Flight Safety Information May 27, 2019 - No. 106 In This Issue 58,000 Hours Of Work Required to Bring All Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft Back Into Service On autopilot: 'Pilots are losing their basic flying skills,' some fear after Boeing 737 Max crashes Incident: China Southern A388 enroute on May 26th 2019, hail strike Incident: Caraibes AT72 Pointe a Pitre on May 25th 2019, engine shut down in flight, smoke in cabin Incident: Norra AT72 at Helsinki on May 26th 2019, smell of smoke on board Incident: Cathay Pacific A359 near Darwin on May 24th 2019, engine shut down in flight Incident: Gazpromavia SU95 over Ural on May 23rd 2019, TCAS failure Incident: Fedex MD11 enroute on May 23rd 2019, dropped gear door Cessna 560 Citation Encore - Ditching - (Florida) United Airlines passengers say engine caught fire, flight was diverted ATSB issues recommendations for improved aircraft design tolerance to inadvertent dual control input Superjet in fatal Moscow crash had windshear warning on approach and bounced twice on landing Air apparent: Drone pilots far outnumber fixed-wing piloted aircraft Two new aviation agreements between European Union and China have been signed European Commission Adopts Rules on Operating Drones FAA Issues 777-9 Fuel Tank Special Conditions Boeing's 737 Max costs $2,000 a month each for parking Why SpiceJet could benefit the most from Jet Airways' troubles NASA's Mars 2020 gets a dose of space here on Earth Position Available: Safety Specialist Don't forget, early bird registration for the...CHC Safety & Quality Summit 2019 is almost over! Latest 2019 RTCA Global Aviation Symposium Line-Up...June 5 Bombardier Safety Standdown Award 2019 - Nominations are open! Senior Manager, Advanced Qualification Program Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection and Investigation...Course Leading Change in Safety Management Systems ICAEA Industry Survey ISASI - DFW Regional Chapter Meeting TODAY'S PHOTO GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE - BECOME A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR ADVERTISE WITH...FLIGHT SAFETY INFORMATION Back to Top 58,000 Hours Of Work Required to Bring All Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft Back Into Service There's some optimism that the 737 MAX could be back in the air in the near future. But news coming out of the United States in the last week suggests this optimism could be misplaced. In the latest of a series of dispatches about the 737 MAX, Reuters reports it is going to take up to 150 hours of work to get each grounded 737 MAX back in the air. With 387 aircraft sitting idle around the world, that's 58,000 hours. This figure does not include pilot training. Each grounded aircraft needs to be checked, its fluids changed, engines tested, and the new software fix uploaded and run through - presumably very thoroughly. It will be a time consuming and expensive process. 58,000 hours of work required to bring all boeing 737 max aircraft back into service Boeing's 737 Max remains grounded. Photo : Boeing At the time of writing, Boeing had shown its new software fix to the FAA and other aviation regulatory bodies, but the software had not been formally submitted to the FAA for approval. Despite this, there has been some optimism that the 737 MAX could be back in the air in the USA by the end of June. The FAA faces criticism In the wake of the FAA facing strong criticism for its handling of the 737 MAX's grounding and questions surrounding the initial certification of the 737 MAX, the FAA's Acting Administrator, Dan Elwell, remains confident that the grounding will end sooner rather than later but declines to lay out a timetable for its lifting. Airlines are keen for Boeing to resolve issues around the troubled aircraft with some CEO's publicly stating their confidence in the MAX . A factor impeding a swift decision to lift the grounding is whether the FAA rushed the initial certification process in the first place. This is currently under investigation by the US Congress and Department of Transport. 58,000 hours of work required to bring all boeing 737 max aircraft back into service Icelandair is one of the many airline that have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX. Photo: Boeing Some have questioned whether an under resourced FAA gave Boeing too much leeway when first certifying the 737 MAX. The Economist reports that steps in the certification process was often lead by Boeing who were also able to sign off on many of the MAX's safety features. When the 737 MAX was first certified, nearly a decade ago, Boeing was facing intense competition from rival Airbus who had started producing the A320neo, a more fuel efficient aircraft than the 737. Boeing was under competitive and financial pressure and questions are being raised about whether the certification process for the 737 MAX was rushed in order to fight back against Airbus. It is critical for Boeing to get their MAX's back flying as soon as possible. They are frequently meeting with customer airlines and aviation bodies and putting considerable work into ensuring the MAX's supply chain can immediately provide the parts needed to smooth the aircraft's return to the skies. But some carriers are starting to put compensation claims into Boeing, further increasing the pressure on the manufacturer. It's not only the FAA that needs to be satisfied The challenges involved in getting the 737 MAX back in the air have been covered extensively on Simple Flying. But even if the FAA do lift the grounding in the near future there is no guarantee other countries aviation authorities will simply follow the lead of the FAA. The majority (80%) of the world's 737 MAX's fly outside the USA and beyond the scope of the FAA. Most countries have reliable aviation regulatory bodies and they tend to like to make their own decisions. While there is often a history of co-operation, questions surrounding the efficacy of the FAA in certifying the 737 MAX suggest other countries will be reluctant to merely follow the FAA's lead without doing thorough checks of their own. Boeing not only has to satisfy the FAA but the regulatory authorities in every nation that the 737 MAX flies in. In the wake of the crashes and with questions surrounding the FAA, this may not be that simple. Only when the 737 MAX is cleared to fly again will the time consuming process of re-entering the 737 MAX's into service begin. For Boeing and the airlines, that moment cannot come soon enough. https://simpleflying.com/737-max-work-required/ Back to Top On autopilot: 'Pilots are losing their basic flying skills,' some fear after Boeing 737 Max crashes The crew on the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed in March performed all procedures recommended by manufacturer Boeing. Buzz60 Automation has made planes safer and more efficient, but the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max jets is leading some to wonder if there is a dangerous flip side. While advanced autopilots and computers are now considered an integral part of any modern jetliner, many pilots worry that the systems are detracting from developing and maintaining their own abilities. "We've been talking about this in the industry for years. Pilots are losing their basic flying skills and there's an overreliance on automation," said Les Westbrooks, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, after the latest 737 Max crash, an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March. That crash followed the crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea five months earlier. The two accidents together killed a total of 346 passengers and crew. Boeing is redesigning a key computerized system in the plane, but questions are being raised about pilot actions as well. Officials inspect the inside of the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft at Soekarno Hatta airport, Jakarta, Indonesia. Appearing before a House subcommittee earlier this month, FAA acting administrator Daniel Elwell expressed concern that pilots in both jets appeared to have made mistakes in trying to deal with the emergencies. He said he was disturbed that, based on the flight data recorder, it appeared that pilots in both planes didn't properly deal with a stabilizer trim problem early despite the issues with Boeing's faulty onboard computer system. "You don't pull out a checklist. You memorize it and you are tested on it all the time," said Elwell, formerly an American Airlines pilot for 16 years. In the case of the Boeing 737 Max, a computerized system was installed to compensate for the jet's tendency to point its nose upward because of heavier engines that were placed farther forward on the wings. It was called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). But in the case of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, pilots found themselves wrestling to keep the jetliner aloft as MCAS repeatedly switched on and pointed the nose toward the ground. The link to one of the 737 Max's automated systems raises "concerns about pilots' abilities to recognize and react to unexpected events," Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel wrote in prepared remarks for the subcommittee hearing. As for MCAS, training in it may become more common as more 737 Max simulators are rolled out. There are currently only 17 simulators for the 737 variant globally, said spokesman Paul Bergman. "We expect the number of Max simulators to more than double by year's end," he said in an email. It wasn't just the two Boeing 737 Max crashes in which trouble with automation played a role. An Asiana Airlines airliner crashed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport in 2013 because, an investigation found, the pilots didn't thoroughly understand how the plane's automated systems worked. 