Flight Safety Information May 4, 2020 - No. 089 In This Issue Incident: Envoy E145 at Chicago on Apr 29th 2020, stuck windscreen wiper Incident: American B738 at Austin on Apr 30th 2020, bird strike MD Helicopters MD 500E (369E) - Fatal Accident (Houston) Bomb threat against China Airlines flight closes Anchorage airport The Aviation Industry Can't Give In to the Temptation to Compete on Safety Allegiant Air to provide masks, gloves and wipes to passengers Hong Kong Airport Is Testing Full-body Disinfectant Machines FACE MASKS TO BECOME COMPULSORY FOR AIR TRAVEL Alaska's RavnAir Group throws in the towel Bloody brawl breaks out on Spirit Airlines flight over noise complaint LATAM Airlines Exits The oneworld Alliance Flybe administrators work to sell aircraft support operations Dreams grounded: Cadet pilots face uncertain future as coronavirus turns shortage to surplus Norwegian Air shareholders back $1 billion rescue plan SpaceX aces last Dragon parachute test before crew launch SCSI Online Human Factors in Accident Investigation Course Call for Nominations For 2020 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award On-line CRM Training Sessions Incident: Envoy E145 at Chicago on Apr 29th 2020, stuck windscreen wiper An Envoy Embraer ERJ-145, registration N673AE performing flight MQ-3895/AA-3895 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Springfield,MO (USA) with 11 people on board, was climbing out of Chicago's O'Hare's runway 28R when upon contacting departure the crew reported a windscreen wiper was stuck in an improper position, they were working on the issue but were continuing along the departure route. The aircraft continued the climb to 10000 feet, then levelled off and returned to Chicago for a safe landing on runway 27L about 40 minutes after departure. The occurrence aircraft returned to service 15 hours after landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL3895/history/20200429/2155Z/KORD/KSGF http://avherald.com/h?article=4d6bd4b6&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American B738 at Austin on Apr 30th 2020, bird strike An American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N842NN performing flight AA-1396 from Miami,FL to Austin,TX (USA), was on final approach to Austin's runway 17L when birds impacted the aircraft. The aircraft continued for a safe landing. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT STRUCK BIRDS ON FINAL DAMAGING LEFT WING LANDING LIGHT." https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1396/history/20200501/0100Z/KMIA/KAUS http://avherald.com/h?article=4d6aff3e&opt=0 Back to Top MD Helicopters MD 500E (369E) - Fatal Accident (Houston) Date: 02-MAY-2020 Time: c 02:03 LT Type: MD Helicopters MD 500E (369E) Owner/operator: Houston Police Department Registration: N8375F C/n / msn: 0586E Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Greenspoint, N Houston, Harris County, TX - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Survey Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: A Houston Police Department MD Helicopter MD 500E (369E) helicopter crashed into an unoccupied building in an apartment complex. Both police officers were injured and had to be cut from the wreckage. One police observer (Tactical Flight Officer)died about four hours later from the injuries sustained in the crash. It happened just before 0200 in the 17000 block of Imperial Valley near Benmar in the Greenspoint area of North Houston. The helicopter was being used to investigate reports of a body floating in a bayou nearby. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/235661 Back to Top Bomb threat against China Airlines flight closes Anchorage airport The Anchorage airport, Alaska's largest, temporarily shut on Saturday to inbound traffic because of a bomb threat against a China Airlines cargo flight bound for Asia. The cargo plane diverted to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport early in the morning after leaving Seattle, airport officials said. No bomb was found and the airport was reopened shortly before noon, officials said. The plane was searched in a secure, remote section of the airport, the airport said in a statement, with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Anchorage Police Department. "After extensive investigation, no explosive device was located," the airport's police and fire department said in a statement. "Investigation at the airport has been completed, however, the investigation into the source of the threat continues. The FBI does not believe there is any continuing threat to our community as a result of this incident." The Anchorage Daily News said the plane was headed to Taipei, Taiwan and the threat had been called into the Port of Seattle, quoting an FBI spokesman who said investigators were still trying to determine the source of the threat. China Airlines, Taiwan's largest carrier, said in a statement the flight had already taken off for Taipei when it was informed of the threat by Seattle airport. The plane was then diverted to Anchorage. The crew were taken to a hotel to rest while police searched the aircraft and determined nothing unusual, it added. The aircraft is expected to land in Taipei late Sunday evening, China Airlines said. Anchorage Airport is one of the world's top five air-cargo hubs. It ranks second in the nation for weight of landed cargo. It ranks 58th in passenger travel among US airports. While passenger flights have been sharply curtailed during the coronavirus pandemic, air cargo operations are considered by the state to be essential and have continued. Flights that could not land in Anchorage on Saturday morning were advised to consider diverting to the airport in Fairbanks, another cargo hub. https://www.yahoo.com/news/bomb-threat-against-china-airlines-012258373.html Back to Top The Aviation Industry Can't Give In to the Temptation to Compete on Safety A jet flying under dark skies and over a storm-tossed ocean was not the best idea for an aircraft advertisement, but in 1999, Airbus was desperate. Its four-engine, 300-seat jetliner, the A340, was losing sales to Boeing's 777 twin engine jet, so some of the European jet maker's less gifted communicators got the bright idea of producing an ad showing exactly this frightening scene, with the caption "If you're over the middle of the Pacific, you want to be in the middle of four engines." Some people might have been scared by this ill-advised ad campaign, but targeted customers-airlines in the market for aircraft-were deeply annoyed. Airbus had violated one of the sacrosanct (if unwritten) rules in aviation: Thou shalt not compete on safety. Airlines and other aviation companies were extremely critical. Gordon Bethune, the respected head of Continental Airlines at the time, told Airbus that the ad "makes it more unlikely we would put our confidence in you or your products." The ad was withdrawn. Bizarrely, Airbus tried a watered-down version of the ad ("A340-4 engines 4 long haul") three years later and was again roundly