Flight Safety Information October 14, 2019 - No. 208 In This Issue Boeing's Board Acted After Months of Mounting Pressure Boeing Shares in Focus After CEO Dennis Muilenburg Stripped of Chairman's Role Incident: Royal Maroc B738 at Lagos on Oct 11th 2019, cargo door sprung open on landing Incident: British Airways B744 at Denver on Oct 11th 2019, blew tyre on touch down Incident: Delta MD90 at Philadelphia on Oct 12th 2019, could not retract the nose gear American Airlines flight makes emergency landing at RDU after reports of smoke from cockpit Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show Report: Woman busted again after trying to board airplane without pass, ID French bee passes IATA safety audit International panel releases review of FAA's Boeing 737 MAX flight control system certification process FINAL ADS-B REBATE CLAIMED...PROGRAM ASSISTED 20,000 OWNERS ANALYSIS: FAA panel urges sweeping aircraft certification updates FAA must ramp up staffing to oversee airplane certification after 737 MAX: panel Florida Woman Severely Injured In Airplane Propeller Accident At Key West Airport. NASA engineer invents physics-breaking new space engine SAFE SKIES FOR ALL: INTRODUCING SPACEFLIGHT INTO OUR SKIES Air Traffic Control Investigation from SCSI Boeing's Board Acted After Months of Mounting Pressure Boeing's 737 Max jet has been grounded for seven months after two fatal accidents, and the crisis has consumed the company.CreditCreditLindsey Wasson for The New York Times Early Friday morning, Boeing's board gathered on a conference call that had been hastily arranged the day before. Dennis A. Muilenburg, the company's chief executive and the chairman of the board, was not invited. By the end of the day, a decision had been reached: Mr. Muilenburg would lose his title as chairman, a rebuke from a board that has defended Boeing's senior leadership after two crashes of its 737 Max jet killed 346 people. The board elevated its lead independent director, David L. Calhoun, to replace Mr. Muilenburg as chairman. For months, the Boeing board had resisted stripping Mr. Muilenburg of the chairmanship. In April, a shareholder proposal to split the chairman and chief executive roles was voted down, though by a smaller margin than last year. Mr. Calhoun said in an interview with The New York Times in May that the board regularly discussed splitting the roles, but felt confident in Mr. Muilenburg. "We think we've got the right guy," Mr. Calhoun said at the time. But since then, the outlook for Boeing has worsened. The 737 Max, its best-selling jet and one of its biggest sources of revenue, remains grounded after seven months. New problems with the plane have continued to crop up, causing repeated delays, although the company says it expects the plane will be cleared to fly again by the end of the year. The company has struggled to persuade international regulators that it has developed an adequate fix for the automated system that contributed to both fatal accidents. Boeing recently announced more than $8 billion in costs tied to the crashes, and its stock price has declined by about 15 percent since early March. Boeing customers have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the grounding and are becoming increasingly impatient. They complain of inconsistent updates from the company about the status of the plane. Executives at the company fear there will be long-term damage to their relationship with airlines, which may be tempted to defect to Airbus, Boeing's biggest competitor. "The relationship at the moment is rocky," Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said in an interview. "Given that we are their largest customer in Europe, we are deeply disappointed. Our view is that Boeing has not addressed this as seriously as was warranted." The decision to strip Mr. Muilenburg of his chairman title was the culmination of a monthslong debate within the company over whether to hold top executives accountable. Pressure on the board has mounted in anticipation of Mr. Muilenburg's scheduled testimony in front of Congress at the end of the month, the first time a Boeing executive has appeared at a hearing related to the crashes. The board was eager to make a move before the hearing to avoid the perception that scrutiny from lawmakers prompted a change, according to a person close to the board who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Dennis A. Muilenburg, Boeing's chief executive, was stripped of his chairman title on Friday by the company's board.CreditJustin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock After the second crash in March, the board began taking steps to assert its independence, with directors having more regular discussions that excluded Mr. Muilenburg. But even after the board's move on Friday, some lawmakers continued to question its oversight of the company. "The mystery has been why the board has been seemingly silent and inert," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat of Connecticut, said in an interview. "Key members of the board should be called to testify in public at a