Flight Safety Information January 16, 2019 - No. 012 In This Issue Incident: Ethiopian B772 over Indonesia on Jan 14th 2019, air space violation Incident: Nouvel A320 at Djerba on Jan 15th 2019, IRS failure Incident: Iceland B752 near Glasgow on Jan 14th 2019, burning odour in cabin EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Incident: Delta MD88 at Baltimore on Jan 12th 2019, engine problem Incident: Cathay Dragon A320 at Hong Kong on Jan 13th 2019, navigation problems NTSB Points to Pilot's Medical Condition in Bellanca Accident Indonesian Air Force Intercepts Ethiopian Airlines Freighter FAA Proposes New Drone Regs and a New Pilot Program: One More Step Towards Drone Integration SA airline lambasted for "bizarre" decision to ignore safety advice FAA considers letting drones fly over crowds IBAC Director Michael Hohm Flies West VIEWPOINT: How Predictive Maintenance is Improving Efficiency in The Aviation Industry MC-21 aircraft to be certified in 2020 China steps up pilot recruitment for its fast expanding aircraft carrier programme Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway: NASA's Proposed Lunar Space Station Business Aviation Safety Consortium (BASC) announces new Standardization Board Members Air Safety Investigation Professional Education Course TU Delft University Mitre SMS Course - March 2019 LET US BE YOUR SMS MANAGER ! High Altitude Flying Course Incident: Ethiopian B772 over Indonesia on Jan 14th 2019, air space violation An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-200 freighter, registration ET-AVN performing flight ET-3728 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Hong Kong (China) with 6 crew, was enroute at FL410 near the equator crossing into Indonesian Airspace, about 1200nm south of the great circle route and the usual company route, when Indonesia dispatched fighter aircraft to intercept the freighter due to a missing overflight permission. The fighter aircraft accompanied the aircraft to Hang Nadim Airport on Indonesia's Island of Batam, where the aircraft landed safely about 9 hours after departure from Addis Ababa, at about the estimated time of arrival into Hong Kong. Hang Nadim Airport reported the aircraft had departed Addis Ababa for Hong Kong. Indonesia's Airforce reported the aircraft had no permission to overfly Indonesia and was intercepted as result. The aircraft has been directed to land on Batam Island and is currently being kept there. The airline claimed the aircraft had departed Addis Ababa for Singapore (Singapore) to deliver a replacement engine to Singapore. According to ICAO convention article 5 an unscheduled flight can overfly the airspace of a friendly country without prior permission, the airline stated. Freight flight ET-3728 usually operates from Addis Ababa or Brussels (Belgium) to Hong Kong, however, on Nov 25th 2018 and Dec 23rd 2018 the flight also operated from Addis Ababa to Singapore. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Hang Nadim about 46 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c2eb883&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Nouvel A320 at Djerba on Jan 15th 2019, IRS failure A Nouvelair Airbus A320-200, registration TS-INH performing flight BJ-518 from Djerba (Tunisia) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was climbing out of Djerba's runway 27 when the crew stopped the climb at 8000 feet advising of problems with their Inertial Reference Systems (IRS). The aircraft returned to Djerba for a safe landing on runway 27 about 15 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration TS-INR reached Paris with a delay of 4:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Djerba about 8.5 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c2eb270&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Iceland B752 near Glasgow on Jan 14th 2019, burning odour in cabin An Icelandair Boeing 757-200, registration TF-ISK performing flight FI-441 from Manchester,EN (UK) to Keflavik (Iceland), was enroute at FL380 about 75nm southwest of Glasgow,SC (UK) when the crew decided to divert to Glasgow reporting a burning odour in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely on Glasgow's runway 23 about 25 minutes later. Maintenance determined a seat box was the source of the odour, removed that seat box, de-activated the inflight entertainment system and returned the aircraft to service. The aircraft was able to depart Glasgow after about 4 hours on the ground and reached Keflavik with a delay of 4 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c2eb46c&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Delta MD88 at Baltimore on Jan 12th 2019, engine problem A Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88, registration N904DL performing flight DL-2033 from Baltimore,MD to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 145 people on board, was climbing out of Baltimore's runway 28 when the crew stopped the climb at about 5000 feet reporting the left hand engine (JT8D) had lost power. The aircraft returned to Baltimore for a safe landing on runway 28 about 15 minutes after departure. A replacement McDonnell Douglas MD-90 registration N924DN reached Atlanta with a delay of 15.