Flight Safety Information October 1, 2018 - No. 199 In This Issue Incident: Jet Airways B738 near Indore on Sep 30th 2018, engine problem Incident: LATAM A321 at Sao Paulo on Sep 26th 2018, landed on wrong runway Accident: Niugini B738 at Chuuk on Sep 28th 2018, touched down in sea short of runway Incident: Ryanair B738 at Porto on Sep 25th 2018, "UNO" on runway Incident: SAS B736 near Lulea on Sep 28th 2018, engine shut down in flight Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Accident (South Carolina) LIBIK Fire Suppression Kits for the Cabin and Flight Deck NTSB Chairman Calls Notams 'Garbage' A heroic Indonesian air traffic controller died helping a jet escape the country's catastrophic earth quake WIZZ AIR AWARDED HIGHEST 7-STAR SAFETY RATING Navy, Air Force officials tell Congress that aircraft fixes to help curtail crashes are underway Frontier Airlines faces $474,000 penalty by FAA for lacking certain medical supplies NZ aviation firm developing drone detection gadget for light aircraft Former Pinnacle Airlines CEO Philip Trenary Shot and Killed in Memphis Asian Air Forces Recruit Women Fighter Pilots Getting There: Airlines experience nosedive in pilots It's Official: NASA Just Announced a Bold 3-Part Plan to Send Humans to The Moon And Mars '2018 International Aviation Safety and Education Summit Aircraft Accident Investigation from SCSI HIGH ALTITUDE FLYING: WHAT EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW - Course Incident: Jet Airways B738 near Indore on Sep 30th 2018, engine problem A Jet Airways Boeing 737-800, registration VT-JTK performing flight 9W-955 from Hyderabad to Indore (India) with 96 passengers and 7 crew, had been enroute at FL360 and was descending towards Indore when the crew reported a problem with one of the engines (CFM56). The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Indore's runway 25. The airline reported an engine issue. The airport reported the crew reported an engine had failed at FL360. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Indore about 13 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4be5d182&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: LATAM A321 at Sao Paulo on Sep 26th 2018, landed on wrong runway A LATAM Brasil Airbus A321-200, registration PT-MXH performing flight JJ-4627 from Fortaleza,CE to Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) with 184 passengers and 8 crew, was cleared to land on Guarulhos' runway 27L, however, touched down on runway 27R and rolled out without further incident. The aircraft taxied to the apron. The airline confirmed the occurrence and advised an investigation by authorities is in progress. Brazil's CENIPA reported the aircraft landed on runway 27R although having been cleared to land on runway 27L. The occurrence was rated a serious incident and is being investigated. Metars: SBGR 261700Z 31010KT CAVOK 32/17 Q1013= SBGR 261600Z 32009KT CAVOK 32/18 Q1014= SBGR 261500Z 34008KT CAVOK 31/18 Q1015= SBGR 261400Z 06004KT CAVOK 28/20 Q1016= SBGR 261300Z 08005KT CAVOK 24/19 Q1017= SBGR 261200Z 06008KT 9999 SCT009 21/18 Q1017= http://avherald.com/h?article=4be5a587&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Niugini B738 at Chuuk on Sep 28th 2018, touched down in sea short of runway An Air Niugini Boeing 737-800, registration P2-PXE performing flight PX-73 from Pohnpei to Chuuk (Micronesia) with 35 passengers and 12 crew, was on final approach to Chuuk's runway 04 in poor weather when the aircraft came too low and touched down into the sea and came to a stop about 150 meters left abeam of runway threshold. The aircraft was evacuated, all passengers and crew were able to leave the aircraft. One occupant is reported missing but was seen having boarded one of the boats, 4 people were taken to the local hospital with serious injuries, 4 people were also transported to the hospital with minor injuries, the other occupants remained uninjured. The airline confirmed the aircraft landed short of the runway in Chuuk at 10:10L (00:10Z) in heavy rain and reduced visibility. All 35 passengers and 12 crew were able to safely evacuate the aircraft. On Sep 29th 2018 the airline reported that although initial reports had indicated everybody had safely evacuated from the aircraft, one male passenger is missing. A search is underway.On Sep 30th 2018 the airline added that a search of the now submerged cabin verified nobody was on board anymore, eye witness accounts confirmed the passenger boarded one of the boats coming to rescue, authorities are now still looking for the whereabouts of the passenger. By Sep 30th 2018 4 passengers remain in hospital care, all others have been discharged already. The airport reported the aircraft was cleared to land on runway 04 but touched down short of the runway around about 09:30L (23:30Z Sep 27th). Passengers reported the aircraft was on final approach to Chuuk when they thought they had a hard touch down until they realized they had landed in the sea. The aircraft floated long enough for everybody to leave the aircraft and be rescued by locals in their boats. The local hospital reported they received 8 patients, 4 with serious and 4 with minor injuries. There were no fatalities. Four patients will need to be flown out for treatment of head injuries, spinal cord injuries and hip fractures. According to Micronesia's Civil Aviation Department Chuuk features a NDB/DME approach to runway 04 and RNAV (GPS) approaches to both runways (the related charts however are offline as of current as per link from their website, the links however permitted to conclude the charts were hosted at the FAA website at some time, we fetched the current charts - see below - from the FAA AIP site). No precision approaches are available. Runway 04/22 is 6006 feet/1831 