Flight Safety Information - August 5, 2021 No. 155 : Incident: TriMG B733 at Paro on Jul 12th 2021, unstabilized approach, bank angle and GPWS warning shortly before touchdown, hard touch down : Incident: TAROM B738 at Bucharest on Aug 4th 2021, first officer incapacitated on approach : Incident: Qeshm A320 at Najaf on Aug 4th 2021, runway excursion during line up : If Pilots Took More Control of Traffic Over the North Atlantic : Jet Airways To Begin Hiring Pilots Following 2 Year Grounding : Pilot safety – the cockpit equipment keeping you safe : U.S. Air Force set to make history by intentionally landing 6 aircraft on a Michigan highway : TSA discovers 25 firearms at Nashville airport security checkpoints : mba - Quality Control Position Incident: TriMG B733 at Paro on Jul 12th 2021, unstabilized approach, bank angle and GPWS warning shortly before touchdown, hard touch down A Tri-M.G. Intra Asia Airlines Boeing 737-300 freighter, registration PK-YGW performing flight GM-515 from Kolkata (India) to Paro (Bhutan), was on approach to Paro's runway 33 when the crew received a "BANK ANGLE" warning as well as a GPWS "Sink Rate! Pull Up!" warning but continued the approach resulting in a hard touch down. According to Unicef the aircraft was carrying Moderna vaccines to Bhutan that were donated to Bhutan within the COVAX initiative. The aircraft remained on the ground in Paro for about 16 hours, then departed for the next sector to Bangkok (Thailand). http://avherald.com/h?article=4eb4e975&opt=0 Incident: TAROM B738 at Bucharest on Aug 4th 2021, first officer incapacitated on approach A TAROM Boeing 737-800, registration YR-BGL performing flight RO-362 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) with 76 passengers and 6 crew, was on approach to Bucharest's Otopeni Airport with the first officer being pilot flying, when the first officer suffered onset of pain and sickness. The captain took control of the aircraft and continued for a safe landing on runway 08R a few minutes later. The airline reported that in accordance with standard operating procedures the captain took control of the aircraft when the first officer suffered sudden sickness and pain. After safe landing the first officer received qualified medical assistance and was taken to a hospital. The first officer is in stable condition. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Bucharest 8 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4eb50b1a&opt=0 Incident: Qeshm A320 at Najaf on Aug 4th 2021, runway excursion during line up A Qeshm Air Airbus A320-200, registration EP-FQP performing flight QB-2216 from Najaf (Iraq) to Tehran Imam Khomeini (Iran) with 131 passengers and 10 crew, was about to depart from runway 10 at 13:50L (10:50Z) when the aircraft did not line up correctly (taking the turn too narrow) and came to a stop with the left hand main gear sunk into soft ground, nose and right main gear on the paved surface of the runway next to the taxiway. There were no injuries. Iran's Civil Aviation Authority reported the aircraft was lining up for departure when a wheel sunk into the earthy shoulder of the runway. All passengers got safely off the aircraft. A replacement aircraft is being dispatched to Najaf. http://avherald.com/h?article=4eb4dbcc&opt=0 If Pilots Took More Control of Traffic Over the North Atlantic New research recommends allowing pilots to choose their own routes on trans-Atlantic flights to reduce carbon emissions. (Inside Science) -- On March 9, 2021, not a single airliner flew westbound across the North Atlantic. It was a perfect time to test a new way to control air traffic across the ocean, one that uses less fuel and emits less carbon dioxide. Currently airliners emit 2.7% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 2,000 airliners safely crossed the North Atlantic each day, making it the busiest airspace in the world. During the pandemic, traffic has been reduced by 60%, said Douglas Dillon, director of flight information at NAVCanada in Gander, Newfoundland, which monitors planes on the western end of the flight routes. The current air traffic control system, the North Atlantic Organized Track Structure (OTS), keeps aircraft far apart from each other on six or seven invisible highways in the air. There hasn't been a single collision over the ocean in the history of modern aviation even though, until recently, much of the Atlantic airspace was beyond radar surveillance. Since 2018 it has become even safer, as low-orbiting satellites and onboard transponders began covering the routes and ATC knows where everyone is. A recent study at the University of Reading in the U.K. confirms the idea that riding the wind more efficiently would produce a drop in emissions and better fuel economy. On days when the weather permits, the researchers suggest not using the OTS system at all. Under OTS, airlines notify oceanic traffic centers of when and where they have scheduled flights each day. Flights from North America to Europe are reported to NAVCanada and westbound flights to NATS in Prestwick, Scotland. Air traffic control assigns six or seven paths for the planes, usually, but not always, the one requested by the airlines, and it publishes the routes daily. The planes have to fly those tracks in single file across the water, said Dillon. The invisible highways were originally spaced one degree of latitude, or 