Flight Safety Information - January 12, 2023 No. 009 In This Issue : Incident: Southwest B737 at Sacramento on Jan 10th 2023, bird strike : Incident: Delta B752 at Santa Ana on Jan 10th 2023, rejected takeoff due to engine failure : Incident: Etihad B772 near Mumbai on Jan 11th 2023, loss of cabin pressure : Incident: Virgin Australia B738 at Perth on Jan 11th 2023, flaps problem : Incident: Hawaiian A332 at San Diego on Jan 10th 2023, hydraulic failure : Passengers Injured On Scoot Flight After Power Bank Catches Fire : Aviation warning system that crashed was already a pain for pilots : FAA Moves Rule Forward Mandating Use of Program to Detect, Mitigate Risks Early : NTSB: Air ambulance wreckage, remains of 3 onboard recovered following deep water search : FAA Says $26 Million Needed To Cover Aircraft 5G Modifications : Iridium satellite-to-smartphone deal expected to expand pilot take-up : Do Airplane Evacuation Tests Need To Change? The New Bill Promising To Make Flying Safer For All Passengers : WBAT Safety’s Virtual Training Conference! : Boeing Working its Way Out of Crisis, Jet Orders Increase : Navy asks Lockheed Martin to prepare to build 118 F-35 jet fighter-bomber aircraft, avionics, and sensors : Hong Kong Airlines to hire 1,000 new pilots, cabin crew, ground staff in 2023 : Position Available: Analyst/Senior Analyst, Line Operations Safety Audits Incident: Southwest B737 at Sacramento on Jan 10th 2023, bird strike A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N752SW performing flight WN-1096 Sacramento,CA to Burbank,CA (USA), was climbing out of Sacramento's runway 17R when the crew stopped the climb at 4000 feet following a bird strike. The aircraft returned to Sacramento for a safe landing on runway 17L about 25 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-700 registration N452WN reached Burbank with a delay of about 2:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Sacramento about 17 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=5039c7ea&opt=0 Incident: Delta B752 at Santa Ana on Jan 10th 2023, rejected takeoff due to engine failure A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N712TW performing flight DL-447 from Santa Ana,CA to Atlanta,GA (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Santa Ana's runway 20R when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed (about 40 knots over ground) due to the failure of the right hand engine (PW2040), which emitted a loud bang, streaks of flame and heavy smoke. The aircraft slowed safely, emergency services responded. The flight was cancelled. The airline reported the aircraft rejected takeoff due to a possible engine maintenance issue. The aircraft is still on the ground in Santa Ana about 15 hours after the rejected takeoff. The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT ABORTED TAKEOFF DUE TO RIGHT ENGINE FIRE, SANTA ANA, CA." https://avherald.com/h?article=50399079&opt=0 Incident: Etihad B772 near Mumbai on Jan 11th 2023, loss of cabin pressure An Etihad Boeing 777-200 freighter, registration A6-DDD performing flight EY-972 from Hanoi (Vietnam) to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), was enroute at FL320 about 600nm eastnortheast of Mumbai (India) when the crew performed an emergency descent to FL100 levelling off about 7 minutes later (average rate of descent about 3000fpm). The aircraft diverted to Mumbai for a safe landing on runway 27 about 2 hours after leaving FL320. The airline reported a mechanical issue as cause for the diversion. https://avherald.com/h?article=5039ae46&opt=0 Incident: Virgin Australia B738 at Perth on Jan 11th 2023, flaps problem A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800, registration VH-YIQ performing flight VA-469 from Perth,WA to Brisbane,QL (Australia), was climbing out of Perth's runway 21 when the crew stopped the climb at 7000 feet reporting a flaps problem. The aircraft burned off fuel and returned to Perth for a safe landing on runway 21 about 80 minutes after departure. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VH-YQR is estimated to reach Brisbane with a delay of about 6 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Perth about 9 hours after landing back. The airline reported a technical issue caused the return to Perth. https://avherald.com/h?article=5039a93f&opt=0 Incident: Hawaiian A332 at San Diego on Jan 10th 2023, hydraulic failure A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration N392HA performing flight HA-16 from Honolulu,HI to San Diego,CA (USA) with 284 people on board, was on final approach to San Diego's runway 27 when the crew initiated a go around from about 1000 feet MSL. While climbing from 2500 to 4000 feet the crew subsequently reported they had lost one of their hydraulic systems, the gear was still down, they were working their checklists and computed their landing performance. The crew subsequently concluded they needed to divert to Los Angeles,CA (USA) for longer runways available, declared emergency, climbed to 6000 feet and landed on Los Angeles' runway 25L about 35 minutes after the go around. Los Angeles Airport reported the