90% of your flight: Automated Experts say automation has helped to make aviation one of the safest means of transportation. Because of advanced autopilot systems, for instance, aircraft save fuel by being able to fly in an optimal way. They can be landed in fog, a boon to travelers who no longer are diverted to other airports. The systems are so advanced that they can counteract bad judgments by pilots. Automated systems are switched on for about 90 percent of a typical airline trip, according to government estimates. But those same experts say pilots must not be simply monitors of a plane's automated systems but have the ability to step in with hands-on flying. Though every pilot must pass qualification exams for every type of plane they fly, the fear is they'll forget key skills at times when they need them the most. "Airlines don't teach pilots to fly. They teach procedures. Your basic core skills should be there before you get to the airline," said Bo Corby, director of standards and training for Future & Active Pilot Advisors, or FAPA, a career and financial advisory service. He said the focus for training many pilots these days is to teach them how to use the automated systems, deemphasizing basic flying skills. He said the time has come to revert to a system in which knowledge of core techniques becomes critical again. Another expert, veteran airline pilot John Cox, said it's clear that automation overall has made flying safer. The key is not to have an overdependency on it - "to be comfortable and capital of being able to fly the plane manually. That has been an industry challenge," he said. But Cox says there's more to the Ethiopian Airlines crash than just an automation issue. The pilots were confronted with a load of warnings in the cockpit, more than anyone could be reasonably expected handle, he said. "You hit a point called task saturation. You are taking in more information than you can process," Cox said. And with all those distractions, a person's cognitive ability to deal with them can drop by half. Thus, he said "automation dependence is not a cause, but it is a contributor" to the disaster. As a result, Cox said he, too, believes pilots need to strike balance between knowing the nuances of planes' automated systems while also maintaining their basic flying abilities. Trainers, Cox said, should "emphasize manual flying skills and not have a dependence on the computer, but use them as aids." https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/05/25/boeing-737-max-8-autopilot-automation-pilots-skills-flying-hours-safety/1219147001/ Back to Top Incident: China Southern A388 enroute on May 26th 2019, hail strike A China Southern Airlines Airbus A380-800, registration B-6140 performing flight CZ-3101 from Guangzhou to Beijing (China), was enroute at 11,300 meters (FL371) near Henan when the aircraft received a hail strike causing the windshields to become cracked. The crew performed a rapid descent to 5100 meters (FL167) and continued to Beijing for a safe landing about 90 minutes later. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Beijing about 16 hours after landing. The already covered nose of the aircraft: http://avherald.com/h?article=4c86f210&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Caraibes AT72 Pointe a Pitre on May 25th 2019, engine shut down in flight, smoke in cabin An Air Caraibes Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, registration F-OIXL performing flight TX-421 from Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), was climbing through 13,000 feet out of Guadeloupe when the left hand engine (PW127) emitted a loud bang and failed prompting the crew to shut the engine down. Smoke developed in the cabin. The crew turned around and returned to Pointe a Pitre for a safe landing. Scenes in the cabin: http://avherald.com/h?article=4c86ef3d&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Norra AT72 at Helsinki on May 26th 2019, smell of smoke on board A Norra Nordic Regional Airlines Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A on behalf of Finnair, registration OH-ATF performing flight AY-834 from Stockholm Bromma (Sweden) to Helsinki (Finland) with 67 people on board, was on approach to Helsinki when the crew reported an odour of smoke on board. The aircraft continued for runway 22R, landed safely about 14 minutes after the odour was reported and stopped on the runway. A rapid disembarkation via the aircraft's stairs was performed, the passengers were bussed to the terminal. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c86ea76&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Cathay Pacific A359 near Darwin on May 24th 2019, engine shut down in flight A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900, registration B-LRJ performing flight CX-105 from Hong Kong (China) to Melbourne,VI (Australia), was enroute at FL410 about 25nm northeast of Darwin,NT (Australia) when the crew drifted the aircraft down to FL260 due to a problem with one of the engines (Trent XWB). About 150nm southeast of Darwin, about 15 minutes after leaving FL410, the crew dedided to shut the engine down and to divert to Darwin. The aircraft landed safely on Darwin's runway 11 about 45 minutes after the decision to divert. A replacement Boeing 777-300 registration B-KQL reached Melbourne with a delay of 14.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Darwin about 22 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c859cc5&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Gazpromavia SU95 over Ural on May 23rd 2019, TCAS failure A Gazpromavia Sukhoi Superjet 100-95, registration RA-89030 performing flight 4G-433 from Novy Urgengoy to Ufa (Russia), was enroute at FL320 about 200nm southwest of Novy Urgengoy when the crew descended the aircraft to FL280 due to the failure of their Traffic Collision Avoidance System. The aircraft continued to Ufa for a safe landing about 2 hours later. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 17 hours before returning to service. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c8597cd&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Fedex MD11 enroute on May 23rd 2019, dropped gear door A Fedex Federal Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11, registration N624FE performing flight FX-51 from Memphis,TN (USA) to San Juan (Puerto Rico), completed a seemingly uneventful flight with a safe landing on San Juan's runway 10. The FAA reported however, erroneously identifying the flight as FX-251, a post flight inspection revealed a landing gear door was missing. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in San Juan about 29 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4c8586f0&opt=0 Back to Top Cessna 560 Citation Encore - Ditching - (Florida) Status: Preliminary Date: Friday 24 May 2019 Time: ca 18:00 Type: Cessna 560 Citation Encore Operator: Hypo Consulting LLC Registration: N832R C/n / msn: 560-0585 First flight: 2001 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535A Crew: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: 480 km (300 mls) E off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA ( Atlantic Ocean) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Private Departure airport: St. Louis Regional Airport, IL (ALN/KALN), United States of America Destination airport: Fort Lauderdale-Executive Airport, FL (FXE/KFXE), United States of America Narrative: A Cessna 560 Citation Encore ditched into the Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles east of Fort Lauderdale. According the FAA there was one pilot on board. The aircraft departed St. Louis Regional Airport, Illinois, USA at 18:36 UTC (13:36 local time) on a flight to Fort Lauderdale-Executive Airport, Florida, USA (KFXE). The aircraft climbed to the cruising altitude of FL390. At some point in the flight ATC communication with the aircraft was lost. At 20:52 UTC the flight passed overhead KFXE at FL390, continuing on a heading of roughly 080°over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft was intercepted by two Homestead AFRES F-15's shortly before it went down into the sea at about 21:47 UTC. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20190524-0 Back to Top United Airlines passengers say engine caught fire, flight was diverted HONOLULU (KHON2) - A United Airlines plane returned to Honolulu after passengers say one of its engines caught fire. There were 142 passengers on board. The early morning flight was heading to Majuro, the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The flight is about five hours over open water. One passenger sent us video and you could see the flames flaring up from the left wing. It's a sight you never want to see while flying. "Had fire and smoke coming out the back for like a few seconds, like two spurs of fire," said passenger Josh Ley. Ley says he was sitting in a window seat behind the left wing when he took the video. "Then next thing you know we were staying at the same elevation, circling around for almost an hour before we landed again. It was about an hour of just trying to figure out what's going on," he said. Ley says an announcement was made saying that one of the compressors of the engine failed. United Airlines tells us flight 132 returned to Honolulu shortly after take-off following a mechanical issue with one of the engines. The plane landed safely and the 142 passengers on board were met by emergency crews. "They checked out the plane to make sure that we were safe to arrive at the gate. They had to cool down the breaks," said Ley. "They gave us the go-ahead to come back to the gate. We waited at the gate for a little while. Finally, we got the notice that our flight was canceled." Some of the passengers were re-booked on other flights. Others tell us they may need to wait until the end of the week to get to Majuro. "They set me up at a hotel with taxi and food vouchers. They rescheduled me for Friday," Ley said. Passengers tell us there are not a lot of flights to Majuro and that's probably why the wait to get rebooked takes a while. United Airlines tell us the plane with the engine problem is now out of service. https://www.khon2.com/news/local-news/united-airlines-passengers-say-engine-caught-fire-flight-was-diverted/2030468696 Back to Top ATSB issues recommendations for improved aircraft design tolerance to inadvertent dual control inputs 26 May 2019 The ATSB has issued Safety Recommendations to EASA and aircraft manufacturer ATR seeking improved aircraft system design tolerance to inadvertent dual control inputs by pilots. The Safety Recommendations are contained in the ATSB's final investigation report into an inflight upset and inadvertent pitch disconnect experienced by an ATR 72 turboprop airliner on a flight from Canberra to Sydney, Australia, in 2014. During that flight, as a result of a sudden decrease in tailwind, the ATR's pilots unintentionally applied opposing control inputs to their control columns while trying to ensure the aircraft remained below its maximum operating speed. These differential forces activated the aircraft's pitch uncoupling mechanism. Intended for activation in the event of one of the aircraft elevators being jammed, the pitch uncoupling mechanism resulted in a pitch disconnect, where the elevators could operate independently of each other. With the pilots applying opposing control inputs and built-up tension within the flight control system, the pitch disconnect resulted in transient asymmetric elevator deflections, generating aerodynamic loads that exceeded the strength of the horizontal stabiliser, causing significant damage. The aircraft landed safely and was inspected by maintenance engineers but the damage was not detected. The aircraft returned to service and operated a further 13 flights before a subsequent inspection after a suspected birdstrike found it had sustained serious structural damage to its horizontal stabiliser, which was subsequently replaced. As part of its final report, the ATSB has issued a Safety Recommendation to EASA, recommending taking "further action to review the current design standard (CS-25) in consideration of effect that dual control inputs may have on control of aircraft." In addition, the ATSB has issued two Safety Recommendations to aircraft manufacturer ATR, recommending that ATR: • assess the operational risk associated with limited tactile feedback between left and right control columns in the context of no visual or auditory systems to indicate dual control inputs; and • perform a detailed review of the effects of dual control inputs on the aircraft's longitudinal handling qualities and control dynamics to determine if there are any detrimental effects that could lead to difficulty in controlling the aircraft throughout the approved flight envelope and operational range. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2019/05/26/atsb-issues-recommendations-for-improved-aircraft-design-tolerance-to-inadvertent-dual-control-inputs/ Back to Top Superjet in fatal Moscow crash had windshear warning on approach and bounced twice on landing 26 May 2019 The Russian Ministry of Transport released initial findings on the May 5 accident of a Sukhoi Superjet at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in Russia. Aeroflot flight 1492 took off from Sheremetyevo Airport's runway 24C at 18:03 hours local time on a scheduled service to Murmansk, Russia. Visibility was fine but there were some Cumulonimbus clouds near the airfield at 6000 feet. The flight crew engaged the autopilot as the aircraft climbed through a height of 700 ft (215 m). At 18:08, as the aircraft was climbing through an altitude of about 8900 ft (2700 m), a failure occurred in the electrical system. At this point, the aircraft was 30 km west-northwest of the airport in an area of thunderstorm activity. The captain assumed manual control of the aircraft and the crew managed to establish radio contact using UHF. The flight was not able to contact the approach controller and subsequently selected the emergency transponder code 7600 (loss of radio communication). About 18:17 the aircraft overshot the runway centreline after turning to runway heading. Altitude at that time was about 2400 feet. The aircraft continued the right-hand turn, completed a circle and proceeded on the final approach for runway 24L. Flaps were selected at 25°, which was the recommended setting for landing above maximum landing weight. At 18:26 the flight crew selected the emergency transponder code 7700 (emergency). When descending from 335 to 275 m (1100-900 ft) the windshear warning system sounded five times: "Go around. Windshear ahead". From a height of 80 m (260 ft) above ground level, the aircraft descended below the glide path and at a height of 55 m (180 ft) the TAWS warning sounded: "Glide Slope." From that moment on the airspeed increased to 170 knots. At 18:30 the aircraft overflew the runway threshold and touched down at a distance of 900 m past the threshold at a speed of 158 knots. Touchdown occurred at a g-force of at least 2.55g with a subsequent bounce to a height of about 2 m. After two seconds the aircraft landed again on the nose landing gear with a vertical load 5.85g, and bounced to a height of 6 m. The third landing of the aircraft occurred at a speed of 140 knots with a vertical overload of at least 5g. This caused a rupture of the wing structure and fuel lines. Flames erupted and engulfed the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft slid to a stop on the grass between runway 24L and two taxiways. An emergency evacuation was then carried out while flames quickly engulfed the rear fuselage. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2019/05/26/superjet-in-fatal-moscow-crash-had-windshear-warning-on-approach-and-bounced-twice-on-landing/ Back to Top Air apparent: Drone pilots far outnumber fixed-wing piloted aircraft When he first started flying his drone, Kyle Fields felt like a kid with a new toy. "It was so dang cool," said Fields, video coordinator for the United Shore Professional Baseball League, shortly before setting up a drone to fly over Jimmy John's Field during team warmups Thursday night. "After the first week and the rush fell off, it was cemented in my brain that this is not a toy," he said. For Fields and others who obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate, or RPC, from the Federal Aviation Administration for an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), a drone is a tool with responsibilities to keep people, wildlife and property safe. "It's not the wild west," he said. Kyle Fields operates drone at Jimmy John's Field Drones have been around for a while and there are strict rules that certified pilots must know in order to fly safely. Those are taught during a 10-hour training course, which is required in order to take the exam for an RPC. "It doesn't sound like a lot of time but it is very intense," Fields said. "They (FAA) treat drones like an aircraft. So you're treated like a pilot." That means in addition to all of the rules, local drone pilots also had to learn how to read a sectional chart and communicate with someone in the control tower at Detroit Metro Airport. Training also includes flying scenarios such as how an airplane would land under certain weather conditions or mishaps near the airport. "It has nothing to do with drones but stuff a pilot must know," Fields said. "In that way it's pretty cool because