Flight Safety Information August 20, 2020 - No. 169 In This Issue Frontier - Takes Safety To A Whole New Level With - ProSafeT Incident: Jazz CRJ2 at Toronto on Jul 30th 2020, flaps fault Incident: PIA A320 near Karachi on Aug 19th 2020, hydraulic failure Accident: Fedex B763 at Los Angeles on Aug 19th 2020, left main gear did not extend Swearingen SA226-T Merlin IIIA - Runway Excursion (Australia) Bell UH-1H Iroquois...- Fatal Accident (California) AAIB Report: Airbus A320-216, Aircraft descended during go-around Report: ATR 72-600 crew in Taiwan excursion incident did not see centreline on touchdown DGCA to do safety audit of its airlines; Air India, SpiceJet first under scanner New Data Product Warns Alaska Pilots of Clouds, Dangerously Cold Weather Brawl breaks out on American Airlines plane when passenger refuses to follow face-covering policy FAA investigating report of laser shining on American Airlines flight approaching Logan Airport Boeing secures 737 Max jet deals from Polish airline, ending months long order drought With Ultralight Lithium-Sulfur Batteries, Electric Airplanes Could Finally Take Off Mars missions complete first course corrections on journey to Red Planet The USC Aviation Safety & Security Program Will Offer Online and In-Person Classes This Fall Trinity College Dublin and EASA Air Ops Community Survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation workers Swinburne University Capstone Research Projects 2020 - Airline pax preferences Study SURVEY:...GA PILOTS AND PIREPs. Graduate Research Survey (1) Incident: Jazz CRJ2 at Toronto on Jul 30th 2020, flaps fault A Jazz Canadair CRJ-200, registration C-GOJA performing flight QK-8491 from Washington National,DC (USA) to Toronto,ON (Canada), was on approach to Toronto when the flaps did not extend, the crew received a "FLAPS FAIL" message. The crew discontinued the approach, declared PAN PAN and entered a hold to work the checklists. The aircraft landed safely on runway 24L at a normal speed about 25 minutes later. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JZA8491/history/20200730/1540Z/KDCA/CYYZ http://avherald.com/h?article=4db7de28&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: PIA A320 near Karachi on Aug 19th 2020, hydraulic failure A PIA Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration AP-BLU performing flight PK-218 from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to Peshawar (Pakistan), was enroute at FL350 about 120nm north of Karachi (Pakistan) when the crew decided to divert to Karachi due to a hydraulic fault. The aicraft landed safely on Karachi's runway 25L about 25 minutes later. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 8.5 hours, then continued the flight and reached Peshawar with a delay of about 9.5 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4db7dbd6&opt=0 Back to Top Accident: Fedex B763 at Los Angeles on Aug 19th 2020, left main gear did not extend A Fedex Federal Express Boeing 767-300 freighter, registration N146FE performing flight FX-1026 from Newark,NJ to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 2 crew, was on final approach to Los Angeles's runway 24R when the crew received an unsafe gear indication, the left main gear was not down and locked. The aircraft went around and entered a hold at 5000 feet while the crew was working the checklists. The aircraft subsequently performed a low approach to runway 24L, an inspection from the ground could not solidly determine whether the left main gear was down, the gear doors were open. Tower offered to have somebody placed to the runway for another inspection from the ground, the crew decided to perform another low approach. The aircraft positioned for another approach to runway 24L descending to about 300 feet now. Operations vehicles placed along the runway reported the left main gear did not appear in position. The crew advised they needed to talk to operations and maintenance, but they suspected there was not a lot more they could do. The aircraft entered another hold at 5000 feet for about 40 minutes, then performed a partial gear down landing on runway 25R about 45 minutes after the second low approach. The aircraft came to a stop on the center line of the runway sitting on its nose gear, right main gear and left engine cowling. The crew evacuated the aircraft through the cockpit window via a rope. One of the pilots received injuries during the evacuation. http://avherald.com/h?article=4db7c464&opt=0 Back to Top Swearingen SA226-T Merlin IIIA - Runway Excursion (Australia) Date: 20-AUG-2020 Time: Type: Swearingen SA226-T Merlin IIIA Owner/operator: Private Registration: VH-LDQ ? C/n / msn: T-326 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Substantial Location: Gunnedah Airport (YGDH) - Australia Phase: Take off Nature: Private Departure airport: Gunnedah Airport, NSW (GUH/YGDH) Destination airport: Narrative: Upon takeoff, the plane veered off the runway of Gunnedah Airport and sustained a partial landing gear collapse. There were no personal injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/240287 Back to Top Bell UH-1H Iroquois - Fatal Accident (California) Date: 19-AUG-2020 Time: c. 10:00 Type: Bell UH-1H Iroquois Owner/operator: Guardian Helicopters Inc Registration: N711GH C/n / msn: 5071 Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near New Coalinga Municipal Airport (C80), Coalinga, CA - United States of America Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) Nature: Fire fighting Departure airport: New Coalinga Municipal Airport (C80), CA Destination airport: Narrative: The aircraft impacted the ground during an aerial fire-suppression flight south of the New Coalinga Municipal Airport (C80), Coalinga, California. The helicopter was destroyed and the sole pilot received fatal injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/240280 Back to Top AAIB Report: Airbus A320-216, Aircraft descended during go-around An Airbus A320-216 (EC-KLT) made two approaches above the correct descent profile, on each occasion leading to a missed approach, 26 August 2019. From: Air Accidents Investigation Branch The aircraft, an Airbus A320-216 (EC-KLT) made two approaches above the correct descent profile, on each occasion leading to a missed approach. On the second missed approach the aircraft initially continued descending and was not configured appropriately, reaching an angle of attack at which the alpha floor1 energy protection mode activated to increase engine thrust. The aircraft made a subsequent approach, landing without further incident. During a subsequent event, involving the same operator and aircraft type (but different flight crew), the aircraft remained above the correct approach descent profile initially but descended below it later in the approach and performed a missed approach. The pilots in this case managed the vertical profile manually using a flight control mode with which they were not familiar. In both cases the pilots appeared not to have understood when to commence the final descent to follow the vertical profile of the approach. The operator's safety department has recommended improvements in approach training and strategies to assist situational awareness. The operator and air traffic services provider are working to gain a better understanding of each other's approach requirements. Read the report. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/aaib-report-airbus-a320-216-aircraft-descended-during-go-around Back to Top Report: ATR 72-600 crew in Taiwan excursion incident did not see centreline on touchdown Date: 20-APR-2019 Time: 21:19 LT Type: ATR 72-600 (72-212A) Owner/operator: Far Eastern Air Transport Registration: B-28082 C/n / msn: 1464 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 76 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: None Category: Serious incident Location: Taichung-Ching Chuan Kang Airport (RMQ/RCMQ) - Taiwan Phase: Landing Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Magong Airport (MZG/RCQC) Destination airport: Taichung-Ching Chuan Kang Airport (RMQ) Investigating agency: TTSB Narrative: Far Eastern Air Transport scheduled passenger flight FE3060, an ATR 72-600 aircraft, registration B-28082, took off at 20:52 local time from Penghu Airport to Taichung International Airport, with the captain, the first officer, 2 cabin crews and 72 passengers on board. The crew completed the approach briefing and descent preparations at about 21:03 hours and started to descend. They executed the runway 36 ILS approach at Taichung Airport. After the plane passed through Changhua, the flight crew found thunderstorms with lighting in front of the route and the destination airport. After discussion, they judged that this situation would not change shortly, while could contact the ground, the flight crew believed that the visibility would be acceptable. At 21:18 hours, the aircraft landed on runway 36 at Taichung Airport and deviated from the runway during the landing roll. The aircraft and runway facilities were not damaged and the persons on board were safe. Findings Related to Probable Causes 1. The flight crew did not fully correct the aircraft's left deviation before landing. They did not see the centerline and touched down on the left side of the runway. The appropriate wet runway landing techniques was not applied, and the flight crew did not properly correct the aircraft's left deviation tendency after landing. Weather about the time of the incident (1319Z): RCMQ 201221Z 31007KT 0800 R36/1600D -RA VCTS BR SCT004 BKN008 FEW016CB OVC020 23/23 Q1009 NOSIG RMK A2981 TS SW MOV VRBL RCMQ 201300Z 34008KT 0600 R36/1400N RA VCTS FG SCT004 BKN008 FEW016CB OVC020 23/23 Q1010 BECMG 0300 RA VCTS FG RMK A2983 RA AMT 4.0MM TS S STNRY RCMQ 201404Z 05003KT 0600 R36/1400U TSRA SCT004 BKN008 FEW016CB OVC020 23/22 Q1010 NOSIG RMK A2985 TS SW MOV E Sources: Accident investigation: Investigating agency: TTSB Status: Investigation completed Duration: 1 year and 3 months Download report: Final report https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/224218 Back to Top DGCA to do safety audit of its airlines; Air India, SpiceJet first under scanner NEW DELHI: India has ordered a special audit of its carriers beginning with the cash-starved Air India and SpiceJet, in a bid to ensure that weak finances of airlines is not having any safety implications. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started flight operation quality assurance (FOQA) audit where special teams have been formed to study, among other parameters, flight data recorder readings to see if airlines are taking the required steps to maintain safe operations. "We will audit all airlines and have started with AI and SpiceJet in the first phase. The safety of passengers is paramount. The audit of airports has already begun," DGCA chief Arun Kumar said. Going by the financial yardstick, GoAir could be the third airline to undergo the safety audit. Among big Indian carriers, IndiGo has cash reserves and Vistara and AirAsia India are backed by the Tata Group. Most others are struggling to stay afloat as travel has been the worst hit during the pandemic. Unlike some other countries, India is yet to lend a helping hand to its struggling airlines in the form of some real relief during this pandemic. An AI official said "there is online surveillance going on for all operators (airlines)." Comments from SpiceJet were sought and awaited. All airlines, including these two, stress that their operations are absolutely safe and that they are following all rules and regulations. Following the devastating impact of corona on airline fortunes, this time the audit have a special focus on flight operations, engineering (maintenance), medical, training and safety. Releasing aircraft for flights under "minimum equipment list" - meaning conditionally allowing an aircraft to fly with some equipment inoperative and that must be repaired/replaced within a given timeframe - will be under focus this time. "Majority of the airlines are unable to pay salaries and meet other expenses as cash flow has reduced to a trickle during the pandemic. In such a situation it has to be made sure that the planes that are flying are absolutely airworthy and not compromising safety in any which way," said sources. Air India Express is not being covered under this audit as the government has set up a five-member panel to probe the crash-landing of Air India Express flight IX-1344 at Kozhikode on August 7 will examine the functioning of the budget airline. A Boeing 737 NG, flying in from Dubai, had 190 people on board and 18, including both the pilots, lost their lives in this accident. Following this crash-landing, the DGCA had ordered an audit of 10 to 12 airports in heavy rain areas to conduct physical examination of several factors like runway friction, slope, operational area lighting and overall communication and navigation (CNS) systems. This audit is likely to be completed in a fortnight. It will, however, not cover Calicut Airport as that is being examined as part of the Air India Express crash-landing probe by Aircraft Accident Investigation Board. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/dgca-to-do-safety-audit-of-its-airlines-air-india-spicejet-first-under-scanner/articleshow/77648186.cms Back to Top New Data Product Warns Alaska Pilots of Clouds, Dangerously Cold Weather A new product that alerts pilots to clouds, icy conditions and dangerously cold temperatures is tapping into NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System's satellites for the critical data it needs. Starting next month, scientists will start the first round of testing of this product on flight paths over Alaska. The product, which combines cloud measurements from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) and NOAA-20 satellites with atmospheric sounding data from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument and pilot reports, is designed to help pilots understand the extent of clouds and hazardous icing conditions on a given flight route. This product, which is funded by the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University, was developed in response to specific needs from the aviation community and a demand for satellite cloud products for aviation weather applications, said Yoo-Jeong Noh, a research scientist with CIRA and one of the product's developers. "Before this approach, we usually just provided a two-dimensional view of the cloud tops," she said. "But aviation users are always interested in the vertical structure of clouds." "While the tops of clouds are important, I need to know what the clouds are made of, and I need to know how far down they go and how close they are to the ground," he said. "And this is the first time we've had a product that helps us answer these questions." In some clouds, supercooled droplets turn to ice and accumulate on the windshield, nose, propeller and wings of the plane, changing the shape of the airfoil and the weight of the aircraft, said Tom George, a pilot and the Alaska regional manager for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. "Ice is a serious issue for pilots, so they either need to avoid it or have the proper equipment to deal with it," George said. Icy conditions makes pilots of small planes especially nervous, White said. "The shape of the wings is critical for an aircraft to fly," he said. "If you change that shape, it's not generating lift in the same way. And you can get to the point where they can't generate lift at all. That's a severe case, but it can happen frighteningly quick." In the lower 48, more information is available on flight conditions, especially on busy flight routes. But in Alaska, where colder conditions persist throughout the year, and where there are fewer weather radars and limited surface observation data, satellite data are especially useful. Especially from satellites like Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, which, because of their polar orbit, cross over Alaska multiple times in a day with a 50-minute delay between the two. The product has been in development for about two years, but recent updates were made that include an expanded temperature range, adaptations for users with color blindness, and an updated user guide. The next step is a demonstration phase, which involves sending the product to a large group of pilots for testing and feedback. In the meantime, White, a government liaison for the Alaska Airmen's Association and a participant in the JPSS program's aviation initiative, said he's already using the product to inform flight decisions. "I've made decisions not to fly on a particular day because of what this product has shown me, even in the testing phase," he said. "It's saved me from potential problems, whether it's icing or clouds down to the ground that I wouldn't be able to navigate." The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of satellites enable forecasters and scientists to monitor and predict weather patterns with greater accuracy and to study long-term climate trends by extending the more than 30-year satellite data record. JPSS is a collaborative program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its acquisition agent, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Suomi NPP satellite served as the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System of satellites and JPSS. For the JPSS-2, -3 and -4 satellites, NOAA is responsible for managing and operating the JPSS program, and developing the ground segment, while NASA is responsible for developing and building the JPSS instruments, spacecraft, and providing launch services. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-data-product-warns-alaska-pilots-of-clouds-dangerously-cold-weather Back to Top Brawl breaks out on American Airlines plane when passenger refuses to follow face-covering policy 'So much for social distancing,' a passengers says Throwing punches is certainly not social distancing. Footage appeared online that shows a fight breaking out between passengers on an American Airlines flight as it was waiting to depart. According to reports, the incident was sparked when one traveler refused to comply with the airline's face-covering policy. Caryn Ross uploaded the footage to Twitter and captioned it, "Nothing like a morning Fight Club as tempers flared on American Airlines LAS-CLT flight today....So much for social distancing." CTV News reports that Ross' husband was actually the one to record the incident. A passenger on the flight from Las Vegas to Charlotte reportedly refused to follow the airline's face mask policy after boarding the plane. When they were asked to leave the plane, the traveler reportedly became disruptive and an altercation with other passengers broke out. According to CTV News, the woman was seen leaving the plane after authorities were called. In a statement obtained by Fox News, a spokesperson for American Airlines said, "On Monday, a customer on American Airlines Flight 1665 with service from Las Vegas to Charlotte failed to comply with our mandatory face-covering policy after boarding the aircraft prior to departure. In accordance with our policy, the customer was subsequently asked to leave the aircraft and became disruptive, resulting in an altercation with other passengers." placeholder The statement further reaffirmed the company's face covering policy, saying, "American, like other U.S. airlines, began requiring customers to wear a face-covering while onboard aircraft beginning May 11. We have since strengthened our policy to require face coverings be worn at airports and onboard, and announced in June that we may deny future travel for customers who refuse to wear a face-covering for the duration of this requirement." https://www.foxnews.com/travel/brawl-american-airlines-plane-face-covering-policy Back to Top FAA investigating report of laser shining on American Airlines flight approaching Logan Airport BOSTON (WHDH) - The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation after receiving a report of a green laser shining on an inbound flight to Logan International Airport Wednesday night. The laser illuminated American Airlines flight #2140 around 8:30 p.m. as it flew 10 miles northeast of the airport, according to a statement released by an FAA spokesperson. The Airbus A319 landed safely at Logan. No injuries were reported. State police have been notified. https://whdh.com/news/faa-investigating-report-of-laser-shining-on-american-airlines-flight-approaching-logan-airport/ Back to Top Boeing