denounced. Since that ill-fated campaign to raise doubts about the wisdom of twin-engined wide-body planes, the industry has reverted to its previous reluctance to cast stones at each other on safety grounds. Regulators and watchdog groups occasionally call out airlines or manufacturers for transgressions, but their competitors don't try to capitalize on these to gain market share. The primary reason for this is simple: Nobody in the industry wants to scare the flying public. Instead, the consistent message from everyone has been that flying is safe, that regulators have the authority to keep it safe, that the system works. Through the recent 737 Max controversy, nobody in the industry-not Airbus, not airlines that opted not to buy the plane-has alluded to Boeing's problems as part of a sales pitch. Airbus and other manufacturers instead point to lessons learned from past disasters and how this body of knowledge created the safest form of travel yet devised. And I am guessing you have never heard an airline boast of how many millions of people it may have flown without a crash. But this injunction against competing on safety may be sorely tested in the post-COVID-19 era. Following past market shocks, such as 9/11 or the 2008 financial meltdown, global air travel demand fell but recovered quickly, and declined by only 2 to 3 percent on an annual basis, according to the Airline Monitor. COVID-19 has hurt the industry in a far worse way. If we make a miraculous (and not very likely) fourth-quarter recovery, the International Air Transport Association says demand this year will fall 48 percent worldwide from 2019. As of this writing, it's down about 95 percent, according to the Transportation Security Administration. As the pandemic eases (I hope) and with it travel restrictions, quarantines, and lockdowns, people will gradually resume flying. They might do so nervously, and tentatively. Most of them won't fear engine failures, pilot error, or suicidal terrorists. They will fear one another, eyeing every fellow passenger as a potential pathogen host. And they will fear their tray tables, their armrests, and all other surfaces that could harbor the virus over the course of a few flights. Hence the conundrum. Airlines are reflexively tribal when it comes to closing ranks around the safety of flying, at least what we traditionally think of as safety. Airlines are also accustomed to competing against one another on the basis of comfort and spacing between seating; business class offerings on long flights in recent years have boasted of separate compartments, and screens between seats. Now suddenly, competing on the basis of how isolated your business class pod is, or the width of your coach class seat, can easily seem like a safety and health claim-a knock on the competition as being not just less comfortable, but less safe. Or take competing technologies and techniques airlines are embracing to deep clean and disinfect their planes. Will it be fair game for one airline to champion its approach over another's? The temptation will arise not only because of the blurred line between safety and comfort, but also out of desperation. The entire airline industry system will likely suffer from serious overcapacity for years to come-too many carriers with too many jets chasing too few passengers. How far will airlines be willing to go to reassure these passengers? More worryingly, how far might they go to cast doubt on their competitors' safety standards? This could all start at the bottom end of the market. Because ultra-low-cost airlines-think Ryanair or Spirit, among many others-depend on passenger seating density to achieve low fares, they will be quick to advertise any remediation they take to accommodate concerns about spacing, such as filtration systems or higher jet cleaning frequencies. If they can't advertise these kinds of remedial pandemic safety methods, consumers may not trust them anytime soon. It's one thing to sign up for an armrest battle with a seatmate spilling over into your seat in the best of times to save a few bucks; it's an entirely different calculus in a pandemic-focused environment. At the other end of the aviation spectrum, we might see business jet charter providers, or other private aviation market players, break the code by suggesting this is no time to be boarding planes with hundreds of other passengers (and using large public terminals). The cost of private aviation means it only competes directly with scheduled air service for a very select clientele. But it would still be an unwelcome development if private services directly advertised their virtues with references to the pandemic. The reasons the aviation industry hasn't historically competed on safety are still valid: Implying that competitors are less safe undermines passenger confidence in the entire system and will be a lose-lose over time. Instead, the industry needs to work together to ensure safety around clear, shared standards. Whatever measures are adapted for passenger safety-minimum space requirements, air filtration and disinfectant techniques, new seating configurations, cabin cleaning intervals, boarding procedure, pre-flight passenger testing, etc.-need to apply to all airlines equally. If an airline wants to exceed these standards, that's fine. It can do so quietly without trying to upcharge for them or gain market share as a result, much like how airlines currently don't boast of how much training their pilots may get above what's legally required. The only question is where these shared standards come from. The International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization may play a role here, as might national industry groups such as Airlines for America. The industry may approach the problem collectively. Or perhaps ad hoc groups will emerge to propose answers to specific safety challenges, such as this proposal for preflight passenger testing. Finding common ground is a far better idea than letting individual entities develop their own solutions (and inevitably using these solutions for a competitive edge). Without such universal standards, the COVID-19 pandemic's devastation of commercial aviation could prove to be deeper and lasting than it needs to be. And if anyone in the industry tries to gain short-term profit or market share by promising passengers higher safety standards, they will deserve the same scorn Airbus's A340 ad was met with in 1999. https://slate.com/technology/2020/05/aviation-industry-coronavirus-competition-safety.html Back to Top Allegiant Air to provide masks, gloves and wipes to passengers LAS VEGAS (KLAS) - Allegiant Air is now joining other airlines in adding more safety measures by offering masks to its passengers. In an email sent to customers Sunday, the airline, headquartered in Las Vegas, announced a new health and safety program. Beginning this week, Allegiant will provide personal health and safety kits to every passenger that boards their flights. Kits include: • single-use face mask • pair of non-latex disposable gloves • cleaning wipes Crew members will also be required to wear masks on board. The announcement comes after other airlines, such as JetBlue, announced earlier in the week that they would require their passengers to wear masks. "Our commitment to you includes cleaning and disinfecting our aircraft to the highest possible standard, exceeding guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and from Airbus, our aircraft manufacturer. And we don't just clean - we protect all surfaces, routinely treating our planes with an advanced antimicrobial protectant that kills viruses, germs and bacteria on contact for 14 days." SCOTT SHELDON, ALLEGIANT CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER The airline also notes the air quality and purity in their aircrafts exceeds HEPA standards due to a state-of-the-art VOC filtration. Back in March, Allegiant Air announced the reduction of their flight schedule "significantly" due to the impact coronavirus had had across the nation. "The coming weeks and months will undoubtedly bring many changes, as communities across the country begin the process of safely re-opening, and events and occasions we've all been looking forward to are rescheduled. As your plans develop, please know we'll be with you on your journey, seeing you safely on your way." https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/allegiant-air-to-provide-masks-gloves-and-wipes-to-passengers/ Back to Top Hong Kong Airport Is Testing Full-body Disinfectant Machines That Clean Passengers' Clothing and Bodies The machine sanitizes anyone who steps inside in 40 seconds. In an effort to prevent further spread of coronavirus, Hong Kong International Airport is testing a new machine that would effectively sanitize passengers head to toe. The CLeanTech machine acts as a full-body disinfectant, killing bacteria on people's bodies and clothing. The cleaning, which takes 40 seconds, uses an antimicrobial coating on the interior surface of the machine as well as sanitizing spray for "instant disinfection," according to a press release shared by the airport. The machine is kept at "negative pressure to prevent cross-contamination between the outside and inside environment." Anyone who steps inside first goes through a temperature check. The machine is currently being used by airport staff who specifically handle public health issues for arriving passengers there. "The safety and wellbeing of airport staff and passengers are always our first priority," Steven Yiu, the deputy director for service delivery of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), said in a statement. "Although air traffic has been impacted by the pandemic, the AA spares no effort in ensuring that the airport is a safe environment for all users. We will continue to look into new measures to enhance our cleaning and disinfection work." More than 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Hong Kong, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the virus. In addition to the full-body machine, the Hong Kong airport has introduced other cleaning measures to assure passengers. The AA said it was piloting an invisible antimicrobial coating sprayed in all passenger facilities, including high-touch surfaces like check-in kiosks and baggage carts. And cleaning robots equipped with ultraviolet light and air sterilizers are being deployed to public areas. According to the AA, the robots can sterilize up to 99.99 percent of bacteria in the air and on surfaces in 10 minutes. The cleaning efforts come as air travel has been severely stymied by the spread of coronavirus and changes will likely be necessary going forward to assuage passengers who fly. https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/hong-kong-airport-full-body-machines-coronavirus-disinfecting Back to Top FACE MASKS TO BECOME COMPULSORY FOR AIR TRAVEL Despite questionable medical benefits, passengers will be told to wear face coverings Face coverings are set to become mandatory for airline passengers - even though medical opinion is sceptical of the potential benefits. Airlines and airports are demanding that internationally agreed measures are in place when aviation starts to recover from the near-standstill caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The industry fears that many prospective passengers will be deterred from travelling if they believe flying places them at risk of contracting the virus from fellow travellers. The hope is that the universal use of face coverings will restore confidence. At present, passenger numbers at airports and on most flights are so low that maintaining separation is generally achievable - though not at the security search area, passport control and departure gates. When numbers increase, imposing a two-metre social-distancing rule would be virtually impossible in an airport or plane without destroying the economics of aviation. Heathrow airport is calling for a "common international standard for safe air travel". The UK government, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the International Civil Aviation Organisation have yet to decide on precautions for flying while Covid-19 remains a threat. Public Health England is unconvinced about the public use of face coverings, saying: "Face masks play a very important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals, but there's very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use outside of these clinical settings." The World Health Organisation (WHO) goes one step further and cautions: "The wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risk." WHO warns that wearing a mask can create a "false sense of security, leading to potentially less adherence to other preventive measures such as physical distancing and hand hygiene". Nevertheless, increasingly impatient airlines and airports are set to impose their own rules on hygiene. Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, East Midlands and Stansted, will this week set out what it calls "various new safety measures" to deal with coronavirus. The Independent understands the pilot programme will include a requirement for passengers to wear non-medical face-coverings while passing through the airport. A spokesperson for MAG said of the measures: "They are designed to help the small number of passengers currently making essential journeys through our airports feel safer and more confident about flying at this time. "We will be providing confirmation of exact guidance for passengers, to allow them to fully prepare for their journey, before the measures are put in place." An increasing number of airlines have made wearing a face covering compulsory. Canada insists all passengers must carry a suitable covering, though it is not compulsory to wear it during the entire journey. Some airlines are also leaving middle seats free to keep passengers further apart. But Ryanair - Europe's biggest budget airline - has criticised the concept. "This empty middle seat measure is wholly ineffective and does not comply with two-metre