aircraft performed an emergency landing due to mechanical issues. The aircraft is still on the ground in Los Angeles about 9.5 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=5039a6e7&opt=0 Passengers Injured On Scoot Flight After Power Bank Catches Fire The incident took place as the aircraft was taxiing for departure at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. Two passengers have suffered minor injuries after a power bank overheated and caught fire onboard Scoot flight TR993 from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). The incident took place as the Airbus A320neo, registered as 9V-TNE, was taxiing to the runway for departure on January 10th. Firefighters were immediately called, and the aircraft returned to stand, where all passengers disembarked without further incident. According to Scoot, two of those onboard – the owner of the power bank and his travel companion – suffered “minor burns to their fingers,” and medical assistance was provided to them at the airport, although hospital treatment was not required. Photos and videos of the incident have since circulated on social media, showing the cabin filled with smoke and flight attendants keeping passengers away from the fire: In a statement issued to Channel NewsAsia, Scoot said, “Scoot sincerely apologizes for the incident. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority. Investigations into the incident are underway. We are rescheduling the flight and will provide affected passengers with accommodation and meals." Power banks – the risks and regulations IATA regulations stipulate that power banks 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. However, safety events involving the devices are becoming more and more frequent. Just last month, Russian carrier Ural Airlines suffered a similar incident onboard one of its Airbus A321s when a power bank exploded onboard just prior to take-off at Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME). Scoot – from strength to strength Scoot, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, commenced operations in June 2012. In July 2017, it merged with fellow low-cost carrier Tigerair, adopting its air operator’s certificate (AOC) and IATA code (TR), but retaining the Scoot brand and callsign. Today the airline operates flights to 58 destinations across Asia, Europe, and Australia, including Athens (ATH), Sydney (SYD), and Jeddah (JED). Scoot’s fleet is made up of 60 aircraft, including 20 Boeing 787s, which seat between 329 and 375 passengers, depending on the configuration. The carrier’s Airbus A320neos, like the aircraft involved in Tuesday’s incident, carry 186 passengers in an all-economy layout. As Asia continues to open up following the pandemic, Scoot is expecting a number 2023, and in order to meet growing demand, the airline has a further 26 aircraft on order, including 12 Airbus A320neos. Flight TR993 is a daily service from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport to Singapore Changi Airport, operated by both the Airbus A320neo and Airbus A321neo aircraft. The flight is scheduled to depart at 19:35 and arrive at 00:20 (+1 day). From Taipei, Scoot also flies to Seoul (ICN), Tokyo (NRT), and offers a seasonal service to Sapporo (CTS). https://simpleflying.com/passengers-injured-scoot-flight-powerbank-fire/ Aviation warning system that crashed was already a pain for pilots The NOTAM system has long been a source of frustration for some in the aviation industry who say it overloads pilots with information that’s irrelevant to their flight. The U.S. aviation warning system that crashed for more than an hour Wednesday traces back its origins to ocean-faring ships and has been under continuous reforms for years, experts say. At least one aviation industry group has called for it to be replaced altogether. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights blaming an unspecified failure in the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. NOTAM issues a near-constant stream of acronyms and abbreviations to alert pilots to a host of potential dangers, everything from parachuters and bad weather to legal airspace restrictions and flocks of birds. By Wednesday evening, the agency had pinpointed the problem to a damaged database file, and there is no evidence of a cyberattack, it said. The White House also said it saw no signs that the NOTAM system was taken down as a result of a cyberattack. The Department of Transportation was conducting a “full investigation” into its root cause. