Flight Safety Information - October 8, 2021 No. 203 In This Issue : Incident: American B788 at Miami on Oct 6th 2021, blew tyre on departure : Incident: Afriqiyah A320 near Misrata on Oct 6th 2021, loss of cabin pressure : Incident: Azul E295 at Sao Paulo on Oct 3rd 2021, cabin pressure problems : Incident: Eurowings A320 at Malaga on Oct 5th 2021, hydraulic failure : Canada Sets Vaccine Requirement Date for Travelers : CDC Recommends Unvaccinated Americans Avoid Domestic Travel Ahead of Holiday Season : Biden says U.S. will 'deal' with violence on airplanes : Bill would extend FAA rest requirements to cargo pilots : KCSO pilots track down laser pointer : FAA Fumbled Its Response To a Surge in GPS Jamming Confusion over stopping military tests had flight controllers fuming : Man faces multiple charges for refusing to wear mask delaying XNA flight : United is expecting December to be the busiest air travel month in almost 2 years : Analysis-China protest sets stage for U.N. plane emissions debate : PhD - Graduate Research Survey Request (1) Incident: American B788 at Miami on Oct 6th 2021, blew tyre on departure An American Airlines Boeing 787-8, registration N801AC performing flight AA-2524 from Miami,FL to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) with 226 people on board, was climbing out of Miami's runway 08R when the crew levelled off at 5000 feet reporting they had blown a tyre on departure and needed to return. The crew subsequently advised they wanted runway 12 after talking to dispatch and needed a tow after clearing the runway. The aircraft landed safely on runway 12 about 20 minutes after departure, vacated the runway on own power and was towed to the apron. A replacement Boeing 787-8 registration N808AN reached Dallas with a delay of 3:20 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 14.5 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ee5cdc2&opt=0 Incident: Afriqiyah A320 near Misrata on Oct 6th 2021, loss of cabin pressure An Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320-200, registration 5A-ONO performing flight 8U-974 from Misrata (Libya) to Istanbul (Turkey), was climbing through FL310 about 125nm north of Misrata when the crew initiated an emergency descent to FL100 reporting the loss of cabin pressure. The crew decided to return to Misrata for a safe landing on runway 15 about 35 minutes later. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Misrata about 20 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ee5a8a4&opt=0 Incident: Azul E295 at Sao Paulo on Oct 3rd 2021, cabin pressure problems An Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer ERJ-195-E2, registration PS-AEG performing flight AD-4745 from Sao Paulo Viracopos,SP to Brasilia,DF (Brazil) with 112 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Viracopos Airport when the crew stopped the climb at FL200 due to problems with the cabin pressurization systems, descended to FL100 and returned to Viracopos for a safe landing about 45 minutes after departure. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ee58e4f&opt=0 Incident: Eurowings A320 at Malaga on Oct 5th 2021, hydraulic failure A Eurowings Airbus A320-200, registration D-ABNH performing flight EW-7537 from Malaga,SP (Spain) to Hamburg (Germany), was climbing out of Malaga when the crew stopped the climb at FL140 reporting a hydraulic problem requiring them to return to Malaga and stop on the runway. The aircraft entered a hold while working the checklists and burning fuel and landed safely back on Malaga's runway 13 about one hour after departure. The aircraft stopped on the runway and was towed off the runway about 20 minutes after landing. The aircraft remained on the ground in Malaga for about 42.5 hours, then positioned to Hamburg. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ee57bac&opt=0 Canada Sets Vaccine Requirement Date for Travelers Following Canada's initial August announcement of a vaccine mandate, the country set the date of Oct. 30 for the requirement to go into effect. All people over the age of 12 traveling by train or rail in Canada must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Currently, travelers who have only been partially vaccinated will be required to show proof of partial vaccination and test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their trip. That policy, however, is set to expire Nov. 30. "To depart from Canadian airports or travel on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains, travelers will need to qualify as a fully vaccinated traveler," read a government announcement Wednesday. "The Government of Canada strongly advises any Canadians planning to travel by plane or train this holiday season to get vaccinated as soon as possible or they will be unable to travel." Canadian officials will accept proof of vaccination with vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Covishield, and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson. "We're taking these steps to finish the fight against COVID-19, and we're using the most effective tool - vaccines - to get the job done," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter thread discussing the mandate. So far, more than 82% of eligible Canadians have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine while more than 71% of Canadians have been fully vaccinated. The U.S. has yet to require vaccination for travel, but several U.S.-based cruise lines have implemented a vaccine requirement. Several popular cities, including San Francisco, New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles are requiring proof of COVID vaccination for dining indoors, drinking inside bars, and at places like movie theaters, museums, and other indoor venues. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/canada-sets-vaccine-requirement-date-143452105.html CDC Recommends Unvaccinated Americans Avoid Domestic Travel Ahead of Holiday Season Unvaccinated people should not travel around the country until they have been inoculated, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ahead of the holiday travel season. "Delay travel until you are fully vaccinated," the CDC recommended this week. "People who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine or a vaccine authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization can travel safely within the United States." The CDC said unvaccinated people who do have to travel should get tested one to three days before their trip, get tested three to five days after traveling, and self-quarantine for seven days, regardless of a negative test. Fully vaccinated travelers are still encouraged to wear a mask in crowded areas and if they come into contact with unvaccinated people, but don't have to get tested before or after travel. The strong guidance comes as infections have begun dropping in the United States, but the 7-day moving average of daily cases remains above 97,000, according to the CDC. The delta variant accounts for more than 99% of all cases in the U.S. The agency noted in total, 65% of people in the country have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 56% are fully vaccinated, and 3.2% have received a booster dose. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it's "too soon" to tell if Americans will be able to gather safely for the Christmas holidays this year. "We've just got to [concentrate] on continuing to get those numbers down and not try to jump ahead by weeks or months and say what we're going to do at a particular time," Fauci said in an interview with CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday. "Let's focus like a laser on continuing to get… those cases down. And we can do it by people getting vaccinated and also in the situation where boosters are appropriate to get people boosted because we know that they can help greatly in diminishing infection and diminishing advanced disease, the kinds of data that are now accumulating in real time." The CDC's new recommendation closely follows the guidance it issued for Labor Day this year when CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky advised unvaccinated Americans to avoid travel ahead of the holiday weekend. Following the unofficial end of summer, the Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 1 million fewer passengers compared to the Fourth of July. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/cdc-recommends-unvaccinated-americans-avoid-142435107.html Biden says U.S. will 'deal' with violence on airplanes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he had instructed the Justice Department to "deal" with the rising number of violent incidents onboard airplanes, many involving the requirement to wear face coverings. "I've instructed the Justice Department to make sure that we deal with the violence on aircraft," Biden said at a speech in Illinois. "We're going to deal with that." To date this year, there have been 4,626 reports of unruly passenger incidents https://www.faa.gov/data_research/passengers_cargo/unruly_passengers/?ipid=post_link_1, including 3,366 that were mask-related. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has initiated enforcement actions in 177 cases, issuing more than $1 million in proposed fines. The Justice Department did not immediately comment. Many incidents onboard airplanes have been captured by passengers and posted on social media, drawing significant attention. Last month, two senior U.S. Senate Democrats urged Attorney General Merrick Garland https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/DOJ%20Unruly%20Passenger%20Letters%20(Sept.%2020%202021)%20Final%20Signed.pdf to investigate and prosecute unruly air passengers due to the surge in such behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. In June, a group representing major U.S. airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and aviation unions also asked Garland https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/exclusive-airlines-unions-urge-us-prosecute-egregious-onboard-conduct-2021-06-21 to prosecute the growing number of disruptive and violent air passengers. The letter from Airlines for America said the "incidents pose a safety and security threat to our passengers and employees." Last month, Delta called on other U.S. airlines to share lists of passengers who have been banned during the COVID-19 pandemic for disruptive behavior to help deter the rising number of incidents. The carrier said during the COVID-19 pandemic it has put more than 1,600 people on its "no fly" list. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson imposed in January a zero-tolerance order on passenger disturbances aboard airplanes after supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump were disruptive on flights around the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. That policy will extend until at least as long as federal mask rules on airplanes are in place, which were extended in August into mid-January 2022. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-says-u-deal-violence-205140869.html Bill would extend FAA rest requirements to cargo pilots Washington — Legislation reintroduced in the House on June 23 and the Senate on July 15 would provide cargo pilots with the same legal protections intended to protect against fatigued flying as those afforded to passenger aircraft pilots. The Safe Skies Act (S. 2350 and H.R. 4075) – sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), respectively – is aimed at eliminating a Department of Transportation loophole that exempts cargo pilots from Federal Aviation Administration rest requirements. Under rules that went into effect in January 2014, passenger airlines must provide pilots with at least 10 consecutive hours of rest before flight duty. A press release from Klobuchar’s office notes that cargo pilots are allowed to be on duty for as long as 16 hours a day – or 60% longer than other pilots. “It shouldn’t matter if a pilot is flying a cargo or a commercial plane – it is critical we address pilot fatigue,” Klobuchar said. “Closing this loophole will help prevent potential tragedies and ensure the safety of all involved.” Several organizations support the legislation, the release states, including the Air Line Pilots Association, International; the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations; and the Independent Pilots Association. “It is vitally important to ensure that the safety of our nation’s transportation system remains paramount,” CAPA President Larry Rooney said in a press release. “Until flight duty and rest regulations are applied to all cargo carriers and supplemental carriers, we will never have ‘One-Level-of-Safety.’ Sadly, its absence places our nation’s airline safety system at significant risk for another unfortunate, preventable and costly tragedy.” Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are co-sponsors of the bill. The House version has 10 co-sponsors, including Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Matt Cartwright (D-PA). At press time, the legislation was under consideration by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee as well as the House Aviation Subcommittee. Similar bills have been introduced in the House and Senate since 2012. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/21782-bill-would-extend-faa-rest-requirements-to-cargo-pilots KCSO pilots track down laser pointer A suspect was arrested after reportedly pointing a laser at a patrol aircraft. According to a release from the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, the plane, Air 1, was patrolling the skies over Kings County on a routine patrol on Tuesday evening when a green laser pointer began targeting the airplane. The plane, manned by a pilot and observer, was patrolling the east side of Hanford at the time. Pointing a laser at an aircraft can pose a serious risk, as it causes distractions and temporary flash blindness to those in the cockpit, the release stated. The observer of the plane was able to pinpoint where the light was originating from and a deputy was directed in the location. The suspect was later identified as 57-year-old Humberto Sanchez. Sanchez was standing near an apartment located in the View Road Apartment complex on 9 ¼ Avenue in Hanford. He was contacted by the deputy and when confronted the suspect reportedly responded by saying, “Oh, that was your plane?” According to KCSO public information officer Nate Ferrier, they’ve had problems in this area with laser pointing before. “Anyone who is thinking about — or has attempted to point any type of a laser at a plane — please don’t do that. It’s extremely dangerous to those in the plane, and we will track you down, and we will arrest you and prosecute you. So please be respectful to our friends in the sky,” Ferrier said. Sanchez was placed into custody and the laser pointer was confiscated as evidence. He was booked into the Kings County Jail on the felony charge of willfully and maliciously discharging a laser at an aircraft. The suspect posted bail and was later released. https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/kcso-pilots-track-down-laser-pointer/article_5c4f197e-1ec7-571e-ba43-d8b672d7bf1a.html FAA Fumbled Its Response To a Surge in GPS Jamming Confusion over stopping military tests had flight controllers fuming FAA air traffic controllers supervising flights over Arizona, New Mexico and Texas were confused and frustrated by an increase in military tests that interfered with GPS signals for civilian aircraft, public records show. In March and April this year, flight controllers at the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center filed reports on NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), a forum where aviation professionals can anonymously share near misses and safety tips. The complaints accused the FAA of denying controllers permission to ask the military to cut short GPS tests adversely affecting commercial and private aircraft. These so-called "stop buzzer" (or "cease buzzer") requests are supposed to be made by pilots only when a safety-of-flight issue is encountered. "Aircraft are greatly affected by the GPS jamming and it's not taken seriously by management," reads one report. "We've been told we can't ask to stop jamming, and to just put everyone on headings." In a second report, a private jet made a wrong turn into restricted airspace over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico after being jammed. On that occasion, the air traffic controller called a stop buzzer. "[The] facility manager on duty later informed me we can't ask them to 'stop buzzer' and to just keep putting aircraft on headings," their ASRS report reads. Putting an aircraft on headings requires giving pilots precise bearings to follow, rather than letting them perform their own navigation using GPS or other technologies. This adds work for controllers, who are already very busy at certain times of day. https://spectrum.ieee.org/gps-jamming Man faces multiple charges for refusing to wear mask delaying XNA flight As the number of unruly passengers continues to grow nationwide, an Arkansas man who delayed an XNA flight is facing multiple charges. HIGHFILL, Ark. — The FAA reporting an increase in unruly passengers who are refusing to wear masks and one of the most recent incidents happened this week in Northwest Arkansas. XNA passengers aboard an American Airlines flight were asked to get off a plane Wednesday (Oct. 7) after a man refused to wear a mask while onboard. “So, it delayed at one of our flights in the morning on October 6 headed to Dallas,” said Alex English, XNA PR and Marketing. The flight was delayed by 30 minutes because of the man not complying with the face mask policy. Officials say the man