60 miles, from each other. That has been reduced by technology to 30 miles. The planes are separated vertically by 1,000 feet and horizontally by 14 miles, and they fly one behind the other, eastbound at odd levels, westbound at even. The pilots are required to stay in their lanes. If a pilot runs into bad weather or turbulence, he or she can ask for a change in the altitude, which is done regularly, said Patrick Smith, a veteran pilot who flies the Atlantic regularly and was not involved in the new study. Changing tracks can be done but it is rare. "I've been trained for it, but I've never actually done it," Smith said. Pilots can fly around storms, he added. The rivers of airliners flow in both directions. Traffic eastbound from North America generally is scheduled for nights, westbound during the day, mostly because customers want it that way, and it takes advantage of the jet stream which blows stronger at night. Westbound planes take longer to cross the ocean than easstbound, and the flights are more turbulent. Winds in the core of the jet stream can be as high as 200 nautical miles per hour (230 mph), giving quite a boost to eastbound flights, or a drag on the planes going westbound. In 2020, a British Airways 747-400 set the record for subsonic flights from New York to London, four hours and 53 minutes. Its ground speed hit 825 mph riding the wind. The weakness of the current system is that it sometimes requires planes to take a longer route to their destination, and the planes are emitting more carbon dioxide than if they had flown with the jet stream. ATC takes the early morning weather forecast before it assigns tracks, but that could be a dozen hours before the flight. Additionally, ATC doesn't always approve the track the airlines want. For the new study, the researchers examined fuel consumption in 35,000 flights in both directions between New York to London from December 2019 to February 2020. They compared the fuel used with what the weather indicated would be the fastest route in or around the jet stream. The idea is to let the airlines choose which track they are going to take, weather and the course of the jet stream permitting, rather than have air traffic control assign one. This would give the airline a chance to change the assignment to something more to their liking if the weather changes, Dillon said. They could take advantage of the jet stream or avoid headwinds. On "quiet days" like March 9, ATC wouldn't publish tracks at all, said Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at Reading and lead author of the study. The researchers projected that using this approach, airliners would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 6.7 million tons in a typical winter. Since March, ATC has been testing the new system over the Atlantic. "I am not aware of any resulting problems or complaints," Williams said. "In fact, the pilots I talk to who fly transatlantic routes love the extra freedom. For example, flights between Scandinavia and the Caribbean are usually forced to fly underneath or around the track system, which is hugely inefficient. Abandoning the tracks allows these aircraft to fly the most direct route, which is much shorter and faster." "The freedom to choose optimal routes through the wind field, rather than be forced to fly along a prescribed set of tracks, not only saves time, fuel, and emissions, but also allows airlines to cut costs. It is a win-win situation for airlines, passengers and the planet," said Williams. http://www.insidescience.org/news/if-pilots-took-more-control-traffic-over-north-atlantic Jet Airways To Begin Hiring Pilots Following 2 Year Grounding Jet Airways is inching closer towards relaunching operation. The airline is currently in the process of hiring experienced pilots for operations, but is still quiet about which aircraft type, or types, it will operate. Let’s find out more. Ready After 27 months of dormancy online, Jet Airways’ Twitter account came back in action. The airline has begun directly communicating with the public again, providing updates about its offer to former employees, and confirming plans to restart flights. However, yesterday, it announced a big step in the process: hiring. Jet Airways has published a form to hire ‘experienced pilots’ for its operations. All interested pilots have to include details regarding their type rating, license validity, medical exam, flying hours, and more. It’s unclear how many pilots the airline is looking to hire and if it will prefer ex-Jet Airways employees. So which aircraft will the airline by flying? Well, Jet Airways is accepting applications for virtually aircraft type. The form accepts type ratings for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, along with widebodies like the 787, A330, and 777. The end of the form only requests further details about the A320 and 737 ratings, which are the most likely aircraft to be chosen for restarting operations. Jet Airways previously operated all these planes except the 787, which was on order, and the A320 family. More to come One month after its plan was accepted by the bankruptcy court, Jet Airways is finally finding its feet. While the airline has been busy working on settling claims with its creditors and employees, it is now looking onward to actually kicking off operations. From the outset, the Kalrock-Jalan consortium