Flight Safety Information SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 - No. 185 In This Issue The 737 MAX Crisis Is Not Driving a Rift Between the FAA And EASA Boeing test pilot: 737 MAX will be among safest planes to fly Incident: Swoop B738 at Abbotsford on Sep 10th 2019, bird strike Incident: Euroatlantic B763 near Gander on Sep 5th 2019, smoking CDU Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III - Rollover Accident (South Dakota) Boeing 737-8Q8 (WL)...- Ground Collision (Canada) Coffee spill lands jet Two parachutists were free-falling - then US fighter jets flew below them, report says India Plans to Conduct Its Own Checks on Boeing 737 Max Jets easyJet pilot suffers mid-air anxiety attack during flight with 148 passengers US Air Force restricts KC-46 from carrying cargo and passengers FAA requires airports to use toxic foam to extinguish aircraft fires Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing after In-Cabin Incident (Alaska) DCA instructs airport operators to buy aircraft removal equipment (Myanmar) American Airlines mechanic stripped of FAA certificate ordered held in sabotage case IBAC To Highlight SAF, Turboprop Safety at ICAO Airbus issues safety bulletin for three helicopter types Lufthansa Blocks A320neo Seats Over Center Of Gravity Issues UK prof named to Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame Report says airlines' carbon emissions are growing fast Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman considers used jets for new U.S. airline Embraer delivers new jet that Boeing may soon sell against Airbus Bigelow Aerospace and NASA test earthly mockup of interplanetary space station Aviation Cybersecurity Survey The 737 MAX Crisis Is Not Driving a Rift Between the FAA And EASA Andrew Charlton Contributor I am a cynical, observer of the aviation industry's foibles. The Boeing 737 MAX saga has raised a number of interesting questions. One surrounds the status of the Federal Aviation Agency (the FAA). Naysayers are suggesting that the FAA's global standing is somehow degraded because of it. The FAA is a major world safety agency and has the right to be considered as such based on a huge body of work - none of which can be denied. Nonetheless, you are only as good as your next game, so there is never space for complacency. The concern is that by relying on a degree of 'self-certification' the agency has lost its mojo. This deserves analysis. But, it is complex, because to consider this you have to look at two intersecting axis. Regulation costs and regulators cost and the FAA, like every other branch of government, not only in the US, but around the (late neo-liberal) world has been squeezed and squeezed by austerity (in Europe) and ideological purity (in the US) to work with less. The only way to do that is to work with, not prescriptively against, the entities being regulated and thus we have moved, per force, to taking risk-based assessments (which include a lot of self-certification) rather than the historic prescriptive approach. That was inevitable. Add to that the huge growth in the market and aircraft and other systems that need to be certified. If we go back to the old prescriptive ways of doing things, the industry will slow down enormously, and not in a good way for airlines or customers. Secondly, the US aerospace industry is huge and thus there both must be an FAA and the FAA must be respected around the world. US exports depend on it, frankly. Boeing aircraft are about half of the commercial fleet in Europe for example, and there are smaller aircraft, engines, components and lots more beside that need a good FAA. If the FAA loses its reputation - which it is a long way from doing - then each of the FAA-equivalent entities around the world might feel the need to intervene. That they did intervene in the 737MAX was not an example of mistrust, but of the international comity that the large safety agencies around the world have worked very hard to build up for some years. Others felt empowered to act. Do not underestimate that. Some are attempting to make mileage out of the fact that EASA is dispatching check pilots to join in the recertification flights. That is totally normal, it is a cost saving and duplication saving step, not a sign of ill-will. The FAA similarly sends staff to EASA when major stages are reached with Airbus aircraft. If other authorities mistrust the FAA, they will then have to recertify all aircraft coming into their country and that will, probably inevitably in this trade-is-a-zero-sum-game administration mean that the FAA will have to certify Airbus' on arrival in the US as well, and that way madness lies. It will be a total duplication - of time, of money and effort. In fact, having grounded the aircraft, authorities around the world are now looking at the FAA for direction and assistance on what to do next. It is a good thing, not a bad one, that in the reauthorisation and release of the 737MAX the FAA is taking its time and that the FAA is being doubly sure that the aircraft is airworthy. That is what the rest of the world wants. The more work goes into the process, the more respect the FAA is earning. Andrew Charlton: I am the managing director of Aviation Advocacy, an independent strategic government affairs and publishing company based in Switzerland. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewcharlton5/2019/09/12/the-boeing-737max-and-the-faa/#31546d3b3b64 Back to Top Boeing test pilot: 737 MAX will be among safest planes to fly The troubled Boeing 737 MAX planes remain grounded after two deadly crashes killed hundreds of people. Boeing's 737 MAX planes that were grounded following two crashes within less than a five months will be among the safest to fly when they return to service, a company test pilot said in a video published Thursday. Todd White says he is encouraged by the response he's seen "across the board." "When the MAX returns to service, any of our pilots will be honored to fly that airplane for any of our customers," he explains in the video. Airlines around the world have canceled thousands of flights since March, when regulators grounded the Boeing 737 Max and the company suspended deliveries of new jets. Boeing says it will take a $4.9 billion charge to cover possible compensation to airlines whose Max jets remain grounded after two deadly accidents. The plane's return has been pushed back several times, most recently after Federal Aviation Administration pilots found a new flaw while testing Boeing software changes in a flight simulator. Boeing faces dozens of lawsuits in U.S. courts from families of the passengers killed. Families of the victims of the Oct. 29 crash of a MAX operated by Indonesia's Lion Air have agreed to consider mediation, but relatives of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines MAX that crashed March 10 have resisted Boeing's requests, according to their lawyers. On Tuesday, families of passengers who died in one of the crashes lobbied Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Tuesday to slow what they consider a rush to let the plane fly again. Two of the relatives who took part in the two-hour meeting in Washington said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promised that the government will take as long as necessary to ensure that the plane is safe but stopped short of agreeing to an entirely new, top-to-bottom review. A spokesman for Chao said the department and the Federal Aviation Administration have taken unprecedented steps to understand the accidents and the FAA's certification of the plane in 2017. One of those steps, he said, included Chao's appointment of a special committee to review the FAA's process of certifying planes. https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/aerospace/boeing/737-max-will-be-among-safest-planes-to-fly/281-2db3e32e-7611-4593-acfa-164d2f079521 Back to Top Incident: Swoop B738 at Abbotsford on Sep 10th 2019, bird strike A Swoop Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration C-GXRW performing flight WO-312 from Abbortsford,BC to Edmonton,AB (Canada) with 176 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Abbotsford's runway 07 when a number of geese were ingested by the right hand engine (CFM56) causing the engine to emit bangs and streaks of flames. The crew stopped the climb at about 8000 feet and returned to Abbottsford for a safe landing on runway 07 about 20 minutes after departure. The Canadian TSB reported: "The crew informed ATC of a mechanical thrust issue (CFM INTERNATIONAL, CFM56 -7B27/E) and elected to return to the point of departure. The aircraft landed without further incident at 15:42Z (11:42 EDT). The aircraft remained on the runway in order to facilitate an inspection by aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF)." The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Abbottsford about 54 hours after landing back. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/WSW312/history/20190910/1515Z/CYXX/CYEG Flames shoot from plane after bird strike http://avherald.com/h?article=4ccbe805&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Euroatlantic B763 near Gander on Sep 5th 2019, smoking CDU An Euroatlantic Boeing 767-300 on behalf of Norwegian Air Shuttle, registration CS-TKT performing flight DY-7194 from Newark,NJ (USA) to Rome Fiumicino (Italy), was enroute at FL330 about 70nm north of Gander,NL (Canada) when the crew reported the left hand control display unit (CDU) emitted smoke and declared Mayday. The crew decided to divert to Gander, where the aircraft landed safely about 45 minutes later. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance removed the left hand CDU, which showed evidence of overheating and soot buildup in the area of the box cooling vent. The CDU was replaced. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CSTKT/history/20190905/0453Z/KEWR/LIRF http://avherald.com/h?article=4ccbef08&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III - Rollover Accident (South Dakota) Date: 12-SEP-2019 Time: afternoon Type: Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III Owner/operator: Akuas Heli LLC Registration: N100CK C/n / msn: 4644 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: west of Hill City, Pennington County, SD - United States of America Phase: Unknown Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: A Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III experienced a dynamic rollover on open field terrain west of Hill City, Pennington County, South Dakota. The helicopter sustained substantial damage and the two occupants onboard received minor injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/228989 Back to Top Boeing 737-8Q8 (WL) - Ground Collision (Canada) Date: 11-SEP-2019 Time: Type: Boeing 737-8Q8 (WL) Owner/operator: Air Transat Registration: C-GTQB C/n / msn: 30696 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Victoria International Airport - Canada Phase: Standing Nature: Passenger Departure airport: Vancouver International Airport, BC (YVR/CYVR) Destination airport: Victoria International Airport, BC (YYJ/CYYJ) Narrative: A bus scraped the underside of one of the wings. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/228975 Back to Top Coffee spill lands jet A flight from Germany to Mexico had to divert course and make an unexpected landing in Ireland after the pilot spilled coffee on the aircraft's controls. The Airbus jet, operated by Condor, was en route to Cancún from Frankfurt when the 49-year-old pilot, who has over 13,000 hours of flying experience, spilled a cup of piping hot coffee. The cabin crew had given the pilot the cup without a lid, and when the pilot knocked it over, some of the beverage splashed onto the audio control panel, according to CNN. The control panel became very hot and began smoking, emitting a burning smell. The equipment became so hot that a button on the control panel began to melt. The spilled coffee caused "significant communication difficulty for the flight crew," and forced them to don oxygen masks. After the unexpected landing, the plane was inspected and repaired and continued its flight to Mexico. The company later revised its policies. "As safety is always our top priority, we have comprehensively investigated this incident and reviewed the procedures of liquids in the cockpit," a spokesperson for Condor said in a statement. "Our crews were reminded of a careful handling as well as to use appropriate containers for their water or coffee." https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/coffee-spill-lands-jet "Fate Is the Hunter" Back to Top Two parachutists were free-falling - then US fighter jets flew below them, report says Two parachutists free-falling at 120 mph in the United Kingdom had a near miss with two U.S. fighter jets that zoomed below them, a report of the incident says. The F-15 fighter jet pilots were unaware they were flying near an active parachute site over Chatteris in Cambridgeshire, and air traffic controls did not warn them ahead of the April incident, according to the recent report from the UK Airprox Board. The board, part of the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority, said that regulations, processes, procedures and compliance were deemed ineffective at various points during the incident, and it was classified in the second-highest danger category. According to the report, the F-15 pilots changed course slightly to avoid a refueling aircraft. The turn occurred during a hand over from RAF Coningsby to an air traffic controller at RAF Lakenheath, home to the 48th Fighter Wing. The air traffic controller thought he would have "plenty of time" to change the jets' course, but "the frequency became busy just as they transferred and so, by the time the F15 pilots checked in with the controller, they were already about to fly over Chatteris," the report says. The UK Airprox Board said the pilots should have been aware that there could have been an active parachute drop and should have either asked the controller ahead of time or avoided the area. The board also saw Go-Pro footage from one of the parachutists' helmets in which the board "could clearly see the F15s passing beneath," but it was hard to determine how close the jets were, the report says. "Once the parachutists had seen the F15s there was very little they could do to avoid the situation, having no control over their speed or direction whilst in free-fall," the report says. The board said officials at Chatteris and the para-dropping aircraft could not have done more to avoid the situation. Col. Will Marshall, 48th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement that "U.K. airspace is incredibly complex and often congested." "The safety of our aircrew as well as those we share the skies with is our number one priority," he added. "We are using this incident to reinforce the vital importance of situational awareness and attention to detail for our all of our air traffic controllers and aircrew." https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/12/air-force-jets-united-kingdom-nearly-hit-parachutists-report-says/2298041001/ Back to Top India Plans to Conduct Its Own Checks on Boeing 737 Max Jets • South Asian nation to mandate simulator training of pilots • India's safety regulator doesn't see 737 Max flying this year India plans to conduct its own checks and demand simulator training for all pilots before Boeing Co.'s 737 Max jets can fly in the country again, even if the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration were to clear the grounded jets, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. India plans to start its own assessment only after the FAA, the certifying authority of U.S.