Flight Safety Information - August 17, 2021 No. 165 In This Issue : Incident: SAS A333 near Londonderry on Aug 15th 2021, cracked windshield : Incident: Atran B738 near Moscow on Aug 15th 2021, unreliable airspeed : Incident: Rossiya SU95 near St. Petersburg on Aug 14th 2021, hydraulic failure : Report: Screwdriver tip left in engine during maintenance results in engine failure on take-off : Hundreds of Afghan soldiers have fled over the border to Uzbekistan with dozens of military aircraft and helicopters : A Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 was able to land in and take off from Kabul on Monday despite chaos at the airport : Drone Reportedly Passes Below JetBlue Flight Landing At Logan Airport; FAA Investigating : Just how hard is it to recycle a jumbo jet? : Spirit Airlines says canceled flights cost it $50 million, hurt bookings : Elon Musk's SpaceX Looking At Further Delays For Lunar Lander Project : POSITION AVAILABLE - AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MANAGER : RTCA Webinar: Airports - Critical Components in Future Transportation Infrastructure Incident: SAS A333 near Londonderry on Aug 15th 2021, cracked windshield A SAS Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A330-300, registration LN-RKM performing flight SK-925 from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Washington Dulles,DC (USA), was enroute at FL360 about 10nm northeast of Londonderry,NI (UK) when the crew decided to return to Copenhagen maintaining FL360. The aircraft landed safely in Copenhagen about 1:50 hours after turning around. Multiple passengers told The Aviation Herald, that the captain announced technical difficulties as reason for the return, cabin crew however indicated a windshield had cracked. The flight was postponed to the next time departing with a delay of 24 hours. The following day another A330-300 registration LN-RKN delivered the passengers to Washington with a delay of 24 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ebda66f&opt=0 Incident: Atran B738 near Moscow on Aug 15th 2021, unreliable airspeed An Atran-Aviatrans Cargo Airlines Boeing 737-800 freighter, registration VQ-BFX performing freight flight V8-9625 from Luxembourg (Luxembourg), was enroute at FL370 about to reach the top of descent when the crew reported inaccurate speed readings and began to deviate from their assigned flight level climbing about 400 feet above. The aircraft initiated the descent towards Moscow and landed safely on runway 24 about 25 minutes later. Rosaviatsia reported the crew declared emergency reporting inaccurate speed readings at 13:14L (10:14Z). The aircraft is still on the ground in Moscow about 34 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ebda4f4&opt=0 Incident: Rossiya SU95 near St. Petersburg on Aug 14th 2021, hydraulic failure A Rossiya Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 on behalf of Aeroflot, registration RA-89127 performing flight SU-6115 from St. Petersburg to Volgograd (Russia), was climbing out of St. Petersburg when the crew stopped the climb at FL270 due to the failure of the #2 hydraulic system. The crew decided to return to St. Petersburg for a safe landing on runway 28L about 65 minutes after departure. A replacement SU95 registration RA-89126 reached Volgograd with a delay of about 3 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service after about 44 hours on the ground. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ebda2f6&opt=0 Report: Screwdriver tip left in engine during maintenance results in engine failure on take-off An engine power loss and rejected take-off incident involving an Airbus A320 at Brisbane Airport occurred after a screwdriver tip was left inside the engine during maintenance, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation notes. On 23 October 2020, the Jetstar Airways operated A320 was departing on a scheduled passenger flight from Brisbane to Cairns. As power was being applied for take-off, the crew felt a vibration and heard a popping noise, which rapidly grew faster and louder. At the same time, the aircraft diverged to the right of the runway centreline despite the first officer applying full left rudder pedal. The captain immediately selected reverse thrust and brought the aircraft to a stop. Some of the passengers onboard the aircraft, a Brisbane tower air traffic controller, and flight crew of a following aircraft reported momentarily seeing flames coming out of the right engine. The aircraft was taxied back to the airport gate, and all passengers and crew disembarked safely. Engineers then reported finding metallic debris in the tailpipe of the aircraft’s right engine. On disassembly, it was discovered the engine’s high-pressure compressor had sustained significant damage. A removable screwdriver tip was found in the engine’s combustion section. The ATSB’s investigation determined the screwdriver tip had been in the engine for over 100 flights. The liberated blade then caused greater damage to the engine’s high pressure compressor, and the engine surged, resulting in the loss of power and the low-speed rejected take-off. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2021/08/16/screwdriver-tip-left-in-engine-during-maintenance-results-in-engine-failure-on-take-off/ Hundreds of Afghan soldiers have fled over the border to Uzbekistan with dozens of military aircraft and helicopters Hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled to Uzbekistan taking 22 military planes and 24 helicopters with them. Hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled to Uzbekistan taking 22 military planes and 24 helicopters with them, as the Taliban tighten their grip on Kabul, according to a Reuters report. The report said one aircraft collided with an Uzbek fighter jet and caused them both to crash. The Uzbek prosecutor general's office said in a statement that a total of 585 Afghan soldiers arrived on aircraft and 158 more crossed the border on foot, Reuters said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-afghan-soldiers-fled-over-171621567.html A Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 was able to land in and take off from Kabul on Monday despite chaos at the airport A Turkish Airlines plane flew from Istanbul to Kabul on Monday amid chaos at the airport. It landed in Kabul and departed again for Istanbul with more than 320 passengers, reports said. Afghans have tried to flee Kabul by any means necessary, including climbing on departing planes. While military and civilian aircraft were scrambling to get out of Kabul, Afghanistan, one Turkish Airlines plane was trying to get in. Turkish Airlines flew what is likely its last flight to Kabul on Monday amid an exodus of civilians following the Taliban's rapid advance through the capital. Despite the mounting tensions in Afghanistan, Flight 706 departed from Istanbul Airport in Turkey early on Monday for Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to Flightradar24. The airline had been operating the flight consistently through the summer and the weekend. Kabul is one of its more than 300 destinations, many of which are in the Middle East and South Asia. After entering Afghanistan airspace from neighboring Turkmenistan, the aircraft, a Boeing 777, was in a holding pattern for just short of an hour before continuing on to Kabul for a 7:44 a.m. landing. But instead of using the commercial terminal in Kabul, the aircraft parked at a section of the airport primarily used by the military, Flightradar24 indicated. The return flight to Istanbul, initially scheduled for 8:15 a.m., didn't depart until after 1 p.m. Flightradar24 showed the aircraft taxiing, returning to its parking spot, and ultimately heading back to the runway. It departed for Istanbul with 324 passengers, according to Turkish media. The five-hour flight progressed with no issue as it crossed over Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Georgia before entering Turkish airspace. It used Istanbul's commercial terminal. Photos and videos on Monday showed Afghans swarming the airport and climbing aboard planes in a desperate attempt to flee the country. US military aircraft were evacuating Americans and Afghan special visa applicants trying to come to the US. Turkish Airlines' other destination in Afghanistan is Mazar-i-Sharif, which fell to the Taliban on Saturday night, The New York Times reported. The last recorded Turkish Airlines flight between Istanbul and Mazar-i-Sharif took place on June 30, according to FlightAware. Flightradar24 showed that the airline's scheduled flights to Kabul on Tuesday and Wednesday had been canceled. https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkish-airlines-boeing-777-able-165043262.html Drone Reportedly Passes Below JetBlue Flight Landing At Logan Airport; FAA Investigating BOSTON (CBS) — An investigation is underway after a JetBlue flight crew spotted a drone while landing at Logan Airport Sunday evening, the FAA said. The flight from San Diego was at an altitude of 8,000 feet when the sighting occurred. “The crew of jetBlue Flight 320, an Airbus A320, reported seeing a drone pass below the aircraft six miles northeast of Boston Logan International Airport yesterday at 7 p.m., local time,” the FAA said in a statement. “The flight landed safely and the crew did not take any evasive action.” The FAA alerted Massachusetts State Police to the incident. The agency said the information is preliminary and could change during the course of the investigation. https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/08/16/drone-logan-airport-boston-flight-jetblue-faa-investigation/ Just how hard is it to recycle a jumbo jet? Thanks to the pandemic and the subsequent collapse in air travel, around a quarter of the world's passenger jets remain idle - parked at airports and storage facilities while their owners decide what to do with them. Some of those aircraft will never fly again. "Owners don't want to be paying parking fees and storage fees for aircraft," says James Cobbold, director at Willis Lease, a global engine leasing company. "They need them operating, or off their books, which may mean selling to a parts-trader for disassembly." Rob Morris, global head of consultancy at Ascend by Cirium, an aviation and data analytics company, says there were 5,467 commercial passenger jets in storage in July, equivalent to a quarter of the global inventory. This stored ratio is down from 35% of the global inventory at the end of February 2021, and significantly down on the 64% at the beginning of the pandemic at the end of April 2020. Nevertheless, there are still a significant number of aircraft idling in hangars and on airstrips across the world. Their condition can vary wildly, from complete aeroplanes to the completely stripped, with their parts scattered across the tarmac. One such location is Cotswold Airport, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire and home to Air Salvage International, a company specialising in aircraft disassembly. Bradley Gregory, managing director at Skyline Aero, an aircraft component supplier and part of the Air Salvage International group of businesses, explains that there are three main scenarios when an aircraft is grounded and travels to their facilities. The least drastic scenario is that it is maintained in an airworthy condition, with only pre-flight checks needed to get it back in the air. The second scenario involves the aircraft going into long-term storage, where the engines are removed and it is maintained in a less intensive way than before. The final scenario is disassembly or "part out" whereby the aircraft is brought to a facility to be disassembled with the engines and other parts either taken out to be used in other aircraft or recycled. "Around 75% to 80% of the airplanes arriving in the last 12 months have been destined for storage, with no imminent plan for the asset owner," Mr Gregory explains. At the moment he has 29 aircraft in storage: 14 awaiting