Flight Safety Information June 1, 2020 - No. 109 In This Issue Incident: India A20N over Uzbekistan on May 30th 2020, aircraft turns around due to Corona positive test Incident: MASWings AT72 at Miri on May 31st 2020, smoke in cabin Incident: First AT42 at Cape Dorset on May 23rd 2020, smell of smoke on final approach Incident: Iran Aseman F100 at Tehran on May 30th 2020, engine shut down in flight Incident: Cargojet B752 at Cincinnati on May 23rd 2020, engine rolled back during initial climb Incident: Canada A319 at Mexico City on May 26th 2020, rejected takeoff due to engine surge Black boxes from crashed Pakistan jet head to France for analysis Air India Cabin Crew, Pilots Must Check COVID-19 Test Results Before Flying After Mid-Air Debacle NBAA Requests Extension for GA Pilot Medicals, Other Requirements, Under SFAR 118 Government mandates safety kits for air passengers; makes middle seat allocation stricter (India) Wake-vortex crash probe baffled by tight separation decision DGCA extends deadline for IndiGo, GoAir to replace aircraft (India) Emirates Casts Doubt on Aircraft Orders Worth Tens of Billions Mitsubishi struggles to realize its jet globalization plans Emirates airline lays off trainee pilots, cabin crew - sources Delta, union working to avoid furloughs of 2,300 pilots For Russia, SpaceX success is 'wakeup call' Book: GROUNDED - Can we ever fly again? Aviation Safety Survey GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: India A20N over Uzbekistan on May 30th 2020, aircraft turns around due to Corona positive test for a pilot An Air India Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-EXR performing positioning flight AI-1945 from Delhi (India) to Moscow Domodedovo (Russia), was enroute at FL380 about 160nm northnorthwest of Samarkand (Uzbekistan) when the crew turned the aircraft around and returned to Delhi where the aircraft landed safely about 2:40 hours later. The aircraft was positioning to Moscow to repatriate 143 Indian Citizens, who had become stuck in Russia due to the Corona Pandemic. The crew had undergone Covid-19 tests prior to departing for the flight. Air India confirmed that the aircraft returned to Delhi after it was discovered one of the pilots had tested positive. The entire crew was isolated. A replacement aircraft flown by another crew was dispatched to Moscow. Officials reported the test results were initially and erroneously read as negative, the error was later discovered and the aircraft called back to Delhi. India's embassy to Russia reported as result of a "technical problem" the departure of the repatriation flight would be delayed by 10:15 hours and later confirmed the replacement aircraft departed Moscow with all 143 passengers on board. A replacement A20N registration VT-EXQ positioned to Moscow, departed for the repatriation flight AI-1946 from Moscow to Delhi and arrived in Delhi with a delay of about 10 hours. The occurrence aircraft VT-EXR is still on the ground in Delhi about 33 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d81189a&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: MASWings AT72 at Miri on May 31st 2020, smoke in cabin A MASWings Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, flight MH-3226 from Miri to Labuan (Malaysia) with 25 passengers and 4 crew, was climbing out of Miri when the crew reported smoke in the cabin and returned to Miri. The aircraft landed safely back in Miri about 20 minutes after departure. Emergency services did not discover any trace of a fire. The aircraft is being examined, the flight was cancelled. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d8138b2&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: First AT42 at Cape Dorset on May 23rd 2020, smell of smoke on final approach A First Air Avions de Transport Regional ATR-42-300, registration C-FIQR performing flight 7F-3084 from Iqaluit,NU to Cape Dorset,NU (Canada) with 6 people on board, was on final approach to Cape Dorset when the crew noticed the smell of smoke on the flight deck, no smoke was visible. The crew checked with the flight attendant, who reported no odour in the cabin. No circuit breakers had popped and no anomaly was visible on the instruments. The crew continued the landing for a safe landing at Cape Dorset. The smell dissipated after landing. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance replaced the #1 air intake valve and returned the aircraft to service. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FAB3084/history/20200523/1630Z/CYFB/CYTE https://avherald.com/h?article=4d7f1c3e&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Incident: Iran Aseman F100 at Tehran on May 30th 2020, engine shut down in flight An Iran Aseman Fokker 100, registration EP-ATF performing flight EP-626 from Tehran Mehrabad to Kermanshah (Iran), was climbing through FL170 out of Tehran when the crew needed to shut the left hand engines (Tay 650) down. The aircraft returned to Mehrabad Airport for a safe landing about 25 minutes after departure. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d809101&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Cargojet B752 at Cincinnati on May 23rd 2020, engine rolled back during initial climb A Cargojet Airways Boeing 757-200 freighter, registration C-FGKJ performing flight W8-992 from Cincinnati,KY (USA) to Calgary,AB (Canada) with 2 crew, had just reached cruise level 340 when the left hand engine (RB211) rolled back prompting the crew to shut the engine down and return to Cincinnati for a safe landing about one hour after departure. The Canadian TSB reported the engine roll back and shut down happened in initial climb. Maintenance is assessing potential engine damage. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CJT920/history/20200523/1224Z/KCVG/CYYC https://avherald.com/h?article=4d7fcc98&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Canada A319 at Mexico City on May 26th 2020, rejected takeoff due to engine surge An Air Canada Airbus A319-100, registration C-FYKR performing flight AC-992 from Mexico City (Mexico) to Toronto,ON (Canada) with 85 people on board, was accelerating for takeoff from Mexico's runway 05L when the crew rejected takeoff between 60 and 70 KIAS after noticing the left hand engine (CFM56) surged. The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. The flight was cancelled. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d7fcad0&opt=0 Back to Top Black boxes from crashed Pakistan jet head to France for analysis PARIS/KARACHI (Reuters) - Air crash investigators were en route from Pakistan to France on Monday with two 'black box' flight recorders of a Pakistani airliner that crashed in a residential area while trying to land in the port city of Karachi last month, airport officials said. An Airbus test plane, unusually commissioned to transport the boxes because of disruption from the coronavirus crisis, was due to arrive on Monday afternoon at Le Bourget near Paris where France's BEA air accident agency was standing by to open them. The French agency is involved in the Pakistan-led probe because the crashed A320 was designed by France-based Airbus, and is additionally carrying out the crucial task of decoding the recorders because it has state-of-the-art equipment. The A320 operated by Pakistan International Airlines crashed short of the runway on May 22, killing 97 people on board after the pilots reported the loss of both engines. Two passengers survived and there were no reports of casualties on the ground. The crash site remained sealed off on Monday. BEA experts are expected to open and download information from the boxes - one containing cockpit voice recordings and the other aircraft data - on Tuesday, subject to the recording chips being intact inside their crash-resistant shells. Initial reports suggested the jetliner scraped its engines along the runway on a first attempt to land following what appeared to be an unstable approach, arriving steep and fast. Investigators will analyse the cockpit data to try to understand whether damage to the engines from the first landing attempt caused them to cut out before the second attempt, leaving the airplane unable to make it to the airport perimeter. Experts warn it is too early to say what caused the crash. In Karachi, as officials continued to try to identify victims' bodies using DNA samples, families took to social media to voice their grief at not being able to perform the last rites of their loved ones. The airline said on Sunday problems in identifying victims were caused by delays in DNA identification outside its control. https://whtc.com/news/articles/2020/jun/01/black-boxes-from-crashed-pakistan-jet-head-to-france-for-analysis/1024223/ Back to Top Air India Cabin Crew, Pilots Must Check COVID-19 Test Results Before Flying After Mid-Air Debacle Air India Has to Recruit 500 New Cabin Crew Because of a Change in Government Regulations Pilots and cabin crew at Air India have been ordered to check the results of mandatory pre-flight COVID-19 tests before operating a flight after one pilot only found out his test result had come back positive halfway into a five-hour flight to Moscow. Air India said the COVID-19 testing was being paid by the airline at great expense and that it was the responsibility of individual crew members to check their results as reduced numbers of office staff meant to the company couldn't chase up every single positive result. Air India flight AI1945 operated by an Airbus A320 was flying from Delhi to Moscow on Saturday in order to repatriate citizens who had been stuck in Russia after Indian officials closed the borders to reduce the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Nearly halfway into the five-hour flight to Russia, it was discovered that the COVID-19 test for one of the pilots had come back positive. As a result, the plane had to turn around as it was flying over Uzbekistan and make its way back to Delhi. To make matters worse, there was even a slight delay in getting back because the pilots had to obtain permission from Pakistani air traffic controllers to fly over Pakistan. In the end, the plane flew 2,623 miles just to end up where it first started - just 56 miles short of the total distance between Delhi and Moscow. "The COVID-19 test is being conducted by the airline at a substantial cost, with considerable effort. As it is a recent procedure and there is a shortage of staff in office, there is a possibility of an oversight in this matter," Captain R S Sandhu, Executive Director of Operations at Air India told staffers in an internal memo. "The test is primarily designed to mitigate the risk of transmission among the crew. Every effort will be made by the personnel dealing with the testing and rostering of crew to ensure that the reports are checked before crew is being rostered for a flight," the memo continued. However, Captain Sandhu also made it clear that it is the individual crew members responsibility to also check the test results before declaring they are fit to fly. "In case of any oversight in this matter, not only are there avoidable adverse operational issues, tarnishing the image of the airline, but also irresponsible exposure of a fellow crew member to this disease," the memo continued. An Air India spokesperson admitted the mistake, saying that a restoring team failed to check the test results properly before scheduling the pilot to operate the flight. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the aircraft was recalled back to Delhi. All the crew onboard have been retested and asked to self-quarantine. The spokesperson added that the aircraft was also disinfected on its arrival back at base. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2020/06/01/air-india-cabin-crew-pilots-must-check-covid-19-test-results-before-flying-after-mid-air-debacle/ Back to Top NBAA Requests Extension for GA Pilot Medicals, Other Requirements, Under SFAR 118 While many states are lifting stay-at-home mandates, and businesses are beginning to reopen, some restrictions continue to negatively impact general aviation. Washington, DC, May 29, 2020 - The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and other associations today requested the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extend the effective date for several exemptions or extensions for pilot medical certifications, training proficiency and a host of other requirements contained in Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 118. The relief package, which became effective on April 30, 2020, with most extensions expiring on June 30, 2020, provides regulatory relief for affected pilots to remain in compliance with several FAA mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a May 29 letter to FAA Associate Administration for Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami, NBAA and other associations expressed gratitude to the FAA for the agency's quick response to the compliance challenges caused by stay-at-home and other mandates resulting from COVID-19. While many states are lifting stay-at-home mandates, and businesses are beginning to reopen, some restrictions continue to negatively impact general aviation. To ensure general aviation can continue to play a vital role in COVID-19 response, management and recovery, the associations requested: 1. An additional month of flexibility for pilots, operators, and certificate holders to comply with certain training, recent experience, testing and checking requirements provided in SFAR 118; 2. Additional relief until September 30 for duration, medical and renewal requirements provided in SFAR 118, and; 3. Relief for pilots, operators and certificate holders facing expiring experience, testing, checking, duration, medical and renewal requirements in July, August and September. "The aviation community continues to move through an unprecedented and unpredictable period in our nation's history" the associations said in the letter. "The nation's return to unrestricted movement and person-to-person contact is taking longer than expected. While government entities continue to progress through various stages of reopening, additional flexibility will allow airmen and examiners to abide by CDC and individual state recommendations, while stimulating the economy and moving medical and emergency supplies when needed. The current mitigations in SFAR 118 will continue to ensure the safety of these operations during this additional extension." "While states and businesses are reopening, we are still far from normal," said Brian Koester, CAM, NBAA director of flight operations and regulations. "This extension will give pilots and operators an opportunity to meet training and proficiency requirements in a safe manner, and allow pilots to fill critical roles in COVID-19 recovery." Associations signing on to the letter include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Air Medical Operators Association (AMOA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Helicopter Association International (HAI), National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) and National Air Transportation Association (NATA). https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/business-general-aviation/news/21140335/national-business-aviation-association-nbaa-nbaa-requests-extension-for-ga-pilot-medicals-other-requirements-under-sfar-118 Back to Top Government mandates safety kits for air passengers; makes middle seat allocation stricter (India) Government mandates safety kits for air passengers; makes middle seat allocation stricter The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked airlines to keep middle seats vacant if the load factor and seat capacity permits it. In case the middle seat is occupied, the regulator has asked airlines to provide additional protective equipment to passengers like "wrap-around gown." The directions are for strict compliance by all stakeholders and shall come into force from June 3. The