Flight Safety Information [October 14, 2020] [No. 208] In This Issue : Incident: Republic E175 at Washington on Oct 9th 2020, bird strike : ProSafeT - SMS, Quality & Audit Management Software : Incident: United A320 at Chicago on Oct 12th 2020, hail strike : Mil Mi-17 - Fatal Accident (Afganistan) : AAIB report says Wizz Air airframe swap caused take-off issue : QUEENSLAND FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR DRONES TO BE GROUNDED : Pratt & Whitney cuts salaried workers as commercial aviation reels from COVID-19 : AEI Redelivers First B737-800SF Freighter Conversion to Allied Air : Delta Loses $5 Billion In 3rd Quarter, May Soon Furlough 1,700 Pilots : No jet orders, more 737 MAX cancellations for Boeing as crises drag on : Russian-US crew launches on fast track to the space station : SCSI Online Courses - Aircraft Accident Investigation : RTCA - free webinar: Modernizing the NAS October 21, 1pm ET Incident: Republic E175 at Washington on Oct 9th 2020, bird strike A Republic Airways Embraer ERJ-175 on behalf of United, registration N722YX performing flight UA-3435 from Indianapolis,IN to Washington Dulles,DC (USA), was on final approach to Dulles' runway 19R when a bird impacted the aircraft. The crew continued for a safe landing. The FAA reported the aircraft sustained "unknown damage". The aircraft remained on the ground for about 2 hours, then performed flight UA-3426 to Pittsburgh,PA (USA) and remained on the ground in Pittsburgh for about 21 hours before resuming service. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/RPA3435/history/20201009/1835Z/KIND/KIAD http://avherald.com/h?article=4ddcfe53&opt=0 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 Mil Mi-17 - Fatal Accident (Afganistan) Date:13-OCT-2020Time: Type:Mil Mi-17 Owner/operator:Afghan National Army (ANA) Registration:C/n / msn: Fatalities:Fatalities: 5 / Occupants:Other fatalities:4 Aircraft damage:Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location:Nawa-i-Barakzayi district, Helmand province - Afghanistan Phase:Take off Nature:Military Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: Upon takeoff, two Afghan National Army Mil Mi-17 helicopters collided in Helmand province, resulting in a total of nine fatalities. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/243843 AAIB report says Wizz Air airframe swap caused take-off issue A last minute airframe change on a Wizz Air UK flight caused incorrect passenger distribution information to be used prompting take-off issues according to an AAIB report. The flight from London Luton (LTN/EGGW) to Prague (PRG/LKPR) on 16th January 2020 was originally due to be operated by an Airbus A320 and the load sheet and passenger distribution information was set up accordingly. For operational reasons, this was changed to an Airbus A321 (G-WUKG) aircraft which is a longer aircraft which has 9 more rows of seats, 39 compared to the A320’s 30. The passenger distribution was not changed with the airframe swap meaning to many passengers were forward altering the aircrafts Centre of Gravity (CoG). The result was that when the pilot flying attempted to rotate the aircraft (lifting the nose) at take-off, the aircraft did not respond, the pilot tried again but the aircraft failed to respond again. As the aircraft had passed the V1 decision point, the pilot applied “maximum deflection” on the elevators to pitch the aircraft up and added more power allowing the aircraft to rotate and start climbing. According to the report when the aircraft was changed Wizz Airs Operational Control Centre in Budapest, Hungary, sent an automated message to the Operational Handling Department and Passenger Services Departments at Luton Airport, but this was not received due to a “technical issue”. As a result, the new information was entered into the relevant software for flight planning, but as the Passenger Services Department was not told of the change, the passenger seating plan was still set up for the Airbus A320. Once the aircraft had taken off it continued an uneventful flight to Prague and the pilot submitted a report to the AAIB after arriving in Prague and after finding that the passenger distribution did not match the load sheet they had been given. As part of that report, the commander completed a load trim sheet which showed the Aircrafts CoG was outside of the permitted flight envelope. Wizz Air Changes An internal investigation was carried out by Wizz Air UK and as a result they implimented the following changes: • Improve the passage of information between the OCC and the flight crew when a change of aircraft variant takes place. • Improve Ground Handling Agents’ awareness of the implications of a change in aircraft variant. • Distribute and make highly visible to all staff briefing material on this incident. • Include any variant change at the flight and cabin crew briefing. • Provide additional training for cabin crew on weight and balance distribution and its effects. • Produce a Safety Bulletin to provide staff with a more detailed description of the incident. • Issue a Crew Order (change to Operations Manual Part A) with enhanced awareness and guidance if suspicion is raised onboard. https://ukaviation.news/aaib-report-says-wizz-air-airframe-swap-caused-take-off-issue/ QUEENSLAND FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR DRONES TO BE GROUNDED Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has warned drone owners in the Kooralbyn area to keep their devices out of the sky. It comes as crews battle to contain a large bushfire in the Scenic Rim region, south-west of Brisbane, first reported on Monday. Significantly, the announcement comes after Australian Aviation reported in August that a rogue drone caused firefighting planes and helicopters to be grounded as they battled to contain a blaze threatening homes in a small Northern Territory town. NT Police superintendent Daniel Shean said the drone could have prevented firefighters from containing the blaze and urged owners to follow current regulations that specifically prohibits a drone being flown in a way that could be hazardous to an aircraft, or higher than 120 metres above ground level. In April, Australian Aviation reported how the number of ‘near encounters’ between drones and manned aircraft has doubled in three years – with 194 such occurrences in 2019, up from just 87 in 2016. The rise in reported cases is likely due to the explosion in drone ownership, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau now estimating there are at least 50,000, and possibly hundreds of thousands, of remote piloted crafts in Australia. While one has yet to cause an accident, the numbers will raise concerns that a more dangerous incident in future is inevitable. In Canada in 2017, for instance, a drone hit a commercial aircraft and damaged its wing, while in the UK a device flew directly over the wing of an Airbus 319 coming into land at London Gatwick. Earlier this month, CASA appealed to the public to find a “rogue” drone that was spotted flying close to an aircraft as it was approaching to land at Sydney Airport. The plane’s pilots spotted the one-metre device from the cockpit at about 1,200 metres on Monday, 20 July. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said the object was described as blue and possibly a quadcopter type – meaning it has four rotors. It was spotted in the Granville/North Parramatta area between 2pm and 3pm. https://australianaviation.com.au/2020/10/queensland-firefighters-call-for-drones-to-be-grounded/ Pratt & Whitney cuts salaried workers as commercial aviation reels from COVID-19 • Jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, reeling from the downturn in commercial aviation caused COVID-19, said Tuesday it will lay off salaried workers. The East Hartford subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. did not say how many workers or at which of its work sites in the U.S. and globally will be affected, but notifications will be completed by Thursday. In Connecticut, Pratt & Whitney makes engines in East Hartford and Middletown. Raytheon cutting 15,000 jobs at Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace and corporate offices in response to slump in aviation » Salaried workers could include administrative employees, engineers and others. Workers who are members of the machinists union are not affected. In a statement, Pratt & Whitney said it made the “extremely difficult but necessary decision to implement an involuntary separation program” for salaried workers. It cited reduced commercial business due to COVID-19. “This has forced us to take further actions to align with current and future business demand in an evolving environment,” the manufacturer said. Tens of thousands of airline jobs could disappear if Congress and President Donald Trump fail to reach agreement on a second round of economic stimulus for the industry. Since the pandemic hit, thousands of flight attendants, baggage handlers, gate agents and others have received some financial help from Washington as part of $25 billion in grants and loans to the nation’s airlines. Companies agreed to not lay off employees through Sept. 30. Raytheon Technologies Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes said last month the commercial aviation and defense giant is cutting 15,000 jobs, or about 7.7% of its global workforce of nearly 200,000. The reductions are limited to Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace, a manufacturer of airline cockpit equipment, flight data components and other parts and materials. Military sales remain robust due to increased Pentagon spending. The April-to-June quarter was the worst three-month period for airlines, which faced an “unprecedented loss of revenue,” the International Air Transport Association said in a recent report. Revenue was down about 80% compared with the same quarter in 2019 “with almost full grounding of the passenger fleet despite strong cargo revenues,” the organization said. As a result, airlines “turned their focus on cutting expenses during this period,” IATA said. But operating costs were reduced by 50% year-over-year due to costs such as labor and maintenance costs, it said. Raytheon Technologies has gradually ratcheted up cost-cutting as the coronavirus drags on, even spiking in recent months. In mid-April, less than two weeks after its launch as a result of the combination of United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon Co., the