Flight Safety Information August 24, 2020 - No. 171 In This Issue Crash: South West Aviation AN26 at Juba on Aug 22nd 2020, lost height after departure Incident: Easyjet A319 at Liverpool on Aug 21st 2020, bird strike Airbus A318-111...- Ground Damage (Romania) Iran says black boxes from downed Ukraine jet show missiles hit 25 seconds apart Iran plane crash: Cockpit exchange recorded after missile hit Ukraine jet EPA to approve American Airlines use of surface coating to fight coronavirus PIA to appeal to EU Aviation Safety Agency UK regulator allows PIA to resume flights using wet-leased jets FAA Looks At Anti-Drone Systems NTSB Chair Reflects on Investigating Accidents in a Virtual World How Many Stored Aircraft Will Return? U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $7.5 Million in 19 Unmanned Aircraft System Research Grants EasyJet to Offer Pilots Alternative to Layoffs USAF Hopes Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5 Will Help Solve Pilot Shortage Pilots On Board To Develop Pilotless Technology Rolls-Royce to develop high-speed aircraft propulsion systems with Reaction Engines Reaction Engines testing ammonia as carbon-free aviation fuel SpaceX raises $1.9 billion in latest funding round: report NBAA Safety Survey 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 Swinburne University Capstone Research Projects 2020 - UAM/RCO Study SURVEY:...GA PILOTS AND PIREPs. Graduate Research Survey (1) Crash: South West Aviation AN26 at Juba on Aug 22nd 2020, lost height after departure A South West Aviation Antonov AN-26 freighter, charter flight from Juba to Aweil (South Sudan) with 5 passengers and 3 crew, lost height shortly after departure from Juba at 08:30L (05:30Z) and impacted a farm near Hai Referendum (surbub of Juba) about 3nm southwest of the airport and abeam of the runway. One passenger survived in critical condition, all three crew and 4 passengers died in the crash. The aircraft was to carry a load of money for wages to Aweil. The airport reported the aircraft belonging to South West Aviation was bound for Aweil with 8 people on board. South Sudan's Transport Minister reported the aircraft chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP) carried 3 crew and 5 passengers. One passenger survived, 7 people were killed in the accident. According to the website of South West Aviation, based in Juba (South Sudan), the airline operates one AN-26 registration YI-AZR. That tailnumber is unknown in databases. A local radio station has a good number of photos of YI-AZR while being loaded with solar panels and mounting assemblies at an unknown date in the past. An information from Kiev (Ukraine) suggests, the accident AN-26 might be MSN 11508 (former tail numbers EX-126, UN-26075, CCCP-26075). The airline did not respond to an e-mail transmitted by AVH early Aug 22nd 2020 asking about the details of the accident aircraft as well as which runway was being used for departure until late evening of Aug 23rd 2020. On Aug 23rd 2020 The Aviation Herald received information from a ground witness (who was in Juba in 2018), that South West Aviation used to operate an AN-26 aircraft tailnumber 9Q-CGM (which is a fake registration) until at least 2018, that aircraft was known as MSN 6401 in various databases however. It remains unclear what happened to that airframe. Was it renamed to YI-AZR? Did it leave the company's fleet? Is it still around flying as 9Q-CGM? At the same time there are rumours flying around in South Sudan's media, that South West Aviation may have received a donation of another AN-26 just very recently, without techlog or any information about the airframe including no information about the operating hours of the engines. http://avherald.com/h?article=4db9ba0d&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Easyjet A319 at Liverpool on Aug 21st 2020, bird strike An Easyjet Airbus A319-100, registration G-EZBE performing flight U2-7023 from Liverpool,EN to Jersey,CI (UK), was climbing out of Liverpool's runway 27 when the crew stopped the climb at 3000 feet due to a bird strike and returned to Liverpool for a safe landing on runway 27 about 20 minutes after departure. A replacement A319-100 registration G-EZDF reached Jersey with a delay of 3:45 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dba0275&opt=0 Back to Top Airbus A318-111 - Ground Damage (Romania) Date: 23-AUG-2020 Time: Type: Airbus A318-111 Owner/operator: Tarom Registration: YR-ASB C/n / msn: 2955 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Bucharest-Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP/LROP) - Romania Phase: Taxi Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Bucharest-Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP/LROP) Destination airport: Frankfurt International Airport (FRA/EDDF) Narrative: A Tarom Airbus A318-111, sustained minor damage to the left-hand wing tip fence after hitting mobile airstairs. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/240428 Back to Top Iran says black boxes from downed Ukraine jet show missiles hit 25 seconds apart DUBAI (Reuters) - Analysis from the black boxes of a downed Ukrainian passenger plane shows it was hit by two missiles 25 seconds apart and that passengers were still alive for some time after the impact of the first blast, Iran said on Sunday. The announcement by the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization marks the first official report on the contents of the cockpit voice and data recordings, which were sent to France for reading in July. Tehran has said it accidentally shot down the Ukraine airliner in January at a time of extreme tensions with the United States. All 176 people aboard the plane were killed. The second missile hit the aircraft 25 seconds after the first, but only 19 seconds of that gap was captured on the recordings because of damage from the first missile, Touraj Dehghani-Zanganeh was cited as saying by state television. "Nineteen seconds after the first missile hit the plane, the voices of pilots inside the cockpit indicated that the passengers were alive ... 25 seconds later the second missile hit the plane," he was reported as saying. "Therefore, no analysis of the performance and effects of the second missile was obtained from the aircraft's black box." The aircraft's flight crew - two pilots and an instructor also travelling in the cockpit - tried to keep control of the plane until the last moment, Zanganeh said. Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight with a ground-to-air missile on Jan. 8, just after the plane took off from Tehran, in what Tehran later acknowledged as a "disastrous mistake" by forces on high alert during a confrontation with the United States. Iran has been in talks with Ukraine, Canada and other nations that had citizens aboard the downed plane, and who have demanded a thorough investigation into the incident. Iranian and Ukrainian officials have also held talks on the compensation to families of the victims. Another round of talks is set for October. Iran's investigation is being carried out under United Nations aviation rules calling for probes aimed solely at preventing future accidents, separately from any judicial process. But the probe has been swept up in regional and domestic tensions. "The data analysis from the black boxes should not be politicised," Zanganeh said. Over 20 people have been sentenced to jail terms up to 20 years in Iran for participating in peaceful protests against the downing of the plane. Some Iranians took to Twitter on Sunday to show their anger, with at least one user tweeting "They were alive for 19 seconds ... a tragedy". https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-calls-countries-not-politicise-083013769.html Back to Top Iran plane crash: Cockpit exchange recorded after missile hit Ukraine jet A black box recorder recovered from a Ukrainian passenger jet mistakenly shot down by Iran in January captured a conversation in the cockpit moments after a missile strike, officials say. Data from the Boeing 737 indicated that the pilots and passengers were alive before a second missile hit 25 seconds later, Iran's aviation authority said. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran. All 176 people on board were killed. After initially denying any responsibility for the incident, Iran admitted it had shot down the UIA flight "unintentionally", calling it a "disastrous mistake" by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran's air defences had been on high alert at the time. Hours earlier, the country had fired ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by a US drone strike in Baghdad. What is the latest on the crash? During a press conference on Sunday, Capt Zanganeh, head of the Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran (CAOI), said "up to 19 seconds" of conversation between two pilots and a pilot instructor had been captured in the aircraft's cabin after the first missile struck. It was "25 seconds later that the second missile hit the plane", he said, adding: "They were piloting the plane until the last moment." He said information recorded by the plane's black boxes - which hold key data and communications from the cockpit - indicated that the aircraft had been "in a normal flight corridor" before the first missile exploded, sending shrapnel into the aircraft. Capt Zanganeh added: "At this moment, the plane has an electrical problem and the auxiliary power of the plane is turned on at the order of the pilot instructor. Both engines were on in the seconds after the explosion. "No sound was heard from the passenger cabin at that moment... The recording stopped after 19 seconds." No details of the cockpit conversation were disclosed. Iran had delayed releasing the plane's "black box" voice recorder but in July sent it to France for examination. No other parties involved in the black box analysis have yet commented. What happened to Flight PS752? On 8 January, at 06:12 local time (02:42 GMT), UIA flight PS752 took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. The plane was a Boeing 737-800 - one of the international airline industry's most widely used aircraft models. Before leaving the airport's air space, the plane appeared to turn around to return to the runway. Shortly afterwards, it crashed. The government in Tehran initially said the UIA plane had suffered a technical problem shortly after take-off. It cited witnesses including the crew of another passenger plane who said it had been on fire prior to impact. Authorities said they had lost radar contact when the plane was at an altitude of about 8,000ft (2,400m), minutes after taking off. A later report by the CAOI said the air defence unit that targeted the passenger plane had recently moved and had failed to calibrate its equipment correctly. As a result, it misidentified the civilian plane as a hostile object. The report also said the missile battery had been unable to communicate with their command centre, and had fired on the plane without receiving official approval. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53880254 Back to Top EPA to approve American Airlines use of surface coating to fight coronavirus The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce on Monday it will issue an emergency exemption to the state of Texas permitting it to allow American Airlines to use a new surface coating that kills coronaviruses for up to seven days, sources briefed on the matter said. EPA officials said the agency would approve the emergency exemption requests under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to allow the use of SurfaceWise2 - a product manufactured by Allied BioScience - by both American Airlines and Texas-based Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine's two clinics for up to a year. American Airlines declined to comment. The announcement comes as airlines are struggling to convince people that it is safe to resume flying. EPA officials said the product was aimed at providing added protection in public spaces that could increase consumer confidence in resuming air travel. EPA officials said the surface coating inactivated viruses and bacteria within two hours of application and kept working against them for up to seven days. The EPA will allow the product's use at American Airlines airport facilities in Texas and on planes with flights originating in the state, the officials said, without providing more details. The initial application and any reapplication must occur in Texas. Allied BioScience plans to pursue a non-emergency approval by submitting additional data to meet the EPA's registration requirements as an antiviral surface coating. If approved, the product would become available for purchase by the public, EPA officials said. EPA officials emphasized the product was not a replacement for routine cleaning and disinfection. Facilities must continue to get regular cleanings. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it may be possible for a person to get Covid-19 "by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes." But the virus is believed to be spread primarily by close contact. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/epa-to-approve-american-airlines-use-of-surface-coating-to-fight-coronavirus.html Back to Top PIA to appeal to EU Aviation Safety Agency Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will file an appeal with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) against the suspension of flight operations by EU member states. According to media reports, the appeal has been prepared by PIA and concerned authorities and will be submitted to the Aviation Division before being admitted to EASA. According to report after the issue of suspicious pilot licenses came to light and EASA suspended permission for PIA flights to EU member states, the agency had sought clarification from Pakistani authorities on 11 points. Amid them the most important was the Safety Management System (SMS). https://nation.com.pk/24-Aug-2020/pia-to-appeal-to-eu-aviation-safety-agency Back to Top UK regulator allows PIA to resume flights using wet-leased jets UK aviation regulators have approved a request from Pakistan International Airlines to operate Birmingham and Manchester flights using aircraft chartered from Portuguese wet-lease operator Hi Fly. The UK Civil Aviation Authority last month suspended permission for PIA to operate into the country, after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had withdrawn the carrier's third-country operator authorisation. That was a response to the revelation, following the crash of a PIA Airbus A320 in Karachi on 22 May, that more than 260 of 860 pilot licences issued by Pakistani regulators were fraudulent. In a 17 August statement, the CAA says it has approved PIA's request to resume flights from Islamabad to Birmingham and Manchester using Hi Fly aircraft, with effect from 14 August. Cirium fleets data shows that Hi Fly and its Maltese division have a combined total of 13 aircraft in service - five Airbus A340s, three A330s, two A321s and two A319s - and 10 in storage, including a single A380 plus five A330s and four A340s. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/uk-regulator-allows-pia-to-resume-flights-using-wet-leased-jets/139791.article Back to Top FAA Looks At Anti-Drone Systems The FAA has announced it is looking at technologies to clear "rogue drones" from the airspace near airports after a few collisions and some close calls, including one that might have involved Air Force One. The agency will evaluate at least 10 systems designed to disable or neutralize drones in trials that will initially be held at its William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City International Airport. "The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires the agency to ensure that technologies used to detect or mitigate potential risks posed by unmanned aircraft do not interfere with safe airport operations," the agency said in a news release. One of those systems might have come in handy at Joint Base Andrews near Washington last week when several reporters aboard a C-32A (Boeing 757) carrying the president back from a campaign event said they saw a drone close to the aircraft. The Pentagon is now investigating the encounter, which occurred while the aircraft was on final. Among the technologies available for keeping illegal drones out of harm's way is the use of radio signals to interrupt the navigation and remote control systems on drones and even gun-launched nets to bring them down. The FAA says it will eventually expand the evaluations to four other airports. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-looks-at-anti-drone-systems/ Back to Top NTSB Chair Reflects on Investigating Accidents in a Virtual World The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the way that organizations around the world do business - and that holds true even for investigative agencies like the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "All the things that we would normally do, we are doing," said NTSB Chairman the Honorable Robert L. Sumwalt, in a recent Aviation Outlook webinar event. "We're just not going on scene." In the next free and interactive Aviation Outlook webinar event, Embry-Riddle's deans of Aviation welcome business leader Ben Baldanza. As the CEO for Spirit Airlines from 2005 to 2016, he created a new sector of airlines in North America which became an economic powerhouse that provided travel opportunity for millions of people throughout the western hemisphere. Baldanza will discuss his role in transforming the struggling airline into a successful and pioneering "Ultra Low-Cost Carrier." Baldanza will also answer your questions during the webinar. Register now to reserve a virtual seat at the event. Instead of visiting the sites of aircraft accidents, train wrecks, car crashes and other vehicular mishaps in person, the NTSB is now relying on local law enforcement to photograph the areas and send in the evidence they collect. All other aspects of the NTSB's normal procedures, however - interviewing witnesses, checking pilot backgrounds, exploring maintenance records and more - are operating as normal. In fact, Sumwalt said, the NTSB has filed 981 accident reports this year alone, in addition to completing 534 lab reports. "We are getting a lot done in this virtual environment," he said. Sumwalt was featured as the sixth guest in the free and interactive Aviation Outlook webinar series, presented by Embry-Riddle's deans of Aviation. "Since launching our Aviation Outlook webinars, Embry-Riddle has hosted some of the most influential voices in the industry - from airline CEOs to the head of the FAA," said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, introducing Sumwalt. Not only does Sumwalt serve as the national voice for transportation safety, Butler added, but he's also an alumnus. Sumwalt ('14, '18) has been a member of the NTSB since 2006 and its chairman since 2017. Before joining the NTSB, he was a pilot for 32 years, including 24 years with U.S. Airways. "Every time you travel in an airplane, a school bus, a train or a bus, or even your own automobile, you're protected by safety measures resulting from the National Transportation Safety Board," Butler added. Appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sumwalt is the face of an organization that proposes safety protocols that, once approved, become national law. As a child, though, it was never his goal to become "head of the table for the world's premier safety board," as College of Aviation Dean Alan Stolzer put it. Instead, Sumwalt said, he "got into aviation by accident" - literally. At 17 years old, Sumwalt heard about a plane crash nearby and, fascinated, drove down to the site to see what he could find out. The experience stuck him with and, soon, he found himself in libraries poring over aircraft accident reports, trying to learn why crashes happen and what could have prevented them. He signed up for flight lessons soon after that, earning his private pilot's certificate before finishing high school. "As a safety official, we don't just make up recommendations," Sumwalt said. "These recommendations come from accidents where people die." NTSB investigators research every aspect of transportation incidents, analyzing wreckage and personal histories, studying maintenance records and listening carefully to every second of flight deck recordings - all in an effort to uncover what went wrong and, most importantly, why. "As an accident investigation agency, we want as much information as possible ... so that we can learn from it and keep it from happening again," Sumwalt said. "That is our prime motivation." And that purpose remains clear, even in the midst of national crises. The aviation industry has survived wars, the Great Recession, 9/11 and other major events, Sumwalt added, and he sees no reason why it won't do the same through the current pandemic, eventually rebounding to offer young professionals entering the field long and promising careers. "Over the 46 years I've been in the business, I've seen ups and downs, but in each case ... the aviation industry has recovered," he said. "I am optimistic that there's a bright sunrise out there, and there's a great future for people. For his organization, specifically, the NTSB has hired 15 new employees since the start of the pandemic. Those signs of life, he added, should serve as motivation for recent and soon-to-be graduates. "Maintain the course," he said to young people watching from home. "Don't give up. ... It's the journey that's more important than the destination. The Aug. 12 webinar featuring NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt is available for playback online. For recaps on prior guests, visit the Aviation Outlook website. https://news.erau.edu/headlines/ntsb-chair-reflects-on-investigating-accidents-in-a-virtual-world Back to Top How Many Stored Aircraft Will Return? • Qantas has moved more than 100 aircraft into storage, while many of its international rivals have made similar cuts. Alongside cargo operators, one of the very few beneficiaries of the current crisis is likely to be aircraft storage and disassembly centers. Recognizing this, private equity firm Baird Capital has invested in aircraft recycling company eCube, which is based in Wales, UK and has another facility in Castellon, Spain. The new shareholder will help eCube expand into the North American market and grow its existing sites in Europe to meet what is expected to be increased demand for aircraft storage and part-out services. "Its position as a leader in its rapidly growing market makes it a great fit for our industrial portfolio," noted James Benfield, Baird Capital partner and managing director. Almost each day the crisis progresses brings news of more mothballed aircraft storage, with Qantas confirming in its recent annual results that all 12 of its A380s are now in long-term storage in the U.S. "for the foreseeable future", and that all its 747s had been retired early. In total, the Australian carrier has moved more than 100 aircraft into storage, while many of its international rivals have made similar cuts. For now, many airlines appear content to pay parking fees as they wait to see how the crisis unfolds and how quickly - and reliably - passenger demand will return. At some point, though, they may have to consider disassembly, especially for older widebodies. Even mid-life to younger models may be in trouble, with Qantas's A380s a case in point. The flag carrier has said they could return in three years' time, but appears to have limited confidence in the prospect, and in its recent annual result the airline took an almost A$1.1 billion ($787 million) impairment charge on the aircraft. https://aviationweek.com/mro/how-many-stored-aircraft-will-return Back to Top U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $7.5 Million in 19 Unmanned Aircraft System Research Grants to Universities WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $7.5 million in research, education, and training grants to universities that comprise the agency's Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE). "This $7.5 million federal investment will fund university research on the safe integration of drones into our national airspace," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. There are currently 1.65 million recreational and commercial drones (PDF) in the active UAS fleet. That number is expected to grow to as high as 2.31 million by 2024 (PDF). The grants are aimed at continuing and enhancing the safe and successful integration of drones into the nation's airspace. The following information summarizes the 19 grant awards for the eight projects. The COE universities received a total of $7,495,178 to advance specific goals and projects. This is the third round of ASSURE grants for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The grants announced today bring the FY 2020 year-to-date award amount for this COE to $13,363,638. Today's grant awards include: Validation of Low-Altitude Detect and Avoid Standards-Safety Research Center The tasking for this work validates prior research in the performance of human pilots to detect other air traffic, assesses the potential for conflict, and analyzes potential maneuver options for avoidance against an intruder aircraft when a potential conflict exists. Mississippi State University - lead University $1,500,000 Safety Risks and Mitigations for UAS Operations On and Around Airports This research is focused on safely integrating UAS operations with airport operations, on and around airport surfaces with manned aircraft operations, and on and around the same surfaces. The