Flight Safety Information October 15, 2018 - No. 209 In This Issue Incident: Transavia B738 at Rotterdam on Oct 14th 2018, flaps problem Incident: British Airways B744 at Miami on Oct 13th 2018, flaps problem Incident: Portugalia E195 at Lisbon on Oct 13th 2018, smoke problem on board Incident: Lufthansa A319 at Frankfurt on Oct 12th 2018, odour on board Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 at Geneva on Oct 13th 2018, smoke in cockpit EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: France B772 at Sao Paulo on Oct 13th 2018, Hail Damage Incident: Aeroflot SU95 at Moscow on Oct 12th 2018, gear problem on departure Incident: Scoot B789 near Perth on Oct 11th 2018, uncommanded engine shut down in flight Pilot 'rolled back throttle' in fatal helicopter crash Pressurized cabin factor in pilot fatality during opening of G150 door at Kittilä Airport, Finland LIBIK Fire Suppression Kits for the Cabin and Flight Deck FAA: Aviation accidents up from 2017 (Alaska) Air India crew member falls off aircraft, hospitalised Mechanic's Mistake Destroys Multi-Million Dollar Fighter Jet VisionSafe Tackles Airborne Smoke and Fire FAA Renews ADS-B Rebate Program Ernest Out At Textron Aviation New Career Path for Navy Pilots Aims to Curb Retention Crisis Most Expensive Global Express Jet Available for Charter Embraer launches longer-range private jets in turnaround push Another NASA space telescope shuts down in orbit GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Air Traffic Control Investigation from SCSI Position Available: Deputy Director of Safety Medallion Foundation - PROVIDING ASSURANCE IN YOUR SYSTEMS MITRE SMS December Courses '2018 International Aviation Safety and Education Summit HIGH ALTITUDE FLYING: WHAT EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW - Course Incident: Transavia B738 at Rotterdam on Oct 14th 2018, flaps problem A Transavia Boeing 737-800, registration N739MA performing flight HV-5022 from Malaga,SP (Spain) to Rotterdam (Netherlands), was on final approach to Rotterdam's runway 24 when the crew initiated a go around reporting a flaps problem. The crew subsequently decided to divert to Amsterdam (Netherlands). The crew declared emergency reporting the flaps were not responding, they needed to perform a flaps up landing. The aircraft landed safely on Amsterdam's runway 18R at a higher than normal speed about 30 minutes later. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bef8346&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: British Airways B744 at Miami on Oct 13th 2018, flaps problem A British Airways Boeing 747-400, registration G-BNLN performing flight BA-209 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Miami,FL (USA), was on final approach to Miami's runway 12 when the crew initiated a go around at about 1000 feet AGL due to a problem with the flaps. The aircraft climbed back to 3000 feet, the crew advised they needed some time to work the checklists. The crew subsequently positioned for another approach to runway 12 and landed safely at a normal speed about 20 minutes after the go around. A passenger reported the first officer announced they were going around for "technical issues". About 25 minutes later they landed successfully. The aircraft was able to depart for the return flight BA-208 with a delay of 90 minutes. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BAW209/history/20181013/1315Z/EGLL/KMIA http://avherald.com/h?article=4bef7b94&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Portugalia E195 at Lisbon on Oct 13th 2018, smoke problem on board A PGA Portugalia Airlines Embraer ERJ-195 on behalf of TAP Portugal, registration CS-TTX performing flight TP-494 from Lisbon (Portugal) to Toulouse (France) with 72 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Lisbon's runway 21 when the crew declared PAN PAN reporting they had a smoke problem on board. The aircraft stopped the climb at 5000 feet and returned to runway 21 for a safe landing about 25 minutes after departure. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 12 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bef815d&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Lufthansa A319 at Frankfurt on Oct 12th 2018, odour on board A Lufthansa Airbus A319-100, registration D-AILM performing flight LH-278 from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Milan Linate (Italy) with 113 passengers and 5 crew, was climbing out of Frankfurt's runway 18 when the crew stopped the climb at FL190 reporting an unusual odour on board. The aircraft returned to Frankfurt for a safe landing on runway 25C about 25 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. http://avherald.com/h?article=4beecbe6&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 at Geneva on Oct 13th 2018, smoke in cockpit A Lufthansa Cityline Canadair CRJ-900, registration D-ACNM performing flight LH-2382 from Munich (Germany) to Geneva (Switzerland) with 38 passengers and 4 crew, was descending through FL150 towards Geneva when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Geneva's runway 22 about 13 minutes later. The aircraft stopped on the runway, the passengers disembarked onto the runway via stairs and were bussed to the terminal. The runway was briefly closed, one flight was diverted as result. The return fligh LH-2383 was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Geneva about 13 hours after landing. The airline reported the crew noticed an unusual odour like a burning wire in the cockpit and made a precautionary landing in Geneva, there had been no smoke. Maintenance is currently checking the aircraft. http://avherald.com/h?article=4beec724&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: France B772 at Sao Paulo on Oct 13th 2018, Hail Damage An Air