Flight Safety Information - April 5, 2021 No. 069 In This Issue : Incident: Nordwind B738 at Kazan on Apr 5th 2021, gear trouble after departure : Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Washington on Apr 1st 2021, gear overheat after departure : Incident: Azimuth SU95 near Chelyabinsk on Apr 4th 2021, hydraulic failure : Incident: ANA B789 near Krasnojarsk on Apr 4th 2021, engine shut down in flight : Oops: Ethiopian Airlines 737 Lands At Wrong Airport : Southwest Airlines passengers dance and cheer as couple accused of refusing to wear masks get thrown off flight : FAA Proposes AD For Boeing 737 MAX Fuel Quantity Processor Unit : United Hiring Pilots, Delta Needs More : Japan Airlines Retires All Domestic Boeing 777s : Boeing 777X Certification Process Continues With 10 Hour Test Flight : University researchers aim to increase safety for aircraft and nuclear facilities : Delta cancels flights due to staff shortages, opens up middle seats : Nasa's Ingenuity helicopter dropped from belly of Mars rover ahead of key test flight : POSITION AVAILABLE: Chair of the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences Incident: Nordwind B738 at Kazan on Apr 5th 2021, gear trouble after departure A Nordwind Boeing 737-800, registration VQ-BVY performing flight N4-651 from Kazan (Russia) to Istanbul (Turkey), was climbing out of Kazan's runway 29 when the crew stopped the climb at FL070 due to problems with the landing gear. The aircraft entered a hold while the crew assessing their options, subsequently climbed to FL120 and is currently enroute at FL120 apparently diverting to Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia), the airline's headquarters. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e56f9c9&opt=0 Incident: PSA CRJ9 at Washington on Apr 1st 2021, gear overheat after departure A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N599NN performing flight AA-5285 from Washington Dulles,DC to Charlotte,NC (USA) with 74 people on board, was climbing out of Dulles' runway 30 when the crew requested to stop the climb at about 8000 feet and declared emergency reporting, they had received a gear overheat indication they could not clear although they had already dropped the gear. The aircraft returned to Dulles Airport for a safe landing on runway 01R about 25 minutes after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 5.5 hours, then departed again for flight AA-5285 and reached Charlotte with a delay of 5:15 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5676db&opt=0 Incident: Azimuth SU95 near Chelyabinsk on Apr 4th 2021, hydraulic failure An Azimuth Airlines Superjet 100-95, registration RA-89093 performing flight A4-250 from Chelyabinsk to Rostov (Russia), was just about reaching the top of climb to FL350 when the crew received indication of the #2 hydraulic system failing. The crew descended the aircraft to FL250, worked the related checklists and decided to continue to destination. The aircraft landed safely on Rostov's runway 05 about 2.5 hours after departure from Chelyabinsk. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5673e8&opt=0 Incident: ANA B789 near Krasnojarsk on Apr 4th 2021, engine shut down in flight An ANA All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-9, registration JA872A performing flight NH-203 from Tokyo Haneda (Japan) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany) with 69 passengers and 10 crew, was enroute at FL380 about 770nm north of Krasnojarsk (Russia) when the crew needed to shut the left hand engine (Trent 1000) down. The aircraft drifted down to FL240, turned south and diverted to Krasnojarsk for a safe landing on runway 29 about 2:10 hours after leaving FL380. The airline reported the crew received indications of low oil quantity and subsequently low oil pressure for the left hand engine and diverted to Krasnojarsk. A replacement Boeing 787-8 reguistration JA822A departed Tokyo Haneda for Krasnojarsk as flight NH-9403 about 6 hours after JA872A landed in Krasnojarsk, and is estimated to arrive in Krasnojarsk at about 17:30K (13:30Z), to depart Krasnojarsk for Frankfurt at about 19:00L (15:00Z) and reach Frankfurt around midnight Apr 4th to Apr 5th with a delay of about 19 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e55e283&opt=0 Oops: Ethiopian Airlines 737 Lands At Wrong Airport It would appear that an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 accidentally landed at the wrong airport today on a flight to Zambia… and then a second Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 did almost the same thing. In this post: Ethiopian 737 lands at airport under construction A second Ethiopian 737 almost made same mistake How could something like this happen? Bottom line Ethiopian 737 lands at airport under construction Ethiopian Airlines Cargo flight ET3891 was scheduled to operate from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Ndola, Zambia, this morning. The flight was operated by an 18 year old Boeing 737-800 with the registration code ET-AYL. This plane only joined Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet last week — the plane previously flew for Pegasus Airlines, and was then converted into a freighter. It’s being reported that the plane ended up landing at the wrong airport: The plane was supposed to land at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport, which is the international airport currently being used in Ndola Instead the plane landed at Copperbelt International Airport, which is the new international airport in the city that’s nearing completion, but not yet open Here’s video footage of the plane taxiing at the airport (and you can see all the surprised construction workers, given that the airport isn’t yet open): A second Ethiopian 737 almost made same mistake This story gets even stranger. A pilot in an African aviation group on Facebook reports that another Ethiopian Airlines plane almost made the same mistake. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET871 was scheduled to operate from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Ndola, Zambia, this morning. The flight was operated by a five year old Boeing 737-800 with the registration code ET-AQP. According to the pilot, this plane did a last second go around at the airport under construction as well, before flying to the correct airport. How could something like this happen? As advanced as aviation is, this is far from the first time that a plane has landed at the wrong airport, and it will be far from the last time. As of now we don’t have much information about what exactly happened, though I’m sure more details will emerge once there’s an investigation. A few things stand out: Based on my understanding, the new airport looks a lot more like a major airport than the current one, and the two airports also have runways that are oriented in similar directions; of course that doesn’t justify landing at the wrong airport, but if they were on a visual approach, it explains what could have contributed to this The fact that two Ethiopian Airlines planes allegedly made the same mistake on the same day is causing some to wonder whether something was programmed wrong, or if there was an issue with the navigation software I wonder if the ATC audio from this will be released; was there a lapse in communication, or how did neither the pilots nor controllers realize this was happening? By the way, here’s an interesting video about the new airport in Ndola, which looks pretty darn cool: Bottom line While details are still limited as of now, it’s being reported that an Ethiopian Airlines Cargo 737 accidentally landed at the wrong airport in Zambia today. Instead of landing at the current international airport in the city, the plane instead landed at the new international airport under construction, about 10 miles away. Then a second Ethiopian Airlines 737 apparently almost made a similar mistake, but executed a go around at the last second. I’ll be curious to see if this is investigated more closely, and if so, what the cause of this is determined to be. https://onemileatatime.com/ethiopian-airlines-737-lands-wrong-airport/ Southwest Airlines passengers dance and cheer as couple accused of refusing to wear masks get thrown off flight A TikTok video shows a woman arguing with a flight attendant about not complying with a mask-wearing mandate. Passengers on the Southwest Airlines flight can be heard heckling and jeering at the passenger. As the woman and her partner are escorted off the flight, those on the plane cheer and dance. A TikTok video shows an entire plane clapping and cheering after a couple is escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight, Newsweek reported. In the video shared by user Brendan Edler, a woman is seen arguing with a crew member. The footage, which is filmed discreetly from three rows back, starts mid-argument. The dispute revolves around a passenger who refused to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols by not wearing a mask. It should be noted that the woman is wearing a mask at the start of the clip. The reaction of those on the plane, however, suggests this was not the case earlier on. The woman, whose identity is unknown, is insistent that she did not break the rules. "I did comply," says the woman to the flight attendant. "You're saying I didn't comply and put my mask on when you ask asked me to?" Shortly after, the woman accuses the flight attendant of not telling the truth. "You're a liar and you have to live with that," she is heard saying. Those on the flight then begin to heckle the woman and start saying their farewells. "Bye," shouts one person. "Get off the plane," yells another. "That's what happens when you don't say you're sorry," someone else can be heard saying. The woman then stands up, shows her middle finger to those on the plane, and walks off with her traveling companion. The remaining passengers appear jubilant, with one woman proceeding to dance. Insider contacted Southwest for further context on the incident. The airline said that it does not have any further details on the situation but provided information on its mask-wearing policy. "Federal law requires Southwest to ensure every person age two and over to wear a mask at all times throughout a flight, including during boarding and deplaning," a Southwest Airlines spokesperson said. "We communicate the face-covering mandate to all Customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the travel journey." https://www.yahoo.com/news/southwest-airlines-passengers-dance-cheer-085144582.html FAA Proposes AD For Boeing 737 MAX Fuel Quantity Processor Unit During its 20-month grounding period, Boeing worked hard to ensure the safety of its 737 MAX before the type re-entered service. The plane, which is perhaps the most scrutinized airliner model of its generation, eventually received FAA recertification last November. However, the US government body has now proposed an airworthiness directive (AD) regarding the MAX. This notification concerns its fuel quantity processor unit (FQPU). What has the FAA proposed? On April 2nd, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a new airworthiness