Flight Safety Information January 17, 2020 - No. 013 In This Issue Report Defends 'Thorough Work' Done Certifying Boeing 737 Max - But Suggests Changes Incident: United B752 at Newark on Jan 15th 2020, engine compressor stalls Incident: Delta A333 over Atlantic on Dec 16th 2019, smoke and sparks from galley floor Incident: Westjet Encore DH8D at Kelowna and Vancouver on Jan 12th 2020, fuel emergency A Delta flight slid off a taxiway at Kansas City International Airport Accident: Nordwind A321 at Antalya on Jan 10th 2020, hard landing Incident: IrAero SU95 at Moscow on Jan 16th 2020, landed on runway under construction Air ambulance crashes on takeoff from Aleutians airport FAA should mandate safety management systems for Boeing, others: panel GPS reception may be unavailable or unreliable to pilots due to military testing along the East Coast China's MA60 regional airplane family to embrace 3rd member in 2020 Jet builder Aerion expects to fly silent supersonic planes by 2024, unlocking a $40 billion market NASA astronaut Christina Koch celebrates her 300th day in space Aircraft and Helicopter Accident Investigation from SCSI DTI Training Canada Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship RESEARCH SURVEY Report Defends 'Thorough Work' Done Certifying Boeing 737 Max - But Suggests Changes Boeing 737 Max aircraft operated by Southwest Airlines crowd the tarmac of the airport in Victorville, Calif., after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the planes last year. A pair of Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliners plummeted from the sky in 2018 and 2019, killing hundreds of passengers and eventually prompting officials to ground the aircraft model worldwide - but the process that allowed the craft in the air in the first place is generally sound, according to a review commissioned by U.S. regulators. An independent committee established by the Department of Transportation published its findings in a 68-page report Thursday. (Skip down to read the whole report.) And broadly, the group found the certification process laid out by the Federal Aviation Administration to be effective, with some changes needed for improvement. "What we saw was a thorough work by aviation professionals," one of the two co-chairs, former Air Line Pilots Association President Lee Moak, told journalists on a conference call explaining the findings. Together with retired Air Force Gen. Darren McDew, Moak oversaw a five-member panel with a mix of transportation industry executives and former regulators. "However," Moak added, "we saw where you could improve the system." Among their recommendations for the FAA: • Extend the requirement for Safety Management Systems, or formal, structured programs for risk management. The FAA already requires them for airlines and airports, but the committee recommended applying the mandate to "design and manufacturing organizations," too. • Do a better job gathering, analyzing and easing access to aviation data. • Improve collaboration with the FAA's counterparts in other countries. • Reevaluate and bolster the workforce, including "an aggressive recruitment campaign to encourage students to pursue careers at the FAA." What was not among its recommendations was any significant adjustment to the FAA's Organization Designation Authorization, a program by which the agency can delegate elements of its certification process to certain approved private individuals or companies. The program drew controversy last year when lawmakers questioned how Boeing ended up being responsible for reviewing changes to its own design on the 737 Max. "Safety experts have long raised concerns that the [ODA] program leaves the fox in charge of the henhouse," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote in a letter to the Department of Transportation last March, just days after the FAA grounded the Max. "In short," he added, "the staff responsible for regulating aircraft safety are answerable to the manufacturers who profit from cutting corners, not the American people who may be put at risk." Further concern surfaced last week with the revelation that Boeing employees had mocked the FAA in internal messages and gloated about the ease with which the plane was approved. "This airplane," read one note about the craft, which would later be involved in the deaths of 346 people, "is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." But in its review, the panel found no evidence that the outcome of the certification process would have been different if the FAA had not delegated some of the steps. "The FAA's delegation system is an appropriate and effective tool for conducting aircraft certification," the committee concluded in the executive summary of its report. "It relies on effective standards, oversight and communication between stakeholders." The review isn't the first to be compiled since the aircraft was grounded. Last October, an FAA-commissioned panel known as the Joint Authorities Technical Review lambasted both the agency and Boeing for failing to properly evaluate the new automated flight control system that directly caused the crashes. The Justice Department and Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General also are investigating the