France Boeing 777-200, registration F-GSPS performing flight AF-457 from Sao Paulo Guarulos,SP (Brazil) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was climbing out of Sao Paulo's runway 27R when the aircraft encountered hail prompting the crew to stop the climb at FL270, descend the aircraft to FL200, dump fuel and divert to Rio de Janeiro,RJ (Brazil), where the aircraft landed safely on Rio's runway 11 about 75 minutes after departure. The Aviation Herald was actually told by the source also providing the photo below: "The aircraft took off, hit clouds with ice and damaged the radome." Metars: SBGR 140000Z 02002KT 9999 TS FEW011 FEW021CB OVC100 20/20 Q1018 RERA= SBGR 132345Z 03002KT 9999 TS FEW011 FEW021CB OVC080 20/20 Q1018 RERA= SBGR 132325Z 00000KT 7000 TSRA BKN011 FEW021CB OVC100 20/20 Q1018= SBGR 132300Z 16006KT 9999 -RA BKN011 OVC100 21/20 Q1018= SBGR 132200Z 17011KT 130V210 9999 BKN009 22/21 Q1017= SBGR 132100Z 00000KT CAVOK 23/23 Q1015= SBGR 132000Z 16002KT CAVOK 26/21 Q1014= SBGR 131900Z 21006KT 9999 SCT040 FEW050TCU 25/20 Q1014= SBGR 131800Z 27011KT 9999 SCT040 FEW050TCU 30/20 Q1014= SBGR 131700Z 29012G22KT 9999 SCT040 BKN100 31/20 Q1014= SBGR 131600Z 28013KT CAVOK 31/21 Q1015= SBGR 131500Z 30011KT CAVOK 30/20 Q1015= F-GSPS with reshaped nose cone: http://avherald.com/h?article=4bef5d12&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Aeroflot SU95 at Moscow on Oct 12th 2018, gear problem on departure An Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100-95, registration RA-89027 performing flight SU-1384 from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia), was climbing out of Sheremetyevo's runway 24L when the crew stopped the climb at FL100 due to an abnormal gear indication. The aircraft returned to Moscow for a safe landing on Sheremetyevo's runway 24L about 45 minutes after departure. A replacement Superjet 100-95 registration RA-89024 reached Khanty-Mansiysk with a delay of 3:10 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 17 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bee210f&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Scoot B789 near Perth on Oct 11th 2018, uncommanded engine shut down in flight A Scoot Airlines Boeing 787-900, registration 9V-OJE performing flight TR-16 from Singapore (Singapore) to Perth,WA (Australia), was descending towards Perth when the right hand engine (Trent 1000) shut down without command. The crew continued the approach for a safe landing on Perth's runway 21. The return flight TR-17 was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. Australia's TSB reported: "While descending into Perth, there was an uncommanded in-flight shut down of the right engine. The flight crew continued the approach and the aircraft landed safely." The occurrence was rated an incident and is being investigated. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bee1eef&opt=0 Back to Top Pilot 'rolled back throttle' in fatal helicopter crash 14-year-old sole survivor shares memory of crash with federal investigators The wreckage of a crashed Airbus AS350-B3e is seen near Lituya Bay in early October in a photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. The sole survivor of a fatal helicopter crash has given federal investigators their first insight into the event that killed three people Sept. 28. In a preliminary report issued Wednesday, investigator Joshua Lindberg wrote that the 14-year-old passenger said the pilot "reached down and rolled the throttle off" before the accident and that the helicopter entered a free fall from about 500 feet up. The passenger said the pilot increased throttle before the accident, but that the helicopter still hit the beach near Lituya Bay. The passenger remembers the impact and water splashing into the wreck, but he then fell unconscious. It was not clear which of the helicopter's two pilots adjusted the throttle. The passenger doesn't know what the pilot's actions mean, Lindberg said, and "at this point, neither do we." According to information initially provided to the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service (then subsequently confirmed by the NTSB), the crashed helicopter was an Airbus AS350-B3e en route from the factory in Grand Prairie Texas to Anchorage. It had taken off from Juneau and was headed to Yakutat as part of its ferry flight when it crashed on a beach in Glacier Bay National Park. Fifty-three-year-old Palmer resident David King, 42-year-old Anchorage resident Joshua Pepperd and 11-year-old Andrew Pepperd were killed in the crash. Fourteen-year-old Aiden Pepperd was found injured but alive by the U.S. Coast Guard after the accident. While Alaska has the highest aviation accident rate in the country, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics, this crash is somewhat unusual in that it involves a new aircraft with two pilots aboard, Lindberg said. For insurance purposes, King had been hired as a safety pilot to accompany the flight. According to the NTSB report, which was based on GPS recordings, the helicopter left Juneau and traveled over Glacier Bay at 3,000-4,000 feet before following the coastline about 500 to 700 feet above the ground. The last GPS reading had the helicopter at 500 feet. Investigators arrived at the wreckage two days after the accident, but the tide had washed away some of the debris, Lindberg said. While part of the instrument panel was among the pieces washed away, the NTSB did recover the engine data recorder, engine control unit and a camera that monitored the instruments and the pilot's actions. All of the recorders were taken to Washington, D.C. for analysis. Lindberg said finding the cause of the crash will take time. How much time depends on the course of the investigation, but a ballpark figure is 12 to 18 