directions have been sent on the basis of recommendations of an expert committee which was constituted post an order from the Supreme Court. In the order sent to all foreign and Indian airlines, Airports Authority of India, private airport operators, and ground handling agencies, DGCA has said asked airlines to provide safety kits to passengers including three-layered surgical mask, face shield, and sanitiser. In addition, the regulator has said that no meals or drinking water will be served except under extreme circumstances arising due to health reasons. "The MHA guidelines for lockdown 5.0 announced on May 30 will facilitate the gradual & calibrated reopening of the aviation sector. As we move towards a critical mass of 50-60 percent operation of domestic flights, our ability to resume international operations will also improve," Puri wrote on Twitter. Embarkation, disembarkation shall be sequential, Air should be replaced in aircraft in the shortest possible interval, sanitise aircraft after every sector keep clean aircraft at the end of the day, frequently clean lavatories in aircraft and provide full protective suits to pilots and cabin crew, the regulator has said in the order. The DGCA has also asked airlines and Airports shall explore the possibility of a disinfection Tunnel to ensure the safety of passengers. https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/government-mandates-safety-kits-for-air-passengers-makes-middle-seat-seating-stricter-6044641.htm Back to Top Wake-vortex crash probe baffled by tight separation decision Investigators have not been able to explain why the captain of a Diamond Aircraft DA62 calibration flight repeatedly breached minimum separation distances from commercial traffic at Dubai before a fatal wake-turbulence accident. Analysis of the accident sequence indicates the Flight Calibration Services DA62, conducting approaches to runway 30L, had been 90s behind a Thai Airways International Airbus A350-900 descending to the parallel 30R. Vortices from the A350's left and right wing drifted with the crosswind at about 4.5m/s and respectively reached the 30L approach path after 74s and 87s, according to the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority. The analysis calculates that the vortices decayed to about 81% of their initial circulation strength at the point they reached the DA62 at 1,300ft altitude. It rolled to the left, losing about 100ft in height, recovering after 9s. But 7s later it abruptly rolled to the left again, becoming inverted before diving steeply into the ground. None of the four occupants survived the accident, on 16 May last year. Surveillance images show the A350's left wing and (lower right) the initial DA62 upset and recovery The DA62 had conducted 10 approaches. The nature of the work meant it flew 200-900ft lower than preceding aircraft operating to runway 30R, and the captain had the discretion to self-separate horizontally. But the inquiry states that the captain - while concerned about A380 wake - appeared prepared to allow the light DA62 to breach normal ICAO separation between heavy and light aircraft, as well as the additional 3nm margin provided by Dubai air traffic control given the close proximity of runways 30L and 30R. The captain had previously informed that Dubai air navigation service that he was experienced with calibration flights at the airport and was "content to be tighter" than normal wake separation. "Other company pilots described him as safety conscious and they sometimes consulted him on flight operational issues," says the inquiry. "The investigation carefully considered possible causes for the [captain's] misjudgment which led him to generally reduce the separation from other air traffic, but could not determine his reasoning." It states that, for the first five of the 10 approaches, the air traffic controller provided cautionary warnings of possible wake turbulence from heavy aircraft using runway 30R. But for the subsequent five approaches, following a controller handover, these cautions were no longer issued. The inquiry says neither the provision of the advisories nor their absence influenced the captain's judgement regarding self-separation from preceding aircraft. "It is possible that the [captain] did not develop a mental picture of the surrounding air traffic, or simply underestimated the hazard," it adds. "He may have compared the flight with other uneventful missions at single-runway airports." Two A380s and four Boeing 777s were among the aircraft followed by the DA62, which trailed them by just 5-6nm compared with the Dubai standard of 9nm for the 777 and 11nm for the A380. "The [captain] had been provided with sufficient distance from preceding air traffic to establish a safe approach and was not provided with any time constraints by [controllers] that may have caused time pressure to complete the flight earlier," the inquiry points out. During the 10th approach the aircraft was 200ft below and 3.7nm behind the A350-900 - compared with the 6nm separation standard for ICAO and 9nm standard for Dubai - when it was struck by the wake vortex. Airbus analysis for the inquiry states that, using ICAO separation, the vortex would have been 35-49% of its maximum strength at the point of the DA62 encounter, rather than around 70%. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/wake-vortex-crash-probe-baffled-by-tight-separation-decision/138612.article Back to Top DGCA extends deadline for IndiGo, GoAir to replace aircraft (India) New Delhi: India's aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given IndiGo and GoAir three more months to replace old engines with new series engines on their airbus 320 Neo (P&W) aircraft. The deadline to replace these engines expired yesterday, "regulator (DGCA) took a call couple of days back and instructed both the Airlines. Both taken together about 60 engines are yet to be replaced and the obvious reason was COVID-19 impact and the resultant lockdowns. Supply chains and production lines all got impacted and in turn, disturbed the process. Keeping all this in view, we have extended the deadline by 3 months; up to 31st of August 2020." Arun Kumar, DGCA told ANI. Earlier DGCA had asked both airlines to replace old airbus NEO (P&W) engines by end of month May. GoAir has 13 such planes and IndiGo 16 such aircraft. Both the airlines have faced severe glitches on their aircraft's engine. The major glitches are Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT), Gear Box errors and Engine vibration. Further DGCA stressed on these aircraft are put on the operation that, "we instructed that for the current times, aircraft with both engines modified should be flown and this should not be difficult as the curtailed operations are likely to last for some more time." https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/dgca-extends-deadline-for-indigo-goair-to-replace-aircraft-engines/articleshow/76132131.cms Back to Top Emirates Casts Doubt on Aircraft Orders Worth Tens of Billions Gulf airline Emirates said it's unable to commit to outstanding aircraft orders in light of the coronavirus crisis, casting doubt over a backlog worth tens of billions of dollars to Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. "All bets are off," Tim Clark, the Dubai-based carrier's president, said in a online forum Monday. "We are nowhere near confident enough that the economics, the cash flows, the bottom line will put us in a good position to be able to guess if we'll buy a hundred of this or a hundred of that." Emirates ranks as the world's largest long-haul carrier and had unfilled orders for more than 200 jets at the end of March, comprising Boeing 777s and 787s, Airbus A350s, and the last few A380 superjumbos. Grounding existing aircraft is not always an option since they may be encumbered by leases and other debt, and the carrier's focus is on getting those planes flying again, he said. Aircraft manufacturers are aware that airlines have to "keep cash where it needs to be" and have understand that they may need to push back or even cancel orders, Clark said in the Arabian Travel Market webinar. "This is about surviving the present." Emirates is seeking to cancel its last A380 orders and is considering accelerating the retirement of its older superjumbos, Bloomberg reported previously. The executive said the model still has a future with the carrier and will come into its own again in a few years. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-01/emirates-says-crisis-has-cast-doubt-over-entire-jet-orderbook Back to Top Mitsubishi struggles to realize its jet globalization plans Financial woes hit SpaceJet program while low demand hits Bombardier deal TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries marks a milestone in its aviation ambitions on Monday by integrating the commercial jet business of Canada's Bombardier, even as doubts grow about the Japanese company's ability to keep its own commercial jet program on track at a time of airline industry upheaval. MHI's $550 million purchase of Bombardier's global network of service centers was meant to secure a foothold in the aircraft servicing business and provide a maintenance platform for its own Mitsubishi SpaceJet family of next-generation regional aircraft under development for 12 years. But MIH's ability to finance the much delayed program is under renewed scrutiny as the short-term challenge of the coronavirus crisis weighs heavily on its finances. Last month, MHI decided to shutter SpaceJet's overseas operations, consolidate activities at its headquarters in Nagoya and suspend all flight testing. Mitsubishi Aircraft, the program operator, has approximately 2,500 workers -- 1,800 in Japan, some 100 at the development center in Montreal, 160 at the U.S. headquarters in Renton and 450 at the flight test center in Moses Lake, both in the state of Washington. MHI fell into the red for the first time in 20 years for the year ended in March and is struggling to shoulder the cost of the SpaceJet program, in which it has invested at least 716 billion yen ($6.7 billion). S&P Global downgraded company debt to BBB plus from A minus on Feb. 19, due to the growing strain the program is putting on finances. The rating company warned of a further downgrade if project costs surge beyond present assumptions.] MHI, also a core supplier to Boeing, says it remains committed to the SpaceJet program, at least in the long-term. "As we consolidate, the hope is to reduce redundancies while still maintaining the core competencies we have developed," said a spokesman for Nagoya-based Mitsubishi Aircraft, which is