Flight Safety Information October 31, 2018 - No. 221 In This Issue Incident: Thai A359 at Melbourne on Oct 28th 2018, rejected takeoff Aerospatiale AS 355F2 - Ecureuil Fatal Accident (New York) Accident: Condor B753 at Hamburg on Oct 25th 2018, fumes from engine start to top of climb EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection The Latest: Boeing experts to arrive in Indonesia for probe Lion Air Official Ousted as Divers Zero In on Suspected Fuselage TSB Canada releases safety watchlist 2018 Russia imposes restrictions on international flights of Yakutia Airlines over safety issues Lion Air tragedy latest in long list of Indonesia air safety incidents Why Airplane Black Boxes Are So Hard to Find After Crashes After Laser Attacks, Pentagon Spending $200M to Protect Pilots' Eyeballs Safety Standdown Strives To Normalize Excellence Chinese Intelligence Officers Charged With Espionage Over U.S. Aviation Hacks FAA Seeks Comment On ATP Revisions FAA: Not All Medications Are Approved For Flying Aviation institution offers online courses (South Africa) Inspecting an Airplane with the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Airbus says tougher to meet jet delivery goal after snags CAA launch Unmanned Aircraft Systems regulation training course NASA's planet-hunter telescope, Kepler, runs out of fuel DOCTORAL RESEARCH SURVEY GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE Upcoming Cranfield Short Courses Incident: Thai A359 at Melbourne on Oct 28th 2018, rejected takeoff A Thai Airways Airbus A350-900, registration HS-THC performing flight TG-462 from Melbourne,VI (Australia) to Bangkok (Thailand), was accelerating for takeoff from Melbourne's runway 16 when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed, vacated the runway via the first high speed turnoff about 1800 meters/5900 feet down the runway and returned to the apron. A passenger reported the flight was already delayed by about 5-6 hours due to an engine (Trent XWB) problem. The aircraft subsequently taxied for departure but needed to reject takeoff and returned to the apron. All about 400 passengers needed to disembark. The aircraft was repaired and departed with about 160 passengers remaining and 27 hours delay. The aircraft was able to depart the following day about 20.5 hours after the rejected takeoff and reached Bangkok with a delay of about 27 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bf99793&opt=0 Back to Top Aerospatiale AS 355F2 - Ecureuil Fatal Accident (New York) Date: 30-OCT-2018 Time: 16:15 LT Type: Aerospatiale AS 355F2 Ecureuil Owner/operator: Catalyst Aviation Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Beekmantown, NY - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The helicopter crashed during a flight preparing to install a fibre optic cable alongside powerlines. News photos show debris caught in power lines and the power lines on fire. The helicopter was consumed by a post-crash fire and the 4 occupants were transported to hospital with unspecified injuries. Two have reportedly died. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=216922 Back to Top Accident: Condor B753 at Hamburg on Oct 25th 2018, fumes from engine start to top of climb A Condor Boeing 757-300, registration D-ABOB performing flight DE-1440 from Hamburg (Germany) to Fuerteventura,CI (Spain) with 275 passengers and 8 crew, was being pushed back from the gate, when the engines were started. An odour of "old socks" developed on board, that continued during taxi, departure and climb. Only after levelling off at cruise level the odour subsided. A number of passengers complained about headache, nausea and dizziness. The crew continued the flight to Fuerteventura where the aircraft landed without further incident. At least two passengers required medical attention after landing. Passengers described the odour as very strong like old or wet socks. Germany's BFU reported on Oct 29th 2018, that the occurrence was reported to them. Data collection is in progress to rate the occurrence. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Fuerteventura for two hours, then departed for the return flight. The aircraft subsequently remained on the ground in Hamburg for about 9 hours and departed the following morning on schedule. http://avherald.com/h?article=4bfa00cf&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top The Latest: Boeing experts to arrive in Indonesia for probe JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- The Latest on the crash of a Lion Air plane in Indonesia (all times local): 3:50 p.m. Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee says experts from Boeing will arrive in Indonesia on Wednesday to help with the investigation of the crash of a Lion Air jet. The 2-month-old Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed into the sea northeast of Jakarta on Monday just minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. Accident investigator Ony Suryo Wibowo told a news conference that officials have only a small amount of information so far and don't know if it's correct. He implored the public to be patient. The plane's flight recorders have not yet been located. He said: "To all Indonesian people, we are saddened and offer condolences but give us time to investigate why the plane crashed. Give us a chance to look deeply, to look at the whole problem, so the responsibility given to us by the government can be carried out." ___ 10 a.m. An Indonesian TV presenter who was on what became the second-to-last flight of the Lion Air plane that crashed Monday says passengers were angry and scared by long delays, the apparent disorganization of Lion Air staff and an unexplained technical problem before takeoff. In a detailed post online, Conchita Caroline says boarding of the Bali to Jakarta flight was delayed by more than one hour and when the plane was being towed, a technical problem forced it to return to its parking space. She said passengers sat in the cabin without air conditioning for at least 30 minutes listening to an "unusual" engine roar, while some children vomited from the rising heat, until staff faced with rising anger let them disembark. After about 30 minutes of passengers waiting on the tarmac, they were told to board again while an engine was checked. She said at least another 10 minutes elapsed before the flight taxied and during the flight the engine still sounded strange to her. She said, "But thank God we landed safely in Jakarta." ___ 9 a.m. Search and rescue personnel worked through the night to find victims of the Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia, sending 24 body bags to identification experts as the airline flew dozens of grieving relatives to the country's capital. The 2-month-old Boeing jet crashed into the Java Sea early Monday morning, just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. President Joko Widodo had ordered the search and rescue effort to continue through the night. The National Search and Rescue Agency said Tuesday that 10 intact bodies as well as body parts had been recovered. Specialist ships and a remotely operated underwater vehicle have been deployed to search for the plane's hull and flight recorder. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/latest-woman-recounts-problems-jets-previous-flight-035631559.html Back to Top Lion Air Official Ousted as Divers Zero In on Suspected Fuselage Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency said teams using sonar had detected an object suspected to be the plane Shoes found during the search for victims from the ill-fated Lion Air flight are lined up, Oct. 31. JAKARTA, Indonesia-Lion Air was ordered to suspend its technical director and other personnel pending an investigation into the crash of a new Boeing jetliner into the Java Sea that killed 189 people. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, who ordered the suspensions, told reporters Wednesday that the low-cost carrier's technical director, Muhammad Asif, would be replaced along with technicians and others who had cleared the jet to fly. Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff Monday. The suspensions come as potentially faulty or misleading airspeed indications in the cockpit have emerged as an initial focus of safety experts delving into the crash, according to industry officials tracking the investigation. Mr. Sumadi said Lion Air would face corporate sanctions pending the investigation's result. Ministry spokesman Baitul Ihwan said the personnel suspension order was made because "the investigation is going to require their attention." Search at Sea New Boeing 737 model went missing shortly after takeoff from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang. A Lion Air spokesman confirmed the suspension of Mr. Asif, who was responsible for Lion Air's maintenance operations. He couldn't confirm whether other staff had been suspended. The Indonesian navy, meanwhile, said one of its ships had detected a "very large" object suspected to be part of the plane's fuselage on the seabed. Air-crash investigators said they were evaluating sounds that could be pings emitted from the plane's black-box data recorders. Didi Hamzar, a director at Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency, said Wednesday that teams using sonar had detected an object suspected to be the plane and that about 100 divers had been deployed to the area. Divers returning to one ship in the afternoon said they faced a strong current and poor underwater visibility, caused by sediment in the water and cloudy skies. Search teams have been concentrating their search for the jet-a Boeing 737 Max 8 that was delivered to Lion Air in August-near a debris field off the north coast of Java. They have recovered human remains as well as personal items and small, broken pieces of the plane. At a port near the capital, search workers have spread out collected items on tarps, sorting them into groups of shoes, bags and other pieces. The loss of Lion Air Flight 610 was the first major accident involving the Boeing 737 Max 8, a new variant of the company's popular single-aisle 737. Air-traffic controllers lost contact with Flight 610 shortly after it took off from Jakarta's main airport for Pangkal Pinang, a city on the island of Bangka. The Transportation Ministry said the pilots had requested to return to the Jakarta airport before disappearing from radar. Investigators have questioned Lion Air about a problem the jet experienced on a flight Sunday from Bali to Jakarta. The airline has said that the plane experienced a "technical issue" that was resolved prior to the fatal flight. A search team pictured near the location of the plane crash, Oct. 30. Data collected by Flightradar24, a flight-tracking network, indicated the plane suffered from possible erratic speed and altitude readings on both the flight that crashed and the previous flight, including a dip in altitude that a pilot described as unusual. Boeing Co., which is participating in the probe, has privately expressed an interest in whether the pilots received unreliable speed data and about the maintenance history of the plane, according to people familiar with the conversations. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment, referring to the company's previous statement that it was providing technical assistance in the probe and directing questions to Indonesian authorities. The Transportation Ministry has ordered the two Indonesian airlines flying the Boeing 737 Max 8, Lion Air and flag carrier Garuda Indonesia , to report on any repetitive problems and explain any procedures they use to fix them. The planes won't be grounded and will remain in service, Pramintohadi, the acting director-general for air transportation, told reporters Tuesday. He said the plane that crashed was airworthy and safe to fly. Lion Air, formally known as PT Lion Mentari Airlines, is one of the biggest budget airlines in Asia. It has had a patchy safety record. In April 2013, a new Boeing crashed into shallow water short of the runway on the resort island of Bali. All 108 passengers and crew were rescued. The crash was blamed on pilot error. Rescuers say they've found debris and body parts off the coast of Jakarta at the presumed location where an Indonesian jetliner carrying 189 people went down minutes after takeoff. Photo: Getty Images Indonesia has a long history of aviation disasters and its carriers were restricted for many years from flying to the U.S. and Europe for safety reasons. The last restrictions on Indonesia airlines were lifted in June this year. -Joko Hariyanto, Gaurav Raghuvanshi and Andy Pasztor contributed to this article. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lion-air-official-ousted-as-divers-zero-in-on-suspected-fuselage-1540978577 Back to Top TSB Canada releases safety watchlist 2018 The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released Watchlist 2018, identifying key issues requiring government and industry's attention to make Canada's transportation system safer in the air, marine and rail sectors. This year, one aviation item was removed from the Watchlist due to actions taken by stakeholders and/or progress achieved in reducing the underlying safety deficiencies: the issue of unstable approaches that are continued to a landing at Canadian airports. Still on the list are the following aviation-related items: • Risk of collisions on runways • Runway overruns • Safety management and oversight (multimodal) • Slow progress addressing TSB recommendations (multimodal) • Fatigue management (multimodal) https://news.aviation-safety.net/2018/10/30/tsb-canada-releases-safety-watchlist-2018/ Back to Top Russia imposes restrictions on international flights of Yakutia Airlines over safety issues The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has imposed restrictions on international flights of Yakutia Airlines over safety issues. The reason for the introduction of the restriction was the violations identified during recent inspections, including incorrect information about the implementation of the airworthiness directives on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft and its further operation without maintenance; and failure to eliminate in time the malfunctions identified on the aircraft. The agency states that the maintenance issues have caused long and numerous delays on international and domestic routes. From November 5, the company is prohibited from flying on international airlines and will remain in force until the elimination of all identified deficiencies.. The air fleet of Yakutia Airlines consists of 5 Boeing 737-800's, 6 Antonov An-24RV's, 3 DHC-8-311's and 4 Sukhoi Superjets. More info: • Yakutia Airlines safety profile https://news.aviation-safety.net/2018/10/30/russia-imposes-restrictions-on-international-flights-of-yakutia-airlines-over-safety-issues/ Back to Top Back to Top Lion Air tragedy latest in long list of Indonesia air safety incidents A Lion Air plane takes off at Soekarno-Hatta airport. • Flight JT610 - which had 189 people on board - lost contact 13 minutes after take-off. Shortly after a Lion Air passenger jet crashed into the sea off Jakarta yesterday, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a warning to its staff. Australian Government officials and contractors were ordered not to fly on Lion Air or their subsidiary airlines. "The decision will be reviewed when the findings of the crash investigation are clear," the warning states on the SmartTraveller.gov.au website. Lion Air Group is made up of Lion Air and its subsidiaries Batik Air and Wings Air. Batik Air has operated two flights a day between Perth and Denpasar in Bali since opening the route in June 2017. The Australian public has not been given a similar warning by DFAT and may not be aware that Batik Air is a subsidiary of Lion Air. Batik Air planes are serviced at the same Lion Air facility on Batam Island and flown by pilots employed by the Lion Air Group - Batik Air is Lion Air, just with different branding. Indonesia's troubled aviation sector As a journalist living in Indonesia, flying Lion Air was never a choice, but a necessity. The role requires frequent air travel and there are limits to picking and choosing the airline of preference when travelling around the massive archipelago. The sadness in the Lion Air crash is that that no-one would really be shocked by it - the Indonesian aviation sector has a bad reputation for good reason. And will the latest crash change anything? Simply put, no. Not in a nation where the aviation watchdog, the Director General of Civil Aviation, has proved time and again that it either cannot, will not, or does not know how to improve safety standards. In 2015 I and a team from the Foreign Correspondent program began investigating the country's troubled aviation sector. We toured the Lion Air maintenance facility at its Batam Island base - a visually-impressive centre for an airline group experiencing enormous growth. The Lion Air Group plans to have 700 jets by 2030, a massive expansion thanks to a huge jump in passenger numbers each year of about 15 per cent. The company has done a lot to improve its safety record, including appointing international consultants, and ground has been made. Lion Air was removed from the European Union blacklist in 2016, although it still only operates in and around South-East Asia. It also had its safety record upgraded by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) this year. A history of safety concerns While it is unclear yet what caused the three-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 to crash, the deaths of 189 people has once again shone a spotlight on the airline's safety. The same jet had experienced technical problems during a flight from Bali to Jakarta the night before the fatal crash. Lion Air will need to explain why it was not grounded. Between 2002 to 2013 there have been at least 19 incidents involving the Lion Air Group in Indonesia. In one 2013 incident a pilot overran the runway in Bali and ended up in the ocean - fortunately everyone survived. "Well of course there is always room for improvement, but we are committed to do it, we are committed," Group Safety and Quality director Jose Fernandez, who was recruited from Spain to improve Lion Air's record, told Foreign Correspondent in 2015. It is up to Indonesia's aviation watchdog to change its culture and improve the standards across the sector, or air passengers will continue to be put at risk. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-30/lion-air-tragedy-latest-in-long-list-of-indonesia-incidents/10445326 Back to Top Why Airplane Black Boxes Are So Hard to Find After Crashes By Alan Levin , Julie Johnsson , and Harry Suhartono • Lion Air jetliner slammed into sea near Jakarta on Monday • Absent streaming capabilities, flight recorders must be found Search and Rescue personnel examine recovered debris from Lion Air flight JT 610 in Jakarta on Oct. 30. Photographer: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images Once again, the world is transfixed with an undersea search to solve the mystery of why an airliner plunged into the ocean. With images of the years-long unsuccessful search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 still fresh, the Indonesian government has dispatched 34 boats and more than 800 military and civilian personnel in search of a Lion Air plane that went down violently on Monday with 189 people on board, all of whom are feared dead. Divers hadn't located the aircraft's underwater resting place as of Tuesday night. The search in relatively shallow water near shore with data showing a precise location of the crash shouldn't present the difficulties faced by some previous