Flight Safety Information November 15, 2018 - No. 232 In This Issue Boeing 737-8H4 (WL) - Bird Strike (Penn.) Incident: Endeavor CRJ2 at Atlanta on Oct 12th 2018, smoke in cockpit EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Canadair CRJ-200ER - Ground Damage (Canada) Boeing 777-236(ER) - Ground Damage (Canada) China Southern Airlines jet lands at Hong Kong International Airport - only to find another plane on the runway NTSB: Pilot in Kaneohe Bay chopper crash lost consciousness twice during flight Report sheds light on Southwest jet that blew an engine, killing passenger FAA evaluates a potential design flaw on Boeing's 737 MAX after Lion Air crash Last-minute flight schedule changes are wearing out pilots, unions complain Pilot shortage remedy raises safety questions as thousands sought to fill gap Time to tame unruly passengers on flight Changes Coming for U.S. Aircraft Registry Robertson ISASI Fellowship Awardee: Tori Kobayashi Atlas signs pilot agreement with Ameriflight while unions continue to warn of staff shortages DTI Training Workshops Scheduled in Canada and the U.S. Investigation in Safety Management Systems from SCSI Boeing 737-8H4 (WL) - Bird Strike (Penn.) Date: 14-NOV-2018 Time: ca 13:22 LT Type: Boeing 737-8H4 (WL) Owner/operator: Southwest Airlines Registration: N8509U C/n / msn: 36925/6158 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Pittsburgh-Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, PA (PIT/KPIT) - United States of America Phase: Initial climb Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Pittsburgh-Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, PA (PIT/KPIT) Destination airport: Fort Myers-Southwest Florida Regional Airport, FL (RSW/KRSW) Narrative: Southwest Airlines flight WN1486 returned to land at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh, USA after suffering a bird strike. The Boeing 737-800 took off from runway 28R at 13:20 hours local time. After reaching 9000 feet in the climb, the crew elected to turn back since the aircraft had suffered a bird strike. The aircraft landed safely at 13:44. A photo from the incident shows a bird embedded in the leading edge of what appears to be the horizontal stabilizer. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=217806 Back to Top Incident: Endeavor CRJ2 at Atlanta on Oct 12th 2018, smoke in cockpit An Endeavor Air Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Delta Airlines, registration N8847A performing flight 9E-5370/DL-5370 from Columbus,GA to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 34 passengers and 3 crew, was enroute when the crew received indication of a possible oil leak at the APU. Descending through 8000 feet into Atlanta an odour described like a sweet alcoholic sanitizer followed by visible smoke developed on board, soon after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit telling ATC there was quite a bit of smoke at the interior of the aircraft, they would stop on the runway for an inspection by emergency services. The aircraft landed on Atlanta's runway 28 a few minutes later and stopped on the runway. The crew told ATC they believed the source of the smoke was in the aft area possibly the APU, emergency services reported there was no smoke or other hazard visible from the outside. The crew subsequently decided to taxi to the apron. A number of crew were taken to a hospital. According to information The Aviation Herald received the crew received an APU OIL PRESS EICAS message in flight, the APU was shut down, an odour and subsequent intensifying smoke developed on board prompting both flight crew to don their oxygen masks. Several smoke detectors for lavatory, windshield heat, right window etc. activated. The APU was subsequently replaced and its bay cleaned from oil distributed throughout the compartment. Both flight crew were sent to a hospital and discharged after checks. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EDV5370/history/20181012/1900Z/KCSG/KATL http://avherald.com/h?article=4c0480c4&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Canadair CRJ-200ER - Ground Damage (Canada) Date: 14-NOV-2018 Time: Type: Canadair CRJ-200ER Owner/operator: Nav Canada Registration: C-GNVC C/n / msn: 7519 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Halifax-Stanfield International Airport, NS (YHZ/CYHZ) - Canada Phase: Standing Nature: Calibration/Inspection Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The aircraft was struck by a deicing truck, damaging the tail. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=217789 Back to Top Boeing 777-236(ER) - Ground Damage (Canada) Date: 14-NOV-2018 Time: Type: Boeing 777-236(ER) Owner/operator: British Airways Registration: G-YMMT C/n / msn: 36518/791 Fatalities: Fatalities: / Occupants: Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Toronto Pearson Airport - Canada Phase: Standing Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: CYYZ Destination airport: EGLL Narrative: British Airways BA92 to London from Toronto cancelled tonight. Aircraft damaged when it arrived; struck by the gate. Now parked at infield terminal at Toronto Pearson Airport. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=217826 Back to Top China Southern Airlines jet lands at Hong Kong International Airport - only to find another plane on the runway China Southern Airlines flight, coming in from Zhejiang province, ends up within half a runway's length of hitting business jet A Boeing jet came within half a runway's length of smashing into another plane that still hadn't cleared the airstrip as they both arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday night, aviation chiefs have revealed. The city's new Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) appeared likely to be called in to review the incident, which raised questions over whether controllers gave prompt orders to both planes and why the department only disclosed what happened a day later. In a press release issued on Wednesday night, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Department said: "At 7.47pm last night, a China Southern Airlines airliner travelling from Zhejiang to Hong Kong landed at the north runway as per the instruction of the [air traffic controller], while the preceding business jet that had landed on the same runway had not vacated the runway completely." He said the business jet, arrived from the Philippines, had acknowledged the instruction of the control officer to clear the runway quickly. "The runway is 3,800 metres long. According to the preliminary information, the two aircraft were more than 1,800 metres apart when the [second] airliner touched down," he said. The department said no one was injured; the operation of the airport was unaffected; and it had reported the incident to the AAIA. The agency was recently set up to conform with global rules requiring investigations to be independent of local regulators. According to arrivals data from the Airport Authority, the business jet had arrived from Angeles City. The second flight, using a Boeing 737-81B, which is more commonly known as the 737-800, was China Southern Airlines flight CZ6045 from Yiwu, Zhejiang province. According to control tower audio heard by the Post, the controller spoke to the pilots in the final stages of landing. The unidentified controller instructed the business jet to "please expedite to clear [the] runway" as soon as possible. The pilot acknowledged the instruction, according to the audio archives of LiveATC.com, a website which stores air traffic control recordings worldwide. It is unclear from the recording whether the China Southern flight was instructed to land as the speech was inaudible, but the pilot contacted the control tower 46 seconds after it spoke to the earlier arrival, and the same controller told the pilot to "expect a late landing clearance". But the two aircraft soon ended up in close proximity on the airstrip. A Cathay Pacific Airways pilot of 25 years' experience said a late landing clearance instruction warned the pilots they may be asked to terminate the descent and go around for a second landing, due to another plane still being on the runway. But he said the tower still had the discretion to clear the aircraft to land regardless. The veteran said if the previous plane was still on the runway, the next aircraft in line should have been instructed to do a go-around. The pilot also has the discretion to decide on a go-around. While no one was injured and there was still 1,800 metres between the planes, Civic Party legislator Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a commercial pilot, said it was still a dangerous situation. "Weather conditions, such as a gust, can cause a plane to land a bit further from the target touchdown point," he said. "Malfunctions in brakes could also mean a longer distance is required to decelerate." As such, Tam said, the rules state there should not be a plane on the runway when another is landing. He said investigators would want to look into why the business jet took so long to leave the runway, and why the control officer did not instruct the pilot of the China Southern plane to go around. Tam added he would have expected the announcement of the incident to be made before noon on Wednesday, rather than in the evening. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/2173277/boeing-jet-near-collision-another-plane- runway-hong-kong Back to Top NTSB: Pilot in Kaneohe Bay chopper crash lost consciousness twice during flight * The two passengers injured during the hard landing were celebrating their recent engagement. A chopper crashed into Kaneohe Bay on Monday, leaving three people seriously injured. KANEOHE (HawaiiNewsNow) - The pilot of a tour helicopter that crashed onto a Kaneohe Bay sandbar last month told investigators he lost consciousness twice during the flight and remembers being in a 'dream-like state' during the chopper's descent, according to a preliminary NTSB accident report that was released Wednesday. EMS officials say three people are in serious condition after a helicopter crashed into a Kaneohe Bay sandbar. Two passengers - 35-year-old Carli McCounaghy and 31-year-old Adam Barnett, both of Illinois - suffered injuries when the Robinson R44 helicopter went down on October 22. Authorities say the 57-year-old pilot was also injured in the accident. The report released Wednesday says the sightseeing tour originated at the Honolulu International Airport was originally scheduled to last 45-minutes and was billed as a 'circle island route.' But 20 minutes into the flight, according to a statement from the pilot, he felt himself lose consciousness. "Moments later, he regained consciousness and control of the helicopter," reads the NTSB report. "The pilot changed course from following along the coast to turning towards the coast, then prepared himself for a precautionary landing." Just seconds later, the pilot told investigators, he lost consciousness again. He remained unconsciousness until he was rescued by first responders. The NTSB report corroborates statements from McCounaghy and Barnett in the hours after the flight, when they reported that the pilot had suffered some sort of health emergency. "They did indicate that the pilot had some medical issues and they had to intervene," said Jessica Lani Rich, of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, the day after the crash. "They thought that they were going to die as the helicopter was going down." With the pilot passed out and the helicopter diving, according to the report, McConaughy, who was in the front, grabbed the helicopter controls managed to 'slow the descent' of the helicopter before it crashed onto the sandbar. The report also states that the pilot, who was accumulated nearly 1,500 flight hours in the type of helicopter he was piloting when he crashed, has not had any medical problems since being hired by the company in May. The two passengers who were injured have since recovered and returned home to their homes just outside of Chicago. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2018/11/14/ntsb-pilot-kaneohe-bay-chopper-crash-lost-consciousness- twice-during-flight/ Back to Top Report sheds light on Southwest jet that blew an engine, killing passenger WASHINGTON - New details emerged Wednesday about the deadly accident on a Southwest Airlines 737 in April in which one passenger was killed when she was nearly sucked out a window. It was "metal fatigue" that caused a fan blade inside the left engine of Southwest flight 1380 to break at about 30,000 feet. Within three seconds, investigators believe the engine blew and shrapnel burst out a window in the passenger cabin, killing passenger Jennifer Riordan. New testimony just released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says passengers rushed to help Riordan after they saw her with her seat belt still fastened, her head, torso and arm hanging out of the broken window. One even reached outside the plane to help pull her back in. Riordan's husband spoke to CBS News days after the accident, saying if he could talk to her, he'd tell her, "I love you." "I have no idea how I can do this without her, but because of her I know I can," he said. The engine maker told the NTSB during a hearing Wednesday the failed engine blade had made about 32,000 flights, and was last been inspected for fatigue in 2012. An examination of that blade after the deadly accident found signs it was likely beginning to suffer cracks from metal fatigue in 2012, but those cracks were smaller than what the tests at the time could detect. Another Southwest Airlines 737 had an eerily similar engine failure in 2016 that prompted some additional engine inspections. Since April the FAA has issued a series of orders requiring more frequent ultrasonic inspections of fan blades on 737s. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southwest-airlines-accident-engine-struck-and-killed-passenger-metal- fatigue Back to Top Back to Top FAA evaluates a potential design flaw on Boeing's 737 MAX after Lion Air crash The first flight of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 lands at Boeing Field in Seattle in April, 2017. A new flight control system on the MAX is a focus in the investigation of the Lion Air crash. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times) Analysts, including former Boeing flight controls experts, are concerned that a new automated flight control system on Boeing's 737 MAX may be flawed and that the way it changed the jet's handling could have sown confusion on the flight deck of Lion Air Flight JT610. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday it's evaluating whether to require Boeing to fix a possible flaw in its design of a new automated flight control system introduced for the 737 MAX jet. It's also looking into whether the technical data and training provided to pilots transitioning to the new jet model was adequate. Flight control experts believe that lack of information about the new system likely confused the pilots flying the Lion Air jet that crashed Oct. 29 in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. The air safety agency said Wednesday that "the FAA and Boeing continue to evaluate the need for software and/or other design changes to the aircraft, including operating procedures and training." The accident investigation has already established that false readings from a sensor that measures the plane's angle of attack (AOA) - the angle between the wing and the oncoming air flow - could have triggered a flight control system new on the MAX that relentlessly pushed the nose of the aircraft downward. FAA spokesman Greg Martin said "the angle of attack values used by several systems, including the air data, the fight controls, the stall warning, etcetera, the safety analysis for each of these systems are currently being reviewed." Flight control experts say the new system kicking in would have changed the feel of the plane's control yoke from what the pilots had experienced training on simulators, possibly sowing confusion aboard Flight JT610. Boeing insists the plane is safe to fly. Appearing Tuesday on the Fox Business Network, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg called the MAX "very safe" and said Boeing provides "all of the information that's needed to safely fly our airplanes." Even the pilots at American Airlines and Southwest, who on Monday expressed concern that they had not been given prior information about the new flight control system, continue to fly the plane. They've been assured that a standard procedure Boeing highlighted after the Lion Air crash will turn off the system if it goes awry in the future and quickly return the jet to normal flight. Still, even though it may be no more than one element in a string of events that led to the Lion Air catastrophe, the new MAX flight control system has become a subject of intense controversy. Three former Boeing flight control experts were startled by the FAA's description last week of the new MAX system. In an airworthiness directive, the FAA cited an analysis by Boeing that "if an erroneously high single angle of attack (AOA) sensor input is received by the flight control system, there is a potential for repeated nose-down trim commands" that will swivel the plane's horizontal tail to pitch the nose downward. The fact that the plane's nose could be automatically and repeatedly pushed down due to one false signal shocked Peter Lemme, a former Boeing flight controls engineer, who said it looks like a design flaw. "To contemplate commanding the (horizontal tail to pitch the jet) nose down clearly is a major concern. For it to have been triggered by something as small as a sensor error is staggering," Lemme said. "It means somebody didn't do their job. There's going to be hell to pay for that." Likewise, Dwight Schaeffer, a former Boeing electronics engineer and senior manager who oversaw development of systems, including the 737's stall management computer, said the brief description in the FAA's airworthiness directive "blows me away." "Usually you