-made jets, declares the aircraft fit to fly, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation doesn't expect Boeing's best-selling plane to fly in the country before next year, according to the person, who's directly involved in the nation's decision-making process involving plane safety. India would join the European Aviation Safety Agency, which is planning to send its own pilots to the U.S. to conduct flight tests of the 737 Max, in making its own determination after two fatal crashes involving a malfunctioning flight-control system prompted regulators around the world to ground it. Boeing warned this week that the jet may return on a "phased" timetable if regulators worldwide make decisions at their own pace, without following the U.S.'s lead. Boeing said it continues to work with global regulators and customers as they determine training requirements in their home markets. A representative for India's civil aviation ministry didn't immediately respond to a text message. SpiceJet Ltd., India's second-biggest airline, is one of the biggest buyers of the plane, with as many as 205 on order, and Jet Airways India Ltd. has also ordered more than 200 of these jets -- before it stopped flying in April after running out of cash. SpiceJet erased all gains to fall as much as 1.7%, the most in a week. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-13/india-plans-to-conduct-its-own-checks-on-boeing-737-max-jets Back to Top easyJet pilot suffers mid-air anxiety attack during flight with 148 passengers The unnamed easyJet crew member had to leave the cockpit before arrival at Glasgow, a report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch revealed today The co-pilot suffered a panic attack during a flight (Image: MEN MEDIA) An easyJet co-pilot suffered a panic attack while a plane was approaching a runway in Scotland after a tricky landing the previous day. A report released today said the crew member had to leave the cockpit of the Airbus A319-111 on the approach to Glasgow. There were 148 passengers and six crew onboard when it happened. Despite the incident, the flight landed safely. His anxiety was triggered by a go-around the day before at just 30 feet and his worries which built up over the course of his duty the following day last September. It happened on the approach to Glasgow Airport (Image: PA) The experienced 50-year-old commander and his cabin crew worked together to land the plane safely and get medical help for the co-pilot, an Air Accident Investigation Branch report released today revealed. The report said the day before the incident, the two pilots had flown together from Glasgow to Palma de Mallorca and back. The report said:"The co-pilot was pilot flying for the Glasgow to Palma de Mallorca sector. During the approach to Palma de Mallorca, at approximately 30ft, a change in the wind displaced the aircraft towards the runway edge. The commander took control during the flare and executed a go-around." The next day the same pair flew from Glasgow to Stanstead with the commander as pilot. But on their return to Glasgow that evening the co-pilot was flying but began to suffer with anxiety and was unable to continue and left the cockpit. The commander - with nearly 14,000 hours flying experience- took control and issued an alert saying the plane only had one pilot. An ambulance crew said the co-pilot had suffered an anxiety attack. The commander said his colleague seemed 'fine' after the go-around but on the return flight to Scotland was 'subdued' and 'seemed annoyed with himself'. The unnamed co-pilot, with 686 hours flying experience, said the wind change and go-around at Palma was the first time he had experienced that and he found it frightening. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/easyjet-pilot-suffers-mid-air-20048267 Back to Top US Air Force restricts KC-46 from carrying cargo and passengers The KC-46 has added another critical deficiency to the list, and it's the most serious problem yet. (Senior Airman Christian Conrad/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON - In a move that could have major impacts on the already-delayed tanker program, the U.S. Air Force has indefinitely barred the KC-46 from carrying cargo and passengers, Defense News has learned. The decision was made after an incident occurred where the cargo locks on the bottom of the floor of the aircraft became unlocked during a recent flight, creating concerns that airmen could potentially be hurt or even killed by heavy equipment that suddenly bursts free during a flight. "As a result of this discovery, the Air Force has submitted a Category 1 deficiency report and is working with Boeing to identify a solution," Air Force Mobility Command spokesman Col. Damien Pickart said in a statement. The service uses the term Category 1 to describe serious technical issues that could endanger the aircrew and aircraft or have other major effects. "Until we find a viable solution with Boeing to remedy this problem, we can't jeopardize the safety of our aircrew and this aircraft," he said. Boeing could miss out on $1.5 billion if the maximum withholding is applied to all 52 tankers on contract. The problem was discovered during a recent overseas operational test and evaluation flight, when KC-46 aircrew noticed that numerous cargo restraint devices had come unlocked over the course of the multiple legs of the trip. "Prior to departing for each of these missions, aircrew fully installed, locked and thoroughly inspected each restraint, and performed routine inspections of the restraints in flight," Pickart said. "Despite these safety measures, the unlocking of cargo floor restraints occurred during flight, although no cargo or equipment moved and there was no specific risk to the aircraft or crew." A source with knowledge of the issue told Defense News that if all restraints on a particular pallet had become unlocked, it would be able to roll freely throughout the cabin. If all cargo became unlatched, it could pose a safety risk to aircrew or even unbalance the aircraft - making the plane "difficult, if not impossible" to control. While this problem has only been observed on one KC-46, the Air Force does not have enough information to rule out other aircraft having a similar defect. The problem also poses a danger to the tanker's operational test schedule, Pickart said. The program was set to start initial operational test and evaluation this fall, with pre-IOT&E activities already initiated. "This is a multi-mission aircraft, it's for carrying cargo and passengers, it's for refueling and also the aeromedical evacuation mission," he said. "If you can't carry cargo pallets and patient litters, a significant amount of your core missions cannot be properly tested." In a statement, KC-46 manufacturer Boeing acknowledged that it had been notified of the new issue. "The company and the Air Force are cooperatively analyzing the locks to determine a root cause," Boeing stated. "The safety of KC-46 aircraft and crew is our top priority. Once a cause has been identified, the tanker team will implement any required actions as quickly as possible." But the problem could be bad news for Boeing's bottom line. The company is locked into a fixed-price contract for where it is responsible for paying for any expenses beyond the initial $4.9 billion award for development of the aircraft. So far, the company has paid more than $3.5 billion of its own money to fund corrections to ongoing technical issues. The latest Cat-1 deficiency brings the total up to four: • The tanker's remote vision system or RVS - the camera system that allows KC-46 boom operators to steer the boom into a receiver aircraft without having to look out a window and use visual cues - provides imagery in certain lighting conditions that appears warped or misleading. Boeing has agreed to pay for potentially extensive hardware and software fixes, but the Air Force believes it will be three or four years until the system is fully functional. • The Air Force has recorded instances of the boom scraping against the airframe of receiver aircraft. Boeing and the Air Force believe this problem is a symptom of the RVS's acuity problems and will be eliminated once the camera system is fixed. • Boeing must redesign the boom to accommodate the A-10, which currently does not generate the thrust necessary to push into the boom for refueling. This problem is a requirements change by the Air Force, which approved Boeing's design in 2016. Last month, Boeing received a $55.5 million contract to begin work on the new boom actuator. While the KC-46 program has clocked several key milestones this year, it has also hit some publicly embarrassing stumbles. After several years of delays, the Air Force finally signed off on the acceptance of the first tanker. However, due to the list of technical problems, Boeing was forced to accept an agreement where the service could withhold up to $28 million per aircraft upon delivery. About $360 million has been withheld so far, Defense One reported in July. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s over the life of the program, and 52 are currently on contract. So far, Boeing has delivered 18 tankers to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.; Altus Air Force Base, Okla; and Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H. But deliveries were interrupted earlier this year by the discovery of foreign object debris in multiple planes. The Air Force suspended KC-46 flights at Boeing's production line in Everett, Wash., this February after finding debris. Then it paused all tanker deliveries in March as the service investigated the extent of the problem. The service began accepting tankers again later that month, only for deliveries to stop - and restart - in April due to similar problems. Will Roper, the service's acquisition executive, told reporters at the Paris Air Show this July that the service expects to find foreign object debris in KC-46s moving through the line, and it may be months before planes are reliably clean. "As those airplanes flow forward down the line, we think it's going to take some time for the new quality assurance inspection processes to start early enough so that airplanes will flow that are FOD-free," he said, according to Defense One. "It's not the way we want to get airplanes into the Air Force, but it's what we're going to have to do in the meantime." https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2019/09/11/air-force-restricts-kc-46-from-carrying-cargo-and-personnel/ Back to Top FAA requires airports to use toxic foam to extinguish aircraft fires SAN ANTONIO - Airport firetrucks nationwide are equipped with an aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) designed to smother aircraft fires. It's one of the most effective foams, but it's also toxic with the potential to impact human health and the environment, specifically through water contamination. The C-8 foam that has long been used at airports and on military bases is made with perfluorooctonoic acid known as PFOA and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, known as PFOS. "Eventually this water will seep into the ground and I don't have SAWS water," said San Antonio resident, Sandra Garcia. "I have well water and so that is a big concern for me." Garcia lives a few miles away from Lackland Air Force Base. Joint Base San Antonio shared water test results from the Air Force bases showing the drinking water is PFOS/PFOA free, but it was detected in the groundwater. The tests showed excessive levels at Lackland Air Force Base (250,000 ppt), Randolph Air Force Base (120,000 ppt) and the former Kelly Air Force Base (142,000 ppt). "There is no national standard for PFOA in the drinking water," said Public Health Physician, Dr. David Carpenter. "These are recommendations, but it's not a standard and there's no obligation to test drinking water, particularly individuals that live near airports, especially military airports, but any airport." San Antonio International Airport Strategic Communications Director, Rich Stinson said they have yet to do water testing at the airport, but they did hire a consultant in April to confirm and catalog any use of the PFOS/PFOA foam in the past. In an email, Aviation Director, Russ Handy wrote, "Every commercial airport is strictly regulated by the FAA, which requires each airport to use aqueous film forming foam as it's fire retardant. Although we are required to follow federally mandated regulations, including the use of AFFF, we remain committed to being good stewards of our environment." Stinson also confirmed the airport has switched from a C-8 to a C-6 fluorinated foam. It is a shorter chain product that doesn't contain PFOS/PFOA. Currently it is considered a safer alternative, but not safe enough. Last year, Congress passed legislation giving the Federal Aviation Administration 3 years to come up with a replacement, after which they will no longer be able to require airports to use fluorinated foam to extinguish aircraft fires. "They need to start using that alternative as soon as possible," Garcia said. "Obviously they've known about it for a long time and we've been in the dark about it." The FAA has made some changes in light of mounting concerns over the toxic foam. They no longer require the foam to be used for training, rather only for fighting liquid fuel fires. The airport is also reserving the foam for emergency response and mandatory testing. In response to News 4's inquiry about testing the water, Stinson said, they will test the water at the airport if the consultant recommends it or if there is any indication of water contamination. https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/faa-requires-airports-to-use-toxic-foam-to-extinguish-aircraft-fires Back to Top Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing after In-Cabin Incident (Alaska) A Ryan Air flight departing from Aniak on Tuesday had to turn around and make an emergency landing back at the community's airstrip, the flight company told troopers. According to the report, 40-year-old Calvin Chase of Anvik, undid his seat belt and proceeded to open the rear cargo door of the aircraft in flight shortly after take-off. Fortunately, other passengers aboard the flight were able to restrain Chase as the pilot turned around and hastily returned to Aniak. Chase's further intentions were not revealed. Calvin was arrested on charges of Criminal Mischief II and Assault III, both felonies. He was transported to Bethel where he was remanded to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center and arraigned on Wednesday. He remains in custody. https://alaska-native-news.com/aircraft-makes-emergency-landing-after-in-cabin-incident/44539/ Back to Top DCA instructs airport operators to buy aircraft removal equipment (Myanmar) Military plane Y8 skidded off at Yangon International Airport Department for Civil Aviation (DCA) instructed operators from international airports to buy aircraft removal equipment to be easier to move the disabled aircraft from the runway, said Deputy Director General Ye Htut Aung from the DCA. It will make not to delay the flights if the accident occurs. Flights were delayed for 19 hours as an Y8 military transport plane skidded off the runway in Yangon International Airport (YIA) on September 5 and the airport reopened at 6 am the next morning, sources said. The plane skidded off the runway as its left side engine failed before the take-off. Inbound flights were suspended for hours and only outbound flights are allowed. However 12 ATR planes from domestic flights, which were waiting at domestic airports, were landed at the YIA after airport authorities made an effort to allow them as soon as possible. A total of 32 flights from 17 international airlines cannot land or take off at the YIA due to the closure of the airport. https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/dca-instructs-airport-operators-to-buy-aircraft-removal-equipment Back to Top American Airlines mechanic stripped of FAA certificate ordered held in sabotage case WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An American Airlines mechanic charged with purposely damaging an aircraft in July during a dispute between the airline and its mechanics union involving stalled contract negotiations will remain behind bars until at least Sept. 20, according to a court filing on Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration also disclosed Thursday that it had issued an emergency order earlier this week revoking Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani's mechanic certificate with immediate effect. Alani was ordered temporarily detained on Friday. Pilots of a flight from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, on July 17 aborted takeoff plans after receiving an error message involving the flight computer, which reports speed, pitch and other data, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Miami. It said after returning to the gate for maintenance, a mechanic discovered a loosely connected pitot tube, which measures airspeed and connects directly to the flight computer. When Alani was interviewed, he told law enforcement officials he was upset at the stalled contract between the union and American, which he said had affected him financially, according to the complaint. A lawyer for Alani did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Unions have complained that American is trying to outsource more maintenance jobs, a move American has said is necessary to cover increased wages. In a statement (bit.ly/2N09Na8) last week, American said it was scheduled to resume negotiations with its mechanics union at the National Mediation Board in Washington on Sept. 16. A U.S. federal court last month issued a permanent injunction against American's mechanics union, which the airline had accused of illegal slowdowns that it said had devastated its operations during the peak summer travel season. A spokesman for American said last week the airline had an "unwavering commitment" to safety and security and had placed passengers on the July 17 flight subject to the criminal complaint on another plane to get to their destination. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-american-airlines-maintenance/american-airlines-mechanic-stripped-of-faa-certificate-ordered-held-in-sabotage-case-idUSKCN1VX2KP Back to Top IBAC To Highlight SAF, Turboprop Safety at ICAO Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), proper implementation of market-based emissions measures, and turboprop and helicopter safety are topping the agenda for the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) for the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly set to kick off later this month. Scheduled from September 24 to October 4, the 40th gathering of the Assembly will draw participation from 193 member states, which will set priorities for the next three years. Representing the business aviation community, IBAC is bringing a delegation of representatives from at least five member associations, said IBAC director general Kurt Edwards. The Assembly is expected to focus on global air navigation, safety, and security plans. Of priority to IBAC, Edwards said, will be the promotion of recent business aviation activities surrounding SAF. IBAC plans to stress its use as a key tool in mitigating carbon emissions and urge support for policies that would incentivize production and consumption, he said. Along those lines, IBAC is joining broader aviation industry groups in stressing the importance of moving ahead with the Carbon Offsetting and Reductions Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) program as a global approach and avoiding double charging for emissions. IBAC further plans to encourage ICAO to collect and share best practices on turboprop safety and helicopter air traffic management requirements to support growth in both areas. Other priorities are designed to ensure measures foster, instead of disadvantage, business aviation, he said, including a push for the assembly to proceed in a data-driven manner on supersonic noise and emissions standards. In addition, IBAC is monitoring possibilities for passenger information standards to ensure they account for differences with smaller operators. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-09-12/ibac-highlight-saf-turboprop-safety-icao Back to Top Airbus issues safety bulletin for three helicopter types Following the crash of a helicopter that killed six people at the end of August in Norway, Airbus Helicopters issued an emergency alert service bulletin for an immediate visual inspection of recently delivered aircraft. This is the second safety bulletin issued by the helicopter manufacturer in a month. On August 31, 2019, an AS350 B3E, registered LN-OFU and operated by Helitrans, crashed near a music festival in Alta, in the far north of Norway. The company was offering sight-seeing tours for the festival-goers. The six people on board were killed. The aircraft involved had less than 73 flying hours. While the investigation is still in progress, "preliminary findings linked to the connection between the engine and the main gearbox has lead AH to issue an Emergency Alert Service Bulletin (EASB) calling for immediate visual inspection of this area for recently delivered AS350, AS550 and EC130 helicopters," announced the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) in a press release, adding that it "has, at this stage, not concluded whether, or not, failure of the connection between the engine and the main gearbox is a causal factor". According to Airbus, the EASB bulletins are intended to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft. Two experts from the French Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority (BEA) are assisting the AIBN. Last month, on August 8, 2019, the German Federal Armed Forces grounded their fleet of EC665 Tiger attack helicopters following a safety warning issued by Airbus Helicopters. The manufacturer warned that a titanium bolt of the Main Rotor Control may show unusual weakness and break during flights. Such failure could potentially lead to a crash. Thus, the Bundeswehr decided to ground the fleet and inspect each aircraft. The same problem was also identified on the German NH90 and EC135 helicopters, but as the material is not used in critical areas, they were allowed to continue operating for now. A month before, the Australian defense ministry launched a request for information (RFI) to replace its 22 EC665 Tigers, criticizing the aircraft for its low availability and high maintenance cost. In a jab to the Airbus aircraft, the RFI asked for the 29 replacement attack helicopters to be "proven and mature, off-the-shelf". https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.charpentreau/23927-airbus-issues-safety-bulletin-for-three-helicopter-types Back to Top Lufthansa Blocks A320neo Seats Over Center Of Gravity Issues As we all know, nowadays airlines do everything they can to squeeze as many seats as possible onto planes, especially when we're talking about short haul configured aircraft of European airlines. They've been able to make these planes more "efficient" by reducing legroom, making the seats thinner, and eliminating as much galley and bathroom space as possible. Well, an airline is now facing a situation where they're being forced to block a row of seats on a very efficient plane for a surprising reason. Lufthansa's A320neo The A320neo is the most fuel efficient version of the A320, with the "neo" designation standing for "new engine option." Lufthansa has quite a few of these planes in their fleet. Initially they had "only" 180 seats of these planes, but they've been able to squeeze 186 seats onto these planes. Woot, woot, well done, Lufthansa! A320neo Center Of Gravity Issues While the airline might be proud of how many seats they've squeezed onto the plane, Simple Flying is reporting that Lufthansa is now blocking the last row of seats on A320neos due to center of gravity concerns. Could a 150,000 pound plane really be thrown off by passengers sitting in the last row? Yes and no. We all know about the issues that the 737 MAX has had, and while not quite as serious, some issues have also been identified with the A320neo. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has discovered a problem with the center of gravity of the A320neo. Essentially there's a very narrow set of circumstances under which the A320neo's elevator and aileron computer may not correctly compensate for the situation the plane is facing. It seems that the most common situation here is when a plane is landing, and if it has to perform a go around. In these situations the elevator and aileron computer should compensate for the center of gravity being slightly off. But it has been discovered that with a center of gravity towards the rear of the aircraft, the computer may not respond correctly. Now, it's worth knowing that this has never been encountered during operations, but rather was discovered during analysis and laboratory testing. Still, the EASA has issued an airworthiness directive limiting the aft CG, which is below the previous limit. Why Is This Specifically Impacting Lufthansa's A320neos? Interestingly this issue only impacts Lufthansa A320neo aircraft with the new Space Flex cabins. These planes feature an extra row of seats, and the way they're able to squeeze in those extra seats is by more efficiently using every part of the aircraft. For example, the bathrooms are at the very back of the plane behind the galley, using space that previously wasn't used. Clearly this moves the center of gravity of the plane back a bit. Bottom Line Sometimes when you're flying a turboprop or small regional jet they'll ask you to move around for weight & balance, though you wouldn't expect a row of seats would have to be blocked on an A320. It would appear that Lufthansa will keep this seat blocking in place for the foreseeable future, and not actually reconfigure any planes. It's expected that a software fix will be available sometime next year that fixes this. https://onemileatatime.com/lufthansa-blocking-seats-center-of-gravity/ Back to Top UK prof named to Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame LEXINGTON, Ky. - Suzanne Smith, a University of Kentucky professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium and NASA EPSCoR programs, will be one of three to be inducted into the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame Nov. 16 at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky in Lexington. In 1980, Smith's career ambitions were academia; however, she knew aerospace R&D experience would enable her to better educate students planning careers in industry or in research. So, she went to work for Harris Corporation's Government Aerospace Systems Division. Her first assignment? Developing test-validated computer models for vibration of the fine guidance electronics of the Hubble Space Telescope to assess its launch survivability. From this work, themes in Smith's research career emerged: unique test-validated analysis of dynamics for historic projects in collaboration with aerospace industry leaders. Validated analysis of the cross-country performance of the mobile ground communications station of the first U.S. unmanned aircraft followed before Smith returned for her doctorate in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech. Her Ph.D. research was funded by NASA to determine the feasibility of using vibration measurements to locate damage in the backbone structure of the newly-announced International Space Station (ISS). Smith joined the faculty of the UK College of Engineering in 1990 where she held the Donald and Gertrude Lester Professorship in Mechanical Engineering from 2004 to 2019. In 1992, Smith received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award to partner with industry and research nonlinear vibration interactions in large flexible structures like the solar arrays on the ISS. Smith partnered with Boeing, which was building the ISS at the time. She and her students also joined the team led by Boeing that conducted on-orbit vibration tests of the Russian Mir Space Station. Smith started the new century continuing her research with unique flexible structures and testing in extreme or unusual environments, with both large and small companies. One Kentucky project applied aerospace research methods to understand cable vibrations of the Maysville and Owensboro stay-cable bridges, and their susceptibility to the potentially damaging rain-wind oscillations phenomenon. Another project modeled the deployment of inflatable-boom spacecraft validated with microgravity experiments conducted by UK students known as the Weightless Wildcats. Smith and a multidisciplinary team of faculty researchers then began working on what would become the five-year BIG BLUE Mars Airplane program. The team's goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of inflatable wings for aircraft to explore Mars while providing an amazing multidisciplinary career-changing experience for over 300 engineering students. The team designed four different wings and deployment experiments, successfully conducting them at altitudes between 60,000 and 95,000 feet. These were cited for increasing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of deployable wings for planetary exploration. The achievement led to industrial collaborations from 2009-2012 that advanced deployable-wing technologies for various sponsors. In 2010, Smith was selected to lead NASA's investments to develop aerospace research and workforce under the NASA Kentucky Space Grant and EPSCoR programs. Investing more than $20 million in Kentucky, these programs provide amazing experiences for students, along with key start-up support for early career faculty across Kentucky. Impacts for Kentucky include a high-tech workforce, research expertise, intellectual property, and aerospace start-ups including Space Tango. Today, Smith and a multi-disciplinary team that has grown to span six states develop unmanned aircraft systems and technologies to address key scientific questions in atmospheric physics to enable accurate local-scale weather forecasting for sustainable agriculture, safe and efficient transportation, renewable energy optimization, and much more. Precision Meteorology-accurate local-scale forecasting-will impact lives and livelihoods in Kentucky, across the U.S. and worldwide. Smith's husband, Bill, is a Kentucky native and UK graduate. He is a professor in the UK Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. They have a daughter, Virginia, who is a Ph.D. student in Virginia Tech's aerospace engineering program. The Aviation Museum of Kentucky is located at 4029 Airport Road, adjacent to Blue Grass Airport in Lexington. It is the official aviation museum of the commonwealth as well as home to the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame and operates as a non-profit corporation. https://www.lanereport.com/116970/2019/09/uk-prof-named-to-kentucky-aviation-hall-of-fame/ Back to Top Report says airlines' carbon emissions are growing fast U.S. airlines are increasing their emissions of climate-changing gases much faster than they are boosting fuel efficiency, according to an environmental group's report. The International Council on Clean Transportation said Thursday that carbon dioxide emissions and fuel burning rose 7% from 2016 to 2018, overshadowing a 3% gain in fuel efficiency. The report's authors say airlines could reduce emissions and fuel consumption more than 25% by buying newer planes and filling them with more passengers. The report ranked Frontier the most efficient among the 11 largest U.S. airlines. The Denver-based carrier has added more than 40 Airbus jets with more efficient engines. New York-based JetBlue ranked last. JetBlue spokeswoman Tamara Young said the airline's score dropped because researchers considered seating density - JetBlue has fewer rows in coach - and it burns fuel by operating more of its flights in congested areas like New York. The airline has ordered more fuel-efficient Airbus jets. The transportation council is a nonprofit group that works with governments to set fuel-economy standards and pushes for stricter regulations to limit pollution. The council hired the researchers who uncovered Volkswagen's emissions cheating. A trade group for U.S. airlines disputed the environmental group's findings. "The fact is that the U.S. airline industry is a green economic engine," said Airlines for America spokesman Carter Yang. "When you look at the bigger picture, the U.S. carriers transported 42% more passengers and cargo