Flight Safety Information July 6, 2020 - No. 135 In This Issue Incident: LOT E195 at Amsterdam on Jul 5th 2020, hard landing Accident: Buff Services F50 at Bardere on Jul 5th 2020, right main gear collapsed on landing Incident: Tunis A320 at Tunis on Jul 3rd 2020, aircraft ends wild hunt Incident: Cargolux B744 at Hong Kong on Jul 4th 2020, rejected takeoff due to engine problem Incident: Inuit B732 at Montreal on Jul 1st 2020, unreliable airspeed Incident: Malta B738 near Thessaloniki on Jul 3rd 2020, smoke indication AAIB Publishes 2019 Annual Safety Review (UK) Fury as Air NZ passengers kicked off flight, put into quarantine A China Airlines Airbus A330 Lost Primary Computers After Landing PIA to challenge EU flight ban next week Sully Adds Voice To Lobby Against Potentially GPS-Jamming Cell Network LSA Gyroplanes: FAA Warms to the Idea United Receives Permission To Conduct India Charter Flights Singapore Airlines, Qantas to Send A380s to Desert for Storage Air India pilots are angry over pay cuts - want salaries to be reduced in a graded manner Delta ALPA Negotiate Early-Out Package For Senior Pilots As Boeing 777 Retirements Near Cathay Pacific considers drier storage options for unused planes Rocket Lab's 13th launch ends in failure, after rocket experiences problem mid-flight Online Unmanned Aircraft Systems from SCSI AVIATION SAFETY SURVEY GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Today's Photo Back to Top Incident: LOT E195 at Amsterdam on Jul 5th 2020, hard landing A LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-195, registration SP-LNB performing flight LO-267 from Warsaw (Poland) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), landed on Amsterdam's runway 22 at about 13:29L (11:29Z) but touched down hard. Tower and crew maintained routine communication, the aircraft vacated the runway and taxied to the apron. The return flight was cancelled due to damage to the aircraft. The severity of damage is currently not known. Tower had reported winds from 240 degrees at 29 knots gusting 36 knots when clearing the flight to land on runway 22. According to ADS-B data transmitted by the aircraft the aircraft performed a stabilized approach until about 100 feet AGL when the rate of descent increased to above 800 fpm at 106 knots over ground just prior to touch down. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d993c61&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Buff Services F50 at Bardere on Jul 5th 2020, right main gear collapsed on landing A Buff Air Services Fokker 50, registration 5Y-WFC performing a flight from Mogadishu to Bardere (Somalia) with 5 crew and a load of relief cargo, suffered the collapse of the right hand main gear while landing in Bardere at about 12:00L (09:00Z), the right wing tip as well as the right hand propeller contacted the ground as result. No serious injuries are being reported. Local sources reported the right hand tyres may have deflated resulting in the gear collapse. Gedo Administration reported the aircraft arrived from Mogadishu. An investigation into the accident has been opened. Bardere Airfield (Gedo province) is located at Coordinates N2.330 E42.3119 and features a compacted sand runway 15/33 of 1300 meters/4265 feet length. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d990fc6&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Tunis A320 at Tunis on Jul 3rd 2020, aircraft ends wild hunt A Tunisair Airbus A320-200, registration TS-IMV performing flight TU-542 from Tunis (Tunisia) to Munich (Germany) with 145 people on board, departed Tunis' runway 01 when the aircraft received a bird strike. In the absence of any abnormal indications the crew continued the flight and landed the aircraft safely in Munich about 100 minutes after departure. A post flight inspection revealed a dead pigeon was entangled in the nose gear, the pigeon presumably was trying to escape a bird of prey, which was ingested by the right hand engine (CFM56) causing some fan blade damage. A replacement A320-200 registration TS-IMU positioned to Munich and performed the return flight TU-543 in the morning of the next day with a delay of 12:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 16 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d985112&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Cargolux B744 at Hong Kong on Jul 4th 2020, rejected takeoff due to engine problem A Cargolux Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration LX-UCV performing flight CV-7536 from Hong Kong (China) to Baku (Azerbaijan), was accelerating for takeoff from Hong Kong's runway 25R when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed due to an engine (RB211) problem. The aircraft slowed safely, vacated the runway via taxiway A6 about 2000 meters/6560 feet down the runway and stopped on the adjacent parallel taxiway. 4 main tyres deflated due to hot brakes and disabled the aircraft. The aircraft was towed to the apron about 4.5 hours later. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d984d4a&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Inuit B732 at Montreal on Jul 1st 2020, unreliable airspeed An Air Inuit Boeing 737-200, registration C-GAIG performing flight 3H-764 from Montreal,QC to Grande Riviere,QC (Canada) with 27 people on board, was in the initial climb out of Montreal's runway 06R when the crew stopped the climb at 4000 feet, declared emergency reporting unreliable airspeed and returned to Montreal for a safe landing on runway 06R about 40 minutes after departure. The Canadian TSB reported a visual inspection revealed a torn part of the pitot cover blocked the pitot tube. The aircraft departed again after about 2 hours on the ground and reached Grande Riviera with a delay of about 2:40 hours. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AIE764/history/20200701/1330Z/CYUL/CYGL https://avherald.com/h?article=4d9800d4&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Malta B738 near Thessaloniki on Jul 3rd 2020, smoke indication A Malta Air Boeing 737-800 on behalf of Ryanair, registration 9H-QDT performing flight FR-170 from Berlin Schoenefeld (Germany) to Athens (Greece) with 158 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL370 about 20nm south of Thessaloniki when a smoke detector activated. The crew declared emergency reporting smoke in the cockpit and diverted to Thessaloniki for a safe landing on runway 16 about 23 minutes later. The smoke indication was determined false. The aircraft is still on the ground in Thessaloniki about 6.5 hours after landing. A replacement Ryanair Boeing 737-800 registration EI-DPV reached Athens with a delay of 3.5 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=4d97fda4&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top AAIB Publishes 2019 Annual Safety Review (UK) The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has published its Annual Safety Review covering Branch activity for 2019. The AAIB received 826 occurrence notifications in 2019 and opened 37 field investigations, eight of which were into fatal accidents in the UK resulting in 10 deaths. A further 124 investigations were opened by correspondence. The AAIB published two special bulletins, 29 field investigation reports and made 12 safety recommendations. In addition, 153 significant safety actions were taken by manufacturers, operators and regulators to address safety issues identified during AAIB investigations. This demonstrates the considerable range and scale of the safety action already taken or planned by the industry and regulators in response to AAIB investigations. In 2019 all the fatal accidents that were investigated in the UK involved general aviation aircraft or gliders with the most common factor being loss of control in flight. The most common factor in commercial air transport accidents and serious incidents was system/component failure or malfunction. In terms of its global reach, the AAIB appointed an accredited representative to 96 overseas investigations, including 45 involving UK registered aircraft. The Branch deployed to investigations in Belgium, the USA, Ethiopia, Chile, UAE, Italy, Portugal, Montserrat and Kazakhstan. In addition to its investigation work, AAIB: Created a new case management system that allows better management of investigations from notification to closure and will provide a useful archive of safety data Introduced a 'record only' option for some less serious occurrences to focus AAIB expertise and investigation resources where the safety benefit is greatest Began publishing field investigation reports online individually as well as in the monthly Bulletin, enabling it to reduce overall timescales to publication The Annual Safety Review also includes: • A summary of a stakeholder review undertaken • An article about how the Branch conducts underwater search and recovery • Details of the Branch's global reach • Safety recommendations made and responses received • Safety actions taken Read the Annual Safety Review. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/aaib-publishes-2019-annual-safety-review Back to Top Fury as Air NZ passengers kicked off flight, put into quarantine Police were called to scenes at Auckland airport after travellers were kicked off a flight to Brisbane and told they had to pay for hotel quarantine. There were hysterical scenes at Auckland Airport on Saturday after 11 passengers were removed from an overloaded Air New Zealand flight to Brisbane before takeoff and placed in quarantine until the next flight on Tuesday. Police were called to the customs hall after the passengers became angry when Air New Zealand told them they would have to pay for their accommodation, meals and other costs in quarantine. Desiraye Solomon and her daughter, Delia Brown, were on the flight returning to the Gold Coast after visiting her father in Wellington who had suffered a heart attack, the New Zealand Herald reported. They offered to get off the full flight after the captain advised passengers it was overweight and off-balance, but other passengers were randomly picked off a list, she said. Ms Solomon said other passengers told they had to leave included an elderly woman, another mother and daughter, a mother with a young child and a group of four male teenagers. "Someone else came off the plane and she was hysterical and screaming and carrying on," Ms Solomon said. "Apparently her mother had died and she was going to the funeral. They let her back on. "When we first got off the plane they told us we could ring our family to come and pick us up. The elderly lady was very distressed and crying." She said once the passengers got to the customs hall, a customs officer turned up and took people's temperatures. "Then someone came around and said 'what hotel would you like?' and we were like 'what do you mean?' and they said 'you will have to quarantine'," Ms Solomon said. "Then we were all yelling and carrying on and the police were called." Passengers were then given an Air New Zealand letter signed by an unnamed "airport manager" saying they would have to pay for quarantine accommodation and book their own flights. Ms Solomon said she was so angry she started yelling at Air New Zealand staff, who then gave passengers a second letter, which made no mention of the passengers paying for quarantine. Air New Zealand has apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience and said they were given wrong information about quarantine when they disembarked. Ms Solomon said a police officer told the passengers they had to go into quarantine because Americans in transit were on the plane to Brisbane. The passengers, she said, were sent to three hotels. Ms Solomon and her daughter were sent to the M Social on the Auckland waterfront. She said Air New Zealand's handling of the situation was "pathetic and rude", saying she was irate and annoyed that passengers were first told their families could come and get them and then told that wasn't possible. "I was p***d off that we had to quarantine but once the police said there were Americans on the flight I said 'of course, we are going to have to quarantine'. That's fine. We are not trying to start a pandemic," Ms Solomon said. Air New Zealand's customer general manager Liz Fraser said yesterday's flight to Brisbane had a larger-than-expected payload, "which unfortunately resulted in several passengers being unable to travel". Unfortunately, she said, the affected customers were inadvertently provided a letter with incorrect information when they disembarked. "Once our airport team realised the mistake, they regathered the passengers, apologised and provided our standard offload letter, which lets our customers know they have been rebooked on an alternative service and that the letter may be used to claim on travel insurance if required," Ms Fraser said. An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said