Flight Safety Information October 7, 2019 - No. 203 In This Issue Incident: KLM B773 at Amsterdam on Oct 6th 2019, suspect flat nose tyre Incident: Austrian A320 at Zurich on Oct 4th 2019, could not retract gear Incident: Piedmont E145 at Roanoke on Oct 5th 2019, lavatory smoke indication Accident: British Airways A320 near Basel on Oct 5th 2019, smoke in cabin Incident: Delta A320 at Austin on Oct 5th 2019, engine shut down in flight Incident: Flybe DH8D at Leeds on Oct 6th 2019, unsafe gear Incident: ANZ A320 at Christchurch on Oct 5th 2019, could not retract landing gear Incident: Malta Air B738 at Cologne on Oct 5th 2019, dual FMS failure Passenger jet forced to make emergency landing after row breaks out between groups of British men FAA Wants Action On Declining Pilot Skills Air Canada Rouge Pilots Forced to Put On Oxygen Masks Because of "Rank Smelling" Fruit Suburban Chicago woman finds apparent aircraft wheel in roof Delta: Woman Without Ticket Boards Plane at Florida Airport American Airlines passengers on CLT flight alerted to possible hepatitis A exposure The 2019 List Of The Most Dangerous Airlines In The World Heavier penalties proposed for unauthorised use of drones (Singapore) Vietnam Needs Flight Inspectors To Retain FAA Category 1 Rating Dallas Boutique Adds Aviation Practice, Absorbing Small Practice It Takes Weeks to Paint One Airplane - Here's the Whole Process A missing pilot, a Mustang and an enduring mystery: What happened to this WASP aviator? Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk in Series to Upgrade Station Batteries RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: KLM B773 at Amsterdam on Oct 6th 2019, suspect flat nose tyre A KLM Boeing 777-300, registration PH-BVO performing flight KL-792 (dep Oct 5th) from Sao Paulo,SP (Brazil) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was nearing Amsterdam when emergency services took their stand by positions on runway 06 being advised the crew had reported a possibly deflated nose tyre. The crew advised ATC they would stop at the end of runway 06 for an inspection by emergency services. The aircraft landed safely on runway 06 and stopped for an inspection by emergency services, the aircraft subsequently taxied to the apron. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdb4f80&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Austrian A320 at Zurich on Oct 4th 2019, could not retract gear An Austrian Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration OE-LBW performing flight OS-570 from Zurich (Switzerland) to Vienna (Austria), was climbing out of Zurich's runway 32 when the crew stopped the climb at 9000 feet due to being unable to retract the landing gear. The crew also advised ATC that they were not sure about their oleos, they might be defective, too, they couldn't predict therefore how hard the landing would become. The aircraft landed on Zurich's runway 34 about 45 minutes after departure. The crew reported after landing they were able to taxi and taxied to the apron. A passenger reported the boarding was delayed by about an hour. After boarding the captain announced that there had been a gear problem which had been fixed with the help of Swissair maintenance. The aircraft departed and was climbing through clouds when the aircraft did not climb out of the clouds and it still felt as if the gear was extended. Subsequently the captain announced they still had a problem with the landing gear and they would need to return to Zurich. A replacement aircraft was ready, however, no crew to fly the aircraft, the flight therefore had to be cancelled. The passenger were provided with accomodation. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdb4dbc&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Piedmont E145 at Roanoke on Oct 5th 2019, lavatory smoke indication A Piedmont Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N647AE performing flight AA-4783 from Roanoke,VA to Charlotte,NC (USA) with 41 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Roanoke's runway 06 when the crew upon contacting departure declared emergency reporting they had a lavatory smoke indication, they believed it was a false indication but wanted to proceed on the safe side. The aircraft stopped the climb at 5200 feet and returned to Roanoke, departure/approach cleared the aircraft for any approach to any runway, and landed safely on runway 06 about 15 minutes later. A replacement ERJ-145 registration N669MB reached Charlotte with a delay of 2 hours. After about 30 hours on the ground N647AE attempted to position to Philadelphia,PA (USA) but again needed to return to Roanoke. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL4783/history/20191005/0920Z/KROA/KCLT http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdb4a81&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: British Airways A320 near Basel on Oct 5th 2019, smoke in cabin A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registratin G-MIDX performing flight BA-2591 from Bari (Italy) to London Gatwick,EN (UK) with 165 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 50nm west of Basel (Switzerland/Mulhouse (France) Airport when the crew decided to divert to Basel/Mulhouse reporting smoke in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely on runway 15 about 25 minutes later. 4 members of the crew were taken to a hospital. The airport reported the cause of the smoke is not yet known, 4 members of the crew were impacted by the smoke and were transported to a hospital. Traffic at Basel/Mulhouse airport was suspended for about 20 minutes prompting three aircraft to divert. A replacement A320-200 registration G-EUYU was dispatched to Basel/Mulhouse, resumed the flight and reached London with a delay of 7:15 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cda895e&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Delta A320 at Austin on Oct 5th 2019, engine shut down in flight A Delta Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N339NW performing flight DL-1972 from Austin,TX to New York JFK,NY (USA), was climbing out of Austin's runway 17L when the crew reported they had needed to shut their left hand engine (CFM56) down and levelled off at 3000 feet. Tower cleared the flight to join a downwind to runway 17R. The crew requested delay vectors to work the checklists and landed on runway 17R about 20 minutes after departure. A replacement A320-200 registration N317US reached New York with a delay of 12 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Austin about 32 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1972/history/20191005/1325Z/KAUS/KJFK http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdb47ab&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Flybe DH8D at Leeds on Oct 6th 2019, unsafe gear A Flybe de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration G-JEDT performing flight BE-731 from Belfast City,NI to Leeds,EN (UK), was on approach to Leeds' runway 32 when the crew went around due to an unsafe gear indication. The aircraft climbed to 5000 feet while the crew worked the related checklists. The aircraft landed safely on runway 32 about 25 minutes after the go around. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdb4426&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: ANZ A320 at Christchurch on Oct 5th 2019, could not retract landing gear An Air New Zealand Airbus A320-200, registration ZK-OXA performing flight NZ-538 from Christchurch to Auckland (New Zealand), was climbing out of Christchurch's runway 20 when the crew could not retract the landing gear and levelled of at 7000 feet. The aircraft returned to Christchurch for a safe landing landing on runway 20 about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement A320-200 registration ZK-OXJ reached Auckland with a delay of 2.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Christchurch about 23 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cda9dad&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Malta Air B738 at Cologne on Oct 5th 2019, dual FMS failure A Malta Air Boeing 737-800 on behalf of Ryanair, registration 9H-QAK performing flight FR-409 from Cologne (Germany) to Copenhagen (Denmark), was climbing out of Cologne when the crew stopped the climb at FL100 reporting both Flight Management Systems had failed. The aircraft returned to Cologne for a safe landing on runway 14L about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement Ryanair Boeing 737-800 registration EI-DAE departed Cologne with a delay of 9 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 9 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cda9590&opt=0 Back to Top Passenger jet forced to make emergency landing after row breaks out between groups of British men Passengers claim a row between two groups of men on the flight from Manchester to Tenerife caused it to have to divert to Portugal. (Picture: SWNS) Seven Britons were reportedly escorted off a budget flight after it was forced to make an emergency landing when a row broke out. Onlookers claim the easyJet flight from Manchester to Tenerife was forced to divert to Portugal after an argument between two groups of men that saw one allegedly spit at a woman. The row is said to have broken out around two hours after the plane took off at 5.35pm on Thursday 3 October. Witnesses said a group of four men at the back of the plane started punching each other but were broken up by a member of the cabin crew, who moved one of the men to the front of the plane. But according to reports, the man returned to the group, where the argument broke out again. As passengers tried to break up the fight, one of the men is said to have spat in a woman's eye. Video footage of the row shows passengers reacting to the moment, with one woman shouting: "There's children on the aeroplane!" Another group of men on the plane for a stag party then got involved and the situation escalated, eyewitnesses said. The plane was diverted to Faro, Portugal, where security staff bundled seven men - the four-man group and three members of the stag party - off the plane, and then went on to complete its journey. Nathan Belford, from Stoke-on-Trent, said: "Things first kicked off when the group at the back got into a fight. Punches were thrown and the stewardess broke them up. "But then they kicked off again, and passengers actually intervened to calm them down. One woman got in the way, but a guy spat in her eye. It was disgusting. "After that, cabin decided to divert to Portugal. Then things escalated after the bigger stag party howled with rage about it. "They picked a fight with cabin crew and with the group of four, complaining that they should be going to Tenerife for their weekend. "One of the guys got into trouble when he started pinching drinks from the front of the plane. It was bedlam." An easyJet spokesman said: "We can confirm that flight EZY1903 from Manchester to Tenerife on 3 October diverted to Faro as a result of some passengers on board behaving disruptively and was met by police on arrival. "The passengers were removed by police and the aircraft continued on to Tenerife. "easyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time. "Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously, and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour on board. "The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is our highest priority." https://www.yahoo.com/news/jet-2-flight-emergency-landing-row-breaks-out-between-groups-of-british-lads-094859740.html Back to Top FAA Wants Action On Declining Pilot Skills The FAA has formally requested the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to address the issue of declining manual flight skills among airline pilots. In a brief submitted to ICAO, the agency says pilots have become too dependent on aircraft systems and either haven't adequately learned or have not maintained their ability to manually control their aircraft, particularly during the emergencies that result in loss of the systems. "When automation ceases to work properly, pilots who do not have sufficient manual control experience and proper training may be hesitant or not have enough skills to take control of the aircraft," the FAA report to ICAO said. The issue has some institutional roots in that most airlines mandate the use of automated systems for almost all phases of flight. There have also been suggestions that when things go wrong, the airplanes issue so many differing alarms and alerts that pilots become overwhelmed and unable to prioritize corrective action. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-wants-action-on-declining-pilot-skills/ Back to Top Air Canada Rouge Pilots Forced to Put On Oxygen Masks Because of "Rank Smelling" Fruit The pilots of a recent Air Canada Rouge flight between Vancouver and Montreal were forced to declare an inflight emergency and put on emergency oxygen masks because of an overpowering smell that permeated the entire flight deck and passenger cabin. There's been a lot of talk recently of potentially toxic 'fume events' occurring onboard aircraft but thankfully the offputting smell on this flight had a far more innocent explanation. It turns out the smell was being caused by a shipment of Durian fruit that had been placed in the forward cargo hold according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Durian is most commonly found across Southeast Asia where it is a popular fruit and regularly seen at markets - But it is also infamous for what some describe as it's "rank smelling" odour. Durian fruit. Photo by Jim Teo on Unsplash The smell that Durian can kick out is so