Boeing plane's certification. The airline manufacturing giant - now helmed by CEO David Calhoun after Dennis Muilenburg stepped down from the post last month - responded to Thursday's report with gratitude and a commitment to take its findings seriously. "We will study these recommendations closely," a company spokesperson said in a brief statement, "as we continue to work with government and industry stakeholders to enhance the certification process." The FAA also welcomed the report's findings. "I was pleased to see that the committee recommended we advance the use of Safety Management Systems throughout all sectors of the aviation industry," Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement released by the FAA. "The agency will carefully consider the committee's work, along with the recommendations identified in various investigative reports and other analyses, as we take steps to enhance our aircraft certification processes." https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796959231/report-defends-thorough-work-done-certifying-boeing-737-max-but-suggests-changes Back to Top Incident: United B752 at Newark on Jan 15th 2020, engine compressor stalls A United Boeing 757-200, registration N18112 performing flight UA-1871 from Newark,NJ (USA) to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 168 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Newark's runway 22R when the crew stopped the climb at 2500 feet reporting engine (RB211) problems and requesting "vectors around here" further advising they had a compressor stall on the right hand engine. The crew subsequently advised they were running the checklists for single engine, the crew declared emergency. The aircraft landed safely back on Newark's runway 22R about 37 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 757-200 registration N14118 reached Los Angeles with a delay of 7 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL1871/history/20200116/0009Z/KEWR/KLAX Passenger video (Video: Chris Da Crisis): United Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Newark due to engine problem (regular speed video) http://avherald.com/h?article=4d209db0&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Delta A333 over Atlantic on Dec 16th 2019, smoke and sparks from galley floor A Delta Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration N815NW performing flight DL-162 (dep Dec 15th) from Minneapolis,MN (USA) to Amsterdam (Netherlands) with 289 people on board, was enroute at FL370 about 530nm southwest of Keflavik (Iceland) when a flight attendant noticed smoke and sparks from a screw head on the aft galley floor and discharged a fire extinguisher. The flight crew was notified, worked the related checklists and pulled the related circuit breakers. After consultation with dispatch and maintenance the crew declared Mayday and diverted to Keflavik for a safe landing. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance found discolouration in portions of the galley floor and replaced the floor panels. The floor heating was de-activated under minimum equipment list requirements and the aircraft returned to service. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 2.5 hours, then continued the flight and reached Amsterdam with a delay of about 3:15 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL162/history/20191216/0150Z/KMSP/EHAM http://avherald.com/h?article=4d2097a4&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Westjet Encore DH8D at Kelowna and Vancouver on Jan 12th 2020, fuel emergency, landed below final fuel reserve A Westjet Encore de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration C-GWJK performing flight WS-3260 from Victoria,BC to Kelowna,BC (Canada) with 23 passengers and 4 crew, was on approach to Kelowna when the crew needed to go around due to poor weather conditions. The aircraft entered a hold to wait for improvement of weather, but needed to decide to divert to Vancouver,BC (Canada). During the descent into Vancouver the crew declared emergency due to being low on fuel. The aircraft landed safely with emergency services on stand by. The Canadian TSB reported the crew actually declared Mayday because the aircraft was already below required minimum fuel. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d2095d2&opt=0 Back to Top A Delta flight slid off a taxiway at Kansas City International Airport Delta Flight A319 slid off the runway at Kansas City International Airport on Friday morning, an airport spokesman said. (CNN)A Delta flight slid off the pavement Friday morning at Kansas City International Airport in Missouri, an airport spokesman said. Delta Flight A319 was taxiing from the airport terminal when its nose wheel dropped off the taxiway pavement, according to spokesman Joe McBride. "No known injuries," he said. "Buses being brought out to remove passengers." The airport was closed as of 6:35 a.m. CT due to ice and expected to reopen by 9 a.m. CT, the FAA's Air Traffic Control system said. The airfield was closed because of "slick conditions" while deicer was applied, McBride said, noting the closure was unrelated to Flight A319 going off the pavement. A significant round of freezing rain is heading towards the metro Kansas City area Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/17/us/missouri-delta-flight-slid-off-pavement/index.html Back to Top Accident: Nordwind A321 at Antalya on Jan 10th 2020, hard landing A Nordwind Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration VQ-BRS performing positioning flight N4-1801 from Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) to Antalya (Turkey), was on approach to Antalya's runway 36C at about 07:40L (04:40Z), but touched down hard on the runway (about +2.65G, above limits). The crew initiated a go around. The crew observed attitude and navigation indication problems were observed by the crew, smoke developed in the cockpit. The crew donned their oxygen masks, declared MAYDAY and performed a low approach to runway 36C to have the underside of the aircraft including landing gear inspected for any structural issues. While climbing out after the low approach both main hydraulic systems failed. The crew declared Mayday a second time and performed a visual approach and landing on runway 36C. The aircraft was unable to vacate the runway and stopped, the aircraft was shut down. A post flight inspection showed both nose gear tyres deflated, the nose gear strut had been pushed through the cabin floor, the fuselage all in the area of the nose gear showed signficant creases. Russia's Embassy in Antalya reported there were no passengers on board of the aircraft, only crew according to the local office of Nordwind Airlines. The aircraft suffered a hard landing. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained damage however. On Jan 16th 2020 the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) announced, Turkish Authorities decided to delegate the investigation to Russia, the MAK will therefore investigate the accident. Turkey and France, representing the state of design and manufacture of the aircraft, have assigned accredited representatives to join the investigation. The MAK stated on Jan 10th 2020 an accident happened to A321 VQ-BRS at Antalya airport. The crew did not receive any injuries, the aircraft however sustained substantial damage to nose gear and the forward lower fuselage. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d1c737e&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: IrAero SU95 at Moscow on Jan 16th 2020, landed on runway under construction An IrAero Sukhoi Superjet 100-95, registration RA-89078 performing flight IO-4284 from Sabetta to Moscow Domodedovo (Russia), was on approach to Domodedovo's runway 32R however touched down on the runway under construction to the right of runway 32R at 14:15L (11:15Z). The aircraft rolled out without further incident and is currently stuck on the runway. There were no injuries. Emergency services reported the aircraft landed on a runway under construction, there were no injuries. According to current AIP Russia the runways are named 32L, 32R and 32, the aerodrome chart does not show runway 32 as closed or under construction. ILS CAT I, GLS and RNAV approaches to runway 32 are published, only an RNAV approach is published for runway 32R. Relevant NOTAM: A7420/19 NOTAMR A6057/19 Q) UUWV/QMRLC/IV/NBO/A/000/999/5525N03755E005 A) UUDD B) 1912130700 C) 2004302359 E) RWY 14/32 CLSD DUE TO REPAIRS. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d206ba5&opt=0 Back to Top Air ambulance crashes on takeoff from Aleutians airport ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An air ambulance crashed while taking off at a major fishing port city in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, municipal officials said Thursday. A LifeMed medevac aircraft with three people crashed about 8 a.m. after taking off from the Unalaska Airport, acting city manager Marjie Veeder said in a news release. The Beechcraft King Air aircraft ended up in the ocean between the end of the runway and Hog Island in Unalaska Bay. The three people on board were picked up by a city harbor vessel and taken to the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services Clinic, Veeder said. No serious injuries were reported, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said . "They were in good condition when they were picked up by local harbor patrol," said Petty Officer 1st Class Ali Blackburn in Juneau. Unalaska is home to Dutch Harbor, the largest fishing port in the nation by volume of seafood landed. Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed the aircraft was a Beechcraft. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The crash is the second at the airport in three months. A commuter airplane carrying 42 people, including a high school swim team, went off the runway Oct. 18 and came to a rest just short of the Bering Sea. One man was killed in the crash. The crash occurred as the pilot made a second attempt to land on the runway. Parts of a propeller blade pierced the cabin. Unalaska is about 825 miles (1,330 kilometers) west of Anchorage. LifeMed Alaska, LLC provides 24/7 critical care air ambulance services with a fleet that includes Learjets, turboprops, and helicopters, according to its website. The company is headquartered in Anchorage and has base operations in Fairbanks, Soldotna, Bethel, Palmer, Juneau and Dutch Harbor. LifeMed Alaska released the following statement