Flight Safety Information - December 30, 2022 No. 251 In This Issue : Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at Dallas on Dec 29th 2022, nose gear indication : Incident: British Airways A320 at London on Dec 29th 2022, odour in cabin : Incident: LAM B737 at Maputo on Dec 29th 2022, AOA sensor broke : Incident: ANA B788 near Nagoya on Dec 27th 2022, cracked windshield : Incident: Southwest B738 at Chicago on Dec 28th 2022, flaps problem : Cessna 750 Citation X - Runway Excursion (Colombia) : Their Flights Canceled, Southwest Travelers Were Threatened With Arrest : Emirates A380 wing spar cracks are no safety issue - Airbus : CDC Considering Testing Aircraft Wastewater For New COVID Variants : Boston man charged with bringing loaded gun to Logan Airport Terminal A security : Ural Airlines Airbus A321 Evacuated Due To Powerbank Explosion : Simulator Tests Show Value of Q-Alpha Alerting System (Video) : The First Low-Orbit Space Station Is Coming, and This Hypersonic Aircraft Will Shuttle You There : NTSB POSITION AVAILABLE: AEROSPACE ENGINEER (SYSTEMS), GS-0861-14 Incident: Skywest CRJ7 at Dallas on Dec 29th 2022, nose gear indication A Skywest Canadair CRJ-700, registration N753SK performing flight OO-9653 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX to El Paso,TX (USA), was climbing out of Dallas' runway 36R when the crew stopped the climb at 17,000 feet reporting they had a nose gear indication and wanted to return, they were confident about a normal landing however would stop on the runway. The aircraft landed safely back on Dallas' runway 36L about 30 minutes after departure. A replacement CRJ-700 registration N758SK reached El Paso with a delay of 3.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 12 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=503081c6&opt=0 Incident: British Airways A320 at London on Dec 29th 2022, odour in cabin A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYF performing flight BA-348 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Nice (France), was climbing out of Heathrow's runway 27L when the crew stopped the climb at 6000 feet reporting they had been informed about unusual odours in the cabin. The aircraft returned to Heathrow for a safe landing on runway 27R about 22 minutes after departure. The airline reported the aircraft returned to Heathrow due to a technical issue. A replacement A320-200 registration G-EUUC reached Nice with a delay of about 2 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=50307875&opt=0 Incident: LAM B737 at Maputo on Dec 29th 2022, AOA sensor broke A LAM Linhas Aereas de Mocambique Boeing 737-700, registration C9-BAR performing flight TM-190 from Maputo to Nampula (Mozambique) with 120 people on board, was climbing out of Maputo's runway 05 when the crew stopped the climb at about 6000 feet due to the failure of an Angle of Attack (AoA) sensor. The crew returned to Maputo for a safe landing on runway 05 about 15 minutes after departure. A replacement de Havilland Dash 8-400 registration C9-AUW reached Nampula with a delay of about 12 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 13 hours before returning to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=50300b81&opt=0 Incident: ANA B788 near Nagoya on Dec 27th 2022, cracked windshield An ANA All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8, registration JA831A performing flight NH-609 from Tokyo Haneda to Miyazaki (Japan) with 263 people on board, was enroute at FL360 about 40nm south of Nagoya (Japan) when the crew decided to divert to Nagoya due to a cracked windshield. The aircraft landed safely on Nagoya's runway 36 about 20 minutes after leaving FL360. A replacement Boeing 767-300 registration JA618A reached Miyazaki with a delay of 4:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 53 hours after landing in Nagoya. https://avherald.com/h?article=502ffa8a&opt=0 Incident: Southwest B738 at Chicago on Dec 28th 2022, flaps problem A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N8604K performing flight WN-1715 from Chicago Midway,IL to Phoenix,AZ (USA), was climbing out of Midway's runway 22L when the crew stopped the climb at 6000 feet due to being unable to fully retract the flaps. The crew initially intended to divert to Chicago O'Hare but ultimately decided to divert to Milwaukee,WI, where the aircraft landed on runway 19R at a higher than normal speed (about 160 knots over ground) without further incident. A replacement Boeing 737-8 MAX registration N8718Q reached Phoenix with a delay of about 3:45 hours. The occurrence aircraft returned to service about 16 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=502ff539&opt=0 Cessna 750 Citation X - Runway Excursion (Colombia) Date: 29-DEC-2022 Time: 13:27 LT Type: Cessna 750 Citation X Owner/operator: private Registration: N156VP C/n / msn: 750-0056 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport (MDE/SKRG) - Colombia Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Panama City Albrook-Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport (PAC/MPMG) Destination airport: Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport (MDE/SKRG) Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities Narrative: The Cessna 750 Citation X, N156VP, suffered a runway excursion after landing on runway 01 at Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport (MDE) Colombia. No injuries reported. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/305383 Their Flights Canceled, Southwest Travelers Were Threatened With Arrest A police officer at Nashville International Airport told travelers whose Southwest flights had been canceled that they would be arrested for trespassing if they did not leave a secure area, a video shows. It wasn’t the canceled flight on Christmas Day that upset Shelley Morrison the most. It was the police officer threatening to arrest her if she didn’t leave a secure area of the airport. Ms. Morrison and her three daughters had arrived at Nashville International Airport two hours early on Dec. 25 for their Southwest Airlines flight to Cleveland to see family in Ohio. But as the airline canceled flights across the country, sowing confusion, disappointment and anger among thousands of travelers, Ms. Morrison tried to find out more information about what was happening with her flight. As she waited in line among frustrated travelers