Flight Safety Information - January 10, 2023 No. 007 In This Issue : Incident: United B763 at Newark on Jan 6th 2023, failure of all navigation equipment : Incident: Swiss BCS3 at Zurich on Jan 9th 2023, lightning strike : Incident: Uzbekistan A320 at Kazan on Jan 7th 2023, engine shut down in flight : Incident: China Express CRJ9 near Guiyang on Jan 6th 2023, loss of communication : Boeing 737-8MA (WL) -Runway Excursion during Takeoff Roll (Russia) : The Perils Of Assuming Everything Is Fine: Normalcy Bias And The Rushed Approval Of Boeing’s New 737 Max 10 Jet : FAA giving airlines another year to fix altimeters that can’t handle 5G signals : Eastern Airlines Receives Its First Boeing 777 : Qatar Cargo continues lithium battery safety focus with CEIV standard : American Airlines Keeps Making Major Cuts : Southwest Airlines Announces Changes in Key Leadership : What’s the difference between an aircraft accident and incident? : Position Available: Analyst/Senior Analyst, Line Operations Safety Audits Incident: United B763 at Newark on Jan 6th 2023, failure of all navigation equipment A United Boeing 767-300, registration N663UA performing flight UA-940 from Newark,NJ (USA) to London Heathrow,EN (UK) with 228 people on board, was climbing out of Newark's runway 22R when the crew received a clearance to climb to 17,000 feet and direct to MERIT waypoint but requested a heading to MERIT advising, they had no navigation available and were working on it. The crew stopped the climb at 14,000 feet, requested delay vectors while still working on the issue and subsequently declared emergency advising they would need vectors all the time. The aircraft dumped fuel and returned to Newark, performed an ILS approach and landed safely on runway 22L about 50 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 767-300 registration N672UA reached London with a delay of 3 hours. The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground in Newark for about 9 hours, then returned to service. https://avherald.com/h?article=5038c9f5&opt=0 Incident: Swiss BCS3 at Zurich on Jan 9th 2023, lightning strike A Swiss International Airlines Bombardier C-Series CS-300, registration HB-JCP performing flight LX-2032 from Zurich (Switzerland) to Madrid,SP (Spain), was climbing out of Zurich's runway 32 when the crew stopped the climb at FL120 due to a lightning strike and returned to Zurich for a safe landing on runway 28 about 45 minutes after departure. The rotation was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Zurich about 19 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=5038c754&opt=0 Incident: Uzbekistan A320 at Kazan on Jan 7th 2023, engine shut down in flight An Uzbekistan Airways Airbus A320-200, registration UK32012 performing flight HY-9649 from Tashkent (Uzbekistan) to Kazan (Russia), was on final approach to Kazan's runway 29 about 10nm before touchdown when the crew reported the failure of an engine (CFM56), shut the engine down and performed a full orbit to work the checklists. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 29 about 10 minutes later. The return flight was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Kazan about 48 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=50382e00&opt=0 Incident: China Express CRJ9 near Guiyang on Jan 6th 2023, loss of communication A China Express Airlines Canadair CRJ-900, registration B-3230 performing flight G5-4985 from Chongqing to Yan'an (China), was enroute at 8100 meters (FL266) when the aircraft suffered the loss of communication prompting the crew to divert to Guiyang for a safe landing about 20 minutes later. A replacement CRJ-900 registration B-3381 reached Yan'an with a delay of 4.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Guiyang about 87 hours (3 days 15 hours) after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5038292d&opt=0 Boeing 737-8MA (WL) -Runway Excursion during Takeoff Roll (Russia) Date: 08-JAN-2023 Time: 07:18 LT Type: Boeing 737-8MA (WL) Owner/operator: Pobeda Airlines Registration: RA-73294 MSN: 43664/5185 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 189 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Unknown Location: Perm International Airport (PEE/USPP) - Russia Phase: Take off Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: Perm-Bolshoye Savino International Airport (PEE/USPP) Destination airport: Moskva-Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO/UUEE) Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities Narrative: Pobeda Airlines flight DP6512, a Boeing 737-8MA, suffered a runway excursion at the start of the takeoff roll at Perm Airport, Russia. Immediately after starting the takeoff from runway 21, the aircraft swerved to the left and departed the runway, becoming stuck in a snow drift. