Flight Safety Information October 25, 2018 - No. 217 In This Issue Incident: Delta B739 at Minneapolis on Oct 23rd 2018, cockpit window open Incident: Southwest B737 at Manchester on Oct 23rd 2018, lightning strike Incident: United B738 at New York on Oct 23rd 2018, engine problem Aerolineas Argentinas flight leaves 15 injured after experiencing severe turbulence EASA extended Conflict Zone Information Bulletins for Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, and Somalia Airline says man fought flight attendant, opened door of taxiing Frontier plane Calm Air bans employees in safety-sensitive positions from using cannabis 45 days before work Aviation safety depends on recruiting the right people (Africa) A Chat With FedEx's VP Safety Congress, FAA, Industry Encourage Voluntary Reporting Of Information FAA UNDER SURVEILLANCE...GAO INVESTIGATING AGENCY'S OVERSIGHT OF PRICING, TRANSPARENCY, AND AIRPORT Aegean Airlines to buy Pratt engines Delta has transformed since merger with Northwest 10 years ago Winter Is Coming For Low-Cost Airlines; Will Norwegian Survive? Advanced Composite Aircraft Structures Repair Training GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE HIGH ALTITUDE FLYING: WHAT EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW - Course Gas Turbine Accident Investigation from SCSI Upcoming USC Aviation Safety Courses Incident: Delta B739 at Minneapolis on Oct 23rd 2018, cockpit window open A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N809DN performing flight DL-589 from Minneapolis,MN to Seattle,WA (USA) with 169 people on board, was climbing out of Minneapolis' runway 30R when departure attempted to contact the aircraft multiple times but didn't receive a response. Departure called a company aircraft to talk to Delta dispatch and send DL-589 onto a specific frequency but cancelled the request soon after telling the company crew that ATC had gotten hold of DL-589. DL-589 reported on the tower frequency again stating they had their window open, a lot of background noise could be heard, the crew stated they couldn't hear a word. DL-589 stopped the climb at about 7000 feet and returned to Minneapolis for a safe landing on runway 30L about 20 minutes after departure. The crew advised the sliding window had come off the rails. The airline reported there had been a problem with the seals of the first officer's windshield. A replacement Boeing 737-900 registration N824DN reached Seattle with a delay of 2.5 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL589/history/20181023/1625Z/KMSP/KSEA http://avherald.com/h?article=4bf6199a&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Southwest B737 at Manchester on Oct 23rd 2018, lightning strike A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N211WN performing flight WN-2515 from Manchester,NH to Orlando,FL (USA), was in the initial climb out of Manchester's runway 35 when the aircraft received a lightning strike, the crew subsequently received an abnormal gear indication suggesting the nose gear doors did not close. The crew declared emergency, stopped the climb at about 7000 feet and diverted to Hartford,CT (USA), later climbing to 8000 feet, for a safe landing on Windsor Lock Airport's runway 24 about 70 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-700 registration N564WN reached Orlando with a delay of 4:15 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA2515/history/20181023/2145Z/KMHT/KMCO http://avherald.com/h?article=4bf6268d&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: United B738 at New York on Oct 23rd 2018, engine problem A United Boeing 737-800, registration N33266 performing flight UA-657 from New York La Guardia,NY to Houston Intercontinental,TX (USA), was in the initial climb out of La Guardia's runway 13 when the crew reported an issue with one of the engines (CFM56) and requested to divert to Newark,NJ (USA). The crew stopped the climb at 5000 feet and detailed they had a number of compressor stalls on the right hand engine, they were declaring emergency. The aircraft landed on Newark's runway 22L about 20 minutes after departure. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL657/history/20181023/0955Z/KLGA/KEWR http://avherald.com/h?article=4bf6221c&opt=0 Back to Top Aerolineas Argentinas flight leaves 15 injured after experiencing severe turbulence An Aerolineas Argentinas flight left 15 injured after the packed plane experienced severe turbulence during its route from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Images from inside the plane that were shared to social media show the cabin in disarray, with oxygen masks deployed, parts of the plane broken and items strewn across the floor. Flight AR1303 was carrying 192 passengers, seven of which were treated upon arrival at Ezeiza International Airport. The remaining eight were taken to the hospital. The airline confirmed the incident in a statement Thursday, saying a medical team was ready to assist passengers who "suffered blows or bruises due to the sudden movements that this type of atmospheric conditions cause." Severe turbulence has injured 15 passengers on board Aerolineas Argentinas flight #AR1303 from Miami to Buenos Aires http://breakingavnews.com/2018/10/19/15-injured-during-flight-from-miami-to-buenos-aires/ ... The statement also said that once the turbulence zone was crossed, the cabin crew helped assist the injured passengers and "relieve the general condition" of the remaining passengers while still in-flight. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2018/10/19/15-injured-after-severe-turbulence-aerolineas-argentinas-flight/1693899002/ Back to Top EASA extended Conflict Zone Information Bulletins for Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, and Somalia The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) updated and extended the validity of its Conflict Zone Information Bulletins for Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, and Somalia to 24 April 2019. • CZIB-2017-01R4: Airspace of Mali within Niamey Flight Information Region • CZIB-2017-05R3: Airspace of Somalia • CZIB-2017-02R3: Airspace of Libya • CZIB-2017-08R2: Airspace of Afghanistan https://news.aviation-safety.net/2018/10/24/easa-extended-conflict-zone-information-bulletins-for-afghanistan-libya-mali-and-somalia-to-24-april-2019/ Back to Top Back to Top Airline says man fought flight attendant, opened door of taxiing Frontier plane ST. LOUIS - A passenger was escorted off a Frontier Airlines flight from Cancun to St. Louis that was eventually suspended after an onboard disturbance Monday, according to KTVI. The man tried to get off Frontier Flight 87 as the plane was taxiing to the runway, authorities said. A passenger on the flight, Kathleen Ingham, recorded video showing