directive regarding the Boeing 737 MAX’s fuel quantity processor unit. This AD would not be a blanket requirement for the entire MAX series, as it only concerns the MAX 8 and MAX 9 models. The FAA explains that: “This proposed AD was prompted by a report that, during refueling of the right main tank, if there is a failure of the automatic shutoff system, the refueling panel does not provide the required indication that the automatic shutoff has failed. This proposed AD would require installing a new fuel quantity processor unit (FQPU) and doing an FQPU software check.” For now, this proposed AD is at the start of a 45-day comment period that ends on May 17th. During this time, the FAA is open to receiving “written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposal.” With the MAX 8 being the series’ most popular variant, such an AD may prove costly to its manufacturer if the FAA pushed it through. Simple Flying reached out to Boeing for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. What is an airworthiness directive? Aviation safety agencies issue airworthiness directives when they find a potential safety issue with an aircraft, or its systems, that requires rectification. This can result in the aircraft in question being grounded until the problem is fixed, rendering it airworthy once again. Compliance with ADs is essential, as they are legally enforceable regulations. Agencies can sometimes issue ADs on an emergency basis, such as in the aftermath of an accident. These directives generally require immediate compliance before the affected aircraft can fly again. However, other ADs that are less urgent in nature can instead demand that compliance is achieved not immediately, but rather within a specified time period. Boeing widebodies also subjected to ADs The Boeing 737 MAX is not the only one of the US manufacturer’s models to be subjected to ADs in recent months. Indeed, the FAA has also released such directives concerning some of Boeing’s widebody aircraft since the turn of the year. For example, February 19th saw the administrative body publish an AD regarding Boeing’s 787 ‘Dreamliner’ family. This required 222 aircraft from this series to be inspected for damaged or disengaged decompression panels in the plane’s bilge barriers. Then, less than a week later, the FAA also issued an AD for another Boeing widebody family, specifically the 777. This was released on a more urgent basis, following the engine failure of a United 777 that saw engine parts rain down on the local suburbs. The directive required the fan blades on Pratt & Whitney PW4000-engined 777s to be thermally inspected for damage such as cracks before they could take to the skies once again. https://simpleflying.com/faa-max-ad-fuel/ United Hiring Pilots, Delta Needs More United Airlines plans to hire hundreds of pilots in coming months as it gears up for a return to more normal passenger traffic over the next year. The airline told employees in an internal memo that the first to be contacted will be about 300 pilots who had conditional job offers or training that was supposed to start last year before the virus put a stop to all hiring. “With vaccination rates increasing and travel demand trending upwards, I’m excited to share that United will resume the pilot hiring process that was halted last year,” Bryan Quigley, United’s senior vice president of flight operations, said in the note. Meanwhile Delta is facing a pilot shortage that forced numerous cancellations over the Easter weekend. Frequent flyer site onemileatatime.com reported that the airline cancelled at least 74 flights on Easter Sunday and packed the remaining flights full by temporarily suspending its seat blocking policy. As with United, Delta encouraged hundreds of pilots to retire or take buyouts as it scrambled to conserve cash over the past year. The airline also had problems staffing flights at Thanksgiving and Christmas. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/united-hiring-pilots-delta-needs-more/ Japan Airlines Retires All Domestic Boeing 777s Japan Airlines has taken the issue with the 777-200s Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engine as an opportunity to retire the type. Some of the domestic 777s had been planned for retirement in 2021, but since being grounded for engine checks, more will now leave the fleet ahead of schedule. These will be replaced by the Airbus A350. JAL takes 777 grounding as an opportunity to let them go The spectacular failure of an engine on a United Airlines flight in February prompted mass worldwide groundings of the 777s powered by the same engine type. The Pratt & Whitney PW4000. Less than 48 hours after the incident, following a Boeing recommendation, airlines in Japan and Korea followed United Airlines’ lead and removed their P&W-powered 777s from service. Japan Airlines had already laid plans to remove some of its 777s from its fleet over the course of 2020. Seven domestic 777s were set to leave the fleet in March this year, but that number has now ballooned to 13 as the airline takes the opportunity presented by the grounding to accelerate its fleet reshuffle. Of the 17 Boeing 777-200s it had in February, 10 have already been removed from the fleet. They are marked as ‘stored,’ suggesting they will not likely go on to work for other airlines. With most aged around 15 to 20 years old, that’s not a big surprise. Now, the airline is adding more 777-200s to its list of retiring aircraft. The final seven remaining on the books are not currently flying, and will not do so for this airline again. Three 777-300s were also