hoping to speak to an employee at a Southwest gate, an airline employee called security and two police officers with the airport’s Department of Public Safety showed up, she said. One officer told the Southwest travelers that they needed to leave “or you’ll be arrested for trespassing,” according to a TikTok video recorded by Ms. Morrison’s daughter, Amani Robinson, 20. “Go. Right now,” the officer said. “Everybody to the unsecure side. The ticket counter will help you with any questions you have.” The airport, in a statement, said its officers were working “to ensure the safety of all passengers” as severe winter weather wreaked havoc on holiday air travel. Ms. Morrison said that text notifications that she had received from Southwest had indicated that her flight was only delayed, not canceled. On the video, she asked the officer directly if he was threatening to arrest people for trespassing. “Yes,” he said. “If you don’t have a valid ticket and you’re on the secured side and refuse to leave, you will be arrested.” Ms. Morrison replied: “We do have tickets. We have valid tickets.” And the officer said, “Well, if your ticket is canceled, you no longer have a ticket. You understand that, right?” The officer added that Southwest had called the police because travelers were congregating near a gate that needed to be closed. Ms. Morrison said that she went to another line for information when the officer approached her again. According to a second TikTok video recorded by Ms. Robinson, the officer asked to see her tickets and took them to a Southwest employee, who confirmed that her flight had been canceled. The officer instructed Ms. Morrison once again to leave the secure side of the airport, the video shows. Ms. Morrison, who is Black, asked the officer why he chose to stop her and ask her for her tickets, according to the video. “Is it customary?” she asked him. “Do you stop everybody and check their tickets? Is it customary for the police to stop any and everybody and check their tickets?” The officer explained that “because of our encounter from earlier, I have reasonable suspicion to believe that your tickets have been canceled, OK? And you were advised to leave the secured side.” Ms. Morrison agreed to leave but told the officer, “That is absolutely inappropriate on Christmas night for people to be asking questions and for you to threaten to arrest them for trespassing simply for standing in line.” In its statement on the encounter, which was previously reported by The Tennessean, Nashville International Airport said that after many flights were canceled on Sunday evening, travelers were asked to rebook flights at ticket counters on the other side of the security line. The statement said that Southwest personnel had contacted the airport’s operations center and asked that a police officer be dispatched to “escort passengers” to those ticket counters. “We understand and appreciate the frustrations travelers may have,” the statement said, “and we are working to provide the best passenger experience for all.” Ms. Morrison said she never made it to Cleveland that day and was still trying to track down her luggage after she checked it. She said she had contacted airport officials about the encounter with the police but had yet to receive a response. She said she wants the officer’s behavior to be “addressed” and would like a public acknowledgment or apology. “I merely asked questions,” she said. “There’s nothing that would suggest a single mom with her three kids was a threat, nor was anybody else in that line.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/us/southwest-traveler-records-airport-police-nashville.html Emirates A380 wing spar cracks are no safety issue - Airbus Airbus says cracks in the wing spars of some of Emirates' older A380-800s are not a safety issue, and the ongoing safe operation of the A380 is not compromised. The OEM was responding to a report by Aviation Week in which Emirates President Tim Clark said Airbus was attending to the issue that delayed the A380s return to service but agreed that it was not presenting a safety issue so far. Clark said the airline currently has four A380s awaiting repairs which are taking weeks to complete. "They started seeing cracks appearing, so [the European Union Aviation Safety Agency] EASA got involved," Clark said. "As usual, some [aircraft] are worse than others. It is not a safety issue at the moment; we are nowhere near that. But we will have to have a regular inspection programme going forward." The affected areas are the top and bottom flanges of the outer rear spar (ORS) between ribs 33 and 49; the outer inner front spar (OIFS) between ribs 8 and 14; and the outer front spar between ribs 38 and 49. With 116 of the type, Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, of which it has 83 currently in service, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module. Approached for comment, Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said: "It is not a safety issue. The ongoing safe operation of the A380 fleet is not compromised, as the mandated inspections and any necessary repairs are part of the usual airworthiness process over an aircraft's life cycle. We work closely with EASA. The Airworthiness Directive is mandating the necessary inspection and repair scheme depending on fleet age. Together with EASA, we are monitoring the inspections closely. Customers have been informed, and Airbus is working closely with each customer on solutions tailored to their individual fleet plans and operations." The cracks were highlighted in an EASA Airworthiness Directive (AD) on August 31, 2022, expanding on a 2019 directive: "Occurrences have been reported of finding cracks in the affected areas of the wing ORS on in-service A380 aeroplanes. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing." The 2019 AD, based on Airbus service bulletin A380-57-8263, had initially determined that aircraft must be inspected 15 years after the date of the wing box assembly. However, "since that AD was issued, it has been determined that additional areas may be affected by the same unsafe condition and that all msn (manufacturer serial numbers) must be inspected." EASA added, "recent inspection results have indicated the need for ORS inspection from 15 years to 12.5 years." Inspections must be repeated every three years. EASA also clarified that "the threshold might be further amended upon completion of the currently ongoing analysis." Schaffrath explained: "It is a fleet-age issue/an issue of ageing aluminium alloy over time. It is a "fleet returning to service after storage" issue - 50% of the A380 fleet is now back into service. It is a repair topic - Airbus is working closely with its customers to support the safe return of fleet to service, while an A380 AD is mandating inspections /solutions (last Aug 2022). The A380s are being returned to service in big numbers, confirming the strong rebounding market and customer/passenger appetite for the aircraft to address demand. This results in a peak demand for hangar space to undertake the necessary inspection and repair works. It is a known issue, nothing new, we have been working on an inspection and repair regime since 2019." Airbus's head of the A380 programme, Pierre Henri Brousse, told Aviation Week that so far, Airbus and A380 operators have inspected around 20 aircraft that reached the 15-year threshold at the time of inspection. "On most of the aircraft, we found something," Brousse said, including five that had not yet reached the 15-year limit. When a younger A380 was dismantled earlier this year, Airbus discovered a higher number of cracks outside the usual areas. "We launched a stress analysis and found that there was no particular issue [that needed to be addressed]." As the first A380 delivery took place more than two years later than expected, some wing boxes were produced years before the actual entry into service of the aircraft, meaning newer aircraft could be affected too if the wings were stored for a long time. On December 14, Brousse said younger aircraft were inspected, but so far, no findings on aircraft with wing box completion dates of less than 12.5 years required a change in the inspection and repair regime. Airbus says wing inspections take about one week. The non-destructive test inspections can typically be performed by airlines in-house. Brousse said Airbus has no plans for wing spar redesigns. Affected parts can be repaired through local stop holes or reinforcements or will be replaced. Stop holes can be introduced in one shift, while the more extensive repairs can take one week per area affected. According to Aviation Week, Qantas currently operates the only three revenue service aircraft older than 12.5 years. Although Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to take delivery of an A380 in October 2007, that aircraft and several more of its early A380s have either been scrapped or are stored. Similarly, Emirates received its first A380 in July 2008, but that aircraft and several more have also been scrapped. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/122838-emirates-a380-wing-spar-cracks-are-no-safety-issue-airbus CDC Considering Testing Aircraft Wastewater For New COVID Variants The process could produce more accurate results on new variants entering the country. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is considering plans to test aircraft wastewater for new COVID variants. The plan has been prompted by an explosion of cases in China, prompting the return of pre-departure testing and other restrictions. More accurate data According to Reuters, the CDC wants to begin sampling wastewater from inbound international flights to test for new COVID variants entering the country. The move would be in addition to the recent decision to impose pre-flight tests for travelers from China, which requires a negative PCR or antigen result within two days of travel. However, experts have found that testing is far less accurate in predicting new variants than wastewater testing. In July, French scientists found the omicron variant present in the wastewater of two flights from Ethiopia to France despite all those onboard having negative tests. Now, the CDC is looking to do the same for inbound flights from China and more destinations. The new testing method is being considered after a steep rise in cases in China, with fears of a new variant emerging. With the country no longer disclosing accurate data, the US is being forced to increase surveillance to slow the spread of cases. Border closures are not the answer While previously, the instant response to new variants was a travel ban or border closure, this in reality makes little difference according to leading researchers. While bans can buy countries a few days, COVID can spread through regions rapidly, leaving targeted travel restrictions useless. However, wastewater testing has been shown to find new variants before regular tests, as one study in San Diego found. The study found four COVID variants in wastewater up to 14 days before community testing, showing the advantage available to moving quickly. For now, the CDC is still considering plans and has not announced testing. However, given the previous success, it might be a good decision to step up tracking from international flights to avoid broader restrictions. Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying China in the spotlight After three years of zero COVID policies, China finally started reopening to the world this month. However, it does so as cases reach new records, with potentially million being infected every day. This raised some eyebrows when the country also scrapped quarantines for passengers returning to the country, allowing international travel to resume once more. Governments around the world have acted quickly to impose new restrictions on inbound passengers from China. While the US requires a pre-departure test, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, and India require tests on arrival, with quarantines for positive results. According to Bloomberg, Italian authorities found that over 50% of two flights from Milan had positive passengers onboard, raising fears of a new wave. For now, a return to COVID-era travel laws is looking unlikely as countries try to strike a balance between public health and allowing travel to continue. https://simpleflying.com/cdc-considering-testing-aircraft-wastewater-new-covid-variants/ Boston man charged with bringing loaded gun to Logan Airport Terminal A security A Boston man was held without bail after prosecutors said he attempted to bring a loaded gun through a security checkpoint at Logan Airport on Wednesday. The discovery was made at around 7:15 p.m. by TSA officials at the security checkpoint at Terminal A, where Delta flights depart and arrive. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Lorenzo Beechman, 36, of Hyde Park, was held without bail, charged with his third offense of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, illegal possession of a firearm without a license with a prior violent offense, illegal possession of ammunition and airport security violations. State police were alerted that a man, identified by authorities as Beechman, had placed a gun, located inside a shoebox covered by a brown paper bag, on a screening machine belt at the Terminal A security checkpoint. According to authorities, the gun was a loaded .22-cal Hi-Standard Model B pistol. Investigators say video surveillance showed Beechman placing the bag on the security belt. According to the DA's office, the shoebox, which also contained several personal items belonging to Beechman, was secured. Authorities say Beechman was initially allowed to proceed to his gate with the rest of his belongings, along with a child who was traveling with him. According to the DA's office, when he was approached by troopers, Beechman initially admitted the package was his, but when he was asked what was inside, he retracted his statement, saying he thought they were talking about another bag. Authorities said Beechman was arrested, and the child was placed into the custody of a relative. The DA's office said Beechman had prior convictions involving firearms and armed and masked robbery. He's scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 4. https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-logan-airport-loaded-gun-tsa-security-terminal-a-delta/42364266 Ural Airlines Airbus A321 Evacuated Due To Powerbank Explosion The incident took place as the flight was taxiing for departure at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. An Airbus A321 belonging to Russian carrier Ural Airlines was evacuated on Thursday evening due to a fire onboard caused by a powerbank. Flight U6167 had pushed back and was taxiing to the runway at Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME), en route to Khrabovo Airport (KGD) in Kaliningrad, when the fire broke out. Reports suggest that when the powerbank caught fire, one of the passengers threw it onto the floor, and it began to fill the cabin with smoke. The operating crew stopped the aircraft, and everyone onboard was then evacuated via the emergency inflatable slides. Passengers were taken back to the terminal building to await further updates. A replacement Airbus A321 was later arranged by Ural Airlines to operate the flight, which eventually departed at 23:49, with a delay of over seven hours. The Airbus A321ceo that was operating the flight on December 29th, registered as RA-73842, is 16 years old. It joined Ural Airlines' fleet in May 2016, after having previously operated for Avianca El Salvador for 10 years. The aircraft seats 220 passengers in an all-economy configuration. It is not known how many were onboard flight U6167, but there were no reported injuries among the passengers and crew. Luckily, the incident happened on the ground prior to take-off. Had it happened when the aircraft was in the air, the situation could have been much more complex. Ural Airlines has yet to comment on the incident. Ural Airlines – a closer look Flight U6167 is a daily service between Moscow and Kaliningrad, with a scheduled departure time of 16:15 and a scheduled arrival time of 18:00. It is operated by a mix of Airbus A320s and Airbus A321s. There are 21 active Airbus A321s in Ural Airlines' fleet – 13 Airbus A321ceos, with an average age of 16.1 years, and eight Airbus A321neos, with an average age of just 1.7 years. The rest of the airline’s all-Airbus fleet is made up of Airbus A319s and Airbus A320s. Ural Airlines became an airline in its own right after breaking away from Russian flag carrier Aeroflot in 1993. Its primary hubs are at Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Yekaterinburg Koltsovo International Airport (SVX), and Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport (LED). Today, as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its associated sanctions, Ural Airlines flies mainly domestic routes to over 20 destinations across the country. Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today. Lithium batteries – the risks and regulations Unfortunately, flight U6167 is not the first time that a lithium battery device has endangered an aircraft, and incidents are reported all too regularly by airlines worldwide. Earlier this year, for example, the crew onboard an IndiGo flight to New Delhi (DEL) had to extinguish a fire caused by a passenger’s cellphone. Due to the risks associated, IATA regulations stipulate that powerbanks must be packed in carry-on baggage, where they can be easily accessed if needed. The same applies to e-cigarettes and spare lithium batteries. https://simpleflying.com/ural-airlines-airbus-a321-evacuated-power-bank-explosion/ Simulator Tests Show Value of Q-Alpha Alerting System (Video) by Matt Thurber - August 1, 2022, 8:07 AM (Photo Courtesy: A. Skow) The Q-Alpha low-airspeed alerting system at the corners of the glareshield is designed to capture a pilot’s attention—even when the pilot is focusing elsewhere—with a bright visual alert and audible warnings. As the Gulfstream G200 simulator edged closer and closer to flying too slowly, below landing reference speed (Vref), the pilot at the controls feigned inattentiveness and allowed the airspeed to continue to deteriorate. Before the stick-shaker began its vibratory dance to let the pilot know that the speed was too low and to do something about it right away, a bright ring of green lights in the pilot’s peripheral view started flashing amber. The pilot didn’t react but maintained the same pitch angle and didn’t add power, and the flashing amber lights turned steady. The airspeed slowed even further, and it wasn’t until the light ring flashed and then turned red that he finally started a recovery, just moments before the G200 stalled. We had gathered inside the G200 simulator at CAE’s Morristown, New Jersey, training facility, to see how Skov Aero’s Q-Alpha Flight Energy Awareness Display, also known as a low-airspeed alerting system (LAAS), might work in a typical business jet. The group included Skov Aero founder and chief engineer Andrew