has said that it will only rehire a handful of staffers back to the new airline. Only 50 out of nearly 4,000 employees who were holding out hope for a job with the new will find one. Most will likely have to reapply to the airline for limited positions available. The coming weeks will tell us more about if Jet Airways 2.0 will pick up more employees from application forms. However, given the fleet size is expected to be smaller than 30 aircraft at launch, positions will be few and heavily competitive. Tough market Jet Airways’ return to the market will coincide with many changes. After a tough year, the industry is rearing back to action and new entrants will likely struggle to secure a large market share early on. Moreover, news players like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air and potential TrueJet expansion will all make India a more crowded market. To stand out, Jet Airways will need to bring back loyal customers and double down on a full-service model. However, if this will work a second time, remains to be seen. https://simpleflying.com/jet-airways-hiring-pilots/amp/ Pilot safety – the cockpit equipment keeping you safe In safe hands The equipment with which pilots work nowadays reduces workload and increases safety. But which have made the most difference to HEMS operations? Mike Biasatti outlines some of the most significant developments in recent history Back in 1989, when I was in pursuit of my private helicopter license in the US, the only study material was a rather slim tome titled The Basic Helicopter Handbook. The very first chapter introduced Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, the third of which – as any respectable rotor wing aviator can tell you – is often phrased as every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Fast forward to 2021. In the 32 years since, that particular law makes me think of the evolution of safety as applied to the Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) industry. The amount of information available inside a modern air medical helicopter is impressive, but what is actually enhancing the safety of the crew as they perform patient transports? For every air medical helicopter that crashed, for every crew and in some cases patient that was lost, was there an ‘equal and opposite’ action in the advancement of safety? Helicopter Terrain Awareness Systems In 2014, in response to an increase in fatal HAA accidents, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented new operational procedures and additional equipment requirements for helicopter air ambulance operations. This final rule also increases safety for commercial helicopter operations by revising requirements for equipment, pilot testing, and alternate airports. As of 2017, Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 135.605 mandated the installation of a Helicopter Terrain Awareness System (HTAWS) on all HAAs. The HTAWS is an alerting system intended to provide terrain and obstacle visual and aural alerts and reduce the risk of Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) accidents by providing increased situational awareness of the surrounding terrain and obstacles. This is primarily during the cruise phase in Visual Meteorological Condition and in Instrument Meteorological Condition (IMC) under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), but also during approach in areas containing obstacles, towers or other structures that penetrate the intended aircraft course based on things like rate of descent and airspeed. Italian aviation company Leonardo has announced further enhancements for the AW139 helicopter intermediate twin engine with a recently obtained certification HTAWS is not intended to be used as an aid for navigation, but since helicopters operate at lower altitudes and often land and take off in varying unimproved locations, the early alert audio provided can be a life saver. With CFIT being one of the most frequently cited reasons in too many NTSB Probable Cause Reports, HTAWS is a welcome addition to the cockpit. Night-vision goggles One piece of safety equipment – and my personal favorite, which sadly the FAA decided not to mandate in the newly minted HAA section of the 2014 regulations – are night-vision goggles (NVGs). Fortunately, most US-based air medical operators have made the investment and provided their teams with these invaluable safety tools. With a 40-degree field of view, NVGs take whatever little light is available and intensifies it up to 35,000 times and displays it in shades of green. This ability to illuminate an otherwise pitch-black night is particularly useful when ceilings are starting to form. With the use of NVGs, you can see and discern cloud bases and tops that may be five or 50 miles ahead that are completely invisible to the naked eye. One of the most cited contributing cause to the high accident and fatality rates for air medical teams is inadvertently entering IMC. With the use of NVGs, pilots will be able to see deteriorating ceilings and reduced visibility well in advance and choose an alternate route, return to base, or divert to an area with Visual Flight Rules (VFR) weather conditions. VFR pilots who have inadvertently entered IMC often end up losing aircraft control before they ultimately impact a surface, and it has been a root cause of many fatal helicopter crashes. many