never have a single fault that can put you in danger," said Schaeffer. "I've never seen any such system." A former Boeing vice president who started as an avionics engineer - who asked for anonymity, because as a former executive he said he worries about being sued by the company for public criticism - said he is also surprised at the suggestion in the FAA wording of "a single point of failure" that could bring down an aircraft. But he added that he wouldn't necessarily call it a design flaw in itself, provided flight crews have the ability to recognize what's happening and have training to deal with it. Yet this too is a point of controversy. Boeing rushed out a bulletin last week to inform pilots all over the world about the new flight control system and exactly what to do to shut it down if it goes haywire. But the Lion Air crew didn't have that information and may have been confused by a key handling difference that the system could have caused during the flight. New flight controls Bjorn Ferhm, a former jet-fighter pilot and an aeronautical engineer who is now an analyst with Leeham.net, said the technical description of the new 737 MAX flight control system - called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) - that Boeing released to airlines last weekend makes clear that it is designed to kick in only in extreme situations, when the plane is doing steep turns that put high stress on the airframe or when it's flying at speeds so low it's about to stall. Management at Southwest Airlines told its pilots that Boeing did not include any description of MCAS in the flight manual because a pilot "should never see the operation of MCAS" in normal flying. But in the extreme circumstances where it does activate, when the angle of attack hits the range of 10 to 12 degrees, the system rotates the horizontal tail so as to pitch the nose down. And if the high angle of attack persists, the system repeats the command every 10 seconds. Ferhm said Boeing must have added this system on the MAX because when the angle of attack is high this model is less stable compared to prior 737 variants. That's because the MAX has bigger, heavier engines that are also cantilevered further forward on the wing to provide more ground clearance. That changes the center of gravity. The scenario feared in the Lion Air case is that the AOA sensor sent false signals that fooled the computer into thinking the plane was in a dangerous stall position, and so MCAS was triggered. Any pilot's natural reaction when a plane's nose begins to tilt down uncommanded is to pull back on the yoke and raise the nose. In normal flight mode, that would work, because pulling back on the yoke triggers breakout switches that stop any automatic tail movement tending to move the nose of the plane down. But with the MCAS activated, said Ferhm, those breakout switches wouldn't work. MCAS assumes the yoke is already aggressively pulled back and won't allow further pullback to counter its action, which is to hold the nose down. Fehrm's analysis is confirmed in the instructions Boeing sent to pilots last weekend. The bulletin sent to American Airlines pilots emphasizes that pulling back the control column will not stop the action. Ferhm said that the Lion Air pilots would have trained on 737 simulators and would have learned over many years of experience that pulling back on the yoke stops any automatic tail maneuvers pushing the nose down. "It fits in your feel memory," said Fehrm of this physical way of learning. But on the Lion Air flight, if MCAS was active because of a faulty sensor, the pilots would have pulled back and found the downward nose movement didn't stop. Fehrm is convinced this led to confusion in the cockpit that contributed to the loss of control. There is a standard procedure to shut off any automatic pitch control, but somehow the pilots didn't recognize that's what was happening. "MCAS had the wrong information and they reacted to that.," he said. "MCAS is to blame." However, he cautions that there's not enough information yet to know that the single AOA sensor failure triggered everything that happened, and that the entire sequence of events that led to the disaster won't be clear until the investigation is completed. "It may not be as simple as a single sensor," he said. Heartfelt at Boeing In the meantime, Fehrm said that the worldwide notification to pilots about MCAS and the re-emphasizing of the procedure to follow if the nose trim goes wrong, means that the MAX is today perfectly safe to fly. "Boeing is correct. If you follow this drill, you are fine," he said. "Pilots will hit those cut-off switches faster than you can blink." In Seattle this week, about 400 aviation professionals from around the world gathered for the annual International Air Safety Summit organized by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF). When FSF board chairman John Hamilton, who is vice president of engineering at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and formerly chief project engineer for the 737, gave an opening address Monday, he recalled his own personal experience of deep dread over a plane accident and used it to emphasize how people at Boeing react. Hamilton's wife is an Alaska Airlines flight attendant who on Jan. 31, 2000, was flying out of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. When Hamilton heard that Flight 261 out of that city and bound for Seattle had crashed, he feared she was among the 88 killed. He found out later she was on a different flight. But after his personal relief, he said he saw how that accident reverberated through Seattle and the aviation community. "What we do every day matters. The work we do touches so many lives," said Hamilton. "Everybody at Boeing ... is deeply saddened by the loss of Lion Air Flight 610." He recalled that when he headed engineering on the 737 program, "I was the one person ultimately responsible for the safety of that product," he said. "Every decision I made, I had to think through carefully and deliberately, since so many lives are dependent on that outcome." He said that Boeing together with safety regulators will investigate the Lion Air crash minutely and "learn what we can do to make sure it never happens again." https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/faa-evaluates-a-potential-design-flaw-on-boeings- 737-max-after-lion-air-crash/ Back to Top Last-minute flight schedule changes are wearing out pilots, unions complain American Airlines aircraft sit at gates May 11, 2018, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Pilots at American and Delta Air Lines say changes in crew schedule work rules will be an issue in contract talks next year. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Sudden changes to flight schedules are driving up fatigue reports and damaging morale for pilots at the nation's largest airlines, say aviator unions, which plan to make the issue a top priority in new contract talks next year. Pilots at American Airlines had about a 33 percent chance of being switched to a new or longer flight schedule during the summer's peak travel season, the highest rate ever, according to Allied Pilots Association calculations based on company data. Aviators at Delta Air Lines say their rate is about the same, although the carrier disputed that. The ability to change crew schedules, which is part of existing labor agreements, gives airlines an extra tool to shorten delays and keep more planes in the air. That reliability can help win customers and boost fares, though it comes with a price. Unexpected changes can squash morale and force pilots to turn down some flying because of fatigue. "It drives up your costs, it wears out your people and consumes contractual and regulatory crew time you can never get back," said aviation consultant Robert Mann. "It's widespread throughout the industry." Consolidation in the U.S. airline industry is probably contributing to the problem as some carriers try to use outdated processes to manage larger, more complex networks with more hub airports, Mann said. All airlines already pay pilots to remain on call to pick up trips when they need to plug holes because of illness, weather or personal emergencies. The number on call can range from below 15 percent of an airline's pilots to more than 30 percent. Those whose schedules are changed can receive extra pay depending on the circumstances, such as flying on a day off. Carriers can alter a pilot's expected schedule when he or she reports for work, reroute them to different flights at any point in their day, or add and remove flights. They can be reassigned duty on days they were scheduled to have off. In other cases, a schedule may be shortened and the pilot will still be paid for the dropped flight. "We reschedule pilots based on operational need and only do so when weather or other disruptions occur," said Matt Miller, an American spokesman. "We understand the impact this can have on our pilots and we always try to balance that impact with the impact to our customers." Leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association say they're determined to change work rules in their contract that date back to Delta's emergence from bankruptcy in 2007. They begin talks on a new labor agreement in April. APA, which represents aviators at American, also will seek contract changes when negotiations with American start in January. "The whole reroute issue is supposed to be an exception in the contract" for times when operations are disrupted, said Chad Smith, a Delta captain and head of the union's negotiating committee. "We want the contract to allow for that. But more and more, it's being used as an everyday tool for the convenience of the company." Southwest Airlines Pilots Association is concerned that reassignments are costly for the airline when they trigger premium pay, and can cause a cascading effect and additional operating issues, said spokesman Michael Trevino. Southwest Airlines will use its rescheduling option when it's faster than waiting several hours for a reserve pilot to fly in from another city, said Steve Jones, director of flight operations crew planning. The carrier doesn't typically stop to consider the cost of rescheduling a pilot over one already paid to be on standby, Jones said. "We're evaluating what's the best thing to get passengers where they need to be," he said. "Typically it's not a cost question for us. If we have time to get a reserve, we'll absolutely do it." The Dallas-based carrier's percent of pilots whose schedules were changed nearly doubled to more than 20 percent in 2014, when new federal rules on pilot work and rest hours were adopted and steps were taken to better manage fatigue. The rate has been at least 20 percent each year since then, according to data from the pilots union. Southwest has increased hiring, and is making fewer requests for pilots to fly on days off or on unscheduled overnights, Jones said. Delta said 90 percent of its pilots systemwide this year have flown the original schedule they signed up for, about the same as in 2017. "When we do need to adjust scheduling due to variables in the operation, we work to ensure minimal impact to customers and employees," the carrier said. Pilots who fly single-aisle airplanes on domestic routes through hub airports are the most likely to be rescheduled. APA said it has seen "a doubling to tripling" of fatigue calls linked to operations issues. "From pilots I'm talking to, it's probably also our biggest source of frustration," said Sander Mertz, an American captain based in Philadelphia. American's flight attendants add their own complaints about scheduling that includes "long days, short overnights, early check-ins or sporadic trips" that violate their contract, said Lori Bassani, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. Flight attendants from American and merger partner US Airways were integrated on Oct. 1, nearly five years after the carriers combined. A single operation should help American more efficiently set work schedules, said Jill Surdek, vice president of flight services. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-airline-pilot-fatigue-schedules-20181114-story.html Back to Top Pilot shortage remedy raises safety questions as thousands sought to fill gap CHICAGO (WLS) -- Thousands of commercial airline pilots are facing mandatory retirement and there's a stunning shortage of experienced people to replace them. Pilot training standards were overhauled after a commuter jet slammed into a neighborhood near Buffalo, New York. Now, there's talk of rolling back those regulations in order to put a new generation pilots in planes. After the 2009 accident, federal investigators found that the pilot made critical errors and had a "history of training failures." In response to the incident that killed everyone on board and one on the ground, the FAA dramatically increased the required flight training hours to become a commercial pilot. "Really it has increased safety," said Megan Zahos, Lewis University Assistant Professor of Aviation and Transportation. She continued, "It's a big increase in time and it's really slowed down people entering the industry." The pilot shortage is severe. Chicago-based Boeing projects that 790,000 new pilots are needed in the global airline industry in the next 20 years. That means training enough pilots to fill Soldier Field nearly 13 times. Experts said the shortage is due to a massive number of pilots about to reach the current mandatory retirement age of 65, expensive training, and other FAA requirements that make it difficult to enter the profession. "If we don't intervene today, this will be nothing short of a devastating crisis for small community air services," said Faye Malarkey Black, President and CEO, Regional Airline Association. The RAA is warning that the pilot shortage is already causing small regional airlines to shut down. They said smaller communities are losing service as larger airlines hire pilots away to plug their openings. They are also pushing regulators to allow pilots to qualify with fewer hours in the air, replacing some of it with time in a flight simulator. "We're not focusing on the hours, we're focusing on the experience and the skill set that comes out of those hours," said Black. "Proposing ideas that would replace pilot experience with simulator experience is madness," said Captain Dennis Tajer. The American Airlines Pilot and Allied Pilots Association Spokesman continued, "in fact it's insane." Experts said pilot experience counts. It's cited by federal investigators in both the Miracle on the Hudson and this year's Southwest landing as a key factor that saved lives. At Lewis University in southwest suburban Romeoville, students are taking to the air as part of the four year degree program. They've now partnered with six regional carriers to create a direct classroom to career pipeline aimed at filling the gap. "It is a big problem really the FAA, airlines and higher education are all working really hard to mitigate the impact of this pilot shortage that we're feeling," said Zahos. Since the vast majority of airline pilots now come from a civilian rather than military background, the FAA allows students graduating from a program such as this to qualify to be a pilot with 1,000 hours instead of 1,500. That's a savings of about a year of time and money, meaning more pilots in the pipeline. But Captain Tajer said there's no substitute for learning to fly in in the dirt, grime and g-forces of a real cockpit. "Lowering the experience level can effect whether our passengers are as safe as they are today. This is about saving lives, period," he said. Tajer said there's no substitute for learning to fly in real cockpit. Industry experts want to increase the availability of financial aid for expensive pilot training programs. Otherwise travelers will likely face canceled flights, reduced routes to smaller destinations and increased fees as airlines raise salaries to recruit new pilots. In September, Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell hosted an Aviation Workforce Symposium aimed at solving the crisis. Earlier in November, Elwell told the Aero Club of Washington they were working on what he called a "workforce dilemma." "We're going to solve it. Like we do everything else - with collaboration, calls to action, or just plain elbow grease," said Elwell. He continued, "but mark my words: there is a solution, and we will find it." In a statement, the FAA tells the I-Team conversations about the 1,500 hour rule are ongoing: The FAA is committed to enhancing safety by strengthening air carrier pilot training. The correct balance between training and experience is critical, and the FAA will only consider proposals that would increase safety beyond existing requirements. https://abc7chicago.com/pilot-shortage-remedy-raises-safety-questions-as-thousands-sought-to-fill-gap- /4675453/ Back to Top Time to tame unruly passengers on flight "While we should remember that disruptive passenger incidents are still relatively rare, they rank in the top- three concerns of cabin crew, and any incident is one too many," says Rafael Schvartzman, IATA's regional vice-president (Europe). In August 2014, a Heathrow, London-bound Virgin Atlantic flight from Hong Kong was forced to turn around due to "unruly" behaviour by a man, identified as "Robert". The passenger became "disruptive", violating the air safety rules and had to be arrested as the plane turned back and landed in Hong Kong. In November, 2015, an "unruly" passenger was restrained during a British Airways flight from London to Boston's Logan International Airport. The passenger, a woman, was reportedly drunk and tried to forcibly open the aircraft's exit door. She too was arrested and charged with bad behaviour and for interfering with the flight crew. A month later, an India-bound Air Canada flight had to be diverted back to Toronto due to an incident involving a "disruptive passenger". About two-and-a-half hours into the flight, the passenger reportedly bit the finger of a male attendant, following