infamous that despite its popularity, the fruit is banned from a lot of public transit systems in the region. In countries such as Singapore and Japan, there are even signs on subway trains informing passengers that Durian fruit cannot be brought onboard. And yet, while there's no denying that Durian's stink, trying to describe the smell and taste is a task that regularly divides opinion. Not that the pilots of Air Canada Rouge flight RV1566 knew this at the time. Shortly after the September 17 flight took off from Vancouver airport, they had declared what is known as "Pan-Pan" - the second-highest distress call below a Mayday message. They put on emergency oxygen masks to protect themselves from the foul stench and quickly made a return to Vancouver, landing just over 30 minutes later. All 245 passengers and 8 crew members onboard were unharmed. Interestingly, reports suggest the aircraft then remained on the ground for 20-hours before being returned to service - perhaps a symptom of the fact that the smell from Durian can linger for a long time even after the fruit is gone. Interestingly, the risk of Durian fruit causing this sort of incident is well known in Southeast Asia. Back in 2017, there are reports of the first successful air transport of 10 crates of Durian from Thailand to China - the experiment notes that although the cargo hold smelled of Durian, the odour hadn't leaked into the passenger cabin. But that can't be said of a November 2018 incident in Jarkata when Sriwijaya Air attempted to transport two tonnes of the fruit on a single flight. Passengers refused to board the plane because the stench was so bad. "Durian is not classified as a hazardous material to be transported on a plane," a Sriwijaya Air spokesperson noted at the time. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2019/10/07/air-canada-rouge-pilots-forced-to-put-on-oxygen-masks-because-of-rank-smelling-fruit/ Back to Top Suburban Chicago woman finds apparent aircraft wheel in roof LYNWOOD, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago woman that lives near a municipal airport says she found what is believed to be a helicopter wheel lodged in the ceiling of her home's bathroom. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Linda Dian of Lynwood says she found the wheel poking through the ceiling on Saturday evening and plaster was everywhere. Her family lives blocks from the Lansing Municipal Airport in Illinois. Federal Aviation Administration officials say it appears to be a dolly wheel assembly from a helicopter. The agency was investigating when and from which aircraft the part fell. An airport spokesman didn't return a request for comment Sunday. Dian says Lynwood Fire Department firefighters pushed the wheel out the roof and took it away. https://www.apnews.com/7ec6320b92234f598f755b2fba2790e7 Back to Top Delta: Woman Without Ticket Boards Plane at Florida Airport Delta Airlines says a woman was able to board one of its planes at Orlando, Florida, without a ticket and was removed before departure, prompting a three-hour delay. ORLANDO, FLA. (AP) - Delta Airlines says a woman was able to board one of its planes at a Florida airport without a ticket and was removed, delaying the flight. The airline apologized in a statement Sunday for the three-hour delay on its Orlando-Atlanta flight. The woman was taken off the plane, and officials screened all passengers again. Delta says it's working with law enforcement and with the Transportation Security Administration on their investigation. It was not clear how the woman boarded the plane Saturday. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Delta employees asked for her ticket because she was in someone else's seat. Orlando police Lt. Wanda Miglio says the woman said she threw her ticket away and didn't have identification. A TSA official told the newspaper that the woman went through security. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2019-10-06/delta-woman-without-ticket-boards-plane-at-florida-airport Back to Top American Airlines passengers on CLT flight alerted to possible hepatitis A exposure American Airlines alerted passengers on a recent flight from San Francisco to Charlotte of possible hepatitis A exposure, a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg County Health Department confirmed Saturday. County health officials spoke by phone with all 18 passengers from the Charlotte area who were aboard the Sept. 21 flight, and all have since been vaccinated against the virus, health department spokeswoman Rebecca Carter told The Charlotte Observer. "The risk was only to the passengers on the flight," Carter said, explaining why health officials didn't issue a general county alert. "There was no risk to the public." A vaccination prevents the hepatitis A liver disease caused by the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov. Hepatitis A causes "fatigue, low appetite, stomach pain, nausea, and jaundice," with symptoms disappearing in about 2 months, officials say on the site. "It is usually transmitted person-to-person through the fecal-oral route or consumption of contaminated food or water," CDC officials say on the site. Carter and an American Airlines spokeswoman said they did not know what caused the possible exposure. Efforts to obtain comment from a CDC spokesman Saturday were unsuccessful. American Airlines spokeswoman Crystal Byrd, however, issued this statement from the airline: "The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority. We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials and will coordinate with them on any required health and safety related measures." The county is already in the midst of what federal health officials said is a hepatitis A outbreak. From April 2018 to June 2019, Mecklenburg County had 39 hepatitis A cases, including 12 since Jan. 1, the latest available health department figures show. Cases have risen nationally since 2012, officials said. https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article235834657.html Back to Top The 2019 List Of The Most Dangerous Airlines In The World The last 40 years have seen continual engineering advancement that solidifies aviation as the safest form of transportation. However, with the actual numbers of air passengers and flights increasing at an exponential rate, you could be forgiven for questioning the statistical evidence. Recent years have seen multiple aircraft hull losses in the news headlines. British Airways are considered a very safe airline but a relatively short memory will remember images of flight BA38 from Beijing that crash landed at Heathrow in 2008, or the stark images of a British Airways 777 on fire at Las Vegas in 2015. Emirates are another airline who have quietly moved on from the negative PR they received after a Boeing 777 crash landing