Flight Safety Information - May 31, 2022 No.103 In This Issue : Incident: VivaAeroBus A20N at Reynosa on May 28th 2022, sank into tarmac during backtrack and line up : Crash: Tara DHC6 near Jomsom on May 29th 2022, aircraft found collided with mountain : Incident: ATI B763 at Los Angeles on May 26th 2022, down to one electrical source : Incident: Azul E195 at Petrolina on May 27th 2022, runway incursion, rejected takeoff with aircraft on final approach to opposite runway : Incident: THY B773 at Istanbul on May 27th 2022, smoke indication : Pilots who ‘fell asleep’ while flying plane sparked terrorist hijacking response : Report: Both Pilots Fall Asleep On Transatlantic Flight : A new airline received 3,000 applications for its first 50 pilot jobs despite a global shortage of flight crew : LATAM slashes aircraft inspection costs and time with drones : Cathay Pacific Mulls Closure Of Last Four Overseas Pilot Bases : Norwegian Air orders 50 Boeing MAX aircraft, resolving dispute Incident: VivaAeroBus A20N at Reynosa on May 28th 2022, sank into tarmac during backtrack and line up A VivaAeroBus Airbus A320-200N, registration XA-VIU performing flight VB-1197 from Reynosa to Mexico City (Mexico), was backtracking runway 13 for departure and began to turn around to line up via the turn pad, however, the nose wheels sank into the tarmac and disabled the aircraft. The runway needed to be closed. The flight needed to be cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in Reynosa about 33 hours after the occurrence. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4f98faa0&opt=0 Crash: Tara DHC6 near Jomsom on May 29th 2022, aircraft found collided with mountain A Tara Air de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, registration 9N-AET performing a flight from Pokhara to Jomsom (Nepal) with 19 passengers and 3 crew, was enroute at 13,000 feet about 16nm south of Jomsom, about to enter the valley for the approach into Jomsom near Lete Pass, when the aircraft disappeared from radar. A search including two helicopters was underway but hampered by poor visibility in the area near Lete (Nepal), where the aircraft is assumed to have crashed. The aircraft was found crashed the following morning, there were no survivors. The CAA Nepal reported (May 29th) last contact with the aircraft had been at 10:07L (04:22Z) near Ghode Pani (according to ADS-B data the aircraft overflew the village at 04:20Z and began to turn north over the village) approaching Lete Pass, no further contact occurred. The aircraft carried 13 Nepalese, 4 Indian and 2 German citizens plus the 3 crew members. Later the day (May 29th) the CAA reported that an ELT signal has been located near "Khaibang" (location not identifyable, with the help of reader Roland Wuetrich, see comments below, this most likely refers to Kobang village, position N28.6903 E83.6169), however, rescue teams have been unable to reach the crash site. Aerial search had to be stopped due to poor weather conditions with low hanging clouds. Rescue teams are on their way on the ground estimated to take about 12 hours to reach the crash site. Locals reported the aircraft flew two circles near Khaibang. In the morning of May 30th 2022 rescue teams reached the crash site at 14500 feet MSL (about 4400 meters above sea level) on Sano Sware Bhir (Sano Sware Cliff) of Thasang in Mustang (about 6.3nm north of Lete, about 7nm southwest of Jomsom) but found no survivors. 14 bodies have been recovered so far. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4f9842eb&opt=0 Incident: ATI B763 at Los Angeles on May 26th 2022, down to one electrical source An ATI Air Transport International Boeing 767-300 on behalf of Amazon Air, registration N431AZ performing flight 8C-1917 from Los Angeles,CA to Seattle,WA (USA) with 3 crew, was climbing through about 18000 feet out of Los Angeles when the crew requested to level off reporting they were down to a single power source only, they had lost the right hand generator and had no APU, and needed to declare an emergency, they needed to return to Los Angeles immediately and requested runways 06s or 07s. The aircraft returned to Los Angeles for a safe landing on runway 06R about 25 minutes after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground in Los Angeles for about 24 hours before returning to service. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4f988f52&opt=0 Incident: Azul E195 at Petrolina on May 27th 2022, runway incursion, rejected takeoff with aircraft on final approach to opposite runway An Azul Linhas Aereas Embraer ERJ-195, registration PR-AYL performing flight AD-4299 from Petrolina,PE to Recife,PE (Brazil), was taxiing for departure from runway 13 when AFIS informed the crew a military aircraft was on final approach to runway 31 for a low approach. The crew lined up on runway 13 when the military aircraft was already on short final to runway 31, and subsequently commenced takeoff a few seconds later radioing they were taking off. AFIS again informed the crew that there was an aircraft on short final to runway 31, the crew rejected takeoff. The crew of the military aircraft performed a side step off the runway center line and climbed out. The Embraer subsequently returned to the holding point runway 13 and departed landing in Recife without further incident. https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4f97d720&opt=0 Incident: THY B773 at Istanbul on May 27th 2022, smoke indication A THY Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration TC-LJC performing flight TK-17 from Istanbul (Turkey) to Toronto,ON (Canada), was climbing out of Istanbul's runway 35L when the crew stopped the climb at FL150 reporting a smoke indication on board. The aircraft returned to Istanbul for a safe landing on runway 35R about 55 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 777-300 registration TC-JJG reached Toronto with a delay of 3.