August 20, 2018 - No. 066 In This Issue Aircraft maintenance market takes wing in Southeast Asia Forbes praises trade school with Washington County campus GLOBALJET Services Expands Benchmark AIM Course to Reach Wider Audience Interjet Receives Compensation for Faulty Sukhoi Aircraft American Airlines Celebrated National Aviation Day with Plane-Spotting 'Geeks' for 3rd Year in a Row FlyBosnia Joins Growing International OASES Community BATS now licensed to maintain Boeing aircraft C2 Technologies just won the biggest contract in its history - and it's hiring big time FlightSafety Announces a New PT6 Engine Familiarization Training Course NASA PROVISIONALLY APPROVES SPACEX "LOAD-AND-GO" FOR CREW FLIGHTS Aircraft maintenance market takes wing in Southeast Asia BANGKOK -- Low-cost carriers have changed the face of civil aviation in Asia. In tandem with the rise, the behind-the-scenes market for aircraft maintenance is also changing as companies in countries like Indonesia and Thailand enter the field to challenge the dominance of established Singaporean players. GMF AeroAsia, the maintenance subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia, opened the world's largest maintenance hangar for narrow body aircraft in 2015 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the gateway to Indonesia, located outside of Jakarta. The hangar has space for 16 airplanes. Besides aircraft of Garuda and its low-cost affiliate Citilink, planes of various foreign LCCs, including AirAsia, India's IndiGo and Russia's Nordwind Airlines, are also parked, awaiting servicing. At the facilities, numerous mechanics wearing blue uniforms work in groups, carrying out tasks for specific portions of the aircraft, such as wings and engines. "We have a lot of demographic [advantage] with a huge population and young workforce in Indonesia," GMF President and CEO Iwan Joeniarto told the Nikkei Asian Review. The country's population of 261 million is the largest in Southeast Asia. The average wage of general engineers in Jakarta is one-sixth of their Singaporean counterparts, according to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization in 2017. Since aircraft maintenance is a labor-intensive business, Joeniarto said, lower labor costs give the company a competitive advantage over Singapore. For decades, the commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market in Southeast Asia has been controlled by leading players in Singapore, the regional aviation hub. These Singaporean companies have been providing maintenance services for airlines both in and outside the region. But they are now facing more competition from service providers in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. LCCs are the driving force behind the explosive growth of Asia's civil aviation market, but most of them, including such leading players as AirAsia, the region's largest budget carrier, have only minimal maintenance capabilities and outsource most of the work to companies affiliated with rivals or independent service providers. Commercial aircraft are required to be inspected and maintained after every flight and overhauled every few years. Since the aircraft generate no profits while they are being maintained, airlines, especially budget carriers, value quick and efficient turnaround, which can be achieved by intensive use of manpower. This means opportunities for cost-competitive players. GMF's Joeniarto said the growth potential of Indonesia's domestic airline market thanks to the country's configuration -- a long chain of islands scattered over a wide area -- is also a big boon to the company's business prospects. GMF plans to spend $400 million in the next five years to expand its maintenance facilities with a strong focus on narrow body aircraft, the popular aircraft type among LCCs. The company, which currently operates four maintenance hangars at Soekarno-Hatta airport, will open new facilities on the Indonesian island of Batam, close to Singapore, in 2019. The island's wage levels are even lower than in Jakarta and its location is closer to key markets, including Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea. GMF plans to open new maintenance facilities in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates as well, through joint ventures with local partners. To maintain cost competitiveness, Joeniarto said its overseas sites will also use Indonesian mechanics that have trained and worked in Jakarta. In Asia's airline industry, the rise of LCCs has sharply intensified price competition, creating a harsh business environment for major full-service carriers like Garuda, which fell into the red in 2017. These companies are now seeking to capitalize on the growth of no-frills rivals through the maintenance business. "We want to follow Lufthansa," Joeniarto said. With a sizable business with non-affiliated airlines, Lufthansa's MRO unit accounted for roughly 15% of