the man struggling with crew members and passengers. A Frontier Airlines spokesperson said the flight was getting ready for takeoff when a passenger claimed he was feeling ill and became agitated, causing the pilot to return the plane to the gate. The airline said the man became physically violent with a flight attendant and opened a cabin door, which automatically deployed the emergency slide. The man attempted to exit the plane as crew members and passengers restrained him until Mexican police arrived. Cellphone video shows the passenger and his father outside their plane speaking with Mexican authorities. He was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation. The passenger's mother said her son was on vacation with his father and was attacked the night before inside a Cancun hotel and hit on the head. She also said she believes her son's drink may have been spiked. The man's name has not been released. His family said he remains hospitalized in Mexico. Frontier Airlines removed the aircraft from service and rebooked passengers on other flights and provided them with hotel accommodations. The airline offered no additional comment and said Mexican authorities were investigating the incident. https://kfor.com/2018/10/24/video-shows-man-accused-of-fighting-flight-attendant-opening-door-of-frontier-plane/ Back to Top Calm Air bans employees in safety-sensitive positions from using cannabis 45 days before work Calm Air, a Winnipeg-based regional airline that carries passengers to northern communities in Manitoba and Nunavut, has banned all staff in safety-sensitive positions from consuming cannabis within 45 days of flying and warns if staff don't comply, they could be grounded. The policy, which applies to flight attendants, pilots, dispatchers and some customer-service agents who work on ramps, comes on the heels of an outright ban on cannabis use by staff in safety-sensitive positions at Air Canada and WestJet, including outside of work. "It is in keeping with the rest of the industry on the approach: safety first, and the safety of our crews and passengers is always first in any of our aviation," said David White, vice-president of aviation at Exchange Income Corporation, the parent company of Calm Air. "I think what you're seeing is everybody's acting on an abundance of caution, waiting to see what developments we get and guidance from the government and regulators on this," White added. He said the 45-day ban lands right in the middle of conflicting guidelines that say cannabis can remain in someone's system for 30-60 days after initial consumption. The new rule is outlined in the company's drug and alcohol policy, which CBC News has obtained. The policy tells staffers the company reserves the right to randomly require employees to complete a drug or alcohol test when there are reasonable grounds to believe an employee may be under the influence. It also warns employees could be fired for tampering with, missing or refusing a test. The ban on cannabis use could be hard for airline staffers to fight, said Mario Torres, a labour and employment lawyer at Brazeau Seller Law in Ottawa, a firm which is now specializing in cannabis law. "It's going to be difficult to say that in a safety-sensitive position ... you have a right to consume a substance that has impairing effects." We have all sorts of things that are legal, but you don't do them at work. - Isha Khan, Manitoba Human Rights Commission Torres predicts multiple cannabis cases will go to the Supreme Court over the next three to five years. He believes the court will have to give guidelines on how employers can treat cannabis in the workplace for recreational or medical use, and thinks the court will make its decisions after new science comes out on the residual effects of the drug. Torres said policies could be challenged once better science comes out that indicates just how long a person might be impaired after initial consumption. "The issue here is that there's just a lack of scientific evidence as to how cannabis affects people, and it affects people differently, and we just don't have that black and white .08 [blood alcohol content] that we have with alcohol." The Manitoba Human Rights Commission has been fielding many calls from employers and landlords wanting to know what rights they have for imposing restrictions on cannabis use, said Isha Khan, the commission's acting executive director. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/calm-air-bans-employees-safety-090000847.html Back to Top Aviation safety depends on recruiting the right people (Africa) The maintenance of aviation safety depends upon people, Namibian Prime Minister's Office Cabinet Secretary Dr George Simataa told the AVI Afrique Innovation Summit 2018 in Pretoria on Wednesday. "People are the most important assets in your organisations," he stressed. "People, and not technology or products, are key to organizational success." Aviation safety required the recruitment of the correctly skilled people into aviation safety organisations. However, recruiting such people was not easy. Prioritisation was required. Even in aviation safety institutions, there were some positions that were more important than others, he pointed out. The first step was to identify these key positions -- those positions which, if not filled, would render the organisation unable to fulfill its mission. Once these strategic posts had been identified, or created, the next step was to attract, select and recruit the right people to occupy them. He cautioned that identifying people who were good at such jobs -- such as aviation safety inspector -- was not the same as identifying people who had the right formal qualifications for them. He drily observed that it was known that there were fully qualified but bad doctors and engineers. You did not merely need properly qualified aviation safety inspectors, you needed good ones. Given the quality and skills of the people you were seeking to recruit, the recruitment process had to be a fast moving one, making full use of modern technologies, including social media. Old-fashioned, slow-moving recruitment processes, stretching over many weeks, would just alienate the very people you were trying to attract. "These people don't have time to waste," he warned. Interviews should be conducted by skilled interviewers, not by line managers with little interviewing experience. Good safety inspectors where not necessarily good speakers: "these people are doers, not sayers," he noted. Having recruited the right people, you had to retain them. Skilled staff had to be taken seriously and treated with respect. They should not be expected to 'keep in their place' and not disturb senior management. Not only did they require decent salaries and