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the outage lasted approximately an hour and a half, but the FAA’s website that lists NOTAMs was only intermittently accessible through Wednesday afternoon. Regardless of the cause of the failure, the NOTAM system has long been a source of frustration for pilots and others in the aviation industry who say it overloads them with information that’s irrelevant to their flight and makes it difficult to identify actually useful information. NOTAM notices rely on a complex string of codes and abbreviations that share information like dates and locations of potential issues for a pilot to read before a flight. One industry collective of around 8,000 flight professionals, the OPS Group, has made streamlining the NOTAM system a key priority. The group runs a website called Death To NOTAMS. NOTAMs are modeled after a similar warning system for ships, which the U.S. Navy began publishing in print in 1869. Aviation authorities began issuing NOTAM warnings via telecommunications channels in 1947. As U.S. aviation grew, so did a glut of NOTAM warnings delivered to pilots before each flight, said Thomas Anthony, the director of the University of Southern California’s Aviation Safety and Security Program. And each of those airports can provide information that makes its way to NOTAM. “To give you an idea, there are 13,512 airports in the United States,” Anthony said. “The complexity of the system is mind-boggling,” he added. In 2018, Robert Sumwalt, then the board chair of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said that NOTAMs had become “just a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to.” That year, Congress passed a bill requiring the FAA to reform the NOTAM system, including by creating a machine-readable interface to give pilots and other flight professionals the option to streamline their delivery. That process, which is still ongoing, requires multiple types of old software programs to communicate with each other. The status of the FAA’s NOTAM reform isn’t clear, and the FAA didn’t respond to a request for comment about it. They are “still ongoing,” Anthony said. David Mumford, a spokesperson for OPS Group, said in an email that for safety’s sake, it was likely necessary to ground flights if NOTAM had stopped functioning. But its failure Wednesday only highlighted his group’s cause, he said. “Once again, we get to see how antiquated and vulnerable the Notam system is!” he said. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/faa-notam-system-crashed-target-reforms-rcna65272 FAA Moves Rule Forward Mandating Use of Program to Detect, Mitigate Risks Early Proposed Safety Management System Rule Would Help Operators and Manufacturers Detect Safety Issues Early WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a rule that requires charter, commuter and air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers to implement a critical safety approach that has helped create the safest era in aviation history. The program, Safety Management System (SMS), is a set of policies and procedures where companies identify, monitor and address potential operational hazards early on, before they become serious problems. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018. “Expanding Safety Management Systems to other players in the aviation industry will reduce accidents and incidents and save lives,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen. “As safe and efficient as our system is today, we must always strive to achieve the next level of safety.” The rule would support the FAA’s preventive approach that detects and corrects potential safety issues before they result in accidents or incidents. The FAA has strongly encouraged aviation industry members other than scheduled airlines to voluntarily implement SMS. Boeing, Bell, GE, P&W and Sikorsky all have approved SMS programs. The proposed rule goes beyond the requirements of the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act of 2020, which directed the FAA to mandate SMS only for aircraft manufacturers. The rule also addresses recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board and independent review panels. Compliance times would vary between one and two years after the rule took effect, depending on the operation. The public comment period on the proposed rule will run for 60 days. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-moves-rule-forward-mandating-use-program-detect-mitigate-risks-early NTSB: Air ambulance wreckage, remains of 3 onboard recovered following deep water search The wreckage field was located at a depth of about 6,420 feet. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The wreckage of an air ambulance plane that crashed off Maui last month with three people onboard was found off Maui earlier this week at a depth of more than 6,400 feet, the NTSB said. Officials said the majority of the wreckage and remains of those killed were recovered Tuesday. The Hawaii Life Flight twin-engine plane crashed Dec. 15, killing a pilot, flight paramedic and flight nurse. A preliminary report indicates the pilot may have become disoriented and lost control of the aircraft. “It sounds like he was having some challenges with regard to the instrumentation or the navigation,” said Bruce Mayes, veteran pilot and aviation safety expert. “The cockpit voice recorder, cockpit image recorder, and GPS with its navigation data. All of these will play a part in coming up with a complete picture of what happened from the time he took off from Maui to time of impact.” The city says the bodies are being transported to Oahu and are expected to arrive Thursday morning for formal identification by the Honolulu Medical Examiner. Families earlier