overall revenue in 2017, the second-largest source after passenger revenue of its group airlines. Japan's ANA Holdings will jump on the bandwagon by launching maintenance services at Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, close to Asia, in 2019. Thai Airways International, Thailand's national flag carrier, which also reported losses in 2017, is banking on the expanding MRO market too. In June, it agreed with Airbus to open a maintenance location within the Eastern Economic Corridor, a special economic zone on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Total investment is to be around 11 billion baht ($329 million). Also in June, Thai Airways was certified by Rolls-Royce as an authorized center to do MRO on the British firm's Trent engines. Thai Airways will not only be serving engines of its own fleet but also those of rival carriers at Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok's LCC hub. Meanwhile, Singaporean maintenance powerhouses are turning to state-of-the-art technology such as automation to offer high-quality maintenance and keep their competitive edge. The aerospace arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering, the world's largest airframe maintenance provider, has started testing unmanned vehicles that fly over aircraft to detect airframe problems such as cracks, stains and scratches. In a pilot program with Air New Zealand, the company has also started producing spare parts for in-flight equipment such as cup holders and seat tables using 3D printing. This reduces the time to replace broken parts and cost of inventory. "We want to do more with less people," ST Aerospace President Lim Serh Ghee said. He stressed that the company is pursuing higher efficiency instead of lower labor costs. It also wants to provide "high-value" services to its clients, such as converting retired passenger aircraft to freighters. In 2017, Singapore Aero Engine Services, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines' MRO arm SIA Engineering and Rolls-Royce, established a new research and development body jointly with Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research. With an investment of up to 60 million Singapore dollars ($43 million), the joint lab will conduct a five-year study of automation and digital technologies for next-generation aerospace manufacturing and MRO capabilities. "Labor is expensive in Singapore, but skills and capabilities far outweigh that cost ratio," said Bicky Bhangu, president of Rolls-Royce for South East Asia, Pacific and South Korea. He added that Singapore's existing ecosystem -- Rolls-Royce has an engine manufacturing facility there -- also means greater efficiency in MRO operations. The expansion of the MRO market is in response to a rapid increase in the number of aircraft operating in the region. Some 40% of the world's new aircraft deliveries during the 2018 to 2037 period, estimated at 42,000 planes, will come from the Asia-Pacific region, according to Boeing. Southeast Asian LCCs are expected to be large buyers, adding to airlines of the two emerging giants of China and India. That spells robust growth in demand for airframe and engine maintenance services in the region. Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm, predicts that MRO spending in Asia, excluding China, will reach $27.1 billion in 2027, up 55% from 2017. Southeast Asia will account for 40% of that, with Indonesia and Thailand leading the upward trend by growing nearly 100% to surpass Singapore and become the region's two largest markets. If these countries fail to expand their domestic maintenance capabilities, domestic airlines will have to outsource the services to providers outside the countries. Already in 2017, 60% of aircraft maintenance services for Thai carriers was provided by foreign companies. The Thai government is taking steps to change this situation by promoting the domestic maintenance industry, including generous tax incentives modeled on Singapore's program. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Trends/Aircraft-maintenance-market-takes-wing-in-Southeast-Asia Back to Top Forbes praises trade school with Washington County campus Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, which has a branch near Hagerstown, is in the national spotlight. PIA was named No. 1 this week on Forbes' second annual list of the nation's top two-year trade schools. Carter Coudriet, an assistant editor at Forbes, wrote that the ranking takes into account factors such as postgraduation salary and debt load. "It's virtually unknown outside the aviation industry," Coudriet wrote of PIA, "but its alumni outearn students from two thirds of Forbes' highest-ranked four-year colleges at a fraction of the price." At one point, Forbes refers to PIA as "the Harvard of trade schools." "It just means a lot to us. ... It is a great honor to be on the cover of Forbes magazine and be rated No. 