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/305657 The Perils Of Assuming Everything Is Fine: Normalcy Bias And The Rushed Approval Of Boeing’s New 737 Max 10 Jet Congress just cleared the Boeing 737Max 10 jet for certification in the omnibus end-of-year spending package without further modifications and safety enhancements. That’s despite significant opposition by those demanding a safety upgrade: from the families of those killed in the 2 deadly crashes in 2019, from the union representing the 15,000 pilots at American Airlines, and from Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chair of the House Transportation Committee that led the key congressional investigation into the MAX crashes, who said the language in the bill was included over his objection. This rushed clearance stemmed from the pressure of lobbying by Boeing and its allies. It suggests neither Boeing nor Congress learned the lesson of Boeing’s earlier 737Max fiasco: when 346 people lost their lives; Boeing lost $5 billion in direct revenue and over $25 billion when counting damage to the brand and losing customers; and Boeing fired its CEO Dennis Muilenburg. What caused the disaster for Boeing? At a high level, it was the company's desire to keep up with Airbus's newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft, the Airbus 320. To do this, Boeing rushed the production of the 737 Max and provided misleading information to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to receive fast approval for the plane. In the process, Boeing disregarded the safety systems that its own engineers had recommended and did not fix known software issues with the 737 Max, which ultimately led to the crashes. The New Normal The root cause of the disaster at Boeing can be traced back to a cognitive error known as normalcy bias. This bias causes people to overestimate the likelihood that things will continue as they have been and underestimate the potential consequences of a disaster occurring. Ironically, the transformation of the airline industry in recent decades to make airplanes much safer and accidents incredibly rare is key to understanding Boeing’s disaster. The Boeing leadership was overconfident in the safety record of their airplanes and saw the FAA certification process as an obstacle to doing business rather than a necessary safety measure. This normalcy bias contributed to their decision to rush the production of the 737 Max and overlook known software issues. Boeing’s 737 Max disaster is a classic case of the normalcy bias. The Boeing leadership felt utter confidence in the safety record of the airplanes it produced in the last couple of decades, deservedly so, according to statistics on crashes. From their perspective, it would be impossible to imagine that the 737 Max would be less safe than these other recent-model airplanes. They saw the typical FAA certification process as simply another bureaucratic hassle that got in the way of doing business and competing with Airbus, as opposed to ensuring safety. Think it’s only big companies? Think again. The normalcy bias is a big reason for bubbles: in stocks, housing prices, loans, and other areas. It’s as though we’re incapable of remembering the previous bubble, even if occurred only a few years ago. Similarly, the normalcy bias helps explain why leaders at companies of all sizes were so vastly underprepared for COVID-19 and its impact. While pandemics post a major threat, it’s a low-likelihood, high-impact, slow-moving disaster. The normalcy bias keeps tripping us up on such disasters, unless we take effective steps to deal with this problem. Normalcy Bias in a Tech Start-Up Of course, the normalcy bias hits mid-size and small companies hard as well. At one of my frequent trainings for small and mid-size company executives, Brodie, a tech entrepreneur shared the story of a startup he founded with a good friend. They complemented each other well: Brodie had strong technical skills, and his friend brought strong marketing and selling capacity. Things went great for the first two and a half years, with a growing client list - until his friend got into a bad motorcycle accident that left him unable to talk. Brodie had to deal not only with the emotional trauma, but also with covering his co-founder’s work roles. Unfortunately, his co-founder failed to keep good notes. He also did not introduce Brodie to his contacts at the client companies. In turn, Brodie - a strong introvert - struggled with selling. Eventually, the startup burned through its cash and had to close its doors. The normalcy bias is one of many dangerous judgment errors, mental blindspots resulting from how our brains are wired. Researchers in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics call them cognitive biases. Fortunately, recent research in these fields shows how you can use pragmatic strategies to address these dangerous judgment errors in your professional life. Preventing Normalcy Bias Disasters It really helps to use the strategy of considering and addressing potential alternative futures that are much more negative than you intuitively feel are likely. That’s the strategy that Brodie and I explored in my coaching with him after the training session, as he felt ready