you get an idea of what it might be like to fly an aircraft." Fields, of Shelby Township and a recent graduate of Central Michigan University who earned a bachelor degree in broadcasting and cinematic arts, purchased a drone on his own. He knew it would enable him to give USPBL fans a completely different perspective. The first time he tried it out was during the Friday night fireworks. It gave him a view he never imagined. "It allows you to see how much of it lights up the sky and the amount of space that it takes up," Fields said. "It's really a beautiful perspective." Drones are gaining in popularity for commercial and governmental uses, as well as recreational amusement. Statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration indicate drones in Michigan now far outnumber registered piloted aircraft. There are now more than 28,000 unmanned drones registered with the FAA in Michigan, which is approximately four times more than the 6,500 piloted aircrafts registered in the state. In Macomb County, there are more 2,300 registered drones, either for commercial or recreational use. In Oakland County, there are more than 4,600 registered drones. History The military was the first to use drones - for target practice, reconnaissance and attack. Governmental uses include disaster relief, conservation, law enforcement and combating terrorism. Commercial uses came along next with uses in aerial surveillance, film-making, journalism, scientific research, surveying, real estate and agriculture. Today, hobbyists tend to use the least expensive drones, for aerial photos and other recreational uses. The market for drones continues to grow. A 2018 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the global market will grow to $21.47 billion by 2021, including $885.7 million in the United States. Requirements The FAA is tasked with keeping track of how many drones there are and for commercial licensing and recreational registration of them. Non-recreational drone operators have to obtain a certificate of authorization. In 2015, the FAA announced drones weighing more than 250 grams, or slightly more than a half a pound, have to be registered with the FAA if flown for any purpose. Non-recreational drone pilots have to obtain a two-year license that costs $150 by passing a flight knowledge test. Recreational drone registration costs $5 and is good for three years. Commercially, companies like Troy-based Drone Brothers use drones to offer aerial video and photography of construction and real estate sites. Camera and video technology available on drones offer a much clearer and more accurate view of a site than Google satellite imaging can provide, said Drone Brothers Director of Operations Merrick Wolfe. "It's a great tool for commercial purposes," he said. "Without the drones you don't have this view." Andrew Wolfe, a pilot with Drone Brothers, explained the use of drones in the real estate industry is quickly becoming commonplace. "There are a lot of things that drones are helping out with. If you're not doing that stuff these days you're not invited to the party," he said. Steven Durecki, owner of Great Lakes Aerial Video Services in Shelby Township, agrees the use of drones in business is becoming more common. Durecki partnered with Oakland University to offer a class about how to become certified to operate a drone. "The class covers how to fly a drone and the certificate you have to have to make money doing it," Durecki said. Durecki and electrical engineering professor Ka C. Cheok first dreamed up the class about eight years ago. But due to changing FAA requirements, it didn't begin until about two years ago. "It's always been a passion of mine, and it was just something to get more people involved in it," Durecki said. The two-course continuing education program, which isn't currently in session, offers basic airman knowledge and hands-on flying skills in order for participants to pass the FAA's small UAS remote pilot certificate test. Freelance news photographer Alex Haggart of St. Clair Shores, whose work occasionally appears in The Macomb Daily, felt the need to buy his own drone about eight years ago. "One day I went to a fire so large, I couldn't find a way to put it in true perspective with a camera," he said. "I ordered a drone the next day." Approximately seven months later, he sold it and bought a new one because the technology evolved rapidly, including having a live streaming tool. The second one "flew away" so he bought a third model three to four years ago. He keeps it for "high risk" situations although he predominantly shoots video now for recreational use from a fourth device. That fourth one, together with four batteries and a waterproof/shockproof case, brought the total cost to $2,100. The growing popularity of drones, both recreational and commercial, led the Michigan Legislature to pass a law regulating their use in 2016. The Michigan Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act set a framework that goes beyond FAA regulations. The state law prohibits drone pilots from operating drones in any manner that would interfere with police, firefighters or emergency medical workers. It also created a task force to develop statewide recommendations for the operations, use, and regulation of drones. Local governments are prohibited from regulating the ownership or operation of drones to avoid creating a patchwork of different ordinances across the state. The act also prohibits using drones in a manner that would interfere with another person's reasonable right to privacy. Helpful tool Drones have become a valuable tool for first responders. Police and fire officials said the value is in rapidly providing a birds-eye view while saving manpower hours. The city of Sterling Heights purchased a drone last year for the Police Department at a cost of approximately $3,000. Six officers are trained and licensed to operate it. While some residents may have received one of their own on Christmas Day 2018, the police drone was used that same day to assist firefighters as flames engulfed a large portion of the Sterling Troy Apartments on Dequindre Road. While the device hovered over the property, the police drone operator showed video to a fire battalion chief to locate hot spots. That enabled the incident commander to direct fire crews on how to attack the blaze. "The Fire Department was very thankful," police Operations Capt. Colleen Hopper said. "It was invaluable." The Police Department's drone also has been put into service during efforts to find a girl who was reporting missing, and to assist officers investigating traffic crashes. The aerial images can be downloaded into an accident reconstruction computer program that creates three-dimensional images, while also provided glimpses of various incidents that may be helpful in a court case. Police officials in Warren have discussed the possibility of purchasing a drone for the largest police force of any city in Macomb County. "Priority-wise, we feel it's more important to have a robot," Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said. A mobile, remote-controlled robot is the top hope in Warren for a valuable new police tool because it can be maneuvered into, for example, a building with a barricaded gunman or active shooter, or to spot possible explosives so that officers can be kept at a safer distance away. Dwyer plans to soon ask the Warren City Council for authorization to use a grant to purchase a robot. "At this point, (a drone) is on the back burner," the city's top police administrator said. "That's not to say we wouldn't be interested." Dwyer said Warren police have been assured that if officers on the ground could benefit significantly by drone video, a drone and operator from the Michigan State Police, Macomb County Sheriff's Office or other area police department would be brought to the scene. Public transportation agencies are using drones in almost every state. A report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials shows a sharp increase in their use over the last few years, reflecting the rapid adoption of the technology by governments as well as hobbyists. In 2016, the nonprofit group found no state transportation agency was using drones on a daily basis. Now, 36 states have certified drone pilots on staff. When the association conducted a survey this month, all but one state was using drones in some way. The only state that wasn't - Rhode Island - has since bought a drone, a spokesman said. In addition to helping with tasks like inspecting roads and bridges, drones also are helpful in dirty and dangerous situations. In Utah, drones record from the air as state workers set off planned avalanches, and to predict mudslides and water runoff as snow melts. In North Carolina, drones find the nests of endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpeckers. Prior to that, people fanned out in helicopters or all-terrain vehicles to check for evidence of the protected birds before building new projects. Workers in Kansas are using drones to create sophisticated farming programs and monitor