1," Bernard "Butch" Adams said Friday. Adams is campus director of PIA's Hagerstown branch, which is near Hagerstown Regional Airport. PIA trains people for jobs in aviation maintenance and repair. Founded in 1929 and based in Pittsburgh, it can trace its roots to Orville Wright. It has branch campuses in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Youngstown, Ohio; and Washington County. The Hagerstown-area campus opened in 2011. It will have about 90 students in classes when a new cohort starts in a couple of weeks. It is Maryland's exclusive FAA-certified airframe and powerplant training provider. PIA trains its grads for a growing field. The Department of Labor estimates that the number of aircraft and avionics equipment maintenance technicians needed in the United States will jump 5 percent in the next decade. According to the Forbes article, 87 percent of PIA's students get jobs within six months of graduation. Four years after graduation, PIA alumni earn a median salary of $42,200, according to the College Scorecard database of financial aid recipients. After another four years, that increases to $53,600. Adams credits PIA's success to the commitment of its faculty and students, and to its ability to match the skills it teaches with employers' needs. Many of those employers are not in aeronautics, he said, noting that PIA sends graduates into manufacturing and many other fields. "It's the career-related skills that we offer that are transferable skills," he said. Adams didn't have a lot of time to talk about PIA's No. 1 ranking on Friday morning. The local campus was preparing for a midday graduation ceremony. "We have 15 more graduates going out into the work force," Adams said. In keeping with the ethos at PIA, he said, graduation is usually a pretty efficient affair, taking 30 to 45 minutes. "We know what we have to do, and we get it done," he said. https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/instant/forbes-praises-trade-school-with-washington-county-campus/article_00d4068e-a282-11e8-96f1-1fd89b084172.html Back to Top GLOBALJET Services Expands Benchmark AIM Course to Reach Wider Audience AVON, CT, USA: August 17, 2018 - GLOBALJET Services, Inc., a leader in on-location aviation aircraft, avionics, safety, and professional development training, has completed a strategic direction to offer their Aviation Interpersonal Management (AIM) course to a broader target audience. The highly interactive 5-day class is the acknowledged industry standard for building leaders in aviation today. Many aviation professionals are seldom taught the techniques needed to succeed in team-building, effective resource utilization, conflict resolution, and other "soft skills" required for achieving necessary management goals. GLOBALJET provides key professional development skills to put advancement within the grasp of a greater segment of the community contributing to the overall success of business aviation. While formerly offered primarily to aviation maintenance technicians, this change in professional development curriculum from GLOBALJET Services will now enhance leadership and communication skills within the entire flight operations team, including pilots, schedulers and dispatchers, customer service representatives, line service, and support personnel. Strengthening their commitment to worldwide success for aviation professionals, this move underscores a fundamental aspect of GLOBALJET's mission statement: to raise industry standards and respect for all aviation personnel across the industry. This new audience selection should bring about further improvements to aviation in the areas of productivity, cost-reductions, effective communication and total safety - and on a wider scale. To learn more, visit the GLOBALJET Services website at globaljetservices.com, or contact GJS via email at sales@globaljetservices.com or via phone at 860-651-6090. https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12425592/globaljet-services-expands-benchmark-aim-course-to-reach-wider-audience Back to Top Interjet Receives Compensation for Faulty Sukhoi Aircraft Mexican carrier Interjet placed its first order for 28 Russian Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ) 100s in 2011 claiming to have made an unbeatably good deal, as they were offered for significantly cheaper than what was proposed by competitors such as Embraer and Bombardier. Looking back six years later, the airline has had more than just a few headaches with this model. The issues with the SSJ caused them to ground members of the fleet on continuous occasions and even forced them to scrap aircraft by parts in order to keep its remaining fleet of Russian aircraft in service. Now, the airline announced it received compensation from Sukhoi to make up for these inconveniences. First, XA-PBA, delivered to Interjet in 2014, was grounded as it sustained significant damage to its nose after an accident