hunts, but veterans of these efforts cautioned that it could be complicated by balky locater beacons and the sometimes tricky politics of who has to pay the considerable sums required to locate and retrieve wreckage. Based on what appears to be a high-speed dive into the water, which can violently tear an aircraft apart, it's possible the so-called pinger locater beacons attached to a plane's crash-proof recorders were damaged, said Steven Saint Amour, who is founder of Eclipse Group Inc. and has participated in dozens of similar searches. "It looks like it was a pretty high-energy impact, like nose in," Saint Amour said. "They may very well find the beacons, but there might not be anything attached to them. So they might have to visually search for the boxes." The pingers send a sound beacon once they come in contact with water and are designed to make them easier to locate. If the pingers broke loose on the Lion Air plane, then a lengthier manual search would be required to find the black box recorders, he said. The almost new Boeing Co. 737 Max crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Jakarta early Monday, slamming into the water at high speed, according to preliminary data transmitted from the aircraft to the ground and reported by FlightRadar24. A pilot had asked to return to land and the flight track showed variations of speed and altitude, suggesting they were dealing with some kind of problem. But the plane's black boxes -- which monitor its electronics and mechanical systems as well as record the words of the pilots -- are needed to unravel what led to the dive into the water from about 4,850 feet (1,479 meters) altitude in about 21 seconds. Even in an era when smartphones automatically back up to the cloud, flight recorders don't transmit their data and need to be physically hauled from the deep. While it may be possible someday to stream flight data via satellite networks in real time, such networks don't currently exist to accommodate the thousands of aircraft aloft at the same time. After the Malaysian jet disappeared in 2014 and following the almost two years it took to locate Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean after it crashed in 2009, aviation regulators around the world implemented several steps to make it easier to find planes that crash in the oceans. They include making pingers that last for 90 days starting in 2020 instead of the current 30-day requirement. However, there still isn't an easy way to access the Lion Air jet's data without getting the actual black boxes. "The good news is it's in relatively shallow water," said John Purvis, a retired accident investigator with Boeing. "The minute it hits the water, within the first few feet, a lot of the energy is absorbed and that causes the breakup. The pieces sink to the bottom, so they're sitting there." The seabed in that region of the Java Sea is thought to be relatively flat, though mired in layers of sediment -- unlike the undersea mountains and canyons that have hampered teams searching for a missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean. "The shallow water of the Lion's crash could lead to some or many of the parts to be buried under the seabed or got covered in thick sediments," said Shadrach Nababan, a former investigator at Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee. Even in cases where the wreckage is easily located it can take days or longer to locate the black boxes. Specialized underwater microphones are required to hear the pingers, which transmit on a frequency outside the range of human hearing. The search for another Indonesian airliner, a jet operated by the former carrier Adam Air that crashed in the water off the nation's coast in 2007, was delayed for months in a dispute over who would pay for the effort, said Saint Amour, who participated in the search. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-30/airline-black-boxes-are-a-throwback-in-wired-world-of-cloud-data Back to Top After Laser Attacks, Pentagon Spending $200M to Protect Pilots' Eyeballs A C-130J pilot wears night vision goggle during a training mission above Yokota Air Base, Japan. The U.S. Air Force is planning to spend nearly $200 million on special glasses and visors to protect pilots' eyes from dangerous lasers like the ones the Pentagon accuses China of firing into the cockpits of U.S. warplanes. The Pentagon said the equipment is needed to protect aircrews from "emerging laser threats" in a contract announcement late last month. A laser shined into a cockpit can distract and potentially blind a pilot. The new devices "shall provide protection sufficient to prevent permanent eye damage and protection against the temporary effects of laser weapons/devices," a May contracting document states. Two companies - Gentex and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging - received $98.3 million deals to deliver the new eye protection through 2024. The new glasses and visors must work with pilots' current helmets. The contracts came less than five months after U.S. officials accused China of firing military-grade lasers into cockpits of American aircraft. Two American C-130 pilots reportedly suffered minor eye injuries during one incident. Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in May that the United States.. filed a complaint with China, which denies it was behind the incident over Djibouti. The U.S. and China have separate bases in the African nation. The American base, Camp Lemonnier, is a hub for special operations forces, counterterrorism, and intelligence-gathering missions in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. In June, the Pentagon said its pilots were being targeted repeatedly by Chinese lasers as planes flew over disputed islands in the Pacific. Each year, commercial pilots report thousands of incidents involving readily available laser pointers being shined into the cockpit. In the United States, shining a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime. https://www.govexec.com/technology/2018/10/after-laser-attacks-pentagon-spending-200m-protect-pilots-eyeballs/152411/ Back to Top Safety Standdown Strives To Normalize Excellence Bombardier Safety Standdown opened today with chief safety leaders from the FAA, NTSB, and the business aviation community highlighting this year's theme of "Normalization of Excellence" to upwards of 700 attendees.. Entering its third decade, attendance has grown to the point where Bombardier did not have enough space for the 100 more who hoped to attend. Over the years, the event has attracted more than 