secures 737 Max jet deals from Polish airline, ending months long order drought Boeing said Wednesday that Polish carrier Enter Air has ordered two 737 Max jets and taken options on two more in a move that the jet maker suggested expands the airline's commitment to the still-grounded jet. The deal was Boeing's first order for the Renton-made 737 Max in more than eight months. It comes after buyers dumped 43 737 Max orders in July alone, including deals for 15 by lessor AerCap and another 20 by Kuwaiti aircraft lessor Alafco. The Chicago-based jet maker has piled up 416 Max order cancellations. Boeing and Enter Air also said they have also finalized a settlement to compensate the Polish carrier for financial damages it incurred following the March 2019 grounding of its 737 Max fleet when two crashes killed 346 people. Boeing and Enter Air said the details of their settlement are confidential, but added that compensation "will be provided in a number of forms and staggered over a period of time." Poland's biggest charter airline, Enter Air launched flights in 2010 with a single 737 airplane. It remains an all-Boeing jet operator today. The airline's fleet includes 22 older model 737 Next-Generation jets and two new 737 Maxes. If the new purchase agreement is fully executed, Enter Air's 737 Max fleet will increase to 10 jets. "Following the rigorous checks that the 737 MAX is undergoing, I am convinced it will be the best aircraft in the world for many years to come," said Grzegorz Polaniecki, Enter Air's general director and a board member, in a Boeing news release. Polaniecki said that despite the current pandemic and Max crisis, it's important his airline also thinks about the future and prepare for the return to air travel in Europe. Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing Ihssane Mounir said the order for additional 737 Max 8 jets underscores the airline's "confidence in the airplane and the men and women of Boeing." 3-home Aspen compound hits the market for the first time in nearly 30 years for $40M Mounir said Boeing looks forward to building on its decade-long partnership with Enter Air and working with the airline to safely return their full 737 aircraft fleet to commercial service. European aviation safety regulators have yet to approve any of the many modifications that Boeing has made to the Max's flight control systems, or pilot training, so the jet is unlikely to return to service until sometime in 2021. Boeing hasn't had an order for the 737 Max since November 2019, when it booked 30 orders, including 20 for an unidentified customer and 10 for Sun Express, a Turkish-German airline based in Antaly, Turkey. In 2020, through the end of July, Boeing said its airline and leasing customers have canceled or converted a whopping 416 Max orders. The jet maker also reduced its official 737 Max backlog by 448 under accounting policies that recognize that deals are at risk of unraveling due to a buyer's solvency and ability to pay. Boeing's official 737 backlog now stands at 3,543 aircraft, spokesman Bernard Choi said. https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/08/19/boeing-enter-air-poland-order-for-737-max.html Back to Top With Ultralight Lithium-Sulfur Batteries, Electric Airplanes Could Finally Take Off • Oxis Energy's design promises outstanding energy density, manufacturability, and safety Electric aircraft are all the rage, with prototypes in development in every size from delivery drones to passenger aircraft. But the technology has yet to take off, and for one reason: lack of a suitable battery. For a large passenger aircraft to take off, cruise, and land hundreds of kilometers away would take batteries that weigh thousands of kilograms-far too heavy for the plane to be able to get into the air in the first place. Even for relatively small aircraft, such as two-seat trainers, the sheer weight of batteries limits the plane's payload, curtails its range, and thus constrains where the aircraft can fly. Reducing battery weight would be an advantage not only for aviation, but for other electric vehicles, such as cars, trucks, buses, and boats, all of whose performance is also directly tied to the energy-to-weight ratio of their batteries. For such applications, today's battery of choice is lithium ion. It reached maturity years ago, with each new incremental improvement smaller than the last. We need a new chemistry. Since 2004 my company, Oxis Energy, in Oxfordshire, England, has been working on one of the leading contenders-lithium sulfur. Our battery technology is extremely lightweight: Our most recent models are achieving more than twice the energy density typical of lithium-ion batteries. Lithium sulfur is also capable of providing the required levels of power and durability needed for aviation, and, most important, it is safe enough. After all, a plane can't handle a sudden fire or some other calamity by simply pulling to the side of the road. The new technology has been a long time coming, but the wait is now over. The first set of flight trials have already been completed. Fundamentally, a lithium-sulfur cell is composed of four components: • The positive electrode, known as the cathode, absorbs electrons during discharge. It is connected to an aluminum-foil current collector coated with a mixture of carbon and sulfur. Sulfur is the active material that takes part in the electrochemical reactions. But it is an electrical insulator, so carbon, a conductor, delivers electrons to where they are needed. There is also a small amount of binder added to ensure the carbon and sulfur hold together in the cathode. • The negative electrode, or anode, releases electrons during discharge. It is connected to pure lithium foil. The lithium, too, acts as a current collector, but it is also an active material, taking part in the electrochemical reaction. • A porous separator prevents the two electrodes from touching and causing a short circuit. The separator is bathed in an electrolyte containing lithium salts. • An electrolyte facilitates the electrochemical reaction by allowing the movement of ions between the two electrodes. These components are connected and packaged in foil as a pouch cell. The cells are in turn connected together-both in series and in parallel-and packaged in a 20 ampere-hour, 2.15-volt battery pack. For a large vehicle such as an airplane, scores of packs are connected to create a battery capable of providing tens or hundreds of amp-hours at several hundred volts. Lithium-sulfur batteries are unusual because they go through multiple stages as they discharge, each time forming a different, distinct molecular species of lithium and sulfur. When a cell discharges, lithium ions in the electrolyte migrate to the cathode, where they combine with sulfur and electrons to form a polysulfide, Li2S8. At the anode, meanwhile, lithium molecules give