involving an air bridge in Mexico City Airport in 2015. Following weeks long repairs, the aircraft was eventually permanently refrained from flying in early 2017 after further defects were found on the aircraft's stabilizers nodes through ground inspections across the whole fleet. This measure was taken after the Russian Federal air transport agency grounded six of the aircraft, five operating for Aeroflot and one for fellow Russian carrier Ir Aereo, after metal fatigue was found in a tail component. The issue turned out to be a major problem with the aircraft's stabilizer. Earlier this year, media reports claimed that Interjet was forced to scrap by parts four of the grounded aircraft in order to keep the rest of the fleet working. According to Bloomberg, these aircraft had been stored in hangars around Mexico City International Airport. The move was questioned by aviation analysts due to its potential compromises over safety. Given Sukhoi doesn't have any single maintenance facility in the Americas, the airline has had a hard time finding replacements and tuning up aircraft that need repair. In order to ease maintenance problems, the airline signed a $ 7 million consignment stock with Sukhoi, where Interjet was able to get a hold of some key parts for aircraft replacement. Later in 2017, the fleet was then grounded again as the SSJ100's PowerJet SaM engines, developed by a joint venture between France's Snecma and Russian's NPO Saturn, required additional ground maintenance. Despite these major inconveniences, the airline's CEO classified this aircraft type as "a money-making machine." For these reasons, the Interjet announced in a quarterly financial report that it received a compensation package of MXP 733.1 million, which is equivalent $39.6 million, from the Russian manufacturer. The airline says that the amount is an estimate of the contractual recovery of the maintenance and repair costs for aircraft. The initial decision to acquire the aircraft was a departure from Interjet's all-Airbus fleet consisting of 50 A320s and 12 A321s. Although it was set up in 2005 as Mexico's first low-cost carrier, the airline has lost the battle to ultra-low-cost rivals such as Volaris and VivaAerobus as it is currently stuck in the middle between a low cost and a full-service carrier. Despite a large route network from Mexico City, it hasn't moved from its position as Mexico's third largest carrier and the Sukhoi's maintenance issues have caused the airline huge financial trouble. Combined with a failing strategy, Interjet is said to have substantially higher operating costs than its competitors, almost as high as flag carrier Aeromexico. In addition, it is rumored that the airline holds significant debts that put their financial operations at risk. https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/08/18/after-a-rocky-past-few-months-interjet-gets-compensated-for-faulty-ssj100s/ Back to Top American Airlines Celebrated National Aviation Day with Plane-Spotting 'Geeks' for 3rd Year in a Row American Airlines will open its doors to self-described "airline geeks," enthusiasts who prefer morning jet fuel in lieu of coffee to get their blood moving, Aug. 17 in celebration of National Aviation Day. The holiday, officially observed Aug. 19, was established in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to celebrate the development of aviation as well as Orville Wright's birthday. "Our 130,000 team members take great pride in caring for more than 500,000 customers across the globe each day," said Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. "We're thrilled to showcase their important work for the third year in a row with a group of young enthusiasts whose passion for aviation may eventually lead them to careers with American." A total of 150 winners of an AirlineGeeks.com contest and invited guests from local community organizations will enjoy behind-the-scenes tours of airports, maintenance hangars, operations centers and more at 13 locations across the United States and in the United Kingdom. The group will also have access to and be able to learn from American's aviation professionals. "Thanks to our friends at American Airlines, many of our members will get a special, behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating world of commercial aviation," said 19-year-old AirlineGeeks.com Founder and CEO Ryan Ewing. "We're looking forward to our third year in a row of learning more about the industry from American's team members and building relationships with them." Aviation enthusiasts can view the festivities of the day by searching #AAviationDay on social media. https://metroairportnews.com/american-airlines-celebrated-national-aviation-day-with-plane-spotting-geeks-for-3rd-year-in-a-row/ Back to Top FlyBosnia Joins Growing International OASES Community Newly established, Sarajevo-based FlyBosnia has selected Commsoft's industry-leading MRO IT