10,000 people (combined) and scores more listening in to the event that is now webcast online. Andy Nureddin, vice president of customer support and training for Bombardier, pointed to the shared passion for safety that has stemmed from Bombardier Safety Standdown and reiterated that "our community can't afford to take safety for granted." Also opening safety standdown was John DeLisi, director of the National Transportation Safety Board's Office of the Aviation Safety, who highlighted the safety record of the U.S. Part 121 operators-which went nine years without a fatal accident until just this past spring-and said now is the time to focus on Part 91 and 135. A perennial favorite at Safety Standdown, Convergent Performance's Tony Kern outlined the importance of being a "grinder." He pointed out top golfers who were grinders-they do not dwell in their mistakes but push through and look to the opportunity to take new shots. Kern encouraged the audience not to fall into the handcuffs of mediocrity that can come with experience over time. Instead, he challenged them to be a grinder, strive for a high level of professionalism that he said is "normalized excellence." Noting the importance of maintaining not only safety but the perception of safety for the industry, NBAA v-p of regulatory and international affairs Doug Carr pointed to his association's recent reaffirmation of its commitment to safety with the signing of its safety policy letter earlier this month. Carr lauded the many participants willing to collect and share data to help build on the safety record, and encouraged audience members who have not yet begun such practices to reach out to those who do to learn how to overcome obstacles to data sharing. Michael Zenkovich, deputy executive director for the FAA's Flight Standards Service, emphasized that "we're all on the same team," adding that while rules and regulations are important, they must come in concert with a strong safety culture. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-10-30/safety-standdown-strives-normalize-excellence Back to Top Chinese Intelligence Officers Charged With Espionage Over U.S. Aviation Hacks (LOS ANGELES) - Chinese intelligence officers and hackers working for them have been charged with commercial espionage that included trying to steal information on commercial jet engines, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The indictments named two officers working for the Nanjing-based foreign intelligence arm of China's Ministry of State Security and six other defendants who allegedly conspired from 2010 to 2015 to steal sensitive turbofan engine technology used in commercial aviation. The hackers used spear phishing to deploy malware and other means to intrude into a French aerospace company that was developing the engines with a U.S. company, prosecutors said. The suspects also hacked into aerospace companies in Massachusetts, Oregon and Arizona that manufactured engine parts. A Chinese state-owned aerospace company was working at the time to develop a similar type of engine for use in commercial aircraft. "This action is yet another example of criminal efforts by the (Ministry of State Security) to facilitate the theft of private data for China's commercial gain," U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. "The concerted effort to steal, rather than simply purchase, commercially available products should offend every company that invests talent, energy, and shareholder money into the development of products." The Justice Department in recent years has brought similar prosecutions against Chinese military or government officials accused of hacking into American corporations to steal secrets and prosecutors vowed to redouble those efforts. In 2014, for instance, the department announced an indictment against five military officers accused of breaking into the computer systems of big-name makers of nuclear and solar technology and stealing confidential business information, sensitive trade secrets and internal communications for competitive advantage. Earlier this month, an accused Chinese spy, was charged with attempting to steal secrets from several American aviation and aerospace companies and extradited to the U.S. Federal authorities said it was the first time that a Chinese Ministry of State Security intelligence officer had been extradited to the United States for trial. None of the eight defendants named in the indictment unsealed Tuesday in San Diego federal court were in custody and the U.S. doesn't have an extradition treaty with China. Prosecutors said the hackers had tried to infiltrate 13 companies, including two aerospace based in the United Kingdom. The indictment only named one of the companies targeted, saying the first alleged hack in January 2010 aimed at stealing data from Los Angeles-based Capstone Turbine, a gas turbine manufacturer. http://time.com/5439846/chinese-agents-charged-espionage-aviation-hacking/ Back to Top FAA Seeks Comment On ATP Revisions The FAA is accepting comments until Dec. 21 on its proposed new ATP certification standards, which have been posted online. The standards were revised by an industry group chaired by David Oord, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs, working with the FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. The working group proposed the new standards, and the FAA has accepted the proposal. Interested parties can review the proposal and submit comments online. The FAA and the industry group have been working since January 2014 to develop standards, training guidance, test management, and reference materials for airman certification testing. The original task focused on the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, ATP and Authorized Instructor certificates and the Instrument Rating in the airplane category. The task was expanded in February 2016 to include the Aircraft Mechanic certificate with Airframe and/or Powerplant ratings. The task was further expanded in September 2017 to add the Sport Pilot and Recreational Pilot certificates in all airplane categories, and the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, ATP and Instructor certificates and the Instrument Rating in the remaining aircraft categories to include rotorcraft, powered-lift and glider. https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAA-Seeks-Comment-On-ATP-Revisions-231787-1.html Back to Top FAA: Not All Medications Are Approved For Flying The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the general aviation (GA) community's national #FlySafe campaign