identified the crew as pilot Brian Treptow, flight nurse Courtney Parry and flight paramedic Gabriel Camacho. Radar data, radio communications and eyewitness accounts indicate the plane was in the middle of turning when it spiraled into the sea. Experts say the wreckage and electronic data will help determine a primary cause ― whether it was mechanical malfunction or operator error. “Was their attitude indicator functioning? Might the control surfaces have been compromised to some extent? Were both engines operating?” said Mike Plowman, retired naval aviator and accident investigator. “There’s enough different types of things such as disorientation control, malfunctions, potential loss of an engine, and potentially reacting incorrectly to a loss of an engine that could put the plane in an out of control flight.” Following the crash, the Coast Guard searched by air and sea for the plane, but found nothing. Hawaii Life Flight subsequently launched a deep-water search operation in a bid to find the missing plane. The search effort started Sunday, and involved high-tech underwater sonar systems and autonomous underwater vehicles. Crews searched a 54-square-mile area with ocean depths ranging from 4,500 to 7,500 feet. Early Monday, the wreckage field was located at a depth of about 6,420 feet, the NTSB said. Officials said the wreckage was about 1,200 feet south of the last data point received from the aircraft. The NTSB said the wreckage will be transported to a secure location for further examination. The aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder, cockpit image recorder and other electronic elements will be taken to an NTSB lab in DC. The investigation is expected to take at least a year. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/01/11/wreckage-medical-transport-plane-recovered-following-deep-water-search-off-maui/ FAA Says $26 Million Needed To Cover Aircraft 5G Modifications The FAA claims that only 1,000 aircraft will need to install equipment to prevent 5G transmission interference. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will take an estimated $26 million to equip aircraft with the needed equipment to comply with its 5G modification requirements. The estimation comes only a few days after the administration announced that all aircraft operating for a commercial airline would need to upgrade their avionics systems for safety purposes. Critics claim the upgrade price tag is meager, stating that the FAA has recently made a lot of fuss for something requiring a cheap fix. 5G modification The FAA recently announced that all passenger and cargo aircraft that use radio altimeters would need to install 5G C-band tolerant radio altimeters or a radio frequency filter. These modifications are to be made by February 24th, 2024. The FAA has also required that all airlines revise flight operation manuals to state that low-visibility landings are not permitted after June 30th, 2023, unless the aircraft is equipped with the proper 5G filtration technology. These modification requirements came over a year after disputes between the FAA and wireless communication companies began. Issues first arose when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) elected to auction off C-band frequencies for 5G communications. Many of the frequencies auctioned off come dangerously close to the frequencies used by radio altimeters which are required for low visibility approaches as they are used to determine an aircraft's height off the ground when landing. When 5G telecommunication services were implemented across the US, problems with radio altimeters began to arise. This led the FAA to release a NOTAM to all pilots stating that radio altimeters were unusable. As the FAA and major wireless companies, specifically Verizon and AT&T, communicated, it was agreed that buffer zones would exist around major airports to reduce interference. Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today. FAA estimate The FAA has supported its $26 million estimate by claiming that only a small number of airplanes will require modifications. The administration has stated that out of 7,993 aircraft, only 820 will need to install a 5G radio frequency filter. It has also said that only 180 will require a replacement radio altimeter. Critics find this estimation incredibly low as the FAA has previously claimed that 5G transmissions threaten all radio altimeter operations, not just those of 1,000 aircraft. Simple Flying has reached out to the FAA concerning its estimations. This article will be updated once a response has been received. Critics also point out that the entire situation results from poor communication between the FAA and FCC during the 5G rollout. They also claim that $26 million is a small price for wireless companies to pay compared to the millions it took to establish buffer zones around major airports and that this cost should have been added to the initial auction cost of $81.2 billion. The opposing argument supporting the FAA argues that 5G was still a new technology and that the industry was still developing technology to prevent 5G interference when