depth of research expertise at the universities involved affords the selection of a set of experts to spearhead a specific use case and shepherd the constructs of each use case through completion. University of Alaska, Fairbanks - lead University $401,999 Kansas State University $220,000 New Mexico State University $320,000 University of Alabama, Huntsville $219,815 University of North Dakota $320,000 Science and Research Panel (SARP) Support The purpose of this grant is to provide research focused on identifying research opportunities and gaps between SARP stakeholders, coordinating awareness of the research opportunities, and identifying ways stakeholders can work together to resolve research gaps to the benefit of the research community. University of Alabama, Huntsville - lead University $70,383 Identify Wake Turbulence and Flutter Testing Requirements for UAS The research team consisting of the University of Kansas and the Ohio State University will work together to: 1. Identify severities of UAS flight upset due to wake turbulence to help the FAA assess risk of upset and to develop policy, guidance, and procedures for mitigating UAS wake turbulence encounters; and 2. Demonstrate safe flutter flight testing procedures for UAS. University of Kansas - lead University $800,000 The Ohio State University $698,921 Urban Air Mobility (UAM): Safety Standards, Aircraft Certification and Impact on Market Feasibility and Growth Potentials The vision to revolutionize mobility within metropolitan areas is a new frontier in aviation. Supporting accessible air transport systems for passengers and cargo by working with the urban air mobility (UAM) community to identify and address the opportunities and key challenges ahead is an emerging role for the FAA. Wichita State University - lead University $450,000 Mississippi State University $315,000 North Carolina State University $184,999 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University $249,923 UAS Standards Tracking, Mapping, and Analysis Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology is evolving rapidly and the FAA is working to keep pace with industry and to integrate UAS into the National Airspace System. A gap in UAS integration is having standards developed by industry which the FAA can use for policy and rulemaking activity. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - lead University $264,900 University of North Dakota $235,000 Cybersecurity and Safety Literature Review The proposed work will complete a literature review of cybersecurity concerns and resulting potential safety issues with the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS). The aim of the work is to support the establishment of a baseline model to identify and assess cybersecurity related risks of integrating UAS into the NAS, and undertake a survey of strategies for managing such risks. Oregon State University - lead University $200,000 New Mexico State University $150,000 University of North Dakota $144,238 Validation of ASTM Remote ID Standards-Safety Research Center The tasking for this work operationally validates that the ASTM International (ASTM) Remote Identification (Remote ID) Broadcast standards satisfy stakeholder needs. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Remote ID states that the proposed rulemaking is intended to facilitate onboard pilot awareness of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and to also facilitate certain Detect and Avoid technologies. Mississippi State University - lead University $750,000 The FAA has established 12 Centers of Excellence in critical topic areas focusing on: unmanned aircraft systems, alternative jet fuels and environment, general aviation safety, commercial space transportation, airliner cabin environment, aircraft noise and aviation emissions mitigation, advanced materials, general aviation research, airworthiness assurance, operations research, airport pavement and technology, and computational modeling of aircraft structures. https://www.suasnews.com/2020/08/u-s-transportation-secretary-elaine-l-chao-announces-7-5-million-in-19-unmanned-aircraft-system-research-grants-to-universities/ Back to Top EasyJet to Offer Pilots Alternative to Layoffs In a move that may become increasingly common among airlines seeking to avoid layoffs, EasyJet will be offering pilots an alternative to being made redundant. The plan will offer pilots seasonal contracts, working for parts of the year and taking the rest of the year off. The offer comes as airlines across the globe are facing massive layoffs and losses amid the downturn in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. EasyJet has offered its pilots numerous alternatives to help mitigate the number of mandatory layoffs required. The airline has warned that up to 727 pilots, or one-third of its pilot force, will have to be laid off. The airline has also announced the closure of three of its bases in the UK - London Stansted, Newcastle and Southend - as demand continues to stall. Pilots have been warned that if they do not accept one of the alternatives, or take a voluntary leave, they will receive less generous severance terms if they are to be laid off. The latest alternative offered to pilots is a seasonal contract in which pilots would work for six months in a year and be not scheduled and unpaid for the remainder of the year. Pilots have also been offered deals that would see them able to work for two weeks then take two weeks off, working nine days in a workweek rather than thirteen or working for three weeks with a week off. Voluntary leave is also being offered to pilots for various terms, ranging from six to 18 months. The airline is trying to stem record losses caused by the drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions. In its second-quarter report, the airline carried 117,000 passengers versus 26.4 million passengers in the same period last year. The airline also announced revenues of $9.16 million versus revenues of $2.3 billion for the same quarter last year. A resurgence of the virus, in particular in holiday destinations such as Spain and Greece, will keep demand low as well as new quarantine rules implemented by the government of the UK. American Airlines Offers Similar Arrangement Earlier this year, American Airlines announced an agreement with its pilots for similar alternatives to layoffs. Their agreement can see pilots work alternating months as a way to reduce