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Baltimore for about 41 hours, then positioned to Atlanta and resumed service. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c2eb0a0&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Cathay Dragon A320 at Hong Kong on Jan 13th 2019, navigation problems A Cathay Dragon Airbus A320-200, registration B-HSN performing flight KA-454 from Hong Kong (China) to Kaohsiung (Taiwan), was climbing out of Hong Kong's runway 07R when upon contacting departure the crew requested vectors, they were unable to follow the standard departure route, they intended to maintain runway heading for now. The aircraft climbed to 7000 feet, after working checklists the crew decided to return to Hong Kong. The crew indicated in case of a missed approach they were unable to follow the missed approach procedure and needed vectors. The aircraft landed safely on Hong Kong's runway 07L about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement A320-200 registration B-HSD reached Kaohsiung with a delay of 3:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Hong Kong for about 26.5 hours before returning to service. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c2eaca6&opt=0 Back to Top NTSB Points to Pilot's Medical Condition in Bellanca Accident Autopsy revealed drugs in pilot's system. A Bellanca Viking similar to the accident airplane. An experienced, commercially-rated pilot made what could certainly be considered a rookie mistake during his approach to runway 18 at the Jesse Viertel Memorial airport in Booneville, Missouri. The pilot, flying a Bellanca Viking in April 2017, flew the final approach at an extremely low altitude, much lower than normal, on a day without a cloud in the sky. So low was the aircraft, that it snagged power lines half a mile north of the airport. The aircraft quickly impacted the ground and caught fire, killing both people aboard. The NTSB later remarked that the pilot was familiar enough with the airport that he should have known the power lines were in the way. One item that popped up during the investigation was the pilot's lack of a current FAA medical certificate. An autopsy of the pilot also revealed both coronary artery disease and significant brain pathology. While the Board didn't believe the heart condition affected the pilot's behavior that day, they did find scarring on his brain from a previous injury, as well as severe damage to his left optic nerve. So severe was the eye damage, the Board believed the pilot was completely blind in his left eye, a problem that would have affected the pilot's depth perception. Additionally the investigation discovered the pilot had ingested an astonishing number of psychoactive drugs, any one of which should have disqualified him from flying, including cocaine, methamphetamine, clonazepam, and diphenhydramine. "In addition to their psychoactive effects, these drugs are potent vasoconstrictors and can cause small arteries to spasm, cutting off blood flow to portions of vital organs," the Board said. While the pilot's level of intoxication with methamphetamine or cocaine at the time of the accident is unknown, it is very likely that he was impaired by the combined effects of these drugs at the time of the accident. Although the neuropathologist who examined the pilot's brain believed the degree of cerebral damage would take several hours to develop, the pilot was deceased by the time first responders arrived some 10 minutes after the accident. Therefore, his brain damage had to have begun before the accident and was likely caused by the pilot's misuse of cocaine and methamphetamine. And of course, the pilot's apparently cavalier attitude about his health caused the death of an innocent passenger. Officially, the NTSB cited the probable cause(s) of this accident to be the pilot's impairment, due to his use of a combination of psychoactive drugs and a vision deficiency in his left eye, that resulted in a failure to maintain adequate altitude during final approach to landing and hence his collision with power lines. Drug and alcohol impairment remain items at the top items on the NTSB's Most Wanted List. https://www.flyingmag.com/ntsb-bellanca-accident Back to Top Back to Top Indonesian Air Force Intercepts Ethiopian Airlines Freighter An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777F pictured at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. (Photo: Nahom Tesfaye) Ethiopian Airlines is working with Indonesian authorities to clear up the miscommunication over traffic rights that led to the interception by the Indonesian air force of an Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing 777-200F. The freighter entered Indonesian airspace as part of a flight from its hub at Addis Ababa to Singapore to bring an Ethiopian Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine to an engine shop in Singapore for overhaul. Ethiopia's national carrier has more than 20 Boeing 787-8s and -9s in its fleet, of which four are powered with the Trent 1000 engines that require an upgrade of the intermediate pressure turbine blades that have exhibited durability