employment conditions, they required the proper facilities, systems and equipment to do their work. "You need to spend money because it is the only way to keep your people," stressed Simataa. But getting your organisation properly staffed was only the beginning. From the start, you had also to think about who would, one day, replace them. Succession planning was key. But before you could engage in succession planning, he observed, you had to have the people who would succeed. Junior personnel who could and would be trained and developed so that one day they could replace their seniors. There was no "golden plan" that organisations could follow to achieve the desired results. There were merely guidelines, such as those he had outlined. "What works for one organisation does not work for another." http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/aviation-safety-depends-on-recruiting-the-right-people-2018-10-24 Back to Top A Chat With FedEx's VP Safety Bobbi Wells, vice president of safety and airworthiness at FedEx's Air Operations, talked with Lee Ann Shay about managing regulatory and safety activities around the globe, as well as her thoughts on how to improve human factors. FedEx Express operates about 670 aircraft and ordered 20 new freighters in June. What will the fleet's composition be at the end of the year? Our fleet is growing, as you described, and we are on track to get close to 700 aircraft by the end of the year. How is the fleet modernization effort affecting your organization? Fleet modernization has a tremendous impact for the airline comprehensively and for my organization in a couple of ways. While I have responsibility for safety and airworthiness, I also have responsibility for our fuel-efficiency program and for the engineering programs that help our effectiveness. The way I look at it, it's basically a three-legged stool composition, with the three legs being efficiency, effectiveness and safety, which are all magnectically connected. So if you take a shortcut with one, you naturally draw away from the safety and effectiveness of your operation, and that's how accidents and mishaps can occur. The point is that efficiency, effectiveness and safety are not in opposition-they don't compete. They actually exist on the same playing field, and that's what makes us particularly good at what we do and how we impact the large environment in which we exist. You and your team ensure the safety, airworthiness and regulatory compliance of the FedEx Express fleet and air operations worldwide-in 220 countries and territories. How do you keep up with all of the different civil aviation authorities and changing requirements? We have a dedicated group of people who are aligned with those regulatory authorities, such as the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). We are also very closely aligned with governing agencies such as the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organizaiton (ICAO). We have representation with those bodies. As part of the ICAO registry, we have regular audits with ICAO. Our involvement in those initiatives are twofold: We have to meet the regulations and expectation of those agencies and, more important, we work in collaborative partnerships with those agencies to elevate the conversation. In aviation, safety isn't a competitive arena. We exist in that arena together, regardless of what color your airplane is or what your logo looks like. We share resources in that space, so it's really important not to just meet the regulations but to work with those agencies to innovate. We have an active and ongoing program with the FAA to work to identify and help shippers identify hazardous cargo and understand the hazards. The shipper and recipient most of the time know what is in a package, but the organization that carries that package might not know exactly what's inside. We rely on shippers to package and label things appropriately. We've been working with the FAA, UPS and Amazon to work to ensure that shippers are well informed and clear on their obligations and responsibilities What are the most challenging things about managing such a geographically dispersed cargo operation? We heavily rely on those front-line team members and managers to effectively execute to meet the regulations, react appropriately to changes associated with the environment in a country or to react with security measures that need to be put in place. That collaboration and ability to share on a wider platform is in good measure how well we are able to execute our mission. It helps us to be nimble; it allows us to take in a tremendous amount of information that would not be accessible without having those dispersed employees around the world. So we work with local agencies and with the heads of agencies such as the FAA and EASA to ensure that we are aware of changes before they get implemented, and we engage in discussions about potential changes to the regulations. We also work very hard to be effective to ensure that the local folks who are running the operation have an understanding of what they need to do to ensure we are in compliance and that we execute effectively. What safety management processes and safety analytics do you use? My team has responsibility to ensure we follow our safety management system (SMS). The FAA accepted it about this time last year, so we introduced our SMS several months in advance of the deadline, which was in the spring of 2018. That means we have process around communicating expectations about safety, measuring our systems associated with safety and good change management processes. The analytics associated with doing this safety work are self-reported from pilots, dispatchers and aircraft mechanics-telling us exceptions or errors in the system, whether it's something they created by accident or something they might discover, such as an unusual amount of birds in the vicinity of an airport. We take that information into a program, and we read every report submitted and couple it with Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) data that comes off aircraft. We're in a unique position-we're in the safest transport industry in the world, but it's easy to develop hubris and believe we're so good at what we do. The reason that we're good is because we can't afford to wait until a major problem develops. We work in an environment that is low-frequency, high-consequence when it comes to mishaps. Nobody has tolerance for putting people in harm's way due to not taking care of our equipment. As a result, we have to be more forward-looking and proactive. What safety and airworthiness issues are on the top of your list to improve? We are focused on two things. First, being more predictive and using sensors in systems to give