operators provide a set to the entire crew to further promote crew resource management and vastly improve safety Being equipped with NVGs enables prompt and practical decision-making and keeps crews safer. Instrument current pilots operating an IFR-certified helicopter can see ahead and pick up an IFR clearance to continue the flight safely under IFR. This has been particularly useful for me operating at night as temperature and dew point begin to close in on one another. A flight might take several hours to complete, and the weather typically degrades as the earth gives up the heat it absorbed throughout the day. Having the freedom to transition a routine VFR flight into an IFR flight to land safely at an airport has more than once kept me away from feeling that I had to get the patient to the hospital, and allowing for pride, obligation, or ego to impact my decision making. Personally, having flown for 10 years in the HAA industry without the use of NVGs on some seriously dark south Texas nights, and now having had them for the last nine years, I cannot imagine how I would ever go without. The difference they provide is unbelievable, and many operators provide a set to the entire crew to further promote crew resource management and vastly improve safety. Electronic flight bags Electronic flight bags – the realities of standards, regulations and innovations Documentation and information available to flight crew is now increasingly managed and disseminated electronically. Mario Pierobon discusses how electronic flight bags (EFBs) have changed the way air medical pilots and… Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out In January 2020, the FAA implemented FAR 91.225 – the requirement for all aircraft to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out Equipment (ADS-B). This is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation or other sensors and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The information can be received by air traffic control ground stations as a replacement for secondary surveillance radar, as no interrogation signal is needed from the ground. It can also be received by other aircraft to provide situational awareness and allow self-separation. While ADS-B is ‘automatic’, in that it requires no pilot or external input, it is ‘dependent’ on data from the aircraft’s navigation system. For programs really wanting to up their commitment to safety, ADS-B In allows the receiving aircraft a host of safety features. Improvements include free surveillance of surrounding traffic, which is available on all ADS-B In receivers. Free access to weather and flight information is available on ADS-B In receivers that can receive Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) broadcasts. For programs really wanting to up their commitment to safety, ADS-B In allows the receiving aircraft a host of safety features While ADS-B equipage increases, Traffic Information Service (TIS-B) significantly enhances pilot situation awareness for additional safety benefits. With traffic displayed in the cockpit, pilots and air traffic controllers are able to communicate with shared awareness of conflicting aircraft traffic. With TIS-B, a pilot will not only see ADS-B air-to-air traffic, but also the radar targets sent from ground stations, resulting in a more complete picture of traffic. Flight Information Service (FIS-B) is a free service available to aircraft who can receive data over 978 MHz (UAT). FIS-B automatically transmits a wide range of weather products with national and regional focus to all equipped aircraft. As aircraft continue to adopt ADS-B In avionics, more applications will further improve safety. Ipad Airborne and Traffic Collison Avoidance Systems Another tool that has helped this pilot avoid a mid-air collision, particularly during peak times around busy airports, is the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), also known as the Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). TCAS is a system designed to increase cockpit awareness of nearby aircraft and serve as a last defense against mid-air collisions. The system monitors airspace around an aircraft for other transponder-equipped aircraft that may present a collision threat. TCAS operates independently of ground-based equipment to provide pilots with guidance on how to avoid a potential collision. More advanced systems, commonly found on air medical helicopters, might offer a suggested action to be taken by the pilot Depending on the system installed, the pilot will receive a visual alert of surrounding aircraft with operating transponders, typically with a relevant altitude reference. Some systems may indicate the conflict target’s direction of flight, and most will issue an aural alert when any conflict breaches a range of separation. More advanced systems, commonly found on air medical helicopters, might offer a suggested action to be taken by the pilot such as climb, descend, turn left, but ultimately, the pilot in command is responsible for any course and altitude changes. Electronic Flight Bags Even for the most modestly equipped aircraft, the advent of the iPad and electronic flight bags has made it much easier for operators to add on some amazing features through subscription. These include weather applications like ForeFlight, which offers an ever-improving array of incredible graphics