issues. The European Aviation Safety Agency and the FAA recently certified a redesigned intermediate pressure compressor blade for the Trent 1000 Package C engine. Indonesian F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777F, with registration ET-AVN, after it entered Indonesian airspace without an overflight permit. They forced the aircraft to land at Hang Nadim International Airport on Batam, an island south of Singapore. Cargo flight ETH 3728 had been scheduled to fly from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to Hong Kong, according to Flightradar24. In a statement, Ethiopian Airlines noted the freighter was operating on a nonscheduled cargo flight from Addis Ababa to Singapore "and was crossing the Indonesian airspace in accordance with the ICAO Chicago Convention Article 5, by which a non-scheduled flight can overfly the air space of a friendly country without prior permission." It did recognize that authorities may require the aircraft to make a landing. An Ethiopian Airlines senior executive, who asked not to be named, told AIN the aircraft was scheduled to fly empty to Hong Kong International Airport to pick up cargo and at the last minute was assigned to drop the engine off in Singapore for urgent maintenance. "It was not carrying cargo except the aircraft engine. We had landing permission from Singaporean Civil Aviation authority but did not have an over-flight pass from the Indonesian authorities because we thought that Indonesia is a friendly country," the executive said. Obtaining the overflight permission code for an ad hoc cargo flight ahead of entering the airspace of a friendly country is typically a routine practice in Asia, he added. The political row between Indonesia and Singapore might have complicated the matter. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-01-15/indonesian-air- force-intercepts-ethiopian-airlines-freighter Back to Top FAA Proposes New Drone Regs and a New Pilot Program: One More Step Towards Drone Integration At yesterday's annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced new proposed rules to allow drones to fly overnight and over people without waivers under certain conditions. Chao said that the time was right to move forward on 3 new DOT initiatives for drone integration. "Drones...are well on their way to mainstream deployment," said Chao. The first initiative is a proposed new rule (NPRM, or Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) to allow drone to fly at night and over people without waivers, if the operator meets conditions including appropriate training, approved testing, and anti-collision lighting on the drone. Currently, night waivers are the most commonly granted waiver for commercial operators, allowing thermal inspection work or other work over commercial buildings when there are fewer employees present. The proposal "would allow drones to make routine flights over people without a waiver or an exemption under certain conditions," said Chao. Below is a link to the text of the NPRM, which Chao said would be listed in the Federal Register "as soon as possible." The comment period is open for 60 days after publication. DRAFT NPRM-Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems over People (PDF) The second initiative that Chao announced deales with safety and security: and Chao obliquely referenced the recent events at U.K. airports in her introduction: "Let us note that the Department is keenly aware that there are legitimate public concerns about drones, concerning safety, security and privacy," said Chao. "Recent events overseas have underscored concerns about the potential for drones to disrupt aviation and the national airspace. So along with this new proposed rule, the Department is finishing up two other proposals to address drone safety and national security." While not receiving as much play in the general media, this is a document that concerned commercial pilots should review carefully, as it asks for comment about issues such as the appropriate stand off distance (distance between a drone and the nearest person) and other limitations to performance or operations of drones that might be appropriate for safety and security reasons. When the notice is published to the Federal Register, comments will be open for 60 days. DRAFT ANPRM-Safe and Secure Operations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems(PDF) The "UAS Safe and Secure ANPRM," said Chao, "identifies major drone safety and security issues that may pose a threat to other aircraft, to people on the ground or to national security. It solicits for consideration recommendations to reduce these risks as drones are integrated into our national airspace." Finally, Chao announced 3 new contracts awarded for further Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) research. "The pilot project, through September 2019, is intended to develop and demonstrate a traffic management system to safely integrate drone flights within the nation's airspace system. Also, the pilot project will create a shared information network and gather data that can be used for future rulemakings," said Chao. "Through a stringent application and