meters long with a grooved asphalt surface. Both runways feature PAPI lights at 3 degrees glidepath to their left. Related NOTAM: A0047/18 NOTAMN Q) KZAK/QLPAS////// A) PTKK B) 1809280300 C) 1809300300 E) RWY 04 PAPI U/S Metars: PTKK 280250Z 21009KT 14SM -RA SCT012 OVC110 27/24 A2969 RMK RAB39 SLP055 60001 8/12/ T02670243 57015= PTKK 280150Z 18010KT 13SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 26/25 A2971 RMK CB ALQDS MOV N SLP062 T02610250= PTKK 280051Z 18008KT 14SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 27/26 A2972 RMK SHRAE20 CB ALQDS MOV N SLP066 T02670256= PTKK 280002Z VRB05KT 12SM -SHRA SCT010CB BKN110 OVC280 26/25 A2973 RMK CB ALQDS= PTKK 272340Z 04007KT 3SM SHRA BKN000 OVC008CB 26/25 A2973 RA BKN000 CB ALQDS MOV SW= PTKK 272250Z VRB05KT 14SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 26/25 A2973 RMK CB ALQDS SLP071 T02610246= PTKK 272150Z VRB05KT 14SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 26/25 A2971 RMK CB ALQDS SLP062 T02610246= PTKK 272055Z VRB04KT 14SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 25/24 A2969 RMK CB ALQDS SLP055 60020 8/328 T02510241 55005= PTKK 271950Z VRB04KT 14SM SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 25/24 A2969 RMK CB ALQDS SLP055 T02510241= PTKK 271850Z VRB04KT 14SM -SHRA SCT012CB BKN120 OVC280 25/24 A2970 RMK CB ALQDS SLP057 T02500241= P2-PXE floating in the waters at Chuuk (Photo: makereta komai): http://avherald.com/h?article=4be42f25&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Ryanair B738 at Porto on Sep 25th 2018, "UNO" on runway A Ryanair Boeing 737-800, registration EI-DPJ performing flight FR-4703 from Porto (Portugal) to Milan Bergamo (Italy), departed Porto's runway 17 when the crew observed an "Unidentified Nonflying Object (UNO)" on the runway. The crew continued the takeoff and the flight to Bergamo for a safe landing at the destination. The airline reported: "The crew of this flight from Porto to Milan Bergamo (25 Sep) reported an object (car tyre) on the runway after take-off. The aircraft landed normally, was inspected by engineers at Milan Bergamo and cleared to return to service." Portugese media claimed the aircraft hit a wheel on the runway on departure from Porto. http://avherald.com/h?article=4be479d1&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: SAS B736 near Lulea on Sep 28th 2018, engine shut down in flight A SAS Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-600, registration LN-RRP performing flight SK-1049 from Kiruna to Stockholm (Sweden), was enroute at FL320 about 75nm northwest of Lulea (Sweden) when the left hand engine (CFM56) emitted a bang and streaks of flame. The crew shut the engine down and diverted to Lulea for a safe landing on runway 14 about 20 minutes later. The airline reported one of the engines suffered a technical problem and was shut down. The airline understands that passenger perceived the occurrence more dramatically than it actually was. Passengers reported the engine emitted a loud bang and subsequently caught fire. http://avherald.com/h?article=4be477d0&opt=0 Back to Top Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Accident (South Carolina) Date: 28-SEP-2018 Time: 11:45 LT Type: Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Owner/operator: US Marine Corps (USMC), VMFAT-501 Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: W of Beaufort MCAS/Merritt Field (KNBC), Beaufort, SC - United States of America Phase: Unknown Nature: Military Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The F-35 crashed during a training flight and the pilot ejected safely. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=215781 Back to Top Back to Top NTSB Chairman Calls Notams 'Garbage' NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt called the Notam system in the U.S. "messed up" this week during a hearing on the July 7, 2017 incident at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in which an Air Canada Airbus A320 nearly landed on a crowded taxiway. The crew mistook the taxiway as their cleared runway-28R-because Runway 28L was closed. The pilots failed to catch that note on page eight of the 27-page list the SFO Notams. After acknowledging the "crew didn't comprehend the Notams," Sumwalt then read a verbose and complicated entry that limited a portion of a taxiway to aircraft with a wingspan of 214 feet or less. "Why is this even on there?" he asked. "That's what Notams are: they're a bunch of garbage that no one pays any attention to," adding that they're often written in a language that only computer programmers would understand. Sumwalt also relayed a recent experience he had flying the jumpseat into North Carolina's Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, saying, "There were pages and pages and pages of Notams, including one for birds in the vicinity of the airport...when are there not birds in the vicinity of an airport?" Not surprisingly, one of the NTSB's six safety recommendations stemming from this incident is a "more effective presentation of flight operations information to optimize pilot review and retention of relevant information." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-09-28/ntsb-chairman-calls- notams-garbage Back to Top A heroic Indonesian air traffic controller died helping a jet escape the country's catastrophic earthquake A composite image of drone footage showing damage in Palu, Indonesia, after the earthquake and air traffic controller Anthonius Gunawan Agung. DRONE PILOT TEZAR KODONGAN/via REUTERS/Twitter/AirNav Indonesia/Business Insider * An air traffic controller refused to leave his station during a catastrophic earthquake, a decision which ultimately cost him his life. * Anthonius Gunawan Agung stayed behind to help guide a passenger jet off the runway. By the time his job was done, it was too late to escape. * Agung jumped from the tower when it started to collapse, but died from his injuries in hospital. * The pilot paid tribute to Agung as his "guardian angel", and said that he had less than 30 seconds to spare escaping the island. * The official death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami is more than 800, but authorities fear that thousands may be dead. A 21-year-old Indonesian air traffic controller sacrificed himself to help a passenger jet escape the country's catastrophic earthquake which has killed hundreds of people. Anthonius Gunawan Agung was on duty in Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport near the city of Palu, and refused to leave the air traffic control tower until the plane was airborne even after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit, Indonesia's air traffic control company wrote on Twitter. Spokesman Yohanes Harry Sirai told Sky News: "When the quake happened, he was giving clearance to Batik Air to take off and waited for the plane to be safely airborne before finally leaving the ATC cabin tower." Agung jumped from the four-story tower as it began to collapse. He suffered broken bones and internal injuries on landing which ultimately killed him. "Thank you for keeping me and guarding me till I'm safely airborne," he wrote. "Rest peacefully my wing man. God be with you." He said that if he had tried to take off 30 seconds later, he and his passengers would not have been able to get airborne. The official death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami is more than 800, but authorities fear that thousands may be dead. Indonesian authorities are scrambling to get food, aid, and equipment to quake-hit Sulawesi island, where hundreds of people are thought to be trapped. The airport sustained heavy damage, but has reopened for limited commercial flights, the Reuters news agency reported. https://www.businessinsider.com/indonesia-earthquake-air-traffic-controller-dies-helping-jet- escape-2018-10 Back to Top WIZZ AIR AWARDED HIGHEST 7-STAR SAFETY RATING A321ceo Wizz Air delivery-ribbon-cutting. Wizz Air has been awarded the highest 7-star safety ranking from world's only safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings.com. After careful evaluation and feedback from the airline and aviation industry AirlineRatings.com has upgraded its seven-star safety rating system to give more importance to IOSA and this move elevates Wizz Air up to 7-stars - the highest ranking. IOSA - the International Air Transport Association Operation Safety Audit - was first introduced in 2003 to curb the disturbing trend in airline accidents that could be attributed to simple processes and maintenance programs. Since it was introduced airlines that have completed IOSA have up to a four-fold safer safety record than airlines that do not do the audit. SEE our "747 is 50" stories In 2017, the all accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry was nearly four times better than that of non-IOSA airlines (0.56 vs. 2.17 accidents per million flights) and it was nearly three times better over the 2012-16 period. Of significant importance to Airlineratings.com is that the audit is done every two years and covers over 1060 parameters. AirlineRatings.com now awards an airline that has completed IOSA three stars. https://www.airlineratings.com/news/wizz-air-awarded-highest-7-star-safety-rating/ Back to Top Navy, Air Force officials tell Congress that aircraft fixes to help curtail crashes are underway In an October, 2017 file photo, Doug Russell of Moorhead, Miss., rings a bell during a final roll call of the 15 Marines and one sailor who died in a C-130 plane crash in Moorhead in July 2017. WASHINGTON - Navy and Air Force officials told a panel of House lawmakers Friday that a series of aircraft fixes are underway to address a rash of fatal crashes. The officials made the comments during a House Armed Services Committee subpanel hearing focused on C-130 accidents and other aircraft concerns. "We have some challenges ahead," Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces, told the Navy and Air Force officials. "But we want to make sure we are on track with the upgrades with existing aircraft and modernization with aircraft replacement and making sure that we stay on track." Manned fighter, bomber, helicopter and cargo warplane accidents rose nearly 40 percent from fiscal year 2013 to 2017, resulting in the deaths of more than 130 servicemembers, Wittman said. Of those crashes, more than 20 percent of the fatalities occurred in three incidents involving a Marine Corps Reserve's KC-130T, a Navy C-2A Greyhound aircraft and a Puerto Rico Air National Guard's C-130H Hercules. In July 2017, a Marines KC-130T crash in Mississippi left 15 Marines and one sailor dead. In November, a Navy Greyhound crashed into the Philippine Sea, leaving three sailors dead. And in May, the Puerto Rican Guard's Hercules crashed in Georgia during a retirement flight after 60 years in service, leaving nine dead. The Navy has yet to recover wreckage from the November crash, which is located in 18,000 feet of water. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., shown here at a House Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, says the panel must consider, among other things, "the recapitalization and modernization of the oldest and most vulnerable legacy aircraft." CARLOS BONGIOANNI/STARS AND STRIPES "There have been an alarming rise in non-combat aviation accidents," Wittman said. "Considering these three mishaps involved legacy intra-theater aircraft, it is my fervent belief that the services must do everything possible to ensure the safety of flight. To this end, among the things this committee must consider is the recapitalization and modernization of the oldest and most vulnerable legacy aircraft." In addition, there are also concerns with how the services responded to the Marine Corps crash of its KC-130T and Puerto Rican Guard's C-130H, with the Navy and Marines grounding their fleets, while the Air Force chose to keep flying those aircraft, Wittman said. Military officials told lawmakers that work is underway to address aircraft crashes with fixes such as upgrades to existing aircrafts and new purchases. However, challenges remain. Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, told lawmakers that the service has reduced most of its fleet during the last decade. For example, its C- 130 inventory has fallen from 400 to 300 during that time. The C-130 is a workhorse that handles tactical airlifts, resupplies, evacuations, natural disaster relief, search and rescue, firefighting duties and special operations support, he said. "We would like to do more and go faster when it comes to modernization of our C130 fleet," Harris said. "But we've had to make hard choices, declining budgets... we just haven't been able to get to it all." A review of the Air Force's intra-theater airlift portfolio shows the service is on track to replace its regular component units with C-130J aircraft, Wittman said. The service recommends its reserve and Air National Guard retain significant capacity in legacy C-130H aircraft and pursue new upgrades to lengthen service life, he added. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps are on track to fully replace their aging KC-130T fleet with 79 new KC- 130J aircraft by 2023, Wittman said. The Navy plans to begin replacing its legacy KC-130T fleet of 25 aircraft by procuring its first three new aircraft in 2023, he said. "With that said, questions remain as to the level of effort being placed in the pursuit of this program by the Navy and Air Force reserve sponsors as they seek to balance the needs of competing service priorities," Wittman said. The Navy has guidance from the National Defense Strategy that gives the service priorities, said Rear Adm. Scott Conn, director of air warfare for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. But tough choices still have to be made, even with recent congressional increases in defense funding, he noted. "We will always have more requirements than resources. It will always come down to prioritization," Conn said. "I just don't want to come back to where we have to make a false choice of readiness or modernization or recapitalization... we've been there before and we shouldn't go back." Conn also updated lawmakers on the Navy's investigation of its Philippines crash. He said the service now has 22,000 feet of Kevlar cable to help recover the lost aircraft. However, it could be six months or more until then, he said. "The investigation is still ongoing," Conn said. In terms of salvage and recovery, "we are going to have to wait for the seas to abate. Our best estimates right now ...we are looking at late spring, early summer of next year." https://www.stripes.com/news/navy-air-force-officials-tell-congress-that-aircraft-fixes-to-help- curtail-crashes-are-underway-1.549538 Back to Top Frontier Airlines faces $474,000 penalty by FAA for lacking certain medical supplies FAA alleges Frontier medical kits lacked either injectable epinephrine or atropine A Frontier airplane taxis to a runway on the west side of Denver International Airport Jan. 16, 2015. The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $474,000 civil penalty against Frontier Airlines Inc., alleging the Denver company operated aircraft without required medical supplies on hundreds of flights. In June and July 2017, Frontier workers installed emergency medical kits that lacked injectable epinephrine or atropine or both on 11 aircraft. The FAA alleges that even after Frontier became aware that the kits were defective, the company continued operating the airplanes. Frontier was notified that it was operating aircraft with the defective emergency medical kits on July 10, 2017. The next day, the company applied for an exemption that would allow it to continue flying aircraft with the kits. The exemption was approved by the FAA on Sept. 16, 2017, according to a news release by the agency. But the FAA alleges Frontier continued to operate the aircraft on 787 flights after it became aware of the problem with the medical kits and before the FAA approved the exemption. "We corrected the issue within days, and medical kits currently in use are fully compliant," the statement by Frontier said. "We intend to challenge the FAA's position at an upcoming informal hearing." https://www.denverpost.com/2018/09/29/frontier-faa-medical-kit-penalty/ Back to Top NZ aviation firm developing drone detection gadget for light aircraft A new drone detection device for light aircraft is on the horizon, an aviation firm says. Oceania Aviation, an Auckland-based repair and maintenance company, is working with a Saudi based company to bring the technology to New Zealand. The Civil Aviation Authority New Zealand (CAA) has welcomed the idea, as it did with any initiatives designed to make aviation safe and prevent accidents. Oceania international business manager Glenn Rawnsley, an aircraft engineer, said the rapid increase in drone use was leading to safety concerns among pilots. The CAA has said that an independently commissioned survey showed there were now around 280,000 Kiwis who either owned a drone or had flown one. But the aviation regulator was more worried about the 200,000 overseas tourists who brought their drones on holiday with them here each year. The CAA is currently consulting with the industry and residents on an application to