Flight Safety Information AUGUST 15, 2019 - No. 164 In This Issue Everything travelers need to know about Boeing 737 Max developments Southwest, a stalwart Boeing 737 MAX customer, eyes other jets Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 near Budapest on Aug 14th 2019, cracked windshield and loss of cabin pressure Accident: Transat A333 at Paris on Aug 8th 2019, smoke from galley oven Incident: India A20N at Goa on Aug 13th 2019, dogged landing Flight reportedly carrying U.S. troops aborts takeoff in Ireland Airbus A321-211 - Bird Strike (Russia) 737 pilot claims airlines and Boeing ignored his warnings Boeing 737 Max Jet: Lion Air Wants More Despite Safety Issues Are Drone-Aircraft Collisions A Real Threat To Airline Passengers and Crews? Delta Airlines worker killed in tug accident at JFK Airport Icelanders Recover Lost Airplane Engine in Greenland Startups Bet Hydrogen Fuel Cells Are Ready For Takeoff In Aviation Asia will drive the global aviation industry for the next two decades The $1 Billion Prize: The World's 10 Most Lucrative Airline Routes Boeing Delivers New Batch of KC-46 Aircraft to USAF. Five Connected Aircraft Trends for 2019 and Beyond Dream Chaser spaceplanes to launch on ULA Vulcan rocket CHC Safety & Quality Summit Hotel Information International Conference on Unruly Airline Passenger Behaviour Position Available:...SRC Safety Analyst | Florence, KY (near CVG) Position Available: Manager, System Safety & Data Assurance HIGH ALTITUDE FLYING: WHAT EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW - COURSE Everything travelers need to know about Boeing 737 Max developments What started as a nightmare scenario - two crashes of the same type of jet within five months that killed 346 people - has turned into a global aviation chess game of the highest stakes. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide following the second crash, in March, and there is no indication when it will be allowed to fly again. The Chicago-based manufacturer is addressing issues with the flight-control system that appears to have played a role in both the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in Ethiopia. Boeing executives have said they are planning for the jet to come back early in the fourth quarter of this year, but nothing has been confirmed, and regulators still must sign off. On Monday, new Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Stephen Dickson said during his swearing-in ceremony the return would not be rushed. "This plane will not fly in commercial service again until I am completely assured that it is safe to do so," he said. "The FAA is not following any timeline for returning the aircraft to service. Rather, we are going where the facts lead us and diligently ensuring that all technology and training is present and correct before the plane returns to passenger service." [Boeing reports its worst-ever financial losses as 737 Max crisis continues] In the meantime, airlines have canceled thousands of flights on both the Max 8, the specific aircraft involved in the crashes, and Max 9, another aircraft in the series; scrapped routes; deserted airports; and taken financial hits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Carriers are adjusting their fleets and schedules to not only make up for the planes that are out of service, but also compensate for the new planes that were on order that will now be delayed. Even with those disruptions, consumers have thus far largely been shielded because this new model was not yet ubiquitous. Although Boeing says the 737 Max was its fastest-selling aircraft, with about 5,000 orders from more than 100 customers, fewer than 400 have been delivered to airlines around the world. According to Bloomberg, just 3 percent of the mainline fleet in the United States is made up of the aircraft. Still, the aviation industry is scrambling, and it's getting more likely that everyday travelers might feel the pinch. These are some of the developments in the industry that have been most likely to affect travelers: March 24, 2019: American Airlines extends cancellations through April 24, announcing that it expects to cancel 90 flights a day. The airline operates 24 Boeing Max planes. Southwest Airlines, which has 34 of the aircraft, says the following day that it has an average of 130 cancellations a day out of more than 4,000 flights systemwide. April 11: Southwest says it is removing the aircraft from its schedule through Aug. 5, resulting in about 160 flight cancellations a day, USA Today reports. [Airline ends trans-Atlantic routes due to 737 Max grounding] April 14: American Airlines again extends cancellations, this time through Aug. 19. The carrier says the move will affect about 115 flights a day. United, which has 14 of the jets, follows suit and stretches cancellations into early July after trying to minimize the number of flights it would cut, CNBC reports. May 7: A survey of 1,765 fliers by Barclays, the investment bank, showed that 52 percent of respondents said they would prefer to fly on a different type of plane. Just 20 percent said they would fly on a 737 Max as soon as they returned to the skies, while 39 percent said they would return within a few months, and 44 percent said they would wait a year or more. June 26: During testing, the FAA identifies a new potential issue related to the flight-control computer that could delay the jet's return even longer. July 2: Media reports reveal that American has temporarily axed a daily nonstop flight between Dallas and Oakland, Calif., because of the Max grounding. The Points Guy, an airline news site, reports that Southwest has suspended at least 13 routes because of the ordeal. July 12: United announces plans to pull Max flights from its schedule through Nov. 3. The airline says it expects to cancel nearly 8,200 flights between July and November as a result. American follows, extending cancellations through Nov. 1. Nearly a week later, Southwest removes the Max from its schedule through Nov. 2, resulting in 180 fewer flights a day. [Southwest will no longer fly out of Newark because of Boeing 737 Max groundings] July 15: Facing uncertainty over the aircraft's future, budget carrier Ryanair says it is deciding which airports it will fly to less frequently and which it will cut altogether, CNN reports. July 24: Boeing reports its worst quarterly loss in history: $3.38 billion. The company warns that it may have to suspend production of the 737 Max after slowing down production earlier. July 25: Southwest pulls out of Newark Liberty International Airport altogether, consolidating its regional operations at LaGuardia in New York City. Executives say the airline will remove the Boeing Max from the schedule through Jan. 5, 2020. July 30: CNN reports that United will temporarily cut its daily round-trip flight between Chicago and Leon, Mexico, effective Sept. 3. Aug. 13: Blaming the grounding, Norwegian Air cuts flights between Dublin and three North American cities. The budget airline says it will no longer serve New York's Stewart Airport, in the Hudson Valley; T.F. Green Airport, near Providence, R.I.; and John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario. Aug. 13: Boeing reports that no one ordered a Max jet in July, the fourth straight month without a new order, CNBC reports. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/08/14/everything-travelers-need-know-about-boeing-max-developments/ Back to Top Southwest, a stalwart Boeing 737 MAX customer, eyes other jets A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet flies over Mesa, Ariz., en route to Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport on March 13, 2019, the day the U.S. grounded all Boeing MAX aircraft. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) (Elaine Thompson / AP) Southwest Airlines, the largest customer of the 737 MAX and long an all-Boeing airline, insists it has "no current plans" to fly any jets other than the 737. But it's at least eyeing the possibility. The airline's management has proposed new language in the contract with its flight-attendants union that would grant it the flexibility "to fly more narrowbody aircraft types." Southwest management told the union, TWU Local 556, in a proposal this month that the ability to operate aircraft other than the 737 "would give us the flexibility ... to better compete and grow." "We are flying to more destinations that vary in distance, size and seasonality," the company's proposal states. "This change would allow us to fly aircraft types that are better suited for some of the markets we serve." The grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX has hit Southwest hard. The airline has 280 of the jets on order, of which 34 were delivered and in passenger service before the grounding. Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in an interview that the carrier's chief executive, Gary Kelly, "has bet the company on the MAX." The airline has parked its current fleet of MAXs at an airfield in Victorville, California. And it has another 41 contracted MAX deliveries for the remainder of this year that Boeing will hold until it gets clearance for the jet to fly passengers again. At this point, those aircraft won't be in service until next year. The 75 jets parked or awaiting delivery represent 10 percent of Southwest's active fleet of 750 aircraft, putting the low-cost-carrier at a competitive disadvantage against other airlines with fewer MAXs or, as is the case with rival Delta, none. In April, as anger against Boeing built among U.S. airline pilots after the second MAX crash in Ethiopia, Weaks wrote a memo to SWAPA pilots noting that some were questioning the wisdom of an all-737 fleet. Weaks wrote that his pilots as well as Wall Street analysts have discussed "the advantages and disadvantages of an airline having a single fleet and having aircraft from only one manufacturer." He also referred to Boeing's size and enormous influence in the aerospace world "and the antitrust issues that accompany this long-overlooked issue." This year, there was speculation that Southwest might buy the new Airbus A220, an all-new jet formerly known as the CSeries that the European jet maker acquired from Bombardier of Canada. Delta is now using that very fuel-efficient plane, which is small but offers the cabin comfort of bigger jets, to connect city pairs with high business demand, including Seattle-San Jose. At a conference in March, five days before the second MAX crash, CEO Kelly admitted that Southwest has looked at the A220 but said that was just normal due diligence to assess all options. "As new technology comes onto the market, I think we're compelled to look at that," Kelly said. But he added that it would take "a really compelling business case for us to deviate from" the current all-737 fleet. That was before the MAX was grounded. Asked again on an earnings call last month about whether he might look at buying different jets, Kelly said it's a longer-term strategic decision that wouldn't solve the immediate problem. "I think it's something that needs to be fully explored and debated, and that's not something we're going to do in 90 days," he said. "As a practical matter, if we want to diversify the fleet, it would take us years." Asked if Airbus is "circling you more aggressively" during the MAX crisis, Kelly said, "Yes, that's always the case." But he again insisted that "right now, we don't see that we need a change in strategy." Responding via email to an inquiry Tuesday, Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin said, "Southwest has no current plans to pursue or introduce a new fleet type." The negative impact of the MAX grounding has led Wall Street analysts to wonder if Southwest may even consider acquiring another airline and bringing in different jets that way. Kelly pointed out in July that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules mean "we can't comment on anything like that in substance" beyond saying that such a step would be "a huge strategic question." So does the proposed new language in the flight-attendant union contract indicate a shift in thinking? TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery said that when union negotiators asked management if they intended to bring in a new aircraft type in the future, "they said they had no plans." Pilot union president Weaks said that no new aircraft could be introduced without negotiating with SWAPA the pay rates for flying it. "There's been no communication to us at all" on the issue, he said. Harbin said the proposed clause in the flight-attendant contract is simply intended to provide the option to diversify in future. "It is somewhat common at the negotiating table to discuss items that give you flexibility upfront for things you don't currently have or even have a plan for," she said. Still, in the corporate world, "no current plan" is a response that can change with a simple announcement. That the 737's largest customer, after what Boeing notes is a "48-year partnership," is even contemplating the idea - one that its CEO says "needs to be fully explored" - may be unnerving enough for Boeing. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/southwest-a-stalwart-boeing-737-max-customer-eyes-other-jets/ Back to Top Incident: Lufthansa Cityline CRJ9 near Budapest on Aug 14th 2019, cracked windshield and loss of cabin pressure A Lufthansa Cityline Canadair CRJ-900, registration D-ACKK performing flight LH-1650 from Munich (Germany) to Sibiu (Romania) with 53 passengers and 4 crew, was enroute at FL390 about 90nm west of Budapest (Hungary) when the crew initiated an emergency descent to FL100 reporting a cracked windshield and loss of cabin pressure. The aircraft diverted to Budapest for a safe landing on runway 31R about 25 minutes later. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Budapest about 15 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cb9125a&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Transat A333 at Paris on Aug 8th 2019, smoke from galley oven An Air Transat Airbus A330-300, registration C-GCTS performing flight TS-111 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Montreal,QC (Canada) with 385 people on board, was climbing thtough FL140 out of Paris when cabin crew noticed smoke emanating from a mid galley oven, discharged fire extinguishers and informed the flight crew. The flight crew declared Mayday and returned the aircraft to Paris Charles de Gaulle for a safe landing on runway 27L about 18 minutes later. Emergency services attended to the aircraft. The Canadian TSB reported local emergency services needed to treat 21 passengers and 2 crew on scene, a total of 31 people received minor injuries. Company maintenance is investigating. The airline reported a galley oven emitted smoke, cabin crew immediately sprayed the oven. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cb90834&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: India A20N at Goa on Aug 13th 2019, dogged landing An Air India Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-EXU performing flight AI-33 from Mumbai to Goa (India), was on final approach to Goa's runway 26 at about 03:00L when the crew initiated a go around reporting stray dogs on the runway. The aircraft positioned for another approach while the airport performed a runway inspection without detecting any dogs around. The aircraft landed safely about 15 minutes after the go around. The airport reported pro active measures had been taken to reduce the dog menace on the runway, manpower had been added to chase dogs and birds away during day light hours. Additional measures are to be undertaken shortly to relocate about 200 dogs around the runway. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cb90112&opt=0 Back to Top Flight reportedly carrying U.S. troops aborts takeoff in Ireland An image from Omni Air International depicts one of the Oklahoma-based charter airline's Boeing 767-300 aircraft in flight. A U.S. charter flight aborted takeoff from Ireland's Shannon Airport on Thursday morning, forcing a halt to all air traffic to and from the airport. The airport's official twitter account said the Boeing 767-300 was safely evacuated and was being removed from the area so flights could resume. Ireland's Independent newspaper said the Omni Air International flight was carrying U.S. military personnel, but there was no immediate confirmation from U.S. officials. Shannon is a regular refueling stop for U.S. government flights to points further east after the transatlantic crossing. Flight tracking websites showed the plane, Omni Air 531, had arrived about two hours late to Shannon earlier on Thursday morning (just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, Eastern time) after taking off from Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma City. Omni Air is based in Oklahoma. We can confirm that an incident has occurred at Shannon Airport involving a Boeing 763 aircraft. Emergency services are in attendance. All passengers and crew have disembarked. Airport operations temporarily suspended. It was not immediately clear where the plane was attempting to depart for later Thursday when the takeoff was aborted. Omni Air said in a tweet that the plane "rejected takeoff and was safely evacuated. Initial reports indicate no serious injuries to passengers or crew." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shannon-airport-suspends-flights-omni-air-charter-flight-reportedly-carrying-us-troops-rejected-takeoff-2019-08-15/ Back to Top Airbus A321-211 - Bird Strike (Russia) Date: 15-AUG-2019 Time: 03:15 UTC Type: Airbus A321-211 Owner/operator: Ural Airlines Registration: VQ-BOZ C/n / msn: 2117 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 234 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: Rybaki, near Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA/UUBW) - Russia Phase: Initial climb Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA/UUBW) Destination airport: Simferopol Airport (SIP/UKFF) Narrative: Ural Airlines Flight U6-178, an Airbus A321-211, registration VQ-BOZ, performing flight U6-178 from Moscow Zhukovsky (Russia) to Simferopol (Ukraine), was substantially damaged when it force landed to a cornfield shortly after takeoff due to a dual bird strike and engine failure. Ten passengers from the 234 occupants were injured. The aircraft with 226 passengers and 7 crew, was in the initial climb through 750 feet out of Zkukovsky's runway 12 when the aircraft flew through a flock of birds and ingested birds into both engines (CFM56). Both engines failed, one emitting noises as if the engine spools up and down, forcing the crew to stop the climb at 750 feet and land the aircraft in a corn field about 2-3nm past the runway with gear retracted. The occupants of the aircraft evacuated via slides, there were 10 injuries (including three children). https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/228223 Back to Top 737 pilot claims airlines and Boeing ignored his warnings The airlines can say what they like about this pilot 'whistleblower,' but several factors, including the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), being the last to ground Boeing's 737 Max planes after a second crash involving the model's flight control stall feature, lend him credence - justified or not. This fascinating story outlines his claims following his horrified learning, between flights, of the Ethiopian March 10th crash, which killed all 157 people on board. Captain Bernd von