evaluation process, the following providers were selected based on the strength of industry partnership, the maturity of the technology offered, and overall cost: Nevada UAS Test Site Smart Silver State; Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site; and, Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership." "Together, these three initiatives will be a major step forward in enabling the safe development, testing and deployment of drones in our country," said Chao. https://dronelife.com/2019/01/15/faa-proposes-new-drone-regs-and-a-new-pilot- program-one-more-step-towards-drone-integration/ Back to Top SA airline lambasted for "bizarre" decision to ignore safety advice All CemAir flights have been suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority, after they were deemed to have "ignored" key safety instructions. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) have been left with no choice but to suspend CemAir's Operation licenses, grounding all flights scheduled on the local airline. The decision was made on Friday afternoon, but strange new details have emerged at the start of this week. After eight aircraft were grounded for various code violations over the festive season, SACAA continued with their renewal audits to unearth 11 more contraventions of air safety rules. What CemAir chose to ignore As Tourism Update report, it it was found that an aircraft manufacturer had provided CemAir with an assessment of its aircraft maintenance schedule. Despite CemAir eventually producing an acceptable Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for these findings, nothing has been carried out since the start of the new year - a decision that left the aviation authority spitting feathers: "Worryingly, the operator could not produce sufficient evidence to authenticate that all recommendations were fully implemented. Ignoring manufacturers' recommendations is not only bizarre but is also a very serious and dangerous omission that should be avoided at all costs by any licence holder." "In a nutshell, the most recent annual renewal audit revealed CemAir's inability to prove the continued airworthiness of its fleet. " SACAA statement on CemAir Airlines in the spotlight Before the airline can take flight once more, they will have to carry out each and every step that was recommended to them by SACAA. Despite setting out plans to deal with 10 of the 11 violations, talk has come easier than action for CemAir - except with the media: We've been unable to gain a statement from them since the news went public. Part 121 and 135 of their Air Operator Certificates have been suspended effective immediately. They are the second South African airline to be temporarily shut down over safety concerns in eight months, too: SA Express were grounded for three months after their fleet was deemed un-airworthy, before flights resumed last August. https://www.thesouthafrican.com/cemair-bizarre-ignore-safety-advice/ Back to Top FAA considers letting drones fly over crowds It also wants to allow them to be flown at night by trained pilots The Federal Aviation Administration is considering loosening its restrictions and allowing drones to be flown over crowds. The proposals, which were first unveiled on Monday, introduce three categories for drones, with varying restrictions on how they could be flown over people. In addition, flying drones at night, which is currently only allowed with explicit permission from the FAA, would be allowed if the drone is equipped with anti-collision lighting and if the pilot completes special training. The proposals categorize drones into one of three groups, depending on their weight and the amount of damage they could do to a person. The first category of drones are defined as weighing less than 0.55 pounds. Drones in this category would be allowed to fly over people with no restrictions beyond the FAA's existing rules - such as maintaining a line of sight or not flying over 400 feet in the air. Rather than being grouped based on weight, categories two and three are defined based on how much damage they could do to a person, with category three doing the most harm. Both categories two and three require a drone's rotary blades to be shielded, but drones in category three aren't allowed to hover over individuals (they can only fly by), aren't allowed to be flown over open assemblies of people, and pilots have to notify people if drones will be flying over a restricted access site. The new proposals come just weeks after the UK's second largest airport was shut down for a day after drones were repeatedly sighted around the airfield. However, the UK's regulations around drone use are much less stringent than in the US. Although basic rules exist, such as not allowing drones to fly within 1 kilometer of airports and for pilots to maintain a line of sight, owners in the UK won't be required to register with the country's aviation authority until November 30th, 2019, as US pilots currently are. The FAA is currently seeking input from the public and industry about the new rules, which are unlikely to come into effect until at least 2020. In particular, it's currently examining the best