test large, commercial scale drones near Alexandra. The application, which involves securing air space for exclusive use by the drone company, has concerned local pilots for safety reasons. Mr Rawnsley said the detection device was the size of a cell phone, and worked by warning a pilot there was a drone within 3.5 kilometres of their position. He said unlike the collision-avoidance transmitting system commercial aircraft used, the drone detection device picked up "spikes" in the radio frequencies, indicating a drone. "It's quite a simple system. "If they're flying in those areas, you take the drone detector and it just sticks on to your dashboard, and it'll cover that aircraft in that area. "I mean if a drone hits an aircraft, it can be fatal, even though they're only small." Mr Rawnsley has been in the aviation industry almost 30 years, and has seen significant change in that time. Drones were the future in aviation, he said. The detection unit, which would cost about $5000, is in the final stages of testing before it would be released in New Zealand. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/nz-aviation-firm-developing-drone-detection- gadget-light-aircraft Back to Top Former Pinnacle Airlines CEO Philip Trenary Shot and Killed in Memphis Philip Trenary, CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce and former CEO of regional airlines Pinnacle, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant Thursday night. Trenary, 64, was a popular civic leader in the Memphis community, widely known for his role in leading Pinnacle to become a $1 billion company between 1997 and 2011. According to the Associated Press, Trenary was alone when he was shot on South Front St. around 8 p.m., near where the chamber was holding its annual "Move it Memphis" 4-mile run. He died later at Regional One Health hospital. "It is still unknown whether this was a robbery or a personal vendetta," said Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph. AP reports that police are on the lookout for "a black male with dreadlocks, wearing a blue shirt and driving a white four-door Ford F150." Prior to leading Pinnacle, Trenary founded Exec Express Airlines in his home state of Oklahoma in 1984. The company later moved to Texas, where it was renamed Lone Star Airlines. He moved to Memphis in 1997. Three years after leaving the airline industry in 2011, Trenary was named president and CEO of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, where he created the Chairman's Circle, a group of business leaders working towards improving the community. He was also a leader in supporting minorities, women, and locally owned businesses, the Tennessean reports. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland tweeted that he is "shocked at the senseless loss" of Trenary. We are currently on the scene of a shooting at 579 South Front. The suspect was possibly occupying a white pickup truck w/an extended cab & antenna. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone w/info should call Crime Stoppers @ 901-528-CASH. Trenary was a "civic leader and businessman ... extremely important to the City of Memphis," said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, in a statement. "He was totally immersed in the Memphis community, both as a celebrant and as a contributor." Trenary is survived by his wife, Bridget, and their three children. http://fortune.com/2018/09/28/trenary-pinnacle-ceo-killed/ Back to Top Asian Air Forces Recruit Women Fighter Pilots Culture and physiology are big obstacles On Aug. 23, 2018, Capt. Misa Matsushima, pictured at top, became the first woman to qualify to fly a jet fighter for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. Three more women soon followed. Before starting operational service, the 26-year-old Matsushima will practice intercepting intruders with the 305th squadron at Nyutabaru Air Base. The JASDF began training female pilots in 1997, but when Matsushima graduated from the National Defense Academ in 2014 the service still didn't permit women to fly fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. However, in 2015 the government of Shinzo Abe opened fighter pilot training to women as part of a larger initiative to increase the female participation from the current 6.4 percent percent of Japan's self defense force to nine percent by 2030. For comparison, women make up between nine and 15 percent of most Western militaries. More generally, since 2013 Abe has sought to increase female labor force participation to compensate for Japan's aging population and low birth rate. The JSDF is a volunteer force and is suffering severe shortfalls in personnel even as Abe seeks to build it up to counterbalance China. Therefore, boosting female participation expands the pool of talented individuals willing to serve in the JSDF. Lt. Misa, who told media she had been fascinated with jet fighters since she saw Top Gun in primary school, jumped on the opportunity to switch from transport to fighter training. She now flies an F-15J, a Japanese-built variant of the powerful twin-engine air-superiority fighter. Japan, however, is only the latest to join an Asia-wide trend to begin training female combat pilots since the turn of the 21st century. North American and European air arms began inducting female combat pilots in the 1990s. Today, nearly one-fifth of the active-duty U.S. Air Force is female - the highest percentage of any U.S. military service. However, out of 62,500 female personnel, that includes only 665 pilots, of which 100 are fighter pilots. Despite the prevalence of patriarchal values, Asian states hold various motives for recruiting female combat pilots linked to intensifying security competition involving China, it allies and its rivals in East