congressional hearing about what they know now and when they knew it." An engineer by training, Mr. Muilenburg is seen as a reluctant public speaker who has had trouble conveying emotion or sympathy when discussing the accidents. Some inside Boeing have begun to question his judgment, believing that he has at times been overly optimistic about the schedule for returning the Max to service and too reluctant to discipline subordinates, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. He has said in conversations with colleagues that there was no wrongdoing in the design and certification of the Max and that discussing accountability would distract from the company's efforts to safely return the plane to service, according to four people familiar with the matter. On Friday, however, a task force of 10 international regulators released a report that found that Boeing hadn't fully explained the automated system, known as MCAS, to the Federal Aviation Administration and that company engineers delegated to help certify the plane on behalf of the regulator had faced "undue pressure" internally. Last month, Boeing's board made public the findings of its own review of the company's policies, recommending changes to the design of future airplanes and a restructuring of its engineering group. "Boeing's leadership team is committed to our enduring values of safety, quality and integrity as they implement the board's recommendations and additional actions to strengthen and elevate safety," a Boeing spokesman said in a statement on Saturday to The Times. Behind closed doors, questions have also been raised among top executives about how Kevin McAllister, the head of Boeing's commercial division, which produced the troubled plane, has managed the Max crisis, according to several people familiar with internal discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Mr. McAllister joined Boeing in November 2016, after the development of the Max was largely completed but before it had been certified by regulators. He has been the focus of criticism from Boeing executives who worry that he has not been proactive enough in reaching out to airlines to explain what steps the company is taking in the wake of the two accidents, according to the people familiar with the matter. Mr. McAllister had previously worked at General Electric with Mr. Calhoun, the board's new chairman, who was key in his hiring at Boeing. The commercial division, Boeing's largest business, is facing problems beyond the Max, including manufacturing issues at its Charleston plant, cracking on the Max's predecessor, the 737 NG, and the discovery of foreign objects inside the KC-46 tanker, a military aircraft that is built by the group. Kevin McAllister, the head of Boeing's commercial division, has been central to the campaign to resuscitate the company's brand.CreditStephen Brashear/Getty Images In conversations with colleagues, Mr. McAllister has said that he believes he has been unfairly criticized because he inherited the Max problems from his predecessors, according to four people familiar with the matter. A group of board directors - Susan Schwab, a former United States trade representative; Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Nikki R. Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations - has grown sympathetic to Mr. McAllister's argument that he inherited the problems from his predecessors, two people familiar with the matter said. Through a spokesman, Mr. McAllister denied he has made that claim. "Clearly, Kevin is a huge question," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management. "So many of the problems seem to be within his shop. When you've been on the job for three years, you can't blame your predecessors." Rusdi Kirana, the founder of Lion Air, whose 737 Max was the first to crash, has been outspoken about his disappointment with the company, telling Reuters in April that Boeing officials "look down on me and my airline" and were using him as a "piggy bank." In recent months, Oscar Munoz, the chief executive of United Airlines, has expressed concerns to Boeing about uneven communication during the Max crisis, according to four people familiar with the matter. Mr. O'Leary, the Ryanair chief executive, has had tense moments with Mr. McAllister, who is known to become emotional during meetings and has cried in front of colleagues when discussing criticism of his management style, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. O'Leary and Mr. McAllister have had heated disagreements since he took over the commercial division, the people said. Mr. O'Leary denied that there had been any loud arguments or strains in his relationship with Mr. McAllister. "He's never gotten into a shouting and screaming match with me, because he would lose," Mr. O'Leary said, noting that Mr. McAllister had called him that day. In an April board meeting at Boeing's headquarters in Chicago, Mr. McAllister watched as several members of his team gave presentations about the company's progress on the Max, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting. When they had concluded, a board member asked if Mr. McAllister had anything to say to the board, the people said. Mr. McAllister said no. With the Max still grounded and questions swirling about Mr. McAllister, Boeing must now proceed with a chief executive who has been stripped of some of his power. "People will read this as a little loss of confidence that the board has in Dennis," Mr. Sonnenfeld said. "And rightly so." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/business/boeing-board-dennis-muilenburg.html Back to Top Boeing Shares in Focus After CEO Dennis Muilenburg Stripped of Chairman's Role Boeing shares drifted lower Monday after the planemaker said it would strip CEO Dennis Muilenburg of his chairman role in order to allow his to focus entire on bringing the grounded 737 MAX aircraft back into service. Boeing (BA - Get Report) shares drifted lower Monday after the planemaker said it would strip CEO Dennis Muilenburg of his chairman role in order to allow his to focus entire on bringing the grounded 737 MAX aircraft back into service. Boeing said the board has "full confidence in Dennis as CEO", adding that splitting the role of chairman would allow him more time to run the company, focus on product development and safety and marshal the company's ongoing attempt to win FAA approval for the 737 MAX following its grounding earlier this year. "I am fully supportive of the board's action. Our entire team is laser-focused on returning the 737 MAX safely to service and delivering on the full breadth of our company's commitments," Muilenburg said in a brief statement late Friday. Boeing shares were marked 0.14% lower in pre-market trading Monday to indicate an opening bell price of $374.40 each. Boeing gained 1.08% Friday, compared to a 1.21% advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to end the session at $374.92 each, leaving the stocks with a 16.25% year-to-date gain. Last week, American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) extended cancellations linked to the grounded 737 MAX into at least early January, challenging the planemaker's timetable for the troubled aircraft's return. Domestic rivals United Airlines (UAL - Get Report) and Southwest Airlines (LUV - Get Report) quickly followed suit. The flagship aircraft's fate was further complicated by a Wall Street Journal report that suggested European officials aren't satisfied with safety issues related to Boeing's plans to repair the 737 MAX's software, which involves both flight control computers and will address concerns for the system raised by the FAA in June. Last month, the paper reported that a panel of international regulators will criticize the FAA's approval process for the 737 MAX aircraft, which remains grounded following two deadly crashes in March 2019 and November 2018 that took the lives of 346 passengers. The Journal said the panel, comprised of regulators from major economies around the world, will ask for more transparency from the FAA over its certification procedures. Boeing also reported a net order tally of -84 jets for the nine months ending in September, compared to 127 for its European rival Airbus (EADSY) , but said indicated it had converted at least one previous order into a potential 737 MAX deliver. "Based on reported deliveries, we are modeling (third quarter earnings) of $1.35 and (free cash flow) of -$1.2 billion," Credit Suisse analyst Robert Spingarn said late last week as his trimmed his price target on the group to $416 per share with an 'outperform' rating. "Our EPS estimate does not include any additional MAX-related charges, if any," Spingarn said. To be clear, we do not expect BA shares to react strongly based on the quarter itself (unless there are substantial MAX charges), but rather on the outlook for the MAX return to service, commentary on the 787 backlog and future production rates, commentary on the 777 bridge, and thoughts on BA's ability to maintain (commercial airplane profit margins) in the teens." https://www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/boeing-shares-in-focus-after-ceo-dennis-muilenburg-stripped-of-chairman-s-role-15124742?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO&yptr=yahoo Back to Top Incident: Royal Maroc B738 at Lagos on Oct 11th 2019, cargo door sprung open on landing A Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800, registration CN-ROR performing flight AT-555 from Casablanca (Morocco) to Lagos (Nigeria), landed on Lagos' runway 18R when a cargo door sprung open. The aircraft taxied to the apron. One piece of passenger luggage was missing triggering rumours of somebody had tried to rob the aircraft. The occurrence aircraft departed for the return flight after about 100 minutes on the ground. On Oct 12th 2019 Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority (FAAN) reported there was no attempted robbery or theft. The cargo door probably sprung open due to a rough landing. Security personnel escorted the aircraft, there was nobody near the aircraft. The missing piece of luggage had been left behind in Casablanca and was retrieved there. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdfa24b&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: British Airways B744 at Denver on Oct 11th 2019, blew tyre on touch down A British Airways Boeing 747-400, registration G-CIVZ performing flight BA-219 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Denver,CO (USA), landed on Denver's runway 35R but burst a tyre on touchdown. The aircraft rolled out without further incident, vacated the runway and stopped on taxiway EC. Emergency services responded, while tower queried the next arrival whether they wanted to continue the landing, the CRJ crew affirmed and continued for a long landing. Emergency services advised the forward inboard right main tyre had blown, hydraulic fluid was leaking. The crew shut the engines down, the passengers disembarked via mobile stairs and were bussed to the terminal. The return flight BA-218 was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Denver 43 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BAW219/history/20191011/1350Z/EGLL/KDEN http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdf9f60&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Delta MD90 at Philadelphia on Oct 12th 2019, could not retract the nose gear A Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-90, registration N934DN performing flight DL-776 from Philadelphia,PA to Atlanta,GA (USA), was climbing out of Philadelphia's runway 27L when upon contacting departure the crew advsed they could not retract their nose gear and needed to proceed at a lower speed (210 KIAS). Departure, who had already cleared the flight to 12,000 feet, now instructed the aircraft to climb to 5000 feet. The aircraft entered a hold to burn off fuel and landed safely back on Philadelphia's runway 27L about one hour after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 5.5 hours, then departed again and is currently estimated to reach Atlanta with a delay of about 6.5 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL776/history/20191012/1325Z/KPHL/KATL http://avherald.com/h?article=4cdf0b36&opt=0 Back to Top American Airlines flight makes emergency landing at RDU after reports of smoke from cockpit An American Airlines plane flying from Charlotte to Virginia made an emergency landing at RDU Sunday evening after reports of smoke out of the cockpit, according to officials. MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- An American Airlines plane flying from Charlotte to Virginia made an emergency landing at RDU Sunday evening after reports of smoke out of the cockpit, according to officials. Crews onboard flight AA4911 declared the flight an emergency after reporting a smoke odor. Around 6:45 p.m., first responders arrived at the scene to examine the plane. The plane was carrying 45 passengers, according to officials at RDU. There were no reports of injuries aboard the plane. https://abc11.com/american-airlines-flight-makes-emergency-landing-at-rdu/5616544/ Back to Top Back to Top Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show This article, Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show, originally appeared on CBSNews.com A pilot was ejected from a Canadian Snowbird plane that later crashed at the Atlanta Air Show at the Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon, CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL reports. The pilot landed safely after ejecting from the CT-144 aircraft, which went down in a sparsely populated area. According to the FAA, the crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. The Atlanta Air Show sent out a statement to WGCL, recapping the incident: "Snowbird 5, Captain Kevin Domon-Grenier was forced to eject from his aircraft shortly before our performance in Atlanta this afternoon," the statement read. "Domon-Grenier made it safely to the ground and is okay. The aircraft fell in an unpopulated area and no one was injured. It is too early to speculate on the cause of the incident. We are thankful Kevin and the public are unhurt." The remaining festivities associated with the annual air show were cancelled following the crash. The Snowbirds also issued a statement on Twitter following the incident. Snowbird 5, Capt Kevin Domon-Grenier was forced to eject from his aircraft shiortly before our performance in Atlanta this afternoon. Capt Domon-Grenier made it safely to the ground and is okay. The aircraft fell in an unpopulated area and no one was injured. pic.twitter.com/Sz1e8EVyE5 https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadian-snowbird-plane-crashes-during-114550255.html Back to Top Report: Woman busted again after trying to board airplane without pass, ID 'Serial stowaway' A woman was apprehended in Chicago after reportedly attempting to board a plane without a pass or identification for the second time. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A woman serving 18 months probation for boarding an airplane last year in Chicago without a ticket or boarding pass was apprehended again last week for allegedly trying the to do the same thing, according to multiple reports. Police said Marilyn Hartman, 67, was arrested Friday after she tried to bypass security at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport without a boarding pass or identification. She was reportedly arrested last year when she bypassed O'Hare airport's security and managed to board a British Airways flight. Last week, a woman managed to board a commercial airplane in Orlando without a boarding pass or a state issued ID. The pilot reportedly called police, who removed the woman. https://www.silive.com/news/2019/10/report-woman-busted-again-after-attempting-to-board-plane-without-boarding-pass-id.html Back to Top French bee passes IATA safety audit 13 October 2019 French bee passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). French bee is a French long-haul airline based at Paris Orly Airport. It started operating flights in 2016 as "French Blue". In 2018 it rebranded as "French Bee". The airline currently uses three Airbus A350-900s. The IOSA programme is an evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. IOSA uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner. It was created in 2003 by IATA. All IATA members are IOSA registered and must remain registered to maintain IATA membership. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2019/10/13/french-bee-passes-iata-safety-audit/ Back to Top International panel releases review of FAA's Boeing 737 MAX flight control system certification process 12 October 2019 The international team of experts convened by the FAA to review their Boeing 737 MAX Flight Control System certification process in the wake of two fatal accidents, has released its findings and recommendations. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) consisted of technical representatives from the FAA, NASA, and civil aviation authorities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. More information: • JATR Report (PDF) https://news.aviation-safety.net/2019/10/12/international-panel-releases-review-of-faas-boeing-737-max-flight-control-system-certification-process/ Back to Top FINAL ADS-B REBATE CLAIMED PROGRAM ASSISTED 20,000 OWNERS The FAA announced October 11 that all 20,000 rebates offered to incentivize ADS-B Out equipage by general aviation aircraft owners have been claimed. The Federal Aviation Administration is one of the many government agencies that have influence over general aviation. Photo by David Tulis. The agency first offered the $500 ADS-B rebates in September 2016 to encourage owners of fixed-wing, single-engine piston aircraft to equip for ADS-B Out capability in advance of the January 1, 2020, mandate. AOPA pitched in to help pilots navigate the process, and joined the FAA highlighting the advantages of enhanced safety, situational awareness, and airspace management efficiency that ADS-B and provides. When more than 9,000 rebates remained unclaimed after the initial 12-month program, the FAA restarted the program on October 11, 2018. All the remaining rebates were eventually reserved, but some expired without being claimed. The FAA continued weekly releases of those remaining unclaimed rebates until October 11. No more rebates will be made available, the agency announced. Aircraft owners who already have reserved a rebate but not yet completed installation and claimed the funds will be allowed to complete the rebate program requirements in the specified time. ADS-B Out avionics will be required for flights after Jan. 2, 2020 in the airspace defined by FAR 91.225, generally the airspace where a transponder is required today. More information about the ADS-B rule and equipment options is available here. The FAA has been adamant that the January ADS-B deadline will not change. The agency recently announced that the process of integrating ADS-B information with radar data had been completed at the last two of 155 air traffic control facilities: Akron-Canton Airport and Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport, both in Ohio. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/october/11/rebate-program-ends Back to Top ANALYSIS: FAA panel urges sweeping aircraft certification updates A safety review panel established by the US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a report detailing various alleged shortcomings with the design and certification of the 737 Max. Released 11 October, the 51-page report takes aim at Boeing's design decisions and the FAA's certification processes, and recommends sweeping changes to how the FAA does business. It warns that the FAA office overseeing Boeing may be unable to adequately review Boeing's multiple aircraft programmes due to understaffing. It also calls for a review of the 737 Max's certification - something already under way - and warns that today's certification standards fail to reflect complex aircraft systems. More broadly, the report urges the FAA to evaluate how it certifies new variants of existing aircraft, including whether aircraft like the 737 Max should require entirely new type certificates. "We welcome this scrutiny and are confident that our openness to these efforts with further bolster