Hoesslin says that by then he'd spent months pleading with fellow pilots and managers to get to grips with the potential risks of the new 737 Max flight control feature, found to be responsible for a similar tragedy involving a Lion Air 737 Max plane in Indonesia four months earlier. The jury is out on the dual probe, which will almost certainly cover Captain von Hoesslin's claims that little to nothing was done around more focussed training after the first crash, or that his furious flag waving in multiple-mails to senior company officials was paid any attention. The airlines claim he's riding the moral outrage bandwagon by spreading falsehoods. He claims it was an accident he saw coming. Time will tell who's right. - Chris Bateman Expat pilot turns self-styled whistleblower after 737 Max crash (Bloomberg) - When he heard about the crash, Ethiopian Airlines captain Bernd Kai von Hoesslin said he felt a wave of anger, then nausea. It was March 10 when the Ethiopian 737 Max 8 went down and von Hoesslin was in a West Africa hotel between flights. He said he called his crew into a private corner of a restaurant and warned them there would be no survivors. But the pilot also felt a sense of responsibility. For months, he said, he had been pleading with fellow pilots and managers to do more to understand potential risks of a new 737 Max flight control feature that malfunctioned in one of the Boeing Co. jetliners that had gone down months earlier off the coast of Indonesia. "When I saw it was a Max, already I'm just thinking 'Jesus,'" von Hoesslin said in an interview with Bloomberg News, his first since leaving the airline and Ethiopia after the crash. Even in those early hours, he said, he feared it had been triggered by the same automated flight control feature involved in the earlier Indonesian crash. "Of course I was mad, too,'' von Hoesslin recalled of his crew briefing. The Canadian citizen born of German parents spoke at length in a series of interviews at his lawyer Darryl Levitt's suburban Toronto office and over the phone. He spoke about the accident, what he called his attempts to conduct his own investigation and his experiences at the airline. He also shared hundreds of pages of emails, video recordings and other documents he says reflect safety concerns he raised with the airline and others. Ethiopian Airlines hasn't disputed the authenticity of the emails but calls von Hoesslin's allegations "false and factually incorrect." The airline did notify its pilots after Boeing, in the wake of the prior crash of an Indonesian-based Lion Air jet, issued a safety bulletin about the malfunctioning flight control system. It says it strictly complies with all global safety standards and regulatory requirements and was one of the first airlines in the world to purchase a 737 Max flight simulator for training. Von Hoesslin says he is now resigned to semi-retirement, convinced that no other carrier will hire him after becoming a self-proclaimed whistle-blower in one of the most high-profile aviation accidents in history and concerned he may become embroiled in litigation. The 57-year-old career pilot decided to return to Canada, where he grew up. "I don't really need to continue this trying to make aviation perfect," he said. "Because it is taking an emotional and physical toll on me, because this accident wasn't good for me." Von Hoesslin, whose close-cropped hair is flecked with grey, recounted his emotions after learning the Ethiopian plane had gone down. Pausing to compose himself, he recalled the tearful meeting in the hotel restaurant when he told his flight crew that Flight 302 had crashed, and the feelings of grief and loss that followed. With the investigation still underway, it's impossible to know whether more focused training following the Indonesia crash and the safety and maintenance lapses he says he observed would have made a difference in the March 10 accident, which killed all 157 people on board. Von Hoesslin has worked around the world at more than a dozen airlines and charter services in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and the Middle East, mostly as a 737 pilot, he said. He left one South American carrier after reporting it to the US Federal Aviation Administration for alleged safety violations on a trip to Miami, according to his account and emails he provided. Read also: Technology versus crew - the search for answers on Boeing 737 Max crashes In a July 26 email, Ethiopian Airlines spokesman Asrat Begashaw called von Hoesslin "a disgruntled ex employee pilot who is fabricating all kinds of false allegations against his former employer to mislead the public at large." After a Boeing feature known as Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System was implicated in the October crash of a Lion Air 737 Max near Indonesia, he had urged senior managers at Ethiopian Airlines via emails to enhance training and communication about it. Months before the Ethiopian Airlines crash, he warned in emails reviewed by Bloomberg that crews could become overwhelmed amid the chaos of multiple cockpit warnings that coincide with an MCAS failure. "It will be a crash for sure" if pilots struggling with a malfunction of the MCAS flight-control system also encountered, for example, a cockpit warning that they were flying too close to the ground, the pilot wrote in a Dec. 13 email. Begashaw, the airline spokesman, said, "Regarding his alleged call for additional training for pilots prior to the recent accident, I would like to kindly inform you that Ethiopian Airlines will not comment on a matter that is under investigation." The airline and Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges have said the pilots followed emergency procedures, pointing to MCAS as the likeliest culprit for the crash. https://www.biznews.com/global-citizen/2019/08/14/boeing-737-max-expat-pilot Back to Top Boeing 737 Max Jet: Lion Air Wants More Despite Safety Issues Fears that the grounded Boeing 737 Max jets will have few takers even after fixing safety issues look misplaced. This follows the demand by Indonesia's Lion Air that it will need more Boeing 737 Max jets "urgently" to sustain future growth. This is big Boeing news at the 737 Max jet front. The grounding of Boeing 737 Max in March citing safety issues was also spurred by the crash of a Lion Air plane in 2018 October, just 6 months before the second crash involving the plane of Ethiopian Airlines in Nairobi. Lion Air retracts from order cancellation threat In the aftermath of the March crash, Lion Air had threatened to withdraw the order for 187 Boeing jets valued $21 billion. According to Lion Air co-founder Rusdi Kirana's latest statement, Boeing 737 max jets are urgently required to feed the Airline's growth plans. This shows airline bosses have few concerns about Boeing 737 jets if they return to service. Kirana told Reuters on Wednesday that the low-cost airline will have to be "satisfied with the outcome of negotiations" with Boeing before it takes new planes. Lion Air's 737 Max jet crash killed all the 189 passengers and crew when the plane crashed into the Java Sea. Meanwhile, Boeing is working on the fixes of the anti-stall system called MCAS that was a key focal point about the crashed jets. Now regulators have to approve the refined model of 737 Max before airlines could start taking the planes. Max crisis hits Boeing's mid-size plane project Meanwhile, reports said Boeing is facing the problem of delay or stalling its much-hyped mid-size airplane Boeing 797 because of the issues that followed the grounding of Boeing 737 Max. The 797 is conceived as a long-range jet that could seat about 250 passengers more than the 737 Max, but less than a typical wide-body jet like the 787 Dreamliner. Before the grounding crisis, it was expected that Boeing would go ahead with plans for the 797 plane. Now experts say the chances are slimming and are 50-50, at best. "I gave a presentation in January where I said it was about a 65% chance," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group. Boeing claims it is still working on plans for the potential plane despite the 737 Max crisis but there is no concrete announcement yet. Boeing's dithering helping Airbus "The Max has been our priority and we prioritize resources and people that focus on the Max," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO, at a recent investor conference hosted by Jefferies. The Boeing logo on the first Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane is pictured during its rollout for media at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington on March 7, 2017. Photo: JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images "But we have a dedicated team that's continuing to work .. .the potential middle of the market airplane," he added. John Grant, senior analyst with OAG says there is a high demand for a midsize airplane. But Boeing is "not going to be in a position to announce 2020 at the earliest," noting that it will give "Airbus a huge head start." Airbus has got a head start in the mid-size segment, announcing its A321XLR. "Airbus has already got 200-plus orders for an aircraft that doesn't exist at the moment," noted Grant. Boeing is not getting those orders because it is yet to announce a decision to build the plane. Boeing's order book has been slimming after the 737 Max grounding. Boeing said on Tuesday that it had 31 orders for new jets in July which were mostly for the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing stock was down 1.53 percent on Wednesday's trading. https://www.ibtimes.com/boeing-737-max-jet-lion-air-wants-more-despite-safety-issues-2813351 Back to Top Are Drone-Aircraft Collisions A Real Threat To Airline Passengers and Crews? Wayne Lonstein Forbes