Flight Safety Information - October 11, 2022 No.196 In This Issue : Incident: Transat A333 at Athens on Oct 8th 2022, bird strike : Incident: American A321 at Las Vegas on Oct 6th 2022, engine overtemp : Families of crash victims rain wrath on Airbus, Air France : Passenger says man sneaked onto Delta flight in security breach at Atlanta’s airport : Pilots Say ‘Broken’ Scheduling Processes Leading to Fatigue : Amid a nationwide pilot shortage, Frontier recruits cadets with no prior flying experience : Laos’ airlines receive safety certification : After engine fire incidents, ‘above 90 percent’ of all Chinooks are fixed : Deadline Looms for Australia's SMS Rules : Airlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5G : Using smart composites for improved aviation safety : FAA issues warning about type of seaplane that crashed : American Airlines Makes Equity Investment in Universal Hydrogen : Hackers knock some U.S. airport websites offline : Airbus Delivers 55 Aircraft in September But Has More Than 7000 In Backlog : GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: Transat A333 at Athens on Oct 8th 2022, bird strike An Air Transat Airbus A330-300, registration C-GTSD performing flight TS-697 from Athens (Greece) to Toronto,ON (Canada), was climbing out of Athens' runway 03R when the crew stopped the climb at 7000 feet reporting a bird strike. The aircraft returned to Athens for a safe landing on runway 03R about 35 minutes after departure. The aircraft is still on the ground in Athens about 20 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ff6e28b&opt=0 Incident: American A321 at Las Vegas on Oct 6th 2022, engine overtemp An American Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N150UW performing flight AA-1665 from Las Vegas,NV to Charlotte,NC (USA) with 100 people on board, was climbing out of Las Vegas' runway 26R when the crew requested to level off reporting they needed to work a problem, the crew declared emergency and stopped the climb at 9000 feet. The crew subsequently reported they had a right hand engine (CFM56) overtemp indication on takeoff. The aircraft returned to Las Vegas for a safe landing on runway 26R about 30 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A321-200 registration N172US reached Charlotte as flight AA-665Q with a delay of 25.5 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=4ff686f6&opt=0 Families of crash victims rain wrath on Airbus, Air France PARIS (AP) — Distraught families whose loved ones died in Air France's worst-ever crash on Monday shouted down the CEOs of the airline and of planemaker Airbus as the two companies went on trial on manslaughter charges for the 2009 accident over the Atlantic Ocean. Cries of “Shame!" erupted in the courtroom after the executives took the stand. The crash of storm-tossed Flight 447 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris killed all 228 people aboard and had lasting impact on the industry, leading to changes in regulations for airspeed sensors and in how pilots are trained. The victims came from 33 countries, and families from around the world are among the plaintiffs in the case, fighting for more than a decade to see it come to trial. “It’s very important that we made it to the trial stage. ... Thirteen years of waiting, it is almost inhuman," said German Bernd Gans, who lost his daughter Ines in the crash. Another man came to the trial with a sign reading: “French Justice. 13 Years Too Late.” The official investigation found that multiple factors contributed to the crash, and the companies deny criminal wrongdoing. The two-month trial is expected to focus on pilot error and the icing over of external sensors called pitot tubes. An Associated Press investigation at the time found that Airbus had known since at least 2002 about problems with the type of pitots used on the jet that crashed, but failed to replace them until after the crash. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury took the stand on the opening day to say: “I wanted to be present today, first of all to speak of my deep respect and deepest consideration for the victims; loved ones.” “Shame on you!” family members retorted. “For 13 years you have shown contempt for us!" one shouted. Air France CEO Anne Rigail met similar emotions when she told the court she was aware of the families' pain. “Don't talk to us about pain!” rose an angry voice. The presiding judge called for calm and the proceedings resumed. Air France has already compensated families of those killed. If convicted, each company faces potential fines of up to 225,000 euros ($219,000) — a fraction of their annual revenues. No one risks prison, as only the companies are on trial. Still, the victims' families see the trial itself as important after their long quest for justice, and aviation industry experts see it as significant for learning lessons that could prevent future crashes. The A330-200 plane disappeared from radar over the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and Senegal with 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard. As a storm buffeted the plane, ice disabled the plane's pitot tubes, blocking speed and altitude information. The autopilot disconnected. The crew resumed manual piloting, but with erroneous navigation data. The plane went into an aerodynamic stall, its nose pitched upward and then it plunged into the sea on June 1, 2009. It took two years to find the plane and its black box recorders on the ocean floor, at depths of more than 13,000 feet (around 4,000 meters). Air France is accused of not having implemented training in the event of icing of the pitot probes despite the risks. It has since changed its training manuals and simulations. The company said it would demonstrate in court “that it has not committed a criminal fault at the origin of the accident” and plead for acquittal. Airbus is accused of having known that the model of