Flight Safety Information - April 2, 2021 No. 068 In This Issue : Incident: Aeroflot A320 enroute on Mar 30th 2021, lost fuel cap in flight : Incident: American B738 near Miami on Mar 31st 2021, standby display system failed : Incident: American A21N at Phoenix on Mar 31st 2021, rejected takeoff due to navigation issue : American Airlines to use nonunion pilots for some test flights, drawing criticism : Fiji Airways confirms return to service of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after regulatory approval : No plan to privatize any PIA assets: Aviation Minister : Cape Air Builds Towards 100 Tecnam P2012 Aircraft : United Airlines to initially hire 300 new pilots as travel demand rebounds : POSITION AVAILABLE: Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences Incident: Aeroflot A320 enroute on Mar 30th 2021, lost fuel cap in flight An Aeroflot Airbus A320-200, registration VP-BIJ performing flight SU-1157 from Rostov on Don to Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) with 151 passengers and 7 crew, departed Rostov's runway 05, was enroute at FL340 and landed safely on Sheremetyevo's runway 26L about 110 minutes after departure. Rosaviatsia reported however, a post flight inspection revealed the fuel cap at the left hand wing was missing. Further inspection revealed damage to the lower panel of the left wing near the fuel neck. An investigation has been opened. The aircraft is still on the ground in Moscow about 65 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e548d85&opt=0 Incident: American B738 near Miami on Mar 31st 2021, standby display system failed An American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N876NN performing flight AA-1707 from Charlotte,NC (USA) to San Jose (Costa Rica), was enroute at FL360 about 30nm westsouthwest of Miami,FL (USA) when the crew asked for the help of the center controller, the controller asked !quickly?". The crew assured not a matter of urgence, as the center was able to handle them they requested to descend to a lower altitude to burn off fuel and divert to Miami because their integrated standby display system had failed. No priority or assistance was needed, they just needed to burn off about 4000 lbs of fuel at some lower altitude and divert. The aircraft descended to 17,000 feet to burn off fuel and landed safely on Miami's runway 09 about 50 minutes after leaving FL360. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration N839NN reached San Jose with a delay of 4 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 22 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e542352&opt=0 Incident: American A21N at Phoenix on Mar 31st 2021, rejected takeoff due to navigation issue An American Airlines Airbus A321-200N, registration N405AN performing flight AA-615 from Phoenix,AZ to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from runway 07L when the crew rejected takeoff at about 80 KIAS. The aircraft slowed safely and vacated the runway, the crew advised no assistance was needed, they had rejected takeoff due to a navigation issue. The aircraft returned to the apron. The aircraft was able to depart about 2 hours later and reached Chicago with a delay of 80 minutes. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e542041&opt=0 American Airlines to use nonunion pilots for some test flights, drawing criticism Starting this month, American will no longer use union-represented pilots to perform safety flight checks after heavy maintenance and long-term storage. American Airlines pilots’ union said the decision would mean a less independent aircraft review than if pilots backed by the union participated. American said the safety checks and procedures will remain the same. American Airlines this month will stop using unionized pilots to perform certain test flights, a move the aviators’ union argues would reduce the independence of these reviews. Starting Thursday, American will only assign nonunion company pilots to test aircraft that have been in long-term storage or that have recently undergone heavy maintenance, before customers fly on them. Previously, a group of specially trained union pilots performed the tasks along with nonunion company pilots. That union test pilot group had shrunk to about six people from 24 in 2016 as some left the union to become company technical pilots, retired or went back to flying passengers, American said. “For the past five years, American has been transitioning our test flying to these skilled pilots and fleet experts to better manage the unpredictable nature of test flights, which are dictated by the completion of maintenance and do not follow a set schedule,” American Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Jantz said. But the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American’s roughly 15,000 pilots, opposes the measure. “The foundation of AA’s strong safety culture has been a commitment to ensuring that independent, protected, and unintimidated pilots are conducting these critical safety check flights versus management pilots who may have a conflict of interest,” Eric Ferguson, an American Airlines captain and APA’s president, said in a Feb. 19 message to members. “Any move to crack that foundation will be met with the strongest opposition by APA.” The union did not say that there were any imminent or specific safety risks or that procedures were out of line with federal standards. American said that its company pilots were already performing most of these flights and that they received the same specialized training as union test pilots. “In April, and in line with the collective bargaining agreement, we will centralize this flying, fully transitioning it to our Fleet Captains and Technical Pilots,” American spokeswoman Jantz said. “Importantly, our expectations and standards will not change with this transition. We will continue completing maintenance-related flight checks above and beyond FAA requirements with the same training using the same procedures and checklists.” American said it is discussing with the union ways they