Flight Safety Information [October 13, 2020] [No. 207] In This Issue : Incident: United A320 at Chicago on Oct 12th 2020, hail strike : ProSafeT - SMS, Quality & Audit Management Software : Incident: Blue B734 at East Midlands on Oct 10th 2020, flaps problems : Piper PA-46-310P Malibu - Forced Landing (Missouri) : Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia - Bird Strikes (Finland) : Pilots Shut Down Pratt & Whitney Engine on Airbus Mid-Air, Even After Fixes : Iraqi Airline pilot suspended for allowing model in cockpit : US GOA Calls for Greater Cybersecurity for Commercial Airplanes : BAA Training Selects L3Harris Technologies to Enhance Pilot Training Device Mix : Another huge round of airline losses is coming : VAUGHN COLLEGE AVIATION PROGRAMS RECEIVE ACCREDITATION BY AVIATION ACCREDITATION BOARD INTERNATIONAL : SpaceX's next astronaut mission for NASA has been pushed to November following an issue with its rocket engines : SCSI Online Courses - Aircraft Accident Investigation : CAAi achieves City & Guilds Assured status Incident: United A320 at Chicago on Oct 12th 2020, hail strike A United Airbus A320-200, registration N462UA performing flight UA-349 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Washington Dulles,DC (USA), was climbing out of O'Hare's runway 22L when the aircraft flew through hail, the left hand windshield cracked as result. The crew decided to stop the climb at about 15000 feet and returned to Chicago for a safe landing on O'Hare's runway 28C about 30 minutes after departure. A replacement A320-200 registration N463UA reached Washington with a delay of 2:45 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ddc8f7d&opt=0 Incident: Blue B734 at East Midlands on Oct 10th 2020, flaps problems A Blue Air Boeing 737-400, registration YR-BAZ performing positioning flight BLA-22P from Buchrest Baneasa (Romania) to East Midlands,EN (UK), was on approach to East Midlands when the crew stopped the descent at 4000 feet due to flaps problems and entered a hold to work the related checklists and prepare for the landing. The aircraft performed a safe landing on runway 27 about 20 minutes later. The aircraft is still on the ground in East Midlands about 9 hours later. The aircraft is estimated to continue the positioning flight to the United States of America via Keflavik (Iceland). http://avherald.com/h?article=4ddb225a&opt=0 Piper PA-46-310P Malibu - Forced Landing (Missouri) Date: 13-OCT-2020 Time: c. 12:30 Type: Silhouette image of generic PA46 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different Piper PA-46-310P Malibu Owner/operator: Private Registration: N315WF C/n / msn: 46-08050 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Unknown Location: Pendleton Township SW of Farmington, MO - United States of America Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Farmington Regional Airport, MO (FAM/KFAM) Destination airport: Dallas-Collin County Regional At Mc Kinney Airport, TX (KTKI) Narrative: Following a loss of engine power, the aircraft force landed to bean field terrain in Pendleton Township southwest of Farmington, Missouri. The airplane sustained unreported but apparent minor damage and the three related occupants onboard were not injured during the incident. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/243825 Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia - Bird Strikes (Finland) Date:12-OCT-2020Time:07:47Type: Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia Owner/operator:Budapest Aircraft Service BPS / Leased by Karhu Aero Registration:HA-FANC/n / msn:120104 Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:Other fatalities:0 Aircraft damage:Minor Location:near Pori Airport (POR/EFPO) - Finland Phase:Initial climb Nature:Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport:Pori Airport (POR/EFPO)Destination airport:Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL/EFHK) Narrative: Budabest Air Service flight BRP692 (RP692) returned to Pori, Finland, after the plane hit a flock of seagull after takeoff. The flight was cancelled. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/243814 Pilots Shut Down Pratt & Whitney Engine on Airbus Mid-Air, Even After Fixes • Latest glitch on India’s GoAir not related to previous issues • Engines were compliant with new regulations to fix the problem Pilots of an Airbus SE A320neo jet in India shut down a Pratt & Whitney engine mid-air last month after it encountered problems, people familiar with the incident said, reviving concerns about the turbines that have been plagued by issues since their debut in early 2016. The twin-engine jet, operated by Go Airlines India Ltd., landed safely using its other engine in the western city of Ahmadabad on Sept. 19, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Both the engines’ turbines had already been modified following repeated glitches, the people said. Indian regulators are looking into faults in the engine’s heat-management and oil systems as possible causes, one of the people said. Representatives for Pratt and GoAir didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Airbus wasn’t immediately able to comment. A representative for the aviation ministry, which oversees the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The latest problem adds another layer to the woes of Pratt, which is owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp. The new engine for narrow-body jets has cost $10 billion to develop but has faced delivery delays and multiple issues leading to mid-air shutdowns. IndiGo, the biggest customer for Airbus’s best-selling A320neo, decided last year to switch away from the engines, placing a $20 billion order instead with rival CFM International Inc., a venture