Flight Safety Information - August 26, 2022 No.164 In This Issue : Incident: RAM B738 at Malabo on Aug 24th 2022, gear problem : Incident: Alaska B739 enroute on Aug 17th 2022, child's toy starts smoking : Incident: Hawaiian A332 at Honolulu on Aug 25th 2022, fumes in cockpit : Avoiding empty cockpits: Addressing the Air Force’s pilot shortage problem : Piedmont Airlines announces employment relief for ExpressJet pilots under distressed carrier contract provisions : Pilot of prominent airline fails drug test; DGCA removes him from duty (India) : Aeroméxico hires pilot fired for filming incident between two Volaris aircraft : Bermuda to help repatriate aircraft from Russia : ALPA - 66th Air Safety Forum - September 12-15, 2022 - JOIN US! Incident: RAM B738 at Malabo on Aug 24th 2022, gear problem A RAM Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737-800, registration CN-RGJ performing flight AT-262 from Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) to Casablanca (Morocco), was climbing out of Malabo when the crew decided to return to Malabo due to a problem with the landing gear. The aircraft stopped the climb at FL130 and landed safely back in Malabo. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration CN-ROT was dispatched to Malabo and reached Casablanca with a delay of 21.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft departed Malabo about 24 hours after landing back and positioned to Casablanca climbing to a maximum FL260/280 at low speed (about 350 knots over ground) with intermediate stops in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Dakar (Senegal). https://avherald.com/h?article=4fd617f4&opt=0 Incident: Alaska B739 enroute on Aug 17th 2022, child's toy starts smoking An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900, registration N486AS performing flight AS-1484 from Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) to San Diego,CA (USA), was enroute when a children's toy started to emit smoke and burning odours. Cabin crew doused the device with water and put it into a thermal containment bag. The flight crew continued the flight to San Diego for a safe landing about 2.5 hours after departure. The USA National Response Center reported, providing the touch down time of the flight from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego as occurrence time stamp: "A CHILD'S TOY WITH UNKNOWN TYPE OF BATTERY STARTING SMOKING AND PRODUCING A BURNING PLASTIC ODOR ONBOARD A FLIGHT. WATER WAS APPLIED TO THE ITEM, AND IT WAS PLACED IN A THERMAL CONTAINMENT BAG." The occurrence aircraft continued service after about 2 hours on the ground in San Diego. https://avherald.com/h?article=4fd56645&opt=0 Incident: Hawaiian A332 at Honolulu on Aug 25th 2022, fumes in cockpit A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration N379HA performing flight HA-10 from Honolulu,HI to Los Angeles,CA (USA), was climbing out of Honoulu's runway 08R when the crew donned their oxygen masks and stopped the climb at about 6500 feet advising ATC they needed to return to Honolulu due to bad oily smell, fumes on board, they had donned their oxygen masks, they did not need any further assistance. The aircraft landed safely on Honolulu's runway 08L about 20 minutes after departure. A replacement A330-200, registration N389HA reached Los Angeles with a delay of 5:45 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=4fd615d1&opt=0 Incident: Cathay A35K at Manchester on Aug 23rd 2022, gear problem after departure A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000, registration B-LXN performing flight CX-216 from Manchester,EN (UK) to Hong Kong (China), was climbing out of Manchester's runway 23L when the crew did not receive normal gear up and locked indications and stopped the climb at FL120. The aircraft entered a hold and returned to Manchester for a safe landing on runway 23L about 85 minutes after departure. The flight had been scheduled to depart on Aug 22nd 2022, but was delayed despite the aircraft arriving on time and took off with a delay of 24.5 hours. The airline reported the aircraft made a precautionary procedural return when there was an abnormal gear indication. https://avherald.com/h?article=4fd4bbad&opt=0 Avoiding empty cockpits: Addressing the Air Force’s pilot shortage problem Fielding the best aircraft in the world won’t matter if the Air Force can’t retain enough well-trained pilots to fly them, argue FDD’s Bradley Bowman and Maj. Brian Leitzke. U.S. Air Force Col. Jesse J. Friedel, 35th Fighter Wing commander, steps out of an F-16 Fighting Falcon cockpit after his fini-flight at Misawa Air Base, Japan, June 22, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Leon Redfern) Each year the Pentagon spends billions of dollars upgrading older aircraft, buying new ones and developing super-secret next-generation capabilities. But in the op-ed below, FDD’s Bradley Bowman and Maj. Brian Leitzke argue that more needs to be done to ensure the Air Force has