Flight Safety Information June 3, 2020 - No. 111 In This Issue U.S. FAA chief to testify at Senate hearing on Boeing 737 MAX U.S. board urges helicopter manufacturers to add crash-data recorders Laser pointers threatening safety of Vance pilots, violating federal law Alaska Volcano Observatory warning pilots of ash plume from volcano eruption Mumbai suspends flight movement from 2.30-7 pm; Fedex plane removed from runway after overshooting Aviation Safety: Commission adopts new EU Air Safety List PIA A320 recorders LanzaTech launches LanzaJet to produce sustainable aviation fuel National Aviation Center's Online Aircraft Registration Services to Remain Fully Operational Virus has been 'very devastating' for many African airlines Garuda lays off 180 contract pilots SMBC Aviation Capital Defers 68 Boeing 737 MAX Jets to 2025-27 FAA Supports Amazing NASA and SpaceX Launch Ship-based Helicopter Management Ship-based Helicopter Management Aviation Safety Survey GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY U.S. FAA chief to testify at Senate hearing on Boeing 737 MAX WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson will testify June 17 before a U.S. Senate panel on certification of the Boeing 737 MAX that was involved in two fatal crashes in five months that killed 346 people. The Senate Commerce Committee said Dickson "will testify about issues associated with the design, development, certification, and operation" of the MAX that has been grounded since March 2019. The FAA's long-standing practice of delegating certification tasks to Boeing employees for the MAX has come under withering criticism. Reuters has reported the FAA is not expected to grant approval to allow the MAX to resume flights until August at the earliest. A House Transportation Committee in March called the FAA's certification review of the 737 MAX "grossly insufficient" and said the agency had failed in its duty to identify key safety problems. The U.S. Transportation Department's inspector general is expected to soon release a fact-finding report into the plane's certification, but make no recommendations. Boeing, which resumed production of the MAX last week at a very low rate, did not comment. Senate Commerce chairman Roger Wicker introduced legislation Tuesday to require FAA to review assumptions regarding pilot reaction time and reform its certification processes to "eliminate instances of undue pressure or 'regulatory coziness' that could lead to lapses in safety protocols." In January, Boeing released hundreds of internal messages containing harshly critical comments about MAX's development. One said the plane was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." The messages showed attempts to duck regulatory scrutiny with employees disparaging the plane, the company and FAA. The U.S. Justice Department has been conducting a criminal investigation into the 737 MAX. The FAA said last month it would require Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers to adopt new safety-management tools. https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-faa-chief-testify-senate-213121045.html Back to Top U.S. board urges helicopter manufacturers to add crash-data recorders WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday urged six major manufacturers to equip turbine-powered helicopters with crash-resistant systems to record data, audio and images, after former NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash in January. The NTSB asked Airbus Helicopters, Bell - a unit of Textron Inc Leonardo, MD Helicopters, Robinson Helicopter Co and Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp - to act after U.S. regulators have not backed mandating the equipment despite a series of recommendations since 2013. Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people died when a twin-engine Sikorsky S-76B helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in heavy fog on Jan. 26. The helicopter did not have a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder. The safety board found that a "lack of recorded data hindered their understanding of several crashes that could have serious flight safety implications." The manufacturers did not immediately respond to requests for comment or declined immediate comment. The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately comment. Some helicopters are required by the FAA to have crash-resistant systems to record flight data and cockpit audio but none are required to have image-recording capability. Some operators have voluntarily equipped their helicopters with recording systems, including image-recording capability. The NTSB cited seven helicopter investigations between 2011 and 2017, in which the lack of access to recorded data impeded their ability to identify and address potential safety issues. The NTSB said 86% of 185 turbine-powered helicopter accidents it investigated between 2005 and 2017 had no recording equipment installed. The NTSB also asked manufacturers to provide a way to retrofit existing helicopters with recording systems. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/u-board-urges-helicopter-manufacturers-182305117.html Back to Top Laser pointers threatening safety of Vance pilots, violating federal law In the past 10 months, and twice in the last few weeks, Vance Air Force Base pilots have reported lasers shining into their cockpits from various locations around Enid, Oklahoma. Lasing the cockpit can distract or cause serious injury to student pilots who already have a lot going on learning to fly. VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - Lasers pointed toward cockpits, even when the aircraft is 500 feet overhead, are dangerous not only to the pilot, but to the community at large. In the past 10 months, and twice in the last few weeks, Vance AFB pilots have reported lasers shining into their cockpits from various locations around Enid, Oklahoma. Each incident was reported to local police, who are investigating. If the perpetrators are located, they face a federal charge punishable by up to five years in prison. But it's not just that it's against the law. "Pointing a laser, no matter how small, at an aircraft flying is incredibly dangerous to the pilot and the populated areas below," said Lt. Col. Christopher Occhiuzzo, Vance's Chief of Safety. "It's not a game. Lasing the cockpit can distract or cause serious injury to pilots who already have a lot going on while they're airborne," Occhiuzzo. Lasing has also been known to leave an afterimage or blind a pilot for precious seconds. At Vance, this is particularly dangerous because all of the incidents have been in the evening, while the aircraft were either landing or performing touch-and-go maneuvers. https://www.aetc.af.mil/News/Article/2205958/laser-pointers-threatening-safety-of-vance-pilots-violating-federal-law/ Back to Top Alaska Volcano Observatory warning pilots of ash plume from volcano eruption ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Alaska Volcano Observatory is warning pilots of an ash plume from an eruption at Cleveland volcano Monday night. According to the AVO, a small explosion was recorded at 10:30 p.m. Monday from the Cleveland volcano. A small ash plume was observed at 22,000 feet drifting to the south. Explosions from Cleveland typically produce relatively small volcanic ash clouds that dissipate within hours; however, more significant ash emissions are possible. No other significant activity was detected but the Alaska Volcano Observatory says local monitoring stations are offline. https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Alaska-Volcano-Observatory-warning-pilots-of-smoke-plume-from-volcano-eruption-570951761.html Back to Top Mumbai suspends flight movement from 2.30-7 pm; Fedex plane removed from runway after overshooting it NEW DELHI: Mumbai Airport will suspend flight movement between 2.30 pm and 7 pm on Wednesday due to cyclone Nisarga leading to very strong crosswinds. Earlier on Wednesday, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport a Fedex MD 11 aircraft shot off the runway on landing at Mumbai Airport on Wednesday afternoon, when the super cyclone made landfall amid. The Fedex aircraft was flying in from Bengaluru and landed on secondary runway 14. But it could not stop on time and went out of the runway by nine metres. Luckily like runway excursions seen in past monsoons, the aircraft was quickly restored and the runway did not have to be closed for operations. In a statement, CSMIA said it "witnessed a runway excursion Wednesday with FedEx flight 5033 arriving from Bengaluru. The incident occurred when the MD11 aircraft landed on runway 14/32. The aircraft was towed away from the runway and there has been no disruption in flight operations." There is no reported damage to aircraft infrastructure and aircraft. "In consultation with Airports Authority of India, considering the strong crosswinds, it has been decided that no arrivals and departures will take place between 2.30 pm to 7 pm," the airport statement said. On July 1, 2019, a SpiceJet Jaipur-Mumbai flight had skidded off the main runway on landing at Mumbai airport. Then just a few hours later another SpiceJet Boeing 737 flying in from Coimbatore overshot the other runway on landing. While the aircraft from Coimbatore was quickly removed from the runway end, the plane which had flown in from Jaipur had remained for three days. It was finally removed by Air India engineering. The closure of CSMIA's main runway meant that over the three days the SpiceJet B737 remained stuck there, over 200 flights in and out of Mumbai had to be cancelled and more than 400 were delayed. As a fallout of this severe and long disruption, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had on July 15 ordered Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati airports to have a "disabled aircraft recovery kit" (DARK) in place with manpower trained to operate the same. India, till last monsoon, had only one kit - with Air India - for all its airports. Last monsoon saw a number of runway excursions after which the regulator had cracked the whip on airlines. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/fedex-aircraft-overshoots-runway-at-mumbai-airport-all-safe/articleshow/76172607.cms Back to Top Aviation Safety: Commission adopts new EU Air Safety List This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission today updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union as they do not meet international safety standards. The Commission wishes to ensure the highest level of air safety for all passengers travelling in the European Union. Following today's update, all airlines certified in Armenia have been added to the list, after further assessment of the country's safety oversight capabilities. This decision follows the hearings of the Armenian Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) and six Armenian air carriers. In addition, the list of air carriers certified in Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nepal, and Sierra Leone has been reviewed and amended, with new carriers from these countries added, and carriers which do not exist any longer removed. Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: "The EU Air Safety List should be used as an instrument that helps airlines and countries listed reassess and improve their flying standards. The decision to include the Armenian carriers on the EU Air Safety List has been made based on the unanimous opinion delivered by the Air Safety Committee. The Commission, with the assistance of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, stands ready to cooperate and invest in Armenia to improve its aviation safety." The EU Air Safety List not only helps to maintain high levels of safety in the EU, but also helps affected airlines and countries to improve their levels of safety, in order for them to eventually be taken off the list. In addition, the EU Air Safety List has become a major preventive tool, as it motivates countries with safety problems to act upon them before a ban under the EU Air Safety List would become necessary. Following today's update, a total of 96 airlines are banned from EU skies: • 90 airlines certified in 16 states*, due to inadequate safety oversight by the aviation authorities from these states; • Six individual airlines, based on serious safety deficiencies identified: Avior Airlines (Venezuela), Blue Wing Airlines (Suriname), Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran), Iraqi Airways (Iraq), Med-View Airlines (Nigeria) and Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe). • An additional three airlines are subject to operational restrictions and can only fly to the EU with specific aircraft types: Air Service Comores (the Comoros), Iran Air (Iran) and Air Koryo (North Korea). Background Today's update of the Air Safety List is based on the unanimous opinion of the aviation safety experts from the Member States who met from 12-14 May 2020 under the auspices of the EU Air Safety Committee (ASC), via videoconference. This Committee is chaired by the European Commission with the support of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The update equally got the support from the European Parliament's Transport Committee. Assessment is made against international safety standards, and notably the standards promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Commission is constantly looking at ways to improve aviation safety, notably through collaborative efforts with aviation authorities worldwide to raise global safety standards. https://europeansting.com/2020/06/03/aviation-safety-commission-adopts-new-eu-air-safety-list-2/ Back to Top PIA A320 recorders Investigators have downloaded information from the two flight recorders retrieved from the Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 which crashed in Karachi. French investigation authority BEA states that - at the request of the Pakistani inquiry team - it has "successfully" obtained information from the cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders. "Analysis of data is in progress and will continue this week," it adds. The inquiry team has yet to release any detailed information about the circumstances of the 22 May accident. But there is evidence that the twinjet touched down with its landing-gear either retracted or partially deployed, and attempted a go-around before losing power and crashing in a built-up area short of the runway. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/investigators-download-data-from-crashed-pia-a320-recorders/138658.article Back to Top LanzaTech launches LanzaJet to produce sustainable aviation fuel LanzaTech has launched LanzaJet, Inc., a new company that will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With nearly $50 million in funding from Suncor Energy, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and the US Department of Energy (grant), LanzaJet will start construction on a demonstration plant that will produce 10 million gallons per year of SAF and renewable diesel starting from sustainable ethanol sources. Production is expected to start in early 2022. Canada's leading integrated energy company, Suncor Energy Inc., and leading Japanese trading and investment company, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), are investing $15 million and $10 million, respectively, to establish LanzaJet. This initial investment, coupled with participation from All Nippon Airways (ANA), will complement the existing $14-0million grant from the US Department of Energy, enabling the construction of an integrated biorefinery at LanzaTech's Freedom Pines site in Soperton, Georgia. In addition to its equity investment, Suncor has contracted to take a significant portion of the SAF and renewable diesel produced at the facility to provide its jet fuel and distillate customers with sustainable energy solutions. Suncor and Mitsui are aiming to invest further in the construction of commercial production facilities after the demonstration meets all its technical and economic targets. This phased investment approach will see the initial investment followed by a capital call once all the