cattle to prevent illnesses from spreading. Drone do's and dont's * Do not fly above 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles * Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times * Remain well clear of, and do not interfere with, manned aircraft operations * Do not fly within 5 miles of an airport without first contacting the airport and control tower before flying * Do not fly near crowds of people * Do not fly in adverse weather conditions such as high winds or reduced visibility * Do not operate a drone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs * Do not fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 pounds * Do not fly near or over sensitive infrastructure or property such as power stations, water treatment facilities, correctional facilities and heavily traveled roadways * Do not conduct surveillance or photograph persons in areas where there's an expectation of privacy without the individual's permission * Do not be careless or reckless with unmanned aircraft * Do take the rules seriously or face fines https://www.macombdaily.com/news/dataworks/air-apparent-drone-pilots-far-outnumber-fixed-wing-piloted-aircraft/article_3b22204c-7e72-11e9-8945-af280b990b4f.html Back to Top Two new aviation agreements between European Union and China have been signed On 20 May 2019, the European Union and China have signed two agreements to boost the competitiveness of the European Union's aeronautical sector and to strengthen aviation relations with China. In air freight, China is the second most important extra-EU partner, following the United States. The signed agreements will boost the European Union's trade in aircraft and related products, ensuring at the same time the highest levels of air safety. The bilateral civil aviation safety agreement (BASA) will remove unnecessary duplication of evaluation and certification activities for aeronautical products by the civil aviation authorities in order to decrease the costs for the aviation sector. Moreover, the BASA will promote cooperation between European Union and China towards a high level of civil aviation safety and environmental compatibility. The second agreement is a horizontal aviation agreement. With the agreement, China will recognise the principle of EU designation, meaning that all European airlineswill have the legal possibility to fly to China from any EU Member State with a bilateral air services agreement with China. Currently, only airlines owned and controlled by a given Member State or its nationals could fly between that Member State and China. The agreement will bring bilateral air services agreements between China and EU Member States into conformity with EU law, bringing legal certainty to airlines on both sides. The agreements have been reached following the EU-China Summit of 9 April 2019 and fall within the Juncker Commission's Aviation Strategy for Europe, which aims at encouraging the growth of European business, promoting innovation, and improving passengers' flight conditions. The European Commission and the Chinese transport administration will now proceed with their respective internal procedures to put the conclusion of the agreements in place. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=99477224-b3b1-44bc-9749-f37fec6788cf Back to Top European Commission Adopts Rules on Operating Drones On 24 May 2019, the European Commission adopted EU rules (see: Implementing Act Drones & Annex to Implementing Act Drones) to ensure increasing drone traffic across Europe is safe and secure for people on the ground and in the air. The rules will apply to all operators of drones - both professionals and those flying drones for leisure. Following the technical requirements for drones, this is another key deliverable under the Commission's Aviation Strategy for Europe whose core objectives are to maintain the highest level of safety and to support the competitiveness of the EU's aviation industry. Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: "The EU will now have the most advanced rules worldwide. This will pave the way for safe, secure and green drone flights. It also provides the much-needed clarity for the business sector and for drone innovators Europe-wide." These rules, which will replace existing national rules in EU Member States, not only address safety but also contain important building blocks to mitigate drone-related security risks. Through operators' registration, remote identification and the definition of geographical zones, all national authorities will have means to prevent misuse or unlawful drone activities. As of 2020, drone operators will have to be registered with national authorities. In principle, the rules apply to all drones regardless of weight. However, the majority of the drones concerned will belong to the market of mass-produced drones, which merely need to meet a minimum set of requirements such as registration and electronic identification. Operators of drones weighing less than 25 kg will be able to fly those without prior permission under a certain number of conditions. Among others, such conditions are that the drone must not fly higher than 120 meters and that the operator always keeps the drone in his/her visual line of sight and flies it far away from people. Member States will be able to define so-called no-fly zones» where - through satellite geo-location - drones will not be allowed to enter. No-fly zones may include airports and airfields or city centres. The European Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will soon publish guidelines and so-called "standard scenarios for drone operations that will help drone operators to comply with the adopted rules. The European Commission is also developing an institutional, regulatory and architectural framework for the provision of U-Space services, which aim to enable complex drone operations with a high degree of automation. Finally, a systematic review of all existing EU aviation rules is progressing to identify the necessary changes to improve applicability to drone operations. The EU has now achieved a major aviation milestone. Bravo to EASA, the European Commission Directorate-General Transport & Mobility, and all other public & private organisations that made this revolutionary achievement possible in record time !!! https://www.suasnews.com/2019/05/european-commission-adopts-rules-on-operating-drones/ Back to Top FAA Issues 777-9 Fuel Tank Special Conditions FAA, leveraging similar requirements issued more than a decade ago for the Boeing 787, has issued special conditions that Boeing must follow to demonstrate the 777-9's composite fuel tanks withstand tire debris impact. The requirements dictate that "tire-debris impact to any fuel tank or fuel-system component, located within 30 deg. to either side of wheel rotational planes, may not result in penetration or otherwise induce fuel-tank deformation, rupture (e.g., through propagation of pressure waves), or cracking sufficient to allow a hazardous fuel leak," FAA said. Testing must be done using a tire debris fragment size that is 1% of the tire mass, and the fragment load must be "distributed over an area on the fuel tank surface equal to 1.5% of the total tire tread area," FAA continued. The results must also demonstrate that fuel leaks within the defined debris-impact area triggered by larger debris pieces will not lead to "hazardous quantities of fuel" entering the engine inlet, auxiliary power unit inlet or cabin-air inlet. "Fuel-tank surfaces of typical transport airplanes have thick aluminum construction in the tire-debris impact areas that is tolerant to tire debris larger than that defined in...these special conditions," FAA said. "Consideration of leaks caused by larger tire fragments is needed to ensure that an adequate level of safety is provided where composite material is used." The requirements are identical to conditions FAA issued in 2007 for the 787-the first large commercial air transport aircraft with composite wings. In addition to focus on debris impact, the requirements take into account pressure waves that could damage a fuel tank. A pressure wave-induced fuel tank rupture played a role in the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde. Boeing is preparing the first 777-9 for its inaugural flight. By later this year, four 777-9 aircraft will be involved in the flight test and certification program, with first deliveries to Emirates expected to get underway around May 2020. https://www.mro-network.com/airframes/faa-issues-777-9-fuel-tank-special-conditions Back to Top Boeing's 737 Max costs $2,000 a month each for parking Models of Boeing passenger airliners are displayed during Airshow China in Zhuhai city, south China's Guangdong province. [AP PHOTO] While regulators contemplate whether Boeing Co.'s 737 Max can safely return to the skies, workers in a California airplane-storage yard keep a careful vigil against earthier concerns. Crews have sealed 34 Southwest Airlines Co. jets against the Mojave Desert's sun, wind and sand, as well as insects and birds that can creep into wheel wells and