at Dubai In 2016. Wreckage Examined In BA Air Crash Investigation LONDON - JANUARY 19: Investigators inspect wreckage and debris from grounded British Airways flight 038 from China at Heathrow Airport on January 19, 2008 in London, England. Thankfully there were no fatalities on the aircraft from these particular incidents but unfortunately there have also been dozens of fatal accidents over the last decade. Examples include the two recent Boeing 737-MAX disasters, images of an Aeroflot aircraft bouncing down the runway in Moscow engulfed in flames and then of course the two Malaysia Airlines crashes. Despite these incidents, major airlines remain relatively very safe. However, there are some airlines that have a safety record that scales from average to absolutely terrible. If you find yourself on the airlines below, ignore everything written above, and assume you're either flying to a very remote location where you had no other choice, or that you just wanted to book the cheapest fare. Many of the world's most dangerous airlines are banned from flying into both the USA and the EU, and if the aviation authorities are telling you this, it's probably with justified reasoning. Dismantling Airbus A321 jet at crash landing site near Zhukovsky Airport MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA - AUGUST 23, 2019: An aerial view of the Ural Airlines' AirlineRatings.com have published their list of the most dangerous airlines in the world based on a rating system of seven stars. Factors such as fatalities over the last decade, country blacklists and International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit certificates (IOSA) all play a factor in how the airlines are rated. None of the airlines below attained any more than two out of seven stars. Tara Air Tara Air managed to accumulate just one out of seven stars. Multiple fatal accidents in 2010 and 2011 have not assisted this Nepalese based carrier's rating which operates a fleet of eight aircraft in and out of the dangerous mountainous approaches in Nepal. Nepal Airlines Nepal has seen nine fatal accidents over the last eight years. Statistically, flying in the mountainous kingdom is relatively dangerous. Nepal Airlines has been flying since 1958 under the name Royal Nepal Airlines, and its safety record leaves a lot to be desired. Accumulating just one star, Nepal Airlines is banned from flying to the EU. Although the last 20 years has seen a vast improvement in the airline's safety record, a fatal accident in 2014 resulted in 18 fatalities. Kathmandu International Airport Kathmandu's "Tribhuvan" International Airport (TIA) in Nepal at an elevation of 1338m high. There are flights connecting the airport to Europe, Middle East, Asia and domestic, specially during the high touristic season. Ariana Afghan Airlines Serving as Afghanistan's national carrier, Ariana has just five aircraft in their current fleet and a disproportionately stagering record of 19 aircraft being written off during its history, including seven fatal incidents. Bluewing Airlines Bluewing are based in the small South American nation of Suriname. The loss of three different Antonov An-28 aircraft over a three year period has found the airline banned over European airspace, which includes neighbouring French territory French Guiana. EJERE, ETHIOPIA - MARCH 13: A bouquet of flowers is placed in front of a pile of debris at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash on March 13, 2019 in Ejere, Ethiopia. All 157 passengers and crew perished after the Ethiopian Airlines Kam Air Kam Air finds itself in exclusive company at the bottom of this safety list, with just 3 other one star airlines for company. This Afghanistan based airline finds itself banned from US airspace, and when Kam attempted to fly to the EU in 2010 they found themselves banned from there too after incidents that included a fatal accident and a seperate bomb threat. Trigana Air Service With 10 hull losses and 14 accidents involving Trigana operated aircraft, it is no wonder that the Indonesian airline was only awarded a one star rating. Like it's peers on this list, Trigana is also banned from EU and US airspace. SCAT Airlines This Kazakhstan based airline has an unimpressive safety record, however it has not seen a fatal accident since 2013. Although SCAT doesn't operate with an internationally recognised safety audit certificate, the airline is making huge improvements to be internationally recognised and operate safely. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesasquith/2019/10/06/the-2019-list-of-the-most-dangerous-airlines-in-the-world/#31557d44f18f Back to Top Heavier penalties proposed for unauthorised use of drones (Singapore) The Transport Ministry said that the proposed penalties will be commensurate with the potential danger and widespread disruption that could be caused by the errant use of drones. SINGAPORE - Errant drone users may soon face tougher punishment, with amendments to the Air Navigation Act to increase the maximum penalties being introduced in Parliament on Monday (Oct 7). The Act controls and regulates aviation here. The Transport Ministry in a statement said that the proposed penalties will be commensurate with the potential danger and widespread disruption that could be caused by the errant use of drones. Among the changes proposed include higher fines and the possibility of jail time for errant users. The changes come amid increasing concerns in Singapore, and globally, about the threat posed by drones. In June this year, drone intrusions at Changi Airport over two nights resulted in 55 flight delays and eight diversions. Last December, operations at London's Gatwick Airport were disrupted for three days following drone intrusions. Separately, Senior Minister of State (Transport) Lam Pin Min wrote on his Facebook page that the Government had accepted the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Advisory Panel's recommendations, which include a mandatory registration regime for drones. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS Operating drones without aviation safety instruments Those operating any aircraft, including drones, without the necessary aviation safety instruments such as an activity permit currently face a fine not exceeding S$50,000 if caught for the first time. Proposed changes will see such offences carrying a fine of up to S$50,000 or jail time of up to two years, or both. Flying drones into unauthorised areas or taking photos of protected areas Those who use drones to take unauthorised photos of a protected area or fly unauthorised over protected areas are currently subject to fines of up to S$20,000 or a jail term of up to one year, or both. With the change, first-time offenders could soon face a fine of up to S$50,000 or a jail term of up to two years, or both. Repeat offenders may be subject to fines not exceeding S$100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both. Acting in a manner that could put the life or property of another person in danger A person who engages in any act, such as operating, maintaining or servicing any aircraft or drones, in a manner that he or she knows could put the life or property of another person in danger currently faces a fine of up to S$100,000 or jail of up to five years, or both under the Act. With the proposed changes, such persons may face the same fine quantum or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both. Not complying with directions by the authorities Currently, those who ignore the directions of authorities to stop flying their drones, or to land it safely among other things face a fine of up to S$20,000 or jail of up to a year, or both. With the proposed changes, such people could now face a fine of up to S$20,000 and jail time of up to two years. Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/proposed-heavier-penalties-unauthorised-use-drones https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/proposed-heavier-penalties-unauthorised-use-drones Back to Top Vietnam Needs Flight Inspectors To Retain FAA Category 1 Rating Following the rapid growth we have seen in Vietnam's airline sector, the Southeast Asian country needs more flight inspectors if it wants to keep its category 1 FAA rating. The country's aviation regulator is looking to increase the number of flight inspectors in order to comply with the recommendations of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Vietnam Airlines jet taking off Vietnam needs more flight safety inspectors. Photo: Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam's aviation sector is undergoing a prolonged boom that is opening up the country to new tourism markets. However, it is also putting a strain on the airlines and airports of Vietnam. Vietnam has two of the world's fastest-growing airports According to a report from the Airports Council International in their 2018 air traffic report, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) were two of the world's fastest-growing airports. The report also predicted that Vietnam will be the fastest-growing destination for passengers between now and 2040. Vietnam Airlines Vietnam will be the fastest growing destination. Photo: Vietnam Airlines. To keep up with the growth and need for more inspectors' newcomer Bamboo Airlines and three other possible start-ups Kite Air, Vinpearl Air, and Vietravel Airlines have added eight inspectors to help ensure flight safety. The state aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has deployed 49 inspectors to oversee 256 aircraft at five airlines. Of these inspectors, only four of them are full-time employees. The shortage of inspectors and the government's lack of proper funding has left the CAAV no choice but to outsource flight inspectors from Vietnamese airlines, something it says it wants to stop having to do by 2025. If Vietnam wants to maintain its Category 1 safety rating, the FAA in the United States has told the CAAV that it must employ a satisfactory number of flight inspectors and stop outsourcing the work. Vietnam received its Category 1 status in February The FAA announced Vietnam as having achieved Category 1 status in a press release in February which read: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that Vietnam complies with international safety standards and has been granted a Category 1 rating under the agency's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Bamboo Airways Vietnam achieved Category 1 status in February of 2019. Photo: Bamboo Airways A Category 1 rating means Vietnam's civil aviation authority meets the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for personnel licensing, operations, and airworthiness. With the Category 1 rating, Vietnamese air carriers that are able to secure the requisite FAA and DOT authority can establish service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers. Vietnam Airlines can now fly to the United States Just last month government-owned Vietnam Airlines became the first Vietnamese owned airline to secure a foreign air carrier permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now with the permit in place Vietnam Airlines can launch flights to New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Bamboo Airways Airbus Vietnam Airlines can fly to the USA. Photo: Bamboo Airways Later this month the country's flagship carrier expects to commence codeshare flights with Atlanta based Delta Airlines. The airline's entry into the American market coincides with a fleet organizational restructure that will see them operating 20 Airbus A3231neos and two additional Boeing 787-10 aircraft by the end of 2019. Vietnam Airlines is also looking to secure funding for an additional 50 narrow-body jets between 2021 and 2025. Vietnamese newcomer Bamboo Airways has big plans to fly its aircraft from Asia to the United States and Europe. Currently, Bamboo Airways operate a combination of scheduled flights and Charters to 26 destinations in Vietnam and Asia with a fleet of ten Airbus aircraft. The newcomer is awaiting its first of 20 Boeing 787-9s which is due to be delivered sometime this month. Bamboo plans to expand its fleet to 30 planes by early 2020 and to have a mixed fleet of 100 A321s and 787-9s by 2024. https://simpleflying.com/vietnam-faa-category-1/ Back to Top Dallas Boutique Adds Aviation Practice, Absorbing Small Practice With the addition of Chris Kilgore and Dottie Sheffield, litigation firm Harper Bates & Champion now has seven lawyers. Dallas litigation boutique Harper Bates & Champion has added an aviation, insurance litigation and coverage practice, hiring Chris Kilgore and Dottie Sheffield as partners. The lateral hires, who started work at Harper Bates on Monday, came from Kilgore McCown. Kilgore, who was a combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam, specializes in aviation litigation-defending airlines, pilots and mechanics-along with construction and commercial litigation. Sheffield handles insurance defense and construction matters. Kilgore declined to identify their clients. The Competitive Landscape is Changing Where are competitors expanding? What practices are growing or shrinking, and where? Get the latest reports on lateral moves, liftouts, promotions, and more by accessing ALM's Legal Compass. Don't have a subscription? Click to get a free trial. Get More Information With his small firm down to two lawyers, Kilgore said it made sense to move to another firm because they "needed a little more depth." It was a "natural fit" to join Harper Bates, Kilgore said, because he and Scott Harper are longtime friends. Harper said Kilgore and Sheffield are a "great