pitot tubes on Flight 447 was faulty, and not doing enough to urgently inform airlines and their crews about it and to ensure training to mitigate the risk. The model in question — a Thales AA pitot — was subsequently banned and replaced. Airbus blames pilot error, and told investigators that icing over is a problem inherent to all such sensors. The companies' “image, their reputation” is at stake, said Philippe Linguet, who lost his brother on Flight 447. He expressed hope the trial would expose the failings of Airbus and Air France — two major players in the industry and in the French economy — to the world. Daniele Lamy, who heads an association of victims' families, said they are bracing for a difficult trial. “We are going to have to unfortunately relive particularly painful moments,” she said. But she called the trial a welcome opportunity after prosecutors initially sought to close the case. “This will allow the family to express themselves, to express their suffering over 13 years," she said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airbus-air-france-face-criminal-074534548.html Passenger says man sneaked onto Delta flight in security breach at Atlanta’s airport Passengers said a Delta pilot told them he had to return to the gate because a passenger had managed to sneak onto the plane without a ticket. Channel 2′s Tom Jones was at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Monday, where he talked to a person who was on the plane about the major security breach. The passenger, who didn’t want to be identified, said the plane was preparing to take off when police and TSA agents came on board and removed the man. “I was like, ‘Oh Lord, I hope there’s not a bomb on the plane,” he said. When the aircraft got back to the gate, security quickly arrived and removed a man from the back of the plane. Travelers Jones talked to said the incident had to be scary for the other passengers. “I would be terrified almost,” Adriane Burbridge said. “You don’t know what that person’s goal is.” The passenger Jones talked to said the pilot announced everyone would have to get off the plane so it could be taken to a secure area to have it undergo a security sweep. Crews eventually determined that was not necessary and the plane took off. A Delta Air Lines spokesperson told Jones that the airline is not commenting on the incident. The passenger wondered how someone could get past the gate and sneak on board. “I was concerned,” the passenger said. “I was also concerned about the fact that, if he could sneak on a plane like that, what else could be snuck on a plane that could cause harm to passengers?” Delta said it was not commenting, but is cooperating with ongoing investigations and it apologized to customers for the brief delay. Atlanta police said records show no one was arrested. The TSA said it had no record of the incident. https://www.yahoo.com/news/passenger-says-man-snuck-onto-202013069.html Pilots Say ‘Broken’ Scheduling Processes Leading to Fatigue Pilot union representatives say schedules that leave little buffer against duty time limits have led to an inordinate number of fatigue calls. While airlines in the U.S. and Europe stretched crewmembers to their limits as they struggled to maintain aggressive timetables over the summer, reports of an Ethiopian Airlines captain and first officer both falling asleep during a flight from Khartoum to Addis Ababa served as a timely reminder of the dangers of fatigue in the cockpit. Although the pilots managed to land safely after a cockpit alarm sounded indicating the autopilot disconnected, the August 15 incident could become emblematic of a wider concern voiced by pilot unions around the world. Ethiopian Airlines suspended the pilots pending the results of the investigation and the captain, an expatriate from Bolivia, has resigned and returned to his home country. Ethiopian Airlines subsequently issued an advisory to all its pilots as a “precautionary measure.” Whatever findings the investigation into the Ethiopian incident uncovers, the issue of pilot fatigue recently has generated increased scrutiny, particularly in the U.S., where unions have criticized airline hierarchy for failures to address deficient scheduling processes. While the airlines point to a shortage of pilots as one of the reasons flight disruptions skyrocketed over the summer, the Air Line Pilots Association disputes the very existence of a shortage. Others, such as the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) and American Airlines’ bargaining unit, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), don’t dispute that a shortage exists at the regional airline level, but they do point to a failure by major airline management to maintain a fully trained cadre of pilots for the eventual recovery from the Covid crisis. Both SWAPA and the APA have blamed management for a huge increase in cases where pilots call flight operations to report fatigue, effectively ending their duty day and potentially creating a cascade of out-of-position cockpit crew. In April, SWAPA directors wrote a letter asking Southwest Airlines management to address the problem. SWAPA president Casey Murray told AIN that, since then, the situation hasn’t changed. “What's driving fatigue is the uncertainty with schedules, the changing of schedules, and the cascading reassignments that occur,” he explained. “Southwest is having a problem connecting pilots to airplanes, and that is causing chaos and disruption. And that leads to fatigue before you reach your [duty time limits]. We also have record involuntary flying being done, meaning pilots being required to fly on off days.” While Murray conceded that fatigue has plagued pilots flying for network carriers as well, they benefit from departure bank systems that allow for a higher level of predictability in the event of weather disruption, for example. Southwest’s point-to-point network, conversely, makes