and Southwest Asia. Competing states may feel pressure to 'keep up' with inclusion of females in each other's militaries. Women participating in the most elite and glamorized of military professions serve as symbols of a state's modernity and of female patriotism in the cause of national defense. For less developed countries like Afghanistan, female pilots instead may indicate a government's aspirations to modernize. After all, government sometimes use militaries to lead implementation of social reforms, such as when Truman ordered the U.S. military to desegregate in 1948, more than a decade before the Civil Rights Act. Asian women still generally face significant societal pressure to marry and bear children young - an imperative at odds with the grueling training and duties required of a fighter pilot. For example, the Chinese government urges women to marry by age 27, lest they become shèngn? or "left-over women." Not only may family members be unsupportive of a military aviation career path, but the high status of a female pilot may intimidate suitors. In fact, many female military pilots marry fellow aviators, and return to operational status even after becoming mothers. Most air arms induct women into transport and helicopter units before training any for fighter aircraft. Though modern fighters require greater and greater technical and analytical skills, physical strength and stamina remain vital due to the strain imposed by high speed and high-gravity air combat maneuvers. Some women fighter pilots have stated in interviews that high-gravity turns and especially heavy controls can be challenging for women of slight builds. "I am physically more petite than [male pilots], so I think in terms of the missions that require more maneuvering and higher G-forces, it takes a toll on my body," Singaporean F-15 pilot Maj. Nah Jinping told an interviewer. "I feel like I get tired more easily, and I pant faster." Nonetheless, if female pilots are tested to the same standards as men, than only those that can meet those exacting standards will qualify to fly combat aircraft. Singapore's first and only female F-15 fighter pilot Captain Nah Jin Ping Singapore, Malaysia and China Asian air arms are pursuing diverse paths to incorporating female pilots. Some, such as Singapore, simply open recruitment to women without deliberately courting them, and train them alongside male pilots. The city-state of 5.6 million people musters a hundred F-15s and F-16 multi-role fighters. Among the Republic of Singapore Air Force's ranks are female F-15 pilot Nah Jinping and F-16 pilots Khoo Teh Lynn and Lee Mei Yi. All entered the RSMAF after having received education and even flight training abroad. In neighboring Malaysia, Maj. Patricia Yapp became Asia's first female MiG-29 Fulcrum pilot, after having earlier qualified on the Italian-built MB.339 trainer/attack jet. The MiG-29N, operated by the No. 19 Squadron, are highly maneuverable short-range fighters bartered cheaply from a cash- strapped Russia in the 1990s in exchange for commodities such as stinky durian fruit. The Malaysian MiG-29N model boasts upgrades including an aerial refueling probe and beyond- visual-range-missile capability. However, the MiG-29s have proven very expensive to keep in the air due to poor reliability. Yapp, a 41-year old native of Sabha, recounted close calls such as a failure of the oxygen system in her MiG-29 that caused her to briefly lose consciousness. Earlier, while flying an MB-339, a fire consumed the turbojet engine, forcing her to make an emergency landing. Yapp eventually married an aviator in her squadron with whom she had two children. She continues to serve as a flight instructor. Though at least one other woman previously served in an RMAF A-4 squadron, the service doesn't appear to host additional female combat pilots, though female aviators serve in transport and helicopter squadrons. The People's Liberation Army Air Force follows a very different model from Singapore and Malaysia. do. Every few years, it trains an all-female cohort of prospective pilots. The PLAAF actually began formerly inducting female aviators before the U.S. military did, graduating the first 17 into service in 1952. However, for decades, the service channeled Chinese female pilots exclusively to the 38th Transport Regiment. That changed in the year 2005, when the PLAAF selected 35 applicants out of 200,000 to begin fighter pilot training - a group that eventually winnowed down to 16 graduates. Four went onto qualify on J-10 Vigorous Dragons, a maneuverable single-engine jet comparable to the F-16C/D. At least 10 fly older J-7s - clones of the Russian MiG-21 - while six qualified for JH-7 two-seater fighter-bombers and others pilot Z-9 helicopters and crew H-6 strategic bombers. In November 2016, one of the original four J-10 pilots - Capt. Yu Xu, known as "Golden Peacock" - died in a collision while flying in the backseat over Hebei province. The PLAAF does not share accident investigations with the public and it's not even clear if she was piloting at the time of the collision. Nonetheless, the accident led some to accuse the PLAAF of rushing female pilots into the Ba Yi aerobatics team with inadequate training. While Western teams typically require 1,500 flight hours, but the Ba Yi team mandates 1,000 flight hours. Yu Xu reportedly entered with 800. Undoubtedly, the PLAAF has thrust its female fighter pilots in the spotlight as symbols of its modernization drive. In June 2018, the PLAAF announced it had selected its latest cohort of 38 high school graduates to receive pilot training after subjecting them to over 100 tests. Reportedly, the new cadets are undergoing a grueling fitness regime in which they run 20 kilometers a day. Beijing is training dozens