ways to make drones more identifiable. Bloomberg reports that it's hoped that relaxing the regulations will open drones up to new use cases, such as delivering medical supplies to highway crash scenes or surveying construction sites, which is currently impossible without a waiver from the FAA. https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/15/18183830/faa-drone-regulations-usa-crowds- night Back to Top IBAC Director Michael Hohm Flies West Michael Hohm, 63, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) director and liaison to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), died on January 11, following a battle with a brain tumor. He represented the business aviation industry on the ICAO Air Navigation Commission and, as IBAC liaison, was responsible for day-to- day relationships with the ICAO Secretariat and national delegations. "Michael was a tremendous advocate for our industry and a dear colleague to all of us at IBAC and to all our member associations," said IBAC director general Kurt Edwards. "He will be missed dearly, especially for his sincere dedication [to] and passion for aviation, and his kindness that fostered so many relationships throughout the industry during his career." An ATP-rated pilot, Hohm had accumulated 5,800 flight hours as a professional pilot, flying in Canada, the Arctic, and the U.S. After serving as a de Havilland DHC-7 and -8 flight instructor at FlightSafety International, he joined Transport Canada in 1988 as a civil aviation inspector and later took the role as supervisor of airport policy and standards. He moved over to Nav Canada in Ottawa in 1996, spending the next 13 years as manager of airspace planning and design. In 2009, he became a technical officer for ICAO before ultimately becoming IBAC's director and ICAO liaison. He is survived by his wife, Christine Saint John. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-01-15/ibac-director- michael-hohm-flies-west Back to Top VIEWPOINT: How Predictive Maintenance is Improving Efficiency in The Aviation Industry By Sean Otto An SH-60B Seahawk undergoes maintenance on the flight deck of the USS Monterey. (Photo by U.S. Navy) Equipment manufacturers, engineering, power and process plant owners for the aviation industry commonly face the challenge of keeping their fleets, machinery, and other assets working efficiently, while also reducing the cost of maintenance and time- sensitive repairs. Considering the aggressive time-to-market required for aviation products and services, it is crucial to identify the cause of potential faults or failures before they have an opportunity to occur. Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cloud data storage are enabling more vehicles, industrial equipment, and assembly robots to send condition-based data to a centralized server, making fault detection easier, more practical, and more direct. By proactively identifying potential issues, aerospace companies can deploy their maintenance services more effectively and improve equipment up-time. The critical features that help to predict faults or failures are often buried in structured data, such as year of production, make, model, warranty details, as well as unstructured data such as maintenance history and repair logs. By leveraging artificial intelligence models to identify anomalous behavior, the information derived from the equipment sensors can be turned into meaningful and actionable insights for proactive maintenance of assets, thereby preventing incidents that result in asset downtime or accidents. Commonly known as predictive maintenance, this added intelligence enables organizations to forecast when or if functional equipment will fail so that its maintenance and repair can be scheduled before the failure occurs. The Market: North America Tops Market Share Due to higher spending by aviation companies looking to optimize operating costs and increase profitability, North America will continue to be the biggest market for predictive maintenance solutions. With an estimated market share of 31.6 percent, North America is expected to grow its predictive maintenance solutions at a CAGR of 24.5 percent, maintaining its lead from 2017 through 2022. Key players include Bosch, GE, Hitachi, Honeywell and Rockwell Automation, just to name a few. The underlying architecture of a preventive maintenance model is fairly uniform irrespective of its end applications. The analytics usually reside on a host of IT platforms, but these layers are systematically described as: Data acquisition and storage (either on the cloud or at the edge) Data transformation - conversion of raw data for machine learning models Condition monitoring - alerts based on asset operating limits Asset health evaluation - generating diagnostic records based on trend analysis if asset health has already started declining Prognostics - generating predictions of failure through machine learning models, and estimating remaining life Decision support system - recommendations of best actions Human interface layer - making all information accessible in an easy-to-understand format Failure prediction, fault diagnosis, failure-type classification, and