for far more cases of out-of-position airplanes. ‘It goes back to broken processes,” explained Murray. “We give a lot of grace to our company because of our point-to-point network. So recovery is much more difficult for us. But historically we've always seen certain numbers [of fatigue calls] and when those numbers are up 100, 200, 300, 400 percent, we have to look at it. And a lot of it is our processes that can't keep up with a network that has outgrown the airline.” Contrary to ALPA’s official position, Murray doesn’t deny a pilot shortage exists and will become worse in the future. Still, he doesn’t blame a lack of pilots for the schedule meltdowns that occurred over the summer and instead takes issue with the airline’s efforts to simply hire more pilots without resolving its scheduling problem. “We are flying too much with the processes we have in place,” he stressed. “They are hiring, but if the processes aren’t fixed it’s just going to be a cost issue for Southwest.” Asked to comment on SWAPA’s concerns, Southwest Airlines noted that management and the union regularly consult on fatigue rates in the interest of safety. “The safety of our customers and employees is always our top priority,” it said in a statement. “Southwest has a robust process in place for pilots to submit fatigue reports and we encourage flight crews to do so. Those reports are reviewed monthly by a joint Southwest/SWAPA team that works collaboratively to address scheduling-related items to improve the pilot experience.” Murray said management and SWAPA negotiators have begun to address the issue during ongoing contract negotiations and expressed some hope in the fact that the airline has acknowledged a problem exists. In contract talks since six months before the contract’s September 2020 amendable date, the union last month filed for federal mediation to break the two-and-a-half-year deadlock. Separately, the APA and American Airlines have engaged in talks on a new contract since January 2019, and, according to APA communications committee chairman Dennis Tajer, negotiating a solution to the seemingly intractable issue of clearing pilot training backlogs remains a central point of concern. With nearly 900 pilots retiring from American each year for at least the next four years, the problem will not go away without some fundamental process changes at the airline, he insisted. “So we can help you accelerate your training, which they're eager to do, but we can't just fix the training problem and then dump all these pilots into a very inefficient system, because you're not fixing your problem,” said Tajer. Like at Southwest Airlines, American over the summer saw an explosion in the rate of pilot fatigue calls, averaging at least four times the average rate for the period spanning June to August, he reported. Tajer explained that the airline’s fatigue risk management system should mitigate against the need for so many calls and, consequently, schedule interruptions. “You should not be looking for the fatigue calls to be your indicator that there's a problem,” he said. “A fatigue risk management system analyzes it and says ‘I don’t need human beings to show me this is a problem because it could end in very serious consequences.’ I should be able to look at this and [recognize that] this scheduling program generated something that was unintended. Let’s not do that anymore. And sometimes that happens. “But we have to fight for that as well…American Airlines management uses what they call an optimizer. It's a scheduling program [and] it puts together trips to do what? To be the least costly schedule possible.” Unfortunately, weather and human factors usually disrupt what appears like a reasonable plan at the beginning of the month, explained Tajer. “It starts to fall apart,” he said. “They’re recklessly utilizing us on two levels. One, it undermines reliability because we time out or fatigue out, and when we get to the second one, when we fatigue out, that is actually pushing on margins of safety.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2022-10-10/pilots-say-broken-scheduling-processes-leading-fatigue Amid a nationwide pilot shortage, Frontier recruits cadets with no prior flying experience "We're starting our own farm club," Frontier VP of Flight Operations said. DENVER — Denver-based Frontier Airlines has come up with a creative way to attract new pilots amid a nationwide pilot shortage. The airline is targeting people who have no prior flying experience with its Flight Cadet Program. Brad Lambert is the Vice President of Flight Operations for Frontier Airlines. He helped come up with the $8 million pilot recruitment strategy. "We really want to provide an opportunity for aspiring pilots," Lambert said. "We also want to be able to control our destiny going forward." Thousands of flights are canceled or delayed because of "operational challenges" as more travelers take to the air at pre-pandemic levels. Some major airlines are struggling to keep up with the demand. Applications for the program are open to anyone who wants to learn to fly, according to the airline. Every month, Frontier will select 35 cadets who will go through extensive training at an ATP Flight School. They have a location in Centennial in the Denver metro. "We'll obviously pull in those applications and rank them according to what we are looking for and we'll put the applicants through a pretty aggressive vetting process, interviews, aptitude testing, things like that," said Lambert. The cadets chosen will have to complete the two-year program, spend 15 hours in the sky, and earn an Airline Transport Pilot License. "Our training program doesn't change, they have to meet all the requirements of our training program. They will be safe, proficient pilots by the time they will come to us," according to Lambert. "We'll have a mentor program to keep an eye on them as they go through their training