Flight Safety Information September 3, 2020 - No. 179 In This Issue Incident: REX SF34 at Carnarvon on Aug 31st 2020, runway incursion Incident: Westjet Encore DH8D near Toronto on Aug 28th 2020, flap power problem Incident: Ural A20N at Irkutsk and Moscow on Sep 2nd 2020, suspected burst tyre on departure Aircraft broke up in-flight, says CAA (New Zealand) CBP does not make it clear Americans can opt out of airport face scanning, watchdog says Transport Minister closes skies to Max 8 (Canada) Flight tracking: how postponed ADS-B compliance will affect air traffic in Europe Race to track 200 people on flight after officials fail to tell airline of Covid cases CONGRESS URGES DOT, FAA TO RELEASE FUNDS FOR WORKFORCE PROGRAM Menzies Aviation Welcome Qatar Airways Cargo to Their New Home American Airlines chops 83,000 flights from its October schedule Beijing main airport receiving first international flights since March Mission Aviation Fellowship dedicates new plane for service in Africa What Happens To Fuel Dumped By Aircraft? International travel restored at Houston's major airports D.C. Airport Pilots TSA's New 'Self-Service' Biometric Tech To Confirm IDs in Real-Time Airlines Say Survival Depends On Bailouts, Reopened Borders Vega rocket deploys 53 satellites on successful return to flight mission Going Viral: In-Flight and Trip Related Pandemic Response Virtual Webinars Trinity College Dublin and EASA Air Ops Community Survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation workers SURVEY:...GA PILOTS AND PIREPs. Graduate Research Survey (1) Incident: REX SF34 at Carnarvon on Aug 31st 2020, runway incursion A REX Regional Express Saab 340B, registration VH-ZRH performing flight ZL-2269 from Carnarvon,WA to Perth,WA (Australia), was taxiing for departure from runway 22 when the aircraft entered the runway to backtrack the runway. A private Piper PA-31 was just in the takeoff roll from runway 22 and rejected takeoff due to the Saab entering the runway ahead of them. The ATSB rated the occurrence an incident and opened a short investigation. Both aircraft subsequently departed from Carnarvon's runway 22. Carnarvon Airport does not feature a parallel taxiway to the runway, to reach the threshold runway 22 for departure the aircraft need to backtrack the runway entering the runway near the runway 22 end. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc1d0a8&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Westjet Encore DH8D near Toronto on Aug 28th 2020, flap power problem A Westjet Encore de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration C-GWUE performing flight WS-3456 from Toronto,ON to Moncton,NB (Canada) with 12 people on board, was enroute at FL210 about 80nm eastnortheast of Toronto when the crew decided to return to Toronto after receiving a flaps power indication. The aircraft landed safely back in Toronto about 45 minutes after departure. The Canadian TSB reported maintenance could not find any faults with the aircraft and suspected the L7 flap control circuit breaker may have been inadvertently pulled by a headphone cord. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/WEN3456/history/20200828/1310Z/CYYZ/CYQM http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc1b40e&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Ural A20N at Irkutsk and Moscow on Sep 2nd 2020, suspected burst tyre on departure A Ural Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration VP-BRX performing flight U6-106 from Irkutsk to Moscow Domodedovo (Russia), had departed Irkutsk's runway 12 and was enroute when the crew was informed tyre debris believed to belong to their aircraft had been found on the departure runway. The crew decided to continued to Moscow, performed a low approach to Domodedovo Airport's runway 14R to have the gear inspected which did not reveal any defective tyre, positioned for another approach to runway 14R and landed without further indicent about 15 minutes after the low approach and about 6:15 hours after departure and taxied to the apron. The aircraft continued service about 90 minutes after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dc174d8&opt=0 Back to Top Aircraft broke up in-flight, says CAA (New Zealand) The Civil Aviation Authority is warning pilots to ensure they fly within an aircraft's limitations, to avoid the type of "structural failure and in-flight breakup," that occurred during the fatal flight of a Van's RV-7 light aircraft in 2018. The CAA Safety Investigation Report released today stated that the amateur built, single engine aircraft, registered ZK-DVS, was on a private flight from Whangarei towards Dargaville with two people - the pilot and passenger - who both died in the accident. Aviation Safety Deputy Chief Executive Dean Winter says the key learning from this tragic accident is to: "understand the performance and handling characteristics of your aircraft and the risks associated with operating close to the aircraft limitations. "Accidents can occur whenever the aircraft limitations and/or the pilot's own capabilities are exceeded and that's why it's important to fly within those limits. "These risks can be minimised by preparation, awareness and training." The 53-year-old pilot held an aeroplane private pilot licence and a helicopter airline transport pilot licence. He had flown about 380 hours on fixed wing aircraft and had gained most of his flying experience on helicopters where he had more than 4300 hours. The report stated the aircraft departed Whangarei aerodrome at 1200 hours, on 1 January 2018, 17 minutes later the aircraft entered a high angle of bank (AoB) manoeuvre, achieving 70 degrees AoB. "Five seconds later the AoB increased to 130 degrees and the aircraft began to pitch nose-down. During the resulting descent, the indicated airspeed was recorded at 244 knots, which exceeded the aircraft 'never exceed speed'. "About 30 seconds after entering the high AoB manoeuvre, witnesses observed the aircraft break up in flight and then hit the ground about three nautical miles south-west of Te Kopuru." The report states that in-flight breakup occurred as a result of "rudder flutter", as the aircraft airspeed exceeded the design limitations. The rudder flutter resulted in the separation of both the rudder and the vertical stabiliser. The investigation analysed the human, equipment and environmental factors that may have caused, or contributed, towards the accident. View the full report below: CAA Safety Investigation Report: In-flight Breakup, Van's Aircraft Incorporated RV-7, ZK-DVS [PDF 1.7 MB] https://sunlive.co.nz/news/251146-aircraft-broke-up-flight-says-caa.html Back to Top CBP does not make it clear Americans can opt out of airport face scanning, watchdog says A government watchdog has criticized U.S. border authorities for failing to properly disclose the agency's use of facial recognition at airports, which included instructions on how Americans can opt out. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), tasked with protecting the border and screening immigrants, has deployed its face-scanning technology in 27 U.S. airports as part of its biometric entry-exit program. The program was set up to catch visitors who overstay their visas. Foreign nationals must complete a facial recognition check before they are allowed to enter and leave the United States, but U.S. citizens are allowed to opt out. But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report out Wednesday that CBP did "not consistently" provide notices that informed Americans that they would be scanned as they depart the United States. A notice warning passengers of CBP's use of facial recognition at U.S. airports. The GAO said these notices were not always clear that U.S. citizens can opt out. Image Credits: Twitter/Juli Lyskawa "These notices are intended to provide travelers with information about CBP's use of facial recognition technology at locations where this technology has been deployed, and how data collected will be used. The notices should also provide information on procedures for opting out, if applicable, among other things," according to the watchdog. "However, we found that CBP's notices were not always current or complete, provided limited information on how to request to opt out of facial recognition, and were not always available." Some of the notices were outdated and contained wrong or inconsistent information, the watchdog said. But CBP officials told the GAO that printing new signs is "costly" and "not practical" after each policy change. CBP uses the airlines to collect biometric scans of a traveler's face before boarding a plane. The data is fed into a database run by CBP, where face scans are held for two weeks for U.S. citizens and up to 75 