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 4.5 hours, then departed for flight TK-716 to Delhi (India). https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4f97d99c&opt=0 Pilots who ‘fell asleep’ while flying plane sparked terrorist hijacking response • ITA Airways did not cite a specific reason for the captain's mysterious 10-minute radio silence A captain of Italy’s flagship state airline has been sacked after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls, leaving traffic controllers unable to communicate with the plane for 10 minutes. According to the Italian daily Repubblica, both pilots of the ITA Airways AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome on April 30 had dozed off at the controls of the Airbus 330. The co-pilot was napping for a “controlled rest” as procedure allows, according to the report, but the captain is supposed to be awake and reachable. The communications blackout lasted for just over 10 minutes while the plane was on autopilot. The incident sparked a terror alert with French authorities warning their Italian partners a terrorist hijacking could be underway. On Twitter, Michele Anzaldi, a centre-left lawmaker, called for an official apology from the state-owned carrier. “What happened on the ITA flight from New York, where both pilots fell asleep, is very grave,” he said. “The company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again and must apologise to the passengers.” While the internal investigation by ITA Airways found grounds to fire the captain, who denies he fell asleep, it did not cite a specific reason for his mysterious radio silence. The flight was on autopilot, flying at normal speed and altitude and never detoured from its route. Passenger safety was never compromised, airline spokesman Davide D’Amico told The Telegraph. Inconsistencies in captain's account ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, is the new state-owned flagship carrier airline of Italy, which the government reorganised after Alitalia formally declared bankruptcy last Autumn. In a statement to The Telegraph, ITA said its internal investigation revealed behaviours by the captain that were “not in compliance with procedure” both during the flight and once it had landed. It noted inconsistencies in the captain’s account, such as claiming the blackout was due to problems with the communications system. Those claims were disproven when technicians tested all systems as part of the internal investigation and found no issues. The airline stressed “clearly and rigorously” that the safety of the flight was always guaranteed, thanks also to elevated technology on board. Marseille air traffic alert The disarming detail that both pilots may have fallen asleep on the job might have never been revealed had it not been for the quick work of alert by Marseille air traffic controllers. The plane had regularly declared its position upon arriving into French airspace at Brest, but then, as the plane passed from Bordeaux air traffic control to Marseille, pilots failed to respond to Marseille air traffic controllers. They had tried in vain several times to contact the pilots about their position. Alarmed about a potential terrorist incident, French air authorities contacted their roman counterparts at 5.21 am. They in turn contacted the ITA Airways central command, who tried to contact the pilots via their satellite cell phones. French authorities alerted two fighter jets to prepare to fly near the passenger plane to surveil the pilot’s cabin. Meanwhile ITA’s command centre began sending messages to the pilots via ACARS, a digital data link system for transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground stations via satellite. Despite the fact that ACARS messages are displayed on the pilot’s monitors, there was still radio silence. More than 10 minutes after repeated attempts to reach them had failed, the pilots eventually responded and went on to land in Rome 20 minutes before their scheduled arrival time. https://www.yahoo.com/news/pilots-fell-asleep-while-flying-132844595.html Report: Both Pilots Fall Asleep On Transatlantic Flight On April 30, 2022, ITA Airways flight AZ609 operated from New York (JFK) to Rome (FCO) with an Airbus A330-200 that had the registration code EI-EJP. The flight operated as normal, until reaching French airspace. In the early morning hours of May 1, Marseille