Flight Safety Information October 5, 2020 - No. 201 In This Issue * Incident: Kuwait B773 at Lahore on Oct 3rd 2020, needed assistance to backtrack runway * Incident: TUI Belgium B738 near Amsterdam on Oct 3rd 2020, unreliable airspeed * Incident: Envoy E135 at Charlotte on Oct 2nd 2020, bleed air leak, burning smell * Incident: American A320 at Phoenix on Oct 2nd 2020, flaps problem on departure * Incident: Polar AN24 at Yakutsk on Oct 3rd 2020, engine shut down in flight * Report confirms pilot’s blood alcohol was 5 times over limit * Virgin Atlantic to Test Cabin Crew and Pilots for COVID-19 at Least Once a Month * Ethiopia bans flights over dam for security reasons - aviation chief * The 737 MAX is ready to fly again, but plane certification still needs to be fixed – here’s how * Alaska Airlines Just Gave a Big Hint That It's Going All-Boeing Again * Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery Will Present Tough Challenge to Cargo Airlines * Delta has an aging plane problem and the pandemic is forcing the airline to finally address it * NASA Advancing 3D Printing Construction Systems for Bases on the Moon and Mars Incident: Kuwait B773 at Lahore on Oct 3rd 2020, needed assistance to backtrack runway A Kuwait Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration 9K-AOH performing flight KU-203 from Kuwait City (Kuwait) to Lahore (Pakistan) with 241 people on board, landed on Lahore's runway 36L, slowed to taxi speed and continued to the end of the runway to use the turn pad to back track the runway to the apron, however, could not complete the turn and stopped. The crew requested assistance by ground equipment to complete the turn. About 20 minutes later the aircraft was able to backtrack the runway and reach the apron. The aircraft departed for the return flight KU-204 on schedule. At the time of the occurrence Lahore's main runway 36R/18L was closed for reconstruction work, a NOTAM to exercise caution was released for the turn pad at runway 36L/18R. A similiar occurrence had happened to another Boeing 777-200 in 2014, see Incident: PIA B772 near Lahore on Dec 31st 2014, wheels got stuck on runway. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dd721bc&opt=0 Incident: TUI Belgium B738 near Amsterdam on Oct 3rd 2020, unreliable airspeed A TUI Belgium Boeing 737-800 on behalf of TUI Nederland, registration OO-JAV performing flight OR-695 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Funchal (Portugal) with 189 people on board, was enroute at FL360 over the English Channel about 10nm northwest of Guernsey,CI (UK) when the crew decided to return to Amsterdam. The aircraft descended to FL350 for the return and landed safely on Amsterdam's runway 06 about 1:50 hours after departure, emergency services were in their stand by positions having been alerted to the occurrence with the statement the crew had reported unreliable airspeed. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration OO-JAQ reached Funchal with a delay of about 4.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Amsterdam about 33 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dd71c67&opt=0 Incident: Envoy E135 at Charlotte on Oct 2nd 2020, bleed air leak, burning smell An Envoy Embraer ERJ-135, registration N840AE performing flight AA-4179 from Charlotte,NC to Shreveport,LA (USA), was climbing out of Charlotte when the crew requested to level off at 10,000 feet advising they might need to declare emergency. The crew subsequently reported they had a bleed air leak with the right hand engine and a burning odour on board. The aircraft returned to Charlotte for a safe landing on runway 36C about 30 minutes after departure. A replacement ERJ-135 registration N837AE reached Shreveport with a delay of 2 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Charlotte about 27 hours after landing back. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL4179/history/20201002/1724Z/KCLT/KSHV http://avherald.com/h?article=4dd68470&opt=0 Incident: American A320 at Phoenix on Oct 2nd 2020, flaps problem on departure An American Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N651AW performing flight AA-578 from Phoenix,AZ to Seattle,WA (USA), was climbing out of Phoenix when the crew requested to enter a hold to trouble shoot a flaps problem, they expected a normal landing back however. The aircraft entered the hold at 10,000 feet for about 30 minutes, then returned to Phoenix for a safe landing on runway 26 at a slightly higher than normal speed (about 145 knots over ground with 5 knots heading). A replacement A320-200 registration N102UW reached Seattle with a delay of about 4 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Phoenix about 18 hours after landing back. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL578/history/20201003/0100Z/KPHX/KSEA http://avherald.com/h?article=4dd6887f&opt=0 Incident: Polar AN24 at Yakutsk on Oct 3rd 2020, engine shut down in flight A Polar Airlines Antonov AN-24 on behalf of Yakutia, flight R3-9738 from Srednekolymsk to Yakutsk (Russia), was on approach to Yakutsk when the right hand engine failed. The crew shut the engine down and continued for a safe landing at Yakutsk. Rosaviatsia is looking into the ocucrrence to establish the cause of the engine failure. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dd6591d&opt=0 Report confirms pilot’s blood alcohol was 5 times over limit The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed an Alaska airplane pilot involved in a fatal crash had a blood-alcohol level more than five times above the legal limit for pilots to fly. The final NTSB crash report said pilot Charles Weimer was flying under the influence when he failed to maintain a safe distance from Goat Mountain in August 2019, KTUU-TV reported Saturday. “We had some indicators that maybe this was going to be the case,” said Clint Johnson, National Transportation Safety Board Alaska office chief. “But until we got that toxicology report back anything could be the case.” Weimer, 31, and three others died in the crash near Girdwood. The airplane’s owner, Karl Erickson, 55, and David Osborn, 60, both of Girdwood, and Paul Wiley, 37, of Superior, Arizona, were also killed. The Piper PA-22-150 aircraft left Girdwood at about 4:15 p.m. and crashed 15 minutes later in steep terrain on the mountain, investigators said. A witness saw the plane performing aggressive maneuvers before the crash, the NTSB report said. “I think that everyone would agree that this an avoidable accident, no doubt about that,” Johnson said. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020/10/04/report-confirms-pilots-blood-alcohol-was-5-times-over-limit/ Virgin Atlantic to Test Cabin Crew and Pilots for COVID-19 at Least Once a Month Beleaguered airline Virgin Atlantic is to test all of its cabin crew and pilots for COVID-19 at least once a month as part of measures to “instil confidence” in the safety of air travel. The airline, which is majority-owned by Sir Richard Branson, however, warned the move would do little to increase ticket sales without a system to replace draconian quarantine rules with mass COVID-19 passenger testing. Pilots and cabin crew have been taking part in a trial of rapid pre-flight COVID-19 testing since September 30 on flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Both of these destinations require crew to present a negative COVID-19 test certificate before being allowed entry. The plan is now to extend rapid testing to other destinations that require negative tests for crew members, as well as those where such requirements don’t currently exist. In effect, it would mean that all crew would be tested for COVID-19 at least once per month. Testing would be mandatory for certain destinations. The move follows a similar initiative developed by shareholder Delta Air Lines. The Atlanta-based airline has now tested every member of staff for the novel Coronavirus and plans to roll-out mass rapid testing in the near future. Results from the mass-testing program, Delta claims, shows that cabin crew are less likely to succumb to COVID-19 than the general public. The airline put that down to safety measures like mandatory mask-wearing rules and enhanced aircraft cleaning. Last week, Air Canada also announced plans to roll-out mass rapid COVID-19 testing for staff members on a voluntary basis. The airline is using the Abbott rapid ID NOW testing system that can produce results in as little as 15-minutes. On Monday, the South African government had to clarify rules for flight crew entering the government after Emirates apparently cancelled some services over confusion with new COVID-19 travel restrictions. While passengers must present a negative test certificate dated within 72-hours of travel, this will no longer be a requirement for cabin crew. They won’t, however, now be allowed to leave their hotel rooms as part of preventative measures. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2020/10/05/virgin-atlantic-to-test-cabin-crew-and-pilots-for-covid-19-at-least-once-a-month/ Ethiopia bans flights over dam for security reasons - aviation chief ADDIS ABABA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has banned all flights over its giant new hydropower dam on the Blue Nile for security reasons, the head of its civil aviation authority said on Monday. Ethiopia is locked in a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over its $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo has said could threaten its main supply of water. “All flights have been banned to secure the dam,” the director-general of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, Wesenyeleh Hunegnaw, told Reuters by phone. He declined to give more details on the reasons. Last week, air force chief Major General Yilma Merdasa told local media that Ethiopia was fully prepared to defend the dam from any attack. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan failed to strike a deal on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam before Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam in July. The dam is at the centre of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter. The structure is about 15 km (9 miles) from the Ethiopian border with Sudan on the Blue Nile - a tributary of the Nile river, which gives Egypt’s 100 million people about 90% of their fresh water. https://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-security/ethiopia-bans-flights-over-dam-for-security-reasons-aviation-chief-idUKL8N2GW2JU The 737 MAX is ready to fly again, but plane certification still needs to be fixed – here’s how After being grounded in March 2019 following two fatal crashes, the Boeing 737 MAX is expected to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly again later this fall. Investigations pointed to a problem with the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. This automated control system was designed to stabilize the plane and