Flight Safety Information June 8, 2020 - No. 114 In This Issue Incident: South Sudan Supreme AN26 at Renk on Jun 5th 2020, runway excursion on landing Incident: Kalitta B734 at Rochester on Jun 5th 2020, veered off runway on rejected takeoff Incident: American A319 at Guadalajara on Jun 4th 2020, engine shut down in flight Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise - Fatal Accident (South Dakota) Overhaul of Florida air-traffic control won't cause major noise change, FAA says NTSB urges helicopter crash-resistant system installations Indonesian helicopter crashes, killing 4 Africa's aviation to suffer $8b in revenue loss Barry Eccleston, former President and CEO of Airbus America, named Executive Chairman of FLYHT India To Examine Resuming International Flights As Countries Ease Restrictions Lack of social distancing rule makes American Airlines an outlier German Airport Operator Seeks Offshore Wind Power British Airways Threatens to Fire Pilots, Fights U.K.'s Quarantine Rule Starship Is Top Priority, Elon Musk Tells To SpaceX Employees Ship-based Helicopter Management Aviation Safety Survey GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: South Sudan Supreme AN26 at Renk on Jun 5th 2020, runway excursion on landing A South Sudan Supreme Airlines Antonov AN-26, freight flight from Juba to Renk (South Sudan), suffered a runway excursion during landing at Renk. The pilot told local newspapers, a tyre burst during landing due to the poor runway conditions causing them to lose control of the aircraft. There were no injuries, the aircraft received minor damage. According to ATDB South Sudan Supreme Airlines may have operated an AN-26 registration S9-TLW (registration invalid with certainty) former EK-26710 (MSN 12710). The airline had, under its previous name South Supreme Airlines, lost another AN-26 registration S9-TLZ, see Accident: South Supreme AN26 at Wau on Mar 20th 2017, collided with fire truck on landing, ceased operation due to collapsing economy and restarted at some later time (presumably 2019) under the new name South Sudan Supreme Airlines. Renk Airport is located at coordinates N11.7877 E32.8006 and features an unpaved runway of unknown length, satellite images of the aerodrome in 2017-2019, while clearly showing a helicopter at the airfield, do not show any structure long enough for a runway that an Antonov 26 could operate on. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d8605ad&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Kalitta B734 at Rochester on Jun 5th 2020, veered off runway on rejected takeoff A Kalitta Charters Boeing 737-400 freighter, registration N733CK performing flight KI-822 from Rochester,NY to Hartford,CT (USA) with 3 crew, was cleared for takeoff from Rochester's runway 22 and in the initial acceleration for takeoff at 09:11L (13:11Z) when the aircraft veered left off the runway, the crew rejected takeoff, and the aircraft came to a stop with all gear on soft ground about 130 feet to the left of the runway centerline and about 750 feet down the runway. There were no injuries, the aircraft received minor if any damage. The captain explained they were lined up, when the copilot applied thrust the aircraft veered to the left. Rochester Airport Firefighters reported: "Airport Fire fighters currently handling a Ground Incident for a 737 into the grass off of runway 22." and reported according to radio transmissions a mechanical issue occurred prior to veering off the runway. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d84b89f&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American A319 at Guadalajara on Jun 4th 2020, engine shut down in flight An American Airlines Airbus A319-100, registration N772XF performing flight AA387 from Guadalajara (Mexico) to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA), was climbing out of Guadalajara's runway 10 when the crew reported they had lost engine #2 (CFM56, right hand), stopped the climb at FL230, shut the engine down and returned to Guadalajara for a safe landing on runway 10 about 35 minutes after departure. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL387/history/20200604/1929Z/MMGL/KDFW http://avherald.com/h?article=4d840438&opt=0 Back to Top Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise - Fatal Accident (South Dakota) Date: 07-JUN-2020 Time: 04:15 LT Type: Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise Owner/operator: McNeely Charter Service Registration: N44MX C/n / msn: 1526SA Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Category: Accident Location: Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD/KFSD), SD - United States of America Phase: Take off Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Sioux Falls Regional Airport (Jo Foss Field), SD (FSD/KFSD) Destination airport: Kokomo Municipal Airport, LA (KOKK) Investigating agency: NTSB Narrative: A Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise aircraft crashed on takeoff from Sioux Falls Regional Airport, South Dakota, USA. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The pilot died in the crash. The pilot originally departed from Everett, Washington, to transfer cargo to Huron, but he diverted to Sioux Falls, landing at 01:40 LT after 4 hours 24 mins flight time, because of thunderstorms in the Huron area. The pilot was taking off to resume his flight to Huron. Airport tower is shut from 00:01 to 05:00. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/236755 Back to Top Overhaul of Florida air-traffic control won't cause major noise change, FAA says Control of jetliners and other aircraft in Florida is slated to switch next year from radar and voice commands to a system relying on GPS and automated instructions for more precise landing and takeoff routes along narrower corridors. For residents of Central Florida wondering about noise near their homes from planes going to or leaving Orlando International Airport, Sanford's airport and Orlando Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Authority will conduct a public workshop online at 6 p.m. Monday and another June 12 at 3 p.m. to explain the proposed changes. The meetings will include FAA officials, air-traffic controllers, airline executive and airport representatives. FAA officials say they are not proposing major changes in the flight patterns that Central Floridan experience today. "Arrival aircraft typically will fly along the same paths and at similar altitudes as they do today," states FAA's online materials offered in advance of the meeting. FAA regional administrator Michael O'Harra said that as far as noise, there is likely to be some change, "but it's not going to be significantly down or up." Added FAA environmental specialist Lisa Favors: "There are minor increases and minor decreases" expected from the proposed overhaul of air-traffic control. The agency held its first online meeting for Florida on Wednesday for the Palm Beach area. Presented on Zoom and social media platforms, it drew an audience of 24,000, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Registration for the upcoming meetings for Central Florida airports can be done at floridametroplexworkshops.com For each person who registers, FAA will send a link to videos, documents and an interactive map with dozens of dots that when clicked will show current noise levels and expected levels from proposed changes. The dot locations vary from the edge of Lake Eola, Lake Nona, Winter Park and hundreds more areas of Central Florida. The materials also provide instructions for the online workshops and a basic explanation of routes used for landings and departures. For example, maps depict a path labeled Alina crossing over Winter Park and routes labeled Grnch and Jafar angling over Apopka. Also depicted are the corridors for flights to and from the Northeast, Europe, South Florida and the West. A digital flight-control system, according to FAA, will bring more direct and precise routes, reduce the complexities of communications and reduce holding patterns and instances of airliners have to slow down in route because of air-traffic congestion. "By increasing the level of automation, within the flight deck and between air traffic control and the flight deck, we reduce the potential for verbal communications problems," said Jim Arrighi, manager of FAA's Metroplex Program, which is revamping air-traffic control. "A higher degree of automation increases safety all around." The system also will provide for an "optimized profile descent," so that jetliners when approaching airports won't have to repeatedly throttle up or down, but will glide to a landing on "idle power." "Florida is the only state in the country where there are four, major international airports," O'Harra said of the Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa airports. All of the state is being revamped at the same time to incorporate GPS and digital air-traffic control systems. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/transportation/os-ne-faa-airliner-route-changes-20200607-q7gqyd35u5gp3huegrw4j3zf7u-story.html Back to Top NTSB urges helicopter crash-resistant system installations A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety recommendation report is requesting helicopter manufacturers to equip turbine-powered helicopters with crash-resistant systems to record data, audio, and images. The NTSB said the action requested of Airbus Helicopters, Bell, Leonardo, MD Helicopters, Robinson and Sikorsky stems from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) not implementing a series of NTSB recommendations made in 2013 and 2015. The NTSB noted investigators found the lack of recorded data hindered their understanding of several crashes that could have serious flight safety implications, citing 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 also identified five accidents in which investigators had the benefit of recorded data that was critical to understanding the circumstances of the crashes. "The more information we have, the better we can understand not only the circumstances of a crash but what can be done to prevent future accidents," Dana Schulze, director of the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety, said. "We are asking that currently available recording technology be put to use in a way that will improve aviation safety. The data these recorders can provide to investigators are data that can prevent accidents by allowing us to address safety issues that might otherwise go unidentified." https://transportationtodaynews.com/news/18410-ntsb-urges-helicopter-crash-resistant-system-installations/ Back to Top Indonesian helicopter crashes, killing 4 An Indonesian army helicopter has crashed on the main island of Java, killing four of the nine people on board. The Russian-made MI17 helicopter was carrying nine soldiers on a training mission when it went down and burst into flames in Central Java province's Kendal district on Saturday. The helicopter crashed about an hour after taking off from the provincial capital, Semarang, army spokesman Brigadier General Nefra Firdaus said. In addition to the four who were killed, five others were hospitalised with serious injuries after managing to escape the wreckage, Firdaus said in a statement. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. "The helicopter was flying very low and getting lower until it crashed with a very loud sound," a witness named Eka was quoted as saying by Kompas TV. "Two passengers escaped before it crashed, and after that there were three or four explosions." https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/indonesian-helicopter-crashes-killing-4/news-story/37db245fa3e9a88f5ca9b1d52522f7e0 Back to Top Africa's aviation to suffer $8b in revenue loss In Summary The report, released this week, shows the industry recorded a 90.3 per cent year on year passenger traffic reduction for the month of May. Since March 2020, AFRAA analysis reported there has been a shortage of cargo plane capacity due to demand derived from the Covid-19 crisis including medical supplies and essential goods with a number of airlines suspending their operations. Africa's aviation industry will suffer an estimated revenue loss of $8.103 billion this year as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, according to a latest report by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). The impact assessment analysis shows passenger revenue dropped to $0.403 billion in Q1 2020 which represents 13.8 per cent Year-over-Year with more impact seen in Q2 of this year, costing $2.740 billion. The analysis which is the first in a series of studies that will be published by the association examining the toll of the pandemic on Africa's air transport sector indicated that recovery is expected to start from the third quarter of 2020 with domestic operations, followed by regional and intercontinental flights. The report, released this week, shows the industry recorded a 90.3 per cent year on year passenger traffic reduction for the month of May. Since March 2020, AFRAA analysis reported there has been a shortage of cargo plane capacity due to demand derived from the Covid-19 crisis including medical supplies and essential goods with a number of airlines suspending their operations. CARGO CAPACITY The report indicates a significant reduction in belly cargo capacity due to suspension of passenger flights owing to border closures by states during the Covid-19 pandemic period with capacity dropping by 16.169 billion available seat miles in May, a 78.40 per cent of reduction year on year. During the launch of the report, AFRAA Secretary General, Abdérahmane Berthé noted lack of adequate funds to reboot the industry. "The availability of liquidity is the main issue to be addressed for airlines to survive and restart their operations. Without it, airlines can simply not survive this pandemic long enough to restart their operations," said Mr Berthe. Mr Berthé urged African governments to consider a bailout and stimulus package that compensates for the significant losses, reduces the burden of ongoing operating costs, and subsidises the industry's survival and recovery. "We also call upon international financial institutions and development partners to support Airlines with facilities that can help ensure the availability of much-needed credit and liquidity," Mr. Berthé added. He said there was need to ensure passenger confidence to resume air travel which can be achieved through communicating with passengers on the health and safety measures which have been put in place. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Africa-aviation-to-suffer-revenue-loss/2560-5572630-51jt6a/index.html Back to Top Barry Eccleston, former President and CEO of Airbus America, named Executive Chairman of FLYHT Aerospace Bill Tempany, former FLYHT Aerospace CEO, named Interim CEO CALGARY, Alberta, June 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSX-V: FLY) (OTCQX: FLYLF) (the "Company" or "FLYHT") today reported that Mr. Barry Eccleston, former President and CEO of Airbus America has agreed to serve as Executive Chairman of the Board of FLYHT and will help guide the Company utilizing his strong relationships with customers, suppliers and OEMs in the commercial aviation and defense industries. Mr. Eccleston has enjoyed a 40+ year storied career as an aerospace visionary and proponent of the advancement and development of the aviation industry. Mr. Bill Tempany, former CEO of FLYHT, will serve as the interim Chief Executive Officer while the Company recruits a permanent replacement. Mr. Tempany will also continue to serve as a director of the Company. The Company has terminated the contract with Mr. Thomas R. Schmutz as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. FLYHT improves aviation safety, efficiency and profitability by providing airlines, leasing companies, owners, operators and original equipment manufacturers with real-time