months. "The reason that those take so long is that there's a lot of information to process," he said. "There's a lot that goes into an accident like this." https://www.juneauempire.com/news/pilot-rolled-back-throttle-in-fatal-helicopter-crash/ Back to Top Pressurized cabin factor in pilot fatality during opening of G150 door at Kittilä Airport, Finland Status: Final Date: Thursday 4 January 2018 Time: ca 16:00 Type: Gulfstream G150 Operator: Private Airlines Germany Registration: OE-GKA C/n / msn: 300 First flight: 2011 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Ground casualties: Fatalities: 1 Aircraft damage: Substantial Aircraft fate: Repaired Location: Kittilä Airport (KTT) ( Finland) Phase: Standing (STD) Nature: Ferry/positioning Departure airport: Kittilä Airport (KTT/EFKT), Finland Destination airport: Ekaterinburg-Koltsovo Airport (SVX/USSS), Russia Narrative: A Gulfstream G150 business jet, OE-GKA, arrived at Kittilä Airport in Finland in the afternoon of 2 January 2018. The jet carried four passengers and a three-person crew. The aircraft was parked at the north end of the apron. Once the passengers had left, the flight crew put covers on the engines and external sensors. The next planned flight was a positioning flight on 4 January 2018, to Ekaterinburg, Russia, without passengers. The crew arrived at the airport to prepare for the flight at approximately 15:00. Take-off, as per the flight plan, was to happen at 17:00. The ground handling company transported them to the aircraft by bus at approximately 15:20. The captain opened the door at which time the cabin assistant entered the cabin. The captain and the co-pilot placed their flight bags behind the cockpit and went back outside. The co-pilot placed the aircrew's baggage into the rear baggage compartment which opens from the outside. The captain and the co-pilot removed the engine covers which they had put in place on the day of their arrival. These were put into their own storage bags and also placed in the baggage compartment. Following this, the captain went into the cockpit and started the APU, which generates electricity for aircraft systems and bleed air for heating the cabin. The co-pilot began to brush off the snow that had fallen on the aircraft. A moment later the captain came out to help the co-pilot. At first, he worked with his bare hands. Due to the extremely cold conditions (-22°C), however, he went back inside to fetch a pair of gloves. When he came back out, he closed the door. A little later the cabin assistant inside the cabin felt strange pressure in her ears and chest. She went into the cockpit and attempted to get the attention of the pilots working outside by knocking on the window. The pilots noticed the knocking and the captain went to open the door. According to the co-pilot's observations it was unusually difficult for the captain to get the door open. Then, the captain pulled harder on the door handle at which time the door blew open with excessive force, hitting the captain who was standing underneath the door and knocking him to the ground. The pressure wave also knocked the co-pilot down, who had been standing approximately one metre from the left side of the door. The co-pilot stood up and saw the captain lying on his back on the ground. Realising that the captain was unconscious, the co-pilot turned him on his side. Then he entered the cabin and saw the cabin assistant in a semi-seated position on the floor of the cabin. The co-pilot shook the assistant's shoulder and advised her to go outside. The captain died as a result of the serious injuries he sustained at the site of the occurrence. The co-pilot had not sustained any physical injuries. The cabin assistant had bruises on her right arm, continued to feel chest pain and was diagnosed with a mild concussion. The cabin sustained substantial damage. The cockpit's aft left bulkhead and the cabin's forward left bulkhead were nearly torn off. Probable Cause: CONCLUSIONS: 1. When the aircraft is parked outside for a longer period, some pilots may close the outflow valve to prevent the ingestion of contaminants into the valve, or upstream into the cabin. 2. When the APU is being run one must check that the outflow valve is fully open. If it is not possible to ensure that the valve is open or to remove differential pressure by other means, the door must not be closed. 3. The door had no indication warning of excessive cabin pressure, nor an opening for depressurisation. The cabin was pressurised because the APU bleed air was ducted into the cabin, the outflow valve was closed and the door was also closed. Significant differential pressure existed between the cabin and the outside. 4. Cabin pressurisation on the ground also creates a hazard for several other groups of professionals, such as aircraft mechanics, ground handling staff, aircraft cargo loaders and rescue personneL. Accident investigation: Investigating agency: AIB Finland Status: Investigation completed Duration: 280 days (9 months) Accident number: L2018-01 Download report: Final report Classification: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20180104-0 Back to Top Back to Top FAA: Aviation accidents up from 2017 (Alaska) Long-term trend continues advance toward safety New statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration show a slight year-over-year increase in the number of aviation accidents in Alaska. The figures were released Wednesday at a regular meeting of the Alaska aviation industry council in Anchorage. According to the FAA, there were 95 reported aviation accidents between Oct. 1, 2017 and Sept. 30, 2018, a period coinciding with the federal fiscal year. That's up from 87 accidents during the same period from 2016 to 2017. The number of accidents involving fatalities