up electrons to form positively charged lithium ions; these freed electrons then move through the external circuit-the load-which takes them back to the cathode. In the electrolyte, the newly produced Li2S8 immediately reacts with more lithium ions and more electrons to form a new polysulfide, Li2S6. The process continues, stepping through further polysulfides, Li2S4 and Li2S2, to eventually become Li2S. At each step more energy is given up and passed to the load until at last the cell is depleted of energy. Electric Power Systems: Analysis and Control Recharging reverses the sequence: An applied current forces electrons to flow in the opposite direction, causing the sulfur electrode, or cathode, to give up electrons, converting Li2S to Li2S2. The polysulfide continues to add sulfur atoms step-by-step until Li2S8 is created in the cathode. And each time electrons are given up, lithium ions are produced that then diffuse through the electrolyte, combining with electrons at the lithium electrode to form lithium metal. When all the Li2S has been converted to Li2S8, the cell is fully charged. This description is simplified. In reality, the reactions are more complex and numerous, taking place also in the electrolyte and at the anode. In fact, over many charge and discharge cycles, it is these side reactions that cause degradation in a lithium-sulfur cell. Minimizing these, through the selection of the appropriate materials and cell configuration, is the fundamental, underlying challenge that must be met to produce an efficient cell with a long lifetime. One great challenge for both lithium-ion and lithium-sulfur technologies has been the tendency for repeated charging and discharging cycles to degrade the anode. In the case of lithium ion, ions arriving at that electrode normally fit themselves into interstices in the metal, a process called intercalation. But sometimes ions plate the surface, forming a nucleus on which further plating can accumulate. Over many cycles a filament, or dendrite, may grow until it reaches the opposing electrode and short-circuits the cell, causing a surge of energy, in the form of heat that irreparably damages the cell. If one cell breaks down like this, it can trigger a neighboring cell to do the same, beginning a domino effect known as a thermal runaway reaction-in common parlance, a fire. With lithium-sulfur cells, degradation of the lithium-metal anode is also a problem. However, this occurs via a very different mechanism, one that does not involve the formation of dendrites. In lithium-sulfur cells, uneven current densities on the anode surface cause lithium to be plated and stripped unevenly as the battery is charged and discharged. Over time, this uneven plating and stripping causes mosslike deposits on the anode that react with the sulfide and polysulfides in the electrolyte. These mosslike deposits become electrically disconnected from the bulk anode, leaving less of the anode surface available for chemical reaction. Eventually, as this degradation progresses, the anode fails to operate, preventing the cell from accepting charge. Developing solutions to this degradation problem is crucial to producing a cell that can perform at a high level over many charge-discharge cycles. A promising strategy we've been pursuing at Oxis involves coating the lithium-metal anode with thin layers of ceramic materials to prevent degradation. Such ceramic materials need to have high ionic conductivity and be electrically insulating, as well as mechanically and chemically robust. The ceramic layers allow lithium ions to pass through unimpeded and be incorporated into the bulk lithium metal beneath. We are doing this work on the protection layer for the anode in partnership with Pulsedeon and Leitat, and we're optimistic that it will dramatically increase the number of times a cell can be discharged and charged. And it's not our only partnership. We're also working with Arkema to improve the cathode in order to increase the power and energy density of the battery. Indeed, the key advantage of lithium-ion batteries over their predecessors-and of lithium sulfur over lithium ion-is the great amount of energy the cells can pack into a small amount of mass. The lead-acid starter battery that cranks the internal combustion engine in a car can store about 50 watt-hours per kilogram. Typical lithium-ion designs can hold from 100 to 265 Wh/kg, depending on the other performance characteristics for which it has been optimized, such as peak power or long life. Oxis recently developed a prototype lithium-sulfur pouch cell that proved capable of 470 Wh/kg, and we expect to reach 500 Wh/kg within a year. And because the technology is still new and has room for improvement, it's not unreasonable to anticipate 600 Wh/kg by 2025. When cell manufacturers quote energy-density figures, they usually specify the energy that's available when the cell is being discharged at constant, low power rates. In some applications such low rates are fine, but for the many envisioned electric aircraft that will take off vertically, the energy must be delivered at higher power rates. Such a high-power feature must be traded off for lower total energy-storage capacity. All Amped Up: Bye Aerospace's eFlyer 2 [top] is designed to train pilots. Bye is working with Oxis Energy on a lithium-sulfur battery that promises to increase the plane's range. Here a reel of positive electrode, made of sulfur, is being coated onto a current collector [bottom]. Furthermore, the level of energy density achievable in a single cell might be considerably greater than what's possible in a battery consisting of many such cells. The energy density doesn't translate directly from the cell to the battery because cells require packaging-the case, the battery management system, and the connections, and perhaps cooling systems. The weight must be kept in check, and for this reason our company is using advanced composite materials to develop light, strong, flameproof enclosures. If the packaging is done right, the energy density of the battery can be held to 80 percent of that of the cells: A cell rated at 450 Wh/kg can be packaged at more than 360 Wh/kg in the final battery. We expect to do better by integrating the battery into the aircraft, for instance, by making the wing space do double duty as the battery housing. We expect that doing so will get the figure up to 90 percent. To optimize battery performance without compromising safety we rely, first and foremost, on a battery management system (BMS), which is a combination of software and hardware that controls and protects the battery. It also includes algorithms for measuring the energy remaining in a battery and others for minimizing the energy wasted during charging. Like lithium-ion cells, lithium-sulfur cells vary slightly from one another. These differences, as well as