Flight Safety Information [November 25, 2020] [No. 238] In This Issue : Incident: ANZ AT72 near Auckland on Nov 25th 2020, lightning strike : Beechcraft V35 Bonanza - Fatal Accident (Virginia) : EASA expects to clear Boeing 737 MAX in January 2021 : Lion A330 excursion prompts new guidance on crew proficiency : MAN FACES PRISON FOR ALLEGEDLY FLYING DRONE INTO LAPD HELICOPTER : 10 Drone Companies Receive Airworthiness Criteria from FAA : GAMA Welcomes Expanded Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement on Pilot Training : Japanese Government Suggests Merging ANA & Japan Airlines : Philippine Airlines plans to seek court protection from creditors : CAU LAUNCHES ITS AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AND MANY PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED! : Failed electric jet startup Zunum sues Boeing for fraud and misuse of trade secrets : SpaceX targeting next week for Starship's first high-altitude test flight : RTCA Free Technical Webinar 11/30: Interference Risk on Radar Altimeters from Planned 5G Telecommunication Systems Incident: ANZ AT72 near Auckland on Nov 25th 2020, lightning strike An Air New Zealand Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, registration ZK-MVF performing flight NZ-5814 from Wellington to Hamilton (New Zealand), was enroute at FL190 about 50nm west of Taupo (New Zealand) when the crew decided to divert to Auckland suspecting they had received a lightning strike. The aircraft landed safely on Auckland's runway 05R about 40 minutes later. The remainder of the flight was cancelled, the passenger were rebooked onto another flight from Auckland to Hamilton. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Auckland about 13 hours after landing. A thunderstorm warning was in effect at the time for the area around Taupo, Rotorua to Whakatane with the weather front moving over the west coast from west to east. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dfaee02&opt=0 Beechcraft V35 Bonanza - Fatal Accident (Virginia) Date: 24-NOV-2020 Time: c. 09:30 Type: Beechcraft V35 Bonanza Owner/operator: private Registration: N35AW C/n / msn: D-8069 Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Deltaville, Middlesex County, VA - United States of America Phase: Unknown Nature: Private Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The aircraft impacted a residential structure and the terrain in northwest Deltaville, Middlesex County, Virginia. The sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries and the airplane was partially consumed by the subsequent fire. There were no reported injuries on the ground. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=245161 EASA expects to clear Boeing 737 MAX in January 2021 The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a Proposed Airworthiness Directive (PAD) concerning the Boeing 737 MAX for public consultation. The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded by EASA on March 12, 2019, following two accidents with total loss of aircraft in which 346 people died. EASA conducted an own objective and independent assessment of the 737 MAX, working closely with the FAA and Boeing. The EASA Proposed Airworthiness Directive is now open for a 28-day consultation period. Once that ends, EASA will take time to review the comments made, before publishing its final Airworthiness Directive. That final publication is expected from mid-January 2021 and will constitute the formal ungrounding decision of the plane for all 737 MAX aircraft operated by operators from EASA Member States. After the return to service, EASA has committed to monitor the plane closely in-service, to allow for early detection of any problems that may arise. In summary, the EASA Proposed Airworthiness Directive mandates the following main actions: • Software updates for the flight control computer, including the MCAS • Software updates to display an alert in case of disagreement between the two AoA sensors • Physical separation of wires routed from the cockpit to the stabiliser trim motor • Updates to flight manuals: operational limitations and improved procedures to equip pilots to understand and manage all relevant failure scenarios • Mandatory training for all 737 MAX pilots before they fly the plane again, and updates of the initial and recurrent training of pilots on the MAX • Tests of systems including the AoA sensor system • An operational readiness flight, without passengers, before commercial usage of each aircraft to ensure that all design changes have been correctly implemented and the aircraft successfully and safely brought out of its long period of storage. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2020/11/24/easa-expects-to-clear-boeing-737-max-in-january-2021/ Lion A330 excursion prompts new guidance on crew proficiency Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) has advised the country’s civil aviation body to develop guidelines surrounding proficiency and training exemptions in light of the coronavirus outbreak, following a runway excursion involving a Lion Air Airbus A330-300. Releasing its preliminary investigation report for the September incident, the NTSC says that the Indonesian Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) should also require its airlines to “adopt existing guidance issued by ICAO”. This was after it found that Lion Air “did not have any guidance” to manage proficiency and training exemptions at the operational level. In May, the Indonesian DGCA issued two circulars surrounding training and safety during the pandemic. The first, on 26 May, was an exemption to proficiency checks, which will allow Indonesian operators to assign a pilot who has not conducted a proficiency check in the past six months as the pilot-in-command, or a pilot who has not had a check in the past year to be the second-in-command. This was done in light of reduced flying activity from the coronavirus outbreak. A day later, the DGCA issued a second circular, relating to an extension of proficiency checks, in light of travel restrictions limiting access to full flight simulators around the world. The NTSC also found that prior to the incident, that the co-pilot had not flown in the last 90 days, while the pilot-in-command, an A330 instructor, had only flown close to three hours in the last 90 days. “The absence of guidance may place the two pilots, who were not recently [assigned as flight crew], as a hazard for flight safety,” NTSC investigators note. The 15 September incident broke two runway lights, and left “deep cuts” on wheels 5 and 6 of the aircraft, along with patches of grass on the left main landing gear. No injuries were reported, among the undisclosed number of passengers and crew. A Lion Air Airbus A330-300 veered off the runway at Kuala Namu temporarily, before realigning with the runway. The A330, registered PK-LEG, was operating a flight from Jakarta to Kuala Namu, near Medan. The pilot flying noticed thick cumulonimbus clouds while on approach to Runway 05 in Kuala Namu, and requested to switch its direction of arrival to Runway 23. NTSC investigators note that the pilot’s request was rejected by the airport’s air traffic control officer. No reasons were provided. The pilot flying then attempted to hand control of the aircraft to his colleague, who was the A330 instructor, but the latter refused it. The pilot flying did so, considering the weather conditions and his lesser flying experience on the aircraft. “The pilots noticed that an aircraft ahead made go around due to windshear and a pilot of another aircraft behind [them] requested to change runway to 23 for landing”, and repeated their request to change the runway, the NTSC states. This time, they got the go ahead, and proceeded to approach Runway 23. At approximately 1,000ft, the pilot flying handed command of the aircraft to his colleague. As the aircraft approached the runway, the pilots noticed that the aircraft was fast nearer the left runway edge, and the pilot-in-command attempted to steer the aircraft to the right by applying the right rudder pedal. The NTSC notes that the “left main landing gear travelled out from the runway…and returned to the runway centerline”. The incident also left cuts on the aircraft landing gear. Tire marks on the runway indicate the aircraft veered about 30m out of the runway, before travelling back to the centerline for about 1,500m. Inspections revealed marks on the runway from the excursion. At the time of landing, meteorological information indicates visibility of 700m, with thunderstorm and rain. Wind velocity was between 10 to 20kts. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, with the NTSC analysing data from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, before releasing a final report into the incident. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/lion-a330-excursion-prompts-new-guidance-on-crew-proficiency/141288.article MAN FACES PRISON FOR ALLEGEDLY FLYING DRONE INTO LAPD HELICOPTER SEPTEMBER COLLISION PROMPTED EMERGENCY LANDING, NOT THE FIRST An FBI agent trained in counter-drone operations to protect firefighters worked with Los Angeles police to track down a 22-year-old man who confessed, according to a federal criminal complaint, to launching his quadcopter to observe police activity around midnight on September 18 and flew his DJI Mavic into an LAPD helicopter. According to a criminal complaint filed November 18 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Andrew Rene Hernandez confessed in an FBI interview in October to his ill-advised night launch around midnight on September 18, when city police converged on a pharmacy near the defendant’s Hollywood residence. “Hernandez was curious, got his drone, and flew his drone to see what was going on,” the criminal complaint states, recounting the defendant’s statement to FBI Special Agent William Richau. “He stated that it is hard to see the drone at night, but that he recalled seeing the drone’s green light facing him as it was ascending. As the drone was ascending, Hernandez looked down for a couple of seconds at the drone controller, which was attached to his phone. As Hernandez looked up again at his drone, he saw the drone being ‘smacked’ by the helicopter, which was hovering. Hernandez stated that the drone went down and landed at a nearby