of female combat pilots-but has yet to integrate their recruitment with male pilots. Female fighter pilots introduced to the public Taiwan Taiwan commissioned its first female military pilots in 1993. Though most of the Republic of China Air Force's female fliers went on to fly trainers and transports, four or five qualified to operate supersonic F-5E Tiger II fighters, a lightweight jet exported by the United States in the 1970s. However, none could pass the G-force endurance test to fly Taiwan's more advanced fourth- generation fighters, which are capable of more demanding maneuvers. That test requires candidates to endure a spin inducing nine times the force of gravity for 15 seconds without passing out. However, in 2018 Captains Fan Yi-lin, Chiang Ching-hua and Chinag Hui-yu finally passed the test and a nine-month qualification course, and now respectively serve in Taiwan's 1st, 2nd and 4th Fighter Wings, which operate Mirage 2000s, indigenous F-CK-1s and F-16s. A fourth F-CK-1 pilot, Guo Wenjing, qualified in 2018 as well. Taiwan's military may seek to increase female participation above the current 13 percent. Otherwise it risks contracting sharply in size as it attempts to transition to an all-volunteer force. Video of Kim Jong Un taking pictures of female pilots The Koreas and The Philippines Both North and South Korea boast substantial cohorts of female aviators, though their respective aircraft couldn't be more different. Though female aviators such as Lee Jeong-hee and Kim Kyung-Oh played a role in the inception of the Republic of Korea Air Force in the late 1940s, the Air Force Academy in Cheongju didn't admit its first women until 1997. Five years later, the ROKAF commissioned its first three female combat pilots, who initially flew KA-1 turboprops and A-37 jet-powered ground attack aircraft. However, in 2007 Cap Ha Jung-mi became the first woman to qualify on a KF-16, a domestically built variant of the F-16 Block 52. Again, nine-G maneuvers proved a challenge. "After training for gravity acceleration, my thighs and arms would look like they were bruised because the capillary vessels had been ruptured," Ha told Chosun Ilbo. "They would only get back to normal after two to three days." By 2019, the ROKAF will count 19 females KF-16 pilots in addition to other types. The service promoted three women to vice-command of fighter squadrons, and in July 2018, Seoul announced a new plan to provide scholarships to recruit ten female pilots directly out of Korean universities each year, instead of recruiting solely through the Air Force Academy. Across the demilitarized zone, North Korea established its first female aviation unit in 1993 and in 2015 introduced mandatory conscription for women between the ages of 18 and 23. However, Pyongyang assigned its female aviators rickety old An-2 short-takeoff-and-landing biplane transports. Because the An-2 is unpressurized, the crew wear bulky leather bomber jackets. Nonetheless, female An-2s flier could face combat duty, as in a conflict with the South, the NKPAF would likely swarm hundreds over the DMZ at low altitude to drop bombs and insert commandoes. Slow-moving, fabric-covered biplanes hugging craggy Korean mountains would likely prove difficult to detect and intercept. However, in 2014 Pyongyang began training some female aviators in jet fighters, starting them off on antiquated MiG-15s that were hot rides during the Korean War. At least two pilots - Jo Kum Hyang and Rim Sol - qualified in 2015 to fly the ubiquitous MiG-21. Both were prominently featured in the Wonsan Air Show and had photo-ops with Kim Jong Un in 2014 and 2015, tearfully pledging to defend Kim through "a thousand miles of clouds and ten thousand miles of fire." Kim appears genuinely enthused by his "flowers of the sky", who can be touted as symbols of Pyongyang's modernity and juche, "self-reliance." However, it's unclear whether the KPAF is training more female jet fighter pilots, given the rusting air arm's limited combat capabilities versus potential adversaries. Currently, The Philippines's female fliers operate transports and helicopters - though in the 1990s, at least five women flew OV-10 Bronco attack planes and MD-520 scout/attack helicopters. One, Capt. Mary Grace Baloyo, died in a crash in 2001 attempting to maneuver her Bronco away from a populated area and became the first Filipina to receive the Medal of Valor. However, in February 2018, Lt. Catherine Mae Gonzales recently received a scholarship for flight training in the United States. It is expected that when she returns, she will fly one of six A-29 Tucano turboprop attack planes scheduled for delivery to The Philippines. Meanwhile, the Royal Thai Air Force began training a cohort of five female pilots in May 2016, though fighter qualification is not yet in the offing. Not all East Asian air arms are joining the trend. Notably, the Vietnamese People's Air Force, which has a proud heritage of air-to-air combat during the Vietnam War, does not appear to have any female combat pilots. https://warisboring.com/asian-air-forces-recruit-women-fighter-pilots/ Back to Top Getting There: Airlines experience nosedive in pilots Regional U.S. air carriers have begun canceling fights and eliminating service to smaller cities due to a shortage in pilots. Photo: Vincent Yu / Associated Press / AP International aviation is about to face a crisis: a shortage of pilots. Domestically, regional carriers, which represent 42 percent of all passengers, are already canceling flights and eliminating service to smaller cities. Qantas, the largest carrier in Australia, is pulling old 747s out of mothballs because it doesn't have enough qualified pilots for its 737s, the most dominate - and much more fuel efficient - aircraft in its