differences in the cells' position in the battery pack, may cause some cells to consistently run hotter than others. Over time, those high temperatures slowly degrade performance, so it is important to minimize the power differences from cell to cell. This is usually achieved using a simple balancing solution, in which several resistors are connected in parallel with a cell, all controlled by software in the BMS. Even when charging and discharging rates are kept within safe limits, any battery may still generate excessive heat. So, typically, a dedicated thermal-management system is necessary. An electric car can use liquid cooling, but in aviation, air cooling is much preferred because it adds less weight. Of course, the battery can be placed at a point where air is naturally moving across the surface of the airplane-perhaps the wing. If necessary, air can be shunted to the battery through ducts. At Oxis, we're using computational modeling to optimize such cooling. For instance, when we introduced this technique in a project for a small fixed-wing aircraft, it allowed us to design an effective thermal-management system, without which the battery would reach its temperature limits before it was fully discharged. As noted above, a battery pack is typically arranged with the cells both in parallel and in series. However, there's more to the arrangement of cells. Of course, the battery is a mission-critical component of an e-plane, so you'll want redundancy, for enhanced safety. You could, for instance, design the battery in two equal parts, so that if one half fails it can be disconnected, leaving the aircraft with at least enough energy to manage a controlled descent and landing. Another software component within the BMS is the state-of-charge algorithm. Imagine having to drive a car whose fuel gauge had a measurement error equivalent to 25 percent of the tank's capacity. You'd never let the indicator drop to 25 percent, just to make sure that the car wouldn't sputter to a halt. Your practical range would be only three-quarters of the car's actual range. To avoid such waste, Oxis has put a great emphasis on the development of state-of-charge algorithms. In a lithium-ion battery you can estimate the charge by simply measuring the voltage, which falls as the energy level does. But it's not so simple for a lithium-sulfur battery. Recall that in the lithium-sulfur battery, different polysulfides figure in the electrochemical process at different times during charge and discharge. The upshot is that voltage is not a good proxy for the state of charge and, to make things even more complicated, the voltage curve is asymmetrical for charge and for discharge. So the algorithms needed to keep track of the state of charge are much more sophisticated. We developed ours with Cranfield University, in England, using statistical techniques, among them the Kalman filter, as well as neural networks. We can estimate state of charge to an accuracy of a few percent, and we are working to do better still. All these design choices involve trade-offs, which are different for different airplanes. We vary how we manage these trade-offs in order to tailor our battery designs for three distinct types of aircraft. • High-altitude pseudo satellites (HAPS) are aircraft that fly at around 15,000 to 20,000 meters. The hope is to be able to fly for months at a time; the current record is 26 days, set in 2018 by the Airbus Zephyr S. By day, these aircraft use solar panels to power the motors and charge the batteries; by night, they fly on battery power. Because the 24-hour charge-and-discharge period demands only a little power, you can design a light battery and thus allow for a large payload. The lightness also makes it easier for such an aircraft to fly far from the equator, where the night lasts longer. • Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are being developed as flying taxis. Lilium, in Germany, and Uber Elevate, among others, already have such projects under way. Again, weight is critical, but here the batteries need not only be light but must also be powerful. Oxis has therefore developed two versions of its cell chemistry. The high-energy version is optimized in many aspects of the cell design to minimize weight, but it is limited to relatively low power; it is best suited to HAPS applications. The high-power version weighs more, although still significantly less than a lithium-ion battery of comparable performance; it is well suited for such applications as eVTOL. • Light fixed-wing aircraft: The increasing demand for pilots is coming up against the high cost of training them; an all-electric trainer aircraft would dramatically reduce the operation costs. A key factor is longer flight duration, which is enabled by the lighter battery. Bye Aerospace, in Colorado, is one company leading the way in such aircraft. Furthermore, other companies-such as EasyJet, partnered with Wright Electric-are planning all-electric commercial passenger jets for short-haul, 2-hour flights. Three factors will determine whether lithium-sulfur batteries ultimately succeed or fail. First is the successful integration of the batteries into multiple aircraft types, to prove the principle. Second is the continued refinement of the cell chemistry. Third is the continued reduction in the unit cost. A plus here is that sulfur is about as cheap as materials get, so there's reason to hope that with volume manufacturing, the unit cost will fall below that of the lithium-ion design, as would be required for commercial success. Oxis has already produced tens of thousands of cells, and it is currently scaling up two new projects. Right now, it is establishing a manufacturing plant for the production of both the electrolyte and the cathode active material in Port Talbot, Wales. Later, the actual mass production of lithium-sulfur cells will begin on a site that belongs to Mercedes-Benz Brazil, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This state-of-the-art plant should be commissioned and operating by 2023. If the economies of scale prove out, and if the demand for electric aircraft rises as we expect, then lithium-sulfur batteries could begin to supplant lithium-ion batteries in this field. And what works in the air ought to work on the ground, as well. This article appears in the August 2020 print issue as "Ultralight Batteries for Electric Airplanes." https://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/aviation/with-ultralight-lithiumsulfur-batteries-electric-airplanes-could-finally-take-off Back to Top Mars missions complete first course corrections on journey to Red Planet If you would like to see more articles like this please support our coverage of the space program by becoming a Spaceflight Now Member. If everyone who enjoys our website helps fund it, we can expand and improve our coverage further. Three