compensate for the more powerful engines used on the 737 MAX compared to previous versions. The FAA’s certification of the plane has come under fire because manufacturers can speed up the process by having only enhancements to a preapproved aircraft reviewed and certified. Ronnie R. Gipson Jr., an expert in aviation law and visiting professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, whose work was cited in the House Committee on transportation and infrastructure’s report on this issue, explains what happened and ways to improve these safety regulations. What are the criticisms of the FAA certification process stemming from the 737 MAX crashes? The process for the certification of a transport category aircraft is a very involved and costly process. The aircraft manufacturers that go down this path have to be committed to spending hundreds of millions of dollars. It starts with an initial design, and the aircraft that is produced is then subjected to dynamic flight testing for compliance with all of the Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Once the airplane satisfies all those requirements, the aircraft is given an original type certificate by the FAA. The aircraft manufacturer is then allowed to produce aircraft and sell them. As time goes on, technology advances and the manufacturer identifies ways to improve on that original design. So the manufacturer goes back to the FAA and says, “We want to take this initial design that we have and amend it because we made some changes.” At this point, the aircraft manufacturer files what’s called an amended type certificate application for a derivative aircraft from the baseline aircraft. For example, the original type certificate for the first 737 design was submitted to the FAA in 1967. That original design has had multiple derivative aircraft approved by the FAA, with the 737 MAX being the 13th version. In the amended type certification process, the regulatory authority focuses only on what’s changed. Another thing to keep in mind is that the FAA just doesn’t have the manpower to oversee all the tests that go with an amended type certificate approval. Therefore, the FAA reviews most of the critical changes related to safety and delegates the noncritical changes for review to the manufacturers – in this case to a body in Boeing which consists essentially of Boeing employees. And that’s what happened here. MCAS wasn’t necessarily presented as a change in the design impacting control in flight. As a result, the MCAS was not a priority for the FAA in the amended certificate approval process. The MCAS capabilities and what it was supposed to control were never fully revealed. That’s really where the problem started. It was with the narrative that was being presented to the FAA, and the lack of oversight in the amended type certificate process. The result was that the MCAS system that was initially presented to the FAA at the beginning of the amended type certificate process was not the same system that ended up in the aircraft. How will the recent recertification for the 737 MAX ensure that the model is now safe? The FAA has had to backtrack and give the MCAS system the intense level of scrutiny that it deserved. The FAA has required the manufacturer to go back and make significant adjustments to the software, in addition to changes to the operator’s manual, which is what the pilots would see. How can the certification process be improved? I see two paths to take. First, for a transport category aircraft, regulations are changed so that the manufacturer can receive amended type certificates for only 20 years after the original type certificate has been issued by the FAA. Here’s how that would work: An aircraft manufacturer designs an aircraft for certification in the transport category and applies for the original type certificate in 2020. Once the original type certification is awarded in, say, 2025, then the manufacturer should have 20 years. That means that the manufacturer would have until the year 2045 to seek an amendment to that original type certificate. Beginning in 2046, if the aircraft manufacturer wants to make subsequent design changes, they have to start over and get a new original type certificate. The second component to resolving this problem would be to step in and review what areas the FAA can delegate oversight authority for system changes in an amended aircraft certification application review. What are the obstacles to making these changes? One would be money. The FAA has a budget, and these are very costly measures because the FAA will need more engineers and administrators. And for that to happen, Congress has to be prepared to spend the money to make that happen by increasing the FAA’s budget. There’s also going to be a cost to the industry. Implementing the proposal of a 20-year cap on the validity of that original type certificate is going to impose a greater financial cost on the aircraft manufacturers of transport category aircraft. They’re not going to have as much time to get a return on their investment for the aircraft that they produce. So the aircraft are going to end up costing more, which means the airlines are going to end up paying more for those planes. And that cost is going to trickle down to the flying public in those seats. https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/opinion/the-737-max-is-ready-to-fly-again-but-plane-certification-still-needs-to-be-fixed-heres-how.html Alaska Airlines Just