costs for the airline. The airlines had announced up to 2,500 pilots face an involuntary furlough on Oct. 1. The airline had already reached an agreement with 800 pilots for voluntary early retirements. EasyJet has not announced how many pilots have agreed to alternate contracts to avoid layoffs. As the pandemic rages on, airlines will continue to manage huge losses and work to mitigate layoffs in the months ahead. Alternative offers similar to EasyJet's and American's may become more common as a way to avoid mass redundancies that airlines are facing. The move may prove to be popular both with employees seeking to stay employed and airlines seeking to mitigate losses and avoid the costly furlough and layoff process. https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/08/23/easyjet-to-offer-pilots-alternative-to-layoffs/ Back to Top USAF Hopes Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5 Will Help Solve Pilot Shortage The Air Force hopes to make up lost ground in battling its chronic pilot shortage with Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5, which takes advantage of newer technology such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, as well as increased simulator time, to allow students to progress at their own pace. Newly minted Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass recently joined service Secretary Barbara M. Barrett on a trip to Air Education and Training Command in Texas for a first-hand look at the program. "There was a little bit of a slowdown in production" of pilots due to the pandemic, Brown said in an Aug. 21 telephone press conference, without offering any numbers. With the new UPT 2.5, however, "they are actually trying to pick up the pace. They haven't actually lost any flying days," he added. The trip was intended to highlight the importance of training and the need to adopt innovative approaches to professional military and technical training, Barrett said. Air Education and Training Command had expected to produce between 1,350 and 1,400 pilots in fiscal 2020, but the actual number is likely to be about 1,200, according to command officials. Brown said it's "a little too early" to see the broad effects of the new pilot training system and the number of pilots who aren't exiting the service, given the huge slowdown in airline hiring. He's not sure that picture will be crystal clear even when there is COVID-19 vaccine available. But UPT 2.5 is going faster than expected, standing up at Randolph already. Vance Air Force Base, Okla., "was going to be a few months to a year off, ... but they actually came forward and said they're ready to go now," Brown said. Brown, Barrett, and Bass had an opportunity to try the virtual reality goggles and simulator-like Immersive Training Devices and talk to student pilots. "The challenge," Brown said, "will be ... how do they scale this" to larger numbers of students and institutionalize the idea of allowing students "to move at the pace of the student's ability to absorb" the training. Brown's not concerned about more of the pilot training program moving to simulation, and away from real-world flying sorties. He said he was checked out in a C-130J through simulator rides only and was "fully qualified to fly the airplane" afterward. "I didn't really notice that much difference" between the two, he said. While it's important that students hear the engines and "smell the JP-8" fuel, "by and large, you can get a lot done in a good simulator," he said. Asked about instructor pilots who have raised concerns about students moving to majority-simulator training, Brown said he expects resistance to any new idea. "Anytime we try to change anything, you're going to move somebody out of their comfort zone," he said. While there may have been such objections a year ago, "I think we've moved on from that." Brown likes that students who are doing well can advance on their own, thanks to digital tracking of their progress and proficiency. "We don't have to slow them down, and we can get them done a bit faster," he said. An increased use of simulation is not risk free, Brown acknowledged, but "I think it will make us better over the long run." Barrett and Brown were also asked if some of the programs in the Air Force's overstuffed combat aircraft shopping bag will have to be dropped due to expected flatter budgets ahead. Barrett responded with the Winston Churchill comment that, "We're out of money. Now we're going to have to think." She added, "We're going to have to ... elevate our game a bit." Brown said he had a meeting in Texas last week with the major command bosses "to really talk ... about the fighter portfolio," because "we will have to figure out how best to max that capability." The "money aspect and the capability aspect, ... we've got to do those in concert," so it will be a "mix and match of capabilities that we have to work through," to include new airplanes and those "we already have." Some of the force will be sustained and upgraded, "and we'll have to make some choices on how best to do that. And that's part of the conversation we're having right now inside the Air Force." https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-hopes-undergraduate-pilot-training-2-5-will-help-solve-pilot-shortage/ Back to Top Pilots On Board To Develop Pilotless Technology A California company is taking a novel approach to autonomous aviation by making human pilots an integral part of its development. While many of the more advanced drone hopefuls have created elaborate clean-sheet designs, San Francisco startup Xwing is heaping new technology into a proven design with room for a human to act as pilot in command. "This is the fastest way to get to commercial uncrewed flight," company founder Marc Piette told The Wall Street Journal. Xwing is equipping a fleet of Grand Caravans used for routine cargo flights with gear to gather data on everything from navigation to emergency procedures. Assuming it all works, the company hopes to have pilotless Caravans flying cargo long before the first clean-sheet designs are certified. Piette told the WSJ that ground-based pilots will also be involved in the initial phase, handling ATC calls and monitoring performance. Once all the kinks are worked out, the company hopes the first pilotless Caravans will operate over water or wilderness sooner rather than later. The Journal story says that could happen within a couple of years. It's anyone's guess when this kind of autonomous aviation can mix it up with regular traffic but if and when that happens, the technology is scalable. It could be adapted for other already-certified designs for different capabilities and missions. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilots-on-board-to-develop-pilotless-technology/ Back to Top Rolls-Royce to develop high-speed aircraft propulsion systems with Reaction Engines Hypersonic propulsion has seen very significant advances during the last more than two decades. Space agencies and several private companies have made significant efforts in recent years to develop their own state-of-the-art propulsion systems. One of them is Rolls-Royce. It has been working closely with Reaction Engines for the past two years with the shared ambition of developing turbines that could be used in both supersonic and hypersonic aviation. Now, the two companies have announced a new strategic partnership agreement to develop high-speed aircraft propulsion systems. As part of the agreement, both companies will explore applications for Reaction Engines' thermal management technology within civil and defense aerospace gas turbine engines and hybrid-electric systems. Reaction Engines has developed a turbine which it calls SABRE (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine), which can operate in both normal flights and in space. It is capable of propelling an aircraft to go from zero to five times the speed of sound and even faster in space flight. In addition, they have confirmed that in the future, they hope to be able to use it in space vehicles that will develop even higher speeds. This technology seeks to increase the efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of air transport, significantly reduce polluting emissions and simplify turbine maintenance, so the possibility of this technology giving a boost to hybrid powertrains is undoubtedly good news. "This strategic partnership is about developing market-ready applications for Reaction Engines' technology in next-generation engines and is a significant step forward for our technology commercialization plans," said Mark Thomas, Chief Executive of Reaction Engines. "Our proprietary heat exchanger technology delivers incredible heat transfer capabilities at extremely low weight and compact size. We look forward to expanding our international collaboration with Rolls-Royce, a global leader in power systems, to bring to market a range of applications that will transform the performance and efficiency of aircraft engines, enable high speed - supersonic and hypersonic - flight and support the drive towards more sustainable aviation through innovative new technologies." This announcement comes after Rolls-Royce's recent partnerships with Virgin Galactic and Boom Supersonic, a startup competing to bring a new supersonic aircraft to the market. https://www.inceptivemind.com/rolls-royce-develop-high-speed-aircraft-propulsion-systems-reaction-engines/14935/ Back to Top Reaction Engines testing ammonia as carbon-free aviation fuel • The new ammonia propulsion system uses heat exchanger technology originally developed for Reaction Engines' Skylon spaceplane Reaction Engines and Britain's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have completed a concept study into the practicality of using ammonia as a jet aviation fuel. By teaming Reaction Engines's heat exchanger technology with STFC's advanced catalysts, they hope to produce a sustainable, low-emission propulsion system for tomorrow's aircraft. Modern jet engines use a variety of fuels based on kerosene that have a very high energy density that can propel aircraft well beyond the speed of sound and carry passengers and cargoes across the globe. Unfortunately, such fuels are also derived from fossil fuels and produce significant carbon dioxide emissions, which the airline industry and many governments have pledged to reduce radically by 2050. One way of achieving these cuts is to look at alternatives to conventional jet fuels to power airliners. The problem is that most of these alternatives have much lower energy densities than standard aviation fuels and suffer from other drawbacks. For example, present-day battery technology would require future aircraft to be very small, short-range, and with little payload capacity. Meanwhile, liquid hydrogen could be a viable alternative, but so much of it would need to be carried that planes would have to be completely redesigned and new infrastructure built. The idea of using ammonia as aviation fuel isn't new. Though it only has a third of the energy density of diesel, it's relatively easy to liquefy and store, and was already used by the famous X-15 rocket-plane, propelling it into space on a series of suborbital missions in the 1950s and '60s. In addition, it's carbon-free. The tricky bit is finding an economically viable way to use it in aviation. To solve this problem, Reaction Engines produced a new propulsion system based on the heat exchanger technology it developed for its SABRE hypersonic engine, which was then evaluated by STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Didcot in Oxfordshire. In this new system, the ammonia is stored as a chilled, pressurized liquid in the wings of the airplane just as kerosene-based fuel is today. Heat harvested from the engine by the heat exchanger would warm the ammonia as it is pumped out and fed into a chemical reactor where a catalyst breaks down some of the ammonia into hydrogen. The ammonia/hydrogen mixture is then fed into the jet engine where it burns like conventional fuel, though the emissions consist mainly of nitrogen and water vapor. According to Reaction Engines, the energy density of ammonia is high enough that the aircraft wouldn't need significant modifications and the engine could be retrofitted in a relatively short time. A ground-based test is in the works with a first flight possible in a few years. "The combination of Reaction Engines' transformative heat exchanger technology and the STFC's innovative catalysts will enable development of a game-changing class of green ammonia-based aviation propulsion systems," says Dr. James Barth, engineering lead at Reaction Engines. "Our study showed that an ammonia-fueled jet engine could be adapted from currently available engines, and ammonia as a fuel doesn't require a complete re-think of the design of civil aircraft as we know them today. This means a