as they go through experience building, we'll make sure we stay in contact with them every month," said Lambert. Once the cadets have enough flying hours and their Airline Transport License, the next stop is Frontier Airlines' main training facility in Aurora where they'll spend another 40 hours training in a flight simulator for commercial planes. "Our cadets will go through the initial training at ATP. They'll go build experience in the industry someplace, and by the time they get the experience to come over to Frontier, they'll be able to learn advanced jet simulation," Lambert said. Frontier says the cadets will become First Officers, meaning they will be in the passenger seat in the cockpit of the airplane when they get started with the airline. Then after more hours of training, they can become the Flight Captain. Frontier Airlines says its Flight Cadet Program is a way to avoid issues with pilot shortages years down the road. The company currently has more than 100 aircraft in operation today, but they have 230 airplanes on order which will triple the size of the airline. "We will still hire off the street, and we'll still have other programs in place, but this program at the very least assures that we have the minimum number of crews we need going forward," said Lambert. Frontier says since the application process opened this year, more than 500 people have applied, some of whom are Frontier employees working in other areas of operation within the company. The cost of the flight school is about $90,000, which is up to the cadets to pay. However, Frontier says they will offer stipends and some financial support before the cadets have a full-time job with the company. While the up-front cost could be expensive, Frontier says that the average first officer will earn around $100,0000 in their first year on the job. "It's a pretty lucrative business. Lots of good benefits, a good retirement plan," said Lambert. "It's almost like a journeyman process where you spend three or four years learning your trade before moving over to the left seat. So they will be first officers for several years, before moving over to the Captain's seat." https://www.9news.com/article/travel/denver-international-airport/frontier-airlines-pilot-program/73-7a8be263-d60c-40bc-bbd3-3e94bce598d8 Laos’ airlines receive safety certification Laos’ two airlines, Lao Airlines and Lao Skyway, have achieved the SafeFlight certification under the LaoSafe programme, with new flight routes opening up this month. The SafeFlight standard, one of a series of health and hygiene certifications under the LaoSafe programme, ensures that cabin crew and flight staff abide by strict hygiene regulations to ensure a clean and comfortable flight for passengers. LaoSafe is a nationwide initiative designed to create a health and hygiene system within the tourism and hospitality industry. Lao Airlines has achieved the SafeFlight certification under the LaoSafe programme. “The LaoSafe certification has allowed us to demonstrate our commitment to safe and clean hygiene travel standards for everyone,” said Sitthideth Douangsiththy, deputy director, Lao Airlines. According to the SafeFlight standards, all airline personnel must follow health and hygiene protocols set in place for maximum cleanliness, and includes daily temperature screening, frequent environmental cleaning and disinfection, wearing masks in the airport and for the duration of the flights, wearing gloves when handling travellers’ personal belongings, regularly washing hands, and providing safety amenities to passengers. Siviengthong Konnyvong, CEO, Lao Skyway, said: “Tourists can be assured that their travels in Laos abide by the highest hygiene standards.” Flights connecting Hanoi, Vietnam, and Chiang Mai, Thailand, with Luang Prabang will be available in the coming months. Lao Airlines has also increased the frequency of its Vientiane-Seoul service, and will offer flights to and from major regional destinations such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Siem Reap. https://www.ttgasia.com/2022/10/10/laos-airlines-receive-safety-certification/ After engine fire incidents, ‘above 90 percent’ of all Chinooks are fixed The Army's heavy lift fleet is rebounding after being grounded because a faulty part caused engine fires. A CH-47 Chinook helicopter takes off carrying an M119A3 howitzer after Soldiers assigned to 10th Mountain Division executed an air assault sling load operation during battery level gunnery certification in 2019 at Fort Drum, New York. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer) WASHINGTON — The US Army’s Chinook fleet is almost totally fixed, according to the Army’s director of aviation, months after the service was forced to ground the heavy lift helos due to concern over engine fires. “As of today, we’re above 90 percent of all Chinooks being fixed,” Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, the director of Army aviation told reporters during the annual Association of the United States Army conference. For the remaining 10 percent, “we’re waiting for normal maintenance to happen and then I’d say, you know, by the year we’ll be good.” At the end of August, the Army grounded its Chinook fleet when a faulty part, called an O-ring, led to fuel leaks and a “small number” of engine fires. At the time, a statement from Chinook engine-maker Honeywell said that the service had identified faulty O-rings installed during routine maintenance at an Army depot and was working to replace them on the affected Chinooks. The Honeywell statement said that “none of the questionable O-rings originated or were part of any Honeywell production or Honeywell-overhauled engines.” “In full coordination with the U.S. Army, Honeywell helped discover that O-rings not meeting Honeywell design specifications had been installed in some T55 engines during routine and scheduled maintenance at an Army Depot,” the