could involve their pilots in this type of flying. Line pilots represented by the union will continue to fly planes after they come out of short-term storage before passengers fly on them. Jantz said the number of test flights or the bar to meet them will not change. “Any aircraft taken out of storage must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s maintenance manual and any applicable FAA regulations and Airworthiness Directives,” FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said in a statement. American on Monday said that during the second quarter it plans to use most of the planes it had parked in the pandemic to meet rising travel demand. The Allied Pilots Association has previously raised concerns about the flight test program, including to the Transportation Department’s watchdog in 2017, alleging that there was a “culture of suppressing safety complaints.” In July 2018, the Transportation Department’s inspector general’s office said it performed an audit that found an Federal Aviation Administration inspector “lacked objectivity” in his review of American’s safety program. The FAA said it completed six of the watchdog’s seven recommendations except for one, which calls for it to make changes to how it evaluates objectivity of inspectors to include potential issues such as the amount of time they are reviewing the same airline. The FAA said it requested an extension until August. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/american-airlines-to-use-non-union-pilots-for-some-test-flights-drawing-criticism.html Fiji Airways confirms return to service of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after regulatory approval Fiji Airways has confirmed the acceptance of return-to-service requirements of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft by its regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji. Fiji Airways CEO and Managing Director Andre Viljoen says they have followed and worked closely with CAAF, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia, the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand and the US Federal Aviation Authority over the past two years in relation to the safe return of the MAX aircraft. He says the past eight months have been spent planning for the aircraft’s eventual re-certification and reviewing all return-to-service requirements from their regulators. Viljoen says everyone at Fiji Airways, including their pilots and technical crew have complete confidence in the safety of the MAX, given the intense scrutiny, thousands of test flights and necessary upgrades made to the aircraft over numerous months. Viljoen also confirmed that the Full Flight Simulator at the Fiji Airways Aviation Academy was already being used to bring its pilots and technical crew up to speed with all the new and additional requirements following the re-certification of the MAX aircraft. He adds they will continue to work with their regulators to bring the MAX aircraft into service, albeit for the limited number of freight and repatriation flights we currently operate. Globally, 18 airlines have already returned the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to service which include LOT Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, WestJet, American Airlines and GOL. https://www.fijivillage.com/news/-Fiji-Airways-confirms-return-to-service-of-Boeing-737-MAX-aircraft-after-regulatory-approval-xrf584/ No plan to privatize any PIA assets: Aviation Minister Aviation minister confident that steps taken shall enable the removal of travel restriction on national flag carrier The Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced in the National Assembly on Friday that there were no concrete plans to privatize any assets of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). “The present government is very keen to make the national flag carrier, a self-reliant and profitable entity. Efforts are underway to improve the financial health of the airline by reducing its losses through various different means” the minister informed the House during question hour. Loss-making routes have been closed and flights on profitable routes have been added which has resulted in a reduction of losses” he added. Responding to a question, Sarwar Khan also stated that 82 pilots had been dismissed for acquiring licenses through unfair means and that a transparent mechanism was evolved and introduced, in order to ensure the issuance of licenses in a transparent manner. “An agreement has also been signed with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and this International authority will carry out an audit of our entire Civil Aviation Authority in July this year” he further stated. The Aviation Minister was confident this will lead to the removal of travel restrictions on the PIA among European countries and will enable the airline to regain its past glory. The European Union aviation safety watchdog had previously decided to retain its ban on PIA from operating in EU member states, expressing its dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Civil Aviation Authority to address licensing and safety concerns. However recently in march, The European Union's aviation safety watchdog termed safety standards of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as "satisfactory". The decision was made following a two-day meeting of the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and CAA officials, in which representatives from Denmark, Italy and Sweden participated via video link. During the meeting, Deputy Director-General for Regulatory Affairs Nadir Shafi Dar briefed the participants on the steps taken by the country’s aviation authority. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2292884/no-plan-to-privatize-any-pia-assets-aviation-minister Cape Air Builds Towards 100 Tecnam P2012 Aircraft The regional airline will add 10 more Travellers to its fleet in 2021. Cape Air’s route structure is well-suited to the Tecnam twins. Cape Air confirmed its plans to take delivery of 10 Tecnam P2012 Travellers in 2021, to add to the 20 aircraft already entered into the regional airline’s fleet. The airline took its first delivery of the light commuter twin—set to replace the company’s venerable Cessna 402s—in October 2019, shortly after its FAA certification. Cape Air has plans for similar delivery schedules in 2022 and 2023, anticipating that it will add 10 aircraft each year as it builds its fleet towards the 100 units it agreed to in 2019. Tecnam and Cape Air have worked closely together throughout the P2012′s development to ensure that it would meet the needs of the airline—including its sustainability goals. The fixed-gear, nine-passenger Traveller is powered by two FADEC-actuated Lycoming TEO540C1A engines that have the capability of using alternative aviation fuels. Upfront, the panel features the Garmin G1000 NXi with one 14-inch and two 10-inch displays. “Cape Air’s employees, customers and communities are delighted to experience our fleet replacement with the Tecnam P2012 Traveller,” said Dan Wolf, Cape Air’s founder and CEO. “Modern, efficient, and reliable, the Tecnam Traveller will serve our needs for years to come. The support and collaboration from our partners at Tecnam has been extraordinary.” https://www.flyingmag.com/story/aircraft/cape-air-100-tecnam-p2012/ United Airlines to initially hire 300 new pilots as travel demand rebounds April 1 (Reuters) - United Airlines on Thursday said it would hire about 300 pilots as travel demand rebounds as a rising number of Americans get COVID-19 vaccination, according to the company's internal memo seen by Reuters. United, which has more than 12,000 pilots, will hire pilots who either had a new hire class date that was canceled or a 2020 conditional job offer. Congress in March approved a six-month extension of a government program that gives airlines significant payroll assistance. Since September 2020, almost 1,000 United pilots have either retired or participated in voluntary leave programs but the airline said "the number of new pilots needed will be dependent on our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic." United Chief Executive Scott Kirby said on a U.S. aviation summit on Wednesday that domestic leisure demand "has almost entirely recovered." https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/1-united-airlines-initially-hire-193256018.html POSITION AVAILABLE: Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences The College of Aviation (COA) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University—Daytona Beach invites applications and nominations for the position of Chair, Department of Applied Aviation Sciences. The College seeks a dynamic, nationally recognized academic leader with experience in developing and implementing strategic plans for the department that are aligned with the needs and goals of the College of Aviation. This 12-month faculty appointment is at our campus in Daytona Beach, FL. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the gold standard in aviation and aerospace-related education. The Department of Applied Aviation Sciences is home to four-degree programs: Air Traffic Management, Aerospace and Occupational Safety, Meteorology, and Spaceflight Operations. The department draws students from around the world who are serious about their careers. Its talented faculty and state-of-the-art classrooms and lab facilities produce graduates who are highly sought after by industry. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Aviation, the Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences will be responsible for providing leadership in the development of faculty and academic programs, as well as participating in student recruitment, enrollment, and retention efforts. He/she will develop and maintain channels of communication with professional groups and industry to ensure that the department’s programs are providing appropriate educational preparation for its students. The Chair will encourage the faculty in the department to embrace new teaching methods and research opportunities. Qualifications Consideration of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The successful candidate will have: • · Earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., J.D., etc.) from an accredited institution. • · Experience in academic administration in scheduling courses, assigning faculty, evaluating faculty, ensuring appropriate recordkeeping and regulatory compliance, etc. • · A record of developing and maintaining channels of communication with professional groups and industry to ensure that programs are providing appropriate educational preparation for the students. • · Experience in maintaining academic excellence with respect to a department’s teaching and research efforts. • · Experience in developing a strong and competent faculty to meet the University curriculum requirements and high standards of the department. • · A demonstrable record of providing strong leadership in encouraging and growing research among faculty. • · Experience fostering collaboration among faculty both inside and outside the department, in both research and innovation in teaching. • · Demonstrated successful leadership experience at a four-year institution of higher education focused on teaching, research, and service. • · Attained tenure and an academic rank of Associate Professor or higher. The Department Chair is expected to begin no later than August 16, 2021. Applications should include a CV and a detailed letter describing the candidate’s aviation and administrative leadership experience as well as academic qualifications that demonstrate a fit with the Department of Applied Aviation Science and the position. All materials should be submitted online through our application system at https://embryriddle.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Daytona-Beach-FL/Chair-of-the-Department-of-Applied-Aviation-Sciences--Daytona-Beach-Campus-_R300550. Any questions should be directed to Associate Dean and Professor Daniel Friedenzohn at friedend@erau.edu. Curt Lewis