a steady supply of the most critical piece of the puzzle: pilots. Beijing demonstrated its growing military strength this month as the People’s Liberation Army conducted large-scale air and naval exercises around Taiwan and even fired missiles over the island. Eyeing a possible conflict with China in the coming years, the US Air Force is trying to field next-generation aircraft in sufficient quantities to help deter aggression and achieve victory if deterrence fails. The problem is that the service consistently struggles to retain enough aviators to fly those aircraft. In fact, the Total Air Force (Active, Guard, and Reserve) was short 1,650 pilots in 2021, and the shortfall will likely only get worse. It’s a crisis that must be addressed head-on, both by training more pilots but more importantly by retaining a higher percentage of experienced pilots through flexible incentives offered to officers earlier in their careers. Some might be tempted to dismiss recent warnings, pointing out that pilot shortages are not a new problem and that the Air Force actually shrank the pilot shortage by more than 14 percent from 2020 to 2021. While that’s certainly true, and the Air Force deserves credit for years of work to address this challenge, we shouldn’t draw too much comfort from what was likely somewhat of an anomaly. The reality is that last year’s reduction in the pilot shortfall was at least partially attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in commercial airline furloughs, reduced hiring and a weakened overall job market, including for Air Force pilots looking to transition to a variety of civilian jobs. That undoubtedly incentivized some pilots to remain in the service. But those dynamics are already changing. Indeed, according to federal labor statistics, the US airline industry needs to hire 14,500 new pilots each year until 2030, yet the United States reportedly produces just 5,000 to 7,000 pilots annually. That shortage will lead commercial airlines to offer more attractive offers to woo Air Force pilots into civilian cockpits. Those offers will undoubtedly seem tempting to some pilots whose active-duty service commitments are ending – mid-career officers who may be flying less or who are concerned about the impact of the military lifestyle on children who are getting older. So, what’s to be done? Well, there are basically two ways to effectively address the pilot shortage problem: produce more pilots and persuade more to stay in the service. An ideal solution, of course, should seek to do both. “There’s a lot that can go wrong on the program management side,” Col. Louis Ruscetta, senior materiel leader of the B-52 division, said of the bomber’s upcoming modernization. “We have to try to manage and reduce what can go wrong.” But there are reasons to believe that the best opportunities to address the pilot shortage problem can be found in retention over production. Training new pilots and providing them with the experience that makes them more effective in combat are time- and resource-intensive. Air Force undergraduate pilot training production was 1,381 in fiscal year 2021, up from 1,263 the previous year. But at that rate, assuming other variables remain constant, it would take more than a decade to address the current shortfall. Plus, even if the service sends more pilots through training, it takes years for new aviators to gain the experience of the mid-career pilots who are leaving the service. In other words, increased production of pilots is part of a longer-term solution, but only part. Indeed, in a 2019 report to Congress [PDF], the Air Force admitted that training more new pilots cannot solve its pilot shortage. Increasing the production of pilots is also more expensive than retaining aviators. “The cost of training a basic qualified fighter pilot ranges from $5.6 million for an F-16 pilot to $10.9 million for an F-22 pilot,” a team of researchers found in a 2019 RAND study. For that reason, as the study demonstrated, it is far more cost-efficient to offer seasoned aviators large retention bonuses than to train new pilots. Recognizing the problem, the House and Senate armed services committees are advancing legislation designed to retain experienced Air Force pilots. In their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, both committees included language that would establish an “Air Force Rated Officer Retention Demonstration Program” for aviators willing to remain on active duty. The program would give the Air Force the authority to offer more flexible retention incentives. That flexibility is critical since each aviator’s circumstances are different. As currently written, the program would enable the Air Force to guarantee future assignment locations for aviators willing to extend their service commitment. That innovation might face resistance in some quarters of the Air Force. Yet it could yield significant retention benefits for pilots who want to fly and execute their meaningful