Gave a Big Hint That It's Going All-Boeing Again • Recent decisions to retire Airbus A320s ahead of schedule point toward Alaska Airlines transitioning back to an all-Boeing mainline fleet. After operating an all-Boeing (NYSE:BA) mainline fleet for years, Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) added Airbus (OTC:EADSY) planes to the mix when it acquired smaller rival Virgin America in late 2016. At an investor meeting in early 2017, Alaska's management suggested that it was weighing the relative benefits of maintaining a mixed fleet versus going back to Boeing exclusivity. For various reasons, the final decision has been postponed repeatedly over the past few years. During 2020, there have been some hints that Alaska Airlines was leaning toward a return to its Boeing roots. On Thursday, the airline provided the clearest sign yet that its Airbus A320 family jets are on the way out. COVID-19 prompts a reduction in the Airbus fleet Entering 2020, Alaska Airlines had 71 Airbus jets in its fleet, compared to 166 Boeing 737s. Furthermore, all of its firm orders for mainline aircraft are for the 737 MAX, although Alaska also has 30 cancelable orders for the A320neo. All but 10 of Alaska's Airbus planes are leased, and about two-thirds of those leases are scheduled to expire between 2021 and 2023. Thus, Alaska has a unique opportunity to rapidly transition away from its Airbus fleet over the next few years if it wants to. The COVID-19 pandemic led Alaska Airlines to accelerate this transition. Earlier this year, the carrier disclosed that it had permanently parked 12 Airbus jets, including all 10 of its A319s. In conjunction with that move, it retrained 240 of its Airbus pilots to fly Boeing 737s. Management indicated that these planes would eventually be replaced by 737 MAX jets already on order. Alaska Airlines sets future plans In an SEC filing last Thursday, Alaska said that it had decided to go ahead with borrowing up to $1.9 billion from the federal government under a secured loan program included in the CARES Act. Buried near the end of the filing was a statement that "management has authorized a plan to retire 10 owned Airbus A320 aircraft earlier than previously scheduled," leading to an impairment charge between $115 million and $125 million. The filing doesn't say when the A320s will be retired, but chances are it will be sometime in the next five years. (It wouldn't make sense to take an impairment charge now for a retirement expected in the late 2020s or beyond, simply because so much could change in the intervening years.) As noted above, only 10 of Alaska's A320s are owned: The rest are leased. The 10 owned A320s were delivered new to Virgin America between 2015 and 2016 and are just under five years old, on average. Setting plans to retire aircraft that still have two decades of life left would only make sense in the context of fleet simplification. Within Alaska's Airbus fleet, the only leases that extend beyond 2025 are 10 A321neo leases that expire around 2030. Given that long-term demand for that model is expected to remain robust, it probably wouldn't cost much for Alaska Airlines to end those leases a few years down the road. Retiring and selling the 10 owned A320s would then enable the low-fare airline to move back to an all-Boeing mainline fleet by 2025 or so. A good time to make a deal From Alaska's perspective, the timing of this potential move back to an all-Boeing fleet couldn't be better. Boeing has booked firm orders for just 52 737 MAX jets since the beginning of 2019, due to the double-whammy of the 737 MAX grounding and the pandemic. Over the same period, it has removed over 1,000 737 MAX orders from its backlog due to order cancellations and customers falling into financial distress. Adding to Boeing's woes, the plane maker has dozens of 737 MAX jets in storage in need of buyers. Just to replace its Airbus planes on a one-for-one basis, Alaska would need dozens of 737 MAX jets beyond what it already has on order. Including replacements for the oldest Boeing 737s in its fleet today and aircraft to support growth plans toward the middle of the decade, Alaska Airlines could easily order 100 or more 737 MAX jets for delivery over the next five to seven years. Winning a deal of that size would be a big momentum booster for Boeing. The aerospace giant should be willing to offer big discounts to make it happen. Alaska Airlines' decision to further accelerate its A320 retirement plans is a sign that the carrier is looking to seize this opportunity to upgrade its fleet at a bargain price. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/10/05/alaska-airlines-big-hint-going-all-boeing-again/ Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery Will Present Tough Challenge to Cargo Airlines • Inoculations for the new coronavirus will require thousands of extra flights, taxing stretched airlines • UPS is combining multiple refrigerators at its airport hubs to store vaccines in transit. The pandemic has revealed shortcomings in global supply chains and forced business to make logistics a bigger strategic priority. Successfully delivering Covid-19 vaccines will test manufacturers and shippers on what lessons have been learned. “If 50 million doses were available today, could we distribute them?” asked Glyn Hughes, head of cargo at the International Air Transport Association, a trade group. “The answer is almost certainly ‘No’, for every jurisdiction.” The air-cargo industry is