years for nonimmigrant visitors. As part of this cooperation, CBP is required to conduct audits to ensure that airlines are compliant with the agency's data collection and privacy practices. But the watchdog found that CBP had only audited one airline, and as of May had "not yet audited the majority of its airline business partners to ensure they are adhering to CBP's privacy requirements." The watchdog took issue with this following the 2019 data breach involving CBP subcontractor Perceptics, a license plate recognition company, which CBP accused of transferring travelers' license plate data to its network without permission. Hackers stole about 100,000 traveler images and license plate records in the breach, which were later posted on the dark web. CBP said it concurred with the watchdog's five overall recommendations. https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/02/customs-border-protection-airport-border-face-data/ Back to Top Transport Minister closes skies to Max 8 (Canada) Boeing's 737 Max 8 to undergo further testing to satisfy safety concerns. OTTAWA - Transport Minister Marc Garneau says Boeing's Max 8 aircraft won't be allowed to fly in Canadian skies until officials believe all safety concerns have been addressed. He said in a statement Friday that Transport Canada will work with its American, European and Brazilian counterparts before giving the aircraft a stamp of approval. Transport Canada officials took part in test flights of the 737 Max 8 aircraft in recent days and are analyzing the results before giving the thumbs-up to proposed changes to the aircraft. Now, the plane will be further tested in Vancouver starting Sept. 7 under an agreement between Boeing, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Europe's aviation safety regulator. With a new round of test flights about to start, Garneau said he still expects the FAA and the company to prove the aircraft is safe. Canada closed its skies to the Boeing aircraft after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in March 2019, killing all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians. The crash, six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, was eerily similar to one five months earlier when a Lion Air flight went down after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia. "Transport Canada will not lift the flight restrictions on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 until the department is fully satisfied that all safety concerns have been addressed by the manufacturer and the FAA, and that enhanced flight crew procedures and training are in place," Garneau said. From Sunday to Tuesday this week, a Transport Canada test crew were flown daily between Seattle and Vancouver to evaluate the engineering simulator at the Boeing facility. Test flights over American airspace then took place on Wednesday and Thursday. Transport Canada said that mitigation measures were put in place to prevent the crew from contracting the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19. Officials are analyzing the results and expect to complete their review this fall, at which time they'll work with international counterparts to set minimum training requirements for the Max 8 to return to service. The loss of the plane last year forced Air Canada and WestJet to cancel some routes and lease less fuel-efficient aircraft. Boeing also said it was putting a halt on production. The EU Aviation Safety Agency said Thursday that Boeing still has some final issues to deal with on the aircraft, but the plane was ready for flight tests needed before the European body could approve the aircraft's new design. It said the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into testing plans because of travel restrictions between the United States and Europe, which were resolved by holding test flights in Vancouver. https://www.design-engineering.com/transport-minister-closes-skies-to-max-8-1004035472/ Back to Top Flight tracking: how postponed ADS-B compliance will affect air traffic in Europe Squeezed by the coronavirus pandemic, European aircraft operators have been granted a deadline extension on ADS-B compliance. While the new transition period has been widely welcomed, the new surveillance technology will need to be up and running by the time air traffic returns to normal. Sign up here for GlobalData's free bi-weekly Covid-19 report on the latest information your industry needs to know. In deciding to prolong the deadline for aircraft operators to comply with its automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) mandate, the European Commission has judged the mood of the room well. As keen as the EU and SESAR Deployment Manager - the body set up by the Commission to coordinate air traffic management modernisation projects as part of the Single European Sky initiative (SES) - is for aircraft to have the new surveillance technology up and running, now is not the time for such labours to be front and centre. The impact of Covid-19 on aviation has been nothing short of devastating, with the focus of most airlines now on survival and not much else. Other operators running vital medical and emergency flights to countries hard hit by the pandemic simply haven't had time - or the necessary resources - to meet the mandate's initial deadline of June 7. Under the revision, new aircraft awarded their first certificate of airworthiness (CoA) from their respective national aviation authorities before December 7, 2020, will need to comply by that date. Aircraft already in possession of first CoAs have until June 2023 to meet the regulation; however, in order to qualify for this leeway, they are required to establish a retrofit compliance programme by this December. Planes predating 7 June 1995, are exempt, as are those whose operations in European airspace are scheduled to come to an end by October 2025. European airlines welcome ADS-B compliance extension Operators that are not yet ADS-B-compliant are grateful for the new transitional regime, which was announced at the end of April. In a response statement, Athar Husain Khan, secretary general of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) - which has 684 members on its books - said the extra time would "go a long way in easing some of the burdens on operators". Trade association Airlines for Europe (A4E), whose 16 airline group members represent over 70% of European air traffic, is also satisfied. "Airlines welcome the extension of the deadline for the ADS-B mandate - as well as the extension of the transition period linked to the mandate," says A4E's policy director Achim Baumann. "This allows airlines to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the availability of resources. They also see this as a chance for advancing the ground implementation of ADS-B technology and the integration of the ADS-B data into ANSP [air navigation service provider] operations." European regulators are hopeful they can follow in the footsteps of their counterparts across the Atlantic. The US' own ADS-B mandate came into force across the country's airspace in January 2020, as part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) modernisation programme. US airlines that fly transatlantic routes also have the benefit of being ready to comply with European ADS-B regulations. Modernising air traffic management with ADS-B ADS-B enjoys wide support across the European aviation industry as a means of sufficiently modernising ground surveillance systems. For airlines, it means potentially flying more direct routes at more efficient altitudes, thereby burning less fuel. Amid financially straitened times, such cost effectiveness could prove to be crucial. Able to transmit aircraft information derived from GPS, including altitude, airspeed and location, ADS-B allows air traffic controllers to visualise aircraft in real-time (in contrast to traditional ground-based radar, which is limited to the visible horizon). "Using ADS-B provides operational benefits in the air and on the ground." "As a means of surveillance, ADS-B offers the opportunity to rationalise the coverage of secondary radars and consequently improve the efficiency of the ATM system," says Giancarlo Buono, European regional director for safety and flight operations at the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Crucially, ADS-B has the potential to improve safety across Europe's busy skies, in which 37,228 flights were recorded in one single day by EUROCONTROL in June last year. While it may take some time before this level of movement is seen again, the fundamentals around air traffic control remain the same: the more information those on the ground have on aircraft activity, the safer the airspace. "Using