insights into how their aircraft are performing. The Company's products include AFIRS™ (Automated Flight Information Reporting System), a satellite communications (Satcom) aircraft interface device (AID) which enables real-time streaming of flight information, aircraft tracking and health monitoring, fuel management, and black box data streaming, as well as TAMDAR™ (Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting), which aggregates and streams airborne weather data in real-time. FLYHT is headquartered in Calgary, Canada with an office in Littleton, Colorado and is an AS9100 Quality registered company. For more information, visit www.flyht.com https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/08/2044820/0/en/Barry-Eccleston-former-President-and-CEO-of-Airbus-America-named-Executive-Chairman-of-FLYHT-Aerospace.html Back to Top India To Examine Resuming International Flights As Countries Ease Restrictions As some countries begin lifting border restrictions, India is considering resuming international flights. With few exceptions, the country has banned incoming international flights since March. But on the weekend, India's Civil Aviation Minister signaled this could soon change. India's Civil Aviation Minister takes to Twitter Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Civil Aviation Minister, published a series of tweets on Sunday. He said that, despite demand, he couldn't re-open India's airports to international flights until other countries re-opened their borders. Another 100,000 passengers flew out of India & around 38,000 inbound Indian citizens returned on around 640 chartered flights. More such flights are being given permissions. A decision to resume regular international operations will be taken as soon as countries ease restrictions on entry of foreign nationals. Destination countries have to be ready to allow incoming flights. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a ban on international flights that runs through until June 30. The Minister says increasing demand for international flights is driving his view. However, while some countries are allowing carefully managed transit traffic through their airports, few countries are allowing non-essential non-citizens to enter. Due to increasing demand for resumption of scheduled international flights by people who want to travel abroad due to compelling reasons, I reviewed the state of international flight operations around the world. Most countries have less than 10% international operations because they are allowing entry only to their own citizens & have placed restrictions on foreign nationals. Many are allowing inbound flights from few countries but have also placed restrictions of quarantine/isolation. It is a common stance that shows no signs of easing up. The Minister notes that most countries are running international services at less than 10% of normal capacity. Of those flights that are operating, many are repatriation flights and essential air links. India comes out of lockdown - travel resumes Until recently, all commercial aviation activity in India was in hiatus. But domestic flights resumed in late May. There is a push to get domestic flying up to 50 - 60% of normal capacity as quickly as possible. But this resumption of domestic flying could prove an issue. As other countries get on top of COVID-19 infection rates, they are continuing to rise in India. The high rate of domestic travel, which re-opening domestic flights help facilitate, is widely seen as a contributing factor to the spread of COVID-19. That could make other countries wary of accepting inbound passengers from India. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) currently classifies all airports in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh as having a high risk of COVID-19 transmissions. Owing to their population densities and high levels of domestic travel, countries like India and China are in the spotlight when it comes to COVID-19 risk analysis and air travel. There are fears that, as India comes out of lockdown, the rate of infection there will increase rather than decrease. Some handy business for Air India While there isn't much chance of Hardeep Singh Puri's wish coming true anytime soon, the national carrier, Air India will operate a lot of international flights between now and July. The Indian Government has a substantial repatriation program underway called Vande Bharat Mission. To date, over 107,000 Indian citizens have been brought home. Between now and July, another 38,000 citizens will be flown back to India under stage 3 of the program. That's proving a bonus for Air India, who are laying on over 300 repatriation flights over the next few weeks. Demand for the flights is such that Air India's website crashed on the weekend when bookings opened. Flights are going to Europe, Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, and Africa between June 10 and July 1. Air India is reportedly adding extra flights. While this is a handy piece of business for the continually cash-strapped airline, it probably also represents the vast bulk of international flying that India will see for the immediate future. Until other countries are confident India has infection rates under control, their borders are unlikely to be open to flights from India, rendering Hardeep