related to the crash: "The pilot and two medical staff crew members were able to safely evacuate the aircraft into a life raft and were rescued within minutes by U.S. Coast Guard. All three were in good condition, were able to move under their own power and are being evaluated at Iliuliuk Family & Health Services Clinic. The Aircraft, a King Air twin engine turboprop, was being dispatched to pick up a passenger for transport. It is unknown at this time what caused the accident. According to LifeMed Alaska CEO Russ Edwards, "While taking off for a routine medical transport this morning, our aircraft experienced an unknown issue which forced an emergency water landing. Through skill, training and composure, our pilot and two crew members were able to safely evacuate from the aircraft with minimal injuries. We are extremely grateful for this outcome and are reminded that our profession requires constant vigilance and focus on safety." The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and will investigate the cause of the accident. Operations at LifeMed Alaska have been temporarily suspended. More information will be released as it becomes available." The crash is the third of an air ambulance since November. A Security Aviation pilot with a paramedic and nurse from Medevac Alaska on Nov. 29 crashed into a mountain near Cooper Landing, killing all three on board. A pilot from Resolve Aviation with two crew members from Medevac Alaska on Dec. 24 made an emergency landing onto a frozen lake in southwest Alaska near Koliganen. The airplane had dropped off a patient at New Stuyahok and was returning to Anchorage when it lost power. A helicopter transported the crew to Dillingham. https://www.webcenter11.com/content/news/Air-ambulance-crashes-on-takeoff-from-Aleutians-airport-567050421.html **************** Date: Thursday 16 January 2020 Time: 08:00 Type: Beechcraft B200 King Air Operator: LifeMed Alaska Registration: N547LM C/n / msn: BB-1642 First flight: 1998 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair Location: NW off Unalaska-Tom Madsen Airport, AK (DUT) ( United States of America) Phase: Initial climb (ICL) Nature: Ambulance Departure airport: Unalaska-Tom Madsen Airport, AK (DUT/PADU), United States of America Destination airport: Adak Airport, AK (ADK/PADK), United States of America Narrative: A Beechcraft B200 King Air, operated by LifeMed, ditched into the water after becoming airborne from runway 31 at Unalaska-Tom Madsen Airport (DUT/PADU), Alaska. The airplane ended up "400 or 500 yards" offshore in the waters of Unalaska Bay near Hog Island and sank. The three occupants were rescued. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20200116-0 Back to Top FAA should mandate safety management systems for Boeing, others: panel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An expert committee on Thursday recommended the Federal Aviation Administration require Boeing Co (BA.N) and other aircraft manufacturers to adopt new safety management tools in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. Boeing grounded its entire 737 Max fleet, halting deliveries of its best selling commercial airliner, after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in March last year. It was the second 737 Max to crash in a matter of months. A Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, 2018. The expert panel, led by a retired Air Force general and a former head of the Air Lines Pilot Association, also called for improvements in how the FAA certifies new planes. It did not back ending the long-standing practice of delegating some certification tasks to aircraft manufacturers. The panel, which was named by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April, recommended the FAA mandate Safety Management Systems (SMS) for "design and manufacturing organizations." The FAA currently requires them for airlines. The special committee report released on Thursday said "unlike the current certification system's focus on compliance, SMSs foster a holistic assessment of whether the combinations of actions such as design, procedures, and training work together to counter potential hazards." Boeing's safety culture was harshly criticized last week after it released hundreds of internal messages about the development of the 737 MAX, including one that said the plane was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." Boeing in a statement said it "will study these recommendations closely, as we continue to work with government and industry stakeholders to enhance the certification process." FAA Administrator Steve Dickson praised the recommendation to "advance the use of Safety Management Systems throughout all sectors of the aviation industry," adding that the FAA will review the findings. U.S. House Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio last month said his panel's review of the fatal crashes found "a broken safety culture within Boeing and an FAA that was unknowing, unable or unwilling to step up, regulate, and provide appropriate oversight of Boeing." The special committee said new aircraft testing "should include multiple failure mode scenarios and involve trained pilots who reflect a representation of the anticipated end-users of the