Skow and his son Geoff, a CAE technician, and four business aviation pilots. Only two pilots at a time were inside the simulator, which was not running on motion so we could observe and shoot video while the pilots tested the Q-Alpha device. The fundamental idea of Q-Alpha is simple. Until 2010, FAA regulations required that transport category (Part 25) airplanes be equipped with stall warning and mitigation systems, which in many jets consist of a stick shaker (warning) then a stick pusher (mitigation). In airplanes where pilots simply can’t feel a stall, which includes many jet types, the shaker should help catch their attention. If the stall characteristics are such that handling is severely compromised after a stall or the aircraft is likely to enter a deep stall, the stick pusher is designed to prevent the stall before it gets any worse. But these devices don’t always work to prevent an accident, because they don’t give enough warning to pilots. After 2010, newly type certificated airplanes had to be equipped with a LAAS, but there was no retrofit requirement for older jets. Andrew Skow’s solution is Q-Alpha, a relatively simple LAAS that gives pilots plenty of advance warning prior to the stall and that is easily retrofittable to those aircraft for which a LAAS is not mandated. Skow first became aware of the opportunity to develop a stall-alerting system after the Air France Flight 447 accident on June 1, 2009, where the crew stalled the Airbus A330 and held it in a stalled condition for more than four minutes until it impacted the ocean, killing all on board. The February 12, 2009, Colgan Flight 3409 crash was another example of a deadly stall but this time during approach to landing. Skow realized that a significant number of accidents could be prevented with a stall-alerting system, and he partnered with his long-time friend, former Bombardier v-p of flight test Pete Reynolds, to explore the problem of poor energy management. The result was the Q-Alpha Flight Energy Awareness Display. Modern jets have amber and red bands on the primary flight display speed tape along with audible warnings as the speed decreases to those levels. That type of warning system, Skow said, “is flat ineffective. The Asiana 777 at San Francisco had an amber band on the airspeed tape and aural alerts—quad chimes—intended to cause the pilots to look at the PFD. They came on 11 seconds before the crash.” Whether or not the amber and red bands are supposed to be a LAAS, it didn’t help in that particular accident. “People are defending the amber band ridiculously,” he said. And in any case, retrofitting an older business jet or airliner with a display and the color bands could be prohibitively expensive, if that were the only reason for the upgrade. “We wanted to focus on low-cost, low-tech solutions,” he said. “Our value proposition is simple: it’s unambiguous, you don’t have to look, but it’s in your scan. It’s monitoring you, [telling you], ‘you might want to pick up some knots.’ Without knots, you got nothing.” A recent accident illustrates the problem: the July 26, 2021, Challenger 605 crash in Truckee, California. While maneuvering in the traffic pattern, the pilots lost control of the Challenger in a turn and despite the stick shaker and pusher both activating, the jet stalled and crashed. In a YouTube video, test pilot Bill Scott, who was also bureau chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology, described the stall characteristics of the early Challenger 600 series. During the certification program for the Challenger 600, Scott was a test pilot exploring the stall characteristics of the new jet. During one sortie, the jet entered an unrecoverable deep stall and he and the other pilot—Norman Ronaasen—had to bail out of the airplane. Ronaasen didn’t survive. “The natural aerodynamic stall on the Challenger was pretty unpredictable,” he explained in the video. “You get quick roll-offs, but the big danger was the deep stall on that supercritical wing and that T-tail design. And as a result, we lost the first test aircraft—Challenger 1—when it crashed when we got into a deep stall. Eventually, the Challenger was, of course, certified by the FAA with a stick shaker system that warns of an impending stall and then at a little higher angle of attack, the stick pusher activates to force the nose down and break the stall before the aircraft reaches the actual aerodynamic stall.” Nevertheless, Scott raises the question of whether such systems give pilots enough time to react and recover. “Having personally experienced at least 1,200 stalls during this development test program, I've seen how rapidly the angle of attack can build, especially when maneuvering…turning approach to stall. There we have actually seen several fatal accidents that raised the question: is the Challenger's existing stall-protection system adequate? And that was raised again in July 2021 when a Challenger 605 crashed at Tahoe Truckee Airport in California…making a circling approach [with a] low altitude loss of airspeed and steep bank angle. And although the stick shaker and pusher evidently activated, the airplane was too low and the pilot didn't have time to recover before they hit the ground. “I personally believe that all transport category aircraft would definitely benefit from being equipped with a stall-alerting system of some kind that provides a distinct warning to the pilot—before you approach that shaker and pusher angle of attack—that gives pilots a little more time to take corrective action. Especially when you're doing this high bank angle maneuvering like we saw in the 605 accident and clear back when we were doing the testing on Challenger 1; if we had had some kind of an independent stall-alerting system it might have given us enough time to avoid getting into the deep stall and the chain of events that led to the fatal accident and loss of the airplane. We definitely could have used it back then, and if we had had it, Norm Ronaasen would be alive today.” The Learjet 35 crash at Gillespie Field in San Diego on Dec. 21, 2021, is another example. The pilots and aeromedical crew were flying a short hop to their home base in marginal weather. A circling approach to the desired runway wasn’t available at night, and it appears that the pilots elected to cancel their IFR clearance to fly in the traffic pattern visually. But the visibility