to get back to the startup world. While Brodie definitely knew he wouldn’t be up to starting a new business himself, he also wanted to avoid the previous problems. So we discussed how he would from the start push for creating systems and processes that would enable each co-founder to back up the other in cases of emergencies. Moreover, the co-founders would commit to sharing important contacts from their side of the business with each other, so that relationships could be maintained if the other person was out of commission for a while. So what are the broader principles here? 1) Be much more pessimistic about the possibility and impact of disasters than you intuitively feel or can easily imagine, to get over the challenges caused by the normalcy bias. 2) Use effective strategic planning techniques to scan for potential disasters and try to address them in advance, as Brodie did with his plans for the new business. 3) Of course, you can’t predict everything, so retain some extra capacity in your system - of time, money, and other resources - that you can use to deal with unknown unknowns, also called black swans. 4) Finally, if you see a hint of a disaster, react much more quickly than you intuitively feel you should to overcome the gut reaction’s dismissal of the likelihood and impact of disasters. Unfortunately, Boeing - and Congress - did not appear to learn this lesson in the rushed approval of the new 737Max model. The fact that they failed to make the safety upgrade demanded by so many diverse external stakeholders signals that more deadly lessons may be in store for us in the future. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glebtsipursky/2023/01/10/the-perils-of-assuming-everything-is-fine-normalcy-bias-and-the-rushed-approval-of-boeings-new-737-max-10-jet/?sh=7d4bd92d6a86 FAA giving airlines another year to fix altimeters that can’t handle 5G signals About 1,000 planes have altimeters listening to signals in the wrong frequencies. The Federal Aviation Administration will give airlines another year to fix or replace airplane altimeters that can't filter out cellular transmissions from outside their allotted frequencies. In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) released today, the FAA proposed a deadline of February 1, 2024, to replace or retrofit faulty altimeters, which are used by airplanes to measure altitude. Out of 7,993 airplanes on the US registry, the FAA said it "estimates that approximately 180 airplanes would require radio altimeter replacement and 820 airplanes would require addition of radio altimeter filters to comply with the proposed modification requirement." The total estimated cost of compliance is $26 million. The requirement could finally end a dispute between the aviation and wireless industries, which has prevented AT&T and Verizon from fully deploying 5G on the C-Band spectrum licenses the wireless carriers purchased for a combined $69 billion. Airplane altimeters rely on a spectrum from 4.2 GHz to 4.4 GHz, but some cannot filter out 5G transmissions from the carriers' spectrum in the 3.7-3.98 GHz range. "Some radio altimeters may already demonstrate tolerance to the 5G C-Band emissions without modification," the FAA said. "Some may need to install filters between the radio altimeter and antenna to increase a radio altimeter's tolerance. For others, the addition of a filter will not be sufficient to address interference susceptibility; therefore, the radio altimeter will need to be replaced with an upgraded radio altimeter." “Erroneous system warnings” pose a problem The FAA said it "expects erroneous system warnings due to a malfunctioning radio altimeter to lead to flight crew becoming desensitized to system warnings. Such desensitization negates the safety benefits of the warning itself and can lead to a catastrophic event." The FAA had said in June 2022 that airlines must replace or retrofit faulty altimeters "as soon as possible." But the notice issued today said February 1, 2024, "is the date the FAA has determined to be as soon as reasonably practical, consistent with FAA policy." The FAA will take public comment on its new proposal for 30 days before finalizing it. A Bloomberg report quoted lobby group Airlines for America as saying that airlines "are working diligently to ensure fleets are equipped with compliant radio altimeters, but global supply chains continue to lag behind current demand. Any government deadline must consider this reality." The proposed rule would affect airplanes operating under Part 121 certificates. Those certificates are for carriers with scheduled air service, which generally includes "large, US-based airlines, regional air carriers, and all cargo operators," the FAA says. "To minimize the number of erroneous system messages and the unsafe condition they produce, the FAA is proposing to require all airplanes operating under part 121 meet the PSD [power spectral density] performance curve to operate in the contiguous US after February 1, 2024," the notice said. Between