statement said. In early September, the Army provided information that indicated that a cataloging issue led mechanics at the depot to install the wrong O-ring on the birds, according to a Sept. 6 report by Inside Defense. The service said that it had corrected the cataloging issue. During the roundtable with reporters today, Maj. Gen. Tom O’Connor, aviation and missile command commanding general, said that when the issue occurred, the Army had to run data analytics to determine the root cause of the problem, and has now solved the issue. The two-star also deflected blame away from the depot. “Most of the engine maintenance is done at the depot, but it’s not because of anything that the depot wrong,” O’Connor said. The event raised major readiness concerns at a time because the Chinook issues came just weeks after the Pentagon was forced to ground several aircraft due to unrelated safety issues. For the Chinook incident, Taylor said the service was able to “mitigate” impacts with other aircraft. “Operationally, obviously we had an immediate impact when the grounding [happened] which we mitigated you know, almost overnight with other airframes, [with] Black Hawks and other capabilities,” he said. https://breakingdefense.com/2022/10/after-engine-fire-incidents-above-90-percent-of-all-chinooks-are-fixed/ Deadline Looms for Australia's SMS Rules Charter and other commercial air transport operators in Australia will need to have safety management systems in place by December 2024. Commercial air transport operators flying under Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Part 119, which includes nonscheduled air charter, are required to submit their plans for implementing safety management systems (SMS) by December 2. Under new regulations, Part 119 operators have until June 3, 2024, to submit full SMS documentation. Operations are required to start using their approved SMS program on Dec. 1, 2024. CASA will be scheduling webinars to answer questions about how to prepare an SMS implementation plan. The agency acknowledged there is no one-size SMS that caters to all organizations. Therefore, CASA said the resources applied to an SMS can be “scaled to suit the size, nature, and complexity of the operation to ensure the hazards and associated risks are effectively managed. Where an organization either solely or as part of a group has several approvals, an overarching SMS between the group and the subsidiary companies may be developed, provided there is clear accountability detailed in the corporate structure for the ownership of the SMS.” While most Part 119 operations will have some elements of an SMS in place already and some operators may even have an established system, albeit without a regulatory basis, “there is a need to plan and monitor the transition during the establishment of a regulatory compliant system,” said CASA. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-10-09/deadline-looms-australias-sms-rules Airlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5G The airline industry has begun petitioning the FCC to make permanent changes to the operation of some 5G networks around airports. "These concepts ... would appear to not compromise wireless operators' actual use cases while further assuring aviation safety and providing a workable RF environment against which future radio altimeters can be designed and built," argued a group of airline officials who recently met with the FCC. The executives detailed their request in a filing to the FCC. In a response, Verizon officials sought to downplay the topic. "We continue to have positive discussions with the FAA and FCC, and progress is being made," Verizon officials wrote in a statement to Light Reading when questioned on the topic. "We are encouraged to see the airlines making progress with these issues as well." AT&T officials declined to comment on the development. But at least one analyst believes the airline industry is going too far. "The proposal by the aviation community to codify the voluntary and temporary restrictions on C-band usage graciously indulged by AT&T and Verizon is the most outrageous proposition I have seen in 50 years of following FCC matters," wrote Preston Padden, principal of Boulder Thinking. Padden previously was an official with the now-defunct C-Band Alliance, but noted that he filed his comment with the FCC on his own behalf. "The FCC must just say 'no,'" he wrote. No end in sight At the heart of the issue are 5G transmissions in C-band spectrum near airports. Although regulators have contemplated such operations in C-band spectrum for years, the airline industry conducted a major public relations push against those transmissions last year, under the argument that 5G transmissions in C-band spectrum could interfere with some aircraft altimeters and potentially cause airplane crashes. After months of back-and-forth on the topic, AT&T and Verizon early this year agreed to curtail their 5G deployments in C-band spectrum around airports to address the airline industry's concerns. Those restrictions were initially intended to last six months, but they now stretch into 2023. Now the airline industry is asking the FCC to make some of those temporary restrictions permanent. Specifically, they're asking that AT&T, Verizon and other C-band operators be prevented from pointing their 5G antennas 90 degrees above the horizon, and from issuing "spurious emissions" in select spectrum bands "consistent with current mitigations." "Reasonable 5G network/equipment limits are feasible and would avoid aviation implementing costly additional mitigations that are unnecessary given 5G's operational use cases," argued Airlines for America, Aerospace Industries Association, Regional Airline Association, National Air Carrier Association and other airline companies and associations, in their new filing to the FCC. Changes and ramifications The topic is a serious one for the 5G