Flight Safety Information March 13, 2020 - No. 053 In This Issue Incident: Etihad B789 at Lahore on Mar 11th 2020, lightning strike Incident: Gol B738 at Rio de Janeiro on Mar 4th 2020, engine shut down by itself, restart failed Incident: Canada Rouge A319 near Denver on Mar 11th 2020, engine rolled back and vibrated Pilot of crashed Turkish Pegasus flight did not understand guidance: report American Airlines pilot tests positive for coronavirus Report: Boeing plans to move MAX wiring before jet's return Transport Canada test pilots had questions about Boeing's 737 Max as far back as 2016 Transport safety board urged to join military accident probes (Taiwan) ICAO safety audit programme celebrates 20-year anniversary JetBlue bans passenger who tested positive for coronavirus on flight Roswell Air Center touts its ideal jet storage conditions Incident: Etihad B789 at Lahore on Mar 11th 2020, lightning strike An Etihad Boeing 787-9, registration A6-BLL performing flight EY-243 from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to Lahore (Pakistan), was on approach to Lahore's runway 36R when the aircraft received a lightning strike causing issues with the navigation and communication systems. The aircraft continued for a safe landing. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 11 hours, then was able to depart for the return flight EY-244 and returned to Abu Dhabi with a delay of 7 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d4699c4&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Gol B738 at Rio de Janeiro on Mar 4th 2020, engine shut down by itself, restart failed A Gol Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-800, registration PR-GGF performing flight G3-4805 from Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont,RJ to Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) with 106 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing through about FL140 out of Santos Dumont's runway 20L when the left hand engine shut down. The crew stopped the climb and attempted to restart the engine without success, declared emergency and diverted to Rio de Janeiro's Galeao Airport for a safe landing on runway 28 about 40 minutes after departure. Brazil's CENIPA rated the occurrence an incident and did not open an investigation. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d469655&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Canada Rouge A319 near Denver on Mar 11th 2020, engine rolled back and vibrated An Air Canada Rouge Airbus A319-100, registration C-FYJE performing flight RV-1890 from Montreal,QC (Canada) to Phoenix,AZ (USA) with 71 people on board, was enroute at FL390 about 120nm southsouthwest of Denver,CO (USA) when the left hand engine began to increasingly vibrate and rolled back. The crew worked the related checklists, informed ATC and descended the aircraft to FL300, where the left hand engne stabilized at about 50% N1 and subsequently returned to normal operation. The crew decided to divert to Denver as a precaution however, where the aircraft landed safely about 40 minutes after leaving FL390. The remainder of the flight was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Denver about 28 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ROU1890/history/20200311/1210Z/CYUL/KPHX http://avherald.com/h?article=4d468772&opt=0 Back to Top Pilot of crashed Turkish Pegasus flight did not understand guidance: report ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Dutch co-pilot of a Pegasus Airlines plane that skidded off the runway killing three passengers at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport last month did not understand guidance in Turkish and failed to brake in time, according to a report seen by Reuters. The Pegasus plane flying in from the western city of Izmir sped off the end of the wet runway and broke into three pieces after a drop of 30 meters. State media later said the flight's captain was arrested. According to a preliminary report seen by Reuters on Thursday, the control tower initially told the pilot to hold off from landing due to harsh weather. But it said the Dutch co-pilot did not understand the Turkish guidance. It said the tower then allowed the plane to land, but that the pilots did not brake in a timely manner. Officials from Pegasus were not immediately available to comment on the report. "When the speed indicator showed 57 knots, speed brakes and thrust reversers were turned off and manual braking was turned back on," the report said. "The deceleration when the first manual brake was used at a ground speed of 84 knots was not enough, therefore (the plane) ran off the runway at a speed of 60 knots," it said. The report also said that audio recordings from the flight showed the pilots panicked over possible damage after the plane was struck by lightning some six minutes before landing. https://www.yahoo.com/news/pilot-crashed-turkish-pegasus-flight-180946411.html Back to Top American Airlines pilot tests positive for coronavirus An American Airlines pilot based in Dallas has tested positive for coronavirus. American spokesman Curtis Blessing said the airline's chief medical officer and leaders in its pilots' office are in touch with the the pilot, who is based at the airline's hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. There have not been other publicized cases of U.S. airline pilots testing positive, though there have been reports of others in the travel industry testing positive, including airport medical screeners and TSA officers. "We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health officials and are coordinating with them on all required health and safety measures,'' Blessing said. Travel ban aftershocks: American, United, Delta slashing Europe flights American would not disclose whether the pilot flies international routes or where and when they last flew for American. American's pilots are represented by the Allied Pilots Association. A spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-pilot-tests-positive-002450731.html Back to Top Report: Boeing plans to move MAX wiring before jet's return The Boeing Co. is said to now be planning to move wiring bundles on the 737 MAX as part of the work it will need to have