now and the 2024 deadline, airplanes continuing to use faulty altimeters have to follow some limits during landings. A December 2021 Airworthiness Directive "prohibit[ed] certain operations requiring radio altimeter data when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference." Old altimeters “ignore assigned spectrum boundaries” The Federal Communications Commission in February 2020 approved mobile use in the C-Band after considering complaints from the airline industry. The FCC concluded that harmful interference to altimeters was unlikely to occur "under reasonable scenarios" because of the 220 MHz guard band between 5G and altimeter operations and power limits the FCC required for C-Band transmissions. But airlines weren't prepared for the C-Band launches originally scheduled to begin in December 2021. AT&T and Verizon agreed to a nationwide delay for about six weeks and to limits on deployment near airports. The deployment limits around airports were initially set to expire in July 2022, but carriers later agreed to maintain some limits in the airport areas until July 2023. Altimeters were originally designed decades ago when nearby spectrum bands only contained low-power operations, such as satellites. "This led the early designers of the altimeters to decide they really could ignore their assigned spectrum boundaries, and as a result they allow transmitted energy far outside their band into the receiver," expert Dennis Roberson explained at a Congressional hearing in February 2022. The altimeter problems spurred the FCC to launch an inquiry into poorly designed wireless devices that receive transmissions from outside their allotted frequencies. The inquiry could result in new regulations for wireless receivers; the FCC has traditionally imposed limits on transmitters only. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/01/faa-proposes-feb-2024-deadline-for-airplane-altimeters-to-filter-out-5g-signals/ Eastern Airlines Receives Its First Boeing 777 The US carrier has today received the first Boeing 777-200ER as part of its fleet expansion strategy. Eastern Airlines B777Photo: Eastern Airlines 2022 has been an important year for commercial aviation. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced all airlines worldwide to ground their aircraft and suspend operations in 2020, carriers gradually resumed flights and reorganized themselves. Networks and fleets had to be re-designed and adapted to the new demand patterns. Over the last two years, with air demand continuously growing, legacy carriers and newcomers have had the chance to expand progressively. The US carrier Eastern Airlines is a good example of all that. Let's see why. Eastern Airlines receives first Boeing 777 Earlier today, the US-based carrier Eastern Airlines shared via a Tweet that the airline has received its first Boeing 777. Do you recognize this big engine? Well, if so, you are an aviation lover like us! 🫡 We are pleased to announce that our first Boeing 777 got certified and joined our fleet. This will offer a better opportunity for Eastern to connect the world with long-haul flights. pic.twitter.com/eaL9WDd5D0 — Eastern Airlines (@goeasternair) January 9, 2023 The Boeing 777 is registered N7-7IKW and belongs to the -200ER variant. According to ch-aviation, the history of the aircraft goes back to December 22nd, 1995. On this day, Singapore Airlines ordered the aircraft from the US-based manufacturer. A few years later, on February 22nd, 2002, the Boeing 777 made its first flight. Although a long time passed between the order date and the first flight, the same cannot be said for the time required to deliver the aircraft, which joined Singapore Airlines' fleet less than a month after the maiden flight on March 8th. In 2016, the Boeing 777 changed ownership and started to be operated by the charter airline flyGlobal Charter, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2020, 18 years after the maiden flight, Eastern Airlines finally purchased the aircraft. Ch-aviation estimates that the aircraft completed 50,125 flying hours and 12,221 flying cycles at Singapore Airlines. A little more details about Eastern Airlines' newest addition The Boeing 777 received by Eastern Airlines is a champion of high capacity. Indeed, the almost 21-year-old B777 accommodates 380 passengers in an all-economy configuration. According to ch-aviation, the economy class has a maximum abreast of 10 seats. Interestingly, the economy product, the only available on the aircraft, does not offer any in-seat video screens. However, this does not mean you will get bored on an Eastern Airlines flight! Indeed, the US carrier does provide an inflight entertainment selection called Eastern Entertainment. However, the airline adopts the Bring Your Own Devices -BYOD- strategy, meaning Eastern Airlines' passengers can enjoy a selection of movies, shows, music, and more by simply connecting their smartphones, tablets, or PCs to Eastern Entertainment - free of charge. Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today. The newly received Boeing 777 reflects the US carrier's growth strategy. Indeed, N7-7IKW has joined a fleet of 11 already-operating Boeing 767s. Additionally, according to ch-aviation, the US carrier is awaiting the delivery of seven Boeing 777-200ERs, two Boeing 777-300s, and one Boeing 777-300ER. With the addition of such a relevant number of wide-bodied aircraft, it is evident the US airline is forecasting a progressively increasing demand for air travel between the US and the leisure destinations it serves. https://simpleflying.com/eastern-airlines-receives-first-boeing-777/ Qatar Cargo continues lithium battery safety focus with CEIV standard Qatar Cargo and handler Qatar Aviation Services have gained IATA CEIV Lithium Battery (CEIV Li-batt) certification in a bid to continue countering the risk posed by lithium battery shipments. The CEIV Li-batt certification programme aims to ensure the various elements of the supply chain involved in the shipment of these batteries are able to meet regulatory requirements. The carrier has become the second airline to achieve the standard and the certification comes as Qatar Cargo has been a leader in trying to improve safety around the transport of lithium batteries. Qatar Aviation Services is the first ground-handling company to be certified globally. LATAM Cargo became the first airline to obtain CEIV Li-batt certification in September 2022. The airline said that it, as well as Qatar Aviation Services, played a key role in the design and implementation of IATA’s recent CEIV Lithium Battery programme, and continues to be actively involved in its fine-tuning and adaption. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: “Passenger and cargo safety is our utmost concern at all times, and we have continuously advocated for proper regulation in the transport of lithium batteries. “We are happy to be the second airline to be certified and we encourage all air industry players to become certified. As an industry, we must focus on active risk prevention and that is achieved through strict regulation, training, and compliance.” Guillaume Halleux chief officer cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo added: “Lithium batteries play a huge part in our daily life, from the toys we buy for our children, to the laptops we use every day, and the cars we drive, to name but a few examples. “Yet, they also pose a huge daily risk for air travel and transport: one that Qatar Airways has always highlighted and worked to prevent as best possible. We are happy to see this now starting to happen with air cargo industry companies voluntarily undergoing CEIV Lithium Battery certification.” “Our plan now is to work with our global partners, ground handlers, shippers, and freighter forwarders, to ensure a solid and common understanding of the risks of moving lithium batteries, and to drive positive change in the industry,” he continues. Halleux urged for faster regulation and compliance adoption concerning lithium batteries in his keynote speech at the World Cargo Symposium in Dublin in October 2021. At the Dublin event, Halleux said the airline had suffered three near misses with rogue battery shipments in recent years. The common denominator in each of these incidents was the mis-declaration of goods, making it hard for any supply chain players to pick up on the risk. He added that industry-wide there have been four incidents in the last 15 years that have resulted in hull loss and in some of these instances the loss of life. There have also been 322 air/airport incidents registered from 2006 to May 2021 involving lithium-ion battery cargo of which 18 were in 2020. In November 2021, the company also announced that it would replace its entire fleet of ULDs with Safran Cabin’s new Fire Resistant Containers (FRC). The airline expects it to take a total of five years to replace its fleet of more than 10,000 ULDs, but it aims to exchange 70% of the units by 2022. https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/qatar-cargo-continues-lithium-battery-safety-focus-with-ceiv-standard/ American Airlines Keeps Making Major Cuts It's not good news for some passengers and it's devastating for others as the airline fights a major problem. American Airlines' decision to halt service to three different regional airports may be the responsible one in the current economic climate. American Airlines (AAL) - Get Free Report, which is the largest U.S. carrier by employees, says that it "has made the difficult decision" to stop its services to Columbus, Ga.; Del Rio, Texas; and Long Beach, Calif., this spring. Since the start of the pandemic, American has dropped service to a total of 19 U.S. cities. The reason for the downsized national footprint? Staffing shortages and soft demand. But not just any staff. American specifically says the pilot shortage "affecting the airline industry" is forcing it to make the cuts it announced over the weekend. While the effect of passengers will be minor, only a total of eight