overseeing the program. That the Bombardier acquisition will have to be written off entirely underscores MHI's financial challenge. There is little demand for new aircraft or maintenance services, as 60% of the world's 26,000 passenger jets are grounded during the pandemic, meaning they require no servicing. Bombardier's network of service centers around the world repairs and maintains 1,250 jets flown by 130 operators. Global passenger jet traffic has been down about 80% from a year earlier since April 1, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. A Mitsubishi Aircraft spokesman stressed that the retrench is not the first step in canceling the SpaceJet program. "Because of the cost control measures and budget directives that forced us to close our flight test facility at Moses Lake, we are putting the aircraft into storage," the spokesman said, adding that a small team will continue to maintain the aircraft. "Since we are focused on cost control measures now, we will focus on [the] validation and documentation" portion of type certification, he added, referring to paper work for certification with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and work to validate it with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. After more than 3,000 hours of actual flight testing, Mitsubishi Aircraft officials have said that the company's 88-seat aircraft for the Japan market, SpaceJet M90, was close to type certification, and were eyeing that to be achieved in the spring of 2021. The coronavirus, however, upended the plan. "When the whole industry is downsizing, right-sizing and fleet-optimizing, the last thing they need is a brand-new airplane, all new training, all new spare parts," said David Pritchard, associate professor of business at the State University of New York Empire State College. In such an environment, MHI has no choice but to control costs and has frozen its ambition to develop, certify, and mass-produce the SpaceJet M100, a 76-seater for the lucrative U.S. market -- the main target for the SpaceJet program. Mitsubishi Aircraft has company orders for 163 aircraft, options for 124 and letters of intent for another 200, most of them for SpaceJet 100. But those orders could be in jeopardy if the buyers go out of business. Boeing CEO David Calhoun predicted in May that a major U.S. airline could go under, warning that it will take a full-three years for air traffic to return to the pre-crisis level and another two years for the growth rate to recover. With the industry in survival mode, "cash is the king," Pritchard said. "As much as I hate that statement, it's so true." He argues that MHI will have to find a partner to fund the project and said that Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac, is the most logical one, noting the Chinese aircraft maker's deep pockets and its desire to access Bombardier's global service network and Mitsubishi's experience in FAA certification. Comac will form a joint venture either with Mitsubishi Aircraft or its rival Embraer of Brazil, and the one that doesn't get such a partner "will not be around," Pritchard predicted. There have already been reports that Comac is reaching out to Embraer for collaboration. The Brazilian company already has over 80% of the Chinese market for planes carrying 150 passengers or less, and maintains a dedicated office for the country. Hirotaka Yamauchi, director of the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute, a Japanese government affiliate, says it's highly unlikely that MHI, the nation's top defense contractor, will partner with a Chinese state-owned company. Further, SpaceJet's billing as a 'national project' has also made it difficult to bring in foreign capital. Aircraft manufacturing is a highly concentrated industry, and only Airbus and Boeing have the financial, engineering and marketing wherewithal to support a major jet program. But both companies reported net losses last year and are now too consumed with their own problems to throw a lifeline to others. Therefore, Yamauchi doesn't expect realignment to happen anytime soon. But, he said, "MHI will eventually need a partner" for the SpaceJet program. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aerospace-Defense/Mitsubishi-struggles-to-realize-its-jet-globalization-plans Back to Top Emirates airline lays off trainee pilots, cabin crew - sources DUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates airline said on Sunday it had made some staff redundant due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with two company sources saying trainee pilots and cabin crew had been affected. "We reviewed all possible scenarios in order to sustain our business operations, but have come to the conclusion that we unfortunately have to say goodbye to a few of the wonderful people that worked with us," a spokeswoman said. "The company is doing everything possible to protect the workforce wherever we can," she added. The state-owned airline, which has around 60,000 employees and is part of the Emirates Group, did not say how many staff had been affected by the job cuts. Emirates said on May 10 that a Dubai government commitment to provide it with "equity injections" would allow it to preserve its skilled workforce. Emirates Group's airport services subsidiary dnata has also laid off some staff and placed thousands of others on unpaid leave. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/emirates-airline-lays-off-trainee-140751765.html Back to Top Delta, union working to avoid furloughs of 2,300 pilots (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc and its pilots union said on Sunday they are working to avoid furloughs of roughly 2,300 pilots following a reshuffling process meant to match staffing to summer 2021 flying. Delta said this month that it would have more pilots than needed as it reduces its network and fleet due to a drop in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, but is working to avoid involuntary furloughs. Following the results on Sunday of a so-called "surplus" bid in which employees were asked to petition available positions at one of Delta's seven U.S. pilot bases, the airline will be shifting around 7,000 pilots to different locations or aircraft types, while 2,327 have not been assigned to any category, Delta's Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a statement. Delta confirmed the release of the results of the bid "to better align our staffing with our future flying demand" and said it is "looking at all options to mitigate or minimize furloughs and will continue working with ALPA in the coming weeks to explore those options." Atlanta-based Delta, with around 91,000 employees, announced on Thursday details of early out options for non-union employees that include cash severance, full healthcare coverage and travel benefits. Major U.S. airlines, which have received billions of dollars in taxpayer aid for payroll, have all warned that they will need to reduce their workforce once a government-imposed ban on job cuts expires on Sept. 30. After air travel demand virtually disappeared in April, U.S. airline executives have pointed to some green shoots, but the industry is not expected to return to pre-pandemic passenger traffic for at least three years. ALPA said it was continuing to meet with Delta on potential early-out or voluntary leave programs, saying it is "optimistic that management will continue to engage with ALPA to protect pilot jobs." https://www.yahoo.com/news/delta-union-working-avoid-furloughs-005209064.html Back to Top For Russia, SpaceX success is 'wakeup call' Moscow (AFP) - Russia has lost its long-held monopoly as the only country able to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station following the flawless manned launch by US company SpaceX. The Russian space agency congratulated the United States and Elon Musk's SpaceX on the first crewed flight ever by a private company, but experts said the launch should be a wakeup call for Roscosmos. "The success of the mission will provide us with additional opportunities that will benefit the whole international programme," cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos executive director for crewed space programmes, said in a brief video address. Saturday's launch was the first of American astronauts from US soil since the mothballing of the US shuttle programme in 2011 that left Russia's more basic and reliable Soyuz spacecraft solely responsible for transporting crews. Astronauts since then have all trained at Star City outside Moscow and studied Russian before blasting off from Baikonur launchpad in Kazakhstan. "These flights have been an unexpected chance for Moscow to keep producing Soyuz and retain a significant voice in negotiations over the ISS," said Isabelle Sourbes-Verger, a specialist in space policy at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. The Russian space agency has also earned large sums by ferrying astronauts: a seat in the Soyuz costs NASA around $80 million. If SpaceX starts taking up all US astronauts, "the annual losses could be more than $200 million, a significant loss for Roscosmos's budget of around $2 billion," said Andrei Ionin, an expert at the Tsiolkovsky Space Academy in Moscow. While Musk, the ambitious entrepreneur behind SpaceX, has named the price of a seat on his spacecraft as $60 million, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin has announced Russia is working to cut its price by 30 percent. Ionin voiced scepticism over the plan. "SpaceX is saving money by using cheap engines and manufacturing almost all its own parts," he said. "To do this, Russia would have to change its production process." Another option is a barter system proposed by NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine: for every Russian riding in a US spaceship, one American would take a Soyuz. - 'Wakeup call' - In a broader sense, the appearance of a rival such as SpaceX should be a "wakeup call" for the Russian space industry, which is "in far worse shape than those in charge admit," said Ionin. A decade ago Russia was behind a large proportion of the world's launches, but that is no longer the case today due to competition from China and SpaceX. "When we were losing the launches market, Roscosmos said everything was fine because we were the only ones sending people up to the ISS. Now that fig leaf has fallen off." Russia's space sector is marred by corruption, with multiple scandals over the construction of the new Vostochny launchpad in the Far East. The country's space industry has also failed to innovate, concentrating on modifying "Soviet