addition" to Harper Bates, now a seven-lawyer firm, noting that the expertise in aviation law and insurance defense they bring complements his firm's commercial litigation practice. "It certainly deepens the bench," he said. In addition to commercial litigation, Harper Bates does patent counseling and prosecution work and intellectual property litigation. Kilgore McCown former name partner Brigham McCown said in an email that he is in the process of retiring from the practice of law but in the meantime is working at his own firm in Southlake, located near Dallas. https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2019/10/07/dallas-boutique-adds-aviation-practice-absorbing-small-practice/?slreturn=20190907083200 Back to Top It Takes Weeks to Paint One Airplane - Here's the Whole Process When we step on an airplane, we often take stock of how comfortable the seats are, how big the in-flight entertainment screens are, or how spacious the overhead bins look. We don't often pay much attention to the outside of the plane. But while we may not notice how the airplane is painted as quickly as we notice how many bathrooms are available onboard, it's important to note how much time, care, and attention goes into the plane's appearance. A plane's paint job typically needs to be retouched every 10 years or so - from the normal wear and tear that comes with zipping through the skies several times each day - Thad Beyer, the Hawaiian Airlines North America heavy maintenance manager, told Travel + Leisure. And sometimes, that paint refresh turns into a whole 16-day process when an airline decides to rebrand or create a special design. "When someone says we're performing maintenance on an airplane, they think you worked on the engines," Beyer said. "No, there is so much to work on." The process of repainting an entire plane is complicated, precise, and takes many steps, each of which have to be done perfectly. "It's a very complex process. You need a very environmentally controlled facility," he added. "And you need people who do this every day." Beyer walked Travel + Leisure through the intricate steps, giving us a whole new appreciation of all the things that go into making your next flying experience great. Step 1: Mask and seal Beyer said the first step is to close up all the ducts and safety-sensitive equipment before sealing up the entire plane, including the windows. This process takes about two days to complete. Step 2: Strip and sand the aircraft The next step is to strip the fuselage of the plane with a peroxide-based stripper before the wings get a "scuff sand." "The paint basically falls off the aircraft," Beyer said about the stripping process. "It brings it sometimes down to bare metal, sometimes down to the primer." Stripping the plane takes about 24 hours and the sanding takes three to five days. Step 3: Wash and decontaminate the aircraft Experts run water all over the fuselage and wings to wash the plane, which takes anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. When they're done washing it, Beyer said they do what is called a "water break test" by running the water straight down to make sure there isn't any decontamination left. Step 4: Prime and paint The next step is to run primer down the wings, the tail, and on the fuselage of the plane, which can take up to four hours to set. "Then we can paint," Beyer said. "The paint mixing process is very detailed, it's got to be exact." The paint itself is mixed by a manufacturer, to which Beyer said they add an accelerator to make it dry faster. At this point, the process is halfway done, and it will take about eight days from when they start painting to finish. Step 5: Replacing all the technical markings During the beginning steps, the aircraft was stripped of everything. Now, it's time to put it all back. Beyer said all the technical markings - all the FAA-required items - have to be replaced in a very specific way. "They're very precise," he said. "You have to use very specific, detailed drawings developed from our engineering department. There's no deviation to installing these markings." A preliminary inspection is then performed. Step 6: Applying the final clear coat Beyer said this last step is one of the most important. Any earlier blemishes have to be fixed before performing it. "Once you shoot that clear coat, you cannot repair those areas without cutting into the paint," he said. "It's extremely important up to that point." Beyer added that the clear coat can take up to 16 hours to apply, and has to be applied evenly. But "once you're done shooting it, it's 48 hours dry to fly." So the next time you board a flight to Hawaii (and we don't blame you if you're dreaming of a breathtaking hike or a pristine beach) or plan a plane trip anywhere, take a minute to look at the outside of the plane - it didn't happen by accident. https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/how-airplanes-are-painted Back to Top A missing pilot, a Mustang and an enduring mystery: What happened to this WASP aviator? Gertrude Tompkins, one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, went missing on Oct. 26, 1944 while delivering a P-51D Mustang fighter to Newark during World War II. (Air Force) WOODLAND PARK, N.J. - It was cloudy in California on Oct. 26, 1944, the day New Jersey resident and Women Airforce Service Pilot Gertrude Tompkins went missing while delivering a P-51D Mustang fighter plane to Newark in the midst of World War II. Tompkins was one of 1,074 women who completed brutal training to join the WASPs, who were attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces. She and 37 other women died in service to their country, but Tompkins is the only one who remains missing, said Pat Macha, an airplane archaeologist helping with search efforts. For 75 years, the whereabouts of Tompkins and the P-51D she had been flying that day in October have remained a mystery - one that her grand-niece, Laura Whittall, hopes to solve someday soon. Tompkins was born in Jersey City in 1912, the youngest of three girls, to Vreeland and Laura Tompkins before the family settled in Summit in Union County. Tompkins' sister Elizabeth Whittall wrote a book, "From There to Here," chronicling their childhood. From what her grandmother told her, Laura Whittall's great-aunt was a shy girl with a severe stutter that her parents were unable to help her overcome. Tompkins lived in Virginia for a year before attending the Ambler School of Horticulture (now part of the University of Pennsylvania). She raised goats for a time and toured gardens in Italy and England before moving from Summit to New York City. Tompkins later fell in love with a pilot, who would take her flying, and she began learning herself, Whittall said. Female pilots were rare then, Macha said. Tompkins' beau was later killed