Flight Safety Information - April 16, 2021 No. 078 In This Issue : Incident: Fedex MD11 at Anchorage on Apr 10th 2021, engine seen smoking : Incident: Azul A20N at Manaus on Apr 4th 2021, engine vibrations : Incident: Azul E195 at Rio de Janeiro on Apr 12th 2021, smoke on board : Incident: British Airways B772 near Skopje on Apr 11th 2021, both weather radars failed : Parking brake not applied before 777-300ER towbar accident : EASA and CAAC extend Airbus bilateral to cover A350 completion : NBAA Cautions FAA on Part 135 SMS Proposal : NTSB releases preliminary report on Alaska helicopter crash : Boeing Beats Airbus on Orders: How Will the Rivals Fare Ahead? : CAAC Established EH216 Type Certification Team to Further Advance Certification Process : Turkish Airlines Flies To More Countries Than Any Other Carrier : The Phoenix Towbarless Aircraft Tractor has Gone Electric : Southwest recalls another 382 pilots ahead of summer travel : Xwing completes first autonomous gate-to-gate commercial cargo flight : SpaceX, NASA give 'go' for astronaut launch, 3rd for Dragon : POSITION AVAILABLE: Manager, Internal Evaluation Program Incident: Fedex MD11 at Anchorage on Apr 10th 2021, engine seen smoking A Fedex Federal Express McDonnel Douglas MD-11, registration N589FE performing flight FX-167 from Anchorage,AK to Memphis,TN (USA) with 2 crew, was climbing out of Anchorage's runway 33 when the crew requested to stop climb advising ATC of an engine (CF6) malfunction and received a block altitude between 2000 and 4000 feet MSL. Tower advised he had seen black smoke from the right hand engine. After talking to dispatch the crew decided to climb the aircraft to 12,000 feet to dump fuel and returned to Anchorage for a safe landing on runwsy 07R about 45 minutes after departure. A replacement MD-11 registration N603FE reached Memphis with a delay of about 3 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service after about 46 hours on the ground. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5f62ec&opt=0 Incident: Azul A20N at Manaus on Apr 4th 2021, engine vibrations An Azul Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200N, registration PR-YRI performing flight AD-4383 from Manaus,AM to Sao Paulo Viracopos,SP (Brazil) with 175 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Manaus when the crew received vibration indications for the right hand engine (LEAP). At FL300 the crew performed the related checklist procedures, the vibrations however continued prompting the crew to return to Manuas for a safe landing about one hour after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground in Manuas for 14 hours, then positioned to Viracopos at FL390. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5f5266&opt=0 Incident: Azul E195 at Rio de Janeiro on Apr 12th 2021, smoke on board An Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer ERJ-195, registration PR-AUE performing flight AD-4040 from Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont,RJ to Sao Paulo Viracopos,SP (Brazil), was climbing out of Santos Dumont's runway 20L when the crew stopped the climb at about FL150 declaring emergency reporting smoke on board and a burning odour. During the following descent the smoke subsided. The aircraft diverted to Rio de Janeiro's Galeao Airport for a safe landing on longer runway 15 about 20 minutes after departure. Two passengers felt bad and requested assistance by the airport's medical services. A replacement Embraer ERJ-195 registration PR-AXY reached Viracopos Airport as flight AD-9350 with a delay of about 3:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground at Galeao Airport about 24 hours after landing there. The airline stated that the flight diverted to Galeao Airport due to technical problems. The aircraft landed normally, the passengers disembarked normally. On Apr 15th 2021 Brazil's CENIPA reported cabin crew detected a burning odour in the cabin and observed smoke. The crew declared emergency and decided to divert to Galeao Airport. A pack alert indication followed. The aircraft landed without further incident. The occurrence was rated an incident. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5dc75b&opt=0 Incident: British Airways B772 near Skopje on Apr 11th 2021, both weather radars failed A British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-YMMA performing flight BA-139 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Mumbai (India), was enroute at FL370 about 30nm south of Skopje (Macedonia) when the crew decided to return to London advising ATC they had a weather radar failure they couldn't continue with, it was not an emergency. The flight could not continue due to the failure of both weather radar systems and the rejection of their flight without at least one working weather radar by Saudi Arabia ahead on their route. The aircraft climbed to FL380 and returned to London for a safe landing about 2:45 hours after turning around. A replacement Boeing 777-200 registration G-YMMT reached Mumbai with a delay of about 9 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 19.5 hours, then performed the next day's flight BA-139 to Mumbai. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e5f318b&opt=0 Parking brake not applied before 777-300ER towbar accident French investigators have found that an Air Canada Boeing 777-300ER’s parking-brake had not been applied before one of the individuals in a pushback tractor was injured as he worked to disconnect the towbar. The individual was a driver instructor and was training a tractor driver at the time of the event, which occurred at Paris Charles de Gaulle on 24 July 2019. As the aircraft was pushed back from stand A38, the driver made a turn that was too wide and, during the manoeuvring, the tractor reached the maximum turn limit – resulting in a ruptured shear pin. The instructor told French investigation authority BEA that he signalled to another member of the ground crew, a headset operator, regarding the situation. “Convinced that the headset operator had understood, [the instructor] thought [the operator] had therefore informed the crew and asked them to apply the aircraft’s parking-brake,” says BEA. As the instructor went to inspect and disconnect the towbar, he did not check an indicator light which would have shown the parking-brake status. While he worked on the disconnection the aircraft began to move forwards, exerting a force on the towbar. One of the towbar wheels rolled over the instructor’s foot, trapping him, and the stressed bar suddenly unhooked from the tractor and struck the instructor’s leg. Under the procedures of AGS, the tractor operating company, a towbar pin shear must prompt the ground personnel to ask the aircraft crew to apply the parking-brake and, if required, block the nose-gear. BEA says nose-gear blocks are not mandatory and are only used when a carrier’s procedures require them – Air Canada did not. Investigators heard the 777-300ER nose-gear had a lamp signalling parking-brake activation The headset operator, who worked for Air France Industries, told the inquiry he did not see the tractor driver or instructor make a hand signal to indicate the stop and request the parking-brake. BEA says it could not determine the exact accident sequence, including the time the pin ruptured and whether signals were exchanged between the tractor team and the headset operator. But it states that the instructor alighted from the tractor and started to remove the towbar without the parking-brake having been applied and with no blocks in position. It says a misunderstanding may have occurred between the tractor team and headset operator, adding: “As this [headset operator] was unaware of any anomaly, the immediate application of [standard] procedures, including the request to apply the aircraft parking-brake, may have been compromised.” https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/parking-brake-not-applied-before-777-300er-towbar-accident/143286.article EASA and CAAC extend Airbus bilateral to cover A350 completion European and Chinese civil aviation regulators have updated a bilateral agreement on Airbus production at Tianjin to account for the extension of aircraft completion activities to the A350. Airbus has a single production organisation approval granted by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and this covers not only A320-family assembly at Tianjin but also the facility’s A330 completion and delivery centre. EASA has oversight of the production and completion, supported by the Civil Aviation Administration of China through a co-operation formalised by a working arrangement. But EASA says this arrangement “does not take into account” the planned extension of the activity scope to A350 completion and delivery. China Southern is among several Chinese customers for A350s China’s three largest airlines – Air China, China Southern and China Eastern – plus Sichuan Airlines are all A350 customers. The updated working arrangement, signed in March, covers several aspects of the Tianjin operation. As well as oversight of Airbus production, it includes the issuing of export certificates and permits to fly for the A319, A320, A330 and A350, and the flying of production aircraft between Airbus’s Toulouse and Hamburg facilities and that in Tianjin. It also covers the CAAC’s issuing of temporary registration certificates, temporary radio licences, and other permits for flight tests and delivery to customers, as well as any