air traffic control tried to communicate with the pilots of AZ609, but there was no response. It’s normal for air traffic controllers to consistently communicate with pilots, and any significant lapse in communication is obviously of concern. For what it’s worth, there were two pilots, and one pilot was in “controlled rest” during this time, whereby a pilot is allowed to sleep briefly in the cockpit. In other words, there was really only one pilot who was supposed to be awake at the controls. Controllers first tried to make several calls to the pilots, which went unanswered. The controllers then reached out to the airline, who tried to send a message to the pilots via ACARS (think of it like a texting system for pilots). After not getting a response there either, French military fighter jets were deployed at 3:56AM, to do a wellness check on the plane and look into the cockpit. Finally at 4:02AM the pilots once again became responsive, and the situation ended. What ITA’s investigation revealed Following the incident, ITA Airways conducted a thorough investigation into what happened. As mentioned above, the first officer was allowed to be briefly napping, and that means the captain should’ve been extra attentive. ITA suspected that the captain had fallen asleep, but the captain denied that he did. Rather he claimed that there were issues with the plane’s communication systems. However, there were allegedly inconsistencies in his stories, and some equipment from the plane was also inspected, but no issues were found. As a result of ITA’s investigation, the decision was made to sack the captain. The airline claims that safety is the top priority, and that passengers weren’t at risk during the incident (which is sort of true in the sense that the autopilot can fly the plane, but also not true, because the whole reason we need pilots is to respond in a split second to any issues that arise). Bottom line An ITA Airways captain has been terminated after both pilots allegedly fell asleep on a New York to Rome flight at the end of April. This became an issue when pilots stopped responding to calls from air traffic controllers while in French airspace, leading to fighter jets being deployed. This was at a time when the first officer was allowed to rest, so it’s on the captain for not being responsive. The captain claimed he wasn’t asleep, but rather that there were issues with the plane’s communications systems. However, an investigation didn’t find any faults there. https://onemileatatime.com/news/both-pilots-fall-asleep-flight/ A new airline received 3,000 applications for its first 50 pilot jobs despite a global shortage of flight crew There's a global shortage of pilots and aircrew, but one company has had no trouble finding recruits. Norse Atlantic Airways, a new Norwegian low-cost transatlantic airline received more than 3,000 applications for its first 50 pilot roles, according to the BBC, who interviewed its founder and CEO, Bjorn Tore Larsen. Passengers continue to face travel chaos and delays as an ongoing shortage of flight crew, along with economic factors, has left airlines struggling to meet pent-up, post-lockdown travel demand. Norse will begin flying non-stop between Oslo, and JFK, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando from June. A non-stop, route between London Gatwick and New York's JFK will begin in August. It will operate Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes formerly operated by Norwegian Air, which saw its long-haul division collapse during the pandemic. A Norse spokesperson told Insider that the number of applicants is higher than anticipated and all are from qualified pilots, including some that work for other airlines. The opportunity to fly Dreamliners has been a popular draw for pilots, the spokesperson told Insider. Larsen was one of two airline executives from the suite of new challenger carriers that have launched over the last two years in order to meet the shortfall. He'd previously put off starting an airline due to difficulties finding staff, sourcing planes and securing landing berths at airports, per BBC News. But now sees the current market as a "golden opportunity." "We don't have any legacy systems," he told BBC News. "We are able to start off this airline in exactly the way we would like to." "We have the flexibility to enter the market cautiously and in line with demand, which is exactly what we will do," Larsen added. Pent-up demand and existing shortages are forcing airlines to change how they recruit Air passenger numbers rose 76% in the year to March 2022, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association. While still 41% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, airlines are finding it hard to meet the uptick. If demand carries on at its current rate, US airlines will need to find 14,700 pilots by 2030 to meet it, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated. The pandemic lockdowns exacerbated what was already an existing labor shortage, caused partly by an aging workforce and a squeezed pipeline of new recruits. The consultancy Oliver Wyman estimates that the global shortfall could