making plans for delivering as many as 20 billion Covid-19 vaccination doses, even before regulators have approved any of the multiple treatments under development. Shippers say they are having to plan without knowing exactly how many vaccine doses they’ll have to ship, where they will be manufactured and how cold they have to be kept. Pharmaceutical companies and shippers say they expect the bulk of vaccine supplies to be transported by air. Cargo-airline executives are working on a delivery schedule that assumes initial batches become available during the traditional peak season for shipping that runs from fall through early February. Carriers such as FedEx Corp. FDX 0.44% and the DHL arm of Deutsche Post AG DPSGY 0.22% have started preparations such as introducing new temperature-monitoring systems to track future vaccine shipments. United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.41% and Deutsche Lufthansa AG are building “freezer farms” combining multiple refrigerators at their airport hubs to store vaccines in transit. Yet cargo flights are fast filling up through February with bookings for consumer electronics, apparel and industrial parts through the holiday season and new year, said airline executives. This year’s peak season is expected to include a lift from the delayed iPhone 5G from Apple Inc. and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 5. “We’re planning for the mother of all peaks,” said Don Colleran, president of FedEx’s express division, on an investor call last month. Airlines said they would make room for essential supplies such as vaccines, just as they have for personal protective equipment throughout the pandemic. Most of the potential vaccines have to be kept at a low constant temperature throughout the journey to prevent spoiling, according to cargo experts. These fall into two temperature ranges—around freezing and about minus 70 degrees Celsius—with very different transport and storage requirements. Pharma executives said spoilage rates for other vaccines during transport range from 5% to as much as 20% because of poor temperature control. “This is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the transportation industry,” Michael Steen, chief operating officer at Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., said in an interview. Atlas is one of the largest cargo airlines, flying freight on behalf of customers including Amazon.com Inc. and DHL. Cargo executives said they expect it will take two years for a vaccine to reach all of the world’s population, with particular challenges in some emerging markets where infrastructure is limited. The air-cargo industry isn’t starting from scratch. Pharma products have been one of the fastest-growing and most profitable cargo types over the past decade. Shippers have developed increasingly sophisticated supply chains for vaccines in recent years, especially for the flu. Gene therapies, another booming area, already require transport and storage at very low temperatures. Planning flu-season vaccine deliveries typically starts months ahead and includes analyzing which routes and airports carry the highest risk for delays and spoilage, said Larry St. Onge, president of DHL’s life sciences and health care unit. DHL is applying that analysis to potential Covid-19 vaccines, which will have more-urgent delivery needs and far larger volume. IATA estimates transporting a single dose to the global population would require the equivalent of 8,000 fully-laden Boeing Co. 747 flights, based on dimensions for vials and packaging provided by pharma companies. A recent study by DHL and McKinsey & Co. pegged demand at 15,000 flights, while including syringes and protective equipment for medical staff would increase the cargo-space requirement. Pharma shipments already account for around 1.9% of global air-cargo volume, said IATA, and adding Covid-19 vaccines could double that share. Not every freighter jet is able to handle very cold cargo because of regulatory restrictions on how much dry ice they can transport to cool them, said executives. Air-cargo capacity is already tight, with flights flying fuller than before the pandemic started. International air-cargo capacity was down 32% in August from a year earlier while demand was only 14% lower. The pandemic-driven travel downturn has removed from service hundreds of passenger jets and the belly space that once carried cargo. More freighters are joining the fleet, with Atlas returning stored 747s from the desert and passenger airlines converting around 100 planes to carry freight in their cabins. Covid-19 vaccine makers such as Pfizer Inc. have already begun manufacturing doses to be ready for shipment should regulators authorize their use. However, the uncertainty over approval timing and shipping requirements has meant they have stopped short of booking space on cargo flights, said airline executives. The U.S. government last month outlined its initial plans for distributing vaccines domestically under its Operation Warp Speed program run by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Pentagon, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. McKesson Corp. , one of the world’s largest drug wholesalers, has been contracted by CDC to ship some vaccine types in the U.S. It hasn’t detailed how they would be transported, and air-cargo executives said they haven’t signed any Covid-19 vaccine-related deals yet. McKesson declined to comment. President Trump said during the opening presidential debate last week that the military would support distribution of the vaccine. The Pentagon said it doesn’t expect to have to use military transport aircraft, except to very remote areas. “Our best military assessment is that there is sufficient U.S. commercial-transportation capacity to fully support vaccine distribution,” said a spokesman. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-delivery-will-present-tough-challenge-to-cargo-airlines-11601890203 Delta has an aging plane problem and the pandemic is forcing the airline to finally address it Delta Air Lines is often leading the charge when it comes to innovations in the airline industry but a top criticism is that its planes are too old. The country's second-largest airline has the second-oldest fleet out of the big four international airlines. The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Delta to finally address this issue with older models being retired in favor of new jets like the Airbus A220. Changes are coming to America's second-largest in the next half-decade, and flyers should be excited. Delta Air Lines has retired or announced the retirement of six aircraft types since March in a sweeping fleet overhaul that's long overdue. A key criticism of the airline in recent years has been the age of its fleet of over 800 aircraft. Out of the big four US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, Delta now has the second oldest fleet with an average age of 14.6 years, according to Planespotters.net. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, by comparison, have fleets with an average age of 11.1 years and 12.5 years, respectively, while United's is 16 years. In June, Delta retired its McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90 series aircraft that had been faithfully flying passengers since the 1980s, its old age hidden by new paint jobs and interior upgrades. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with flying on an old plane that's well-maintained, there comes a time when airlines give up on them and stop upgrading them with the latest and greatest features. Flyers on an Airbus A220, for example, are treated to in-flight entertainment screens, in-seat power, and quiet cabin, all thanks to recent upgrades and innovations. The McDonnell Douglas aircraft, with a similar seat count and layout, had none of those features. Aging aircraft can also be more prone to mechanical issues that can delay flights as older parts break, replacement parts become harder to find, and planes experience the normal wear and tear that comes with old age. Less than a month before the McDonnell Douglas aircraft were retired, Delta announced in May that its largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-200, would also be retired by the end of 2020. It's one of Delta's smallest fleet types and typically served the airline's longest routes to Australia, India, South Africa, as well as the more popular routes to Europe and Asia. September just saw the retirement of the Boeing 737-700 sub-fleet as part of a "fleet simplification" effort. Only 10 aircraft comprised the 124-seat aircraft fleet, delivered from 2008 to 2009, according to Planespotters.net. Five more years of retirements Delta also announced in its most recent 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that two more Boeing sub-fleets including the 717 and 767-300ER will be retired by 2025, while its Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets will stop flying by 2023. The larger 767 wide-body is currently a staple for Delta's international flights as one of its main workhorses and also serves the ever-popular transcontinental routes between New York and California. Its interior product actually includes seat-back entertainment screens and in-seat power but it's also one of Delta's oldest fleet types with an average age of 24.2 years, according to Planespotters.net. The slightly younger 767 still in Delta's fleet, the 767-400ER, will be sticking around a bit longer and Delta is investing in giving those aircraft a brand-new Delta One business class product. The Boeing 717 fleet with an average age of 19.1 years was acquired from Southwest Airlines following its merger with AirTran Airways in 2011. The short-haul aircraft were a step above regional jets but most onlookers knew that their stint would be temporary. Delta never bothered to even install seat-back entertainment screens on the aircraft. New planes aren't without growing pains Young aircraft come with their own challenges, as the big four US airlines know all too well. The Boeing 737 Max promised new levels of efficiency only to be grounded for over a year and a half, and counting, due to an initially undetected fatal flaw. Engine issues with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner saw costly repairs and extended downtimes. Delta was spared by not purchasing either aircraft, showing a penchant for Airbus aircraft in its latest renewal. Ultimately, the new aircraft additions will benefit passengers and increase reliability among the fleet. The Airbus A350-900 XWB and A350-900neo have proven to be fan favorites for airlines and passengers alike, incorporating passenger-friendly amenities while offering lower fuel costs. Delta recently augmented its Atlanta-Johannesburg route, the longest one in its network, replacing the Boeing 777-200 with the Airbus A350-900 XWB. Passengers will undoubtedly notice the difference on the greater