industry. After all, airports are high-use areas where wireless network operators often struggle to meet customer demand. That's partly why AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile collectively spent more than $80 billion on C-band spectrum during a recent FCC auction. Verizon, for its part, has been leading the charge in the purchase and deployment of C-band spectrum. (T-Mobile and AT&T both also purchased substantial C-band spectrum, but neither is deploying it as quickly as Verizon.) Verizon hopes to cover roughly 175 million people with its C-band 5G network by the end of this year. But that coverage may be restricted around some airports where there are concerns of 5G interference with aircraft altimeters. The airline industry has been working to install new altimeters that aren't affected by 5G transmissions in C-band spectrum, but that is an expensive and slow-moving effort. That's likely why the airline industry is now looking at making temporary 5G mitigations around airports more permanent. The FCC, for its part, is considering new rules around receivers that would allow the agency to proactively go after devices – like aircraft altimeters – that work outside the agency's parameters. https://www.lightreading.com/regulatorypolitics/airlines-start-asking-for-permanent-changes-to-c-band-5g/d/d-id/780947 Using smart composites for improved aviation safety New industry-linked Swinburne research uses smart composite structures to help engineers detect structural defects in planes and rockets before they cause disaster. The industry-linked project with Sparc Technologies and Composite Materials Engineering is creating graphene-enabled smart composites for aviation, aerospace and renewable energy. The project was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant from the Federal Government, with over $1 million invested across Swinburne University, the government and industry partners. The smart structures can be wirelessly monitored for hard-to-detect defects using a smart device, helping prevent catastrophic failures. The project will create the next generation of smart composites that can improve safety and reliability, while significantly reducing costs in the energy, transport and aerospace sectors. Swinburne University’s deputy vice-chancellor for research, professor Karen Hapgood, said the project was utilising their world-leading capabilities and expertise in space, aerospace and advanced manufacturing to make a real-world impact. “Smart composites, such as those being created by this project, represent the connected future of our cities, our structures and our networks,” she said. Mike Bartels, ,anaging director of Sparc Technologies, said the project was an example of the innovative solutions that could be realised through university and industry collaboration. “Working with Swinburne University of Technology, we are pushing the boundaries of what is capable in advanced manufacturing and graphene-based technologies to truly transform industries.” Carbon fibre composites are an essential part of modern infrastructure but the physical and environmental forces they experience often cause defects that cannot be detected by visual inspection. This project aims to use graphene-based nano-materials to create a working prototype of a smart structure with wireless connectivity that can be remotely monitored for these difficult-to-identify defects. This includes allowing technicians to monitor wind-turbine blades in remote mountain or coastal locations and detecting faults in airplane and rocket parts before they fail. Lead investigator associate professor Nishar Hameed said the project would have important implications for safety, reliability and cost in space, aerospace and renewable energy. “We are helping to create an interconnected network of smart composites that can transform how we build and maintain massive structures like airplanes and wind turbines,” Hameed explained. “This technology could help address the massive cost – human, economic, environmental – of catastrophic disasters like airplane crashes, while delivering benefits across a range of industries.” https://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/smart-composites-aviation-safety/ FAA issues warning about type of seaplane that crashed Federal authorities have issued a warning about a part of the tail in the type of seaplane that crashed in Washington state’s Puget Sound last month, killing 10 people. The Seattle Times reports that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency airworthiness directive concerning Otter seaplanes. Released Tuesday, the directive warned of potential cracks and corrosion in a part called the elevator, a movable surface of the horizontal tail that controls the plane’s pitch. The newspaper reported the warning was not the result of the investigation into the Sept. 4 crash off Whidbey Island. According to the directive, federal officials received “multiple recent reports” of cracks in the elevator. The sudden failure of the elevator can cause a plane to abruptly go nose-down, similar to witness reports of how last month’s crash in the waters northwest of Seattle looked, said Douglas Wilson, a Seattle-based seaplane pilot and president of aviation consulting firm FBO Partners. The plane in the fatal Washington state crash was a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter turboprop operated by Renton-based Friday Harbor Seaplanes. Todd Banks, president of Kenmore Air, which flies similar Otter seaplanes, said investigators could be looking at many possibilities about what caused the crash. He did say the timing of the FAA directive was notable, and a problem with the control surface on the tail could be a part of the probe. An FAA spokesperson said “the investigation is ongoing. No cause has been determined.” The FAA directive about Otter seaplanes orders “repetitive detailed visual inspections