engine air inlets. Southwest declined to discuss the expense, but one industry veteran said such sojourns run about $2,000 a month for each plane - a small but critical cost amid Boeing's many looming financial penalties. The attention lavished now on the planes will help determine how fast the Max gets back in the air once a worldwide grounding is lifted. Designed to ferry throngs of travelers, the young jets' only daily visitors these days are technicians who draw fuel samples to scout for bacterial contamination. Once a week, Southwest mechanics spool up the big turbofans, boot up flight computers, and extend and retract flight-control surfaces such as wing flaps. "Planes are meant to be flying and being used,'' said Tim Zemanovic, who used to own an Arizona storage park and estimated monthly storage costs, which include labor and materials. "You've got to keep them that way even when they're in storage.'' The constant care extends to almost 500 grounded Max planes around the world, a total that includes about 100 factory-fresh jets that can't be delivered to customers because of the flying ban, which began in March after the second deadly crash in five months. Managing aircraft upkeep on such a scale is unprecedented, as Boeing grapples with a crisis that has already lopped $41.5 billion off its market value. The maintenance costs are just the start of Boeing's financial exposure. The Chicago-based planemaker also faces an estimated $1.4 billion bill for airlines' canceled flights and lost operating profit if the Max fleet is still grounded by the end of September, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson. Boeing's inventory could balloon by nearly $12 billion by the end of September if regulators don't act and 737 production continues at the current pace, Ferguson said. "They can't keep building and parking planes indefinitely," he said. "We don't think it will get to that, but it's going to take a lot of cash to park those in the desert." As Boeing finalizes paperwork to certify a redesign of flight-control software linked to the two disasters, executives are laying detailed plans for the Max's eventual return to commercial flight. The team huddles daily and includes officials from the 737 program, corporate headquarters and the commercial and global-services divisions. The challenge of safely pulling hundreds of planes out of storage was among the topics discussed at a summit of global regulators convened by the Federal Aviation Administration in Texas, Daniel Elwell, the agency's acting chief, told reporters after the meeting Thursday. The Max grounding has long since passed the 60-day mark when aircraft are typically placed in long-term storage. Bringing them back to life will now involve a rigorous review that can last weeks as compared to days for planes that are parked for less than two months. As the global fleet starts to come back online, Boeing plans to set up a round-the-clock operations center to support customers. Teams of mechanics, technicians and field-service representatives will fan out to assist airlines as their jets make the "transition from storage and preservation activities to operational flight," said Doug Alder, a Boeing spokesman. Southwest, the largest Max operator, is already planning for the plane's return even though it's not clear if that is weeks or months away. "It will be a staggered-type return to service," said Gary Bjarke, director of contract services for the Dallas-based carrier. Until then, Bjarke leads the team overseeing the upkeep of Southwest's Max fleet parked on a desert plain in Victorville, California, east of Los Angeles. Southwest ferried all its Max planes to the storage yard in the days after U.S. regulators halted commercial flights. Crews spent about 80 man-hours preparing each jet for storage, and Bjarke estimates it will take about 120 hours of work to get each single-aisle plane back into flying condition. In all, he said, the maintenance checks could take about 30 days before the last of the airline's parked 737s rejoin daily operations. For German tour operator TUI AG, the logistics of managing its parked jets are more complicated. The company stored 13 Max at bases in Brussels, Amsterdam and Manchester, U.K., where its mechanics can tend to them, said spokesman Aage Duenhaupt. Another plane was stranded in Sofia, Bulgaria, with another in Spain's Canary Islands, where third-party contractors are tending to them by following Boeing's storage protocol. The tempo of care is largely set by detailed checklists provided by Boeing. Instructions for "prolonged parking" run more than 100 pages in a manual for a previous generation of 737s. There are separate procedures to prepare planes depending on whether they will be parked a week, a month, two months or a year. Basic service tasks are spelled out in similar increments. Even a simple requirement to wash an airplane is complicated by its sheer size. If a maintenance provider doesn't have a concrete pad wash area with a drain for wastewater, there's another option: wipe the plane down by hand. "Basically, use cleaning wipes," said Zemanovic, the former owner of the Arizona storage park. The manual occasionally spells out risks in colorful detail, like the bacteria or fungi that can turn jet kerosene into the consistency of "mayonnaise," clogging the fuel system if water hasn't been thoroughly drained. There are separate lists that step-by-step make the plane serviceable once its desert stay comes to an end. "They just don't park them and walk away and come back six months later," said Zemanovic, who now serves as president of Fillmore Aviation, a Minneapolis-based company that specializes in end-of-life aircraft care. "Someone's looking at them every day." https://oklahoman.com/article/5632279/boeings-737-max-costs-2000-a-month-each-for-parking Back to Top Why SpiceJet could benefit the most from Jet Airways' troubles India's airlines have been making the most out of the vacuum created by the grounding of the country's oldest private carrier ,Jet Airways, over a month ago. Almost all of them have been vying for Jet's prime slots, expanding their fleets, and adding new routes. It is budget carrier SpiceJet, though, that is poised to score most, according to a recent report by the investment management firm JM Financial. The sector watchdog, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), has allocated 130 airport slots from Jet's portfolio to the airline, including 68 prime slots at Mumbai. This is higher than the number of such slots wrested by any airline, including market leader Indigo's 120. "Availability of additional slots will aid SpiceJet to optimally utilise its increased fleet size," read the JM Financial report. Yesterday (May 26), the no-frills carrier added its 100th aircraft to its fleet, becoming the fourth domestic airline to do so after IndiGo, Jet Airways, and state-owned Air India. "SpiceJet has added 23 planes and over a 100 new flights, most of them connecting the key metros of Mumbai and Delhi, in just over a month's time," it said in a statement. Aiding the expansion has been the fact that SpiceJet and Jet Airways both operate Boeing aircraft. Since Jet's grounding, 20 aircraft from its fleet has been handed over to SpiceJet by lessors. "In the next two years, Indigo, SpiceJet, GoAir are expected to add 94, 42, and 25 aircraft (respectively), while Vistara and Air Asia may add 20 each," JM Financial said in its note. Despite lagging IndiGo in fleet expansion, the firm expects SpiceJet to clock "disproportionate growth (in profitability)" relative to its current size. "SpiceJet has an order of 155 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The planes are 20% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 737 NG aircraft (which dominates its current fleet), with 8% lower operating cost per seat," the note explained. Even though Boeing 737 MAXs are grounded over safety concerns, JM Financial expects the ban to be lifted in the second quarter of the current financial year. Being a key player in the Indian government's regional connectivity scheme UDAN has also benefited SpiceJet. Around 21% of its 1,10,220 flights operate on monopoly routes under the scheme. SpiceJet plans to induct Bombardier Q400 aircraft will aid regional growth. "The new Q400 aircraft with 90 seats (versus 78 seats for older aircraft) will help size-up demand in regional routes," according to JM Financial. IndiGo perched on top Even then, SpiceJet has a long way to go. IndiGo is still the industry leader, flying half of all domestic passengers in April, according to DGCA data. SpiceJet's and Air India's market share stood at 13.1% and 13.9%, respectively. "With 100 aircraft, SpiceJet has definitely scaled up. However, to become the market leader it still has a long way to go, especially in order to keep up with an airline like IndiGo," said Ashish Nainan, an aviation analyst at rating agency CARE Ratings. Experts believe the real picture of who benefits from Jet's crisis will emerge only when both the airlines post their earnings for the January-March period