Flight Safety Information - September 1, 2022 No.168 In This Issue : Incident: Hevilift PNG DHC6 at Mount Hagen on Aug 26th 2022, conflict with departure in opposite direction : Cessna 208 Caravan - Accident (Abu Dhabi, UAE) : Baggage handler at New Orleans airport suffers deadly injury Tuesday night : Orange County Sheriff’s Office charges pilot; FAA investigating (Virginia) : Iceland Celebrates Its 1st Passenger Flight Of An Electric Aircraft : Taiwan Pilots, Cabin Crews Bemoan Stringent COVID Restrictions : Free online course helps pilots launch their aviation careers : ALPA - 66th Air Safety Forum - September 12-15, 2022 - JOIN US! Incident: Hevilift PNG DHC6 at Mount Hagen on Aug 26th 2022, conflict with departure in opposite direction A Hevilift LNG de Havilland DHC-6-300, registration P2-KSI performing a flight from an unknown point of origin to Mount Hagen (Papua New Guinea) with 13 passengers and 2 crew, was on final approach to Mount Hagen's runway 30. A MAF PNG Casa Aircraft was departing Mount Hagen's runway 12 at the same time. Papua New Guinea's AIC (Accident Investigation Commission) rated the occurrence a serious incident stating "while we were fortunate that there was no actual accident, the circumstances giving rise to the loss of separation will be investigated thoroughly so that the circumstances and contributing situational facts around it are clearly established to prevent future recurrence." https://avherald.com/h?article=4fd9fcc8&opt=0 Cessna 208 Caravan - Accident (Abu Dhabi, UAE) Date: 31-AUG-2022 Time: Type: Cessna 208 Caravan Owner/operator: Registration: MSN: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates Phase: En route Nature: Ferry/positioning Departure airport: Destination airport: Abu Dhabi-Bateen Airport (AZI/OMAD) Narrative: A Cessna 208 Caravan crashed after a technical malfunction at a parking lot near the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi. The pilot sustained minor injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/282258 Baggage handler at New Orleans airport suffers deadly injury Tuesday night KENNER, La. (WGNO) — A baggage handler at Louis Armstrong International Airport has died after being injured on the job Tuesday night. According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, a 26-year-old Frontier Airlines employee was unloading luggage from a flight at the time of the accident. The incident happened around 10:30 p.m. A JPSO spokesman said the woman was taken to a Kenner hospital to be treated but died a little while later. There aren’t any additional details available on what happened. Frontier Airlines released a statement on the incident. “We extend our deepest condolences following the tragic death of a team member of our ground handling business partner at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this difficult time.” Kevin Dolliole, Director of Aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport also released a statement on the incident. “We are deeply saddened about the tragic loss of GAT Airline Ground Support team member, Jermani Thompson. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport extends its sincere condolences to her family and friends, and also to our partners at GAT and Fontier Airlines. Jermani was a part of our Airport family, and we will continue to support one another in any way we can during this trying time.” https://wgno.com/news/louisiana/jefferson-parish/frontier-airlines-baggage-handler-dies-while-unloading-luggage-from-flight/ Orange County Sheriff’s Office charges pilot; FAA investigating (Virginia) The Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced in August that it charged a pilot with flying too low, leading to a debate on the office’s Facebook page about the charge. “On July 10, 2022, at approximately 2:05 pm, an aircraft flew over Lake of the Woods, in Orange County, at a height of less than 100 feet,” the Aug. 18 statement read. “An investigation by the Orange Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as James W. Jelinek Jr, age 65, of Warrenton, VA. Mr. Jelinek Jr. has been charged by the Sheriff’s Office with reckless operation of an aircraft.” The announcement led to a debate on the OCSO’s Facebook page about jurisdiction, as many were unaware that there are both state and federal laws regarding aviation. Under section 5.1-13 of the Virginia Code, titled “Operation of aircraft while under influence of intoxicating liquors or drugs; reckless operation,” it states that anyone who operates an aircraft “carelessly, or heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others” will be guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition, FAA regulations state that the minimum safe altitude for a plane over a non-congested area is 500 feet, and 1,000 over a congested area. In an email, Ian Gregor of the FAA’s Office of Communications, confirmed that they were aware of the incident and were investigating, but couldn’t comment further. “We can’t comment on open investigations,” he said. Jelinek is due in court