missions but also have location-specific concerns related to spouse employment, resources for their children, or other considerations. Exit interviews suggest that lack of control over future assignments is often a top reason pilots leave the Air Force. The program would also increase the maximum bonus the Air Force can offer to aviators. It may be especially effective to offer bonuses even earlier in a pilot’s career, as recommended in an October 2020 Center for Strategic and International Studies report. Even if a pilot’s initial active-duty commitment has not expired, the purpose of offering the bonus is to extend that commitment to help solve the shortage by maximizing retention. Last year, just 36 percent of eligible pilots elected to accept bonuses and extend their service. That’s hundreds of pilots below what’s required to address the shortage. The Air Force could likely achieve a higher “take rate” by offering the benefits earlier to officers. Early in their careers, pilots’ primary focus is flying, executing the exhilarating and meaningful no-fail mission they joined the Air Force to support. But they’re also just beginning to build a financial foundation, perhaps for a growing family. Bonuses would represent a more significant relative financial benefit for younger officers who are earning less and would enable them to take advantage of the investment benefits associated with receiving money sooner. They’d also appreciate the long-term predictability assignment guarantees would offer them and their families. The bottom line is that Congress seems to recognize that these innovations, along with the flexibility to tailor them to a pilot’s circumstances, can potentially increase retention. The United States is in a race with the People’s Republic of China to ensure our airmen have the best aircraft in the world. And China is not the only looming threat. But fielding the best aircraft in the world won’t matter if there aren’t enough well-trained pilots to fly them. Offering increased retention incentives to US Air Force pilots earlier and providing the service with the flexibility to adjust those incentives over time, will help address a problem that threatens our national security and is likely to only get worse without urgent action. https://breakingdefense.com/2022/08/avoiding-empty-cockpits-addressing-the-air-forces-pilot-shortage-problem/ Piedmont Airlines announces employment relief for ExpressJet pilots under distressed carrier contract provisions Seniority list pilots given longevity credit, bonuses and hire dates SALISBURY, Maryland– Piedmont Airlines announced today that it will provide employment relief to seniority list pilots at now-defunct ExpressJet Airlines under Piedmont’s “distressed carrier” provision in its ALPA-negotiated pilot contract. The language, added to Piedmont’s pilot contract in 2021, allows the company to offer pilots at carriers deemed “distressed” a safe haven for employment, including longevity-based pay and bonuses. This is the first time Piedmont has addressed a distressed carrier since adding the contract language. Express Jet, based in Georgia, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and shut down operations for the second time in two years. “Piedmont added distressed carrier language to its pilot contract last year before anticipating the fragility of some regional carriers after the pandemic,” said Matt Kernan, Piedmont’s Director of Operations. “No one wants to see an airline fail, ever. We know that ExpressJet pilots are well-trained aviators who know the Embraer 145, and we are very pleased to make this transition as easy as possible for them.” ExpressJet pilots can reach out to Piedmont through AirlineApps.com or Tyler.Tenbrink@aa.com to begin the transition process. All of Piedmont’s current new hire bonuses, pay and credits will apply to the transitioning ExpressJet pilots. Piedmont recently announced the addition of 15 Embraer 145 aircraft to the fleet starting in October. “This is an opportunity to get these pilots significant pay and bonus increases, expedited job offers and in the process, help Piedmont grow its fleet,” said Kernan. “A pilot with five years’ experience can start at over $160 an hour.” Details of the provision include: Contractual flow to American Airlines Expedited job offers Positive space travel to Piedmont’s training center to complete or resolve any outstanding paperwork or background issues Preferential training date Assigned transition coordinator to expedite the hiring process Longevity based pay and bonuses $10,000 bonus for High-Time First Officers with 600 hours $15,000 sign on bonus $15,000 for Direct Entry Captains $7,500 E145 type rating bonus $15,000 after 12 months of active service $30,000 Captain upgrade bonus $40,000 Captain upgrade + 1 year bonus $40,000 Captain upgrade + 2 year bonus $25,000 flow to American bonus For more information, visit https://piedmont-airlines.com/pilots/ or email Tyler.Tenbrink@aa.com. For