social-distancing rules," a spokesperson said. "We need effective health measures that work, such as wearing face masks and/or monitoring body temperature." But the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control describes temperature checks at airports as "not very effective in preventing the spread of the virus, especially when people do not have symptoms". The organisation says: "It is generally considered more useful to provide those arriving at airports with clear information explaining what to do if they develop symptoms after arrival." Separately, passengers on Eurostar will be required to wear face coverings from the start of service on Monday, 4 May. The international train operator said: "Passengers must wear a face mask or face covering at our stations and on board in line with guidelines announced by the French and Belgian governments. "Any type of mask is suitable as long as it effectively covers your nose and mouth. "If you don't have a mask you may be refused travel on our services. We'd like to advise you that fines may be imposed in France and Belgium if you're not wearing a mask." https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-face-mask-air-travel-passengers-airlines-a9496451.html Back to Top Alaska's RavnAir Group throws in the towel RavnAir Group, the owner of PenAir (KS, Anchorage Ted Stevens), Corvus Airlines (7H, Anchorage Ted Stevens), Hageland Aviation Services (H6, Saint Mary's), and Frontier Flying Service (FTA, Fairbanks Int'l), has proposed to sell all of its assets to repay debts, thus admitting that it does not intend to relaunch after restructuring, the Alaska Public Radio has reported. The plan has yet to be approved by the court overseeing the group's Chapter 11 proceedings. All RavnAir Group airlines suspended operations in early April 2020, facing an 80-90% drop in passenger demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group, which owned 72 aircraft and employed around 1,300 staff around Alaska, had USD90 million in debts at the time. The airline said in a court filing that it was unable to secure any federal funds under the CARES Act - neither for payroll support nor for general purposes. Any loans would only be possible if the airline came up with a plan to repay its debt, which was not attainable. If the court approves the group's liquidation plans, all of its assets, including aircraft, will be transferred to a supervised liquidation fund and then sold. The approval would also immediately result in RavnAir Group and all of its subsidiaries being dissolved. Despite operating exclusively within Alaska, the group is incorporated in Delaware, and court proceedings take place there. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Corvus Airlines owns nine Dash 8-100s and PenAir one Saab 340B. The remainder of the group's aircraft are rotary-wing or fixed-wing under 19 seats. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/89788-alaskas-ravnair-group-throws-in-the-towel Back to Top Bloody brawl breaks out on Spirit Airlines flight over noise complaint A Spirit Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Detroit was forced to make an emergency landing in Des Moines after a passenger was pummeled when he complained that his fellow fliers were making too much noise while he was trying to sleep, according to reports. Flight 709 made the unscheduled stop in Iowa on Thursday after the fight, which left the passenger badly beaten, according to clickondetroit.com. "We were in shock, really. We couldn't believe it was happening," a woman aboard told the news outlet. "It was really scary. I had my kids with me and everybody was like, 'Oh my God!'" The woman said passengers called on flight attendants to end the fisticuffs. "Everyone was like, 'Why aren't you doing anything?' They were like, 'We don't get paid enough to deal with this,'" the woman recalled. After the plane landed in Des Moines, the attackers changed out of their bloody clothing. "They went and changed their clothes before the marshals came," she said. "They hurried up and ran to the bathroom because they had blood all over their clothes and they didn't want to be recognized." Passengers were shocked that the people involved in the fracas were allowed to board the flight after the two-hour delay, the outlet reported. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said one passenger was escorted off the plane, KETV reported. "We did not arrest anyone. Pretty unique situation. It was determined that the incident took place over Nebraska, so DMPD has no jurisdiction. At the crew's request, we escorted one passenger off the plane, and it continued on to Detroit," he said. "He was free to go. It appears that he was the victim of the assault but initiated the dispute on the flight. It started because he wanted to sleep and he protested other people, including a flight attendant, for talking too loudly," Parizek added. The woman who witnessed the flight said she also was shocked that the flight was packed after Spirit told her they would distance passengers amid coronavirus concerns. "They didn't clean the blood," she said. "Sat there for two hours, everyone sucking everyone's coronavirus." Spirit did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://nypost.com/2020/05/04/brawl-breaks-out-on-spirit-airlines-flight-over-noise-complaint/ Back to Top LATAM Airlines Exits The oneworld Alliance As of May 1st, LATAM Airlines has departed the oneworld alliance. This leaves oneworld without a South American member. However, LATAM is not yet joining another alliance. Instead, the airline is continuing to build a new partnership with Delta Air Lines. LATAM departs oneworld- how we got here In 2019, Delta Air Lines and LATAM announced a massive new partnership. This came after years of LATAM working with American Airlines on a relationship that kept experiencing regulatory hurdles. Since the carrier sought to deepen relations with a US airline, management had to look elsewhere for a new collaboration. While United had Avianca and Copa, Delta only had Aerolineas Argentinas and GOL. Neither are strong players in the continent. As a result, LATAM was an appealing partner for Delta. As part of the deal, Delta took over some of LATAM's existing and future Airbus A350 aircraft while investing $1.9 billion into the carrier for a 20% equity stake. However, with Delta's stake, it was clear that the airline would depart the oneworld alliance. But, it would not yet join another alliance. Departing an alliance takes time and is a careful unraveling of partnerships and reciprocal benefits. While LATAM will no longer be a partner with American Airlines, it will continue to work with some other airlines that are oneworld members- such as British Airways and Qantas. Severing the ties with American, however, was incredibly important since both Delta and American are major rivals in the United States. The airline drama builds There are few industries in the world as reactive as the airline industry. Once Delta and LATAM announced their