pre-delivery maintenance. https://www.flightglobal.com/air-transport/easa-and-caac-extend-airbus-bilateral-to-cover-a350-completion/143311.article NBAA Cautions FAA on Part 135 SMS Proposal NBAA is appealing to the FAA to ensure that its upcoming rulemaking requiring safety management systems (SMS) for Part 135 operators does not disrupt safety measures already in place, is scalable, and does not impose additional mandates such as for flight data monitoring. The FAA is anticipating releasing a proposal next year to require SMS for Part 135 operators, repair stations, and manufacturers. In a recent letter to Rick Domingo, the executive director of the FAA’s Flight Standards Service, NBAA said it supports the core existing regulatory framework of SMS for business aviation operators, but “we remain concerned with support for existing safety cultures, scalability, and oversight.” Many operators have used SMS for 15 years or more, NBAA said, adding that, as such, those operators “have a strong safety culture well embedded within their operations.” Nearly 150 Part 135 operators meet the IS-BAO standard that has SMS as a foundation, the association added, noting other foreign agencies have accepted the IS-BAO standard to substantiate compliance with SMS requirements. NBAA further stressed the need for scalability, given that the Part 135 on-demand charter business consists of many single-pilot, single-aircraft operators with limited personnel and budgets. “New regulations should be feasible for these operations, as well as large on-demand carriers that all have significantly different size, scope, and resources than most Part 121 air carriers.” Concerning NBAA is the fact that while the FAA’s Voluntary Safety Management System Program (VSMSP) has been in place for years, by last October only 23 of the 222 Part 135 operators who have applied to the program were deemed fully in compliance. “In speaking directly with operators, the long, burdensome approval process was a principal barrier to entry, as the program was not appropriately scaled from the regulation governing Part 121 air carriers,” the association said. Another concern surrounds any possible requirement for flight data monitoring (FDM). Some Part 135 operators use FDM and while it is viewed as an industry best practice, “the cost to equip aircraft and implement the program is not economically feasible for most operators,” NBAA said. “Such a requirement should be scaled appropriately, as they have the potential to add such costs to smaller operators with older aircraft that they would likely leave the 135 industry, removing them from the FAA’s oversight.” As for oversight, the FAA must take a strategic approach, NBAA said. “There is a concern with having a principal operations inspector accept a program for which he/she has no operational experience, especially when the SMS includes departments outside of flight operations and maintenance (i.e. information technology and finance),” the association said. Businesses also worry about privacy or the use of SMS data for enforcement. “It is imperative to an SMS's success that sensitive information be kept confidential and ineligible for use as evidence in enforcement,” NBAA said. “We hope the FAA will open a dialogue about these and other concerns with the industry prior to issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,” said Brian Koester, NBAA director of flight operations and regulations. “Working with the industry in a new rulemaking effort would go a long way to community acceptance of a new SMS mandate.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-04-15/nbaa-cautions-faa-part-135-sms-proposal NTSB releases preliminary report on Alaska helicopter crash The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its preliminary report of the deadly helicopter crash in Alaska that claimed five lives, including that of beloved Aspen local Greg Harms. “An aerial assessment of the accident site by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator the day after the accident revealed that the helicopter impacted terrain about 15 to 20 feet below the top of a ridge line,” the report reads. “The total debris field extended about 900 feet downslope from the top of the ridge line.” On March 27, an Airbus AS350B3 departed from Tordrillo Mountain Lodge near Anchorage, in which Harms was an owning partner. In addition to Harms, 52, and two Alaskan men in their 30s, Sean McManamy and Zachary Russel, the victims who did not survive the crash include billionaire Petr Kellner — the richest man in the Czech Republic — and fellow Czech Benjamin Larochaix. Only one of the passengers survived the incident. The Tordrillo Mountain Lodge is a luxury adventure destination for extreme outdoor