robotic Mars missions launched from Earth last month have begun fine-tuning their trajectories through the solar system with the first in a series mid-course corrections to take aim on the Red Planet for arrival next February. NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launched from Cape Canaveral on July 30, following successful launchings with the United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter July 19 and China's Tianwen 1 Mars mission July 23. The missions launched during a period of several weeks when Earth and Mars were in the right positions in their orbits around the sun to permit a direct route between the planets. All three spacecraft are due to arrive at Mars in February 2021. NASA said Aug. 14 that the Mars 2020 mission's first trajectory correction maneuver, or TCM, was a success. The spacecraft fired eight thrusters to adjust its course toward Mars, beginning to shift the probe's initial post-launch aim point on to the Red Planet. The mission's Atlas 5 launcher intentionally released the Mars 2020 spacecraft on a course that would miss Mars, ensuring the rocket's upper stage would not crash into the Red Planet. As of Wednesday, the Perseverance rover cocooned inside the Mars 2020 spacecraft's aeroshell had logged more than 35 million miles, or 56 million kilometers, since blasting off from Florida's Space Coast on July 30. Mars 2020 mission planners have set aside time and propellant for five trajectory correction maneuvers to refine the spacecraft's path toward Mars and set up the rover to target a precise landing at Jezero Crater, an impact basin that once harbored a lake of liquid water with a river flowing into it. The nuclear-powered Perseverance rover will explore the crater, seeking signs of ancient life while collecting rock core samples for return to Earth by a future mission. In addition to the five planned course correction burns, Mars 2020 mission managers have opportunities to command the spacecraft to perform backup or contingency maneuvers if required. The next trajectory correction burns for Mars 2020 are scheduled for Sept. 30, Dec. 18, Feb. 10, and Feb. 16. That will set the stage for the Perseverance rover's landing on Mars on Feb. 18. China's Tianwen 1 mission completed its first post-launch course correction Aug. 1 (GMT), according to the state-run Chinese Xinhua news agency. The spacecraft fired its main engine for 20 seconds in the first of several maneuvers planned during the trip to Mars. The maneuver also served as a test of the probe's main engine, which performed well during the burn, Chinese officials said. Tianwen 1 launched July 23 aboard a heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket. The ambitious mission will become China's first to reach Mars, and includes an orbiter, lander and rover. The spacecraft is scheduled to swing into orbit around Mars in February - using a lengthy engine burn - and the orbiter will survey candidate landing sites for two-to-three months before releasing the lander and rover to enter the Martian atmosphere. If China pulls off those feats according to plan, they will make China the third country to perform a soft landing on Mars - after the Soviet Union and the United States - and the second country to drive a robotic rover on the Red Planet. NASA has landed the only successful rovers on Mars to date. The UAE's Hope Mars orbiter has also successfully executed its first interplanetary course correction maneuver, mission officials announced Aug. 17. In a tweet, officials described the event as a "major milestone" on the journey to Mars. It was the first firing of the probe's six largest thrusters since the orbiter's launch July 19 on top of a Japanese Like NASA's Mars 2020 mission and China's Tianwen 1 spacecraft, the UAE's Hope orbiter will arrive at Mars in February. Funded and led by the United Arab Emirates - and developed in partnership with U.S. scientists - the Hope Mars probe carries a digital camera to image the Martian surface, dust storms and ice clouds, and spectrometers to measure constituents at multiple levels of the planet's atmosphere. The Hope mission is the Arab world's first interplanetary probe. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/08/19/mars-missions-complete-first-course-corrections-on-journey-to-red-planet/ Back to Top The USC Aviation Safety & Security Program Will Offer Online Classes This Fall The following upcoming courses, including NEW Safety Performance Indicators course, will take place in our virtual Webex classrooms. Accident/Incident Response Preparedness This course is designed for individuals who are involved in either preparing emergency response plans or responding to incidents and accidents as a representative of their organization. This updated course has been extended to four full days to integrate communications in the digital age. Online Course August 24-27, 2020 4 Days Tuition: $2250 Human Factors in Aviation Safety This course presents human factors in a manner that can be readily understood and applied by aviation practitioners in all phases of aviation operations. Emphasis is placed on identifying the causes of human error, predicting how human error can affect performance, and applying countermeasures to reduce or eliminate its effects. Online Course August 24-28, 2020 4.5 Days Tuition: $2650 Safety Management for Aviation Maintenance This course provides supervisors with aviation safety principles and practices needed to manage the problems associated with aircraft maintenance operations. In addition, it prepares attendees to assume safety responsibilities in their areas of operation. Online Course August 31-September 4, 2020 4.5 Days Tuition: $2650 Threat and Error Managment This course provides students with sufficient knowledge to develop a TEM program and a LOSA program within their organizations. Online Course September 9-11, 2020 2.5 Days Tuition: $1375 Aviation Safety Management Systems Providing the skills and practical methods to plan, manage, and maintain an effective Aviation Safety Management System. Special emphasis for safety managers, training, flight department and maintenance managers and supervisors, pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, and schedulers. Online Course September 14-25, 2020 9.5 Days Tuition: $3750 Hazard Effects and Control Strategies This course focuses on underlying physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and effects, and hazard control strategies. The following hazards are specifically addressed: electrical hazards, electrostatic discharge, toxicity, kinetic hazards, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, thermal hazards, noise, fire and explosion, high pressure, etc. Online Course September 14-15, 2020 2 Days Tuition: $1200 Damage Assessment for System Safety Sophisticated mathematical models and methods have been developed