Dec. 7. https://dailyprogress.com/community/orangenews/news/orange-county-sheriff-s-office-charges-pilot-faa-investigating/article_602a2daa-2589-11ed-94f0-9b9f47021de0.html Iceland Celebrates Its 1st Passenger Flight Of An Electric Aircraft The flight was operated onboard a Pipistrel Velis Electro aircraft. Icelandair participated in a landmark event in Icelandic aviation last week when the company Rafmagnsflug ehf. operated the first commercial flight of an electric airplane in the country. During these flights, the President and the Prime Minister of Iceland were the first passengers. The first electric flight in Iceland Iceland’s first commercial electric flight took place last week. The company Rafmagnsflug ehf. (Electric Flight) brought the first electric plane to Iceland with the aim of taking the initiative towards the energy exchange of aviation, training staff in this new technology, and introducing it to the nation, explained Icelandair in a press release. This electric airplane is a two-seater Pipistrel manufactured in Slovenia and a registration TF-KWH. According to the Icelandic Transport Authority, this aircraft was manufactured in 2021; it has a maximum weight of 600 kilograms and can only carry one passenger at a time. The electric plane is of similar size as the aircraft that flight academies use for flight training. Icelandair said the commercial service last week represented the first step “in an important journey towards more environmentally friendly aviation. The opportunities for Iceland are great due to short domestic flight routes, access to green energy, and Iceland’s location between Europe and North America.” The airplane will be used for flight training. Still, it is also expected that the public will be able to purchase sightseeing flights with this first electric plane in Iceland and experience traveling the skies on a Zero-Emission plane. Icelandair was only one of the many local companies involved in bringing the first electric flight to Iceland. The Icelandic airport administrator, Isavia, was also involved in the project. Icelandair’s commitment to net zero emissions Like many other airlines around the world, Icelandair has set new goals to reduce carbon emissions. The carrier made a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. In addition, Icelandair set a medium-term target to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% per operational ton kilometer by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, improving its sustainability. Reaching these goals will require a combination of measures, such as new aircraft technologies, continued operational improvements, the introduction of sustainable aviation fuels, as well as carbon offsetting. Introducing the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into Icelandair’s fleet is an important contributor to reducing carbon emissions. Icelandair currently has 14 MAX aircraft (ten MAX 8s and four MAX 9s). Pipistrel Velis Electro Pipistrel developed the Velis Electro, the first electric-powered airplane to receive a Type Certificate. Pipistrel has developed the Velis Electro, the first electric-powered airplane to receive a Type Certificate. This is the model that was used on Iceland’s first electric flight. The aircraft is equipped with a 57.6kW liquid cooled electric engine, which provides power and produces no combustion gases. It has an endurance of up to 50 minutes and can reach a maximum horizontal speed at sea level of 98 KCAS (around 182 km/h). This endurance was designed to cover for typical flight school utilization for local flying. According to Pipistrel, it is a compromise between performance, environmental robustness, and battery system lifetime. https://simpleflying.com/iceland-1st-electric-aircraft-passenger-flight/ Taiwan Pilots, Cabin Crews Bemoan Stringent COVID Restrictions TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The flight crews at one of Taiwan's main airline carriers have voiced frustration about continued COVID-19 policies that require them to adhere to some of the strictest quarantine and testing requirements in the world. The policies remain in place even as other parts of the world loosen pandemic restrictions and adapt to a “new normal.” Upon arrival at destinations overseas, pilots and cabin crews from China Airlines must be taken directly to their hotel rooms and provided with room key cards that work only once — when they leave and embark on their next flights. One pilot for China Airlines, who wished to remain anonymous, told VOA he was “frustrated” with the current conditions. “It’s really affected [me]. Whenever I went to work, I felt so frustrated ... it means I can’t go home for a period of time, and [I’m] also very tired, because I need to continuously [go] back and forth to Taipei and the U.S. or Europe. So, I have to adjust myself, try to sleep more and be more positive. [Being] stuck in a tiny room for long is really uncomfortable, but I still have to get used to it," he said. The first officer has worked for the airline for