residence.” The falling quadcopter broke the rear window of a 2020 Toyota Corolla near the pharmacy where police had converged to investigate a burglary call. It was found by city police officers, who recovered “gray plastic pieces of the drone,” along with the camera and digital memory card. Los Angeles police operate the largest fleet of municipal law enforcement helicopters in the country, and the flight safety officer of the LAPD Air Support Division told the FBI that, “based on his observations of the LAPD helicopter after it was hit by the drone, he believed that, if the drone had struck the helicopter’s main rotor instead of the fuselage, it could have brought the helicopter down.” The flight crew told the FBI that they had seen the drone and attempted to avoid it by climbing. The drone struck the helicopter’s fuselage near the nose. The flight crew returned to Hooper Heliport, where the LAPD is based, and made an “emergency landing.” As the police helicopter crew departed the scene of the burglary investigation to land and inspect damage to the helicopter, city police scoured the area for the drone, at the helicopter crew’s request, and soon found it, or what was left of it. Some parts had come to rest inside the damaged car, others on the street. A witness pointed police to Hernandez’s residence, telling them that drones were frequently flown from that residence. One piece of recovered wreckage had a serial number, according to the complaint, and the aircraft’s digital memory card was also collected by city police. U.S. Magistrate Judge John McDermott issued a warrant October 1, authorizing the search and recovery of the digital contents of the drone. Richau, who has been stationed at Los Angeles International Airport since 2016 and joined the newly formed FBI Wildland Fire Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Team in July, recovered images from the memory card that showed Hernandez, his car, and his residence. A search warrant for the defendant’s residence was issued October 21, the criminal complaint states. The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California announced Hernandez’s arrest November 19, and noted that Hernandez is believed to be the first person in the country to face a criminal charge for unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. Hernandez faces up to one year in prison if convicted of the misdemeanor. Hernandez is not the first drone pilot to carelessly fly into a collision with a helicopter or other aircraft, however; he is not even the first to do so in Los Angeles. The NSTB concluded in July, after forensic analysis, that the object that a news helicopter struck in December 2019, leading to a forced landing, was most likely a drone. At the time, that incident was one of six known or probable collisions involving manned and unmanned aircraft in U.S. airspace. Other notable parallels include a 2017 collision involving a DJI Phantom that was flown, by a recreational pilot, thousands of feet beyond the pilot’s possible line of sight and collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that was on patrol protecting the United Nations General Assembly. To date, only one of these midair drone collisions with manned aircraft has involved a remote pilot certificated under FAR Part 107. Federal records show Hernandez does not hold any FAA pilot certificate. The U.S. Attorney noted in the press release that Hernandez was taken into custody during National Drone Safety Awareness Week. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/november/23/man-faces-prison-for-allegedly-flying-drone-into-helicopter GAMA Welcomes Expanded Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement on Pilot Training General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) WASHINGTON, D.C. – The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) commends the signing of two new annexes to the EU-U.S. Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement on Cooperation in the Regulation of Civil Aviation Safety. These new annexes reach agreements on pilot licenses and flight simulation training devices. “The signing of these two new annexes mark a significant milestone in the ongoing work to improve aviation safety and streamline acceptance of pilot licensing and training. We applaud the work done between the EU and the U.S. to finalize and reach agreement on these long-awaited annexes. GAMA has been at the forefront of advocating for the harmonization of license validations and recognition of flight simulator certifications,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA President and CEO. “We will continue to work for growth and advancements within the general and business aviation industry and look forward to expanding bilateral aviation safety cooperation.” The new pilot licensing annex will allow for reciprocal conversions of certain FAA pilots certificates and EU Part-FCL licenses. The new flight simulation training annex provides for validation of Flight Simulation Training Devices for reciprocal use in pilot training in the EU and