next week. "Given the current situations of debt-laden Air India, the two biggest market players are IndiGo and SpiceJet. In the March quarter earnings, it's expected that both the airlines will put up a great show," an analyst who does not wish to be named told Quartz. https://qz.com/india/1628775/spicejet-not-indigo-to-gain-the-most-from-jet-airways-crisis/ Back to Top NASA's Mars 2020 gets a dose of space here on Earth The completed spacecraft that will carry the Mars 2020 rover to the Red Planet, next year hangs suspended by cables inside the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on May 9, 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA's Mars 2020 spacecraft has completed acoustic and thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The acoustic test of the spacecraft that will carry the Mars 2020 rover to a soft touchdown in Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, is the best Earthly approximation for what the spacecraft will endure during launch, where it will encounter potentially destructive levels of sound and vibration. TVAC introduces the vacuum and extreme temperatures of space that could cause components to malfunction or fail. "First we blast it with sound to make sure nothing vibrates loose," said David Gruel, the Mars 2020 assembly, test and launch operations manager at JPL. "Then, after a thorough examination, we 'put it in space' by placing the spacecraft in this huge vacuum chamber we have here at JPL. We pump out the atmosphere, then chill parts of it and cook others while testing the performance of the entire spacecraft." The first part of the process occurred on April 12, when the spacecraft "stack" was bombarded by sound from nitrogen-pressurized speakers in JPL's Acoustic Test Chamber. The stack includes the aeroshell as well as a rover stand-in (the real rover is undergoing final assembly in JPL's High Bay 1 cleanroom) and other components. Together, they are assembled, or stacked, in the same configuration as when it launches toward Mars in July 2020. "We test the hardware components with a random noise spectrum in order to replicate a launch environment," said Andy Rose, manager of the Environmental Test Facilities at JPL. "We reach sound levels as high as 150 decibels, which would really rattle your fillings if you were inside the chamber at the time." Of course, the technicians waited for each several-minute run to end before opening the chamber door to inspect the spacecraft in their cleanroom attire (the spacecraft must remain contamination-free to adhere to planetary protection rules). By day's end, the stack had been acoustically tested and inspected six times. Then the vehicle was double-bagged in clean antistatic nylon film and transported back to the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 cleanroom. "For the acoustic test, the stack had the heat shield pointed up, but for the thermal vacuum test, it had to be down," said Gruel. "The best place to turn it over is the cleanroom, where we have a fixture designed for that process." Once the stack passed muster, the team rebagged it and sent it out for thermal testing. NASA's Mars 2020 spacecraft undergoes examination prior to an acoustic test in the Environmental Test Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on April 11, 2019, at JPL. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Into the Cold On April 26, the stack entered JPL's 25-foot-wide, 85-foot-tall (8-meter-by-26-meter) Space Simulator Facility. The historic chamber has hosted spacecraft from NASA's Mariner missions of the early 1960s to Voyager and Cassini to all of the Mars rovers. The 2020 stack was suspended from cables so the cold realities of interplanetary cruise could hit the spacecraft from every angle. With the 16-ton door closed, a near-vacuum environment was established. Then, as the Mars 2020 test team looked on, the baffled chamber walls were flooded with liquid nitrogen to chill it to -200 degrees Fahrenheit (-129 degrees Celsius). To simulate the Sun's rays that Mars 2020 will encounter during its voyage, powerful xenon lamps several floors below the chamber illuminated, their light directed onto a mirror at the top of the chamber and reflected down on the spacecraft. Eight days later the lamps were turned off, atmosphere was reintroduced to the chamber, and the door opened. Acoustic and thermal vacuum testing was complete. "This is the most comprehensive stress test you can put a spacecraft through here on Earth," said Gruel. "We flew in our simulated space environment for a week and a day, checking and rechecking the performance of every onboard system and subsystem. And everything looked great-which is a good thing, because next time this spacecraft stack hits a vacuum, it will be on its way to Mars for real." On May 10, the stack returned yet again to the High Bay 1 cleanroom. Just feet away, technicians worked on the 2,314-pound (1,050-kilogram) Mars 2020 rover that will be part of the stack at launch. The rover already had more than 90% of the components that will make up the interior of the chassis, from the science instruments and computers to subsystems and electrical boxes to the organized tangle of electrical wiring connecting them all. The 2020 rover carries an entirely new suite of instruments, including a sample-caching system that will collect samples of Mars for return to Earth on subsequent missions. The mission will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July of 2020 and land at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-nasa-mars-dose-space-earth.html Back to Top JOB TITLE: SAFETY SPECIALIST REPORTS TO: DIRECTOR OF SAFETY Summary: The Safety Specialist will assist the Director of Safety in managing all aspects of occupational health and safety. This will require working with all levels of Field Crew personnel as well as Management and Customers. Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: • Plans, develops, implements, and monitors effectiveness of safety promotional and educational campaigns. • Conduct site audits, vehicle inspections, equipment inspections, and work with company leadership to help address any deficiencies. • Determines organizational safety problems through performance of incident/accident root cause analysis. • Design and implement workplace processes and procedures that help protect workers from hazardous work conditions. • Investigate incident and accidents to identify root causes and assist with resolving action items. • Finds creative modification to cultures or mind sets to improve safety performance. • Foster discussion and feedback from site operational teams on possible new safety programs or initiatives. • Keep appraised of new rules, regulations, special bulleting and emergency orders that affect company operations. Assist in interpreting and applying the changes efficiently. • Assist in designing programs to control, eliminate and prevent accident/incidents. • Assist to facilitate the coordination and delivery of safety meetings, safety tours, and safety trainings. • Any other duties as assigned. Qualification Requirements • Safety degree, certification or related technical undergraduate degree preferred. • 5+ Years of experience in construction industry safety and occupational safety and health arena preferred. • Construction safety background within the bulk power/electric power transmission industry is required. • Prior exposure to rotary-wing aviation or aviation background is preferred. Skills: Employee should posses the following skills in order to perform the duties of this job efficiently. • Oral and Written Communication Skills • Reading Skills • Technical Communication • Customer Service • Diplomacy • Professionalism • Strong Organization • Time Management • Computer Proficiency • Math Aptitude • Ability to adapt to changing priorities • Team Player Apply to: jboog@haverfield.com Back to Top Don't forget, early bird registration for the CHC Safety & Quality Summit 2019 is almost over! Fees will go up on June 1. If you haven't signed up yet, be sure to take advantage of this discounted rate while it is still available. To register and learn more, please visit CHC Safety & Quality Summit website. Sincerely, CHC Safety & Quality Summit Committee CHC Helicopter Back to Top Latest 2019 RTCA Global Aviation Symposium Line-Up June 5 - Crystal City, VA RTCA Symposium features a full day of programming focusing on some of the challenges for the new entrants to aviation. The latest Line-Up includes: Supersonic Transportation Innovations - Cybersecurity Applications & Challenges - Commercial Spaceflight - UAS Integration - On-Demand Air Mobility (Electric/Hybrid and eVTOL Vehicles & Regulations) More than two dozen speakers have confirmed their participation in the event from FAA, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, EmbraerX, Boeing, Boom Supersonic, Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Raytheon, Thales and several industry associations including NATCA, NBAA, AOPA, ALPA, IATA, A4A and others. Full Agenda here: https://www.rtca.org/content/agenda