fleet. Europe's biggest airline, Ryanair, canceled thousands of flights last November because of inadequate staffing. Japanese airlines are so desperate for pilots they are raising the mandatory retirement age to 67. In China's booming aviation market, airlines are luring experienced captains with salaries starting at $500,000, including signing bonuses. That's attracting U.S. pilots, who are also offered free business-class flights home to America every three weeks to see their families. The number of active U.S. commercial aviators dropped by 30,000 between 2008 and 2016 just as American carriers experienced a resurgence. About 1,000 Canadian pilots are estimated to now to be flying for oversees airlines, which offer better pay. Even the U.S. military is feeling the pain with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps suffering a 25 percent reduction in fighter pilot staffing. It costs up $11 million to train a single fighter pilot. So where are they going? To the commercial airlines, especially overseas. Boeing said the international aviation market will need 637,000 more pilots in the next 20 years as air traffic doubles. But where will these pilots be found? Aside from the military, it's been small domestic airlines that have been the traditional training ground for big U.S. airlines. But after a series of crashes, the FAA changed the rules in 2010 to require pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight time before stepping up to the big time. The U.S. Department of Transportation is now considering reducing that minimum. Just a few years ago, regional carriers paid their pilots as little as $20,000 a year. The hours were long and the rewards few. There was a popular joke among small airline pilots: What's the difference between a pilot and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four. The starting pay now at the regionals is closer to $50,000. Still, those recruits need extensive and expensive training that costs triple what it was in the 1990s. Graduates of the aviation colleges are starting their careers with up to $300,000 in student-loan debt. Now even flight instructors are in short supply. So too are designated flight examiners, who conduct mandatory "check rides" for pilot applicants who now must schedule those "driving tests" up to six months in advance. The use of simulators instead of actual in-air flight time may help trainees, though some suggest would-be pilots should start as early as high school in programs such as the U.S. Air Force's Junior ROTC. Bottom line: Until more pilots are properly trained, certified and paid a competitive wage, the pilot shortage will mean we will continue to see cuts in regular service, especially to smaller airports. "Getting There," if it's not to a big city, will be inconvenient and expensive, if even possible. https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Getting-There-Airlines-experience-nosedive-in-13256330.php Back to Top It's Official: NASA Just Announced a Bold 3-Part Plan to Send Humans to The Moon And Mars We're finally going back to the Moon, but this time we're going to stay. NASA's got a whole new plan. It wants boots on the Moon in 10 years and on Mars in 20. Give or take. On Wednesday, the space agency announced its detailed National Space Exploration Plan to achieve the President's lofty goals set out in his December 2017 Space Policy Directive-1. Those bold plans include: planning a new Moon landing, long-term human deployment on and around the Moon, reassertion of America's leadership in space, strengthening private space companies, and figure out how to get American astronauts to the surface of Mars. There are a lot of unknowns built into the plan, not the least of which is whether or not scientists can figure out a way to keep astronauts safe from the many hazards of space. Those smarties at NASA took that into account when detailing expected timelines for completing each goal in the 21-page report - from low Earth orbit (LEO), to cislunar space and then on Mars. Indeed, the timeframe within which NASA expects to reach key milestones along the way to their goals includes dates that NASA expects it will actually figure out certain parts of the plan. That's important because it means NASA will be able to incorporate what it learns along the way. Any claims - like the one published in NASA's new report - that astronauts will stroll around on Mars by the 2030s has flexibility built in and could change if NASA researchers hit a snag or two in the process. For instance, NASA plans to wait until the results of the Mars 2020 mission, during which a rover will collect and analyze samples from Mars' surface, before it will even begin to draft up a budget ask for the crewed mission that is slated for some time in the 2030s. That's just good thinking. But before NASA even starts to think about sending astronauts to Mars, there are even more fundamental mysteries to solve. For instance, NASA will be launching 13 CubeSats into low Earth orbit in 2020 so it can learn how to better prepare payloads for space travel, whether it be to the Moon, Mars, or beyond. Once those satellites are in orbit, NASA hopes to use what it's learned to put astronauts in lunar orbit by June 2022. These gaps in NASA's proposed plans aren't an accident - they represent key gaps in our understanding of space and interplanetary travel. Put another way: they represent the things NASA scientists want to learn. And if NASA sticks to this timeline, it will hopefully achieve it, which will guide us further into exploring space. https://www.sciencealert.com/it-s-official-nasa-just-announced-its-bold-new-plan-to-send-humans- to-the-moon-and-mars Back to Top Back to Top Back to Top Register Here Phone: (231)720-0930 (9-6 EST) Curt Lewis