system, OASES, to support its planned operations. Established by the Saudi Arabian Al Shiddi Group, FlyBosnia is currently in the process of submitting its application for an AOC and intends to acquire, initially, an A320 family for operations from Bosnia to various destinations, including Saudi Arabia. OASES is renowned for its technical sophistication as well as its intuitive user interface and is structured in a modular format to provide maximum flexibility and scalability, making it ideal for start-up operations. FlyBosnia has opted for the Core, Airworthiness, Materials, Planning and Line Maintenance modules which will be accessed through Commsoft's Private Cloud service, avoiding any need for the airline to invest in new hardware. Nick Godwin, Commsoft's Managing Director, commented: "We're delighted to welcome FlyBosnia to the growing, international OASES family. This is the eighth new OASES contract we've signed this year and FlyBosnia will be our first direct customer in Bosnia Herzegovina." It is anticipated that CAMO implementation support will be provided by Commsoft client and OASES user, AvioCats, the Croatian aircraft maintenance organisation. OASES is currently being used to support more than 130 aviation operations in over 55 different countries, including national and regional carriers, business aviation and charter operators, cargo specialists, leasing companies, MROs and specialist rotable stockists. https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12425599/flybosnia-joins-growing-international-oases-community Back to Top BATS now licensed to maintain Boeing aircraft Bravo Aircraft Technical Services Ltd (BATS) has added the Boeing B737 (Classic and New Generation) and B777-200/300 series aircraft to the list of aircraft it is licensed to maintain. BATS now has Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate ap-proval for the conduct of line maintenance, Aircraft On Ground services and routine inspections on the Airbus A320 family (in-cluding NEO), the widely ope-ra¬ted B737 family with CFM 56 engines, and the B777 carrying either General Electric (GE90) or Rolls Royce (RB 211 Trent 800) engines. BATS remains the only independent EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) Part 145 Line Maintenance facility for commercial aircraft to hold Maltese approval by Transport Malta's Civil Aviation Directorate, and this widening of the scope of their maintenance approval reflects the determination of the Ap-proved Maintenance Organisation to establish itself as a frontrunner in the provision of premier qua-lity aircraft maintenance services in Malta and further afield. Fiona Healy, head of business strategy at BATS said: "BATS offers a one-stop airworthiness and aircraft maintenance service to the industry, using its skilled and professional staff based in Malta and Ireland to ensure efficiency and low turnaround time, thereby facilitating maximum aircraft utilisation and enhanced operator profit. "The increased scope of BATS certification, achieved under the excellent oversight and guidance of the Airworthiness Inspectorate staff of the Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate, strengthens our position as we may now carry out maintenance work up to Weekly Check on the Boeing types, as well as up to A-Check on the Airbus A320 family aircraft." https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180819/business-news/bats-now-licensed-to-maintain-boeing-aircraft.687093 Back to Top C2 Technologies just won the biggest contract in its history - and it's hiring big time C2 Technologies Inc. has landed the biggest contract in its nearly 30-year history. The Vienna tech firm - which develops education, training and other IT software programs for federal and commercial clients - was selected as a subcontractor with The Boeing Co. to run the U.S. Air Force's C-17 training systems in a contract worth about $986 million over six and a half years. For C2 (pronounced C-squared), the award means at least $100 million, making it the most significant contract to date and a new revenue stream for the business, said Curtis Cox, its co-founder and president. "We're taking over every simulator in the country," said Cox, who runs the company's aviation services. "It's big for us." C2, which will use its technology to teach pilots how to fly this particular plane, teamed up with Boeing to bid for the contract, and will work as part of its global services team to run simulators at 16 air bases across the U.S. All of them - 14 existing sites, from Oklahoma to Washington, and two new locations in Pittsburgh and Charlotte, North Carolina - represent 16 new offices for the company. C2 is hiring 100 employees within the next six weeks, many of whom will work as technicians (the people who run and organize the simulators) and, at some of the larger bases, instructional designers, graphic artists and computer programmers (to update and