product." National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt said in September that crews in the two fatal crashes "did not react in the ways Boeing and the FAA assumed they would." On the two planes that crashed, a sensor fed faulty data to a key safety system known as MCAS designed to prevent stalls that repeatedly activated, pushing the nose down. One of the software updates being implemented by Boeing will prevent the system from activating more than once before a situation has been resolved. The special committee said the FAA should propose to the International Civil Aviation Organization "the sharing of operational data internationally to enhance safety." The report also said the FAA needs an "aggressive recruitment campaign to encourage students to pursue careers at the FAA" and should address "concerns about potential undue pressure" on Boeing employees conducting FAA certification tasks. The Justice Department and Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General are both investigating the 737 MAX certification. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-737max-report/faa-should-mandate-safety-management-systems-for-boeing-others-panel-idUSKBN1ZF1GH?utm_source=applenews Back to Top GPS reception may be unavailable or unreliable to pilots due to military testing along the East Coast • The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association wrote about the advisory, stating "we consider the risks to GA (General Aviation) aircraft highly concerning." • GPS reception may be unavailable or unreliable to pilots due to military testing along the East Coast According to a flight advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration, GPS may be unreliable or unavailable due to military testing. (Source: FAAsafety.gov) WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - According to an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 4 is conducting offshore military exercises from Jan. 16-24 that could make GPS reception unavailable or unreliable in the Southeastern U.S. The dates and times of the testing can be found here. The advisory states that pilots should report any anomalies. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association wrote about the advisory on its website, stating "we consider the risks to GA (General Aviation) aircraft highly concerning." According to its report, during a similar exercise, "an aircraft lost navigation capability and did not regain it until after landing." https://www.wect.com/2020/01/16/gps-reception-may-be-unavailable-or-unreliable-pilots-due-military-testing-along-east-coast/ Back to Top China's MA60 regional airplane family to embrace 3rd member in 2020 A design sketch shows the MA700 airliner. [Photo provided to China Daily] BEIJING - China's domestically developed MA60 "Modern Ark" regional turboprop airplane family will see its third member MA700 in 2020, according to its developer Friday. The MA700 project has entered the final assembly phase. And the assembly works of aircraft for both the maiden flight and the static tests are underway, said the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The first MA700 aircraft is scheduled to roll off the production line in mid-2020, and the maiden flight is expected to take place within the year. China's MA60 "Modern Ark" regional airplane family is developed by AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The MA60 series turboprop airplane family now has two members, namely the MA60 and MA600. To date, a total of 109 MA60 and MA600 airplanes have been delivered to customers. As an upgraded version of the series, the MA700 is designed with high speed and flexible adaptability. It will be more adaptable to airports with high temperatures, high altitudes and short runways. The MA700 has received 285 intended orders from 11 customers at home and abroad, according to AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd. The MA60 turboprop airplane series comes as part of China's commitment to boost the country's capacity in developing civil airplanes through major projects of the "two trunk and two regional" aircraft. The two trunk airliner models are the C919 narrow-body and the CR929 wide-body jetliners. And the regional airplane models are the MA60 series turboprop aircraft and the ARJ21 regional jetliner. China is now the world's second-largest civil aviation market with sustained air traffic demands and expanding market size. In 2019, China's civil aviation industry saw its annual revenue reach 1.06 trillion yuan (about 154.24 billion U.S. dollars), said the latest statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The International Air Transport Association forecast that China is expected to become the world's largest by the mid-2020s. http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/17/WS5e217e9aa310128217271c88.html Back to Top Jet builder Aerion expects to fly silent supersonic planes by 2024, unlocking a $40 billion market • Aerion Supersonic CEO Tom Vice laid out his company's ambitious goals at a UBS conference on Thursday, saying the company wants to fly its silent supersonic AS2 jet by 2024. • AS2 is designed to fly at an altitude where its sonic boom will bounce off the atmosphere, "so on the ground