the grounded jet cleared by regulators. The Boeing Co. is said to be planning to separate certain wiring bundles on its 737 MAX to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration before the aircraft are returned to service. According to a report from Reuters, citing unnamed sources said to be familiar with the company's plans, the manufacturer believes the changes will not add new delays to what it hopes will be a mid-year return of the grounded jet. The 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two crashes in five months killed all 346 people aboard the aircraft. The wiring issue was separate from the initial software upgrades Boeing (NYSE: BA) implemented and was flagged by the FAA as part of the ongoing re-certification process. While Boeing maintained the bundles didn't need to be moved, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson confirmed this week that the agency had rejected the company's proposal to leave them in place. The FAA's contention has been that their placement was a short-circuit risk. The sources told Reuters that, following FAA approval of the new plan, Boeing will physically separate the wiring as part of work that will be needed before the grounding order is lifted. Those sources said that work could take around a week for each plane, but that some of it will be done as the hundreds of grounded jets are removed from storage. The company and the FAA declined to comment. Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in Wichita is a major supplier on the 737 MAX, building around 70 percent of the structure on the plane as part of program that drives around half of its annual sales. Spirit (NYSE: SPR) has previously said it hopes to slowly restart its own output sometime this month after production was temporarily halted to start the year as Boeing awaited re-certification. However, the local supplier has also said that those plans remain contingent on Boeing and the specific timing of the MAX's return. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2020/03/12/report-boeing-plans-to-move-max-wiring-before-jets.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo Back to Top Transport Canada test pilots had questions about Boeing's 737 Max as far back as 2016 When Transport Canada test pilots flew the 737 Max in 2016, they found the plane's automated anti-stall system unusual and raised questions about how it operated, documents showed. But the issues were never dealt with. Transport Canada test pilots raised questions about the Boeing 737 Max as far back as 2016, but the government decided to approve the plane first and address those issues later amid pressure from the manufacturer, according to internal government documents. The revelations were contained in documents made public Thursday at federal hearings probing Canada's endorsement of the deadly plane. Flawed software that forced the 737 Max into fatal nosedives has been blamed for two crashes, including one off the coast of Indonesia, which killed 189 people in late 2018, and another in Ethiopia that killed 157 people last March, including 18 Canadians. But when Transport Canada test pilots flew the 737 Max in 2016, they found the plane's automated anti-stall system unusual and raised questions about how it operated, the documents show. They didn't realize at the time that they were looking at the MCAS, or the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system - the software behind the two disasters. However, when Transport Canada began asking for clarifications on how the new system worked, and why the 737 Max didn't require a new operating certificate because it flew differently than previous models, Boeing sidestepped the issue. The company said in 2017 it was in a rush to get the plane certified because it was set to deliver planes to WestJet, Air Canada and Sunwing Airlines in a matter of months. "Please note that in order to meet its delivery commitments to the Canadian operators, Boeing has requested Transport Canada to issue [the plane's airworthiness certificate] in June 2017," the documents say. "To avoid delivery delays to our operators," Transport Canada agreed to approve the plane, and stated that the concerns raised would "remain open." Transport Canada then approved the plane, and the questions about the software weren't dealt with. The documents raise new questions about why Transport Canada didn't ground the plane due to safety concerns early on. Conservative MP Todd Doherty, who discussed the documents at the hearing, told the federal Transportation Committee that it would have taken only one country to raise alarms about irregularities with the plane, rather than rely on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's certification of the Max. In a November, 2018, document - dated a few weeks after the first crash - Transport Canada asked Boeing for more information about the software, even as the plane was allowed to continue operating. "Transport Canada requests further details to understand whether the potential exists for any single failure ... to cause an inadvertent nose down pitch command from the stall identification system, which is considered to be catastrophic," the documents say. It was at that point that Transport Canada learned more about the MCAS, which was intended to stabilize the 737 Max but could force it downward if it was fed incorrect data from a malfunctioning sensor. The emergence of the documents at the hearings led to a heated exchange between Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Mr. Doherty, who asked the minister why the plane was allowed to fly if there were outstanding questions from test pilots, which Boeing had not resolved. Mr. Garneau and other Transport Canada officials said the documents were from a "Concern Paper" filed by the regulator to Boeing, but contended that the issues raised by the test pilots were better characterized as "questions." "I'm aware of the Concern letter and I'm also aware that we had decided that we would still accept it as an ongoing open file," Mr. Garneau said. "It's not necessarily saying we're not going to accept this aircraft, we're saying there are some things that we need to better understand." Mr. Doherty said the test