between General Electric Co. and France’s Safran SA. Outside of durability issues and delivery delays, Indian regulators have been concerned about Pratt’s so-called third-stage low-pressure turbine blades. India, where the most popular narrow-body market is dominated by the A320neo, mandated in 2019 that all engines must modify that particular component with a different material “less susceptible to impact damage.” Without that tweak, such as was implemented on the GoAir jet, pilots are at risk of one or more engines failing, losing control or worse, crashing the aircraft, according to the DGCA. It wasn’t immediately clear how many passengers were on board the jet that took off from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The plane, registered VT-WGK, didn’t fly again until Oct. 8, data from flight tracking website flightradar24.com show. India last month ordered GoAir to ground jets that hadn’t had their Pratt engines modified to the specifications mandated by the DGCA. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., had already modified all of its engines after regulators granted repeated extensions to meet requirements. Commercial jets can typically fly on one engine even if the other fails. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-13/pilots-shut-down-pratt-engine-on-airbus-mid-air-even-after-fixes Iraqi Airline pilot suspended for allowing model in cockpit Iraqi Airways pilot suspended for allowing a female media personality in the cockpitOctober 12, 2020 at 6:00 pm | Published in: Iraq, Middle East, News, Videos & Photo Stories An Iraqi Airways pilot has been suspended after allowing a female media personality into the cockpit, Rudaw reported. Images of Iraqi broadcaster Welyan Al-Baiaty posing next to the pilot mid-air circulated on social media alongside a video, believed to have been filmed in September 2020, in which Al-Baiaty jokes with the pilot about the simplicity of flying a plane. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said: “The Air Safety Department of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority suspended one of the pilots working in one of the Iraqi national carriers, after allowing a female media worker to enter the cockpit while flying.” “It constitutes a violation of civil aviation laws that prevent cases that endanger the lives of travelers,” the statement continued. Iraqi Airways has previously been banned from the European Union for safety violations. In 2018, security on the airline’s flights was called into question after two pilots got into a physical fight while flying 160 passengers on a Boeing 737. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201012-iraqi-airline-pilot-suspended/ US GOA Calls for Greater Cybersecurity for Commercial Airplanes The US Government Accountability Office (GOA) has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to take action to better protect modern commercial airplanes from cyber-risks. In a post on its website, the GOA wrote: “Modern airplanes are equipped with networks and systems that share data with the pilots, passengers, maintenance crews, other aircraft and air-traffic controllers in ways that were not previously feasible. “To date, extensive cybersecurity controls have been implemented and there have not been any reports of successful cyber-attacks on an airplane’s avionics systems. However, the increasing connections between airplanes and other systems, combined with the evolving cyber-threat landscape, could lead to increasing risks for future flight safety.” The agency warned that if avionics systems are not properly protected, they could be at risk to a variety of potential cyber-attacks, with vulnerabilities occurring due to factors such as poor patch management, insecure supply chains and outdated systems. The GOA has therefore set out a six-piece cybersecurity recommendation guide to executive action. Commenting on the news, Tim Mackey, principal security strategist at the Synopsys CyRC, said: “Aircraft, like passenger cars, have seen an increase in computerization with software controls becoming an integral component of modern flight systems. As with vehicle systems, aircraft have a long lifespan – meaning that the software used in flight operations, both onboard aircraft and as part of flight activities, will be in use for far longer than that found in consumer situations.” Properly managing cybersecurity with long lifecycle products requires anticipating future risks when building threat models, he added. “For example, in recent years the concept of a software supply chain vulnerability has become front of mind as the growth of open source software usage grew. Such attacks can target not only open source software, but the commercial software built using compromised components. Detecting such attacks is challenging in part due to the potential for an attacker to mask their malicious code within a fix for an independent, but legitimate software bug. While the primary goal of such an attack might be financial, were a component compromised in this manner to be used in flight operations, it could offer an opportunity for another malicious group to target an airline or airline operations. This is an example of how attackers define the rules of their attacks and use the opportunities available to them and is also an example of the types of threats highlighted by the GAO.” https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/goa-cybersecurity-commercial/ BAA Training Selects L3Harris Technologies to Enhance Pilot Training Device Mix L3Harris Technologies has been selected by BAA Training to supply eight new flight training devices (FTDs) to further support BAA Training’s expansion program. L3Harris will install the new FTDs at BAA