conglomerate announced pay cuts and furloughs. Second-quarter sales at Pratt & Whitney fell 30%, to $3.6 billion, from the same period last year and posted a rare loss of $151 million. However, Pratt & Whitney posted an 11% increase in military sales, specifically engine production for the F-35 fighter jet manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., in the April-to-June quarter. It also reported a rise in parts sales and servicing on fighter jet platforms. Raytheon Technologies has scheduled its third-quarter financial release for Oct. 27. https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-pratt-whitney-layoffs-20201013-teyxoushungs7fbjzlk42vpfqm-story.html AEI Redelivers First B737-800SF Freighter Conversion to Allied Air MIAMI, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI) is pleased to announce the company has redelivered the first B737-800SF Freighter Conversion to Nigeria-based Allied Air. In March of this year, Allied Air entered into an agreement with AEI to provide the company with two B737-800SF Freighter Conversions with an option for two additional conversions. The delivered freighter (MSN 38646) is the youngest 737-800 in the world converted to date. Additionally, Allied Air is the first airline in Africa to own and operate a B737-800SF on the continent. Allied Air has recently used its existing fleet of freighter aircraft to assist the Nigerian government in distributing much needed medical supplies to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic – helping to save countless lives in the nation. Supplies transported include masks, PPE, and ventilators. Allied Air has provided this service to the Nigerian government free of charge. All modification touch labor was completed by the authorized AEI Conversion Center, Commercial Jet in Miami, Florida. Commercial Jet’s Dothan, Alabama facility conducted the aircraft painting at their state-of-the-art North American Exterior Refurbishment facility. The AEI converted B737-800SF freighter offers a main deck payload of up to 52,700 lbs. (23,904 kg) and incorporates eleven full height 88” x 125” container positions, plus an additional position for an AEP/AEH. The conversion also incorporates new floor beams aft of the wing box, a large 86” x 137” Main Cargo Door with a single vent door system, and a flexible Ancra Cargo Loading System. Additionally, the AEI B737-800SF includes a rigid 9g barrier, five supernumerary seats, a galley and full lavatory. When combined with proven reliability, the AEI converted B737-800SF will allow Allied Air to keep their aircraft in the air, generating revenue. About AEI Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI) is a global leader in the aircraft passenger-to-freighter conversion business and is the oldest conversion company in existence today. Since the company’s founding in 1958, AEI has developed over 130 Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) and has modified over 500 aircraft with the STCs. AEI helps its customers extend aircraft life and increase the overall value of aircraft assets by continuously focusing on dependable and flexible product offerings. AEI currently offers passenger-to-freighter conversions for the Boeing 737-800, 737-400, 737-300, MD-80 series, and CRJ200 aircraft. www.aeronautical-engineers.com. About Allied Air Allied Air was founded in 1998 by Valentine Tongo, the current MD/CEO and principal shareholder of Allied Air Limited. Captain Valentine Tongo is a seasoned airline pilot who has operated various aircraft types including the Boeing series 747,707 and the DC-10. He has also operated BAC 1-11 and the HS-125 aircraft. Over a period spanning more than 30 years he has acquired a wealth of experience and know-how in management and flight operations in the aviation industry. Allied Air commenced operations over twenty years ago and has successfully established an enviable brand identity as an outstanding Cargo Airline with scrupulous commitment to quality, dependable service delivery standards and an exemplary air safety record. The Airline is fully authorized and recognized by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority as a National Flag Carrier. Allied Air, which is the first IOSA certified cargo airline on the continent, is also the Designated Cargo Airline on numerous routes across Africa under the Bi-Lateral Services Agreement. With this new acquisition, Allied Air is set to upscale the quality and expand the coverage of its highly acclaimed efficient service delivery. With corporate headquarters and facilities at the Mohammed Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, Allied Air boasts of impressive state-of-the-art Transit Cargo and Warehousing Facilities. A highly skilled and well-motivated work force of over 120 staff run the Flight Operations, Engineering, Technical Records, Training and Cargo Document Processing Departments. AEI is proud to be associated with Allied Air which has offices in locations throughout Nigeria and Overseas offices in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels. AEI Contact: Robert T. Convey Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing +1 (818) 406-3666 rconvey@aeronautical-engineers.com