disassembly, and six currently in disassembly and waiting to be disposed of. Globally, in 2020, 449 aircraft were sent for disassembly, fewer than the 508 in 2019 according to Cirium. More attention is being paid to this final stage in the life of a passenger jet as the industry strives to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly in the face of mounting concern regarding global warming. "There are lots of parts that can be reused, depending on the type and model of the airplane," Mr Gregory says. "The number of parts removed range from about 200 for an older model with less desirable components, up to 1,200 components on newer models, sometimes even more." Aside from the engines, other useful components include the landing-gear, brakes, flight instruments in the cockpit, and even wheels. "Hundreds of components from an aircraft can go through a repair shop visit, and as long as they can be recertified and are not damaged beyond repair, they can go back on another aircraft," he says. The Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) is also playing a role. A large number of companies, including those involved in this disassembly, are audited by the association. They are carefully monitored to ensure they follow best management practices. While the amount and range of parts that can recycled or reused in aircraft is high, challenges still exist. "The only thing that really can't be physically recycled at the moment is the cabin interior because it is made of mixed plastics," Mr Cobbold explains. "So if we have to scrap a fuselage or parts of it, and the cabin interior is not required, then this is the only material that would go to landfill," he tells me. Mike Corne of eCube Solutions, another company working on end of life aircraft, says recycling jets is likely to become more challenging as newer aircraft use composite materials, which are hard to process. "There's not currently a cost-effective way of recycling carbon fibre," he explains. He says that a lot of money is being invested in finding ways to recycle such materials, and perhaps, in the future, carbon fibre will be reused. Mr Morris from Cirium predicts that the number of stored commercial jets will rise from 5,467 in July to 6,120 by the end of the year. Mr Gregory from Skyline Aero has recently received orders to dismantle three aircraft, suggesting demand for aircraft is still weak. "There's beginning to be an increase in demand but it's certainly not gained as much traction as I think many would have hoped," he explains. If more aeroplanes are earmarked for disassembly then the recycling industry will be ready. "At the moment we can recycle between 92-99% of an aircraft, through natural recycled processes or the circular economy," Mr Cobbold says. "I don't think people outside the aviation world or industry know how high that is, and how creative the end-of-life sector is in the aviation industry." https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57983174 Spirit Airlines says canceled flights cost it $50 million, hurt bookings More than 2,800 flight were canceled from July 30 through Aug. 9 Spirit Airlines said Monday the cancellation of more than 2,800 flights over an 11-day stretch this summer cost the budget airline about $50 million in lost revenue and caused spending to soar. The airline said the service meltdown that started in late July and a rise in COVID-19 cases are causing more last-minute cancellations and softer bookings. Spirit SAVE, -1.86% said that it will reduce flights — it called them moves “tactical schedule reductions” — for the rest of the quarter, which ends Sept. 30. The Miramar, Florida-based airline made the disclosures in a regulatory filing after the stock market closed. The shares fell more than 2% in after-market trading. Spirit said it canceled 2,826 flights from July 30 through Aug. 9 as it dealt with “overlapping challenges” including bad weather, airport staffing shortages, and crews being stranded far from their assigned flights. On some days during that stretch, the cancellations amounted to more than 60% of the airline’s schedule. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spirit-airlines-says-canceled-flights-cost-it-50-million-hurt-bookings-01629159629?siteid=yhoof2 Elon Musk's SpaceX Looking At Further Delays For Lunar Lander Project As Bezos' Blue Origin Legally Challenges NASA's Contract Award In what could be a setback for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos-founded commercial space flight company Blue Origin has sued NASA over a lunar lander contract awarded to the former. What Happened: Last Friday, Blue Origin filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims challenging what it claimed to be NASA's "unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals." For the uninitiated, Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics were the three companies that had sought NASA's contract to build spacecraft to land the first astronauts on the moon since 1972. Despite NASA suggesting that it would issue multiple awards, it finally decided in favor of SpaceX's Starship proposal. The contract awarded to SpaceX is valued at $2.94 billion. Blue Origin's bid was valued at $5.9 billion. Blue Origin, along with Dynetics, filed its protest in April with the U.S. Government Accountability Office regarding the contract award. The companies argued the agency was required to make multiple awards, in line with the announcement's stated preference for multiple awards. Once NASA realized it had less funding than required for multiple awards, it should have opened discussions, amended or canceled the announcement, the companies said. Additionally, they took exception to NASA improperly waiving a mandatory solicitation requirement for SpaceX. The GAO, however, denied the protests in late July, concluding that the evaluation of all three proposals was reasonable and consistent with applicable procurement law, regulation and the announcement's terms. Following Bezos' successful space trip in late July, he offered to waive off $2 billion from the contracted amount. Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and recently stepped down as CEO. Why It's Important: The protest made to the GAO prevented SpaceX from starting its contract for 95 days during the adjudication of the case. The lawsuit filed with the federal court is expected to stall the contract, resulting in potentially a lengthy delay. NASA's contract aims at landing the astronauts on the Moon as early as 2024. "The lawsuit is an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA's Human Landing System. We firmly believe that the issues identified in this procurement and its outcomes must be addressed to restore fairness, create competition, and ensure a safe return to the Moon for America," the Verge reported, citing a Blue Origin spokesperson. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/elon-musks-spacex-looking-further-202927303.html POSITION AVAILABLE: AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MANAGER IMMEDIATE VACANCY The PNG Accident Investigation Commission is the State Entity in Papua New Guinea responsible for conducting ‘independent, objective, no-blame’ investigations into aircraft accidents and serious incidents. As a signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO), PNG is committed to the highest standard of compliance with implementing ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices for improvements to safety standards in PNG, the region, and globally. It achieves this goal through the conducting of impartial investigations, making safety recommendations to address safety deficiencies identified from investigations, carry out safety studies, and the public release of its investigation reports. We are committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the aviation system to fulfil the State’s international ICAO obligations for safe air transportation system. The AIC invites suitably qualified candidates to apply for this Senior Management role. INVESTIGATION MANAGER The AIC is looking to recruit an Investigation Manager with adequate experience at senior Executive Management level. Able to provide strategic advice to Board and CEO and be able to lead, mentor and train a team of Investigation professionals of the AIC. Candidate with strong technical experience backed up by high personal integrity and strong ethical values will be strong contenders. The Investigation Manager will work closely with the CEO and the Board to provide advice on strategic technical and operational matters as they continue the trend for organisational development and to enhance the strong development work currently in progress. The Investigation Manager will be required to play a key role in assisting the AIC to pursue its goals to become a multi-modal transport safety organisation. Minimum requirements of the successful applicant include. Tertiary Qualification in an aviation related field with flight operations experience as an airline pilot or aircraft maintenance engineer (LAME) are essential. The candidate must have minimum 10 years of experience as an investigator with an ICAO Annex 13 compliant State Safety Investigation Authority. The successful candidate must have management leadership experience at a senior level in a state investigation entity with proven experience in organisational development, high-level technical advice and liaising with global and regional organisations and donor/financial institutions for resource mobilisation. Detailed understanding of ICAO and the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation including comprehensive understanding of model State Civil Aviation Frameworks is a requirement. Experience conducting ICAO USOAP activities either as State representative or Auditor, will be a bonus. The candidate with strong demonstrated experience in the development of safety studies based on ADREP compliant data, and exposure to Quality and/or Project Management are highly desirable. Fluent in written and verbal communication using the English Language is a must. Full details of salary, conditions of employment and job description shall be obtained during interview. Please, forward your written applications including relevant certificates together with recent updated CVs to: The Chief Executive Officer Accident Investigation Commission P O Box 1709, BOROKO, 111 NCD or via email: jobs@aic.gov.pg IMPORTANT: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview. If you do not hear from us within two weeks from the closing date of application, then you may consider your application unsuccessful. Note also that those candidates who applied for the Flight Operations Investigator (Fixed Wing) position previously need not apply. Applications close on 10th September 2021. RTCA Webinar: Airports - Critical Components in Future Transportation Infrastructure Wed, Aug 18, 2021 1pm-2:15pm EDT Join RTCA for a discussion with aviation experts on what the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal means to existing and emerging airport infrastructure needs and priorities. From the White House: “The [infrastructure] bill invests $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies." Panelists discuss complex issues including interoperability challenges presented in a multi-modal transportation ecosystem, the journey toward integration of emerging technologies with existing traditional modes of transportation, the need for new standards, and how we design improvements that anticipate the many changes in operations that will be needed for new entrants to create a safe, accessible, easy to use system that meets the evolving needs of the traveling public. Moderated by Carol Huegel of Gate 2 Gate Solutions, panelists include Chris Oswald of ACI-NA, Justin Barkowski of AAAE, Greg Pecoraro of NASAO, Chris Collings of L3 Harris and Scott Remillard of Saab. Register Free: https://bit.ly/3lKT8YX When: Wed, Aug 18, 2021 1pm-2:15pm EDT Curt Lewis