demonstration milestones have been met. This will significantly accelerate commercial deployment. Jimmy Samartzis, has joined as LanzaJet CEO, bringing a background in clean energy, public policy, infrastructure and sustainability, as well as a decade at United Airlines including multiple executive roles in operations, commercial, corporate affairs, strategy, renewables, and safety. Currently serving as a Director on the Board for the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, he has held various industry roles, including with Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association, and advised the World Travel and Tourism Council. The LanzaJet process can use any source of sustainable ethanol for jet fuel production, including, but not limited to, ethanol made from recycled pollution, the core application of LanzaTech's carbon recycling platform. Commercialization of this process, called Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ), has been years in the making, starting with the partnership between LanzaTech and the U.S Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL developed a unique catalytic process to upgrade ethanol to alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK) which LanzaTech took from the laboratory to pilot scale. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/06/20200603-lanzajet.html Back to Top National Aviation Center's Online Aircraft Registration Services to Remain Fully Operational National Aviation Center National Aviation Center, the online aircraft registration portal, is keeping its offices open and operating despite widespread business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As an essential business, it has helped aircraft owners from the United States to remain up to date with all necessary registration paperwork to remain operational as a private or commercial aviation operator. The online portal webifies all key documents related to FAA registration. This includes aircraft re-registration, aircraft de-registration, initial registration, claim of lien, aircraft security agreement, aircraft airworthiness certificate, aircraft mortgage documents, and more. The service then submits all necessary information to the FAA, with the option of filing renewals for users in the future. National Aviation Center's services require essential specialists to receive online client information and submit official documents to the FAA in a timely, accurate, and secure fashion. Amid rampant slowdowns in business throughout the aviation industry amid the COVID-19 response, National Aviation Center is announcing that they will continue to process all client paperwork without delay or interruption. As a response to the pandemic, the FAA has announced that it may quarantine incoming paperwork for a time, according to the agency's website. The National Aviation Center ensures clients that the FAA will receive thoroughly accurate paperwork to curb any potential for delays on the part of the FAA. Disclaimer: The National Aviation center is not the Federal Aviation Administration. It is a third-party service that assists in submission and of processing all necessary paperwork with the FAA. For more information on the National Aviation Center, the types of documentation it services, or to make a press inquiry, please contact info@nationalaviationcenter.us, or call (800) 357-0893. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/business-general-aviation/press-release/21140671/national-aviation-center-national-aviation-centers-online-aircraft-registration-services-to-remain-fully-operational Back to Top Virus has been 'very devastating' for many African airlines African airlines had been piling on debt long before the pandemic but government bailouts allowed them to limp on for years KAMPALA, Uganda -- A "new baby" was born with the revival of Uganda Airlines, the country's president announced last year. But now its four new jets sit idle, business suspended indefinitely because of coronavirus-related travel restrictions. Questions are swirling in Africa and elsewhere over the financial wisdom of sustaining prestige carriers that often have a tiny share of an aviation market that sees no recovery in sight. African airlines had been piling on debt long before the pandemic but government bailouts allowed them to limp on for years. Now, as sub-Saharan Africa faces its first recession in a quarter-century, some airlines will find it harder to survive. That's despite growing global interest in the continent of 1.3 billion people. In some cases, local airlines are so important for pan-African business on a vast continent with historically poor infrastructure that their collapse would cripple speedy travel. In other cases, however, airlines have been seen as vanity projects for states that can hardly afford to support them. Nowel Ngala, commercial director of Asky Airlines - a carrier launched in 2010 by a group of regional banks hoping to solve transport difficulties in central and West Africa - said the pandemic has been "very devastating " to the company, whose nine aircraft are grounded. Revenue losses are substantial and there have been "serious impacts in terms of maintaining" the planes for whenever business resumes. The International Air Transport Association in April warned that African airlines could lose $6 billion in passenger revenue compared to last year, and half of the region's 