pilots were correct to flag their concerns, but Transport Canada failed to follow through on getting answers about the automated software, which could have saved lives. "It took one person to say, 'Wait a second, we're not getting the answers to the questions that we had,' " Mr. Doherty said. Under decades-old aviation agreements, Transport Canada relied heavily on the FAA to scrutinize the 737 Max, and has the option to validate that regulator's work. However, congressional hearings in the United States have shown that the FAA outsourced much of its oversight of the new plane's design to Boeing's own engineers. That left Canada and other countries uninformed about the fatal MCAS system. "Not all of the information was provided to us on the MCAS; that was something that we found out later," Mr. Garneau said. "It makes us realize that we'll have to be quite careful and pay attention to these things during future certification processes." Mr. Garneau said the government is now examining its aircraft certification system, and has promised a revamp of how it approves new planes. Proposed regulations that would have seen Canada surrender additional scrutiny to the FAA, including test flights, are now being reversed, and the government intends to build more safeguards into the aircraft vetting process. "This isn't just about the 737 Max," NDP MP Taylor Bachrach said. "It seems to be about a more systemic problem of self-regulation and a lack of due diligence." Pressed by opposition MPs at the hearing over whether he trusts the FAA, which has been heavily criticized by U.S. lawmakers, Mr. Garneau said Transport Canada has learned that it needs to "be a little more skeptical in the future. "I think that we have all learned in the last year some very important lessons," Mr. Garneau said. Mr. Garneau, who met with the families of the 18 Canadians who died in the Ethiopian crash last month, said he regretted not arranging a meeting sooner. The minister agreed to a meeting after The Globe and Mail reported that the families had been asking for nearly a year. "I apologized to them personally for not meeting with them earlier," Mr. Garneau said. "The culture at Transport Canada ... is one of dealing with technical issues. We should have been more sensitive to the fact that there were humans also involved here." https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-transport-canada-test-pilots-had-questions-about-boeings-737-max-as/ Back to Top Transport safety board urged to join military accident probes (Taiwan) The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board should be more actively involved in the investigation of accidents related to military aircraft after a second Black Hawk helicopter crash in January, a lawmaker said yesterday at a meeting of the legislature's Transportation Committee. The Jan. 2 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash killed eight military personnel on board, including then-chief of the general staff General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴). In its investigation report released on Feb. 14, the Ministry of National Defense attributed the accident to the weather, terrain and human factors. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) questioned the validity of the report, as the investigation was conducted by the air force itself. Modern technology has enabled pilots to set a safe operational altitude and flight route, as well as obtain instant weather information in flight, Lin said, adding that the weather radar would have informed the pilots where thick clouds had formed along the route. "If flying through the clouds would cause a helicopter to crash, then the air force might as well only allow them to fly if it is sunny," Lin said. The board should do more than just decoding information from flight data and cockpit voice recorders, also known as "black boxes," he said. "People across the nation were pained to hear that high-ranking military officials died in the helicopter crash. How can anyone expect the truth behind the crash to surface if the air force was also responsible for conducting the investigation? It was the same reason that we did not let the Taiwan Railways Administration [TRA] investigate the Puyuma Express derailment in 2018," he said. Lin said he also disagreed with the ministry's solution to the problem, which is to have experienced air force pilots and pilot trainers operate the helicopter if it is carrying top military officials. The board was established in August last year to have an independent third-party investigate the causes of major transportation accidents in a fair, just and open manner, he said, adding that the board should speak up. Some of the board's members should be pilots as well, he said. In response, board Chairman Young Hong-tsu (楊宏智) said that the air force had formed a committee to investigate the helicopter crash, but it did not ask board officials to attend the committee meetings. The board, previously known as the Aviation Safety Council, signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry 10 years ago, allowing the board to assist the ministry when there is an accident involving military aircraft. Young said the data collected in the past two decades showed that 80 percent of aviation accidents were caused by human errors. However, the board is only authorized to investigate accidents involving civil aircraft, he said. Young also dismissed a report that the ministry is investigating if the board had leaked crucial information to the news media. The source of the false report was an academic institution, which meant to sway public opinion through the messages it posted on Facebook, he said. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/03/13/2003732614 Back to Top ICAO safety audit programme celebrates 20-year anniversary The USOAP programme continues to be one of the most visible that ICAO has launched in the last two decades. MONTREAL - During a special ceremony conducted at yesterday's fourth meeting of the ICAO Council's 219th Session, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano accepted a framed gift from the UN agency's Secretary General, Dr. Fang Liu, commemorating the 20th Anniversary last year of ICAO's Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP). Dr. Liu highlighted that "the one constant throughout the programme's history has been its commitment to adapt to achieve its objectives through continuously more effective and efficient approaches," and that she looked forward to "the improvements now being considered to enhance the efficiency of the USOAP while maintaining safeguards to guarantee its independence, universality, standardization and global acceptance." Mr. Sciacchitano appreciated that the prestigious ICAO programme had completed close to 900 activities since its inception, of which more than 450 were audits, adding that he looked forward to it "continuing to evolve to meet the changing needs of ICAO Member States in our rapidly innovating air transport environment, and to provide an invaluable service in helping countries to identify and address areas of deficient safety oversight performance, including through the cooperation and assistance of other States as coordinated through ICAO." The USOAP programme continues to be one of the most visible that ICAO has launched in the last two decades. Its eight Critical Elements (CEs) have provided an aligned set of safety oversight categories for the aviation community to work with, and the Effective Implementation (EI) metric ICAO uses to measure safety oversight performance under the USOAP is just as widely understood as an important and objective global aviation safety indicator. Through the evolution of the USOAP CMA, ICAO aims to maintain the programme's status as a global aviation monitoring system of ICAO Member States' capabilities for safety oversight, aircraft accident and incident investigation, and their maturity in implementing State Safety Programmes (SSPs). It recently initiated a new SSP Implementation Assessment cycle to this end, and has also been adapted to audit cooperative regional safety oversight organizations (RSOOs). "These and further transformations will strengthen the programme and progress it in line with the evolving safety strategy of ICAO," Dr. Liu commented, "while also resulting in a more efficient programme supported by enhanced technologies, structures, and management systems." https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/icao-safety-audit-programme-celebrates-20-year-anniversary Back to Top JetBlue bans passenger who tested positive for coronavirus on flight JetBlue has banned a passenger who tested positive for the coronavirus from flying on the airline again after he boarded a flight from JFK Airport to Palm Beach, Florida, without waiting for test results first, an airline rep told The Post. The man received a text that he was infected with the bug after he boarded Flight 253, which landed in Florida shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, Palm Beach County health chief Dr. Alina Alonso said Thursday. He and his wife were removed from the plane, which was delayed for several hours as the rest of the passengers were given instructions on what measures to take and the plane was sanitized. "The health and safety of our customers and crewmembers is our first priority. In reviewing last night's event, we determined the customer boarded our flight knowing he was awaiting results for a coronavirus test without disclosing it to anyone at JetBlue," airline spokesman Derek Dombrowski told The Post in an email. "Consistent with CDC guidance, we ask all customers who are not feeling well, who believe they may have coronavirus or who are awaiting test results to avoid travel until they are cleared by a medical professional," he said. "Last night's event put our crewmembers, customers and federal and local officials in an unsettling situation that could have easily been avoided, and as such, this customer will not be permitted to fly on JetBlue in the future." One of the 114 passengers told WPTV that the man was taken to the back of the plane. "He was wearing masks and gloves. His wife was sitting in the same row as me and mentioned to others that he wasn't feeling well," Scott Rodman said. "She said he had gotten a phone call with his test results right before we had taken off, implying that he had a positive test but not actually saying it." He added: "The guy was sitting, you know, five feet from me, and his wife was sitting two feet from me, so no, I'm not feeling great about it." The Florida Health Department said it worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to conduct an extensive epidemiological investigation to determine which passengers may have had close contact with the individual. "Any individual who is a close contact with this individual will be informed to self-monitor and will be contacted further by the Palm Beach County Health Department. The individual who tested positive is isolated at this time," agency spokesman Alex Shaw told The Post. https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/jetblue-bans-passenger-who-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-on-flight/ Back to Top Roswell Air Center touts its ideal jet storage conditions ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - With the novel coronavirus wreaking havoc on commercial air travel, the Roswell International Air Center is looking to become a destination for airlines to park their largest planes. The air center, in conjunction with the Roswell mayor's office, sent out a letter encouraging airlines and other aviation companies to consider this site as a destination during the period of uncertainty. Mark Bleth, deputy director of the air center, said the facility's uniquely large runways, abundance of concrete storage space, and semi-arid climate makes it an ideal fit for companies to park large jets like the Airbus A380 until demand for flights reverts to pre-virus levels. Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh added that keeping the aircraft in working order would require additional employees, which he said could help diversify the economy of the oil and gas-dependant region. "If we can promote this and grow this, it gives us an additional area of commercial activity." Kintigh said. https://www.abqjournal.com/1431001/roswell-air-center-touts-its-ideal-jet-storage-conditions.html Curt Lewis