aviation safety," says FAA administrator Steve Dickson in a statement. "I will review every recommendation and take appropriate action." The FAA formed the so-called Joint Authorities Technical Review Panel (JATR) in April to examine certification of the Max's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System - technology implicated as contributing to two 737 Max 8 crashes. The JATR panel was formed with representatives from at least nine countries or regions, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, the FAA has said. MCAS apparently put two aircraft, a Lion Air 737 Max and an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max, into dives from which pilots could not recover, killing 346 people. The systems apparently activated due to failure of a single angle-of-attack indicator on both aircraft. The pilots' responses and training have also come under scrutiny. "Boeing is committed to working with the FAA in reviewing the recommendations and helping to continuously improve the process and approach used to validate and certify airplanes going forward," the Chicago-based airframer says in a statement. "Safety is a core value for everyone at Boeing." But the panel's report alleges numerous lapses in design and certification of the 737 Max. NEW TYPE CERTIFICATES? It urges the FAA to evaluate if new variants of existing aircraft are "incompatible" with today's safety regulations, and if so, whether new variants should be certified as wholly new aircraft under new type certificates. The panel notes some 737 Max design and certification elements are "rooted in the original 1967 certification". The Max has some modern updates, but lacks other design enhancements developed over 50 years, the report says. "There are no criteria for determining when the core attributes of an existing design make it fundamentally incapable of supporting the safety advancements introduced by the latest amendments to airworthiness standards," the report says. The panel also urges the FAA to review its staffing, noting the agency's Boeing Aviation Safety Oversight Office, which certificates Boeing aircraft, has only two technical staff assigned to each Boeing programme. That office "may not be sufficiently staffed to review all the Boeing programmes (737, 747, 767, 777, and 787)," says the report. FAA "resource shortfalls" may have contributed to an insufficient number of FAA specialists being involved in the Max certification, the report says. The panel avoids broadly judging the FAA's Organisation Designation Authorisation (ODA). Under that policy the FAA outsources some certification work to experts at companies applying for certification. But it urges the FAA to review Boeing's ODA and questions if communication shortcomings partly hindered the FAA's ability to address risks created by MCAS. Michel Merluzeau, an aerospace analyst with consultancy AIR, says the FAA has long struggled to hire and retain the expert engineers needed to oversee a massive industry. "How can you have long-term stability from staff, and competence... when you can't find the people?" he asks. He envisions a future system in which fully-independent third-party companies - which could attract experts with competitive pay - would assist with certification, sitting between the regulator and the regulated. "The private sector can probably put this together," Merluzeau says. With production continuing amid the grounding, Boeing has been stockpiling 737 Max at various airports Much of the JATR's report focuses on certification of MCAS, which it says was based on "data, architecture, and assumptions" from a previous aircraft. Boeing designed MCAS "without sufficient detailed aircraft-level evaluation of the appropriateness of such reuse, and without additional safety margins and features to address conditions, omissions, or errors not foreseen in the analyses," the report says. It notes that MCAS information was removed from the Max's operating manual during certification, meaning the FAA's flight standardisation board did not require pilots to complete MCAS training. Boeing has said it equipped the Max with MCAS to make that aircraft feel to pilots like earlier-generation 737NGs. MCAS moves the Max's elevator, nosing-down the aircraft in certain flight circumstances. "This is a case of using the control surface in a new way that the regulations never accounted for and should have required an issue paper for further analysis by the FAA," says the JATR report. "However, because the information and discussions about MCAS were so fragmented and were delivered to disconnected groups within the process, it was difficult to recognise the impacts and implications of this system," it adds. The panel urges the FAA to review the Max's compliance with flight control system certifications and to evaluate the Max's stall characteristics. The report warns that some FAA regulations have become outdated and do not adequately apply to aircraft that have been progressively updated over decades, like the Max. Specifically, it highlights concerns about certification of systems added to such