in 2018 than in 2000, and we did it with just a 3% increase in total emissions." Yang said airlines are investing in fuel-efficient planes and developing alternative jet fuels. He called it "a record of sustainability to be proud of." Dan Rutherford, one of the report's authors, said airlines are slowly boosting efficiency, but not enough to keep up with the growth in travel. "We are heading off an emissions cliff right now. This is becoming even more urgent," he said. Aviation accounts for a small but rapidly growing share of greenhouse-gas emissions - about 2.5% worldwide. Forecasters expect air travel to grow rapidly in the coming years. Without huge strides in efficiency, aviation will fall short of contributing its share toward meeting the Paris accord goals for reducing emissions and curbing climate change, Rutherford said. After terror attacks and recession led to big losses from 2001 through 2009, U.S. airlines have turned hugely profitable in recent years. They have spent billions to buy new planes, but they have also used those planes to add scores of new flights that contribute to higher emissions. Reports like Thursday's could give a boost to flight shaming - discouraging people from flying to avoid pumping more carbon into the atmosphere. "It's crazy that you can get all this data on the cost of your ticket and amenities on your flight, but you have no information about how carbon-intensive your flight is," Rutherford said. The aviation body of the United Nations has proposed putting limits on aircraft carbon emissions for new plane models beginning next year and previous models still being produced in 2028. Many environmentalists consider the standards too weak. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/report-says-airlines-carbon-emissions-are-growing-fast Back to Top Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman considers used jets for new U.S. airline David Neeleman may use Embraer E-195 large regional jets to get his new U.S. airline, code-named Moxy, off the ground next year.(Associated Press) Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman said his new U.S. airline would begin flights next year and may employ used Embraer planes cast off by his Brazilian carrier, Azul. The fledgling U.S. carrier, which Neeleman has code-named Moxy, will give customers new ways to customize their flight experience, including legroom, food and prices, Neeleman has said. It will be low-cost "but not austere," and will compete in a market populated by the four largest U.S. carriers as well as heavy discounters like Spirit Airlines. Neeleman, who is leading a group of investors in the new airline, has revealed few additional details of his plan, but has said the carrier would likely be based near a technology center other than Silicon Valley. Neeleman's past start-ups include JetBlue Airways, Canada's WestJet Airlines and Brazil's Azul. Neeleman already has signed an order for 60 Airbus SE A220-300 planes for the U.S. carrier. But the first of those aircraft won't be delivered until 2021. In the interim, the Embraer E195s he's replacing with newer models at Azul could be used on routes flown by Moxy, he said Thursday at an Embraer event in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. It wasn't immediately clear whether Neeleman would buy the E195s from Azul or lease them. Azul took delivery at the same event of its first Embraer E195-E2, which it's leasing from AerCap Holdings. It expects to take six of the planes from lessors by the end of this year. Additionally, Azul has ordered 51 E195-E2s from Embraer. In June, General Electric Co.'s jet-leasing unit agreed to provide aircraft for Moxy under a purchase-and-leaseback agreement covering nine A220s. Flights with either the used E195s or A220s would all be "under the Moxy umbrella," Neeleman said. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-12/david-neeleman-considers-used-jets-new-airline Back to Top Embraer delivers new jet that Boeing may soon sell against Airbus SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil (Reuters) - Embraer hopes to see more orders for its newest passenger plane by the end of the year, an executive said on Thursday, as Boeing readies to take over the Brazilian planemaker's commercial jets division in what could mark the next phase of its rivalry with Airbus. Manufacture of the E195-E2, as Embraer's plane is known, will soon be controlled by Boeing, which needs regulatory approval to close on the deal to buy 80% of Embraer's commercial jets division for $4.2 billion. Embraer on Thursday delivered its first E195-E2 plane, which will seat about 140, to Brazil's No. 3 airline Azul at its headquarters in Sao Paulo state. Embraer executives said the delivery should spur more orders, helping to fend off fresh competition from Airbus. "I expect we will close more transactions, I'm hopeful ... before the end of the year," John Slattery, head of Embraer's commercial plane division, told Reuters. "I'm not seeing a big wave of people that need to delay, or wish to delay because of the Boeing transaction." The new plane comes as the landscape for jets with under 150 seats is changing drastically. Airbus bought control of the Bombardier division competing directly with Embraer in 2018, followed by Boeing's deal to take over Embraer's commercial plane division. The result would expand the global duopoly for jumbo jets into a smaller category, as Boeing and Airbus work to lure orders across a broader lineup of commercial aircraft. Azul was founded by U.S. airline executive David Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue Airways, which was a launch customer and key customer for Embraer's last generation of jets. "We can have 18 more seats with this plane, with a travel cost that is 15% less," Neeleman said of the improvements in the new generation. "If you have something that is 15% cheaper, you just want that thing, you don't want anything else." STIFF COMPETITION Embraer is banking on the fuel efficiency of this new generation, to the point it has marketed its E195-E2 to customers as the "profit hunter," painting the jet with livery resembling a shark in the plane's nose. But for now, Embraer has struggled to compete directly with Airbus. Carriers and plane lessors had placed 551 orders for the Airbus A220 family as of June, but Embraer had racked up only 168 for its new family of E2 jets, down from 200 in 2014. Part of Embraer's struggles stem from its smaller E175-E2 plane, which has been a hard sell to U.S. regional airlines due to labor contract restrictions. Embraer dropped 100 of those planes from its order book after resistance from pilots made it unclear if buyer Skywest would be able to fly them. "We didn't design an aircraft just for the U.S. market," Slattery said, adding that he hopes his company will secure an order from a customer somewhere else in the world this year. Currently they have none, although Slattery said Skywest remains committed, if pilots allow it. JetBlue also dealt a blow to Embraer last year when it decided to replace its old Embraer fleet with Airbus A220s, a decade after Neeleman left the company. JetBlue cited the advantages of A220's longer range, as well as a broader package with Airbus including larger planes - the kind of arrangement that Boeing could offer with Embraer's jets in its portfolio. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/embraer-delivers-jet-boeing-may-182601774.html Back to Top Bigelow Aerospace and NASA test earthly mockup of interplanetary space station The team for the NASA-Bigelow Aerospace habitat test lines up in front of the Bigelow Mars Transporter Testing Unit at the company's Nevada headquarters. (Bigelow Aerospace Photo) Bigelow Aerospace opened up its ground-based prototype for a space station module - or perhaps even a Mars transport habitat - for inspection today at its headquarters in North Las Vegas. The open house centered on the Mars Transporter Testing Unit, an all-steel mockup of the company's expandable, fabric-covered B330 space module. For two weeks, a NASA-Bigelow team will be testing the suitability of the B330 concept for crewed deep-space missions. Bigelow's prototype is one of six ground-based demonstration projects funded as part of NASA's NextSTEP-2 program. The other companies building full-sized NextSTEP-2 prototypes for space habitats include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada Corp. and Nanoracks. Northrop Grumman's modified Cygnus cargo carrier has already won NASA's nod for use as the crewed mini-habitation module on the future moon-orbiting Gateway outpost, mainly because it was the only one judged likely to be built in time for a 2024 lunar landing. However, Bigelow Aerospace and other contractors are hoping their concepts will remain in the running for future deep-space facilities. KLAS Bigelow Aerospace BA330 Mock-up Tour Bigelow's expandable space structures are sent into orbit in a folded-up, space-saving configuration, and then filled with air for deployment and use. Robert Bigelow, the founder of Bigelow Aerospace, noted in a statement issued today that the B330 design evolved from a NASA concept for an expandable habitat capable of carrying a crew to Mars. "This is important," Bigelow said. "In deep space, expandable structures have the potential to provide better protection against secondary radiation than traditional aluminum structures." Expandable structures have been put through in-space tests for more than a decade. Bigelow started out with two uncrewed modules that were delivered to orbit by Russian rockets in 2006 and 2007 and are still flying today. In 2016, an expandable test module was successfully installed onto one of the International Space Station's ports. Bigelow Aerospace has offered the much larger B330 - so named because it offers 330 cubic meters (12,000 cubic feet) of interior volume - for use as a supersized addition to the space station, a free-flying space outpost in Earth orbit, or a moon-orbiting supply depot. The B330 is built to accommodate four people indefinitely, or five people for a months-long stay. It's equipped with two galleys, two toilets and two independent propulsion systems that make it "the ideal habitat for a long-duration space mission," Robert Bigelow said. Bigelow said the first B330 could be built 42 months after the go-ahead for construction is given. This month's two-week test involves a team of eight NASA astronauts as well as more than 60 NASA engineers, test leads and support staff at the company's cavernous Nevada facility. "In contrast to the other NextSTEP Phase 2 participants, we chose to keep our ground units at our facility so we could continue to develop and test," Bigelow said. "We also have may units that are too large and complex to feasibly transport back and forth." NASA isn't likely to be the only potential customer for the B330. Bigelow has spoken repeatedly about providing space modules as research platforms for non-NASA clients, or as destinations for space tourists. In June, Bigelow Aerospace's service subsidiary, Bigelow Space Operations, struck a deal with SpaceX to arrange commercial rides to the International Space Station at a price of roughly $52 million a seat. Eventually, Bigelow's customers might well be staying on a B330, either attached to the ISS or flying on its own. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bigelow-aerospace-nasa-test-earthly-234800857.html Back to Top Aviation Cybersecurity Survey Like many industries, the aviation industry is going through a technology transformation that stretches from satellites to aircraft to airports and supply chain and more. But with this transformation and increased digitisation and connectivity and across the aviation industry, the resilience and security of such systems becomes critically important. Adversaries have always seen the aviation sector as a key target; as it increasingly digitizes, understanding what this means for managing cybersecurity risk is of key importance. As a result, there is a great deal of work focusing on aviation cybersecurity globally, from the proposed ICAO Aviation Cybersecurity Strategy to regional and industry initiatives. But with such a complex and varied sector, it can be challenging to really hear and understand the different perspectives and concerns on the topic of aviation cyber security; ultimately, the more we understand the nature of the aviation cybersecurity challenge, the better we can develop strategies at all levels to protect ourselves and move forwards. To help understand the different perspectives on aviation cybersecurity, to help the entire sector understand the nature of the challenge; the first ever survey on aviation cyber security is being conducted by myself and the Atlantic Council Cyber Statecraft Initiative**, with funding by Thales. It is fully anonymous, focusses on learning about different viewpoints and will help us understand the 'now' of aviation cybersecurity; (it does not ask any questions on breaches, etc...!). The aviation industry and the roles and organisations that support it are diverse. For the purposes of this survey, we are defining Aviation Cybersecurity as being cybersecurity that relates to aircraft operations. This includes everything that involves safely and securely getting aircraft and passengers from A-to-B, along with the supply chain of products and services that enables this. We would love everybody in the aviation industry that has an operational role, cybersecurity role, support it with products and services or cybersecurity research to contribute to the survey. With the topic being a broad one, we are keen to get not just the perspectives of those working at the cross-over of aviation and cybersecurity but also anyone contributing to the aviation sector. The survey should take less than 15 minutes and the results of the survey will be free and published openly in mid-November 2019. If you would like, you are also able to request a copy of the final report and details of the launch. If you have any questions you can get in touch via cyber@atlanticcouncil.org The link to the survey is below. Please contribute, support and distribute the survey to your own colleagues, organisations and relevant contacts, the more that contribute to the survey, the better results and understanding we will get. Website; http://aviationcyber.atlanticcouncil.org/the-global-survey-on-aviation-cybersecurity/ Direct Link; https://www.research.net/r/Aviationcybersecurity If you have any questions, then please either get in touch with myself, or the contact details contained on the survey. Pete Cooper *Pete Cooper, MSc, FRAeS is a cyber strategy adviser across multiple sectors but with a focus on aviation. He has advised IATA and ICAO on cybersecurity strategy as well as nation states, and multi-national organisations. He is the author of 'Finding Lift, Minimising drag' which explored the cybersecurity challenges of the aviation sector and is the lead for the Aviation Village at DEF CON where he works to build bridges between the research community and the aviation sector in partnership with US DHS and the USAF. He is also the founder and Director of the Cyber 9/12 UK Strategy Challenge, which finds and develops the next generation of cyber security leaders. Before entering the commercial sector, Pete was a fast jet pilot and instructor in the Royal Air Force and then moved into cyber security where he held the role of strategic cyber operations adviser. He holds a post Grad from Cranfield University and is CEO of Pavisade. **The Atlantic Council Cyber Statecraft Initiative focus is to: 1) examine the nexus of geopolitics and national security with cyberspace; 2) continue to build out the new field of cyber safety in the Internet of Things; and 3) help build the next generation of cybersecurity and cyberspace policy professionals. Throughout all of its work, the Initiative focuses relentlessly on providing practical, innovative, and relevant solutions to the challenges in cyberspace. The Initiative brings together a diverse network of respected experts, bridging the gap between the technical and policy communities. Curt Lewis