you don't hear it," Vice said. • Aerion wants to target the private business jet market, estimating its fleet could bring in as much as $40 billion in revenue over 10 years. • "The business jet market is just ripe for disruption," Vice said. NEW YORK CITY - Supersonic air travel is only a few years from returning if a small U.S. company succeeds in developing its next-generation jet. Nevada-based Aerion expects to begin flying its AS2 supersonic jet by 2024, the company's CEO Tom Vice said on Thursday, speaking at a UBS conference in New York City. In addition to flying nearly twice as fast as a commercial aircraft, Aerion developed a patented technology it calls "boomless cruise." This means AS2 would fly without creating a sonic boom - one of many issues that plagued the supersonic Concorde jets of the past. "It allow us to fly at supersonic speeds, taking advantage of an atmospheric phenomenology called 'mach cut-off,'" Vice said. "Although we still create the sonic boom, it actually refracts off a dense layer of the atmosphere called the caustic layer and goes back up." "So on the ground you don't hear it," Vice added. Aerion has multiple partnerships with global aerospace companies, including Boeing, and wants to target the private business jet market. Vice said his company sees a market for as many as 300 aircraft over a 10-year period, bringing in as much as $40 billion in revenue. "I don't think people want to be stuck in a can at 35,000 feet for 20 hours ... [and] the business jet market is just ripe for disruption - it's only gone up 10% in speed in 60 years," Vice said. Aerion expects it will cost $4 billion total to develop AS2, with Vice saying the company has spent about $1 billion to build an engine for the jet. Aerion partnered with General Electric and uses "an off-the-shelf" engine core for AS2, the CEO said, which he believes was much less costly than developing an engine from scratch. The company's work on AS2 is already paying off, as Aerion has a $2.5 billion sales backlog for the jet. Vice expects that backlog to grow to $3.5 billion by the end of this year. "Our backlog in sales is at price of $120 million per aircraft," Vice said. Vice gave an example of the demand Aerion expects to see for AS2, noting the company recently ran a model for an investment bank. While Vice said the company has redesigned the aircraft since previously released renderings, he only showed a fuzzy image of the new design at the conference. He laughed and said to expect Aerion to unveil a new design "in the next couple of months." The next few years will be critical for realizing Aerion's vision. While the AS2 concept is finished, AS2 will then undergo preliminary design review in October, with the first aircraft beginning construction in about three years. Aerion expects to fly AS2 a year after that, aiming to enter it into commercial service by 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/16/aerions-as2-silent-supersonic-jet-aims-to-fly-by-2024.html Back to Top NASA astronaut Christina Koch celebrates her 300th day in space NASA astronaut Christina Koch has smashed another gender barrier. Koch recently surpassed her 300th consecutive day in space, which is the longest for any woman - and she's still got several weeks of orbital work to go. This milestone represents only some of the notable recent work for the 40-year-old astronaut, who is still on her first spaceflight. In October, Koch and fellow American Jessica Meir completed the first all-woman spacewalk - and the pair may finish at least three excursions together before the mission is finished. They completed a second spacewalk together on Jan. 15 and have one more scheduled for Jan. 20. Koch, who launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 14, 2019, is expected to spend a total of 328 days in space before returning to Earth on Feb. 6. During her extended stay at the orbiting laboratory, she served as a flight engineer on Expeditions 59, 60 and 61 and has completed five spacewalks. "For 300 days, I've been fortunate to be a part of something that strives to represent and benefit all humanity," Koch wrote on Twitter Jan. 9, when she passed the 300-day mark. She posted a view of Earth from the International Space Station. "As I look out and reflect on our shared world," she added, "that has been the greatest honor." Two women actors from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" recently visited NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to talk about Koch's milestone in a video posted late December to the ISS Twitter feed. "We hear you are breaking the record of the longest duration of spaceflight," said Naomi Ackie, who played Jannah. "By a woman!" added Kelly Marie Tran (who played Rose Tico). The women did simultaneous fist-pumps of celebration. "Yes!" they shouted. Ackie and Tran said they were inspired not only by the science work that Koch is doing but also by her contributions to women and to the world. "We want to be you!" Tran added. Most missions to the ISS last five or six months, but that's something NASA and the international partners want to change. The agency plans to land people on the moon in 2024 in preparation for a trip to Mars in the mid-2030s. Since the fastest way