Training’s locations across Europe and Asia from 2021. The agreement builds on the purchase of full flight simulators (FFS) announced in March. The eight FTDs are for a combination of A320, 737 MAX and 737 NG aircraft. All devices will be certified to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Level 2 and provide a realistic training environment incorporating an enclosed cockpit, visual system and aircraft specific controls. The devices will support BAA Training with upcoming EASA regulatory changes, which allow for a better mix of training time to be recognized across the device suite. The devices will also feature L3Harris’ latest instructor station that has been redesigned to provide an instructor centric experience, supporting effective training from the start of each session. “The new devices will perfectly supplement the soon to be installed FFS and enhance the device mix within our centers. With these technologically advanced devices, BAA Training will take a significant step forward in fulfilling our mission to provide customers with the most progressive aviation training. The BAA Training value combines the maximized training flexibility, cost-saving, and the greener approach. We are proud to take the lead in aviation training, starting the Green Deal focused actions that will make a substantial positive impact on the environment,” commented Egle Vaitkeviciute, CEO of BAA Training. “The shift of training from full flight simulators to fixed training devices has been discussed for some time. We look forward to supporting BAA Training’s device mix in preparation of changing regulations. This agreement demonstrates L3Harris’ capability to deliver a range of state-of-the-art devices utilizing a common platform to meet the changing training requirements,” added Alan Crawford, president, commercial aviation, L3Harris. https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/flight-training/press-release/21158066/baa-training-baa-training-selects-l3harris-technologies-to-enhance-pilot-training-device-mix Another huge round of airline losses is coming New York (CNN Business)The second quarter was the worst financial hit in the history of the airline industry. The third-quarter results won't be much better. US airlines reported combined losses of $12 billion in the second quarter, excluding special items, as revenue plunged 86% from the prior year. And analysts are forecasting that losses will come to about $10 billion in the just-completed third quarter. Delta Air Lines (DAL) will kick off the flood of red ink on Tuesday when it reports results. Airlines did manage to shave losses by trimming costs -- including labor, as employees took buyouts and early retirement packages and agreed to unpaid furloughs. And there was a modest pickup in travel during the summer travel season. Yet it's not much better than the previous disastrous quarter: Wall Street analysts forecast industry sales will be down 75% in the third quarter. Bookings haven't looked particularly strong for the fall with leisure travel drying up and very little in the way of business travel to take its place. Meanwhile, many, though not all, of the airlines have recently implemented involuntary job cuts and furloughs that had not been allowed through the end of September under terms of the Congress-approved financial relief for the industry earlier this year. US airlines received $25 billion in direct help to keep workers on payroll through the end of September, along with an additional $25 billion in no-strings loans that did not come with the promise to avoid layoffs. As soon as the prohibition on involuntary job cuts ended on October 1, American Airlines (AAL) cut 19,000 jobs and United (UAL) cut an additional 13,000. There was bipartisan support for a second package of federal help to prevent those cuts, but hopes for that assistance died when Congress and the Trump administration failed to agree on another Covid stimulus package. Every US airline lost money in the second quarter. And virtually all are expected to report a full-year loss, including Southwest (LUV), which had reported 47 consecutive years of profitability through 2019. When will the losses end for the industry? That will depend on the simple but unanswerable question of when people will be ready to fly again. "We don't expect six months from now that demand will return to where it was pre-pandemic," said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker in a CNN interview at the end of last month. But he has said he hopes by next spring there will be a least some clarity about when passengers will feel safe about flying again. But it's not just safety concerns keeping passengers off planes. It's also a matter of the state of the economy keeping both leisure and business travelers at home. While the economy has started to rebound, it will be a long road to recovery. Economists and the Federal Reserve have warned the recovery will be slow and painful unless lawmakers pass additional federal stimulus. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/investing/airlines-third-quarter-losses-predictions/index.html VAUGHN COLLEGE AVIATION PROGRAMS RECEIVE ACCREDITATION BY AVIATION ACCREDITATION BOARD INTERNATIONAL FLUSHING, NY (October 12, 2020)—Vaughn College’s bachelor’s degree programs in aircraft operations and aeronautical sciences have been accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) for a period of five years, effective July 2019 through July 31, 2024. AABI was established in 1988 at the initiative of 100 colleges and universities with aviation programs who recognized the need to establish standards and submit themselves to the review of their peers and the industry. Its purpose is to serve as the official accrediting body for all collegiate aviation. Vaughn’s aircraft operations professional pilot program has been developed to provide students proficiency in all areas of pilot skills to achieve the certified flight instructor level and to meet the growing demand through 2039 for pilots. The aeronautical sciences bachelor of science degree provides students with the flexibility to incorporate flight qualifications with academic studies. The program provides the ability to explore career opportunities in addition to becoming a pilot, in the aviation, management and technology fields, by obtaining a foundation in flight dispatch, air traffic control or airfield operations. “This accreditation means a great deal for the institution and especially for our students,” said Aviation Department Chair Dr. Pete Russo. “We’ve worked hard to meet the high standards for AABI accreditation in our degree programs and are confident it will help our students meet their educational goals and help them stand out as they begin their professional careers.” A growing number of airlines are looking for pilots who have graduated from colleges that are accredited by AABI. To become accredited, aviation programs have to satisfy a range of quality criteria that demonstrate their ability to maintain a level of performance, integrity and quality that will be recognized by the educational community, the industry and the public. “Airlines want to hire from AABI-accredited college programs because they know these pilots have been educated according to universally accepted disciplines and the rigorous standards set by the industry,” explained Russo. “The Industry advises AABI, and AABI advises colleges, and the result is that industry experts look for pilots with those credentials. It’s a virtuous circle. And that is why Vaughn College actively pursued AABI accreditation.” Aviation degree programs like the ones offered at Vaughn College ensure graduates have the skills and knowledge they need to meet the demands of growing industries. Aviation giant Boeing recently released its pilot and technician outlook, which forecasts a long-term robust need for highly trained professionals over the next 20 years. More than 760,000 pilots and more than 735,000 maintenance technicians will be needed as the industry rebounds worldwide and the current workforce approaches retirement. VAUGHN COLLEGE: Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, nonprofit four-year college that enrolls more than 1,500 students in master’s, bachelor’s and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 15 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Vaughn was ranked as the number one institution in the nation in upward mobility – the best at moving students from the bottom 40 percent to the top 40 percent in income – in a study reported in The New York Times. Ninety-nine percent of Vaughn College graduates, eighty nine percent in their field of study, are placed in professional positions or choose to continue their education within one year. The institution serves many first-generation college students and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. SpaceX's next astronaut mission for NASA has been pushed to November following an issue with its rocket engines NASA's next mission with SpaceX will launch "no sooner than early-to-mid November," the agency announced Saturday. That mission, called Crew-1, will ferry four astronauts to the International Space Station and back. The launch was previously slated for Halloween. The delay allows SpaceX to investigate an issue with its Falcon 9 rocket engines. NASA's four-astronaut team will have to wait a little longer to visit the International Space Station. The agency announced Saturday that Crew-1, its joint mission with SpaceX, won't take off until at least early-to-mid November. The mission was previously scheduled for 2:40 a.m. ET on October 31. The latest delay allows SpaceX to evaluate an issue with its Falcon 9 rocket engines during a recent test launch. The rocket's gas generators demonstrated abnormal behavior, NASA said in a statement, though it didn't specify what went wrong. SpaceX aborted a scheduled launch of its Falcon 9 rocket on October 2 after a gas generator saw an unexpected rise in pressure. This isn't the first time SpaceX has delayed Crew-1, the company's first official, contracted astronaut mission for NASA. The mission was originally slated to launch as early as September. It was pushed back until Halloween to better coordinate with the schedules of other cosmonauts and astronauts going to and from the ISS. NASA said it could have more information on the engine problem in a matter of days. "The teams are actively working this finding on the engines," Kathy Lueder, associate administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "We should be a lot smarter within the coming week." Meet the Crew-1 team Crew-1 includes NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, and Victor Glover, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Hopkins is slated to be the mission's commander, Glover the pilot, and Walker and Noguchi mission specialists. Of the crew members, Glover is the only one who hasn't been in space before, but he has logged more than 3,000 hours of flying experience. Noguchi is the most experienced member of the team: He has flown on Russia's Soyuz capsule and the US Space Shuttle. Come launch time, nine Merlin engines will lift the Falcon 9 rocket – and SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship — off the launch pad. When the rocket goes beyond the Earth's atmosphere, its first stage will detach from the spaceship. Its engines will then fire up again to steer the first stage to a predetermined landing