enthusiasts, and Harms himself spent much of his career guiding tours to Alaska’s most sought-after playgrounds with the lodge and through his own touring company. “After two decades of heli-skiing around the world, finding the best mountains to ski, the most experienced and safest guides to ski with and the best operators to fly with, I founded Third Edge Heli to offer clients the kind of trips I’d want to book for my friends or myself,” Harms said of his venture, a quote still displayed on the company’s homepage of its website. He moved to Aspen in 1997 and became a ski instructor as known for his charisma as his on-mountain skills. While the exact details are still being worked out, Third Edge Heli announced via a save-the-date on Instagram that a memorial and celebration of life will occur June 19. A GoFundMe has garnered more than $458,000 from 287 donors. “We all loved him and he has touched so many lives,” organizer Mark Molthan wrote on the page — which he established to support Harms’ partner and newborn, as well as offer a virtual space for people to grieve and share memories. “There is no goal or pressure to donate. Just an avenue to post a memory or picture or video to remember our leader, our friend and our teammate.” The NTSB preliminary report does not make any assessment regarding the cause of the crash. Given the high profiles of some of the victims especially, the full investigation will likely be a months-long, public one. In 17 years of operation, the incident last month was the first time “we’ve had to face an event of this measure,” a statement from the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge said. https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/ntsb-releases-preliminary-report-on-alaska-helicopter-crash/article_6b11eec4-9e62-11eb-af40-1787003de490.html Boeing Beats Airbus on Orders: How Will the Rivals Fare Ahead? The Boeing Company BA recently achieved the unthinkable, considering the struggle the jet maker has endured in the past two years for its commercial product line. Boeing, for the first time in more than two years, has toppled its archrival, Airbus SE EADSY, courtesy of higher net quarterly orders. This is the first occasion on which Boeing has overtaken Airbus with respect to quarterly orders since the 737 Max was grounded in March 2019, which made Airbus the world’s top plane maker in early 2020. What Kept Boeing Behind? A series of problems related to the 737 Max caused Boeing to lag its European counterpart, both in terms of orders and deliveries, and slip to the second position in the list of global aircraft manufacturers. Although the COVID-19 pandemic played its part in Boeing's disastrous 2020 results, 737 Max’s grounding was the primary reason behind the company’s declining fortunes. Notably, in 2019, Boeing could only deliver 157 jets, the lowest in 43 years. Boeing Ahead of Airbus So Far in 2021 Boeing commenced 2021 on a fairly positive note after its beleaguered 737 Max was certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2020 to fly again. The approval was a major turnaround for Boeing as airliners and aircraft operators across the world began to reinstill their faith in the 737 line of aircraft. Interestingly, the approval seems to have positively impacted Boeing's numbers so far in 2021, as it won 282 aircraft orders in total compared to cancellations of 76 planes. On the contrary, Airbus had a poor beginning to the year, which is evident from the mere 39 orders it received till Mar 31 in comparison to 100 aircraft cancellations. The month of March was arguably the best for Boeing since March 2019, as the aircraft giant won orders for 185 of its 737 Max planes, including a 100-jet order from Southwest Airlines LUV and orders for 25 additional Max jets placed by United Airlines UAL. But what possibly aided Boeing in toppling Airbus were the numerous cancellations of Airbus jets made by Scandinavian carrier, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Where Does the Rivalry Go From Here? Although Boeing has been able to topple Airbus in terms of orders so far in 2021, it is still way behind its rival in terms of deliveries made. Boeing delivered 77 aircraft during the first quarter compared with Airbus’ 125 jets. Although Boeing has managed to record a massive turnaround, the company still has a long list of issues to tackle. Per a recent CNN report, Boeing drew criticism for a new problem related to its electrical system with the troubled 737 Max. This could later have a serious impact as the company might have to again ground some of its jets. Moreover, with the global surge in coronavirus cases, both the aircraft giants are likely to witness turmoil in the coming months. It is difficult to predict precisely the future of this rivalry amid all these uncertainties. But keeping in consideration the recent order growth for Boeing’s 737 Max, Airbus will have a difficult time in regaining its number one position in 2021. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/boeing-beats-airbus-orders-rivals-123512452.html CAAC Established EH216 Type Certification Team to Further Advance Certification Process GUANGZHOU, China, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) (“EHang” or the “Company”), the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (“AAV”) technology platform company, today announced that the Civil Aviation Administration of China ("CAAC") has established a “type certification” (“TC”) team for the EH216 passenger-grade AAV. The kickoff meeting was held in Guangzhou on April 13-14 with the aim to officially advance the TC approval work of EH216. This is unprecedented in CAAC’s record in TC approval projects for unmanned aerial system. At the kickoff meeting, expert members of the CAAC TC team investigated and evaluated the design features, technical points, safety performance and other aspects of the EH216, followed by a field trip to EHang’s Research and Development Center. The CAAC team was led by Wei Chen, Deputy Director of the Central South Regional Administration of CAAC, and, Heyong Lin, Director of the Airworthiness Certification Office. Mr. Chen commented, “Type Certification of the EH216 passenger-grade unmanned aerial system is a highly innovative project that calls for breakthroughs in the conventional certification process while preserving standard promulgation.” As the first passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicle platform company, EHang officially submitted the EH216 type certificate application to CAAC in December 2020, which was accepted by CAAC in January 2021. Last week, CAAC’s Chief Engineer Shijun Yin, spearheaded a delegation to visit EHang for inspection of unmanned aerial vehicle certification. The visit included the R&D center, command-and-control center, test base, production and development facility of Ehang. The delegation offered important guidance to the type certification process. Mr. Yin remarked: “Unmanned aviation is an integral part of the construction of intelligent civil aviation and may become the primary form of transportation in the future. The Government and companies should work together to promote the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and adhere to high-quality standards when building the civil aviation infrastructure. Both the applicant and CAAC should have innovation mindset in the certification process while benchmarking international standards.” As the EH216 TC certification progresses, EHang will continue to consolidate its first-mover advantage and accelerate the application of its AAV technology solutions for various practical use cases including passenger transportation, aerial sightseeing, air logistics, aerial firefighting, emergency rescue, and medical transportation. Full CAAC news can be found at: http://zn.caac.gov.cn/ZN_DQYW/202104/t20210416_207187.html About EHang EHang (Nasdaq: EH) is the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company. Our mission is to make safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone. EHang provides customers in various industries with AAV products and commercial solutions: air mobility (including passenger transportation and logistics), smart city management, and aerial media solutions. As the forerunner of cutting-edge AAV technologies and commercial solutions in the global Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry, EHang continues to explore the boundaries of the sky to make flying technologies benefit our life in smart cities. For more information, please visit www.ehang.com. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/16/2211494/0/en/CAAC-Established-EH216-Type-Certification-Team-to-Further-Advance-Certification-Process.html Turkish Airlines Flies To More Countries Than Any Other Carrier Turkish Airlines serves more countries than any other airline, with over 120 this year. The airline benefits from a big use of narrowbodies on routes of up to nearly eight hours, the large population and tourism draw of Turkey, and its natural hub location in Istanbul. Turkish Airlines serves more countries than any other airline in the world. This year, some 121 nations make up its passenger route map from its main Istanbul Airport hub, analyzing OAG data shows. In comparison, Air France serves 90 from Paris CDG, while Qatar Airways has 78 from Doha. Turkey is home to around 82 million people and the country saw 51 million tourists in 2019. And Istanbul, which has one of the world’s largest metro