nearly eight years, and he flies both long- and short-haul trips each month. He said the restrictions were worse in the beginning of the pandemic, as pilots were forced to wear goggles, gloves and face masks while on duty, as well as facing quarantine for seven days. And because of the quick turnaround of a pilot flying both domestically and internationally, the pilot described how he was in a constant loop of being quarantined. “There [was] a period of time we couldn’t quarantine at home, only in the hotel, so I’ve been 22 days and [still can’t] go home,” he said. Today, the rules for vaccinated flight crews have since been relaxed slightly, removing the necessity of home quarantine in Taiwan. But when pilots and crews go abroad, they are still restricted from leaving their hotel rooms. “At out stations, we still can’t go out. We only [can] stay in the room, until our pickup time for the next flight. It’s really unhealthy, [I] watch TV, read and sleep all day. I’ll do some workouts, too, and order Uber Eats, but that’s it,” the pilot added, referring to the food delivery service provided by Uber. Rule change A local pilots union in Taiwan is now seeking the loosening of some restrictions. The Pilots Union Taoyuan, which represents nearly half of all pilots working for Taiwan's airlines, has called the measures "outdated" and is requesting that the Taiwan government ease the strict controls. The head of the union, Lee Hsin-yen, referred to an in-house survey that found most of the member pilots who have had the coronavirus caught it in Taiwan, the news website Focus Taiwan reported. VOA has requested a comment from the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Taiwan but has not yet received a reply. Cabin crews Cabin crews also have vented their discontent about the rules and said following the restrictions is like being in prison. A woman calling herself Shirley, who didn’t want to be identified, is a cabin crew member at China Airlines and said she has worked there for nearly seven years. “The rules are: We are not allowed to leave our room; crews got one-time-use key card, or [the] hotel monitors us via [closed-circuit television] to make sure there's no crew [leaving] their room. And we're also not allow to have any contact with locals,” she told VOA. She said that in pre-pandemic times, cabin crew members would often go shopping, have coffee or enjoy the summertime when overseas. “That's how crew members [would] release their stress,” she said. Today, with the prolonged restrictions, she said, the flight crews in Taiwan are being treated unfairly in comparison to those in the rest of the world. “In the beginning of the COVID, all these rules seemed to make sense. Nowadays, more and more countries open their borders. It feels like we [are] behind bars when we are in another country, because we can't go anywhere. When we have [a] layover flight, the only place we can go is on the plane and hotel room. And it seems like the lockdown is endless,” she said. Taiwan tourism As the rest of the world is returning to pre-pandemic travel norms, Taiwan is currently closed to overseas tourists. Only residents and business travelers can enter Taiwan, but they must quarantine for three nights, followed by four days in self-health control. This means they are prohibited from visiting public venues or meeting groups of people. It is an example of how concerns about the infection still linger in East Asia, with parts of the region slow to reopen travel to the world. The trend seems to be gradually changing, as Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan have all opened their respective borders recently for visitors, each with specific measures in place. Gary Bowerman, an Asia travel analyst, told VOA that Taiwan’s cautious approach is soon going to affect its goals to boost tourism. “Taiwan is talking about a phased reopening beginning with tour groups from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea. This is a cautious strategy, which some Southeast Asian countries tried initially. As Southeast Asian countries discovered over the past year, it is only when full border reopenings are activated, and pre-flight and on-arrival testing and restrictions are removed, that travelers gain the confidence to visit in larger numbers,” he said. With a population of more than 23 million, despite keeping infections low at the beginning of the pandemic, Taiwan is now reporting upward of 25,000 domestic cases daily. Vaccination numbers are high, with 85% of the population inoculated, according to the website Our World in Data. https://www.voanews.com/a/taiwan-pilots-cabin-crews-bemoan-stringent-covid-restrictions-/6724452.html Free online course helps pilots launch their aviation careers When she was a little girl, U.S. Air Force Reserve Capt. Kristin Bodie used to lay in the grass with her grandmother on their farm in rural Saluda, South Carolina, and watch the fighter jets from nearby Shaw Air Force Base fly overhead, wondering where they were going and what it would be like to fly