recommendation of relevant maintenance actions are all a part of predictive maintenance methodology. As aviation customers become increasingly aware of the growing maintenance costs and downtime caused by the unexpected machinery failures, predictive maintenance solutions are gaining even more traction. With the manufacturing, energy and utilities verticals among the biggest demand drivers for predictive maintenance, it is even more critical for equipment manufacturers, EPCs and owners/operators to adopt a predictive maintenance solution to maintain a competitive advantage. North America Predictive Maintenance Market by Vertical 2017 -2022 The bigger players have already been using this methodology for more than a decade. Small- and medium-sized companies in the manufacturing sector also can reap advantages by keeping repair costs low and meeting initial operational costs for new operations. While it evidently offers more business benefits than corrective and preventative maintenance programs, predictive maintenance is also a step ahead of preventive maintenance. As maintenance work is scheduled at preset intervals, maintenance technicians are informed of the likelihood of parts and components failing during the next work cycle and can take action to minimize downtime. Gain the Benefits of Predictive Maintenance In addition to the advantages of controlling repair costs, avoiding warranty costs for failure recovery, reducing unplanned downtime and eliminating the causes of failure, predictive maintenance employs non-intrusive testing techniques to evaluate and compute asset performance trends. Additional methods used can include thermodynamics, acoustics, vibration analysis, and infrared analysis, among others. The continuous developments in big data, machine-to-machine communication, and cloud technology have created new possibilities for the investigation of information derived from industrial assets. Condition monitoring in real-time is viable thanks to inputs from sensors, actuators, and other control parameters. What stakeholders need is a bankable analytics and engineering service partner who can help them leverage data science not only to predict embryonic asset failures, but also to eliminate them and take action in a timely manner. https://www.rotorandwing.com/2019/01/15/how-predictive-maintenance-is-improving- asset-efficiency-in-the-aviation-industry/ Back to Top MC-21 aircraft to be certified in 2020 The jets are currently under tests MC-21 passenger jet MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Certification of MC-21 passenger jets currently undergoing trials will take place in 2020 according to the plan, President of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar said on Tuesday on the air with the Rossiya-24 TV Channel. "Specimens are currently made from domestic raw materials already. These specimens are under tests now and will be introduced into the aircraft design at the next stage. That is, there will be no postponement in certification. Aircraft already flying will get this certificate in 2020," the top manager said. The MC-21 aircraft project will be implemented with a composite wing made of domestic materials, Slyusar said earlier. MC-21 is a medium-haul passenger jet being developed by the United Aircraft Corporation. It may come in two configurations - MC-21-200 (seating 132 to 165) and MC-21-300 (163 to 211). Another configuration, MC-21-400 with up to 250 seats, is also planned. Currently only the MC-21-300 plane is being developed. It performed its first flight at the end of May 2017. First jets are expected to be delivered in 2020. Certificating and the launch of serial production are also due in 2020. http://tass.com/economy/1040039 Back to Top China steps up pilot recruitment for its fast expanding aircraft carrier programme BEIJING: China plans to double the recruitment of aircraft carrier fighter cadet pilots as it aims to have adequate personnel for its fast expanding aircraft carrier fleet, official media here reported Tuesday. Over 4,500 Chinese students have passed the initial selection in the recruitment programme, almost twice as many as last year. With China's second aircraft carrier widely expected to join the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy this year, the recruitment campaign is designed to ensure personnel to meet the needs of the aircraft carrier-borne fighter jet J-15, state-run Global Times reported. The comprehensive examination phase of the 2019 annual recruitment campaign for aircraft carrier cadet pilots started in January and is due to conclude in April. Students will undergo physical and psychological tests and political examinations, the PLA Navy's website navy.81.cn reported on Sunday. This year's physical exams added a series of tests that pilots of carrier-borne aircraft need to pass, including vision and auditory tests on candidates' vestibular function, corneal topography and stereovision, the report said. More than 4,500 students who passed enrollment exams will participate in the next phase, the report said. During the same recruitment campaign last year, about 2,600 students made it to the comprehensive examination