American Airlines-affiliated planes depart daily from Columbus, Del Rio, and Long Beach, Fox Business reported. The news comes as another blow to an airline industry that has been reeling from staffing issues for the past few years. Airlines vs. Staffing Shortages Airlines struggled to meet demand in 2022 as demand for flights ticked up from the pandemic doldrums of 2020 and 2021. During the first six months of 2022, 3.2% of U.S. flights were canceled and 24% were delayed, according to information released by the Department of Transportation. This is "up from a 2.1% cancellation rate and 17.2% delay percentage during the same period in 2019,” as noted by FlightAware. Borders reopening between the U.S., Europe, and Australia, combined with increased domestic demand came to a head during the busy summer travel season, leading to scenes of utter chaos at major airports across the country. But there were warnings that this wouldn't just be a summer problem months ago. "Airlines — including American Airlines — are still suffering from this mismanagement," Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association told the CBS News travel summit in September. "There is so much uncertainty in the fall and winter schedule, that we cannot be silent." An Oxford Economics study estimated that there were 2.3 million fewer people working in aviation globally by September 2021 compared to the beginning of the pandemic, FT reported. Does American Airlines Have a Reason for Optimism? While scheduling and service turbulence will probably be an issue going forward, the Air Line Pilots Association recently shared data that could be cause for optimism. Just before Christmas, the ALPA said that the supply of new pilots is stronger than demand, citing Federal Aviation Administration data. According to the FAA, there were 8,805 new commercial airline pilot certificates issued through the first 11 months of 2022. That is compared to fewer than 6,000 in 2021 and about 7,000 in 2019. The number of certified flight instructors rose by 10% to 86,774 last year. "The pilot-production pipeline is strong, the aviation industry continues its recovery — and it has never been a better time to become a professional aviator," said Captain Joe DePete, ALPA president. Airplane manufacturing giant Boeing (BA) - Get Free Report estimates demand for 602,000 pilots globally and 128,000 new pilots in North America (U.S. and Canada). But there is still a push and pull between pilots and their airlines, including American. Last week, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's 15,000 pilots, called changes to cockpit procedures "unwise and unsafe." Days later, American Airlines was on the defensive, disagreeing with the findings of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found the carrier retaliated against flight attendants who reported worker illnesses caused by toxic fumes entering aircraft cabins. The DOL said that employees who filed complaints about illnesses were docked attendance points and discouraged from reporting work-related injuries and illnesses. "The safety of our team members and customers is always American’s top priority," American Airlines told FOX Business. "We respectfully disagree with the investigator’s findings and have scheduled a conference with OSHA to further discuss the investigation." https://www.thestreet.com/travel/american-airlines-drops-service-to-3-cities?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO Southwest Airlines Announces Changes in Key Leadership After canceling nearly 17,000 flights during the busy winter holiday season, Southwest Airlines announced five key leadership promotions among the company on January 9, in roles ranging from its network planning and operations control to marketing and customer experience divisions. “The strength of Southwest Airlines is and always has been our people, and I am incredibly proud to have such talented and dedicated leaders who have a passion to serve our employees and our customers,” said Southwest Airlines President & CEO Bob Jordan. “I would like to congratulate and thank Adam, Tony, Whitney, Jeff, and Dave for taking on these additional responsibilities at such a crucial time for our beloved company.” Adam Decaire, formerly Vice President of Network Planning is now Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Network Operations Control, a role change that Southwest says will create “a tighter feedback loop between schedule design and schedule execution while adding resiliency and reliability to the Network.” Decaire began at Southwest in 1996 as a ramp agent and worked his way up into his current position after obtaining a degree in aviation management. Tony Roach is being promoted to Senior Vice President, Marketing & Customer Experience, leading the team in marketing, product, digital and customer experience, including the airline’s loyalty program. He joined in 2001 and was formerly Vice President, Customer Experience & Engagement. Whitney Eichinger was promoted from Vice