U.S. https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/trade-associations-events/press-release/21163874/general-aviation-manufacturers-association-gama-gama-welcomes-expanded-bilateral-aviation-safety-agreement-on-pilot-training 10 Drone Companies Receive Airworthiness Criteria from FAA Ten unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) received airworthiness criteria for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the next step towards integrating small UAS into the national airspace. Ten unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) received airworthiness criteria for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the next step towards integrating small UAS into the national airspace, according to a Nov. 23 press release. The UAS given special class aircraft criteria for airworthiness certification are all electric, range from five to 89 pounds, and include fixed-wing and rotorcraft. The 10 applicants recognized by the FAA include 3D Robotics, Airobotics, Amazon, Flirtey, Flytrex, Matternet, Percepto, Telegrid, Wingcopter, and Zipline. “The development of airworthy, durable, and reliable unmanned aircraft is a crucial step forward for this innovative sector,” Dr. Michael C. Romanowski, director of Aircraft Certification Service Policy and Innovation, said in a press statement. “Type certification will help increase both public and regulatory confidence in drone technology as operations become more advanced.” The criteria released by the FAA for UAS is unlike traditional type certification because it certifies the system by looking at performance and risk calibration, Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics, told Avionics International. “What it really means is rather than certifying every nut and bolt and component, let's just treat the system as a system and say look if you say the system does X, prove it does X, build up enough statistical power over thousands of flights that we're confident that it really does X, then we don't really care what's inside it,” Anderson said. “Drones are essentially using off the shelf parts and you can't control the entire supply chain the way an aerospace company would and so what it allows us to do is to sort of treat these vehicles like what they really are which is consumer electronic devices that update very quickly and innovate very quickly.” Anderson said this will allow UAS manufacturers to operate on a smartphone innovation cycle instead of the traditional aviation certification timeframe which can take years. This will allow new versions of a UAS to come out without having to re-certify it every time. “Basically, drones operate on a kind of a smartphone-like innovation cycle. So, every six months a new version comes out and they have a lifespan of about two to three years. It’s very different from traditional aviation and what that says for performance-based is, hey you know if you need to switch out your nuts and bolts and change one motor for another as long as it's not a critical part, go for it. You don't have to re-certify. And that allows us to basically be the drone companies that we really are, which is fast and innovative without a huge regulatory burden.” The released criteria are just the next step in certification and do not indicate that these companies have achieved airworthiness certification by the FAA. The public has 30 days to comment on the applicant’s criteria and then the FAA will publish a final draft of the airworthiness criteria. The applicants will then prove they meet requirements before being certified. Anderson worked with the FAA on the criteria and ran the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) process that goes alongside these requirements. “The way regulations work is that the government says what they want and then they turn to industry to say how to achieve it,” Anderson said. “So, in this case, the FAA gave the performances they want, and they turn to ASTM to define how to do the tests necessary to satisfy that.” The airworthiness criteria released by the FAA include general requirements like a concept of operations; design and construction requirements such as control stations, software, and cyber security; operating limitations and information like flight manuals and instructions for continued airworthiness; and testing requirements such as durability and reliability. Anderson said this step in the process is about recognizing that the process has started and that companies have defined the designs of their unmanned aircraft. While 3D Robotics and other companies have already completed demonstrations, some will need to complete those before moving to the production certificate. “It’s one thing to certify that a vehicle is airworthy, it is another thing to certify that all your vehicles are airworthy,” Anderson said. “A production certificate is where we all are, most of us are, right now and that hopefully will be done with that by Q1 but only then can we actually start to take advantage of the permissions afforded by type certification and that's when it gets exciting, that's when we can do the stuff we really care about.” The things these companies will be able to do once getting a production certificate include beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations and night flying. Anderson said, most importantly, they can start looking at the pilot to aircraft ratio. “It's crazy, I've been in this industry now for almost 13 years and we still haven't achieved drones,” Anderson said. “We haven't really achieved autonomy. It is still one operator on the ground and a vehicle in the air and guys might as well be flying it for all the efficiencies we've achieved. It's only once you can amplify or extend human abilities to one operator and 10s or hundreds of thousands of vehicles operating autonomously that's when you achieve the vision that we've all had in mind for drones all along.” Anderson said 3D Robotics has a one pilot to 20 UAS ratio in its plan. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2020/11/24/10-drone-companies-receive-airworthiness-criteria-faa/ Japanese Government Suggests Merging ANA & Japan Airlines A Japanese government advisor has suggested that ANA and Japan Airlines should consider merging as the crisis continues. With both carriers needing government aid in the coming months, it might make sense for them to merge. The news comes weeks after South Korean giants Korean Air and Asiana announced merger plans as well. Changes in the market According to a Bloomberg report, the merger idea has been floated by Heizo Takenaka, a former minister and advisor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. He has also suggested making bold changes to the Japanese aviation landscape, including adding billions in capital to airlines. In an interview, Mr. Takenaka said that providing billions in aid is usually seen as unfairly distorting the market. However, the current crisis has allowed governments to inject cash and make drastic policy shifts like never before, something he believes Japan must do as well to remain competitive. He mentions Lufthansa’s €9bn ($10.7bn) bailout from the German government as one example of these policies, along with many others. Speaking about Japanese airlines, Mr. Takenaka said (translated from Japanese), “It is natural to stop bleeding by financing with the Development Bank of Japan or using the existing system, but I feel that the time will come when we will have to do it within a larger system. I will do it.” Possible merger The most interesting suggestion came about a possible merger, where Mr. Takenaka said, “ANA and JAL should come together at this time.” While this would certainly not be easy, now would be an opportunity for such a bold mechanism. ANA and Japan Airlines (JAL) are both major international and domestic airlines, carrying nearly 100 million passengers combined. However, the carriers tend to be natural rivals, operating similar fleets and destinations. A merger between the two create one of the biggest airlines in Asia, placing it in the top five. While no plans have been formalized, the news of the merger has airline shareholders very excited. Stocks of ANA’s stock price surged from losses to gains upon hearing the news, while JAL stocks rose over 7%. Is it a good idea? While an airline merger would reduce overall costs, it does come with many drawbacks. The loss of one major carrier would be a great blow to competition in the massive Japanese market, possibly causing higher fares on domestic routes. For now, any talk of a merger premature and there is no certainty that it will even happen. While both carriers are financially struggling, domestic traffic is rebounding well and a vaccine could speed an international recovery. https://simpleflying.com/ana-japan-airlines-merger/ Philippine Airlines plans to seek court protection from creditors • Flag carrier pursuing job cuts, fleet reductions and fresh $505m lifeline • • Philippine Airlines, the nation's flag carrier, is fighting for its survival amid the coronavirus pandemic. MANILA -- Philippine Airlines is poised to seek court protection for its debt restructuring as the pandemic-hit flag carrier fights for survival, Nikkei Asia has learned. The company, which is cutting around 2,700 jobs, or a third of its workforce, is also looking to return around 20 of its leased aircraft to relieve a financial burden amounting to at least $1 billion and raise $505 million "for post-restructuring liquidity requirements." These plans were disclosed by airline officials during an online town hall meeting with employees and in a separate meeting with the Department of Finance last week, according to people briefed about the matter and meeting materials reviewed by Nikkei. The plans for a court-backed restructuring come amid deepening financial distress brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. Philippine Airlines' listed parent PAL Holdings recorded a net loss of 29 billion pesos ($603 million) from January to September, three times larger than the 8.4 billion pesos loss a year ago. During the same period, revenue shrank to 45 billion pesos from 118 billion pesos due to widespread lockdowns imposed to fight the virus. PAL Holdings also declared a 24 billion peso capital shortfall as of end-September. President Gilbert Santa Maria told employees during the townhall meeting that the process was necessary