Back to Top Bombardier Safety Standdown Award 2019 - Nominations are open! The Safety Standdown award is given annually to an aviation professional who has demonstrated exemplary dedication to improving aviation safety through the application of the Safety Standdown principle: LEARN - APPLY - SHARE. By learning new skills and applying them, they demonstrate their dedication to personal improvement. By sharing their knowledge, they become distinguished role models. We all know or have worked with exceptional aviation professionals. These are the people who go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the safety of their operation. They are the mentors we look up to and who teach us so much. They are the dedicated people who demonstrate professionalism and courage in the toughest of circumstances. They are the people who had an impact on us and fostered the love we have for this industry. As you read these few lines, someone probably popped into your mind. Here's a way to recognize them: go to our website and nominate them for the Safety Standdown Award. The criteria for the award can also be found on the site and nomination form only takes a few minutes to complete. Submissions are evaluated by the Advisory council and a recipient is selected from the criteria. The award is presented during Safety Standdown USA 2019 seminar. Nominate now: https://safetystanddown.com/en/safety-award Safety Standdown Team Bombardier Business Aircraft Direct: +1 316 946 7876 Email: info@safetystanddown.com Website: www.safetystanddown.com Back to Top Senior Manager, Advanced Qualification Program Location:Ft Worth, TX, US Location: Flight Training Academy (DFW-FTRN) Additional Locations: None Requisition ID: 29419 Overview Join us for a career with endless possibilities. Looking for a job where a passion for innovation, a culture of teamwork, and opportunities for growth are valued and rewarded? You've come to the right place. You don't have to be an airline aficionado to join American Airlines. It takes more than cool planes to keep us ahead of the curve, and thanks to our team of behind the scenes professionals, we do just that. As the largest airline in the world, American Airlines is in the business of serving the global travel needs of our customers. At the core of the Company is our commitment to each customer and each employee. We are dedicated to developing and delivering what our customers value and are willing to pay for. Customer-centric planning, innovative marketing, and an exceptional customer experience are supported by a cadre of talented people. What does it take to join us? We're glad you asked! We expect exceptional skills in your discipline and a dedication to being the best as we relentlessly pursue our goal of being not just the largest airline in the world, but also the best airline in the world. Fortunately, we're building on almost a century of innovation and firsts in our industry - and we plan to continue that tradition of excellence. About The Job Responsible to the Director, Standards, to assist in achieving the objective of providing a corps of proficient pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers, instructors/evaluators, and assist with department support programs which ensure a safe and efficient flying operation. The Senior Manager, AQP will coordinate application, update and continual improvement of the Advanced Qualification Program, and ensure regular updates to all American Airlines pilot training curricula, as required. Specifically, you'll do the following: • Coordinate the development and standardization of all flight training curriculum including Distance Learning • Subject Matter Expert for all training curriculum • Oversee content, currency and standardization of training curriculum and documents • Coordinate revisions of training curriculum and documents • Oversee flight training data collection, analysis and reporting; monitor for trends and/or anomalies • Provide leadership for AQP development • Develop and manage the ISD process mechanisms • Communicate program objectives, goals, and accomplishments to management and check airmen • Supervise development of software requirements/specifications for database/program changes related to flight training • Primary contact with FAA for AQP document approval About The Job (Continued) • Primary contact with FAA and other external organizations for training development issues • Ensure compliance with FAA, Department of Defense, One World Alliance, and IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) and other training requirements • Participate in safety risk management processes within Flight Operations and Flight Training and Standards that support the principles of Safety Management System (SMS) described in FAA Advisory Circular 120-92 (as amended) and the company Operations Policy Manual • Oversee Instructor/Evaluator Standards Program • Interface with Training Planning and Scheduling to coordinate and approve TMS master-plan changes • Verify policy and procedure compliance and communicate to Instructors/Evaluators • Co-chair Operations Data Analysis Working Group (ODAWG) Qualifications Required Qualifications • Bachelor's Degree in related field or equivalent experience/training • 5 years related job experience • Experience in data analysis & statistical methods such as regression modeling, forecasting, and process control • Experience with document publishing, including document creation, distribution, and management • Experience with Instructional System Design (ISD) processes • Experience with project management • Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize, organize, and multi-task in a dynamic work environment • Expert level expertise with Microsoft Office (emphasis on Word, Excel & PowerPoint) • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Access • Flexibility with work schedule and excellent attendance record • Ability to multi-task Qualifications (Continued) Preferred Qualifications • 5 years of aviation training or safety experience in FAR Part 121 or 135 operations, military operations, or equivalent experience • Development experience with software such as Cognos, Tableau, or Microsoft Power BI • Demonstrated database management skills • Ability to demonstrate proficiency with Adobe Framemaker • Experience with document publishing, including document creation and distribution • Experience with regulatory compliance and audit processes APPLY NOW Back to Top Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection and Investigation Course presented by N. Albert Moussa, PhD, PE July 9 to 11, 2019 BlazeTech Corporation 29 B Montvale Ave, Woburn MA 01801 USA. Dear Colleague, While commercial air transport is very safe, the advent of new technologies poses fire safety challenges that will be treated in this course. This offering draws upon Dr. Moussa's work in this area since 1971 as well as related courses that BlazeTech has been teaching since 1998. Lectures will include Li and Li-ion battery fires, flammability of carbon fiber and glass fiber composites, emerging aviation fluids, engine fires, fuel tank fire/explosion, fire extinguishment methods, protection methods, aircraft accident investigation, and fire/explosion pattern recognition. Recent accidents are continuously added to the course. For each type of fire, this course will provide a cohesive integrated presentation of fundamentals, small- and large-scale testing, computer modeling, standards and specifications, and real accident investigation - as outlined in the course brochure. This integrated approach will enable you to address safety issues related to current and new systems and circumstances, and to investigate one of a kind fire and explosion accidents. The course will benefit professionals who are responsible for commercial aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles including design, equipment selection, test, operation, maintenance, safety management system, hazard/risk assessment, and accident investigation. View Brochure for course content and registration form (also embedded below). View Testmonials of previous attendees and their Companies. View some of the technical references discussed in this course. We also offer this course at the client site as well as customized courses on fire and explosion in other areas. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Albert Moussa, Ph.D., P.E. BlazeTech Corporation 29B Montvale Ave. Woburn, MA 01801-7021 781-759-0700 x200 781-759-0703 fax www.blazetech.com firecourse@blazetech.com LinkedIn Back to Top Back to Top ICAEA Industry Survey Hello all, The ATC-PILOT Radio Communication Survey is now live: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ATC-PILOT_radio_communication It'd be great to get ATCOs and pilots to participate, so please help use your connections to get this to them. I plan to leave this open for as long as it takes to collect some meaningful data - hopefully enough even by the workshops in October and November to present a little. Best wishes, Michael Kay President (+66) 851098230 www.icaea.aero Curt Lewis