when removing passengers from a flight the airline had a standard process which took into account a number of factors, including ticket type and loyalty level. In a statement the New Zealand Ministry of Health said because there were other people on the same flight who had travelled from other parts of the world on their way to Brisbane, the decision was made by health officials as a precaution for the 11 passengers to stay in managed isolation or quarantine facilities in Auckland until the next Brisbane flight on Tuesday. "While the risk is minimal that one of the people would have contracted COVID-19 on the flight we need to act with caution as our borders are our first line of defence against COVID-19," the ministry said. New Zealand's COVID-19 All of Government Response Group also released a statement, saying the circumstances around the incident were unique and unexpected. "While every effort was made to ensure those affected were kept informed, we appreciate some people and staff involved may have been initially uncertain as to what was happening. "Accurate and consistent communication with returnees and those transiting through New Zealand is a priority and one we are constantly working to improve, as numbers increase. "We acknowledge this situation and the requirement to go into managed isolation and quarantine may be unsettling for those affected however we are committed to protecting our border and stopping the spread of COVID-19 in New Zealand." https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/health-safety/fury-as-air-nz-passengers-kicked-off-flight-put-into-quarantine/news-story/f96f09c8885623c637be8dc0d6121dc8 Back to Top A China Airlines Airbus A330 Lost Primary Computers After Landing On June 14th, a China Airlines Airbus A330-300 experienced the failure of several systems as it touched down at Taipei Songshan Airport. With the aircraft's primary flight computers, thrust reverser, and autobrake systems non-responsive, the crew applied manual braking, stopping just 10 meters before the end of the runway. Details of the CI202 incident The Airbus A330-300, registered as B-18302, was performing flight CI202 from Shanghai Pudong (China) to Taipei Songshan (Taiwan) according to The Aviation Herald. CI202 is a five times weekly flight that normally departs Shanghai at 16:15 local time and arrives at Taipei around 18:15. An interesting thing about this flight is that in the past week, it seems to have switched back and forth between Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao. On June 14th, the A330 touched down on Songshan's wet runway 10. Upon touchdown, the Aviation Herald reports that all three primary flight computers, thrust reversers, and autobrake systems failed. This affected the stopping distance of the aircraft. In response, the crew applied maximum manual braking, managing to stop the aircraft just 10 meters (or 33 feet) before the end of the runway. The total runway length was 2600 meters. After it was able to just barely perform a safe stop, the aircraft was towed to the apron where it remained on the ground until June 23rd. On the 23rd it was repositioned to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. Since its repositioning flight to the larger Taoyuan airport, the A330 has remained on the ground. Investigation underway Taiwan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has reported that the root cause of the occurrence is still under investigation. As such, it advises all A330 operators to take the following countermeasures: • Prior to dispatch, consider possible deceleration deficiencies with the conditions mentioned above on wet runways. • Required landing distance shall be predetermined for a wet runway. If the distance is a concern, consider an alternate aerodrome. • Operators should enhance crew awareness of wet runway operations. If automatic braking is out of function, promptly change to the alternate system or apply manual braking A rare occurrence With so many A330s flying, this type of incident seems to be quite a rare occurrence. Simple Flying has reported on several A330 incidents. While we've seen engine failures and cabin depressurization, the failure of an aircraft's flight computer, thrust reverser, and autobrake systems is nearly unheard of. In December 2019, we reported on a Qantas flight, QF575, from Sydney to Perth, which suffered a hydraulic issue. The pilots made the decision to return to Sydney and deploy slides in order to evacuate the Airbus A330. https://simpleflying.com/china-airlines-a330-lost-computers/ Back to Top PIA to challenge EU flight ban next week Lahore [Pakistan], July 5 (ANI): The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), along with the country's diplomats settled abroad, will file an appeal in the coming week against the six-month ban on the national carrier from operating in Europe, The Express Tribune reported. The airline has also sought the assistance of European and UK parliamentarians of Pakistani origin in resolving the matter as the ban is likely to cost Rs 33 billion (Pakistani rupees) to the exchequer. Pakistani diplomats are engaged in efforts for the reversal of the decision. The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended PIA's authorisation to operate in EU member states in the wake of the grounding of 262 Pakistani pilots whose licences were termed "dubious" by Pakistan Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan. The EU aviation safety watchdog said it was concerned about the validity of the Pakistani pilot licences following the minister's statement. Following the EASA's move, the UK Civil Aviation Authority also withdrew PIA's permit to operate from three of its airports -- Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester. The PIA was operating 23 flights to the UK every week -- nine to London, 10 to Manchester and four to Birmingham. The airline is already facing a loss of 12 billion Pakistani rupees as it will not be operating Hajj flights this year. The suspension of flights for Umrah passengers has also affected its revenue. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently spoke with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell seeking the reversal of the ban. He assured the EU official that steps being taken by the government were aimed at ensuring the highest level of flight safety in PIA operations. The minister also sought the need for the EASA to review its decision. But the Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA), the union for PIA's pilots, has alleged that the announcement of the "dubious" licence holders was a planned government move against the pilots to cut their headcount. Meanwhile, PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) lawmakers have written a letter to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser calling for the revocation of a notification for the formation of a cabinet committee for the "unconstitutional" privatisation of the PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The letter, signed by six PML-N members, on Saturday, said that the privatisation of the hotel was against the Constitution, financially unsuitable and a waste of public money. On Thursday, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation authorised the privatisation ministry to hire a financial adviser for finalising the transaction structure of Roosevelt Hotel, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance after a meeting. Every successive government, including that of Pervez Musharraf, has tried to sell or give the hotel on lease. The last serious attempt was made during the PML-N government's tenure when the Privatisation Commission had the hotel valuation done by a third party. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has alleged that the government was finding excuses to sell off the assets of the PIA to benefit its frontmen. (ANI) https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/265674404/pia-to-challenge-eu-flight-ban-next-week Back to Top Sully Adds Voice To Lobby Against Potentially GPS-Jamming Cell Network The lobby against the granting of radio spectrum adjacent to frequencies used by GPS to a startup wireless provider has enlisted Capt. Chesley Sullenberger to press its case. In April, the Federal Communications Commission, over objections from the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation, agreed to allow Ligado Networks to establish a new broadband wireless network on a thin slice of radio spectrum that is right next to the frequencies used by some of the most important providers of satellite navigation and aviation services. The fear, which detractors say the FCC has recognized, is that the much more powerful terrestrial cell emissions will overpower the minuscule bits of energy beamed by the satellites, effectively jamming them. Ligado tried to do the something similar eight years ago under the name LightSquared but failed to convince the FCC. In April, the commission ruled that Ligado had cleaned up the technology to the point where its cellphones and towers won't create "harmful interference" for GPS receivers. In a submission to the Space Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, Sullenberger said the granting of the spectrum use to Ligado "constitutes a dereliction of duty on the FCC's part." Sullenberger said the decision imperils everything from drone operation to modern farming to ATMs, in addition to military and civilian aviation. Sullenberger said the particular strip of radio spectrum granted to Ligado was previously a "quiet zone" designed to buffer the delicate satellite signals from space from the billions of times more powerful terrestrial signals that Ligado will put out. The Ligado frequency is only 1 MHz away from that used by Iridium for its network of satellite phone transceivers. Sullenberger said in his statement that shielding their equipment from the "loud neighbor" that suddenly moved into their neighborhood would mean significant cost and inconvenience. He said the Ligado signals will have the greatest potential to interfere with VFR-rated GPS equipment and those used by drones, including their geofencing capability that prevents them from entering areas where drones are not allowed, like military bases. Meanwhile, Ligado leveraged the FCC approval into $100 million in new investment to "build 5G IoT networks that serve mission-critical industries like public safety and emergency response, commercial transportation, energy, and manufacturing." CEO Doug Smith said that's the first of many funding rounds it expects to attract to build its network. "The investments will create American jobs, expand innovation and directly enhance critical industries such as first responders, health care workers and supply chain personnel that depend on ubiquitous and ultra-reliable networks to protect and secure American lives," he said in a press release. There's also some political intrigue surrounding the issue, including a call for a conflict of interest investigation into the role of Dennis Robertson, head of the FCC's Technical Advisory Council. Robertson is also the head of Robertson and Associates, which did the pivotal interference testing on Ligado's cell signals' interference with GPS. Robertson said he welcomes the investigation but is upset that it's happening. "This is the sort of thing that discourages people from supporting and serving the government," he told C4isrnet.com. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/sully-adds-voice-to-lobby-against-potentially-gps-jamming-cell-network/ Back to Top LSA Gyroplanes: FAA Warms to the Idea Long relegated to kit-only status in the U.S., certified gyroplanes are available and will eventually achieve SLSA status. The autogyro is sometimes thought to be an American invention-who hasn't seen a black-and-white photo of the famed Pitcairn PCA-2?-but it actually originated in Spain. And it's Europe where this aircraft continues to thrive despite the fact that North America is still the largest and richest light aircraft market. But persistence might be about to pay off. Sales of European-manufactured autogyros are rising modestly in the U.S. and the larger companies are applying new engine technology to make them even more attractive. Heretofore, most of these aircraft found their way to U.S. owners as experimental amateur builts. And while EABs are a growth industry in the U.S., autogyros just never caught the wave. European-manufactured special light sport airplanes have found a toehold in the U.S. market, but autogyros don't fit into this niche, mainly because the FAA left them out of the SLSA definition and, until recently, none of the European models were type certificated. But EASA regulations do name a rotorcraft category in the microlight section and that's what makes it possible to buy and fly fully assembled autogyros in most European