us notice so we can take action when errors begin to accumulate or when risk is escalating. Humans have a natural tendency to shift our risk view-meaning we migrate to a state of higher risk. It's the reason we drive fast cars and why people are willing to be test pilots, for instance. Because of that, we need to know where the boundaries are and when those boundaries are exceeded. Second, we've done incredible amounts of work on understanding our systems-whether it's the aircraft or the engine or the air traffic control system even. We've done an excellent job in aviation with automation that allows us to be more powerful as people. But I don't think we've done enough on the human being side. No matter what happens with aviation, we are not going to engineer human beings out of aviation. However, we don't know a lot about how humans react in various scenarios. We launched a study at FedEx with our pilots earlier this year focused on better understanding what happens to a crew member on the flight deck when they are startled or surprised. That is going to be incredibly helpful knowledge because once we understand what physiologically takes place, we can teach our pilots tools they can deploy in those scenarios when they're scared or their process is disrupted, so they can be more effective and take advantage of all of their mental acuity and execute the next steps in decision-making to safely put the aircraft on the ground. Those kinds of advancements will change the nature of our industry. With a big, mixed fleet of turboprops and jets of various ages, how many of your manuals and records are digital versus paper? Are you moving toward a more digital system? We're very excited about this because we've been headed toward the paperless cockpit for a number of years. Four or five years ago, we took all of the paper for the pilots off the airplane, which amounted to 32 tons of paper and resulted in significant fuel savings. It also reduced the burden on the pilots to carry around their flightbags full of manuals and updates. It's all delivered via iPad now. It allows us to give them the latest version and consistently allows us to do the change management around revisions. It also allows us to communicate and connect with our pilots better and provides them access to the things they need in one spot. We've also established a process by which we link all our manuals that are all online, so they get updated much more seamlessly. People who have to use manuals understand that when the structure is consistent and predictable, they will be more effective as a reference. We put iPads in the hands of our aircraft technicians, as well. That means when they are at the airplane, they are able to look up information, which gives them better information faster; it also means it's more efficient. As a result, their job satisfaction improved as well. When did technicians get the iPads? Technicians are on their second round of iPads. They've had them for about three years-and they're used worldwide. Are there new technologies that you're considering? My team is heavily involved in a number of technologies that we consider safety technologies-from straightforward things such as automated external defibrillators on all of our aircraft to the more complex equipment such as our safety assured vision enhancement device (SAVED). What that does is take the head-up display (HUD) in the cockpit in most of our aircraft. Our HUD also has an infrared enhanced vision system that has been incorporated. The FAA calls this an enhanced flight vision system. That technology with the SAVED device will be deployed within our oxygen mask system. We believe this SAVED device will be critical for aviation in the future because it not only will allow pilots to effectively see the runway and land the aircraft, but it will also allow them to do it in a smoke-filled cockpit. We believe this will be a game changer for pilots. We also have something we consider critical, given the cargo we carry: the fire suppression system. It's deployed on all of our long-haul, widebody aircraft. It deploys fire-depressant foam to fill our containers, eliminating the oxygen to contain a potential fire. These were developed internally. Where is FedEx in the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) "Out" compliance target of 2020? We're on target to meet the deadline, but we're approaching it a bit differently. Rather than upgrading our navigation computers, our aircraft engineering organization developed a wide-area augmentation solution. We're proud of the patents we've received for various innovations that we've developed and deployed. https://www.mro-network.com/airlines/chat-fedex-s-vp-safety Back to Top Congress, FAA, Industry Encourage Voluntary Reporting Of Information New FAA reauthorization bill gives renewed impetus to Aviation Safety Action Program In the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill, Congress issued specific directives concerning the voluntary reporting of safety information. The mandates come in the wake of a draft advisory circular (AC) published for public comment earlier this year, aiming to align the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) with the FAA's new compliance philosophy and encourage more participation. The surge in congressional and regulatory action surrounding voluntary reporting and big data coincides with employer emphasis on obtaining real-time feedback from maintenance personnel. The FAA ASAP-an avenue for flight crew, dispatchers, ramp workers and mechanics to report safety issues-was initiated by the Transportation secretary and FAA administrator in 1995. The program is voluntary and formalized through a memorandum of understanding between the certificate holder and the agency. ASAP reports are deemed "acceptable," and therefore accompanied by enforcement-related incentives, if they meet specific criteria. The FAA reauthorization bill would mandate a presumption by the agency that submitted reports are "acceptable," and require them to be accompanied by disclaimers until they are officially reviewed. Proposed changes to FAA ASAP AC 120-66C would replace current memoranda of understanding with partnership agreements, remove rigid programmatic deadlines and encourage event-review committees to develop their own ASAP policies and procedures tailored to their operational environments. The proposal also takes into consideration necessary interfaces with safety management systems, provides guidelines for reporting events concerning hazardous materials, and has options for random sampling assessments in lieu of two-year program renewals. An FAA spokesman says the revised AC is expected to be published before year-end. While the new congressional directives and agency