helps educate GA pilots about the best practices to calculate and predict aircraft performance and to operate within established aircraft limitations. A Loss of Control (LOC) accident involves an unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight. LOC can happen when the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelope and quickly develops into a stall or spin. It can introduce an element of surprise for the pilot. Medications and Flight Medicine, whether it's prescribed or bought over-the-counter, is designed to solve a problem. However, used incorrectly, medicine may create real hazards for pilots. Some drugs can compromise your ability to control the aircraft. These meds can affect your ability to think clearly and make critical decisions quickly and accurately. The FAA is concerned with a medication's side effects in you as well as whether your underlying medical condition allows you to be fit for flight. Level with your doctor, and your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME), and tell him or her about your condition. He or she may be able to treat you in a way that will keep you safe, and in the cockpit. Don't Be "That Pilot" A pilot may decide that he or she can control a medicine's effects on the body, and decide to fly anyway. Since a medicine's effects can be exaggerated at higher altitudes, that plan could be disastrous. Another pilot may choose to withhold information, and not tell his or her AME, that he or he has a condition that could compromise safety. Not only could the undisclosed condition endanger the airman, but the treatment could also create problems through drugs that limit peak performance in the cockpit. You must ensure you are fit for flight, and that means being alert, ready, and free from any limiting medications. You must be honest with your AME and tell him or her about any medical conditions you may have, and any medications you are taking. In some cases, he or she can recommend alternative treatment options that could keep you in the air. Common Meds to Watch For The FAA is often asked for a list of "approved medications," but the FAA does not publish such a list. The reason is that medications change frequently, and while the FAA may approve medications for some diagnoses, those same medications are not approved for others. What types of side effects should you look out for in medications? One of the most common side effects is drowsiness, which you'll often see in antihistamines, a medication used to control allergies. These meds can have powerful sedating effects. In fact, one of them (Benadryl) is often used as a sedative. The NTSB has found that sedating antihistamines are the most common medications found in the bodies of pilots killed in accidents. The second most common sedating drugs are cardiovascular drugs, which include medications for high blood pressure. Some less common drugs include those used to treat diarrhea, seizures, smoking addiction, and depression. Avoid opioids at all times. If you are taking any of these drugs, work with your doctor and/or AME to see if you can find an alternative. Don't fly while using a medication with which you've previously experienced a negative side effect. If you are using an FAA-approved medication for the first time, see how it affects you before taking flight. Wait 48 hours after taking it and see if you are fit for flight. https://seaplanemagazine.com/2018/10/31/faa-not-all-medications-are-approved-for-flying/ Back to Top Aviation institution offers online courses (South Africa) SA-based aviation training institution Cranfield Aviation Training has introduced an e-learning platform as part of its online strategy to offer students an alternative means of acquiring its qualifications. The new e-learning platform, according to the institution, was introduced to ensure longevity as a provider of training in aviation, and meet the changing demands its learners. Established in 2018, the institution, which has over 6 000 students, offers 80 courses to flight deck and cabin crew personnel, and flight engineers. It has collaborated with e-learning solutions provider, aNewSpring, to offer nine of these courses online, with a target of offering an additional 23 in the next three months. "E-learning is becoming more commonplace in SA and the modern day learner is no longer content with training in a classroom environment," says Mandy Tebbit, director of Cranfield Aviation Training. "Many operators around the globe send their crew to SA for training, largely as a result of the good quality of education offered. Time and costs will be greatly reduced, with the crew being able to undergo their recurrency training at their own time and pace." Cranfield has for seven years been trying to get permission from the SA Civil Aviation Authority to offer online training, adds Tebbit. Given the nature of the training, applicable regulations, required accreditation, and the safety concern for both passengers and crew, the authority needed to ensure a high level of training is maintained, and verification and auditing is possible. Paul Hanly, co-founder of New Leaf Technologies, distributor of aNewSpring learning solutions, says: "We are excited about this project and look forward to the results that we know e-learning will bring to this traditionally conservative industry. We see huge benefits for people like pilots and cabin crew who are often out of the country and can now do a large amount of their recurrency training remotely, in their own time." Cranfield has 25 non-aviation courses relating to other high-risk industries, such as nuclear, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and construction. It aims to have at least five of these available on the e-learning platform within the next month. "We see a huge demand internationally for human factor training in other industries, such as mining as well as oil and gas. Our goal is to take these courses outside of the aviation industry using the aNewSpring platform," concludes Tebbit. https://www.itweb.co.za/content/P3gQ2qGXQ8dvnRD1 Back to Top Inspecting an Airplane with the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise DJI's AirWorks bills itself as much more than a showcase of drone industry insight. The event also mentioned it would provide attendees with the opportunity to connect with people who are actually using drone technology to improve operational efficiencies in real, practical ways. In an airport hangar at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, we got a look at one of those practical applications that could change