than 15-hour flights as the Airbus jet offers a lower cabin altitude and mood lighting, which both reduce jet lag. November will also see the expansion of the popular Airbus A220 fleet type as Delta takes delivery of the larger A220-300. Salt Lake City will be the aircraft's first base and then it will likely expand across the country as more models arrive at Delta. Though the remaining retirements will span the next half-decade, Delta flyers can look forward to a new and improved fleet. https://www.yahoo.com/news/delta-aging-plane-problem-pandemic-122200735.html NASA Advancing 3D Printing Construction Systems for Bases on the Moon and Mars The process of building landing pads, habitats, and roads on the Moon will likely look different than the common construction site on Earth. Excavation robots, for one, will need to be lightweight yet capable of digging in reduced gravity. A large-scale construction system could be autonomous and equipped to work without astronauts’ help. As part of the Artemis program, NASA has a concept for the core surface elements needed to establish a sustained presence on the Moon, which emphasizes mobility to allow astronauts to explore more and conduct more science. NASA is considering putting in place a lunar terrain vehicle, habitable mobility platform or lunar RV, and surface habitat on the Moon by the end of the decade. The agency is investing in advanced manufacturing – one of five industries of the future to enable space exploration and improve life on Earth – including technologies that could find and use available resources on the Moon and Mars to build out future infrastructure. Today, NASA is working with ICON, a construction technologies company based in Austin, Texas, on early research and development of a space-based construction system that could support future exploration of the Moon and Mars. The company has 3D printed communities of homes and structures on Earth and participated in NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, demonstrating a construction method and technologies that may be adaptable for applications beyond our home planet. “To be successful in our future missions, we have to invest in new, cutting-edge technologies today,” said Niki Werkheiser, NASA’s Game Changing Development program executive. The program is part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “Near-term research and development will help ensure we can expand building capabilities on other worlds when the time comes.” Another U.S. government agency is interested in the technology and its applications here on Earth. The U.S. Air Force awarded ICON a dual-use Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to expand 3D printing of livable and workable structures. Part of the contract, which NASA contributed funding to, will explore commonalities between Earth-based and off-Earth applications. ICON will also invest in the effort. “Joining forces and cost-sharing among multiple government agencies allows us to accelerate the development timeline and bring the core capabilities that we have a common interest in to fruition sooner,” said Werkheiser. “Together, we will help mature technologies that will have benefits for humanity – on Earth and in space.” ICON will work with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, under the Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project to test lunar soil simulant with various processing and printing technologies. NASA is partnering with industry, government, and academic institutions under the MMPACT project. “We want to increase the technology readiness level and test systems to prove it would be feasible to develop a large-scale 3D printer that could build infrastructure on the Moon or Mars,” said Corky Clinton, associate director of Marshall’s Science and Technology Office. “The team will use what we learn from the tests with the lunar simulant to design, develop, and demonstrate prototype elements for a full-scale additive construction system.” Based on the progress, NASA could award ICON additional funding and explore the opportunity of an in-situ test on the lunar surface. “From the very founding of ICON, we’ve been thinking about off-world construction,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON. “I am confident that learning to build on other worlds will also provide the necessary breakthroughs to solve housing challenges we face on this world. These are mutually reinforcing endeavors. Sometimes, for the biggest problems, it becomes necessary to look up at the sky and not only down at our feet.” The SBIR award will build on ICON’s commercial activities and demonstrations during Phase 3 of NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. For the challenge, ICON partnered with the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The team won a prize for 3D printing a structure sample that adequately held a seal when filled with water. “It is rewarding to see past NASA challenge competitors go on to work with the government in other ways,” said Amy Kaminski, the program executive for prizes and challenges at NASA. “It shows our approach of reaching out to groups outside of the traditional aerospace sector to solve challenges facing us in space and on Earth can result in unique collaborations to further NASA’s technology development efforts.” https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-advancing-3d-printing-construction-systems-for-bases-on-the-moon-and-mars/ Curt Lewis