ADS-B provides operational benefits in the air and on the ground - something very much welcomed when traffic will return to normal levels," says Baumann. IATA questions current European mandate According to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), current data suggests that around 70% of European operators have already upgraded their aircraft with ADS-B equipment, although data around aircraft subject to retrofits are still vague. "The Covid-19 crisis could be a good time to review the overall framework of the surveillance infrastructure." It is likely though that some operators will still struggle to meet the new deadline. And while IATA supports the concept of ADS-B, it has also called into question whether the current European mandate is fit for purpose, particularly when it comes to ground infrastructure. "The mandate - issued only for aircraft above 5,700kg, and not for air traffic services - defeats the purpose," claims Buono. "That's because while the airborne side - and only part of it - will be equipped, the ground infrastructure will not be ready to reap the benefits of ADS-B. "The extension of the implementation for aircraft provides a small relief from an unfair mandate. The Covid-19 crisis could be a good time to review the overall framework of the surveillance infrastructure." Such disparities may well need to be addressed, but if Europe is to truly enjoy improved air traffic flow - not to mention greater capacity, efficiency, and safety - it would do well not to delay its roll-out of ADS-B for too long. https://www.airport-technology.com/features/ads-b-compliance/ Back to Top Race to track 200 people on flight after officials fail to tell airline of Covid cases • Wizz Air left in dark after eight teenagers travelling from Crete to London Luton test positive The eight teenagers from Winchester were diagnosed after a holiday in Crete, above, which should have triggered an urgent response to track down the other 204 passengers on the flight. Photograph: AlamyHealth officials are scrambling to contact more than 200 British holidaymakers on a flight from Crete last week after authorities failed to alert the airline that eight passengers had tested positive for coronavirus. The teenagers, from Hampshire, were diagnosed after returning to the UK on a Wizz Air flight to London Luton airport on 25 August. The positive tests should have triggered an urgent response to track down the other 204 passengers on board, but Wizz Air said it had not been made aware of the cases until contacted by the Guardian. The new cluster of cases from a Greek island raises further questions about the UK's monitoring of holidaymakers, as ministers continue to rule out testing at airports. It will increase the pressure on the government to impose quarantine measures in all regions on arrivals from Greece, after Scotland and Wales announced restrictions on 1 September. The UK has pledged to quarantine arrivals from any country recording at least 20 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period. On Wednesday, Greece had 14.3 cases per 100,000 people. Covid fears grow after reports of crowding among arrivals at UK airports Ben Pearce, 18, said he was one of 15 friends who tested positive for coronavirus after returning to the UK from Crete last week. At least eight of the group were on the same Wizz Air flight 8168 from Heraklion, which landed at London-Luton on 4.35pm on 25 August. Pearce said NHS test and trace call handlers had contacted him multiple times since Friday but none had asked for his flight details. "Even though I've filled out my details on three separate phone calls, they always seem to say I've got nothing on my file," he said. "The phone calls never seem to serve any purpose other than they [the call handler] have been told they need to call you." Pearce said he and his friends had filled out passenger locator forms (PLFs) providing their contact details, as well as the flight number and arrival time, but had not been checked on arrival at London-Luton airport. "In Greece they were checking the PLFs a lot more thoroughly, but not in England. At Luton they weren't very on it," he said. The Guardian revealed last week that Border Force officials aim to spot-check only 30% of returning passengers' PLFs, which are crucial to test and trace. Damian Stafford, 52, whose 18-year-old son was among the teenagers who tested positive, said he had not been contacted by the NHS test-and-trace system. "It just seemed like a shocking lack of response really," he said. The group, from Winchester, is the first known cluster of cases to have returned from Crete. It follows at least seven clusters, totalling at least 41 people, to have tested positive after returning from the island of Zante. The UK's biggest tour operator, Tui, is suspending its holidays in the Zante resort of Laganas. Wizz Air said: "Wizz Air was not made aware that eight passengers who travelled on the 8168 flight from Heraklion to London-Luton on 25 August had since tested positive for Covid-19. "The airline has now informed the relevant health authorities in England who are responsible for contacting and advising the 204 other passengers. Wizz Air operates all flights in compliance with local travel regulations, and the safety of passengers and staff is the No 1 priority." The Winchester group went for a test after friends in Crete said they had tested positive. Stafford, the owner of an IT company, said he had still not been contacted and told to isolate by NHS test and trace nearly a week after his son's positive test. The programme aims to contact 80% of infected people and 80% of their close contacts within 48 hours, but has missed its headline target for nine weeks running. Its target is especially important when tracing arrivals from overseas because, unlike other countries, the UK does not routinely test returning travellers. The aviation industry has for months urged ministers to implement testing at airports, so that people who are negative do not have to quarantine for 14 days when returning from certain countries. Wales has said it would introduce testing at airports but ministers in London have held out, saying it is logistically difficult and risks missing some cases. Stafford said the teenagers had taken a test "entirely on their own initiative. There was nothing from the airline or the government, local or national, to tell them that they needed to go and get tested." He said he had initially been unable to order home tests for his family using the government website: "I was told repeatedly online that there were no home tests available for at least 36 hours over Friday and Saturday." For nearly two weeks people have complained about being unable to order a home testing kit or being directed to a testing centre 100 miles or more from their home. The government has said it has paused online booking in periods of high demand but that there was no shortage of tests. Simon Bryant, Hampshire county council's director of public health, said: "While there's no cause for the community to be concerned, it's absolutely critical that anyone returning from countries on the quarantine list self isolates for the full 14 days to ensure they minimise the risk of passing on the virus." The Department of Health and Social Care said action had been taken to advise those who needed to self-isolate to do so. It said the NHS test and trace system was working and targeting testing capacity in areas that needed it most, adding: "There is a high demand for tests, but more appointments and home testing kits are available every day and we are increasing capacity to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October. "Anyone with symptoms across the UK should get a test as soon as possible as well as washing hands regularly, wearing face coverings and following social distancing rules to stop the spread of the virus." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/02/race-to-track-200-people-on-flight-after-officials-fail-to-tell-airline-of-covid-cases Back to Top CONGRESS URGES DOT, FAA TO RELEASE FUNDS FOR WORKFORCE PROGRAM As the federal fiscal year quickly ticks away, members of Congress are urging the Department of Transportation and the FAA to implement two important aviation workforce grant programs that have been authorized but not awarded for nearly two years. Led by Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the recent letters from the Senate and House called on the agencies to fulfill the programs as laid out by the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. The two programs each received funding of $5 million in fiscal year 2020. While the programs are authorized for five years, they require funding each year through the annual appropriations process. Backed with strong bipartisan support, the programs would invest in and expand the development of the next generation of pilots and maintenance technicians. According to the Senate letter, "The grant program for pilot education will support the creation and delivery of curriculum designed to provide high school students with meaningful science, technology, engineering, math and aviation education. This program has the potential to grow our nation's pilot workforce by encouraging our nation's youth to become the next generation of commercial, general aviation, drone or military pilots." Addressing STEM aviation education for high school students is an effort AOPA has backed since establishing its AOPA High School Initiative, a component of the You Can Fly program to support and grow the pilot population. Both letters also addressed the need to close the maintenance industry skills gap by "encouraging and facilitating collaboration between schools, government, labor and industry to recruit and train the technical talent America's aerospace sector will require to keep the nation's aircraft operating safely and efficiently." While the aviation industry has taken a hit as COVID-19 swept the globe, the need for these programs will only be heightened once conditions return to normal. "Due in particular to the increased pace of aviation sector retirements in recent months, when industry business conditions return to pre-pandemic levels, the need for pilots and technicians will be more acute than before. By awarding grants now to encourage innovation in training and recruitment, the federal government can have a positive and lasting impact on the aviation workforce, as intended by Congress," the Senate letter said. "AOPA thanks leaders in Congress for pushing this important initiative forward and urges the DOT and FAA to act quickly to implement these programs," said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Coon. "Given the impacts of COVID-19 on the aviation industry, it's critical this funding be released to support the future vitality of general aviation." Twenty-eight senators signed the September 1 Senate letter, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee; Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Aviation and Space Subcommittee; and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), ranking member of the Senate Aviation and Space Subcommittee. Thirty-six representatives signed on to the August 31 House letter, including Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Sam Graves (R-Mo.), ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee; and Garret Graves (R-La.), ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/september/03/congress-urges-dot-faa-to-release-funds-for-workforce-program Back to Top Menzies Aviation Welcome Qatar Airways Cargo to Their New Home Menzies Aviation, the global aviation logistics specialist, announced that Qatar Airways Cargo have moved into their new base within Menzies Aviation's on-airport facilities at London Heathrow Airport. The move is the result of a new long-term agreement struck in July between the two companies for Menzies to provide cargo handling, freighter aircraft handling and cargo transportation to and from aircraft. The warehouse capacity for the handling of the passenger and freighter cargo exceeds 7,000 square meters and is the largest dedicated warehouse capacity solution ever provided by Menzies at Heathrow. The Menzies team welcoming Qatar Airways includes more than 60 new joiners who've transferred from their previous handling company. Robert Fordree, Menzies aviation executive vice president, cargo, commented, "We're delighted to have everything ready to welcome Qatar Airways Cargo to their new home at Heathrow. Initially, our new employees will be supported by eight Menzies ambassadors, who'll help them to get their bearings in our warehouse and learn about the equipment and systems. The warehouse and reception area have just been refurbished to provide a dedicated reception area and operations office. "It's good to have some positive job news to talk about with the transfer across of so many employees. We've given them a big welcome with a full induction program designed to introduce them to our business and support them too. The feedback from the team has been very positive and we're all looking forward to a successful working partnership." https://www.aviationpros.com/ground-handling/ground-handlers-service-providers/press-release/21152814/menzies-aviation-menzies-aviation-welcome-qatar-airways-cargo-to-their-new-home Back to Top American Airlines chops 83,000 flights from its October schedule The Fort Worth-based carrier had once forecasted having more flights than any other airline during the fall month. But demand is difficult to predict in the COVID-19 era and airlines are adjusting - aggressively. American Airlines has cut 83,000 domestic flights from its October schedule during the last two weeks even as it holds onto hope that another round of federal stimulus grants could save jobs and service to some cities. Fort Worth-based American Airlines has cut its global schedule by 55% from a year ago for the October month, the company confirmed, including a 48% decrease in domestic flying as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of letting up and passengers show little eagerness to return to the skies. It leaves American with about 99,000 flights for October, slightly more than it has planned for a slimmed down September schedule. The carrier continues to shrink its schedules the closer it gets to the actual month of flying, an indication of how tricky it is to forecast demand during a global health pandemic, said Jeff Pelletier, managing director of Dallas-based Airline Data Inc. More cuts could be coming, Pelletier said. American still has hundreds of flights on the schedule for 15 cities where it wants to halt service in early October. "While there have been numerous press releases on the removal of flights to the 15 stations throughout their network in October, what AA has actually done is they haven't yet pulled the schedule," Pelletier said. "The schedules are still intact, just at reduced frequencies, in the hopes that Congress may come back with some money." American has also recently cut 9,000 flights from its November plans, too, but will likely make more reductions as the usually busy holiday month gets closer, he said. The barebones schedule shows just how conservative airlines are being as fall approaches after planning an Airlines are scheduling thousands of fights only to be canceled. American Airlines, along with Delta and Southwest, have recently pulled thousands of ights from October schedules. This graph shows just how man ights are being scheduled through January, even if many of them may get pulled because of weak demand. On Tuesday, only 516,000 passengers went through TSA security checkpoints at U.S. airports. That's the lowest passenger count since mid-July. Numbers are down partly because summer travel is mostly over as public schools and colleges begin instruction, but also because few business travelers are getting on planes now to go to meetings and sales trips. Even American Airlines' fortress hub at DFW International Airport is suffering. American's departures at DFW are down 24% year over year, Pelletier said. As a share of American's flight schedule, it's actually increased flights to DFW and its other major hub in Charlotte, N.C. But the shrinking pie has meant smaller pieces for everyone. American has cut traffic from DFW the most to its other major hubs, particularly in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In fact, American has cut its schedule in D.C. by 80% compared to a year ago. In Texas, American's service to Austin has also been cut deeply, down about 41% year-overyear. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2020/09/03/american-airlines-chops-83000-flights-from-its-october-schedule/ Back to Top Beijing main airport receiving first international flights since March BEIJING - Beijing's main international airport on Thursday began receiving international flights again from a limited number of countries considered at low risk of coronavirus infection. Passengers flying in from Cambodia, Greece, Denmark, Thailand, Pakistan, Austria, Canada and Sweden must have first shown a negative coronavirus test before boarding, city government spokesperson Xu Hejian told reporters. Passenger arrivals will be limited to roughly 500 per day during a trial period and all will need to undergo additional testing for the virus on arrival, followed by two weeks of quarantine. The first flight under the arrangement, Air China Flight 746, arrived from Pnom Penh, Cambodia, just before 7 a.m. Beginning in March, all international flights to Beijing had been redirected to a dozen other cities where passengers were tested and processed before being allowed to travel on to the Chinese capital. China has gone weeks without new cases of local infection and the 11 new cases recorded Thursday were all imported. Beijing's last local outbreak in July was linked to a wholesale food market, and the city's customs department announced Wednesday it would test all imported frozen foods, along with other goods arriving from countries considered to be at high risk. Storage and transportation facilities for imported food would also be disinfected and Beijing customs would work with other cities to ensure the safety of the supply chain. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: - India has registered a record single-day spike of 83,883 new cases, driving the country overall tally to 3.85 million. The Health Ministry on Thursday also reported 1,043 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 67,376. India has been reporting the highest daily increases for more than three weeks. The ministry said the country's fatality rate had declined to 1.76% and its deaths per million population was "one of the lowest in the world." Experts say deaths could be substantially undercounted in several states. - South Korea reported its first drop below 200 new coronavirus cases in more than two weeks, but the country's strained hospitals were treating more seriously ill patients after the prolonged recent surge in infections. Thursday's increase of 195 new cases, the first daily increase below 200 in 17 days, indicated the country was beginning to see the effects of stringent social distancing restrictions recently imposed in the greater capital area. However, the number of patients in serious or critical condition with active COVID-19 increased to 154, compared to 14 on Aug. 14 when the country began what's now a 21-day run in triple-digit daily jumps in infections. The country has added more than 5,800 newly ill people to its caseload during the streak, raising fears about overwhelmed hospitals. - Australia's hot spot Victoria state on Thursday recorded its second consecutive day of increased COVID-19 cases. The state health department said there had been 113 new infections and 15 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. There were 90 new infections and six deaths recorded on Wednesday. There were only 70 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest tally since June. https://www.post-gazette.com/life/travel/2020/09/03/Beijing-main-airport-receiving-first-international-flights-since-March-COVID-19/stories/202009030111 Back to Top Mission Aviation Fellowship dedicates new plane for service in Africa • The humanitarian organization based in Nampa held a dedication ceremony Wednesday for a new airplane, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. • David Holsten, president and CEO of Mission Aviation Fellowship, speaks at the dedication of a new Cessna Grand Caravan at MAF headquarters in Nampa. NAMPA, Idaho - Mission Aviation Fellowship is adding to its fleet. The humanitarian organization based in Nampa held a dedication ceremony Wednesday for a new airplane that will serve people in the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airplane, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, will take off Thursday for a 10-day trip to reach its final destination in the village of Nyankunde near the border of Uganda. "We are excited to dedicate this airplane for its work in the Congo, an area we have been serving in since 1966" said MAF president and CEO David Holsten. "There are so many needs in this part of the country. The people there have been ravaged by Ebola, as well as other medical challenges, and have faced violence and destruction due to tribal conflict and political upheaval. Travel by road is difficult and dangerous and this airplane will meet many, many, needs." The aircraft is a rebuilt 2012 Cessna Grand Caravan. MAF was able to buy the plane for just over $1.5 million with donations. "We were certainly blessed to find this aircraft that was a perfect fit for where it is needed. So many people stepped up with donations to purchase this aircraft that will be of great help to others," Holsten said. MAF is retiring a Cessna Caravan bought new in 1985 after 25,000 of service. Holsten said that plane has served them well. The new aircraft can carry up to 12 passengers, or 2,400 pounds of cargo. It will be used for medical evacuations, delivering doctors, healthcare workers, vaccines and medical equipment to remote clinics. The Grand Caravan will join a fleet of two other aircraft at their base in Nyankunde. Mission Aviation Fellowship was founded in 1945 by World War II pilots who had a vision for using aviation to spread the gospel. Since that time, MAF has grown to a global family of organizations serving in 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Indonesia, and Latin America, responding to humanitarian needs around the world. https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/mission-aviation-fellowship-new-airplane-dedicated-headed-to-africa/277-809a9f5f-69a4-4135-8317-40aedd93f2b3 Back to Top What Happens To Fuel Dumped By Aircraft? When an aircraft needs to make an emergency landing, it needs to dump fuel urgently. What is this process, and what happens to the fuel? Let's explore. Which aircraft can dump fuel? What you might find surprising is that not every aircraft can dump fuel. That is, there is no need for smaller planes like the Boeing 737 to be able to dump fuel when it can simply burn it off through a few orbits of the airport. If the plane needs to land urgently, then the fuel onboard won't significantly hinder the landing operations. Larger planes like the Boeing 747, on the other hand, have fuel jettison systems. If the aircraft tried to land without dumping the fuel first, it is considered an overweight landing attempt and could place immense stress on the airframe. It could also increase the risk of fire and fuel leaking onto the tarmac. However, airframe manufacturers have built these aircraft with these conditions in mind, and thus, the plane typically has these overweight tolerances built-in. What happens when an aircraft dumps fuel? When an aircraft decides to dump fuel at altitude, the pilots flick a switch in the cockpit, and pumps push the fuel out of nozzles in the wings. The fuel disperses over a wide enough area that the particles evaporate into a fine mist. Essentially evaporating into a gaseous form and then fading into the background gases of the atmosphere. However, if an aircraft is low enough, say after take off, and it disperses its fuel, it may stay in a liquid form until it hits the ground. In this case, the aircraft will try to do it overland (not water) or away from populated areas, as it is the equivalent of dumping thousands of liters of petrol onto an urban area. The FAA mentions explicitly that any dumping can't occur under 2,000 feet. Worst-case scenario, the aircraft isn't high enough and needs to jump over a populated area; the results are milder than you may expect. When Delta dumped fuel on an elementary school Back in January, a Delta 777 en route to Shanghai from Los Angeles suffered an emergency after take-off and had to shut down one of the engines. The plane then had to dump 15,000 gallons of fuel at the height of 2000 feet over a suburb of the coastal city. Unfortunately, it was over three schools, including one for small children. The fuel dump affected over 50 people, who claimed to see the plane pass overhead and then noticed a powerful smell of fuel. It was only after this point that they noticed their eyes burning, skin itching, and some breathing problems-fortunately, no other significant injuries. "The FAA is thoroughly investigating the circumstances behind this incident. There are special fuel-dumping procedures for aircraft operating into and out of any major US airport," the agency said. Since then, there have been two lawsuits launched, and the FAA is still conducting its investigation. Watch this space. https://simpleflying.com/aircraft-fuel-dumping/ Back to Top International travel restored at Houston's major airports • United, Air France, and Qatar Airways are some of the most recent carriers to fly internationally from Houston again after COVID-19 decimated air travel. HOUSTON - Three major airline carriers have renewed international travel out of Houston's Bush and Hobby airports after COVID-19 decimated air travel. In March, the aviation industry saw a sharp decline in customers choosing to fly. At the height of the downturn in April, Houston experienced a 95% decline