of the entire left-hand elevator auxiliary spar for cracks, corrosion, and previous repairs, and depending on the findings, replacement of the left-hand elevator auxiliary spar.” The wording requires urgent action, indicating the danger is considered serious. https://mynorthwest.com/3669852/faa-issues-warning-about-type-of-seaplane-that-crashed/ Leveling Up: AI Co-Pilots Are the Future of Flying A human user supported by an AI pilot may be the best approach. While the U.S. Air Force is capable of flying unmanned fighter jets and drones, it is unlikely that the need for human pilots will disintegrate anytime soon. There are some variables, faculties, and advantages unique to human cognition that mathematically-oriented, artificial intelligence (AI)-capable algorithms simply cannot replicate. A U.S. Air Force experiment in 2020 used a human pilot in tandem with an AI-enabled computerized co-pilot to optimize the merits of high-speed AI-capable data processing and the unique attributes of human cognition into a single air-combat platform. Certainly, the ability to leverage high-speed, AI-empowered information processing offers the best option, given that so much data can now be gathered, analyzed, and transmitted accurately without human intervention. Computers can match threats against a database library, analyze prior war scenarios to find the best weapon for a particular scenario, or assess navigational, weather, and ground target information in relation to one another in milliseconds. Thus, a human user supported by an AI pilot may be the best approach. The AI algorithm, called ARTUu, flew along with a human pilot on a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, performing tasks that would “otherwise be done by a pilot,” an Air Force report from 2020 about the development stated. “ARTUu’s primary responsibility was finding enemy launchers while the pilot was on the lookout for threatening aircraft, both sharing the U-2’s radar,” the Air Force report said. Computer algorithms enabling real-time analytics have informed simulations where AI pilot systems prevailed in dogfights against human users. Machines are increasingly performing more vital combat functions faster than humans can, increasing the likelihood that more AI-enabled fighter jets will emerge in the future. The crux of the debate is based on the extent to which attributes unique to human cognition can be closely approximated or even replicated by machines. How can mathematically-engineered computer algorithms address, express, or analyze subjective phenomena such as intuition or elements of intent? Humans are composed of a delicate, complex, and still somewhat mysterious mixture of thoughts, feelings, and psychological complexities, many of which simply might not be calculated by machines. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/leveling-ai-co-pilots-are-future-flying-205175 Hackers knock some U.S. airport websites offline Airports in Los Angeles and Atlanta were among those affected. Officials say there was no effect on operations Websites for a handful of U.S. airports, including those in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, were taken offline during a cyberattack Monday, although officials said there was no effect on flight operations. Managers at multiple airports said they notified the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration about the cyberattacks. In a statement, the FBI said it was aware of the incident but had no additional information. The TSA declined to comment, referring inquiries to individual airports. The attacks were carried out by a group of pro-Russian hackers known as Killnet, according to John Hultquist, vice president for intelligence at Mandiant, an American cybersecurity firm. Killnet called for coordinated denial-of-service attacks on cyber targets from a list it posted on its Telegram channel — a list that included several major U.S. airports. Denial-of-service attacks occur when a target is flooded with traffic until it can’t respond or crashes. Though highly visible, Hultquist characterized such attacks more as a “public nuisance” than serious security threats because they don’t target major internal systems that could affect an airport’s operations. Still, when they do take place, he said, they are effective in drawing public attention. Officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is charged with understanding, managing and reducing risks to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure, did not respond to request for comment Monday. The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey said LaGuardia Airport’s website experienced a denial of service incident about 3 a.m. Monday that resulted in intermittent delays for those who tried to access the site. “The Port Authority’s cybersecurity defense system did its job by detecting the incident quickly, addressing the problem in 15 minutes, and enabling us to alert others by notifying federal authorities immediately,” the agency said in a statement, adding that there was no effect to any Port Authority facilities. At Denver International Airport, the attack began around 11 a.m., officials said. Los Angeles International Airport managers said in a statement the airport’s website was partially disrupted, limited to portions of the public-facing site. They said the airport’s information technology team restored all services and is investigating the cause. “No internal airport systems were compromised and there were no operational disruptions,” the statement said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/10/10/hackers-cyber-attack-airport-websites/ Airbus Delivers 55 Aircraft in September But Has More Than 7000 In Backlog Having a huge backlog is one thing to be happy about, but getting them built to meet customer needs is becoming a headache for Airbus. In September, Airbus delivered 55 aircraft to 31 customers and put 