through the clouds. Her journey to become an Air Force pilot took years, and she flew all around the world to reach her goal. Now, she’s taken the lessons she’s learned and developed an online course to help others find their aviation career path more easily. Called Affordable Paths for Launching Your Aviation Career, the free course includes 15 lessons, including information about the various scholarships available and best practices for creating a winning application, in-depth explanations of military assistance programs for enlisted personnel, and information about other tools and resources that are available to both aspiring and current pilots. ‘Girls don’t fly planes’ Bodie, who is a KC-46A Pegasus pilot at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina and an Airbus 320 first officer for American Airlines, said her love of watching airplanes spurred a strong desire to fly them. “Every time I mentioned becoming a pilot, teachers in school would say, ‘Girls don’t do that,’” Bodie said. “I didn’t know of any female pilots, so I believed them — until I got to college and a good friend took flight lessons and asked if I wanted to go on a flight.” Bodie, who was attending Clemson University, immediately fell in love with being in the air. Determined to become a professional pilot, she enrolled in a program at Embry-Riddle. Upon completion of her Master of Business Administration in aviation management and obtaining her flight ratings, Bodie landed her first flying job doing aerial surveys in a Cessna 172. As a brand-new pilot, she was in charge of all aspects of each mission, from coordination to logistics, refueling and maintenance. “That taught me a lot about myself as a person and pilot,” she said. “I was out there traveling the country by myself with nothing but my suitcase and this tiny little airplane. It put me out of my comfort zone and made me more confident.” After eight months, Bodie began flying mapping missions in the King Air 200s, working seven days followed by seven days off. Looking to fill her time off, Bodie discovered Wings of Hope, a humanitarian organization that flies to remote locations to provide lifesaving care interventions to people who have never have a chance to see a doctor. This mission was close to her heart for personal reasons. “When I was around 8 years old, I watched my cousin Loren struggle through leukemia, so it meant a lot to me to fly these missions,” Bodie said. “When my cousin died, it was so impactful. My entire life, I knew I needed to give back.” As the only young woman volunteering, Bodie said she had to work hard to build her credibility. “I would clean the hangar, mop, and trade apple dumplings and pecan pie to learn,” she said. There, she learned to weld, do engine overhauls, change gears, fabrication, upholstery and more. After a few months, she began flying children with terminal illnesses and disabilities around the country for treatment. Bodie became more and more involved with Wings of Hope, eventually becoming a board member and assisting on a global level. She also started volunteering in the organization’s SOAR into STEM program, partnering with Boeing to bring high-risk youth into the hangar to mentor them. “We would talk about the military and show them how to join and get college paid for, to help get them out of situations they’re in and into something fulfilling,” she said. “Pretty much from the minute I first flew at Clemson in 2009, I wanted to join the military,” she continued. “For years, I tried to email my package to all the units I was interested in and was not getting any response.” By 2015, Bodie was finished with her MBA, fully rated, and working for Republic Airlines as a first officer flying the Embraer 170. Through all those years, that nagging feeling that she would serve in the military never left. Standing out among her peers with higher education and 3,000 flying hours, she was selected for Officer Training School and Undergraduate Pilot Training after a recruiter suggested Bodie put in an unsponsored package. Several squadrons called to interview her, and she joined the 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, as a KC-135R Stratotanker pilot. “It was a backward way of doing things and a very hard way to get into the Reserve,” said Bodie, who jokes that she had to fly all the way around the world to get to her goal of serving in the military. Driven by a desire to help others streamline the process of obtaining a pilot’s certificate, Bodie connected with BogiDope, an aviation career consulting resource, and became its first female coach. For a year, Bodie researched and compiled all the best resources into the free e-course. “If it helps one person win a scholarship or figure a path they didn’t know about, the entire year working on it and years building up to are worth it,” she said. Bodie’s free e-course can be accessed here. https://generalaviationnews.com/2022/08/31/free-online-course-helps-pilots-launch-their-aviation-careers/ 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