or serious injuries rose from 15 to 17. "I'm not seeing a real trend," said Tom George, manager of the Alaska chapter of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and one of the people familiar with the information from Wednesday's meeting. Since the 1990s, the number of aircraft accidents has fallen in Alaska, but within the past 10 years, that trend has leveled off and may have reversed itself. The number of accidents has risen each of the past three years. "It's more likely that FY15 was a very low year," George said by phone from Fairbanks. "The trend is still generally a downward trend." He also cautioned that without knowing how many aircraft were flying (and for how long), there's no way to tell if the increase is because there are more flights or because the existing flights are becoming less safe. Ian Gregor, a spokesperson for the FAA's Pacific Division said by email that "accident numbers are always fluid, and for many different reasons. We don't have an answer as to why FY18 accidents were higher than the previous year, but it is not an abnormally large increase." Historically, most Alaska aviation accidents occur in the fall, when moose and deer hunters travel to remote locations amid worsening weather conditions. September is the most accident-prone month, according to recent averages. That wasn't the case this past year. In June 2018, 23 accidents were reported to the FAA, nearly three times the average. "As far as accidents in June, the NTSB hasn't yet released the probable cause for them so it's not really possible to address the issue of why there was a surge that month. Again, accident numbers are fluid," Gregor wrote. The Empire examined available accident investigation information from the National Transportation Safety Board and found that the June incidents mostly consisted of private aircraft encountering problems in remote locations. Notably, an aircraft crashed in Sitka's Katlian River, killing two people, and two aircraft collided with each other north of Anchorage, killing one. A flightseeing floatplane suffered an accident while landing in Sitka, and more than a dozen other aircraft suffered the aviation equivalent of fender-benders. According to FAA data, 50 of the 95 accidents during the last fiscal year happened during landing, and half of those took place away from airports. "You're probably never going to get to zero accidents," George said, but improved training and practice do help pilots prevent them. George's organization has also lobbied the federal government and state to improve Alaska's aviation infrastructure, particularly with regard to weather forecasting. Without proper observing equipment, he said, pilots don't have good information and forecasters can't tell them what to expect. "If you do have bad weather, it's not like you can turn around and land at an airport 20 miles away," he said. The recent FAA funding bill passed by Congress includes money for additional weather stations, and George expects that will help. "There are some things on the horizon that could make this situation better than it is today," he said. https://www.juneauempire.com/news/faa-aviation-accidents-up-from-2017/ Back to Top Air India crew member falls off aircraft, hospitalised Air India aircraft parked at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Mumbai A 53-year-old air hostess suffered serious injuries after falling off an Air India aircraft which was getting ready for departure for New Delhi from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, a source said Monday. The incident happened on Air India flight AI 864 operating on Mumbai-Delhi route, according to the airline source. "The woman crew member was closing the door for the push back when she fell from the aircraft, " the source said. She has been admitted to Nanavati Hospital. Air India spokesperson was not immediately available for comments. https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/air-india-crew-member-falls-off-aircraft-hospitalised-1.2289947 Back to Top Mechanic's Mistake Destroys Multi-Million Dollar Fighter Jet A blast from a Vulcan cannon destroyed another jet A Belgian F-16 fighter jet lands in Greece. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File) (NEWSER) - With mechanics like these, who needs enemies? While servicing a fighter jet at a Belgian airfield, a mechanic accidentally fired a Vulcan cannon mounted on the aircraft and destroyed another F-16 jet that was on the tarmac (see images here). Authorities at Florennes airfield are investigating the Thursday incident, RTBF television reports, via Business Insider, with a colonel saying, "You can't help thinking of what a disaster this could have been." Two mechanics were reportedly treated for hearing loss-the only injuries reported (notwithstanding the jets). Loaded with fuel, the F-16 hit by cannon fire burst into flames and was completely destroyed, Avio News reports, adding that two other jets were slightly damaged. About 30 firefighters were called to the scene, along with other emergency personnel, per the Telegraph. The Belgian F-16s are used to patrol NATO's frontier with Russia, according to Business Insider. Each one of the US-made aircraft costs millions of dollars. http://www.newser.com/story/265905/mechanics-mistake-destroys-multi-million-dollar-fighter-jet.html Back to Top VisionSafe Tackles Airborne Smoke and Fire Long known for its EVAS cockpit smoke system, VisionSafe is now addressing onboard fires from lithium-ion battery-powered devices. Any kind of fire in an aircraft is extremely dangerous, and VisionSafe offers products that help mitigate smoke and fire issues in both flight decks and cabins. The company pioneered a way for pilots to be able to see through smoke with its Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS). And with lithium-ion battery-powered devices proliferating throughout the aircraft, VisionSafe is recommending the Highwater Innovations PlaneGard Lithium Battery Box for containment of a lithium-ion battery fire. The EVAS looks deceptively simple, consisting of an inflatable bag with see-through windows that allow one of the pilots to view the instrument panel and see through the windshield in a smoke-filled flight deck. The bag inflates, powered by its own set of alkaline batteries, and a fan fills the bag with air and holds it firmly against the instrument panel and windshield. The pilot, wearing an oxygen mask, pushes his or her face against the clear window of the EVAS, which allows a clear view through the smoke-free bag. Fire Containment Case How the EVAS works is easier to understand after watching a demonstration at the VisionSafe booth (763), where a dummy cockpit fills with smoke and a "pilot" sits inside and shows how the bag enables a clear view of the instrument panel and windshield. The EVAS is STC'd in a number of business aircraft and airliners and is a factory option on jets such as the Gulfstream G450, G550, and G280 and standard on the G650. The G280 STC was issued last month. All of Dassault's in-production Falcon jets are approved for the EVAS as well as out-of-production models such as the Falcon 50. More than 5,000 EVAS units have been sold, 60 percent for business aircraft, with 30 percent for airlines and 10 percent for government/military aircraft. "Recent news and recommendations from the FAA have highlighted the importance for cockpit smoke protection to ensure the safety of pilots and passengers," said VisionSafe vice president Jonathan Parker. "Since 1992, the FAA has recommended that aircraft are certified to a higher standard for pilot vision protection in smoke." EXTINGUISHING DEVICE FIRES VisionSafe took on representation of the PlaneGard system because customers had been asking what to do about fires in the cabin due to growing numbers of lithium-ion battery incidents. A few weeks before the NBAA show, VisionSafe hosted a demonstration of a lithium-ion battery thermal runaway in the parking lot at Signature Flight Support West at Teterboro Airport. Although the demo included containment of the fire using a PlaneGard box, the purpose of the demo was to show flight crew the risk of carrying lithium-ion batteries on aircraft. So many passengers and pilots carry multiple mobile devices on board, and lithium-ion battery chemistry has become the go-to power product for manufacturers that want to deliver a lot of features and capabilities. For the demo, an old laptop powered by the ubiquitous 18650 lithium-ion batteries was set up with wires attached that would heat the batteries slowly to 300 degrees F. Although the laptops contain six of these battery cells, for the demo only two cells were installed. The laptop was placed behind a Plexiglas barrier, and viewers were encouraged to wear face masks to mitigate toxic fumes emitted by the burning batteries. It took about five minutes for the batteries to heat up enough to burn, and when they did, a jet of flame shot out of the laptop. This happened twice, once for each cell. The flame was at least two feet long. PlaneGard's George Brilmyer took the PlaneGard box and held it over the smoking laptop, then opened the box fully and lowered it onto the laptop and pushed the sides together to contain the fiery debris. He wore heat-resistant gloves and a pair of protective goggles, which are included with the PlaneGard box, along with a grabber device that can be used to flip a burning device onto a flat surface where it is in position to be contained with the box. Once contained, the smoke remained in the box and didn't leak out. The PlaneGard box includes a port for adding water, which the FAA recommends for putting out lithium-ion battery fires, but Brilmyer said water isn't necessary because the box fully contains any flames and smoke. The box is lined inside with heat-absorbing tile material. Once the fire is contained, the flight can continue to its destination, and the PlaneGard box handed over to airport firefighters. VisionSafe and PlaneGard don't recommend using insulated bags to contain lithium-ion battery fires because of the risk of leakage of smoke and toxic fumes. During a second demonstration, the burning laptop was placed in one such bag, the type with a hook-and-loop seal. Smoke escaped from the bag during this demo. Of course, there are other bag systems with double containment that includes a sealed zipper, but that type of system wasn't part of the demonstration. The companies' recommendation regarding bags has more to do with the safety of handling a burning device. The FAA has issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO 09013) that addresses the handling issue, warning that "Transferring a burning appliance into a burn bag may be extremely hazardous." Until all the cells in a device burn out, there is a possibility of a cell exploding or shooting flames, and this could injure a person trying to pick up the device to put it in a bag. The SAFO still does recommend water for fighting lithium-ion battery fires: "Fighting a fire that contains either disposable or rechargeable lithium battery cells requires extinguishment of the fire and cooling of the remaining cells to stop the thermal runaway. Water is the most effective coolant." PlaneGard comes in three sizes, and prices start at $2,500. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-10-14/visionsafe-tackles-airborne-smoke-and-fire Back to Top FAA Renews ADS-B Rebate Program With the 2020 ADS-B deadline looming, the FAA is reopening its rebate program to incentivize light general aviation operators to install ADS-B Out-compliant equipment on their aircraft. Beginning today, the agency is offering $500 rebates to owners of fixed-wing, single-engine piston aircraft who purchase qualifying equipment. This offer is expected to run for one year "or until funds for all the remaining rebates are exhausted, whichever comes first." To qualify, aircraft must have been registered before Jan. 1, 2016. In addition, the equipment must have TSO authorization and meet ADS-B Out rule requirements, the agency said. Software upgrades to existing equipment are not eligible. Rebate reservations must be made within 90 days of installation. The FAA previously had run a year-long rebate program, taking reservations through Sept. 18, 2017. But as many as one-third of the available rebates had been left unclaimed, then FAA administrator Michael Huerta said at the time, adding that "we're just not where we want to be" on equipage. AOPA praised the FAA's decision to reopen the rebate, estimating that the $4.9 million available under the new rebate program will help fund 9,800 new installations. Association president and CEO Mark Baker said this "will make our skies safer and more efficient by incentivizing even more pilots to adopt the cutting-edge technology." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-10-12/faa-renews-ads-b-rebate-program Back to Top Ernest Out At Textron Aviation On the eve of the National Business Aviation Association convention (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando, Textron has shifted the sometimes-controversial president of its aviation division, Scott Ernest, to the arm of the company that makes golf carts, snowmobiles and lawn mowers. Replacing him is the former head of operations for the aviation division Ron Draper. Under Ernest, Textron Aviation developed several new business jet designs that will be the centerpiece of the Textron display at Orlando Executive Airport, including the Longitude and Latitude. He also presided over the cancellation of several programs, including the diesel Cessna 182, the 162 LSA, the high-performance single TTX and the Citation Mustang. Draper has worked mainly in the background ensuring the wide variety of production lines ran smoothly. He's a West Point graduate who served as an Army helicopter pilot. Ernest is not a pilot and came to Textron from GE's aviation division. Ernest succeeded former CEO Jack Pelton, who is now chairman of EAA. Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said Ernest took the aviation division "to the next level" and he expects him to do the same at the golf cart and delivery vehicle division. "Scott Ernest begins his leadership of Textron Specialized Vehicles at a time when his experience will be especially valuable," added Donnelly. "The business continues to expand its product line and build out its dealer network, which is vital for our plans to grow sales in the US and internationally." https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Ernest-Out-At-Textron-Aviation-231674-1.html Back to Top New Career Path for Navy Pilots Aims to Curb Retention Crisis Oct. 12--The Navy hopes a new program scheduled to kick off sometime next year will help combat manning shortages in the service's pilot community. The Professional Flight Instructor program will provide well-qualified pilots and naval flight officers a chance to continue as flight instructors later in their careers, according to a naval administrative message issued Sept. 28. Serving as an alternative to the traditional sea/shore rotational career path, the new program will offer greater assignment stability for those selected, the message said. "The PFI program will help improve retention by providing greater career flexibility for officers and their families while leveraging on enhanced fleet experiences and critical instructional skillsets of our current cadres of Aviation Warfighting Professionals," Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Creighan, the program's director, told Stars and Stripes in an email Oct. 7. Officers selected to become flight instructors can remain in the program until they choose to withdraw or retire, the Navy message said. Those who leave will no longer be eligible for command consideration, though they can still qualify for a statutory promotion board consideration. The Navy is now accepting applications from qualified aviators and flight officers for the first PFI board, scheduled for Nov. 20, the message said. The program itself is expected to start sometime in 2019. The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps are all facing a pilot-retention crisis. The Air Force and Navy began offering bonuses to their pilots earlier this year. In March, the Navy increased the bonus available for certain officers to $175,000 for those willing to serve five more years. https://www.aviationpros.com/news/12433330/new-career-path-for-navy-pilots-aims-to-curb-retention-crisis Back to Top Most Expensive Global Express Jet Available for Charter Jet Edge has delivered a fully tricked out Bombardier Global Express with the latest tech and a sleek modern interior. In an intimate ceremony at Jet Edge's new headquarters in Van Nuys, Calif., the aircraft services company delivered to its new owner a custom Bombardier Global Express that had been completely reworked top to bottom, inside and out-making it the most expensive Global Express in the world. The best part, you ask? Jet Edge will be offering the plane for charter soon. In fact, the list of folks signed up to fly in the new plane include one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived and one of the top three richest people in the world-and there's nothing stopping you from joining these rarified ranks. After thanks were made and tacos served, I had the