to estimate the level of impact of a hazardous condition. This course provides an overall understanding of these methods to help managers and system safety analysis reviewers understand the analysis conducted and results obtained by the experts in the field. Specifically, methods for modeling the impact of fire and explosion, debris distribution from an explosion, and toxic gas dispersion are discussed. Online Course September 16-18, 2020 3 Days Tuition: $1625 Safety Management Systems for Ground Operation Safety This course provides airport, air carrier and ground service company supervisors and managers with practices that will reduce ground operation mishaps to personnel and equipment. It provides an understanding of how ground operations safety management is an essential part or an airport's or air carrier's SMS. Online Course September 21-23, 2020 2.5 Days Tuition: $1375 Safety Performance Indicators This course teaches how SPI's are developed, monitored, analyzed and modified in order for an organization to correctly know its safety performance. The course utilizes guidance provided in ICAO Annex 19 and the ICAO Safety Management Manual Doc. 9859. Online Course September 24-25, 2020 2 Days Tuition: $1200 Earn Credit for FlightSafety International Master Technician-Management Program Students taking the following USC courses will earn elective credits towards FlightSafety International's Master Technician-Management Program • Human Factors in Aviation Safety • Gas Turbine Accident Investigation • Helicopter Accident Investigation • Safety Management for Aviation Maintenance • Safety Management for Ground Operations Safety • Accident/Incident Response Preparedness Earn Credit for National Business Aviation Association Certified Aviation Manager Exam Students taking the following USC courses will earn two points toward completing the application for the National Business Aviation Association Certified Aviation Manager Exam. • Aviation Safety Management Systems • Accident/Incident Response Preparedness • Human Factors in Aviation Safety • Aircraft Accident Investigation • SeMS Aviation Security Management Systems For further details, please visit our website or use the contact information below. Email: aviation@usc.edu Telephone: +1 (310) 342-1345 Photo Credit: PFC Brendan King, USMC Back to Top Swinburne University Capstone Research Projects 2020 - Airline pax preferences Study Airline Passenger Carrier Preference Research Project 2020 The Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) business model has disrupted the aviation industry. It has generated new passenger demand, provided passengers with more choice and created many competitive challenges for the traditional Full-Service Carriers (FSC). As the global airline market continues to change and adapt to new challenges, airline passenger preferences and intent to travel may also change. As part of our undergraduate research project at Swinburne University of Technology we are conducting a survey on passenger preferences regarding the decision to fly between LCC and FSC airlines. This survey asks for your views on various issues associated with airline choice and seeks to better understand passenger risk perceptions and the perceived value offered by each airline model. You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire, which also includes an explanatory statement. The study takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. To access the survey, please go to the following link: https://swinuw.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3wwfJDvc7chU3Cl Participants who complete the study will be eligible to enter a draw to win an iPad. This research project is being supervised by Peter Renshaw at the Department of Aviation, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. If you have any questions, please contact Peter at prenshaw@swin.edu.au *** Image from: Uphues, J. (2019). Full service carrier vs. low cost carrier - What's future-proof? Retrieved from https://www.inform-software.com/blog/post/full-service-carrier-vs-low-cost-carrier-whats-future-proof Back to Top SURVEY: GA PILOTS AND PIREPs "Dear GA pilot, Researchers at Purdue University are seeking general aviation (GA) pilots to participate in an online study, partially funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) program. The goal of this study is to evaluate opportunities for speech-based or other "hands-free" technologies that GA pilots might use to submit PIREPs. If you are able and willing to participate, you will be asked to review a set of 6 weather-related flight scenarios and record PIREPs as if you are flying. The study will last approximately 20 minutes and can be completed using a laptop or desktop computer. Participation in this study is completely voluntary. You can withdraw your participation at any time during the study for any reason. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to acknowledge your voluntary participation. Then there are 4 questions about your flight history, 6 weather scenarios, and 4 questions about PIREPs. Responses to the survey will be completely anonymous. We ask that you complete the study in a quiet location free from background noise. You must be at least 18 years of age or older to participate. When you are ready to begin, please click here: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6lZhv409DcoV8KF and follow the instructions in Qualtrics. Please feel free to share this link with other pilots you know. Email any questions or concerns to Mayur Deo and Dr. Brandon Pitts at nhance@purdue.edu." Back to Top Graduate Research Survey (1) Stress and Wellbeing for Global Aviation Professionals Dear colleagues, I am inviting you to participate in a research project on wellbeing in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation has affected aviation professionals around the world, and this research seeks to identify wellbeing strategies that work across professions, employers, families, and nations. All responses to this survey are anonymous. The findings of this research will inform future work by the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program and the Flight Safety Foundation to improve wellbeing for aviation professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Please click or copy the link below to access the survey, and please share it with any interested colleagues. https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cC2nlWEAazl22TX This research will support a treatise towards a Master of Science in Applied Psychology degree at the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. The researcher is also on the staff of the USC Aviation Safety and Security Program. Thank you, and please contact us with any questions, Daniel Scalese - Researcher scalese@usc.edu Michael Nguyen - Faculty Advisor nguyenmv@usc.edu Curt Lewis