site. The rocket's second stage will ultimately propel the ship into orbit toward the ISS. The Crew-1 team plans to stay on the ISS for the standard six months. During that time, they'll conduct space walks, do science experiments, and work on regular station maintenance. With the Crew-1 mission now scheduled for later this fall, the astronauts' stay on the ISS will overlap even more with that of the Crew-2 mission, scheduled for spring 2021. Another team will arrive at the ISS before then: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are slated to blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket on Wednesday, October 14. SpaceX is contracted for at least six planned ISS missions as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. By partnering with SpaceX, NASA has reduced its reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecrafts, which have recently cost up to $90 million per seat. Before the Demo-2 mission, NASA hadn't been able to launch its own astronauts on American rockets or spacecraft since 2011, when it ended the space-shuttle program. A seat on a SpaceX capsule is projected to cost $55 million, not including the funding NASA gave SpaceX to develop its new Crew Dragon spaceship. Through its Commercial Crew Program, NASA is also funding the development of a new spaceship from Boeing. The company has launched one uncrewed test mission of that capsule, called Starliner, but it hit technical difficulties and was unable to dock with the space station as planned. Boeing plans to launch a follow-up Starliner demo in December. https://www.yahoo.com/news/spacexs-next-astronaut-mission-nasa-221453894.html CAAi achieves City & Guilds Assured status CAA International (CAAi), the technical cooperation and training arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA), has been awarded City & Guilds Assured status for its Aviation Security training programmes. The prestigious Assured recognition is a symbol of learning excellence and reassurance that professional training meets the high standards set by City & Guilds. Sophie Jones, Head of Operations and Training at CAAi commented: “We are delighted to have received City & Guilds Assured status. It is an excellent achievement, and we are proud to be leading the way in providing the global aviation community with aviation security training that meets the highest quality standards.” CAAi’s City & Guilds Assured courses commence from October 2020 with both virtual and face-to-face classroom learning methods. Participants will receive a City & Guilds certificate upon completion of their training programme. Students will also receive City & Guilds digital credentials, allowing participants to easily share their learning achievements electronically and online, on sites such as LinkedIn. Kevin Sawyer, Senior Manager of Aviation Security Development at CAAi added: “Gaining City & Guilds Assured status is an important milestone for our aviation security training and the acknowledgement that our training meets the highest standards is something we are very proud of. Given the ever-evolving threats faced by the aviation industry, the regulatory landscape is changing, and we believe key topics such as Security Culture, Performance-Based Oversight and Security Management Systems will play a key role in modernising aviation security. As we look to the future, regulatory standards and best practices need to be underpinned with quality assured, professional training designed and delivered by practicing experts.” Mandy Smith, Executive Director at City & Guilds highlighted: “In what is a tough period for the aviation industry, the commitment of the CAA to ensure high standards is reflected in their commitment to training, I am therefore, delighted that the CAA have met the Assured benchmark. We look forward to recognising their training and development programmes next year and beyond as they continue the incredibly important work they do to support the aviation industry.” For more information about CAAi’s City & Guilds Assured courses, please visit: www.caainternational.com/training About CAAi CAA International (CAAi) is the technical cooperation arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. CAAi provides regulatory advice, training, capacity building programmes and examination services to aviation regulators and industry organisations across the globe. Drawing on world-leading expertise from within the UK regulator, CAAi helps organisations design and implement regulatory best practice to comply with international regulatory standards. In 2019, CAAi trained over 2,500 aviation professionals and worked in over 60 countries. Contact: Stuart Coates Senior Manager International Marketing and Communications stuart.coates@caa.co.uk T. +44 (0)330 138 2226 Twitter: @CAAi_UK LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caa-international Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAAiUK/ Web: https://caainternational.com About City & Guilds Founded in 1878, The City and Guilds of London Institute was founded by the Corporation of the City of London and 16 livery companies (the Guilds), to protect and promote the standard of technical education. Over one million people earn a City & Guilds qualification every year, providing them with the skills they need to thrive in the workplace. City & Guilds understands the value of portable skills and globally recognised standards that enable people and organisations to succeed. It partners with Governments, employers and educators in over 50 countries, across five continents, to advise them on developing high-quality skills training that meets the needs of the global workforce, without compromising on local demands. https://www.cityandguilds.com/ Curt Lewis