discussions first began. Meaning that the FAA did not know how much the technology would cost at the time. Nor how long it would take to develop and implement. https://simpleflying.com/faa-26-million-cover-aircraft-5g-modifications/ Iridium satellite-to-smartphone deal expected to expand pilot take-up Many business aviation and general aviation pilots carry Iridium satellite-powered phones in their flight bag in order to avail of global voice, text messaging, SOS alerting and location tracking. But now that a new partnership has been forged between Iridium and Qualcomm Technologies to enable messaging and emergency services in smartphones, does Iridium expect to see an encroachment on its traditional sat phone services business with pilots? Runway Girl Network put the question to Iridium CEO Matt Desch, who is a licensed pilot. “We believe this expands our market among the pilot community,” he said, adding: Serious backcountry pilots aren’t going to give up their purpose-built Garmin, Zoleo, Bivy or Iridium device for this, but casual flyers now can have an additional safety net and send the occasional text message if out of coverage. Iridium is not the first satellite operator to facilitate emergency services for smartphones. Last fall, Apple announced a partnership with Globalstar for an SOS texting service that debuted on iPhone 14 models. “Emergency SOS via satellite can help you connect with emergency services under exceptional circumstances when no other means of reaching emergency services are available,” Apple explained. “If you call or text emergency services and can’t connect because you’re outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, your iPhone tries to connect you via satellite to the help that you need.” As opposed to selecting a single smartphone manufacturer, however, Iridium’s collaboration with Qualcomm ensures that satellite services can be brought to a variety of smartphone brands including Android and Motorola devices that feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Satellite platform. Emergency messaging using Snapdragon Satellite is expected to debut starting in the second half of this year in “premium Android smartphones” launched in select regions, said Iridium. But devices that use the Snapdragon Satellite technology will also be able to send standard text messages via satellite to anyone — not just emergency responders, noted Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano Amon in an interview with The Washington Post. That’s the sort of functionality that will appeal to pilots. And as such, it’s fair to surmise that pilot ‘sat phone’ adoption will exponentially increase with the Snapdragon announcement. Rotation “While some have been expecting we would be integrating our system into a specific smartphone, what we’ve done is so much bigger,” said Desch in a 5 January statement. “Working with a mobile technology leader such as Qualcomm Technologies and their powerful Snapdragon platforms allows Iridium to serve the smartphone industry horizontally – and offers us an opportunity to enable other consumer and vehicular applications in the future. This supports our larger vision of connecting people and things on the move, anywhere!” The news has certainly been welcomed by Garmin, which is already eyeing an expansion of its satellite emergency response services. “Garmin Response supports thousands of SOS incidents each year and has likely saved many lives in the process, and we are looking forward to collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies and Iridium to help people connect to emergency services no matter where life takes them,” said Brad Trenkle, vice president of Garmin’s outdoor segment. Beyond smartphones, Iridium satellite connections can enable similar applications for vehicles, and other personal consumer and IoT devices, including those being deployed in the growing UAV market. https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2023/01/iridium-qualcomm-messaging/ Do Airplane Evacuation Tests Need To Change? The New Bill Promising To Make Flying Safer For All Passengers Aiming to improve the FAA's evacuation procedures, a new aviation bill has been passed looking to protect all travelers. I don’t know about you, but as a frequent flyer, I’ve become a bit jaded about the chirpy plane safety spiel we get when the aircraft takes off. However, I need to shake off my ennui and pay attention because the current Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) evacuation procedures are not up to snuff. Their evacuation simulations leave a lot to be desired. But, there’s a fix in the works: The proposed Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) Act will lead to more accurate testing of evacuation procedures and, therefore, safer evacuations. How will the testing change? The FAA will diversify its test parameters to represent today’s passengers, who vary greatly in dimensions and abilities. In its evacuation simulations, the FAA will no longer assume that the flight holds only 60 passengers, all of whom are at an ideal weight; that there are no disabled persons, seniors, or young