Singh Puri's tweets wishful thinking rather than any sort of clear indicator. https://simpleflying.com/india-international-flight-resumptions-examine/ Back to Top Lack of social distancing rule makes American Airlines an outlier American Airlines is looking to pack more passengers onto flights in the coming months and unlike many peers has not instituted a seating cap to enforce social distancing. Why it matters: That drive for more ticket sales at the possible expense of customer safety may be what's helping its stock outperform other major airlines that have put policies in place. By the numbers: Over the past month American's stock has risen by nearly 90%, underpinned by a 41% gain on Thursday. Its stock price has nearly doubled since May 29. Other airlines also have seen sizable gains but fall short of American's rise, with United, JetBlue, Southwest and Delta up 68%, 59%, 39% and 51%, respectively, since May 4. What they're saying: "Our goal is to leave 50% of Main Cabin middle seats open, when possible, creating more space for customers," American said in response to my tweet pointing out that I had - again - been put on what appeared to be a completely full flight. American followed up in an email to say that my flight had 44 open seats, suggesting - again - that I believe their media relations team and not my lying eyes. The state of play: The "when possible" policy sets American apart from other major airlines, which have instituted in-writing restrictions on flight capacity. United has a policy to allow passengers to choose to rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit when flights are 70% full. Delta assures that its planes will fly no more than 60% full in its main cabin. JetBlue has a rule to leave middle seats open, unless families are traveling together. Southwest has 20% reduction in available seat miles. The big picture: The decision is resulting in short-term gain, but could leave the airline open to long-term pain in the form of lawsuits, an attorney specializing in negligence and liability told Axios last month. Flashback: CNBC reported on May 27 that "American Airlines has started alerting travelers about crowded planes before their trips and allowing them to switch to other flights." However, no announcement of that program could be found on American's website and customer service representatives tell Axios that no such policy exists. What they're not saying: An American Airlines spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the policy's existence. https://www.axios.com/american-airlines-social-distancing-coronavirus-37fa9053-05ef-4aaa-8cf3-603b3ad98df4.html Back to Top German Airport Operator Seeks Offshore Wind Power German transport company Fraport AG plans to procure electricity generated at wind farms selected in Germany's last two offshore wind auctions. Fraport AG, the operator of the Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt am Main, intends to sign one or more power purchase agreements (PPAs) with offshore wind farm operators. The company seeks to procure around 350 GWh of electricity per year, which corresponds to a peak capacity of around 85 MW, the company said. In order to participate in this procurement, the bidders must demonstrate that they were successful in either or both of Germany's last two offshore wind auctions held in 2017 and 2018. The duration of the contract/s is ten years, with Fraport AG reserving the right to extend the contract/s by an additional five-year period. The contract or contracts will become effective once the wind farm or wind farms are commissioned. The commissioning and the start of delivery must take place by the end of 2025, Fraport AG said. Companies wishing to participate in the procurement procedure should send an Expression of Interest (EoI) to Fraport AG. The time limit for the submission of the EoIs is 24 July. https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/06/08/german-airport-operator-seeks-offshore-wind-power/ Back to Top British Airways Threatens to Fire Pilots, Fights U.K.'s Quarantine Rule • Self-isolation requirement for U.K. arrivals to kick in Monday • IAG writes to Home Office to start process against quarantine British Airways raised the stakes in talks with unions over a controversial 12,000 job-cut proposal and started a legal process to block the U.K.'s self-isolation requirement for arrivals, an order that would further undermine an industry devastated by the coronavirus crisis. The carrier warned its pilots union that it would dismiss all of its 4,300 pilots and rehire them on individual contracts unless an agreement can be reached on new employment terms, the Balpa union said on Saturday. British Airways is negotiating a planned reduction of 1,130 roles represented by Balpa, and has sought to eliminate an additional 125 positions, the union said. "This has seriously undermined our talks, which now hang by a thread," Brian Strutton, the general secretary of the union, said in an email. "It calls into question whether BA is even capable of conducting industrial relations properly and whether anything they say can be trusted." The standoff with labor is escalating as new quarantine rules are set to kick in on Monday. Concerned that the 14-day self-isolation requirement would block its plans to restart services in July, British