partnership, American and its partners got to work. IAG announced it was purchasing Air Europa, and, as a result, Air Europa will depart Skyteam. Then, American and IAG teamed up to launch new flights from Boston- a city where Delta has been expanding significantly in recent years. And American Airlines upped its South American schedules before announcing a new partnership with GOL. That was not all for oneworld. The alliance recruited Alaska Airlines, and American announced the launch of two new long-haul routes out of Seattle- a Delta hub. In response, Delta also announced it would start a new route to London to compete with American out of Seattle. Will LATAM join Skyteam? LATAM has no interest in joining Skyteam at this time. In the future, it may be open to the opportunity. Delta has, in recent years, preferred to deepen ties with carriers through partnerships both inside and outside the alliance. Skyteam already has a South American carrier in Aerolineas Argentinas. But, the Argentinian flag carrier's network is not as extensive as LATAM's, which has hubs in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay. Delta will have significant sway over how LATAM broadens its partnerships in the future. While American Airlines and British Airways are proud members of the oneworld alliance, Delta has not been terribly enthusiastic about being a Skyteam member. The Atlanta-based carrier could push Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic toward a new partnership with LATAM leading the South American airline to end its ties with IAG without necessarily asking LATAM To join Skyteam. https://simpleflying.com/latam-oneworld-exit/ Back to Top Flybe administrators work to sell aircraft support operations Administrators of collapsed UK regional carrier Flybe are finalising the sale of its aircraft support operation, Flybe Aviation Services, which has continued to trade. The EY administrators, in a statement of proposals, say they are aiming to complete the transaction "in the coming days" after receiving offers for the division. Flybe Aviation Services is based in Exeter and has European approvals supporting various aircraft types including Embraer ERJs and E-Jets, Bombardier CRJs and turboprops, ATRs and a number of others. The administrators state that they also plan to sell a maintenance function once it is no longer needed to service the remaining Flybe fleet. Flybe's maintenance approval was restored on 10 March, five days after the carrier ceased operations, in order for the administrators to preserve the fleet of 65 aircraft. Leases were terminated after the airline failed but return of the aircraft has been "hampered" by the fleet's not being in the condition required, the administrators state, with a need for a "significant amount" of asset swaps to restore them. Lessors and financiers of these aircraft have agreed to cover costs arising from the maintenance. "The current market for [aircraft] is significantly depressed and current offers have been markedly low against valuation," the administrators add, and reseller options are being considered. Engines are also being marketed, some of would need removing from aircraft before sale. Flybe's operating loss for the fiscal year to 31 March reached £215 million, the statement of approvals reveals, around the same level as its market capitalisation when the company undertook its initial public offering in 2010. It adds that - unsurprisingly - unsecured creditors will not receive any return from the company. Total unsecured claims have reached at least £317 million, with only £600,000 available for distribution, meaning that even the typical investment of about £100 would return just £0.20, less than the cost of postage to inform the creditor. https://www.flightglobal.com/mro/flybe-administrators-work-to-sell-aircraft-support-operations/138205.article Back to Top Dreams grounded: Cadet pilots face uncertain future as coronavirus turns shortage to surplus SYDNEY/MONTREAL/SEOUL (Reuters) - Mark, 34, quit his job as a town planner in London last year to start flight-training school, buoyed by a conditional offer of employment with budget carrier easyJet at a time when the airline industry was desperately short of pilots. The coronavirus pandemic has changed all that, with carriers furloughing pilots by the thousands and airlines including easyJet, Delta Air Lines Inc and Germany's Lufthansa forecasting they will be smaller for years until demand fully returns. "It is like almost an entire career pulled from under your feet," said Mark, who declined to provide his last name due to concerns about his future prospects. He had expected to complete his 109,000 pound ($136,000), 18-month training programme in December but now faces uncertainty over the timing due to lockdowns. He remains in the dark about whether easyJet will still need new pilots when he completes his training or if he will be forced to look at other airlines or return to his old career. An easyJet spokeswoman said the airline had instigated a recruitment freeze due to the pandemic impact which reduced the need for new pilots. "We are continuing to review our pipeline of those cadet pilots set to join easyJet in the coming months and as soon as the situation changes we plan to prioritise roles for them," she said. The crisis marks a sharp reversal from recent years when some airlines had been paying sign-on bonuses of $25,000 to $30,000 to lure pilots, said Andre Allard, president of Montreal-based aviation sector recruitment agency AeroPersonnel. "We used to run after the candidates," he said. "Now they are running after us." Two years ago, some regional airlines grounded planes for lack of pilots and carriers such as Emirates and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd struggled to fully utilise their jets because of training bottlenecks. Now Qantas has shelved plans to open a second pilot training school due to the coronavirus, which has led it to ground the bulk of its fleet and place staff on unpaid leave. Major U.S. airlines have frozen pilot hiring. The previous boom in pilot training could turn into a bust for schools that invested to accommodate more students. Thierry Dugrippe, head of Canadian pilot training school Air Richelieu, said he expects a decline in enrolment of 30% to 40%. He said students about to complete the 20-month commercial line pilot training program, which costs C$85,000 ($61,000), are looking at what to do next. "They are asking a lot of questions," Dugrippe said. Training provider CAE Inc said two cadet programmes at its Phoenix flight school were suspended at the request of unnamed sponsor airlines due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. TOUGH MARKET In Seoul, a pilot in his 20s who had been hired as a trainee at budget carrier Eastar Jet had his contract cancelled on April 1, alongside around 80 colleagues. The pilot, who declined to be named because he was concerned about getting a job in the future, paid 150 million won ($124,000) to gain his license at a U.S. flying