Flight Safety Information - September 6, 2021 No. 179 In This Issue : Incident: Lingus A333 at Dublin on Sep 5th 2021, rejected takeoff due to engine problem : Incident: KLM B773 at Accra on Sep 3rd 2021, rejected takeoff due to bird strike : Incident: Wizz A320 at Lviv on Sep 4th 2021, nose gear steering problem : Incident: Rossiya SU95 at Moscow on Sep 3rd 2021, aircraft control system problem : Incident: Biman B738 near Nagpur on Aug 27th 2021, captain incapacitated and later died : Singapore to allow Boeing 737 MAX to return to service : EVA Air pilots confirmed as delta infections in 2nd such outbreak in Taiwan : Flight attendants say the stress of dealing with unruly passengers has left them exhausted and fearing for their safety : Alaska Airlines Diverts Flight to Remove 'Disruptive' Passengers : Delta Air Lines Just Made a Big Decision, and Its Flight Attendants Should Be Very Happy : Philippine Airlines to return 22 planes, reassures on survival : New Boeing 787 Dreamliners may not be delivered till late Oct : Ryanair says ends talks with Boeing on large jet order : After six months on Mars, NASA's tiny copter is still flying high : POSITION AVAILABLE: Decision Science Lead, Flight Safety : POSITION AVAILABLE: FOQA Specialist Incident: Lingus A333 at Dublin on Sep 5th 2021, rejected takeoff due to engine problem An Aer Lingus Airbus A330-300, registration EI-FNG performing flight EI-123 from Dublin (Ireland) to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Dublin's runway 28L when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed (about 35 knots over ground) due a problem with the right hand engine (CF6), the aircraft briefly went off the runway centerline to the right but remained well within the runway edges. The crew subsequently requested emergency services to inspect their right hand side, they were able to vacate the runway though and taxied off the runway regaining the runway center line. After vacating the runway the crew reported they did hear a bang from the right hand side, no fire indication, they wanted emergency services to check their right hand engine. The aircraft returned to the apron following checks by the emergency services. A replacement A330-300 registration EI-EIN reached Chicago with a delay of 3:45 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Dublin about 25 hours after rejecting the takeoff. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ecd7c1b&opt=0 Incident: KLM B773 at Accra on Sep 3rd 2021, rejected takeoff due to bird strike A KLM Boeing 777-300, registration PH-BVK performing flight KL-590 from Accra (Ghana) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was accelerating for takeoff from Accra's runway 03 when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed (about 145 knots over ground) due to a bird strike at about 22:39L (22:39Z). The aircraft slowed safely, vacated the runway at the end and became disabled on the parallel taxiway due to a number of tyres deflating. The aircraft was towed to the apron about 30 minutes after becoming disabled on the taxiway. The airport reported the aircraft rejected takeoff from runway 21 due to a bird strike near the windshield. The aircraft was subsequently towed to the apron. The passengers disembarked and were taken to various hotels. ADS-B data transmitted by the transponder of the aircraft make clear the aircraft was accelerating for takeoff from runway 03 and rejected takeoff at about 145 knots over ground. Passengers reported they were told one of the engines (GE90) ingested a bird prompting the takeoff to be rejected. The right hand main tyres deflated during taxiing back to the apron. Ghana's AIB have opened an investigation into the occurrence. The aircraft remained on the ground in Accra for about 27:15 hours, then departed as flight KL-590D and reached Amsterdam with a delay of 27.5 hours about 2 hours after the regular flight KL-590 of Sep 4th 2021 (performed by PH-BVA). http://avherald.com/h?article=4ecd3d0f&opt=0 Incident: Wizz A320 at Lviv on Sep 4th 2021, nose gear steering problem A Wizz Air Airbus A320-200, registration HA-LPW performing flight W6-6715 from Larnaca (Cyprus) to Lviv (Ukraine) with 131 people on board, was on approach to Lviv's runway 31 when the crew advised of a nose gear steering problem indicating they would need to stop on the runway and been towed off the runway. The aircraft continued for a safe landing, stopped on the runway and was towed off the runway about 5 minutes after landing. Lviv Airport reported they received an alert from the crew over a nose gear steering problem. The landing was safe, the aircraft was towed off the runway. The aircraft returned to service about 2.5 hours after landing. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ecc1441&opt=0 Incident: Rossiya SU95 at Moscow on Sep 3rd 2021, aircraft control system problem A Rossiya Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 on behalf of Aeroflot, registration RA-89046 performing flight SU-6503 from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Belgorod (Russia) with 81 passengers and 4 crew, was climbing out of Sheremetyevo's runway 24C when the crew stopped the climb at about 3500 feet reporting problems with the aircraft control system in automatic mode, declared emergency and returned to Sheremetyevo for a safe landing on runway 24R about 25 minutes after departure. Rosaviatsia reported the crew took manual control of the aircraft, declared emergency and returned to Sheremetyevo due to a problem with the aircraft control systems in automatic mode. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ecbcecf&opt=0 Incident: Biman B738 near Nagpur on Aug 27th 2021, captain incapacitated and later died A Biman Bangladesh Boeing 737-800, registration S2-AEW performing flight BG-22 from Muscat (Oman) to Dhaka (Bangladesh) with 124 people on board, was enroute at FL370 about 190nm northeast of Nagpur (India) when the captain (44) suffered what appeared to be a heart attack, became incapacitated and lost consciousness. The first officer took control of the aircraft while cabin crew called for a doctor amongst the passenger and began resuscitation. The first officer landed the aircraft safely on Nagpur's runway 32 about 40 minutes later. The captain was taken to a hospital. The captain was taken to the intensive care unit, never regained consciousness and died a few hours later. The hospital indicated the captain had actually suffered a brain hemorrhage. The aircraft, that had departed Muscat with a delay of about 4 hours, remained on the ground in Nagpur for about 11 hours until a replacement crew arrived and continued the flight reaching Dhaka with a total delay of 16 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ecb532d&opt=0 Singapore to allow Boeing 737 MAX to return to service (Reuters) - Singapore's aviation regulator said on Monday it would approve the return to service of the Boeing Co 737 MAX more than two years after the plane was grounded, becoming the latest country in the Asia Pacific region to do so. The approval is based on operators including Singapore Airlines Ltd complying with airworthiness directives and additional flight crew training requirements, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement. Singapore grounded the 737 MAX in March 2019 following two fatal crashes. The approval for its return comes months after the model returned to service in the United States and Europe, and follows more recent lifting of grounding orders in other countries, including Australia, Fiji, Japan, India and Malaysia. China is the biggest market in the region that has yet to approve the return of the 737 MAX, though Boeing last month conducted test flights in the country. Singapore Airlines has six of the planes and it plans to take delivery of another eight in the financial year ending March 31, 2022, the carrier said in a presentation in May. Singapore Airlines said on Monday it would continue to work closely with CAAS and other relevant regulators in the coming weeks to meet the requirements to return its 737 MAX planes to service. Further details on its 737 MAX operations will be announced at a later date, the airline added. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/singapore-allow-boeing-737-max-025806752.html EVA Air pilots confirmed as delta infections in 2nd such outbreak in Taiwan Country on high alert again for potential spread of highly contagious delta TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Three EVA Air pilots and one family member have all been confirmed to have contracted the delta variant of COVID-19, according to Taiwan’s coronavirus task force. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on Monday (Sept. 6) that case Nos. 16,119, 16,120, and 16,100 were all infected with delta, but the genome sequencing results indicate a difference with case No. 16,066, who also has a delta infection. The four cases include three EVA Air pilots and the son of one of them. The cluster marks the second community spread event of the highly transmissible COVID strain, following the one in Pingtung in June, which saw 17 infections originating from a pair of family members returning from Peru. The high school the infected student attends was closed for two weeks in a precautionary measure. A total of 2,855 people either from the school or EVA Air have since undergone screenings, and all results came back negative. The incident has catapulted the nation, which has largely brought COVID under control, into renewed alert. A debate is being rekindled about the necessity of tightening quarantine rules for air flight crew, who were blamed for the largest community break in Taiwan during mid-May. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4281786 Flight attendants say the stress of dealing with unruly passengers has left them exhausted and fearing for their safety • Flight attendants often have to deal with unruly passengers. AP Photo/Paul Sancya • Flight attendants said they were "physically and emotionally" exhausted, CNN reported. • Crew members at US airlines were just "over it," said Mitra Amirzadeh, a flight attendant. • Disruptive behavior continues to be a problem, with FAA fines topping $1 million this year. The disruptive behaviour of many airline passengers this summer has left flight attendants feeling drained. Over the last few months, crew members have reported untold incidents of unruly behavior, including travelers who have hit, yelled at, and shoved staff members. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant in May was said to have had two of her teeth knocked out by a passenger. And a JetBlue Airways passenger was fined $45,000 for putting his head up a flight attendant's skirt, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA said in a statement in August that it has proposed more than $1 million in fines against passengers this year. Flight attendants told CNN they have hit breaking point. "We've gone through worrying about our health and safety, worrying about our jobs — now [we are] worrying about our safety in a different way," Allie Malis, of American Airlines, told CNN. Another flight attendant, Mitra Amirzadeh, told CNN she has had to deal with "a lot of babysitting" on flights. "The actual children on board behave better than the grown adults do," she said, adding that crews across were just "over it." Another crew member said she walks into work expecting disruptive incidents. "I come in expecting to get push back. I come in expecting to have a passenger that could potentially get violent," Susannah Carr told CNN. Such air rage incidents have caused flight attendants to resume self-defense trainings to stop violent passengers assaulting staff, the Transportation Security Administration announced in a press release. The classes had previously been paused due to COVID-19 restrictions. https://www.businessinsider.com/flight-attendants-exhausted-unruly-passengers-air-rage-2021-9 Alaska Airlines Diverts Flight to Remove 'Disruptive' Passengers A group of disruptive passengers reportedly forced an Alaska Airlines flight to divert and land in order to remove the troublesome travelers. Alaska Airlines flight 109 was scheduled to fly from Seattle to Anchorage on Saturday night but was delayed by several hours due to a series of setbacks. Multiple passengers were removed for "disruptive behavior" before the flight even took off, the airline said. "Before the flight departed Seattle, a group of guests was removed from the aircraft because of their disruptive behavior," Alaska Airlines said in a statement provided to KTUU. "Others in the party were allowed to continue onto Anchorage." Once in the air, one of the five remaining group members started to threaten crew members and other passengers, the publication reported. The behavior caused the flight to divert to the Alaskan capital of Juneau, where the rest of the group was removed. The passengers removed in Juneau did not continue to Anchorage on an Alaska Airlines flight, according to the airline. Footage taken from inside the aircraft and shared by the outlet showed at least five male passengers being escorted from the plane by authorities. It is unclear whether the men were removed from the aircraft in Seattle or Juneau. It also remains unclear how many passengers were part of the original group and the exact nature of their disruptive behavior. Newsweek has contacted Alaska Airlines for comment. In August, an Alaska Airlines flight evacuated all passengers onboard due to a fire caused by a cell phone in the plane's cargo hold. The Port of Seattle Fire Department (POSFD) responded to reports of a fire on the Alaska Airlines's flight at around 8:30 p.m. local time on Monday, August 23, after the aircraft landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington. An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told Newsweek that the blaze broke out on the plane "shortly after landing" when a passenger's phone caught on fire, prompting everyone onboard to be evacuated once it landed at the Seattle airport. In total, 128 passengers and six crew members were evacuated from the plane while the plane was towed to the gate without any impact on aircraft operations. The airline also hit the news recently when it announced Friday, September 3, that all employees vaccinated against COVID-19 would receive a $200 bonus payment. The company said that while 75 percent of its employees have already been vaccinated, it is aiming to move closer to the 100 percent mark. In addition to offering a financial bonus, the airline will require all new employees to be vaccinated before being hired. Furthermore, unvaccinated staff members will now have to submit to a new testing protocol and participate in a mandatory vaccine education program. Those employees will also not be eligible for special coronavirus pay if they contract COVID-19. The airline joined other major air travel companies including American Airlines, Air Canada, Delta, and United Airlines in adopting stricter COVID-19 vaccination policies and incentives. Both United and Delta airlines have also announced vaccine mandates for employees, while American is offering vaccinated employees an extra day off in 2022 and $50 in its recognition program. https://www.newsweek.com/alaska-airlines-diverts-flight-remove-disruptive-passengers-1626351 Delta Air Lines Just Made a Big Decision, and Its Flight Attendants Should Be Very Happy Is it still harder to become a Delta Air Lines flight attendant than it is to get into Harvard? Of all the odd statistics I've picked up writing about big airlines and smaller businesses, one of my favorites is the one about Delta Air Lines and its flight attendants. If you crunch the numbers the right way, you can make an argument that it's statistically harder to become a Delta Air