countries. Working On It As with electric airplanes, the exclusion of autogyros appears to be accidental. If it came up during discussion of the light sport aircraft and sport pilot rules, it got shuffled off and under the table. According to Dan Johnson of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, that's about to change, although it will be awhile. We spoke to Johnson at the Deland Sport Aviation Showcase and learned that the full, formal inclusion of autogyros as light sport aircraft is nearing approval by the FAA. And this is a good place to set the definition straight. In FAA speak, the proper term is gyroplane, not autogyro nor gyrocopter, which was once a registered trademark of Bensen. (It no longer appears to be.) Autogyro was also a registered mark of the Spanish inventor of the type, although it was spelled Autogiro. To further confuse the terminology, the largest manufacturer of this aircraft type is called AutoGyro. But when the regulation appears, the official definition will be gyroplane. "The latest information is that it's absolutely still on the table for special light sport gyroplanes, meaning fully built gyroplanes. That's not been the way it's been for the last 15 years," Johnson says. "We're about as sure as you can be with any government regulation that's still in the works that this will happen," he adds. Johnson says there may be strong underlying demand for gyroplanes because LAMA's data tracking shows increased sales, all of them in the EAB category. "So imagine what can happen when you don't have to go through that hoop-jump exercise," he says. Sweeping Change One overarching development injects a degree of uncertainty over not just gyroplanes, but the survival of light sport aircraft in general. It's the FAA's so-called MOSAIC regulatory reform. Encouraged by industry and the success of self-approval by light sport manufacturers, the FAA hopes to establish consensus standards for aircraft far less limited than the narrowly defined light sport category with its 1320-pound weight limit. "That number is going away in the same regulation that will allow fully built gyroplanes. The FAA continues to say it won't be a weight in the future. It'll be a formula. They call it a power index," Johnson says. That means ASTM consensus standards could apply to aircraft up to 3000 pounds or more and possibly with four seats. "The FAA has come to love consensus standards," Johnson adds, "and wants to apply it to Part 23 airplanes." What that means for the budding gyroplane market is unclear and it's no less muddy for fixed-wing LSAs. Would a heavier, four-place gyroplane excite more sales than a two-seat design? Who knows? The more compelling question is when all of this is going to happen. It won't be exactly around the corner, but it won't be the end of the decade, either. "There was a congressional mandate when the FAA was reauthorized. They put a time limit on things that needed to happen in order to get that authorization. So they've got to meet the deadline now and that's by the end of 2023," Johnson says. That means the final rule has to be in place by then, so to allow for the glacial federal process, NPRMs will have to appear by late 2021 or early 2022 to make the cutoff. While the new regulation will establish the broad-brush definitions and intent, it will be up to ASTM International to develop the lineby-line detailed standards. Johnson says that organization has traditionally worked quickly and is developing draft standards in parallel to the FAA's final rule. Self Help One company that didn't wait for the FAA's sclerotic action was the largest gyroplane manufacturer in Europe, Germany's AutoGyro GmbH. The company has a worldwide presence and in the U.S., its AutoGyro USA outlet has been selling kits and ready-to-fly aircraft and lately more of the latter. One reason for this is that the company took the unusual-and expensive-step of certifying its products in the primary category, a certification path intended for aircraft used for personal or pleasure use. This means that the company's gyroplanes can be bought ready to fly and, according to Bob Snyder, of AutoGyro USA, because they meet the weight limits of the light sport aircraft, they can be flown by sport pilots. Or certificated pilots flying under light sport privileges. LAMA's Dan Johnson says this gives AutoGyro a sales advantage until the FAA finalizes approval of gyroplanes as SLSAs. After that, we may see a flood of new entrants into the U.S. market. Or not. No one knows what the gyroplane market uptake will be. But, says Snyder, sales are definitely increasing modestly, confirming what LAMA's data seems to indicate. "This year, we sold two experimentals. All of the others were type certified," Snyder said. That amounts to about a dozen aircraft. "Since the announcement of the 915, that's pretty much all we've sold," he adds, referring to the new Rotax 915 iS engine that is finding considerable traction in the gyroplane market. The 915 versions haven't been certified yet, but are expected to be within weeks. Snyder says the 915 in a AutoGyro Cavalon is a marriage made in heaven. "It is without a doubt the best flying gyroplane I have ever flown," he told us. New Entries At the Deland show, we saw another new entry from a company called Airgyro. It's similarly equipped with a 915 iS, but is available only as an EAB offering, although LSA is planned. As with fixed-wing aircraft, the higher power-135 HP continuous for the 915 iS-increases climb performance dramatically, but doesn't do much for cruise. Snyder says the 915 iS-equipped Cavalon climbs at a blistering 2000 FPM. Snyder says a well-equipped Cavalon retails for about $160,000. Curiously, the EAB version is not much less, according to Snyder, if the builder utilizes the company's builder assist program. Light sport approval for gyroplanes might not make much difference to AutoGyro, since the primary certification it has pursued removes the barrier to purchase for many buyers. As for training, gyroplanes aren't difficult to fly, but one corner of the flight envelope can be catastrophic if not understood by the pilot. Lift comes entirely from the rotating rotor disc. It's powered not by the engine, but by the energy of the relative wind. Negative G maneuvering can steal the rotational energy and put the aircraft into an unrecoverable departure. Gyroplane privileges require an add-on category rating, whether under the sport