school, lured by the global pilot shortage. "A lot of people quit their jobs and headed to aviation schools abroad to get pilot licenses, because carriers were actively recruiting pilots at that time," he said. Eastar said it cancelled the contracts of around 80 trainees due to deteriorating financial conditions. Mark, the easyJet trainee, said one of his hopes was that some pilots would take early retirement due to the downturn, leaving openings for new hires when demand returns. In the United States, up to 5,000 pilots a year could retire in the next few years, according to Kit Darby, an aviation consultant and former pilot. U.S. pilot hiring could begin again in two to three years due to those retirements, he said, but that makes it a tough market for pilots finishing their training earlier. Danny Lynch, 36, who had previously worked in digital marketing, finishes a 99,000 pound, 18-month flight training course in Oxford in mid-2021 and is banking on a quicker recovery. "I certainly hope that by then, the market has improved," he said. Those due to finish training earlier, like Lauren, a trainee in her 30s at a British flight school, are busy coming up with contingency plans. Lauren, who declined to provide her last name, does not yet know when she will complete her course which was paused during lockdowns, nor whether airlines will be hiring at the end of it. For her, options if a commercial pilot job is not immediately available could include returning to her old corporate career and flying small planes as a hobby on the side. "I'm very lucky because I do have a former career to fall back on," Lauren said. "I have just got to come up with contingency plans A, B, C, D." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dreams-grounded-cadet-pilots-face-072102971.html Back to Top Norwegian Air shareholders back $1 billion rescue plan OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian Air shareholders backed its financial survival plan on Monday, with more than 95% of votes cast supporting the conversion of nearly $1 billion of debt into equity and raising more cash from its owners. The budget carrier's shares rallied 46% on news of the plan's approval even though owners face significant dilution of their stakes as lenders gain control of the firm. The scheme is a vital part of the struggling airline's plan to tap government credit guarantees as it seeks to overcome the coronavirus crisis, which has compounded its already deep financial problems. Airlines around the world have been hit hard by the impact on travel of the pandemic, with many forced to turn to governments for state aid to avoid bankruptcy. Norwegian, which at the end of last year had amassed debts of around $8 billion, said ahead of the meeting that it had won "strong support" from aircraft lessors for its plan. With 95% of its fleet grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic, Norwegian Air has said it could run out of cash by mid-May unless shareholders supported the plan. On Sunday it said bondholders had signed up to the plan, which was narrowly rejected in a vote on Thursday. Norwegian Air said lessors are now willing to convert at least $730 million of debt into equity, up from $550 million earlier, and talks are ongoing for possible further conversion. "With the significant contributions from lessors and bondholders, the company expects to convert more than 10 billion crowns ($958 million) in debt to equity," it said. Based on the results from the shareholders' meeting, the company will now proceed with the conversion of bonds and lease debt to shares, as well as the public offering of up to 400 million ($38.4 million) from the sale of new stock, it said. The debt conversion and share sale will allow Norwegian Air to tap government guarantees of up to 2.7 billion crowns, which hinge on a reduction in leverage, on top of 300 million crowns it has already received. The plan will hand majority ownership to the airline's creditors and could leave current shareholders with just 5.2%. The loan could keep Norwegian Air going until the end of 2020, although further cash may be needed as it eyes a gradual ramp-up next year and normalisation in 2022, albeit with a reduced fleet. Norwegian Air is only paying invoices vital to maintaining minimum operations, such as salaries for staff still employed and critical IT infrastructure. It has put payments for ground handling, debt and leases on hold. The Oslo Bourse said it had halted trade in Norwegian Air's shares until the outcome of the vote is presented. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/norwegian-air-says-lessors-support-060158032.html Back to Top SpaceX aces last Dragon parachute test before crew launch If you would like to see more articles like this please support our coverage of the space program by becoming a Spaceflight Now Member. If everyone who enjoys our website helps fund it, we can expand and improve our coverage further. A Crew Dragon mass simulator descends under four main parachutes during a drop test Friday. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule's parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft's crew module with its unpressurized trunk section. The drop test from a C-130 cargo plane Friday was the 27th and final test of the "Mark 3" parachute design SpaceX will use for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Drogue parachutes and then four main chutes unfurled from a test vehicle designed to mimic the Crew Dragon's weight during return to Earth. SpaceX said in a tweet that the parachute test moves the Crew Dragon "one step closer" to flying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, "and safely returning them back to Earth. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Dragon processing team at Cape Canaveral have connected the spaceship's pressurized crew module with the spacecraft's rear trunk, which generates electricity through body-mounted solar panels and houses radiators for thermal control in orbit. The parachute and spacecraft processing milestones kick off a busy month of preparations ahead of the the Crew Dragon's launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set for May 27 from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test flight will head for the International Space Station, where Behnken and Hurley will live and work for one-to-four months before returning to Earth for a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean just off Florida's East Coast. The launch later this month will mark the first time astronauts have flown into Earth orbit from a U.S. spaceport since the retirement of the space shuttle in July 2011. "My heart is sitting right here (motioning to throat), and I think it's going to stay there until we get Bob and Doug safely back from the International Space Station," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, in a press conference Friday. "But between now and then, there's still work to do." NASA has awarded SpaceX more than $3.1 billion since 2011 to