guidance proposals include welcome changes, the drive for data combined with efforts to enhance safety have participating companies looking for ways to engender internal buy-in for the program. Jennifer Hoagland, ASAP manager at Republic Airlines, has initiated a company-wide effort to increase voluntary information reporting. "We identified that our maintenance personnel could improve in reporting safety concerns, especially when compared to other operational areas in the company," Hoagland says. The airline opted to take a peer-directed approach in its effort to increase quality system reporting. Republic Airlines also implemented an ambassador program to promote voluntary reporting. Volunteer ASAP ambassadors at each maintenance base attend mandatory training and quarterly meetings with other ambassadors. To ensure a top-down approach, the program is wholly endorsed by leadership, and all quality personnel are encouraged to report, including those in the supply chain and materials departments. Hoagland says the grassroots program has resulted in a 163% increase in reporting. "We see initial improvements in reporting safety concerns from our maintenance personnel and are pleased to see that the peer-driven plan is working." So much so that Republic plans to expand the program and name at least one ambassador per base, per shift. It has yet to be seen whether the congressional directive aimed at protecting voluntary reporters will drive additional participation. An FAA representative was not able to comment on how the agency would incorporate congressional mandates, since the legislation had not been thoroughly reviewed. While ASAP statistics are not made public, the official confirmed that voluntary reporting continues to grow as the scope of those eligible to participate or report broadens. There are currently 234 repair station and airline ASAP program participants, 86% of those with maintenance voluntary reporting programs. https://www.mro-network.com/safety-regulatory/congress-faa-industry-encourage-voluntary-reporting-information Back to Top FAA UNDER SURVEILLANCE GAO INVESTIGATING AGENCY'S OVERSIGHT OF PRICING, TRANSPARENCY, AND AIRPORT ACCESS After more than 1,000 complaints from pilots, 10 named airport "watch list" locations, and three complaints to the FAA, AOPA's initiative to expose egregious fixed-base operator pricing has caught the attention of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Federal Aviation Administration is one of the many government agencies that have influence over general aviation. Photo by David Tulis. The congressional watchdog is investigating the FAA's oversight of certain FBOs located at publicly funded airports across the country. As an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress, the GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent. The investigation will examine how well the FAA is exercising its responsibility to oversee airports that receive Airport Improvement Program funds and the assurances that come with the grants, including the requirement that airports and businesses on them must charge only fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory fees and prices. According to Politico, the GAO has been looking into issues related to FBOs since the spring, at the request of House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.). Now, the investigation has gained the support of Reps. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) and Steve Russell (R-Okla.), who sent an Oct. 16 letter backing the investigation. As frequent users of our nation's general aviation airports, the congressmen wrote, "At a minimum, we believe all FBO fees should be transparent and easily accessible online for pilots." The congressmen also pointed out that the FAA should require airports to include, if applicable, available transient ramp space on their airport charting diagrams-an issue AOPA has been advocating for some time. On Oct. 10, the heads of five major GA groups, including AOPA, sent a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell asking the agency to standardize the labeling of airport ramp space and ensure that airport diagrams are clearly and accurately marked so pilots are better informed about available parking options. Lastly, the letter said, "Pilots should not be charged by airports or FBOs for services they did not request or use." Over the past two years, AOPA has been working to learn about and ensure that public airports financed by tax dollars provide fair pricing and are accessible to all segments of GA. "As we've said since the beginning, most FBOs do a great job of providing service to pilots at reasonable costs. Our attention is focused on the small minority-often large chain FBOs with a monopoly position at an airport-who choose to abuse their positions to the detriment of pilots who funded these airports," reminded AOPA President Mark Baker. In its own investigations, AOPA has received more than 1,000 complaints from owners, operators, and users of the system, prompting it to release its Airport Access Watch List in April. The list included 10 airports that fit a certain profile. All 10 Watch List locations receive federal funds from the AIP, all have one FBO with a monopoly position, and all have issues with fee transparency. After months of AOPA calling on the FBO industry to be more transparent, Signature published handling and infrastructure fees for only piston aircraft online at most of its U.S. locations. However, rates for parking, tiedowns, and security are withheld. Other airports have taken steps to improve access, pricing, and transparency issues on their own. Casper/Natrona County International Airport in Wyoming is one of those. In July, the airport established transient ramp space for aircraft tiedowns and gave pilots clearance to access a walk-through gate to avoid paying for FBO services they don't need or want. AOPA removed Casper from its Watch List and now calls it a "self-help" airport. While many airports are taking steps to alleviate issues with transparency and access, there is still much work to do. AOPA considers the GAO investigation is a step in the right direction. Baker said, "We applaud Congressmen Russell and Abraham for their support in ensuring that airports are accessible and that FBO fees are transparent. While we want FBOs to remain profitable, airports that receive government funding need to be transparent about what pilots should expect when they land." https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2018/october/23/faa-under-surveliance Back to Top Aegean Airlines to buy Pratt engines Pratt & Whitney announced Monday that a Greek airline serving Europe and the Middle East has selected the company's geared turbofan engine for use in