phase, according to the recruitment campaign's website. China's second aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, is widely expected to be delivered to the PLA Navy this year, and China will have a fleet of five to six carriers by the 2030s, reports said. While the Liaoning and the Type 001A, China's first and second aircraft carrier, can each carry about 30 fighter jets, future carriers may be designed to carry more than 60, a Beijing-based military expert, was quoted as saying by the report. China currently operates the J-15 single-seat fighter jet on the Liaoning, but the country has reportedly recently developed a two-seat version of the J-15, which experts say could outperform the original version in electronic combat but at the cost of mobility and payload weight. The extra seat can also be used to train new pilots, CCTV.com reported. China's next generation stealth fighter jet FC-31 and airborne early warning aircraft KJ- 600 are likely to be part of the new carriers' fleet of aircraft, an expert said. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/china-steps-up-pilot-recruitment- for-its-fast-expanding-aircraft-carrier-programme/printarticle/67539289.cms Back to Top Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway: NASA's Proposed Lunar Space Station Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway: NASA wants a space station near the moon - TomoNews The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is a proposed NASA program that would bring astronauts to the moon to operate a lunar space station. The concept has generated a wealth of research and numerous political discussions since 2017, especially because NASA's stated goal under the Trump administration is to return to the moon before going to Mars. The hardware and mission design are still in the early stages of development, but as of mid-2018, NASA envisions a lunar outpost (supplied by Space Launch System rockets) that would hold four people. Unlike the International Space Station, the outpost would not always have a crew on board and would have the capability to perform scientific experiments autonomously. The prime contractor for the first module should be announced in 2019. In August 2018, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced that astronauts could fly to the lunar space station as early as 2024; however, it's likely that date will change as design and construction plans proceed. In the same month as Pence's announcement, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters that the cost of the gateway won't be nearly as much as the cost of the crewed Apollo missions in the 1960s. NASA's current budget is now about 0.5 percent of annual federal funds, compared to its former height of 4.5 percent in the mid-1960s. The agency plans to begin the Gateway project without drawing on increased federal funding. First steps to a gateway In 2012, NASA publicly discussed the idea of a lunar station on the moon's far side - called the Deep Space Habitat. A few years later, in 2014 and 2015, NASA began to consider the idea of "cislunar habitats" as a way to fly humans on longer missions in the 2020s. The agency envisioned a small shelter where astronauts could assemble telescopes, operate rovers and perform scientific research. In March 2015, NASA awarded several contracts under its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program to companies developing concepts for lunar modules. The goal was to build modules would attach to the Orion spacecraft (a deep-space vehicle under development by NASA) and allow for missions of about 60 days in duration. The agency also discussed cislunar habitats in a "Journey to Mars" report published in October 2015. One of the earliest mentions of a lunar space station, then known as the Deep Space Gateway, was in an article published on NASA's website in March 2017. As NASA described it at the time: "The agency is ... looking to build a crew tended spaceport in lunar orbit within the first few missions that would serve as a gateway to deep space and the lunar surface. This deep space gateway would have a power bus, a small habitat to extend crew time, docking capability, an airlock, and [would be] serviced by logistics modules to enable research." NASA is planning a deep-space habitat around the moon called the Lunar Orbiting Platform Gateway, as the next destination for astronauts. The cis-lunar space station will be a waypoint for future missions to the moon and beyond. The agency said the gateway would be useful not only for lunar orbiting missions, but also for increasing the breadth and depth of space exploration in general. "The area of space near the moon offers a true deep space environment to gain experience for human missions that push farther into the solar system, access the lunar surface for robotic missions but with the ability to return to Earth if needed in days rather than weeks or months." In July 2017, NASA issued a competitive request for information about the Power and Propulsion Element, the module that is expected to supply electrical power and chemical and electrical propulsion to the gateway. As a result, five study contracts