Councils Member Forbes Technology Council COUNCIL POST Imagine you are on commercial flight traveling to a distant location. You have just taken off, and the flight attendant begins their in-flight announcements and services, which usually signal that the takeoff has been safely completed and a normal flight is ahead. All of a sudden, you sense an odd deceleration in the aircraft, hear the engines wind-down and sense the aircraft suddenly turn and descend. What would be your first thought? Mine would be to look out the window. Then, I would observe the flight crew to note their reactions. The seatback's in-flight map shows you are at an altitude of 2,800 feet, with a ground speed of approximately 350 miles per hour. Seconds later, you see what appears to be a copter-style drone, much like what you might see at Best Buy or Brookstone, approximately at or near wing level, in level hovering flight. What would you do? Are you hallucinating? Are you safe? These - and so many more - questions run through your brain. The reality is that there are no clear answers to most of these and many other questions. I was on a flight with my family from Newark to Atlanta on a recent sunny Saturday afternoon. Our flight was delayed because the Newark Airport had been closed for a number of hours due to the emergency landing of another aircraft. While I readily admit I am more of a white-knuckle flyer than a member of the Blue Angels, I have become quite proficient in understanding the "hows" and "whys" of modern aviation. Perhaps that stems from the concept that, if you understand how to fly, why planes fly and the realities of how safe it is, then perhaps you can, to some degree feel in control. Let's return to the scenario from the beginning of this piece. With my experience as a co-author of college textbooks on the subject of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), while I was unable to identify the exact brand of aircraft I saw, I was able to recognize that the service ceiling for certain quad-copter drones, such as the DJI Mavic-2 Pro, which resembles what I saw, was an astounding 6,000 meters - nearly 3.75 miles or 20,000 feet! Without disclosing more, I did notify the flight crew and had a conversation with them after landing. What should you do if you encounter a drone or some other irregularity, on your next flight? First, do not immediately disturb the flight crew. When it is safe, calmly tell the flight attendant your observations quietly without causing alarm or panic. Remember, things look quite different when you are traveling hundreds of miles per hour at a high altitude. Furthermore, understand that although there have been instances where a bird or another object has been ingested into a jet engine, resulting in the aircraft being unable to fly, a large body of evidence reveals that most strikes do not result in a crash. According to a 2017 report issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in connection with The Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), if a drone similar to the quad-copter I witnessed is ingested in a jet engine, the most likely scenario would not result in a catastrophic failure of the engine and crash of the aircraft. This assumes that the ingestion of the drone does not cause a loss of containment. Containment is where the damaged or faulty components of a jet engine separate inside the engine. This means they might exit the engine through the tailpipe, or they may remain in the engine case. If jet engine damage is uncontained, the risk of a catastrophic event, explosion or crash becomes much greater. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE So, what exactly is being done to mitigate this risk? The FAA recently enacted registration rules for drones over 8.8 ounces and under 55 pounds. Users will have to register their drone with the FAA and pay a yearly fee. These drones are limited to flying under 400 feet. They're asked not to fly near airports, stadiums, etc. But, as many of us know, you are not supposed to speed in a car - yet millions do that annually with the usual result - a ticket and a fine. Thankfully, most of these instances do not result in a tragic crash. When we are talking about drones, it's not enough to issue a ticket or fine after the fact. Hundreds could die as a result of an unlawful hobbyist or, even worse, a malicious actor looking to cause great harm or disruptions, as we have seen recently in Newark and other locales. Until the technology, some of which is in development, is developed to proactively prevent such a collision from occuring, there simply is an increasing risk for drone-aircraft collisions, given the rapid growth of drone operation as a hobby and as a business. I believe the most immediate step to take is to train our pilots on these eventualities, so they are prepared should the inevitable occur. Additionally, laws should be enacted that require embedded technology on personal-use drones to automatically stop unapproved flight in restricted zones - and limit the altitude of hobbyist drones without prior registration, training and oversight. Businesses developing drones should also look into implementing this technology in their designs. There are no simple answers to this problem, and so many UAS systems come with great benefits to their users, so let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater and make sure all drone operators act like responsible adults. It is possible, and some solutions are on the way. However, the risk of the wandering hobbyist or motivated terrorist is still real and growing. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/08/14/are-drone-aircraft-collisions-a-real-threat-to-airline-passengers-and-crews/#3d8b5cfb54f4 Back to Top Delta Airlines worker killed in tug accident at JFK Airport A Delta Airlines worker was killed at JFK Airport on Wednesday afternoon when an airplane tug hit him, a report said. The worker was struck by the tug near Terminal 4 at about 3:30 p.m. and was later pronounced dead, according to ABC New York. Other workers then used a forklift to try to pry the tug off of him, according to the report. Delta is investigating the incident, a spokesperson said. "The Delta team is grieving today following the loss of one of our own," the company said in a statement. "We are extremely saddened by the passing of a JFK below-wing employee and have extended our full support to his family and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time," they added. The man's identity was not immediately released. https://nypost.com/2019/08/14/delta-airlines-worker-killed-in-tug-accident-at-jfk-airport/ Back to Top Icelanders Recover Lost Airplane Engine in Greenland A team of Icelanders successfully recently retrieved a part of an Air France aeroplane engine which fell off over the Greenland ice shelf in 2017. On September 30, 2017, an Airbus A380 Air France aeroplane en route to Los Angeles from Paris suffered an uncontained engine failure. Part of one of its engines fell from a height of 30,000 feet, plunging into the ice shelf. The Engine Alliance engine dismantled 150 kilometres southeast of Paamiut, Greenland while the aeroplane was in cruise with its 521 occupants. The plane eventually made an emergency landing at Goose Bay Airport in Canada. 20-month long mission The mission was organized by The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). A team from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) discovered the fan hub after a two-year-long search, buried four metres into the ice shelf. The Icelandic team was then dispatched to the ice shelf to find the fan hub, dig it up, and deliver it for further inspection. The whole mission, which took 20 months and encompassed of four different phases, was funded on a case-by-case basis by various stakeholders of the event such as AIB Denmark, Airbus, Air France, BEA & Engine Alliance. The manufacturer Engine Alliance has now received the parts to investigate further, and it is hoped that the investigation will shed further light on what went wrong during the flight. AIRBUS A380 F-HPJ Greenland Fan Hub Recovery by GEUS / BEA (June 2019) Video of the retrieval from the BEA's YouTube channel "I was in contact with a Norwegian scientist who I studied with a long time ago", said Arnar Ingi Gunnarsson when asked how the Icelanders got involved with the project. Arnar was then asked to find two others who had experience with technically difficult glacial work to go up onto the Greenland glacier and retrieve the engine. Arnar contacted Tómas Eldjárn Vilhjálmsson and Anton Ađalsteinsson, his colleagues from the Aviation Rescue Squad of Reykjavík. Tómas had recently had his second child, "I didn't know whether to believe him at first but I couldn't say no. It took a little bit of time to convince the wife but I was successful in the end." Originally, the project was supposed to take two weeks, but the team retrieved the engine in only two days between June 29-30. "It was supposed to take two weeks at maximum, but we had hoped that we would be quicker. When we reached the area, we were quite quick. We were quick to dig and set things up. Then when we reached the part which we were looking for, we could use a mountain rescue system to heave it up. It saved us a lot of time," Arnar said. The risk of polar bears is everpresent on the ice shelf, so the team set up a system of wires around their tents, equipped with an alarm bell. Team members also slept with rifles on both sides, to make sure. The engine part itself was just over 150 kilograms heavy, but the team made easy of the work. "Tómas hit it with his shovel and realized that it was something other than ice. The whole team was merry," Arnar said. "It was a great adventure, and of course