children; or that there is no carry-on baggage. Proposed EVAC Legislation Will Diversify FAA Testing In December 2022, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the EVAC legislation to the Senate with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). A matching companion bill was introduced to the House by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN). Cohen originally authored the law that led the FAA to conduct simulation tests. Duckworth expects the bill to be included in Congress’s 2023 FAA reauthorization legislation. In her December 16 press release, Duckworth said, “Imagine being on a crowded flight when the worst-case scenario happens: the crew tells you that you have 90 seconds to evacuate — but in the chaos and terror of this emergency, can more than 150 passengers sandwiched into crowded rows actually safely evacuate in less time than it takes to brush your teeth? The flying public deserves better. That’s why I introduced the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabins Act to require the FAA to finally establish evacuation standards that consider not just seat size, pitch, and configuration, but other real-life conditions like the presence of carry-on bags and passengers of different heights, weights, ages, and abilities.” Federal regulations require that airplane evacuation must be fully complete in 90 seconds or less and that only half of the available exits are used. Under laboratory conditions, it’s easier to meet these conditions, but not so much in real life. Using the diversified parameters proposed in EVAC, new FAA simulations will more closely represent real-life passengers. As a result, evacuation plans will be safer — a win for both passengers and crew members. Why Weren’t Changes Made Before This? The FAA has said that it is aware that current evacuation tests don’t cover a representative cross-section of the flying public. The agency claims that ethical research standards prevent them from including children, seniors, or people with disabilities in tests where they can be injured. Duckworth said that there are ethical ways to include these individuals. “Why don’t you look to all of the other emergency management agencies that do simulate this?” she said. “Firefighting forces do this all the time with able-bodied firefighters simulating someone who is injured or has a disability… You could have a crash test dummy simulating a paraplegic.” https://www.travelawaits.com/2848151/airplane-evacuation-testing-legislation-faa/ 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 Boeing Working its Way Out of Crisis, Jet Orders Increase US aircraft maker Boeing delivered significantly more passenger and cargo jets in 2022 compared to the previous year and following what have been a few difficult years. New York — US aircraft maker Boeing delivered significantly more passenger and cargo jets in 2022 compared to the previous year and following what have been a few difficult years. The company on Tuesday said it delivered 152 commercial airplanes in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to 99 commercial airplanes delivered in the same period a year earlier. In 2022 as a whole, Boeing delivered a total of 480 commercial aircraft, a 41% increase compared to the year before. Boeing will provide detailed fourth quarter financial results on January 25, the company said in a press release. In a separate release, the Virginia-based company reported 774 commercial orders in 2022 after cancellations and conversions, including 561 orders for the 737 family and 213 orders for the company's twin-aisle airplanes. As of December 31, 2022, the Commercial Airplanes backlog is 4,578 jets. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/commercial-airline/news/21292108/boeing-working-its-way-out-of-crisis-jet-orders-increase Navy asks Lockheed Martin to prepare to build 118 F-35 jet fighter-bomber aircraft, avionics, and sensors Long-lead items either are difficult and time-consuming to obtain, and are funded early in aircraft design to keep overall production on schedule. PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – Combat aircraft designers at Lockheed Martin Corp. are preparing to build 118 F-35 jet fighter-bombers for U.S. military services and allies under terms of a $1.1 billion order announced on in December. Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. -- the organization handling F-35 aviation technology procurement for all military forces -- are asking the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics segment in Fort Worth, Texas, to procure long lead items for 118 Lot 18 F-35 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and U.S. allies. The F-35 with its advanced avionics is a fifth-generation single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole jet fighter-bomber designed to perform ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, and air defense missions. It is one of the most advanced combat jets in the world. Long-lead items either are difficult and time-consuming to obtain, and are funded early in the aircraft design process to keep overall production on