up to 62 airplanes. The East Hartford jet-engine manufacturer said Aegean Airlines, which is headquartered in Athens, plans to power its Airbus A320neo family of aircraft with the GTF series and entered into a long-term maintenance agreement under Pratt's EngineWise service program. The order includes 30 planes that will be owned by Aegean, 12 under option, and up to 20 leased aircraft, the company said. Pratt & Whitney did not immediately disclose financial details connected to the agreement. Aegean Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis said in a statement that the engine "will serve us and our customers with the most economical and environmentally friendly power available on the market today." According to Pratt & Whitney, the GTF, which entered into a service in early 2016, reduced fuel burn by 16 percent, lowered nitrogen oxide pollution by 50 percent, and decreased noise impact by 75 percent in A320neo planes. The engine currently powers five aircraft platforms: the Airbus A220 and A320neo families and Embraer E190-E2, which are in commercial service, and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet and the Russian-made Irkut MC-21, which are undergoing flight testing. Pratt & Whitney already supplies Aegean's fleet of 49 V2500-powered A320ceo aircraft and the airline's subsidiary company, Olympic Air, which operates 12 PW100-powered regional turboprop airplanes. The V2500 is produced through the IAE International Aero Engines AG consortium, whose shareholders include Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Aero Engines International GmbH, Japanese Aero Engines Corp., and MTU Aero Engines GmbH. Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, is the largest full-service carrier in Greece. In March, the company selected Airbus for an order of 42 planes worth $5 billion, including 10 A321neo aircraft and 20 smaller A320s. The purchase is part of an effort to expand and renew Aegean's fleet between 2020 and 2025, company officials said. The EngineWise brand, under which Pratt provides continuing service for customers, includes engine fleet data analytics and intelligence meant to predict and prevent mechanical disruptions. The program also provides parts, repairs, training, and various levels of coverage for engine-related maintenance. http://www.journalinquirer.com/business/aegean-airlines-to-buy-pratt-engines/article_b3bbbe60-d7a5-11e8-be6f-87d9f51b221e.html Back to Top Delta has transformed since merger with Northwest 10 years ago In the 10 years since Delta Air Lines acquired Northwest Airlines, the Atlanta-based carrier has transformed itself from a struggling company fresh out of bankruptcy into a financial powerhouse. Along the way to making billions of dollars in profits a year, Delta has also expanded its workforce in Georgia and vastly improved its on-time performance. But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Within a few months of its merger, a recession drove the company to cut staff and slash flights. Within a few years, the airline was also selling off facilities. "We went through takeover battles. We went through a bankruptcy. It was always about keeping Delta my Delta," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian, referring to the tagline the company used when rallying its employees to fend off a 2006 hostile takeover by US Airways. It eliminated hubs in Cincinnati and Memphis and down-scaled its Tokyo hub, while adding hubs in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York's LaGuardia Airport and international hubs with partners. But, after all the growing pains, "We've created the most valuable airline in the world," Bastian said. Minneapolis to Atlanta When Delta announced its merger with Northwest, then-CEO Richard Anderson said the consolidation was "about addition, not subtraction." The merger agreement closed Oct. 29, 2008. The deal allowed the company to keep the name Delta and maintain its headquarters in Atlanta. Delta consolidated operations and shut down flight training and maintenance facilities at Northwest's old campus in the Minneapolis area. Delta had committed to keep a "Delta North" headquarters in Minnesota along with at least 10,000 jobs there as part of assuming bond debt from Northwest in the merger. Instead, Delta paid off the bond debt early and shut down the Delta North headquarters. Ultimately, much of the work was shifted to Atlanta, where Delta has a massive headquarters campus by Hartsfield-Jackson and operates its largest hub by far, with about 1,000 departures a day. In Georgia, Delta now has more than 33,000 employees, up from about 25,000 at the time of the merger. The airline industry has been shifting toward lucrative international routes for growth, and the merger helped Delta with that transition. But some smaller towns are left without airline service as a result. "If you're in one of the markets that lost service because no one in the [airline] industry is bothering to serve that particular small city anymore, then Delta didn't help you," said Robert W. Mann, an airline consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y. But by and large, he said, travelers in many big cities have more service to cities around the world. Combining workforces The Delta-Northwest merger triggered a series of difficult union battles, as Northwest's highly unionized workforce meshed with Delta's mostly non-union workforce. For the most part, the combined airline's workforce voted against unionization. Delta remains mostly that way, with the pilots as its major unionized work group. Since the merger, Delta has returned to a "paternalistic" culture similar to its early days under founder C.E. Woolman, Mann said. That includes huge profit sharing checks paid out to employees every Valentine's Day and big pay raises. "Of course, you can do that when you're minting money" the way Delta is, Mann said. Wave of mergers The Delta-Northwest deal also kicked off a series of major airline mergers, including United-Continental, American-US Airways and Southwest-AirTran. Other airline executives looked to the Delta-Northwest deal as a model for how to integrate two airlines, including getting a pilot deal done before the merger and quickly deciding on IT systems for a combined company, Mann said. "Previously, these things resulted in a lot of hand-waving and hand-wringing, hair-on-fire sorts of rationalizations as to what to do," Mann said. Other airlines have looked to "maybe accomplish them as elegantly as Delta and Northwest did." Delta had the advantage of being first. After the acquisition, other airlines were still wrestling with their own merger challenges, but Delta "was ruthless and smart," said Phoenix-based airline consultant Hubert Horan. Delta's attitude, he