one would like to head on this type of adventure. I could very well think to make it my life's work," Tómas said. https://www.icelandreview.com/news/icelanders-recover-lost-airplane-engine-in-greenland/ Back to Top Startups Bet Hydrogen Fuel Cells Are Ready For Takeoff In Aviation ZeroAvia's test bed is a Piper Matrix. The company is aiming for a test flight of 300 miles later this year.COURTESY OF ZEROAVIA For decades, researchers have pondered how to harness the potential of hydrogen to power aircraft. With the highest specific energy of any available fuel source, hydrogen contains three times more energy by mass than jet kerosene, offering substantial weight savings and lower greenhouse gas emissions, as well as potentially greater range than is achievable by battery electric propulsion today. But hydrogen's energy density is four times lower by volume than fossil fuels, requiring tank sizes too large to practically fit in an airplane. Now advances in technologies including fuel cells and electric motors have emboldened two startups to attempt to develop what could be the first commercial hydrogen-propelled aircraft. Alaka'i Technologies is aiming to test fly this year a five-seat multi-rotor aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells that's designed to take off and land vertically. The Massachusetts-based startup says it will have a range of up to 300 miles and hopes to achieve FAA certification next year. In California, the startup ZeroAvia says it has flown about 10 test flights of a Piper Matrix retrofitted with a hydrogen fuel cell system. The company is aiming to produce a propulsion system that could be offered as an option by aircraft makers on planes that carry up to 19 passengers, like the Viking Twin Otter or the forthcoming Cessna SkyCourier, as a replacement for the venerable Pratt & Whitney PT6 engine. ZeroAvia aims to bring it to market in 2022. CEO Val Miftakhov, who founded an electric car-charging station business, eMotorWerks, that he sold to Enel in 2017, says that battery development isn't progressing at a fast enough pace to power aircraft of enough range and size to make a meaningful difference in the fight against global warming. "I wanted to see what can be done to bring zero emission aviation to a large and existing segment," says the 44-year-old, who immigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1997 to enter a doctoral program in physics at Princeton. With hydrogen used to make electricity through proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Miftakhov says his propulsion system will generate an electrical output of 700 to 800 watt-hours per kilogram, about four times more than the best batteries available today. Alaka'i and ZeroAvia are taking different approaches to overcome the density problems of hydrogen. Alaka'i aims to use hydrogen cooled into its denser liquid form below -423 degrees Fahrenheit and stored in a double-walled tank at a pressure of 100 psi. ZeroAvia is compressing gaseous hydrogen to about 5,000 psi, betting that the safety record established on the road by similar high-pressure fuel cell systems in vehicles like the Toyota Mirai and Honda Clarity will make it easier to pass muster with the FAA. At 5,000 psi, compressed hydrogen would take up about three times the volume as an equal amount of liquid hydrogen by energy content, says Phil Ansell, an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, because liquid hydrogen boils at such low temperatures, it creates challenges for safely storing and venting it if the tank containing it heats up. Ansell is leading a NASA-funded program called CHEETA to explore creating a super-cold cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel cell system for aircraft in which the low temperatures would be used to enable superconducting electrical systems. Miftakhov says his propulsion system's operating costs will be close to half those of conventional turbine aircraft due to lower fuel costs and reduced maintenance. And in what may be a gambit to compensate for the high cost of fuel cells, ZeroAvia aims to lease its propulsion system to customers in a "power by the hour" arrangement, which has become common with large turbofan engines, where the operator pays a fee based on usage that includes maintenance. One other key element that will be lower: range. ZeroAvia is aiming to enable flights of 500 miles, roughly half the range of the aircraft it hopes to become an option for compared to their current conventional propulsion systems. Miftakhov argues that 500 miles is more than enough range. "About 50% of worldwide departures are less than 500 miles," he says. And much like the strategies of electric aviation hopefuls like Zunum Aero and Eviation, he believes that the lower operating costs of his propulsion system will open up new markets, enabling more affordable passenger service between smaller cities. The business case raises questions for Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, who thinks the commuter airlines that operate small planes might be hesitant to limit their fleet flexibility by acquiring planes with a lower range. "Is this sort of experimentation worth doing? Sure," says Aboulafia. "But nobody really knows the economics of small planes with hydrogen." Fuel and maintenance are only part of the cost equation for aircraft operations, along with crew salaries, and capital and infrastructure costs, Aboulafia points out. "Just because you can make an uncertain but possible difference in one of those areas doesn't mean that everything gets revolutionized," he says. Leasing the propulsion system on a power by the hour basis also means that ZeroAvia will have to find backers who are willing to finance its sales and wait patiently for revenue to come in. Mifthakov says he's in talks with private-equity funds that are interested in backing his sales model. He says ZeroAvia has taken in "several million" dollars in seed funding, half self-funded and the rest from investors, including the socially responsible fund SystemIQ. The company is currently seeking to raise a $10 million A Series round. His optimistic prognosis is that he can get to market for close to $50 million. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2019/08/14/zeroavia-alakai-hydrogen-fuel-cell/#23b726e18aa3 Back to Top Asia will drive the global aviation industry for the next two decades according to the latest Cirium Fleet Forecast SINGAPORE, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 40% of commercial passenger and freighter aircraft manufactured between 2019 and 2038 will be delivered to customers in Asia, according to the latest Cirium Fleet Forecast. The 2019 Cirium Fleet Forecast for commercial jets and turboprops estimates that 48,860 new passenger and freighter aircraft will be delivered over the next 20 years, worth an estimated US$3.1 trillion. Passenger traffic is forecast to grow at 4.5% per year over the forecast period and freight traffic at 4.0%. "The new Cirium Fleet Forecast shows that the centre of gravity in the aviation industry is shifting eastwards. By 2038, the combined Asia-Pacific and China fleet will increase its global share from 30% to 42%, followed by the North and Latin Americas (28%), Europe and Russia (21%), Middle East (6%) and Africa (3%)," said Rahul Oberai, VP Sales, APAC for Cirium. The news comes at a time of increasing uncertainty. While 2019 marks the 10th consecutive year of global airline net profits, reaching US$225 billion for the cycle, annual passenger traffic growth is slowing. "A growth slowdown isn't surprising. The WTO's World Trade Outlook Indicator is the weakest since 2010, and poor cargo traffic results in the first half of 2019 bear out a weakening market, exacerbated by the US-China trade dispute. With fuel comprising a quarter of airline costs, oil price volatility is also a concern," said Oberai. Pragmatic predictions The 2019 Cirium Fleet Forecast used Ascend by Cirium's 2019 Full-Life Base Values to estimate the total value of new deliveries at around US$3.1 trillion. This is a more pragmatic way to predict actual business values than the manufacturer list prices often used in other forecasts. "The industry has a firm-order backlog of over 14,000 aircraft, or more than seven years of production at current rates. Looking long-term, the global commercial aircraft fleet will grow by almost 25,000 -- or 3.4% annually -- to meet traffic growth forecasts. This will take the operational aircraft fleet to 54,500 by the end of 2038, of which 46,800 will be passenger jets," Rob Morris, Global Head of Consultancy, Ascend by Cirium said. Airbus and Boeing will remain the largest commercial aircraft OEMs, collectively delivering an estimated 79% of aircraft and 87% by value through 2038. However, there is also US$400 billion worth of demand for other OEMs or new programmes. The single-aisle and twin-aisle fleets will expand the fastest, at close to 4% annually, with regional aircraft growing more modestly at around 1% and freighters at just over 2%. In the passenger market, single-aisle jets will account for 67% of deliveries and 52% of delivery value, with the core of this US$1.6 trillion market continuing to be the 150-seat size, typified by the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max 8. In the regional segment, the turboprop market is expected to be worth US$57 billion, led by the 70-seat sector, with potential for a larger 90 plus-seat size in the 2030s. "This sector is experiencing change, with De Havilland now manufacturing the Q400 and China developing its MA700 programme. Although we don't have a hybrid-electric airliner in this forecast, it will almost certainly be the next powerplant direction for this market," said Morris. Replacement cycle The