expectations around how airplanes across the country are inspected. This is what airplane inspections could soon look like. At an American Airlines hangar, teams and executives from both American Airlines and DJI showcased how the new DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise could be used to inspect an airplane in order to identify potential damage or other issues that need the attention of technicians. This proof of concept inspection showed off what it would mean for those technicians to get this information in real-time while also creating a model that could eventually be fully automated. American Airlines technicians currently use an aerial lift to inspect airplanes in a process that takes three people many hours to complete. It's also time that the plane has to remain on the ground and can cause or lead to delays and canceled flights, which can be an especially frustrating cost when the inspection finds nothing wrong with the airplane. Using a drone to find and identify potential issues could cut that time in half and allow technicians to address these issues in a much quicker manner. The team is planning to use known issues to create classifiers that will allow the drone to call out potential problems that need attention. Given how complicated an airplane is with so many different pieces and parts, the American Airlines team wants to create a system that the drone can utilize to create inspection reports which technicians can then review. Operators would be responsible for flying the drone to perform these inspections, but eventually, an automated process to fly a specific airplane and generate a report could be created. The entire demonstration was about the "art of the possible" since there are numerous logistics and details that need to be worked through before this process could be utilized. Those possibilities don't end at airplane inspections though. Once this inspection model has been established, drones could be used to inspect areas around the tarmac, or even inspect runways to assess or identify potential damage that otherwise takes those runways out of commission for hours. It's always fun to talk about the potential and possibilities associated with drone technology, but DJI and American Airlines have been able to demonstrate the specific value drones could represent. That's a difference which has and will continue to see these possibilities transformed into reality. https://www.expouav.com/news/latest/inspecting-airplane-dji-mavic-2-enterprise/ Back to Top Airbus says tougher to meet jet delivery goal after snags PARIS (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus softened its key target for jet deliveries on Wednesday and warned that reaching it would be a "greater stretch" after a sequence of industrial problems. An Airbus A321neo during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol The cautious tone on deliveries - which implied a 2 percent cut in the annual target by changing its parameters to include a recently acquired Canadian jet - came despite higher than expected third-quarter core earnings and strong demand from airlines. The maker of jetliners, satellites and helicopters said it had made an adjusted operating profit of 1.576 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the quarter on revenues of 15.451 billion. Analysts on average expected third-quarter adjusted operating profit of 1.441 billion euros on sales of 15.316 billion, according to a Reuters poll. Airbus shares rose 0.3 percent to 94.21 euros. The company has been struggling with fresh industrial problems as production of its fast-selling A321neo passenger jet hit a snag in Hamburg, Germany, even as bottlenecks eased at some engine makers. The problems with the A321neo, a model central to Airbus's ambition to dominate the top end of the single-aisle market and thwart Boeing's plans for a new mid-sized passenger jet, were first reported by Reuters. "A lot remains to be done before the end of the year to fulfill commitments," Airbus said in a statement. Airbus stuck to its headline target of around 800 commercial deliveries in 2018 but disclosed this now included 18 deliveries of the Bombardier CSeries jet, renamed A220. Logo of Airbus is seen as an Airbus Beluga XL transport plane prepares to take off during its first flight event in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Delegates at a Hong Kong gathering this week had warned that Airbus faced a challenge to meet the crucial goal. Airbus also trimmed its cashflow target for the year. INDUSTRIAL CHALLENGES Delays in supplies of engines for medium-haul jets from Pratt & Whitney and French-U.S. supplier CFM International are receding but Britain's Rolls-Royce last week cut the number of engines it plans to deliver for the wide-body Airbus A330neo this year. "We have engines and we have the airframes but the whole industrial planning had to be reshuffled time and again ... next to some industrial challenges on our own operation," Finance Director Harald Wilhelm told analysts. Boeing too has suffered industrial problems, but the world's largest planemaker last week reported stronger-than-expected profits, reflecting continued strong airliner demand. The commercial aerospace sector is in the eighth year of an extended upcycle but there are some concerns about airline profitability that usually drives jet orders, speakers at the Airline Economics conference in Hong Kong said this week. Even so, planemakers and their suppliers are pushing production to record levels based on eight years' worth of new plane orders, and their attention is focused on ironing out flaws in an already stretched global supply chain. Airbus said talks aimed at overhauling a loss-making contract with European buyer nations for the delayed A400M military airlifter were advancing "a bit slower than planned," as Airbus focuses on commercial deliveries and securing the ramp-up of the A320neo family, which includes the A321neo. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-results/airbus-says-tougher-to-meet-jet-delivery-goal-after-snags-idUSKCN1N50TV Back to Top CAA launch Unmanned Aircraft Systems regulation training course CAA International (CAAi), the training arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, has launched a brand new, one-day training course on Unmanned Aircraft Systems regulation. Titled "Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems Regulation", the course provides delegates with an understanding of the regulatory framework associated with the operation of unmanned aircraft systems. The course explores existing UAS regulations and how they apply to leisure and commercial UAS operations. Delegates will benefit from guidance on the requirements, operational and technical aspects and the risk-based processes underpinning the application and granting of authorisations for UAS operations. With drone use growing at a rapid rate in the UK, the CAA has played an active role in educating UK drone users. In cooperation with NATS and supported by industry, in 2016 the CAA rolled out a major campaign to promote the responsible use of drones using the CAA's "Dronecode". Within a few months, public awareness of Dronecode leapt by 50 per cent. Silke Buckley, Senior Training Manager for CAAi said, "To date, the CAA has been proactive targeting drone users to raise awareness of the rules and regulations in the UK. This training course will now allow the CAA to engage with fellow regulatory professionals overseas and industry. By exploring the current and future UAS regulatory system in accordance with ICAO, EASA and UK CAA standards, delegates will gain a solid understanding of how regulation impacts UAS operations". Designed and developed by active UK CAA regulators, the first course will take place at the CAA's London Gatwick training facilities on 25 March 2019. For more information, please visit: https://caainternational.com/uas-training ________________________________________ Notes to Editor: CAA International (CAAi) is the technical cooperation and training arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA). CAAi works with countries to improve aviation standards sustainably across the globe, connecting States with the expertise from within the UK CAA. CAAi provides technical assistance, capacity building, development and training programmes to aviation regulators and industry across the world.. Drawing on world-leading expertise from within the UK aviation regulator, CAAi helps organisations design, implement and maintain regulatory best practice to comply with international standards. In 2017, CAAi worked with over 45 countries and trained over 2,000 aviation professionals from 63 countries. You are receiving this message from Stuart Coates (UK CAA), stuart.coates@caa.co.uk at CAA International Ltd. United Kingdom, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR stuart.coates@caainternational.com Back to Top NASA's planet-hunter telescope, Kepler, runs out of fuel Tampa (AFP) - The US space agency's Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel and is being retired after nine and a half years, having helped discover more than 2,600 planets, some of which may hold life, officials said Tuesday. The unmanned space telescope, which launched in 2009, revealed that billions of hidden planets are in space and revolutionized humanity's understanding of the universe, experts said. Kepler helped astronomers measure potential planets by glimpsing transits, or moments when planets passed in front of their stars. Kepler showed that "20 to 50 percent of the stars visible in the night sky are likely to have small, possibly rocky, planets similar in size to Earth, and located within the habitable zone of their parent stars," NASA said in a statement. "That means they're located at distances from their parent stars where liquid water -- a vital ingredient to life as we know it -- might pool on the planet surface." Kepler's demise was "not unexpected and this marks the end of spacecraft operations," said Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director at NASA, on a conference call with reporters. Signals that fuel was nearly out were seen two weeks ago. Scientists were able to get all the data from Kepler down to Earth before it completely ran dry. NASA said it has decided to retire the spacecraft "within its current, safe orbit, away from Earth." NASA's retired principal investigator for the Kepler mission, Bill Borucki, described it as an "enormous success." "We have shown that there are more planets than stars in our galaxy," Borucki said. - Latest spacecraft fail - NASA has experienced a series of spacecraft problems lately. NASA's Opportunity rover is stalled on the surface of Mars following a major dust storm that struck in late May and June. The asteroid-hopping Dawn mission ran out of fuel last month. The Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory experienced technical problems earlier this month that have since been fully repaired. - 'Paved the way' - NASA says Kepler's mission may be over but its discoveries will be studied for years to come.. The next-generation planet hunter space telescope for NASA, TESS, launched in April and will survey far more cosmic terrain than Kepler. Both use the same system of detecting planetary transits, or shadows cast as they pass in front of their star. The new spacecraft will focus on nearby exoplanets, those in the range of 30 to 300 light-years away. Kepler confirmed a trove of 2,681 planets outside our solar system. However most of these exoplanets were too distant and dim to be examined further. The far more advanced James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to lift off in 2021, should be able to reveal more about planets' mass, density and the makeup of their atmosphere -- all clues to habitability. "Because of Kepler, what we think about our place in the universe has changed," said Hertz. "The Kepler mission has paved the way for future exoplanet studying missions." https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasas-planet-hunter-telescope-kepler-runs-fuel-193852963.html Back to Top DOCTORAL RESEARCH SURVEY My name is Robert Lee. I am a doctoral candidate at Northcentral University. I am conducting a study on employee safety climate in the FBO industry. The purpose of the study is to examine how manager turnover affects safety climate. To be eligible to participate you must be at least 18 years old and be currently employed as a line services professional. The survey should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. All responses will be confidential and anonymous. Your name and company will not be requested nor linked to you. If you would like to participate, please click on the provided Survey Monkey web link, complete the online informed consent form, and proceed with the questionnaire. SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6WVY9ZN Your participation is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Robert Lee Doctoral Candidate - Organizational Leadership Northcentral University 352.284.6989 R.Lee2968@o365..ncu.edu 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 Curt Lewis