were issued in November 2017. That September, NASA and Roscosmos (the Russian space agency) signed a joint cooperation agreement to explore the moon and deep space, which included use of the gateway. Back to the moon NASA's mission to return to the moon was bumped up in the agency's priority list after President Donald Trump's first space policy directive was announced in December 2017. Trump directed the agency to focus on returning to the moon before attempting to reach Mars (reaching Mars had been the primary goal during President Barack Obama's administration). Trump's announcement was in line with a previous recommendation from the newly reconstituted National Space Council. The council, which hadn't been active since the early 1990s, was re-formed in June 2017. Later that year, its members concluded that lunar exploration should be NASA's primary goal. The Deep Space Gateway was renamed the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway in February 2018, when NASA made its 2019 budget request. That document also suggested that the International Space Station should conclude operations in 2024 to make budgetary room for the gateway. NASA held a Deep Space Gateway Science Workshop from Feb. 27 to March 1, 2018, in Denver, which helped the agency formulate a science plan for the lunar complex. Also in 2018, NASA launched the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkages (RASC-AL) design competition for university students, which focused on developing concepts for the gateway. The agency is also encouraging the development of international gateway partnerships, especially from the current International Space Station partners (Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada), as it formulates the concept of the gateway. https://www.space.com/43018-lunar-orbital-platform-gateway.html Back to Top posted on January 16, 2019 08:00 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Business Aviation Safety Consortium (BASC) announces new Standardization Board Members Five industry leading professionals accept leadership roles in fast growing organization! Greg Burris, Masco Corporation Flight Operations, Inc., Mark Chaffinch, Norfolk Southern Corporation, and Aaron Hempel, Koch Industries, Inc. were named to the BASC Standardization Board. Sean Cannon, Richardson Aviation, and Mary Poirier, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, were named as Supernumeraries. The additions of two board member positions to the previous five were needed due to the explosive growth of BASC. Additionally, the role previously held by Robin Bray of SJ Management needed to be filled. Robin initiated and incubated the BASC ID Badge program, that has ultimately been accepted worldwide. This program is one of the many noteworthy accomplishments of the organization. Rick Malczynski, Founder and President of BASC, stated, "We are thankful for Robin's service and excited for the new additions to the Standardization Team. We have all heard the saying, "if you need to get something done, find a busy person." Each Standardization Board Member fits that definition. Each one is an established professional in the industry that is currently operating at the pointy tip of the spear. Our policy of a Standardization Board that is comprised of operators, vice appointed vendors, consultants, and dignitaries, has been a home run. Our Stan Board is out there doing it day and night, they know what works and what doesn't, can articulate why, and most importantly, recommend and take action. Amazing team, amazing accomplishments, amazing future! ### About the Business Aviation Safety Consortium (AviationConsortium.com, LLC or BASC): Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, BASC serves as a logical partner for SMS, regulatory, and operational excellence verification for high performing business aviation organizations. BASC was founded in 2016 and accepted the first member in January of 2017. For more information, visit http://www.aviationconsortium.com Back to Top Air Safety Investigation Professional Education Course TU Delft University Are you interested in understanding the process behind an air safety investigation? Join TU Delft's professional education course and learn more about the challenges faced during an investigation. With a focus on the legal framework behind air safety investigations world-wide and the generic procedures followed during aviation occurrence, this course is intended for both technical and non-technical professionals. With the Air Safety Investigation course, you will have the opportunity to experience the accident investigation process and throughout a variety of learning activities you will be able to enhance your observation skills, fact-finding skills and analytical skills. This 6- week online course will start on February 11th, register now and join us! For a quick look inside the course, you can watch our course sample video or visit our website for more information. Back to Top Back to Top Back to Top Click here to sign up for the next session with Captain Shem Malmquist beginning in late January. Or call us at 231 720-0930 (EST). High Altitude Flying Overview Curt Lewis