Airways' parent IAG SA wrote to the Home Office to start a process to block the measure, which could lead to a lawsuit, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg News. The letter, also signed by discount carriers Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc, pointed to how the rules would apply to travelers from countries with lower infection rates than the U.K., and disproportionately affect those from England than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. More Stringent The quarantine for travelers is also more stringent than the one for those who test positive for the virus, according to the letter. The airlines also argued that the U.K. is imposing the self-isolation on arrivals from countries that have a lower infection rate than the U.K. "In our view, the government has failed to identify a valid justification for the blanket nature of the regulations, more especially given the extremely severe nature of the self-isolation provisions that apply," according to the letter. The Home Office declined to comment on the potential legal action late Saturday. On Friday, James Slack, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, told reporters the government wants to work with the industry as the country moves through the pandemic. The quarantine is being introduced as carriers try to salvage the normally busy summer season. IAG Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh last week wrote to members of the parliament that the quarantine measures would torpedo BA's plans to resume about 40% of its scheduled flights in July, and would force the carrier to continue burning 20 million pounds ($25 million) a day. IAG shares have lost almost half their value this year If British Airways and the airlines push ahead with a legal challenge, a court proceeding known as a judicial review will be held in London's High Court. The transport sector isn't a stranger to a judicial review. Earlier this year, the procedure was used to force the government to take full account of climate change agreements over its plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The procedure allows members of the public and corporations to hold the government to account over policy decisions. The process is designed to weigh the lawfulness of how a government decision has been reached, rather than whether the decision is right or wrong. Public bodies that lose judicial review cases can make the same decision again as long as they do so using the right procedures. Like airlines worldwide, IAG is slashing costs to contend with a historic drop in travel. Carriers in Europe have signaled plans to eliminate more than 50,000 positions since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, including 10,000 on Wednesday at Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG. In an email, British Airways said the carrier is "acting now to protect as many jobs possible," adding that "the airline industry is facing the deepest structural change in its history, as well as facing a severely weakened global economy." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-06/british-airways-threatens-to-fire-all-pilots-in-latest-salvo Back to Top Starship Is Top Priority, Elon Musk Tells To SpaceX Employees Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX is urging employees to renew focus on Starship, a massive rocket that can take as many as 100 people in one go to the moon and Mars. What Happened In an email to employees Saturday, Musk wrote, "We need to accelerate Starship progress." He asked employees to increase the speed of progress on the rocket "dramatically and immediately," reported CNBC. The communique to employees comes a week after SpaceX launched NASA astronauts into space. The duo of astronauts was launched using a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle launched by a Falcon 9 rocket. The chief executive asked employees to focus on the large rocket writing, "Please consider the top SpaceX priority (apart from anything that could reduce Dragon return risk) to be Starship." Why It Matters Currently, the Falcon 9 is the main workhorse of SpaceX and the company has launched 85 missions using that rocket in the past ten years, reported CNBC. While Falcon 9 is partly reusable, the stainless steel Starship is intended to be fully reusable. The development of Starship has suffered from four major setbacks, the latest being a prototype exploding on May 29 in Texas. After a prototype was unveiled in 2019, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine had said he wanted to see further developments and delivery on taxpayer money in a tweet. Musk had said at the time that SpaceX's "resources are overwhelmingly" focused on Crew Dragon, reported CNBC. SpaceX has raised nearly $1.7 billion since 2019, and its valuation has risen to $36 billion. Musk told employees to consider spending more time in Boca Chica, Texas, where Starship is being developed, reported CNBC. He wrote, "For those considering moving, we will always offer a dedicated SpaceX aircraft to shuttle people." Analysts believe SpaceX's value largely lies in Starlink, the company's satellite-based low-latency broadband internet service. https://www.yahoo.com/news/starship-top-priority-elon-musk-051704850.html 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