populations, had 15 million tourists in 2019. As you’d expect, the city is significant in itself for point-to-point demand, something that not all hubs can really say. Natural advantage But it’s much more than just size and popularity. It’s also natural advantage. Istanbul is well located to take advantage of many important passenger markets, including the likes of Europe and North America to Turkey, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; North America to Eastern and Southeastern Europe; Africa to Asia; and North Asia to Brazil. Some 40% of Turkish Airlines’ passengers connecting over Istanbul in 2019. Flying. The power of narrowbodies Despite using widebodies to 83 airports this summer, Turkish Airlines also uses narrowbodies to a large degree. It has around 140 of them, Airfleets indicates, with A321neos becoming more commonplace and the airline resuming use of the MAX. Like any other airline, big narrowbody use means that it can do two things: serve existing cities and airports more frequently – so building competitiveness and dominance – while launching brand-new services, particularly to smaller cities, including the likes of Ashgabat, Batumi, Djibouti, Mogadishu, Ouagadougou, Samarkand, and Zaporizhzhia. This helps to increase connectivity. Up to seven-and-a-half hours Turkish Airlines usually uses its narrowbodies within five hours of Istanbul, but this increases up to around seven-and-a-half hours, especially with its B737-900s. This covers all of Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and a very decent chunk of Africa, helping to add smaller countries. Unlike most of its other narrowbody types, the A319 has a limited role. This year, it’ll serve many thinner international routes from Istanbul Airport, led by Salzburg, Kherson, Krasnodar, Skopje, and Rostov. Photo: Laurent Errera via Wikimedia. 121 countries This year, Turkish Airlines’ passenger operation sees 121 countries from Istanbul Airport: 39 across Europe and the Caucasus (plus Turkey itself) 37 in Africa 25 in Asia-Pacific 11 in the Middle East Nine in the Americas Some 285 airports are served. Showing the breadth of its network, this includes 41 airports in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, 25 in the Middle East, and eight in Central Asia. Russia is still included here, a country where it serves 10 destinations, although it was confirmed today (April 15th) that it has suspended virtually all flights to the country until June. The only exception is Moscow Vnukovo. This is normally served 35-weekly from Istanbul but is currently limited to twice-weekly until June. Top-10 countries When measured by total seats, the Turkish Airlines’ top-10 countries from Istanbul Airport are: Germany USA United Kingdom Italy (rising to second if flights are considered instead) Russia France Ukraine Spain Israel Saudi Arabia It serves 12 destinations in Germany, a country with up to around three million Turks, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, where Düsseldorf and Cologne are located. Combined with point-to-point and connecting demand, including the ever-popular Antalya resort area, it’s no surprise that the airline has nearly 120,000 peak-summer seats each week between Istanbul Airport and Germany. The USA ranks second and Canada 39th. Some 13 destinations will be served, including Vancouver, which starts on May 2nd. It’ll operate three-weekly basis using Boeing 787s. Funnily enough, Qatar Airways serves 13 North American destinations from Doha. https://simpleflying.com/turkish-airlines-most-countries/ The Phoenix Towbarless Aircraft Tractor has Gone Electric Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft The electric version of the AST-2 towbarless tow tractor, also known as the Phoenix, which was unveiled at inter airport Europe 2019, has successfully completed the test phase and is now ready for action on the airport apron. The Phoenix is the flagship product among Goldhofer’s towbarless aircraft tractors. It is a powerful performer, offering speeds up to 32 km/h for maintenance tows. This unit also offers some of the best versatility in its class, handling the full range of today’s aircrafts with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 352 t. It’s no wonder that the Phoenix is one of the best-selling tow tractors on the market. The challenge for the Goldhofer engineers in developing the battery-powered Phoenix E was to produce an electric version to match the existing diesel tractor. With the Phoenix E battery-powered aircraft tow tractor, Goldhofer is writing a new chapter in the field of sustainable ground handling. As an alternative to the original diesel-powered tractor, Goldhofer now offers not only an all-electric version with a modular battery