schedule. Contracts to build lot 18 of the F-35 combat jet will come later. December saw F-35 contracts to Lockheed Martin worth nearly $9 billion. On 30 Dec. Lockheed Martin won a $7.8 billion order to build 127 lot 16 F-35 jets. This long-lead-items contract was announced on 23 Dec. Other than the U.S. military, F-35 operators include Australia; United Kingdom; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; Italy; Japan; The Netherlands; Norway; Poland; South Korea; Thailand; United Arab Emirates; Israel; and Singapore. The F-35 is replacing U.S. F-16, A-10, F/A-18, and AV-8B tactical fighter and attack aircraft. Lockheed Martin has been developing the F-35 since 2001. The single-seat F-35 military jet is 50.5 feet long, has 35-foot wingspan, and is 14 feet tall. It has one Pratt & Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan engine that can produce as much as 43,100 pounds of thrust. The aircraft can fly as fast as Mach 1.6, as high as 50,000 feet, and has a range of 1,200 miles. It has one 25-millimeter Gatling gun and can carry advanced air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, smart bombs, and conventional bombs. The F-35's avionics and sensors include the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 AESA radar; Lockheed Martin AAQ-40 electro-optical targeting system (EOTS); Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system (DAS) missile warning system; BAE Systems AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare (EW) suite; and Northrop Grumman AN/ASQ-242 communications and navigation system. The plane's navigation and communications include the Harris Corp. Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL); Link 16 data link; single-channel ground and airborne radio system (SINCGARS); IFF interrogator and transponder; HAVE QUICK radio; AM, VHF, UHF AM, and UHF FM radio systems; GUARD survival radio; radar altimeter; tactical air navigation (TACAN); instrument landing system for conventional runways and aircraft carriers; the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS); and the TADIL-J tactical digital information link with Joint-Variable-Message-Format (JVMF) communications. F-35 pilots wear a helmet-mounted display that enables them simply to look at a target to shoot weapons, rather than pointing the entire aircraft at the target. The orientation of the pilot's head provides missile seeker heads with targeting information. The combat aircraft -- one of the most expensive military weapon systems in history -- is designed to perform ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, and air-to-air missions. U.S. military leaders say they plan to buy 2,457 aircraft. The F-35 variants are intended to provide the bulk of the manned tactical air power of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled to be completed in 2037. Lockheed Martin and its partners will do the work on this contract in Fort Worth, Texas; Warton, England; Cameri, Italy; Orlando, Fla.; Nashua, N.H.; Baltimore; San Diego; Nagoya, Japan; and other locations, and should be finished by January 2024. For more information contact Lockheed Martin online at www.lockheedmartin.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil. https://www.militaryaerospace.com/sensors/article/14288067/jet-fighter-avionics-sensors Hong Kong Airlines to hire 1,000 new pilots, cabin crew, ground staff in 2023 Hong Kong Airlines will hire 1,000 new employees across pilot, cabin crew, and ground staff roles by the end of 2023, stating that the “rapid recovery of air travel demand in sight”. According to a statement released by Hong Kong Airlines on January 12, 2023, the carrier plans to operate around 75% of its pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year. The Hong Kong-based carrier also estimated a return to 100% of pre-pandemic capacity levels by mid-2024. The outlook also took into account China reopening the border to international air travel, which “will definitely be the next market to contribute significantly to [the airline’s, ed.-] travel recovery efforts,” Hong Kong Airlines chairman Hou Wei said. “We have leveraged every travel recovery opportunity over the past few months amidst unprecedented pent-up demand, and we continue to see positive business growth, particularly from the Japanese markets,” Hou Wei added. “The carrier expects to increase its flight operations to 30 sectors per day by January 2023, reaching 30% of those at pre-pandemic levels; flying to 15 regional destinations including Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Sapporo, Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, Hanoi, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, and Haikou, which is 50% of the operation level before the pandemic,” Hong Kong Airlines explained. China expects to see air traffic rise to 75% of pre-pandemic levels The company said it will need around 120 flight crew, 500 cabin crew, and 380 ground crew members. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/hong-kong-airlines-to-hire-1000-new-pilots-cabin-crew-ground-staff-in-2023 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 Curt Lewis