added to the scrapheap in February, ending its association with the type. Once this tranche of retirements is complete, JAL will only have its 13 777-300ER remaining in the fleet. These are not powered by the Pratt & Whitney engine, so have not had the same challenges as the rest of the 777s. These will continue to fly international routes for the carrier for the foreseeable future. The A350 will be the backbone of the domestic fleet Japan Airlines is one of the few carriers to operate widebodies on domestic routes. The high volume of travelers flying within Japan meant it needed larger aircraft to cope with the demand, something which has been delivered to date by the fleet of 777s. Going forward, JAL will deploy its A350s to cope with most domestic demand. It currently has a fleet of eight A350-900s, with orders in for 10 more. It also has the A350-1000 on order, but this will be for international service. While it awaits delivery of the rest of the A350-900s, it will also use some of its Boeing 767s for capacity. It has 31 767-300s remaining in the fleet, with 26 currently in active service. JAL is expecting another eight A350-900s to be delivered over the course of 2021, to bring it to a total fleet of 15 by the year-end. It’s no surprise that JAL has taken the opportunity to phase out its 777s. It was a victim itself of the engine cover issue back in December 2020. With potentially expensive checks and repairs needed before the fleet could fly again, it makes sense to remove them from service as this was the longer-term plan anyway. https://simpleflying.com/japan-airlines-777-retirement/ Boeing 777X Certification Process Continues With 10 Hour Test Flight Boeing’s 777-9 test aircraft, registered N779XX, has been busy conducting test flights over the past few months. On March 30th, it performed the longest 777X flight to date, spending just over 10 hours in the air- six minutes longer than a September test flight. Let’s take a look at where the aircraft flew during this lengthy test. “This is part of our rigorous test program for the 777X, which is progressing well. We’re conducting a comprehensive series of tests and conditions, on the ground and in the air, to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the design.” – Boeing spokesperson 10 hours and four minutes Spotted by our friends at RadarBox.com, the 777-9 took off from Boeing Field (BFI) at 11:05 on March 30th. With a total flight duration of 10 hours and four minutes, the aircraft returned back to Boeing Field at 21:09 – a long day for the 777X’s development and testing team. The aircraft was recorded reaching a top speed of 550 kt (1018km/h), climbing as high as FL410 (roughly 41,000 feet). As you can see from the Twitter video embedded above, the 777-9 registered N779XX flew from Boeing Field south to Northern California. The plane turned around over the skies of Eureka and headed up as far north as the Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge at the northernmost tip of Washington State. This distance would certainly not take 10 hours. However, the jet turned around and headed south again to the same area in California, flying over towns such as Fortuna, Arcata, and McKinleyville. In total, the 777-9 went “back and forth” a total of five times before concluding its test flight. In late September, Boeing conducted a 777X flight of similar (but shorter) length with the same plane. The aircraft took off from Arizona, traveled across another 16 states, and then landed back again. Flying more than some A380s With many commercial airlines’ Airbus A380s grounded amid the travel downturn, N779XX has been logging more flight hours than jets already cleared for commercial service. In fact, RadarBox.com notes that in February 2021 alone, the jet covered 11,465.8 NM with an average of 3.5 hours of flying per day. For the past 12 months, the aircraft has logged 119,141.5 NM over 333 flight hours and 173 separate flights. The aircraft appeared to be the busiest during August, September, and October of last year. Last month saw the aircraft take off on 28 test flights, operating almost every day. While there were a few days spent completely on the ground, Boeing made up for this by conducting multiple test flights on other days (March 18th and 22nd are good examples). Where else has this test aircraft been flying? While this particular test aircraft has mainly been flying out of Boeing Field and around the Puget Sound area, it has also flown further inland to Moses Lake, also in Washington State. Boeing also has testing facilities at this location. Early March also saw the jet spend a week flying in and out of Yuma, Arizona. Boeing jets come here for hot-weather testing, among other things. https://simpleflying.com/boeing-777x-test-flight-10-hours/ University researchers aim to increase safety for aircraft and nuclear facilities Through projects focused on the structural integrity of aircraft and nuclear facilities, Ocampo also draws St. Mary’s students into the research process. By Jennifer R. Lloyd – Senior Director of University Communications, St. Mary’s University Apr 5, 2021 Juan Ocampo, associate professor of mechanical engineering at St. Mary’s University, is researching ways to keep planes flying safely and help ensure the security of nuclear facilities. Through projects focused on the structural integrity of aircraft and nuclear facilities, Ocampo also draws St. Mary’s students into the research process. Since 2007 with the Federal Aviation Administration and since June with the U.S. Air Force, Ocampo has been developing methods to make decisions