fast transition to a sustainable aviation future is possible at low cost; ammonia-powered aircraft could be serving the world's short-haul routes well in advance of 2050." https://newatlas.com/aircraft/reaction-engines-ammonia-carbon-free-aviation-fuel/ Back to Top SpaceX raises $1.9 billion in latest funding round: report SpaceX has raised over $1.9 billion in new funding this month, representing its largest single fundraising round to date, according to a report from SpaceNews. A regulatory filing on Tuesday (Aug. 18) showed that 75 investors made equity investments in Elon Musk's launch company. SpaceX is also selling an additional $165 million in common stock, which would put the final amount of new funding at $2.07 billion, SpaceNews reported. The California-based company raised more than $346 million in May after increasing the ceiling to $350 million, up from $250 million in February, according to the company's earlier filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "None of those SEC disclosures were filed at the end of SpaceX's fundraising rounds. If both rounds are funded to completion, then SpaceX will have raised $2.41 billion," Space News reported. SpaceX has seen a lot of success this year, making the company favorable in the eyes of investors. The company's successes include the historic Demo-2 mission, which launched on May 30. This mission marked the first crewed test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and the first time astronauts launched to orbit on a commercial spacecraft. The mission successfully wrapped up on Aug. 2, when the Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX said that the mission's success bodes well for the company's future, including tourist flights. SpaceX also recently beat out Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman in securing military satellite launch contracts with the Pentagon. SpaceX, along with the United Launch Alliance, will provide launch services for U.S. national security missions from 2022 to 2027. Under this contract, SpaceX will launch 40% of those missions and has already received a $316 million contract for one such mission, according to Space News. Earlier this month, SpaceX successfully launched dozens of Starlink internet satellites and two small Earth-imaging satellites on Aug. 7. The Starlink satellites belong to the "megaconstellation" of thousands of internet satellites SpaceX is building for global internet connectivity. SpaceX's two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carried the satellites into orbit. On Aug. 18, SpaceX successfully launched another Falcon 9 rocket that reused the same first-stage booster for a sixth time, setting a new record for the reusable rockets. SpaceX is also preparing for its first operational crewed flight for NASA, which is scheduled to launch on Oct. 23. The Crew-1 launch will send NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Shannon Walker, and Japan's Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. https://www.space.com/spacex-raises-1.9-billion-funding-round.html Back to Top NBAA Safety Survey The 2020 NBAA Safety Survey was developed to assess the perceptions, experiences, work practices and opinions regarding business aviation safety. The survey's results will guide priorities and projects for NBAA committees and will be made available to the business aviation community. The survey is, by design, not superficial. An in-depth biannual safety survey yields statistically stronger results and enables a more comprehensive analysis than smaller surveys. The survey should take 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Some questions are easy to answer, while others may require deeper thought and reflection. NBAA requests that participants answer all 38 questions. Partial surveys not only reduce the breadth of information collected but also complicate reporting results. A note about COVID-19: This survey was developed before the Coronavirus pandemic swept the globe and does not include questions specifically on this topic. NBAA recognizes the attention now focused on the global health threat could overshadow, dilute or divert attention from other business aviation safety issues. Please maintain a broad view as you complete this survey and resist letting the current pandemic situation impact your ability to respond with a clear mind on the issues that are this survey's focus - the persistent safety concerns confronted and managed both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an opportunity at the end of the survey to make free-form comments on any safety-related topics you wish. The deadline to participate in the 2020 NBAA Safety Survey is August 31, 2020. NBAA members are encouraged to login with their NBAA.org information to participate in the survey. This login information will be used to enhance the data integrity of the survey. No personally identifying account information will be used in the survey results. LOGIN OR CREATE ACCOUNT If you have any questions about the survey, please email ops@nbaa.org. If you are unable to login with an NBAA.org website account, you may complete the survey anonymously. https://app.nbaa.org/member/safety_survey?_ga=2.50676906.2006158403.1598019237-368877963.1554292123 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. 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 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 As part of our Swinburne Bachelor of Aviation undergraduate research project, we have constructed a survey for members of the aviation industry and those who have not worked in aviation to provide feedback on their attitudes and opinions about Urban Air Mobility and single-pilot and/or autonomous airline operations. If you are an active participant in the aviation industry as a passenger or through employment, we invite you to take part in this survey to help give the industry a better understanding of the general sentiment towards these emerging technologies and operational concepts. To participate please follow the link below to our online survey: https://swinuw.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9zRhPPbCfnsHH3T It should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Participants who complete the survey will be eligible to enter the draw to WIN AN iPad. Thank you very much for your time. 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 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