https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/12/2107028/0/en/AEI-Redelivers-First-B737-800SF-Freighter-Conversion-to-Allied-Air.html Delta Loses $5 Billion In 3rd Quarter, May Soon Furlough 1,700 Pilots With summer vacation travel weaker than expected and business travel a fraction of what it used to be, the losses continue to mount at Delta Air Lines. Delta, the nation's second largest airline by the number of passengers flown last year, reports losing $5.4 billion in the third quarter of this year, as the travel industry continues to suffer from low demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Add that to the $5.7 billion loss reported in the second quarter, Delta's total losses due to the pandemic rise to more than $11 billion. Despite assurances from Delta and other airlines that transmission of COVID-19 is relatively rare on planes, most would be travelers steered clear of flying. After implementing deep airplane cleaning protocols and requiring passengers and crew to wear face masks, the industry had hoped for a boost in air travel over the normally busy summer months. But after a brief uptick around the July 4 holiday, sharp increases in COVID-19 cases in many cities and states and quarantine mandates for Americans traveling abroad had a chilling effect on air travel demand, and the number of people flying in July, August and September was around 70% lower than a year ago. Delta CEO Ed Bastian suggests it may take a lot longer than initially thought for air travel demand to return. "We do believe it could still be two years or more until we achieve a normalized revenue environment," Bastian said on a conference call with reporters and analysts Tuesday. "Until then, we will be smaller in the short term, but also more agile and more efficient." Bastian acknowledged that more profitable business travel, which is down about 85% from a year ago, may take even longer to fully bounce back, with many business trips likely being replaced by meetings and conferences on Zoom, GoToMeeting, and other video conferencing platforms. "We could be looking at anywhere from 10% to 20% reduction in the in the next couple of years when we get to that new normal of business travel," he added. Some aviation industry analysts find that revelation a concerning sign. "Business travel was 50% of their revenue at one point," Peter McNally, an analyst at Third Bridge Group in New York, told the AP. "It's a market that Delta has made the core of their business, so they will be forced to compete harder on the leisure side of the market to make up for that loss." Delta executives say they are beginning to see an uptick in bookings by leisure travelers for the November and December holidays. "It's slow, but it's steady — week by week, they are coming back," Bastian said of passengers. With so few people flying, Delta has parked scores of planes and has plans to retire many of its older jets, about 400 of them, by 2025. Delta has reduced its cash burn rate from a peak of close $100 million a day in April and $27 million a day over the summer, but the airline is still losing a little more than $18 million a day, as revenue in July, August and September was down 76 percent from the same three months last year. Near record air travel demand in the third quarter last year helped Delta record a profit of $1.5 billion. About 18,000 Delta employees, close to 20% of the airline's work force, have taken early retirement or other incentive packages to leave the company voluntarily. In addition, close to 40,000 employees have taken voluntary unpaid leaves of absence. Those voluntary actions save the airline $1.9 billion, and unlike competitors American and United, Delta has been able to avoid employee layoffs and furloughs, thus far. But that could change Nov. 1. Delta is asking its pilots to accept steep pay cuts, and if negotiations with the pilots union fail to produce an agreement, the airline could begin to furlough 1,700 pilots next month. Delta received $5.5 billion in federal grants to cover payroll costs from April through September — which is its share of the $25 billion given to the industry as part of the CARES act. Delta still has about $1.3 billion of that aid left that it can continue to use to keep employees on the payroll. "We've stretched those dollars out," Bastian said, adding that he supports industry efforts to secure additional airline aid from Congress. There is bipartisan support in Washington for an extension for the payroll support program, but a deadlock over a broader coronavirus relief package has stalled action on assistance for airlines. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/13/923474455/delta-loses-5-billion-in-3rd-quarter-may-soon-furlough-1-700-pilots No jet orders, more 737 MAX cancellations for Boeing as crises drag on SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co lost another three orders for its grounded 737 MAX jetliner in September, and delivered 11 total aircraft to customers, less than half the number from the same month a year ago, company data showed on Tuesday. The closely watched monthly snapshot also shows that quality flaws on the 787 Dreamliner continue to hamper efforts to develop an alternative cash cow to the 737 MAX, grounded after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. As Boeing works to win regulatory approval, potentially early next month, to fly the 737 MAX again in the United States, the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt demand for jets from both Boeing and European rival Airbus . Boeing said it lost orders for two 737 MAX jets from leasing company BOC Aviation and another jet from an unidentified customer in September. For 2020 through September, the number of MAX orders canceled, or removed from Boeing's official backlog when it applies stricter accounting standards, stood at 1,006 aircraft. Canceled MAX orders, including those where buyers converted one type of jet to a different model, was 436 jets - and 448 for all jets across Boeing's portfolio, Boeing said. On the delivery side, Boeing handed to airline customers 10 twin-aisle jets in September, down from 25 a year earlier and 12 in August. That brings total deliveries to 98 for the first nine months of 2020, down from 301 aircraft for the same period a year ago. Deliveries are a closely watched metric for investors since airlines hand over the bulk of the money for an order when they pick up their planes at Boeing. The September delivery tally included one P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and three freighters: one 747 to United Parcel Service , one 767 to FedEx Corp and one 777 to Lufthansa Cargo, Boeing said. It also included seven 787 Dreamliner jets: one for leasing company AerCap Holdings , three for United Airlines , two for Turkish Airlines and one 787-10 to Taiwan's EVA Air, the planemaker said. Boeing will face largest inventory of built new aircraft in its 104-year history, as "the number of cancellations is increasing literally by every week," Air Lease Corp Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Házy said on an Aviation Week podcast on Tuesday. "Boeing has to make some tough decisions by the end of the year on how to deal with this," Udvar-Házy said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/boeing-reports-more-737-max-150508756.html Russian-US crew launches on fast track to the space station MOSCOW (AP) — A trio of space travelers launched successfully to the International Space Station, for the first time using a fast-track maneuver to reach the orbiting outpost in just three hours. NASA’s Kate Rubins along with Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled Wednesday morning from the Russia-leased Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan for a six-month stint on the station. For the first time, they tried a two-orbit approach and docked with the space station in just a little over three hours after lift-off. Previously it took twice as long for crews to reach the station. They will join the station’s NASA commander, Chris Cassidy, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who have been aboard the complex since April and are scheduled to return to Earth in a week. Speaking during Tuesday’s pre-launch news conference at Baikonur, Rubins emphasized that the crew spent weeks in quarantine at the Star City training facility outside Moscow and then on Baikonur to avoid any threat from the coronavirus. “We spent two weeks at Star City and then 17 days at Baikonur in a very strict quarantine,” Rubins said. “During all communications with crew members, we were wearing masks. We made PCR tests twice and we also made three times antigen fast tests.” She said she was looking forward to scientific experiments planned for the mission. “We’re planning to try some really interesting things like bio-printing tissues and growing cells in space and, of course, continuing our work on sequencing DNA,” Rubins said. Ryzhikov, who will be the station’s skipper, said the crew will try to pinpoint the exact location of a leak at a station’s Russian section that has slowly leaked oxygen. The small leak hasn’t posed any immediate danger to the crew. “We will take with us additional equipment which will allow us to detect the place of this leak more precisely,” he told reporters. “We will also take with us additional improved hermetic material which will allow to fix the leak.” In November, Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are set to greet NASA’s SpaceX first operational Crew Dragon mission, bringing NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon vehicle. It follows a successful Demo-2 mission earlier this year. The Crew Dragon mission was pushed back from Oct. 31 into November, and no new date has been set yet. The delay is intended to give SpaceX more time to conduct tests and review data from an aborted Falcon 9 launch earlier this month. https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-us-trio-astronauts-launches-055234358.html RTCA free webinar: Modernizing the NAS October 21, 1pm ET Moderated by Gene Hayman of Collins Aerospace, the panel will discuss how government and industry are collaborating on defining the future frameworks to create a more dynamic airspace (NAS) that enables the new capabilities needed for integration of new entrants. The panel is followed by a Tech Talk: Air Traffic Control during COVID-19. REGISTER: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4258446327551992590?source=Flight+Safety+Blog Curt Lewis