maintain the existing technology), Cox told me. The additions will bring C2's staff to 500 people. The contract is just the latest win for the company, and follows its work as the subcontractor over seven years with the C-17's previous incumbent contractor, New York-based aerospace and defense company L3 Technologies. The government told the Boeing-C2 team that Engineering Change Proposals, or changes to the project that require additional work, would also increase the contract size, according to Cox. Though it's hard to know the total amount that could come from that, they typically fall around $10 million to $12 million per year, he said. C2's aviation support services group provides coursework and training for six other aircraft weapons systems, according to the company. Its clients span industries from defense to banking to education to government to health care. On that roster? The U.S. Department of Defense, government agencies from the Department of State to the Small Business Administration, and private-sector clients like Microsoft Corp., Marriott International Inc., George Mason University and the American Red Cross, among others. Now, C2 is expanding its work with the Air Force, and hoping for more future work with Boeing, Cox said. But it's also eyeing other spaces to grow. "As a corporation, we're looking at expanding off into new arenas, too," he said, "certainly in the virtual world arena using hologram technology, and areas like that. For maintenance, specifically maintenance and setup, it's very powerful." C2 uses virtual and augmented reality programs to improve human performance in the military, classroom and the workforce. One of its products, the LOAC Interactive Trainer - for which C2 was recognized as one of the WBJ's former Innovation Awards honorees - prepares students studying to become Judge Advocate Generals in the U.S. Army. Dolly Oberoi - a past Washington Business Journal Minority Business Leader Awards honoree - started the business with Cox, her husband, in 1989. The company promoted its chief operating officer, Manik Rath, to CEO at the beginning of the year, replacing Oberoi, who remains chief learning officer, leading innovation and advising. With the new contract, Cox said, the company could reach $50 million in 2019 revenue. https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/08/17/it-s-big-for-us-what-c2-technologies-latest.html Back to Top FlightSafety Announces a New PT6 Engine Familiarization Training Course NEW YORK (August 15, 2018) - FlightSafety International announces a new PT6 engine familiarization training program for pilots. "FlightSafety's new PT6 engine familiarization training will provide pilots who fly PT6-powered turboprop aircraft with the operating fundamentals," said Daniel MacLellan, Senior Vice President, Operations. "The course includes basic theory, engine to airframe interface, and best practices while operating the engine. It will also be beneficial for pilots who are transitioning from piston powered to turbine powered aircraft." The course will be offered in Botucato, Brazil; Montreal, Canada; and at other FlightSafety locations in the near future. FlightSafety provides advanced, technology-based maintenance training for many Pratt & Whitney Canada engine families including turboprop, turbofan and turboshaft engines as well as for auxiliary power units (APUs). The maintenance training programs offer in-depth classroom and hands-on instruction designed to develop, expand and refine proficiency. The industry-leading maintenance training courseware and curriculum meets worldwide regulatory requirements. Maintenance technicians benefit from FlightSafety's advanced technology MATRIX training system and use of full-scale systems trainers, major component cutaways, working models, maintenance task simulators and a large variety of test equipment used to demonstrate procedures and reinforce the information learned in the classroom. FlightSafety has been the authorized training provider for Pratt & Whitney Canada since 2010. The training is currently available in Bangalore, India; Brisbane, Australia; Botucatu, Brazil; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Haikou, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Montreal, Canada; Paris-Le Bourget, France; Singapore; Toronto, Canada; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Wichita, Kansas. FlightSafety has delivered close to 14,000 courses for Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and APUs to customers from 126 countries to date. This includes those taken at Learning Centers around the world and through eLearning and interactive distance learning. FlightSafety International is the world's premier professional aviation training company and supplier of flight simulators, visual systems and displays to commercial, government and military organizations. The company provides more than 1.4 million hours of training