concept with a capacity of 66 - 165 kWh but also a hybrid solution with 66 kWh battery capacity and a range extender. The Phoenix E boasts the same range of performance in terms of tractive power, maneuverability and reliability as the diesel version, and offers additional advantages such as lower operating costs and longer maintenance cycles. Like its diesel-powered counterpart, the Phoenix E is capable of handling all aircraft with up to 352 t MTOW – with the power delivered by a 220 kW direct drive designed for reliable aircraft handling at towing speeds of up to 32 km/h. A triple-circuit braking system ensures excellent tracking performance and maximum travel safety at all times. The virtually maintenance-free pickup, the extremely tight turning circle and the reliability achieved with robust and durable components from premium manufacturers help set the benchmark in this new class of tow tractors. The Phoenix E also comes with Goldhofer’s tried-and-tested IonMaster technology. The high-performance electric drive concept works with extremely efficient 700 V lithium-ion batteries, which have proven themselves in the application of electric buses, meeting the highest standards of safety. In addition, the TMS system (Thermo Management System) that is part of the IonMaster concept delivers very short charging times, supporting quick opportunity charging. The vehicles can be easily charged at all standard AC and DC charging points with up to 150 kW. Compared to diesel-powered vehicles, the system offers enormous energy savings, very high total vehicle efficiency, and noise emissions approaching zero. As an efficient modular long-life drive concept, IonMaster technology is the key to highly cost-effective operation with e-vehicle fleets. Like the diesel version, the Phoenix E satisfies the highest standards of safety, with premium components and a full range of service and maintenance tools. Phoenix E– yet another technical milestone from the Goldhofer Company. https://www.aviationpros.com/gse/gse-technology/green-alternative-energy-gse/press-release/21218785/goldhofer-aktiengesellschaft-the-phoenix-towbarless-aircraft-tractor-has-gone-electric Southwest recalls another 382 pilots ahead of summer travel Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said on Thursday it would recall another 382 pilots from a voluntary leave program as airlines prepare for a vaccine-led recovery in travel demand in the summer. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions have hammered the aviation sector, but the mass rollout of vaccines is expected to drive a recovery this year. Southwest said in a statement that the pilots would return to active status on July 1. The low-cost airline said earlier this month it would recall 209 pilots and over 2,700 flight attendants from June 1 to support its summer schedule. (https://reut.rs/3tnSPUW) With the latest move, all Southwest captains would have returned from the airline’s voluntary leave program. However, about 500 first officers are still participating in the program, the airline said. https://www.reuters.com/business/southwest-recalls-another-382-pilots-ahead-summer-travel-2021-04-15/ Xwing completes first autonomous gate-to-gate commercial cargo flight Several companies are building unmanned flying vehicles from scratch, but autonomous aviation startup Xwing is taking a different approach by focusing on software for existing aircraft. Now, the company says it's achieved a major milestone by completing the first fully autonomous gate-to-gate demonstration of a commercial cargo flight. The breakthrough saw a remotely-piloted Cessna Grand Caravan 208B utility plane (equipped with the startup's AutoFlight software stack) leave the gate, taxi, take-off, land and return to the gate by itself. Xwing says that all traffic control interactions were done remotely from the ground. The startup believes that by retrofitting existing aircraft with its autonomous system it can get to market sooner by overcoming the regulatory and technical hurdles others face. Its AutoFlight software uses a mix of radar, satellite navigation (known as ADSB), optical cameras and lidar to detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles. In the future, it foresees a single ground controller monitoring multiple flights using a simple point and click mechanism, the company told Forbes last year. But Xwing isn't the only startup betting on an autonomous aviation future. Reliable Robotics, founded in 2017 by former SpaceX and Tesla engineers, has also completed a series of remotely-piloted cargo flights. Both companies are looking to reduce costs for an aviation industry grappling with plummeting sales and job cuts as a result of the pandemic. Garmin, meanwhile, received the green light from regulators for its automatic landing tech last year. For now, Xwing is hoping that the focus on cargo flights will also help it to forge ties with e-commerce and delivery companies that rely on air freight to deliver goods worldwide. Amazon, for instance, recently expanded its air fleet by acquiring 11 Boeing 767-300 planes. The online shopping giant has also received clearance from regulators to begin its first commercial drone delivery trials in the US. While FedEx already uses Cessna's Caravan aircraft as part of its air network. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/xwing-first-autonomous-commercial-cargo-flight-160057111.html SpaceX, NASA give 'go' for astronaut launch, 3rd for Dragon CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX is gearing up for its third astronaut launch in under a year, after getting the green light from NASA a week ahead of next Thursday’s planned flight. Managers from NASA and Elon Musk’s space company Thursday cleared the Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule for a dawn liftoff with a crew of four to the International Space Station. They will spend six months at the orbiting lab, replacing another SpaceX crew that’s close to coming home. The rocket and capsule were designed for reuse. The rocket was used to launch the current station crew last November from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The capsule, dubbed Endeavour, also will be making a repeat performance; it carried two test pilots to the space station on SpaceX’s first crew flight last spring. SpaceX refurbished both and added safety upgrades. Most of the capsule is already “flight proven,” company officials noted, except for some new valves, thermal protection covers and parachutes. Three of the astronauts are back for their second space station mission: NASA’s Shane Kimbrough, France’s Thomas Pesquet and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur was part of the final Hubble Space Telescope repair team in 2009. https://www.yahoo.com/news/spacex-nasa-astronaut-launch-3rd-224111998.html Manager, Internal Evaluation Program 1. Minimum Qualifications a. At least 3 years of auditing experience with a Part 121 airline, in either maintenance or flight operations b. At least 2 years of supervisory/managerial experience c. US citizen or have the legal right to accept employment in the United States d. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite e. Possess strong leadership, written, verbal and interpersonal skills f. Must be able to work with a variety of personalities and conduct professional interviews g. Ability to organize own work, while working under pressure to meet tight deadlines h. Must be detail oriented i. Ability to maintain professional conduct at all times j. Ability to maintain confidentiality k. Must be a self-starter 2. Preferred Qualifications a. Bachelor’s degree or higher in aviation or safety-related field b. FAA license, such as a Commercial Pilot’s License, an Airframe and Powerplant License (A&P), or Dispatcher license c. IOSA familiarity d. Safety Management System (SMS) familiarity e. Technical writing experience f. Knowledge and/or experience with Q-Pulse 3. Authorities a. Develop and maintain processes for the Internal Evaluation Program, approved by the Director of Safety, to include authoring procedures in airline manuals b. Develop and maintain an IEP auditor training curriculum, approved by the Director of Safety, ensuring auditors are trained and qualified to conduct IEP audits as assigned 4. Duties and Responsibilities a. Coordinate with the Director of Safety to establish and maintain an auditing schedule and required checklists b. Assign IEP audits to trained and qualified IEP auditors to ensure completion of all audits in a timely and accurate manner c. Supplement the conduct of scheduled audits d. Conduct Special Audits as assigned by the Director of Safety e. Ensure the IEP Auditor position is staffed by an appropriately qualified individual f. Conduct initial and recurrent auditor training g. Develop and manage audit and finding processes within the Q-Pulse system h. Assist operational departments regarding responses to audit outputs in Q-Pulse i. Assist in the development of processes for IEP-related SMS activity j. Facilitate completion of the Swift Air IOSA Conformance Report according to IOSA requirements k. Participate in FAA, IOSA, and DoD audits as requested by the Director of Safety l. Attend industry meetings as appropriate to maintain currency with industry best practices related to the Internal Evaluation Program 5. Reporting Chain a. The Manager, IEP reports directly to the Director of Safety APPLY to Safety Director at: ecates@flyiaero.com Curt Lewis