while flying for the Royal Air Force during World War II. After his death, she was determined to contribute to the war effort, applying to be a WASP. Flying transformed Tompkins in ways her family couldn't have imagined. "She absolutely loved it," Whittall said. "It gave her freedom." Flying allowed Tompkins to overcome her stutter. When Whittallspoke to other WASPs about her great-aunt, they couldn't believe her description of an introverted, stuttering young woman. "I had righteous indignation," Whittall said. "We think there was confidence when she was flying, and she overcame her stuttering." Tompkins was qualified to fly the P-51 Mustang, the P-38 Lightning and the P-54 Thunderbolt, all fighter craft. "It took a highly qualified pilot to manage those aircraft," Macha said. Many people Whittall met remember her great-aunt as a studious, serious woman. Tompkins, a bit older than the other WASPs, did not often venture into town with the younger women to go dancing. She remained focused on being a WASP. Many WASPs were in their 20s, while Tompkins was 33 when she went missing. On the day she disappeared, Tompkins was supposed to be one of 40 pilots taking the P-51Ds from Mines Field, which is now part of Los Angeles International Airport, to Newark Airport. The planes were supposed to then be shipped overseas to American pilots. The group was expected to hopscotch across the country to get to Newark, but as the planes took off, Tompkins and two other women had problems with their canopies. Because of the delay, the three planes were delayed and had to cut their flight short, landing in Palm Springs, California, Macha said. Tompkins flew into a fog bank, and that was the last time anyone saw her and her plane. When Tompkins never showed, the two other pilots thought she had encountered further canopy problems and turned back to Mines Field. It was five days before anyone realized Tompkins was missing. In September 1944, just months before she disappeared, she secretly married Henry Silver. It was preferred that WASPs were unmarried, Macha said. Two days after they wed, Tompkins returned to California. They never saw each other again. What exactly happened to Tompkins and where her remains are still a mystery. Macha believes Tompkins went down in Santa Monica Bay after becoming distracted or disoriented in the relatively new P-51D. "Maybe she was struggling to get the canopy to close," Macha said. "It doesn't take much to become disoriented, stall, and down she goes." The P-51D is "unforgiving," and a pilot must stay five steps ahead, Whittall said. She believes that when Tompkins' plane crashed, it took on water quickly and she drowned. Macha said any wreckage would have been carried southwest from Santa Monica Bay, but nothing was identified or reported along the beach. "She was far enough offshore," Macha said. "If the plane went it, it would break up, and any floating oil was likely dispersed." Afternoon winds tend to hit 10 to 15 mph, causing choppy water. The military planes of Tompkins' era did not have black boxes. Macha said technology like that is a "quantum leap from the world of the mid-1940s." There was no radar to monitor Tompkins' journey, and there was no flight plan for her. After she disappeared, flight plans for each pilot were required, rather than a group plan. The military searched close to 30 days for her, looking fruitlessly in the nearby mountains and bay. It had been suggested at one point that she took the plane and went off to start a new life, something Whittall doesn't see as plausible. "She had plans for when she got out," Whittall said. "Her husband was taking care of his niece because his sister had died. She was planning on becoming a wife and raising this little girl." There have been countless searches for Tompkins since she disappeared 75 years ago. Whittall and her late husband spearheaded search efforts to find Tompkins, encouraged by her father. She met Macha over 20 years ago after reading a book of his. "I called him," Whittall said. "I didn't use my aunt's name, I just said I had a relative who was a WASP that went missing." Macha immediately knew whom Whittall was talking about and told her he had been waiting for someone to call him. The call to Macha kick-started their several search efforts for Tompkins and her P-51D. There was a search in 1997, a second in 2004 and a third in 2010. During the 2010 search, a huge group of people volunteered and donated their time and high-tech equipment. For almost a week, divers searched a number of sites in hopes of finding some sort of wreckage but not much was found. "We've eliminated sites where she could be, and the good news is we have found a couple of planes that were missing," Whittall said. "The problem we're facing is that her plane or remains could be under feet of debris." "Expedition Unknown," a show on the Discovery Channel, aired an episode in May about Tompkins' disappearance and host Josh Gates' fourth search. Gates, Macha and David Lane, another aviation archaeologist, searched the San Jacinto Mountains after pieces of a plane were spotted from a fire tower. But the wreckage was from a civilian plane. Later, while diving in Santa Monica Bay with another team, Gates found the wreckage of an old ship and a World War II-era oxygen cylinder from a B-25 bomber that crashed in 1946. Whittall has no plans on giving up the search. She hopes as technology improves, her great-aunt will be found. Tompkins may not be remembered by the general public, but she inspires Whittall. "For someone I believe was an introvert and not very confident, she overcame a lot to become a WASP, and then she wasn't afraid to show intelligence and excellence," Whitall said. "She was just really proving what she could do. She challenged herself." WASPs were not valued for their sacrifice during World War II, with the creator, famed aviator Jacqueline Cochran, lobbying for it to be made a women's service within the U.S. Army Air Forces, according to the Army's website. The WASPs were disbanded not long after Tompkins went missing. It took another 30 years for WASPs to be recognized as active-duty armed service members, which allowed them to receive veterans' benefits. In March 2010, Tompkins and the other WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. "There have been parts of my life that have been impacted in ways I never expected," Whittall said. "It's been a living history for my family and my son. He's learned a lot about women he otherwise wouldn't have known." https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/10/05/a-missing-pilot-a-mustang-and-an-enduring-mystery-what-happened-to-this-wasp-aviator/ Back to Top Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk in Series to Upgrade Station Batteries Two NASA astronauts worked to replace batteries outside