13 commitments into the order book. According to its September 30th report, Airbus has delivered 437 aircraft to 66 customers this year, an average of close to 49 per month. The heat is on Airbus to deliver With around 3,700 A321neos in backlog, the pressure is building on Airbus to speed up its monthly production rate. Airbus did manage to reduce its backlog by 45 in September, but it still sits at a very healthy 7,294 aircraft waiting to be built and delivered. The backlog is dominated by the A321neo, with every second plane in the backlog being an A321neo variant. There are orders for 2,331 A320neos in backlog, accounting for 32% of the total, followed by the A220 (7%), the A350 (6%) and the A330 (3%). The balance comprises orders for the A319neo, A320ceo and A321ceo. With so many aircraft in backlog, pressure is building on Airbus to boost its production rate. In a recent capital markets briefing, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury recommitted to delivering 700 aircraft in 2022, despite battling engine and supply chain issues. It's not uncommon to see many deliveries made in the final sprint to the end of the year, but with only 437 airplanes delivered at the end of September, Airbus has a huge fourth quarter to get through. Based on its own reporting, Airbus has to deliver 263 aircraft in the next three months, an average of 88 per month compared to the 49 per month (on average) it has delivered so far in 2022. London's Financial Times reported that Faury told the September briefing: "Based on the visibility we have now from the supply chain, we think it's manageable, but I will not tell you that it's easy. There's a hell of a lot of work to be done." The report also said that Airbus chief financial officer Dominik Asam said Airbus was "fully engaged" to deliver on its targets. He added a touch of realism by saying, "delivering around 700 aircraft in 2022 is anything but a walk in the park." In July, Airbus cut its original forecast from 720 to "around 700" and said it was increasing monthly production rates of A320-family aircraft for this year and next. The ultimate goal is to produce 75 A320s a month by 2025, which Faury reiterated during the briefing. It currently makes around 50 jets a month and forecasts it will get to a monthly rate of 65 in early 2024, six months later than previously indicated. The September results in detail Tibet Airlines has 27 Airbus A319s and received its first A319neo in September. In September, there were 13 aircraft ordered, comprising eleven A320-family and two A330-900s. China's Sichuan Airlines ordered three A320neos and three A321neos, a private buyer ordered an A320neo, with the orders for the two A330-900s and four A321neos placed by undisclosed buyers. In August, Airbus reported it had not received any orders. On a month-on-month basis, deliveries rose by 40% compared to August, with 55 airplanes finding new homes. Airbus delivered 23 A320neos, 18 A321neos, five A330neos, four A350s, four A220s and one A3219neo, which joined the fleet of Tibet Airlines. Turkish Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each received four A320neos via lessors, while Delta Air Lines took two A321neos, one A330neo and one A220. Jazeera Airways and Spirit Airlines got hold of two A320neos, and Pegasus Airlines and Aegean each received two A321neos. The balance was mainly single-aircraft deliveries to 23 airlines, some of which came from lessor portfolios. https://simpleflying.com/airbus-delivers-55-in-september-has-7000-backlog/ GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Dear Pilots and Flight Attendants, Did you know that the difference between a 14-hour flight time and an 18-hour flight time is 28%, which means 28% more exposure by occupants to the cabin environment and other aircraft influences. Keeping this in mind, I am working on a new research study that aims to review current Health & Safety International and National Regulations and best practices for operating Ultra-Long-Range Routes (ULR). ULR operations refer to "An operation involving any sector between a specific city pair (A-B-A) in which the planned flight time exceeds 16 hours, taking into account mean wind conditions and seasonal changes. The scope of this study is to identify different health-related factors affecting Aircrew (Pilots & Flight Attendants) who operate these routes. Based on this review, a gap analysis will be conducted, and recommendations will be presented to mitigate health and safety-related impact factors on Aircrew. As a part of this study, a survey is designed for Aircrew (Pilots and Flight Attendants) who operate on ULR flights. This survey aims to learn about their experience and the different health and safety impact factors that Aircrew experience while operating these routes. Aircrew sought to participate in this study needs to meet the following criteria: - Employed (in the last 24 months) by an air carrier operating scheduled ULR flights (>16hrs); - Qualified as an aircrew member to operate ULR flights. During this study, you will be asked to complete a brief online survey about your opinions concerning health-related issues while operating ULR routes. You will answer several questions about different health-related factors and how it affects your lifestyle, including any prominent experiences you have encountered. The completion of the survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes. If you meet the criteria and are interested in helping, sign up for the study by clicking the link - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SV2D9KT You can also sign up by scanning the QR code below. Please let me know if you have any questions I can answer. Thank you for your participation Kind Regards, Aditya Rathi ISASI Robertson Fellow M.S. Safety Science '22 (Aviation Safety) Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott rathia@my.erau.edu | (928)-632-2707 Curt Lewis