said, was, "We're going to take (being first) and make it an even bigger advantage," by improving its airplane fleet and investing in systems. Some are critical of the airline industry consolidation and its effect on competition and consumers. Ultimately, Horan said, the wave of airline mergers was intended to "massively reduce competition in the airline business, of which Delta was one of the key players and it's one of the major dominoes." He says global airline deals, starting with Air France-KLM, began an industry-wide shift that ended with three major U.S. carriers controlling the international market - Delta, American and United. Their respective airline alliances keep a lock on the lucrative market for flights between the U.S. and Europe. "It's a permanent three-player oligopoly, forever," Horan said. Such a system can reduce competition and result in higher prices for consumers. In some markets, Horan said, the airlines may be "losing tons of money." And then, there are "plenty of places where they're minting money," he said. With United, American and Delta reporting billions in profit last year, he said, "The bottom line suggests that the latter greatly outweighs the former." https://www.ajc.com/business/delta-has-transformed-since-merger-with-northwest-years-ago/dP0Yi5A3WNOnG6Q1iDv0TI/ Back to Top Winter Is Coming For Low-Cost Airlines; Will Norwegian Survive? Bjoern Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle AS, poses in front of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, ahead of the company's inaugural flight to New York from London Gatwick airport in Crawley, U.K., on July 3, 2014. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg It's only October, and low-cost carriers are falling almost as fast as the leaves. Will winter bring an even deeper chill to the low-cost airline industry? The recent collapse of Primera Air, another carrier whose ambition exceeded its capability, prompts this question. Perhaps Primera, despite its claim to be a "Nordic airline," implying a cross between Lufthansa efficiency and Norwegian Air innovation, was a "worst of breed" budget carrier. But Primera will not be the last low-cost carrier to struggle with competition and rising costs. While there is a shortage of senior pilots, fuel costs may be the real killer. In September the International Air Transport Association said that a sharp rise of more than 30% in fuel costs helped push industry profit margins below 8% in the second quarter. Now Cobalt Air, a start-up airline serving Cyprus, has folded as well. Despite being recognized as the best startup airline for 2017 by industry analyst group CAPA-Centre for Aviation, Cobalt reportedly could not find additional investors to keep going. The collapse of Cobalt and Primera follows that of Monarch, the British low-cost airline, and Air Berlin, which both shut down in 2017. In August 2018, Swiss airline SkyWork and Belgium's VLM ended operations. This fall, the German and Polish units of Lithuanian Small Planet Group were reportedly insolvent and restructuring. Air Transport World found several common threads among these failures. They generally involve "airlines that were formed relatively recently, attempted to grow fast and then attempted to switch their business models from leisure/charter to network/scheduled or from purely short- and medium- to long-haul." Upstart low-cost carriers (LCCs) also face competition, particularly in Europe, from both established low-cost carriers like Wizz Air, Ryanair, and easyJet with larger networks, as well as legacy and national carriers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2018/10/24/winter-is-coming-for-low-cost-airlines-will-norwegian-survive/#3cba4ad46f78 Back to Top Advanced Composite Aircraft Structures Repair Training Since 1983 Abaris has led the world in advanced composite repair training for the aerospace industry. Abaris' courses offer students a balance of theory and hands-on repair practice, designed to enhance subject knowledge and boost tactile skills. Mechanics and technicians that have these core competencies are in high demand within the aerospace industry. Listed are several of the most popular composite repair courses and upcoming dates at Abaris' Reno, NV headquarters and the new location in Plainview, NY. Advanced Composite Structures: Fabrication & Damage Repair-Phase 1 (M-1/R-1) Our most popular class, "Phase 1" is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of personnel; from the novice to the seasoned professional. This course is a prerequisite to subsequent repair courses and is highly recommended to anyone seeking a better understanding of advanced composite materials, processes, layup and vacuum bagging techniques, repair considerations, adhesive bonding, tooling, and inspection methods and techniques. Reno, NV: Dec 3-7, Jan 7-11, Feb 4-8 Plainview, NY: March 4-8, May 6-10 Advanced Composite Structures: Damage Repair-Phase 2 (R-2) This course is designed for repair technicians, mechanics, leads or supervisors who want to further their education in repairs of advanced composite structures. This class presents more challenging damage assessment and repair challenges than those presented in our Phase 2 course with emphasis on hot bond repair equipment, methods, and techniques. Reno, NV: Jan 14-18, Feb 11-15 Plainview, NY: Mar 11-15, May 13-17 Advanced Composite Structures: Damage Repair-Phase 3 (R-3) The course is mostly hands-on, in the workshop, addressing larger and more complex repair scenarios that require multi-step repair processes. Instruction will include discussions on various methods for recreating damaged-part surfaces, as well as actual fabrication of composite repair tools used to restore a complex-contoured shape, thus restoring the critical aerodynamic surface of the part. Other alternative approaches to tooling will be discussed and/or employed during the class to broaden the technician's overall possibilities. Reno, NV: Jan 21-15, Mar 25-29 Plainview, NY: Mar 18-22 Repair of Aluminum Bonded Structures (R-4) This course is designed for repair designers, technicians, mechanics, leads, supervisors, or inspectors who want to further their education in repairs of bonded aluminum structures. This hands-on course provides a solid foundation in the principles of adhesively bonded repairs for aluminum structures, including face sheet bonding and repairs to aluminum skins and honeycomb sandwich structures. Reno, NV: Dec 17-21, Apr 1-5 Plainview, NY: May 20-24 General Aviation Composite Repair (R-13) The General Aviation Composite Repair course is designed for those working on certified GA composite aircraft such as Cessna, Diamond, Cirrus, Epic, and others that use common repair materials and similar procedures. The student will learn