was low, and they crossed the center of the airport at less than 500 feet agl, then stalled and crashed while maneuvering toward the runway. ATTENTION! Q-Alpha’s main attribute is that it commands attention, day or night. The current design is a ring or donut shape of LED lights mounted at the corner where the glareshield meets the instrument panel, one on each side of the flight deck. Of course, the donut/ring design is just a suggestion; LED lights can be configured in almost any layout, and there may be better options than a ring. Whatever the placement, it’s critical that the lights be easily visible in the pilot’s peripheral vision, and our demo in the G200 simulator showed that the corner glareshield placement worked well. There are three main operational modes for the Q-Alpha device: it works as a stable approach monitor for approach, landing, and go-around; provides low-speed alerting in climb, cruise, and descent; and can provide a backup in case of loss of airspeed indication. By using dynamic pressure and angle-of-attack to set the alerting thresholds, the thresholds “can be set at higher airspeeds than existing low airspeed alerting systems,” according to Skov Aero. “This allows pilots more time to take corrective action. The 'industry standard' low-airspeed alerting system, the so-called 'amber band,’ uses only angle-of-attack.” When flying at slower speeds on approach and in the airport environment in the G200, Q-Alpha’s thresholds are set as follows: it lights up green for Vref +10/-5 knots, so it would be green during most of the final approach and landing. The next threshold is flashing amber at Vref -5 to -15 or 25 percent above stall speed, accompanied by an audible “airspeed” every two seconds. When Q-Alpha turns solid amber, speed is Vref -15 to -25 (18 percent above stall) and the audible warning says “airspeed low.” Flashing red corresponds with the stick shaker speed (7 percent above stall) and solid red with the stick pusher speed (1 percent above stall), accompanied by the audible word “stall.” “The problem we’re trying to fix is an inattentive pilot who for some reason decided not to monitor the energy state of the aircraft,” Skow said. “Maybe they’re tired, bored, or task saturated. There are a lot of accidents where energy management is the root cause, and task saturation is the biggest [factor]. Everybody else is working this by putting more information on the PFD or adding an angle-of-attack display. But what if the pilot is looking out the window?” Q-ALPHA DEMO Skov Aero held the demonstrations of the Q-Alpha stall alerting system in the G200 simulator on April 21 and 23 at CAE’s training center in Morristown, New Jersey. Participants during the session that I observed included Bob Wilson, experimental test pilot at Gulfstream Aerospace; and Joe Chignarella, a pilot for a Gulfstream operator and member of the Teterboro Users Group. We couldn’t all fit into the simulator at the same time, even with motion off, so participants took turns trying out the Q-Alpha device. Tom Huff, Gulfstream aviation safety officer, took his turn later, along with his brother Scott, a Falcon pilot. Chignarella was first to test the Q-Alpha device in the G200 simulator, which was set up for a medium-weight, mid-CG condition with 10,000 pounds of fuel onboard on a standard no-wind day at 5,000 feet. The test started with straight-ahead stalls, then turning stalls at a 20-degree bank, followed by landings on Runway 4L at Kennedy International Airport in New York City, then the ILS Runway 6 approach to Teterboro ending in a circling maneuver to line up with Runway 1. The latter was the same scenario in which two pilots were killed turning too steeply in a Learjet 35 while trying to line up with Runway 1 on May 15, 2017. During his time at the controls, Chignarella clearly saw the Q-Alpha device light up and, he said, “I knew I had to add power.” Wilson ran through the same scenario, but during one of the Teterboro approaches, the simulator technician “blocked” the left pitot tube, shutting off air data to the captain’s instruments. While he still had an airspeed indication via the copilot’s air data computer, the yellow and red low-speed bands disappeared. He was easily able to back up the airspeed tape’s lack of warning information using Q-Alpha and reported that in that scenario, it was invaluable for continuing the approach. “It was a lifesaver,” he said. “It’s impossible to miss. If you have any kind of an airspeed failure, it’s wonderful.” Wilson did have a criticism, that during a normal landing flare, Q-Alpha flashes amber. Although pilots can safely ignore it at that point, he worries that this would be negative learning. He also noted that when flying just at the point where Q-Alpha lights up green, it sometimes flashes on and off. “My brain just sees the flash,” he said, “and I can’t tell the difference between flashing green and amber.” Overall, he said, “I think it’s a good system and has a lot of advantages.” Huff did the next series of tests, and he agreed that the transition from solid to flashing and color changes weren’t optimal. Skow said that optimizing the color transition and other interface factors are easy to fix. “Leading up to the sim evaluation," Huff said, "I thought Q-Alpha was an elegant solution for a systemic problem and one that still remains to be satisfactorily addressed out of the NTSB recommendation for low-speed awareness cueing. Recognizing the limitations for this evaluation—principally, no unique tuning for the G200, suppression of audio alerts, and no prior human factor assessment of the mounting location, the evaluation still showed—in my view—the exceptional utility and potential for this capability. “During my session, we attempted to stress the system with circling approaches, immediate return-to-land, airspeed miscompare, and single-engine approach/go-around scenarios. Q-Alpha provided enhanced situational awareness and subjectively would be hard to ignore. Of course, this is a key enhancing trait of Q-Alpha…to overcome a distracted or 'cognitively unavailable’ pilot experiencing insufficient speed conditions or undetected airspeed decay. “I think additional experimentation and human factors evaluation is warranted to resolve those minor observations and truly optimize the salience and discernibility of the status lights. “I believe Andy [Skow] is to be commended