pilot rule or a higher certificate. How long does that take? "It really depends on the person. I have had 10,000-hour corporate jet pilots take 35 or 40 hours. They come from a different environment of looking at the panel and probably never looking out the window," Snyder says. "But a gyroplane, like a Cub, is big-time, seat-of-the-pants, look out the window and fly it," he adds. Stick-and-rudder taildragger pilots usually adapt quickly. "So what I tell everybody is to expect a minimum of 10 hours. There are guys that get it in just a few hours. Most of them are professional pilots," says. Average? Somewhere between 10 and 15 hours. "I haven't found anyone that I haven't been able to teach," Snyder says. https://www.avweb.com/features/lsa-gyroplanes-faa-warms-to-the-idea/ Back to Top United Receives Permission To Conduct India Charter Flights United Airlines has been granted permission to perform charter flights from India this month. Additionally, the Chicago-based carrier's request to conduct a regular service from the county is also under consideration. Back in action Livemint reports that Indian authorities have approved the operator's request to conduct charter flights from Delhi to Newark. However, with India still having strict international travel restrictions in place, there will be no passengers flying in on the flights from the United States hub. Nonetheless, customers can already book for flights departing the capital of India on 10th, 12th, and 15th July. Tickets for these trips cost approximately ($763). In addition to these charter flights, United also wants to perform regular operations from the South Asian nation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and other authorities are reviewing the request for a scheduled service. A word from United Simple Flying reached out to United for comment on these operations. A spokesperson said that upon government approval, the firm will restart daily service between Delhi and its hubs of San Francisco and Newark. These flights are part of a broader plan to expand its network this summer. The representative for the airline added the below: "We are operating three repatriation flights from Delhi to Newark on the 10th, 12th and 15th, and operating them consistent with the current Indian restrictions on international flights departing India. Customers can purchase tickets through our website united.com or United app." Building connections The operator has been ramping up its presence in India over the last year. In December 2019, it started performing its new route between San Francisco and Delhi. During normal climates, this service is daily during the winter and flies three times a week during the summer months. With this launch, the company highlighted that it is opening up new opportunities for both business and leisure travelers alike. Moreover, in February, the airline announced a codeshare agreement with Vistara. This allows United passengers to book on 68 Vistara-operated flights to 26 Indian destinations. Advertisement: With Vistara breaking ground in India as a major player, this move will undoubtedly strengthen United's presence within the country. After there is a relaxation in restrictions, both airlines will be looking to continue their rise across the nation. Altogether, United is finding ways to operate in India despite the restrictions in place. Once the country opens up its borders to general international passengers, the airline could have an edge in the market thanks to its determination during the downtime. https://simpleflying.com/united-india-charter-permission/ Back to Top Singapore Airlines, Qantas to Send A380s to Desert for Storage Singapore Airlines has sent six of its 19 Airbus A380 aircraft to the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (ASPA) located at Alice Springs, Australia for long-term storage. The airline aims at preserving its super-jumbos from Singapore's high humidity environment, which poses corrosion risk for the aircraft. The climate of Alice Springs provides an ideal location for long-term aircraft storage. The airline's two-year-old double-deckers registered 9V-SKZ, 9V-SKY and 9V-SKW in addition to eight-year-old 9V-SKT were sent to ASPA on April 26. Two months after sending the first batch of super-jumbos for mothballing, eight-year-old 9V-SKQ and nine-year-old 9V-SKP were sent to Australian aircraft boneyard on June 26 and 27, respectively. Singapore previously stored three of its Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, six Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from its subsidiary SilkAir, four Airbus A320s and two Boeing 787 Dreamliners from its subsidiary Scoot in Alice Springs. The airline is expected to send its remaining surplus super-jumbos to Alice Springs in the coming months. Qantas had grounded all 12 of its A380 aircraft in the wake of the fallout stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Current locations of the airline's super-jumbos are still widely distributed. Nine of them are currently stored at the airports in and around Melbourne, Sydney and Los Angeles. One is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while two A380s are at Dresden Airport in Germany. The airline is looking to transfer all of its A380 fleet to the Mojave Desert in California,where they will be mothballed until at least 2023. During a press teleconference, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce stated that the airline would park the A380s for at least three years. "The A380s have to remain on the ground for at least three years until we see those international volumes brought back," Joyce said. "The aircraft are being put into the Mojave Desert, where the environment protects the aircraft because we have the intention at the right time to restart them, but that is a considerable amount of time away." Qantas operates its super-jumbos mostly on its flights to the U.S. and the U.K. The airline will decide on the fate of its A380 fleet depending on the recovery in air travel demand. "There is a potential to bring all 12 A380s back, but there is a potential to bring less than 12 back," Joyce told Executive Traveller. Qantas is cutting 6,000 jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a figure which corresponds to approximately 20% of all its employees. As the company announced, more than half of the remaining 23,000 employees will also be on leave for months. One hundred of 126 aircraft - including a large part of the international fleet - are said to remain grounded for up to a year. With the cost management measures, the airline plans to save approximately 15 billion Australian dollars ($10.5 billion) over the next three years. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the airline canceled its international flights until at least end of 2020. The company also had to reduce the number of flights within Australia. The carrier expects international flights to meaningfully resume by July 2021. "The domestic flight market will get back to maybe 70% of pre-COVID[-19] levels in the next year and the following year to 100%," Joyce said at a briefing. "We think international will take a long time - nothing this next financial year- and next July we may start to see some international services and that will only get us to 50% the following year." https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/07/06/singapore-airlines-qantas-send-a380s-desert-for-storage/ Back to Top Air India pilots are angry over pay cuts - want salaries to be reduced in a graded manner • The letter dated July 6 from Indian Commercial Pilots' Association( ICPA) and Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) suggested steps that Air India should take in the times of coronavirus. • The letter said the 10% pay cut across the board treats "unequal people equally." • The pilot body also suggested that it is time for the national carrier to look at its employment policies and cut back on the excessive employee strength in the backend departments. Air India pilot association tells chairman Rajiv Bansal that the national carrier should take cues from private airlines in cost-cutting measures during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter from the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association( ICPA) and Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) listed various steps that Air India should take at this time when the aviation sector and the company itself is a facing major cash crunch due to the economic slowdown. "Air India should also be guided by how other players in the aviation sector are battling the adversities of the coronavirus pandemic. We understand that a leading private carrier has an employee strength of 250 in finance and 130 in HR, handling a fleet of 255 aircrafts. This may be contrasted with Air India, which has more than 1600 employees in HR and Finance for a mere 125 aircrafts," said the letter. Salary cuts should be steeper with rising pay grades It further added that the 10% pay cut across the board treats "unequal people equally." The class IV employees are the ones that are severely impacted by the pay cut than the ones at the top of the ladder, the letter explained. "While prima facie appearing to be fair, this scheme distributes the financial burden across the various categories of employees in an extremely discriminatory manner amounting to treating unequal people equally," said the pilots in the letter. It also suggested that Class IV workers should be kept away from the allowance cut. The pilot body also recommended that it is time for the national carrier to look at its employment policies and cut back on the excessive employee strength in the backend departments. "Since Air India is in financial distress on account of the pandemic, the employee strength should be brought at par with other market players through common-sense measures like compulsory leave without pay till such time normal operations resume," it said. "This is nowhere in line with market standards, and since operations have been scaled back, their workload has reduced drastically. It is prudent for Air India and the MoCA to take cognisance of this excess manpower and trim costs as our aircraft stand under-utilised," it added. https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/air-india-pilots-are-angry-over-pay-cuts-want-salaries-to-be-reduced-in-a-graded-manner/articleshow/76813410.cms Back to Top Delta ALPA Negotiate Early-Out Package For Senior Pilots As Boeing 777 Retirements Near Delta pilots say they have negotiated an early-out package that will enable pilots who are nearing retirement to leave the carrier with an attractive benefit package. The Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, anticipates that about 1,000 to 2,000 of Delta's 14,500 pilots will accept the package, clearing the way for later negotiations over additional voluntary furloughs, if needed, as airlines reduce flying in the face of the coronavirus crisis. In May, Delta said it will retire all 18 of its Boeing 777s by the end of the year. The early-out package agreement reached Thursday is expected to appeal to pilots who are closing in on retirement, in particular Boeing 777 pilots, although any senior pilot is eligible, said Chris Riggins, Delta ALPA spokesman. "We want to mitigate involuntary furloughs," Riggins said. "We want to work with management to find every amount of voluntary savings we can to help them, because we want Delta to be the strongest U.S. airline when this pandemic is over. "If we can find enough savings to prevent involuntary furloughs, that's the end goal," Riggins said. "The next step is to sit down with the company and start to work on voluntary programs in addition to this early out program." The letter of agreement reached Thursday "provides an attractive, seniority-driven benefit and also helps (the carrier) to preserve cash and mitigate the short-term pilot surplus," according to a report to pilots issued late Thursday. "This agreement is beneficial to Delta as it provides a method of allowing pilots to retire early and avoid costly retraining expenses as the airline resizes in response to the pandemic," the report says. "For pilots, it's favorable in that with every early retirement, the size of our pilot group is reduced and can mitigate future furloughs." The package is available to pilots who have 10 years of service and are at least 50 years old, or pilots who have 25 years of service, or pilots whose age and years of service total 70. Accrued vacation benefits will be paid, health care benefits will be paid for two years or until age 65, whichever comes first, and travel benefits will be available for one year. Separately, this week 2,558 Delta pilots were provided layoff notifications under State of New York's labor law requirements, which mandate 90-day notices. Those notices went to lower-seniority pilots