technology without any major evolution," Ionin said. The Russian space programme is renowned for having sent the first man into space in 1961 and launching the first satellite four years earlier, and its achievements remain a major source of national pride. But more recently it has endured a series of setbacks, notably losing expensive spacecraft and satellites in recent years. The rise of private companies like SpaceX, which has ambitions to conquer Mars, risks leaving Russia irrecoverably far behind, experts said. - Mars next? - For Russia to keep up, a government body independent of the space sector's main players needs to develop a new strategy, Ionin said. "US President (Donald) Trump reestablished a body -- the National Space Council -- to set policy goals. We need to do the same thing." Some observers sense a lack of political will from President Vladimir Putin who appears to be more focused on using rocket science to develop military capabilities, particularly hypersonic missiles. "For Putin, space exploration isn't a priority when it comes to showing off the might of the state," said independent space expert Vitaly Yegorov. For Ionin, reinvigorating the Russian space programme requires international cooperation, too. Sourbes-Verger suggested any manned international mission to Mars "could be an opportunity for Russia to regain its standing by sharing its skills." But, she said, the costs of any such mission would be so high that China -- now the world's second space power in terms of launches -- would need to be included. Yet that prospect seems unlikely, she added, given that "the US Congress refuses any space cooperation with China." https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-spacex-success-wakeup-call-084020857.html TO ALL PROFESSIONAL PILOTS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, members of their Management, Regulators and related organizations (airplane, helicopter, civil or military) WE REQUEST YOUR SUPPORT FOR A JOINT AVIATION SAFETY SURVEY (JASS) ON: "AERONAUTICAL DECISION-MAKING, INCL. MONITORING & INTERVENTION IN PRACTICE" Dear aviation colleague, you are invited to participate in a research project conducted by the department of Psychology at City, University of London, which aims to elicit your views and thoughts on Aeronautical Decision-Making, including Monitoring and Intervention in normal operation,by which we mean routine line flights without any incidents or technical malfunctions. The questions deal with teamwork and decision-making issues in various Pilot-roles, e.g. the role of the Pilot Monitoring (PM), Pilot Flying (PF), Pilot in Command (PIC) and Co-Pilot, and respectively in the Air Traffic Controller (ATCO)-roles of the coordinating and radioing/radar ATCO as well as pilot's and controller's training and occupational picture. This survey is completely anonymous - no identifying information will be requested or collected - and all responses will be treated as strictly confidential. The survey is approved by City's research and ethics committee (Approval Code: ETH 1920-1414). The introductory section of the survey will provide you with further information and the informed consent. Please click here to access the survey or copy the survey-link below into your browser. https://cityunilondon.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6n7cxeunMyfy0fz By completing the questionnaire, you can - in addition to supporting aviation safety research - even do more good as we will donate a minimum of €2 for the first 1000 fully completed responses to the UNICEF COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund which helps to care for vulnerable children and communities all over the world. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: aviationsafety@city.ac.uk or tom.becker.1@city.ac.uk or via phone: +49 172 7178780. We thank you very much in advance. Your support is truly appreciated. Best regards, Capt. Tom Becker Prof. Peter Ayton Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Dear Participants, You are being asked to participate in a research study of your opinions and attitudes about stress and mental health. This research started almost two years ago. The purpose of this study is to examine mental health issues in aviation, specifically Part 121 airline pilots. During this study, you will be asked to complete a brief online survey about your opinions on various life circumstances, stress, and mental health topics. This study is expected to take approximately 15 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must possess an FAA issued Airline Transport Certificate (ATP) and you must also be currently working as a pilot for a Part 121 air carrier that is headquartered within the United States. Participation in this study is voluntary and data will be collected anonymously, stored confidentially, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. We sincerely appreciate your consideration and time to complete our study, as it is another small but important step towards increasing safety in aviation. Please click on the link below to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZG6M6L For more information, please contact: Tanya Gatlin - Student Researcher Gatlint1@my.erau.edu 281-924-1336 Dr. Scott Winter - Faculty Advisor winte25e@erau.edu 386-226-6491 Curt Lewis