develop, test and fly the Crew Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX has put in its own funding, but Shotwell could not provide a figure Friday for the level of internal funds SpaceX has spent on developing the crew capsule. The public-private partnership is a hallmark of NASA's strategy since the end of the space shuttle program to commercialize transportation to and from low Earth orbit, beginning with cargo services for the space station pioneered by SpaceX's Dragon capsule and the Cygnus supply ship owned by Northrop Grumman, formerly known as Orbital ATK. "This is a new generation, a new era in human spaceflight," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "And when I say it's new what I mean is, NASA has long had this idea that we need to purchase, own and operate hardware to get to space. In the past that has been true, but now, in this new era ... NASA has an ability to be a customer, one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low Earth orbit." NASA selected Boeing alongside SpaceX in 2014 to design and build new commercial spaceships to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Boeing's Starliner ship is unlikely to fly with astronauts until early 2021 after an unpiloted test flight in December encountered software trouble, preventing the capsule from docking with the space station. Bridenstine said NASA and SpaceX are continuing preparations for the Crew Dragon test flight - designated Demo-2 - amid the coronavirus pandemic while introducing new physical distancing guidelines for the astronauts and support teams. "We're going to do it in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic," Bridenstine said. "I'm going to tell you that this is a high-priority mission for the United States of America. We, as a nation, have not had our own access to the International Space Station for nine years." In the time since the last shuttle flight, all astronauts traveling to the space station have flown aboard Russian Soyuz capsules. In the most recent agreement with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, NASA paid the Russian government more than $80 million per round-trip seat on the Soyuz spacecraft. NASA's inspector general last year reported the agency is paying SpaceX approximately $55 million per Crew Dragon seat. Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said Friday that NASA and SpaceX engineers are "making sure that all the Is are dotted and Ts are crossed" in preparation for the Crew Dragon launch. In parallel with hardware preparations at the Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX and NASA engineers are completing pre-flight data analyses, safety assessments and readiness reviews. The work in the coming weeks will make sure SpaceX and NASA "are ready for this important mission to safely fly Bob and Doug up to the International Space Station, serve as a lifeboat, and return them to their families," Lueders said. "This is a humbling job," she said. "I think we're up to it." Behnken, 49, will serve as joint operations commander for the Demo-2 mission, responsible for rendezvous, docking, undocking and other activities at the International Space Station. Hurley, 53, will be the spacecraft commander, responsible for launch, landing and recovery, according to NASA. Both astronauts joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2000, and each has flown twice on space shuttle missions. Behnken and Hurley are also both married to other astronauts. "I think we have a different perspective of the importance of coming to Florida, launching again on an American rocket from the Florida coast," Behnken said. "And generations of people who maybe didn't get a chance to see a space shuttle launch, getting a chance again to see human spaceflight in our own backyard, if you will, is pretty exciting to be a part of. "I think that's the thing that's most exciting for me, as well as on my first flight, I didn't have a small child," he said. "I didn't have a son, so I'm really excited to share the mission with him and have him have a chance to be old enough at six to see it and share it with me when I get home and while I'm on orbit." Astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) pose for a photograph at launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida before the launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test in January. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Hurley piloted the shuttle Atlantis on the final space shuttle mission in July 2011. "It's well past time to be launching an American rocket from the Florida coast to the International Space Station, and I am certainly honored to be part of it," Hurley said. "We would be asked questions along the lines of, well, the space program is over because the shuttle is not flying," Hurley said. "And that certainly was not the case. We've had people on board the International Space Station since the fall of 2000. And we continue to fly to the space station on Soyuz vehicles. So part of it was just a lack of understanding by the public as far as what we were continuing to do as an agency, but it was also the time it took to develop new vehicles in order to take their place, take the shuttle's place, to get folks to and from the International Space Station from the United States." Once Behnken and Hurley return to Earth, NASA will formally certify the Crew Dragon for regular crew rotation flights to the space station, each carrying four astronauts. Another Crew Dragon is scheduled for launch later this year with three NASA astronauts and a Japanese space flier. The Dragon crew has essentially been in quarantine since March, when the threat of coronavirus interrupted daily life for millions of Americans. Behnken and Hurley will begin a formal quarantine protocol next week, then spend a few days inside a controlled facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston before flying to Kennedy in a NASA aircraft May 20. The astronauts will participate in a final integrated simulation Monday with NASA and SpaceX ground controllers and mission managers. "Then we start a quarantine process which escalates as we get closer to launch," Hurley said. "And we also get some off time to kind of get everything in our lives sort of squared away since we've been busy getting ready for this flight, and we are likely to be in space for a few months." "We have a few more sims with SpaceX, we'll have some proficiency sims later on, before we go down to Kennedy," Hurley said. "And then we'll get down to Kennedy around six or seven days before launch and then spend the rest of the time (in Florida) prepping from that location in the astronaut crew quarters down there." SpaceX plans a flight test readiness review May 8, followed by a NASA-led test readiness review May 11. Lueders said Friday that NASA has reviewed SpaceX's investigation into an engine failure that occurred on a Falcon 9 launch in March. One of the rocket's nine Merlin engines shut down prematurely during a launch with 60 Starlink