to help the airline survive the pandemic. The management is also said to be looking to avoid a scenario in which an administrator would decide the airline's fate -- or, even worse, an asset liquidation. "Philippine Airlines management and stakeholders continue to work on a comprehensive recovery and restructuring plan that will enable PAL to emerge financially stronger from the current global crisis," the company said on Wednesday. "We will make the necessary disclosures at the proper time, once details are finalized. In the meantime, we continue to gradually increase our flights operated on most of our international and domestic routes in line with market recovery." The airline, which is partly owned by Japan's ANA Holdings, is also looking to raise $505 million through "debtor in possession" financing to be used "for post-restructuring liquidity requirements," according to meeting materials reviewed by Nikkei. Of that total, $255 million is expected to be raised by Philippine Airlines' controlling shareholder, tycoon Lucio Tan, and $250 million from private and government banks. Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, who oversees state banks, said the department has been informed about the Philippine Airlines' plans, including seeking court protection from creditors. "PAL informed the DOF of their plans last week but gave no details on the assistance they may need from us," Dominguez said in a mobile message to Nikkei. Dominguez has previously said the government can assist the airlines, but the private sector must take the lead in the industry's recovery. The Lucio Tan group has already made a series of capital infusions to keep the airline afloat, including: $225 million in deposits for future stock subscription, $122 million in advances in March and $74 million in non-aviation asset sales, according to materials reviewed by Nikkei. This would not be the first time for Philippine Airlines to enter a court-assisted restructuring. In 1999, the company was placed under receivership amid the Asian financial crisis and labor woes. At the same time, it is not the only carrier to seek court protection amid the pandemic-induced turmoil in the aviation industry. Its regional peer Thai Airways and bigger airlines in Europe and Latin America have also taken a similar legal route to survive the COVID-19 crisis. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Philippine-Airlines-plans-to-seek-court-protection-from-creditors CAU LAUNCHES ITS AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AND MANY PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED! California Aeronautical University (CAU) launches their Aircraft Maintenance Technology program and many prospective students could not be more excited! Over the past five years, CAU has received an overwhelming amount interest in the AMT program. The requests have been coming in frequently leaving many prospective applicants chomping at the bit awaiting the AMT program launch. CAU has established itself as the premier aeronautical university on the West Coast, providing training and career opportunities through its professional pilot and aviation business degree programs. As the demand for aviation support professionals presents opportunities in the aviation industry, CAU will be offering the aviation maintenance technology (AMT) program starting in March 2021 and has begun enrolling students. “I am excited, as this program will help train the next generation of qualified aviation mechanics. Filling this void is part of the strategic vision and necessity for our aviation industry—CAU will play a role in that urgency!” noted CAU Provost Dr. Michael Berry. “There is a great shortage of young, dedicated men and women who are able to inspect, repair and certify the airworthiness of general aviation aircraft.” CAU has received an overwhelming amount interest in the AMT program. The requests have been coming in frequently, leaving many prospective applicants chomping at the bit awaiting the program launch. CAU began its planning in 2017, and a foundational meeting was conducted to establish the path for the approval needed to launch the program. Following that meeting, CAU established curriculum material and textbooks that included countless hours of writing and preparing. CAU had on-campus inspections by the FAA and earned the Part 147 AMT Certificate on September 23rd. “When we set out to promote our professional pilot and businesses aviation degree programs, we were amazed at the overwhelming interest in the potential of an AMT program here at California Aeronautical University and knew we had to work on its development,” said CAU President Matthew Johnston. The courses in the aviation maintenance technology program are designed to provide the necessary educational opportunities through classroom and laboratory instruction for a person to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to enter the industry as an entry-level airframe and powerplant (A&P) technician. Graduates will be eligible to take applicable FAA examinations. Upon successful completion of the written exams, graduates will be eligible to take the oral and practical