to get to Mars takes about nine months, NASA wants to add longer spaceflights to the ISS manifest to learn how the human body changes in microgravity. "Extended missions like Christina's will help scientists gather data about the effects of long-duration human spaceflight," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a tweet Jan. 9. Doctors are interested in matters such as bone mass, muscle strength and eye pressure, all of which worsen among people who spend a long time in space. More human subjects in space would allow doctors to potentially try new countermeasures to stop or slow the progression of these problems. Koch's milestone places her among a group of astronauts who have made notable ISS stays. In 2015-2016, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko spent 340 consecutive days on the ISS, smashing the previous record for that facility. And NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson had a 288-day stay between 2016 and 2017. But only a handful of folks have persisted beyond 200 days in a single space mission, and most of them were male Russian cosmonauts on the space station Mir in the 1990s. (Incidentally, the longest spaceflight ever was that of Valery Polyakov, who did a 438-day marathon on Mir in 1994-1995.) Koch - who will also celebrate her 41st birthday in space later this month - is expected to return to Earth this spring, along with two of her Expedition 61 crewmembers, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov. https://www.space.com/astronaut-christina-koch-celebrates-300-days-in-space.html Back to Top Back to Top Back to Top Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship The Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship was established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to shape the next generation of aviation researchers, honoring the late Najeeb Elias Halaby, an eminent aviator and administrator, for his vision and more than five decades of extraordinary contributions to aviation (https://ral.ucar.edu/opportunity/halaby-fellowship). The Fellowship The recipient of a Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship will spend three months (in 2020 or early 2021) in residence with NCAR's Aviation Weather Research Program, which Mr. Halaby was instrumental in establishing in the 1980s. As the nation's leader in addressing aviation weather research, NCAR plays a unique role in meeting user needs by transferring research results to operations through its Research Application Laboratory (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/). The Fellow will conduct research broadly aimed at mitigation of weather sensitivities (e.g., weather impact avoidance) on aviation. We particularly encourage applicants interested in weather impacts on emerging modes of transportation, like unmanned aerial system operations and urban air mobility. The Fellowship will provide: • a monthly stipend for three months, including temporary living expenses • round-trip travel expenses to and from Boulder, CO • travel to a conference to present results • page charges (if necessary) for one publication of key results Eligibility and Application The Halaby Fellowship targets graduate students (late Masters or early PhD level) enrolled in an aviation-relevant department or program of a domestic or international university. Interested candidates should have advanced research skills, far-reaching vision, and dedication to get things accomplished. Consideration for this Fellowship will be given to candidates based on the following submitted material: • Curriculum vitae • Proposal (maximum five pages) presenting the research to be conducted at NCAR, the anticipated outcome of that, and how the proposed effort ties into the candidate's ongoing graduate research project(s) • Contact information for three references (one of which should be the student's primary advisor) NCAR will accept applications for the Halaby Fellowship each year. Email Applications by February 28, 2020 to halabyfellowship@ucar.edu Back to Top RESEARCH SURVEY SMS for small operators: does it make sense? As part of an independent research project at Lund University, we'd like to hear from small business/private aviation operators about their experience with Safety Management Systems (SMS). Does your organisation have an SMS, and a workforce of 20 or less? Does the SMS generate value? Do you think there might be a disconnect between the SMS requirements and t he capabilities of your organisation? Considering the current lack of scientific research and peer-reviewed literature for this particular sector of aviation, this is a rather unique opportunity to share feedback in complete anonymity and to help identify any issue requiring focused attention. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey now, but also to share the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RYDPYYT Any assistance to advance the industry's understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the SMS framework will be greatly appreciated! For any question or comment, please do not hesitate to contact st1830de-s@student.lu.se. Many thanks, and best wishes for 2020! Stéphane De Wolf MSc student, Human Factors & System Safety Lund University Curt Lewi