on aircraft safety. His team is also working on a project with grant funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration to introduce minority and first-generation students to the nuclear engineering field and structural integrity applications. Mechanical engineering senior Adriana Smith from Alamogordo, New Mexico, said Ocampo encouraged her to apply for a student research assistant position on nuclear security projects, which opened her up to opportunities in the nuclear science industry. “Being involved in research has definitely changed the trajectory of my future,” Smith said. “I now, through my involvement in research, plan on pursuing graduate school.” Flight plans Growing up in Medellín, Colombia, Ocampo, Ph.D., dreamed of designing planes. “We have a small airport in my city where I would see airplanes land every day,” he said. “I was like, ‘Man, that’s so cool. I want to design aircraft someday.’” He moved to the U.S. to work in the aerospace industry and began working on the FAA project focused on the general aviation fleet as a master’s student in 2007. Aircraft in the general aviation fleet include private or corporate planes or those used for instruction. Many of those planes were designed in the 1960s, long before today’s requirements. About 100,000 planes that are on average 40 years old are still flying in the U.S. today and about 240,000 around the world. “The FAA and the different authorities around the world are looking at whether these airplanes have fatigue issues,” Ocampo said. Just like a metal paperclip bent too many times will fail, the material of these aircraft begins to fail with extended use. But the FAA needs a tool to determine whether a fatigue issue is specific to one aircraft or is likely to extend to the fleet. Ocampo digs into structural integrity by analyzing the probability of fatigue and damage tolerance. In partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio, Textron Aviation and NuSS Sustainment Solutions, he has created software that allows the FAA to simulate the variations of the fleet — such as how people fly and where — to determine risk levels for specific aircraft models. That way the FAA can determine if an issue is just with a single aircraft or is more likely to be a fleet-wide problem that requires the grounding and inspection of many similar aircraft. Military aviation safety More recently, the Air Force also became interested in using a similar tool to analyze the safety of its planes. A December study from the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety discussed the challenges of extending aircraft usage beyond their planned service life, stating that “parts that were designed to last the originally planned life of the aircraft begin to fail.” Using data from retired fighter aircraft wings provided by the Air Force, Ocampo and his students are creating a digital twin model of the real planes to drill down to individual aircraft tracking and use software to anticipate fatigue damage in the structure. That could allow the Air Force to inspect individual planes rather than the whole fleet, reducing costs and increasing fleet readiness. “The benefit of this new research is moving from fleet-wide risk decisions into individual aircraft risk decisions,” he said. “This is going to prevent airplanes having metal fatigue in the air. You don’t want an airplane to lose a wing or the empennage, which is the tail, during flight.” “We are avoiding airplanes falling from the skies,” Ocampo said. Education from scratch For the project, several students are adding to their resumes while learning computational mechanics (aka coding) and 3D printing to test materials. Mechanical Engineering senior Scott Siler from Katy, who has worked with Ocampo on the aircraft project, said the research has taught him “a good deal about working in a team, especially in a virtual environment.” “In the classroom, I know what concepts I am practicing or learning about, but in research, there is no textbook to guide me,” Siler said. “By having a part in this I have had to practice learning from scratch, so to speak, and I have found that to be a very practical skill.” Through the projects, Ocampo said he provides close mentoring for his student’s career development or graduate school preparation. “When students get involved with research, that helps them gain an excellent education,” he said. Learn more about St. Mary’s University by visiting https://www.stmarytx.edu. St. Mary’s University, founded in 1852, is the first institution of higher learning in San Antonio and the oldest Catholic university in the Southwest. Its vision, as a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution, is to become one of the finest private universities in the region. Jennifer R. Lloyd is senior director of university communications for St. Mary’s University. She oversees news and information, media relations, social media and is executive editor of Gold & Blue alumni magazines. She is a former journalist with extensive experience covering education topics. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2021/04/05/university-researchers-aim-to-increase-safety-for.html Delta cancels flights due to staff shortages, opens up middle seats DETROIT — Delta Air Lines canceled about 100 flights Sunday due to staff shortages, and it opened up middle seats a month earlier than expected in order to carry more passengers. The airline says it had over 1 million passengers during the past few days, the highest number since before the coronavirus pandemic began last year. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, and the majority have been rebooked for the same travel day,” the airline said Sunday in a statement. Delta DAL, +1.14% took steps to increase passenger capacity, including opening middle seats on Sunday and Monday, in an effort to accommodate passengers. On Wednesday, the airline announced that it would stop blocking off middle seats starting in May. The move was made last April to keep passengers farther apart, a policy that Delta’s CEO had repeatedly cited as raising trust in the airline. The seats would be reopened as air travel recovers and more people become vaccinated against COVID-19, the airline said. Delta said the middle seats were opened just for Sunday and Monday, and its seat-blocking policy has not changed. Where needed, seats could be unblocked in order to get customers to their destinations on the same day. “Delta teams have been working through various factors, including staffing, large numbers of employee vaccinations and pilots returning to active status,” the airline said in the statement. Some employees were having adverse side effects from being vaccinated. On Sunday, websites at three Delta hubs showed 33 canceled arriving or departing flights. There were 19 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, another 11 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and three more at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Delta said Wednesday that nearly 65% of people who flew on Delta last year expect to have at least one dose of the new vaccines by May 1. That gave Delta the assurance to end seating limits, it said. The airline industry was divided over the utility of blocking middle seats to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 on a flight. Airlines including Delta, Southwest LUV, +0.39%, Alaska ALK, +0.40% and JetBlue JBLU, +0.15% limited seating for months, while United Airlines UAL, +0.49% never did and American AAL, -0.17% did so only briefly. Social-distancing is hard if not impossible on an airplane, even with middle seats empty — a point that United CEO Scott Kirby made many times to explain his airline’s resistance to seat-blocking. Air travel in the United States is recovering from pandemic lows. More than 1 million travelers have gone through U.S. airports for each of the last 20 days, although March traffic remains down nearly half from the same month in 2019. The numbers are rising heading into the crucial summer vacation season. Last summer was a catastrophe for the airlines, contributing to Delta’s full-year loss of more than $12 billion. The airlines are eager to boost revenue as quickly as possible, and that means selling more seats. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/delta-cancels-flights-due-to-staff-shortages-opens-up-middle-seats-01617571780?siteid=yhoof2 (Photo Courtesy: NASA/JPL) Nasa's Ingenuity helicopter dropped from belly of Mars rover ahead of key test flight Nasa's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight, the US space agency said. The ultra-light aircraft had been fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18. "MarsHelicopter touchdown confirmed!" Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted over the weekend. "Its 293 million mile (471 million kilometer) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the final drop of 4 inches (10 centimeter) from the rover's belly to the surface of Mars today. Next milestone? Survive the night." A photograph accompanying the tweet showed Perseverance had driven clear of the helicopter and its "airfield" after dropping to the surface. Ingenuity had been feeding off the Perseverance's power system but will now have to use its own battery to run a vital heater to protect its unshielded electrical components from freezing and cracking during the bitter Martian night. "This heater keeps the interior at about 45 degrees F (7 degrees Celsius) through the bitter cold of the Martian night, where temperatures can drop to as low as -130F (-90 degrees Celsius)," Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter Project chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote in an update on Friday. "That comfortably protects key components such as the battery and some of the sensitive electronics from harm at very cold temperatures." Over the next couple of days, the Ingenuity team will check that the helicopter's solar panels are working properly and recharging its battery before testing its motors and sensors ahead of its first flight, Balaram said. Ingenuity is expected to make its first flight attempt no earlier than April 11, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted. Ingenuity will be attempting to fly in an atmosphere that is one percent the density of Earth's, which makes achieving lift harder - but will be assisted by gravity that is one-third of our planet's. The first flight will involve climbing at a rate of about three feet (one meter) per second to a height of 10 feet (three meters), hovering there for 30 seconds, then descending back to the surface. Ingenuity will be taking high-resolution photography as it flies. Up to five flights of gradual difficulty are planned over the month. The 4lb (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft cost Nasa approximately $85 million to develop and is considered a proof of concept that could revolutionise space exploration. Future aircraft could cover ground much quicker than rovers, and explore more rugged terrain. https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-dropped-belly-171029217.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