chance to take a tour of the plane to get a firsthand look at its radical makeover. Stepping up the gangway, the first thing you notice is the beautiful galley, with its shiny appliances and glittering glassware. The effect is made all the more stunning by one of the plane's most unique features-its mood lighting system-which can illuminate the three different zones of the jet to a specific time of day (think 15 before sunrise, 5 minutes into sunset) or color profile. You can also set your own color profiles (holiday themes, anyone?). The mood lighting system, which is now available on some Bombardier models, is the first of its kind to be retrofitted onto a Global Express, according to Jet Edge. Once aboard, you are treated to a sleek black-and-white toned cabin-completion was handled by West Star Aviation-with an abundance of chrome. The look is certainly modern, but it retains a sense of timelessness, with the shiny accents even giving it hints of art deco styling. Walking through the planes, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for whoever has to clean all of the glossy and chrome surfaces. The seats-with full lumbar support-were all custom furnished, with white leather fronts and black velvet backs, a combo that even carries over to the pillows, which were made from excess material from the seats. To show you the level of detail that went into this project, each seat has a gray line running down its center like a racing stripe. If you look closely, this stripe is actually composed of two separate stitched sections. When the plane was being outfitted, the project lead noticed that the stitched sides were not perfectly even, so they worked with the manufacturers to remove or add layers to make them the exact same heights. The jet is composed of three sections: the galley and crew rest area, the main lounge, and an aft section that can serve as a private lounge or be converted into a king-size berth. In the main lounge, a 42-inch television is attached to the bulkhead rather than stowed inside the credenza it's mounted above. The benefits of this are twofold: without the space allotted to stow the TV, the credenza has much more room, and without the TV resting on it, it can become informal seating. In addition to the TVs, sound system, and cabin entertainment system, the plane is also equipped with some of the fastest airborne Wi-Fi available. For domestic wireless internet, the plane uses the ground-based GoGo system, but for international travel, it uses Honeywell's JetWave satellite-based Internet, which can deliver true broadband speeds (up to 33 Mbps) to let multiple people stream movies, music, etc. For Jet Edge, the delivery of this plane is a significant milestone, representing the most ambitious display of their capabilities. This plane represents the level of clientele we attract here and how we do everything from cradle to grave," says Jet Edge CEO Bill Papariella, "We sourced the plane, we sold the plane, we helped negotiate the refurb on the plane, we brought it and delivered it, and now we're going to operate it." The Global Express, now dubbed One Express, is available for charter at the rate of $8,000 per hour. For context, that means that the average price of a flight from L.A. to London is $200,000-though you will be able to take 12 people and berth six. So if you're interested in booking the new plane, reach out to Jet Edge's booking team directly at sales@flyjetedge.com. https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/most-expensive-global-express-jet-charter-2822761/ Back to Top Embraer launches longer-range private jets in turnaround push Embraer business jet plane, the New Praetor 600 Bossa Nova Edition, is seen in this image released by Embraer North America, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., October 12, 2018. ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Embraer SA is adding two longer-range business jet variants to its mid-sized Legacy line, featuring revamped cabins and technology that reduces turbulence to create smoother flights, the Brazilian plane maker said on Sunday. The launch of the two Praetor models - named after Ancient Roman officials - coincides with the business jet industry's flagship show in Orlando from Oct. 16 to 18 and comes as Embraer pursues a broader strategy to revitalize its loss-making executive jet division. When the Praetor models hit the market in 2019, they will join a fiercely competitive space that includes Bombardier's Challenger 350 and Gulfstream's G280, along with Textron's upcoming Cessna Citation Longitude. Embraer's corporate jet push is important because the company will no longer be able to count on its best-performing commercial division if its deal to merge that business with Boeing Co. goes forward. Embraer and Boeing announced the $4.75 billion commercial jet alliance in July. If the Brazilian government agrees the deal with Boeing, Embraer will be left with two remaining divisions, both in the red: executive jets and defense. Embraer chief executive Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva said on Sunday the deal with Boeing would also deliver advantages in materials purchasing for Embraer's business jet division, but that it was too early to say how much it would save. "It's under discussion," he said. "I think the partnership with Boeing will help with Embraer's whole business." The business jet division has about a 22 percent market share in terms of units, he added. The Praetor launch comes under the direction of Michael Amalfitano, who took over Embraer's executive jet division in 2017 with a plan to deliver new features that generate higher margins. "The customer appreciates that value and therefore that value allows us to maintain prices," Amalfitano said at the launch. Amalfitano said Embraer has already secured firm orders for the Praetor planes, although he declined to give figures. The super-midsized Praetor 600 can fly four well-heeled travelers nonstop between London and New York, or eight passengers on that route at a slower speed. For years, Embraer grew market share by offering hefty discounts on its corporate planes. But Amalfitano has told investors he will avoid discounts in a push to grow margins to the mid-single digit by year-end. "They are in a transition right now," U.S. aviation analyst Rolland Vincent said of Embraer's business aircraft. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/embraer-launches-longer-range-midsized-private-jets-turnaround-160301854--finance.html Back to Top Another NASA space telescope shuts down in orbit Another NASA space telescope has shut down and halted science observations. Less than a week after the Hubble Space Telescope went offline, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has shut itself down. The US space agency said on Friday that Chandra has automatically went into so-called safe mode on Wednesday, possibly because of a gyroscope problem. A gyroscope is a device used to point and stabilize the observatory. Hubble went into hibernation last Friday due to a gyroscope failure. Both orbiting observatories are old and in well-extended missions: Hubble is 28, while Chandra is 19. Flight controllers are working to resume operations with both. NASA said it's coincidental both went "asleep" within a week of one another. An astronomer who works on Chandra, Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, tweeted on Friday that "Chandra decided that if Hubble could have a little vacation, it wanted one, too." Launched by space shuttles in the 1990s, Hubble and Chandra are part of NASA's Great Observatories series. The others are the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, which was also launched in the 1990s but eventually failed and was destroyed, and the Spitzer Space Telescope, launched in 2003 and is still working. Each was intended to observe the cosmos in different wavelengths. https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774e7759444f7a457a6333566d54/share_p.html Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY I am a grad student at City University of London and am completing work on my Masters in Aviation Safety. In my thesis I am trying to determine what the competencies are for being an airline Captain. This is to complement the 9 competencies That ICAO identifies for training pilots. My ultimate goal is to identify the relevant competencies and determine if they are trainable from a flight education standpoint. The first step is to determine the state of Captain/Command training in the United States. The link provided for a survey via survey monkey that hopefully will help me establish a baseline of where we are at in the industry in the US. Thank you for your consideration. Regards, Captain Jeff Kilmer FDX 901-651-6070 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/58SMR3B Back to Top Back to Top Deputy Director of Safety Overview: The Deputy Director of Safety is responsible for supporting the association's existing aviation safety programs and developing new safety initiatives to benefit HAI's membership. Essential Functions of the Position Include, but Are Not Limited To: • Providing auxiliary support to the Director of Safety • Serving as the HAI safety representative on various industry, government, and international boards, task forces, and meetings • Providing feedback for the association's response to proposed safety-related regulations and legislative initiatives • Collecting, researching, and analyzing safety and accident data for subsequent statistical reporting • Developing and implementing new HAI industry safety initiatives • Routinely interacting with aviation related agencies and organizations in support of the rotorcraft industry • Supporting all aspects of HAI's accreditation programs (IS-BAO & HAI APS) that assist helicopter operators in reducing incidents and accidents, while improving industry safety culture • Providing safety supervision for flight activities at the association's annual trade show and exposition, HAI HELI-EXPO® • Responding to requests for rotorcraft safety assistance from HAI members and the general public • Serving as staff liaison for assigned HAI committees • Contributing content for use in HAI's printed and electronic publications • Making safety presentations on behalf of HAI as necessary • Other duties as assigned The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. Desired Qualifications for the Position Include: • College or advanced degree related to aviation safety and/or management • Five or more years of related helicopter safety background, training, and experience • Certificated helicopter pilot and/or maintenance technician • Previous experience with helicopter or other aviation-related organization • Prior international experience preferred • Experience with auditing protocols and accreditation programs • A passionate commitment to the promotion of helicopter safety • Highly motivated, able to work independently and in a team environment • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with prior experience in creating and delivering written proposals and public presentations • Research, data analysis, and report writing experience • Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite • Detail oriented, self-starter, with strong organizational and time management skills • Ability to travel The above qualifications are representative, but not all-inclusive, of the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position. APPLY HERE Register Here Phone: (231)720-0930 (9-6 EST) Curt Lewis