Final Project aims to address the subject of self-control - an acquired cognitive skill that enhances the ability to take intelligent decisions and promotes rational choices in both daily operations and emergencies by pilots and cabin crew. Survey Links: Flight Crew - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWB6NKV Cabin Crew - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KSDY9DK regards, Malgorzata Wroblewska Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 2 Dear Airline Pilots, My name is David Carroll. I am a doctoral candidate in the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University PhD in Aviation program, and I am working on my dissertation under the guidance of Dr. David Esser. We would like to find out a bit about how airline pilots learn in order to enhance the effectiveness of training. You can help out by participating in this survey. My dissertation topic entails investigating ways that FOQA data might be used to identify pilots at increased risk for Unstable Approaches. By capturing trend information regarding poor energy management practices that may lead to unstable approaches, the FOQA system may be ale to assign interventional training modules. These is research that indicates that these training events would be more effective if presented in a manner that is preferred by the learner. This survey supports the study by helping to determine if the population of airline pilots has a preferred learning modality. The survey also contains a set of energy management questions to examine pilot perceptions on energy management and stabilized approaches in several scenarios and situations. Participants are asked to select responses that are closest to how they would understand the situation if experienced in their current primary aircraft. Finally, the survey collects demographic information that will provide an understanding of how the body of respondents represents the study population. Respondents must be 18 years of age to participate, and we would like to limit the respondents to those currently employed in scheduled air carrier operations (Part 121, 135, or similar). Thank you in advance for your participation. Your inputs will be invaluable in helping to increase the level of safety in air carrier operations. Providing immediate interventional training for pilots who are demonstrating a need, while maintaining the anonymity of the FOQA concept, should provide such a benefit. If you have any questions regarding the study in general, or the survey in particular, please contact the researcher, David Carroll, at david.carroll@erau.edu or the dissertation committee chair, Dr. David Esser, at esserd@erau.edu. Please find the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V532B9J David A. Carroll, Doctoral Candidate ERAU PhD in Aviation Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 3 Dear Aviation Colleague, My name is Nicoletta Fala, and I am a Ph.D. candidate working with Prof. Karen Marais at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. We are seeking your input on post-flight debrief feedback in this survey. The motivation behind this research is the unacceptably high number of general aviation accidents. Our overall goal is to use flight data of various sources to help improve general aviation safety. We are trying to understand how different kinds of safety feedback affect risk perception among general aviation pilots. During the survey, you will be asked to review flight data from four flights and answer specific questions on the safety of each flight. We will then ask you a few demographic questions. The survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. During the survey, you will not be able to go back to the previous flight safety questions. You will, however, have the opportunity to review and change the demographic questions as you wish. You may choose to not answer some questions and you may stop the survey at any time without any repercussion to you. If you do not wish to complete the survey in one sitting, you may save your progress and return where you left off if you use the same computer to re-access the link. No personally identifiable information is being asked, analyzed or reported. All responses will be anonymous and in aggregate at the end of the study. Your participation in this survey is voluntary. You must be at least 18 years old to participate in this research. Thank you for your time and your cooperation. Your responses are greatly appreciated and will hopefully enable the general aviation community to improve their safety record. If you have any questions regarding the survey or the information contained within, please feel free to contact the researchers directly either at nfala@purdue.edu or kmarais@purdue.edu. Survey Link: www.nicolettafala.com/survey Nicoletta Fala Purdue Pilots, Inc. President Ph.D. Candidate School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Purdue University || College of Engineering http://nicolettafala.com/ Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY - 4 Dear pilots, My name is Koen Scheers, First Officer and postgraduate student 'Air Transport Management' at City University of London. Currently, I am working on my research project, which is the final part of my studies at City to gain a Master of Science (MSc) degree. My research project, entitled 'A sustainable model for pilot retention', aims to establish a model of organisational practices to keep pilots in the airline they are working for. To support my research project with data I have created a web survey for pilots, and via this way, I kindly ask your help by participating in the survey. The survey is not affiliated with any airline, training organisation, or any other. Participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous. The survey will take about 10 minutes of your time to complete and is open for participation until 15 July 2018. Also, I would be very grateful if you could forward this message to other pilots in your contact list or spread the word in the airline you are working for. Please click the link below to enter the survey: SURVEY WEB LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/pilotretention Your participation is highly appreciated, kind regards, Koen Scheers +32 486 85 07 91 Koen.scheers@city.ac.uk Curt Lewis