stretch to 35,000 pilots by 2025. Bosses are getting creative in order to speed up recruitment of pilots, by boosting pay, reducing the required training hours, and nixing the requirement for a four-year college degree. EasyJet, the low-budget British airline, is removing the last row of seats from some planes to enable flights to operate with one fewer member of the cabin crew. Passengers were left in limbo over Memorial Day weekend after thousands of flights were cancelled. On Saturday, Delta canceled 250 flights — up to 9% of its operations, and a further 140 on Sunday. The airline plans to cancel up to 100 flights a day between July and August to prevent major travel disruption. "Vendor staffing" and "higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some work groups" were among the reasons cited by Allison Ausband, Delta's chief customer experience officer, per Fortune. https://www.businessinsider.com/norse-atlantic-airways-airline-pilot-applications-despite-labor-shortage-aircrew-2022-5 LATAM slashes aircraft inspection costs and time with drones South American airline group LATAM is among the growing ranks of global carriers benefitting from the reduced costs and time required to perform aircraft inspections with automated drones rather than traditional manual methods. LATAM communicated updates on its use of drones in its aircraft inspection and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) systems earlier this month. The airline said continued testing of the aerial technique is allowing it to be expanded within the company’s network. Significantly, LATAM said flight of tech-packed automated UAVs had cut the time of performing inspection on its aircraft from eight hours to just 40 minutes. That result wasn’t obtained overnight. LATAM initially began trialing drones for aircraft inspection in late 2019, partnering with specialized French UAV services group Donecle to oversee the process. As the application demonstrated its value in LATAM’s main service center in São Carlos, Brazil, the carrier continued testing ways to enhance it and broaden its use. As a result, this month LATAM said will soon introduce the safety procedure in its MRO unit in Santiago, Chile. The method involves an automated drone flying patterns around LATAM aircraft under inspection, taking up to 2,000 high-resolution images of the plane that are fed into computers. Those use artificial intelligence programs to completely analyze the fuselage, wings, engine nacelles, tail, and lower surface for potential damage or weaknesses, and recommend any repairs needed. “At LATAM we see technology as an opportunity to improve and optimize our aircraft maintenance and inspection processes,” said Marcos Melchiori, senior MRO manager at LATAM’s São Carlos center. “That is why we are constantly looking for new tools that allow us to establish more efficient and precise processes, always having the safety of our passengers and collaborators as a priority.” LATAM is one of the growing number of international airlines turning to drones for inspections, with Korean Air, Austrian, KLM, and others similarly looking to replace painstaking manual methods involving visual checks from technicians on elevated platforms. The time and money saved using automated UAVs may be a driver of continued MRO changes. In contrast to decades of recent outsourcing of non-core passenger and cargo transportation activities, some airlines have recently begun reincorporating MRO into their operations. Brazilian carrier Azul, for example, says it has economized about $40 million in the past two years by overseeing and repairing its planes on its own. With drones capable of offering faster, cheaper, and reliable airplane inspection services, it’s likely more airlines may soon follow suit – along with MRO specialists trying to retain clients. https://dronedj.com/2022/05/30/latam-slashes-aircraft-inspection-costs-and-time-with-drones/ Cathay Pacific Mulls Closure Of Last Four Overseas Pilot Bases Cathay Pacific is reviewing the future of its last four overseas pilot bases, all of them located in the US. Cathay Pacific is flagging the closure of its last overseas pilot bases. Bases in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Anchorage are the last vestiges of a once-formidable network of overseas pilot bases Cathay Pacific maintained. Now, Cathay Pacific is reviewing the future of these four surviving US bases. If they close, Cathay Pacific will be left with no pilot bases outside Hong Kong. A pilot base review with an inevitable conclusion Bloomberg is reporting Cathay Pacific has started the review into the US pilot bases that are home to around 100 pilots. It's a small number of pilots in the scheme of things, but US-based long-haul pilots are more expensive to employ than Hong Kong-based pilots and none of the US pilots have operated Cathay Pacific flights for at least two years. “Our US-based pilots have been informed that the company is contemplating closing all US pilot bases and offering our US-based pilots the opportunity to relocate to Hong Kong, subject to them holding or obtaining the right to live and work in the city,” reads a