in air traffic. "This is a shock to the aviation industry unlike any we've seen before," said Molly Waits, Director of Air Service Development for Houston Airports. Despite still seeing lower numbers of passengers year-over-year, consumer confidence is rebounding: as of July, passenger air travel is down 75% compared to July 2019, but up steadily each month since the historic low in April. "It means the confidence level of the travelers is indeed increasing," Waits said. "It is a definite positive trend for us." The latest air carrier service restorations from Air France, Qatar Airways, and United Airlines on Sept. 2 show a rebound in Houston's connectivity to European, Middle Eastern and Latin American destinations. Waits said industry experts project the numbers of passengers traveling may not fully bounce back until 2024. That means flights will not be as full as they were a year ago. A Houston-based United Airlines spokesperson said the airline is now operating about 235 flights a day out of Houston, compared to 545 a day before COVID-19. He said there is no projection for if or when United would resume that original workload. Waits believes fewer fellow travelers, combined with airport and airline carrier health and safety procedures, make customers feel more comfortable flying. "We're not looking to grow in spite of safety. We're looking to grow while we're being incredibly safe for our passengers," she said. "It will become more the norm here than before as a result of this pandemic," Waits said. Nearly two-thirds of the airlines providing international service at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) have now been restored. In Texas, Houston has the most airlines providing service to Mexico. Some airlines - VivaAerobus and Volaris - are even adding new service to select destinations they had not previously served from Houston, according to Bernal. "We are an international city with an economy that thrives on global connectivity," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wrote in a statement. "These significant steps in restoring air service will help Houston begin to recover from the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. I can assure you that this meaningful and significant restoration of international air-service is being matched with a strong emphasis on safety." Some of the major international destinations now available again include Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel Puerto Vallarta (Mexico); Aruba; Liberia, Costa Rica; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Amsterdam, Dubai, Istanbul, Paris, Taipei and Toronto. https://www.khou.com/article/travel/united-airlines-other-carriers-restart-international-travel-from-bush-hobby-airports-as-air-travel-rebounds/285-c8424744-d1cc-4cf1-8193-172e60d5304f Back to Top D.C. Airport Pilots TSA's New 'Self-Service' Biometric Tech To Confirm IDs in Real-Time A new Transportation Security Administration-led pilot at D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport explores touchfree, "self-service" biometric verification technology that aims to confirm travelers' identities at checkpoints in near real time. Building on a prior assessment of the credential-approving tech at an airport further west, the pilot encompasses a process through which a camera-equipped unit digitally matches each participating passenger's live photo with the photo on their identity documents. It then confirms and speedily displays the result and the person's flight information to a TSA officer-who is now positioned behind a shield to lessen human contact amid the pandemic. "In light of COVID-19, advanced health and safety precautions have become a top priority and part of the new normal for TSA," David Pekoske, TSA's administrator, said in a statement Tuesday. "As a result, we are exploring rapid testing and deployment of this touchless, self-service technology." The new standard at the airport amid the pilot is that travelers walk up to the device and present their IDs into a scanner-as opposed to handing it to the federal officer-"thus promoting social distancing and reducing physical contact" during the pandemic, TSA pointed out. The tech will also snap a live photo of the traveler, compare it to the ID picture, and show face matching results, as well as identity and flight information confirmations to a TSA officer. Travelers who do not wish to participate in the pilot can decline to have their photos taken, but must say so to TSA staff. The agency also confirmed that photos captured of passengers through the initiative aren't saved and "there is no capacity to do so." The tech tools validate "several thousand types of IDs," according to TSA, including: U.S. passports, permanent resident cards and visas; U.S. driver's licenses and other types of photo ID that state motor vehicle departments issue; U.S. military common access cards and other military ID cards; and more. TSA Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told Nextgov Wednesday that the agency is working directly with Idemia, a vendor that's providing the equipment and technology underpinning the pilot. The "best case scenario is that the pilot is expanded to additional airports" down the line, Farbstein said. The present program in D.C.'s airport comes after TSA completed an earlier 30-day test of the authentication technology last September at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The agency refined the technology alongside experts from industry, following that initial assessment. Pekoske said once the current D.C.-based pilot concludes, TSA expects "to be able to determine how positioning the new technology will allow passengers to use it themselves thereby providing a safer checkpoint experience, while adding significant security benefits." https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2020/09/dc-airport-pilots-tsas-new-self-service-biometric-tech-confirm-ids-real-time/168195/ Back to Top Airlines Say Survival Depends On Bailouts, Reopened Borders The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is frustrated that governments aren't doing more to help the airline industry survive the coronavirus pandemic. It is pleading for quick reopening of borders and assistance to help airlines maintain liquidity. International passenger demand fell 91.9% in July compared to the same month last year - a slight improvement from the 96.8% contraction the industry recorded in June. International capacity fell 85.2% year-over-year. Overall, global passenger demand was only a fifth of last year's level, IATA reported. And air cargo demand was 13.5% lower in July on a yearly basis. "Too many governments are fighting a global pandemic in isolation with a view that closing borders is the only solution. It's time for governments to work together to implement measures that will enable economic and social life to resume, while controlling the spread of the virus," Director General Alexandre de Juniac said in remarks Tuesday to journalists. Restrictions are playing havoc with travel demand, making it difficult for airlines to generate revenue, he complained. Aggressive testing and quarantine measures in Hong Kong for passengers and crews, for example, underscore the challenge faced by airlines. United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) is making technical stops in Guam and Tokyo to change crews. Other airlines have cut back or suspended activity there, while some pilots at UPS and FedEx are asking not to fly to the city. A couple of countries make it difficult for crews to stay, but "we hope we can fly straight to these countries because it's much more cost-effective," Jan Krems, president of United Airlines Cargo, told FreightWaves. De Juniac noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the help of the World Health Organization, has developed a road map for governments and the airline industry to implement common, mutually accepted health safety measures for the phased return of domestic and international air transport. The "Take-off Guidance" is designed to have governments follow a common framework so airlines don't face a patchwork of restrictions that complicate operations. "Airlines have been largely grounded for a half-year. And the situation is not improving. In fact, in many cases it is going in the wrong direction," he said. "We see governments replacing border closures with quarantine for air travelers. Neither will restore travel or jobs. Worse, governments are changing the entry requirements with little notice to travelers or coordination with their trading partners. This uncertainty destroys demand. "Ten percent of the global economy is sustained by travel and tourism; governments need to do better to