each year to pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals from 167 countries and independent territories. FlightSafety operates the world's largest fleet of advanced full-flight simulators at Learning Centers and training locations in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and the United Kingdom. https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12425608/flightsafety-announces-a-new-pt6-engine-familiarization-training-course Back to Top NASA PROVISIONALLY APPROVES SPACEX "LOAD-AND-GO" FOR CREW FLIGHTS NASA posted a statement on one of its websites Friday that it has provisionally approved SpaceX's "load-and-go" procedure for commercial crew flights of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. That refers to fueling the rocket just before launch, after the crew is aboard. The idea has been sharply criticized by many experts, but apparently the company has won over at least some of those critics. Historically, rockets are fueled when no one is near the launch pad in case something goes awry, such as an explosion. That is exactly what happened in September 2016 when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad while it was being fueled as part of a pre-launch test two days before the scheduled liftoff of a commercial communications satellite. The rocket and the AMOS-6 satellite, which was already mated to the launch vehicle, were destroyed and the launch pad severely damaged. No one was near the launch pad or onboard the vehicle so there were no injuries. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk insisted at the time that if a crew had been aboard in a Crew Dragon capsule, the Dragon's pad abort system would have pulled them away to safety. SpaceX successfully testedthat abort system in May 2015. SpaceX's proposal to use the load-and-go procedure when sending astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) already had raised concerns. Eight months earlier, in December 2015, Gen. Tom Stafford (Ret.) wrote a letter to the head of NASA's human spaceflight program, Bill Gerstenmaier, on behalf of the NASA International Space Station Advisory Committee that he chairs. "There is a unanimous, and strong, feeling by the committee that scheduling the crew to be on board the Dragon spacecraft prior to loading oxidizer into the rocket is contrary to booster safety criteria that has been in place for over 50 years, both in this country and internationally. Historically, neither the crew nor any other personnel have ever been allowed in or near the booster during fueling. Only after the booster is fully fueled and stabilized are the few essential people allowed near it." Stafford is a renowned former astronaut who flew four space missions in the Gemini and Apollo programs. NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) has expressed similar worries in the past. Its January 2018 annual report again urged NASA and Space X to fully assess all the hazards involved and weigh the risks against the benefits. In recent months, however, some of those concerns apparently have been ameliorated. At its May 17, 2018 quarterly meeting, ASAP expressed a most positive view, concluding load-and-go is a "viable option" as long as "verifiable controls are identified and implemented for all the credible hazards causes which could potentially result in an emergency situation or worse..." NASA's own assessment now is even more favorable. The head of the commercial crew program, Kathy Lueders, said in Friday's statement that the agency agreed with SpaceX to use load-and-go because it has "the least risk." "To make this decision, our teams conducted an extensive review of the SpaceX ground operations, launch vehicle design, escape systems and operational history," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "Safety for our personnel was the driver for this analysis, and the team's assessment was that this plan presents the least risk." There are some caveats. "Additional verification and demonstration activities, which include five crew loading demonstrations of the Falcon 9 Block 5, will be critical to final certification of this plan." The launch day plan outlined in the statement is as follows: • Falcon 9 composite overwrap pressure vessels (COPVs) loaded with helium and verified to be in a stable configuration prior to astronaut crew arrival at the pad • Astronauts board spacecraft 2 hours before launch • Ground crews depart • Launch escape systems activated approximately 38 minutes before launch • SpaceX begins loading rocket grade kerosene and densified liquid oxygen approximately 35 minutes before launch The countdown can be stopped automatically "up the last moment before launch." If there is an emergency, the launch abort system "will allow the astronauts to evacuate safely." https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-provisionally-approves-spacex-load-and-go-for-crew-flights/ Curt Lewis