for his determination to address this well-documented contributor to loss-of-control accidents and his eagerness to have abundant feedback on the efficacy of the system. In my view, a cost-affordable and easily-integratable solution is a must, and certainly a strong point for Q-Alpha, particularly for legacy platforms that rarely see avionics upgrades.” WHAT'S NEXT? The bottom line is that Q-Alpha is a simple LAAS that is designed to catch the pilot’s attention before it’s too late to recover. Certainly, an angle-of-attack indicator can do the same, but the pilot has to be looking at the indicator at the precise moment that loss of control is about to occur, and likely there are other issues commanding his or her attention. Instead of forcing the pilot to notice that there is a problem, Q-Alpha issues a clear alert to the pilot before the condition worsens. The crash of the Asiana 777 on a clear day in calm winds at San Francisco International Airport makes a good case for Q-Alpha, according to Skov Aero, which analyzed the flight data recorder data for that accident and assessed when Q-Alpha would have issued its warnings. “[We] found that Q-Alpha would have provided its first alert (solid amber/’airspeed’ voice) 30 seconds prior to impact (132 knots and 350 feet) [and the] second alert (flashing amber/’low airspeed’ voice) at 23 seconds (124 knots and 245 feet). Both alerts are significantly earlier than the amber band.” The pilots would have had enough time to recover, which was not the case by the time the amber band and quad chimes alerted the pilots just 11 seconds before impact. A 2021 report from the Avionics System Harmonization Working Group addressed this issue. The group’s regulator and industry members were tasked with determining requirements for a “context-dependent” (simultaneous low airspeed, low altitude) low-energy alerting system. The report noted, referring to the Asiana crash: “As indicated in the NTSB report, although a subsequent low airspeed alert (notably present but not required for autoflight certification at the time) was effective in drawing the flight crew’s attention to the condition, the probability of a safe recovery may have been increased if the alert had been generated earlier and/or in a more compelling manner, or the airplane’s systems provided protection against a low energy condition.” Jeff Wofford, director of aviation for Challenger 300 operator Commscope, hopes to install the Q-Alpha system in his company’s airplanes. “One of my big concerns is the rash of accidents we’ve seen where people are having loss of control in flight at low altitudes, primarily maneuvering around in the traffic pattern,” he said in a video about his experience evaluating Q-Alpha. “The nice thing about the Q-Alpha system is it doesn’t require any interpretation. You’ve got a system where you have a light that’s at your periphery…it doesn’t require a lot of interpretation and especially in a situation where you’ve got an issue when you’re maneuvering low to the ground, you don’t need to worry about trying to interpret what’s going on or listen to audio cues or buzzers going off. Having something that’s simple and something you can react to and that’s predictive is key. “The difference between Q-Alpha and some of our current stall warning systems is when the stick shaker goes off, you’re already approaching the stall. With Q-Alpha, you’ve got a system that’s looking at predictive situations and you get a warning prior to getting yourself into the stall. It would be great to add this into our Challenger 300s.” So far, according to Skow, companies that have expressed interest through letters of intent or made plans to install Q-Alpha systems in their aircraft or simulators include CommScope for its Challenger 350s; Porter Airlines and its Q400 turboprops; Textron Aviation, which is working with FlightSafety to add Q-Alpha to the FlightSafety Citation CJ3 simulator in Wichita; Viking Air and its CL415 waterbomber; and other simulators such as the G550, King Air, and Simcom and Precision Flight Controls devices. Q-Alpha has also been tested in a Boeing 737 simulator and in a single-engine Cessna 182RG. Because Q-Alpha supplements and doesn’t replace any existing stall-warning or low-airspeed alerting systems, Skow doesn’t see any major certification hurdles. Q-Alpha just needs data from the aircraft’s 429 bus. Retrofit to a typical business jet would take from two to six hours. (Video Courtesy: A. Skow) https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-08-01/simulator-tests-show-value-q-alpha-alerting-system The First Low-Orbit Space Station Is Coming, and This Hypersonic Aircraft Will Shuttle You There Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to open the Orbital Reef commercial space station by the end of the decade, with shuttles available to the tourist hotel via the hypersonic Dream Chaser. Reservations for the Blue Dot, a restaurant named for its view 250 miles above Earth, open at the end of the decade. More than half a century after man landed on the moon, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is teaming up with Sierra Space, several Amazon divisions and a half-dozen other companies and universities to launch the first commercial economy in space—a “mixed-use business park” called Orbital Reef with a hotel, restaurant and R&D outposts for companies testing products in microgravity. The early colonizers of Low Earth Orbit—that’s the layer between Earth’s atmosphere and Deep Space—are slated to arrive on the Dream Chaser, a supersonic spaceplane developed by Colorado-based aerospace company Sierra Space. Together, Blue Origin and Sierra Space plan to open Orbital Reef in 2027, aspiring to become the largest real estate developer in space. Orbital Reef space station will be a "mixed-business use" commercial space station to develop a space economy. The Orbital Reef space station is scheduled to be functional by the end of the decade. “We’re at the doorstep of the Orbital Age,” said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “The next generation of breakthrough products that we invent in space will change everything about what we do here on Earth.” Vice, who grew up watching the Apollo program to become president of Northrop Grumman’s aerospace systems division, calls it a chapter akin to the advent of the Industrial Revolution or the Information Age. The