examinations to complete the requirements for the FAA A&P Certificate. The program will run for seven terms, about 1 year and three months. Graduates may enter a number of employment areas, such as general aviation, fixed-base operations, executive aircraft services, major airlines, aircraft contractors, modification operations, and manufacturers as A&P technicians or technical writers. Students who apply and are accepted into the program have the ability to stay in the CAU student housing at the Bakersfield campus, allowing them to focus on their studies and take part in the CAU culture where they eat, sleep, and breathe aviation. California Aeronautical UniversityCAU prepares students for exciting careers in aviation. Serving students from all over the country, the University offers professional pilot degree programs and other aviation-related training programs from its unparalleled purpose-built flight training facility at Meadows International Airport in Bakersfield, California, as well as its Flight Center locations in Oxnard and San Diego, California. The University has developed career opportunities for its graduates with airlines across the nation, and offers financial aid and scholarships to those who qualify. For information, visit www.calaero.edu or call (661) 615-5915. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/november/27/cau-launches-aircraft-maintenance-technology-program Zunum Aero Failed electric jet startup Zunum sues Boeing for fraud and misuse of trade secrets The aviation startup blames Boeing for its financial collapse In 2017, Zunum Aero was flying high. The Kirkland, Washington-based aviation startup came out of stealth mode with bold plans to build a fleet of 12-seat hybrid electric jets for short, regional hops between cities. The company, which had received millions of dollars from the venture arms of Boeing and JetBlue, said it would be ready to fly by 2022. Not long after, those dreams came crashing down to earth. In 2018, Zunum ran out of cash, forcing it to lay off nearly all of its employees and vacate its headquarters. It struggled to raise additional funds that it needed to get its plans back in motion. And now, Zunum is striking back at one of its former investors. The company filed a lawsuit in Washington Superior Court this week accusing aerospace giant Boeing of fraud, technology theft, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Zunum said that Boeing “colluded with other key aerospace manufacturers and funders” to sabotage its efforts to raise additional cash and tried to poach Zunum’s engineers during the process. The startup claims that Boeing saw its superior technology and potential to disrupt air travel as a threat to its own dominance in the aviation world and sought to undermine it. Using its due diligence as an investor as subtext, Zunum said Boeing gained access to its business plan and proprietary technology, and “exploited” Zunum for its own benefit. “BOEING STOLE ZUNUM’S TECHNOLOGY AND INTENTIONALLY HOBBLED THE UPSTART ENTRANT” “Boeing saw an innovative venture, with a dramatically improved path to the future, and presented itself as interested in investing and partnering with Zunum,” the company claims in court filings. “But instead, Boeing stole Zunum’s technology and intentionally hobbled the upstart entrant in order to maintain its dominant position in commercial aviation by stifling competition.” It’s rare that a startup would sue one of its investors after failing to deliver on its promises. But Zunum said its setbacks weren’t because of bad technology or a faulty business plan. Rather, the company claims it was sabotaged by Boeing, which misused its position as an investor to pillage its talent and patents before eventually scuttling the company’s ability to continue to raise money. Zunum also names HorizonX, Boeing’s venture capital arm, and French engine supplier Safran as co-defendants. The company is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. A spokesperson for Boeing said the lawsuit was without merit and that the company would “vigorously” contest it in court. Founded by former executives from Microsoft and Google, Zunum proposed building several models of hybrid aircraft, one with a 700-mile range by 2022, and another with a 1,000-mile range by 2030. These jets wouldn’t be suitable for flights that are long-haul, cross-country, or transoceanic, but rather short, regional trips under 1,000 miles. (Think LA to San Francisco or New York to Boston.) The idea was to offer cheap flights that are low-emission and low hassle to take off and land. “Jet engines are efficient when they’re big and up high,” Matt Knapp, Zunum’s chief technology officer, told The Verge in 2017. “If you fly a jet engine a short distance, it’s not very efficient. So you’ve got this damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t [approach] to flying a small airplane a short distance.” That same year, Boeing’s HorizonX and Jet Blue’s venture division agreed to invest in Zunum, instantly bolstering its credibility. The companies sank a combined combined $6.2 million into the company in Series A funding, according to a Zunum fundraising