which the plane had to be turned around. Last year, a member of India's parliament hit an airline officer with his footwear, allegedly because he was refused a business class seat. The highly reprehensible incident has sparked off demands in India to put such unruly passengers on a permanent "no-fly" list. Obviously, unruly passengers are a continuing concern for air carriers worldwide. While serious disruptive behaviour remains rare, it can be costly and cause aircraft delays. Between 2007 and 2016, more than 58,000 unruly passenger incidents were reported on aircraft in-flight, data available with the International Air Transport Association show. These incidents include violence against crew and other passengers, harassment and failure to follow safety instructions. Unruly behaviour threatens passenger safety, disrupt other passengers and crew, causing unnecessary aircraft delays and diversions, IATA says. The majority of incidents involved verbal abuse, failure to follow lawful crew instructions and other forms of anti-social behaviour, industry experts say. A significant proportion of reports indicated physical aggression towards passengers or crew or damage to the aircraft. Alcohol or drug intoxication was identified as a factor in some cases, though in the vast majority of instances these were consumed prior to boarding or from personal supply without knowledge of the crew. But due to loopholes in existing laws, many such offences often remain unpunished and culprits go scot-free. In some countries, there has been a focus on the role of alcohol as a trigger for disruptive behaviour. Airlines already have strong guidelines and crew training on the responsible provision of alcohol. For example, IATA is supporting initiatives, such as the code of practice pioneered in the UK, which includes a focus on prevention of intoxication and excessive drinking prior to boarding. Evidence from an initiative by the now-defunct Monarch Airlines at London's Gatwick Airport has shown instances of disruptive behaviour can be cut 50% with this pro-active approach before passengers' board. The industry believes that adopting this cooperative voluntary approach is preferable to heavy-handed regulation and licensing. Studies have also revealed that some passengers get drunk obsessively in airport bars. For this reason, staff in airport bars and duty-free shops and pub operators must be trained to serve alcohol responsibly and there is a need to avoid offers that encourage so-called 'binge drinking'. Passengers need to be reminded to fly responsibly. The party should be at the destination and not on the plane. In a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring the main aviation industry partners together to raise awareness of the need to fly responsibly, the 'One Too Many' campaign was launched in the UK in July this year. It reminds passengers of the costs of drinking to excess when travelling by air. These include the risks of being denied boarding, having a plane diverted and the associated costs which include heavy fines, up to two years' prison, an airline ban and a diversion fee up to £80,000 for the most serious in-flight incidents. Disruptive passengers have the potential to ruin other people's flights, and therefore, the 'One Too Many' campaign is an important new step to ensure all passengers are aware of the consequences they face if they behave disruptively after drinking before or on board a flight. According to Rafael Schvartzman, regional vice-president (Europe) IATA, "While we should remember that disruptive passenger incidents are still relatively rare, they rank in the top-three concerns of cabin crew, and any incident is one too many. Airlines have a zero-tolerance approach to unruly behaviour and cabin crew and passengers have a right to a flight free from disturbance and harassment." Safety and security are considered the airline industry's top priorities. However, disruptive passengers have, over the past several years, become more prevalent and unruly passenger incidents are currently a very real and serious threat to both safety and security. The anti-social behaviour of a tiny minority of customers can have unpleasant consequences for the safety and comfort of all on board. Therefore, it is time to effectively address the issue of unruly passengers. International legal framework must be strengthened to ensure that governments have the necessary legal tools to be able to take action against the small minority of passengers who are unruly. https://www.gulf-times.com/story/612930/Time-to-tame-unruly-passengers-on-flight Back to Top Changes Coming for U.S. Aircraft Registry There are changes ahead for the U.S. aircraft registry due to new provisions in the recently passed FAA reauthorization bill, as well as anticipated recommendations stemming from ongoing investigations by the DOT Inspector General (IG) and Government Accountability Office (GAO), panelists said yesterday at Corporate Jet Investor Miami 2018. Under the reauthorization bill, the FAA's Oklahoma City-based aircraft registry is required to become fully digitized within three years, including all non-digital registry information and manual-/paper-based processes, business operations, and functions. The agency must also install systems that allow digital submission of information and conduct any transactions electronically. Further, the reauthorization bill will allow the FAA to charge a manual surcharge "for certain matters conducted in person" and prevents a government shutdown from affecting the registry. It also directs the FAA to initiate a rulemaking by early February that would extend the duration of general aviation aircraft registrations from three years to seven. Meanwhile, the DOT IG and GAO audits, spawned by last year's Boston Globe reports that criticized the registry, will cause even more, yet-to-be-determined changes. A DOT IG audit report on the efficiency of the FAA registry is imminent, while one on security is expected next year. The GAO report is also anticipated to come out next year. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-11-14/changes-coming-us-aircraft-registry Back to Top Robertson ISASI Fellowship Awardee: Tori Kobayashi Ms. Tori Kobayashi has been awarded the highly competitive Robertson / International Society of Air Science Investigators (ISASI) Fellowship in Aviation Safety and Crashworthiness. Kobayashi is currently completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics at the Prescott campus, with plans to graduate in December 2018 before beginning her graduate studies at Prescott. Originally from Lomita, Calif., Kobayashi's interest in pursuing aviation was inspired while attending an airshow at Edwards AFB, Calif. She was particularly enthused by the history of Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 flight breaking the sound-barrier at Edwards. Upon graduating high school, Kobayashi joined the Air Force with the specific goal of being an aircraft maintainer. "I did achieve this in Active Duty and as a veteran with my A&P," said Kobayashi. "I knew enlisting to be a maintainer would give me the chance to see aircraft up close that I had only seen in air shows, and it would give me the experience and maturity I needed to pursue an aviation-related career." Kobayashi came to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott campus as a Veteran of the U S Air Force, holder of an FAA Airframe & Powerplant Certificate, and possessing an Associate of Science degree in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Worldwide. Kobayashi chose to come to Prescott to further her education with a concentration in Aviation Safety. At Prescott, Kobayashi has participated in Women in Aviation International, and the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Arizona Chapter, located at Embry-Riddle. In advance of pursuing the Fellowship application, Kobayashi completed a capstone research project titled, The History of Human Factors in Maintenance. Kobayashi's decision to seek Robertson-ISASI Fellowship was predicated on the knowledge and experience that would come with it. "[It would] provide me with the opportunity to work closely with Embry-Riddle's Aviation Safety and Security Archives," said Kobayashi. "I drew encouragement from seeing handwritten documents by Jerome Lederer, the Father of Aviation Safety. Jerome Lederer created the Aircraft Mechanic's Creed in 1941, used globally in repair stations and hangars. His work has been my biggest inspiration in conducting research on aviation maintenance safety culture." Kobayashi's planned areas of research while holding the Robertson-ISASI Fellowship includes Human Factors and Safety Culture in aviation maintenance operations, with a concentration on outsourced aviation maintenance. https://news.erau.edu/news-briefs/robertson-isasi-fellowship-awardee-announced/ Back to Top Atlas signs pilot agreement with Ameriflight while unions continue to warn of staff shortages Atlas Air and Southern Air have entered into a pilot pathway agreement with Ameriflight that guarantees qualified pilots from the cargo airline an interview with the lessors. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas and Southern, said that the agreement would give Ameriflight pilots an opportunity for career progression. "We are pleased to form this special relationship with Ameriflight," said Atlas Air president and chief operating officer John Dietrich. "Our business is growing, and our airlines are a great place to build a career. Innovative partnerships like this one help us ensure a solid pipeline of qualified candidates dedicated to a career in aviation, which is at the center of today's modern global economy." Ameriflight chief executive Paul Chase added: "Our partnership with Atlas Air and Southern Air provides an exceptional career advancement opportunity for our pilots. "We have made a commitment to our team and the industry that Ameriflight will be the nation's top place for pilots to become professional, major-airline ready, aviators. This is why we choose to align ourselves with the world's best companies, like Atlas Air Worldwide. " The agreement comes as pilot unions continue to complain of a staff shortage at Atlas and Southern. Shortly after Atlas released its third-quarter results, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released a fact sheet claiming: "At the beginning of 2018, Atlas Air announced that it needed to add 200 pilots to its existing pilot pool to account for expanding business. "But the carrier's workplace conditions have made this goal unattainable. This year Atlas Air hired 288 new pilots but has lost approximately 145--just covering the amount lost, but not growing the overall size of available crews." It added: "The escalating attrition and retention problems continue to stress the airlines' operations. With an increase in delays, scheduling issues and incidents, pilots believe long-term success for the carriers - including in their partnerships with Amazon and DHL - could be at risk." The union blames "years-long delays" in contract negotiations and a looming pilot shortage for the issues. The Pilot Pathway Programme between Ameriflight, Atlas Air and Southern Air is open to qualified Ameriflight pilots. Participants will gain requisite experience fulfilling a number of benchmarks while at Ameriflight, including Atlas' ATP/CTP programme, professional/career development programs and more. Successful completion of the programme will afford for these Ameriflight pilots a guaranteed interview with Atlas Air and Southern Air subject to hiring needs and meeting all program and hiring requirements. Ameriflight largely provides air feeder services for major package express integrators utilising smaller aircraft such as Beechcrafts and Embraers, while Atlas is the world's largest operator of B747Fs and flies a 20 aircraft operation for Amazon. https://www.aircargonews.net/news/airline/single-view/news/atlas-signs-pilot-agreement-with-ameriflight- while-unions-continue-to-warn-of-staff-shortages.html Curt Lewis