aircraft over many years, how those systems integrate and how pilots respond when systems go haywire. The panel urges the FAA to revisit how much time pilots need to cope with cascading alarms and failures. The standard assumed reaction time has long been 3s, but today's pilots, faced with complex, interwoven systems, may need more, the report says. "Although existing standards have served the industry well for decades, the JATR members recommend an examination of whether those standards are as appropriate for the complex integrated systems in today's airplanes," says JATR chair Christopher Hart in the report's cover letter. "Inherent in this issue is the adequacy of training." https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-faa-panel-urges-sweeping-aircraft-certific-461449/ Back to Top FAA must ramp up staffing to oversee airplane certification after 737 MAX: panel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had insufficient personnel to oversee the certification of new Boeing airplanes and should make significant reforms in how it approves new aircraft, an international aviation panel said Friday. FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at Boeing facilities at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo The panel also faulted assumptions made by the airplane manufacturer in designing the 737 MAX and for not disclosing more information to the FAA. Reuters reported on a draft copy of the Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) findings and recommendations earlier on Friday that called for sweeping changes in how the FAA evaluates and certifies new airplanes. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said Friday, the report "raises new and disturbing questions about the separation between regulator and manufacturer." Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal said the report confirms "our worst fears about a failed broken system of aviation safety scrutiny." JATR panel Chairman Christopher Hart, a former chair of the National Transportation Safety Bord, told reporters on Friday he thinks the aviation certification system is not broken but needs to be improved, adding the review found "communication failures." "There were a lot of good people trying to do the right thing in sometimes difficult circumstances," Hart said, adding a key issue is "how do we make sure everybody knows what they need to know." The report also said the FAA did not closely evaluate a key safety system known as MCAS involved in two fatal crashes of the MAX in five months that killed 346 people and prompted the plane's grounding in March. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said Friday the agency would respond to all recommendations in the "unvarnished" review. At issue is the long-standing practice of the FAA delegating certification tasks to Boeing and other manufacturers. Many critics say the FAA should take a bigger role. The report said the FAA had just 45 people in an office overseeing Boeing's Organization Designation Authority (ODA) and its 1,500 employees. In the 737 MAX, the FAA initially delegated 40% of the certification tasks and boosted that figure as the five-year review progressed, including the review of MCAS. The panel said, "FAA involvement in the certification of MCAS would likely have resulted in design changes that would have improved safety." Boeing is revising the 737 MAX software to require the MCAS system to receive input from both Angle of Attack sensors, and has added additional safeguards. If the AOA sensors differ by 5.5 degrees or more then MCAS cannot operate. The FAA's office oveseeing Boeing has just 24 engineers and they face a wide range of tasks to ensure compliance in overseeing Boeing's 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787 programs. The review added there are only two technical FAA staff assigned per Boeing program and some are "new engineers with limited airworthiness experience." The review also found "signs of undue pressure" on Boeing employees performing tasks for the FAA, "which may be attributed to conflicting priorities and an environment that does not support FAA requirements." DeFazio said, "Undue pressure may have been placed on individuals at the FAA and Boeing to get the MAX into service as quickly as possible." The panel said the FAA should review delegation procedures "to remove undue burdens and barriers between the Boeing (office) and the FAA and promote cultural changes at both organizations." Those Boeing employees should be able to directly talk to FAA technical staff "without fear of reprisal," the review added. Boeing did not respond to criticism in the report but said it is "committed to working with the FAA in reviewing the recommendations and helping to continuously improve the process and approach used to validate and certify airplanes." A U.S. Senate panel last month approved legislation to increase aviation safety budgets by $31.8 million and require the FAA to finalize its rule-making on safety management systems for aircraft manufacturers. The aviation panel report also said the FAA must ensure manufacturers "provide a full list of all aircraft proposed changes (no matter how trivial)." The JATR, which was commissioned in April by the FAA, includes air safety regulators from the United States, Canada, China, Indonesia, European Union, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Japan, and the five-month review included FAA officials who were not part of the 737 MAX certification. Deputy FAA Administrator Dan Elwell told Congress in March the agency would need an additional 10,000 employees that would cost $1.8 billion if it were to assume all responsibilities for aircraft certification. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-boeing-faa-certification/faa-must-ramp-up-staffing-to-oversee-airplane-certification-after-737-max-panel-idUSKBN1WQ28B Back to Top Florida Woman Severely Injured In Airplane Propeller Accident At Key West Airport KEY WEST (CBSMiami/AP) - A Florida woman was severely injured Saturday night when she was struck by an airplane propeller at Key West International Airport. According to Monroe County Sheriff's officials, the woman, who is from Naples, was a passenger in a private plane when the accident happened. The pilot left the plane while it was running to check on a potential mechanical issue. The unidentified female passenger also exited the plane and walked around to the front when she was struck by the propeller. The woman's arm and foot were reportedly severed. She was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island before being airlifted in stable condition to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. Authorities are still unsure what issue the pilot was having with the airplane. No other details were given. The Florida Highway Patrol is handling the investigation. https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/10/13/florida-woman-severely-injured-in-airplane-propeller-accident-at-key-west-airport/ Back to Top NASA engineer invents physics-breaking new space engine Star Trek's Montgomery Scott famously said "ye cannot change the laws of physics", but a real-life space engineer says he might have just done that. David Burns of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama has unveiled what he's calling the 'helical engine', which could potentially power flights across space without using any fuel at all. There's just one small problem - it breaks the laws of physics as we know them. "I'm comfortable with throwing it out there," Burns told magazine New Scientist. "If someone says it doesn't work, I'll be the first to say it was worth a shot." The simple version of how the helical engine works - or doesn't work - is like this: a ring inside a box is sprung in one direction, the box recoiling in the other, just as Isaac Newton's laws of motion say they should. "When the ring reaches the end of the box, it will bounce backwards, and the box's recoil direction will switch too," New Scientist explains. A simplified version of the engine. A simplified version of the engine. Photo credit: David Burns/NASA But if the box and ring are travelling near the speed of light, Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity says as the ring approaches the front end of the box it will increase in mass because it's going faster than when it's going backwards - so it'll hit harder, resulting in forward momentum. The actual engine itself will use a particle accelerator and ion particles, but that's the basic gist. "Chemical, nuclear and electric propulsion systems produce thrust by accelerating and expelling propellants," Burns' paper reads. "Deep space travel is often a trade-off between thrust and large propellant storage tanks that eventually limit performance. The objective of this paper is to introduce and examine a unique engine that uses a closed-cycle propellant." According to Burns it could produce a forward thrust up to 99 percent the speed of light without breaking Einstein's rules, but totally breaching Newton's third law of motion - that an action always has an opposite and equal reaction. There are other hurdles to overcome too - it would have to be 200m long and 12m wide to work, and would only operate effectively in the frictionless environment of deep space. Burns isn't worried if it turns out not to work at all, like others' attempts at fuel-free propulsion, such as the microwave-powered EM drive. "I know that it risks being right up there with the EM drive and cold fusion," he told New Scientist. "But you have to be prepared to be embarrassed. It is very difficult to invent something that is new under the sun and actually works." Burns' full paper can be read online here. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/10/nasa-engineer-invents-physics-breaking-new-space-engine.html Back to Top JOIN US! SAFE SKIES FOR ALL: INTRODUCING SPACEFLIGHT INTO OUR SKIES www.alpa.org/safeskies October 31, 2019 | Hyatt Regency Hotel | Washington, D.C The Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation invite you to a dynamic one-day conference as we highlight numerous, ongoing efforts to transform our airspace for the future. Curt Lewis