pitch obtained by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Washington state’s Clean Energy Fund kicked in an additional $800,000 in a research-and-development grant. “Zunum is reinvigorating the regional market with a solution that’s both innovative and realistic,” Logan Jones, managing director at Boeing’s HorizonX, said in a statement at the time. IN 2018, THE COMPANY WAS FORCED TO CEASE ALL OPERATIONS But things quickly went south, and in 2018, the company was forced to cease all operations. According to Fortune, the founders laid off almost all of their 70-person staff and gave up two of their facilities, one in Indianapolis and the other in Bothell, Washington. Creditors seized equipment from and changed the locks at another facility in Illinois. Zunum puts the blame on Boeing. The Chicago-based company repeatedly reneged on promises for additional funds and dissuaded other investors from putting money in, the lawsuit alleges. “Boeing also kept Zunum beholden to it for much-needed capital and market validation, stringing Zunum along with the prospects of an anchor investment and providing leadership on further fundraising,” the lawsuit says. “Although Zunum also sought investments elsewhere, Boeing actively interfered with and undermined those business relationships while inducing Zunum to continue its reliance on Boeing by holding out the prospect of a strategic partnership or merger.” Zunum also accuses Boeing of copying its plans and technology that it disclosed to Boeing as an investor. After obtaining the proprietary information, the lawsuit alleges, Boeing approached Safran, the French engine supplier, with plans to build a hybrid-electric plane based on Zunum’s designs. “Zunum discovered that Boeing was secretly developing a replica prototype of Zunum’s flagship aircraft design, staffed by the very same engineers and other professionals whom Boeing had assigned to conduct extensive due diligence on Zunum, under non-disclosure and non-use obligations,” the lawsuit reads. https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/24/21612702/zunum-aero-sues-boeing-fraud-hybrid-electric-jet SpaceX targeting next week for Starship's first high-altitude test flight SpaceX looks ready to proceed to the next crucial phase of its Starship spacecraft development program: A 15km (50,000 feet) test flight. This would far exceed the max height that any prior Starship prototype has achieved so far, since the current record-setting hop test maxed out at around 500 feet. Elon Musk says that SpaceX will look to make its first high-altitude attempt sometime next week. This tentative date (these are always subject to change) follows a successful static test fire of the current SN8 generation prototype -- essentially just firing the test spacecraft's Raptor engines while it remains stationary on the pad. That's a crucial step that paves the way for any actual flight, since it proves that the spacecraft can essentially hold together and withstand the pressures of active engines before it leaves the ground. SpaceX's SN8 prototype is different from prior versions in a number of ways, most obviously because it has an actual nosecone, along with nose fins. The prototypes that did the short test hops, including SN6, had what's known as a mass simulator up top, which weighs as much as an actual Starship nose section but looks very different. SpaceX completes another successful short test flight of its Starship spacecraft prototype Musk added that the chances of an SN8 high-altitude flight going to plan aren't great, estimating that there's "maybe a 1/3 chance" given how many things have to work correctly. He then noted that that's the reason SpaceX has SN9 and SN10 ready to follow fast, which is a theme of Starship's development program to date: building successive generations of prototypes rapidly in parallel in order to test and iterate quickly. We'll likely get a better idea of when the launch will take place due to alerts filed with local regulators, so watch this space next week as we await this major leap forward in SpaceX's Starship program. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/spacex-targeting-next-week-starships-001353783.html RTCA Free Technical Webinar 11/30: Interference Risk on Radar Altimeters from Planned 5G Telecommunication Systems Join RTCA and leaders of Special Committee 239 (SC-239) for a discussion on the planned 5G telecommunications system implementation that could interfere with radar altimeters. The session will address potential risks to commercial transport airlines; business, regional, and general aviation airplanes; and both transport and general aviation helicopters. The presentation includes an overview SC-239’s new white paper: Assessment of C-Band Mobile Telecommunications Interference Impact on Low Range Radar Altimeter Operations that was written to address the potential consequences of interference events. The panel will address your questions and concerns in an interactive Q&A session. Panelists include committee co-chairs Jean-Luc Robin of Airbus and Seth Frick of Honeywell and secretary Dr. Sai Kalyanaraman of Collins Aerospace. REGISTER Curt Lewis