who face involuntary layoffs. ALPA's intent is to prevent those involuntary layoffs by encouraging voluntary layoffs with attractive packages. "If we can take people off the top of the list, we are hoping that mitigates the furloughs at the bottom of the list," Riggins said. Every time a 777 is parked, ten to 14 pilots are displaced and must be trained on other aircraft, displacing other pilots who must also be retrained. The cost to train a pilot on a new aircraft is about $45,000. Riggins said. If the mostly senior 777 pilots can be induced to take an early-out, a series of subsequent displacements can be avoided. Delta said Friday, "Delta and the Air Line Pilots Association have reached an agreement on a pilot-specific early retirement program. As we work to manage through the impact of the pandemic and align staffing with expected flying demand, this voluntary early-out plan, together with other similar programs for all Delta employees, is a meaningful next step." https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2020/07/03/delta-alpa-negotiate-early-out-package-for-senior-pilots-as-boeing-777-retirements-near/#43ac34437fc6 Back to Top Cathay Pacific considers drier storage options for unused planes SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Monday it was evaluating whether to send some of its aircraft to less humid locations for storage as it reviews the size of its fleet in light of the fall in demand due to the pandemic. Rivals Singapore Airlines Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd have already sent some long-haul planes to desert locations in Australia and the United States for long-term storage and possible early retirement in expectation the demand slump will be prolonged. Cathay is examining plans to store more than 50 widebody aircraft from its fleet of around 236 planes outside Hong Kong in less humid locations like Dubai and the Australian desert, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Cathay declined to comment on the number being considered for storage but said they were from a number of different fleets within the group, which operates the Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Express brands. "We are exploring alternative locations beyond Hong Kong's humid summer climate that can provide appropriate conditions for our aircraft while they are not flying," Cathay said in a statement in response to questions from Reuters. "This is a prudent decision from an asset management perspective." The airline has previously said it is undertaking a comprehensive review of its operations and will make a recommendation to the board on the optimal future size and shape of the group by the fourth quarter. Cathay last month said it would receive a $5 billion rescue package to help it weather the coronavirus pandemic, led by the Hong Kong government. https://www.yahoo.com/news/cathay-pacific-considers-drier-storage-020618038.html Back to Top Rocket Lab's 13th launch ends in failure, after rocket experiences problem mid-flight The vehicle started losing speed and it dropped in altitude Rocket Lab's 13th mission ended in failure on Saturday, after the company's rocket experienced "an anomaly" after launching to space. As a result, Rocket Lab lost its rocket, as well as all the satellites it carried on board. The company's Electron rocket successfully took off at 5:19PM ET from Rocket Lab's primary launch facility on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. The launch seemed to proceed just fine for the first crucial minutes, but about six minutes into the launch, live video from the rocket stalled. At that point, Rocket Lab's livestream indicated that the rocket started to lose speed, and the vehicle dropped in altitude. Rocket Lab eventually cut the livestream. Afterward, the company revealed that the Electron rocket had been lost during flight. The company said in a statement that the still-unidentified issue occurred about four minutes into flight. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck apologized for the failure. "We are deeply sorry to our customers Spaceflight Inc., Canon Electronics Inc., Planet, and In-Space Missions for the loss of their payloads," Beck said in a statement. "We know many people poured their hearts and souls into those spacecraft. Today's anomaly is a reminder that space launch can be unforgiving, but we will identify the issue, rectify it, and be safely back on the pad as soon as possible." Beck praised the launch team for their "professionalism and expertise," and for handing the situation safely. "I'm proud of the way they have responded to a tough day. We're working together as a team to comb through the data, learn from today, and prepare for our next mission." The mission, named "Pics Or It Didn't Happen," carried mostly Earth-imaging small satellites. The primary payload was Canon Electronics' CE-SAT-IB, designed to demonstrate Earth-imaging technology with high-resolution and wide-angle cameras. The rocket also carried five SuperDove satellites from the company Planet, designed to image Earth from above. The last payload was a small satellite called Faraday-1, from In-Space Missions, which hosted multiple instruments from startups and other organizations that needed a ride to space. Planet's CEO Will Marshall announced the loss of the satellites on Twitter, noting that the company has plans to launch even more satellites this summer on two separate launches. "While it's never the outcome that we hope for, the risk of launch failure is one Planet is always prepared for," the company said in a statement. Planet is about to launch up to 26 of its SuperDove satellites on a European Vega rocket in August, from South America. Since its inception, Rocket Lab has put 53 spacecraft into low Earth orbit on 12 separate missions, with this weekend's launch the third for Rocket Lab this year. The majority of the company's flight have been successful. Rocket Lab's very first flight in 2017, called "It's a Test," was the only flight that didn't operate according to plan; the rocket successfully launched and made it to space, but didn't reach orbit. All of Rocket Lab's other missions have been picture perfect since then, making today's flight the first major failure for the company. https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/4/21313502/rocket-lab-electron-launch-failure-pics-or-it-didnt-happen 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