President, Culture & Engagement to Senior Vice President, Culture & Communications. She has fifteen years of experience within the Communications & Outreach division. Jeff Novota was promoted from Associate General Counsel to Vice President Legal-Corporate & Transactions. The FAA-licensed commercial multi-engine pilot and flight instructor is also a lawyer, and will “provide legal support to the Company’s treasury, finance, investor relations, real estate, supply chain, sustainability, commercial, and operations functions.” Lastly, Dave Harvey has been promoted from Vice President, Southwest Business to Vice President and Chief Sales Officer. His career at Southwest began in 1999, and his current position and his team will be responsible for distribution relationships and “all aspects of business-to-business selling and service for accounts including global, national, federal/state, higher education, mid-market, small business, and meetings/events travel.” https://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/southwest-airlines-announces-changes-in-key-leadership.html What’s the difference between an aircraft accident and incident? For all of us, any incident involving a commercial airline is worrying, and even turbulence is enough to cause us distress. We may have heard the terms aircraft “accident”, “incident”, and “serious incident” before, but what’s the difference between these occurrences? We delved into ICAO Annex 13 – Aircraft Accident & Investigation – to find out. Who are ICAO and what is Annex 13? ICAO, or the International Civil Aviation Organisation in full, is a specialised agency of the United Nations which coordinates the principles and techniques of international commercial air navigation. ICAO came about following the 1944 Chicago Convention, which set down core principles permitting transport by air. The Chicago Convention was signed by 52 states in 1944, and today has over 151 country signatories. The Chicago Convention formed the governing basis of ICAO, and today the organisation is responsible for regulating many areas of the industry. WHEREAS the future development of international civil aviation can greatly help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and peoples of the world, yet its abuse can become a threat to the general security; and WHEREAS it is desirable to avoid friction and to promote that co-operation between nations and peoples upon which the peace of the world depends; THEREFORE, the undersigned governments having agreed on certain principles and arrangements in order that international civil aviation may be developed in a safe and orderly manner and that international air transport services may be established on the basis of equality of opportunity and operated soundly and economically;” So what is Annex 13, you ask? ICAO’s responsibilities for safety, registration, airworthiness, prevention of economic waste, fair compensation, standardisation, and air law are outlined in the ICAO SARPS (Standards & Recommended Practices) documents, which come in the form of 19 numbered annexes. ICAO Annexes are: Annex 1 – Personnel Licensing Annex 2 – Rules of the Air Annex 3 – Meteorological Services Annex 4 – Aeronautical Charts Annex 5 – Units of Measurement Annex 6 – Operation of Aircraft Annex 7 – Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks Annex 8 – Airworthiness of Aircraft Annex 9 – Facilitation Annex 10 – Aeronautical Telecommunications Annex 11 – Air Traffic Services Annex 12 – Search and Rescue Annex 13 – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Annex 14 – Aerodromes Annex 15 – Aeronautical Information Services Annex 16 – Environmental Protection Annex 17 – Security Annex 18 – The Safe Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Air Annex 19 – Safety Management We’ll be taking a look deeper into Annex 13 and the definitions of occurrences. ICAO Annex 13: Incidents, Serious Incidents and Accidents What’s the difference between an “accident” and an “incident”? Annex 13 outlines three different definitions for “occurrences” that may take place during a flight. These are Incidents, Serious Incidents and Accidents. The most ‘basic’ form of reporting and occurrence is an incident. An incident is defined as “An occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation.” The inclusion of the wording “could affect” means there is no need for actual damage or injuries to take place; the possibility of such is enough for classification as an incident. Examples of aircraft incidents may include decompression, undershooting takeoffs or landings and near collisions with other aircraft, or terrain. The next level of reporting is incidents which are deemed to “involve circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident.” The wording here can mean that the difference between an accident and a serious incident lies only in the result – accidents are actual occurrences, and serious incidents are probable occurrences. Serious incidents include: landings on a closed or engaged runway, aborted