and features like synthetic vision, real-time weather, NOTAMS, airports, and anything else you can imagine. The test will be if you can exercise the discipline to not form a dependence on all these wondering bells and whistles and keep your head on a swivel when flying, divide your attention inside as well as outside, and allow technology to enhance your safety while not relying on it to provide it. Fly safe! https://www.airmedandrescue.com/latest/long-read/pilot-safety-cockpit-equipment-keeping-you-safe U.S. Air Force set to make history by intentionally landing 6 aircraft on a Michigan highway This is believed to be the first intentional landing of aircraft on a U.S. roadway If, by any chance, you are in the area of Alpena, Michigan on Thursday, chances are, you will be able to witness some United States Air Force history. The Air Force plans to take six aircraft out onto a highway for a special exercise, a road-landing drill on a stretch of the highway M-32 near Alpena. The road will be closed for about five hours. “This is believed to be the first time in history that modern Air Force aircraft have intentionally landed on a civilian roadway on U.S. soil,” U.S. Air Force Colonel James Rossi told The Drive. “Our efforts are focused on our ability to train the warfighter in any environment across the continuum, so our nation can compete, deter, and win, today and tomorrow.” Four A-10C attack aircraft and two C-146A Wolfhound special operations transports will take part in the exercise. https://www.ksat.com/features/2021/08/04/ TSA discovers 25 firearms at Nashville airport security checkpoints Firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags. Transportation Security Administration officers at Nashville International Airport discovered 25 firearms at security checkpoints in July, the highest monthly total on record for the airport. While firearms may be transported in checked baggage, provided they are declared to the airline, in a proper carrying case and unloaded, they are prohibited in carry-on bags. Security is the first concern of the TSA and having these items in bags that are traveling with people on the aircraft is dangerous to other travelers and can be easily mistaken as an intentional attempt to bring a prohibited item onto an aircraft. “Since the implementation of new gun laws in the state, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of firearms brought to Tennessee security checkpoint,” said Steve Wood, TSA Federal Security Director for Tennessee, in a news release. “Passengers must remember they’re responsible for the contents of bags and our advice is they thoroughly inspect all personal belongings to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items before coming to the airport.” TSA officers at BNA security checkpoints detected 85 firearms in the first seven months of 2021. A total of 94 were found there during all of calendar year 2020. In addition to potential criminal charges, passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint face civil penalties from TSA. Click for information on the proper way to travel with a firearm. https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/44452756/tsa-discovers-25-firearms-at-nashville-airport-security-checkpoints Quality Control mba is seeking an experienced mid-career individual to manage its Quality Control function with respect to IOSA* (IATA Operational Safety Audit). The candidate must meet the following requirements, be a self-starter and a leader within the organization. • Must have aviation/airline quality control, operational and/or safety experience and be familiar with the IOSA Program. • Be familiar with Quality Control processes and methodology. • Manage and lead a team of experienced individuals in the performance of aviation safety focused audits. Duties and Responsibilities: Become familiar with IOSA Standards and Recommended Best Practices by discipline Interface with IOSA Auditors, as necessary, through the Quality Control process Together with Director of Audit Programs, responsible for IOSA Audit Report (IAR) production and Program Quality requirements, including: . • Structuring the QC process for IOSA reports; • Ensuring that a complete QC review of all IOSA Audit Reports is carried out in accordance with the IOM Quality Control procedures; and • Ensuring that published deadlines for report delivery and QC processes Maintain QC procedures and documentation support structures for auditors Monitor and administer the QC and continual improvement processes Review outputs from all phases of audit and administrative processes, measuring results, and suggesting improved processes, when appropriate Monitoring of AO and Auditor quality performance and provide feedback to Auditors by means of: • Performing analysis of the gaps in the internal QC process and Auditor QC performance; • Performing analysis of IATA AO monthly performance report biannual AO QC performance summary (Statistical analysis and performance results); • Identifying weaknesses in internal processes, repetitive errors, and auditor behavior or techniques; and • Identifying and recommend any training needs, provision of internal QC training, or any other action necessary to ensure IAR quality to VP of Technical and Quality APPLY NOW! *IOSA is a registered trademark of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Curt Lewis