media inquiries email Piedmont.CorpComm@aa.com. About Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines, providing service both on the ground and in the air across the United States. Every day, nearly 9,800 aviation professionals foster a mission of caring, compliance and communication on and off the airfield. Piedmont is headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, and operates a fleet of Embraer 145 regional jets. Piedmont Airlines’ ground handling team can be found in more than 80 airports across the United States, providing award winning ground service to passengers of American Airlines. Learn more about what’s happening at Piedmont by visiting https://piedmont-airlines.com/and connect with Piedmont on Twitter @piedmontair and at Facebook.com/workforpiedmont/. https://piedmont-airlines.com/2022/08/piedmont-airlines-announces-employment-relief-for-expressjet-pilots-under-distressed-carrier-contract-provisions/ Pilot of prominent airline fails drug test; DGCA removes him from duty (India) He is the fourth pilot to fail the drug test since the procedure for examination of aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances came into effect from January 31. He was found positive in the confirmatory test report received on August 23 and has been removed from the flight duty, the official said. A pilot of a prominent airline has been removed from flight duty after he failed a drug test, a senior DGCA official said on Friday. He is the fourth pilot to fail the drug test since the procedure for examination of aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances came into effect from January 31. The test is done for the flight crew and ATCs on a random basis. So far, four pilots and one Air Traffic Controller (ATC) have tested positive for psychoactive substances. According to the official, a pilot of a prominent airline was subjected to the drug test in the national capital. He was found positive in the confirmatory test report received on August 23 and has been removed from the flight duty, the official said. As per the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), in case the result of the confirmatory drug test is positive for the first time, then the personnel concerned will be referred to a de-addiction centre by the organisation concerned for de-addiction and rehabilitation. If the same personnel tests positive for the second time, then his or her licence will be suspended for a period of three years. And if the violation happens for the third time, then the personnel's licence will be cancelled. In the introduction to the CAR, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mentioned that the worldwide spread of use of psychoactive substances, their general availability and the ever-increasing number of addicted users is a serious concern to aviation safety. "Their use causes behavioural, cognitive and physiological changes. This manifests in dependence, major health related issues and negative effect on performance," it had said. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/pilot-of-prominent-airline-fails-drug-test-dgca-removes-him-from-duty-122082600987_1.html Aeroméxico hires pilot fired for filming incident between two Volaris aircraft Aeroméxico has hired pilot Libertad Salomón, who was fired from Volaris after filming an incident involving two Volaris aircraft at Mexico City International Airport on May 7th. She is currently undergoing training to become a Boeing 737 first officer. The video went viral just days after IFALPA, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, issued a safety bulletin warning of an increase in the number of incidents over Mexico City’s airspace as a result of the 2021 redesign of the Santa Lucía Air Base as a commercial airport. Salomón recorded the moment from the cockpit of a Volaris aircraft that was on standby and about to take off for Los Angeles, United States. Through a video released by the Mexican Airline Pilots Union Association (Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de México – ASPA), which groups Aeroméxico and Aeromar pilots, she explained that she noticed that an Airbus A320neo of the same airline was authorised to land on runway 05L while an Airbus A320, also from Volaris, was awaiting clearance for take off at the head of the same runway. The aircraft in the air, with registration XA-VRV, was coming from Mazatlán and was operating flight Y4 799. The aircraft had to perform a go-around and begin a new approach to the airport. It landed without further developments minutes later. «I decided to film with the captain’s permission because it was unbelievable to me to see a plane going into the air», said the pilot. «Clearly, I knew it wasn’t going to land, since the other aircraft was on the runway, and I wanted to have a picture of the plane going into the air in front of us», she added. Following the release of the video, Salomón received an initial two-week suspension. Later, however, the