takeoffs on a closed runway, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) narrowly avoided or where evasive action/control is needed to avoid an accident, where pre-emptive action could have prevented the occurrence altogether. Finally, accidents. Aircraft accidents are defined by Annex 13 as occurrences where “a) someone is fatally or seriously injured, b) the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure, c) the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.” Examples of aircraft accidents would be crashes, fatalities – caused by impact or things such as severe turbulence – or missing aircraft altogether, such as Malaysia Airways Flight 370 (MH370). Just one of these criteria needs to be met for the occurrence to be classified as an accident. Why does this all matter? Aviation is an industry centred around safety. The sole objective of annex 13 and the subsequent investigation of an accident or incident is the prevention of such occurrences from happening again. ICAO’s focus is on improving civil aviation safety for the future, not the apportioning of blame or liability onto pilots or operational staff. Each time an occurrence takes place, lessons can be learned, and the safety of flying improves for us all. https://travelradar.aero/annex13-incidents-accidents/ Analyst/Senior Analyst, Line Operations Safety Audits Date: Dec 29, 2022 Location: DFW Headquarters Building 8 (DFW-SV08) Additional Locations: None Requisition ID: 64611 Intro Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board! Why you'll love this job · The Analyst/Sr Analyst, Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) reports to the Manager, Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) · You’ll be involved in leading initiatives and supporting day-to-day operations for American Airlines’ LOSA Program. What you'll do As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced. Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations. · Supports the American Airlines Safety Management System (SMS) in hazard identification and risk mitigation. · Collects observation data, conducts analysis, and creates presentations. · Supports the data analytics and reporting requirements for Safety & Efficiency Programs, Flight Operations, Flight Service, Dispatch, and other AA stakeholders. · Attends, facilitates, and presents analysis and recommendations to leadership at monthly SMS meetings. · Supports the LOSA Manager in selection, training, and monthly scheduling of LOSA Observers. · Coordinates with and ensures proper accommodation of LOSA observes. · Maintains collected LOSA data within confidential data archive. · Maintains secure access to data (Safety Data SharePoint site and Tableau). · Establishes and coordinates data-derived targets for safety enhancements. · All you'll need for success Minimum Requirements – Education & Prior Job Experience · Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience · 3 years of relevant experience or a master’s degree in a related field Preferred Requirements - Education & Prior Job Experience · Degree or specialization in Aviation or Human Factors · Experience with Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA), Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP), Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), and/or Air Safety Investigations Skills, Licenses & Certifications · Understanding of Threat & Error Management concept and how it is applied within a safety organization. · Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to influence and effectively communicate with all levels of employees across the organization. · Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including professional presentation skills. · The ability to effectively interact with employees at all levels within the organization, as well as external agencies to include the FAA and labor associations. · Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to prepare reports based on data analysis. · Proficiency in MS Office suite. Previous experience with Tableau preferred. · Preferred FAA Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency and/or operational airline experience · What you'll get Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer: · Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network. · Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more. · Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need. · 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year. · Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more · Feel free to be yourself at American From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Employee Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world. Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American. Additional Locations: None Requisition ID: 64611 Nearest Major Market: Dallas Nearest Secondary Market: Fort Worth Job Segment: Quality Assurance, Operations Manager, Developer, Sharepoint, Technology, Aviation, Operations APPLY NOW Curt Lewis