restart it," said de Juniac. IATA is also proposing travel bubbles, or corridors, to minimize risk between specific markets, especially as COVID-19 testing improves in accuracy and scale. "No government wants to import COVID-19. Equally, no government should want to see the economic hardships and associated health impacts of mass unemployment. Successfully getting through this crisis requires careful risk management with effective measures. If government policies focus on enabling a safe restart, aviation is well prepared to deliver. Risk management is a well-developed discipline that airlines rely on to keep travel safe and secure," the director general said. Financial relief The airline industry is facing an estimated $84 billion in losses and a 50% cut in revenues this year despite extraordinary steps to reduce expenditures. Some governments, such as Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria and the U.S., provided aid packages for domestic carriers, but initial grants are running out. In the U.S., for example, airlines could eliminate more than 50,000 jobs by Oct. 1, when federal payments to protect payrolls and benefits expire. Tens of thousands of workers have already left the industry through voluntary separation agreements. On Wednesday, United Airlines informed employees that it plans to cut 16,000 jobs, about 20,000 fewer than originally estimated because so many workers signed up for unpaid leave or buyouts. Airlines and unions are pressing Congress for a second round of direct aid to preserve jobs through March, but prospects are dim at the moment, with Republicans and Democrats far apart on a broader economic stimulus plan that would incorporate airline relief. Airlines deserve financial relief because tens of millions of jobs are indirectly tied to the industry and air transport will be crucial to helping restore global economic health, de Juniac said. The IATA chief reiterated a call for governments to waive rules at busy airports that require airlines to 80% of their allocated takeoff and land slots or risk losing them. Airlines can't fill their quota under current conditions and need flexibility to adjust schedules to meet demand without the pressure of being penalized for not using their slots. Forcing airlines to fly mostly empty aircraft to maintain valuable slots would further jeopardize airlines financially, he said. Many governments, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, have granted waivers for the winter 2020 season, which lasts through March. IATA complained that the European Commission, which many countries look to for leadership on air transport policy, "is underestimating the severity of the crisis and dragging its feet." Waiting until October to grant a waiver doesn't provide airlines the certainty they need to plan operations, it added. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airlines-survival-depends-bailouts-reopened-221339185.html Back to Top Vega rocket deploys 53 satellites on successful return to flight mission Delayed a year by a launch failure, the coronavirus pandemic and a stretch of stiff upper level winds this summer, an Italian-made Vega rocket vaulted into orbit from French Guiana on Wednesday night and deployed 53 small satellites from 13 countries to punctuate a flawless return to flight mission. The rideshare launch set a record for the most satellites ever flown on a European rocket, and helped validate process changes introduced to resolve the problem on the Vega's second stage that caused a failure on the launcher's previous mission. Photo Courtesy: ESA The 98-foot-tall (30-meter) rocket lit its solid-fueled first stage at 9:51:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0151:10 GMT Thursday), immediately boosting the Vega launcher away from the European-run Guiana Space Center on the northern coast of South America with nearly 700,000 pounds of thrust. Heading north into a clear late night sky, the Vega rocket flew downrange over the Atlantic Ocean and shed its first stage around two minutes after liftoff. The Vega's second and third stage Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9 motors ignited to continue the climb into orbit, followed by four burns of the rocket's liquid-fueled AVUM fourth stage to place the 53 payloads into two distinct polar orbits 320 miles (515 kilometers) and 329 miles (530 kilometers) above Earth, each tilted at an angle of about 97.5 degrees to the equator. "For Europe, it's the very first time we've arranged a so-called rideshare mission," said Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio, the Italian company that builds most of the Vega rocket. "We're very happy for this to open up the new market for small satellites for Europe." The solid-fueled Zefiro 23 second stage on Wednesday night's mission included improvements designed to address a structural deficiency that led the destruction of a Vega rocket on its previous launch in July 2019. The failure last year caused the rocket and its payload - Falcon Eye 1 military reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates - to crash back to Earth in the Atlantic Ocean north of French Guiana. Avio said an independent investigation into the July 2019 launch failure concluded super-hot gas from burning solid propellant impinged on the structure of the Vega rocket's Zefiro 23 second stage, resulting in a "thermo-structural failure" on the second stage's forward dome. The hot gas, which burns at more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius), damaged or burned through the carbon fiber structure on the second stage. The structural failure led to the in-flight breakup of the launch vehicle with the UAE's Falcon Eye 1 spy satellite. According to Ranzo, Avio's CEO, investigators determined a "manufacturing anomaly" slipped through Avio's quality control checks. "We had thermal protection (on the second stage) where the thickness was perhaps less than one millimeter short, so we had a very, very tiny deviation that was undetectable to all the quality checks," Ranzo said in March during an interview with Spaceflight Now. "So what we have done is we have greatly improved the technologies to allow for the manufacturing quality controls - using not only ultrasound but also digital radiography - in a much finer way with respect to work we used to do in the past," Ranzo said. Avio pulled hardware from the company's Zefiro 23 production line in Italy, ran it through the improved quality control checks, and successfully test-fired the rocket motor at a test site in Sardinia. Ranzo said Avio also added extra thermal insulation on the Zefiro 23 second stage motor. "It's probably not necessary, but we increased the safety margin," he said in March. "So we are now approaching the flight with much better comfort with respect to safety." Engineers also modified parts of the Vega's telemetry, flight safety and self-destruct devices, Ranzo said. An independent investigation panel issued 20 recommendations, including 14 mandatory action items that were implemented before the return to flight mission Wednesday night. The changes made the Vega rocket "even more robust," said Roland Lagier, Arianespace's chief technical officer. The 53 spacecraft deployed by the Vega's AVUM upper stage come from 21 customers in 13 countries, including European Space Agency member states, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Thailand and Israel. Sized to carry small-to-medium-class payloads into orbit, the Vega rocket flew with a new payload accommodation structure designed to allow dozens of satellites to launch on the same mission. The modular structure can be adapted to accommodate various numbers of small satellites of different sizes, and Arianespace and Avio plan to make it a regular part of their commercial launch service offering after Wednesday's successful "proof of concept" demonstration flight. The Small Space Mission Service, or SSMS, payload dispenser that flew for the first time Wednesday night was jointly funded by the European Space Agency and the European Commission. SAB Aerospace in the Czech Republic and Bercella in Italy designed and manufactured the dispenser. Aggregating numerous small payloads on a single rocket can reduce launch costs for individual satellite operators. "This project is a very important one because it shows flexibility, agility, and also cost reduction," said Jan Woerner, ESA's director general. Arianespace declared success after the Vega rocket released its 53 payloads into orbit late Wednesday. "With Vega's successful return to flight, we are delighted to have served 21 customers from 13 different countries," said Stéphane Israël, Arianespace's CEO. "These satellites will serve a variety of different