Lines flight attendant than it is to gain admission to Harvard University. Take 2017, for example, when according to Delta's numbers, more than 270,000 people applied for roughly 1,700 open Delta flight attendant jobs, which works out to about a 0.62 percent success rate. That year, Harvard had a 5.2 percent acceptance rate. (It's now down to 3.4 percent at Harvard.) Last week, just in time for Labor Day, Delta Air Lines announced plans to hire 1,500 new flight attendants, along with an additional 1,500 flight attendants who made it through the hiring process before the pandemic began in early 2020, but who weren't able to start work due to the crisis. All of this comes not a moment too soon for the people who are currently employed as Delta Air Lines flight attendants, and it's safe to say they'll be very happy about the announcement. Roughly 4,000 of their fellow flight attendants took early retirement or other separation options during the pandemic, and the strain on those who stayed has gotten more difficult. Now, Delta isn't alone in its hiring plans. United Airlines recently announced it's going to hire more flight attendants after its pandemic pause, as the cabin crew recruitment site Paddle Your Own Kanoo reported, American Airlines is looking to hire 800 flight attendants, while JetBlue wants to hire 2,500 new flight attendants. On top of that, Southwest Airlines increased its recruiting and also recently announced it's going to reduce its schedule after its flight attendants wrote that they felt "weary, exhausted, frustrated, and forgotten." Still, given the history, it's the Delta Air Lines announcement that caught people's attention. Now, I tend to put an asterisk on the Delta-versus-Harvard acceptance rate comparison, simply because it doesn't actually cost anything to begin the application process at Delta. Applying to Harvard at the very least requires an application fee. The top of the funnel at Delta is simply bigger, so the odds of making it to the bottom of the funnel are longer. But I still think it's both a slick statistic to be able to mention, and a legitimate expression of how desirable these jobs seem to many people. Or at least -- how desirable they once were. It's going to be very interesting to see now just how many people apply for these jobs, and whether the allure of flying for a living, along with the perks of nearly unlimited, nearly free travel around the world, will still be enticing in our current world situation. For that matter, the job itself has become much more demanding across the industry, both because of airlines' challenges in maintaining the correct ratio of staff to flights, and because of the seemingly infinite new ways passengers have found to behave badly over the last 18 months. Here's an indication: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued more than $1 million in fines to unruly airline passengers so this year, and has started more than four times as many incident investigations as it did in all of 2019. Some of the details of these passengers' transgressions are surreal. Here's the first one listed in the FAA's report: • $45,000 against a passenger on a May 24, 2021, jetBlue Airways flight from New York, N.Y., to Orlando, Fla., for allegedly throwing objects, including his carry-on luggage, at other passengers; refusing to stay seated; lying on the floor in the aisle, refusing to get up, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt. The passenger was placed in flexi-cuffs and the flight made an emergency landing in Richmond, Va. Because while it's impossible to know ahead of time whether Delta's low hiring rate will be similar to what it was years ago under current conditions, it's clear Delta will be facing some of the same challenges you probably face in your business: But just in case you know anyone who might be interested, or else if you'd just like to see how Delta runs its process, you can find their application site here. https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/delta-air-lines-just-made-a-big-decision-its-flight-attendants-should-be-very-happy.html Philippine Airlines to return 22 planes, reassures on survival • Flag carrier filed for Chapter 11 in the United States • Philippine Airlines returning 22 of its 92 aircraft-executives • Negotiates with Airbus to postpone delivery of 13 jets • Airline's president reassures on survival of company MANILA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Philippine Airlines [RIC:RIC:PHL.UL] will return 22 aircraft, mostly Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) jets, to lessors as it pursues a financial restructuring programme to survive after the pandemic has decimated global travel, executives said on Monday. Philippine Airlines last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, allowing it to continue operations and generate fresh capital. With the company not expecting a return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024 to 2025, the carrier will return 22 aircraft to lessors, Philippine Airlines President Gilbert Santa Maria told a news conference. Philippine Airlines will end with 70 aircraft after cutting about a quarter of its fleet of 92 planes. The flag carrier has also negotiated with Airbus for the postponement of the delivery of 13 narrow-body Airbus aircraft, with an option to cancel some orders beyond 2026 to 2030, said Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez, the company's chief financial officer. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Philippine Airlines said on Friday it was pursuing a financial restructuring plan. "The chance that this will fail is very small," Santa Maria said. The proposed rehabilitation plan will cut $2 billion in borrowings. It also includes $505 million in long-term debt equity and debt financing from the airline's majority shareholder, PAL Holdings Inc. (PAL.PS), and $150 million of additional debt financing from new investors, the company said. PAL Holdings is partly owned by Japan's ANA Holdings Inc. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/philippine-airlines-postpone-deliveries-cancel-airbus-orders-2021-09-06/ New Boeing 787 Dreamliners may not be delivered till late Oct (Reuters) - Boeing Co's delivery of 787 Dreamliners will likely remain halted until at least late October as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has rejected the company's recent proposal to inspect them, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The FAA confirmed on July 12 that some undelivered Boeing 787s have a new manufacturing quality issue the company needs to fix before shipment. Airlines pay most of the purchase price upon delivery. Boeing met with FAA on Aug. 2 to persuade the agency to approve an inspection method that would speed deliveries with targeted checks rather than nose-to-tail teardowns, the newspaper said. The regulators flagged internal company disagreements over the aircraft sample size, and repeated that Boeing's employee group that acts as an in-house regulator needs to concur with the company's proposals, the report added. An FAA spokesman said the agency continues to engage with Boeing and will not sign off on the inspections "until our safety experts are satisfied." Boeing's 737 MAX and 787 have been afflicted by electrical defects and other issues since late last year, and it only resumed deliveries of the 787 in March after a five-month hiatus. A Boeing spokesperson said the company was committed to providing full transparency with regulators and working with the FAA through the rigorous process to resume 787 deliveries. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/boeings-delivery-787-dreamliners-may-201059707.html Ryanair says ends talks with Boeing on large jet order DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair has ended talks with Boeing on a major new order for Boeing 737 jets due to a disagreement over pricing, the Irish airline said on Monday. The budget giant is already the largest European customer for the 737 MAX, with 210 firm orders of the 197-seat MAX 8-200 model. It has said it could order up to 250 of the 230-seat MAX 10 for delivery from around 2025. A large order from Ryanair would provide a major boost to U.S. planemaker Boeing and its MAX, which was grounded for 20 months, up to last November, after two fatal crashes. It would also boost an industry grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary poured cold water on the chances of a quick deal, saying he would be surprised if agreement was reached before next year. On Monday, he said talks had collapsed without any agreement on pricing. "We are disappointed we couldn’t reach agreement," O'Leary said in a statement. "However, Boeing have a more optimistic outlook on aircraft pricing than we do, and we have a disciplined track record of not paying high prices for aircraft." Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The breakdown in negotiations - at least for now - means there will be no quick deal that would have provided a major vote of confidence in the MAX, but Ryanair did not say it was planning to hold talks with rival Airbus, the only realistic alternative supplier. O'Leary, one of Boeing's most loyal customers, in recent years has repeatedly played down the prospect of a deal with Airbus due to the manufacturer's heavy backlog of orders. PRICING OUTLOOK In Monday's statement O'Leary did refer to the fact that other Boeing customers had done deals with Airbus. Britain's Jet2 last week closed a deal for 36 A321 neo aircraft worth about $4.9 billion.. Delta in August added 30 A321neo narrowbody aircraft to its order book with Airbus. Boeing’s more optimistic pricing outlook "may explain why in recent weeks other large Boeing customers such as Delta and Jet2, have been placing new orders with Airbus," O'Leary said. Delta has a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets. Industry analysts noted Boeing has nonetheless had a series of major orders for the MAX in recent months including 150 of the 737 MAX-10 from U.S. carrier United Airlines. Some analysts say the public standoff suggests that recent orders have given Boeing increased confidence to defend a red line on pricing as the MAX regains commercial momentum. That contrasts with the pattern seen around six months ago when the MAX was reported to be available at aggressive prices. Ryanair, on the other hand, is gambling that its supplier will come to the table with a better offer as continued pressure from the pandemic adds to the fallout from the MAX crisis. How the tug of war over prices plays out will depend in part on the progress of efforts to contain COVID-19 in coming months. Despite the public row, "it is likely Boeing and Ryanair will eventually cut a deal," a senior industry source said. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ryanair-ends-talks-boeing-737-091101066.html After six months on Mars, NASA's tiny copter is still flying high It was only supposed to fly five times. And yet NASA's helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity, has completed 12 flights and it isn't ready to retire. Given its stunning and unexpected success, the US space agency has extended Ingenuity's mission indefinitely. The tiny helicopter has become the regular travel companion of the rover Perseverance, whose core mission is to seek signs of ancient life on Mars. "Everything is working so well," said Josh Ravich, the head of Ingenuity's mechanical engineering team. "We're doing better on the surface than we had expected." Hundreds of people contributed to the project, though only about a dozen currently retain day-to-day roles. Ravich joined the team five years ago. "When I got the opportunity to come work on the helicopter project, I think I had the same reaction as anybody else: 'Is that even possible?'" His initial doubts were understandable: The air on Mars has a density equivalent to only one percent that of Earth's atmosphere. By way of comparison, flying a helicopter on Mars would be like flying one in the thin air nearly 20 miles (30 kilometers) above Earth. Nor was it easy getting to Mars in the first place. Ingenuity had to withstand the initial shock of takeoff from Earth, and then of the February 18 landing on the red planet following a seven-month voyage through space, strapped to the rover's belly. Once in its new surroundings, the tiny (four pound, or 1.8 kilogram) copter has had to survive the glacial cold of Martian nights, drawing warmth from the solar panels that charge its batteries during the day. And its flights are guided using an array of sensors, since the 15-minute lag in communications from Earth makes real-time guidance impossible. Scouting duties On April 19, Ingenuity carried out its maiden flight, making history as the first motorized craft to fly on another planet. Exceeding all expectations, it has gone on to fly 11 more times. "We've actually been able to handle winds greater than we had expected," Ravich told AFP. "I think by flight three we had actually accomplished all of our engineering goals ... (and) got all the information we had hoped to get," said Ravich, who works for NASA's famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which developed the helicopter. Since then, Ingenuity has flown as high as 39 feet (12 meters), and its last flight lasted two minutes and 49 seconds. In all, it has covered a distance of 1.6 miles. Six months of 'Ingenuity' helicopter on Mars. In May, Ingenuity flew its first one-way mission, landing outside the relatively flat "airfield" that had been carefully selected as its initial home. But not all has gone smoothly. Its sixth flight brought some excitement. After being knocked dangerously off-balance by a malfunction affecting the photos taken in flight to help it stabilize, the tiny craft was able to recover. It landed, safe and sound, and the problem was resolved. Ingenuity is now being sent out to scout the way for Perseverance, using its high-resolution color camera. The purpose is twofold: to chart a path for the rover that is safe, but also which is of scientific interest, notably in geological terms. Ken Farley, who heads Perseverance's science team, explained how photos taken by Ingenuity during its 12th flight showed that a region dubbed South Seitha was of less interest than scientists had hoped. As a result, the rover might not be sent there. Favorable conditions After more than six months on the red planet, the little drone-like craft has gained a growing following on Earth, featured on coffee cups and T-shirts sold on the internet. What explains its longevity? "The environment has been very cooperative so far: the temperatures, the wind, the sun, the dust in the air... It's still very cold, but it could have been a lot worse," said Ravich. In theory, the helicopter should be able to keep operating for some time. But the approaching Martian winter will be challenging. NASA engineers, now armed with the data from Ingenuity's flights, are already working on its next-generation successors. "Something in the 20 to 30 kilograms (range) maybe, able to carry science payloads," said Ravich. Those future payloads might just include the rock samples collected by Perseverance. NASA is planning to retrieve those samples during a future mission—sometime in the 2030s. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-months-mars-nasa-tiny-copter.html POSITION AVAILABLE: Decision Science Lead, Flight Safety Atlanta, GA This position will support the delivery and continued evolution of products based on the safety data, classifications, and models built with Flight Safety metrics and data science. The Technical Lead will help develop the safety data best practices for adoption and training within Flight Safety as well as Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance. This requires a deep knowledge of aviation safety metrics and models, classification models, statistical processes, and core data science/data engineering skill sets. This role will report directly to the Manager, Data and Decision Science. Primary responsibilities: • Bridge the gap between data collected from operations and the risk analysis needed for Delta to make informed decisions about areas of flight safety risk. • Design, develop and implement software products based on data science/machine learning models. • Help develop best practices for flight safety data architecture, data stewardship, and data presentation. • Define and execute the data modeling roadmap. • Build data sets from multiple data sources, both internally and externally. • Partner with Operational data analysis teams to optimize and enhance the data environment for addressing known safety risks and applying methods to discover potential new risks. • Work with operational leaders to ensure that the data products are produced with optimal efficiency and best practices. • Leverage emerging technologies and identify efficient and meaningful ways to disseminate data and analysis in order to satisfy the business' needs. • Provide technical leadership to the Flight Safety department and Corporate Safety. • Practice safety-conscious environment resulting in employee safety and well-being. • Embraces diverse people, thinking and styles. What you need to succeed: • Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or equivalent experience. • Must have at least 2 years of relevant analytical/project management experience. • Must have a working knowledge of Flight Operations and Flight Safety metrics. • Proficiency in working with relational databases and query authoring (SQL). • Proficiency in data visualization best practices and commercially available tools (e.g. Tableau). • Proficiency in Python, Bash script or other basic functional programming tools. • Strong written, oral communication, and interpersonal skills. • A natural curiosity towards constant improvement. • Strong project management, organizational, and prioritizations skills. • Must be able to interact and collaborate at all levels within Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance, Flight Operations, cross-divisional working groups and outside entities. • Must be performing satisfactorily in current position. What will give you a competitive edge: • PhD degree/candidate preferred. • Working knowledge of statistical/machine learning tools (e.g. scikit-learn) preferred. To apply, please visit: https://delta.avature.net/careers/JobDetail/Decision-Science-Lead/6087 APPLY HERE FOQA Specialist (NJUS) Purpose of Position The FOQA Specialist processes day-to-day Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) data using the Ground Data Replay Analysis System (GDRAS) and performs routine data analysis. The FOQA Specialist creates weekly and monthly deliverables in addition to working with Gatekeepers and other members of Safety and FOQA Management Team (FMT). Tasks and Responsibilities · Supports the FOQA Program Manager with daily administration of the FOQA efforts to ensure analysis of flight data for improved flight safety including validation of FOQA events, identification of events for Gatekeeper contacts and identification of events for Maintenance reporting. · Performs data analysis, root cause analysis and determines corrective actions of digital flight data to determine adverse events, trends in flight and maintenance operations. Coordinates and validates aircraft specific event definitions. Maintains and identifies new FOQA events, and manages documentation supporting these functions. · Prepares flight operations trending analysis charts and reports. Compiles and presents FOQA data summaries to enhance training, maintenance, flight operations. Performs specialized studies and fulfills special data requests. Assists in the creation of safety and FOQA department publications. Prepares reports, presentations, and statistical data required to identify trends for safety enhancement. · Oversees data collection process of aircraft fleet in conjunction with Maintenance. Education Bachelor's in Aviation or Engineering Certifications and Licenses Years of Experience 0-2 years of experience Core Competencies Adaptability Collaboration Curiosity Service-Oriented Strives for Positive Results Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other (KSAOs) · Basic computer programming and statistical methods experience · Strong work ethic, ability to work in a fast-paced environment and a positive attitude toward teamwork · Previous experience maintaining and enhancing corporate safety standards and safe operation practices · Extensive working knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs, including spreadsheet and database applications · Travel up to 10% of the time, including overnight stays · FAA Commercial Pilot License or higher preferred · Prior experience with Austin Digital or equivalent GDRAS platforms preferred · Knowledge of aircraft flight data recorders preferred · Previous work experience, preferably in 14 CFR Part 121 or 135 air carrier operations; quality control, maintenance, operations, safety or a combination of these areas. APPLY HERE Curt Lewis