proper principles and techniques that are applicable to this group of airframe manufacturers. (No prerequisite is required for this course.) Reno, NV: Dec 3-7, May 20-24 Plainview, NY: Coming in 2020 Please visit the Abaris Training website at www.abaris.com for more classes, schedules, and enrollment information, or contact us with questions via email at training@abaris.com. https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12434378/advanced-composite-aircraft-structures-repair-training 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 RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE A Message From Flight Safety Information Editor Curt Lewis, Associate Editor Roger Rapoport and Captain Shem Malmquist Flight Safety Information has partnered with Beyond Risk Management to create a High Altitude Flying Course. This course, led by Captain Shem Malmquist, an accident investigator, professor and 777 captain who flies international routes, is now underway. A key unit in this class focuses on poorly understood high altitude weather challenges that have led to fatal accidents. Here is a comment from one of the veteran pilots now taking this course "I have made it to the Part 121 world with what can be described as zero weather training. I have had a lot of low level weather experience flying floats but when it comes to flight levels the only knowledge is what I'm gaining from this course. The extremely basic weather theory and concept required for our ratings is outdated and barely touched on during orals. The training at my current company barely touched on the subject except that we have weather radar onboard and good luck getting it to work. A captain will show you how it works. Is this the case industry wide?" With other pilots mirroring this comment, it is apparent to all of us that the kind of aviation meteorology course taught by professors like Debbie Schaum at Embry-Riddle University, are not offered to most pilots. In fact, pilots moving up from domestic to international routes typically have little (one day) or no training on the special challenges presented on transoceanic routes lacking radar coverage found on overland routes. With many major airports located on oceanic coastlines, these challenges can be significant. As Captain Malmquist prepares for the upcoming January course we would like to hear from pilots on this critical issue. A selection of these comments will be published in a future issue of Flight Safety Information. Our long-term goal is to make sure that every pilot receives the critical meteorology training they need to do their job. Here are those questions which you can answer confidentially. Your name will not be used in future reports on this subject. 1. What weather training have you received specific to high altitude flying? 2. Do you feel that this training was all you needed? 3. Where did your training take place? How long did it take. 4. Was this weather training provided when you began working for your airline? 5. Have you had recurrent training on weather challenges? 6. Were you retrained on a new radar system when you switched to flying a different aircraft type. 7. If you switched from domestic to international routes did you receive any training on special weather conditions found on transoceanic routes? 8. What manuals and instructional materials were provided? How much information did you receive? Did it answer all of your questions? 9. Did you receive online training? How long did it take to complete this training? Were you tested on your knowledge? 10. Do you believe this training prepared you adequately for special challenges in places such as the intertropical convergence zone? 11. Are you confident that you fully understand weather radar? Does it always do what you want? If not, please describe the problems encountered. 12. Have you been in situations where better weather training would have been helpful? 13. Did a lack of training contribute to any difficulties? 14. Do you have any recommendations for better weather training? Do you think it should be provided in house, in a classroom setting, online or all three? 15. Are there specific low altitude weather issues that are a concern to you? Feel free to answer any or all of these questions privately. You are welcome to combine your answers into a narrative summary. Please let us know if you would like more information about Captain Malmquist's course as it relates to weather training not provided by your company. You can reach us directly at rogerdrapoport@me.com or 231 720-0930 (EST 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) For more details visit http://pilot-errormovie/online-course/ Back to Top Register Here Phone: (231)720-0930 (9-6 EST) Back to Top Back to Top Upcoming USC Aviation Safety Courses Safety Management Systems for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Current Operational Conditions for Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Including Live Flight Exercises October 29 - November 2, 2018 5.0 Days Human machine interface theory and problems Unique characteristics of RPA operational environments SMS requirements and guidance Organizational risk management for RPA Special consideration for RPA accident investigation Using RPA for accident investigation FARs and Legislation International Organization Standards & Participation Tuition: $2500 Safety Management Systems for Managers Providing Priciples and Vision for Managers in an SMS November 29 - 30, 2018 1.5 Days Management Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountability Change Process Management Audits and Safety Reviews Motivating Safe Behavior Safety Culture and Climates Just Reporting System Accident/Incident Costs Obstacles to SMS Tuition: $1000 Threat and Error Management Development Integrating Threat and Error Management into a Safety Management System December 17 - 19, 2018 2.5 Days Introduction to threats and errors Performance and loss of situation awareness Threat recognition and error avoidance Building barriers to error Distraction and interruption management SOPs role in threat and error management Tuition: $1250 Earn Points Towards NBAA CAM Program Students taking the following USC courses will earn two points towards completing the application for the National Business Aviation Association Certified Aviation Manager exam. Aviation Safety Management Systems Accident/Incident Response Preparedness Human Factors in Aviation Safety Safety Management for Aviation Maintenance Aircraft Accident Investigation SeMS Aviation Security Management Systems For further details, please visit our website or use the contact information below. Email: aviation@usc.edu Telephone: +1 (310) 342-1345 Curt Lewis aviation@usc.edu Telephone: +1 (310) 342-1345 Curt Lewis