Internet satellites, but the rocket overcame the malfunction and still delivered the payloads to their intended orbit. "We're finishing testing on some other launch vehicle components," Lueders said. "We have reviewed the anomaly resolution of the Starlink launch and actually have cleared the engines on our vehicle for that failure, so that actually is behind us right now. "But like everybody knows, the spacecraft is still processing, the launch vehicle is still processing, and as you're processing vehicles there are little issues that come up that we have to work through," Lueders said. "Most of our human certification activities are being completed with this mission, so the team is going through really about 95 percent of the human-rating certification on this mission." In mid-May the Dragon spacecraft is expected to be transferred from a processing facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the nearby Kennedy Space Center, where the crew capsule will be attached to its Falcon 9 launcher inside a hangar near the southern perimeter of pad 39A. The Crew Dragon spacecraft's pressurized module has been mated with the ship's unpressurized trunk section at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to fly to Florida's Space Coast on May 20. A test-firing of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled around May 22, followed the next day by a "dry dress" rehearsal when the astronauts will put on their black and white SpaceX flight suits and strap inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft at the launch pad. A launch readiness review is scheduled for May 25. On May 27, Behnken and Hurley will again put on their flight suits inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy, the same facility where Apollo and shuttle astronauts prepared for launch. They will ride inside a Tesla Model X from the O&C Building to pad 39A, passing by the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building and the Press Site on the way to the seaside launch complex. They will begin boarding the Crew Dragon spaceship around three hours before liftoff. SpaceX's ground crew will close the Dragon's side hatch and evacuate the pad before fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket with super-chilled kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants. SpaceX's sleek crew access arm, installed on pad 39A in 2018, will retract around 42 minutes before liftoff. The Dragon's powerful abort engines will be armed 37 minutes prior to launch, giving the astronauts the ability to escape an explosion or other emergency during fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket. Kerosene and liquid oxygen will begin flowing into the two-stage launcher 35 minutes before liftoff, which is timed for 4:32 p.m. EDT (2032 GMT) on May 27. Assuming liftoff occurs May 27, the Crew Dragon is slated to autonomous dock with the International Space Station on May 28 at approximately 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT). Hurley and Behnken will take over manual control of the spaceship at multiple points during the Dragon's trip to the space station, testing out their ability to fly the capsule using novel touchscreen controls in the cockpit. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/03/spacex-aces-last-dragon-parachute-test-before-crew-launch/ Call for Nominations For 2020 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award, honoring a leader in global aviation safety. The Award is scheduled to be presented during the 73nd Annual International Air Safety Summit, taking place Oct. 19-21 in Paris, France. Presented since 1956, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award recognizes notable achievement in the field of civil or military aviation safety in method, design, invention, study or other improvement. The Award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." Mechanics, engineers and others outside of top administrative or research positions should be especially considered. The contribution need not be recent, especially if the nominee has not received adequate recognition. Nominations that were not selected as past winners of the Award can be submitted one additional time for consideration. Please note that self-nominations will not be considered. The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award's story dates back 75 years. On April 14, 1945, after visiting family in Pittsburgh, Laura Taber Barbour was aboard a Pennsylvania Central Airlines DC-3 when it crashed into the rugged terrain of Cheat Mountain near Morgantown, West Virginia. All passengers and crew were killed. In the years following, her husband, Rev. Dr. Clifford E. Barbour and son, Clifford E. Barbour, Jr., established the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award in her honor. The Award Board, composed of leaders in the field of aviation, meets each year to conduct a final review of nominees and selection of the current year's recipient. Please help us honor this year's most deserving recipient. Nominations, including a 1-2-page narrative, can be submitted via the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation website at http://ltbaward.org/the-award/nomination-form/. Nominations will be accepted until May 10, 2020. For more information, including a complete history of Award recipients, see www.ltbaward.org. About the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Award On April 14, 1945, after visiting family in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Laura Taber Barbour was aboard a Pennsylvania Central Airlines DC-3 when it crashed into the rugged terrain of Cheat Mountain near Morgantown, West Virginia. All passengers and crew were killed. In 1956, her husband, Rev. Dr. Clifford E. Barbour and their son, Cliff, established the Award in her honor. For nearly 65 years, this long distinguished award has recognized those responsible for crowning achievements in aviation safety worldwide. The Award was established through early association with the Flight Safety Foundation and from its founding has enjoyed a rich history of Award Board members, nominees and Award recipients. In 2013, the non-profit Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation was formed from members of the Award Board, the aviation community and the Barbour family. As the foundation plans to broaden the scope of its intent, with great purpose, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award will continue to spotlight those champions who pioneer breakthroughs in flight safety. For more information on the foundation, the award, and past winners, visit http://LTBAward.org On-line CRM Training Sessions A series of interactive CRM/Human Factors training sessions for pilots, cabin crew and dispatchers. Also available for CRM Trainers & CRM Trainer Examiners . Courses are open to all, however we also offer private courses delivered in your own Time Zone For more details Or please email us at sales@itsacademy.com or call us on +44 (0)117 344 5019 Curt Lewis