Cathay Pacific statement. “We would like to emphasize that the proposal to close our US pilot bases is not a reflection on the professionalism of our US-based pilots, and we hope that all can continue to remain employed with Cathay Pacific.” Given Cathay Pacific has closed bases around the world, including in the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, since the onset of the pandemic, that may seem a forlorn hope. Cathay's pilot pool shrunk by around 400 pilots last year. The airline finished 2021 with around 2,700 pilots on its books but has said it plans to hire more this year. Some shifts on the ground in Hong Kong Tough travel restrictions and quarantine rules have seen passenger numbers in, out, and through Hong Kong slashed, and Cathay Pacific is a significant casualty of that. In June, the beleaguered airline flew to just three destinations in the United States and two airports in Canada. But it is the frequencies, or rather the absence of them, that tells the real story. Across June, Cathay Pacific is flying to Toronto just ten times, Vancouver nine times, Los Angeles six times, New York four times, and San Francisco seven times. This count doesn't include dedicated freighter flights. The Hong Kong Government has just slightly relaxed the entry requirements for inbound international arrivals designed to "reduce the impact on the journeys of persons coming to Hong Kong." Critically for Cathay Pacific, the requirement for pre-departure PCR-based nucleic acid tests for travelers transferring or transiting in Hong Kong is ending on June 1. Hong Kong's specific flight suspension mechanism rules changing Hong Kong's notorious "specific flight suspension mechanism" is also changing slightly. The Hong Kong Government penalizes airlines that fly in passengers showing no symptoms of COVID but who later test positive by banning the airline from operating specific routes for a period of time. This is despite the airlines having no control over the veracity of negative status certificates that enable boarding. Now, the Hong Kong Government will fine the airline on the first instance of this happening on each route into Hong Kong across every ten-day period. If an airline inadvertently flies in a COVID positive passenger on a specific route more than once every ten days, the old flight suspension mechanism will kick in. With this kind of regime in place, Cathay Pacific faces an uphill battle to fill seats on its planes, which isn't good news for its pilots. Whatever the decision of the US pilot base review (and sadly, the outcome is almost a foregone conclusion), Cathay Pacific advises its scaled-back US operations will not be impacted. https://simpleflying.com/cathay-pacific-mulls-closure-last-overseas-pilot-bases/ Norwegian Air orders 50 Boeing MAX aircraft, resolving dispute OSLO (Reuters) -Norwegian Air has agreed to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and secured options for a further 30 of the planes at an undisclosed price, ending a contract dispute between the two firms, the budget carrier said on Monday. The deal is a boost for Boeing, anchoring long-standing customer Norwegian to the U.S. plane maker after the Oslo-based airline earlier this year said it would consider switching to rival Airbus. For Norwegian the deal marks a return to aircraft ownership after it was forced to resort to leasing deals during bankruptcy proceedings that rescued the company last year. The deal includes compensation to Norwegian as settlement for previous disputes over MAX and Dreamliner aircraft deliveries and technical issues, triggering a financial gain of 2 billion Norwegian crowns ($212.2 million), the airline said. Norwegian's shares jumped 8.4% by 0857 GMT, outperforming a 0.3% gain in Oslo's benchmark index. The shares have now risen about 12% since the airline was recapitalised a year ago. The conflict with Boeing was the sole issue that had not been resolved during last year's restructuring of the airline, Norwegian Air Chief Executive Geir Karlsen told Reuters. "This was the final piece of the puzzle ... it will terminate the lawsuits," Karlsen said. The financial gain will be booked as soon as a deal is signed, expected by the end of June, boosting the airline's equity. The first 50 aircraft will be delivered between 2025 and 2028, corresponding to current lease expirations, resulting in a limited net increase of the company's current fleet. "This is a landmark deal that sets out a path whereby Norwegian will own a large share of its fleet," board Chair Svein Harald Oeygard said. "This will result in lower all-in costs and increased financial robustness, enabling us to further solidify our Nordic stronghold." Norwegian in February told Reuters it was considering a switch to Airbus unless ongoing litigation with Boeing over previous aircraft cancellations was resolved in a timely fashion. The deal with Norwegian is Boeing's second major European order in recent weeks for MAX aircraft following a deal with airlines giant IAG. ($1 = 9.4243 Norwegian crowns) https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/norwegian-air-orders-50-boeing-062208387.html Curt Lewis