three-way “billionaire space race” among Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, Elon Musk’s Space X and Bezos’ Blue Origin is accelerating civilian space travel with the goal of gradually decreasing costs, but there’s still a distance to go. The Orbital Reef space station is designed as a "mixed-use" business park but will have tourist functions as well. The commercial space station will develop artificial human organs and clothing made of space materials. “We first have to get good at building commercial economies in low earth orbit,” said Vice. “Then we’ll move to the lunar surface, 250,000 miles away, before we can figure out how to live on a planet that’s 35 million miles away.” Last year, NASA awarded Sierra Space a $3 billion contract to supply the International Space Station with cargo and crew. The first of seven missions is scheduled to launch on a Vulcan Centaur rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in 2023. Dream Chaser’s first manned mission is scheduled to depart three years later. Dream Chaser, which can be re-used roughly 15 times, can carry up to 12,000 pounds of cargo, or a dozen passengers. It’s compact, with a short wingspan and total length of 30 feet. By comparison, the NASA space shuttle retired in 2011 measures four times longer. Its small stature belies its most striking feature: LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat, an inflatable structure that attaches to the back of the spaceplane and expands in orbit into globular living quarters measuring 27 feet in diameter, the equivalent of a three-story building. The soft material can deflect the impact of meteors and other space debris better than titanium or Kevlar. The Dream Chaser is designed as a fixed-wing spaceship that can take off and land from conventional airports. The spacecraft’s compact footprint enables a key breakthrough: the ability to land horizontally on any commercial runway that can accommodate a Boeing 747 or Airbus A380. Sierra Space is currently building a network of spaceports that includes New Mexico’s Spaceport America as well as facilities in Oita, Japan, and Cornwall, England. The long-term goal is to land on commercial runways at airports worldwide. Dream Chaser already has FAA approval to land at Alabama’s Huntsville International Airport. Depending upon its location, Orbital Reef is roughly three days from Earth. The commercial applications Sierra Space expects companies to develop there range from the 3D printing human organs to space-based materials for clothing. Each day, the researchers will dine at the Blue Dot, digesting the galactic views. “There’s an emotional effect you experience while looking down at our beautiful planet,” Vice says. “You realize that everything we know, everything we’ve invented, everything we’ve accomplished as a human race, was on this little-blue dot.” https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/first-low-earth-orbit-space-station-connected-hypersonic-aircraft-1234789695/ POSITION AVAILABLE: AEROSPACE ENGINEER (SYSTEMS), GS-0861-14 www.usajobs.gov/job/693620000 www.usajobs.gov/job/693620500 Summary This position is located in the Office of Aviation Safety, Aviation Engineering Division in Washington, DC. Participates and directs engineering aspects of general aviation and air carrier accidents involving safety issues associated with aircraft flight control, hydraulic, electrical, avionics and pneumatic systems including design, manufacturing, certification, and maintenance conditions. Duties OAS investigates all U.S. civil aviation accidents, including those involving unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), public aircraft, and commercial space launches, and other significant aviation incidents, proposes the probable causes of these events, and develops recommendations to minimize recurrence. As an Aerospace Engineer (Systems), GS-0861-14, you will perform the following major duties: • Participates and directs technical analyses of general aviation and air carrier accident and incidents in the specialty area of flight controls, avionics, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems. Serves as Group Chairman for limited scope investigations, documenting and analyzing airworthiness issues potentially involved in accidents and develops accident prevention strategies. • Coordinates efforts with other Group Chairman, the IIC, and the Team Lead to assure thoroughness of all investigations and that necessary documentation is accomplished as a result of the investigative activity. • Prepares factual and analytical reports covering specialty area on each accident. • Assists the IIC and report writers in the preparation of the Safety Board's accident report with particular emphasis on the accuracy of factual information and the logic of analyses of the evidence from the investigation. • Researches and develops appropriate safety recommendations to correct hazardous or unsafe conditions using information obtained in the course of investigations, personal observations, and knowledge of current aviation engineering trends and developments. Work Environment: The incumbent supports major go-team launches as well as significant international investigations. Major go-team launch teams commonly travel on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) jet from Reagan National Airport within two hours after an accident notification is received. Timely arrival at the scene of a major accident allows for timely documentation of a wreckage; a delay in this effort can have significant impacts, such as impeding the re-opening of an airport. International travel by US Government employees frequently requires the issuance of a visa from the host country, which is most efficiently obtained at the embassies located in Washington, DC. Additionally, security concerns in many locations make it essential that the investigative team travel together. Physical Demands: Occasionally the aircraft wreckage may contain hazardous materials that may be burning by the time the investigator arrives on-the-scene; therefore, the incumbent may be exposed to a variety of weather conditions and other environmental discomforts such as remote, rugged, snow, rain, temperature extremes, swampy or mountainous areas and hostile settings and may have to wear a hardhat, safety shoes, goggles, gloves, and other protective equipment. Curt Lewis