6 million jobs in aviation and related industries could be lost. Air traffic this year is expected to fall by half, it said. "These estimates are based on a scenario of severe travel restrictions lasting for three months, with a gradual lifting of restrictions in domestic markets, followed by regional and intercontinental," the IATA said. That three-month period is already nearing an end, with no return to normal air travel in sight. Even Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's only profitable airline in recent years, has signaled distress, citing revenue losses of up to $550 million between January and April. As a survival measure, the airline has thrown itself into cargo operations, including shipping medical supplies across Africa and to other continents. "Some 22 of our passenger aircraft have been converted to cargo," CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told The Associated Press. "Once the pandemic is brought under control and passenger flights resume, we will configure them back into their original passenger cabin configurations." If the crisis lingers, he said, "we will discuss with our owner, the Ethiopian government, on how to manage the situation going forward, and we may also discuss with our creditor banks for liquidity loans." Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, has become Africa's gateway to Gulf nations and beyond. Now it is a key hub for shipping humanitarian supplies during the pandemic. Another major African airline, South African Airways, hasn't been profitable since 2011 and has been under bankruptcy protection since December. Tired of issuing bailouts, the government is demanding a new business plan. "We are now faced with the unknown post the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no precedent or certainty which can be followed in developing a new strategy," the department of public enterprises announced on May 1, saying the airline will be restructured. Administrators aim to lay off nearly 5,000 employees to keep the airline afloat. "Airlines that were struggling before the pandemic will likely end up filing for bankruptcy or seek bailouts," the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has warned, calling air transport a critical sector for the continent's economy, along with tourism, as global ties and investment have grown. The revived Uganda Airlines barely had the chance to get started. Without solid support from the state while grappling with how to comply with new safety guidelines, Uganda Airlines "may as well go home," said Francis Babu, a pilot and former government minister. The airline's CEO and spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. In neighboring Kenya, Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka has been blunt. "Even before this crisis we were not in a good place," he told the Metropol television channel on May 6. The airline's business model and market approach will need to change, he said. But asked how he sees Kenya Airways coping after the pandemic, he replied: "No one knows." Employees have taken pay cuts of up to 80% as Kenya Airways undergoes a re-nationalization process started last year to help it return to profitability. In February the airline received a government loan of nearly $5 million to overhaul its fleet's engines. A further cash infusion from the state is needed, Kilavuka said, "anything that you can afford." The company's growing debt is one reason that Aly-Khan Satchu, a financial analyst based in Nairobi, believes that authorities will need to create another version of Kenya's flag carrier "with a clean balance sheet." Kenya Airways, which depends on passenger traffic for 90% of its revenue, will have to pivot to cargo and reduce its network to create an agile state carrier, he said. "I appreciate it serves a national interest function but the balance sheet has now crossed a tipping point." In Rwanda, the government said it will increase its funding to national carrier RwandAir, whose cost-trimming includes pay cuts of up to 65% and the suspension of contracts with some pilots and non-essential staff until further notice. Times are even harder for Air Zimbabwe, the one-plane national carrier of the southern African nation, saddled with debt of more than $300 million even before the pandemic. The airline said in April it was forcing dozens of employees into unpaid leave until the Boeing 767 can fly passengers again. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/virus-devastating-african-airlines-71038546 Back to Top Garuda lays off 180 contract pilots National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has laid off 180 contract pilots, as well as hundreds of workers as the company continues to struggle financially amid a slump in demand for air travel, its workers association has said. The pilots, including senior and outsourced pilots working on a contract basis, have had their contracts terminated as the airline cuts back on flights, Garuda Pilot Association (APG) chairperson Muzaeni told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. "There are a total of 180 pilots affected, of which 150 are contract workers sourced internally, mostly retired seniors aged 60 to 65 years old," Muzaeni said in a phone interview. "The other 30 are externally sourced contract workers." The move followed a previous announcement from the airline that it had furloughed about 800 workers for three months starting on May 14 in a bid to maintain the company's finances before resuming normal operations. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced Garuda to park 100 of its 142 aircraft as its daily flights have dropped 70 percent because of the government's large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). Consequently, in the first quarter of 2020, the airline recorded a 31.9 percent annual drop in passenger and cargo revenue. APG said the laid-off pilots had their rights fulfilled by the company. Muzaeni also said that in addition to the layoffs, Garuda had offered early retirement packages with added benefits for existing senior employees. "The company is offering early retirement packages for employees who are over 50 years old. The package is worth about 35 times monthly wages, more than the usual retirement package, which is worth 30 times monthly wages," he said. Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra acknowledged the layoffs in a press release on Tuesday, while stating that the company had fulfilled its obligation to the affected pilots. "We have been forced to terminate the contracts of our workers in order to align our workforce with the demand for our flight operations, which are significantly affected by the pandemic," he said. "It was a tough decision to make. However, we believe that Garuda can improve its operational condition and survive these challenging times," Irfan added. Previously, Garuda Indonesia took several measures to maintain cash flow amid plummeting demand for air travel. The measures included cutting employee and executive salaries, cutting production costs for efficiency and renegotiating obligations to partners and aircraft lessors. Garuda Indonesia booked US$3.25 billion in short-term liabilities last year, including $498.9 million in sukuk (sharia compliant bonds), according to its 2019 financial report. As the company struggles to stay afloat, the government is set to give Rp 8.5 trillion ($597.6 million) in a working capital guarantee for the airline as part of the economic recovery stimulus package to stave off the impact of the pandemic, including on ailing state-owned companies. https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/03/garuda-lays-off-180-contract-pilots.html Back to Top SMBC Aviation Capital Defers 68 Boeing 737 MAX Jets to 2025-27 DUBLIN - Aircraft leasing firm SMBC Aviation Capital has deferred the delivery of 68 of Boeing's grounded 737 MAX jet until 2025-2027, it said in its annual results on Tuesday. Dublin-based SMBC, which has 133 of the aircraft on order, did not provide further details of its new delivery schedule. Boeing's best-selling plane was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes which killed 346 people. While the jetmaker resumed production of the MAX last week, a number of orders have been cancelled or deferred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aircraft leasing firms, which together control over 40% of the global passenger fleet, are among the largest customers of the MAX and several have cancelled or deferred orders since the start of the pandemic. Aercap, the world's largest lessor, last month said it had obtained the deferral of deliveries of dozens of MAX jets and said it could cancel some orders. Leasing firm Avolon in April announced the cancellation of 75 MAX jets that were due to be delivered by 2023. SMBC said in its annual results that it was well positioned to weather the disruption to global air travel caused by the pandemic. The firm, which is owned by a consortium including Japan's Sumitomo Corp and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, said it has $10.6 billion in support from its shareholders. That includes $2.9 billion of equity and $7.7 billion debt financing of which $3.2 billion was undrawn as at March 31, it said. It said it had $6.3 billion of available liquidity at the end of March. The firm reported a record profit before tax of $364.5 million for the year to March 31, up almost 5.8%. https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/03/world/asia/03reuters-smbc-aviation-boeing.html Back to Top FAA Supports Amazing NASA and SpaceX Launch Our Air Traffic and Space Operations Team is on a Safety Mission "This is such an exciting time for U.S. aerospace and our country as we begin a new era for U.S. space operations, and the future looks so bright," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. Last weekend's NASA and SpaceX Dragon Crew launch marks the return of human spaceflight from U.S. soil to orbit. It was an extraordinary launch and stunning reentry, and the incredible mission continues aboard the International Space Station. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic and space operations team at the David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center supported the launch by keeping the public and our airspace safe. Watch a short video to learn more. "I couldn't be prouder of the FAA's air traffic and space operations team who safely integrated this operation into our airspace with minimal disruption to other users," said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. Are you wondering why the FAA is involved in space? We play an important role in the launch of spacecraft! Our Air Traffic Organization ensures the safety of the launch by moving aircraft out of the path of the spacecraft as it moves through the National Airspace System. They reroute aircraft, publish notices to alert pilots in the area, and then safely reopen the airspace to operators. Although we did not license this SpaceX launch, our Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues many launch licenses to keep the public safe during commercial space launch and reentry events, and we will be licensing human spaceflight launches in the future. We work in collaboration with other government agencies and aviation stakeholders to keep everyone safe. Read our story on Medium to get the details. Go to our space YouTube playlist to learn more. We hope the SpaceX launch has inspired your interest in aerospace. Better yet, we encourage you to share NASA, SpaceX and FAA social media content with the young people you know to spark their curiosity and foster their possible future in aerospace! http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55771 New Insomnia Treatment Developed for Pilots Set To Shake Up The Billion Dollar Sleep Industry Blenheim, New Zealand-May 25th, 2020 For Immediate Release Today, Allan Baker, well known aviation psychologist, has announced the release of his new book, "BLIS™ For Insomniacs", which provides details on the new treatment he has developed which helps insomniacs and others with sleep problems to actively bring on sleep when they need it, rather than waiting passively for sleep to 'happen to them'. This is a breakthrough How-To-Get-To-Sleep technique and guide for anyone who doesn't get enough sleep. Working with long haul airline pilots over the past 15 years, Allan has had to help them cope with the effects of too little sleep due to the nature of their work-changing time zones, flying at night, frequent layovers in new cities and hotels. Finding that existing insomnia treatments simply did not provide adequate results, and knowing that pilots could not resort to using sleeping pills and other medications which would impair their performance, he set about trying to find a better solution. "The problem is," he says, "most sleep therapies are simply rehashes of things that sleep professionals have been expounding for years, with limited success-until now there's been no significant breakthrough technique that addresses all the body's prerequisite conditions for sleep to occur, as a whole." Extensive research through the relevant scientific literature, particularly that around the effective treatment of PTSD, and an ability to think outside the box, has meant that Allan has been able to join-the-dots and make a discovery that appears to have eluded other sleep researchers. Simply put, the two main existing treatment paradigms, 'sleep hygiene' and cognitive behavioural treatment, as just two legs of the sleep stool, deal only with some of the conditions that must be met for sleep to occur. Allan's new technique, coined BLIS - for bilateral induced sleep - completes what he refers to as the third leg of the Sleep Stool, by providing an easy to learn and use method which helps the brain make the shift from emitting the high frequency Alpha waves of wakefulness, to the lower frequency Delta waves seen when we sleep. "I've discovered from knowledge of other areas of therapy, that it's possible to easily train your brain to shift from emitting alpha waves to delta waves, and when the brain emits delta waves, it basically brings on sleep." Allan notes that the sleep industry worldwide is worth tens of billions of dollars, primarily because so many people struggle to get the sleep they need. "The downstream effects of disturbed sleep on health are massive," he says. "If you're getting a couple of hours less sleep a night than you should, on average you're shortening your life by seven and a half years. Sleep is very important in keeping your immune system working well." "The breakthrough came from treating getting to sleep as a skill that can be trained. My new technique has been very effective with many of the pilots I've worked with, and I'm hoping that by releasing this book, I'll now be in a position to help many other sleep deprived people get the rest that they need and crave." BLIS™ For Insomniacs (ISBN: 978-0-473-52117-2) is available as a downloadable PDF eBook for US$14.99 from the mySleepSwitch website at: www.mysleepswitch.com. A sample chapter of the book is available for free download. About Allan Baker Trained as a military pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and is a registered psychologist. Allan has had a psychology career spanning over 45 years, and for the past fifteen years has worked exclusively in the field of Aviation Psychology. This has led to his deep understanding and interest in the area of sleep, which is so critical for commercial pilots and air crew. He is the current holder of the Jim Collins Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Aviation Safety. Allan was presented with this award in 2017 for his significant contribution to the development of the New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association (NZALPA) Peer Assistance Program, and in particular his furthering of a better industry understanding in the specialist area of pilots' mental health. Press Contact: Golden Micro Solutions Ltd, Box 590, Blenheim, New Zealand, publisher of the book. For more information: E: admin@mysleepswitch.com T: +64 21 900 461 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