was arrested and is now facing charges of public intoxication, third-degree battery, and disorderly conduct. Cases like the one at XNA are becoming more common amid the pandemic. “My colleagues are anxious and fearful. What’s going to happen on the next flight? How will this passenger react if I request them to wear their mask?,” said Teddy Andrews with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. According to an FAA report, from the start of the year to Oct. 3 there have been nearly 4,626 reports of unruly passengers, 3,366 of them are for not wearing masks. “Flight attendants, gate agents and other employees have the right to go to work without the fear of being harassed, intimidated, abused, as assaulted, period,” said Republican Missouri Representative, Sam Graves. Due to a federal mandate, masks are required inside airports and airplanes nationwide. “That means coming into an airport or you’re going onto an aircraft, you will be required to wear your mask for the entirety of your trip,” said English. XNA says they follow a three-step process to ensure everyone is masked inside the airport or on board a flight. Saying they will first offer passengers a mask if they don’t already have one. If refused, they are arrested and charged with criminal trespassing and could face further penalties. However, some are asking for more to be done. “Now what do we need?,” asked Sara Nelson, former International President of the Association of Flight Attendants. “We need DOJ criminal charges and enforcement, make the FAA zero-tolerance policy permanent,” said Nelson. TSA has not released the man’s name but says he was arrested by local law enforcement once removed from the plane. https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/man-faces-multiple-charges-refusing-wear-mask-delaying-xna-flight/527-c325b591-8f7b-445a-af90-168a7a1a82b0 United is expecting December to be the busiest air travel month in almost 2 years United Airlines is expecting December to be its busiest holiday travel month in two years. The airline has scheduled over 3,500 flights daily domestic departures in December. United will offer nearly 70 daily flights to ski destinations, including a new route from California to Aspen. United Airlines announced on Thursday that it is planning its largest domestic schedule since 2019 in anticipation of a busy winter travel season. United Airlines is expecting strong holiday travel this year, with a 16% increase in winter travel searches on its website and mobile app compared to the same time in 2019, according to the carrier. To prepare for the surge in demand, the airline said it has scheduled over 3,500 daily domestic departures this December, which is 91% of the flights offered in 2019. While the schedule is still subject to change, United said it anticipates the busiest Thanksgiving travel days to be Wednesday, November 24, and Sunday, November 28. Meanwhile, the most popular winter travel days are expected to be Thursday, December 23, and Sunday, January 2. "We're seeing a lot of pent-up demand in our data and are offering a December schedule that centers on the two things people want most for the holidays: warm sunshine and fresh snow. We know families and friends are eager to reunite this holiday season, which is why we're thrilled to add new flights that will help them connect and celebrate together," said United's vice president of network planning and scheduling Ankit Gupta. The airline plans to resume routes it had suspended during the pandemic and introduce new ones, with the intent to connect the Midwest to warm-weather cities as well as offer more service to ski destinations across the US. New service to warm destinations includes direct flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix from Cleveland and Indianapolis to Orlando. United also plans to resume eight nonstop routes from Midwest cities to Florida, including Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale. The airline is also resuming four popular routes from winter 2020, including Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Fort Myers. Overall, the airline will offer up to 195 daily departures to 12 destinations in the Sunshine State, marking the most amount of flights offered to Florida in the company's history. Travelers heading to ski destinations will have nearly 70 daily flight options, including a brand new route from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California to Aspen. Other popular destinations include Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; and Bozeman, Montana. While United's schedule could be the busiest it has been in over a year, the airline is still not at capacity, and the TSA does not expect to screen as many passengers as it did in 2019. "While we do expect travel volume to increase during Thanksgiving week, specifically on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (28 Nov) we are not expecting to reach the 2.8+ million number we saw in 2019. Screening times vary for numerous reasons and vary by airport, so it's almost impossible to give specific screening time predictions. However, we're very confident that TSA officers will meet the challenge of screening millions of passengers on their way to and from their holiday destinations," TSA spokesperson Daniel Velez told Insider. In 2019, the TSA screened over 26 million passengers and flight crews over Thanksgiving from Monday, November 22 to Sunday, December 1, with December 1 being the busiest day in the TSA's 18-year history, according to the agency. Despite the high volume of travelers, the agency said 99.8% of passengers nationwide waited less than 30 minutes in the security checkpoint line, while 99.2% of those with TSA Pre waited less than 10 minutes. https://www.yahoo.com/news/united-expecting-december-busiest-air-101800009.html Analysis-China protest sets stage for U.N. plane emissions debate MONTREAL (Reuters) - Commercial aviation's