of the International Space Station, completing the first in a series of five planned spacewalks devoted to upgrading the orbiting laboratory's power system. Expedition 61 flight engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan worked in the vacuum of space for 7 hours and 1 minute on Sunday (Oct. 6). Their extravehicular activity (EVA, or spacewalk) began at 7:39 a.m. EDT (1139 GMT) and ended at 2:40 p.m. EDT (1840 GMT). Continuing a process that began with an initial set of battery replacements in January 2017, Koch and Morgan ventured to the far left, or port, side of the space station's backbone truss to work on some of the outpost's older power storage units. In a view from her helmet camera, NASA astronaut Christina Koch holds one of the batteries that she and astronaut Andrew Morgan worked to replace during a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. "Oh my goodness, it is gorgeous," said Morgan early in the spacewalk, reacting to the sun rising as he peered off the side of the station at Earth below. "This is pretty awesome." The space station is powered by eight large solar array wings, four on each side of the truss. The arrays feed electricity to the station's systems when in sunlight and charge a bank of four large batteries mounted at their base for when the station passes into the shadow of Earth. Koch and Morgan replaced two of the old nickel-hydrogen batteries with two new lithium-ion batteries that were delivered to the space station on board Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) that arrived on Sept. 28. Each of the more powerful lithium-ion batteries can hold the charge of two of the nickel-hydrogen batteries. The spacewalking duo first removed one of the older batteries and then, by carefully handing it back and forth to each other, shepherded the massive unit to an empty slot on the nearby exposed pallet holding the new batteries. "I have the battery," said Koch, holding the nickel-hydrogen battery. "You have the battery," confirmed Morgan. Each battery is about half the size of a refrigerator, or 40 inches long by 37 inches wide by 19 inches in height (101 by 94 by 48 centimeters). The old nickel-hydrogen batteries weigh 365 lbs. (165 kilograms) each. The lithium-ion replacements weigh 428 lbs. (194 kg). While weight is not a concern in the microgravity environment of space, the batteries' mass is still a factor in terms of inertia. The first old battery was "soft-docked" on the exposed pallet about two hours into the EVA. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, working from inside the station, then used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reposition the pallet so that the first replacement battery was within reach of the spacewalkers. Koch and Morgan next repositioned the new lithium-ion battery to the empty slot they had just opened on the integrated equipment assembly on the Port 6 (P6) truss. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan works to install a battery adapter plate during a spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station's power system on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. The first new battery was bolted into place about 50 minutes after the old battery was stowed on the exposed pallet. The astronauts next removed an adapter plate from the pallet and installed it on the truss to integrate the newly-installed lithium-ion battery into the station's electrical system. Working well ahead of schedule, Koch and Morgan were given the go by mission control in Houston to remove another of the nickel-hydrogen batteries and mount it atop the adapter plate, where it will be remain stored for the long term. Finally, Koch and Morgan moved another of the new lithium-ion batteries from the pallet to the truss, where they installed it in the empty slot vacated by the second nickel-hydrogen unit. The two also repositioned battery maneuvering tools and loosened the torque on bolts securing two nickel-hydrogen batteries in preparation for the next spacewalk. "It has been a wonderful day," said Koch once back inside the space station's Quest airlock. "We look forward to the rest of the series." Expedition 61 flight engineers Christina Koch (top, left) and Andrew Morgan work outside of the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. Four more battery replacement spacewalks are currently planned for this month. Koch and Morgan will pair up again for an EVA scheduled for Friday (Oct. 11), followed by spacewalks by Morgan and Meir on Oct. 16 and Meir and Koch on Oct. 21, the latter the first all-female EVA in history. The final planned spacewalk in the series will be conducted by Meir and Expedition 61 commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) on Oct. 25. Another EVA, unrelated to the battery replacements, is scheduled for Oct. 31 by Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka. Five more U.S. spacewalks by Morgan and Parmitano are slated to follow in November to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) cosmic-ray detector. Sunday's EVA was both Koch's and Morgan's second spacewalks. Koch, who served as EV1 (or lead spacewalker) and wore the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit with red stripes now has now logged a total of 13 hours and 46 minutes on her two spacewalks. Morgan, who as EV2 wore the suit with no identifiers, has a total of 13 hours and 33 minutes spanning his two EVAs. This was the 219th spacewalk devoted to the International Space Station since assembly of the outpost began in 1998. Astronauts and cosmonauts have now spent 1,374 hours and 27 minutes, or 57.3 days, working outside the orbiting complex. https://www.space.com/space-station-expedition-61-first-spacewalk-success.html Back to Top RESEARCH SURVEY Dear Part 141 Flight School Senior Staff, The Ohio State University's Center of Aviation is conducting a comparative analysis of Part 141 program models through its student capstone course. The goal of the study is to better improve factors such as instructor retention, aircraft utilization, and general program attraction. All Part 141 flight schools are encouraged to participate! This survey is meant for Part 141 aviation program staff who have knowledge of current pay rates, CFI benefits, and fleet utilization data. The data received from this survey will be shared with collaborators, upon request. Although any feedback received will aid us in our analysis, all questions are considered optional. We understand that not all data requested may be available to you. We estimate this survey will take 20 minutes or less to complete. For more information or assistance with this survey, please contact Noel Benford at Benford.15@osu.edu. Survey https://qtrial2019q3az1.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aVR6Y5B50Lu23qd Curt Lewis