company terminated his employment contract after conducting an investigation and concluding that the sterile flight deck rule was not respected. The action of taking the video, they said, had meant «not performing only the duties» of that phase of the operation. According to the union, Aeroméxico’s hiring is important as «all Mexican pilots need support» and she was at risk of losing her flying licence. https://www.aviacionline.com/2022/08/aeromexico-hires-pilot-fired-for-filming-incident-between-two-volaris-aircraft/ Bermuda to help repatriate aircraft from Russia Civil aviation authorities have been given permission to help owners and lessors regain control of aircraft trapped in an international quagmire that is part of the Russia-Ukraine war. It could also mean their return to good standing on the island's aircraft register. Bermuda is the home register for hundreds of Russian aircraft, putting the two countries at loggerheads. Amid Western sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, Bermuda withdrew airworthiness certificates for the aircraft, in effect grounding them. Russian authorities claimed Bermuda was no longer the registrar; that the aircraft were now Russian registered. Russia passed a law allowing the country's airlines to place aircraft leased from foreign companies on Russia's aircraft register. Aircraft cannot legally be registered in more than one jurisdiction. Russian officials angrily issued a media statement that as a result of "the unilateral cancellation by the Bermuda aviation authorities of the airworthiness certificates of Russian aircraft, the Russian Federation suspended the intergovernmental agreement with Bermuda removing the island as the airworthiness authority". But the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority had no official deregistration requests from the Russian Government, only pleas from Russian air operators. Under the rules, the aircraft's owner has to make the request. Such aircraft, some of which were seized by Russian officials, have seen the removal of support services from normal Western agencies. The matter is expected to lead to a three-way legal battle between airlines, lessors and insurers that could last many years. Bermuda was forced in April to follow the sanctions regime imposed in Britain. It meant the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority was mandated to withdraw services it would normally be expected to provide, as part of the global network of servicing agents. The banned services include technical assistance for licensing, maintenance and continuing airworthiness management approvals and any other aircraft-related activities. The service bans were for aircraft seized by the Russian Federation or associated with persons connected with Russia. The BCAA has now said it supports the policy of repatriation of aircraft from the Russian Federation, back under the Bermuda flag. It said this month that the Bermuda Government had provided it with a licence of limited privilege, which provides some relief from trade sanctions, to facilitate repatriation of aircraft from Russia. As a result, the BCAA is now allowed to provide individual approvals to persons and permits to aircraft, to help non-Russians recover their aircraft from the Russian Federation, to a place outside the Russian Federation. The BCAA Operations and Airworthiness sections will provide support related to the repatriation of aircraft, for which dedicated procedures have been established. Should an aircraft be repatriated, the authority said, it may remain on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry. With hundreds of aircraft captured by the Russian Federation, repatriation will be an uncertainty in many cases. Air traffic in and out of Russia has been limited and their new fleet includes some older aircraft that have withered in the absence of normal maintenance, some not worth the cost of repair and repatriation. https://www.royalgazette.com/international-business/business/article/20220826/bermuda-to-help-repatriate-aircraft-from-russia/ 66th Air Safety Forum – Join Us! PERSEVERANCE THROUGH STRENGTH AND UNITY September 12 – September 15, 2022 | Omni Shoreham Hotel | Washington, DC safetyforum.alpa.org CONFIRMED KEYNOTES INCLUDE • Capt. Joe DePete – President, Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l • The Honorable Jennifer Homendy – Chair, National Transportation Safety Board • The Honorable David Pekoske – Acting Administrator, Transportation Security Administration • Mr. Nick Robinson, Director General Civil Aviation, Transport Canada • Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger – Former U.S. Ambassador to ICAO • Mr. Dieudonne Kazzembe, Aero Club Foundation Scholarship Recipient Agenda and registration information can be found at safetyforum.alpa.org THANK YOU, SPONSORS & EXHIBITORS! Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are available. Email airsafetyforum@alpa.org for more information. Curt Lewis