key players are backing a target of net zero emissions by 2050, but high costs and opposition from China remain obstacles toward reaching a global climate goal at a United Nations aviation meeting next fall. Major plane and engine makers joined airlines gathering in Boston earlier this week to commit https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airlines-accelerate-climate-pledge-industry-talks-2021-10-04 to the goal, as aviation faces mounting pressure to reduce emissions from flights. But state-controlled Chinese airlines objected at the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) meeting, saying developing countries should not be held to the same standards as developed nations, reflecting longstanding divisions that some see as a dress rehearsal for the 2022 gathering in Montreal. The same divide seen at IATA could make it difficult for countries to come together behind a common goal for aviation. Airlines want members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to support a global long-term goal that would influence governments to take action to achieve the target, like funding the production of sustainable aviation fuel. The ICAO "faces an enormous challenge and its credibility is really on the line," said Annie Petsonk, the U.S. Transportation Department's principal deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs. IATA's 2050 plan requires large amounts of sustainable aviation fuel, but supply is not widely available and it is more expensive to produce than conventional jet fuel. "If ICAO is able to identify and agree on a clear long-term aspirational goal, that will make an enormous difference in pointing the direction ... toward meeting that goal," Petsonk told a recent forum. ICAO cannot impose rules on governments but holds clout among its 193 member countries. Aviation was excluded from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord, where countries agreed to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and preferably to 1.5 degrees. To do that, scientists say the world needs to cut emissions to net zero by 2050. IATA's new commitment brings the industry into alignment with the 1.5-degree target for the first time, airline industry officials said. Environmentalists say this is not enough. The association's net-zero goal comes weeks ahead of a follow-up U.N. COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. For aviation, talks will come to a head at ICAO's assembly, where the West wants a long-term goal supported by China, expected to be the biggest aviation market by the end of this decade. ICAO's governing council is weighing the impact of a long-term goal on growth and on costs to aviation, especially for developing countries. "We need a fair goal," Angie Elyazzy, ICAO's council member from Egypt, told a recent industry forum. "The goal shouldn't be one-sized-fits-all," she said, adding is should follow the notion of developed countries shouldering more responsibility since they produced more emissions in the past. State carrier China Eastern also called at IATA this week for recognition of the challenges faced by developing countries - one of the most divisive issues in past climate negotiations. "I think we're going to see the same debate play out at ICAO during the next assembly," said Dan Rutherford, aviation director at the International Council on Clean Transportation, an environmental research group based in Washington. More than 130 countries have set or are considering a target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, the United Nations says. China instead aims to be "carbon neutral" by 2060, but scientists have said the target won't go far enough to curb more severe impacts of climate change. "It’s going to be challenging to get an agreement at ICAO next year," said one aviation official involved in the talks. Disputes "are not necessarily always technical, but political," the official said. Rutherford said follow-up actions by the Chinese carriers at IATA could bode well for ICAO's assembly, since their objections did not derail the outcome of the airlines' meeting. "The fact they (Chinese carriers) chose not to obstruct is important." https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/analysis-china-protest-sets-stage-040939164.html PhD - Graduate Research Survey Request (1) Calling All Pilots (and Non-Pilots) My name is Kurt Reesman and I am an Adult Education Ph.D. candidate teaching in the Department of Aviation at Auburn University. I invite you to participate in my research study entitled Training the Emerging Pilot Workforce: Does Generation and Gender Influence Curriculum Development? With your help, I will learn more about the following three questions: 1. Do non-pilots and pilots have different learning styles or preferences? 2. Do pilots in the Baby Boomer, Generation X, Generation Y (Millennials), and Generation Z generations have learning styles or preferences that differ from each other? 3. Do male pilots and female pilots have different learning styles or preferences? You may participate if you are 18 years or older. I am asking that you take 5-10 minutes of your time to complete an anonymous, on-line survey that asks you to provide basic demographic information and then answer 44 questions that only have 2 possible answers each. These questions are from the Felder and Solomon Index of Learning Styles questionnaire. If you are interested and eligible to participate, click the link below to begin the survey. If you would like to know more information, or have any questions about this study, you can send an email to Kurt Reesman at klr0051@auburn.edu or my advisor, Dr. James Witte at witteje@auburn.edu. Thank you for your consideration, Kurt Reesman, Lt Col, USAF (retired) Ph.D. Candidate / Lecturer Department of Aviation Auburn University Survey Link: https://auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88HSBAVREFUHLE1 Curt Lewis