Cirium Fleet Forecast predicts almost three-quarters of aircraft presently in service will be permanently retired during the next 20-years, including 19,900 passenger aircraft and 2,070 freighters. An additional 2,180 passenger aircraft will be converted for freighter service. "We use a survivor curve analysis, based upon Cirium Fleets Analyzer's rich aircraft histories, that specifies an average economic life of 22 years for single- aisle aircraft and 20 years for twin-aisles. About 53% of new commercial jet and turboprops will be for fleet growth and 47% for replacement over the forecast period," said Morris. To download an Executive Summary of the 2019 Cirium Fleet Forecast, please visit the Cirium website at http://bit.ly/2GQ2g9m. For further information please visit www.cirium.com/smarterway and follow Cirium updates via LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. About Ascend by Cirium Ascend by Cirium is the global team of analysts and consultants delivering powerful analysis, commentaries and projections to airlines, aircraft build and maintenance companies, financial institutions, insurers and non-banking financiers. With over five decades of market experience and a team that includes eight certified ISTAT Appraisers, the team has been recognized as the Appraiser of the Year -- an Aviation 100 Award -- for the seventh time in nine years. About Cirium Cirium brings together powerful data and analytics to keep the world in motion. Delivering insight, built from decades of experience in the sector, enabling travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, airports, airlines and financial institutions, among others, to make logical and informed decisions which shape the future of travel, growing revenues and enhancing customer experiences. Cirium is part of RELX PLC, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. Find out more at cirium.com. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-drive-global-aviation-industry-020000416.html Back to Top The $1 Billion Prize: The World's 10 Most Lucrative Airline Routes Profits may be pressured across the aviation industry this year, but some routes are always reliable money spinners that can bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in ticket sales and, in one case, more than $1 billion. "For every airline there are a small selection of lucrative routes where either competitive advantage, market circumstances or limited competition make for very attractive revenues," says John Grant of industry analysts OAG, which has compiled a list of the 10 highest-grossing services around the world. Between them the 10 routes brought in revenues of more than $6 billion in the 12 months from April 2018 to March 2019. That is an average of $608 million each, ranging from the $541m pocketed by Air Canada on its Vancouver to Toronto service, to the $1.16bn in ticket sales by British Airways on its trans-Atlantic service between London and New York. Strong revenues don't always translate directly into profits, though, and operating costs on some of these routes will also be high. Nonetheless, Grant says, "It is equally likely that, for each of these airlines, operating profits are amongst the highest on their respective networks." There are a number of common features among the 10 highest-grossing routes. Five of them operate from London's main airport, Heathrow, serving New York, Dubai, Singapore, Doha and Hong Kong. That is in part due to the limited availability of slots at Heathrow, which means airlines flying in and out of the airport need to make the most of the opportunity. The value of services to a popular hub airport is also clear from OAG's analysis of the ten most lucrative routes in North America, with five of the 10 services landing at JFK (a further two land at nearby Newark). However, there has also been a noticeable drop in revenues on many of the high-revenue routes. Nine of the top 10 services globally saw revenues fall in 2018/19, compared to the year before. That suggests that competition from other airlines is getting stronger, both in terms of direct services and indirect routes, which often prove to be cheaper for passengers who are prepared to spend a longer time traveling. Airlines from the Middle East and Asia also feature strongly, with Dubai-based Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific accounting for half of the top 10 routes between them (Singapore features twice). Half of the 10 routes are operated by members of the Oneworld airline alliance, followed by four from the Star Alliance, but no SkyTeam alliance member makes the list (one of the routes is operated by Emirates, which is not a member of any alliance). Here are the top 10 most lucrative routes, in descending order. 1. London Heathrow - New York JFK The most lucrative route of all is the London Heathrow to New York JFK service operated by British Airways, which brings in annual revenues of $1.16bn for the UK carrier. More than 30% of seats on the trans-Atlantic route are in the First or Business Class cabins, helping to take the revenue figure per hour of flight on the service to $27,159. 2. Melbourne - Sydney The service between Australia's two biggest cities earned Qantas Airways some $861m last year, with an average revenue per hour of $23,773. It is one of four domestic routes that make up the top ten, and the only one outside North America. It was the only one of the ten most lucrative services to post higher revenue in 2018/19, although there was only a modest 1.4% rise from $849m the year before. 3. Dubai - London Heathrow The most important route for Dubai-based Emirates Airline, which relies entirely on international services due to the small size of its home country. With a modern fleet of aircraft and high levels of service, particularly on its fleet of Airbus A380 jets, the airline has built a strong reputation. Last year, this route brought in revenues of $796m. 4. Singapore - London Heathrow Singapore Airlines - often seen as one of the best airlines in the world - sold $736m worth of tickets to passengers flying from its hub to Heathrow, or an average of $18,771 for every one of the 39,189 hours of flying time between the cities. 5. San Francisco-Newark The highest grossing domestic service in North America is this cross-country haul from the west to the east coast operated by United Airlines. Last year it brought in $689m in revenue for the airline. 6. LAX - New York JFK Not far behind is another coast-to-coast service, this one operated by American Airlines. In 2018/19 it earned the carrier some $662m. The strength of demand on this city-pair is clear from the fact that Delta Airlines' service on the same route earned it $465m last year - not enough to make the ten most lucrative routes globally, but among the top ten for North America. 7. Doha - London Heathrow Another London-Gulf service comes in at seventh place. Qatar Airways, recently voted the world's best airline, has been struggling to deal with a boycott by neighbouring countries since June 2017, which has blocked it from the airspace of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. That has not presented too many problems for the airline's key service to London though, which last year earned it $639m in ticket sales. 8. Hong Kong - London Heathrow At the time of writing, Cathay Pacific was being forced to suspend services from its hub due to political protests which had overwhelmed the airport. In more normal circumstances last year, the airline's route to London earned $605m. However, that was down substantially from the year before, when it brought in revenues of $782m on the route. 9. Singapore - Sydney The second entry by Singapore Airlines in the top ten is this service to Australia's commercial capital Sydney. Last year, some $550m worth of tickets were sold on this route. 10. Vancouver - Toronto The final entry on the top ten is another domestic service, a four-and-a-half-hour flight between two Canadian cities. Last year, Air Canada earned revenues of $541m on this route, down substantially from $620m the year before. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2019/08/13/most-profitable-airline-routes/#4bc787e86963 Back to Top Boeing Delivers New Batch of KC-46 Aircraft to USAF Boeing delivered three KC-46 tanker aircraft to the U.S. Air Force this month, with a total of 16 units delivered so far, Puget Sound Business Journal reported Tuesday. The company plans to deliver three more of the refueler aircraft each month until December, the report noted. McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas houses nine of the tankers, while five are assigned to Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The Air Force has placed orders for 52 KC-46 aircraft. Japan has also ordered two KC-46s. https://blog.executivebiz.com/2019/08/boeing-delivers-new-batch-of-kc-46-aircraft-to-usaf/ Back to Top Five Connected Aircraft Trends for 2019 and Beyond The airline industry has connectivity on the brain these days. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Hamburg, site of the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo April 2-4. Preparing for this year's AIX got me thinking about just how far our industry has come in using connected aircraft solutions to improve the flying experience for everyone involved. But in many ways, we've just scratched the surface - the best is yet to come. Here are five key trends to watch in 2019 and beyond. IT WON'T BE JUST ABOUT INFLIGHT WI-FI. Cabin connectivity is still a big driver of passenger satisfaction and loyalty. In fact a Honeywell study found three-fourths of flyers willing to change airlines for better Wi-Fi. But the carriers themselves have figured out that connectivity also lets them use advanced data analytics to crunch data packets from hundreds of sources and improve operational efficiency and bottom line performance. "Packets to profits" is our shorthand for this jaw-dropping breakthrough, which is having a fundamental impact on airline operations and decision-making, from the flight deck to the boardroom and beyond. More and more airlines are using advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence and the Industrial Internet of Things to enable connected maintenance, flight efficiency, ground handling, flight planning and much more. I'm proud to say that Honeywell engineers are making connectivity breakthroughs every day. THERE WILL BE A RESURGENCE IN AIR-TO-GROUND. Improvements in air-to-ground communications technologies give airlines another viable option for sending and receiving information while in flight. Carriers still want the bandwidth, reliability and availability that only satellite communications solutions provide on international and transoceanic flights and for high-demand applications like video streaming. But ATG options work just fine for most voice and data transmissions on domestic flights, especially with the proliferation of 4G LTE networks using the 2.4 GHz frequency in North America. Compared to satellite-enabled connections, the cost of ATG is extremely attractive to airlines. Regardless of the type and size of the pipe, Honeywell specializes in getting data on and off airplanes in the most efficient and economical ways. DISTRIBUTED NETWORKS ARE HERE TO STAY. Monolithic aircraft networks are giving way to distributed networks, which combine the computing power of various on board processors into a single integrated system. By creating a single network on the aircraft, operators will be able to eliminate discrete, specialized routers and servers that consume power, generate heat, occupy space, add weight and reduce efficiency. Honeywell's new GoDirect Router is a great example of distributed processing in action. For starters, it's smaller and more efficient than conventional on-board routers. But the real difference comes from its ability to enable distributed processing through the use of edge nodes - tiny (1x1x1.5-inch) computer nodes that provide wireless access points in the cabin and on the flight deck. We've got decades of distributed network experience, so we know that this trend is here to stay. DATA UPLOADS WILL BECOME EASIER. The clock is ticking on the traditional model for database uploading. Getting a new navigation, enhanced ground proximity warning system or flight management system database onto the airplane is kind of a big deal today. It involves the flight crew and maintenance team, requires extensive coordination and hands-on work, and takes hours of valuable time. Not for long. We're already working with a number cargo haulers on a total re-engineering of the database loading process that enables us to push a new database to the aircraft using an air-to-ground connection. The new database is available before the aircraft has even landed and we let the director of maintenance and dispatch team know that it's available for loading before the next flight. Fast. Easy. Efficient. BIG DATA WILL LEAD TO BIG PROFITS. Individual initiatives impact flight safety, fuel costs, on-time performance, maintenance downtime and other key airline metrics. But imagine the profitability engine we create by bringing all these things together and combining data from hundreds of sources into a single decisionmaking tool. You don't have to imagine. Those capabilities are here today, thanks to big data. The availability of data and advanced analytics truly changes the game for the airlines. We can collect, aggregate and analyze all available data into a single database and display information impacting dozens of initiatives on a single dashboard. Think of it as a single pane of glass - on steroids - because Honeywell is the first to take things to the next level and provide airlines with a profit generator that lets decision-makers visualize the impact their actions have on the bottom line. Airlines today are under enormous pressure to improve operations, deliver a better passenger experience and bolster their bottom line performance. At Honeywell, we're committed to applying our unique connected aircraft expertise to enable customers to achieve their operational objectives and become more profitable. How can we help? https://www.ainonline.com/sponsored-content/aerospace/2019-08-14/five-connected-aircraft-trends-2019-and-beyond Back to Top Dream Chaser spaceplanes to launch on ULA Vulcan rocket Sierra Nevada Corp. will launch its winged Dream Chaser spaceplane atop United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket for at least six NASA-contracted unpiloted cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) starting in 2021, company officials announced Wednesday. Sierra Nevada engineers and the company's owners, Fatih and Eren Ozmen, considered boosters built in Japan, Europe and by SpaceX and Blue Origin. But they ultimately selected United Launch Alliance, they said, based on a competitive - but undisclosed - cost, the Vulcan's capabilities, ULA's unblemished launch record and a long-standing working relationship. While the six space station resupply missions are baselined to fly on the Vulcan, with ULA's Atlas 5 available as a backup, CEO Fatih Ozmen said the company is holding open the option of launching Dream Chasers commercially on other rockets if demand develops. An artist's rendering of a Dream Chaser spaceplane, with an attached cargo pod and solar arrays, in orbit. "Dream Chaser's really challenging the status quo," he said. "It is the only privately owned, commercial spaceplane in the world that exists, that is runway-landing capable and is reusable. This is very significant. "Fifty years after Apollo days, believe it or not we are still using capsules, high-G entry and splashing (down) in the ocean for our cargo and crew both. Dream Chaser makes a very unique (package), coupled with the reliability and reusability and cost effectiveness of the Vulcan rocket." Resembling a small space shuttle, the Dream Chaser originally was designed as a piloted spacecraft that could carry astronauts to and from the ISS. NASA ultimately selected Boeing and SpaceX to build agency-financed commercial crew ships, but later awarded a contract to SNC for at least six flights of an unpiloted version of the Dream Chaser to carry 12,000 pounds of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the station. SpaceX's Dragon supply ship and Northrop Grumman's Cygnus already were under contract to NASA and both companies will continue cargo flights under a second contract along with Sierra Nevada. SpaceX's Dragon is the only vehicle currently flying that is reusable and can bring significant cargo back to Earth from the station. Dream Chaser also is reusable but unlike the Dragon, which splashes down in the ocean after a mission, the spaceplane is designed to autonomously glide back to a runway landing carrying up to 7,000 pounds of cargo. It also is designed to fly atop a variety of rockets. The Dream Chaser will be boosted into space atop United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket. "This is a very competitive launch market now days, and to be selected by SNC to fly this block of missions on our Vulcan launch vehicle is just a tremendous honor, and we're very grateful," said Tory Bruno, ULA CEO. "But really, more important than any of that, to us, is that you have trusted us with your baby, this amazing Dream Chaser vehicle. We will not let you down." ULA, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is building the Vulcan to replace the company's Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets. Both have been extensively used to launch high-priority military, NASA and other government payloads, but the Delta family is more expensive than other launchers and the Atlas has come under fire because of its use of Russian-built RD-180 first stage engines. The all-American Vulcan will use first stage engines provided by Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos. Aerojet Rocketdyne will provide the Vulcan's Centaur second stage engines and Northrop Grumman will supply strap-on solid-fuel boosters as required depending on payload requirements. Unlike the first stages used by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets and the New Glenn launchers designed by Blue Origin, ULA does not plan to recover the Vulcan's first stage. Instead, the company is developing systems to recover the first stage engines. "The concept we are pursuing for reusability fits in the category of component reuse," Bruno said. "There's glide-back reuse, like the space shuttle, like this amazing vehicle, there's propulsive fly-back reuse like you see on that other guy's rocket and then there's the third kind, which is to separate the most expensive and valuable parts of the rocket and return them. "We will separate our engines and recover those. ... That has one of the unique attributes of not having a performance impact. When you propulsively fly back, you save propellant in order to fly home with. We're still able to burn to depletion on our first stage and it would not impact our performance in any significant way." Bruno said 90% of the Vulcan's major systems, including flight software, the nose fairing, Centaur engines, propellant tanks and strap-on boosters, will have flown on the Atlas 5 before the Vulcan's maiden flight. "To be able to make Vulcan's' commercial debut with this block of missions underneath the Dream Chaser is just truly exciting," he said. "We commit to you that we are going to bring all of our experience, all of our skill and our discipline in launching this vehicle in taking your dream to space." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dream-chaser-spaceplanes-to-launch-on-ula-vulcan-rocket/ Back to Top The 2019 CHC Safety & Quality Summit is pleased to be taking place at the Omni Dallas Hotel in Dallas, TX. If you will be joining us and wish to book a hotel room, please act quickly as room availability is limited. The last day to book a room at the Omni is on September 9th. For more hotel details, please visit our website Kind regards, CHC Summit Team Back to Top DISPAX World 2019 18 - 19 September 2019, The Riverside Venue, London, UK The 3rd International Conference on Unruly Airline Passenger Behaviour With only a few weeks to go, DISPAX World 2019 is fast approaching! We are delighted to be able to offer all subscribers to Curt Lewis a 20% discount on the delegate rate. To redeem this offer use the promotional code: CURT20 when registering on the conference website: www.unrulypax.com/registration/ Disruptive passenger incidents are a daily occurrence on board commercial flights around the world. Seemingly trivial issues can quickly escalate into explosive situations that endanger the safety of passengers and crew. The much anticipated 3rd edition of DISPAX World returns to London to explore the broad range of causes of such behaviour, the responses available and the legal implications for carriers and states. Looked at from diverse perspectives, including those of aircrew, passengers, regulatory authorities, industry associations, and law enforcement, DISPAX World 2019 will provide a comprehensive and authoritative programme over two days in one of the busiest airline hubs in the world: London. Speakers will include industry leaders, aircrew, airport operators, academics and law enforcement agencies. DISPAX World 2019 is a must-attend conference for: Flight attendant instructors Unions & staff associations Pilots Law enforcement agencies Airline Security Personnel Airport operators Government transportation regulators Security companies Aviation health professionals & psychologists Consumer bodies Academics & researchers International law firms For more information and to view the programme, please visit: www.unrulypax.com or contact the Event Manager, Lucy Rawlings, at lrawlings@avsec.com and don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @DispaxWorld Back to Top Position Available: SRC Safety Analyst | Florence, KY (near CVG) Are you ready to take flight with the global leader in airfreight? Do you have a passion for flight safety along with the ability to proactively identify trends through targeted analysis? If so, we invite you to explore new heights with Atlas Air! Overview: This position will be responsible for assisting in the overall gathering, validating, tracking, and analyzing of Safety Data. Flight data studies and investigations will be done at the direction of Safety and Flight Operations. Responsibilities: • Ensure data integrity and validity through maintaining flight data database and validating safety events. • Analyze flight data and develop detailed queries within Excel and additional software programs. • Assist with flight data investigations, conducting root cause analysis of identified safety concerns. • Assist in administration of all internal safety programs (ASAP, FDM, FRMC, FCR, & LOSA) making up components of the Company Safety Management System (SMS), and assist in external and internal operational audits (IOSA, DoD, customer, etc.). • Solicit and process safety improvement suggestions and write reports based on empirical safety data. • Conduct industry safety data comparisons and attend industry safety conferences. • Create presentations of current and past safety data trends and present to a wide variety of audiences. • Assist in development and deployment of internal newsletters. • Provide timely advice and assistance on Company aviation safety matters. • Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications: • Bachelor's Degree or higher; preferably aviation or mathematics focus. • 2 - 4 years of relevant work experience. • Knowledge of Part 121 airline procedures; preferably holds at least Private Pilot License. • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel); advanced experience in Excel preferred. • Must be self-starter with ability to work with little supervision in fast paced environment. • Minimal travel will be required; must be able to travel without restrictions. • Strong written and verbal communication skills required. • Authorization to work in the U.S. without requiring sponsorship. About Atlas Air: Atlas Air Worldwide is a world leader in aircraft and aviation outsourcing with more than 25 years of experience serving freight, commercial, charter, and military customers. We deliver a powerful combination of an efficient fleet, cost-saving operations, and superior customer service. With nearly 3,300 employees working together across 89 countries, Atlas Air generated 2018 net sales of $2.7 billion. Our companies operate the world's largest fleet of Boeing 747 Freighters and provide customers a broad array of Boeing 747, 777, 767, 757 and 737 aircraft for domestic, regional and international applications. We are dedicated to safety, integrity, and excellence; and we're seeking applicants who are interested in working in a challenging, fast-paced environment with a truly international company. Our rapid growth continues both on the ground and in the sky, and we invite you to grow along with us! APPLY HERE Back to Top Manager, System Safety & Data Assurance Position Overview The position supports the Director, Safety Programs & Analytics in the administration of HA's Safety/Security/Quality Assurance (SSEQ) database. Responsible for the implementing SMS standards to the database and operational departments' SMS programs. Responsible for performing periodic evaluation of the standards and their application within the SSEQ database and operational departments SMS programs. Key Responsibilities • Provide oversight of the airlines SSEQ database to ensure processes and tasks performed within the database are in compliance with Hawaiian's Safety Management System Manual (SMSM) • Perform critical functions to include the development and application of taxonomy, change management and Data analysis within the safety programs database • Establish and administer that SSEQ database steering committee by developing system standards and workflows in compliance with Hawaiians Safety Management System (SMS) • Develop advanced models, tools and templates to drive the safety planning, and development processes • Evaluate accuracy of data, reporting, and forecasting outputs and perform adjustment to maximize commercial impact • Interface with the Operations SMS managers, IT, and other operational departments to document and ensure system and analysis expectations are being met • Perform periodic evaluations of operational departments' SMS programs to ensure compliance with Hawaiian's SMSM • Support the airline's corporate safety department with evaluations and conformance with IOSA (Int Operational Safety Audits) [SMS] requirements • Oversee the investigations for company mishaps, incidents, and accidents and support the Primary Investigator for aircraft mishaps and accidents • Participate in InfoShare Conferences to meet 14CFR §13.401 (FOQA) requirements. In coordination with other Safety Departments, use available databases to identify areas where enhanced equipment, training or procedures are required • Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) • Safety Database & Analysis Administrator • Other duties as assigned Minimum Requirements Bachelors' degree or equivalent work experience Three years aviation safety experience with a 14CFR Part 121 carrier or relevant operational safety management experience, such as 14CFR Part 135 or military Working knowledge in Aviation Safety Programs including SMS, AQP, ASAP, FOQA, ASIAS, and LOSA Have a thorough understanding of relevant CFRs and applicable company manuals Extensive statistical methods experience Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and problem-solving skills Must possess the ability to work effectively with a minimum of supervision Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat software and Tableau (or similar software) Excellent communication and presentation skills are required Must be able to obtain and maintain an airport SIDA credential Must be able to travel to both domestic and international locations; passport required Preferred Qualifications Quantitative and qualitative data analysis, data modeling, developing reports relational database experience SQL, SAS, Unix programming experience preferred 5+ years of SMS or Safety Analytics experience preferred About Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian® has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past 15 years (2004-2018) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and TripAdvisor have placed Hawaiian among the top of all domestic airlines serving Hawai'i. Now in its 90th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawaii's biggest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers non-stop service to Hawai'i from more U.S. gateway cities (13) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides, on average, more than 170 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, and over 260 daily flights system-wide. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow Hawaiian's Twitter updates (@HawaiianAir), become a fan on Facebook (Hawaiian Airlines), and follow us on Instagram (hawaiianairlines). For career postings and updates, follow Hawaiian's LinkedIn page. For media inquiries, please visit Hawaiian Airlines' online newsroom. APPLY HERE Curt Lewis