applications, including Earth observation, the battle against climate change, telecommunications, the Internet of Things, science, as well as education. With this shared launch, space becomes accessible to everyone, including research labs, universities and startups." The SSMS proof of concept flight was supposed to launch last September, but that schedule was impacted by the investigation into the Vega launch failure in July 2019. With the investigation and required reliability improvements complete, teams in French Guiana were in the final stages of readying the Vega rocket and its payloads for launch in late March when the coronavirus pandemic forced a suspension of launch operations at the spaceport in South America. Work resumed in May, and engineers hoped to launch the Vega rocket in late June. But a stretch of unacceptable upper level winds kept the rocket grounded, and managers decided to stand down and recharge batteries on the launcher and its satellites after a series of scrubbed launch attempts. The Vega rocket missed a launch slot in mid-August due to delays in the launch of a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket. Arianespace called off another launch attempt Tuesday night as a typhoon threatened a telemetry station in South Korea that was needed to track the Vega rocket after liftoff. With the typhoon threat passed, Arianespace finally proceeded with the Vega's launch Wednesday night. The first satellite released into a 320-mile-high (515-kilometer) orbit by the Vega's AVUM upper stage was Athena, a 304-pound (138-kilogram) spacecraft built by Maxar in California. Athena is a small experimental communications satellite for PointView Tech, a subsidiary of Facebook, that will test technologies that could be used in a future constellation of small satellites to provide global broadband Internet services. Athena is PointView Tech's first satellite. A 330-pound (150-kilogram) spacecraft developed by the Italian space company D-Orbit also rode to space on the Vega rocket. D-Orbit's ION Satellite Carrier is loaded with 12 SuperDove Earth-imaging CubeSats for Planet, which will be released after the carrier craft separates from the Vega rocket's upper stage in orbit. Counting the 12 SuperDoves inside the ION Satellite Carrier, the SSMS proof of concept mission is actually launching with 65 satellites. D-Orbit plans to develop more capable CubeSat carriers for future missions with propulsion systems that could maneuver customers' nanosatellites into different orbital slots after separation from their launch vehicle. That capability could give CubeSat operators the ability to still put their spacecraft into tailored orbits even if launching on a rideshare flight to a slightly different altitude or inclination. The launch marked the first use of D-Orbit's InOrbit Now, or ION, service. The largest satellite ever built in Luxembourg also hitched a ride into orbit on the Vega launch vehicle. Named ESAIL, the 246-pound (112-kilogram) spacecraft was developed in partnership between ESA and exactEarth, a Canadian company with maritime tracking sensors on more than 60 satellites already in orbit. ESAIL is part of an ESA initiative called SAT-AIS, managed within ESA's telecommunication program office, which aims to foster the development of a fleet of small satellites to receive and relay Automatic Identification System signals from ships. Built by LuxSpace, ESAIL was funded by the Luxembourg Space Agency and other ESA member states. The project also received private funding from exactEarth, which will operate the satellite on a commercial basis. A major user of ESAIL satellite data will be the European Maritime Safety Agency. Officials say ESAIL will improve fisheries monitoring, maritime fleet management, environmental protection, and border and maritime security services. Slovenia's NEMO-HD Earth-imaging microsatellite was also on the Vega launch. The 143-pound (65-kilogram) NEMO-HD spacecraft will collect medium-resolution color still and high-definition video imagery that can be downlinked to the ground in realtime. NEMO-HD was built in Canada at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Space Flight Laboratory for the Slovenian Center of Excellence for Space Sciences and Technologies, or SPACE-SI. A 99-pound Spanish microsatellite named UPMSat 2 was also on the SSMS rideshare cluster. Loaded with tech demo payloads, it was developed as an educational project by students at the Polytechnic University of Madrid since 2009. The ÑuSat 6 Earth-imaging microsatellite also launched Wednesday night. It's the next spacecraft to join a remote sensing satellite fleet owned by Satellogic, an Argentine company. Headquartered in Buenos Aires with a satellite manufacturing facility in Montevideo, Uruguay, Satellogic is building a fleet of satellites to cover the globe with visible, hyperspectral and infrared imagery. The company is one of several startups active in the commercial Earth-imaging market, along with Planet, BlackSky, ICEYE, and others. Satellogic plans to deploy a fleet of 90 microsatellites primarily using Chinese rockets. ÑuSat 6 will be Satellogic's 11th satellite to launch, and the first to fly on a European rocket. A small satellite designed to monitor greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere was also deployed by the Vega rocket. The GHGSat-C1 satellite, with a launch mass of about 34 pounds (15.4 kilograms), is owned by a startup named GHGSat based in Montreal. The Canadian-built spacecraft is the second to launch for GHGSat, which says the satellite will be capable of detecting methane emissions from specific sources, such as oil and gas wells. Buoyed by financial infusions from climate-focused investment funds, the oilfield services company Schlumberger, and the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, GHGSat aims to field a fleet of greenhouse gas-monitoring satellites to feed data to regulators and industry. After deploying the seven heavier payloads, the Vega rocket's AVUM upper stage lit its liquid-fueled engine two more times to boost itself into a slightly higher orbit. The SSMS dispenser then ejected 46 smaller nanosatellites over a period of less than three minutes. The smaller payloads included 14 SuperDove remote sensing spacecraft for Planet, and eight Lemur-2 CubeSats for Spire's fleet of maritime, aviation, and weather monitoring nanosatellites. The SuperDove and Lemur-2 satellites are about the size of a shoebox. The remaining payloads deployed by the Vega rocket Wednesday night included: • 12 tiny SpaceBEE satellites - each about the size of a slice of bread - for Swarm Technologies' low-data-rate communications network • FSSCat A and B, two environmental monitoring CubeSats developed by developed by ESA and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain • DIDO-3, a CubeSat for the Swiss company SpacePharma • PICASSO, developed for ESA by the Belgian Institute of Space Aeronomy to collect data on the atmosphere and ozone • SIMBA, a Belgian CubeSat to measure how much solar energy enters Earth's atmosphere • TRISAT, a CubeSat developed by the University of Maribor in Slovenia • AMICalSat, a CubeSat jointly developed by the Grenoble University Space Center in France and Moscow State University in Russia • NAPA 1, a CubeSat that will be Thailand's first military satellite • Kepler Communications' TARS tech demo CubeSat • OSM-1 CICERO, the first satellite manufactured in Monaco • Tyvak 0171, a CubeSat built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems of California for an undisclosed customer With the Vega rocket back in service, Arianespace's next mission is scheduled for launch Oct. 16 from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. A medium-lift Russian Soyuz rocket is being prepared to loft the Falcon Eye 2 military spy satellite for the United Arab Emirates. Built by Airbus, Falcon Eye 2 is a twin to the Falcon Eye 1 surveillance craft destroyed during the Vega launch failure last year. The next Vega rocket is scheduled to launch in November the Spanish SEOSat-Ingenio Earth observation satellite and the French Taranis scientific research satellite. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/09/03/vega-rocket-deploys-53-satellites-on-successful-return-to-flight-mission/ Back to Top Going Viral: In-Flight and Trip Related Pandemic Response Virtual Webinars Select the session date and time that works best for your schedule. Session 1: Thursday, September 10 at 2:00-3:30 pm (EST) Session 2: Monday, September 14 at 2:00-3:30 pm (EST) Session 3: Wednesday, September 23 at 2:00-3:30 pm (EST) https://www.firesideteam.com/pages/going-viral-in-flight-and-trip-related-pandemic-response 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